S03.E02: Call Me Skeeter Juice

[Door County Cherry]

Quote

It's time for Sheila (Swoosie Kurtz) to renew her driver's license, but she refuses to go take the test and Kat (Mayim Bialik) tries to figure out why. Meanwhile, Phil (Leslie Jordan) urges the group to try his mama's moonshine despite their skepticism, and Max (Cheyenne Jackson) finally sells a song to be used in a national commercial, but it ends up becoming a big joke online.

[TheGreenKnight]

I liked this one more than the premiere.  I enjoyed Kat getting some good cracks in at Sheila ("I never said you were a bad driver!"). Best moment was Phil's line about gucci as they were tugging on the purse.

[joanne3482]

Definitely better than last week's but I don't care about Kat's mom and her macular degeneration. I did like Max's B-Plot. I thought it provided a different take on going viral and really enjoyed his talk with Carter about how he was getting his music out there and it was touching people even if it wasn't in the way he originally intended. I watch this show out of habit and because I like Mayim. 

[CarpeFelis]

Is it just me, or did Sheila come across as a massive bitch? I know the joke is how she always treats Kat like she needs improvement, but this seemed way over the top.

[tennisgurl]

This was definitely better than the first episode of the season. Probably helps that we got to see a lot of cute dogs. I know we are all about the kitties here, but I am always down to see some fluffy doggies to spice things up. 

I don't really care for Sheila very much, but it sucks that she's losing her sight. Doesn't give her an excuse to be extra mean to Kat though, but at least Kat got a few good zingers on her this time, sometimes I think Sheila beats up on her too much. "Well this is one thing off my bucket list." 

I actually liked the Max plot a lot better, it was an interesting take on getting fame on the internet and I liked his chat with Carter. He's making music and his music is making people happy, even if its not in the way he expected. Leaning into it is probably a good move, strike while that doggie iron is hot. 

[Darian]

I'd say if you know you can't pass an eye test, you stop driving. I gave up my license voluntarily in my 40s (not a vision issue and my doctor left it to my judgment), and isn't Kat's mom supposed to be rich enough to take cabs or hire a nice car service? I know this isn't real life, but someone could have brought up the idea that it was dangerous for other people to keep driving when you know you're not safe it. Blech. I don't even remember anything else except the cute animals. 

[Yeah No]

I don't know that I would say this episode was better than the first one.  It didn't outright suck but it's still not hitting the mark for me.  I don't know why sitcoms have to take on dramatic plotlines these days especially when it involves something as tragic as losing one's eyesight.  I get it that they want to find something that gets Kat and her mother to interact and perhaps become closer but there's no coming back from macular degeneration.  At least they could have given her something she could recuperate from.  This show keeps struggling to find itself but it's feeling more like they're grasping at straws.  I've decided the problem is that the characters were never that well conceived as comedic characters to begin with so whatever they write for them isn't all that funny.  And now on top of that they're using this twist to potentially allow more situations for the presumably funny quips between Kat and her mom, but given the weak foundation they're building on with this, it's not working for me.

[Peppermint Patty]

I know I’m supposed to feel sorry for Kat’s mom, but I can’t get over what a massive selfish bitch she is. Her nastiness to Kat is over the top. (As someone who wears glasses, the cracks about Kat’s glasses really got under my skin.) 

Max was boring and pointless, though my dogs did appreciate his barking.

Why do I watch this show? Phil’s Gucci line. Plus, I love Mayim.

[SoMuchTV]

Now I'm wondering if I wasn't paying attention.  I'm so used to seeing Mayim in glasses in her role in BBT and as host on Jeopardy!, I didn't realize (if?) this is the first time she's been wearing glasses in this show...?  They certainly played it as if it was.

[CrystalBlue]

40 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Now I'm wondering if I wasn't paying attention.  I'm so used to seeing Mayim in glasses in her role in BBT and as host on Jeopardy!, I didn't realize (if?) this is the first time she's been wearing glasses in this show...?  They certainly played it as if it was.

Yes, this is the first time Kat has needed glasses.  I wonder if next episode they'll be forgotten and she'll go back to no glasses.  Hopefully if so they'll write in that she's switched to or is trying contact lenses.

[CrystalBlue]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I don't know that I would say this episode was better than the first one.  It didn't outright suck but it's still not hitting the mark for me.  I don't know why sitcoms have to take on dramatic plotlines these days especially when it involves something as tragic as losing one's eyesight.  I get it that they want to find something that gets Kat and her mother to interact and perhaps become closer but there's no coming back from macular degeneration.  At least they could have given her something she could recuperate from.  This show keeps struggling to find itself but it's feeling more like they're grasping at straws.  I've decided the problem is that the characters were never that well conceived as comedic characters to begin with so whatever they write for them isn't all that funny.  And now on top of that they're using this twist to potentially allow more situations for the presumably funny quips between Kat and her mom, but given the weak foundation they're building on with this, it's not working for me.

They could have had Sheila in need of cataracts surgery.  I agree that the irreversible diagnosis of macular degeneration is a major downer and should not be played for laughs.

Agree with your whole post.

[nelroy78]

14 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I don't know that I would say this episode was better than the first one.  It didn't outright suck but it's still not hitting the mark for me.  I don't know why sitcoms have to take on dramatic plotlines these days especially when it involves something as tragic as losing one's eyesight.  I get it that they want to find something that gets Kat and her mother to interact and perhaps become closer but there's no coming back from macular degeneration.  At least they could have given her something she could recuperate from.  This show keeps struggling to find itself but it's feeling more like they're grasping at straws.  I've decided the problem is that the characters were never that well conceived as comedic characters to begin with so whatever they write for them isn't all that funny.  And now on top of that they're using this twist to potentially allow more situations for the presumably funny quips between Kat and her mom, but given the weak foundation they're building on with this, it's not working for me.

I agree, we really didn’t need to see Kat driving Sheila around for the rest of the series. That is going to get old. Can she get a second opinion? She can’t have Lasix surgery or something? And yes she needs to tone it down with the wisecracks about Kat’s glasses. And she can’t drive on an expired license.
 

The Max plot was pretty funny.

[PinkRibbons]

I'm going crazy trying to find Kat's new glasses frames. I have some similar...strong Jewish features and finding the right frames is a bitch and a half. Love the shape of her new ones.

(Mayim does seem to wear glasses in real life except for certain special events; however as Amy on Big Bang Theory the ones she wore weren't functional. Amy, Leonard and Bernadette's glasses never had lenses in them because of the glare they would make to the camera. According to Mayim this seems to be a sitcom standard thing?)

My dad recently stopped driving after a thankfully mild fender bender. He has glaucoma and a bunch of different procedures constantly going on with his eyes, and it was a wake-up call. Honestly we expected him to take the loss of independence much harder; he's actually taken to the bus like a duck to water. He enjoys the everyday theater of it.

Sheila would clearly never be on a bus for love or money though. She's lucky she lives in the time of ride-sharing apps, even if she does think it's all some sort of evil scam. I still remember when Uber had just started; I don't drive and it was revelatory. Public trans is good for a lot, but there are some places the buses and trains just don't go.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

I'm going crazy trying to find Kat's new glasses frames. I have some similar...strong Jewish features and finding the right frames is a bitch and a half. Love the shape of her new ones.

(Mayim does seem to wear glasses in real life except for certain special events; however as Amy on Big Bang Theory the ones she wore weren't functional. Amy, Leonard and Bernadette's glasses never had lenses in them because of the glare they would make to the camera. According to Mayim this seems to be a sitcom standard thing?)

I have the same problem finding glasses that will look anywhere near good on me.  I have generally liked Mayim's eyeglasses in real life and have thought they would look good on me.  I don't think these glasses would work for me but I like them on her.   I knew that about the eyeglasses on BBT so I noticed it that her glasses on this episode did have lenses in them.  So perhaps she needs to wear glasses or prefers to and this was a way to write that into the show.

I found a photo of her wearing them on the show and zoomed into them, below.  I figure if I post it here I can do a "search Google lens" and maybe it'll find them!

I have very similar eyes as Mayim, although mine are blue.  Could it be because I'm 1/4 Jewish and I inherited my Dad's eyes?

[ctlady]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:10 PM, CarpeFelis said:

Is it just me, or did Sheila come across as a massive bitch? I know the joke is how she always treats Kat like she needs improvement, but this seemed way over the top.

Thank you!!  And my opinion of her isn’t softened because she’s losing her sight. Kat just came back from a “finding herself” trip. How about finding a spine and reading her mother the riot act about insulting comments?  How are we supposed to believe her portrayal of a strong woman if she can’t even stand up to her toxic mother?  Someone whose face looks like a stretched balloon covered in Crisco shouldn’t be critical of her daughters looks 

[chitowngirl]

It was one thing to say she didn’t like the glasses. It was another to keep it up the whole episode. I wanted Kat to tell her how wonderful the glasses made her feel, why she picked them, etc.

[HelloooKitty]

Wow! I’m not a fan of listening to/watching shelia verbally abuse her daughter for an entire episode. She was exceptionally nasty.  

[chediavolo]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:30 PM, CrystalBlue said:

They could have had Sheila in need of cataracts surgery.  I agree that the irreversible diagnosis of macular degeneration is a major downer and should not be played for laughs.

Agree with your whole post.

( see bummers of Derry Girls)

23 hours ago, ctlady said:

Thank you!!  And my opinion of her isn’t softened because she’s losing her sight. Kat just came back from a “finding herself” trip. How about finding a spine and reading her mother the riot act about insulting comments?  How are we supposed to believe her portrayal of a strong woman if she can’t even stand up to her toxic mother?  Someone whose face looks like a stretched balloon covered in Crisco shouldn’t be critical of her daughters looks 

Ha ha, so true! Someone who looks like Swoozie shouldn’t be throwing shit at a perfectly fine looking Mayim Bialik who looked great in those classes by the way. she is a total bitch of a mother.

On 10/9/2022 at 8:15 AM, Yeah No said:

I have the same problem finding glasses that will look anywhere near good on me.  I have generally liked Mayim's eyeglasses in real life and have thought they would look good on me.  I don't think these glasses would work for me but I like them on her.   I knew that about the eyeglasses on BBT so I noticed it that her glasses on this episode did have lenses in them.  So perhaps she needs to wear glasses or prefers to and this was a way to write that into the show.

I found a photo of her wearing them on the show and zoomed into them, below.  I figure if I post it here I can do a "search Google lens" and maybe it'll find them!

I have very similar eyes as Mayim, although mine are blue.  Could it be because I'm 1/4 Jewish and I inherited my Dad's eyes?

I love them too. The way they lift your eyes up at the edges. If anybody finds anything similar please post it