Making History - General Discussion

[EyewatchTV211]

On 3/24/2017 at 1:16 AM, biakbiak said:

Not in real life Massachusetts and actually not in several real world places in the US since it would mean Chris was carryon a weapon on him.

Agreed. Not all parts of the country are super gun happy. I grew up in NJ and went to grad school in Boston and didn't know people who owned guns. I'm living in northern Virginia now and actually do, and it has been a culture shock. 

[HotRats2112]

So what's the deal with the time travel on this show?  If you go with the school of thought that there are two basic kinds of time travel I can't really fit Making History into one of them.  Especially after this week's (episode 4) where Dan sees a memory from the other side. 

Usually the two types are; you can change history (Back to the Future), you can't change history (LOST).

They've already proved that they can change history by showing the statue of Chris, showing the lady Chris saved and the ice cream shop staying open.  But then you have things like Dan seeing himself getting beat up by a kid and that force field stopping him from interfering.  When he said "a group of adults just stood there and watched" you had to know it was coming.  Another example of the LOST theory (whatever happened, happened) was the Paul Revere ride.  Maybe it was always Deborah but Paul told everyone to just say it was him.  You might even lump them NOT killing Hitler in there too.  Maybe they failed because Hitler lived?  Maybe him losing his favorite spoon was a turning point in the war? 

So it's been interesting to see how they've handled the time travel and how it affects time lines.

Does anybody else have thoughts on this or am I over thinking it and should just enjoy the ride? 

[paulvdb]

The forcefield is something that stopped Dan from interacting with his younger self. That is something that is also considered bad in some other time travel stories. Maybe Chris or Deb could have interfered, but we don't know that because Dan is the only one who tried to stop that kid from beating up his younger self.

[HotRats2112]

6 hours ago, paulvdb said:

The forcefield is something that stopped Dan from interacting with his younger self.

That is what the other characters hypothesized but has that ever been a thing in another time travel show/book/movie?  I've never heard of it except in Time Cop where you would disappear if you touched your other self.  

[legaleagle53]

So somewhere, Barry Allen is laughing his ass off.  Dan, Chris, even HE could have told you that screwing around with history (especially your own) never works out well.

And Deb rocked the 90s look, I have to say!

[legaleagle53]

Just thought you'd like to know that I just created an episode thread for last night's episode.

[GaT]

This show is a lot.....sillier than I thought it would be, the whole thing with the ice cream was just stupid.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I figured I had to give this show a chance because it has Max from Happy Endings and Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl!

Bonus: Bevers!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Yay for Deborah standing up to her father (who only wants her around to wash his clothes)!

The ongoing conversation about the British being there to take their guns was hilarious.

Awwww, poor Davey. I loved watching him and Chris dork out over their tea habits.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 3/23/2017 at 10:13 PM, legaleagle53 said:

Let's just say that the mentor is lucky that Chris is apparently not the type to own a gun or carry on on his person.  In the real world nowadays, anyone who has been caught just letting himself into someone else's home and sitting there waiting in the dark would be automatically assumed to be a hostile presence and would be immediately shot first, with questions only being asked later.

Thank goodness Ben Vereen breaking in for the tenure emergency didn't result in A Very Special Episode like when Dylan almost shot Brandon on 90210. [/old]

While I think this episode wasn't as strong as the previous two, I liked that Deborah very quickly found out that Dan had lied about a lot of things so that the conceit doesn't continue. At least they got it out of the way so that he can start being honest with her. I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the show/their relationship if we had to watch him keep lying to her all the time.

I really hope Dan takes her shopping for clothes soon. As cute as she was in his Celtics jersey, she shouldn't have to choose between her colonial dress and his clothes. Plus I would love to hear what she thinks about modern clothing. Women wearing trousers!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This episode was worth it just for all the 90s outfits.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

In need of some quick cash for Deb to purchase an ice cream parlor, the trio decides to make some money rather than save the world. But after Chris devises a strategy to cash in on the fixed 1919 Chicago World Series baseball game, their get-rich-quick scheme is derailed when they run into the infamous mobster Al Capone.

[legaleagle53]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

This show is a lot.....sillier than I thought it would be, the whole thing with the ice cream was just stupid.

I half expected Deb to have a Meg Ryan moment the first time she tasted the ice cream.

[legaleagle53]

Is it just me, or is this show deliberately ripping off Timeless and Legends of Tomorrow in its choice of historical eras?  This is the third encounter with Al Capone that I've seen this year, and I've also already been there and done that twice this year with the Revolutionary War and Nazi Germany (even though that was only one brief scene rather than an entire episode).

[BooBear]

I swear this entire episode was just 29 minutes to set up the last jokes of the episode. Still funny. 

[HunterHunted]

Adam just got busted for marijuana and cocaine possession.

[aradia22]

I wish the overall episode had been better. This show is heading in the wrong direction. But damn that guardian angel joke was good.

[Johnny Dollar]

Chris reminds me of a literal grown up Junior from Blackish.

[Latverian Diplomat]

On 3/28/2017 at 5:54 AM, legaleagle53 said:

Is it just me, or is this show deliberately ripping off Timeless and Legends of Tomorrow in its choice of historical eras?  This is the third encounter with Al Capone that I've seen this year, and I've also already been there and done that twice this year with the Revolutionary War and Nazi Germany (even though that was only one brief scene rather than an entire episode).

Apparently, only historical eras featured in hit movies can be traveled to?

FWIW, Al Capone was kind of a nobody in Chicago, 1919, since he had just moved there and was working as a bouncer in a brothel.

Bugsy Siegel and Bumpy Johnson were still in their mid-teens. Rose Durante wasn't active until 1933.

No wonder Chris isn't getting tenure. :-)

[legaleagle53]

23 hours ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

Apparently, only historical eras featured in hit movies can be traveled to?

FWIW, Al Capone was kind of a nobody in Chicago, 1919, since he had just moved there and was working as a bouncer in a brothel.

Bugsy Siegel and Bumpy Johnson were still in their mid-teens. Rose Durante wasn't active until 1933.

No wonder Chris isn't getting tenure. :-)

True dat.  Capone was only 32 at the height of his criminal career, and that was around 1931.

Edited April 4, 2017 by legaleagle53

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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No episode description yet.

[biakbiak]

15 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

True dat.  Capone was only 26 at the height of his criminal career, and that was around 1931.

Al Capone was born in 1899 making him 32 in 1931.

[OtterMommy]

This was the first episode where I found my mind wandering...I think the whole thing was just too ordinary.   Yet, for some strange reason, the incredibly stupid wasabi prank made me laugh the most in this episode.

On 3/28/2017 at 5:54 AM, legaleagle53 said:

Is it just me, or is this show deliberately ripping off Timeless and Legends of Tomorrow in its choice of historical eras?  This is the third encounter with Al Capone that I've seen this year, and I've also already been there and done that twice this year with the Revolutionary War and Nazi Germany (even though that was only one brief scene rather than an entire episode).

Funny you should mention this.  I haven't seen Legends of Tomorrow, so I have no opinion there.  However, I tried--I really did--to get into Timeless and it just never worked for me.  This show feels like a direct parody of Timeless and while it isn't high art of anything, I do find it much more entertaining.  I was telling a friend about it and described it as Timeless....as a comedy....on Fox.  Once she saw a few episodes, she was right there with that....

[legaleagle53]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Al Capone was born in 1899 making him 32 in 1931.

Which would have made him only 20 in 1919.  That's a bit young for him to be running the mob in Chicago.

So, how are the Three Time Stooges going to get out of this one?

[tominboston]

OK, so the history is all messed up, but this isn't PBS. I'm really liking this silly show.

[Evagirl]

I read USA Today online and they show this show as being on the bubble, close to cancellation.  I like the show and think it's a great escape from reality comedy.  I'd like to see it stick around a while longer.  I can't believe networks now think about cancelling a show before they've even aired the entire season.

They don't even give shows time enough to find an audience anymore.  If they don't come out of the starting gate with high ratings it's pretty much already sunk.  This is crazy.  No wonder so many shows fail in their freshman season.

I DVR pretty much everything on regular TV.   The commercials are too many and too loud.  Am I counted as a viewer when I watch it later or the next day?  Are they still using the Nielsen way of capturing how many viewers a show has? 

[legaleagle53]

21 hours ago, Evagirl said:

I DVR pretty much everything on regular TV.   The commercials are too many and too loud.  Am I counted as a viewer when I watch it later or the next day?  Are they still using the Nielsen way of capturing how many viewers a show has? 

Yes and no.  The Nielsen way of counting live views is still the tried-and-true method, but networks are also learning to take time-shifted views (such as via DVR or online) and social media buzz on Twitter and Facebook into account.

Edited April 6, 2017 by legaleagle53

[paulvdb]

Networks these days mostly use C3 ratings to set the advertising rates. Nielsen doesn't only count how many people watch the whole show, but also how many people watch the commercials. So if you fast-forward through the commercials you don't count in the C3 ratings (people who watch the commercials within 3 days after the show airs). You also don't count in C3 ratings if you watch live and change the channel during commercials. Of course this only matters if you are in a Nielsen household.

[GaT]

Wow, I forgot all about this show, where has it been?

[legaleagle53]

Off the air for a couple of weeks due to the Easter holiday.  I myself just watched the episode and wondered whether anyone would remember that the show still exists (even though ratings-wise, it's apparently not long for this world.)

I thought the episode was actually quite funny, especially the part where Deb and Mae start brawling in the kitchen "better than men."  And watching Al Capone trying to be "nice" while rolling his eyes every time he was forced to go against his usual hothead nature was hilarious.

Oh, and Chris?  For a historian who claims that "History is important (dammit!)", you sure as hell don't know much about the details.  Yes, Al Capone was eventually brought down by the IRS for income tax evasion -- in 1931.  As Dan pointed out, your "foolproof" plan to let history do all the work had just that one tiny flaw in it:  It would have required you to wait 12 years before it actually worked, and when you did eventually get hold of the time machine, you'd be forced to go not to the point in 2017 that you left, but to 2029 (and that's assuming that you didn't get yourself killed sometime between 1919 and 1931!).

When Dan can spell out exactly why your "foolproof" plan won't work, then your plan really is utter crap.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know this show is silly fluff, but it's a nice break from some of the horrible real world stuff going on. I laughed when Chris got locked in the vault, hopped in the bag, went back to 2017, scared people at the Al Capone tour, grabbed a poker, jumped back in the bag, popped out with the poker, whacked Al Capone in the face, and his explanation as to how he got out of the vault was, "I'm Batman!"

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

With the ever-present threat of losing tenure looming over him, Chris reaches out to John Hancock and Samuel Adams to help spice things up in the classroom in 2017. Meanwhile, Deb's dream of re-opening Chadwick's ice cream parlor is finally coming to fruition, but Dan has a few marketing ideas of his own.

[Thriftykins]

I missed this episode.  Is it ever explained why they go this convoluted route instead of, say, going back in time a few days and buying a lottery ticket?

[legaleagle53]

7 hours ago, Michael Stabosz said:

I missed this episode.  Is it ever explained why they go this convoluted route instead of, say, going back in time a few days and buying a lottery ticket?

No attempting to change your own past.  Going back in time to buy the lottery ticket that you didn't buy before would do just that.

[Thriftykins]

10 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

No attempting to change your own past.  Going back in time to buy the lottery ticket that you didn't buy before would do just that.

I would argue that your time is no longer linear, and that the act of buying the ticket is part of your present, as long as you didn't then give the ticket to your past self.  For example, I could write down the winning numbers from Wednesday's Powerball drawing, go back to Wednesday morning to buy the ticket, take it back to today, then turn it in.

 

But you didn't write the rules so I guess I shouldn't argue with you.

[OtterMommy]

13 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

No attempting to change your own past.  Going back in time to buy the lottery ticket that you didn't buy before would do just that.

Except they've already violated that rule when they went back to the 80s and the ice cream parlor.

[legaleagle53]

11 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Except they've already violated that rule when they went back to the 80s and the ice cream parlor.

And it didn't work, remember?  Dan ended up MAKING his personal history, not CHANGING it, because he couldn't interact with his younger self to prevent the beating his younger self got.

[biakbiak]

On 4/27/2017 at 8:21 PM, legaleagle53 said:

And it didn't work, remember?  Dan ended up MAKING his personal history, not CHANGING it, because he couldn't interact with his younger self to prevent the beating his younger self got.

He also is the entire reason he got beat up in the first place because he picked the fight with the kid in the Ice Cream Parlor and mentioned that he was avenging Dan, up until that point Dan and the kid were okay which is why Dan was confused about the beating he got because it came out of nowhere for him but not for the kid who did it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Just as they're heading back to colonial times, John Hancock and Sam Adams meet the woman of their dreams and decide that there's no better way to determine who gets to court her than a classic duel. In the meantime, in hopes of garnering good publicity for Chadwick's, Dan sets up a meeting with a local reporter, who winds up asking some challenging questions about Deborah's identity.

[marketdoctor]

I'm still laughing about what sounded like good ice cream, until the line "it tastes like a child's funeral."

Also the delivery of:  "Like Paul Revere?"  /"I'm his daughter." was spot-on.

I'm going to miss this show; it had a lot of things going on at once.

[MrWhyt]

Did one of you defecate in my ficus!?

No... we both did.

[legaleagle53]

Oh, I couldn't stop laughing when Sam and John trashed Chris's apartment looking for the "tiny musicians."  It was only topped by Chris's meltdown when he came home and saw what they'd done -- I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel!

Yes, I'll miss this show.  For me, it's succeeding where The Last Man on Earth has been failing in that it's being consistently funny without trying too hard, and Last Man has really been trying way too hard for a couple of seasons now, in my view.

[AngelKitty]

Season 5?

[aradia22]

I don't think this show totally found its way with the humor or the time travel. It started off strong but it tried to go episodic too quickly when we really needed some motivation... a villain... some stakes... Still, lots of things to like. Leighton Meester is a treasure. It would take too long to list every way she's wonderful in completely selling the silliness. I love that they cast icon Ben Vereen to yell "is it poppers!?!" I did enjoy Adams and Hancock running around the apartment but I think where a show like this falters and something like Brooklyn Nine Nine or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt succeed is it's not grounded enough. Yes, there's sort of Deb and Dan's relationship and their friendship with Chris but just barely. Sure, on other shows it can go into sentimentality but caring about the characters carries you through the other stuff. And this is too much about wacky characters from history (Al Capone last week) and it's kind of mean to its leads. It's one thing to be an underdog striving. I don't expect everything to come easily. But... you know, poor Chris. Cynicism and bleakness are not a feature of this world. It's not like Drew Carey or one of those newspaper comic strips. I don't know where the pleasure is supposed to come from in seeing Adams and Hancock ruin Chris' reputation and chance at tenure while he's helpless to stop it. 

[paulvdb]

So is Natalie Morales in every low-rated mid-season show that's doomed to be cancelled? First she was in Powerless, then Imaginary Mary and now she's on Making History. Will she ever be in a show that lasts more than one season? I still miss The Middleman.

[LaChavalina]

19 hours ago, paulvdb said:

Will she ever be in a show that lasts more than one season?

Parks & Rec

[jbrecken]

I've had enough Hancock and Adams, show.

[Phishbulb]

On 5/8/2017 at 2:26 AM, paulvdb said:

So is Natalie Morales in every low-rated mid-season show that's doomed to be cancelled? First she was in Powerless, then Imaginary Mary and now she's on Making History. Will she ever be in a show that lasts more than one season? I still miss The Middleman.

They introduced her as a character in the last episode of Pete Holmes's show "Crashing", so...maybe?

[Doyounot]

Not as good as previous episodes but i think its just because of how dumb getting a reporter looking into them was. I know dan isnt smart but thats just awful. It was still really funny another show most likely done before it time!

The duel was pretty funny how they were both scared out of their minds when they thought they might actually have to duel! but before that them coming up with these crazy ideas about dancing on the others chest or introducing a bullet to the others brain was hilarious.. they are like crazy violent children bullet brain - chest dance! Those two are funny but smaller doses would have done wonders!

Debs talk with chris was pretty good she takes everything so well it was pretty awesome how she was like for the sake of your eyesight I DO hope we see each other again!

[OtterMommy]

Not a surprise, but the axe just fell.