S01.E18: Life Expectancy

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

Quote

Before their surgeries, Gina looks for a new apartment while Drew celebrates his last day of dialysis.

Original air date: 5/13/21

[Katy M]

I think that was a fairly good finale. I'm glad that Adriana decided to go on her own.  Drew has his own health things and it did seem needlessly reckless to me to postpone the surgery.  However, they were giving them a cancellation slot and Drew turned it down.  Would that slot have still been open?  

i actually have a question about the premise in general.  You're not allowed to buy kidneys.  Is it all unethical that Drew let Gina move in with him rent free in order to basically keep an eye on her?  I know she had psych evals, but I would have thought that would have come up at some point.

[nelroy78]

That was absolutely perfect….except for the absence of Samantha in the final two episodes for some random new patient. What was thd point of that? THANK YOU ADRIANA for doing the right thing and taking the earlier flight to Switzerland. I was so afraid someone else was going to take that surgery  date and they would have to scramble to find another one. So glad Drew asked Gina to stay….just because the surgery is over doesn’t mean she has to move out. And what if the surgery isn’t successful? Welcome back Sara Rue and Izzy Q! 
 

If the show isn’t renewed, what a great series finale but I would miss it. If it is, very interesting to see where it goes in Season 2. We’ll see what happens. 

[ams1001]

41 minutes ago, nelroy78 said:

That was absolutely perfect….except for the absence of Samantha in the final two episodes for some random new patient. What was thd point of that? THANK YOU ADRIANA for doing the right thing and taking the earlier flight to Switzerland. I was so afraid someone else was going to take that surgery  date and they would have to scramble to find another one. So glad Drew asked Gina to stay….just because the surgery is over doesn’t mean she has to move out. And what if the surgery isn’t successful? Welcome back Sara Rue and Izzy Q! 

I liked the key chains (and I figured the key was to the house; I didn't really see why she would have to move out right away). 

I SHARED MY SPARE
(There's a guy on American Ninja Warrior whose backstory is that he donated a kidney to his best friend, and he wears "Share Your Spare" t-shirts to promote kidney donation. (He also has one that says "who wouldn't want a piece of this?"))

I RUN ON SPARE PARTS

I think someone said in last week's thread that Samantha was missing because the actress was filming another show (pilot?) or something.

[nelroy78]

1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

I think someone said in last week's thread that Samantha was missing because the actress was filming another show (pilot?) or something.

Yeah I went back and saw that. It was a pilot.

[Blakeston]

I hope this gets renewed, not because I enjoy it that much (I really don't), but because I'm very, very curious how they would make a second season work.

Would it just be a buddy comedy with Drew and Gina living together, with Eli playing a bigger role as Gina's boyfriend and having a bunch of scenes in dialysis?

[Ms Lark]

Interesting that they left it open for any outcome if there is a second season or none. Well done. I liked the "good luck" video, that was fun!

Nonetheless, I still cringe-watched this episode because of the Middleditch scandal(s). Aaugh! They should let him go far, far away (Switzerland?) if there's a second season. Not at all sure how that would proceed. If they keep Drew, I seriously doubt I'll be back.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Ms Lark
grammar!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Ms Lark said:

They should let him go far, far away (Switzerland?) if there's a second season.

In the previous episode, Drew said he can't travel outside of the country for 6-12 months, which means that if they're going to send him to Switzerland they will have to do a time jump (which I'm totally fine with). Another scenario is they could have him move somewhere within the United States (maybe Adriana decides to move back to her hometown to recuperate after the clinical trial?). Or they could just have him die (which I would also be totally fine with).

Ooh or maybe Drew's ex gets an amazing job offer somewhere else so she, Drew, and Izzy all move to another city so that Izzy can still see both of her parents. Drew can say it will only be for a few years until Izzy leaves for college and then just never come back.

To keep Gina interacting with the people in Drew's dialysis group, she could volunteer at the hospital and eventually apply to nursing school. See, writers? We thought of multiple ways to make this show work without Drew so make it happen!

Edited May 14, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[lambertman]

I think the pilot someone saw in Briga's IMDb was "To Whom May It Concern" , given that it's listed at the top... but according to The Futon Critic, that one was shot back in 2019.  So I'm declaring this still a mystery.

[mammaM]

How about this, season two opens with Gina and Eli waving at a plane taking Drew to Switzerland. It's a year later, Eli's still on dialysis, one of the other dialysis group is getting ready for a transplant, Gina's still living at Drew's and going back to school to be a nurse, or lab tech, or something. And of course, Cannoli is still there too.

I like it

Edited May 14, 2021 by mammaM
Spelling

[Shelbie]

I enjoyed the episode and I’m really glad they didn’t kiss and suddenly discover that they were madly in love with each other.

[iMonrey]

I thought this episode made a nice series finale if that's what it ends up being. The montage at the end was very sweet, and I'm glad they worked Linda Lavin in there. I forgot she went on a cruise with her daughter and at one point I wondered where she was. 

Quote

How about this, season two opens with Gina and Eli waving at a plane taking Drew to Switzerland. It's a year later, Eli's still on dialysis, one of the other dialysis group is getting ready for a transplant, Gina's still living at Drew's and going back to school to be a nurse, or lab tech, or something. And of course, Cannoli is still there too.

You know . . . that could actually work. They could retool the show to revolve around Eli and a new kidney donor and keep Gina around as his girlfriend, as well as the other dialysis patients. Not sure if the network would go for that but I guess we'll see what happens.

[tennisgurl]

If that was the series finale I think it was a really good one. There were a lot of really nice moments between Drew and Gina, the video everyone made for them was really sweet (and felt very series finale) and we got lots of Cannoli being the goodest good boy. I would like another season, I am really curious about what a second season would be like, but if this is the end of the show its a very satisfying ending. I would like to know how the surgery went though, but them ending as Drew and Gina went under was a good closer. 

I am also glad that they kept Gina and Drew platonic friends and they didn't have them declare their love out of nowhere before they went to surgery. 

[iMonrey]

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I am also glad that they kept Gina and Drew platonic friends and they didn't have them declare their love out of nowhere before they went to surgery. 

Except they sort of left that as an open-ended thing, because Norma kept pushing the idea that Drew was in love with Gina towards the end. So either she was seeing something that wasn't there or else she was the writer's instrument in telling the audience what Drew was really feeling for Gina.

[possibilities]

Most people have anonymous donors, I think, but I did read a book by a woman who had a heart and lung transplant and eventually sought out and was able to meet her donor's family. It was an interesting book. The reason I bring it up is that I was thinking about how much different the show would be if they didn't center it on the relationship between the donor and the recipient. The dialysis group really didn't get into the realities of kidney failure much, outside of Drew occasionally talking about his difficulty peeing. 

[needschocolate]

Sure, the premise of the show appeared to be a guy named Drew who needed a kidney transplant and how his donor affected his life, encouraging him to be "B Positive."  But the premise could have also been about a woman named Gina with a "B Positive" outlook whose life is changed after she agrees to be a kidney donor.  

And if they go with the second premise then a second season with everyone except Drew totally works.  

 

[SanDiegoInExile]

On 5/14/2021 at 7:43 AM, lambertman said:

I think the pilot someone saw in Briga's IMDb was "To Whom May It Concern" , given that it's listed at the top... but according to The Futon Critic, that one was shot back in 2019.  So I'm declaring this still a mystery.

I have no insider secret info, but I suspect it was part of the slight changes which appeared in the last two episodes.  1. They dismiss the haughty blonde stereotype and bring in a social-media-obsessed patient with some wit and personality.  2, They shipped Linda Lavin off to a mother-daughter cruise, after several weeks of her being pesky  housemother. 3. Gina bonding with Gideon.  The two had few interactions prior, and now they are suddenly *besties*, having lunch, going apartment hunting, sharing their deepest thoughts, joking as if they have spent months knowing all about each other.  Gina was heavily interacting with Super Bowl Hero Eli.  Now suddenly, they are still dating, but those scenes are missing.  

I suspect all of these were done to help earn a Season Two renewal, laying the groundwork for changes we will see next season.

I have no idea what direction they are going, but I could see Gina working in some capacity with Gideon at the dialysis center.  I have no idea what to do with a recovering, healthy Drew.  Maybe he could be a therapist for a new dialysis patient or two ?

Edited May 16, 2021 by SanDiegoInExile

[eel21788]

On 5/14/2021 at 1:42 PM, iMonrey said:

I thought this episode made a nice series finale if that's what it ends up being.

‘https://deadline.com/2021/05/b-positive-the-united-states-of-al-renewed-season-2-cbs-chuck-lorre-1234754156/#comments

[eel21788]

On 5/14/2021 at 2:30 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

We thought of multiple ways to make this show work without Drew so make it happen!

They could also pull a "Darren Stephens" at this point, and I don't think anyone would object.

[needschocolate]

18 hours ago, eel21788 said:

They could also pull a "Darren Stephens" at this point, and I don't think anyone would object.

Works for me.  Get an actor with the same coloring but a few extra pounds and blame the weight gain on the anti-rejection medication.  

 

[grawlix]

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

Works for me.  Get an actor with the same coloring but a few extra pounds and blame the weight gain on the anti-rejection medication.  

 

Well, this is a comedy.  I think replacing Drew with someone who doesn't even remotely look like Drew (definitely not the same coloring) and just run with it like nothing happened would be bold and funny.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In more recent history, main characters on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Sense8 were replaced and they were able to joke about how the new actors didn't look the same. There were some people who weren't happy about the actor switch on CEX but the original actor left the show to do a Broadway musical and he was one of the leads. I'm fine with recasting Drew, sending him to Switzerland forever, or killing him off.

[Blakeston]

Why would Drew need to be on the show at all? He was probably the least interesting character of them all.

I get the need for a "straight man" type of character to contrast with Gina's wackiness, but I feel like Eli can easily play that role.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Why would Drew need to be on the show at all?

He doesn't! He got his kidney so let's kick him to the curb and let the show focus on the other characters. There are enough people in the cast that they can definitely go on with one less person, even if he was originally a main character.

[needschocolate]

On 5/18/2021 at 7:40 AM, Blakeston said:

Why would Drew need to be on the show at all? He was probably the least interesting character of them all.

I get the need for a "straight man" type of character to contrast with Gina's wackiness, but I feel like Eli can easily play that role.

 

22 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

He doesn't! He got his kidney so let's kick him to the curb and let the show focus on the other characters. There are enough people in the cast that they can definitely go on with one less person, even if he was originally a main character.

I  hope the people in charge of this show read these forums.  

[possibilities]

We should have known a Lorre show would be renewed. 

And his shows have lost leads before, and kept going. Think of Charlie Sheen being axed and Ashton Kutcher joining the cast. They could easily get rid of Drew and either expand the role of other ensemble members we already know, or create a new character to use as anchor. 

 

[Chewy101]

On 5/20/2021 at 3:13 AM, possibilities said:

We should have known a Lorre show would be renewed. 

And his shows have lost leads before, and kept going. Think of Charlie Sheen being axed and Ashton Kutcher joining the cast. They could easily get rid of Drew and either expand the role of other ensemble members we already know, or create a new character to use as anchor. 

 

Heck, Roseanne got fired and her show carried on. I only wish Chuck hadn't killed Mom. It just got better and better! But Chuck giveth, and Chuck taketh. 

[Bort]

7 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

Heck, Roseanne got fired and her show carried on. I only wish Chuck hadn't killed Mom. It just got better and better! But Chuck giveth, and Chuck taketh. 

I’m pretty sure that was CBS’s call, not Lorre’s. 

[Chewy101]

16 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I’m pretty sure that was CBS’s call, not Lorre’s. 

I'm pretty sure their golden goose has some say. But, it's just a guess.