Grandfathered - General Discussion

[ZeroMyHero]

The one thing that stood out: "HEY!  It's the guy from 2Ge+her!"  

 

Heh. I thought that was him, but he still looked so young, and his bulldog appearance has softened a bit. I haven't seen him in anything since Ghost World.

[ae2]

Edie flushing things didn't bother me. It seems like one of those silly things a kid does. Her being able to open locked doors and break through a chained up toilet seemed on the silly end for this show, but there have been enough absurd moments that it wasn't entirely out of place.

 

A Sarah-Jimmy pairing has clearly been the endgame since the start. My guess is they amped it up after seeing that there's a lot more chemistry there than between Gerald and Vanessa.

 

Although we got a "aren't Gerald and Vanessa meant to be together?" tonight. That might have been the funniest line of the episode.

[UsernameFatigue]

Now I know with a sitcom we are supposed to suspend any semblance of common sense, but did Vanessa really leave Edie alone to go take a bath next door at the grandmother's? And the whole bathroom thing was ridiculous. Just put a lock on the outside of the door high enough that she can't reach it. I know, I know - then we wouldn't have been treated to Edie throwing everything but the kitchen sink down the toliet. But for me, situations are funny when the parents aren't written as complete dolts.

Edited February 25, 2016 by UsernameFatigue

[mansonlamps]

The very first scene when Edie was going to put the wallet in the toilet was ridiculous. Gerald is watching her from the door and saying NOOOO while not taking a single step in her direction for several seconds. The bathroom isn't that big and toddlers aren't that quick Gerald, just go take it out of her hands.

And don't get me started on Edie getting the chain off the toilet.

I might be able to suspend my disbelief if the storyline had been remotely interesting or funny.

[iMonrey]

I want to know what kind of super-powered toilet Gerald has in the guest house that can flush everything from a wallet to a cell phone. Most toilets back up if you put too much toilet paper down thee.

[Bruinsfan]

Could be like the one I had in my last apartment—1920s plumbing with no tank, just a public restroom style incoming pipe and lever and the water pressure of a log flume. I never had to use a plunger in the whole four years I lived there—more than once I accidentally dropped an empty cardboard tissue roll as I was flushing and watched it disappear instantly.

[joanne3482]

Since we could see the toilet tank, I knew it wasn't like the one I had in my 20's apartment - the super industrial kind you usually see at the mall and airport - so it bugged me too that they could flush all that stuff down it. Residential household pipes just aren't that big. 

 

I did like her being able to get into anything, though. For some reason that made me giggle. Wasn't she the Houdini baby too? (Or was that a different show?)  

 

Now I know with a sitcom we are supposed to suspend any semblance of common sense, but did Vanessa really leave Edie alone to go take a bath next door at the grandmother's?

 

If Edie had actually been asleep I wouldn't have batted an eye about that. It's the guest house in the back yard, not THAT far away. Although I don't know if she had the monitor. But it seemed like Vanessa hadn't waited until Edie was actually sleeping before she went next door. 

[frenchtoast]

Jimmy finds himself out of his element when he falls for a stunning, powerhouse CEO who always manages to be one step ahead of him.

[iMonrey]

Kind of a weak episode. They're really dragging out the whole Jimmy and Sarah thing. No way Jimmy and Catherine are going to work out as a couple long-term. And that guy Sarah is dating seems like kind of a tool, pretty as Michael Trucco is.

[amensisterfriend]

I hadn't watched this show in weeks and wanted to give it another chance. I like John Stamos and Paget Brewster and want to love this show, but I thought last night's episode was terrible. I think most of the characters are only enjoyable to me in relation to Edie. Jimmy and Sara were both such ridiculous, obnoxious posuers that I wanted both of their (also fairly unlikable IMO) new significant others to dump them by the end of the episode. Also, I couldn't possibly like Vanessa and Gerald less as a couple. I know some hate Gerald, but I have a soft spot for that 'adorkable' type. I can't stand his pining after Vanessa, though. Or pretty much anything about Vanessa in general! 

 

The woman who's unlucky enough to work for Jimmy is my favorite character by default, in large part because she seems as annoyed by and over these people as I am!  

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I like Jimmy's staff every bit as much as the main characters! 

[Big Mother]

It's possible that Edie was put down to sleep and then Vanessa went next door to take a bath. However, that is grossly irresponsible of Vanessa, unless she had a baby monitor turned on, and she wouldve heard Edie waking up. also, I'm confused why Vanessa would be at Gerald's place. If it's in the middle of the day, isn't Edie in preschool? If it's at night, isn't Sarah at home? Why is she taking baths in her boyfriend's mother's bathtub? In any case, if Gerald isn't home, wouldn't it be Vanessa's turn to have Edie, and why wouldnt she be at her grandmothers' house? The whole custody set up is very confusing to me. And Gerald and Vanessa are SO acting like a married / long-term-dating couple, with Vanessa flitting in and out of the house, chummy-chummy with Gerald's parents, that it doesnt make sense why they arent officially together.

[joanne3482]

It's possible that Edie was put down to sleep and then Vanessa went next door to take a bath. However, that is grossly irresponsible of Vanessa, unless she had a baby monitor turned on, and she wouldve heard Edie waking up. also, I'm confused why Vanessa would be at Gerald's place. If it's in the middle of the day, isn't Edie in preschool? If it's at night, isn't Sarah at home? Why is she taking baths in her boyfriend's mother's bathtub? In any case, if Gerald isn't home, wouldn't it be Vanessa's turn to have Edie, and why wouldnt she be at her grandmothers' house? The whole custody set up is very confusing to me. And Gerald and Vanessa are SO acting like a married / long-term-dating couple, with Vanessa flitting in and out of the house, chummy-chummy with Gerald's parents, that it doesnt make sense why they arent officially together.

My grasp of the timeline is that it was 'night.' Sarah was at her party with Jimmy which turned into dinner at Jimmy's restaurant. Gerald was working, at Jimmy's restaurant. Maybe it was Gerald's night and so Vanessa was just babysitting and so that's why she was there? (I know it isn't babysitting when you are with your own kid but what I mean by that is that it was Gerald's time and his mom wasn't available to watch Edie while he was at work so Vanessa came in for a few hours and then would go back to her own home.) 

[Big Mother]

Makes a lot of sense. thanks!

[Thog]

This is one of those episodes that left me wondering who the heck is watching Edie.

[MBJ]

I admit I don't really have place to talk on this front, but the actor who plays Gerald has the hugest bags under his eyes.  I kept waiting for a plot reveal about his serious fatigue and lack of his sleep.  Edie is not exactly a newborn and he gets a lot of childcare help.  Am I being too mean or judgemental?  I have to admit I find it distracting.

 

I still think that John Stamos is so great on this show, and I'm a big Regina Hall fan.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[frenchtoast]

Jimmy navigates the realities of being in a real relationship, while Gerald and Vanessa try to find work/life balance.

[meep.meep]

That baby is freaking adorable.

I must be the last person watching this, but I liked it.  Catherine having the booty call, and Jimmy just accepting it, was great.  They are two peas in a pod.

[iMonrey]

I hate to say it (and not that I necessarily care) but Gerald is right. If he and Vanessa have so little in common their relationship is doomed. You see people getting hooked up all the time based on a mutual physical attraction only to realize later on they have totally dissimilar interests in just about everything. 

 

I thought it was pretty funny that every time Jimmy asked Catherine about a previous boyfriend she said "Yours is bigger" and that's all he needed to hear. She's really knows men (or at least ones like Jimmy) and how to shut that conversation down.

[seacliffsal]

Gerald is a boring and annoying character in my opinion. I think he often brings his scenes to a halt. The 'movie night' scene was awful-just pick a movie, or bring the girlfriend into the tradition in a way that she understands what is going on.

[Browncoat]

I liked it, too.  My favorite part, though, was Edie saying, "Bam!" when she added (more!) salt to the spaghetti sauce.  The "My beer" at the end was cute, too.

 

I like that Jimmy and Catherine are actually the same person, but they're both growing and learning how to be in a relationship that is more than just a booty call.  Gerald and Vanessa can probably find some common ground other than Edie and their app.  Couples don't have to do everything together, after all. 

[rejnel]

I thought movie night was hilarious, but then I'm crazy about both Gerald and Sara.

 

The actress playing Catherine Sanders has no charisma, and no chemistry with Jimmy. (That's saying a lot.)

[Irlandesa]

Gerald and Vanessa were presented as friends who ended up sleeping together and having a baby.  And they've always talked about how they were friends and how important that was.

 

So I found it a bit unbelievable that they'd be afraid they have nothing in common.

[AmandaPanda]

Exactly, Irlandesa! How have they been friends this whole time if they have nothing in common? I could understand if they had just been hooking up and are trying to build a relationship based on something other than sex, but this whole plot doesn't make sense. What bonded them together before they had Edie? And why am I trying to find logic in this friggin' show?

[Bruinsfan]

Holy crap! I did not realize that was the same actress from the Scary Movie franchise. Talk about playing characters that are nothing alike!

[xander874]

Quote

Refusing to admit that he's 51, Jimmy throws himself a second 50th birthday party; flashbacks show Jimmy what a difference his family has made for him.

Guess this show isn't getting renewed since there is no topic here 2 days after it aired. I do enjoy the show and was actually emotional a bit at then end when Jimmy got the call his dad died. I like Regina Hall but am not a fan of this relationship. It changes the dynamic of the whole show to me. I know it won't last but this show feels off to me. 

[ae2]

3 minutes ago, xander874 said:

Guess this show isn't getting renewed since there is no topic here 2 days after it aired. I do enjoy the show and was actually emotional a bit at then end when Jimmy got the call his dad died. I like Regina Hall but am not a fan of this relationship. It changes the dynamic of the whole show to me. I know it won't last but this show feels off to me. 

Zap2It has it as likely to be renewed.

By the looks of it, this relationship won't last long for Jimmy. It's whole purpose is to make Sarah realize that there is more to Jimmy than she thought, and that he could handle being in a serious relationship. I've actually enjoyed the story, and think that a big-time CEO is a good foil for Jimmy.

If we get a season 2, I hope they don't play the will-they-wont-they game with Jimmy and Sarah. Or worse, have them together for a season and then break up.

[frenchtoast]

2 hours ago, xander874 said:

Guess this show isn't getting renewed since there is no topic here 2 days after it aired. I do enjoy the show and was actually emotional a bit at then end when Jimmy got the call his dad died. I like Regina Hall but am not a fan of this relationship. It changes the dynamic of the whole show to me. I know it won't last but this show feels off to me. 

Sorry about that. I was going to post the new topic just before the upgrade but it happened too quickly. Anyone is welcome to start an episode topic, it is not restricted to mods only.

[MaryMitch]

I enjoyed the various flashbacks; it was an interesting way to show a little backstory.

It was telling to see how Jimmy's confidence was so affected by his father's opinion. I'm sorry to see Jimmy's father won't be on any more shows (unless they do more flashbacks!). I like Paul Sorvino.

[iMonrey]

I liked this one too. It might have been nice to save it for the season finale though. Annelise continues to be my favorite character. Jimmy's dad was a real asshole. It's one thing to be distant and old-school - I get that maybe he can't really relate to Jimmy. But to spit out the meatball and insult his cook is just rude and really speaks to his overall character. It's amazing Jimmy turned out as well as he did considering what a dick his father is, and he's already well on his way to being a much better father and grandfather himself. 

I liked the part in the flashback where he was sleeping with the model and neither of them could remember each other's names. "Names!"

[wonderwoman]

I do love this show, and am glad that it got renewed. Would have loved to have seen the relationship between Jimmy and his father developed a bit more before Paul Sorvino was killed off.

[Big Mother]

I really enjoyed the episode. It was very nice to see the growth that Jimmy had in the year since he found out he has a son and grandson.

(By the way, the reason why a new topic hasn't been posted, is probably bc of the upheaval on the forums. I haven't figured out yet how these forums even work...)

[Big Mother]

OH MAN. I didn't watch it til the end. Wow. i did not see that coming. I had tears in my eyes when we saw Gerald heading for the restaurant to meet jimmy. And then the end! Wow. It felt like the show is coming full circle. I wonder if it'll be renewed....

[atomationage]

They can always do flashbacks with Paul Sorvino if they want, but I would prefer if they kept it more light-hearted.  This did seem like a finale, but apparently the next one is some kind of memorial for the great grandfather.

[mtlchick]

I really like this one as it shows that as suave as Jimmy is, he still wanted his dad's approval that he did something right only to have his dad shoot him down at every turn.  This showed a lot of growth.  I was still able to call that his dad was going to die, but baby steps. 

[mansonlamps]

I find Jimmy's girlfriend to be too bland of a character for him, I hope they get rid of that relationship.  But I don't want him to jump right into a new relationship with Sarah either because then it's just a family sitcom.  I like that they have separate lives and then come together for reasons involving Gerald and Edie (no matter how much I hate those name choices).  I also wish they had done a bit more with Paul Sorvino before killing him off, that was way too quick, but I guess they don't even know if they are getting renewed.

[Bruinsfan]

Wait, so was Jimmy's restaurant a new development a year ago, or was it just that his piece-of-shit father had never been out West to visit him before?

[Ailianna]

I think his dad just never came out West before.  Remember all the comments about how it had been 20 years?

[frenchtoast]

Jimmy plans an emotional memorial service while processing a painful loss. Meanwhile, Sara is faced with a difficult decision after Craig asks her to take the next step in their relationship.

[atomationage]

I thought this was a good ending to the season or the series.   If it doesn't get renewed, I hope John Stamos works a lot more. 

[iMonrey]

Was this the last one, or is there one more? Seemed like a season-ending cliff-hanger but 21 episodes is an odd number, usually there are 22 if it got a full-season order.

[atomationage]

The IMDB shows 21 episodes for all the actors.

[frenchtoast]

Supposedly there's another show airing on May 10. Episode 22 The Cure.

[ProudMary]

I'm definitely confused about something.  Perhaps I misunderstood, but in the previous episode they seemed to be saying that Jimmy's father had never come out west to see him before.  My assumption was that his father lived on the East Coast.  In this episode, Sara and Gerald are going around locally (So. Cal.) to try to round up friends/acquaintances of Jimmy's dad.  Also, Jimmy says that he and his dad listened to Angels' games on the radio when he was growing up.  Again, that indicates West Coast.  What am I missing?

[twoods]

I thought they grew up on the west coast but after his dad retired he moved to the east coast- at least that's what I assumed.

[IzeOfLight]

I was surprised Sara/h kissed Jimmy; I figured they might drag it out a bit more.

But I'm interested to see the finale given that development, and I hope it gets renewed: Paget Brewster doing comedy is awesome in my book. I still laugh out loud when I think of her character taking the "Which FRIENDS character are you?" quiz earlier in the season. 

[Jillybean]

Whereas I think Paget Brewster has become increasingly manic and ridiculous in the role. Though I don't think she's being given good writing to work with.

For some reason I thought Jimmy's dad lived in Florida.

[frenchtoast]

Jimmy and Sara wonder if they should give their relationship another shot, but Sara is hesitant to put herself in a position to get hurt again. Meanwhile, Gerald plans an elaborate proposal for Vanessa.

[blugirlami21]

I hate when we have these just missed each other, I wasn't very clear misunderstanding conversations, etc when all you have to do is have a two minute conversation with each other.  Of course Jimmy couldn't break up with Katherine when he said he was going to, in his defense she did drop the l bomb on him.  It's hard to crush someone's spirit right after that no matter who you are.  I can also see why Sara is gunshy, this is twenty plus years of hurt we're talking about.  I do find it a little strange that they didn't talk at all before the concert.  It looked like a couple of hours had passed.  I'm guessing they're hoping for renewal and it wouldn't do to have them get together too early.

I enjoy the show and I hope it gets renewed but if it does I hope they either shit or get off the pot with Sara and Jimmy.  I can't take another season of this will they or won't they.

[MMLEsq]

14 hours ago, blugirlami21 said:

I hate when we have these just missed each other, I wasn't very clear misunderstanding conversations, etc when all you have to do is have a two minute conversation with each other.  

You mean like every single plot of "Three's Company"?   :-)

I too hope it's renewed for another season (along with "The Grinder"), although I don't really mind the "will they or won't they."  

I'm wasn't all that thrilled about Gerald's engagement -- I  just don't see those two together.  Edie is too cute for words though!  I really get the sense that occasionally she'll just blurt something out during a scene and they all kind of go with the flow.