S11.E01: Babs

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Whitney takes on the role of caring for her aging father and moves him into her home.

Original air date 2023.09.05

[Yeah No]

Wow, I have to admit that was hard for me to watch and I was in tears much of the time.  As much as I loathe Whitney I felt mostly for her family and friends but also a little for her.  I lost my Mom at 42, when she was Babs' age, and to tell the truth Babs often reminded me a little of her.  Like the way Babs was described, my mom was also more than just a person and we were very close.  Glenn has also reminded me of my Dad in many ways too.  So Babs' passing really got to me.  I loved how Whitney's friends came to the funeral.  I had no idea that Tal and Heather could sing so well.  Their voices were beautiful.  For once in like ever Whitney was almost tolerable and human.  I liked seeing this side of her and I only wish we got to see it more.  She was really strong and kept it together.  She also showed great caring for her father.  Deep down she isn't all that bad.  I can hardly believe I'd really say that, though.  I can tell it's going to be short-lived and even in this episode she found a couple of ways to go right into the gutter.  So low class....

I find it interesting that they couldn't wait for Babs to be dead very long before they brought up Glenn's other daughter.  I assume they kept that under wraps out of respect for Babs but it doesn't feel very classy that they should jump right on it right after she died.  I doubt Whitney and her brother didn't know about it already.  

[surfgirl]

I cant watch this show,, she's just too ridiculous, but I will say this, just from the previews it's disgusting to me that they're whoring out a deceased mother for their storyline. These people repulse me.

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by surfgirl

[SDVegas]

I can’t believe they filmed the wake, funeral, Glenn blubbering at the funeral, the family saying goodbye…it was so, so invasive. Such private moments, why would they be shown on tv? I’m flabbergasted. 

[Pi237]

I had to fast forward through most of it. Too real. They obviously love each and are a close family and that’s all that matters.

But I can’t watch sad stuff. I take it in too much. I hate wakes/funerals-obviously, everyone does. But to me they feel emotionally abusive because you’re supposed to show emotion, but not too much/like she said ‘get through it with dignity’ which usually means not sobbing, just doing the little tears. Sorry, I can’t do that. Once I’m sad-I’m Very sad. If I cry-I’m Sobbing. Which gets alot of negative looks and that’s so unfair really. You’re dammed I’d you don’t go because you don’t want to make a scene, but also dammed if you go and cry too much. I don’t mean wailing and throwing yourself on the coffin, but I’m just not capable of doing a dignified cry-especially if I see another loved one crying.  And forget speaking of singing, anything will open those floodgates. 

[mytmo]

I really didn't think I would cry but I did when they sang their wedding song.  At first I thought wow this is so obtrusive but then they all do love the camera (Babs included) so weirdly seem appropriate.

[BAForever]

To each their own but it was way too invasive for what I'd choose. @mytmo is right- they are all camera-lovers so this worked for them. Anyone know who the woman who was with them? Babs sister maybe?

[Pi237]

New step sister seems nasty towards Whitney in the previews. Wonder if that’s genuine or produced.  

[Quof]

Wait, was the funeral 2 months after Babs died, so February 2023?   Was this the actual funeral or the one staged for filming? 

And why was Whitney wearing a chin diaper?  No one else was wearing, or even carrying, a mask. In late 2022/early 2023 we were all pretty cavalier about Covid. 

[applewood]

2 minutes ago, Quof said:

Wait, was the funeral 2 months after Babs died, so February 2023?   Was this the actual funeral or the one staged for filming? 

And why was Whitney wearing a chin diaper?  No one else was wearing, or even carrying, a mask. In late 2022/early 2023 we were all pretty cavalier about Covid. 

The funeral was in December. I found the obituary below:

https://www.forbisanddick.com/obituaries/Barbara-Babs-Thore/#!/Obituary

I think after the funeral scene filming skipped ahead to two months later in February.

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

I fast-forwarded through the funeral thing as well. In the previews, it looks like it's the step-sister's daughter that Whitney appears to have beef with. Not sure about Glenn moving to Alabama, but maybe it would be nice if he goes down there for a month or so. Still need more of the back story on this long lost child of Glenn.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Folks,

A reminder: Whitney calls herself fat. The show uses the word fat.  That is okay.  However, that does not open the door to making negative comments about physical traits often associated with fat people.  You are free to say what you like about Whitney and the others on the show.  That does not include insulting them for physical attributes that may or may not exist and that are often used to insult large persons or imply negativity toward people of larger sizes.  Posts have been removed. 

[Gramto6]

Darn (?maybe?), I missed it! Wonder how that could have happened? ummm maybe I didn't care enough to check the guide?  Oh well,  I'll catch the rerun on Friday then I'll be ready to post.

[princelina]

5 hours ago, Pi237 said:

New step sister seems nasty towards Whitney in the previews. Wonder if that’s genuine or produced.  

Haha I'm kind of looking forward to it 😂. And I'll be shocked if Whitney is actually a "better dancer" than that girl 🤣

[stoppro]

If she moves at all,she is a better dancer than shitnity.

Just now, stoppro said:

If she moves at all,she is a better dancer than shitney.

 

1 minute ago, stoppro said:

 

 

 

[sagittarius sue]

6 hours ago, applewood said:

The funeral was in December. I found the obituary below:

https://www.forbisanddick.com/obituaries/Barbara-Babs-Thore/#!/Obituary

I think after the funeral scene filming skipped ahead to two months later in February.

A rather different obituary than I'm used to seeing.  Most obits I read state "in lieu of flowers...", and usually suggest a memorial donation to a charity or non-profit.  No, the Thores wanted flowers and money sent to them.

[SDVegas]

42 minutes ago, sagittarius sue said:

A rather different obituary than I'm used to seeing.  Most obits I read state "in lieu of flowers...", and usually suggest a memorial donation to a charity or non-profit.  No, the Thores wanted flowers and money sent to them.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting an abundance of beautiful flowers at the funeral of a loved one. 

[Quof]

I've never seen a request for a "memorial gift" before. 

[sagittarius sue]

Just now, Quof said:

I've never seen a request for a "memorial gift" before. 

I have seen suggestions for memorials for ---- or the family, but not just for the family.  I was at a loss when I wrote my mother's obit so I just made for either the church or person's own choice of charity..

[princelina]

3 hours ago, Quof said:

I've never seen a request for a "memorial gift" before. 

 

3 hours ago, sagittarius sue said:

I have seen suggestions for memorials for ---- or the family, but not just for the family.  I was at a loss when I wrote my mother's obit so I just made for either the church or person's own choice of charity..

Since the obituary directed them to the "store" for the memorial gift, I'm assuming it was something like windchimes or a blanket with a bible verse - those types of gifts are what people send from the "store".

ETA: vs. monetary gifts to charities.  

Edited September 7, 2023 by princelina

[monagatuna]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:30 PM, princelina said:

Haha I'm kind of looking forward to it 😂. And I'll be shocked if Whitney is actually a "better dancer" than that girl 🤣

My lovely wife saw the preview and said "of course she wanted a competition for something she's good at." I had to remind her that we've seen Whitney's dancing on the show, and "good" is relative.

[CainF]

I thought I was going to hate this episode for exploiting Bab's funeral, but I found the season premiere to be very touching...and I think Babs would approve, too.  Sure, all of these people are camera-ready to the nth degree, but this episode was a welcome return to the beginning of the show in its rawness and awkwardness.  

My next fan-fiction story about the original Charmed will of course feature the brilliant Heather Trio performing at P3, perhaps singing their latest solid-gold hit single.  Am I the only one who thought I was at a wedding when Heather and Friends were performing for the grief-stricken?

[LeesburgLee]

So Whitney went to Glenn's house while he was still adjusting to losing Babs and cleaned out whatever she thought should go? She bragged to Lenny that she cleared out 90% (no doubt an exaggeration, but still) of his belongings!

What business does she have going through his and Babs' stuff, and who is she to decide what’s an heirloom/memory/whatever she called it? She doesn’t know what small item may be a very meaningful thing to him. She has no business rooting through her parents' stuff without him there to make decisions on what to keep. He’s grieving - it’s not a Hoarders episode!

Sorry, but to me this is just unforgivable. Had Glenn asked her to do it, fine. But he didn’t (at least not that I heard/noticed), she just charged in. When he goes to look for something she threw out, I hope he finally changes the locks. 

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, CainF said:

I thought I was going to hate this episode for exploiting Bab's funeral, but I found the season premiere to be very touching...and I think Babs would approve, too.  Sure, all of these people are camera-ready to the nth degree, but this episode was a welcome return to the beginning of the show in its rawness and awkwardness.  

My next fan-fiction story about the original Charmed will of course feature the brilliant Heather Trio performing at P3, perhaps singing their latest solid-gold hit single.  Am I the only one who thought I was at a wedding when Heather and Friends were performing for the grief-stricken?

I agree.  Whether or not it was the "real" funeral or one just staged for TV, I think it was what Babs would have wanted.  She loved the spotlight like all of them do.  Plus I think the fans needed it too.  I was grateful that I felt at least partially included in Babs' send off.

2 hours ago, LeesburgLee said:

So Whitney went to Glenn's house while he was still adjusting to losing Babs and cleaned out whatever she thought should go? She bragged to Lenny that she cleared out 90% (no doubt an exaggeration, but still) of his belongings!

What business does she have going through his and Babs' stuff, and who is she to decide what’s an heirloom/memory/whatever she called it? She doesn’t know what small item may be a very meaningful thing to him. She has no business rooting through her parents' stuff without him there to make decisions on what to keep. He’s grieving - it’s not a Hoarders episode!

Sorry, but to me this is just unforgivable. Had Glenn asked her to do it, fine. But he didn’t (at least not that I heard/noticed), she just charged in. When he goes to look for something she threw out, I hope he finally changes the locks. 

I have some experience here (I did say there were parallels between my life and Whitney's family).  When my Mom passed my Dad couldn't handle dealing with her belongings AT ALL.  It was hard enough for him to have to live in the apartment without her but he just refused to touch anything after she died and after a while the apartment became like a museum because he couldn't face dealing with any of it.  I lived 100 miles away so it wasn't easy for me to deal with this situation.  I didn't have any family members to help me, only the kindness of some friends local to where my Dad lived.  He pretty much let me do what I wanted because he was not able to deal with any of it AT ALL.  And this was not just right after my Mom died, but 5 years later! 

I ended up taking long weekends with my vacation time and sorting through everything.  When my Dad tried to involve himself in it he became too emotional and didn't want to get rid of anything.  So he pretty much ended up like those hoarders that just give up and let their family get rid of whatever they want because they can't handle it themselves.  Judging from the way Glenn was acting in this episode, I don't think he would have been able to handle it any better than my Dad even 5 years later.  He was able to move in with Whitney but to me that was a sign that he was totally unable to handle living there much less going through the stuff that was a constant reminder.   I don't necessarily believe that Whitney got rid of 90% of everything, but you never know, a lot of it may have been old junk they were storing in the basement that really needed to go.   In my case, I was very careful not to get rid of precious family mementos and I'm sure Whitney would have been too.

I really get this situation because like Babs, my Mom was not just a Mom or a person, she was a phenomenon, and her loss was deeply felt by a lot of people.  My parents' relationship was as close as Whitney's parents'.  My Dad was very emotionally dependent on my Mom.  So anyway, those are my 2 cents.

[SDVegas]

2 hours ago, LeesburgLee said:

So Whitney went to Glenn's house while he was still adjusting to losing Babs and cleaned out whatever she thought should go? She bragged to Lenny that she cleared out 90% (no doubt an exaggeration, but still) of his belongings!

What business does she have going through his and Babs' stuff, and who is she to decide what’s an heirloom/memory/whatever she called it? She doesn’t know what small item may be a very meaningful thing to him. She has no business rooting through her parents' stuff without him there to make decisions on what to keep. He’s grieving - it’s not a Hoarders episode!

Sorry, but to me this is just unforgivable. Had Glenn asked her to do it, fine. But he didn’t (at least not that I heard/noticed), she just charged in. When he goes to look for something she threw out, I hope he finally changes the locks. 

He didn’t say anything against it when she discussed what she did. We can probably safely assume that he was ok with it. 

[Yeah No]

11 minutes ago, SDVegas said:

He didn’t say anything against it when she discussed what she did. We can probably safely assume that he was ok with it. 

I think he probably welcomed it.  As long as he didn't have to deal with it.  I actually think Whitney was showing a lot of love for him in doing that.  It actually helps them to not have to see the constant reminders all around them.  My father let that go on for 5 years but he knew something needed to be done.  He put up only a little fuss but in the end he was grateful for everything I did.

[LeesburgLee]

Thank you for the perspectives, YeahNo and SDVegas. My experiences have been different. I’ve had family members who have had no boundaries where it came to rearranging, ”cleaning up”/removing, snooping through, or just plain butting in about other family members' belongings, so it’s a very sore spot for me. And those experiences weren’t overlaid with grieving for a loved one!

if Glenn was good with the idea, that’s his call and it’s fine - Whitney was helping and I read it wrong. But I remember an earlier episode when Whitney arrived with a truck and started cleaning out her parents' garage without their agreement, and another where she announced that she was going to build them a new bedroom downstairs in their house and move them to it, despite them both saying they didn’t want it. Whitney seems to decide what she thinks will be best and move on it, not slowing down to actually talk to the person/people who will be affected. Whitney can be a bully, and here I got the vibes that she was doIng something she decided to do, knowing that Glenn wasn’t in a headspace to argue with her.

I hope you’re all right and Glenn appreciated her help. I would have been livid.

[princelina]

20 hours ago, monagatuna said:

My lovely wife saw the preview and said "of course she wanted a competition for something she's good at." I had to remind her that we've seen Whitney's dancing on the show, and "good" is relative.

Haha Whit's brother said the same thing as your lovely wife, and I responded to him as you did 🤣

[monagatuna]

I was so happy to see Buddy and his (future?) wife at the funeral. They both look great. Sober living looks good on Buddy. I was also happy to see the OG friends--Tal, Todd, Heather and Ashley. I knew those first three were good singers from their rendition of Happy Birthday in Maine a few seasons ago, but I was really so impressed by their singing. I am an amateur singer, and I don't think my voice is that clear and steady even on my best days. At a funeral? I'm a sobbing mess, last thing I can do is sing.

[Gramto6]

My only comment about the cleaning out Whitney did, is I noted a bit of sadness in Glen's voice when she said she got rid of Bab's clothes. He said something like " I wanted to be able to look in the closet and see some of her clothes hanging there."  He looked a bit wistful that nothing would be there. I don't think there is anything wrong with him wanting that.

With the other stuff he didn't seem to be very upset it was taken care of. And I think he knew it was useless to try to buck Whitney on the issue.

I think it is a family dynamic kind of thing. My younger brother lived near my mom when she died and he swooped in and bagged up everything, and I mean everything, of hers in garbage bags and tossed them to make the house "his" as she had left it to him.  (We are not close, one example of why is that he kept and  bagged up all her prescriptions and said "Do you know how much I can get for these on the street?" Just not my kind of people!) Anyway, I had no chance to take any mementos or pieces of clothing at all which made me sad but it was what it was... as he pointed out it was his house now. 

I don't think Whitney was being selfish in the way my brother was, but thought she genuinely was helping her dad.  In my mind, maybe it was just a bit too soon though. 

[princelina]

It's hard to know.  When my sister died last year, my mom wanted us to go to her house to help pack up her things, and I am a no-nonsense type who showed up to do so, but it turned out my mom really just wanted to touch and play with her things without actually getting rid of anything!  She was angry with me for throwing out things like a used toothbrush, or unmarked pills because she was going to go through all of the pill bottles and match them, and as for the clothes - they weren't to be touched!  I said at least we could get rid of old underwear which nobody would want, and she responded that if they were nice maybe someone would, but luckily when we looked in the drawers my BIL had already gotten rid of them!  

[Maisiesmom]

Well, the funeral was pretty nice, poor Glenn looked pretty out of it, which is to be expected. Now as far as Twit emptying out his house, I hope she had his permission. Maybe he couldn't face doing it but hopefully he supervised what went and what he wanted to keep. On a personal note, when my Mom died in 2010 Dad asked us kids to come over and help him sort Mom's stuff out. She was smaller than I am so I took just a few of her tops and my sister (the hoarder) took most of the rest. (We found it all when we went to clean out her place after she died in 2019-what a job that was!) The next day we came back and Dad gave us Mom's jewelry boxes to sort and decide what we wanted to keep. My brother moved in with Dad not too long after and was his caregiver until he died last May. Then we had to sort through Dad's stuff-I didn't keep much since I am old and have a house full of my own crap LOL!  Hopefully Twit will be patient with her father and give him the time he needs to grieve.

[Guest]

It appeared that Babs was a popular woman.  Everyone said so.  But, from what I could see of her funeral it appeared to have less than 20 attendees in the audience and those were predominately Whitney's friends/costars.

Was that her real, real funeral or a staged gathering to represent the real funeral?  For someone as popular as Babs and Glenn I would think the funeral would have many more attendees than the small group perched in the funeral home.

I wasn't a fan of Babs (way too much for me) but I am sorry that she was in poor health for the last year or so.  I thought Glenn, Hunter and Whitney did an excellent job conveying their love for Babs and I'm sure they will miss her.  

I also tip my hat to them because there's no way I could ever deliver the eulogy for my parents.

And on a side note while I did not care for Babs, Glenn always seemed like a nice, patient man.  This new revelation has changed my opinion somewhat.  I won't judge him but I do wonder how a man could walk away from his own child at the request of his wife?  Didn't he have any say in the matter?  

Not sure I care enough about the drama to watch this season but I may read the comments here.  I am a little curious though as to his daughter's though process regarding Glenn dropping her from his life.

Other's misery is now a form of evening entertainment.

[DanaMB]

14 hours ago, PsychoKlown said:

.I won't judge him but I do wonder how a man could walk away from his own child at the request of his wife?  Didn't he have any say in the matter?  

I wonder if the show is even going to reveal that bit of information or show it more as a reunion between long lost daughter and father. 

[Texasmom1970]

Lovely to see how much Babs was loved, but this episode to me was too sad. I really should not have watched. 

August the 12th was five years since my youngest daughter passed away m. It was sudden, she was only twelve. So this was too triggering for me. 

I know that they are used to having the cameras around but to me this was too intrusive. I felt uncomfortable seeing the funeral and everyone emotional. I’m sure my loss has shaped why I feel that way.

On a positive note her friends really sing beautifully.

[Mollywolly555]

Whit makes everything ask about her.... not yet mom or dad... even her eulogy.  

The talk with Lenny was cringeworthy... including the thigh butt indents. This analysis of their brief moments of affection or pressure for kissing is so high school.  She's not a good actress.  Yes,  we believe that you're so happy for Lenny and Buddy finding love.  

She needs to leave her dad some grieving time before sweeping in and cleaning out Bab's stuff. He probably had memories of certain clothes she wore,  or her cologne that lingers.  Gradual clearing would be more merciful, IMHO. Her take charge persona is just intrusive at this tender time.  

 

 

 

 

[BAForever]

2 hours ago, Mollywolly555 said:

Whit makes everything ask about her.... not yet mom or dad... even her eulogy.  

The talk with Lenny was cringeworthy... including the thigh butt indents. This analysis of their brief moments of affection or pressure for kissing is so high school.  She's not a good actress.  Yes,  we believe that you're so happy for Lenny and Buddy finding love.  

She needs to leave her dad some grieving time before sweeping in and cleaning out Bab's stuff. He probably had memories of certain clothes she wore,  or her cologne that lingers.  Gradual clearing would be more merciful, IMHO. Her take charge persona is just intrusive at this tender time.  

 

 

 

 

Do not disagree with you @Mollywolly555- good discussion of this in thread. However, I do think Babs and Glen were  certainly not hoarders, but had a lot of clutter. They had lived in that house a long time, and stuff accumulates. Seems like she kept a lot of his things and we really don't know how Glenn's house looks now. I'll give her a tiny pass on this one.

Edited September 11, 2023 by BAForever
Clarity

[stoppro]

3 hours ago, BAForever said:

Do not disagree with you @Mollywolly555- good discussion of this in thread. However, I do think Babs and Glen were  certainly not hoarders, but had a lot of clutter. They had lived in that house a long time, and stuff accumulates. Seems like she kept a lot of his things and we really don't know how Glenn's house looks now. I'll give her a tiny pass on this one.

No such thing as a 'tiny pass' when dealing with shitney.

[the-grey-lady]

23 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

Lovely to see how much Babs was loved, but this episode to me was too sad. I really should not have watched. 

August the 12th was five years since my youngest daughter passed away m. It was sudden, she was only twelve. So this was too triggering for me. 

I know that they are used to having the cameras around but to me this was too intrusive. I felt uncomfortable seeing the funeral and everyone emotional. I’m sure my loss has shaped why I feel that way.

On a positive note her friends really sing beautifully.

 I am so sorry about the loss of your daughter.

[bichonblitz]

Off the Babs/Funeral topic for a moment but where was the Frenchman in all this? Not a mention, not a phone call, no support from him, nothing. Whitney's got some explaining to do and I hope they don't just sweep this relationship under the carpet as if it never existed and proceed with the new season being about single Whitney. 

[LuvMyShows]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:30 AM, BAForever said:

Anyone know who the woman who was with them? Babs sister maybe?

When we first saw her sitting on the couch, we did hear her speak, and it had to Babs' sister because she sounded just like Babs.  And Glenn's brother sounded just like Glenn.

On 9/6/2023 at 6:45 PM, sagittarius sue said:

A rather different obituary than I'm used to seeing.  Most obits I read state "in lieu of flowers...", and usually suggest a memorial donation to a charity or non-profit.  No, the Thores wanted flowers and money sent to them.

To be fair, there was no mention of money in the obit or in the linked "store". The gifts were memorial type things, as princelina mentioned above. But what confused me about the gifts, is who they were for. Most of the gifts seemed like things that the buyer would want for themselves, to remember Babs by, not something they would give to Babs' family. It seems like it would be weird for them to just receive lots of blankets, wind chimes, framings, etc. 

[Dibs]

18 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

When we first saw her sitting on the couch, we did hear her speak, and it had to Babs' sister because she sounded just like Babs.  And Glenn's brother sounded just like Glenn. 

That was Glenn's brother-in-law officiating, as I recall.  But it was Babs' sister (and I presume brother?) sitting on the couch.

[LuvMyShows]

2 hours ago, Dibs said:

That was Glenn's brother-in-law officiating, as I recall.  But it was Babs' sister (and I presume brother?) sitting on the couch.

Actually, it was Glenn's brother, Chris. What may be confusing, is that when he was talking, he was referring to himself with the words "brother in-law" because he was Babs' brother-in-law.

Edited September 13, 2023 by LuvMyShows

[RedDelicious]

On 9/12/2023 at 9:16 PM, LuvMyShows said:

To be fair, there was no mention of money in the obit or in the linked "store". The gifts were memorial type things, as princelina mentioned above. But what confused me about the gifts, is who they were for. Most of the gifts seemed like things that the buyer would want for themselves, to remember Babs by, not something they would give to Babs' family. It seems like it would be weird for them to just receive lots of blankets, wind chimes, framings, etc. 

I think you’re right. I know when my dog (who was a child to me) passed, I desperately wanted a few things to memorialize her so I could remember her every day. Not that I ever would forget her. I got a heart stone with forget me nots and comforting words on it, a few very nice picture frames and a necklace with her initial. Having those touch points makes me feel connected to her. I think the items in the store are for people to purchase for themselves. There was also the option to purchase trees to plant which I thought was nice. 

I too had to nope out of the Babs episode. It was too much. Tal crying pushed me right over the edge. Babs was a special lady, a real gem with a fish purse. Rest easy Babs.

❤️

[Mommygetz]

Poor Glenn. First he loses his wife, then he’s left with Whitney who throws away his stuff without his permission and bosses him around constantly. And on top of that she has already forced him to retire from a job he loved, so he has nothing to look forward to…except Whitney’s lame version of water aerobics. Let the man take a real class for Pete’s sake! She is just incorrigible! I hope this Angie girl takes over!

[Elizzikra]

Quote

I hope this Angie girl takes over!

Why does anyone need to take over? Glenn is a grown man and perfectly capable of making decisions for himself. I suspect he is able to stand up to Whitney when he wants to and a lot of what we see is for the show.