S03.E06: Willard R. Abbott

[DanaK]

Quote

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 10:32-11:02 p.m. EDT/8:32-9:03 p.m. MDT/7:32-8:02 p.m. PDT (Special Time)

Abbott Elementary is deemed a Philadelphia historical landmark, much to Ava and Janine's delight; however, Barbara and Melissa are not as impressed. The school plans a celebration in honor of its namesake, but not everything goes as planned.

Special episode on Sunday, March 10 after the Oscars at approximately 10:32pm ET

[Galileo908]

Not Barbara confusing The Hangover with The Holdovers! I loved that cold open with Bradley Cooper. Definitely taking advantage of the Disney synergy/post-Oscars buzz.

Oh no, the one good Willard R Abbott was a Flat Earther. Loved Mr. Johnson saying "real recognize real" when he said the moon was a spaceship. The ending was real sweet. 

I was dying at all the Janine short jokes, from having to adjust the mic, to Gregory putting up the historical picture, to "What if Janine needs to reach as book off the middle shelf?!"

 

[Annber03]

I laughed at Jacob zipping up his jacket to hide his shirt and Gregory being like, "I guess we know what the 'R' stands for..." XD. 

That was a good episode. It was fun to see Janine, Gregory, and Jacob working together as they did to find an appropriate Willard to honor, and of course their efforts wouldn't quite pan out the way they hoped - that whole press conference was...yeah. Oof :p. I also liked the continuity with the woman from last season showing up to be part of this press conference. 

But kudos to Janine for managing to figure out a good way to honor the school and its history. That ending was really nice, and her speech was lovely. 

[kathyk2]

Bradley Cooper was great. I want Janine to get a win without having to struggle for it. Barbara and Melissa are so cynical towards her. Janine has grown since the first season and their attitude is growing old. 

[Boofish]

11 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I laughed at Jacob zipping up his jacket to hide his shirt and Gregory being like, "I guess we know what the 'R' stands for..." XD. 

 

Oh man I felt this so much. Last year, over Independence Day weekend me and Mr. Boofish went to Washington D.C. on vacation. I have a shirt with Thomas Jefferson on it that says "July 3, 1776 - Oh Crap That's Due Tomorrow" Well it's the perfect Independence Day celebration shirt UNLESS:

Well that same day we went to the Museum of African American History where there is an entire display of bricks with the names of all the slaves Thomas Jefferson owned (if you haven't seen it, there are enough to build a house.) It's very well balanced by what he did for the country vs who he was morally and why people today have a hard time reconciling those two parts of him. And here I am (BLACK BY THE WAY 😂) in my shirt that I thought was so funny and clever. I had purchased a t-shirt outside from "Mr. Carl" THANK YOU JESUS and I just went to the bathroom and changed.

[DanaK]

I enjoyed this and it didn't go the way I expected. I enjoyed seeing Bradley Cooper, who took some gentle ribbing, and Janine got a quiet win after stumbling early on

[meep.meep]

None of them brought up Silver Linings Playbook with Cooper?

If you have to resort to the Willies, it's not going to be good.

 

[peeayebee]

The cold open with Bradley Cooper was great. Loved everyone getting his movies mixed up.

Melissa: Oppenheimer.
Mr Johnson: Is that the one about Napoleon?

I'm sure we all figured Willy Abbott would have something questionable about him, but I did not expect him to be a flat-earther.

I continue to love Ava, esp this year.

Ava: Attention Abbott Elementarians. It's your captain, Principal Coleman, speaking. If you're learning, stop. 
 

 

[Crashcourse]

I only half watched this because it didn't come on until 10:30.  It was ok but I missed some of the jokes because I was sleepy.  I did like seeing Bradley Cooper though.

[DearEvette]

I heard Bradley Cooper had a cameo in the cold open and rolled my eyes. But it was actually well done and quite funny. 

I liked how the theme of the show (and the cold open quip referencing Oppenheimer) and the plaque tied in well and was apropros for a show that aired immediately after the Oscars.  Janine being preoccupied with the plaque and what it represents for validation and being seen as important is exactly what a lot of the awards during award season represents for people.  Meanwhile it is the work itself and the legacy it leaves that is important.  Also caught some meta commentary in there about Abbott Elementary it's success with representation.

Nice episode.

Edited March 11, 2024 by DearEvette

[Crashcourse]

I must say, Janine is looking better with each episode.  I loved her green dress, and she looks really professional and cute in a suit.   

[tennisgurl]

Even when Janine comes back to Abbot full time, I hope she keeps this new wardrobe, she looks so good in blazers and sweater dresses. It still feels very Janine, but a more polished professional Janine than the Janine who dressed like some bizarre hybrid of a kindergartener and a grandma. 

Gotta love that Oscar synergy, Bradley Cooper was a good sport and everyone getting the Oscar movies mixed up was funny. It also tied into the main story, chasing that recognition even if its all ceremonial. 

I knew that Willard R. Abbot would turn out to be racist or something when they started putting so much emphasis on him, it really can be hard to find people, especially people from the past, that don't have some kind of problematic history. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with Willy R Abbot, but I didn't see him being a flat earther coming. That's why you vet any script a speaker gives and don't let them go off script! The moon is a space ship!

I know that Barbara and Melissa have been teaching for a long time and its understandable that they're cynical, but I wish they didn't always have to put down so many of Janine's ideas so quickly, especially ones that don't seem to hurt anything like making Abbot a historical site. It might not be a big thing but its nice to celebrate the wins where you can get them, even when this time it didn't turn out well. 

[mojito]

I give Barbara and Melissa's cynicism a pass. We've only known Janine and the gang a few years. These two women have known Abbott for at least 7 times that many years. 

[peeayebee]

At first glimpse, I thought Willy Abbott was being played by Paul Rudd.

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

At first glimpse, I thought Willy Abbott was being played by Paul Rudd.

I thought that, too! The guy playing him did look awfully familiar, I was trying to figure out who he was. 

3 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I must say, Janine is looking better with each episode.  I loved her green dress, and she looks really professional and cute in a suit.   

I really liked the gray sweater thing she had on at one point, it looked really cute on her. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

None of those kids knew who Bradley Cooper was. Ouch. And I didn't know he was from Philadelphia. He was a timely get for Quinta.

Goshdarnit, Barbara's clouds and Melissa's meatballs.

Willard Rashid Abbott or Willard Racist Abbott?

Gregory and Janine: Like a handsome moth to a cutie patootie flame.

Willie R. Abbott V, Flat Earther. Yikes. Didn't anyone just sit down and have a chat with the guy beforehand? Seems like those views would've been exposed fairly quickly.

[SoMuchTV]

31 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

None of those kids knew who Bradley Cooper was. Ouch. And I didn't know he was from Philadelphia. He was a timely get for Quinta.

I know Bradley Cooper is a celebrity but gun to my head I couldn’t name anything specific that he’s been in. I could probably compete with Barbara in “name that celebrity”. 

[Crashcourse]

I remember Bradley Cooper mostly from the Hangover movies.  That's about it.

[kathyk2]

4 hours ago, mojito said:

I give Barbara and Melissa's cynicism a pass. We've only known Janine and the gang a few years. These two women have known Abbott for at least 7 times that many years. 

If Janine was the cynic she would have been told to lose her attitude a long time ago. Barbara and Melissa haven't shown any character growth in three years. I was also annoyed with Mr. Johnson during this episode.

[Galileo908]

6 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'm sure we all figured Willy Abbott would have something questionable about him, but I did not expect him to be a flat-earther.

I really really hope it was all a set up for the "Lets Free Willy!" joke.

3 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

Barbara and Melissa haven't shown any character growth in three years.

I feel they HAVE grown, but as work besties, they do bring out the worst in each other, and channel it at Janine.

[SoMuchTV]

4 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I was also annoyed with Mr. Johnson during this episode.

Do you even know how to spell annoyed?

[Galileo908]

2 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Goshdarnit, Barbara's clouds and Melissa's meatballs.

"You wish it rained my meatballs."

[Black Knight]

Who else half-expected Mr. Johnson to say, "Well done, Grandpa," when he looked at the historical picture after adjusting it?

I'm glad that that they chose to make the Oscars episode a work-focused one. Apart from about 20 seconds spent on Janine/Gregory (I loved Jacob's snarky meta line about them not being together now for some stupid reason), this was all about the school. I don't mind the personal storylines per se, but they shouldn't take up the majority of the airtime.

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Who else half-expected Mr. Johnson to say, "Well done, Grandpa," when he looked at the historical picture after adjusting it?

I figured there was a suggestion that a much younger Mr. Johnson was in the picture or had some connection to it

[ItCouldBeWorse]

9 hours ago, Black Knight said:

I'm glad that that they chose to make the Oscars episode a work-focused one. Apart from about 20 seconds spent on Janine/Gregory (I loved Jacob's snarky meta line about them not being together now for some stupid reason), this was all about the school. I don't mind the personal storylines per se, but they shouldn't take up the majority of the airtime.

I assume they were trying to attract new viewers who wouldn't be familiar with the Janine/Gregory history by making the topic something that didn't require prior knowledge of the characters, in addition to teasing a special guest appearance.

Edited March 13, 2024 by ItCouldBeWorse

[tessabq]

I had a quicktears moment at the closeup of the photograph a the end. Clearly a relative of Mr. Johnson or maybe even him. (How old is he? Only the Shadow knows.)

[JakeyJokes]

On 3/11/2024 at 2:03 PM, peeayebee said:

The cold open with Bradley Cooper was great. Loved everyone getting his movies mixed up.

Melissa: Oppenheimer.
Mr Johnson: Is that the one about Napoleon?

That joke was simultaneously so smart and so stupid and I loved it.

Also very clever when Jacob said he'd been a "Cooper Trooper" since WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER. It's a cult hit that Bradley Cooper did even before ALIAS, and even though it's a comedy, he has a surprisingly explicit gay sex scene with Michael Ian Black. So of course it's Jacob's favorite.

[sara416]

This was one of my favorites so far. I loved the exchange about 1/6 and Melissa's comment about his coma: "From falling off a wall?" I also loved the reveal of him being a flat earther. It was a quick comment that you might have missed at first with saying the "edge" of the earth, but the reactions of everyone listening who caught it right away were brilliant. I think all the core had some great moments this episode. I have been really busy lately and missed a lot of these episodes in real time, I think I watched 5 in a row yesterday and it just made me so happy. This show continues to be such a delight!