S1,E4: New Car, New Job, New Jean

[statsgirl]

Quote

Jean rethinks how she manages her time; Danny helps Jean to realize that she needs to set boundaries.

 

[shapeshifter]

Too bad Jean's first client wasn't cast as one of her kids --based on his one minute of lines and acting. 

The casting of the kids seems to have been based on: Find 1 young female and 1 young male who look like siblings and half of Kyra Sedgwick. No talent necessary.
I'm sorry; did I type that out loud? 

 

[chitowngirl]

Kyra Sedgwick is so much better than this. Everyone is so STILTED.

[statsgirl]

I think Patrick Brammell (Danny) and Austin Crute (Lane) and pretty good. Poor Emma Caymares is doing the best she can with a cartoon character. The rest of the cast is like they're in a high school play.

This episode was pretty bad. I wanted to smack the kids into the next county for being so obvious about taking advantage of their mother after they've been living on their own for a long time. And then I wanted to smack Jean for letter them. How did she ever survive on her own if she's this stupid?

And then I had an epiphany. I've been comparing this show to Mom and The Connors and found it wanting. What I should have been comparing it to is Saved By The Bell.

[shapeshifter]

and what was up with the inappropriate sexual innuendos? 
The neighbor saying "even though I'm sexually attracted to you" like the audience needs to have it spelled out since "even though I'm attracted to you" wouldn't be clear enough or something???
And Jean talking about her using her boobs to get what she wanted? I remember when I was in my 30s a girlfriend and I giggling about how at least we still looked good with our clothes on. Jean is supposed to be about 50 -- nobody wants to imagine her with her clothes off. 

Kyra was giving the script award winning delivery, but she really should walk away from it.

[Pristine]

I need to vent on behalf of Gen X.  I'm not sure how old Kyra is supposed to be, but IRL she is only 55.  The technology jokes are way over the top.  My almost 78 year old Dad is more tech savvy than her character.

[LavenderSunset]

I'm basically hate-watching this show now.  I thought I'd like it because I'm a new empty-nester with 4 adult kids, but what is wrong with this woman?!!  She really does come across as stupid.  She can't cook dinner and get her work assignments done?  How did she manage all of those years when she was RAISING the kids?  As for me...I'm really enjoying my new freedom.  I love it!  My kids are at a college only 10 miles away, but I don't drop in on them or follow them around.   Jean needs to go back home and get her own life.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, LavenderSunset said:

I'm basically hate-watching this show now.  I thought I'd like it because I'm a new empty-nester with 4 adult kids, but what is wrong with this woman?!!  She really does come across as stupid.  She can't cook dinner and get her work assignments done?  How did she manage all of those years when she was RAISING the kids?  As for me...I'm really enjoying my new freedom.  I love it!  My kids are at a college only 10 miles away, but I don't drop in on them or follow them around.   Jean needs to go back home and get her own life.  

I too loved becoming an empty nester when my last one went away to college. Recently I just moved 17 miles away from her because I am getting too old to be thousands of miles away from all of them. I think this points to part of the problem with the premise. Jean is too young to be needing to be near her kids in the way I am, and way too young to be as helpless as she appears unless they wanted to write in a dementia component. Is she supposed to be from some really rural part of Iowa? Maybe hey should have introduced her as having been a farmer with the nearest town having no stop lights.

I guess I (we?) are being a little picky about the premise plot holes. Sometimes those can be absurdly funny; just not here. A lot of the Chuck Lorre shows manage to break a lot of rules and do a lot of retcons, but they get away with it when the dialog is snappy and the actors have great comic timing --which are what's really lacking here.

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, LavenderSunset said:

How did she manage all of those years when she was RAISING the kids? 

While working as a single mother. No one can top the organizational and time managements skills of a single working mother.

8 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I guess I (we?) are being a little picky about the premise plot holes. Sometimes those can be absurdly funny; just not here. A lot of the Chuck Lorre shows manage to break a lot of rules and do a lot of retcons, but they get away with it when the dialog is snappy and the actors have great comic timing --which are what's really lacking here.

The Chuck Lorre shows also something else, they swerve to produce the joke. It's what Rob Buckman called "one, two, three,.. banana".

The jokes on this show are the lowest common denominator.  Jean talks into her key fob to open the car door, the kids put a big red bow on the sun roof because that's the part of the car they bought. Nothing is unexpected.

[Court]

This show is the worst thing I've watched. I didn't even smile once. The bit with her trying to speak to the car was so unbelievable. She's not 90. Pretty sure they have key fobs in Iowa. I quit this show. 

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, Court said:

This show is the worst thing I've watched. I didn't even smile once. The bit with her trying to speak to the car was so unbelievable. She's not 90. Pretty sure they have key fobs in Iowa.

Talking into the key fob would work if this was a cross between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Mork and Mindy with Jean having "died" in Iowa and an extraterrestrial having taken over her body.

[JAYJAY1979]

The creator of this show created New Adventures of Old Christine.  Should tell you all you need to know.

Also, I'm wondering how a show created by a female would have a lead female character incapable of functioning in the real world.