S01.E02: Un-Tag My Heart

[Tara Ariano]

Eliza's fling with a coworker gets complicated; and Henry's first Facebook experience ends with disastrous results.

[SimoneS]

John Cho is so good in this, but I don't think that the show will last long.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On a shallow note, I loved Eliza's glasses during book club!

I liked that they showed what a rabbit hole Facebook can be. I also liked that Eliza tried to warn him not to go down that path.

While I understand Henry trying to help Eliza, part of me thought that if Eliza and the president guy were BOTH happy with the way things were, why try to get them to change their sex only relationship? It would be one thing if Eliza had complained about the way he was treating her but she seemed totally fine with the way things were. Not everyone wants to be in a serious committed relationship.

I cracked up at how seriously the hipster neighbor took her homemade pop tarts. Calm down there, girl! I guess it's acceptable for hipsters to read a bestseller ten years later? I thought she would have chosen a more obscure book.

I loved how specific Eliza was about her toppings. Only five gummi bears!

[twoods]

I still think this show is cute. Likable leads, makes me laugh and only 22 minutes long- I'm sold.

The Facebook stuff was hilarious, especially him looking to see who got "ugly after high school."

I wish Eliza made more of an effort with the girls, especially after they bonded over her make-under last week.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked that they didn't do the usual Facebook stalking cliche - he expected to find all his classmates had gotten fat or ugly but they were happy, married, had kids, and looked good.

[johntfs]

I like this show better now that there's a little balance to it - that Henry needs Eliza's guideance as much or more than she needs his.  Loved Eliza's "now that I think about it, there's a lot of stuff that's like crack."

[ApathyMonger]

Definitely a decent improvement. Still has problems, but I laughed a good few times.

[Suzysite]

I think this show is adorable.  I laughed a few times, which is rare for me with most sitcoms.   I initially only tuned in to see Amy Pond do an American accent, but I'm going to stick around and see how it goes.

[pitchy]

I hated the trailer so much that I didn't watch the first episode.  I inadvertently saw it last night, thinking Marvel was on and was going to turn it off but decided to see what it was like and found myself laughing a LOT, which is rare with the sitcoms these days.  They do subtle things, very unexpected, unlike the usual predictable snark.  Loved it when he protested that although he wasn't on Facebook, he WAS on Linkedin and was told to please not make it worse  :-)

 

Loved the writing last night, and the actors are terrific.  

[glitterpants]

  Loved it when he protested that although he wasn't on Facebook, he WAS on Linkedin and was told to please not make it worse  :-)

Yesss, that was hilarious. Of course Henry is on LinkedIn (and OF COURSE he's Sansa Stark, that was perfect). The show is funny and I like the leads, I'm in.

[random chance]

While I understand Henry trying to help Eliza, part of me thought that if Eliza and the president guy were BOTH happy with the way things were, why try to get them to change their sex only relationship?

I thought because the office was talking about that's the only reason she's got the job? So it was more part of her reputation-repair than a slut-shaming thing? Although, she didn't understand the concept of booty call either, so maybe it just started out that way and then it turned into, "open your eyes."

Ehhhh ... I just love him so much I feel compelled to defend his fictional characters.

[kimberella]

Yesss, that was hilarious. Of course Henry is on LinkedIn (and OF COURSE he's Sansa Stark, that was perfect). The show is funny and I like the leads, I'm in.

That was adorable and very funny.

 

I'm liking this show well enough, but I admit I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it if it wasn't for John Cho. I hope it lasts, because I need him on my TV.

[iMonrey]

I don't think it will last. Ratings were down to a paltry 1.1 in the 18-49 demo, and for a sitcom on a major network in this time slot, that's bad. Especially since it's only the second episode. 

 

There was some stuff with John Cho and Facebook that I found amusing but overall, the show is weak. I think Karen Gillan is the weak link here. Never saw her in anything and not impressed with her here. They need a stronger lead to play opposite Cho and they need a stronger, and funnier, supporting cast. 

[Cherry Cola]

I laughed so hard at Henry tagging the baby with his name. Why am I a baby? So funny, that I had to watch it a few times.

[BestestAuntEver]

I really enjoyed this episode. John Cho & messing up/awkwardness on FB made me laugh. I've had to go to my daughter about something many times. I have a Master degree but damn if social media doesn't make me feel like an idiot that needs to be in a padded room for their own safety at times. 

 

I love having John Cho on my screen.

[JasmineFlower]

Liking this more and more. Whether it's right or not, the jokes they make about the hipsters are probably making me laugh the most. I mean the pop tarts, the clothes, her shopping at Goodwill for a specific wardrobe to fit in at the book club and smelling like dead people, thought they nailed all of it. Though probably the funniest line for me in this episode was the chemist guy laughing at Henry not having a Facebook account and then laughing harder and telling him not to make it worse when he said he did have a LinkedIn account. Loved that line!

 

Oh, and I loved the ice cream/froyo scene with Charmonique telling Eliza to have a kid and that'll keep the men away, and the kid saying he's man poison cause clearly Charmonique has shared the opinion out loud before.

[thuganomics85]

OK, this show still needs work, but I could watch an entire episode of Henry vs. Facebook.  John Cho was hilarious in all of those scenes, and totally sold how flummoxed Henry was diving into that particular hole.

 

Overall, I still think John Cho and Karen Gillan are saving the material.  The main story was getting way too close to slut-shaming territory, but I really am liking their interactions, and sometimes their delivery alone is bring out the laughs.  They're making it work, and making me like Henry and even Eliza, despite their negative traits.

 

One negative I do have is Henry's new assistant.  I prefer smug, snarky one from the pilot, over this typical, dweeby, nervous guy, that I feel like has gotten old years ago.

 

Ratings though are just bad.  While it has flaws in it's own right, I really think the name and those horrible trailers killed the show before it even began.  Plus, while Cho and Gillan are sci-fi genre favs, I don't think they're well-known stars.  I'm sure a lot of casual TV watchers wouldn't know who the hell they are.  I'm hoping ABC is patient, but I can easily see them killing it, if it keeps dropping.

Edited October 8, 2014 by thuganomics85

[BooBear]

I agree the two actors are saving the show. But so far, I find it adorable. That could just be because I adore John Cho.

[ketose]

I was amused because I'm not on Facebook and just joined LinkedIn. This episode didn't encourage me to change that.

 

I think Eliza kind of went along with the idea that hookups are just part of life. Henry was basically right. When sweet potato didn't have Eliza at his beckon call, he realized he missed her and not just sex.

 

It's also good that Eliza is able to be a guru to Henry and that she wasn't actually the one to get him to try Facebook.

[Tabbyclaw]

Took me half the episode to connect that the guy's name was Freddy and smack myself in the face for not getting it sooner.

 

Not as many laugh-out-oud moments for me this week, but a lot of "heh"s and a major "aww" at the end. My favorite line was "You don't have to signal me. Observing all this in tandem with you." Followed by Eliza's painful and unnecessary OK sign. The interaction with Charmonique was also lovely. I never saw the aired version and I heard people saying that they redid the ending scene because Eliza was "too nice too fast," so I wasn't really expecting them to keep having pleasant conversations. I'm glad it looks like they will be.

 

Also appreciated: Another appearance by Henry's advertising rhymes. Eliza pointing out that Henry wants her to laugh at his jokes. Eliza observing in voiceover that Henry reached for Facebook because he was feeling lonely, but not hammering us over the head with the parallel between them.

 

This is probably an odd comparison to anyone who's not me, but Eliza's speech patterns and the way she randomly shortens words reminds me of nobody quite so much as Kim Possible.

[ohjoy]

This is probably an odd comparison to anyone who's not me, but Eliza's speech patterns and the way she randomly shortens words reminds me of nobody quite so much as Kim Possible.

Aw man, that's for putting that idea out there. I'm gonna hear that from now on. (Plus they're both red-heads. But I'm pretty sure the comparisons end there.)

[barbedwire]

I really really wanted to like this show because of John Cho (loved the sitcom he was in with Matthew Perry about sports radio) but I can't.  It is so awful!

[johntfs]

Aw man, that's for putting that idea out there. I'm gonna hear that from now on. (Plus they're both red-heads. But I'm pretty sure the comparisons end there.)

 

See, now I want this show to tank so that John Cho and Karen Gillan can be in a show about a former child superspy.  Karen Possible anyone?

[lassiecat]

I liked this ep better than the pilot, but my biggest issue is that the show runners haven't really found the essence of the show yet. Between the changes from the online pilot and the aired pilot, and even to this second episode, I would think they should have had enough focus group feedback to pin down the basics.

Things I'd play with:

Pick a comedy style and stick with it. With the 30 Rock flashback jokes, the VO, and the pop up texts, there's just too much.

Beef up your supporting characters: except for Charmonique, who was in the ep for two seconds, there aren't any other supporting characters with any dimension. It'll be hard to keep the show going on just the two leads, no matter how awesome cho and kg are.

Otherwise, it's a cute show. I liked how he knew she was in the hospital by her hospital bed selfie. That's usually how I hear about my friends misfortunes as well. And I like that it's moving toward a middle ground, with Eliza teaching Henry what she's learned about navigating the social networking world and not just being the helpless one.

Superficial note: I like her new wig much better!

[Tabbyclaw]

See, now I want this show to tank so that John Cho and Karen Gillan can be in a show about a former child superspy.  Karen Possible anyone?

 

The only reason I would not be 100% behind this idea is because my favorite part of that show was the villains (especially Drakken and Shego) and I can't imagine them translating to live-action well.

 

Another weird litle comparison is that I can't hear the neighbor's name (Bryn) without thinking of the Vampire Weekend song of the same name. I can't help wondering if that was deliberate, since in my limited non-top-40 musical exposure they seem to be a "shorthand for 'hipster'" band.

[aradia22]

I waited a super long time to watch this because there were so many pilots I wanted to catch and this wasn't expiring from hulu until recently. Guys, I think I might love this show! This is the one new show I've watched where from the first episode I genuinely liked it instead of just saying "well this had some problems but I'll stick with it." John Cho seems awake after sleepwalking through Sleepy Hollow. The writing is great. It feels like Suburgatory mixed with The Mindy Project. I know romance is coming up but I kind of wish they wouldn't rush it.