S06.E01: I Only Miss Her When I'm Breathing

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Showtime has released the season premiere before the official release date. It is now available On Demand. If you are not planning to watch this episode until it airs on television, you may be spoiled if you read the discussion in this thread. You have been forewarned!

 

It’s fall in Chicago. Frank is still mourning the loss of Bianca while his newfound appreciation for life is freaking the Gallaghers out. Fiona is determined to get Debbie to the clinic for a pregnancy test and to get Ian to take his meds.

 

Promo:

 

Clips:

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I can't decide what to watch first tomorrow after dinner: Sherlock or Shameless!

[stagmania]

Having already watched the Shameless premiere, I advise you to go with Sherlock. That was perhaps the most simultaneously tedious and offensive episode of television I have ever seen. The characters are near unrecognizable, and much of the plot and timeline makes no sense. This is a show that has absolutely no respect left for their audience. 

[WhosThatGirl]

I completely agree with the above post. Although I don't watch Sherlock so I would advise you to watch anything else but this. I was so let down. I don't even know why I'm trying after last season when they really just tore everything away I liked about this show and left me baffled. And then this episode. Seriously people, anything else.

[Diablo]

I'm just going to go against the grain here. I've been a fan of Shameless since the second season of the original UK version which turned to utter piss after Fiona and Steve left, so I may be much more forgiving towards the American version than others here. (I can't really think of any other reason why I have been so horribly out-of-step with the general consensus on this forum that I've had to actually stop reading this forum and move on to Reddit.) I think the show has done a decent job of maintaining it's quality over five seasons.

 

I thought S06E01 was perfectly watchable, and certainly not "disrespectful" of its audience. It had a decent amount of humor, and I laughed out loud at the scene in which a former student reintroduces herself to her professor at a very inappropriate moment. (You'll know the scene when you see it.) I have to disagree with stagmania. I think last season and this one have reined the Gallaghers back closer to who they were originally. I barely recognized Fiona, Ian, or Lip in Season 4 and most of 5. Here, we see Fiona get back to caring deeply for her siblings, coming back into the Gallagher home after descending into completely unconscionable, self-destructive irresponsibility and her bizarre absence from the Gallagher house for most of last season. We see Lip's intelligent side again, as well as his aggression. Ian is far gone, but honestly, Cameron Monaghan has always had zero expressive range as an actor, and medicated Ian is probably more than appropriate to his capabilities, so I don't really care too much. Heck, I even kind of have come to enjoy Frank, repulsive as he is.

 

I miss Sheila and Mandy, but their characters had no more reason to be on the show anymore. I will miss Micky if he doesn't somehow return to the outside world from prison.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Diablo

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't know. I just feel like that I got sort of invested in certain aspects of this show all for nothing. I don't care about Frank and the fact that this woman he met for three or four episodes died last season, yes it's sad but Frank has six kids he doesn't care about. I know, that's who Frank is and that's the character. In season four I was really happy when he beat his cancer and didn't come out of it being all, "Well, I should change who I am" I'm glad the writers stuck to their guns, I am not glad with how last season ended and this random person. I don't really care.  It just seems like I've invested myself in a lot of storylines only to be rewarded with..nothing. I don't know if I'm looking forward to storylines, but I know I'll keep watching because I've been here for the last five. 

Edited January 2, 2016 by WhosThatGirl

[scrb]

It just seems like the writers are just trying to keep raising the bar on how screwed up these people's lives are.

They're smart, streetwise and passionate yet they can't get any traction in life.

They can't be smart and repeatedly make bad decisions. So maybe they're not as smart or emotionally savvy as they are made out to be.

Also, when they've been repeatedly beaten down, they would probably not look so healthy or fit. They'd look older than their years, probably be overweight or looking gaunt from poor nutrition. Fiona wouldn't be flashing her still-perky tits after cuddling with her cool, older boyfriend.

[WhosThatGirl]

I think my whole thing is that the stuff I really care about, that this show made me care about is clearly not going to happen in this season. I could care less about Fiona's love life and I feel like that's going to be a central plot this season, I don't really like her onscreen love interest, sorry just don't feel it and Debbie's storylines lately for the past couple seasons make me uneasy. I don't know why, perhaps it's the fact that the actress is the same age as her character and I just don't get it.  I just don't think I'm going to be able to get invested in storylines I care so very little about. I'm fine with the comedy aspect of this show not really being there as much, as to me, it hasn't been a comedy for a long time (that ended in that depressing episode of Thanksgiving in season 2). 

[Diablo]

I think my whole thing is that the stuff I really care about, that this show made me care about is clearly not going to happen in this season. I could care less about Fiona's love life and I feel like that's going to be a central plot this season, I don't really like her onscreen love interest, sorry just don't feel it and Debbie's storylines lately for the past couple seasons make me uneasy. I don't know why, perhaps it's the fact that the actress is the same age as her character and I just don't get it.  I just don't think I'm going to be able to get invested in storylines I care so very little about. I'm fine with the comedy aspect of this show not really being there as much, as to me, it hasn't been a comedy for a long time (that ended in that depressing episode of Thanksgiving in season 2). 

To be honest, I actually agree with most of your points. I also couldn't give a rat's ass about Fiona's love life anymore (I want her to have some other storyline than having yet another boring-ass man in her life), and I am kind of disappointed that the first time we really see Frank change as a person is after his brief interaction with a character who only existed for four episodes, and not any of his children. As for Debbie... I can remember how much my friends and I changed during my teens (often for the worse), and hers is the one character that actually seems to have a realistic and continuous progression. It's not easy to watch, but it stikes me as believable.

 

That said, I kind of watch this show with a Devil-may-care attitude because that's the attitude with which the writers seem to be approaching this show. There's not really any strict sense of commitment or progression or continuity for these characters (except in material aspects of their lives)... and I'm actually fine with that. I'm fine with the timeline making no sense. I'm fine with the writer's doing The Simpsons reboot thing every year, and making each season be it's own creature. I'm fine with storylines being brought up and dropped unceremoniously. It's just part of the inane, irreverent, heavily-stylized realism that carries over from the British version. Shameless is a cynical, sometimes very moving farce at its essence. It's better to go with the flow than hate it for being something it never was intended to be.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Diablo

[TyranAmiros]

I enjoyed this episode more than most of Season 5, so it's off to a good start for me.

I do like Fiona again, after a season I had a tough time with her character. I don't mind what they're doing with her and Debbie because I think Debbie is going through hyper-normal teenage drama in a very-Shameless way. Debbie just wants some sort of idealized normalcy--going all the way back to stealing the baby in Season 1--but has such a skewed view on what that is.

Also, the way the show demonstrates the flip perspective on gentrification is nice. We got some of that on South Park this season, but Shameless does it better.

On a more general point, it's interesting to contrast the way the British and American versions handle the Gallagher family. Perhaps in typical US vs UK style, the American version has stayed focused on the characters while the British focused much more on the environment. There are benefits--we get to see Fiona and Lip forced to deal with situations they can't run away from like their characters do in the UK series--but there are also drawbacks. For example, Fiona doesn't run away, which means Debbie doesn't get thrust into the mother role--and so Debbie has to suffer from Shameless' take on teenage storylines. Keeping the same characters around means their inability to escape must be enforced rather than developed naturally. I have no doubt that when the show wraps up, the Gallaghers (minus Frank) will all find ways of escaping--even Carl will become the new drug kingpin of South Chicago--but until then, unless an actor wants out, they're stuck in the same rut.

[preeya]

The title of the show is "shameless." By definition:

1.lacking any sense of shame: immodest; audacious.
2.insensible to disgrace.
3.showing no shame.

 

It ain't Ozzie & Harriet, and I think it hits the nail right on the head.

Edited January 3, 2016 by preeya

[WhosThatGirl]

I mean, I know it's shameless but a lot of the stories lines are just annoying lately. I don't really like having another storyline of Fiona with her boss and I think we are getting more of that this season. And I don't like the actor who plays her boss very much. Something about him has always turned me off, I remember when he was Julia Roberts love interest in My Best Friends Wedding and I..didn't get it.  He isn't that charismatic to me. And I think that's the vibe I should just from him, Fiona has a connection with him but I don't see it when I watch.  I wonder if I would have liked the original actor who played her boss before they switched him out.

 

I do feel bad for Fiona and dealing with Debbie and it's been a long time since I have felt that, so at least they are getting me there. I don't know what Debbie's endgame was here, nor do I think I ever will with this show but I think that's the point. 

 

Carl is still one of the funniest things about this shows at times and I love him for it.

Edited January 3, 2016 by WhosThatGirl

[junemeatcleaver]

 

Debbie just wants some sort of idealized normalcy--going all the way back to stealing the baby in Season 1--but has such a skewed view on what that is.

 

I see Debbie as one of those girls who used to go on Sally Jessy and Maury crying about wanting a baby.  She just wants to feel normal and like she belongs to someone and someone belongs to her.

[WhosThatGirl]

I see Debbie as one of those girls who used to go on Sally Jessy and Maury crying about wanting a baby.  She just wants to feel normal and like she belongs to someone and someone belongs to her.

Which means she should be sending an audition tape to MTV! They love these kind of girls!

[MorgeousAmy]

After a very disappointing fifth season, I liked most of the pilot. It gives me a lot of hope the show is back on track. Overall: I am very happy Shameless is back!

Fiona: I am surprised I liked Sean much more in this episode than the entirety of the last season. Maybe because he was way more in the background and *really* a supporting character to Fiona and not vice versa? Though the sex scene in the aquarium was odd, also his comment about hiding drugs in the toilet. Didn’t he just do that last season??! But who says this isn’t some kind of foreshadowing. But overall, Fiona’s arc was about her job and really starting to get back in the good graces with her family. So that excites me.

 

Lip: As much as I am happy we get an arc about Lip’s academic future: why as a teacher??! Lip is NOT a teacher. He’d be way too impatient and condescending. Which is totally fine, as not everyone has a talent to teach a bunch of college students. Also he is studying to be an engineer, which will give him waaaaay more money than being a teacher (and money is a big factor for his career choice).  This doesn’t make sense and is just such a sharp new direction from all the robotics talk he had during all seasons. But overall they are dangling a carrot in front of Lip, so chances are high he will f*** this up anyway somehow. The Helene arc looks to me it is over soon – hallelujah! Yay that Joaquin got a scene! Let them be BFF's please. Shameless needs more focus on friendships anyway.

 

Ian: My heart bleeds for him. He is so emotionally detached in the entire episode. He looks so much he has given up with nothing positive in his life anymore. So I find it perfectly reasonable he pushes everything away, including Mickey. He very, very clearly is not in a healthy mindset right now. Also we have not seen him taken the meds, so that worries me a lot. I am delighted the writers are dedicated to the bipolarity arc and they are not taking the shortcut, by giving him a random storyline. I hope there will be much more Ian in the next episodes, but I get why other characters had more focus for now. But Ian’s arc worries me to a large extend, because I doubt we will have a seemingly happy ending anytime soon.

 

Debbie: I am strangely looking forward to the teen pregnancy. I hated this SL last season, but I somehow think now it is perfectly in character. I also am excited as Shameless is the only show, where I believe they are willing to show how hard it is for a teen Mom especially without a father around. Lastly I don’t believe her wanting a baby is out-of-character at all. She always made reckless decisions without second thought. This time around she just has to deal with the consequences 18 years +.

 

Carl: Love it! Him becoming a master criminal of the South Side?! This was basically in the making since Season 1. It makes perfect sense for the character, for the show and will give great shameless storylines for the future. I am all for it.

 

Frank: yeah… I stopped hating/liking his arcs, because I just do not care at all.

 

Mickey: Gosh, that scene! I screamed at Mickey because in my opinion he almost acted pathetic. Getting a tattoo and begging Ian to take him back. But hello: victim of abuse who grew up in a homophobic and criminal environment! Mickey must sincerely believe Ian will be the only one who ever saw something good in him. Of course he clings to the idea that Ian will wait for 15 years! This was so perfectly in pathetically in character, it really hurt me, because I just love him. Oh, and him being a hit-man in prison really excites me. Can we please have a spin-off? And the Mickey-Yev tiny moment was so cute. Svetlana also rocked the entire episode. She is such a great supporting characters and fits into the world of Shameless beautifully.

 

If this was the last Mickey and Ian scene for the entire show, then it will make me sad. Because it would be a very shitty farewell to an amazing 5 season arc. But as a stepping stone for the next Gallavich chapter, I sincerely don’t mind. First, this is a TV show and if they want Mickey released from prison, he will be released. And second, there is zero doubt in my mind that Showtime is already working overtime to get Noel back next season. As the contracts expire after Season 7 and I assume it will be Cameron’s last anyway, I have zero doubt Noel is willing to come back a year and give this couple the farewell they deserve.

 

Oh, just this random new neighbor, I could deal without. Poor Steve Howey – such a talented actor and he always gets the shitty arcs on the show.

 

I am excited and looking forward for the next season. I am cautiously very optimistic. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Frank somehow always manages to set a new low for himself. I know that technically he isn't hurting anyone by jerking off on top of Bianca's grave, which makes it slightly less offensive than many of the things he has done in past seasons, but ugh. I've never been so happy to see a guy with a hose before. The only good thing about Frank obsessing about Bianca and spending so much time at the cemetery was that it meant he wasn't at the house as much annoying his family.

 

Poor Fiona - she was so happy that Carl was home only to realize how much he had changed since he'd been gone. It did make me start thinking about the timeline though. At the end of last season, Carl was sent to juvie and Debbie found out she was pregnant. In this episode, Fiona took Debbie to the clinic to confirm the pregnancy and that is not the kind of thing that Fiona would have let Debbie put off for several months. So how long was Carl in juvie before they released him? As shocked as Fiona and the rest of the family are by Nick, I like that Carl seems to be showing empathy for someone. I mean, he's still a total psycho but at least he is trying to be nice to another human being which is something I thought I might never see. Hopefully this is genuine and he doesn't have some ulterior motive (like turning Nick into the muscle for his south side empire).

 

Fiona is a complete moron though. When she let Debbie go into the exam room alone, I was like nope, that is not what you do with a girl like Debbie who deliberately got pregnant at such a young age. You accompany her into the exam room so that you can hear everything straight from the doctor. So her boyfriend's family sent him to live with his grandmother with Florida to get him away from her because he told them that she was pregnant? I can't decide whether or not I hope their visit at the end of the episode is to tell her that they want custody of the baby. On the one hand, we do not need another baby on this show so yes, please, take the baby away because plotwise, I don't want to watch Debbie juggling school and changing diapers. On the other hand, you know that the Gallaghers will not take this well and will insist on a custody battle and I do not want to spend the entire season dealing with more court appearances.

 

I was sure that Kev was going to tell the neighbor to keep up the good work annoying the new neighbors with all the extra noise, so I was surprised when he really did try to smooth things over. For the record, anyone who rings the doorbell like a maniac as his new lesbian neighbors did better be there to tell me that the neighborhood is being evacuated. Ring the doorbell once and if I don't answer, GO AWAY.

 

Is Fiona's boss encouraging her to take the assistance manager position because he genuinely wants her to take this opportunity to gain some marketable job skills for the day that she inevitably quits waitressing at the diner? Or is this his passive aggressive way of laying the groundwork to stop seeing her? I remember he specifically said that the assistant manager works on all holidays (so that he doesn't have to) plus it seems like they will have less time to spend together if their shifts don't overlap as much as they do now. She also mentioned that the assistant manager doesn't get tips so will she make enough to keep getting by? I wish he would have just offered the position to the other waitress who was clearly interested, unlike Fiona who had to be talked into it. Plus Fiona seems to enjoy interacting with the customers.

 

Is Lip seriously so unreasonably jealous that he would hide in the bushes to spy on his sex professor and then beat up whoever came out of the house? I know Lip is impulsive but that seems beyond what he would normally do. I just knew that the other kid was going to end up being her son. Loved when Tiffany had no shame about being butt naked while reminding sex professor who she was.

 

I didn't mind Lip's math professor suggesting he become a teacher. I think that Lip has a very narrow view of what his options are so it's nice to see someone suggest other things to him, especially because his professor said it after seeing him teach and deal with a student. I'm not saying that I necessarily want Lip to become a college professor, but I just like seeing someone offer alternatives to him and tell him that he's good at something that could result in a legit job. Not all teaching positions pay well, but some do. I know some college professors who make way more than you would think (one of them has been teaching for a little over ten years and makes six figures but only teaches one class a year). Lip doesn't necessarily have to become a math teacher either. He could become an engineering professor and then spend most of his time on robotics research and maybe teach a graduate level course.

[scrb]

Thing is, they're all sabotaging themselves.

 

Again.

 

Debbie is messing around with her future by getting pregnant for a guy who clearly doesn't want her.  Fiona shouldn't even give a second thought to a promotion.  Remember she had doubts about the office job too, before she screwed it up?

 

And Lip, who gets pussy being thrown at him every time he turns around, is going to mess with a professor instead of working the system and getting his degree?

 

And Carl is a budding psychopath gangster, whom nobody is trying to steer right.

 

We get it, these folks are downtrodden but they're just romantics, following their heart, not their head.

 

They don't have to show any of these characters becoming successful, lifting the rest of the family.  But there is no progression, they keep doing the same things over and over again.

 

Are they "keeping it real," just wanting to stay in the ghetto?  Frank seems to think that's some form of authenticity (like encouraging Carl to be a gang banger), instead of becoming one of the sheep plying corporate jobs and spending time at gentrified cafes like the ones they shot up last season.  Frank is probably the last person whose example they should be following?

 

Maybe the producers think they're pulling one over on Showtime, by showing these "rebel" blue collar characters on a premium channel which caters to the kind of gentrified professionals the show mocks.

[Diablo]

Maybe the producers think they're pulling one over on Showtime, by showing these "rebel" blue collar characters on a premium channel which caters to the kind of gentrified professionals the show mocks.

I doubt it's anything as insidious as that... Actually, I think this brings up an interesting contrast that stems from the British origins of the show. In Britain, working-class pride and solidarity has been a huge part of the fabric of the nation, which came to a head under Thatcher, but has persisted to today. It's not without reason that the left party in England is called the "Labour" party. In the U.S., the prevailing narrative is that of meritocratic social mobility encapsulated by the "American dream." I don't think a British audience would necessarily expect its working class characters to "get out of the ghetto." The British working class stereotype the middle class as vapid, superficial, and pretentious; there isn't as much of an aspirational motif there as there might be in America. I feel like this sentiment has been written into the mouths of the American characters since they basically re-used the same scripts for the first few episodes. Whether or not it rings true to life for an American working class community, I don't know. But, as I am witnessing, it certainly seems to rub the middle class Showtime audience the wrong way.

 

To an American audience, the British perspective seems defeatist and dismal. To a British audience, the American perspective probably seems uppity or delusional. As we're seeing nowadays, the American dream is meeting its limits in the 21st century. Gentrification does not come without its casualties, and even college-educated young people who grew up in the middle class are not making as much as their parents did at their age. These characters have been presented with opportunities to get out of their lowly station in life, but they meet with psychological and social barriers. I think that's realistic, if frustrating to watch. Escaping a home like that of the Gallaghers for greener pastures has always been the exception and not the rule.

 

Plus, it would basically make for a pretty boring show if the writers let these characters ascend too easily. What would make Shameless different from any of the other middle class dramas on cable TV, if we stripped it of its low-rent milieu and irreverence?

[scrb]

I don't necessarily think they need to live the American Dream.

 

But they've been depicted as smart and streetwise.

 

Yet they keep screwing themselves over and over again.

 

Either the characterization in contradictory with the plots or they don't know what they're doing.

[WhosThatGirl]

I think the show doesn't know what to do if these characters got their acts together. And also, I don't know what it would be either. It does make me think about the endgame of this show, though. I wonder how it will all end. I know I shouldn't think about that, it's not like this show has an end date but I do wonder when the show ends, will 

these characters regress or stay the same..  But to answer your first point, I just think that the writers don't know how the show could still be shameless and have the characters make better, smarter choices, maybe they feel it would change the show. 

[Hamatron]

In earlier seasons, it seemed more like they were being held back by the system, not themselves. There was a hustle just to stay afloat. In later seasons, there's been more of a shift to they hold themselves back, not the system, and now they are hustling to repeat the same mistakes. I think that's part of the change in characterizations we're talking about. I think it would be more rewarding to see them rise above fucking themselves over, but still face hardship. You could still have Shameless and keep the tone and world while still never making it past poverty (Or maybe Lip does but no one else).

Edited January 4, 2016 by Hamatron

[WhosThatGirl]

In earlier seasons, it seemed more like they were being held back by the system, not themselves. There was a hustle just to stay afloat. In later seasons, there's been more of a shift to they hold themselves back, not the system, and now they are hustling to repeat the same mistakes. I think that's part of the change in characterizations we're talking about. I think it would be more rewarding to see them rise above fucking themselves over, but still face hardship. You could still have Shameless and keep the tone and world while still never making it past poverty (Or maybe Lip does but no one else).

True! I agree with this. Lip seems to be trying to get out, but it does seem like things and people will always anchor him back. Fiona I think does hold herself back, I remember a line she said to Lip in season four about the job at the cups place, "I wear a pencil skirt every day" like..this was new to her! And I believe she self-sabotaged herself a lot that season. Maybe not at first, hooking up with her boss/boyfriends brother was a mistake, but afterwards, I would never think Fiona would snort coke with the kids all present before, in earlier seasons. But I think she was very much all, "I belong on the floor, it's where I come from" attitude. 

[Turtle]

I'm also really confused by the timeline. Carl got a year, and Chuckie only 120 days, but Carl is out and Chuckie isn't? It seems impossible that Carl was so well behaved that he got out before Chuckie, even if Chuckie got up to no good with the white supremeictsts and got his time extended, given who the characters are. And Sean seems firmly ensconced in the household, but as mentioned, Fiona hadn't yet taken Debbie to the doctor; and Bianca seems to have only been dead a short time. It was all confusing.

That aside, I liked the premiere, and I think the season shows promise.

[snarts]

I enjoyed the episode and agree with those who said it's more true to Fiona's character from earlier seasons.  Lip, Debbie & Carl are storylines I'm very invested in.  I wish there was more going on with Ian.  I get that he & Mickey = true luv, but it would be nice to see him meet some other people.

 

As a lazy as I am at times, I watched a lot of the earlier seasons this weekend (thank you, Showtime).  I miss the Fiona/Veronica relationship, as well as, the tightness that used to be there between Lip & Ian.  I'm forever over all things Frank, as evidenced of my forwarding through 80% of his scenes.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The only useful thing to come from all of the Frank scenes in this episode was seeing Bianca's headstone so that we know she died on April 5th. Since Lip and Debbie are still in school, I guess this episode takes place in May (or possibly early June). I'm assuming it isn't still April because there's no way that Carl got out of juvie after less than a month no matter how good his behavior was.

[Armchair Critic]

I knew Fiona was going to get with her boss, I figured that actor didn't take the part just to be shown working in the diner.

 

What was the deal was with the professor's husband watching, are they trying to ease him into threesomes? Also wonder if his girlfriend (Amanda?) is off the show now.

 

I still don't buy Frank getting that emotionally attached to the doctor chick.

 

Am I the only one who feels bad for Chuckie being in jail?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Showtime has posted the season premiere on their Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBwNoYcy6bY

[jayjay]

The only useful thing to come from all of the Frank scenes in this episode was seeing Bianca's headstone so that we know she died on April 5th. Since Lip and Debbie are still in school, I guess this episode takes place in May (or possibly early June). I'm assuming it isn't still April because there's no way that Carl got out of juvie after less than a month no matter how good his behavior was.

And yet the calendar on the Gallagher refrigerator said September 2016. 

[TyranAmiros]

And yet the calendar on the Gallagher refrigerator said September 2016.

Which doesn't line up with in-show evidence, like that Lip clearly is in the middle of a college term, not at the beginning of one. Same with Debbie and High School. I just guessed it was around March/April because of the school calendar and that Season 5 ended in late winter and this season picks up not too soon after.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Plus there's no way that Fiona would have waited five months to take Debbie to the clinic to confirm whether or not she's actually pregnant. Fiona was not the most attentive guardian last season but she would have made time to do that as soon as she found out that Debbie was pregnant.

And yet the calendar on the Gallagher refrigerator said September 2016.

Wow, so they're nine months into the future? I wonder if they have flying cars! I kid, I kid. Obviously we will all have flying card by September!

Maybe it's a calendar from September 2015 and no one bothered to change it? That seems like something that would happen in the Gallagher house, especially with Fiona MIA most of last season, Lip away at school, and Ian losing it. Debbie and Carl probably wouldn't care enough to change it. I am too lazy to rewatch this episode to find out for sure though.

Edited January 5, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[jayjay]

Maybe it's a calendar from September 2015 and no one bothered to change it

 

It's definitely September 2016:

 

[Petunia13]

What a shock that guy Lip was beating up was the professors son!

How surprising Fiona is sleeping with her boss and getting a job break handed to her!

Such a twist Deb lied about the pregnancy!

[arachne]

I think the Alibi Room should get a visit from Jay and Sean with Esquire's Best Bars in America​​​. They could tape a segment there, praising it as "one of Chicago's best dive bars." That might keep the ironic hipsters at bay for a while.

[Primetimer]

It's a new season with the Gallaghers, as Carl comes back from kiddie prison, Fiona continues boss-humping, and Debbie remains determined to keep her pregnancy a secret.

Read the story

[Blue Castle]

I'm not watching the show anymore (last season broke me and this season looks like more of the same crap) but I enjoyed the recap, especially the 'Professor Gretchen Witter' line. I always think of her as Pacey's sister, too! I also liked the recap's points about how Shameless deals with race because that's always been a huge problem with this show.

[WhosThatGirl]

I didn't need to watch this episode live, having watched it already. And damn, it feels like I watched it a while ago even though this isn't the case but whatever, wanted to check out this weeks recap and read what others had to say if they had been waiting to watch until tonight.

I just don't know anymore. Considering last weekend and this weekend, they were doing marathons of past seasons, I was like at one point I enjoyed this show. I liked season four, even though Fiona was a hot mess, I actually liked the storyline and thought it made sense. Both Ian and Lip were away from the house that season and Fiona always viewed them as her rocks, they grounded her. Even last season, I FF though a lot last season but there were still parts I enjoyed until the season finale, because..WTF was that and now this episode...

Am I supposed to find Frank's love for Bianca real? I don't know. I don't get it. It's not funny that Frank viewed some random girl he knew for at the most a month? If it was even that long as his soulmate and the way he treats his kids is such crap. It's not funny. Nothing about this show really makes me want to watch week after week. I mean, I probably will, I go down with my sinking shows once I hit the three year mark.

[Emily Thrace]

In earlier seasons, it seemed more like they were being held back by the system, not themselves. There was a hustle just to stay afloat. In later seasons, there's been more of a shift to they hold themselves back, not the system, and now they are hustling to repeat the same mistakes. I think that's part of the change in characterizations we're talking about. I think it would be more rewarding to see them rise above fucking themselves over, but still face hardship. You could still have Shameless and keep the tone and world while still never making it past poverty (Or maybe Lip does but no one else).

 

Except their is a chicken and the egg there since the Gallaghers are all products of a broken system. No shit they react and don't really plan ahead but that how they've made it this far. Of course they have no future planning skills they've all spent so much of their lives just trying to get though the day. If they thought further ahead they were just disappointed so they didn't.  Lip is just barely starting to get it and Fiona has had some major knockbacks when she's tried. Yes some of that was Fiona's fault but not all of it.  What your asking for is for the Gallaghers to be idealized poor but proud types and I don't feel that's realistic.  Sure the characters have grown (Lip most noticeably) but its by inches not miles. If you ever seen Christopher Titus (whose a comedian who grew in very Gallagher like circumstances) you might notice how the voice in his head still says "You're a screw-up"  even though he's been successful for decades now. I don't think Gallagher's voices that say their a screw-up will ever really go away either. As I've said before none of these kids are normal functional people asking to act like they are is unfair.

 

That's why all I've asked of this is it portray it character realistically I could give a fuck about timelines. Last season bugged a bit because I felt some of it was too over the top but it looks like we're getting closer to normal again. Besides there's no real way for them to keep to a logical timeline with the child actors still growing like normal kids. Its just not really possible either they fudge the kids ages or they fudge the timeline. I actually like that they thrown out the timeline instead. That way we won't have Carl being a 30 year old high school senior.

 

Also have to echo the love for Svetlana I loved her interacting with the hipsters in the bar. Although the thought occurs to me that if the neighborhood want to rid itself of hipsters they could just shoot or rob a few of them. Not like the Milkovitch boys haven't done before.  Nothing like a spike in violent crime to drive house prices right back down again. I wonder if that's not what Kev's convo with the neighbor is actually setting up.  The psycho neighbor actually acts on his rants and the fallout drives out some of the new people.

[Miles]

Well it certainly was quite a bit better than anything we saw last season, but that really isn't saying much.

 

I don't quite get why Micky got a 15 year jail sentence. He never tried to kill Sammi. He druged her and they thought she was dead, but she wasn't. So the police could get him for kidnapping and assault, but not much more. I doubt that would get him 15 years. Even if it did, how would they ever prove anything like that? The only thing that the police knew without a doubt was that crazy Sammi was chasing him with a gun.

I guess it comes down to the actor not wanting to be on the show anymore and the writers not wanting to kill him off and thus finding a reason to get him away, no matter how stupid.

Btw. I'm pretty sure these career criminals would know that conversations through these phones in the visitation room are recorded. Doesn't seem too smart to talk about a hit on them.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Miles

[portfino]

The problem for me is that I'm not invested in the Fiona lovelife plot, and while I can survive a plot that doesn't work with the other characters, the show as a whole takes its cues from Fiona.

 

Also, I'm just out on Lip. I nearly rolled my eyes out of my head when they had to drop the fact the guy he beat up was a college wrestler.

[yourmomiseasy]

Am I supposed to find Frank's love for Bianca real? I don't know. I don't get it. It's not funny that Frank viewed some random girl he knew for at the most a month? If it was even that long as his soulmate and the way he treats his kids is such crap. It's not funny. Nothing about this show really makes me want to watch week after week. I mean, I probably will, I go down with my sinking shows once I hit the three year mark.

 

What's real is Frank's love of being a victim and having something to rant against and becoming obsessed with stupid shit.  His whole Bianca thing has nothing to do with Bianca and everything to do with him being the same old Frank.  Frank has made a cottage industry out of victimhood.  He didn't actually love the guy he was trying to be domestic partners with either, but he still went on with his woe is me rants about the system keeping them apart.  This time it is just God and not the man.

Edited January 11, 2016 by yourmomiseasy

[iMonrey]

The only way the timeline makes any sense is if maybe Debbie's first pregnancy test (the one she took at the end of last season) was negative, and she kept sleeping with her boyfriend until she got pregnant several months later. The length of her hair alone suggests at least six months have passed. 

 

I don't know why Carl got out before Chuckie either, but we don't know what happened to Sammi. It's possible she went to jail too (she was chasing Micky all over the neighborhood with a gun after all and we saw the police pulling them apart at the end of last season). So if she's in prison and there's nobody willing to take Chuckie maybe that's why he's still in juvie. I hope we find out more about this.

 

I'm not going to pre-judge the season just based on the premier because they always tend to be low-key affairs, setting things up for the upcoming season. Not much going on with Kev and V yet, but Will Sasso is a welcome addition to the cast.

 

I'm terribly disappointed though that Fiona chose Sean over Gus. Typical of her to opt for the recovering heroin addict over the nice guy who was actually good for her.

 

Also wonder if his girlfriend (Amanda?) is off the show now.

 

Probably. The actress who played Amanda (Nichole Bloom) is on Superstore now (terrible NBC sitcom). 

[gwhh]

I wonder if they still teach boxing at Yale to students? 

 

Because the professor son going to need to learn that, if he going to be involved with that group of people his mom is hooking up with!  

Edited January 12, 2016 by gwhh

[Advance35]

Well, that was........

 

It was good to see Kev and Vee are still solid after last season's rough patch.

 

So Svetlana works at the Alibi now?   Liked her scene with the hipsters.

 

Lip's story......I didn't hate it, which is an improvement over last season, but I didn't especially like it either.

 

Mickey....Sigh.  I'm really going to miss that never-do-well.  He was always up to something and 7 times out of 10, it was always hysterical.   I really liked he and Ian as a couple even though I didn't think they would end up together.   Though it's funny, when they first got together,  Mickey was callous, cold and unfeeling towards Ian and now the reverse is true.   The length of the jail sentence seems to indicate this is the last time we'll see Mickey Milkovich.   Which is a shame for me, since I like him better then most of the Gallaghers.   Both and Mandy came to bad ends, sad but not surprising.

 

Fiona....I don't know what happened to this girl.     I just have know problem believing she's Frank Gallagher's daughter now.

 

Carl, the new source of humor for the show, though I'll bet he will be keeping Mickey company in a prison cell some day.   The cornrows and the jail mentality cracked me up.   True dark humor.    

 

Neither thumbs up or down.  I need to see a little more before I decide my future with this show.

[wovenloaf]

Dermot Mulroney's character just grates on me. I was hoping we'd be done with him, but I guess we're stuck. I can't put my finger on it... He just seems so bland and kind of pitiful. I don't think he makes sense as a person that Fiona would be into. I mean, he's got drama attached to him, so there's that. But he's not charismatic at all. Then again neither was the husband, but at least the husband was pleasant. Holding out for another return of Jimmy Steve!

In whole though, I actually liked the premier. Much more than last season anyway! Carl's story line is hilarious, and perfect for him. He always cracks me up. Glad Kev and Vee are back together. Kev's character was a lost mess without Vee. Debbie is less annoying than she has been, and even though she's never been one of my fave characters, I did feel bad for her in the end.

I dunno... I'm generally looking forward to the rest of the season!

[rose711]

I liked it.<br />To an earlier point, Debbie had the choice of bringing Fiona or not. Im not sure what would happen if Fiona had insisted on going, I think Debbie might have walked out. It's a tricky question.

[dangwoodchucks]

I've always liked Dermot Mulroney (he showed quite a bit of charisma in The Wedding Date), but the character of Sean here just annoys me to no end. Maybe if they had stuck with Jeffrey Dean Morgan things would have been better. It really doesn't matter though, other than Jimmy/Steve all the guys paired with Fiona have been pretty one-dimensional and were only there for Fiona to have someone to fuck. Are we really supposed to believe that every guy wants to fuck Fiona and every girl wants to fuck Lip? Ugh.

 

Fiona is still Debbie's guardian, right? If so she had every right to go to the room with Debbie. I really hated Debbie's story line last season. This season isn't looking good either.

 

What was with the cell phones everywhere? Lip took a picture of the professor in bed, someone was on the sidewalk recording Otis being chased down and arrested, and the hipsters at the Alibi were taking pictures and video.

 

Frank's story line is ridiculous. Did we need to see the close ups of him from front and back while he was jerking off at the cemetery? That scene seemed to go on forever.

 

Svetlana was great as always, and Steve Howey is looking finer than usual.

Edited January 12, 2016 by dangwoodchucks

[Cosmocrush]

I mean, I know it's shameless but a lot of the stories lines are just annoying lately. I don't really like having another storyline of Fiona with her boss and I think we are getting more of that this season. And I don't like the actor who plays her boss very much. Something about him has always turned me off, I remember when he was Julia Roberts love interest in My Best Friends Wedding and I..didn't get it.  He isn't that charismatic to me. And I think that's the vibe I should just from him, Fiona has a connection with him but I don't see it when I watch.  I wonder if I would have liked the original actor who played her boss before they switched him out.

 

 

I've always liked Dermot Mulroney (he showed quite a bit of charisma in The Wedding Date), but the character of Sean here just annoys me to no end. Maybe if they had stuck with Jeffrey Dean Morgan things would have been better. It really doesn't matter though, other than Jimmy/Steve all the guys paired with Fiona have been pretty one-dimensional and were only there for Fiona to have someone to fuck. Are we really supposed to believe that every guy wants to fuck Fiona and every girl wants to fuck Lip? Ugh.

 That they teased us at the end of S4 with Jeffery Dean Morgan and then gave us Dermot Mulroney is one big reason why I never liked the character but even an entire season later, I still don't like him but I can't tell if it's the actor or the character.  Probably some of both.  

 

Am I the only one who feels bad for Chuckie being in jail?

Yes.   

 

Just kidding, I'm sure there are at least a few more people but I've always liked how Shelia referred to him as, "That Chuckie thing."  when she was telling Frank she not only wanted Sheila gone but she couldn't help it, she didn't want "that Chuckie thing" in her house any more.   From then on, that's how I referred to the character too.    Was there any doubt this kid would spend his life in jail/prison one small sentence at a time? 

Edited January 12, 2016 by Cosmocrush

[WhosThatGirl]

That they teased us at the end of S4 with Jeffery Dean Morgan and then gave us Dermot Mulroney is one big reason why I never liked the character but even an entire season later, I still don't like him but I can't tell if it's the actor or the character.  Probably some of both.

 

I don't really know much of Jeffery Dean Morgan (although he had a small stint on Greys, right?)  but I do still wonder why they changed the actors? But I find the character grates too, maybe because it's more of the same with Fiona?  Plus, wow, it was funny how for most of last season he was all to Fiona, "you have a crazy life filled with chaos that I can't deal with it, we can only be friends and not be together" but once his son left the state with the mom he was all in. Like way to do a 180.  Plus, Fiona is still married. That was left very open-ended, at least on Gus's end from my understanding? Fiona said they're separated but I think Gus was sort of leaving the door open for a possibly to get back, right? Sidenote: I like Gus a lot, I also liked Jimmy/Steve, I feel like I'm alone on that boat in these forums but I always liked him on the show, I however didn't like his two episodes last season, it felt like the writing and character was different, but then I was like, 'I hope she stays with the band guy' and of course, she didn't.

Edited January 12, 2016 by WhosThatGirl

[LuciaMia]

Okay, Im drawing a complete blank. What did Mickey do to get him 15 years in prison?

[terrymct]

Okay, Im drawing a complete blank. What did Mickey do to get him 15 years in prison?

 

Tried to kill Frank's daughter Sammi, then locked what he assumed was her body into a you-store-it box that was hauled off to a warehouse.