S01.E01: Pilot / S01.E02: Flying

[Ms Lark]

8 hours ago, lordonia said:

I was sad that Florence Nightingale didn't make the cut!

AND

2 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

Meanwhile, Tahani? Why is she there? I have yet to see that she has any redeeming qualities, much less those that would qualify her for The Good Place. She's vain, condescending, shallow. She lives in this ginormous mansion/estate that she got through nothing she's done and snarks at Eleanor for living in what's basically a studio apartment, overrun by clowns.

I think Tahani has to be another glitch in the system. Not sure how all this will play out, but the speculation has been interesting.

I have a theory that whoever was the saintly lawyer (an oxymoron there) is having the time of her life in the other place, doesn't want to leave, and the audio we heard is out of context. The good place proper seems pretty boring. And yeah, having a job there will be par for the course because that's what all those saints really want to do: work!! I hope we start to see more flaws in the system.

[Kromm]

6 hours ago, j5cochran said:

I've been thinking the same thing, that the Good Place is actually a form of purgatory!

Actually I'd been thinking a fairly creative Hell, but maybe this is even a better theory. I mean if it IS Hell it would make me wonder if it's even Eleanor's Hell, or someone else's and she's just part of the punishment. 

I think one thing we shouldn't assume is a reliable narrator (not literally a narrator--I just mean that the point of view we are getting is totally legit). Not that Eleanor is lying (it's possible though), but if this is truly a place of cosmic powers, then I'd imagine there could be layers of redemption, and/or people who are made to think something to serve out some assignment (or punishment) when it's not really their core truth. I mean if a "normal" show like Blindspot can be about someone believing false things about their identity, then why can't an outright fantasy do that? Maybe this is Michael's Hell and it's about confronting him with failure. Or Chidi's Hell and about confronting him with how morality in theory isn't necessarily the same as morality in deeds (remember, being an ethics professor doesn't mean you actually DID good for anyone). Admittedly the character of Tahani makes a lot less sense in these scenarios, since she seems to be there to plague Eleanor, so I'm still working on these theories!

Edited September 21, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

12 minutes ago, Ms Lark said:

I think Tahani has to be another glitch in the system. Not sure how all this will play out, but the speculation has been interesting.

Tahani is a real test of the show's writing, because while she's shallow and even mean, it makes the character of Jianyu even more puzzling as a result. Is he there to bedevil her through his silence, or is SHE there to bedevil him through her constant chatter and ego?

Another thought this opens up is that perhaps (assuming this isn't just some Rube-Goldbergesque test for a single person--be it Eleanor, Michael, Chidi, etc.) is that it's possible that EVERY soulmate pairing is going to be revealed to be total bullshit. This depends, I suppose, on if the show intends to let us meet more than two or three of the hundreds of couples that must be in that Neighborhood.

Perhaps if that's true though, it would be a way for this to actually be actual real Hell. 

[zxy556575]

11 minutes ago, Ms Lark said:

She lives in this ginormous mansion/estate that she got through nothing she's done and snarks at Eleanor for living in what's basically a studio apartment, overrun by clowns.

Tahani is a Real Housewife, but I loved Eleanor's Crayola home.

I guess that's why it's The Good Place and not heaven, because sheesh. Jobs and cleaning and seemingly zero people who love you in the form of relatives or spouses. Also glitches that allow gigantic flying shrimp Good-ish, I'd say.

I'd be all over the FroYo, though. Hopefully the store owner who lied to Seinfeld about it being low-fat wasn't allowed in.

[HurricaneVal]

Hey, God as an attendent in a purgatorial steam bath worked for six episodes on either HBO or Showtime in 1983.  Only six episodes, and I remember it fondly these 23 years later as very bitingly funny and extremely different from the rest of the sitcoms out there.  Of course, the rest of the sitcoms were The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Growing Pains etc. so that's not much comparison.  Though Taxi and Night Court certainly had their "did they really get away with that?" moments... 

[Isabella11]

Maybe it's just me, but a show about Heaven shouldn't be sheer Hell to watch.  OTOH, the reviews are great and most people here seem to like it, so it really could be just me.  I always like Kristen Bell and Ted Danson so I was hoping for the best.  But everything seemed forced, and talky, and artificial.  And I didn't laugh once.  To be fair to the actors, nobody had much to work with except Tahani who seemed to talk endlessly through both episodes.

I didn't know the Tahani actress and looked her up on Imdb and it turns out she's a newscaster in the UK.  Which figures because bland and boring are two good adjectives to describe her performance.   I realize that statement means I won't get to go to The Good Place but honestly, that's not a problem.  Especially after the dog-kicking.  I'm out.     

[Kromm]

17 minutes ago, Isabella11 said:

Maybe it's just me, but a show about Heaven shouldn't be sheer Hell to watch.  OTOH, the reviews are great and most people here seem to like it, so it really could be just me.  I always like Kristen Bell and Ted Danson so I was hoping for the best.  But everything seemed forced, and talky, and artificial.  And I didn't laugh once.  To be fair to the actors, nobody had much to work with except Tahani who seemed to talk endlessly through both episodes.

I didn't know the Tahani actress and looked her up on Imdb and it turns out she's a newscaster in the UK.  Which figures because bland and boring are two good adjectives to describe her performance.   I realize that statement means I won't get to go to The Good Place but honestly, that's not a problem.  Especially after the dog-kicking.  I'm out.     

Hey, nobody should have to impose what to like on you. It's fair game to dislike it.

For me a core tenet is that it's absurdist. So I don't even try to impose normal conversational or social filters on it. I mean go back and watch that much lauded show "Pushing Daisies". When the story itself becomes unchained from contemporary reality and takes on Fairy Tale aspects, this is about what I expect--slightly unusual speech rhythms (ironically enough the actual Fairy Tale show, Once Upon A Time doesn't really do that--but I actually think it may age worse because of that) and bizarre morality (after all, on Pushing Daisies the protagonist killed perfectly innocent people constantly). 

So the dog kicking?  I can see how it could just inherently offend so much that it's sayonara because of that. But as much of a dog lover as I am, I actually think they underplayed that, not overplayed it. If they'd really been heading for the jugular, they would have made it a super-annoying whiny dog rather than the rather quiet pile of fur they showed. And maybe they should have... I dunno. I suspect they didn't because they weren't trying to justify the kicking, but rather trying to illustrate the beginning of Michael's breakdown (which one assumes will continue through the whole season). 

And I know you don't mean "natural" in the sense of seeming like actual nature, but rather mean it in terms of people speaking organically, but I didn't find it particularly stinted in those terms either. Tahani talked endlessly not because of a writing or acting error, but because it was the whole point of her. That she's unfiltered ego basically. It could get tiresome as a viewer eventually, but it's not like she's going to appear in more than a few scenes per episode, I think. And comedically I most of the actors actually had a bunch to work with. Jianyu has a kind of mime aspect, but he's really there to wind up Tahani. Eleanor has a split between being a total shit but also being our POV character (because we can all be total shits). And Michael's bit is clearly being clueless. That could indeed get old, but it's early days yet.  I don't think they were aiming for bellylaughs anyway, but mostly chuckles. And I chuckled.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Kromm

[possibilities]

I found the dog kicking painful, and I hope they don't do any "animal abuse gags" again. But the way I took it, it was a big clue to me that "The Good Place" is not all good. I mean, would the eternal reward include dogs that don't love you if you are a person who loves dogs? Would the designer of said reward have the instinct to kick a lost dog? Would it be so easily destroyed by the presence of one "bad person" as Chidi and Eleanor suppose, or one blade of grass out of place, as Michael said?

I have no knowledge of any spoilers, and I for sure am not going to stick around if this is the general attitude towards animals, but I took that moment in the show to be a major warning sign that something very serious is off-kilter, not that the show was saying "toughen up! that's just the way it goes in the afterlife!" or that we should LOL to see horror.

I get it if it's too painful to watch, though. I did wish they hadn't done that particular moment.

[Isabella11]

20 minutes ago, Kromm said:

(after all, on Pushing Daisies the protagonist killed perfectly innocent people constantly). 

I know, hilarious! 

But seriously, I've already enjoyed this conversation with you a thousand times more than the first two episodes of that show.  ;-)  And actually, I did love one thing, which was the message sliding under her door at the end.  You Don't Belong Here, is wonderful.  As J5Cochran and you and others have pointed out here, it's possible that the Good Place with turn out to be a laboratory of some sort -- where people work on their 'issues' with the people perfectly selected to trigger those issues.  Which is really interesting but to me so far at least, not really funny. 

Maybe I would have liked the British newscaster's performance better if her character was named Tahini.  A character named after pulverized sesame seeds is fun.  But I didn't think the actress did anything at all with her performance, just robotically recited lines into the camera.  C'mon, a little nuance, a little expression change, something.  Ah well.  Tahini, Tahani, let's call the whole thing off?

But maybe I should watch all 5 of the first batch to justify my somewhat harsh judgment.  The show has brought out a lot of good comments here.  That's promising. 

[sjankis630]

I really liked this and will watch the second episode. It reminds me of the great movie "Defending Your Life" with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep.

[sara416]

11 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

My favorite thing was all of the incredibly specific things that can add and lose you Good Place points. I wonder what being loyal to the Chicago Cubs will get me? 

I think it gets us a straight shot to the Good Place. And bonus points for not rubbing this season (or heck, even last season) in anyone's face. As a Cubs fan who lives in St. Louis, this is something I struggle with daily.

I will watch KB in pretty much anything. I really liked this and will be in for a long time. 

[tennisgurl]

Oh sara416 I have had to resist the urge to post this seasons scores online everyday, or email them directly to various relatives, who have long mocked my Cubs loyalty. This has got to be at least worth as many points as realizing that no one needs to hear your thoughts on the death of David Bowie. 

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, Isabella11 said:

  As J5Cochran and you and others have pointed out here, it's possible that the Good Place with turn out to be a laboratory of some sort -- where people work on their 'issues' with the people perfectly selected to trigger those issues.

That's pretty much what it seems like to me.  People are there working out their issues.  So quiet guy is paired with the woman who never stops talking (and seems to hate that her partner is quiet.)   I imagine her non-stop chatter would be annoying to him, also.  And then you have the extreme moralist paired with a very immoral character.  And Ted Danson's character who seems to be struggling with his need for absolute perfection, given his breakdown when it becomes apparent that his perfect creation is less than perfect.  So they all seem to be on a path to resolve their the inner conflict they brought with them from their human lives.

I watched this today on NBC.com, and had some laughs.  The video playback was very poor however, which made me miss some of the jokes.  I saw they are reairing the pilot on Friday... but my guide only shows a half hour episode.  I really wanted to watch the whole thing together without the streaming hiccups.  I'm hoping my guide is in error.  I find it surprising that they wouldn't run both episodes if they are bothering to rebroadcast the pilot.  Running both would help attract new viewers, more that just running the first half, for people who missed the premiere.  (Especially since it was on at a different night and time.)

It got good ratings though, and the reviews, by those who saw the first four or five episodes, seem to be very positive... so hopefully it will do well.

[Kromm]

6 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

That's pretty much what it seems like to me.  People are there working out their issues.  So quiet guy is paired with the woman who never stops talking (and seems to hate that her partner is quiet.)   I imagine her non-stop chatter would be annoying to him, also.  And then you have the extreme moralist paired with a very immoral character.  And Ted Danson's character who seems to be struggling with his need for absolute perfection, given his breakdown when it becomes apparent that his perfect creation is less than perfect.  So they all seem to be on a path to resolve their the inner conflict they brought with them from their human lives.

That could go two ways. Either they are there to work those issues out (Purgatory) or they are there to be punished by them (Hell). It will be interesting if there's doubt which it is. 

I also had more thoughts on Eleanor possibly being an unreliable POV. If we ever get to hear her inner voice, perhaps the door will be closed on this, but if we're always one level removed (if we only hear her verbalizing her thoughts to some other character) then there's the possibility she's a liar. A real twist would be if she's the one there to test all of the others. She's the burr under the saddle. The impetus, and that can either be willingly (if she herself is God or an Angel) or unwillingly (if she's just the impetus to get dominoes falling but it's all by someone's design). 

Outside possibility: this is not Heaven. Not Hell. Not Purgatory. It's Virtual Reality. Or a delusion. Some mechanism where one character (in this case admittedly probably Eleanor) is working a lot of shit out by fantasizing.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Kromm

[Dowel Jones]

It's too bad neither George Carlin nor Sam Kinnison are around to do some guest shots.  They could send this show into orbit.

I remember a long ago Twilight Zone episode wherein an inveterate gambler dies, and is ushered into a casino where he never loses, and every woman is at his beck and call.  He thinks it's heaven, but by the end of the week (and the episode), he realizes that he is sorely mistaken.  Apropos of what, I'm not sure.

I hope they decide to introduce some more characters beyond the core group in the first episodes.  Tahani's act will smother the comedy if it continues unabated.

I'm surprised they went with the dog abuse gag, as in real life Kirsten Bell is a strong animal rescue advocate.  Maybe they went with the "dog is God spelled backwards" explanation.

[Anela]

I liked it, because it reminded me of "Defending Your Life." I hadn't seen any promos, and had no idea who was in it, so it was a nice surprise (I just went through the week, and hit "record" on anything new, to test the waters). Not great, but good enough.

I did wonder how Ted Danson's character got to heaven, when he was the sort to kick a dog into the sun. I also like the woman who talks a lot - her being so happy with her quiet time (that was just seconds), made me laugh. I felt bad for her as she kept trying to get her soulmate to talk to her. I wonder if he's the one who left the note at the end. 

Edited September 21, 2016 by Anela

[bros402]

18 hours ago, Empress1 said:

That's how I feel. Ted Danson cracked me up when he was panicking, but I'm not sure how sustainable this is. The reviewer said try for 4 eps, so I will. The cast is worth that, anyway.

Being in heaven and having to work really is wack.

I think if they do it right, they can maintain it for a few seasons.

 

8 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

I thought 2 eps together was a bit much. But I can see watching 1 at a time and enjoying it. I understand the need to schedule them back to back after The Voice to introduce the show, since it has a somewhat complicated setup. So, it's all good.

Meanwhile, Tahani? Why is she there? I have yet to see that she has any redeeming qualities, much less those that would qualify her for The Good Place. She's vain, condescending, shallow. She lives in this ginormous mansion/estate that she got through nothing she's done and snarks at Eleanor for living in what's basically a studio apartment, overrun by clowns.

Re: the note at the end of Ep 2. It takes one fraud to sniff out another, is all I'm saying. Let the Redemption Arc begin!

I think the first two eps back-to-back helped a bit, the first episode wasn't much by itself

 

Tahani is there because she started a charity to detect and disarm land mines, I believe

[possibilities]

That's an interesting idea (that the silent guy left the note). I wonder if his interpretation of silence allows verbal communication in writing. It would seem like it wouldn't, but then I'd also think that being surrounded by blabbers would also be contraindicated. I thought vows of silence were about going inward and being contemplative, and are usually done either in isolation or in groups of other silent people. But I suppose there could be other motivations.

Also, I took the note as a threat at first, but maybe it was a gesture of solidarity.

[biakbiak]

It should be noted that the writer of I think the second episode, the credits were a little rushed, was recent Emmy winner for Masters of None , former Parks and Recreation writer/producer, and most importantly one of the founding members of Mouse Rat Alan Yang.

[groddeck]

Quick question - I think I caught how all of the disasters related to Eleanor's behavior but what did the purple and yellow clothing refer to?

[BonnieD]

Quote

I'm not even convinced that what we're seeing are mistakes. I am wondering if this is not in fact "The Good Place" but is either a place for medium people to continue developing, or where they are sent to drive each other crazy as a form of mild torment.

The first thing Ted Danson says is that all religions have it "a little bit right" and he mentions Hinduism first. Karma, the law of cause and effect, is clearly present in this show. If one believes in reincarnation, the "down time" between lives on Earth doesn't mean one goes to some perfect Utopia called Heaven but continues to learn in whatever astral world he/she occupies. The game ain't over yet. The learning goes on while a soul continues to struggle to reach perfection and God, the ultimate goal. This heavenly neighborhood is a testing ground, one among many. Even the planner, Ted Danson, isn't perfect yet. That's my take on it.

Anyway, all theological ideas aside, it's funny and enjoyable and I'll watch Kristen in anything. I love that girl. Have you seen her turn in Bad Moms?

[TAG42481]

I love Kristen Bell.  LOVE her.  Veronica Mars was a fantastic character and a fantastic show.  I liked her in Heroes.  I really enjoyed her character on House of Lies, but stopped watching it because her and Don Cheadle's characters were the only ones I liked, the rest of the characters seemed like a waste of time.

So as soon as I heard that she was going to star in this show, I knew I would watch it.  But gosh - her character is so unlikable.  She's super cute playing the character, but the writing of her character just makes her intolerable.  I also think that this is a very unique series as opposed to doing something that's been done dozens of times before.  I also worry as other people have that this might be better suited to a movie/miniseries as opposed to something that will play out over dozens of episodes.

I'm not going to make any final decision after two episodes.  I'll give it a minimum of two more episodes.  As opposed to an original order of 13 episodes that might become 22, it sounds like Kristen Bell and Ted Danson only want to do the show if it's 13 episodes per season, so there won't be any extension.  Knowing that, I might actually give the show a little bit longer knowing that the creators will be farther in their arc more quickly.

[tominboston]

1 hour ago, groddeck said:

Quick question - I think I caught how all of the disasters related to Eleanor's behavior but what did the purple and yellow clothing refer to?

Those are the colors of the University of Michigan. Eleanor was wearing a Michigan law school t-shirt in that scene and I assume that's where the Good Lawyer got her degree.

There's been some great speculation here over the past 24 hours. I do like the various theories that suggest we'll find out that nothing in the Good Place is actually as it has been initially presented and that there are some aspects of "Lost" in this show. We'll see, I guess.

[EyewatchTV211]

Something else I was thinking about (and feel free to correct me if I missed an explanation in my distraction) - if this is supposed to be heaven, at least on the surface, it is weird that so many people are young. While young people do die, there should be many more people on the older end of the spectrum. Unless those people tend to go to the other place for some reason. Maybe the longer you live, the more likely that you lose points for things. 

[vibeology]

14 hours ago, Kromm said:

I can actually sort of see the bones already. There's something rotten at the whole core NOTION of this "Good Place" and I can see a natural progression going beyond Eleanor's own "salvation". We've already heard the introduction to this. It makes NO sense that any truly moral system would reward rote action over intention. Or that the vast majority of people are simply damned. There's clearly more going on.

I am so suspect of the whole Good Place thing. The system described is so far out of whack with what feels right to me. If you start of at 0 and everything you do changes your score and only people with very high scores go to the Good Place, what happens to kids? What could a kid do in their short life to get a very high score? And if the answer is that they don't, am I really supposed to believe that they go to the other place with the screaming and the breaking glass? How can actual good people not wonder about that and question it? It was one of the first things that came to mind to me.

And maybe my sense of morality isn't the right one here and that's just genuinely how it is but why wouldn't people be asking those questions?

11 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

That's pretty much what it seems like to me.  People are there working out their issues.  So quiet guy is paired with the woman who never stops talking (and seems to hate that her partner is quiet.)   I imagine her non-stop chatter would be annoying to him, also. 

Tahani seems to be the sort of person who is just totally uncomfortable with silence and being alone with her thoughts. I don't know if I think it's a punishment to be paired with someone who has taken a vow of silence or a learning experience but there's something going on there too, I think.

27 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

Something else I was thinking about (and feel free to correct me if I missed an explanation in my distraction) - if this is supposed to be heaven, at least on the surface, it is weird that so many people are young. While young people do die, there should be many more people on the older end of the spectrum. Unless those people tend to go to the other place for some reason. Maybe the longer you live, the more likely that you lose points for things. 

The only way I can explain this is that this neighborhood skews young so that everyone there gets to hang out with people with similar life spans. They did say that the people chosen were selected because of how they fit together, so its possible people are grouped by age. But I do think a very long life would open you up to losing points for regular things.

[cpcathy]

Michael Schur really has thought about this!

I enjoyed the flashbacks, even though Eleanor is a bad person, I would have watched a show just with her being a bad person and not necessarily her afterlife. Not sure now how Schur can sustain the world he's created, but he's the writer and has had successful TV shows and I, alas, have not!

[sjohnson]

By the way, I think Tahani is really into Jianyu (sp?) and his not talking to her is a good bit of unrequited love.

[JackONeill]

I'm unclear as to how this Eleanor got in. There must have been a "real" Eleanor because Ted Danson (forgotten his character's name) designed her house, complete with clowns. We know that's not the Kristin Bell Eleanor. So, does that mean that because of this screwup the "other" Eleanor is in hell?

[AuntiePam]

32 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

I'm unclear as to how this Eleanor got in. There must have been a "real" Eleanor because Ted Danson (forgotten his character's name) designed her house, complete with clowns. We know that's not the Kristin Bell Eleanor. So, does that mean that because of this screwup the "other" Eleanor is in hell?

It could mean that the other Eleanor isn't dead. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Should You Spend Time In The Good Place, Or Does It Feel Like An Eternity?

A terrible person ends up in some version of Heaven, and has to figure out how to stay there. Should you join her?

[Matt K]

On 9/20/2016 at 0:12 PM, possibilities said:

I think all is not as it appears and not what we've been told.

I got that impression early as well.  I really liked the show.  The part about Doug who, while high on mushrooms, got it 96% right with his picture on the wall cracked me up. 

16 hours ago, Kromm said:

Tahani is a real test of the show's writing, because while she's shallow and even mean, it makes the character of Jianyu even more puzzling as a result. Is he there to bedevil her through his silence, or is SHE there to bedevil him through her constant chatter and ego?

Another thought this opens up is that perhaps (assuming this isn't just some Rube-Goldbergesque test for a single person--be it Eleanor, Michael, Chidi, etc.) is that it's possible that EVERY soulmate pairing is going to be revealed to be total bullshit. This depends, I suppose, on if the show intends to let us meet more than two or three of the hundreds of couples that must be in that Neighborhood.

Perhaps if that's true though, it would be a way for this to actually be actual real Hell. 

I was getting the impression that the whole sole mates thing was a lie.  I mean who's going to notice if you just pair up people and tell them their sole mates.  Really looking forward to where they go with this.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Matt K

[meep.meep]

On 9/20/2016 at 6:39 AM, Jack Kerouac said:

I thought they were all pretty funny. I liked the one about not spontaneously mentioning you were a vegan.

And you get more points for that than you do for actually being a vegan.

This is silly TV - what's not to like?

I noticed that the first garbage that the volunteers were cleaning up, was all confetti and colored streamers.  It wasn't until Eleanore screwed up that it started raining actual garbage.  And, she didn't really get to fly, which served her right.

I too think there's some connection between her and the silent-soulmate.  At the first orientation meeting, they glanced at each other significantly.  I hope the orientation meetings continue.

[Anela]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

That's an interesting idea (that the silent guy left the note). I wonder if his interpretation of silence allows verbal communication in writing. It would seem like it wouldn't, but then I'd also think that being surrounded by blabbers would also be contraindicated. I thought vows of silence were about going inward and being contemplative, and are usually done either in isolation or in groups of other silent people. But I suppose there could be other motivations.

Also, I took the note as a threat at first, but maybe it was a gesture of solidarity.

I like that idea. 

[GaT]

4 hours ago, tominboston said:

Those are the colors of the University of Michigan. Eleanor was wearing a Michigan law school t-shirt in that scene and I assume that's where the Good Lawyer got her degree.

 

Wow, without your explanation I would have absolutely no idea of why they were in those clothes. A seriously bad job by the show.

[dcalley]

14 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I watched this today on NBC.com, and had some laughs.  The video playback was very poor however

Try https://view.yahoo.com/search?query=The Good Place

Did the dog look familiar to anyone else?

[morgankobi]

I'm curious about Ted Danson's character since he obviously isn't/wasn't human. (He mentions feeling weird in a human body and doesn't understand sweat.) I wonder if he, and the other designers of villages, etc. will be given more background.

I'm guessing maybe neighborhoods are divided by age...? The lack of older people was definitely odd. 

Edited September 21, 2016 by morgankobi

[Matt K]

18 minutes ago, morgankobi said:

I'm curious about Ted Danson's character since he obviously isn't/wasn't human. (He mentions feeling weird in a human body and doesn't understand sweat.) I wonder if he, and the other designers of villages, etc. will be given more background.

I'm guessing maybe neighborhoods are divided by age...? The lack of older people was definitely odd. 

I figured there were no old people because when they die they go to the good place at a peak age.  Like I assume Chidi probably did not die in his 30's but was older (being a college professor seems to hint at that although there are some young profs).

[JackONeill]

4 minutes ago, Matt K said:

I figured there were no old people because when they die they go to the good place at a peak age.  Like I assume Chidi probably did not die in his 30's but was older (being a college professor seems to hint at that although there are some young profs).

Interesting thought. Not that it confirms your theory, but I think Kristen Bell had longer hair in the "flashbacks" to earth. So, if I'm correct, that means they probably did it on purpose...for some reason. Does anyone remember if she had longer hair in the flashbacks? And if so, what does it mean?

[cpcathy]

She did have longer hair in her flashbacks.

[Princess Sparkle]

Well, she had longer hair in the flashbacks to her in the bar/as the designated driver. When we got the flashback to her littering, she had the same short haircut she has in "the good place". 

I liked it, but I also love Kristen Bell and want her to have a successful show. I laughed quite a bit, and I thought that for a pilot, it was pretty good. 

[Luckylyn]

4 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I too think there's some connection between her and the silent-soulmate.  At the first orientation meeting, they glanced at each other significantly.  I hope the orientation meetings continue.

I noticed that too.  I wonder what it means especially since that moment happened during the part of Ted Dason's speech that dealt with soul mates.  I think he's the one who left her the note at the end. 

I really enjoyed the show.  It was fun to watch.

[jhlipton]

It's "mostly harmless".  I loathed and detested Parks and Recreations but adore Brooklyn 9-9, so the creator is far from a Shur thing for me.

"Chiboopy Anodyne" isn't too good with ethics.  Eleanor made what was, for her, an extreme effort and remembered where he was from.  That is not "common decency", and he should know that.

6 hours ago, Matt K said:

I was getting the impression that the whole sole mates thing was a lie.

You would think with a "soul mate" there would be physical, sexual attraction.  Not only did I not see that with Eleanor, but not with Tahani and Jianyu either.

One problem is that a "quirky" show needs to be quirky (Pushing Daisies, one of my all-time favorite quirky shows, did that right off the bat), and this fell flat

[Kromm]

19 hours ago, Anela said:

I did wonder how Ted Danson's character got to heaven, when he was the sort to kick a dog into the sun.

Well... there you go assuming it's actually heaven!

Listen to your gut I say. If it seems to good to be true that someone like him is in heaven, then maybe it's not heaven. He could totally be putting on an act for a place that's either more about punishment, or redemption instead of eternal reward.

And maybe he THINKS it's heaven but he's one of the ones (or THE one) being tested in some place that's not (my other theory--at least until we hear some inner monologue from her is that Eleanor could be the one controlling this and testing, or punishing, everyone else). 

7 hours ago, morgankobi said:

I'm curious about Ted Danson's character since he obviously isn't/wasn't human. (He mentions feeling weird in a human body and doesn't understand sweat.) I wonder if he, and the other designers of villages, etc. will be given more background.

Conventional wisdom would say Angel (or Devil). 

Although again... just because he says something doesn't mean its true... in fact even if he believes something himself I wouldn't assume he might not be being fooled on some other level.

9 hours ago, JackONeill said:

I'm unclear as to how this Eleanor got in. There must have been a "real" Eleanor because Ted Danson (forgotten his character's name) designed her house, complete with clowns. We know that's not the Kristin Bell Eleanor. So, does that mean that because of this screwup the "other" Eleanor is in hell?

Or there is no other Eleanor and this really IS about this one (just not in the way she, or we, think). 

[Babalu]

11 hours ago, tominboston said:

 

13 hours ago, groddeck said:

Quick question - I think I caught how all of the disasters related to Eleanor's behavior but what did the purple and yellow clothing refer to?

Those are the colors of the University of Michigan. Eleanor was wearing a Michigan law school t-shirt in that scene and I assume that's where the Good Lawyer got her degree.

I never, ever would have made this connection, but it makes sense, and Kristin Bell is from Michigan, so there's that, too.

All I could think of was that "Is this dress blue or gold?" thing from last year, and I was trying to figure out how the clothing was a subtle comment on how we perceive things differently, but that went nowhere.

[Kromm]

12 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

I love Kristen Bell.  LOVE her.  Veronica Mars was a fantastic character and a fantastic show.  I liked her in Heroes.  I really enjoyed her character on House of Lies, but stopped watching it because her and Don Cheadle's characters were the only ones I liked, the rest of the characters seemed like a waste of time.

So as soon as I heard that she was going to star in this show, I knew I would watch it.  But gosh - her character is so unlikable.  She's super cute playing the character, but the writing of her character just makes her intolerable. 

I DO get how seeing someone be a total shit can turn some viewers away automatically. But I think its kind of the point here. While I have various theories about what may or may not be "true" in what we've been told, if The Good Place IS actually purposed as how they presented it and not a total lie then she has to really be charming, but totally selfish and untrustworthy.  I think she played that aspect well. Because we can see how she'd be able to charm Chidi into not turning her in, but at the same time kind of shake our heads at it. 

I guess it all comes down to if you, as a viewer, can bear anti-heroes (or their close cousins, villain protagonists). If they're rarely to your taste?  A show with one at it's core is not for you. 

[cpcathy]

It helps that Kristen is super adorable in her looks, so that you get that dichotomy of the looks don't match the personality.

[LADreamr]

I wish someone had told her that being a "chuckster," or whatever she said, isn't a moral failing.  It just made her sound like even more of a farking bench.

[AuntiePam]

46 minutes ago, Babalu said:

I never, ever would have made this connection, but it makes sense, and Kristin Bell is from Michigan, so there's that, too.

All I could think of was that "Is this dress blue or gold?" thing from last year, and I was trying to figure out how the clothing was a subtle comment on how we perceive things differently, but that went nowhere.

I had the same thought, about last year's dress.  Very clever, show.  Assuming it was purposeful, I wonder what else I missed. 

[Dowel Jones]

Then again, sometimes a comedy is just a comedy.

[bros402]

3 hours ago, LADreamr said:

I wish someone had told her that being a "chuckster," or whatever she said, isn't a moral failing.  It just made her sound like even more of a farking bench.

She said chunkster.