S01.E07: She Drives Me Crazy / S01.E08: Mooovin' In

[henripootel]

Gilligan's Island was actually watchable, okay, not very watchable but it wasn't the toilet-pool that this is.  

 

And jerks can pure comedy gold, even 'successful' jerks like George Constanza or Barney Stinson.  They don't have to be likable or remotely 'realistic' in any sense.  They do need to be funny though, and I've yet to see Phil give us a single moment of that.  The humor here seems an off-putting combination of obvious, tortured, and mean-spirited.  

 

I'm probably not the best judge - I find some successful comedies like The Big Band Theory so unfunny that I'm amazed anyone else does.  Personal taste, I suppose, and I'm less of a Dane Cook guy and more John Oliver.  

[Rockstar99435]

I want Phil to go back to being fun. He was fun in the beginning, when he decided that everyone being dead meant there were no more rules and he could go bowling with a pick-up truck and stacked aquariums on Main Street if he wanted. AND he was having fun with Carol before Melissa showed up. He taught her the joy of lighting shit on fire and playing racketball in the foyer with extra balls and no net. I want Phil to go back to that guy. Have him organize bulldozing tournaments or giant car explosions or something.

 

I don't think Melissa was ever attracted to Phil. And less so once he shaved the beard. She confessed that she was horny because she was drinking and it has been several years since she's seen anyone. She was playing nice because she was desperate. Everyone can get desperate. That's why Phil agreed to marry Carol. He was that desperate for human contact. Melissa was desperate. But now she has Todd so she doesn't need to play nice with Phil which is why we see her standing up to his bullshit more and more. I think I would feel for Phil more if he could name ONE thing besides her looks that he likes about Melissa.Phil treats her like a pretty doll he wants to stick his dick in and Todd treats her like a person.

 

Melissa and Todd did owe both Phil and Carol an apology for the loud music in the middle of the night. That's just rude and unneighborly, but she didn't need to apologize for not wanting to be with him.

 

The cleaning of the pool scene was too gross to be funny. Shudder. Why didn't he just fill the pool with dirt. It would've been so much quicker and cleaner. It's not like he's going to use the pool for swimming now.

[qtpye]

I don't think Melissa was ever attracted to Phil. And less so once he shaved the beard. She confessed that she was horny because she was drinking and it has been several years since she's seen anyone. She was playing nice because she was desperate. Everyone can get desperate. That's why Phil agreed to marry Carol. He was that desperate for human contact. Melissa was desperate. But now she has Todd so she doesn't need to play nice with Phil which is why we see her standing up to his bullshit more and more. I think I would feel for Phil more if he could name ONE thing besides her looks that he likes about Melissa.Phil treats her like a pretty doll he wants to stick his dick in and Todd treats her like a person

 

.

I think we, as the audience can tell that Phil attraction to Melissa is shallow.  However, I think Phil has convince himself that Melissa is the dream woman that he would never have a shot at, unless he was literally the last man on earth.  He thinks he has lost his only chance with his version of the perfect female due to random twists of fate.  He sees her as the ultimate prize and not a human being (at least for now).

 

Since he is shallow, he also can not believe Melissa's attraction to Todd.  Melissa is attracted to Todd because he is wonderful person.  However, Phil has convinced himself that if Todd was out of the way, then Melissa would have to fall for him out of necessity.

[dcalley]

I know Mel Rodriguez (Todd) as Slippin' Jimmy's partner in crime on Better Call Saul (he sang "butt, butthole" to the riff from "Smoke on the Water") and Patsy de la Serda on the American version of Getting On. (According to IMDB, he was Sgt. Nunez on three episodes of Community, Don Dona on two episodes of Big Love, Officer Martinez in Little Miss Sunshine, and on an episode each of Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Gilmore Girls, but I don't remember any of those roles.)

He was in Enlisted, which was pretty good.

 

I hated the first of these two. Mostly Phil. I forwarded through his driving/screaming. I kind of thought the "you must be pooped" [after cleaning the pool] joke was funny, but the thing I liked most about that episode was the Porta Potty song at the end, Bob's Burgers style.

 

I don't really know why I'm still watching, either. It's been disappointing.

[TeeVeeStevie]

True, but Todd acts like a decent guy all the time without all the crying, screaming or contemplating murder. That makes him the superior option.

Context is important here. Since he arrived, Todd has had absolutely everything go right for him in the most improbable way, while Phil has had everything go wrong in the most infuriating way. If the karma were spread out a little more reasonably, they'd both be decent guys most of the time, and Phil's looks would put him over the edge and make him the superior option.

There's "being influence by" and then there's your original point, which was, "there's no way horny Melissa would want to have that kind of nonstop hot sex with Todd rather than Phil, no matter how nice Todd is and how "superficial" Phil is." And that's just not true. There's, at my best guess, infinity reasons why Melissa would rather have sex with Todd instead of Phil.

I maintain that if this situation were depicted realistically, Melissa would choose Phil over Todd for sex because of his looks, or at the very least "marry" Todd the way Phil is "married" to Carol and then fantasize about/cheat with Phil whenever she gets really horny. This hot-sex-with-Todd stuff is pure fantasy for comedy purposes. People can say I don't understand women, but science is actually on my side here.

How is it decent to pretend to tolerate someone you hate? If someone hated me, I'd far prefer that they make it clear and stay away. I think it's indecent that someone should fake enjoying my presence. Even worse, marry me or stay married to me.

You're analyzing this as if they had other options. Carol likes Phil and wants to be married to him, or at least she wants to be married to someone and eventually repopulate. If he leaves, there's literally no one else in the world for her to do that with now that Todd is taken. Staying with her makes him a decent guy in my book. Abandoning her would be cruel. And they bicker constantly, so I don't think he's faking enjoyment.

She didn't readily agree to have sex with him. She agreed to it because Carol supported the idea for repopulation purposes. Phil kept trying to make it intimate and Melissa's whole demeanor was "let's get this shit over with."

She tells him she's horny, Carol proposes the "sharing him" idea, and she's immediately on board with it even though she had never expressed any interest in repopulating before. That sounds like readily agreeing to me. And her demeanor was more "let's get it on already, I'm horny" than "let's get it over with." If I recall, she starts by going in for a kiss.

[Myrna123]

I maintain that if this situation were depicted realistically, Melissa would choose Phil over Todd for sex because of his looks, or at the very least "marry" Todd the way Phil is "married" to Carol and then fantasize about/cheat with Phil whenever she gets really horny. This hot-sex-with-Todd stuff is pure fantasy for comedy purposes. People can say I don't understand women, but science is actually on my side here.

 

Your "science" is based on 38 coeds in one study and "43 normally ovulating women" in another.  Perhaps people say you don't understand women because you extrapolate things to an entire gender based on itty bitty teeny weeny sample sizes that are indicative of nothing.

 

 

I maintain that if this situation were depicted realistically, Melissa would choose Phil over Todd for sex because of his looks, or at the very least "marry" Todd the way Phil is "married" to Carol and then fantasize about/cheat with Phil whenever she gets really horny.

 

I'm guessing if Melissa is fantasizing about someone during sex with Todd it's not Phil.  I think you're overestimating how much more attractive Phil is than Todd.  Todd is overweight, but he's not a gargoyle.  Phil is average looking at best, and he's not more attractive than Todd is, just thinner.

 

Given the fact that Melissa was not vomiting into her mouth at the idea of procreating with Phil, I guess the lesson here is that she would have sex with him if he actually was the last man on Earth.  But lucky for her, he's not.  Phil isn't just a little bit off-putting or slightly less pleasant than Todd or a poor poor sad little man who just isn't as lucky as Todd.  He's been shown time and again to be a lousy guy who's pitching a temper tantrum because he wants a woman who doesn't want him back and he thinks he deserves her regardless of what she wants. 

 

 

Context is important here. Since he arrived, Todd has had absolutely everything go right for him in the most improbable way, while Phil has had everything go wrong in the most infuriating way. If the karma were spread out a little more reasonably, they'd both be decent guys most of the time, and Phil's looks would put him over the edge and make him the superior option.

Well, the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  Phil has proven himself to be crappy when he is in times of challenge.  If he can only be decent when everything is going his way, then he's not very decent.  Todd has been at the butt of Phil's douchery several times and has remained pleasant and affable.  So again, he is shown to be a superior choice to Phil.

[DittyDotDot]

I actually think the scenario is playing out very realistic given the situation. I don't think "attraction" is playing that much into Melissa's decision-making right now.  Melissa is horny and wants to have sex with a living man--not love or marriage or any of that, just sex. She has two options, get it on with the man married to her friend, which would make it difficult to be her friend, or get it on with the single man over there who doesn't pose any obstacles we know of, as of yet. Of course she's gonna pick Todd given that scenario, IMO. Would she pick Phil over Todd if Carol wasn't a factor? I think it'd be a toss up.

 

To me, neither man is much of a prize. Sure, Todd is an affable guy and can do just about everything, but I find Todd kinda bland so far and everything is too easy with him. At least with Phil I know I'd probably get to have some fun destruction-recreation. So, "science" aside, I'd say Melissa isn't all that "attracted" to either man, but is happy to have her carnal needs met right now.

 

I'm kinda loving how Phil continually screws himself over due to his own jackassery, so I'm glad the show hasn't pulled it's punches on with Phil. He's an ass and they haven't tried to say he's not. Personally, I love that!

[dcalley]

Your "science" is based on 38 coeds in one study and "43 normally ovulating women" in another. 

And the second study was only about fantasies, not real-life actions.

 

I find myself wondering if they've got some solar energy setup because they use energy for silly things. I mean, turning on fans to dry clothes when you live in Tucson?!

[LADreamr]

The other thing that is not being taken into consideration with Melissa is that they are all in a very unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation with this new reality, so the attraction is not just about sexual desire, but also the person who can make you feel more comfortable. Todd is kind, helpful, resourceful and comforting. Having someone like that helping you out in a situation like that would be very attractive.

Melissa, like most women, has probably had to deal with men with Phil's ego and sense of entitlement her whole life. Someone genuine like Todd, not a Nice Guy, but an actual nice guy, stands out.

Edited April 2, 2015 by LADreamr

[SlackerInc]

Again, I'm in between.  I think in reality, most women would be pretty conflicted: Todd's nice, but quite unattractive IMO.  Phil is no Hemsworth but far more physically attractive than Todd--but personalitywise, often insufferable (but he does have his redemptive moments).  His being married to her only female friend is of course also an issue.

[Watchtoomuch]

How is Mellissa getting a pass in all of this? She tells Phil she's horny, but that the only reason she isn't jumping his bones is because he's "married". Then she readily agrees to have sex with him once Carol decides it increases the odds of repopulation. Of course Phil has to make it way creepier than it needed to be and makes it totally awkward. Then once Todd shows up, she basically starts being a bitch to Phil (who admittedly acts like an ass as well). For me, the kicker was that after Phil has a minute of being real with her and admits his true feelings, she nicely tells him it's not happening. But, But, then she makes a point of loudly and annoyingly playing "the sex song" for what purpose? Oh yeah, to act like a bitch to Phil of course. Then she's snotty as hell to him every chance she gets. To me, Todd's the only decent one there as far as Phil goes. Carol just wants to control him, Melissa just fucks with him. I kept saying to my wife, "if I were him I'd load up the party bus and just leave" , why stay when your "wife" annoys the crap out of you, and your "dream girl" doesn't want you except to be her punching bag.

[TeeVeeStevie]

I realize the science I referenced is based on small samples, but it's still science, and those of you who aren't dismissing it outright are (deliberately?) misinterpreting it. There are two studies that basically replicate each others' results. They both find that horny women (e.g. Melissa) whose mates are sexually unattractive (e.g. Todd) will cheat or be tempted to cheat with men who are more sexually attractive (e.g. Phil). That backs up my point perfectly.

Sorry, but, when a bunch of women tells you you're wrong; you're wrong.

A "bunch of women" are telling me I'm right--38 in the first study and 43 in the second--which is a lot more than the 5 or 6 here who are telling me the opposite. I think I'll go with the former group.

All that said, I'm not trying to sell Phil as a Chris Hemsworth type or Todd as completely undateable, and I agree with most of what DittyDotDot, LADreamr and SlackerInc said in their posts between this one and my last one.

Phil has proven himself to be crappy when he is in times of challenge. If he can only be decent when everything is going his way, then he's not very decent. Todd has been at the butt of Phil's douchery several times and has remained pleasant and affable. So again, he is shown to be a superior choice to Phil.

But Phil has only ever been in times of challenge and nothing ever goes his way. Yet he still always manages to do the decent thing in the end. Meanwhile, golden-boy Todd is off having endless monkey sex with the hottest woman left on earth, and the other surviving woman thinks he's great too. Of course he's always pleasant and affable. I'm sure he couldn't care less about Phil's "douchery." I know I wouldn't. He doesn't even seem to notice it.

[Irlandesa]

How is Mellissa getting a pass in all of this? n

For not wanting to or choosing not to fuck Phil?  She doesn't need a pass for that.  She gets to make that choice.  Melissa isn't perfect but she has been pretty consistent about valuing Carol as a friend.  And she has had reasons to be turned off by the way Phil drools after her and for how he treats Carol.  I guess if I felt like she was deliberately trying to Phil crazy, I'd think worse of her but Phil went crazy creepy the moment he met her--the point where he was going to abandon Carol after they had been in the accident.

 

I realize the science I referenced is based on small samples, but it's still science, and those of you who aren't dismissing it outright are (deliberately?) misinterpreting it. There are two studies that basically replicate each others' results. They both find that horny women (e.g. Melissa) whose mates are sexually unattractive (e.g. Todd) will cheat or be tempted to cheat with men who are more sexually attractive (e.g. Phil). That backs up my point perfectly.

No it really doesn't.  For one, the title of the article suggests something more scandalous than the article discusses.  The article talks about how women are likely to be attracted to or fantasize about other men during certain times of the month.  Yet it doesn't appear they have data how often that actually converted into cheating. 

 

Second, at least one of the studies discussed how women perceived their partner.  Did they find them attractive?  If so, they were less likely to let their minds wander.

 

Third, none of these studies only offered one alternative.  None of them said "your partner is an overweight guy who has a great personality, is kind and can provide for you.  When you are ovulating, is your choice of fantasy the average looking guy you think is kind of a creeper and a dick?"  Now give me that study and it'll be relevant.  It sounds like these women had the choice of all other men....of whom there are some who a woman would be attracted to/fantasize about.

 

Sexual attraction for women, for me at least, is about more than simple aesthetics.  Everything counts.  Objectively, I know Brad Pitt is a good looking guy but he has never entered my fantasies. I'm more likely to want to chase down Stephen Merchant. 

Edited April 3, 2015 by Irlandesa

[Rockstar99435]

I realize the science I referenced is based on small samples, but it's still science, and those of you who aren't dismissing it outright are (deliberately?) misinterpreting it. There are two studies that basically replicate each others' results. They both find that horny women (e.g. Melissa) whose mates are sexually unattractive (e.g. Todd) will cheat or be tempted to cheat with men who are more sexually attractive (e.g. Phil). That backs up my point perfectly.

 

I think you are drastically overestimating Phil's attractiveness level. He's a 6, maybe a 7. Todd is more of a 5-6.There's not that much difference. Sure, Todd is overweight but Phil's not ripped or anything. He's a pasty, flabby average guy. And, strange as it sounds, some people don't think fat automatically equals unattractive. 

 

For not wanting to or choosing not to fuck Phil?  She doesn't need a pass for that.  She gets to make that choice.  Melissa isn't perfect but she has been pretty consistent about valuing Carol as a friend.  And she has had reasons to be turned off by the way Phil drools after her and for how he treats Carol.  I guess if I felt like she was deliberately trying to Phil crazy, I'd think worse of her but Phil went crazy creepy the moment he met her--the point where he was going to abandon Carol after they had been in the accident.

 

Exactly.  Melissa doesn't need to apologize for not being attracted to Phil. Phil has been creepy for a while. In this episode, she made some comment that she didn't want Phil to come over to her house shirtless anymore. And Phil refused. That kind of sexual boundary crossing is precisely why Melissa can't even be friendly to Phil. He already interprets flat out rejection as "I should go over to her house topless". 

Edited April 3, 2015 by Rockstar99435

[MarkHB]

Everyone, this whole discussion has gotten out of hand.  Melissa's choice has been made, and the debate over whether it's realistic or not is going in circles and threatening to become personal.  Please let it go and move on.

[editorgrrl]

There's already so many things to hand-wave on this show, but I just gotta ask: would a DVR still work after the apocalypse? And could Phil really take Carol's over to his house & watch "Cake Bosses"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Spoiler alert: The cake won't fit in the van!

[LADreamr]

I always thought cake/van issues were a given on that show. Just like on Cupcake Wars, "Oh my God, we burned five of the cupcakes and time is almost up!!!!"

[theatremouse]

There's already so many things to hand-wave on this show, but I just gotta ask: would a DVR still work after the apocalypse? And could Phil really take Carol's over to his house & watch "Cake Bosses"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Since the apocalypse seemed to be a purely viral epidemic situation and not war or other things involving property damage, assuming the hard drives didn't overheat, or get much use in the interim, I'd buy they didn't die yet. I guess. Although personally every DVR I've had from my cable company died within six months. But let's say maybe, just maybe, the rich people whose houses they moved into had been provided real live actual NEW dvrs, and not a refurb that someone else had already returned for malfunctioning. Then yeah sure, I bet their two year old Cake Boss recordings still play.

If the shows were already recorded, then attaching the DVR to a different TV should still allow it to work at Carol's. They can't use it as a receiver or anything, but sure, if those hard drives aren't dead, plug it in anywhere and watch those vans' doors be too short.

[possibilities]

My eight year old DVR works fine. i can still watch stuff I recorded when i first ahd it. But what they really need to do is find a Netflix waarehouse and take posession of the disks. Or go house to house plundering DVRs since they've already watched whatever was on the ones in the houses they've moved into. Yes, I have given this a lot of thought.

 

If they have solar power, they can watch all they want.

 

Instead of bickering about who's fucking or not fucking, they should start a movie night or something. So many ways they could be having fun together....

 

I am also really suffering over the idea that Carol is pooping at hotels. Does she go from one room to the next til all the toilets have been fouled? After two years no one has dug an outhouse? Or set up composting toilets? It's a fairly easy fix.

[TeeVeeStevie]

Wow, people get really touchy about science. The article just summarizes the results of the two studies. To debate the details and data, we'd have to find and read the originals, then follow links to any related research, all of which would take too long and be inappropriate for the purposes of this discussion. I was just trying to offer some scientific support for the point I was making after everybody jumped on me. Didn't mean to get you all so worked up.

I'm kinda loving how Phil continually screws himself over due to his own jackassery, so I'm glad the show hasn't pulled it's punches on with Phil. He's an ass and they haven't tried to say he's not. Personally, I love that!

What would have been funny, in keeping with the absurdity of the whole situation, is if Phil had left Todd in the desert, and then Todd miraculously stumbles back into town a couple months later having lost 100 pounds and looking like a young Burt Reynolds...just at the exact moment that Phil has finally convinced Melissa again to have sex with him.

The show does seem to be slowly redeeming Phil's character though, and judging by their recent heart-to-heart talks, I'm betting he and Melissa are endgame (unless more survivors show up and complicate things).

[LaChavalina]

Anyway, now the fun part of picking apart how unrealistic this post-apocalyptic world is. I'm aware these details aren't the point, but that's some of the fun of the show for me.

• You guys have already brought up the lactating cow question, so I'll add:, they live in Tucson, what are they planning to feed that milk cow? I don't think scrub brush is gonna cut it. And I hope they realize someone's gonna need to muck out Carol's former upstairs, from time to time.
• Did Phil set up his porta-potty in his house? I'm glad they made him clean up his poop pool, but I'm not sure that porta-potty is gonna smell any better. And where is the "stuff" going?
• I'm still wondering how they're getting electricity to watch their DVRs and gas to drive their vehicles three hours into the desert.

I'll add:

• Why don't they just build a ramp from an upstairs window to get the cow down from off the top floor-- like they do to move cows around IRL?
• Even if Phil was genuinely lactose intolerant, he could always just take some pills from a grocery store. As long as they've got us believing that rash creams still exist in this world and work, it's ridiculous no one would question this.

 

Show started off well and I was willing to forgive the dumb writing, but I haven't loved anything past episode 2--and I skipped ahead a couple episodes just to get to the cow. Todd and Melissa do nothing for me.

Edited April 5, 2015 by LaChavalina

[peeayebee]

I still like this show, but I don't think it's as great as it was in the first few eps. 

 

I agree that Phil's assholiness gets tiresome. I guess in each ep he redeems himself a little as he realizes he needs to be a better person, or behave like one. Is there a difference?

 

Phil is funnier and more enjoyable when he's completely alone. His problem, and I guess this is intentional, is when he has to interact with other people. That's his arc in the series, learning how to be part of society. Right now he's all for himself.

 

Second episode, COW!!!!! :)  Now they can get milk! Oh no the cow hurt one of Phil's ball friends! ROFL! :(

 

I LOVED how Phil screamed and ran toward his ball friend. Sorry, I can't remember his name.

 

I admit I was questioning the lactating cow, but as others said, this is the type of show where you have to hand wave things like that. For instance, when Carol got into bed with Phil, I was thinking that she'd be put off by the smell of the sheets, which I doubt he has changed. I haven't noticed if they're the same sheets. Maybe Carol has been changing them for him.

[stopeslite]

On the water thing - there should have been a huge amount of water sitting in the pipes when everybody died. So, even if the water treatment plant is not operating, and the water isn't being forced into the system from the front end, there's still a lot there. We saw Phil using his own toilet, and then still using it refilling it with bottled water, for almost a year. So, Carol should be able to go use any toilet in town one time and get one flush out of it, sending everything on its way, without needing to refill. And the system in a city like Tuscon is big enough that one individual contribution wouldn't stop up the whole system or overflow it. That makes me think that, if she can get into the rooms (which are card-activated, so not sure how the lack of electricity would allow it unless she has an ax and is breaking into each), she can use each toilet once without wasting any bottled water. Any mid-sized hotel has at least a hundred rooms, so saying they each go once a day, there are an awful lot of toilets in town to enable all four of them to flush things away for a couple of years or so at least. And then if they exhausted all of the toilets in an area, they could just move on to the next part of town.  

Yes, I thought about this a lot. It took my mind off of the mysteriously long-lived single lactating cow in the desert where cow farms aren't exactly plentiful. 

 

ETA: Of course, I can't complain much about the bad reality of the cow, when the reality within the show is that they are all actually trying to live in Tuscon instead of packing up and moving to anywhere in the midwest where they'd have access to lots of rainwater, leftover farms still growing all kinds of food, seed banks, etc... 

Edited April 5, 2015 by stopeslite

[LaChavalina]

Fun fact: The Biosphere 2 is located just outside of Tucson in real life. There are still a myriad of reasons why Tucson would make an awful choice for a post-apocalyptic civilization, but in the event of a real-life life killing virus it would at least be a place to get seeds.

[MV713]

I guess if you really hate the show, then stop watching?  Its been renewed for a second season.

I personally love the show and look forward to it, I dont try to analyze it or wonder where its going.

I just watch it and laugh.

 

And Kristen will always be "Mel" for me - for anyone who ever watched "Flight of the Conchords" - another hilarious show which was totally ridiculous.:)

[ViewerPDX]

 

 

The show has a  really interesting premise but Phil might be the most repulsive protagonist in sitcom history.  Usually this type of character has more of a supporting role like the examples mentioned above of Louie and Newman.

He's Michael Scott but much more frightening.  I LOVE dark humor.  I really do, but at some point, this show has to make me give a shit about Phil other than he's a selfish prick who only thinks with that prick.  I need some sort of redemption for Forte's character.  If not, Fox should have passed on this show and let a cable network pick it up and make it even more absurd, or even put it on FX or FXX.  I do not like Phil at all, yet I love some things about him.  The need for space of his own from the "wife" he has nothing in common with, his own bar filled with his inflated friends, and frankly, even the poop pool, which I assume was supposed to show us how he'd given up before Carol had her campfire literally seconds before Phil killed himself.  

[Maurina]

You know, at this point I don't really even need Phil to become less of a tool, I just want the writers to develop a solid story line, ANY story line, other than his pointless and boring obsession with Melissa. The horse, it is dead, please halt the beating.  There has to be something else - something, you know, FUNNIER, to have these characters do.

[Captain Asshat]

The cow still bearing milk doesn't bother me as much as much as the unlimited gasoline bothers me. They've established that there is no electricity without a generator, which runs on gasoline. How are they getting that gasoline, when gas pumps require electricity? It's not like they can be powered, long-term, by generators, because those would run out of gas, which turns off the generators, which...aw, hell...see where this is going? I mean, Phil drove across the country in a giant bus. How'd he keep that gassed up? Same with Todd and his sports car. So, if they have gasoline pumps that don't need power, I'm prepared to believe that the cow still bears milk.

 

Speaking of generators: Why have these people who run generators *inside the house*, not died from carbon monoxide poisoning?

 

Despite this, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show on a "what would I do in this situation" level. I'd drive the best car(s), and I'd totally blow up a few things.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Captain Asshat

[sonyab]

Oops. Put my comments on the wrong storyline. Sorry.

Edited April 13, 2015 by sonyab

[SlackerInc]

There's already so many things to hand-wave on this show, but I just gotta ask: would a DVR still work after the apocalypse? And could Phil really take Carol's over to his house & watch "Cake Bosses"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Spoiler alert: The cake won't fit in the van!

 

Yup, I had a DVR that I loaded up with as much stuff as I could fit before I cancelled cable, and slowly watched what was on it for a few weeks afterward.  And just like a DVD player or whatever, it will work whatever TV it's attached to.  In Tucson of all places, though, they should show them using solar power instead of generators.

 

On the water thing - there should have been a huge amount of water sitting in the pipes when everybody died. So, even if the water treatment plant is not operating, and the water isn't being forced into the system from the front end, there's still a lot there. We saw Phil using his own toilet, and then still using it refilling it with bottled water, for almost a year. So, Carol should be able to go use any toilet in town one time and get one flush out of it, sending everything on its way, without needing to refill. And the system in a city like Tuscon is big enough that one individual contribution wouldn't stop up the whole system or overflow it. That makes me think that, if she can get into the rooms (which are card-activated, so not sure how the lack of electricity would allow it unless she has an ax and is breaking into each), she can use each toilet once without wasting any bottled water. Any mid-sized hotel has at least a hundred rooms, so saying they each go once a day, there are an awful lot of toilets in town to enable all four of them to flush things away for a couple of years or so at least. And then if they exhausted all of the toilets in an area, they could just move on to the next part of town.  

 

Yeah, this is a really good idea.  Though if I'm really picky about it, I do wonder if the water in the tank would slowly leak though into the bowl.