S01.E02: Singles Week

[AnimeMania]

It’s Singles Week on The Odyssey, and lust is in the air. As Max, Tristan and Avery navigate their relationship, the crew fends off advances from passengers. With rising desire and quickly spreading ailments, Max and the team rush to restore order.

Premiere Date: Thursday, October 3, 2024    ABC   9 pm

Marcus Emanuel Mitchell as Crew Officer

Shania Twain 

Chord Overstreet

John Stamos

Gina Gershon

Stephanie Suganami

[kaygeeret]

Oh good gravy -15 minutes in and this thing is laughable.

How did the fabulous Phillipa Soo get involved in this drek.

The doc is in the pilot house steering decisions he has no authority to make.

Endless entanglements involving crew members.

Fix the concept and PLEASE fix the writing.

[Dowel Jones]

Color me evil, but I was expecting Analise's fiancé to meet her at the dock with half a dozen police, because she was the otherwise sole survivor of a drug running fishing boat that she blew up.  Or maybe they were in it together.  Glad it wasn't that.  I hope they towed that raft back to the cruise ship, or at least sank it.  You don't want that radio beacon attracting attention for who knows how long.

Don Johnson just doesn't look good with chin whiskers.  But we know his backstory now, and maybe he'll crash again.  Who knows?

You know, with that many partners in one week, I would think that word would be all over the boat about Studley McStudface's affliction, even if he did get treated.  Yet he still prances off after a few girls just off the boat at the end of the cruise.

Poor Avery.  She gave up her life to work on a cruise ship.  Now she has the opportunity to do some kind of course to become a doctor, but she has to stay on the ship for three fuckin' years?  I'd jump off that top rail too.

[Madding crowd]

I didn’t believe the stud guy knew the first and last names of the people he was ‘with’ on the cruise. Shania Twain is playing grandmas now? I thought she could have just been the woman’s mother. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

I didn’t believe the stud guy knew the first and last names of the people he was ‘with’ on the cruise. Shania Twain is playing grandmas now? I thought she could have just been the woman’s mother. 

I would guess Shania Twain wanted to play the grandmother instead of mama. In real life I have run into many 30 something grandparents as next generational teen parents happen.

 

Her star power did evoke memories of The Love Boat more than the 3 couples in the pilot episode 

[Raja]

10 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

The doc is in the pilot house steering decisions he has no authority to make.

They gave us a 1st Officer very unsure about himself looking for backup for a decision. And then he took half measures as Captain Massey had to order Odyssey to full speed  for a potential rescue. Then Dr. Bankman sounded like Bones on the Enterprise reminding Captain Kirk that as the Chief Medical Officer he could tell the Captain to stay put

4 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Don Johnson just doesn't look good with chin whiskers.  But we know his backstory now, and maybe he'll crash again.  Who knows?

As with his shoes they are all in with Sonny Crockett is now a ship's captain.

4 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Color me evil, but I was expecting Analise's fiancé to meet her at the dock with half a dozen police, because she was the otherwise sole survivor of a drug running fishing boat that she blew up.  Or maybe they were in it together.  Glad it wasn't that.  I hope they towed that raft back to the cruise ship, or at least sank it.  You don't want that radio beacon attracting attention for who knows how long

I was expecting her to get a job offer at the end, from fishing boat to cruise ship fattening up the cast.

At the very least I would expect alerting the US and Mexican Coast Guards

Edited October 4 by Raja

[iMonrey]

I still haven't given this show a series pass, and with just two episodes it seems very obvious the writing for this thing is terrible. It's not a bad concept and the cast is fine but I find myself unable to invest because the situations are boring and/or perplexing and the dialogue is God-awful. It's almost like AI wrote it. 

[Madding crowd]

6 hours ago, Raja said:

I would guess Shania Twain wanted to play the grandmother instead of mama. In real life I have run into many 30 something grandparents as next generational teen parents happen.

 

Her star power did evoke memories of The Love Boat more than the 3 couples in the pilot episode 

Celebs are pretty vain and usually don’t want to play older unless they have to. It’s technically possible for a woman in her 50’s to have a 25 year old granddaughter but not likely now days. Myself and all of my friends are in the late 5o’s-early 60’s range and our kids are in their 20’s, no one I know has adult grandkids yet. I just think it wouldn’t have made a difference in the story for Shania to be the mom-course the writing is bad so far.

Edited October 4 by Madding crowd

[Frost]

I can't get over how free and easy the crew is on the ship.  Swimming in the pool, laying out by the pool, jumping into bed with lots of different passengers...  I can see kicking off the dancing, but the rest of it seems ridiculous.

It's too bad because I think the concept is good and I like most of the cast, but the writing is genuinely awful.

What's the male nurse's name?  The one supposedly so in love in Avery that he flirts constantly with female passengers?  And then keeps having conversations with the Doc about not competing for her, as though she has no agency in who she gets into a relationship with.

Even for someone with Avery's medical background, going to medical school is going to take years and it's not like you can go part time or Zoom into anatomy class from the ship.  How on earth are they going to have Avery go to medical school and keep her as a character?  The three year commitment would be after she finishes, not before she goes.  The military and major companies do programs like this all the time.  They'll pay for business school or medical school and after graduation, the person stays there for a certain number of years.  I've never heard of it beforehand.  What kind of guarantee would the employee have if some HR rep or executive cancels the program before they even start?

I know I'm thinking about this way more than the writers did!  😄

[ShadowHunter]

The second episode was a bit better but still I'm not sure. This show has a few good elements but something is not clicking.

 The couple who were on the ship that caught fire meetings up again at the end was nice though. The triangle is a mess though. I just don't feel invested.

I called it though when the Captain had his attack I figured it was more stress related and some guilt from kissing a new woman after he had talked about his wife who died.

[blackwing]

The show is completely unrealistic, but I am finding it enjoyable. I like the scenery and setting and the medical cases are believable enough.

I do like the cast.  I never watch Dawson's Creek so I have no predisposition re Joshua Jackson.  I think he's decent here.  I only know Sean Teale from the short lived "The Gifted" in which he played the Havok-stand in to the Polaris character.  Philippa Soo is great, I liked her in that "blink and you missed it" military lawyer show with Luke Mitchell that was quickly cancelled a few years ago.

12 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I didn’t believe the stud guy knew the first and last names of the people he was ‘with’ on the cruise. Shania Twain is playing grandmas now? I thought she could have just been the woman’s mother. 

I agree, there's no way the manwhore (or whatever he called himself) knew the full names of everyone.  He was with mostly women and a few men, the man he woke up next to, he looked like he didn't even know who he was.  I would think others would be described "blonde in a red swimsuit" or "fine ass" or whatever other names he was using to identify them.

I don't think Shania is old enough to be a grandma with a 20 something year old granddaughter.  I think she's in her late 50s?  It was great seeing her in this role, definitely added some star power reminiscent of "The Love Boat".

In the preview above, it also lists John Stamos and Gina Gershon.  Who were they?  Did I miss them?

3 hours ago, Frost said:

I can't get over how free and easy the crew is on the ship.  Swimming in the pool, laying out by the pool, jumping into bed with lots of different passengers...  I can see kicking off the dancing, but the rest of it seems ridiculous.

It's too bad because I think the concept is good and I like most of the cast, but the writing is genuinely awful.

What's the male nurse's name?  The one supposedly so in love in Avery that he flirts constantly with female passengers?  And then keeps having conversations with the Doc about not competing for her, as though she has no agency in who she gets into a relationship with.

Even for someone with Avery's medical background, going to medical school is going to take years and it's not like you can go part time or Zoom into anatomy class from the ship.  How on earth are they going to have Avery go to medical school and keep her as a character?  The three year commitment would be after she finishes, not before she goes.  The military and major companies do programs like this all the time.  They'll pay for business school or medical school and after graduation, the person stays there for a certain number of years.  I've never heard of it beforehand.  What kind of guarantee would the employee have if some HR rep or executive cancels the program before they even start?

I know I'm thinking about this way more than the writers did!  😄

I fully agree, the show is utterly unrealistic in the way the crew are depicted.  Crew members are not allowed to interact socially with guests, and in general I don't think they are allowed in any public areas when they aren't on duty.  When they are on duty they are working and they certainly won't be working out in the passenger gym, swimming in the main pool, using the steam room or having a drink at a bar.  The crew have their own bar and  gym and dining room and maybe a hot tub in crew-only areas of the ship.

From the shot of the ship in the premiere episode, this definitely doesn't seem to be a huge megaship.  Are the scenes on the main pool deck with the pool and the water slides filmed on an actual cruise ship?  I noticed that the show thanks Crystal Cruises in the credits.  I would assume the interior shots are all on soundstages.  The interiors are enormous.  The high ceilings of the gym made it look like it was in a warehouse.  The medical bay is enormous.  The cabins are enormous.

How old is Avery supposed to be?  35ish?  Probably a bit old to be going back to med school.  But if she were to do that, she'd have to quit her job and go full time, which is 4 years and then at least 3 years of residency.  Because she is on a TV show, she wouldn't quit.  So if she chooses to go this route I have no doubt she would be going to med school remotely, which seems like a ridiculous concept.

 

Edited October 4 by blackwing

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

In the preview above, it also lists John Stamos and Gina Gershon.  Who were they?  Did I miss them?

They were in the preview, so I assumed they would be in the episode. Gina Gershon will definitely be in the next episode as the wife of the owner of Cruise Ship.

[Raja]

18 hours ago, blackwing said:

 Philippa Soo is great, I liked her in that "blink and you missed it" military lawyer show with Luke Mitchell that was quickly cancelled a few years ago.

I agree, there's no way the manwhore (or whatever he called himself) knew the full names of everyone.  He was with mostly women and a few men, the man he woke up next to, he looked like he didn't even know who he was.  I would think others would be described "blonde in a red swimsuit" or "fine ass" or whatever other names he was using to identify them.

I don't think Shania is old enough to be a grandma with a 20 something year old granddaughter.  I think she's in her late 50s?  It was great seeing her in this role, definitely added some star power reminiscent of "The Love Boat".

In the preview above, it also lists John Stamos and Gina Gershon.  Who were they?  Did I miss them?

I fully agree, the show is utterly unrealistic in the way the crew are depicted.  Crew members are not allowed to interact socially with guests, and in general I don't think they are allowed in any public areas when they aren't on duty.  When they are on duty they are working and they certainly won't be working out in the passenger gym, swimming in the main pool, using the steam room or having a drink at a bar.  The crew have their own bar and  gym and dining room and maybe a hot tub in crew-only areas of the ship.

The Code, or JAG with Marines only was the show.

The other names are from future episodes. Google says one "named celebrity" Love Boat like was known for his plastic surgeries so he is almost certainly on that cruise/episode.

Right after the no officer with his crew code we got 3 of the 4 hooking up with passengers, going far beyond being a host and dance partner on the first night.

Edited October 5 by Raja

[emma675]

This show is so bad, so cheesy. The writing is awful, the medical situations are too over the top, the acting isn't great, and the sets seem nothing like an actual ship. 

And yet, I plan on watching every episode they air.

I can’t explain it either. 

[iMonrey]

3 hours ago, Frost said:

What's the male nurse's name?  The one supposedly so in love in Avery that he flirts constantly with female passengers?  And then keeps having conversations with the Doc about not competing for her, as though she has no agency in who she gets into a relationship with.

I simply cannot fathom why they chose to have the new doc make a move on Avery right after Tristan told him he's crushing hard on her. It was such a dick move - were we supposed to hate the new doc right from the jump? Or did they think that was a cool move that made him look like the alpha or something? It's stuff like that I don't get what this show is trying to do. They don't seem to have a measure of how this is all coming across. 

One thing I did kind of appreciate, in a way, was the man whore character getting it on with both men and women. That's not something I'd normally expect when they cast a known guest star like Chord Overstreet.

[Crashcourse]

My favorites were the man ho story, and the woman on the boat being reunited with her fiancé.  Otherwise, I was bored, and I'm so, so, so, sick of the doctor and nurse pining over Avery.

I'd like to see the Crew Officer again, just for eye candy.

[Crashcourse]

Regarding the man ho, I was surprised that word didn't get around on the cruise ship about his "adventures" and he was able to go on his sex spree so easily. 

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

From the shot of the ship in the premiere episode, this definitely doesn't seem to be a huge megaship. 

I was thinking the same thing.  It looks relatively small compared to some of the Norwegian, Carnival & Disney ships I've seen at the Port.  I used to live about 5 miles from Port Canaveral, but I never went on a cruise.  I enjoyed driving out there to admire the ships, and sometimes get there in time to watch them set sail on their voyage!  Those were some monster ships!!   I was wondering if the medical facility on this show is actually similar to the medical facilities on the bigger ships.  

The only person of the regular crew that I'm familiar with is Don Johnson.  I have no idea who everybody else is.   Shania looked great!  

I'm trying to like the show, but many aspects of it are simply unbelievable.  I hate that they started the show with the medical staff all hot for each other.  

Oh well, it's something different to watch, so I'll give it a few more episodes.  

[txhorns79]

4 hours ago, emma675 said:

 

And yet, I plan on watching every episode they air.

I will say that Joshua Jackson is a charming presence, and he does elevate the material somewhat, even if the way the show is playing it, I feel very much like he's going to be in a threesome with his nurses. 

As for the episode itself, it just made the ship seem common and gross.  I just wanted to be like: "Remember, it's a cruise ship, not an orgy."  I also kind of giggle at how everyone seems to have giant cabins and the medical facilities are absolutely bonkers. 

Edited October 5 by txhorns79

[Soapy Goddess]

Maybe Shania just wanted to have a few scenes with Don Johnson. He needed a sexy love interest, so I hope you all didn't expect the show to bring on Moms Mabley? 😜

[Raja]

5 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Maybe Shania just wanted to have a few scenes with Don Johnson. He needed a sexy love interest, so I hope you all didn't expect the show to bring on Moms Mabley? 😜

I guess the show didn't want the Silver Bachelor going for a daughter aged first romantic interest post wife. Making the character a grandmother of an adult does that. I still think that Shania Twain wanted to play a grandmother in a way similar to Dwayne Johnson, the actor can't have any character lose a fight except The Rock when he is in a wrestling show.

[Raja]

On 10/4/2024 at 11:47 AM, blackwing said:

I don't think Shania is old enough to be a grandma with a 20 something year old granddaughter.  I think she's in her late 50s?  It was great seeing her in this role, definitely added some star power reminiscent of "The Love Boat".

While global trends are going towards women having their first child in their 30s the other thing still exist with teenaged girls giving birth and those children also having children  as teens. When working in the schools I ran into a frightful, when I first encountered it, number of barely 30 grandparents. So we have the 20 something to 50-60s something where we skipped a generation for the family vacation here.

Edited October 5 by Raja

[Chit Chat]

14 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

As for the episode itself, it just made the ship seem common and gross. 

It was the Voyage of the Poxed.  

[gail56]

22 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Celebs are pretty vain and usually don’t want to play older unless they have to. It’s technically possible for a woman in her 50’s to have a 25 year old granddaughter but not likely now days. Myself and all of my friends are in the late 5o’s-early 60’s range and our kids are in their 20’s, no one I know has adult grandkids yet. I just think it wouldn’t have made a difference in the story for Shania to be the mom-course the writing is bad so far.

I am 67 and my twin grandsons are in their early 20's. I still can't believe they are that old already!

[Phishbulb]

"So you've got a car? That don't impress me much. But if you've got a SHIP, I'm in" 😀

[Dowel Jones]

4 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

It was the Voyage of the Poxed. 

Maybe they should have titled it "Shingles Week".

[Chit Chat]

24 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Maybe they should have titled it "Shingles Week".

If I knew how to Photoshop, I'd do one with Oprah yelling "and you get some penicillin........"  For anyone who doesn't know the reference, here it is.

[FnkyChkn34]

On 10/4/2024 at 4:42 PM, emma675 said:

This show is so bad, so cheesy. The writing is awful, the medical situations are too over the top, the acting isn't great, and the sets seem nothing like an actual ship. 

And yet, I plan on watching every episode they air.

I can’t explain it either. 

Same!  I think I need a "it's so bad it's good" show in my life right now.  

[kaygeeret]

Just curious, did the "sleep with everyone" crew member have shingles or a sexually transmitted disease.

Re the size of the ship.  The pics definitely show a very high end smaller cruise ship and apparently that is a thing these days.  So that would mean I think that that type of ship with a theoretically very expensive cost per cruise....would likely NOT have a "singles" cruise for all the reasons the epi. so badly portrayed.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, kaygeeret said:

Just curious, did the "sleep with everyone" crew member have shingles or a sexually transmitted disease.

I'm pretty sure it was an STD.  Once diagnosed, he said something along the lines of "not again."  He was a walking pox.  

[ShadowHunter]

23 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I will say that Joshua Jackson is a charming presence, and he does elevate the material somewhat, even if the way the show is playing it, I feel very much like he's going to be in a threesome with his nurses. 

As for the episode itself, it just made the ship seem common and gross.  I just wanted to be like: "Remember, it's a cruise ship, not an orgy."  I also kind of giggle at how everyone seems to have giant cabins and the medical facilities are absolutely bonkers. 

Well this is Ryan Murphy so a threesome is very possible. Though he is restrained on ABC compared to what he does on his cable/streaming shows. 

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

Just curious, did the "sleep with everyone" crew member have shingles or a sexually transmitted disease.

Re the size of the ship.  The pics definitely show a very high end smaller cruise ship and apparently that is a thing these days.  So that would mean I think that that type of ship with a theoretically very expensive cost per cruise....would likely NOT have a "singles" cruise for all the reasons the epi. so badly portrayed.

It was definitely an STD.  I thought it was syphilis since I am pretty sure I heard syphilis mentioned.  But then the doctor said something about maybe next time he won't get the clap, which I think is gonorrhea?

Either way, it was definitely an STD and it was definitely something he has multiple times since he muttered something like "oh please God, not again, don't do this to me again".

Agree that this seems like a smaller higher end cruise ship, of which Crystal Cruises is one.  I agree with you that there would probably not be a singles cruise on Crystal.  Those seem to call for a bigger, more affordable cruise line like Carnival.

[kaygeeret]

Thanks to those who answered my question.  It also explains the condom discussion the doc and the  jerk had.

[buttersister]

I’m looking at each episode for evidence of this being Dr. JJ dying of Covid or in a fever dream. The dream-come-true medical degree bit for Avery? ✅ 

[Jillybean]

I just cannot fathom, in this day and age, so so many people willing to have sex with a perfect stranger without using a condom. 

[KLovestoShop]

On 10/4/2024 at 8:11 PM, Chit Chat said:

I was thinking the same thing.  It looks relatively small compared to some of the Norwegian, Carnival & Disney ships I've seen at the Port.  I used to live about 5 miles from Port Canaveral, but I never went on a cruise.  I enjoyed driving out there to admire the ships, and sometimes get there in time to watch them set sail on their voyage!  Those were some monster ships!!   I was wondering if the medical facility on this show is actually similar to the medical facilities on the bigger ships.  

I'm trying to like the show, but many aspects of it are simply unbelievable.  I hate that they started the show with the medical staff all hot for each other.  

Oh well, it's something different to watch, so I'll give it a few more episodes.  

Like I posted earlier, this show doesn’t set foot on a real ship.  They used giant sound stages, and went to a local beach for some outdoor shots. 
 

The ship that you see on some shots looks like the Ritz Carlton ship or something similar. They are very small and hold less than 300 passengers. I’ve been in the medical clinic on many ships from the 5000 passenger behemoths to luxury ships  carrying 200, and no ship’s medical facility looks anything like the Odyssey. They are basic rooms that look like something like those walk in clinic emergency rooms. They handle your basic illnesses and emergency cases. Anything serious is handled by removing the patient to the closest port for treatment. My mom broke her hip on a ship and she was medically evacuated in Nassau and from there she was flown to Ft Lauderdale on a med jet where she had surgery.  I also witnessed an evacuation via a helicopter when we were too far from land. The patient was a 99 year old woman who needed serious medical intervention.  
 

There are so many falsehoods on this show, it’s laughable. 

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

My mom broke her hip on a ship and she was medically evacuated in Nassau and from there she was flown to Ft Lauderdale on a med jet where she had surgery.

If she had been on this ship, she would've had surgery &rehab and would've been right as rain by the time they got back to their home port!!  Seriously though, sorry about that happening to your mom.  I hope she did well after all of that.

9 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

There are so many falsehoods on this show, it’s laughable.

It is.  It's one that's going to be fun to snark on. 

[Elizzikra]

 

Quote

Just curious, did the "sleep with everyone" crew member have shingles or a sexually transmitted disease.

He wasn't a crew member; he was a passenger. He had syphilis (at least).

[wanderingstar]

So that one guy was basically a superspreader. 

Enjoying this show so far as a bit of fluff during my week.