S01.E03: Yumtime

[formerlyfreedom]

Chuck discovers that while he pursued Steven Birch, the rival Eastern District has made inroads in the Axe case and that he needs to get it back. Chuck horse-trades to regain control of a key witness, Pete Decker, a hedge fund manager with ties to Axelrod. At the same time, Axe makes an activist play for YumTime, a family owned bakery corporation. This move reverberates back to Chuck by way of a very personal connection between his father and YumTime. Wendy is thrown into a moral dilemma when she discovers via a confidential session that one of the few female Portfolio Managers at Axe Capital is going to have her career sabotaged. And Lara Axelrod tries to protect Axe’s reputation from a potentially damaging “tell all” book.

 

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

 

Clips:

 

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Bobby better not EVER betray his wife, she's quite ruthless.

Lara snatched that chick's scalp, edges, hopes and dreams.

[Primetimer]

And other not-quite-burning questions sparked by the latest episode.

Read the story

[mjc570]

I thought the episode was pretty awful, for a number of reasons.  First, I don't know if she's just is a bad actress, but Lara as a character is just boring.  Talk about a one-note character, yeah, we get that she is an evil bitch who will do anything to protect her meal ticket.  I  guess I'm just going to have to FF her scenes.  Second, I really don't need anymore childhood job stories from Bobby.  That's two weeks in a row we've had to listen to his sanctimonious bs that I guess he uses to make himself feel superior.  Third, the whole dog poop thing was just over done.  yeah, we get that that's the only victory Chuck has.

 

  My overall dissatisfaction, though, is how completely unrealistic the show is becoming.  I know that it's not a documentary, and my bar of disbelief is set really low, but when it starts getting so ridiculous (like the whole Yum thing) that it insults my intelligence, I'm out of here. 

[WaltersHair]

I see women in this series, but I don't know if they are women because they certainly don't sound like women.

This is straight up macho crapfest.

 

The only thing I liked was the recipe change business. I remember when Mcdonald's had real lard in their french fries and real cheese on their burgers. Now that's Yumtime.

[roomtorome]

I think everyone's acting in this is atrocious; I can see every second of their acting and all of it is crappy. Great actors and overall cast but horribly stupid show with mundane, unsurprising, generic stories.

Shame - the real world of this kind of greed, profit, etc is much much more perversely exciting than this show could ever dream of being.

I live here and 14-1/2 years later, I still get pissed when I see 9/11 used so crassly - but, can't expect much from this bunch.

I'm over and out.

Edited February 1, 2016 by roomtorome

[SlipperyPete]

Malin Akerman should have stuck with Childrens Hospital. Maybe she's so used to being on a show that bashes TV tropes that she thinks she's on another show like it with a bigger budget. I feel bad that such a great cast is locked into doing a second season of this garbage.

 

I almost feel compelled to watch more but I can't see myself hate-watching this thing for much longer. I'll throw in the towel once Vinyl finally starts on Feb. 14 and Girls comes back the week after.

 

I can already see where this is going anyway:

 

-Chuck's going to keep on being the loser until the lord of Deus ex Machina finally drops something tailor-made to ruin Axelrod right in his lap around episode 9-10.

-Then Axelrod is going to pull an even bigger Deus ex Machina hail mary pass out of his ass to thwart Chuck around episode 10-11. Everyone masochistic enough to still be on board with this show will be going, "OMG what a plot twist, guys!!!".

-In episode 12, Chuck will somehow recover from the major blow to his plans. He'll recover well enough to strike back with a medium-sized blow on Axelrod's schemes.

-The season will end with the two men coming to a begrudging stalemate/compromise where neither of them is happy with how things have played out. But ultimately, neither man will be fully satisfied until the other is completely destroyed. Both of their marriages will have already begun their steady decline at this point so they'll be more committed to battle than ever!...which will lead us into season 2.

-Season 2 will throw a serious curve ball and reveal that Chuck Rhoades hates Bobby Axelrod so much because he's posessed by the spirit of Cliff Barnes and suspects that Axelrod is possessed by the spirit of J.R. Ewing. He will, of course, turn out to be entirely correct.

 

Alternatively, Chuck and Axelrod will start working together to thwart some other seemingly-worse rich asshole. Except OMG TWIST it's all an act and they're still fully trying to fuck eachother over. In any case, I just don't see the writing being anywhere near good enough to dramatically alter the status quo that's already been established in any meaningful way.

Edited February 1, 2016 by SlipperyPete

[hoodooznoodooz]

Ugh. I find it difficult to look at the Axelrod character. He's so pale and unattractive, and sometimes I can see the makeup he's wearing.

The acting is really bad. There is absolutely no subtlety.

Wouldn't most people, in that situation, forced by Chuck, use a newspaper from a garbage can to pick up the dog poop?

I really cringed during the scene between the two doctors, discussing what an adrenaline rush they got from their jobs.

[pbutler111]

This is the first week I've looked at the recaps for this show, and I'm kind of shocked at the vitriol. I love the show. I don't find it all that far-fetched, but, then again, it's meant for entertainment, not instruction. (I do agree, though, that 99.99% of the population would have taken something out of the garbage to pick up the dog shit.)

[meep.meep]

I'm fine with the show.  I don't think the women characters are cliched.  I think that Maggie Sith's character's job is fascinating.  Clearly we're going to find out about something Bobbie Axelrod did during 9/11 that's pretty unsavory vs. his image as "the only survivor" from his firm.

 

And I'm with the 99.99% of the population who would have taken something out of the trash, or hit up the guy with the newspaper, to pick up the dog shit.  And told Giamatti where to shove it when told to pick up someone else's dog shit.

[roomtorome]

That is not Neopolitan pizza - just a small thing but bugs me as I go to Naples a few times a year and it is nothing like the crap they are showing in the show.  Yes, those are the correct tomatoes but that's it....  Just a bit insulting to lovely Naples Italy to try to pass that stuff as pizza.  Maybe if they didn't make such a big deal out of it.  

 

Just an indication how boring I find the whole thing - ding/dongs, twinkles, whatever it is/was.  

 

So Axelrod is just going around buying his childhood favorites to - what? How stupid - sorry, I just think it's stupid.

[HumblePi]

I'm 'sort of, kind of' liking this series, it seems to get better each week as most do. But I do have a problem with the acting of Paul Giamatti. Oh he's a great actor, not doubt about it. My problem with him comes from the fact that he always seems to perform in the same way no matter what character he's playing. Whether he's wearing a business suit or the hat of a Statesman from the 1700's, he just releases the same passion and intensity, there's no variation of acting style no matter what the role is. It's for this reason alone that I really didn't want to watch this series and only caught up on demand after skipping the first two episodes.

 

I was also turned away initially because I was tired of Damian Lewis from Homeland. I was relieved when he was killed off that series. But the angst and torturous expressions on the face of Claire Danes got to me too, and I stopped following Homeland. But Damian Lewis at least plays this character for what he's supposed to be. A savvy, successful Wall Street hedge fund king. I can buy that because he's believable.. And, I haven't heard his British accent come through even once yet.

 

I think the series might be more popular for people living on either the East or West coasts. I just don't see how people in the mid-West could relate to anything to do with Wall Street and hedge fund moguls. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

[HumblePi]

I know that I'm naive but I had to google some of the dialog online between guru Wendy and Mike. They were talking about … well, his particular sexual proclivities. Mike likes a sex act that many consider demeaning (ass to mouth). He claims he likes it because it's about accepting all of him, even his dirty kinks. Wendy calls him out pretty quickly, noting how doing it fulfills his need for dominance.

[scrb]

It's difficult to believe these ultra successful people, including Rhoads and Gale from BB, are such crass assholes.

But I heard report on npr the other day about scammers who go after old people and they had a recording of him on the phone trying to swindle someone.

Except the characters are more overt about their horrible characters. Presumably the writers have done the research so these stories are plausible.

But the confrontation in the Yum Time boardroom seems unlikely. You'd expect a bit more finesse instead of this macho posturing. Also unlikely hoe Axe flips the whole board.

The novelist, what was she thinking in the first place? She seems quite fond of all her perks like the golf club and getting her kid into Stanford. Seems like she was rich enough not to put up with Lara but she wanted more so she caved? Even if the book might not sell as well after the changes?

[molshoop]

This episode made me laugh more than any sitcom I've sampled recently.  6.5 Million people watched

the premier.  It isn't for everyone.  No show is.  I think the acting and writing are fantastic.

[FuriousStyles]

I've been having an issue the last couple of months with someone in my neighborhood who refuses to pick up their dog's shit. Every morning as I turn the corner its like I have to play hopscotch to get to the other end of the block without stepping in some green diarrhea doo-doo. Its disgusting. So because of that, I found the scene with Chuck and the dog owner quite entertaining.

[EyesGlazed]

I'm enjoying the show even though it's sometimes silly and predictable.  I don't really believe that Lara could do all that damage to the novelist, even if she is filthy rich.  No one especially Stanford Univ.  would want to get in the middle of some personal feud that could easily turn into a public lawsuit.  Also, the abuse heaped on Spiro is kind of funny but totally unbelievable.  High-up government officials are always polite to each other's faces.  I do like the US Atty office scenes though.

 

I'm glad that the female trader escaped having her career ruined by Wags.  I like this actress a lot and I hope we see more of her character.

 

Wendy and Rhodes deciding to go for ice cream instead of S&M was pretty funny.  Btw, my computer keeps auto-correcting Rhoades to Rhodes, and I take that as a sign that the extra a in his name is stupid.

[CeeBeeGee]

I don't really believe that Lara could do all that damage to the novelist, even if she is filthy rich.  No one especially Stanford Univ.  would want to get in the middle of some personal feud that could easily turn into a public lawsuit. 

 

Utterly fucking ludicrous. Yes, she could've done the petty local stuff like getting her tee-times revoked. (Although I question whether any high-end business would actually say in front of other guests that her account was in arrears.) But Stanford is on the other end of the country. There is no way in hell they would freeze out a legacy like the novelist's son--a double legacy whose grandfather funded the tennis court, or whatever she said? All on the say-so of not even the billionaire but the billionaire's wife? Utterly ridiculous. As you say Stanford would not want to get involved. Like, I got mad just watching it--please, please give that wife something to do besides play Lady Macbeth manque. Carmela Soprano did it better.

 

I did like the subplot with the psychologist and the woman manager. I was rooting for that woman to move on--you don't need that sausagefest!

[MV007]

I'm loving the show.  And I'm loving Wendy. 

 

As for the Stanford thing.  I buy it.  Axelrod is not just some rich guy with a little bit of money.  He's a billionaire.  Thats a different playing field then the wannabe author.  I do have a little experience with a billionaire as a close family friend is one and I have no problem believing she could pull something like that off.

Edited February 3, 2016 by MV007

[pivot]

There are way too many unnecessary sex scenes in this show. They don't add anything to the plot and are just redundant at this point. The show would be much improved by taking them out and speeding up the plot.

I am seriously hoping that woman that Axe's wife screwed over ends up being a witness against Axe & his company.

[TV Anonymous]

The way the show portrays a sitting U.S. Attorney is a turn-off for me. Really, forcing somebody to pick his dog's excrement up with his bare hand? And cursing publicly as well? Speaking of curses, I can not find it believable that curses and vulgar words were thrown casually in office environments, be it government or private.

[mledawn]

Allow me to support the casual swearing - I work for a very very large company, and swearing occurs freely in certain circumstances and/or within certain departments. Of all the happenings on this show, the swearing is actually the thing that sets me off the least. These characters are really all assholes, though.

[Anela]

It's okay, but I feel like they're trying too hard to be like House of Cards. 

 

The one bit I liked was the therapist helping that woman to see that she would be better off elsewhere. I also liked the bit near the end, where she and her husband just decided to go and get some ice cream. 

Edited February 11, 2016 by Anela

[pbutler111]

I thought this show was going to be recapped weekly. Disappointing.