Getting On - General Discussion

[Fisher King]

This show is so good, I am genuinely concerned and sad about Dawn.

 

"The Pony Song" had me in stitches.

 

 

Jenna killed a holocaust survivor. Eek!

 

Especially after Jenna told everyone to take very special care of her and SHE is the one to kill her!

It was sweet that Darnell offered to patch the couple of cracks on her driveway for free.

 

This episode simultaneously had me in hysterics and on the verge of tears. What a gem.

 

That's what makes this show so good. I'm missing it already.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Is the original "Getting On" available on Netflix, Hulu?

Loved the way DiDi tried to discreetly shake her head "no" to Darnell addressing the cracks free of charge.

I never catch any of them acting. They are all so genuine and natural.

[Wouldofshouldof]

I don't think I missed any episodes, so . . .  did Dawn's kidney issue come out of the blue?  The first time I ever remember seeing her with this doctor, and she needs dialysis? (I don't mean this ep, but the one in which he told her she'd need it.)

[hoodooznoodooz]

The original Getting On from the U.K. is on Hulu; I have had it in my queue for a while and been unable to find the time to watch it. :-)

I will miss this program a lot when it's finished; it is truly a gem.

Yay! Thank you, 17wheatthins! I am watching it tonight.

I will miss this show horribly. Did we ever find out why HBO was not promoting it the way they promote most everything else?

[peeayebee]

I noticed on the credits that the name of Dawn's doctor is Happy Gladner. Hee.

 

I felt bad for Didi when it was discovered that her mother had fallen out of bed, but she absolutely did the right thing in taking her mother out of the home that had been neglecting her.

 

I want that dog gone. I love dogs, but I hate scenes where dogs lick up vomit (even if it's fake), lick people's faces all over, lick their balls, eat off of people's plates. Plus, of course, the dog growled. I didn't notice it barking at a patient. Anyway, I'd rather the place be filled with canaries than dogs like that.

 

I'm glad Dawn shared with Didi.

[Fisher King]

Oh yes, I felt awful for DiDi, but I would have yanked my mother (anyone else) out of that hole in a heartbeat.

 

"Don't say that word. It's so nasty!"

Smegma

[hoodooznoodooz]

Oh yes, I felt awful for DiDi, but I would have yanked my mother (anyone else) out of that hole in a heartbeat.

 

"Don't say that word. It's so nasty!"

Smegma

Then she repeats it, prefacing it with "sweet"!!!

[represent]

 

I want that dog gone. I love dogs, but I hate scenes where dogs lick up vomit (even if it's fake), lick people's faces all over, lick their balls, eat off of people's plates. Plus, of course, the dog growled. I didn't notice it barking at a patient. Anyway, I'd rather the place be filled with canaries than dogs like that.

Yeah, it was barking at a patient. It was in the patient's room just standing up on something barking at her. I think they showed the scene right after DiDi brought that bird into Birdie's room and reminded her of the pet therapy program they have. Next shot was an update on how well that therapy has been working out with that dog barking at a patient, LOL.  

 

I think that dog would be much nicer if it had a handler. That dog was trained to be a therapy dog, but you can't just drop it off at the hospital and leave it to do it's job. It's walking around like a stray and behaving accordingly. That place is a mess, the gloves all over the floor, yeah, we know how this is gonna end.

Edited November 17, 2015 by represent

[txhorns79]

Especially after Jenna told everyone to take very special care of her and SHE is the one to kill her!

 

I originally thought we were going to find out that Jenna just made a bunch of wrong assumptions, that the woman wasn't a survivor and the tattoo meant something else.  I was surprised and amused they went the direct route by just having Jenna kill her.  

 

I also loved Birdie asking if she now had to take care of the bird.  The whole "really?" look she had. 

[AuntiePam]

She's obviously smart and dedicated, and when she stops the self-promotion, we see that she might even care about her patients as individuals.

 

She was especially annoying this week (with the Holocaust survivor), giving everyone history lessons they didn't need, trying so hard to show that she cares, somehow insinuating that she's the only one who does -- everything was about Jenna.  I was really losing patience with her. Then last night, I'm reading a biography, and there's a person who reminded me Jenna.  This woman is described as always tooting her own horn about her good works and charity, telling everyone what a big heart she has, etc.  The narrator is irritated but then says that just because this woman brags about her big heart, it doesn't mean that she doesn't have one. 

 

That was an eye-opener, and makes me feel a bit more charitable about people who are always telling me about the good things they do for others.  Yeah, the boasting isn't very classy, but at least they're doing something.  So Pam, shut up. :-)

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I am still giggling almost three days later from this episode!

 

The montage with Dawn, Luke and Patsy was epic, but when they threw in that snippet of his dancing to "Juana La Cubana" I just fell out ... I know it's a personal thing, but you know how sometimes you'll have a certain song that becomes your "vacation" song? Back in 1988, on the lone vacation I ever went on with my husband's entire family (still more than two years before our daughter was born), "Juana La Cubana" was THE song and for years afterwards, whenever we'd see his sister and brother-in-law it would be referenced (and sung). I even have it on my iPod.

Edited November 18, 2015 by PamelaMaeSnap

[Fisher King]

Dr. James is caught off guard by workplace politics; a felon with cancer arrives at the ward; Patsy's mother visits; DiDi's mother-in-law comes to Billy Barnes for treatment.

 

[Blakeston]

What was with Patsy saying "badabas?" Was he trying to say "bananas" in a silly way, or is that a term I've never heard of?

I originally thought we were going to find out that Jenna just made a bunch of wrong assumptions, that the woman wasn't a survivor and the tattoo meant something else.

Same here - I thought it would be something like the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry assumes the guy is a holocaust survivor, and then it turns out he had just written down his lottery numbers on his arm with a pen. Edited November 22, 2015 by Blakeston

[pasdetrois]

 

What was with Patsy saying "badabas?" Was he trying to say "bananas" in a silly way, or is that a term I've never heard of?

I wondered about that too. Could it be he was mimicking one of Dawn's in-laws - the two men with disabilities? If so, I don't think it was meant cruelly. My family member has difficultly pronouncing certain words, and within our inner circle we use her pronunciation instead of the correct one. It's meant affectionately.

 

Stephen King did this in Dreamcatcher, where a child with Down syndrome pronounces his name, Douglas, as Duddits.

Edited November 22, 2015 by pasdetrois

[peeayebee]

I figure it was just a child's pronunciation that he had done or grown up with, like p'sghetti. I'd never heard of it before.

[peeayebee]

Rhea Perlman was so good. I think we all knew she was going to try to escape again, but I didn't expect THAT!

 

Didi's sister is awful. I understand that the expense is a burden, but there's no other choice. This is a great depiction of how some families behave under these circumstances. Fortunately, my family is not like this.

 

OMG, Dr James using that staple gun was cringeworthy but hilarious. I also loved her line about the other doctor's homeopathic vaginal cream being made of oyster shells, Cocoa Puffs, and hummus.

[Fisher King]

Jenna: Well, you know nurses. Everything revolves around them. But they do deserve our respect.

 

So many great moments.

 

I think I cheered when they wheeled Rhea Perlman into the hospital, and almost died when they showed the handcuffs on her artificial legs. And the look on Jenna's face when RP called her "nurse."

 

I had to pause it when the staple gun stayed attached to the poor woman's head. That was cruel and unusual but funny as hell.

 

Poor Dennis. He craves Dawn but she can't shake her feelings for Patsy. Dawn will wind up with Patsy even if she has to go through his Mommy & her kidney disease to do it.

[AuntiePam]

Damn, this show is so on-point and funny but sometimes it's hard to watch.  Soapbox:  It's one of the shows that I wish our politicians would watch.  This is reality for so many people.  I see all those ads on TV for investment companies, manage your money for a comfortable retirement -- none of them mention nursing homes, which is where so many of us will end up. Off soapbox.

 

It's striking, the pallor of the patients.  The others are pale too though.  So weird, "normal" TV with so much color in people's faces, but here, almost everyone is gray-ish, washed out. 

 

I feel bad for Didi's stepmom, when someone has to remove those staples. 

[Fisher King]

Good point about the pallor. It's the bright fluorescent lighting that most hospitals have. It's not flattering at all.

[represent]

 

Didi's sister is awful\

 

I feel bad for Didi's stepmom, when someone has to remove those staples.

I think that's her sister in-law. That's not DiDi's stepmom, it's her husband's and his brother. Those men are brothers and that's their stepmother. 

Edited November 23, 2015 by represent

[Fisher King]

About fell out when the little Ortley girl is seen sitting in the potty chair, wearing the coma lady's dentures and the escapee's legs.

[peeayebee]

I think that's her sister in-law. That's not DiDi's stepmom, it's her husband's and his brother. Those men are brothers and that's their stepmother. 

I'm confused. Are any of these people directly related to Didi? Aren't the men Didi's brothers?

[Fisher King]

It's Didi's husband, his brother and the brother's wife.

Vivian (nursing home patient) is Didi's step-mother-in-law.

I just confused myself.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Fisher King

[represent]

 

 

It's Didi's husband, his brother and the brother's wife.

Vivian (nursing home patient) is Didi's step-mother-in-law.

I just confused myself.

This is exactly right.

[CouchTater]

The scene at the end, with "Birdy" reading to Birdy, just about broke my heart, as did her asking Didi "Do you ever think about me?"

I came here just now to specifically post about that scene. What does everyone make of it? I was afraid that she was about to pass away.

I did feel like crying a little when Birdie smiled so sweetly after Didi said that she does think of her.

Edited November 24, 2015 by CouchTater

[AuntiePam]

I don't know what to make of that scene.  Hell, I didn't realize that was Birdie, reciting the poem -- she was so different from Birdie in the bed.  I thought it was a vision of Birdie's sister or someone.  Even better that it was a healthier Birdie.  I suppose freeing the canary could have been Birdie symbolically beginning to let go, unfinished business. 

 

I do like everything the show has done to remind us that the elderly patients lived real lives before ending up in that place. 

[Fisher King]

I wasn't gonna mention those scenes until someone else did. It's the way this show gets me. Hilarious, then tender and heartbreaking.

 

Did the bird actually go out of the cage? I think when the bird finally decides to fly away, so will Miss Birdie.  The episode (maybe the finale) should end with "Tomorrow" from Annie playing over the end credits.

 

I do like everything the show has done to remind us that the elderly patients lived real lives before ending up in that place.

 

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Fisher King

[represent]

I wasn't gonna mention those scenes until someone else did. It's the way this show gets me. Hilarious, then tender and heartbreaking.

 

 

 

 

Yes, it was all three. At first I was like is she a twin?  Because doesn't Birdie have twin boys? I know she has two sons, and they looked like twins to me.

 

But once I figured out that it was Birdie envisioning herself, I was like, aw, Birdie is about to leave us.

 

And did that bird fly away? I don't think it did. 

 

 

Also, it was so good to see the actress Frances Conroy from  "Six Feet Under" and again, Mary Kay Place  from "Big Love."

 

I love how HBO recycles the actors/actresses from their shows and the scene between these two characters who were ex-lovers was hilarious. Crass, but just too funny.

 

The actors that they have/had on this show, wow, a wealth of talent.

Edited November 24, 2015 by represent

[Fisher King]

Huge SFU & Francis Conroy fan here.

MKP has been awesome since Mary Hartman.

Harry Dean Stanton was also on Big Love.  He's played Miss Birdie's lover in this show..

[CouchTater]

Francis Conroy's pigment-free eye freaks me out a little bit.

[Fisher King]

I'd never noticed her eye before last night!

[CouchTater]

I think she wore a contact lens over it in some of her past roles. I'm re-watching the ep now. Looking at her eys again, I guess they're just 2 different colors.

[represent]

 

Harry Dean Stanton was also on Big Love.  He's played Miss Birdie's lover in this show..

OMG, that's right, "The Prophet" Roman Grant LOL.

Edited November 24, 2015 by represent

[scrb]

The lines about pussies and strap ones were crazy.

There was a fantasy sequence in SFU where the Frances Conroy character spoke in similar graphic terms.

[Wouldofshouldof]

Jenna:  I know what a snap-on is.

[Blakeston]

I love this show, but man is it confusing. It took me way too long to figure out that Birdie was singing to herself, and to figure out Didi's family connections. (Her elderly relative being white perplexed the crap out of me until I realized she was Darnell's stepmother.)

I'm still confused about a few things. (For one thing, all of a sudden Didi and her husband can spare 2K a month? Weren't they barely getting by very recently?)

And Dawn has 6-8 years to live? I had the impression her situation was a lot more dire than that. Why are her kidneys in end-stage failure all of a sudden? Shouldn't her doctors have caught on to something when they thought she was pregnant?

And this one goes a ways back - what did Paul say back in season one that Jenna was using to blackmail him? Something about how he didn't want to run Extended Care himself? (I'm not talking about Jenna and Susie the Tri-Delt blackmailing him about the hospital's misdeeds - I understand that.)

[Morgalisa]

 

I don't think I missed any episodes, so . . .  did Dawn's kidney issue come out of the blue?  The first time I ever remember seeing her with this doctor, and she needs dialysis? (I don't mean this ep, but the one in which he told her she'd need it.)

 

I know that kidney failure can be diagnosed very suddenly.  My sister went to the doctor for something else and was discovered to be in kidney failure.  She is on dialysis.  I thought she might have misheard but googled it and it can happen.

[nicolin]

Did anyone else think there was a bit of significance to Dr. Rudd's look at Patsy when he was dancing? I thought it was conveying that Dr. Rudd is more interested in Patsy than Jenna.

[Morgalisa]

So sorry to read here that this is the last season. I love this show. There is not one false performance. Well written, well acted, well produced. It is a gem. I also wonder why they never promote the show. I have seen Niecy on several shows and she has never promoted this show.

[Eire]

A good read from Vanity Fair.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/getting-on-season-3-premiere

 

Fingers crossed that the Netflix idea might come true,

[Fisher King]

Great article, Eire! Thanks for posting it.

 

*fingers crossed* here as well.

[Fisher King]

Jenna didn't blackmail Paul. In season one, Jenna went to a conference for her big stool-testing presentation and was offered a job in Cleveland by a Dr. Rabinowitz, but turned it down. After receiving a performance review of 2.6 (on a scale of 1 to 10) at Billy Barnes, Jenna called Rabinowitz to see if the job was still available. It was. Jenna then told Paul she was going to leave BB for Cleveland. Jenna then got a call that Dr. Rabinowitz had suffered brain damage after being hit by a taco truck, so the job was no longer there. Jenna then tried to tell Paul she'd rather stay at there at BB, but Paul beat her to the punch and fessed up that he was going to have to take her place and he did not want the position & practically begged her to stay. Jenna used that to leverage a better deal for herself - a research assistant and her old covered parking space back, etc.

 

As for Didi's financial situation, she and Darnell were struggling when she started the job at Billy Barnes. They had just taken in her sister's kids and were raising a total of 6. Didi put up with a lot of crap but stayed because (I imagine) the money was good.

 

ETA: A few hours after I wrote the above, season 2 starts off with Didi asking for a raise. So, the financials are back up in the air.

 

And Dawn has 6-8 years to live? I had the impression her situation was a lot more dire than that. Why are her kidneys in end-stage failure all of a sudden? Shouldn't her doctors have caught on to something when they thought she was pregnant?

 

Except that I believe Dawn wasn't really pregnant, well she was but she had a blighted ovum and no baby developed.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Fisher King

[Fisher King]

Dr. James is plagued by complications on the day of her symposium; Patsy embraces his truth; DiDi is caught between work and family; Dawn and Dr. James see uncanny visions of themselves in two British visitors.

 

[Fisher King]

Vicki Pepperdine (Dr. Pippa Moore) and Joanna Scalan (Den Flixer) from the British Getting On appear in this episode. Jenna and Dawn are based on their characters. Watch the episode 4 featurette below.

 

Edited November 29, 2015 by Fisher King

[CouchTater]

For one thing, all of a sudden Didi and her husband can spare 2K a month? Weren't they barely getting by very recently?

That's a good question, because I remember back in season 1 Didi mentioned that she was making $12+ per hour, so she would have to have gotten a helluva raise to be able to chip in for her step-mother-in-law's housing.

[Blakeston]

Jenna didn't blackmail Paul. In season one, Jenna went to a conference for her big stool-testing presentation and was offered a job in Cleveland by a Dr. Rabinowitz, but turned it down. After receiving a performance review of 2.6 (on a scale of 1 to 10) at Billy Barnes, Jenna called Rabinowitz to see if the job was still available. It was. Jenna then told Paul she was going to leave BB for Cleveland. Jenna then got a call that Dr. Rabinowitz had suffered brain damage after being hit by a taco truck, so the job was no longer there. Jenna then tried to tell Paul she'd rather stay at there at BB, but Paul beat her to the punch and fessed up that he was going to have to take her place and he did not want the position & practically begged her to stay. Jenna used that to leverage a better deal for herself - a research assistant and her old covered parking space back, etc.

She was blackmailing him. In the season 2 premiere, Jenna was giving Paul her receipts for her research expenses, and she said, "I'm counting on you to approve them, with our special understanding based on a certain slip of your tongue in the break room."

He said, "I'm not sure that special understanding still applies."

And she said, "Well, you did admit that had I not taken the job, that you would have joined the committee in firing me so that you didn't have to take the job yourself. And I think we both thought that was a rather inflammatory admission."

(And then Paul pointed out that now that he was in charge, she wouldn't have anyone to report him to, other than himself.)

The thing is, he never admitted anything like that. He mentioned that he was asked to run Billy Barnes, and he didn't want it, and knew that Jenna would be the better fit. He never said that he would have joined the committee in firing her.

 

Except that I believe Dawn wasn't really pregnant, well she was but she had a blighted ovum and no baby developed.

I get that she wasn't actually pregnant. But her doctor thought she was, up until they did an ultrasound. My question is, wouldn't they have done some sort of basic blood test at some point - either when they thought she was pregnant, or when they discovered she had a blighted ovum?

Edited November 29, 2015 by Blakeston

[AuntiePam]

Dr. James is so needy -- she's hard to watch.  Maybe her relationship with her mother is the reason she's so insecure.  Brilliant writing though, to have her go ahead with the sympoosium when she could have garnered sympathy.  A different Jenna would have worked her mother's death into her opening remarks.  But either she's above that -- grief would have been insincere -- or it was too painful. 

 

But Patsy and Dawn want some damn sympathy and attention and aren't afraid to lie to get it.  Is Patsy really gay?  I mean, is he not sure?  Maybe he's just asexual. 

 

Miss Birdie, bye now.  We'll miss her.

[Muffyn]

Aw, Miss Birdy.  I am going to miss her.  Didi really is the greatest.

[LuciaMia]

I thought I misheard the not-bad news from Dawns doctor on how she's holding up with dialysis, when later she told Patsy she was dying. 

Needed some sympathy, or maybe she was tired of the docs chirpy, can-do attitude on her condition.  

[BusyOctober]

I cried like a baby when Miss Birdy passed away.  I've always loved that actress since the Dick Van Dyke show. In those hospital scenes, she looks a lot like my grandmother who passed away a couple of years ago. I love Didi and I'm so glad she let Miss Bridy go without taking action.  It was time & Miss Birdy was ready.  So sad but at least she want have to take care of her "pet therapy" bird anymore!