Life In Pieces - General Discussion

[Samcd]

As a former TWA flight attendant I loved seeing John wearing that TWA shirt. This show has its moments and I enjoyed this episode. 

[ae2]

17 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

Greg with the beard - the first second I saw him, I flashed on Tom Hanks in "Cast Away".

I loved the plot with Sam boxing - it was a little scary, but I loved the look on Heather's face when she realized her daughter was GOOD!

I went Forrest Gump!

Sam's boxing plot was good. It was clear from her first punch that she - the actress - has had training. The grandpa usually only works for me when he's with his grandchildren, but even here he annoyed me. Hope we see more from the boxing though.

19 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

Good use of interweaving the plots in this one, especially with the dinner that tied everything together.

I'm one of the few on the boards that likes the vignette approach, but they did a great job framing everything here with the family dinner. 

22 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I really didn't care for this episode.

"Oh my god, I said you needed surgery for a seemingly minor problem, and you got a second opinion? How dare you!" Jen should have told them to go straight to hell.

And if I were Matt, I'd never speak to my mother again after the spider nonsense.

It was definitely one of the weakest episodes of the show. I feel like it's been in a bit of a slump lately, but hopefully that's not affecting ratings because it is still one of my favorite sitcoms.

I agree with you about getting a second opinion - you should always get one if you feel uncomfortable - but they did say that she'd had the same infection six times in the past 2 years. At some point that ceases to be a minor problem.

[Browncoat]

I've never been a fan of practical jokes (although the Cheeto bits last season were hilarious), and playing on someone's phobias make the "jokes" even less funny.  I hated the spider part.  The rest was okay.

Nice of them to show that not all girls are into ballet -- some might be into something less "girly" like boxing.  But I knew she'd get clocked as soon as her mother distracted her.

I also went to Cast Away with the beard. 

[Blackie]

I like the vignette approach.  Most anything can be funny in a short segment.  The first season of LinP was hilarious but they do seem to be struggling a bit now. I think they should stick to the vignette approach and not get carried away with the wacky side characters.  Jen and Greg are my favs, then Heather, Tim and her family. Coleen and Matt, Joan and John are ok when interacting with the family.  I was so surprised to see Russell Peters in such a small roll.  I hope the show doesn't start to focus too much on Tim's office.  Maybe they are trying to plan a spin off for RP.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Blackie
I had to remember the characters names

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 12/3/2016 at 9:18 AM, ae2 said:

I agree with you about getting a second opinion - you should always get one if you feel uncomfortable - but they did say that she'd had the same infection six times in the past 2 years. At some point that ceases to be a minor problem.

Ridiculous how Jen's second opinion doctor blamed her for infecting him.  Wear a mask!

What's more interesting is how Greg and especially Lark aren't sick all the time.  Wouldn't she want to do whatever necessary to protect Lark?  And if she's still infectious, why is she at a family dinner breathing on everyone? Either she's infectious, or she's not.

[possibilities]

Yeah, a doctor who is annoyed by being around sick people is really not your best bet on any opinions.

[tenativelyyours]

I thought Jen had a chronic throat infection that required her tonsils to be taken out.  How would she be any more likely to be contagious with anything than any of their other patients?  I wasn't clear on that and didn't find the idea very funny anyway.

I found once again the parents are a loathsome concept.  I just do not find it funny that we constantly see them as selfish and egotistical and have all the social skills of a two year never taught to share.  Again and again we see them continue to treat their adult children with really nasty mean spirited behavior without an ounce of respect or even care for them and the writers want me to believe it is quirky and funny and adorable.  In fact the takeaway is always that the kids are just uptight for simply not rolling over and accepting the fact that the parents should do whatever they want.  And not even because it is overall a good life lesson for the kids to learn.  But rather that even if at the end of some really selfish abuse by the parents, they should just accept because.  Because if you don't you are no fun (even though there is never fun for the victim of whatever self-involved meanspirited behavior the parents are engaging in).  You're uptight.  The dynamic has this weird immature and rather stupid "I dare you" attitude in regards to the parents and it drags the show down for me too many times in a show less than two full seasons. 

I don't even want a life lesson that is actually healthy out of this.  I just want one of the kids to just tell the parents to fuck off already and grow up before the diapers are being broken out again.  I just want one of the kids to say "nope, not anymore" and that be enough of a reason.  I just find the idea that abuse is humorous and that if you don't find it so, the problem is yours rather a heinous idea in this day and age.  Victim shaming and victim blaming is bad enough.  Telling the victim its their own fault they don't enjoy being a victim?  Yeah. as dark as the show isn't?  The undertone there is pretty grim not matter how high and giddy they have Diane Weist deliver her lines or James Brolin wobble his eye and roll his eyes like he just found out the insurance he bought from Alex Trebek isn't worth shit.

[Blakeston]

On 12/8/2016 at 0:52 AM, tenativelyyours said:

James Brolin wobble his eye and roll his eyes like he just found out the insurance he bought from Alex Trebek isn't worth shit.

This made me laugh way, way too hard.

I liked the meditation and masturbation sketches from the most recent episode. When Clementine showed up in a bikini in the Survivor audition tape for seemingly no reason, my reaction was, "Did the network executives demand that she be included in this scene purely for the T&A factor?"

But once Jeff Probst said that they knew who they had to cast, there was no question where it was headed.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Blakeston

[iMonrey]

I wonder if they'll do a follow-up where Clementine actually goes on Survivor.

Sometimes the different stories don't fit together very well. It felt like there was a continuity problem when Matt and Colleen were fighting over the swimming thing at Greg and Jen's house, because that story had already finished by then, having aired first in the episode. 

I didn't get the meditation thing either. Do people really get that jazzed about meditation? If one of my dinner guests excused themselves from the table to go meditate I'd be pretty pissed off at the rudeness.

[Browncoat]

"Meditate? You're saying it wrong!  And you're supposed to do it by yourself!"  had me howling.

[stcroix]

I'm not enjoying this show like last season.  I'm just sitting here waiting for the laughs.  I may be over this one.  :( 

[Browncoat]

The more I think about it, the more the swimming bit pisses me off.  First of all, there are about a million other things to do in Hawaii besides snorkelling.  Secondly, if she's okay with putting her face in the water, she could probably manage snorkelling -- give her a life jacket and some basic instructions with the mask and snorkel (and fins), and she'll probably be fine.  But if not, that's okay, too.  They don't have to be joined at the hip and do every. single. thing together.  Maybe there's something she'd like to do that he wouldn't -- she could do that while he went snorkelling. 

Ugh.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

My "The Talk" with my youngest child was a very similar experience to this episode tonight (I only met with the teacher, not the principal), so this was extra hilarious and mortifying. 

[Tdoc72]

I really liked Sophia and the mom together w/their pizza and 'brewskis', especially when Sophia whispered that they were the best ones (family members) and Heather said right?!  Very cute. 

Edited December 12, 2016 by Tdoc72

[tenativelyyours]

It's odd.  The writing in many ways was much better for me than it has been for a couple of weeks.  But the vignettes seemed too short and slight at the same time.  I do think when there is something like the holiday, it could have vignettes that are nestled in an overall story. Have the family together for dinner with four stories that tie together but take place in the same setting. 

I liked how vanity story played out with Matt and his dad.  I think that is the way to handle the slightly irreverent approach to family dynamics (with the father openly saying Greg is is favorite*) rather than the whole abuse is fun approach.   The story with Greg and Jen was a little too predictable.  I liked the bridal gown selecting, but it was hampered a bit because it was such a rich story line to really have some fun with and the shortness proved a weakness.  That is the one weakness of the show is that it either is written poorly for me or it cuts off without really plumbing some rich depths.  The Clementine thing was probably the right length but also could have gone a little bit more since it never really seemed to establish firmly how far Greg and Matt were believers if they ever were. 

*I thought though Greg was not the dad's favorite from earlier episodes.  Maybe I'm just mixing my shows, but I thought it was mentioned Matt being the favorite and that was why he was allowed to stay in the garage as well as the wrestling episode it was mentioned about Greg feeling the least favorite because he was bad at sports? 

[iMonrey]

The wedding dress thing just didn't work for me. Joan seemed too drunk to really care what kind of dress Colleen bought and every single one she tried on was hideous. The dress shop clerk was an over the top stereotype and not at all funny. 

It also seemed cliche and lazy for John to mispronounce "WiFi" was "wiffy." My 77 year old father knows what WiFi is and how to pronounce it. 

I always get a kick out of Greg and Jen though, and Heather and Tim's kids crack me up. The misunderstanding with Clementine was funny but she should have realized how inappropriate she was being and how it must have looked.

[kat165]

I liked the Greg and Jen story, but then I like those 2 characters. I really like Jen. They both looked great in their series of holiday sweaters. :)

Has James Brolin always been like this? He always seems so drunk and/or stoned and sloppy and dumb. I can't imagine Barbara putting up with him if this is a reflection of his "real life" personality.

Love the guys' reaction to Tim's claim that Clementine was coming on to him.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

13 hours ago, kat165 said:

Love the guys' reaction to Tim's claim that Clementine was coming on to him.

Not to mention Heather tell her brothers "Christmas is about to come early for you guys" right before Tim revealed his claim! 

[kat165]

That was funny! Btw, MrsOldManBalls, that's one of the funniest screen names I've seen
 in a long time. Poor MrOldManBalls. :)

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 12/16/2016 at 11:03 PM, kat165 said:

Has James Brolin always been like this? He always seems so drunk and/or stoned and sloppy and dumb. I can't imagine Barbara putting up with him if this is a reflection of his "real life" personality.

Acting!

Does it bug anyone that Tyler (and Clementine) are neither working nor in school?  They admit they are sponging off his parents, which, as a married couple living and eating in his parents' home, they would be doing even if they were working or in school if they weren't contributing to the household.  It just doesn't make sense that they are home all day or that at least Heather hasn't said something to Tyler about his long term goals.  It's not like he is traveling with the band, even.

Edited December 20, 2016 by ItCouldBeWorse

[possibilities]

How do we know they aren't working or going to school? Did I miss an episode?

[kat165]

Thanks, Worse! Acting, what a relief.

I don't think we've seen them enough to know what the hell they're doing. Or
not doing.

[ae2]

On 12/16/2016 at 11:03 PM, kat165 said:

Has James Brolin always been like this? He always seems so drunk and/or stoned and sloppy and dumb. I can't imagine Barbara putting up with him if this is a reflection of his "real life" personality.

Love the guys' reaction to Tim's claim that Clementine was coming on to him.

Brolin... boy, I don't know. He is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, and pretty heartless about it.

Plus a million to their reaction though!

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

How do we know they aren't working or going to school? Did I miss an episode?

I think this is mostly a reaction to Tyler and Clementine saying that they're freeloading off the parents and don't want it to end. As far as I remember we haven't seen either one of them with a job or going to any sort of college. If they were 29 it would probably annoy me, but despite being married they're barely out of high school.

The "adult child lives at home" is a pretty typical TV show way of keeping the characters around without relying on cockamamie explanations. And I assume at some point we'll get a "what are you doing with your future?" episode.

[roughing it]

Quote

The wedding dress thing just didn't work for me. Joan seemed too drunk to really care what kind of dress Colleen bought and every single one she tried on was hideous.

After the dress shopping, Colleen said she already has a wedding dress from a previous engagement.  So she was purposely trying on hideous dresses for fun and to get reactions.

[kat165]

I'm really enjoying this show for the most part. The cast is excellent, especially the kids. The only ones I'm not really liking so much are the James Brolin character (John?) and that creepy chubby woman who use to be on Chelsea Lately. Do not remember her character's name, she use to be Colleen's roommate.

[betsyboo]

The Christmas episode: I laughed until I cried. "Dad-bod is a thing!  ... I'm gonna let myself go."  "Yeahhhh. ... You're there."

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[MommaBee]

Last night was the #TBT: Y2K Sophia Honeymoon Critter and the family members who don't watch it asked lots of questions.  So I missed much.  I did love that the brunch was a solution to the idea of bringing the kids back.  It seemed a bit odd that a new hire hadn't met the HR person yet but I only think it felt contrived because of the love-at-first-sight vibe.

[Blakeston]

On 12/20/2016 at 8:20 AM, ae2 said:

Brolin... boy, I don't know.

It took me way too long to get this West Wing reference. Nicely done!

I liked the flashback episode, but one (nitpicky) thing irritated me. They've mentioned repeatedly that Tim went bald really early - before he met Heather in college. For him to have that much hair that recently doesn't make any sense...unless I missed a reference to him wearing a wig.

[possibilities]

If that hair was a wig-- that's even funnier, because ye gods was it crazy stuff. But I don't think they said it was.

[iMonrey]

OMG Greg's hair in the 1999 flashback was hysterical. I was trying to figure out how old he was supposed to be; assuming he's the same age as Colin Hanks he would have been 22. Hard to believe that hairstyle was ever a thing. And glamrock Matt was actually . . . kind of hot? I think he was wearing guyliner. 

The joke about parents being overly protective and idealistic about their first child and chucking all that out the window by the second or third is a pretty old joke though, and there wasn't anything new they had to add.

[ae2]

I missed the very beginning, so I went back and watched it thinking there was going to be someone "telling" the flashback stories, which would instantly excuse any inconsistencies as narrator error. Nope.

At least now we know that John isn't going senile or suffering from alzheimer's, he's always been a little off his rocker.

The payoff for the money in the wall should have come in one of the later flashbacks. It would have been funnier if we knew it was sitting in there forgotten about for 15 years.

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

The joke about parents being overly protective and idealistic about their first child and chucking all that out the window by the second or third is a pretty old joke though, and there wasn't anything new they had to add.

I don't think the cause here was that it was their third baby, but that the baby was especially problematic. Something which we've seen from present-day Sophia. (Although in a more too-big-for-her-britches, precocious way.)

My favorite line, as Samantha holds up a french fry: what kind of fruit is this?

[Blakeston]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

OMG Greg's hair in the 1999 flashback was hysterical. I was trying to figure out how old he was supposed to be; assuming he's the same age as Colin Hanks he would have been 22.

In the episode when we found out that Greg was technically born a bastard, I think they said he was born in 1981.

[iMonrey]

Then he would have been around 18? I'll buy that. 

[stcroix]

This was a funny episode to me, I really enjoyed the flashbacks. 

[Mrs OldManBalls]

Greg on the phone with his mom on his wedding night? That was funnier than Tim's ponytail. 

[LakeGal]

Greg's hair reminded me of Kate Gosselin.

[betsyboo]

I find it somewhat absurd that Jen didn't know that his mom packed for him before they left for the honeymoon. Weren't they living together??

Also, WHO doesn't pack BEFORE the wedding for your honeymoon?!?!?!

Greg's hair - it was sublime. I did enjoy the front tooth continuity. HAA

[ItCouldBeWorse]

8 hours ago, betsyboo said:

I find it somewhat absurd that Jen didn't know that his mom packed for him before they left for the honeymoon. Weren't they living together??

Also, WHO doesn't pack BEFORE the wedding for your honeymoon?!?!?!

I think there was some comment from Joan about there having been some additional parties before the honeymoon?

[iMonrey]

I actually didn't think Sam's "southern" accent was that bad considering the absurdity of making Silence of the Lambs into a musical. Her singing voice was clearly superior, the director could have worked with her on the accent or asked her to drop it altogether. Ironically I found Jodie Foster's fake accent one of the most distracting things about that movie.

Loved People Bingo.

[ExplainItAgain]

People bingo was amazing! That was the funniest story of the night. I hated that Heather was "that parent" that had to go to the school to complain about her kid not getting the part.

The Tyler/Clementine story just seems to be floundering. No idea where they're going with that.

[roughing it]

Quote

Ironically I found Jodie Foster's fake accent one of the most distracting things about that movie.

Maybe that's what they were going for.

Quote

The Tyler/Clementine story just seems to be floundering. No idea where they're going with that.

Maybe they will take off in their tiny home and never be seen again...

[MaryMitch]

At our next family gathering, I'm going to play People BINGO!

[Traveller519]

In the throwback episode the kid that they got to play Young Tyler definitely looked the part!

"Nice Hat! Are you Southern?" "No, we're just adults" and "Everybody's always yelling at us!" haha

[needschocolate]

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I actually didn't think Sam's "southern" accent was that bad considering the absurdity of making Silence of the Lambs into a musical. Her singing voice was clearly superior, the director could have worked with her on the accent or asked her to drop it altogether. Ironically I found Jodie Foster's fake accent one of the most distracting things about that movie.

Loved People Bingo.

It wasn't just that the accent was horrible, it was also that she couldn't act. 

Loved people bingo too. 

[betsyboo]

I enjoyed Betsy Brandt's commitment to the jazz hands/Clarice number. Tee! How did they film that without cracking up???

I was surprised that the grandkids thought the rooster plate story was funny. 

I'm glad they called out the newlyweds on rent, etc. But they both might be too dumb to live unsupervised. 

[kat165]

I think that's why Brandt's back was to the camera everytime she started it up. :)

Forgot to mention: James Brolin has really nice legs for a man of his age. Very youthful looking!

Edited January 14, 2017 by kat165

[mansonlamps]

OMG, people bingo has to be the funniest segment yet on this show.  I really have to find a function where I can play that.

[Browncoat]

People Bingo was hilarious!  And what really sold it was Tim at the end, "Joan mentions her own death!  Bingo!"  And a Cheeto sighting!  Yay!

Sam's acting and Southern accent were horrible!  If I had to choose between the girl who couldn't sing and the girl who couldn't act, I'm not sure what I would do.  I'd probably choose the girl whose family donated the building, too.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

If Tyler is that oblivious about credit cards, etc., don't his well-educated parents bear some responsibility for not having explained such things to him at some point? Or is he really too stupid to learn?

[mansonlamps]

On 1/15/2017 at 11:26 AM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

If Tyler is that oblivious about credit cards, etc., don't his well-educated parents bear some responsibility for not having explained such things to him at some point? Or is he really too stupid to learn?

Honestly he does come across pretty stupid.  I loved when Tim and Heather were calmly talking to them about paying rent and Clementine was like "why are they screaming at us?"  Lol.