Life In Pieces - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

Anticipate!

[formerlyfreedom]

Media!

[Kromm]

This is a fairly strange idea. From the trailer it seems like you'd do a network pitch saying something like "Parenthood In An Anthology Format". Or maybe "Anthology" wouldn't be the right term. It's the same four "stories" being used every episode, and they're all interrelated (because it's the same family) but split the episode into four narratives each in their own quarter of the episode (so they'd be like ten minutes each, working around commercials).

That said, it's a hell of a cast. Diane Weist, James Brolin, Colin Hanks?

[formerlyfreedom]

As the Short family's lives unfold in four brief stories each week, they try to savor the moments that add up to what life’s all about.

 

 

[MelinaBallerina]

I may check it out just for James Brolin, but I'm not a fan of sitcoms in general.  Somewhere along the line, I noticed that most storylines were centered around an embarrassing moment, and suddenly, that became a huge turn-off for me.

[NYGirl]

I could only stand 15 minutes until I changed it for the baseball game.  Ugh.  I didn't like the storyline about the couple with the baby.  Wayyyyyyyy TMI

[willco]

This is the show CBS has been pushing endlessly all summer ?? Lord, I've watched a zillion sitcoms in my time, but this would have to rank near the bottom. Were they going for funny ? Because if they thought they were, they must be crazy. Well, at least I'll have a free half hour after BBT on Monday's.

[pandora spocks]

I could only stand 15 minutes until I changed it for the baseball game.  Ugh.  I didn't like the storyline about the couple with the baby.  Wayyyyyyyy TMI

 

The father's account of how he lost his virginity to the sofa was cringe-inducing.  Ick.  James Brolin announcing to the family about his granddaughter's first period.  Double ick.  Unless people want to kill time between Big Bang Theory and Scorpion by watching this mess, this show will be cancelled by Halloween  I hope.

[Shermie]

It seemed like a Modern Family wannabe - multiple related families at different stages of life, several wacky plots, show wraps up with a warm and fuzzy voiceover.

Colour me stupid, but what was the thing with the glove? Was it filled with water and frozen? What, um, was he supposed to be doing with it to her? I've had four kids and never required a chilled fake hand; is this a thing now?

[Skyfall]

This will be cancelled, Angel From Hell will move up an hour from its planned slot, and trusty ultilty player M&M will slot behind Mom.

[random chance]

Colour me stupid, but what was the thing with the glove? Was it filled with water and frozen? What, um, was he supposed to be doing with it to her? I've had four kids and never required a chilled fake hand; is this a thing now?

I wondered about that too, what the hell was going on there? And why a glove and not just a plain balloon - is more than one orifice involved? I'm not sure I even want to know. I feel so old and get-off-my-lawn but, when did TV get so graphic? Masturbating into a couch, sticking icy fingers into nether regions ... I'm eating dinner here for God's sake.

[Shermie]

The thing is, the glove bit was done as if the writers assumed the viewers knew exactly what was happening there, like of course there's a frozen glove in the freezer, they just had a baby! Like everyone does it, so the viewer would "get" it. Maybe everyone does, and I'm just an idiot.

[Racj82]

The doctor made it clear I thought. Take the gloves, fill it with water, freeze it and use one finger in the vagina for swelling/pain. Seemed clear to me.

[Browncoat]

I might have liked it better if I hadn't seen pretty much the entire episode in the preview commercials.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

The father's account of how he lost his virginity to the sofa was cringe-inducing.  Ick.  James Brolin announcing to the family about his granddaughter's first period.  Double ick.  Unless people want to kill time between Big Bang Theory and Scorpion by watching this mess, this show will be cancelled by Halloween  I hope.

 

I was cringing, and laughing so hard. Why would you tell that story? How has he not repressed that? 

The mom wanting another baby hit home too. I've been going through that myself. 

 

I liked it.  I'll give it a chance. 

[ae2]

I really want a Colin Hanks show to succeed. (Preferably The Good Guys, because Bradley Whitford is amazing and that was such a fun show. But that ship sailed a long time ago.)

 

Just not sure this is it. I'll give it a little more time, but the pilot leaned way too hard on the "let's make the audience slightly uncomfortable with weird sexual situations." I laughed several times, but overall it was cringe-inducing.

[Charlie Baker]

The few reviews I've seen about this seemed to dismiss it as a Modern Family wannabe, but I decided to give it a shot, mainly due to the actors.  But I wasn't prepared for it to be this bad.  I mean, they get this cast and give them this material? Ugh.  It was nice to see Brolin having fun and being goofy, anyway.

[candall]

I was cringing, and laughing so hard. Why would you tell that story? How has he not repressed that? 

The mom wanting another baby hit home too. I've been going through that myself. 

 

I liked it.  I'll give it a chance. 

I agree with Mrs.Oldmanballs, I liked it.  And I think I may really need to step up my name game!

 

The guy who couldn't find his way around a girl until college, and not even then, became a physician;  the parents hit with a triple whammy of landmark moments from all three kids at once; the kid in the dryer with his cranberry sandwich--that's three smiles more than I've had all summer long from mean-spirited Gaffigan and Impastor.   Plus, Dianne Weist elevates anything, so I trust her judgment.

 

My private laugh was that every time I ff'ed through the commercial breaks, I went way too far because the show characters looked exactly like people appearing in a State Farm commercial.

[formerlyfreedom]

After Matt walks in on Joan and John being intimate, Joan attempts to lead a group therapy session. Also, Jen hires a breast-feeding consultant couple, Matt and Colleen have the most enjoyable bad date ever, and Heather and Tim move to a new home with the help of a moving company that employs ex-cons.

 

 

[JoannKB]

I guess this makes me an old fogey now, but I was really surprised they aired this at 8:30. At 8:30 I still have little kids awake. I had to keep pausing the show whenever they walked into the living room. If I watch this again - and I might give this a second chance because of the cast - I'll dvr it to watch later. I had thought CBS' strategy was to try to be the middlebrow, older folks channel, so I'm not sure what they're doing with this show.

[Traveller519]

I swore I wasn't going to watch this, but the cast was just too damn likable for me to pass up.

 

Dan Bakkedahl can make me laugh just by his presence, and he did in this episode, but I still prefer him as foul-mouthed Congressman Furlong.

 

Everything else was...ugh. Betsy Brandt doesn't do it for me in a sitcom. She's almost too straight as the straight man which comes of as too tropey a wife for me.

 

Zoe Lister-Jones could be drifting into Show Killer territory here. Luckily her pitch perfect run as Councilwoman Fawn Moscato last year upped her average.

[Jillybean]

I was pleasantly surprised that a new sitcom made me laugh several times. It was no Modern Family, but one of the only sitcoms since MF that I've found to actually be funny. I'll watch again.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Jillybean

[iMonrey]

Well if it's trying to be a Modern Family rip-off then I'm not the target audience because I have never found Modern Family the least bit funny. I checked this out simply because of the cast but I doubt I'll stick around. I don't think I even smirked once during this. Predictable relationship angst at different relationship stages. Yawn. And I agree with this astute assessment:

 

the pilot leaned way too hard on the "let's make the audience slightly uncomfortable with weird sexual situations."

[HeySandyStrange]

I watched mostly because this was on after Big Bang . I'm glad I wasn't anticipating this, because it was very, very stilted and awkward, imo.  I'm no prude but I was surprised at the all the sex talk, which was both unfunny and crude. Obviously this show is trying to be more cable then network, but it didn't come across well. For a rip off of Modern Family this show didn't even blend the different members of the family and their storylines together as well as MF. I know pilots aren't know for being very good, but this pilot was a very poor setup for the characters and the show. I might tune in again to see if it gets any better, but I'm not holding out too much hope.

[FoundTime]

I really wanted to like this. The previews looked like it would be something really distinctive and different, and the cast, oh the cast! Colin Hanks! Betsy Brandt! Thomas Sadoski! and the others are no slouches either. But I didn't laugh, chuckle, or even smile once. I'll probably give it another chance (if I remember) but unless it significantly improves, I have plenty of other things I can be doing with half an hour.

[lottiedottie]

I must be dumb, because I thought it was funny. Maybe trying too hard, but funny. The dad recounting his story of losing his virginity had me laughing really hard. 

 

I didn't quite get the frozen glove thing...is this a new thing? When I had my kids, I never got that advice (last one was born 10 years ago). Even so, in the weeks right after giving birth, NOTHING was going up there, not even a frozen glove. Seems like that would be contraindicated--one, things are very sensitive in that regions, and two, anything frozen could damage sensitive tissue.

 

I think this show could be fun, once it gets its legs. The pilot made me laugh enough that I'll try to remember to tune in next week at least.

[Perkie]

There were moments of funny followed by moments of no-one talks or behaves that way.  

 

The dad recounting the virginity story was nonsense.  I have a teenage son, and I assure you, neither hubby or I are sitting him down to tell him a story like that.  

 

The glove thing was nonsense.  As lottiedottie said, you want nothing in that area for weeks.  Also thought it was ridiculous that the new mother was in a cute little nighty thing.  A woman who has just given birth will be in sweatpants and looking like she hasn't slept, because she hasn't slept.  Or showered.  Or slept.  Or done laundry.  Or slept.  Or showered.  There was potential when they were crying in the car, and saying how the hospital just handed them a baby but then it fell off the rails.  

[Miss Chevious]

Well there's a half hour of my life I'll never get back. With such big name stars, I expected something funny and entertaining. I was mostly grossed out. Most of the plots were either stupid or TMI. What grandfather makes a big announcement of his granddaughter's first period. And the rubber glove thing, yuck. Not entertaining in the least.  Too bad it fell way short of funny and veered off into tasteless.

[LakeGal]

I actually enjoyed it.  I will tune in again next week.

[NutmegsDad]

During the "First Date" ministory, I was waiting for Keegan-Michael Key to appear, along with a segue to the K&P sketch.

 

I'll be interesting to see an episode that was so heavily promoted, they showed it in pieces already over the summer.

[madfortv]

I thought it was crude and not well done. i won't be watching again.

[Chas411]

This was so cringey. I can't believe how embarrassing it was. The actors couldn't save it it was just awful. Awful, awful, awful.

[LADreamr]

I watched because I love Jordan Peele and Thomas Sadoski, but I don't know if I can stand it enough, even for them.

[Browncoat]

I think she would have had more success with the breast pump if she had not tried to use it over her clothes.

 

On a shallow note, more James Brolin, please!

[joanne3482]

I know. I'm easy. But I cracked up every time the convicts blew the whistles. Even the pedophile one which I know is so wrong. 

[lottiedottie]

I think she would have had more success with the breast pump if she had not tried to use it over her clothes.

 

On a shallow note, more James Brolin, please!

She wasn't using it over her clothes. That was a special bra-like contraption that holds the horns of the pump on your breasts so you don't have to use your hands to hold them there. 

 

This episode wasn't as funny as the pilot and I was a little creeped out by the whistle blowing when the mover encountered the daughter. Not funny.

[Pop Tart]

I really loved tonight's ep. I'd seen the pilot back in May when CBS was testing it in their Vegas lab and though I thought it was uneven, did laugh a lot (especially at the "funeral"). But when I re-watched it last week, it wasn't as funny and I felt like it suffered from pilot-itis. So tonight's episode was a welcome surprise. 

 

I thought the stuff with the movers was very funny - loved when Thomas Sadoski's character, Matt? opened his nephew's tin with drugs in it (thinking it would be pot or something) and it was one ADHD pill. Which he then popped and then was hyper to dig up the dead pets. A lot of his stuff was very funny tonight. When he discovered his parents on the couch and all the stuff with his car. And then the end of his date was very sweet. 

 

I also liked the new parents better tonight. The lactation specialists - and the facial expressions of Jen and Greg as each new weird element of their advice was revealed, culminating in the fact that they were sister and brother? Really made me laugh.

 

A very solid second episode.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Pop Tart

[possibilities]

I've actually used a moving company which uses ex-cons, and they were amazingly polite and efficient and it was a really positive experience. So I felt a little bad about that "joke" in this episode.

 

I'm not opposed to mocking the excesses of bizarro hipsters, but there really are great lactation consultants who aren't creepy and stupid, so that was kind of a bummer, too. Don't give up after one idiot consultation. You have to wonder who gave them that referral.

 

On the other hand, I found the "we're both messes so we should be together" story overly sentimental.
 

I enjoyed the back and forth about whether or not to miss the old house, though.

 

I was kind of neutral on the first scenes. The whole "grandma and grandpa have an active sex life and their adult children can't handle it" concept isn't inherently funny to me-- it's like the show really believes that's something edgy all by itself and they don't need to actually do something with it besides just set it up and let it trope itself to death. Clearly this show is written by 20-somethings, for their peers, and they will regret it when they finally get over their extended adolescence.

[Browncoat]

Good to know about the breast pump.  Yet another gag (like the frozen glove) that sailed right past me.

[Kanner]

I agree that the walking in on the parents is no longer that funny but it led to the awesome "communicating" scene.  

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I liked the group therapy when they were paired to be honest with each other. The two brothers trying to say the same thing at the same time cracked me up. 

I had "I like to move, move it" stuck in my head all night. 

[metalchik]

I missed the pilot episode but watched the 2nd episode last night.  I like it so far.  I like a bunch of the actors in it and hope it stays funny.

[JudyObscure]

This was my first and last try of this show. I turned it off during the breast pump scene. Older people having sex and breast feeding just aren't funny to me and even if they were I think the 6000 jokes we've already seen about them on other shows would have been enough.

[joanne3482]

I liked the group therapy when they were paired to be honest with each other. The two brothers trying to say the same thing at the same time cracked me up.

 

It took me until this episode to figure out which one of that other married couple, with the kids, belonged to the grandparents. I wasn't sure if the bald guy or the woman was the sibling. I like the two brothers a lot. I like their relationship and it feels kind of real to me. 

[Catherinewriter]

My favorite line: during the "communication" segment, the wife of one of the sons whispers to him, "Can  you do your job overseas?
Bwhahahahahah

[bybrandy]

I don't feel like this show has found itself and I hope it improves, but the communication scene and the likability of the cast, will have me in for at least a couple more.

[kassa]

I liked it, but did make allowances for it being a pilot.  Agree that the subject matter makes it a better fit for 9:30 or so.

[lottiedottie]

The more I think about the frozen glove, the more irritated I get. It's not a thing! When you give birth, you are given a squeeze bottle and told to use warm water to clean the area each time you go to the bathroom, because you are bleeding and a mess for a week or two after giving birth. There is NO way any doctor is telling you to insert a frozen finger up in there. You aren't even supposed to use toilet paper, things are so delicate down there!

 

I've never understood how writers could mess things up like this. All it takes is ten minutes of talking to someone/googling to know what the what is.

[iMonrey]

 

This was my first and last try of this show. I turned it off during the breast pump scene. Older people having sex and breast feeding just aren't funny to me and even if they were I think the 6000 jokes we've already seen about them on other shows would have been enough.

 

I think I'm out too. I'm just not the target audience for this show. I honestly can't relate to a single person on it. It's all about "Ooh, this couple is in this stage of the relationship (newly dating)", and "ooh, this couple is in this stage of the relationship (new baby)" and "ooh, this couple is in this stage of the relationship (kids growing up/moving out)" - it all seems very cliched and whitebread to me. 

[Perfect Xero]

It took me until this episode to figure out which one of that other married couple, with the kids, belonged to the grandparents. I wasn't sure if the bald guy or the woman was the sibling. I like the two brothers a lot. I like their relationship and it feels kind of real to me. 

 

Can you share that information with me? I haven't been able to figure that one out yet.