Tara Ariano January 23, 2015 Share January 23, 2015 An invitation to a movie premiere gives Brett a chance to mend a work relationship, while Tina and Alex go on a mission, and Michelle meets a divorced dad who wants to start a charter school. Link to comment
Primetimer January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 A fancy Hollywood premiere party is the crucible forging a deeper connection for Tina and Alex...kind of. Read the story 1 Link to comment
scrb January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Why would the producer talk to them after the TP talk in the men's room? Did he really want Tina that bad? Link to comment
joelene January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Upon reflection he probably thought it was weirdly amusing (I certainly would have), and then when Alex kept looking at him he just had to go over and see what was up/clear the air with these weirdos. Loved the episode. Amanda Peet is great in these kinds of roles. I used to think she was useless but she won me over with Please Give where she played a version of Tina only much more bitchy, but so hilarious. 1 Link to comment
BooBear January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Why would the producer talk to them after the TP talk in the men's room? Did he really want Tina that bad? Figured he was bored. Boy this one was quietly painful. Painful to see get Alex crushed like that. Tina had really been leading him on if she wasn't interested she has been laying it on thick, It was painful to see Brett having to grovel to his crazy producer there and painful seeing Michelle walking around on the street like a hooker? And crushing on the charter school guy. Link to comment
EdnasEdibles January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Michelle is a really interesting character. I feel for her and yet I also want to shake her. Being a mom of two small kids, I probably also identify with her a bit - she's written really well. There's this point in your life after you have kids and you're in your mid to late 30s and you really do feel invisible. You don't talk to your spouse about anything other than the kids. No one notices you to the point that you wonder if you're invisible. So I understand why she whored it up a little with the outfit. Just anything at all to get noticed. And then the bartender didn't even notice her so she had to be a little bit more overt with the kids just to get some sort of reaction. And I understand why she's googling the charter school guy. I think that's the only person that we've seen talk to her and really listen to her opinion. This show is quickly becoming a favorite. 4 Link to comment
teddysmom January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Each episode gets better. If they can make Amanda Peet this likable, they should get an award just for that accomplishment. I love Alex. When he walked in the bedroom in the Spanx I about fell off the couch. I don't live with my sister and her husband, but when I've visited them and stayed at their house there's that same type of camaraderie, the "I love you but I will bust your balls whenever the opportunity presents itself". This is a nice palate cleanser after hate watching Girls. 3 Link to comment
Febgirl January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 This is a nice palate cleanser after hate watching Girls. Agreed. Does anyone actually watch/watch Girls? It's nice to have this show with its naturalistic dialogue after the pretentious half-hour that proceeds it. Link to comment
Momof2boyz January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Agreed. Does anyone actually watch/watch Girls? It's nice to have this show with its naturalistic dialogue after the pretentious half-hour that proceeds it. I do, and I watch Looking too. Love my Sunday night TV! Michelle is a really interesting character. I feel for her and yet I also want to shake her. Being a mom of two small kids, I probably also identify with her a bit - she's written really well. There's this point in your life after you have kids and you're in your mid to late 30s and you really do feel invisible. You don't talk to your spouse about anything other than the kids. No one notices you to the point that you wonder if you're invisible. So I understand why she whored it up a little with the outfit. Just anything at all to get noticed. And then the bartender didn't even notice her so she had to be a little bit more overt with the kids just to get some sort of reaction. And I understand why she's googling the charter school guy. I think that's the only person that we've seen talk to her and really listen to her opinion. This show is quickly becoming a favorite. I am a mom too (my kids are older now) and I can totally relate to her and to her relationship with her husband. It is very real! 1 Link to comment
cpcathy January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 I liked this episode even more than the last one, the series is unfolding to be more than what I thought it would be. I am loving Brett and Alex together, and anything Michelle does is certainly surprising. I look forward to seeing what happens next, sorry it will be in two weeks instead of next week. Link to comment
Alison January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 Agreed. Does anyone actually watch/watch Girls? It's nice to have this show with its naturalistic dialogue after the pretentious half-hour that proceeds it. I watch/watch Girls; I get why people don't like it, and I don't necessarily love everything about it, but as a 27-year-old female in the Northeast, it resonates with me quite a bit. 3 Link to comment
BooBear January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I liked this episode even more than the last one, the series is unfolding to be more than what I thought it would be. I am loving Brett and Alex together, and anything Michelle does is certainly surprising. I look forward to seeing what happens next, sorry it will be in two weeks instead of next week. Does anyone know why it will be 2 weeks? Link to comment
EdnasEdibles January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I think they just don't want to compete with the super bowl. Link to comment
Tara Ariano January 27, 2015 Author Share January 27, 2015 Nothing is new next Sunday except everything on PBS (and, less weirdly, everything on Showtime). Link to comment
BooBear January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I hate the damn super bowl (and I am from Boston) I pay for my HBO, I expect it to take the hit. !! ** rant over** 1 Link to comment
peeayebee January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 Great characters all around. I love each of the four leads. Alex and Tina together are such a treat. I don't think Tina was leading him on. She sees him as a pal. It was sad when he saw her and the producer together and realized he had gotten everything wrong. The producer probably didn't even want to talk to him. I mean, if Tina hadn't been with Alex, the guy wouldn't have bothered with him. I was cracking up every time Alex said something awkward, like the strawberries being organic. I liked John Ortiz in Luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him here. Loved the last scene of Alex and Brett playing air drums along with the music. 2 Link to comment
blixie January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I think this is the show I look forward to most all week. It has a wonderful low key charm, and painful funny authenticity, it's kind of like Freaks and Geeks, 20 years later. I'm bummed it won't be on next week. I don't think Tina was leading him on. She sees him as a pal. It was sad when he saw her and the producer together and realized he had gotten everything wrong. The producer probably didn't even want to talk to him. I mean, if Tina hadn't been with Alex, the guy wouldn't have bothered with him. IDK, I agree with the notion that Sandy Cohen was equal parts bored and intrigued by this awkward man stalking him all over the party, and then charmed by him when they finally did talk about the work. As far as Tina's feels go I thought it was telling that when the producer invites Alex to the after party *with* them, and Alex leaves, she looks after him kind of upset, and not in a patronizing pity way, but more like honest disappointment. And the preview indicates she's probably as surprised by what she feels about Alex as he was by falling for her, there is a shot of her looking put out at him flirting and connecting with a woman in Houston. The final scene between Brett and Alex drumming to Tom Sawyer was hilarious and wonderful, and its' so weird because I haven't thought about Rush in forever, and the morning radio show had JUST been talking about Rush's popularity with dudes of a certain age. I'm little disturbed that a short skirt and leather jacket invokes descriptions of Michelle as 'whoring it up', but I did love that she was bit self-conscious wearing party clothes to a community charter schools meeting. I'm not sure where they are going with her, since I do really like that actor and he was hilarious in Silver Linings Playbook, but I hope she and Brett can reconnect before her ennui goes to far. 2 Link to comment
BooBear January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I'm little disturbed that a short skirt and leather jacket invokes descriptions of Michelle as 'whoring it up', No no, she had lace fishnet stockings and they made sure we noticed them and the fact that she chose to go back and change. We were meant to think she was trying to be risque'. I honestly did think her storyline could end up with her being mistaken for a prostitute with her walking around the town at night. But it was ultimately funny how she found the greatest pleasure that night in having her idea's listened to and doing something good for her children - even though she started out looking for something very different. I do think Tina likes Alex and truly thinks she is just being his friend but she was also really sending signals to him. I do think that she probably does like him but is still stuck looking for romance with people that aren't right for her (the producer). Link to comment
joelene January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 "Whoring it up" is a big exaggeration IMO. She was definitely dressing to look sexy and edgier than she usually is, which I thought she achieved. I thought the funniest bit was when she was at the bar. I think she was hoping/expecting the bartender to flirt with her but then he just asks if she wants that plate of food. I liked how understated that scene was and not played as something majorly cringeworthy and that her night only got better after that. 5 Link to comment
teddysmom January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 The final scene between Brett and Alex drumming to Tom Sawyer was hilarious and wonderful, and its' so weird because I haven't thought about Rush in forever, and the morning radio show had JUST been talking about Rush's popularity with dudes of a certain age. What is the deal with men and their love of Rush and Kansas? Link to comment
arc January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 I think she was hoping/expecting the bartender to flirt with her but then he just asks if she wants that plate of food. I liked how understated that scene was and not played as something majorly cringeworthy and that her night only got better after that. Agreed. I also liked when the producer visibly gained new respect for Alex when it turned out Alex had seen the smaller and older movies he'd produced, but it wasn't a big thing, just a little flicker of a change of expression on his face. Maybe it's because so much of the TV I watch feels the need to underline everything important that makes me appreciate how low-key they're willing to write this show. 3 Link to comment
scrb January 27, 2015 Share January 27, 2015 Maybe Peter Gallagher will be in a couple more episodes rather than just make a guest one here? They could have cast any nondescript actor if this episode is his only appearance so here's hoping. Link to comment
Milburn Stone January 28, 2015 Share January 28, 2015 (edited) I am starting to get this show. I mean, I liked it well enough from the beginning, but now I'm starting to get it, and maybe the whole mumblecore thing. (I've never understood exactly what mumblecore was supposed to mean, but now I think I'm starting to.) Namely, the examination of the small, daily, ordinary humiliations that people suffer. Other comedy shows (a lot of other comedy shows, now) explore the cringeworthy. Togetherness explores the daily, mundane humiliations that never rise to the level of the cringeworthy, but are all the more crushing and soul-killing for the fact that they are un-extraordinary, acceptable (in the sense that we accept them), taken for granted, not larger than life, rather part of the fabric of our lives. In the wrong hands, that ends up being dull. In the right hands, it ends up being revelatory. I'm feeling in good hands. Edited January 28, 2015 by Milburn Stone 4 Link to comment
DangerousMinds January 30, 2015 Share January 30, 2015 What is the deal with men and their love of Rush and Kansas? You either get it or you don't.:) Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo February 2, 2015 Share February 2, 2015 I think that Tina genuinely wanted to help Alex and what really helped was her "I don't give a shit" attitude at the premiere. No tickets? So what? Sneak in! Go on the red carpet! Walk up to a famous producer and talk to him! It reminded me of the fearlessness that teenagers have because they have nothing to lose. In Tina's case, she isn't in the industry so she isn't awed by these people or afraid to get in trouble. While I don't think Alex is going to become a leading man by sneaking into movie premieres, I think he learned that having the confidence to talk to someone definitely has its benefits. I didn't think that Michelle was whoring it up. What she normally wear around the house are comfy clothes that are practical and stretchy. The dress she put on for the premiere was just a plain wrap dress which was kind of matronly. But when she put on her dominatrix outfit from the previous episode, it was something that made her feel powerful and sexy, something that she doesn't normally get to do. But for the record, I don't think that lace stockings and some cleavage automatically equals whorish. Maybe it's because I live in California but what she had on was not even close to whoring it up in my book. Ha, loved that Brett got totally enraptured by a bird singing on a street light. Although he was definitely stressed out after the previous week's experience at work, I like that he is genuinely into his job (which is definitely not true for everyone). Of course, then we got to see everyone on the sidewalk watching this nutjob recording a bird so we got some perspective on the situation. 3 Link to comment
qtpye February 2, 2015 Share February 2, 2015 (edited) Surprisingly, I really liked this episode. I liked that the Hollywood party was shown to be awkward and boring and not some ultra glamourous affair (two ply toilet paper aside). I think we got a good perspective of all the characters and what makes them tick. That being said, I am a little confused about Tina's plan. We know why Alex is crashing on the couch, but why did Tina move to California? I mean her party supply business probably could have been done from anywhere. With her leaving with the producer and pressuring that guy to be her boyfriend in the pilot...is she coming out in hopes of meeting a rich man? If that is truly her desire (and I hope her goals are a bit more complex than this), she would have a much better chance in Houston. Hollywood is a horrible place for relationships, particularly for women. Edited February 2, 2015 by qtpye Link to comment
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