S01.E01: The 6:10 to Lubbock

[MollyMelrose]

Didn't expect much. Expectations met.

The Georgie-Jim exchange made it worthwhile TV, but there's gonna be a problem when viewers tune in hoping to see who isn't part of the regular cast more than who is. Admit to bias. Not a Mandy fan. Think she's a younger version of her mother. Not gonna watch Georgie's spirit be crushed by her.

Think they'd have been better served to have kept the regular cast, changed the show's name to The Coopers, and found a way to add George to the cast of Ghosts.

Edited October 18 by MollyMelrose

[tennisgurl]

I came in wanting to like this because I love Georgie, but I really wasn't feeling this. The laugh track is SO jarring, every time the canned laughter started it made pulled me right out of the show, it was so awkward. The change from a studio audience laughing and the more sitcom-y look of BBT to the non laugh track more realistic TS felt a lot more natural to me, probably because the cast and setting were so different, but this is almost entirely made up of YS characters and the setting is basically the same, it feels like a dream sequence, not the same universe. The opening tango was bizarre, it doesn't at all seem to go with the shows tone. The "laughing show" bit of meta commentary was at least fun.

Seeing Mary and Meemaw in this show felt so weird with this laugh track going and the vibe being so different, especially with the shadow of George's recent death still hanging over us. I loved seeing them though, I have no clue how they are going to keep them off the show for long periods of time. 

I totally forgot that Mandy had a brother, I think he was only briefly in one episode, but I guess he's our new Sheldon, except without all of the stuff we like about Sheldon. 

Its just the pilot and pilots are always rough, so I will give it a few more episodes, it did give me a few chuckles and the scene where Georgie hugged his father in law and said he reminded him of George got me at least. As of this episode though, its just not that funny.

18 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Going from a “no studio laughter” show to a one with studio laughter is jarring. Almost feels like Kevin Can F**k Himself.

I just finished binging Kevin Can F**k Himself and this really gave me those vibes, the change from the more grounded YS to the bright sitcom set and laugh track feels so off-putting. Mandy's mom reminds me of the episode where we meet Allison's mom and she brings the "sitcom filter" with her and the canned laughter is cracking up over her quips about how stupid and ugly her daughter is and what a loser her late husband was, then when she's gone Allison is just standing there miserable and we're reminded that without the laugh track and bright lighting these sitcom hypercritical moms/mother in laws really aren't funny so much as emotionally abusive toxic assholes. Mandy's mom was ok in small doses, especially when she and Mary would duke it out, but I am not loving her as a main character constantly picking at Georgie and Mandy. 

[astrohip]

Did I love it? No. But for a pilot, it was more than okay. Especially sitcom pilots, which are notorious for taking a few eps to get their characters established.

Chuck Lorre has a history of making great sitcoms. I'll give this one a chance.

 

19 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Is that a live audience? It sounds like a fake soundtrack and I don't like it.

Live audience. Chuck Lorre said in no uncertain terms, it's a live audience, and they don't add any fake or canned laughter.

[EtheltoTillie]

2 minutes ago, astrohip said:

Did I love it? No. But for a pilot, it was more than okay. Especially sitcom pilots, which are notorious for taking a few eps to get their characters established.

Chuck Lorre has a history of making great sitcoms. I'll give this one a chance.

 

Live audience. Chuck Lorre said in no uncertain terms, it's a live audience, and they don't add any fake or canned laughter.

I agree, it sounded like a canned laugh track to me.

Somewhat OT, but for those who like Melissa Peterman, she's going to be in the new Reba sitcom debuting tonight.  So Melissa and Reba back together again. 

[BitterApple]

I didn't have high hopes for this going in, so I wasn't disappointed. I'm willing to give it a few episodes to see if it picks up steam, but I'm not optimistic.

I have similar complaints as the rest of you. The canned laugh track was jarring and tango transition music feels wrong. Also, the lighting is too harsh and unnatural. The three camera shoot format creates a lot of distance between the actors and the audience, whereas YS had a more intimate feel. 

I know pilots have to do a lot of establishing work, but I hope the plots evolve beyond Mandy and Audrey sniping at one another and Audrey being an insufferable witch. Thus far, Georgie and the dad are the only characters that are likeable. I'm not sure we'll get enough appearances from the Coopers to balance out the show. 

 

[emma675]

I don't know how I felt about this, tbh. I watched because I'm sentimental towards the characters and the ending to Young Sheldon was so sad, but I don't know if that's enough to keep me watching. The laugh track and live studio audience were so jarring that I didn't feel like I was watching real people like I did with YS. It felt like a sitcom of real people, if that makes any sense at all.

And what was with the tango at the beginning? Is there going to be a different dance for every episode?

[EtheltoTillie]

We'll have to head over to the "everything else TV" thread to enter Audrey as a worst TV parent.

ETA:  done

Edited October 18 by EtheltoTillie

[januaryman]

That was boring - there wasn't a single memorable laugh line. The scenes were so short and choppy - give me back the sitcom days of long scenes and long conversations and one act break. Only Annie and Zoe sparked any interest for me.

[MaryMitch]

I enjoyed it - it will take a few episodes for the bugs to shake out. Never judge a series by its pilot.

The dance at the beginning was unexpected; I wonder if they'll do a different dance every week? If not... that's bound to have a good background story.

[babyhouseman]

Like many of you, I will give the show a chance.  I just read the dance opening is in reference to the push-pull of G and M's relationship. I'm more in favor of the idea of Georgie looking like Patrick Swayze. 

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

Didn't expect much. Expectations met.

The Georgie-Jim exchange made it worthwhile TV, but there's gonna be a problem when viewers tune in hoping to see who isn't part of the regular cast more than who is. Admit to bias. Not a Mandy fan. Think she's a younger version of her mother. Not gonna watch Georgie's spirit be crushed by her.

Think they'd have been better served to have kept the regular cast, changed the show's name to The Coopers, and found a way to add George to the cast of Ghosts.

Oh, I'm sure they would do all that and more if they could come up with the salary requirements and still make a profit.

 

5 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I agree, it sounded like a canned laugh track to me.

Well, canned laugh tracks are made from real audience laughter, aren't they?

[iarwain]

On 10/17/2024 at 8:10 PM, Snow Apple said:

Is that a live audience? It sounds like a fake soundtrack and I don't like it.

I wasn't really paying attention, but during the end of Young Sheldon, they talked about how this would be filmed in front of a live audience, and how this was going to be a new experience for Montana Jordan.

I thought the episode was entertaining enough, keeping in mind these kinds of shows usually take a little while to find their voice.  I liked Georgie's hug with his father in law, and his being honored at being compared with his real dad.  Very nice moment.  Also nice to see Mary, and Meemaw, and Missy will be on next week.  I hope they keep dropping in from time to time.

I also thought the point about Georgie stepping in front of the long time employee on the promotion ladder, because he was family, was interesting.  It really doesn't seem fair, but it's JIm's business to do as he wishes.  We've seen that Georgie  has entrepreneurial talents, so I look forward to him showing them in the future.

[Dimity]

On 10/18/2024 at 9:34 AM, Dimity said:

Main one being there was no logical reason for Mandy and Georgie not to have moved back in with Mary in light of George's death and with Sheldon gone to California. 

Quoting myself to say I finally watched the episode and all in all it wasn't bad.  I'll  definitely watch again.  But that said what I said above still stands. 

MeeMaw making bitchy little comments about Mandy and Georgie not wanting to live with Mary was just cruel.  Mary has just lost her husband she does not need bitchy MeeMaw telling her that her son and daughter in law would rather live by the railroad tracks or else with a nasty woman who is a critical, sour person.

Edited October 19 by Dimity

[TheOtherOne]

I watched TBBT from start to finish but none of Young Sheldon. Was Meemaw always such a bitch to Mary on YS or was that just for this episode?

For what it's worth, the audience reactions do seem to be real. According to a Deadline interview they toned down some of it.

Quote

 

DEADLINE: There wasn’t the obligatory “awwww” when Georgie got a hug from Will Sasso’s Jim McAllister. Did you edit out the studio audience during that moment?

HOLLAND: We’re trying to be conscious of tone. Sometimes audiences come to these shows and they’re very amped up, so sometimes those big laughs at home can seem jarring. We’re trying to tamper them down. But especially things like the awwws … they have never been a thing that we love. It feels like sometimes the audiences are doing it because they think they’re supposed to. They take you out of what is a very sweet moment. We didn’t edit them out, but we did do another pass and asked the audience not [to make a sound].

 

 

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Was Meemaw always such a bitch to Mary on YS or was that just for this episode?

She seemed to get snarkier with each season.  I think she could've dialed it back a bit on YS.  MeeMaw had her moments of being very supportive of Mary, but she also had that snarky side.  Her main issue in the beginning of YS was that George got Mary pregnant while still a teen, so they had to get married. She was always a little bitter about that, but in the end, she did care for George.

MeeMaw also likes to ruffle Mary's feathers because she went from being a wild child to a very religious woman.  MeeMaw wants her to loosen up sometimes, but she was always there for Mary during the difficult times.

[possibilities]

That's interesting about the audience reactions. I wonder (just from a technical point of view) why it's preferable to do a take with a silent audience than to edit out the audience noise. I assume they are miced on different tracks, so it wouldn't be technically unfeasible to mute or dim the sound on the original take.

 

Edited October 20 by possibilities
typo

[bybrandy]

They got me with Georgie hugging the father in law since we all knew it was about George. 
 

I didn’t love it but it is a pilot. There were things I liked so I’ll give it a while. 

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

That's interesting about the audience reactions. I wonder (just from a technical point of view) why it's preferable to do a take with a silent audience than to edit out the audience noise. 

Because it's easier. They do not have to deal with sound mixing. It's just a choice between take one or take two (obviously the numbers might be different but you get the idea). 

[ahpny]

Quote

While, when they spun off Frasier, the character deepened, and it was believable why he moved. 

True, but the basis for Frasier's continued high regard is not just this, but some of the best sitcom writing ever and a stellar cast. I have no quarrel with the cast of this show, but the writters need to step it up big time. Both TTBT and YS had pretty good writting as well, but so far this show doesn't meet the standard of its predecessors. Both Frasier and Young Sheldon stood on their own feet and could be, and were, enjoyed by many who never saw the respective shows from which they were spun. At least so far, it's hard to see how many would have any interest in this show without being steeped in either TTBT or YS.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, ahpny said:

True, but the basis for Frasier's continued high regard is not just this, but some of the best sitcom writing ever and a stellar cast. I have no quarrel with the cast of this show, but the writters need to step it up big time. Both TTBT and YS had pretty good writting as well, but so far this show doesn't meet the standard of its predecessors. Both Frasier and Young Sheldon stood on their own feet and could be, and were, enjoyed by many who never saw the respective shows from which they were spun. At least so far, it's hard to see how many would have any interest in this show without being steeped in either TTBT or YS.

Yeah I have to agree with this, plus while I see a lot of forgiving going on over this being "just a pilot" and needing time to improve, both "Frasier" and TBBT hit the ground running with great pilots. In fact seeing them again I marvel at how shows like that didn't need to improve, they were great right out of the gate.

It also bothers me here because a pilot like this is not typical for a Chuck Lorre show. From the shows of his I've seen the pilots are usually better than this. In fact this is probably the worst one of his I've seen. But it's not like I didn't expect that after just hearing about this show when it was in its planning stages. It didn't even sound like it was going to be that good. I can't help but think that maybe this is the best he could sell the network into airing. It must be harder to get a sitcom on the air these days and he hasn't had a sitcom on network TV since "Young Sheldon" ended.

[3 is enough]

I agree with @MollyMelrose that Mandy is a younger version of her mother. I suspect this will be the downfall of the marriage. Not a fan of either Mandy or her mom. How the dad ( who I really like) put up with her for all those years is beyond me. Wonder if it will eventually come out that Mandy’s parents also had to get married because her mom got pregnant.

The whole thing was kind of meh but it was a pilot so I will give it a chance for a few more episodes. 

[proserpina65]

I watched this on Thursday and it was . . .not good.  There was that nice emotional moment where Georgie talked about how Jim reminded him of his dad and how he missed his dad but otherwise . . . 

I really hate that Mandy' mother not only didn't have to repeat her apology so that Mandy could hear it, but she didn't have to apologize to Georgie at all.  Maybe she can get hit by the 6:10 to Lubbock?

On 10/18/2024 at 2:07 PM, MollyMelrose said:

Not a Mandy fan. Think she's a younger version of her mother. Not gonna watch Georgie's spirit be crushed by her.

I didn't mind Mandy on Young Sheldon as much as some people did, so I hope you're wrong.

On 10/18/2024 at 2:25 PM, tennisgurl said:

except without all of the stuff we like about Sheldon. 

There's stuff people like about Sheldon?

[karenc3]

Something else I'm kind of realizing,  I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't seem as apparent at least from the pilot that this was set in the early 90s.  It was very apparent in Young Sheldon, even when it ended that it was set in the late 80s- early 90s.   The only reference to the 90s at all was them watching Frasier but that could have been anytime after the 90s.   Maybe this will be more apparent as the show goes on.  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 10/18/2024 at 12:31 AM, karenc3 said:

I thought the opening with them watching Fraiser talking about a laughing show was clever, because of the change in type of comedy, this is now a laughing show.   Also, I wonder if they used Frasier because it was a successful spinoff. 

That's what I thought.

On 10/18/2024 at 12:31 AM, karenc3 said:

 But still, it didn't really explain why Georgie and Mandy moved in with Mandy's parents, other than maybe because of Georgie's new job.

On 10/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, StaceyNotStacie said:

They were living with Connie, but her house was destroyed by a tornado. There was some issue with the plumbing at Mary’s house where the toilet didn’t work. At that point is when they moved out.  They were staying in Sheldon’s room when he was in Germany. I’m not sure why they didn’t move back after Sheldon went to California. 

It's the first time Georgie's had his own bathroom! (Although he must share it with Mandy.)  Since the parents presumably have a bathroom, and Georgie/Mandy aren't sharing with the brother, this must be at least a 3 bathroom house. 

Room inventory at the McAllisters: 1) Mandy's parents 2) Mandy's brother 3) Mandy, Georgie and CeeCee 4) Mandy's mom's home office and 5) Mandy's mom saying  wasn't it time Cee Cee had her own room? (which originally made me think she wanted them to move out to a 2-bedroom apartment, which they clearly couldn't afford, and which the rest of the story made clear she didn't want at all, so they still have a spare bedroom?)/at least 3 bathrooms

Room inventory at the Coopers: 3 bedrooms/1 bathroom.  And when Sheldon occasionally comes home, he really does need a place to sleep.

Edited October 22 by ItCouldBeWorse

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Why would Mandy's mom want Mandy's dad to fire Georgie?  Did she want Mandy and CeeCee to starve?  Did she really think that would make them return home?

[possibilities]

52 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Why would Mandy's mom want Mandy's dad to fire Georgie?  Did she want Mandy and CeeCee to starve?  Did she really think that would make them return home?

I think she's just a vindictive bitch. He "disrespected her" so he needs to be punished. 

[Sarah 103]

On 10/21/2024 at 9:06 PM, karenc3 said:

Something else I'm kind of realizing,  I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't seem as apparent at least from the pilot that this was set in the early 90s.  It was very apparent in Young Sheldon, even when it ended that it was set in the late 80s- early 90s.   The only reference to the 90s at all was them watching Frasier but that could have been anytime after the 90s.   Maybe this will be more apparent as the show goes on.  

I think it's more subtle. The only computers we have seen are desktops. No one has a cellphone/smartphone. 

[shapeshifter]

On 10/21/2024 at 10:46 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Why would Mandy's mom want Mandy's dad to fire Georgie?  Did she want Mandy and CeeCee to starve?  Did she really think that would make them return home?

I think it's more that Mandy's mom wants to be the one to feed Mandy and Ceecee, and, yes, have them come home to live with her.