S05.E02: Nev-ah-da

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Amy, Dan, Jonah and Richard try to win the presidency for Selina. Back in D.C., Selina brings in respected Washington fixture Bob Bradley, aka "The Eagle", and, after nudging out Tom James on the newly created banking task force, meets billionaire banker Charlie Baird. Meanwhile, Mike tries to get healthy before his baby arrives; Kent investigates Sue's age; and Amy and Dan share a charged moment.

 

Promo:

[Totale]

I love Congressman Furlong.

Fuck, Selina Mayer!

Makes me wonder about that Florida recount we remember so well.  I'm hanging by a chad...

[scarynikki12]

Dan is going to be so pissed when he learns that he slept his way into a job at CVS.

[ChicksDigScars]

A little bit of a let down this week, but yeah. How fucking stupid is Dan? Amy's sister? Seriously? Ew.

But, Amy sending 43 booty texts to Ben? LMAO.

Edited May 2, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[Irlandesa]

I laughed more this week than I did last week. I'm not sure why.  Maybe I just paid closer attention.  I have to reiterate how much I love Richard.  My favorite moment from the episode, for some reason, was his "drive carefully" after Amy and Dan made their threats to the guy who had to drop something off. 

Charlie and Selina had good banking task force chemistry.

I thought I heard "CVS" and not "CBS" so I can't wait until Dan finds that out.  And Amy texting Ben was perfect.  I love this show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oh, Dan, you ruthlessly ambitious idiot. I can't wait until Sophie hands him an application to become a CVS cashier. I guess that's the end of Amy ever considering sleeping with Dan once he's slept with her sister.

Jonah and his stupid boots hobbling around and Richard cheerfully informing him that the hotel was two minutes, no, wait, two miles was hilarious. That poor widow lady. First Richard was entirely too upbeat about her husband having a stroke, then he recommends a CS Lewis book about grief, and then Jonah tries to come in. She was not having a good day.

Amy, girl, pay attention when you are sending booty call texts late at night!

Mike would be doing that stupid master cleanse. Loved that Ben told him it was dumb. I love whenever celebrites like Beyonce extoll the weight loss properties of the master cleanse. Yeah, no big surprise that you lose weight when you aren't eating anything!

[BusyOctober]

So happy this show is back!  And now with John Slattery and Hugh Laurie?  Whoo!

I am going to try work "go fuck a bag of glass" into my conversation everyday.  Selina & Ben always have the best "fuck off" lines, but this one really made me laugh. 

[qtpye]

Quote

So happy this show is back!  And now with John Slattery and Hugh Laurie?  Whoo!

Almost can't stand the silver fox hotness.

The CVS and CBS thing is so wrong, but Amy needs to be reminded of what a what a weasel Dan really is, despite the pretty face.

What is wrong with Amy?  She does not know how to use text?  Why would she get Dan and Ben's number confused?

[EdnasEdibles]

Again, Katherine is in the back of every scene. This can either play out two ways: 1) the documentary comes out and everyone is horrified and Selena must be Veep again or 2) Selena warms the cold dead heart of the nation with her one liners and general hilariousness. 

Also, can't blame her at all for having sex with Roger Sterling. Mmmmm. 

How old is Sue?

[teddysmom]

Quote

Dan is going to be so pissed when he learns that he slept his way into a job at CVS.

I actually thought she said CBS, too!! But I have an excuse I was straightening up the room and half watching.  It was a shitty thing for Dan to do, but at least he'll get his comeuppance when he finds out the truth.

LMAO when Ben got all of Amy's texts.  "I'm in DC". 

Quote

Why would she get Dan and Ben's number confused?

She didn't confuse their numbers, they're probably next to each other in her contacts and she just tapped the wrong one.  Happened to me once, acquaintance was texting their daughter and accidentally sent it to me.  

[qtpye]

Quote

She didn't confuse their numbers, they're probably next to each other in her contacts and she just tapped the wrong one.  Happened to me once, acquaintance was texting their daughter and accidentally sent it to me.  

Okay, this makes sense, so it is still rather out of character sloppy for Amy.  I am sort of glad Ben got the texts instead of Dan, as it seems less humiliating for some reason.

[peeayebee]

I had the volume down low and the CC on so I could watch while my son was in the next room -- I kind of hated doing this because I saw Amy's sister say 'CVS.' It was still funny that Dan misheard her, but I think it would have been funnier without reading it. Also, a lot of comedy comes from how a line is delivered, and it's weird reading something before it's actually said.

I think the Martin Mull character, Bob, is actually senile. His confusing Nebraska with Nevada seemed ominous.

Furlong is so so bad, but funny. I love Richard. It's great seeing how knowledgeable he is, though he doesn't always know how to apply it.

Loved Amy telling Jonah that he looked like he'd die from Marfan Syndrome.

[Traveller519]

Catherine should be the sympathetic one out of this group, but she is the worst! I can't wait for her storyline to cross over with the Chinese Hackers and her raw footage gets leaked.

Selina's inability to focus on anything else when the thought of a new sexual conquest piques her interest is always funny. Especially when it comes back to bite her (literally in some instances I'd have to believe!)

[LuciaMia]

What am I missing…When Mike took a final swig from his water bottle, was there something in it besides water or was he experiencing another "not taking a shit."

[represent]

I think Gary is about to betray Selina. 

Katherine is annoying.

And yes, how old is Sue?  Gary's facial expressions were too funny, while pursuing the answer to this question. He's so hilariously stiff.

So was everyone treated like shit on the bottom of a shoe when they were just starting out? Even Ben once had a humiliating nickname, wouldn't have known or believed it when you look at him now.

I could have used more Furlong. His reaction to making that woman cry... "God Bless..." LOL. Oh, he's so very horrible.

I thought he would have been there for the O'Brien team, but it seemed like he was arguing on behalf of the Meyer team. Isn't he always on the other side.

Quote

I thought I heard "CVS" and not "CBS" so I can't wait until Dan finds that out.  And Amy texting Ben was perfect.  I love this show.

Oh that explains his reaction. Because I too heard CVS, didn't she say CVS? But I could see Dan wanting to desperately hear CBS. It makes sense since he's been running all around trying to get a permanent gig on a network as a political commentator.

Edited May 2, 2016 by represent

[Trillian]

I so associate John Slattery with the politician with the - um, unorthodox sexual practices who he played on Sex and the City that I was more creeped out than I was supposed to be by his offering to shake Gary's hand.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think the Martin Mull character, Bob, is actually senile. His confusing Nebraska with Nevada seemed ominous.

I agree  - and that would also explain why he thought Sue had worked there back in the 70s. It was probably just some other woman named Sue. Although I loved when (who was it - Kent? Mike?) was trying to see if she saw The Godfather in the theaters and she said "I don't care for movies." Sue is hilarious.

Quote

Dan is going to be so pissed when he learns that he slept his way into a job at CVS.

I couldn't tell whether she said CVS or CBS but the former would also work with the dialogue, "there are always openings" and that she could find him something in "late night." LOL.

[EdnasEdibles]

1 hour ago, LuciaMia said:

What am I missing…When Mike took a final swig from his water bottle, was there something in it besides water or was he experiencing another "not taking a shit."

I took it to mean that Mike was counting on it being the lemon and sugar mixture with the cayenne pepper - without the maple syrup in that, his blood sugar would dip and he'd feel faint. Earlier when he couldn't find his bottle he had to sit down because he was going to pass out. Katherine had dropped his bottle, emptied it and then refilled it with plain water. When he took a sip, he realized there was no sugar lemon water in his bottle, just water and he started feeling faint. 

[AuntieDiane6]

I love this show, but PLEASE STOP WITH THE SHAKY CAMERA!!  I don't know who directed it ... but the episode was giving me a headache. Blurry zipping across the room ... bobbing heads ... THAT is so 2003!

Geez ... 

[ganesh]

Quote

She didn't confuse their numbers, they're probably next to each other in her contacts and she just tapped the wrong one.  Happened to me once, acquaintance was texting their daughter and accidentally sent it to me.  

Or, Ben was at the top of the recent text list and she thought she texted Dan last. My friend texted me about getting dog food, but it was supposed to be for her husband. So I was like, "sure, I'll pick up some dog food!"

Please make Sue's age a running gag.

The bonus scenes of Kent adding little facts about Bob was hilarious.

Edited May 2, 2016 by ganesh

[cattykit]

My friends and I lied about our ages to get in to the theater to see R-rated The Godfather (they were 15 and I was 14) in 1972.  So I was curious to see how Sue would answer, since there'd be no shame in being my age!  And Gary Cole would have been that age, too, so it was interesting to see his character terrified at the idea that Sue might be older than she looks.  Shades of Kenneth Parcell, too.

The Martin Mull character seemed similar in vapidness to the Karen character from last season, and Selina couldn't see through either one of them at first.

But I haven't laughed out loud at Veep this season.  What is wrong?

Edited May 2, 2016 by cattykit

[scrb]

Let's get real here.

president or no president, Selena is too old for Roger Sterling.

[Sesquipedalia]

Huh? The actors are only one year apart, and based on their looks, I would guess JLD as the younger one.

It's hard to make jokes about Nazis, but I thought the line "The Jewish demo couldn't have been that good" was pretty funny.

I loved how out of his depth Richard was. 

Ben is so happy to be called buttfucker! It's sweet, but his mentor is obviously senile and going to cause all sorts of problems.

It seemed like Gary would be jealous, but instead he gets a crush on Baird.

I was skeptical about a fifth season of this show, but so far I haven't seen a decline in quality at all. It seems to be firing on all cylinders. I have laughed a lot.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Sesquipedalia

[hoodooznoodooz]

I think scrb meant that Roger Sterling in Mad Men usually pursued younger women.

Although he ultimately ended up with Meghan's mom. 

But JLD is only one year younger than Slattery? She looks amazing!!!

[peeayebee]

splettnet.net

[DrSparkles]

JLD HAS TO drink the blood of virgins. Otherwise, unfair.

[vesperholly]

12 hours ago, peeayebee said:

splettnet.net

OMG it's huge! Bahahahaha. Whoever wrote all that deserves a bonus.

"Cat vs Honeydew: These are two things that I am allergic to. The tie-breaking vote will have to go to honeydew, because it has more syllables and is the more mellifluous word so my tongue enjoys it more. Although my tongue does not enjoy the actual melon, which makes it swell up and block my trachea. NOTE: Apologies to those who prefer cats; you are also not wrong."

[candall]

I had the CC on so I could see that the sister was saying CVS and Dan was saying CBS.  (Which is hilarious.)

I was curious whether everyone could hear the distinction clearly because I wouldn't have been sure without the CC. (Which I'm admitting for the first time in public.  Bummer.) 

 

I wonder if a POTUS could ever really feel confident s/he was cocooned deep enough within the WH and all those many people constantly in attendance were trustworthy enough so that it would be okay to make jokes about going down on a senator's wife "with some biscuits and gravy."  I'm thinking, probably not.  Selena shocks/amuses/irritates me by being so casual with her inappropriate remarks.

But I guess Katherine is about to change all that.  Can't wait!

Edited May 4, 2016 by candall

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/2/2016 at 7:12 PM, cattykit said:

But I haven't laughed out loud at Veep this season.  What is wrong?

I'm with you... 

Without Closed Captioning , I was like Dan, I heard it like CBS all the way.  (Then again my Canadian brain might not process this CVS thing)

Edited May 4, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Traveller519]

I'm sure Furlong is the perfect example of a congressman loved by his district and loathed everywhere else!

[dcalley]

13 hours ago, candall said:

I had the CC on so I could see that the sister was saying CVS and Dan was saying CBS.  (Which is hilarious.)

I was curious whether everyone could hear the distinction clearly because I wouldn't have been sure without the CC. (Which I'm admitting for the first time in public.  Bummer.)

No captions here, two adults heard nothing but CVS. I had no idea why Dan was going along with it, so thanks to those who mentioned CBS.

[Stella]

I think we are meant to assume the bar was loud as bars tend to be, plus Sophie did kind of drunkenly slur it a bit. As an obsessive fan who as watched every episode more times than is healthy, it was mentioned in Season 2 that she worked at the CVS. I forget the episode but the one with the hospital scene - Amy gets a dig in about Sophie's job at the CVS.

I cannot wait to see the shit storm that follows from this encounter.

[bunnyblue]

6 hours ago, Stella said:

As an obsessive fan who as watched every episode more times than is healthy, it was mentioned in Season 2 that she worked at the CVS. I forget the episode but the one with the hospital scene - Amy gets a dig in about Sophie's job at the CVS.

I knew right away Sophie was saying CVS because, like you, I've watched the episodes multiple times and remember the scene where Amy puts down her sister for working at CVS. And like Sophie, I thought Dan was also saying CVS and was mocking her for working there. The whole thing was hilarious.

This Amy/Dan/Sophie situation/fiasco can only end with Amy making a fool of herself and I don't want to see that. I was yelling at her (in my head) to stop with the desperate texts and I was relieved (and highly amused) when it turned out she was texting Ben by mistake. I read an interview where Anna Chlumsky said that Amy's renewed flirting with Dan

Spoiler

"takes her to complete humiliation. This is a humiliating season for poor Amy." I'm not looking forward to that.

My favorite plot was Kent being horrified/confused by Sue's age and his attempts to slyly get it out of her. Loved Ben teasing Kent about it when he said he saw a painting of Sue holding George Washington's horse. I agree with another poster who said that Bob is probably going senile (Nebraska/Nevada) and confused Sue with some other Sue. And, yeah, this Bob guy is going to make a bigger mess of the Nevada situation.

Richard continues to kill it, every scene is comedy gold. The pressure of his new responsibilities seems to be getting to him, though. My favorite line was definitely "Splett1 is my father. It'll be sad to see him go, but it'll be nice to get my hands on that handle". That was a bit dark for Richard.

Edited May 5, 2016 by bunnyblue

[ganesh]

I just liked that she said "nightcap". It's such an old word. 

[Monx]

Quote

But I haven't laughed out loud at Veep this season.  What is wrong?

I miss Armando Iannucci

In the past two episodes there’s been a distinctly less…British vibe to it.  It’s still great, but I’m just not finding it as witty as I used to. I feel like there’s been a touch too much emphasis on arbitrary relationships than actual politics (which was totally always done but with such great balance it was always believable).

The Dan and Amy scenes are a classic example of this. Lord knows I’m the shippiest shipper to ever ship, but everything about them feels contrived. The only scenes of them I liked was their team working ‘fuck, Selina Myer!’ scenes. If they want to push the romantic angle It would have been so much better to just have Dan and Amy walk into that room together and that be that (actually for a sec I thought it would reveal that Dan was sleeping in the same bed as Amy because of the room shortages). Now we’re going to have angsty angstness which I hate.

The pimple; the skype problems; everyone finding out in a nano second who Selina is fucking; Dan getting mixed up and fucking Amy’s sister for a job, are all kind of things I would expect, but together just starts to feel like a regular sitcom.

Don't get me wrong I'll still be a die hard veep fan, but it kind of feels like an end of an era...

[ganesh]

I had no idea the show switched showrunners. I didn't notice a single difference. 

[Stella]

10 hours ago, Monx said:

Don't get me wrong I'll still be a die hard veep fan, but it kind of feels like an end of an era...

Same thoughts.

I also think that so far at least Selina's character has become just plain mean. There is a lot less nuance all around in the tone of the show.

But we are only 2 episodes in so maybe these issues will smooth out a bit. Obviously Mandel is going to make it his own show. Fingers crossed.

[Sesquipedalia]

On 5/3/2016 at 8:46 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I think scrb meant that Roger Sterling in Mad Men usually pursued younger women.

Although he ultimately ended up with Meghan's mom. 

But JLD is only one year younger than Slattery? She looks amazing!!!

Gotcha. JLD is actually older than Slattery.

 

Splettnet.net is genius!

[Gweilo]

19 hours ago, Monx said:

I miss Armando Iannucci

In the past two episodes there’s been a distinctly less…British vibe to it.  It’s still great, but I’m just not finding it as witty as I used to. I feel like there’s been a touch too much emphasis on arbitrary relationships than actual politics (which was totally always done but with such great balance it was always believable).

The Dan and Amy scenes are a classic example of this. Lord knows I’m the shippiest shipper to ever ship, but everything about them feels contrived. The only scenes of them I liked was their team working ‘fuck, Selina Myer!’ scenes. If they want to push the romantic angle It would have been so much better to just have Dan and Amy walk into that room together and that be that (actually for a sec I thought it would reveal that Dan was sleeping in the same bed as Amy because of the room shortages). Now we’re going to have angsty angstness which I hate.

The pimple; the skype problems; everyone finding out in a nano second who Selina is fucking; Dan getting mixed up and fucking Amy’s sister for a job, are all kind of things I would expect, but together just starts to feel like a regular sitcom.

Don't get me wrong I'll still be a die hard veep fan, but it kind of feels like an end of an era...

I agree with everything you said. It's definitely the loss of Ianucci that hits hardest. His previous work has such a restrained nature, and I think he felt that Veep was becoming bloated and overdone. The series should never have caried on to the point where Selina was prez. It's funnier when she's always just within grasp of power, not when she's actually got her hands on it.

Ianucci believes in making the audience want more. HBO executives are giving the audience everything they want and more.  It ruins the magic I feel, it's less "leave them wanting more" and more "let's chuck more of everything into the show!"  Ianucci is great at showing restraint..

I too am also hating all this relationship crap. I hate it when my real life friends are having relationship dramas, never mind characters on TV.

Have you seen The Thick Of It? The original, British Veep? My favourite show in the history of the world. Zero sentimentality, just vicious cruel people being wittity cruel to each other with a side of existential despair at the state of politics. Season 3's Phil is Jonah's spiritual godfather.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Gweilo

[CofCinci]

On 5/5/2016 at 10:42 AM, ganesh said:

I had no idea the show switched showrunners. I didn't notice a single difference. 

Ditto.  I've really enjoyed this season.

Splettnet.net -- Woah, they put so much work into the website.

[Cramps]

I can tell the loss of Armando in every episode this season (the entire writing staff is new - all the Brits are gone and the show is now being written and filmed in LA). It's more farcical and the jokes and stories are more generic and expected. Not as clever. It's still okay, but not at the level it was. 

[ganesh]

I'm curious as to whether knowing there is a different showrunner colors the conclusions drawn from it. I'm just not buying it. 

[peeayebee]

I don't think the writing is any different, but maybe the line readings are slower. I'm not sure.

[Milburn Stone]

On May 9, 2016 at 11:57 AM, ganesh said:

I'm curious as to whether knowing there is a different showrunner colors the conclusions drawn from it. I'm just not buying it. 

I tend to think this, because I didn't know anything about Iannucci being gone when I saw the first two episodes, and I didn't perceive a difference. The "negative placebo" (or "nocebo") effect is a powerful one in all human response. When you have knowledge something is different, you perceive a difference, even though in a "blind taste test" you wouldn't have. 

Not to say that's necessarily what's happening here.

BTW and related to nothing...Whenever I think of Iannucci, I think he's the abusive, foul-mouthed Peter Capaldi character from the Iannucci movie In the Loop. I know he's not that guy! But unconsciously, that's who I picture whenever talk of Iannucci comes up.

One last comment...The actress who plays Amy's sister deserves mention for finding a pronunciation of CBS/CVS that lay precisely between the two. For the gag to work, it has to be believable that Dan could hear CBS and the audience could know she was saying CVS. Too much like CVS, and we would never buy Dan thinking CBS. Too much like CBS, and the audience would feel lied to when it turns out to be CVS. So well done, actress who plays Amy's sister.

[peeayebee]

22 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

BTW and related to nothing...Whenever I think of Iannucci, I think he's the abusive, foul-mouthed Peter Capaldi character from the Iannucci movie In the Loop. I know he's not that guy! But unconsciously, that's who I picture whenever talk of Iannucci comes up.

When I read this post, it was like I was reading the exact same thing I posted a while back. I think I'm FINALLY seeing Iannucci in my head.