S01.E02: The Night Shift

[shantown]

Quote

Wounded and on the run, Charlie is forced to make a pit stop in desolate New Mexico, where she tries to clear the name of a trucker framed for the murder of a local.

Streams January 26 on Peacock

[AnimeMania]

John Ratzenberger as Abe, a New Mexico car mechanic
Hong Chau as Marge, a long-haul trucker
Ineke Garbacz as Bartender
Jaswant Shrestha as Arvind
Megan Suri as Sara
Colton Ryan as Jed

[akg]

Aw, I liked Damian and really didn't want him to be the victim.

I don't know if it was just convenience or not but I also liked that Charlie had the lotto ticket girl help find the real murderer. And I loved all of the truckers helping figure out who Charlie was looking for.

I'm worried about Charlie's new trucker friend though. She'd worked so hard to stay off the grid and she's definitely back in the system now.

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, akg said:

Aw, I liked Damian and really didn't want him to be the victim.

Me neither. 

I missed what ended up getting Jed, though.  I know it had something to do with truckers but I didn't quite put it together.

[Snazzy Daisy]

 

[akg]

14 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I know it had something to do with truckers but I didn't quite put it together.

Charlie realized that most truckers had dash cams that were recording 24/7 and that she had seen a truck facing the auto body shop which would have captured the murder. All she could remember about it, however, was that it had an animal on the sides (cue singalong in diner). Once the other truckers figured out which truck she was talking about and their call sign, they could contact him and ask for the recording to be sent to the police. It would have shown that the creepy kid killed Damian.

I have Charlie's problem with words sometimes so it's kind of nice to see her struggle. My mind tends to go to movies or tv shows instead of music though.

[shapeshifter]

On 1/26/2023 at 1:34 PM, akg said:

Aw, I liked Damian and really didn't want him to be the victim.

Excellent casting with the infinitely likable Brandon Micheal Hall as poor Damian. He was equally suited to the starring role in the series God Friended Me.

I floved that the Shockingly Honest Mechanic noticed, fixed, and figured out the whole evil brake line cutting plot. 
And more great casting with John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers).

Does anyone know who sang the opening song? It reminded me of T Bone Burnett‘s intro music in True Detective.

This show is so much more engaging than the also-new show about a quirky Sherlock Holmes type: ABC’s Will Trent.  
Poker Face doesn’t shy away from evil or violence, but so far it hasn’t felt gratuitous like Will Trent.  
And the characters in Poker Face are mostly tolerable.

Edited January 28, 2023 by shapeshifter
brake line, not break line

[akg]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I floved that the Shockingly Honest Mechanic noticed, fixed, and figured out the whole evil break line cutting plot.

That was fantastic.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I floved that the Shockingly Honest Mechanic noticed, fixed, and figured out the whole evil break line cutting plot.

Just now, akg said:

That was fantastic.

And it was believable!
On any other show I can think of, we would be complaining about how Mechanic Cliff Abe fixing her brakes was out of left field.
But they established early on that she could trust him, and that he could miraculously fix what sounded to me like a blown engine for $400 in 20 minutes (instead of $4,000 in 2 weeks).
So what's a little brake job?

Breaking Bad is the only other show that comes to mind where things like this fit together seamlessly. 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I figured SOMETHING would happen between Cliff and the brakes, but what I was terrified of was him actually trying to drive the car and HIM being the victim of the brake-cutting instead.

How did he notice the brakes being messed with?  He actually saw the kid doing something, or is it when he checked the car for Charlie?

On 1/26/2023 at 9:43 PM, akg said:

I have Charlie's problem with words sometimes so it's kind of nice to see her struggle. My mind tends to go to movies or tv shows instead of music though.

It's interesting how she can tell when someone is lying but forgets words like "Locker" or "Fox".  It's like she has a superpower that lessens other senses 😄

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

How did he notice the brakes being messed with?  He actually saw the kid doing something, or is it when he checked the car for Charlie?

When Jed cut the brake line, the camera actually showed the brake fluid running out, which, in my mind’s eye, became a Chekhovian puddle of darkness on the ground under the car.

[susannot]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Excellent casting with the infinitely likable Brandon Micheal Hall as poor Damian. He was equally suited to the starring role in the series God Friended Me.

I floved that the Shockingly Honest Mechanic noticed, fixed, and figured out the whole evil brake line cutting plot. 
And more great casting with John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers).

Does anyone know who sang the opening song? It reminded me of T Bone Burnett‘s intro music in True Detective.

This show is so much more engaging than the also-new show about a quirky Sherlock Holmes type: ABC’s Will Trent.  
Poker Face doesn’t shy away from evil or violence, but so far it hasn’t felt gratuitous like Will Trent.  
And the characters in Poker Face are mostly tolerable.

Tom Waits sang the opening number.

[akg]

6 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's interesting how she can tell when someone is lying but forgets words like "Locker" or "Fox".  It's like she has a superpower that lessens other senses 😄

I wish that were true for me.

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Chekhovian puddle of darkness

That is beautiful. And a good explanation. I also thought Cliff was going to end up hurt and wondered why his nephew didn't try to stop him but I'm not a car person and was expecting a more explosive result from Creepy Guy's sabotage. Brake lines make much more sense. Although, if anyone looked into Charlie's future accident, they might notice and it would come back to the body shop.

[twoods]

It’s crazy that every episode they have recognizable guest stars. How do they sign up for only one episode and then get killed off? Made me miss God Friended Me and Never Have I Ever.

Edited January 28, 2023 by twoods

[Paloma]

7 minutes ago, twoods said:

It’s crazy that every episode they have recognizable guest stars.

Was anyone else distracted by Jed's resemblance to Jack Black? That's who I thought the guest star was this episode (aside from "Cliff" from Cheers). 

[Ms Blue Jay]

19 minutes ago, Paloma said:

Was anyone else distracted by Jed's resemblance to Jack Black? That's who I thought the guest star was this episode (aside from "Cliff" from Cheers). 

YES!!!  Also, I was like where do I know this kid from?  He starred in "The Girl from Plainville" alongside Elle Fanning.

I thought the trucker actress was really cool, and it's so fun to see it's Hong Chau who just got nominated for an Oscar and is getting so much buzz this year.  Her career is off like a rocketship.  

Edited January 28, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Kiss my mutt]

I had to double check I wasn’t watching a Subway commercial at first! I too, wish the victim wasn’t Damian, but it definitely made me more interest in getting him justice. He was so kind when he tried to reach out to Jed instead of just shun him like he was used to. 
This show is so quirky and fun though. I didn’t recognize Natasha Leonne at first with her being so skinny compared to her role in OITNB. But those EYES were what I recognized. Beautiful. She is absolute perfection in this role. I’m also enjoying the calvalcade of actors guest starring in the show too. 

[Paloma]

45 minutes ago, Kiss my mutt said:

I had to double check I wasn’t watching a Subway commercial at first! I too, wish the victim wasn’t Damian, but it definitely made me more interest in getting him justice. He was so kind when he tried to reach out to Jed instead of just shun him like he was used to.

I agree that Damian was trying to be kind, but I wondered why he brought a knife with him to the roof. Was it because he could tell that Jed was potentially dangerous and that he might need to defend himself? If so, going up to a roof to talk to him was definitely not a good idea, as he found out!

47 minutes ago, Kiss my mutt said:

I’m also enjoying the calvalcade of actors guest starring in the show too. 

It took me a few minutes to figure out where else I had seen the girl that Jed was stalking. Finally realized she was in Never Have I Ever, one of my favorite shows (and a completely different type of show from this one).

 

[akg]

29 minutes ago, Paloma said:

I agree that Damian was trying to be kind, but I wondered why he brought a knife with him to the roof.

I can't remember exactly but I got the impression the knife was something Damian always had with him. Maybe from his military days, although I know a few guys who never served who carry a knife constantly. One keeps losing them to TSA because it's so normal to him that he forgets and doesn't think to leave it at home.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Paloma said:

I agree that Damian was trying to be kind, but I wondered why he brought a knife with him to the roof. Was it because he could tell that Jed was potentially dangerous and that he might need to defend himself? If so, going up to a roof to talk to him was definitely not a good idea, as he found out!

Such a bad idea.  So was telling Jed about the lottery ticket.  Come ON, Damian.  You already knew he wasn't trustworthy, you told your friend!

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Paloma said:

I agree that Damian was trying to be kind, but I wondered why he brought a knife with him to the roof.

3 hours ago, akg said:

I can't remember exactly but I got the impression the knife was something Damian always had with him.

The knife was one of a set, each with a different color handle, in a rack on the wall in either the sandwich shop or the mini mart (not sure). It seemed Damian convinced himself that his military training and experience plus that little knife was all he needed to protect himself from the likes of Jed. But poor Damian was "dead" wrong.
BTW, Jed cleans off the knife and puts it back on the wall with the others. 

 

[possibilities]

24 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

BTW, Jed cleans off the knife and puts it back on the wall with the others. 

 

He barely cleans it! I was so horrified-- he just wipes it off. Ye Gods. Someone might use it to prep food for a customer! I realize the murder was his main crime, but the health code violation of putting the murder weapon, barely cleaned at all, back into use like that was giving me nightmares.

 

ETA: It wasn't the murder weapon, it was just used to stab his leg. But still!!

Edited January 29, 2023 by possibilities

[akg]

40 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The knife was one of a set, each with a different color handle, in a rack on the wall in either the sandwich shop or the mini mart (not sure). It seemed Damian convinced himself that his military training and experience plus that little knife was all he needed to protect himself from the likes of Jed. But poor Damian was "dead" wrong.

Thanks! I was completely wrong on that. Yeah, I'm not impressed with Damian's ability to judge the level of danger. Although he would probably have been ok if he hadn't been distracted by winning $25K.

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, akg said:

Although he would probably have been ok if he hadn't been distracted by winning $25K.

Excellent point!

I only noticed the knives because I have a set of even smaller ones with the same assorted colors of handles that I picked up for a dollar.

[justmehere]

Good episode. One thing I like about Charlie is that it isn't just about being able to detect lies. She has integrity and can't simply look the other way when there's something wrong, even to save herself (I loved her setting her watch to 4 hours from using the ATM, although that's a pretty neat trick for it to be 4 hours from anywhere that someone tracking card usage could show up anywhere else - heh). I hope, though, at some point she wonders out loud why she keeps getting caught up in all these murders - just a snarky comment or how it's not good for her health or something like that. 

Edited January 29, 2023 by justmehere
*not* good for her health

[Swartz]

2 episodes in and what a great little show!

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, justmehere said:

…it isn't just about being able to detect lies. She…can't simply look the other way when there's something wrong, even to save herself….

setting her watch to 4 hours from using the ATM…that someone tracking card usage could show up….

I hope, though, at some point she wonders out loud why she keeps getting caught up in all these murders…

These 2 features of Charlie and her world:

• inability to not solve the mystery 
• murders happening around her

follow in the footsteps of 21st century detective Monk, as well as the Sherlockian Dr. House.  
But this one:

• the obsessive attention to detail necessary for her survival

is more like The Fugitive’s Dr. Richard Kimball, except Charlie isn’t chasing the one-armed man.
But many crime shows have arcs in which the hunter hero becomes the hunted, including a 2-parter on Monk.

[Haleth]

I watched the first two episodes last night and am really enjoying it.  (Didn't think I would.  Thought it was a comedy and network tv.)  Charlie is giving me Columbo vibes, knowing who the murderer is right off the bat, then playing cat and mouse until justice is served.  Fun stuff.

[gesundheit]

18 hours ago, twoods said:

It’s crazy that every episode they have recognizable guest stars. How do they sign up for only one episode and then get killed off? 

That's the glory of it -- minimal commitment for only one episode, but they get to work on a fun show with major players (it's clear working with Rian Johnson is major right now so he can probably get whoever he wants, plus Lyonne is pretty universally beloved as a colleague). And since it's single-episode story arcs, they actually get meaty material for their one-time appearance. Win/win. Can't wait to see who else is on board!

[akg]

11 hours ago, justmehere said:

I loved her setting her watch to 4 hours from using the ATM

I don't know how much she has in her account and it's probably not safe to leave a lot of cash in her car but she probably should have just withdrawn everything so she wouldn't have to worry about being tracked. Even if she's quick to leave the next time, she's still giving Cliff a location to start from.

[Paloma]

42 minutes ago, akg said:

I don't know how much she has in her account and it's probably not safe to leave a lot of cash in her car but she probably should have just withdrawn everything so she wouldn't have to worry about being tracked. Even if she's quick to leave the next time, she's still giving Cliff a location to start from.

She clearly doesn't carry a lot of cash (unless it is very well hidden in the car), and I'm not sure she has all that much in her account, given that the money she made in the past from gambling seemed to be long gone, and she was living in a crummy trailer in the Las Vegas desert. She has to be able to get short-term jobs that pay cash as she travels, which may not be as easy these days as it used to be. She can only provide minimal personal information, and she can't even give references to show she is honest and reliable. In future episodes I'd like to see at least an occasional reference to this problem and how she deals with it.

[akg]

3 hours ago, Paloma said:

She clearly doesn't carry a lot of cash (unless it is very well hidden in the car), and I'm not sure she has all that much in her account

I agree there probably isn't much there and she should stick with the cash jobs to save what's in her account for emergencies. I just think she might be better off not risking an atm more than she needs to. She only withdrew $460 in this episode which was enough for her car plus a little extra. If that's everything, it was a nice coincidence that it cost $400 for her car. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

2 hours ago, akg said:

She only withdrew $460 in this episode which was enough for her car plus a little extra.

I thought the screen showed that the balance was only $468 and she withdrew $460, so essentially everything since the ATM would not have $5 or $1 bills.

[Cranberry]

1 minute ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I thought the screen showed that the balance was only $468 and she withdrew $460, so essentially everything since the ATM would not have $5 or $1 bills.

I thought so too, but I think the "balance" there was just the amount she was withdrawing (the $460 plus the $8 ATM fee). If that was her entire balance, it's now at $0!

[SomeTameGazelle]

8 minutes ago, Cranberry said:

I thought so too, but I think the "balance" there was just the amount she was withdrawing (the $460 plus the $8 ATM fee). If that was her entire balance, it's now at $0!

Interesting -- I hadn't noticed the fee. But it would be weird to refer to the amount you're withdrawing as the balance, so either it was a strange design choice or as serendipity would have it she had a nice even number available and happened to clear the account out. (I think strange design choice seems more likely.)

Edited January 29, 2023 by SomeTameGazelle

[shapeshifter]

My interpretation of the image is that the balance is now zero because even though it says "TRANSACTION RESULT" at the top, the white entry field still shows:
                           $460.00
and below it says 
     USE KEYPAD TO ENTER AMOUNT TO WITHDRAWAL
                      PRESS "ENTER" WHEN DONE

And below "CHECKING ACCOUNT BALANCE     $468.00,"
is:

• $8.00 FEE FOR CASH WITHDRAWL
• USE KEYPAD TO ENTER AMOUNT TO WITHDRAWAL
• PRESS "ENTER" WHEN DONE

So it looks to me that the 460.00 should clear after pressing "ENTER."
But I can't remember the last time I used an ATM, so somebody else might know otherwise.

[PurpleTentacle]

First of all, Ibuprofen isn't a blood thinner. It can enhance the blood thinning properties of other medication, but if you don't take any of those, it's fine to take Ibuprofen when you got shot. ;D

Second, I can see the conversation between producer and casting director now "we need a guy who looks real sleazy for this part!" "But in america only hot guys work as actors! What am I supposed to do? Actually scout for somebody?!" "Doing actual work? No, I wouldn't make you do that! Just take one of those hot guys and dirty him up a bit. That should suffice!"

Good for Charlie that somebody knew that song, but they could have just shazamed it.

Overall, this was more enjoyable than the first episode, but it really could have been half an hour instead of an hour.

[SomeTameGazelle]

2 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Good for Charlie that somebody knew that song, but they could have just shazamed it.

You can't shazam somebody trying to sing or hum a song. Shazam recognizes specific recordings.  

[PurpleTentacle]

6 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

You can't shazam somebody trying to sing or hum a song. Shazam recognizes specific recordings.  

It seems you are right. I could have sworn Shazam could do that but it has been years since I tried. Maybe that was a function at one point and got removed or maybe it was all in my head.

I have been using Google music search for years now and that very much can recognise you humming a song. "googlemusicsearched" just doesn't sound as snappy as "shazamed", which is why I chose the later.

Edited January 30, 2023 by PurpleTentacle

[SnarkShark]

So if last episode introduced Columboism/introducing the murder first, this one added layered timelines.

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

Charlie could have Google'd song lyrics, if she knew enough of them.

2 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I have been using Google music search for years now and that very much can recognise you humming a song. "googlemusicsearched" just doesn't sound as snappy as "shazamed", which is why I chose the later.

I had no idea.  I will have to try this.

2 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Second, I can see the conversation between producer and casting director now "we need a guy who looks real sleazy for this part!" "But in america only hot guys work as actors! What am I supposed to do? Actually scout for somebody?!" "Doing actual work? No, I wouldn't make you do that! Just take one of those hot guys and dirty him up a bit. That should suffice!"

Not sure if you are referring to Colton Ryan but I would definitely call him a character actor based on this and The Girl from Plainville.  I've only seen him play these these type of loner outcast guys.

[PurpleTentacle]

20 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Not sure if you are referring to Colton Ryan but I would definitely call him a character actor based on this and The Girl from Plainville.  I've only seen him play these these type of loner outcast guys.

If that immensly attractive young man is cast in these types of roles regularly, where we are seemingly meant to see him like somebody with leprosy, it realy only strengthens my argument. There is seemingly really not one non-hot young person in all of the american TV and movie industry.

[Captain Carrot]

19 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

If that immensly attractive young man is cast in these types of roles regularly, where we are seemingly meant to see him like somebody with leprosy, it realy only strengthens my argument.

It could have been intentional to have someone that should be considered attractive in the role. Jed was convinced that he had nothing due to issues like 'bad luck' and being poor. (And not because of stuff like the fact that he was a major creep). He actually thought that Sara would fly to Hawaii with him since he 'won' $25,000! Then she says no and she's just a spoiled rich girl.

One thing that I liked from this episode is that we don't know everything. By the end of the episode Abe has figured out what Jed did, but we don't know when he figured it out. My thought is that he heard a lot of Jed's conversation with Charlie and intentionally caused the feedback on his hearing aids when he decided to interrupt them. Jed appeared to look down on Abe, but being kind and honest doesn't make you stupid.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Captain Carrot

[Accidental Martyr]

On 1/28/2023 at 7:26 AM, susannot said:

Tom Waits sang the opening number.

That was a great way to start the episode. It’s always good to hear Tom Waits.

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 1/28/2023 at 10:21 PM, shapeshifter said:

The knife was one of a set, each with a different color handle, in a rack on the wall in either the sandwich shop or the mini mart (not sure). It seemed Damian convinced himself that his military training and experience plus that little knife was all he needed to protect himself from the likes of Jed. But poor Damian was "dead" wrong.
BTW, Jed cleans off the knife and puts it back on the wall with the others. 

 

Subway Shop. Jed puts it back and hangs up Damian's apron. Charlie later finds a beer cap in the apron. And later miraculously finds one quarter glinting among hundreds of beer caps on the roof.

On 1/28/2023 at 11:03 PM, akg said:

Thanks! I was completely wrong on that. Yeah, I'm not impressed with Damian's ability to judge the level of danger. Although he would probably have been ok if he hadn't been distracted by winning $25K.

He thought he might be attacked, but not nonchalantly shoved off a roof. 

[Anela]

I was sure that Subway sponsored the episode. 

I liked this more than the first episode. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

8 hours ago, Anela said:

I was sure that Subway sponsored the episode. 

They might not want to, because then every customer would demand that their cheese be tessellated.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:39 AM, Captain Carrot said:

It could have been intentional to have someone that should be considered attractive in the role.

I doubt it. They dirtied him up a lot. Typical TV and movie attempt to make somebody attractive seem unattractive.

[pasdetrois]

As I watched Jed, my mind went to Jed in Oklahoma.

I loved this episode solely because it was so great compared to other shows that try this kind of thing. Great actors, great script, smooth transitions, the singing truckers...

I love lonesome New Mexico, only not the roadside fast food joints, run down gas stations, etc. that cluster along the highways. The set designers did a great job capturing how depressing these locations can be. (But boy are you glad of them when you need water or gas.)

Natasha looked damn good in her days-old black T, jeans and boots, with the concho belt for panache.

Looking forward to episode three..

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by pasdetrois

[Colorado David]

so can one use superglue for quick closing wounds? and is it sanitary or could one get a nice infection?