Small Talk: Where Were We?

[Meredith Quill]

The Small Talk topic is for:

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Happy trails beyond Small Talk!

[NutMeg]

Ok, I'll bite. Instead of Where were we?, I'll throw Who were we?

I was a Kevin, as briefly mentioned in the episode threads. 

Who is/was a Jack, Kate, Kevin, Miguel, Randall, Rebecca, Toby, William, one of the cute kids I don't remember, etc.?

What better way to introduce yourself than as your past self?     

[chocolatine]

I was a Kate in the sense that my parents tried to police what I was eating. They were both super-critical about my weight - my mom by making passive-aggressive digs, and my dad by being outright cruel -  I did not have anyone like Jack to give me self-confidence. I was a slightly chubby kid, not obese by any means, but I come from a culture in which girls'/women's looks are judged harshly. It gave me some less-than-healthy eating habits like sneaking and binging, but as an adult, I have a pretty good handle on it. I still struggle with 15-20 extra pounds, but it's nowhere near the weight problem that adult Kate has.

Edited November 6, 2016 by chocolatine

[PRgal]

I suppose I was a bit like Randall despite not being adopted.  It wasn't that I was the only Asian kid in my class (okay, for one year, when I was in Bermuda, but that was one year and to be honest, it didn't bother me.  I was more bothered by being the only Canadian!), but because my family seemed "different" - likely because I'm an only child.  And a bit spoiled.  I never had to share any of my toys unless a friend was over, which wasn't too often, so when I started school, I was reprimanded by another kid for NOT sharing (though he was probably being an @$$hole).  Because I didn't have siblings, I didn't know what was considered "cool" by my peers.  I watched kiddie shows until I was six or so, when a(nother) kid said she wouldn't come to my house unless I stopped talking about the shows I watched and started watching REAL shows.  I don't think I "caught up" to the coolness factor until I was eight.  And even then, I wasn't totally "there."  :(  But I *DID* have playdates though.

Edited November 6, 2016 by PRgal

[ShadowFacts]

I don't really track with any of the Big 3, that's lucky I guess, I had a pretty smooth childhood (of course I had the speed bumps everyone encounters).   If anyone is similar, it's probably Beth.  We don't know much about her but she seems pragmatic and able to keep everyone/thing from spinning out of control. 

[photo fox]

I'm totally a Kevin.  Not my story so much - I'm the youngest in my family, and I don't think I ever wanted for attention.  But the deflecting attention with humor, telling everyone your life is better than it is, the fear of failure that results in either not trying or pretending you didn't care in the first place?  Yep, that's me.

[Guest]

I remember being uncomfortable when my friends asked how I did on a test or assignment because I got tired of the remarks my good grades would evoke, like Randall evading things with his father.  The remarks were good-natured but kids still don't like having their differences pointed out, or to feel like they're bragging.

[Tiger]

On 11/6/2016 at 6:09 PM, ShadowFacts said:

I don't really track with any of the Big 3, that's lucky I guess, I had a pretty smooth childhood (of course I had the speed bumps everyone encounters).   If anyone is similar, it's probably Beth.  We don't know much about her but she seems pragmatic and able to keep everyone/thing from spinning out of control. 

Are you me?

Haha, no seriously, I actually had someone else who watches the show tell me that Im the "Beth" of the family.  

[JudyObscure]

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 5:07 PM, PRgal said:

  I watched kiddie shows until I was six or so, when a(nother) kid said she wouldn't come to my house unless I stopped talking about the shows I watched and started watching REAL shows.  I don't think I "caught up" to the coolness factor until I was eight. 

What the heck, PRgal?  You should have come to my house, I played with dolls until I was 13.  I was the youngest with two older brothers,( waves to PhotoFox,) and though I certainly wasn't the favorite, I enjoyed my underachieving life and made my own rules.  Cartoons forever!

[PRgal]

21 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

What the heck, PRgal?  You should have come to my house, I played with dolls until I was 13.  I was the youngest with two older brothers,( waves to PhotoFox,) and though I certainly wasn't the favorite, I enjoyed my underachieving life and made my own rules.  Cartoons forever!

We're not talking about cartoons - I know a few people who were closet Muppet Babies watchers at the age of eight or so.  We're talking about shows like Sesame Street.  But yeah, my grandmother basically treated me like someone younger than my age until I was a teenager.  Even though she's been gone for a few years, I *STILL* feel like she's "watching over me" and I worry about being a "bad girl"/doing something she won't approve of - and I'm 37!

[J.D.]

:D  

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Cartoons forever!

Anyone who can listen to the Ride of the Valkyries without thinking of Bugs Bunny had an impoverished childhood.  :)

[DearEvette]

6 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Anyone who can listen to the Ride of the Valkyries without thinking of Bugs Bunny had an impoverished childhood.  :)

True story... My husband won me over because he knew all the words to the Bugs Bunny Ride of the Valkyries.  And he sung them in the character voices:

Elmer: Oh. Bwunhilda, you're so wove-wy

Bugs:  Yes I know it, I can't help it....

Totally awesome.....

[jhlipton]

9 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

It was totally bizarre and I haven't seen any other TV show inspire such fervor. 

Fourteen episodes and we still got a movie.

Might have been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong side.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

Movie?  You're one of those people from the Alternate Universe where they made a "Serenity" movie, aren't you?  You probably also think there were two seasons of Buffy after Season 5!

I defy anyone to watch "Hush" and still say Buffy was not a great show.  One of the best hours of television ever!

[romantic idiot]

Amen. 

I am not that rabid re: Firefly, but I think Serenity is the perfect movie. I love it. It also probably helps that I watched Serenity before I watched Firefly, which meant that Serenity was my introduction to all the characters so I had no attachments going in. I still laughed, and cried, and cheered. 

In terms of who I was, I don't know. I got good grades but not from working hard. I was an only child till I was 10 but I had loads of cousins so never felt a lack. My mom says I was jealous when my brother came along and she may be right, but I insist that I just used his wellbeing as a bargaining tool. I was stubborn and undisciplined (from not having to work hard for grades) so I had a lot of say in my upbringing. But I didn't really rebel or anything - no need to. I discovered books at 9 and pretty much had no friends till 10th grade and no need for them. Always fat and unattractive and never cared. I guess I felt loved like Randall (minus the abandonment issues) and am at least as self absorbed as Kevin, fat like Kate, have an addictive personality like William...

[femmefan1946]

Jewel Staite who played Kaylee loves her cheeseburgers. And wine, And beef stew. Her blog Happy Opu is delightful http://happyopu.net/2016/10/spawn/

[FairyDusted]

Beth....I also like adult brownies.

[ProudMary]

Tonight's episode is a repeat of "The Trip?"  Is the show on another hiatus?  I must have missed something.

[AmandaPanda]

Sweeps starts tomorrow, so quite a few shows were showing repeats yesterday and today to save bigger episodes for sweeps. The show will be new again next week. 

[JudyObscure]

I waited up through "The Wall's" faux excitement for nothing.  I think they're overestimating their audience loyalty with this sort of stuff. We're not talking final episodes of "Breaking Bad," here. I could easily forget this thing exists in another week. 

[topanga]

On 11/8/2016 at 8:08 AM, Tiger said:

Are you me?

Haha, no seriously, I actually had someone else who watches the show tell me that Im the "Beth" of the family.  

Are you outspoken and blunt? Do people sometimes (unfairly) call you bossy or domineering? 

I somewhere between a Randall and a Kate. My weight isn't perfect, and I'm sometimes insecure, like Kate. But I don't express myself as well as Kate does. In that way, I'm like Randall--emotionally intense but usually keeping things inside, sometimes to a fault. I'm not as smart or as successful as Randall, but family does mean a lot to me. 

[Tiger]

5 hours ago, topanga said:

Are you outspoken and blunt? Do people sometimes (unfairly) call you bossy or domineering? 

I somewhere between a Randall and a Kate. My weight isn't perfect, and I'm sometimes insecure, like Kate. But I don't express myself as well as Kate does. In that way, I'm like Randall--emotionally intense but usually keeping things inside, sometimes to a fault. I'm not as smart or as successful as Randall, but family does mean a lot to me. 

Yup!

And my boyfriend, and actually everyone I've ever dated, is/has been a "Randall".  

Edited February 16, 2017 by Tiger

[NutMeg]

The Unpopular topic is very active with what to watch. My recommendations, right now? Big Little Lies and Feud. Both are amazing. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, NutMeg said:

The Unpopular topic is very active with what to watch. My recommendations, right now? Big Little Lies and Feud. Both are amazing. 

I'm waiting for Big Little Lies to finish up and then I'm going to binge it.  I read the book a few years back (when my own daughter, my oldest, was in kindergarten--so it was timely) and I'm interested to see how they handle turning it into a show.  I enjoyed the book, but I'm sort of perplexed by it.  I read the Stephen King said it was one of the most frightening things he's read and I was like...."really?  I mean, really?"

[Guest]

I'm guessing King meant that mommy wars are scarier than any horror theme.  Which is funny.  And kind of true.  

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm guessing King meant that mommy wars are scarier than any horror theme.  Which is funny.  And kind of true.  

That's what I thought....I think, being (at the time and, ironically, now) a mom of a kindergartner, I thought BLL was a bit over the top and ridiculous, but still entertaining.  I also cannot read King's horror novels.  I'm not someone who gets scared reading books--but I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time without nightmares for 2 weeks after reading Salem's Lot.  I've read a lot of his more psychological work (Misery, The Green Mile, Hearts in Atlantis, etc) but I don't think I could survive another one of his horror novels.  So, when the one person who as able to "literally" scare the shit out of me said this thing which I found to be nothing more than satirical was frightening was....interesting.

[ShadowFacts]

2 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

That's what I thought....I think, being (at the time and, ironically, now) a mom of a kindergartner, I thought BLL was a bit over the top and ridiculous, but still entertaining.  I also cannot read King's horror novels.  I'm not someone who gets scared reading books--but I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time without nightmares for 2 weeks after reading Salem's Lot.  I've read a lot of his more psychological work (Misery, The Green Mile, Hearts in Atlantis, etc) but I don't think I could survive another one of his horror novels.  So, when the one person who as able to "literally" scare the shit out of me said this thing which I found to be nothing more than satirical was frightening was....interesting.

The last King I read was a collection of short stories I bought in an airport and read on a long plane ride.  When I got home I literally threw it out, I did not even want anybody else to read that, so I didn't recycle it at all.  I did finish it, but I was sorry I did.  It was filled with rape and child murder and I just felt awful.  Talk about nightmarish.   I admire his very fertile imagination and writing style, really a page-turner, but I can't read him anymore. 

[OtterMommy]

1 minute ago, ShadowFacts said:

The last King I read was a collection of short stories I bought in an airport and read on a long plane ride.  When I got home I literally threw it out, I did not even want anybody else to read that, so I didn't recycle it at all.  I did finish it, but I was sorry I did.  It was filled with rape and child murder and I just felt awful.  Talk about nightmarish.   I admire his very fertile imagination and writing style, really a page-turner, but I can't read him anymore. 

Do you remember which book this was?  I want to make sure I don't read it as a King short story collection IS something I might read....  The books I've read of his have, at times, toed the line on what I can handle, but this sounds far, far over said line.

[luna1122]

I gave up King after Pet Sematary for a LONG time, I threw that book across the room, sobbing, and didn't finish it. I can read about fictional violence to people with little effect, but hurt an animal, and I'm toast. I did start reading him again much later, but sporadically. He is in great need of a very severe editor, and nobody's gonna edit him anymore, so his stuff is just almost literally endless sometimes. I did like 11/22/1963.

[ShadowFacts]

22 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Do you remember which book this was?  I want to make sure I don't read it as a King short story collection IS something I might read....  The books I've read of his have, at times, toed the line on what I can handle, but this sounds far, far over said line.

It was Full Dark, No Stars, and it is so dark.  They are really long short stories, or maybe novellas, and I think two of them had supernatural elements but at least two of them were just too out of the headlines real.  And I agree with luna1122, he does need severe editing. 

[luna1122]

I read that one. And you're right, they're very very dark. Rape and murder and torture. There are four novellas, and the last one is based on the BTK killer.

[OtterMommy]

13 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

It was Full Dark, No Stars, and it is so dark.  They are really long short stories, or maybe novellas, and I think two of them had supernatural elements but at least two of them were just too out of the headlines real.  And I agree with luna1122, he does need severe editing. 

Thanks, I'll stay clear of that one.

I think you're right with Stephen King.  I don't think it is so much that no one will edit him, but I don't think that editors feel they have to.  Any book King puts out is guaranteed to be a bestseller, so why take the time (in their view....).  Well, I do think that King might also be a little resistant to any criticism from anyone who is not who considers to be his editor (his wife).  Editors are business people and their concern is the bottom line.  So, if his book is going to sell anyway, why take the time to edit it, knowing that he probably won't heed your advice.

[ShadowFacts]

You know, Stephen King seems like a fairly normal, morally-grounded person, yet the things he writes . . . I'm sure he has spoken about where it comes from, and I did read his book On Writing a long time ago, but honestly if I were to think about and write about the stuff he does, it would put me around the bend. 

[Guest]

I think one of his skills is in making the mundane scary.  I recall being terrified while reading about the topiary animals in the Shining!  Who's afraid of topiary animals?  That's like Disneyland decor!  Who's afraid of a car?  Or a St. Bernard?   But it sounds like maybe he's resorting to the gruesome.  I'll pass.  

Pet Sematary scarred me.  Just the idea of losing a child in an everyday accident terrifies me, anyway.  

The Stand was a long-ass book but I re-read the author's uncut version he put out later, and I think it was like 25% longer or something.  

[Violetgoblin6]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I think one of his skills is in making the mundane scary.  I recall being terrified while reading about the topiary animals in the Shining!  Who's afraid of topiary animals?  That's like Disneyland decor!  Who's afraid of a car?  Or a St. Bernard?   But it sounds like maybe he's resorting to the gruesome.  I'll pass.  

Pet Sematary scarred me.  Just the idea of losing a child in an everyday accident terrifies me, anyway.  

The Stand was a long-ass book but I re-read the author's uncut version he put out later, and I think it was like 25% longer or something.  

Yes. I read Pet Semetary in 1997 when I was 23. It left me very depressed for about a month after reading it! The whole sudden loss of a child. I found it horrific. 

[luna1122]

Ha, and I was more upset the animal deaths. I'm psychotic. I loved the stand, even as long and overwritten as it was. The updated version too. My fave short story collection of his is 'night shift'. Scary but not gruesome. I particularly recall one titled 'strawberry spring'. Eerie and tense and twisty without a hint of the supernatural. I think king can be a great writer, but only when he knows when to stop. 

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, Cardie said:

Yes, it was in community theatre where I had an outlet for my showbiz dreams (behind the scenes; I was never going to be an actor.) And I taught film and media studies, so not that removed from the dream.

That's so cool!  I have an adjunct faculty gig but nothing that interesting.  If I was starting over I might look into film editing.  

[OtterMommy]

In the Awards thread, @Winston9-DT3 wrote:

Quote

Maybe the  best writers are drawn to cable because they don't have the restrictions broadcast has.  So it's not that they're dying to write graphic violence, sex and language, but they prefer to not be censored.  I would prefer it.  And I assume cable pays better.  I think the networks must hire interns to write or pay peanuts or something, given the crap that's churned out.  Though I guess they're just writing to the masses, who would rather watch 'housewives' fake-fight than actually think about something deeper like in The Handmaid's Tale or any good cable drama.

I think you're right on all of this.  There is also the matter of sponsors.  If a broadcast show loses sponsors, it loses money, and then it is canceled.  I'm not entirely sure how the sponsorship part plays on cable and streaming, but it is obviously less of a player.  There is no way The Handmaid's Tale would have ever played on broadcast--because no advertiser was going to touch it.  However, premium cable and streaming don't need to worry about that (or worry as much).

There is another aspect I've always wondered about.  Most cable and streaming shows have filmed their entire season before it airs, unlike broadcast which is sometimes only a handful of episodes ahead of what is airing.  I know that some shows, how should I put this?, have a tendency to crowdsource a bit.  They pay attention to what is being said about a show on social media or whatnot and use that to, at least, refine things (or, at most, completely change their plots to make a group of vocal fans happy).  There is also the matter of market research, which I assume is done no matter where a show airs, but would have a different impact if the show had already filmed its season or if it was still filming.  Personally, I think this is one of the biggest problems with some broadcast shows--I feel like writers/showrunners should have enough confidence in their own story to not look to the viewers for direction (although I can see how using some of the feedback could be helpful--not to determine story lines, but possibly to rework things so they resonate better with the audience).  

But, in general, I'm finding myself watching less broadcast and more streaming these days...and there is a world of difference.

[PRgal]

Do we have a Beth thread?  I think she's the only "normal" person on the entire show - at least out of all the adult characters.  

[balmz]

if anyone is interested, i made a this is us discord chat room

[topanga]

Are any of you watching ‘A Million Little Things.’ What do you think—is it worth checking out?

I resisted watching because it seemed like a blatant TIU rip-off. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

Are any of you watching ‘A Million Little Things.’ What do you think—is it worth checking out?

I resisted watching because it seemed like a blatant TIU rip-off. 

No. Two episodes in and I’m about to quit it.

[AllThatJazz91]

Growing up I was a Kate and a Randall. Ironically enough, I was a preemie baby. All throughout school I was the smallest and shortest kid in my class. I hated how I looked. Unlike Randall, I wasn't adopted. But I have awful anxiety. 

On 1/14/2018 at 11:34 PM, balmz said:

if anyone is interested, i made a this is us discord chat room

Me! I'm interested. 

[Arcadiasw]

5 hours ago, topanga said:

Are any of you watching ‘A Million Little Things.’ What do you think—is it worth checking out?

I resisted watching because it seemed like a blatant TIU rip-off. 

Yes it is a rip off but I'm watching because I love James Roday from Psych 

[ShadowFacts]

15 hours ago, topanga said:

Are any of you watching ‘A Million Little Things.’ What do you think—is it worth checking out?

I resisted watching because it seemed like a blatant TIU rip-off. 

I tried it last night and it is really unwatchable, poorly written, and I don't see it lasting.  None of the characters grabbed me. 

[Lady Calypso]

I watched the first two episodes and then part of last night's episode for A Million Little Things. It isn't downright terrible. I'd say give it a shot. There are some excellent actors who do help make the show more watchable. I agree that the characters aren't particularly compelling. The one character that does grab me does it in all the worst ways, and all the other characters are kind of boring and the writing isn't great but isn't awful. 

I like James Roday and I've never watched Psych, but now I'm tempted to give it a chance. I tuned in for David Giuntoli. 

[topanga]

17 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I watched the first two episodes and then part of last night's episode for A Million Little Things. It isn't downright terrible. I'd say give it a shot. There are some excellent actors who do help make the show more watchable. I agree that the characters aren't particularly compelling. The one character that does grab me does it in all the worst ways, and all the other characters are kind of boring and the writing isn't great but isn't awful. 

I like James Roday and I've never watched Psych, but now I'm tempted to give it a chance. I tuned in for David Giuntoli. 

I decided to check out the Pilot and ended up bingeing all 3 episodes. I’m enjoying this show much more than I thought I would. It’s not perfect, but I find the main characters—the three bros—to be interesting and compelling. 

[ShadowFacts]

6 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

The other costume was a home made devil costume.  I remember it well.  I was such a Nervous Nelly I kept chewing on my tail as I was going from house to house.

That sounds really cute.  My youngest brother had a skeleton costume one year.   I can remember the smell of those masks and costumes, but honestly cannot for the life of me remember what my costumes were.  I think sometimes it was just a mask because it was too cold and we had to wear thick jackets. 

[chocolatine]

A friend posted on Facebook about having an issue with her Crockpot. She doesn't watch much TV and I'm pretty sure doesn't watch This Is Us. Should I warn her about the Killer Crockpot, or will I sound like an idiot if I do?

[maddie965]

I would. Hey, better be safe thsn sorry...