S04.E11: Bates Make the Grade

[IndianPaintbrush]

Quote

It’s time to flip the tassel as Trace and Carlin get ready to receive their high school diplomas.  But as the family prepares for the big bash they find themselves one man down when Kelly Jo falls ill, leaving Carlin to take the party planning lead. 

[LoquaciousAudacity]

Tori and her boyfriend are cute. Tori has changed a lot it seems. 

I know the Duggars were there, but didn't see them on camera. 

Trace is a Chuck Norris fan? A picture they showed of little Trace could've been Jeb.

John flipping Jeb up and down at one point, I think while Carlin was talking about Gil, was cute. 

[IndianPaintbrush]

I guess Chuck Norris is acceptable to the Bates given his politically conservative and religious beliefs.  I wonder if the kids watched Walker Texas Ranger.

That party looked incredibly boring for the guests.

[Barb23]

Carlin did a number on the English language for having just graduated.  "It weren't up here" she said pointing to her head & there were a couple of times she used "I "& "me" incorrectly.  Instead of "Lawson & I" it came out as "Me & Lawson". I'm not perfect either but this doesn't say much for the English part of Carlin's home schooling. 

I don't understand about the Fundies & their skits.  First we saw the Duggars do the engagement reenactment skits & now the Bates said they do a skit for every celebration.  I couldn't make heads or tails of the one they did & having to haul in a full size sofa as a prop, I don't get it.  Yes, the audience tried to be nice & laugh when they were supposed to but overall they look bored. 

I know they like to put things off & Kelly got sick,  but why were most things left to do til the day before? 

[lookeyloo]

What I find interesting is how the kids talk to the parents and the parents are okay with it. It just surprises me. 

[IndianPaintbrush]

Yes, especially Tori and Carlin.  They can get sassy with their parents.  But I'd rather have sass over the zombified Duggar girls.  

[lookeyloo]

5 hours ago, IndianPaintbrush said:

Yes, especially Tori and Carlin.  They can get sassy with their parents.  But I'd rather have sass over the zombified Duggar girls.  

Yes so would I. I'm just surprised how "mouthy" they seem and it is okay with the parents. I let my kids have some leeway with the smart mouth but doesn't seem the Duggars do and I think some of it is healthy. 

[BitterApple]

I'm all for sass within limits. I think Tori and Carlin go from spunky to obnoxious very, very quickly.

[lookeyloo]

Yes that is what I meant

[Barb23]

I love seeing the closeness between Michael & Callie (think that's the one).  Callie looked like she could have jumped out of her skin waiting for Michael to walk thru the door. Michael seems to feel the same way, always picking her up with a big hug.  It would be nice seeing Callie spend a few days by herself with Michael & Brandon in Chicago.

It was nice seeing Ashley at the party & chipping in to help.  Hopefully they all will remain good friends. 

[riverblue22]

I looked hard and never saw any Duggars at that party.  Are we sure they were there?

[Sew Sumi]

55 minutes ago, riverblue22 said:

I looked hard and never saw any Duggars at that party.  Are we sure they were there?

Yes, there were pictures of the Duggars at the party. UP and TLC apparently have an "agreement." Bateses have likewise been at the Duggars' while the latter filmed but never appeared on Counting On since the Bateses landed BuB. 

Edited August 14, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[Absolom]

Ratings:  160K viewers and a .05 rating. 

With those numbers I wonder how much money UP puts into making this show.

[Sew Sumi]

Isn't that down 100k from just last week? Wow. Although, you gotta admit, this episode was pretty terrible. 

[Absolom]

247K vs 160K.  I really didn't watch this last one.  I listened with one ear and it seemed unbelievably trite but then I wasn't in a very good mood.  It seemed on the level of the McGhees, a family I hope passes into obscurity immediately. 

[Sew Sumi]

I realize the Olympics is eating into ratings, and swimming was live on the east coast when the Bates air (it is not delayed on the west coast, so it airs at 6 here). I've been watching live Olympic events that are tape delayed on the west coast online, so I was on east coast time, as it were. :) However, I still DVRed the Bates episode to watch after swimming ended at 9, and from what I understand, that still counts. 

[Absolom]

Those ratings are live viewing only I think.  It's tough to get live plus 3 day for lowly cable like UP.  That's a good point about the swimming.

[Sew Sumi]

DVR show recordings count as "live," don't they? I think I was told that at one point, when I mentioned that I waited a few days to watch recorded programs - okay the Duggars - until I knew it would be "safe" not to be counted in ratings. I just remember that after that I gave up and watched the recording whenever (for instance, I watched this episode after swimming concluded that same night, so not a LIVE view, since UP doesn't repeat on the west coast for Prime Time; it's all on the east coast schedule. 

[Absolom]

I think live has to be by midnight or 2 AM or some time like that for at least the major networks.  I've obviously forgotten the exact time.  I watch almost nothing live or the evening of so it didn't matter. The ratings come out before the 3 day window is closed so 3 days can't count as live.  That's why they have live +3 and live +7. 

[Sew Sumi]

Recorded OR watched? That's where my confusion lies. I understood (at first) that I could record it and watch later without it "counting." If recording counts as a "watch," well, ugh. All of my best efforts to not give them ratings are actually HELPING them. Bleh. 

[Absolom]

It only counts in the "live" ratings if watched the day it airs.  That's the primary rating.  They do track the 3 and 7 day DVR viewing for at least the major networks.  That's a separate figure.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Absolom

[andromeda331]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 7:33 PM, Barb23 said:

I know they like to put things off & Kelly got sick,  but why were most things left to do til the day before? 

I was wondering the same thing. Kelly did the same thing last season with Alyssa's baby shower and I love You Day. She just laughed about being so behind and then handed off jobs to pretty much everyone. Why are they not more prepared? What does Kelly do all day that she can't be ready ahead of time? Or a way ahead? She can't go shopping any time before then to get stuff they need? It drives me crazy.  That and her apparently not knowing how to fix Callie's skirt.

[lookeyloo]

My guess is a lot of it is producer driven.  Maybe big families do run late and maybe they don't plan all that far ahead, but, it sure adds to the "will they or won't they" get it all done in time.

[Absolom]

We've seen this so many times on these family reality shows about not being prepared or a last minute rush for things that it's just a way for the production company to drive up drama.  It's even less of an issue and more purely for drama since the show has production assistants who are helping get the scenes ready.

[JessDVD]

"Oh no! We forgot to get things done for this event that has been completely created by the production company, who is also purchasing and providing all the supplies on the filming date that we planned 3 months ago! How in the world will we get things done on time?" (gasp, faint)

[absolutelyido]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I was wondering the same thing. Kelly did the same thing last season with Alyssa's baby shower and I love You Day. She just laughed about being so behind and then handed off jobs to pretty much everyone. Why are they not more prepared? What does Kelly do all day that she can't be ready ahead of time? Or a way ahead? She can't go shopping any time before then to get stuff they need? It drives me crazy.  That and her apparently not knowing how to fix Callie's skirt.

I agree that the Bates seem to be pretty disorganized at times, but Kelly does home school the kids. From the small glimpses we have seen, it seems like she creates a curriculum and actually teaches them. (I haven't watched much of the Duggars, but my impression is the older kids have to teach the younger ones, or the kids have to learn on their own.)

[Adeejay]

On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 7:26 PM, BitterApple said:

I'm all for sass within limits. I think Tori and Carlin go from spunky to obnoxious very, very quickly.

It's not just Tori and Carlin. The way some of the older kids speak to their father makes me cringe.  Say what you want about the J-Slaves, but they would never speak to Jim Bob in that manner.  

[LoquaciousAudacity]

Tori has calmed down considerably this season though. Carlin is as over the top as ever, if not more, but I've noticed a huge change in Tori. She comes off as much more reserved.