S06.E13: Lowell Anderson

[Aulty]

Quote

When the Cloud 9 founder's son makes a surprise visit, the employees struggle to accommodate his bold ideas. Garrett helps Dina navigate a tricky situation with Brian. Jonah and Sandra use social media to investigate some worrying news.

Original Air Date: 03/18/2021

[Harvey]

This is so exhausting. Why is Brian still part of the picture? As if we didn't all know how it's going to end.

[Aulty]

 

[DanaK]

Lowell was clearly off his rocker. Was he still owner of Cloud 9 or did he leave when Zephra took over?

Nice to see Amy pop up at the end and willing to help sniff out the rumor of Cloud 9 closing 

Jonah clearly still isn’t over Amy

Nice that Cheyenne and Glenn pushed back on Lowell’s crazy ideas, including Glenn refusing to fire or punish Cheyenne

Edited March 19, 2021 by DanaK
spelling

[Irlandesa]

I do not approve of the cyber stalking but I absolutely loved Sandra and Jonah doing it together.  It made me laugh.

Ben Feldman is just so good. I hope he finds something good after this.  I cracked up at his "I'm only worried about Emma...which is less weird, I think."  Or his heavy swallow when Sandra calls out his fake social media account.

I do not approve of Dina dumping sweet vet Ben. I wish he would have said to her "yeah, I am too good for you" because he is. 

9 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Lowell was clearly off his rocker. Was he still owner of Cloud 9 or did he leave when Zephyr took over?

That was so confusing. I could see why they might roll out the red carpet for the founder's son but not to the point that he gets to dictate anything happening in the store. 

I also don't get why they'd shut down all of Cloud 9 stores.  Some, maybe, but all of them?  Oh well, maybe it's going the way of K-Mart or ShopKo.

[tjsmom]

I loved the Kids in the Hall reunion though!

[chocolatine]

58 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Lowell was clearly off his rocker. Was he still owner of Cloud 9 or did he leave when Zephyr took over?

 

44 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

That was so confusing. I could see why they might roll out the red carpet for the founder's son but not to the point that he gets to dictate anything happening in the store.

Yeah, that didn't make sense to me either. Zephra must have bought him out in the acquisition, so he would have no say whatsoever anymore. Maybe if he'd been involved in the day-to-day running of Cloud9 prior to the acquisition, Zephra would have offered him a job, but that doesn't seem to be the case since we've never seen him before. It's also very unlikely he'd have the inside information about the stores closing before Amy, who actually works for Zephra.

44 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I also don't get why they'd shut down all of Cloud 9 stores.  Some, maybe, but all of them?  Oh well, maybe it's going the way of K-Mart or ShopKo.

Probably going to online-only sales for the non-perishables and something like Amazon Fresh for grocery delivery? It may no longer be cost effective to maintain the brick and mortar stores if most people don't shop that way anymore.

Edited March 19, 2021 by chocolatine

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Probably going to online-only sales for the non-perishables and something like Amazon Fresh for grocery delivery? It may no longer be cost effective to maintain the brick and mortar stores if most people don't shop that way anymore.

Maybe.  But I was under the impression that sales actually went up in grocery stores, at least at the very beginning of the pandemic.  I know that the number of people that could go in a store was limited but stores seemed to be busy because it was the one place you could go in many places.

[DanaK]

Glenn could have been showing Lowell unusual deference because he thought Lowell was kind to his dad after Cloud Nine knocked off his business. Notice Glenn turned on him after he learned the truth

Zephra could have decided to dump Cloud Nine because it no longer made sense to their bottom line, especially with the pandemic, as a lot of these business deals just don’t work out, or that was their original intent. They can use the store buildings and customer lists for other things

Edited March 19, 2021 by DanaK

[MrWhyt]

Dave Foley! Surprise America Ferrera! Loved how Sandra actually seemed competent when she revealed she knew about everyone's secret social media accounts.

[memememe76]

That was Cheyenne’s best episode in, like, forever. And boy, when Amy told Cheyenne that she could call her anytime...boy, I wonder if they had that planned? 

[Texasmom1970]

I know the show is pushing the Amy and Jonah ship. I myself want like to see DInah and Garrett together. Love them, both so funny. 

[Harvey]

Glenn's new hair is a winner. 😄

Also, I could watch a full episode of just Sandra’s social media stalking.

[Aulty]

Glenn in that prime Karen haircut LOL. I don't quite understood how he got Lowell to eat the dog food, it wasn't really a high pressure situation or so massively embarassing that it would cause him to snap.

Cheyenne standing her ground, eventually, to that smug ass was great. She is decent at her job and somehow, after this episode, looks like another person more suited to Glenn's job than Glenn.

Jonah is just tragic, but Sandra is the real MVP of the store.

[possibilities]

I think Lowell was crazy already, as evidenced by his utterly batshit ideas for how to "improve" the store. Remove all products from boxes? Get rid of shelves? Make lines longer? So eating the dogfood wasn't him snapping, it was just more of his crazy continued. I was surprised that he backed down, but maybe he actually doesn't have the power to do anything anymore-- he was a Cloud 9 guy, not a current Zephra boss-- and when Glenn stood up to him, the jig was up?

For a while, I thought he was testing them to see if they would be stupid enough to go along with his horrible ideas. 

[chaifan]

I thought this was a funny episode.  Moved a few things forward, but except for the last "closing all the stores" line, this episode could have been done anywhere within the show's run.  Love Dave Foley, and he was perfect for this role.  But damn, is he really all grey in real life?  He seems so old, which makes me feel old.  I like that Cheyanne and Glenn stood up to him in the end.  The dog food bit was gross, though.  ew.

The cyber stalking of Amy was sort of funny, sort of creepy, glad they put an end to it before it went too far.  Sandra's response to ending it was hilarious.  Love that she knows everyone's secret facebook accounts! 

So maybe Amy coming back isn't tied to Mateo and her brother (I seriously have no idea what that guy's name is) getting married?  Maybe it is all store closing related. 

Is Jonah really over Amy?  Nah.  But that's ok.  I don't think most people get over someone 100% before moving on to the next relationship. 

And can someone remind me... what did Sandra have to do with Carol's electrocution?  Why did Carol want Sandra to deliver the money (in her teeth!) personally? 

[needschocolate]

My recording cut off just after Amy answered the phone.  Can someone please tell me what happened after that?

[funnygirl]

I love Sandra. 

Welcome back, Amy Sosa!

[Kip Hackman]

11 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

I myself want like to see DInah and Garrett together. Love them, both so funny. 

Well, it looks like they wrapped that up. I wouldn't expect to see anything more on that front.

Sandra was awesome last night.  I think I'll miss her the most.

 

 

 

[Aulty]

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

My recording cut off just after Amy answered the phone.  Can someone please tell me what happened after that?

Cheyenne tells her about Lowell dropping a comment about all the stores being closed and Amy sais she will look into it. Her expression suggesting that this is news to her too.

[springbarb]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

Is Jonah really over Amy?  Nah.  But that's ok.  I don't think most people get over someone 100% before moving on to the next relationship. 

And can someone remind me... what did Sandra have to do with Carol's electrocution?  Why did Carol want Sandra to deliver the money (in her teeth!) personally? 

I agree about Jonah and Amy; he's not over her, but he and the lawyer are good.

I can't remember Sandra's involvement in the electrocution, but even if she wasn't involved at all, Carol probably wants that because she's still upset about Jerry.

[tennisgurl]

Wow, they teased us with Amy all episode with Jonah and Sandra cyberstalking her, only for her to cameo at the end when Cheyanne took Amy up on that phone call they talked about when Amy left. Not sure why they would close every single Cloud 9 store, but I think the show will end with at least this store closing. 

Lowell Anderson really does sound like a furniture store. Good for Cheyanne telling him that his ideas were stupid and then Glenn for standing up to him, even if Lowell Anderson took it to the weirdest kind of place. "Oh he's insane, that's why he didn't like the cardigan." 

Sandra is such a superstar. 

[AnimeMania]

I spent way too much time thinking about eating a can of dog food. I wouldn't want to eat it cold or hot, I think I would want it slightly warm, just above room temperature (and there better be gravy!).

[MisterGlass]

This managed to be both a good episode and a good set up for what's to come.

The long anticipated break-up with Brian the vet actually amused me, from closing the screen on him, to the phone call with Garrett, to him believing Dina isn't ready to date someone as great as him.  Dina and Garret arguing their way into a date over Brian's dried fruit was also kind of funny.  Why be subtle at this point.

I didn't see Kids in the Hall in its original run, but have enjoyed clips, and may have gone down a youtube rabbit hole after this episode.  Dave Foley has practice playing strange guys, and I got some laughs out of Lowell.  Supposedly they are preparing a reunion series.

I think it would have been much funnier if Glenn had seen a masked Lowell and recognized him.  I suppose Lowell could have gotten some kind of board seat out of the Cloud 9 buyout by Zephra.  A job to retire out of.  I half expected Jeff to show up and call him out for having no power, but it was good to see Glenn stand up to him at the end.

[Kiddvideo]

It's pretty common for executives from the old company to stay on in some compacity for a few months or a year. They have the archival knowledge and status of current operations plus it helps smooth over transitions in processes and personnel. I can't imagine he was much help to Zephra being as he's out of touch with reality.

Amy -- her title at corporate is "Director of Customer Experience, Cloud 9" (Customer Safari) so I'm guessing she doesn't know because her position is being eliminated, too. Which is kinda sad if she ends up back in St. Louis with Jonah b/c she doesn't have a job. She confirmed in California, Part I that she doesn't have a degree.

Not much longer now.

[TimothyQ]

Did they ever address why Lowell never wore a mask in this episode and was not called out on it, despite front-facing employees wearing them? I mean in his first scene, he was literally standing in front of a sign about needing to wear a mask in the store.

That’s my main criticism about this season. I wish they would’ve been totally consistent on mask usage or just been in an alternate timeline where Covid never happened. Other than that, good episode and I always love a Dave Foley guest role. 

[possibilities]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I spent way too much time thinking about eating a can of dog food. I wouldn't want to eat it cold or hot, I think I would want it slightly warm, just above room temperature (and there better be gravy!).

I loved when they said it's not like eating cat food, where the label makes you think: well, maybe.

 

[AnimeMania]

Just now, possibilities said:

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I spent way too much time thinking about eating a can of dog food. I wouldn't want to eat it cold or hot, I think I would want it slightly warm, just above room temperature (and there better be gravy!).

I loved when they said it's not like eating cat food, where the label makes you think: well, maybe.

I think it is the tablecloth, dinnerware, cutlery, candelabras, and a cat with a cloth napkin tied around it's neck on the label that make you think it might be OK this one time. Everyone enjoys a fancy feast. 

[Girl in a Cardigan]

2 hours ago, TimothyQ said:

Did they ever address why Lowell never wore a mask in this episode and was not called out on it, despite front-facing employees wearing them? I mean in his first scene, he was literally standing in front of a sign about needing to wear a mask in the store.

That’s my main criticism about this season. I wish they would’ve been totally consistent on mask usage or just been in an alternate timeline where Covid never happened. Other than that, good episode and I always love a Dave Foley guest role. 

That's where I thought they were going in the opening scene before he started to open a bag of chips. I thought Cheyenne would try to get him to wear a mask and he'd be all "don't you know who I am?" Then I thought that's what Glen was going to ask him when he was pulling something out of his pocket, but no, he just wants a photo on his phone.It's literally never mentioned and it's all I could concentrate on.

I know it's Dave Foley, but .... Like fine, they don't wear them in the back, but Dave Foley's not an employee, so he should be wearing one the whole time. I guess that defeats the purpose of the famous guest star, if you can't see their face the whole time, but ... it's COVID. They work in retail. It bugs me.

[chitowngirl]

I’d know it was Dave Foley under a mask the second he spoke. His voice is that distinctive to me.

[Black Knight]

I took it as an early signal to viewers of his total lack of common sense plus general douchebaggery. Cheyenne was either distracted by his opening the bag of chips, or she has just taken too much abuse from customers getting upset about being told to wear a mask to risk it anymore. Glenn of course was too excited about it being Lowell Anderson!!!!! And at that point no one wanted to go against "the owner."

[foxfreakinmulder]

17 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I’d know it was Dave Foley under a mask the second he spoke. His voice is that distinctive to me.

I really feel like I'm missing out on something because I don't know who Dave Foley 😞

I don't think the writers know how to end the show so they're going with closing down all the stores or maybe just this one. If it is just this one then they should offer employees a chance to relocate to other stores.

 

[chitowngirl]

2 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

I really feel like I'm missing out on something because I don't know who Dave Foley 😞

Dave Foley and Mark McKinney were in a sketch comedy show called Kids in the Hall, so this was a mini reunion. I first saw Dave Foley as the Program Director in Newsradio, with the late Phil Hartman.

[juliet73]

I'm in the minority here...I thought this was one of the worst episodes!!  The entire Lowell plot was so ridiculous and totally not funny! What a waste of Dave Foley!  Also, Jonah never looked at Amy's social media since they broke up?  Really?  Plus, there was no Marcus or Justine in this episode!

The parts I did like were Sandra calling out Jonah with his fake profile.  And I love that Cheyenne was not a total ditz like usual.  She got over Lowell's stupid demands pretty quickly and was the only one that seemed to notice/care when he mentioned the closing of the Cloud 9 stores.  

[joanne3482]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:12 PM, TimothyQ said:

Did they ever address why Lowell never wore a mask in this episode and was not called out on it, despite front-facing employees wearing them? I mean in his first scene, he was literally standing in front of a sign about needing to wear a mask in the store.

That’s my main criticism about this season. I wish they would’ve been totally consistent on mask usage or just been in an alternate timeline where Covid never happened. Other than that, good episode and I always love a Dave Foley guest role. 

I was curious, so I googled. The state of Missouri never had a state-wide mask mandate.  While theoretically this Cloud 9 is in St. Louis, I could also see it being in a suburb that is 'technically' it's own town but they just say St. Louis. (Like I say I live in Fort Worth and USPS says that, but my hamlet does actually have a city council). So I could see their hamlet not necessarily having a mask mandate but Cloud 9 having a mask rule for employees and people entering the store. Texas dropped the mask mandate a couple weeks ago and in doing so made it impossible for the towns/cities to have them too, but individual business can still make their own rules. I was in Target over the weekend which has signs outside about masking up, but there were folks without them. 

[chaifan]

On 3/19/2021 at 5:12 PM, TimothyQ said:

Did they ever address why Lowell never wore a mask in this episode and was not called out on it, despite front-facing employees wearing them? I mean in his first scene, he was literally standing in front of a sign about needing to wear a mask in the store.

That’s my main criticism about this season. I wish they would’ve been totally consistent on mask usage or just been in an alternate timeline where Covid never happened. Other than that, good episode and I always love a Dave Foley guest role. 

One thing you have to remember about the masks is that these episodes were filmed up to 6 months ago.  At that time no one would have known what the mask requirements would be by now.  I agree it's been inconsistent, but it's been consistently inconsistent.  😉  You can't have a show with everyone in masks all the time, and that's what it would take for this to be 100% covid-compliant and law abiding.  As is, it's probably closer to reality than most would like to admit. 

 

[DrSpaceman73]

On 3/20/2021 at 2:02 PM, chitowngirl said:

Dave Foley and Mark McKinney were in a sketch comedy show called Kids in the Hall, so this was a mini reunion. I first saw Dave Foley as the Program Director in Newsradio, with the late Phil Hartman.

I didn't realize mark mckinney was on kids in the hall.  I've seen some of those episodes but not all. 

Dave foley I also first saw on news radio.......poor phil hartman, so talented and died too young.  Such a horribly dad story. I remember where I was when I heard it.  

 

On 3/21/2021 at 10:30 PM, juliet73 said:

I'm in the minority here...I thought this was one of the worst episodes!!  The entire Lowell plot was so ridiculous and totally not funny! What a waste of Dave Foley!  Also, Jonah never looked at Amy's social media since they broke up?  Really?  Plus, there was no Marcus or Justine in this episode!

The parts I did like were Sandra calling out Jonah with his fake profile.  And I love that Cheyenne was not a total ditz like usual.  She got over Lowell's stupid demands pretty quickly and was the only one that seemed to notice/care when he mentioned the closing of the Cloud 9 stores.  

Cheyenne has been awesome this season love how they've had her character grow.  Not just this episode but all season.  

[EtheltoTillie]

Dave Foley was also on Young Sheldon recently, and I did not recognize him until posters commented.  So when he showed up here, I recognized him immediately, since I had just seen him on the other show.

I too loved News Radio.

Edited March 25, 2021 by GussieK

[ZenMoonPi]

Loved Newsradio and Kids in the Hall.  Still, I didn't recognize Foley until he spoke.

[DrSpaceman73]

Newsradio I learned is on amazon prime.  I plan to rewatch it soon