S01.E11: Calling An Audible

[secnarf]

Quote

Music Joe is invited to sing the national anthem at the Giants game. Cop Joe bonds with a new friend over their shared love of football. Nurse Joe and Jenny each get a win of their own.

Original air date: Jan 10 2022

[Bumblebee84047]

Rocker Joe is an ass.  That is all.

[circumvent]

If the time that it takes for someone to post a comment after the episode is any indication of how the show is doing, we can be sure that it is already cancelled. For good reason because JFC, it is bad.

What irritated me the most in this episode was the disability representation. It is great that they are hiring disabled actors - or maybe disabled people to act (as long as they are also paying them) because this is important. But they are also going deep into inspiration porn territory. The way they do it with the guests, in little doses are fine, they are sowing how disabled people are just people but then they do a whole episode on the kid that is so perfect, he is not even human. I mean, the kid is a kid. Kids are annoying sometimes, they drive people crazy, any adult needs a break from kids from time to time. All the love in the world doesn't change that. But not Chris/Lucas/Zeke. He is not only SUPER SMART! he is also ADORABLE! has PERFECT PITCH! is UNDERSTANDABLE! SO MATURE! a ROCK STAR! EVERY GIRL is driven to him. 

Disable kids can, and usually are, annoying, whiny, a pain in the ass, they lie, they cheat, they manipulate, becasue they are KIDS. Make this kid a human being and the character will improve. Right now, he is just UGH

3 minutes ago, Bumblebee84047 said:

Rocker Joe is an ass.  That is all.

To be fair, you could say that about 99% of the characters in this show. I am still trying to find out the 1% that is not

[FnkyChkn34]

Does Rocker Joe have a substance abuse problem that we just haven't really seen yet?  I don't really blame him for being mad at his wife - she's pregnant with another man's baby.  That's going to take some time...  But thinking it's a good idea to take disabled bio-son on tour?  Not only is that a bad idea in general, but before even mentioning it to the kid's parents??  That's just messed up.  Was he high or drunk to think that's a good idea?

Rocker Joe was my favorite Joe, I guess, but now maybe Cop Joe is.  Joe is better when paired with Amy rather than Jenny, but now all of the Joes kinda suck.

[magicdog]

1 hour ago, circumvent said:

If the time that it takes for someone to post a comment after the episode is any indication of how the show is doing, we can be sure that it is already cancelled. For good reason because JFC, it is bad

Ditto!  I checked before I went to work last night and nothing!!  I guess I'm not the only one losing interest.  

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Does Rocker Joe have a substance abuse problem that we just haven't really seen yet? 

Seems like they're giving him one with the alcohol.  As if dealing with Frank's drinking issues wasn't enough.

1 hour ago, Bumblebee84047 said:

Rocker Joe is an ass.  That is all.

I don't blame him for being pissed at Amy and the revelation she's pregnant with Diaz' baby.  I was surprised his mom was willing to embrace her, because if that happened to my son, I'd be choking her!  Amy made a VERY bad choice and she needs to live with the consequences.  You can't expect your husband to be thrilled about you not only having cheated on him, but got knocked up by said guy!

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

thinking it's a good idea to take disabled bio-son on tour?  Not only is that a bad idea in general, but before even mentioning it to the kid's parents??  That's just messed up.

I agree.  It's one thing to bring him onstage once or twice like they have while in NY, but tours are stressful and and lot of work.  I've heard many people say they're often like a blur.  He had no right to ask because reality of daily life of the poor and unknown takes precedence.  Not practical.  In reality he should take a step back and let the kid live his life.

 

1 hour ago, circumvent said:

the kid that is so perfect, he is not even human. I mean, the kid is a kid. Kids are annoying sometimes, they drive people crazy, any adult needs a break from kids from time to time. All the love in the world doesn't change that. But not Chris/Lucas/Zeke. He is not only SUPER SMART! he is also ADORABLE! has PERFECT PITCH! is UNDERSTANDABLE! SO MATURE! a ROCK STAR! EVERY GIRL is driven to him

THIS!  Why is he like the once and future disabled savior of the world?  At least one incarnation of him should be a little bratty.  No one makes fun of him and girls have crushes on him  - really?  Not that he should be spat upon or not have friends but it's getting silly. 

[JKL845]

It seems to me like someone found the kid and wanted to do a show around him. He wouldn't be able to carry the whole show, so they came up with this. Doesn't work for me. I do like the kid at times and would like to see him in something else, as a side character.

Edited January 11, 2022 by JKL845

[KaveDweller]

I just got around to watching this.

In this episode I was most annoyed at the cop universe's Jenny and her husband. They don't tell Joe he has a kid for 10 years. They lie to Lucas about who his father is. They ask Joe to donate blood. Then they get mad because Joe tries to give the kid a gift and spend time with him? I mean, I get that they don't want Lucas to know the truth. But Joe was kind of wronged in this scenario.

In the rocker universe I get the parent's anger because from what they know Joe gave the kid up for adoption. And Joe asked him to go on tour which is a huge disruption on their lives and probably not good for the kid. But cop Joe just wanted to give his son the hat. And Lucas deserves to know who his real dad is.

[brokenwing29]

27 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I just got around to watching this.

In this episode I was most annoyed at the cop universe's Jenny and her husband. They don't tell Joe he has a kid for 10 years. They lie to Lucas about who his father is. They ask Joe to donate blood. Then they get mad because Joe tries to give the kid a gift and spend time with him? I mean, I get that they don't want Lucas to know the truth. But Joe was kind of wronged in this scenario.

In the rocker universe I get the parent's anger because from what they know Joe gave the kid up for adoption. And Joe asked him to go on tour which is a huge disruption on their lives and probably not good for the kid. But cop Joe just wanted to give his son the hat. And Lucas deserves to know who his real dad is.

Not to mention they have other children whose lives would also be disrupted...though in this universe, everyone from 1 to 100 seems to be a huge Joe Kimbrough fan, so they'd probably love it.

Agree that they are getting really schmaltzy about the boy's character. It's not just biology that makes us who we are. Environment has at least as much to do with it, and he's the same in every time line. Also, I think about people watching at home who have similar disabilities thinking 'why isn't my life that perfect?' Okay, he is facing an operation in one universe, but they aren't really showing what it's truly like to be in that situation, or to have a child who is. They are working too hard to make him likable instead of making him seem real. 

Also, why is Music Amy just assuming she is going to have this baby? She was told she couldn't carry a child and has had multiple miscarriages. I mean, she probably WILL have it, or at least not miscarry until the last minute because it will cause more drama that way, but Amy doesn't realize she is a fictional character whose writers are insulting their audience's intelligence. I just feel like she'd be more wary and assume that the pregnancy won't end well. 

Too bad, I feel like this started out a decent show. I'm still interested enough to watch, but I don't know how many others will be.

[njbchlover]

I've been watching and I liked this show, but I agree with everyone here about Chris/Lukas/Zeke.  He just never has a bad day or a bad attitude.  He's too perfect to be a typical tween, never mind one with some severe disabilities.  And, in every part (rocker, cop, nurse), he is just as perfect as the others.

I also think that other parts of the show are pretty unbelievable.  One thing that really bothers me is Joe's Mom.  In the cop part and nurse part, she is dressed and made up as some kind of homespun, downtrodden-looking, drab housewife.  At least in the rocker part, she looks more put together and more made-up.  Her house, also, is very dark and foreboding, with no joy.  I know that she seems to still be in mourning for Joe's Dad, but 20 years??  I get it, that people need to mourn for however long they need to, but I just get depressed seeing any scenes in that house.  I guess the director wants to portray an underlying sense of overall sadness in those scenes, although I don't know why.  Believe me, I get it - I live in an area that was extremely hard hit by losses on 9/11, including several friends' spouses and parents of my children's friends.  Every one of them have gotten on with their lives at this point and are actually happy.  None of their houses are frozen in time and shadowed by grief and sadness.

The other thing I don't understand about Joe's Mom's house is the absolute out-datedness of every single thing in the house - it's like it was frozen in time, with not one thing updated or replaced.  This might sound harsh, but Joe's Mom must have received the same fairly sizable settlement that other cop/firefighter widows received, so money isn't an issue with replacing the 25 year old furniture, 30 year old fake wood paneling, adding a new coat of paint to the walls or, hell, even replacing the 40 year old appliances in the kitchen.  I know that stuff isn't important to some people, but I just don't get it.  

I really just don't like any of the characters.  I liked Rocker Joe, but I don't like the direction he's going now, especially with his son.  Cop Joe is too sweet and too nice and Nurse Joe is just "there"....so not really doing too much.

I don't like ANY of the Jenny's, I don't like Amy and, I hate to say it, I don't even like the Chris/Lukas/Zeke character.

I wonder how this show is doing in the ratings - can't be doing that well.

Edited January 12, 2022 by njbchlover

[magicdog]

2 hours ago, njbchlover said:

The other thing I don't understand about Joe's Mom's house is the absolute out-datedness of every single thing in the house - it's like it was frozen in time, with not one thing updated or replaced.  This might sound harsh, but Joe's Mom must have received the same fairly sizable settlement that other cop/firefighter widows received, so money isn't an issue with replacing the 25 year old furniture, 30 year old fake wood paneling, adding a new coat of paint to the walls or, hell, even replacing the 40 year old appliances in the kitchen.  I know that stuff isn't important to some people, but I just don't get it.  

I grew up with people who weren't changing the decor that often.  I can understand leaving furniture alone until it breaks.  However I think it may be more of a set thing, since the show has three timelines and it's easier to leave things the same in all three than having to redress the set.

 

2 hours ago, njbchlover said:

One thing that really bothers me is Joe's Mom.  In the cop part and nurse part, she is dressed and made up as some kind of homespun, downtrodden-looking, drab housewife.  At least in the rocker part, she looks more put together and more made-up. 

I noticed this too and I think it's because Rocker Joe has the money to make it possible.  Even his sister Celeste had a business thanks to Joe's largesse so I can see his mom getting frequent spa days and professional stylists giving her makeovers. 

[circumvent]

6 hours ago, njbchlover said:

I also think that other parts of the show are pretty unbelievable.  One thing that It is really bothers me is Joe's Mom.  In the cop part and nurse part, she is dressed and made up as some kind of homespun, downtrodden-looking, drab housewife.  At least in the rocker part, she looks more put together and more made-up.  Her house, also, is very dark and foreboding, with no joy.

This is to emphasize the class differences of the three timelines. It does't bother me because it is used in virtually every TV show. Poor people need to look not only poor, but often tacky, when there is a class component in the story. As for furniture, I guess this should be the norm, really. We sue and throw out too many things just because we can, and tis generates a lot of consumerism and destroys the environement - new product, transportation, fossil fuel, plus a landfill full of perfectly useful things. I am all for keeping till it falls apart

 

9 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

In this episode I was most annoyed at the cop universe's Jenny and her husband. They don't tell Joe he has a kid for 10 years. They lie to Lucas about who his father is. They ask Joe to donate blood. Then they get mad because Joe tries to give the kid a gift and spend time with him? I mean, I get that they don't want Lucas to know the truth. But Joe was kind of wronged in this scenario.

I was wondering where the girls were during the game. I don't think they were even mentioned. I agree that Joe would be excited and wanting to spend time with the kid but the situation os only bad because he is a man baby that thinks that his feelings are all pure and more important than anyone else's. As unfair it might seem., the kid is now old enough to understand things - and this super special kid would absolutely be the most understanding (eye roll) - but it is not his kid. He needs to respect the family, the dynamics of the family, and talk to the parent's first. It is like Zeke's father in the rocker timeline said. Back off. Thanks for your concern but we are a family, you are not part of it.

[magicdog]

17 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

cop Joe just wanted to give his son the hat. And Lucas deserves to know who his real dad is.

Just as with Zeke (Rocker timeline), Lucas has a father, and while Joe is his bio dad, he didn't raise him and knowing the truth at this point would only shatter him.  Not all truths need to be laid bare.  

[tennisgurl]

I know that Rocker Joe was being a jerk, and he is generally the biggest ass of the three Joe's, but I can understand why he's upset. I don't think its been that long since he found out that Amy cheated on him, and then that she's pregnant with the guy's child, that's a whole lot to take in, but all of his family and friends all seem to want him to forgive Amy right away and just move forward. I know its awkward, because they love Amy and Joe, but I can see why he feels angry that everyone seems to be focusing so much on how he needs to forgive Amy instead of seeing how he's doing. He could have handled this better, but so could everyone else. Of course, he lost me again with inviting Lucas to go on tour with him without asking his parents first, which is frankly an insane thing to spring on a family. A tour, even with the best of everything, is often extremely tiring for an adult, let alone a kid, let alone a kid with special needs, plus with the other two kids, parents who work, kids who go to school, its so selfish of him to just assume that these people can just put their lives on hold so that Joe can finally live out his dad dreams. 

He also isn't really wrong that almost everyone in his life kind of lives off of him. Rockstar Uncle Frank is the best uncle Frank because he works for Joe, his sister gets to run a hipster business because of Joe's money, his best friend works for him, it must be weird when so many of your family and friends depend on you for their careers. 

We really should just call in the Pope to see if he wants to fastback Lucas to sainthood even before death, because there has never in the history of the world been a kid so sickly perfect. No matter what universe or who raises him, he's always cheerful, insightful, wise beyond his years, great at everything, its like he's about to ascend into the heavens at any moment, he's the best kid ever in the entire multiverse. Honestly, as charming as the actor is, its pretty annoying. It leads you to wonder if Joe would be so obsessed with reconnecting to a more normal kid who had bad moods or could be bratty or get frustrated with their medical problems. I would like to think so, but every version of Lucas is so perfect, its hard to know. 

Cop Joe Jenny and her husband are really unlikable. I can get not wanting to shake up their whole family dynamic because of their lie, but they need to stop acting like Joe is the bad guy in all of this, he's the one who was lied to by his supposed best friend and was only told the truth when they needed something from him. 

There are things I do like about this show, but its losing me. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by tennisgurl

[KaveDweller]

8 hours ago, magicdog said:

Just as with Zeke (Rocker timeline), Lucas has a father, and while Joe is his bio dad, he didn't raise him and knowing the truth at this point would only shatter him.  Not all truths need to be laid bare.  

The difference between Rocker timeline and Cop timeline, is that in Rocker timeline, Zeke knows he was adopted and that his biological parents were out in the world somewhere. And when he asked to meet them, his parents agreed because they thought it was best for him.

In Cop timeline, Jenny and her husband lied to Lucas for seemingly no reason, other than they wanted to make their lives easier and create their own family. It isn't a case of the biological parents giving up the kid, or being a deadbeat dad, they just hid the existence of Joe's kid from him. Joe WOULD have raised him if he knew he existed. It is a crappy thing to do to both Joe and Lucas. Lucas will likely find out the truth someday and better to tell him sooner than later. Plus, I don't see why it would shatter him, as has been pointed out, he is emotionally perfect. It may make him angry at Jenny, but so what?

People deserve to know the truth about where they come from, especially if they have medical problems. And people have a right to know if they have a child out there. (Unless we are talking about abusive killers or something, which we are not on this show).

Edited January 13, 2022 by KaveDweller

[sas616]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:21 PM, circumvent said:

But not Chris/Lucas/Zeke. He is not only SUPER SMART! he is also ADORABLE! has PERFECT PITCH! is UNDERSTANDABLE! SO MATURE! a ROCK STAR! EVERY GIRL is driven to him. 

It's all WAY TOO MUCH for me.   The writers have him turned him into a smug know-it-all.  Zeke giving Rocker Joe advice on the stage production, sounding like a 35 year-old man was ridiculous.  There's nothing likable about the character.  Now that I think about it, I could say that about nearly every character now.   Sort of why I gave up on New Amstersdam and This is Us.   I really liked this show in the beginning, but think I'm done with this one too. 

[LittleIggy]

NBC is promoting OJ very well. I didn’t know they were showing new episodes until the second new episode had aired.

[Lady Calypso]

The actor who plays Chris/Lucas/Zeke IS talented and a great actor, but I agree that they're making him too perfect, maybe to overcompensate for the audience with his disability, but it's clear that he's talented enough to handle a story where he doesn't need to be handling issues like an adult would. 

Though, to be fair, none of these characters are really likeable. They all kind of suck in various ways, in various timelines. 

The Rocker storyline is too dramatic for me. There's too much going on. Amy's a cheater and pregnant with her dead affair partner's baby. Joe was hiding Zeke's existence from Amy for a while and now is bonding with the kid. Oh, but he's also angry with Amy so he's lashing out and now might be an alcoholic. Jenny hid this secret from everyone and is angry and also now having issues in her marriage. Way too much too soon. I need a long break from the Rocker storyline because all of it is depressing.

Not that the Nurse timeline is much better. Two potential affair storylines don't really work for me either. Kinsley is ALSO way too perfect. Chris is fine for me in this timeline, but only because I know his presence is only needed in this one. I think it's too much for him to be in the other ones, especially the Rocker timeline. 

Cop timeline is alright, BUT re-introducing Lucas there and having that start to become a focus is slipping it down. I used to like it; we had some great stuff with Joe and his family, Joe/Amy are cute there, Jenny's in it just enough and is likeable, but the drama they have there now is making it hard to watch.

I just think they need to be cutting back on certain aspects in each timeline. The Rocker timeline needs to cut back on: a) Zeke and his parents and b) Jenny and her husband. There's already enough with Amy's pregnancy and Joe's spiraling. As much as I'd rather Amy not be pregnant, it seems like she'll have Bobby's baby, and that's already more than enough.

Nurse timeline needs to cut back on one of the potential affairs. Yes, we're getting more Kinsley but she needs to be less...just less in general. They introduced Alcoholic Frank a few episodes ago. I wouldn't hate to get back to that. And they need to deal with Jenny/Joe in general.

Cop Timeline needs to put Lucas in the background permanently. His storyline is not needed beyond Joe helping out. I know he just discovered he has a kid and they have to make it different than the Rocker timeline, but less is more.

[circumvent]

25 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

The actor who plays Chris/Lucas/Zeke IS talented and a great actor, but I agree that they're making him too perfect, maybe to overcompensate for the audience with his disability, but it's clear that he's talented enough to handle a story where he doesn't need to be handling issues like an adult would. 

The part that is in bold = inspiration porn. Detrimental to disabled people, the opposite of advocation for better representation and equity. By doing what the writers are doing, they make it impossible for real disabled people to be seen as human beings because if they don't match up to this impossible character, they get dehumanized. If their intention was to give voice to disabled, they failed miserably. 

As for the actor being talented, maybe. He either is talented and the producers don't trust him - therefore making him the same in all timelines - or he is not talented and has to be the same in all timelines. I guess we will never know. As far as I am concerned, he is just annoying and I hate the character in all timelines.

29 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Though, to be fair, none of these characters are really likeable. They all kind of suck in various ways, in various timelines. 

Isn't that the truth!

 

[Lady Calypso]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:04 AM, circumvent said:

The part that is in bold = inspiration porn. Detrimental to disabled people, the opposite of advocation for better representation and equity. By doing what the writers are doing, they make it impossible for real disabled people to be seen as human beings because if they don't match up to this impossible character, they get dehumanized. If their intention was to give voice to disabled, they failed miserably. 

I agree with this. It's such a shame, too. I would have enjoyed seeing Zeke be angry at his biological parents for giving him up. I would have loved to see Chris be less perfect and more angry at his parents not living in the same state. Give the actor more to do that's more three dimensional because, from what I've seen, the actor could clearly deliver. I've seen crappy kid actors before; this kid isn't one of them. He has excellent delivery with his lines that I've seen other kid actors do not so well at. Honestly, he holds his own with some of the adult actors on this show, so let him showcase his talent. He grew up in three different timelines with three VASTLY different outcomes. He should be different in all three. It's not like the adults, who were adult age when the timelines diverged.

[scruff]

Music Joe's Mother  finally   finds  out   how  Amy   has   ruined and  destroyed   her  son's  marriage,   how   she   has   completely   shattered  ,  emasculated  and  destroyed  her  son  on a   deeply Personal   level    and  how  does  she   react ?      She    Hugs  Amy,    tells   her   she   Loves   her,   tells  her   Joe   will  "come  around   and needs  her" ,     and   calls    the   baby  a  "blessing" .    Then   conspires and  ambushes Joe  later  at   the  stadium,  trying  to   shame  and  guilt  him  into  speaking  to   amy  because  she  is  his  "wife"     I mean  Seriously ?    Wow.   

Words  cannot  Verbalize how    Outrageous ,  Unsettling  and   Wrong  that  is.    NO MOTHER on   this  planet,   or   any  other  planet  in the  multiverse ,   would   say  these  things  or   react  this   way  towards  someone   that    had    Just   done   all   of   those    Terrible, Horrible and  Unforgivable  things  to  their   son.      That  is another  major  thing   wrong with this  show.     The  way   the   characters (  except Joe )   and the  writers/writing    are    treating  this entire  Situation.    Its   trying   so  hard  to  tell  the  viewer   that  it is all ok to  do  this  and  not a big deal.   Its  trying so  hard  to   Villainize and demonize  Joe  for  his   Anger,  Hurt, Outrage  and  Feelings  of  Complete  Betrayal,     while   at  the  same   time   making  Amy  out to  be  the   helpless  little   Victim  and   completely absolve  her  of all  her   disgraceful,  abhorrent and  deviant   Behavior.

She     sprinted   out   and  Cheated  on Joe.   She  had  SEX with  another  man,  who   was  also MARRIED and had a  Child.   She  is  now  PREGNANT with ANOTHER MAN'S baby  and   is   now    Hell  bent   on  Having    the  baby.   Does anyone else  recall   in a earlier   episode  after  they had their last  miscarriage what amy  did and  said ?    She  just  announced/declared/proclaimed/decreed  to   Joe   that   she  was "done"   with   trying/having  children.  End,  Over,  No  chance,   thanks for  playing.      There  was  no  talk, no discussion, no  debate, no  exchange of  ideas or  thoughts,  Joe  did not  even get to  open his  Mouth or  have an opinion.     Now  however   she    Cannot  wait  to   have  Another  Man's  baby.      Meanwhile somehow   this is all  Joe's  Fault,   he is  the  cause   and  the   blame,  he is  the  bad   guy  in all this ?   I mean  Seriously ?     It is just   expected  of  him  and  he is  just   supposed  to  be  all    happy  hunky  dory   with   raising   ANOTHER  MAN'S baby  and  being   reminded    EVERY DAY for the rest of his  life  as to what his  wife   did ?     Basically   the writing/writers  and  all other  characters  (  except  joe )   are  Telling  the   Viewers     that  it  is ok  and  expected   that  Joe  just   goes  along  with  being a   Weak, sad,  pathetic Little  Cuckhold   that  has  no Dignity, Integrity  or  self  Respect.    Seriously ?

What  Amy   did   to   Joe  was  Vile,   Disgusting,   Despicable and  Reprehensible .   Yet   somehow  she  is  being   Portrayed as  the  innocent  little   Victim , as the  actual  wronged   Party,  as the actual   one  is  who is hurt and suffering ?    The  fact   that  No  other   character (  besides  Joe )   has/ or will  call Amy  out  on  her  Shameful  actions  and   instead  just   enable  Her   is    so    Wrong   and   Dishonest   and disingenuous and   Dangerous.      It  is a  Great   example  of  truly   what  is   Wrong  in Today's  Society.  

This  is   just   yet   another   show     that   promotes,   encourages,  excuses,  justifies,  rationalizes,  glorifies  and  Romanticizes   INFIDELITY.  I  just   cannot    comprehend   how  anyone  on this  Forum  or  anyone   that   has  seen  this  show    can  be  Ok  with that.  

 

[brokenwing29]

I don't see why Joe's son needs to be in all three timelines anyway. Yes, he was conceived before the timeline split so he would still exist, but Joe doesn't have to know that except in Nurse Joe. It seems redundant to have him deal with a similar storyline in all three universes. I think the show would be better (and easier to follow) if the major differences were not Joe's careers, but the people in his life. Cop Joe did not have to coincidentally reunite with Amy after ten years either...and they both remember each other...and happen to both be single and hit it off. He could have a different wife, life circumstances, different kids or no kids, dealing with different internal issues like maybe depression or addictions. Maybe the writers thought that would make the cast too big or make Joe seem like three different characters?  

[bros402]

So, this show would be so much better without Rocker Joe - just make it Nurse Joe and Cop Joe. Maybe have Cop Joe try to become a musician after he pisses off the police. Jurse is probably going to earn some money selling his pants - why not having something similar with Cop Joe if they were to do the show differently?

I want to like this show more than I do, but it is just so congested - it reminds me of Awake with Jason Isaacs because of the multiple reality concept. Awake pulled it off better because it had a much better cast, much better writers, AND it only had two timelines to deal with. Three timelines, to quote a Price Is Right game, THAT'S TOO MUCH

 

On 1/11/2022 at 12:21 PM, circumvent said:

If the time that it takes for someone to post a comment after the episode is any indication of how the show is doing, we can be sure that it is already cancelled. For good reason because JFC, it is bad.

What irritated me the most in this episode was the disability representation. It is great that they are hiring disabled actors - or maybe disabled people to act (as long as they are also paying them) because this is important. But they are also going deep into inspiration porn territory. The way they do it with the guests, in little doses are fine, they are sowing how disabled people are just people but then they do a whole episode on the kid that is so perfect, he is not even human. I mean, the kid is a kid. Kids are annoying sometimes, they drive people crazy, any adult needs a break from kids from time to time. All the love in the world doesn't change that. But not Chris/Lucas/Zeke. He is not only SUPER SMART! he is also ADORABLE! has PERFECT PITCH! is UNDERSTANDABLE! SO MATURE! a ROCK STAR! EVERY GIRL is driven to him. 

Disable kids can, and usually are, annoying, whiny, a pain in the ass, they lie, they cheat, they manipulate, becasue they are KIDS. Make this kid a human being and the character will improve. Right now, he is just UGH

To be fair, you could say that about 99% of the characters in this show. I am still trying to find out the 1% that is not

This this this this this - the inspiration porn is annoying me so much. Speechless handled this so well by showing that, yes, disabled people can be assholes too. Also, we aren't shining beacons of pure light who can do no wrong. We can be nice, but we are normal people who can have bad days - we get tired, we get mad, we get sad, but TV doesn't like to show that.

[scruff]

Just   had a few more  notes  to make  that   only   further  prove  my   above   Post.      The  attitude   that  Amy  has   towards  Joe  is  Laughable.     Amy  is  mad   and  upset  with Joe  now ?   She  is all   Hurt  and offended  and    outraged and  Insulted   with  Joe   because  he is the ONLY character  actually   holding  her  accountable ?     Seriously ?      Its all  ok   though   right ?    I  mean   she   does   say   she  is  "willing"  to  do  therapy   and    actually   "do  the  work"  ,  lol.     That is so  big  of her,  as  if  she  is  doing   Joe  a  FAVOR.     In  what  reality   does  Amy  have the  right  to  act  all   high  and almighty,  preachy,   self  righteous,    having the  moral/ethical  high  ground and   Sanctimonious   towards  Joe  ?        The  reality  of  make  believe  perhaps ?  

Anyone   recall    from a  few   episodes   ago     after  Amy SLEPT with  Diaz,   what  was  the  one  and  only  thing   she  was worried  about/  did not  want to  have  happen ?   Fear   not   I am   going to   give you  the  answer.    The  ONLY thing  she  cared  about   and  the  ONLY thing  she was worried  about/ did  not  want to  happen   was   "    I   don't  want  Joe   to  Ever  find out" .       Yet   somehow   she  is  the   victim and  Joe  is the   bad  guy and at  fault  right ?   Well  that is  what  the writers/writing   Truly   want you to  believe. 

Plus  just  wanted  to  make a comment or  2   about    good  ole  Friend  Eric  who  most   people  on this   forum    feel and think is   such a  swell  guy,   great  friend and  great  person.       He  is  Mr    neutral ,  mr  I  don't  want to  get  in the middle,  mr   I am not  taking  sides,  Mr   I   love   both  of   you,   mr  I am on both of  your  sides,    right  ?       EXCEPT   most  people  here  seem  to   forget  something.     Good  ole  Eric  KNEW amy  SLEPT with  Diaz.     Amy    Knew   that  he  Knew.    Good   ole   Eric   then   CHOSE to   Protect  Amy   and  Keep   her   Secret  and  NOT tell  Joe  .    Well   Newsflash,     but   that  is  in   fact  TAKING A  SIDE.     So   Exactly   how  is   Good  ole  Eric  supposed  to  be this  great   Friend  towards  Joe  ? 

This  just   continues    by  its  writers/writing   to be a show   that     promotes,   encourages,  excuses,  justifies,  rationalizes,  glorifies  and  Romanticizes   INFIDELITY.  I  just   cannot    comprehend   how  anyone  on this  Forum  or  anyone   that   has  seen  this  show    can  be  Ok  with that.  

[KittyQ]

Granted that in the past few years our expectations of politicians’ personal behavior have been lowered, but does Amy really expect she’s going to get elected while she’s pregnant with the baby of her one night  stand with her married boss? Running against the wife of that guy? Delusional!

[KaveDweller]

On 2/6/2022 at 7:12 PM, KittyQ said:

Granted that in the past few years our expectations of politicians’ personal behavior have been lowered, but does Amy really expect she’s going to get elected while she’s pregnant with the baby of her one night  stand with her married boss? Running against the wife of that guy? Delusional!

Well she didn't decide to run knowing she was pregnant, that came after. But the public wouldn't have to know she was pregnant with Bobby's baby. I think she was hoping Joe would forgive her and they could tell people he was the father. Also, I am not sure the timing of the election, maybe they wouldn't even have to find out about the pregnancy beforehand.

[KittyQ]

24 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Well she didn't decide to run knowing she was pregnant, that came after. But the public wouldn't have to know she was pregnant with Bobby's baby. I think she was hoping Joe would forgive her and they could tell people he was the father. Also, I am not sure the timing of the election, maybe they wouldn't even have to find out about the pregnancy beforehand.

I can believe that Amy might hope that Joe would forgive her, and they would present the baby as his. However, you can't forget Bobby's wife who was blindsided by the one-night stand and Amy putting her husband's watch into the casket in front of everyone. I don't think that's a woman who would accept the party line that Joe was the baby's father. I think that campaign would get ugly very fast.

[KaveDweller]

23 hours ago, KittyQ said:

I can believe that Amy might hope that Joe would forgive her, and they would present the baby as his. However, you can't forget Bobby's wife who was blindsided by the one-night stand and Amy putting her husband's watch into the casket in front of everyone. I don't think that's a woman who would accept the party line that Joe was the baby's father. I think that campaign would get ugly very fast.

Fair point. But she may not want to reveal her husband cheated on her, she has little kids who would hear about it, plus no proof. Amy could deny it and say it is sick to trash a dead man. It would certainly get ugly though.

Amy may not be totally thinking clearly though. I can understand her not dropping out the second she finds out she is pregnant, she doesn't want to admit it is the end of her dream. She already is struggling to admit her marriage is over, she has to cling to something.

[Camera One]

This show is kind of like seeing the same awkward situation play out multiple different times/ways.

Cop Joe was so okay with being lied to about his son that it felt unrealistic.  Rocker Joe was very pushy with wanting to connect with his son, while Cop Joe seemed the exact opposite.  I keep thinking about whether Joe's personality is actually consistent in the three timelines, or had they diverged significantly due to his life circumstances.  It's hard to tell if these three Joes are even the same person if not played by the same actor.

I suppose Cop Joe's passiveness did change by the end of the episode when he went over with the baseball cap, though his motivation felt more innocent, whereas Rocker Joe inviting his son on tour was clearly over the line and inconsiderate to his adoptive parents (it seemed more of a way of showing that Rocker Joe was spiraling out, combined with his drinking and anger).  I'm not sure why Jenny and her husband invited Cop Joe over, if the husband felt so threatened by Joe.  

It might have been nice to show Nurse Joe and Jenny experience some success without the tension of the potential adultery waiting in the wings.  I wish they didn't introduce the caregiver or the overly chummy co-worker.  Why does there always need to be so much drama.

I can't say this is the type of show I would rewatch, though at times, I still think the concept is interesting, like seeing where that baseball cap ended up in the three timelines.  Overall, I thought this episode was better than some.  I don't think this format could have stayed fresh for more than one season.  There are only two episodes left, and I hope there is some payoff at the end, though I'm not sure what that would be.  And I'm not hopeful for all the shows I've watched that had been cancelled after a season, and ended with a cliffhanger or just a lack of resolution.