S01.E04: Todd’s Mom

[chitowngirl]

Things get awkward when Georgie and Mandy try to make new friends; Jim and Audrey get competitive playing a game with Connor; a fellow waitress at the diner is looking for fun in the wake of her recent divorce.

[ProudMary]

OK, "Todd's Mom lets him do it," gave me my first good laugh of the season.

The rest of the episode was meh.

[ams1001]

 

😄

OK, I laughed.

Spoiler

 

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Nice to see Casey Wilson.  But there's a real difference, Todd's mom, between a 40+ year old with an 18-year-old son lusting after her son's friends, and a 30-year-old dating/married to an 18-year-old (although still not ideal, in my opinion.)

Although Georgie did dangerous things on his own, he was always very responsible with his younger siblings, when push came to shove.  It doesn't surprise me that he would be the same with Todd and his friends, now that he's a father.

[shura]

Okay, this was not bad. Whoever said last week that we need to see Mandy and Georgie interact with some friends - genius.  Even the brother looked like a person for a change, although still very Sheldon-like.

[possibilities]

I enjoyed the episode. 

The 20 Questions game was funny, and even Mandy's mom was amusing for once.

 

 

 

[JamieLynn832002]

I feel like the show may be finding it's footing; Mandy's brother came off more like an actual character than a punchline that never quite lands and her mother finally did something other than be horrible. And even the mom's amusement over the Todd/Georgie situation was, for me, at least, more funny than irritating.

[Magnumfangirl]

This is the best episode so far.  

[Gregg247]

I liked this episode quite a bit.  I'm glad Mandy's brother actually did something worthwhile this time.  That 20 Questions game they played looked like fun!  Also, Mandy's Mom was much more fun this week.  It appears that she's fine with Georgie as long as he's her winning partner in Bridge. LOL

I'm glad that Georgie is such a responsible young man but I'm kind of sorry that, through his own actions, he's had to grow up faster than he normally would have.  A few more years of "doing stupid stuff" with his friends would have been fun.

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, Gregg247 said:

It appears that she's fine with Georgie as long as he's her winning partner in Bridge. LOL

I loved him casually shuffling the cards like a pro dealer while insisting he's a total beginner. I wonder if that's something Montana could do or if he learned it just for the show.

[Browncoat]

7 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I loved him casually shuffling the cards like a pro dealer while insisting he's a total beginner. I wonder if that's something Montana could do or if he learned it just for the show.

I loved that, too.

[possibilities]

Georgie was always kind of a grown up -- not in every way, but he was always into being a responsible older sibling, working at jobs in a serious way for money, and being a peace maker more than a rebel, even as a younger teen. And then when his father died, I think he would have taken over the role in the household if he hadn't already been married and out the door. There are teens like that-- I was that kid! And I knew others who were, too. I don't know why some are and some aren't. It's not as simple as how you're raised, it's just one of those things.

I liked this episode a lot. Mandy surprised me when she invited Georgie to go out with her instead of having "girl's night" without him. I like that she immediately understood and appreciated his desire to spend time with her, and not be left behind, and that she actually seems to appreciate his good qualities, instead of trying to distance herself in a selfish way when she's struggling.

I was worried in the previous episode, when she talked about looking for work elsewhere, that the story was going to be all about how she doesn't understand or care about his needs, and vice versa. Right now, I appreicate it more to see people working out their issues than just being shitty to each other when there's conflict.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I loved that, too.

Also when Todd asked "isn't your sister a freshman this year?" and Georgie sharply reminded him that older women are better. 

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

a 40+ year old with an 18-year-old son

Was it stated that Mandy's new friend is 40? 
I wondered if she (like Georgie) was 18 when Todd was born, which would make her 36. If so, it could lead to a few lines exploring the double standard of Georgie being too young to be a married father, but a generation or more ago, a woman of the same age not being considered too young to be a married mom (or even now to some).

[Tom Holmberg]

18 hours ago, ProudMary said:

The rest of the episode was meh.

I agree, the show still hasn't hit its stride, IMO. Connor actually did something, but I still can't see what he'll add every week. 

[appositival]

I wondered why Georgie and Mandy weren't partners in the bridge game. Seems like that would even the playing field.

Audrey just enjoys sniping at Mandy too much. I keep waiting for Mandy to fight back by backhand complementing Audrey on her skin "for her age" or some such, but she just gets angry, which is what Audrey wants.

 

[Tom Holmberg]

5 minutes ago, appositival said:

which is what Audrey wants.

Lorre has a thing about evil mothers- Leonard's, Amy's, etc. Again you gotta wonder about his personal life.

[BitterApple]

9 hours ago, JamieLynn832002 said:

I feel like the show may be finding it's footing; Mandy's brother came off more like an actual character than a punchline that never quite lands and her mother finally did something other than be horrible. And even the mom's amusement over the Todd/Georgie situation was, for me, at least, more funny than irritating.

That was pretty funny when Todd walked into the room and recognized Georgie from school. 

I hope they keep the trend of introducing younger characters so the entire show isn't so snippy and tense. 

[MollyMelrose]

Hey Audrey, with Christmas just around the corner, here's a gift idea sure to please:

 

 

[iarwain]

According to Google, Texas raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1986.  I'm not sure what year this show is set.  I was just wondering about Georgie's responsibility in the situation he was in.  I don't think they ever specifically said what age the kids were other than that they were "teenagers".  

Where I live, the alcohol laws are very strict.  I don't think we can even be in bars unless we're 21.  If an adult gets caught with minors drinking, they're likely to throw the book at you, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, among other things.  Maybe they were all over 18 though. 

[Browncoat]

In the 80s in the US, it was very very easy for an underage person to find someone to purchase alcohol for them.  When I was a freshman in college (age 18) in 1982, our Resident Assistants, who were 21, organized what they called a "progressive drinking" party.  Several rooms in the dorms were set up for drinking, and each room served a different cocktail -- rum and coke in one, G&T in another, and so on.  In 1982, at 18, we were legal for beer, but not for wine or liquor.  I suspect it was even easier for minors to acquire alcohol in Texas.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, iarwain said:

 I'm not sure what year this show is set. 

According to Wikipedia, it's 1994.

33 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

In the 80s in the US, it was very very easy for an underage person to find someone to purchase alcohol for them.  When I was a freshman in college (age 18) in 1982, our Resident Assistants, who were 21, organized what they called a "progressive drinking" party.  Several rooms in the dorms were set up for drinking, and each room served a different cocktail -- rum and coke in one, G&T in another, and so on.  In 1982, at 18, we were legal for beer, but not for wine or liquor.  I suspect it was even easier for minors to acquire alcohol in Texas.

Wow... our RAs looked the other way as long as no one was causing trouble (the official rule was that you were allowed to have alcohol as long as everyone in the room was 21, but no one cared as long as things didn't get out of hand; of the three RAs I had, one was a senior so probably 21, but the other two were the same year as me, sophomore and junior, respectively; I didn't have an RA my senior year), but they didn't participate and certainly didn't provide the booze! (I started college in 1993, in Pennsylvania.)

[Dimity]

I really liked Audrey in this one.  Her conversation with Mandy about the age difference was one that had to take place sooner or later.   And I liked that she pointed out that Mandy at 19 was living a very different life than Georgie is at 19.

[MollyMelrose]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

I really liked Audrey in this one.  Her conversation with Mandy about the age difference was one that had to take place sooner or later.   And I liked that she pointed out that Mandy at 19 was living a very different life than Georgie is at 19.

Nailed it!!

Audrey was Connie-like in that conversation, speaking truth with snark, delighting in her daughter's "uncomfortabilty."

Mandy loves Georgie, no doubt, but deep down, she is also dealing with feelings of embarrassment that a series of questionable decisions on her part have led to the situation she finds herself in - a 30 year old woman married to a teenager.

And Audrey's not gonna let her ignore/deny it.

[zoey1996]

This is 1994 in the show.

I remember going to drive-thru liquor store in Texas in the mid-1980's. IIRC, the driver wasn't supposed to drink while driving, but it for sure happened.

[Yeah No]

On 11/8/2024 at 2:36 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

On 11/7/2024 at 8:31 PM, ProudMary said:

The rest of the episode was meh.

I agree, the show still hasn't hit its stride, IMO. Connor actually did something, but I still can't see what he'll add every week. 

I'm with the two of you. I didn't find anything here funny. I still think the timing is off, it's awkward and Georgie isn't even himself anymore and who he is now is just not interesting. And the laughing sounds fake and forced. And so are the lines. Everyone's relationship feels forced and doesn't flow. Nothing is here is interesting at all.

[iarwain]

9 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

This is 1994 in the show.

I remember going to drive-thru liquor store in Texas in the mid-1980's. IIRC, the driver wasn't supposed to drink while driving, but it for sure happened.

The differing liquor laws fascinate me (although I don't drink).  Where I live, it's illegal to even have an open container of alcohol in the car.  But I understand that isn't the case everywhere.

[astrohip]

16 hours ago, iarwain said:

The differing liquor laws fascinate me (although I don't drink).  Where I live, it's illegal to even have an open container of alcohol in the car.  But I understand that isn't the case everywhere.

I'm pretty sure (but not positive) that an open container is illegal everywhere in the US. There are exceptions (trunk, locked up, limousine, etc), but in general, you can't have an open container anywhere. Otherwise it's too easy to evade DWI be pouring it out when you get stopped.

[anna0852]

This one was pretty good. I think they’re starting to find their footing. And it was nice to see Mandy’s parents not sniping at each other.

[Marley]

Why is this show leaning into the age thing. It isn’t funny. 

Mandy seems like a miserable bitch.

Her mom & dad were a bit better this episode.

I don’t know if it’s the actors or writing but this show is so subpar to Young Sheldon.