S06.E06: Hanging In Dorms With Boys And The Secret Life Of Men

[DanaK]

Quote

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 8:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

Darlene urges Ben to make some male friends as he feels anxious about turning 50. Elsewhere, Mark asks Harris to buy him and his friends beer for their dorm room.

 

[SoMuchTV]

Umm… you can’t leave animals alone overnight at a vet clinic, can you? Now I’m retroactively concerned. 
 

I’m going to tell myself there’s a vet tech or intern or something, who Neville told they could take a couple hours off. 

Edited March 21 by SoMuchTV
Trying to make myself feel better…

[Annber03]

I'm not hanging out in college dorms or anything like that, but I still related a lot to Harris' thing of feeling like she can't really spend time with her friends 'cause they've all got kids. Yep. I get that all too well. 

I like the guys' night idea - them hanging out at Neville's office with the animals just makes sense, and I can definitely see it being a good way to de-stress. Especially if you've got cute cats and the like to look at there :D. 

As for Ben's whole thing of turning 50, I can understand Darlene's concern on some level, 'cause some people do go through a pretty big crisis when they hit a milestone age, but in Ben's case, I don't think that's really going to be a problem. I'm going to be 40 later this year and that realization is throwing me a bit, so I get where Ben's coming from on some level. But it really doesn't have to be any more significant than "Wow, I'm middle aged." :p (not knocking being milddle aged, mind, just noting the general reaction a lot of people have when they get htere :D). 

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Umm… you can’t leave animals alone overnight at a vet clinic, can you? Now I’m retroactively concerned. 

I guess it depends on why they are there?  Some probably need to be monitored. 

 

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

but I still related a lot to Harris' thing of feeling like she can't really spend time with her friends 'cause they've all got kids.

How old is Harris supposed to be?  21 or 22?  Realistically, how many of her friends would really have children?

[Rocknrollzombie]

2 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

How old is Harris supposed to be?  21 or 22?  Realistically, how many of her friends would really have children?

As someone in Harris’s generation, not  going to watch the Episode but since I am in Harris age range. 25 going onto to 26, three of my friends have kids, a handful of girls I went to high school with have kids already who are 4 or 5 years old.

Edited March 21 by Rocknrollzombie

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Realistically, how many of her friends would really have children?

That was my reaction, too - on a purely personal level, I'm Becky and Darlene's generation, not Harris's, and no one in my social circle had kids until their 30s if they opted to have them at all, but setting that aside I know that, with each generation, the average age of becoming parents increases across socioeconomic factors even while differences between those factors remain - but it could be accurate for Harris. 

We don't know any of her friends (other than Odessa, who we haven't seen in some time), but she might know, from her work at the tattoo parlor and her time with Aldo, people older than her.  Plus, among any HS friends she managed to make or those working at the retail store, those who went off to college would not be part of her life anymore, only those who went right into full-time work; in a relatively small, largely working class town without an abundance of options, I'm too lazy to look up statistics, but know there are a greater percentage of young mothers.

(Plus, let's be real; much like her mom, Harris's circle of "my friends" isn't huge, so it doesn't take that many of them churning out kids to have that constitute most of them.)

4 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Umm… you can’t leave animals alone overnight at a vet clinic, can you? Now I’m retroactively concerned. 

Lots of clinics also provide boarding without anyone being there overnight, but the script specified sick animals.  If there isn't a 24-hour hospital to transfer them to or an on-call emergency vet who can be brought in to stay at the otherwise business hours clinic overnight for monitoring, or if there is but the owner can't afford it, though, it can happen (I've seen it on Dr. Pol's show, and for all my issues with him I don't think he's alone in allowing it).  Neville has previously been shown to bring home the animals that need his overnight attention, so I'll go along with this episode's cuties being okay.

I liked the interaction among the various groups this episode showcased - particularly Tyler and Ben both needing friends, including Ben telling Darlene "My guy friends are your dad" - with some exceptions.

The guys loving being with the animals, I am all about.  (And Tyler picked a cat, so he's my new favorite*, although I also loved Ben and the goat.)

*But, WTF, is Becky moving this guy in already?!  I know another recent episode talked about them sneaking nights together, which raised the question of where those happen since he lives with his mom and, more importantly, she shares a room with her daughter.  And this one sounded like he wasn't just occasionally staying in said room, but routinely.

Jackie still being so pathetic as to suggest ditching "Girls' Night" to surprise their partners at "Guys' Night", and Neville simultaneously telling the guys he can't just tell her he chooses to spend two overnights a week at the clinic because she'd want to come along is sadly unsurprising.  It's a bummer, though, that Darlene followed suit in suggesting she horn in when Ben talked about it, being jealous/resentful/whatever of each of them having some things of their own rather than nothing but shared interests; she's better than that.

Harris and Mark were good, with Harris fulfilling the big sister role getting him alcohol (while stereotypical, I did laugh at "I'm not making Dr. Lester Wong money" about him paying for a fake ID that would never work when she asked why he couldn't do it himself) but then overstepping because of her circumstances and Mark picking at that wound in telling her to get lost and it coming to a head.  I always enjoy their relationship and am glad they have each other.

Edited March 21 by Bastet

[iMonrey]

If I wanted to "de-stress" the last place on earth I'd want to be is in the back room at a vet clinic. There's a reason the animals are there. They are either sick or injured (of both). And for an animal lover, that's sad. I have a friend who's a vet and she once took me "behind the scenes." I wish she hadn't, it was so depressing to see those poor animals in isolation cages suffering various maladies and injuries. 

I didn't really get Darlene's push for Ben to talk to someone about turning 50 either. She should let the guy deal with it in his own way, it's not her job to horn in and insist he open up to somebody if he doesn't want to. Maybe it's no big deal to him.

Where was Louise supposed to be? I guess they can't afford to pay Katey Sagal for every episode, or maybe she isn't even contracted for every episode, but since Louise is no longer on the road we need some explanation for where she is.

[txhorns79]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I guess they can't afford to pay Katey Sagal for every episode, or maybe she isn't even contracted for every episode, but since Louise is no longer on the road we need some explanation for where she is.

She's off living with her first husband and family in Chicago under an assumed name. 

[Yogisbooboo64]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I didn't really get Darlene's push for Ben to talk to someone about turning 50 either. She should let the guy deal with it in his own way, it's not her job to horn in and insist he open up to somebody if he doesn't want to. Maybe it's no big deal to him.

FACTS!  Man, I don't know how many times I said "JESUS!" in exasperation during this episode.

Darlene....you don't have to know every...fricking...feeling about Ben!  If you had just stfu, he likely would have come around and shared how he felt with you.  I'm like Ben and Mr. Yogi is Darlene in that he's always wanting me to share what I'm thinking....da fuq?!  I like peace and quiet, and when I'm ready to talk, I will.  

As for Katey Sagal....love her I do, but if she didn't want to become a full-time member then she shouldn't have signed on or let someone else be Louise.  It's gotten old, not seeing her in episodes.

 

 

[One Tough Cookie]

20 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

How old is Harris supposed to be?  21 or 22?  Realistically, how many of her friends would really have children?

But what kind of a life does she have?  Her job ant the Lunch box doesn't really give her an opportunity to see friends and if she's also also tattoos takes up more time.  Yeah, she should be socializing, but NOT with Mark' friands, IMO 

 

[Rocknrollzombie]

“Where did the bad men take you?” So cringe like god so this is how Becky would have been like dating a David type character bleh.

[Brn2bwild]

Am I the only person disappointed that Mark's friends weren't co-ed?  Mark seems like the kind of boy who would have a lot of female friends.  The situation felt very 1980s.

Also I call B.S. on that animal area being quiet.  Those animals would be clamoring for attention the moment humans entered the space.

 

[JAYJAY1979]

2 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

Am I the only person disappointed that Mark's friends weren't co-ed?  Mark seems like the kind of boy who would have a lot of female friends.  The situation felt very 1980s.

Also I call B.S. on that animal area being quiet.  Those animals would be clamoring for attention the moment humans entered the space.

 

I see nothing wrong with non coed friendships and I viewed it as Mark wanting to make friends with other guys since he was now in college.  New place, new start.  

And I understood the men wanting to hang out with just the guys..away from their significant others.

On the OG show, Dan had his poker nights and Roseanne had her girls nights....so it's weird Becky/Jackie/Darlene have an issue with their significant others wanting guy time.  The 1980s and 1990s were a lot better in some ways.

[Wizardpatch]

It would have been great if Dan had said something about his old guy friends having moved away, died or abducted by aliens (Tom Arnold).

[Brn2bwild]

Also, it was strange that Darlene became suspicious after learning the men left the Lobo.  Like... people can't go to more than one place while hanging out?

[b4pjoe]

 

On 3/20/2024 at 7:21 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Umm… you can’t leave animals alone overnight at a vet clinic, can you? Now I’m retroactively concerned. 
 

I’m going to tell myself there’s a vet tech or intern or something, who Neville told they could take a couple hours off. 

My dog had cruciate ligament surgery about 3 months ago and had to stay overnight. I asked if anyone would be there at night and they said no.

[Jillybean]

Here in Virginia, it is state law that veterinary clinics must provide a disclosure form stating any hours that continuous care is not available. Clients must sign.  Peanut Law

Edited April 2 by Jillybean