S04.E01 Checking Boxes

[Door County Cherry]

Airs 3/24/20

Quote

After a census taker comes to their home, the Alvarez family thinks on their relationships and what else the future may or may not, have in store. 

 

[ShortyMac]

It's back!!!!!!!!!

Lydia's monologue about Tia Chuchi was classic. 

Talking to Brian about all the people at the apartment, but, they don't live there. lol And the "Everybody Loves Brian" joke...

How dare they tease us with Max like that? 😞

I missed Ramona and the women's vet group, haha.

I hated the commercials. lol

[Door County Cherry]

I barely noticed the commercials.  Were there many?  

At first it started a little sitcommy with the obvious Netflix dig and the "Everybody Loves...joke" but as it went on, it got better and felt like it had never left.  

It trended on Twitter in the US.  

[Bastet]

I forgot this was on tonight; thankfully my brain kicked in before I'd missed the 10:00 re-run, too, and I won't make that mistake again!  I'm so excited to have this show back.

No matter how many times I'd heard the "There's nothing good on Netflix" line in promos, I still laughed tonight hearing it again.  As I did at there being no box for happily single, and at "I am ageless" despite having seen that whole chunk of the opening scene.

I am Lydia's exclusive, non-sexual companion.
What does that mean?
I don't know.

Hee.  I recently re-watched Sneakers, in which Stephen Tobolowsky is one of the many reasons I love that film, so I'm particularly in touch with how I adore him in everything right now and that was a great reintroduction to his character.

"They taught us about this" pronouns and "privileged, but super woke" is quintessential Norman Lear handling of a contemporary issue.

I can't with women yearning for a boyfriend, but I like Penelope's desire to flash forward to a comfortable relationship rather than enduring the dating part; LOL at how her date (whom, although IMDb is not yet updated, I swear was on an episode of Major Crimes - as was Justina Machado, in a different episode, and as was the nurse at the ER desk in another one - I was recognizing people all over the place) kept appearing to her as an increasingly desirable Max. 

Same with Elena not being able to be apart from Sid for 24 hours.  Shut up!  Get a life!  Yet, still, amusing; they're young, it happens, and they have some awareness in the midst of driving everyone crazy.  "If they leave me, it'll just be you and me!" was a nice way to bring in Alex's reaction since his own storyline doesn't start until next week.

This was not their best episode, but it was a good transition, and I'm very happy to continue along the ride.

 

 

[Lois Sandborne]

I was lucky enough to fast forward through commercials, but it was definitely a change. I'll get used to it. I probably won't get used to missing the theme and old opening credits. I'm still thrilled to have the Alvarezes & Company back though.

A Lovelorn Penelope plot might not have been the most dynamic way to hit the ground running, but they did good. Escalating the crazy Max visions on the awkward first date was great. And the support group and Schneider scenes were good.

I spent the episode low-key wondering if they were going to give Alex a real plotline, so his little girlfriend bombshell was well done too.

But Lydia telling the Tia Chuchi story was the best. "... como se dice AF." LOL.

 

[peachmangosteen]

18 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

I barely noticed the commercials.  Were there many?  

I watched on the PopTV app on my Roku since I don't have the channel and there were 15 commercials in the first break. It was torture! But then when the next break happened I thought hey I'll try to fast forward and it let me! 

Speaking of, does anyone know if they're going to continue to put the eps up the next day on the app to watch even if you don't have the PopTV channel? Or was it just for the premiere?

I wasn't that interested in this episode tbh. I never gave a shit about Penelope/Max so that part bored me and I like Elena/Sid OK but not much so I wasn't interested in them being the other huge storyline. But there were some great lines and a fantastic Penelope/Schneider scene so I did have something to enjoy.

[Chaos Theory]

The very first line/joke is aimed directly at Netflix.  So its like that then?   I like it,

Mostly this was a set up for all the new storylines and to show who was still here (most of the characters) and who wasn't.   I think the Penelope and Max thing was mostly put in there to basically put a final halt to the relationship and put her at a crossroads.  Most of her family is in some sort of couple but here she "a strong independent woman" and she needs to decide if she really is ok with it.  

And the Elena/Sid stuff was there again to show that they are getting to the point in which they need to decide if they will try to stay together even if they end up at different colleges.  It is a valid concern.  I know straight couples who dated all through high school but ended up breaking up because they went to different colleges and couldn't maintain the long distance and the different college culture.  So it is a valid question they need to ask themselves.  Do they really want to be "those people"?  

And yeah I watched on the Pop tv internet channel since I don't get it on regular tv (I am just hoping I can get the rest of the episodes because this is one of the few comedies I actually do find truly funny) and I was able to fast forward through the commercials.  

 

 

[ShortyMac]

Getting to see the premiere through the app or on the website without logging in was just for this episode.

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by ShortyMac

[Joimiaroxeu]

Did Rita get some work done? Her face looked much "refreshed," lol.

Wow, Alex has grown a lot. His voice is deeper too.

Not sure what to make of the Max appearances. The actor is starring on a Tyler Perry show so he may not need this gig. I don't think those TP shows ever get cancelled, do they? 😒

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

Getting to see the premiere through the app or on the website without logging in was just for this episode.

Well, that sucks. Guess I won't be watching this season then lol.

[msrachelj]

Didn't watch on Netflix because I don't/can't subscribe. In this case I did not miss a thing! Why is it called "One Day at a Time"? Nothing like the original. Yes, I realized they "updated" it but it is completely different! There was no son, no grandmother, Schneider is nothing like like the original. Look, go ahead and make a series with these characters but just why name it after a show that bears no resemblance?

The laugh track was so intrusive I could barely stand it.

The kids were annoying as hell.

This should have been on a Disney channel the way it felt. If Disney had Lesbian teenage lovers and a sex starved single mother. 

6 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Did Rita get some work done? Her face looked much "refreshed," lol.

Wow, Alex has grown a lot. His voice is deeper too.

Not sure what to make of the Max appearances. The actor is starring on a Tyler Perry show so he may not need this gig. I don't think those TP shows ever get cancelled, do they? 😒

Well she's almost 90. No one looks like that without a lot of work done.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Put. The. Whole. Theme. Song. Back!

[tennisgurl]

One scene in, and shots are being fired! I saw that Netflix crack in the previews every time, but I still laughed. 

I hope they bring back the original song/credit sequence, I miss it already. But I am just really happy to have this show back! Good to see everyone again, and while its not the best episode or anything, its a nice re-introduction to the show and its characters. 

Alex has really grown, he is so tall! I have wanted him to have a good plot for awhile now, so I am glad to hear he has a new girlfriend, that has some potential. "Put down that my grandma and I are just friends." 

I liked Max fine, but I wasnt super invested in him and Penelope, but I got some good stuff with my best platonic ship, Penelope and Schneider! I love them as besties so much. 

"They taught us about this..."

[Gothish520]

So happy to have this show back! I don't watch commercials or previews and avoid spoilers so I didn't know about the Netflix joke, lol. This was a nice, light episode to ease in to the new season. Me encanto!

[Bastet]

On 3/26/2020 at 1:16 PM, AllAboutMBTV said:

Put. The. Whole. Theme. Song. Back!

When it was announced the opening credit sequence would not be making the transition to Pop (due to time constraints), I said I would miss it, but at least this way the song wouldn't get stuck in my head (and my cat would be happy not to have to listen to me singing along).  Turns out, it still gets stuck in my head for the rest of the night just from that little snippet.

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

When it was announced the opening credit sequence would not be making the transition to Pop (due to time constraints), I said I would miss it, but at least this way the song wouldn't get stuck in my head (and my cat would be happy not to have to listen to me singing along).  Turns out, it still gets stuck in my head for the rest of the night just from that little snippet.

GAH same!

[Blakeston]

Is anyone else disappointed that they didn't show us Lydia and Leslie's adventure in Cuba? Maybe there will be flashbacks? I hope they don't just gloss it over.

I feel like Max is probably coming back at some point this season - probably once Penelope has found someone new. It would be weird to focus this much on him if he isn't going to be back.

[ShortyMac]

On 3/28/2020 at 1:22 PM, Blakeston said:

Is anyone else disappointed that they didn't show us Lydia and Leslie's adventure in Cuba? Maybe there will be flashbacks? I hope they don't just gloss it over.

They won't. They haven't forgotten about it.