S01.E01: Pilot / S01.E02: Flying

[mostlylurking]

I enjoyed the show! Then again, I enjoy Kristen Bell in her washing machine commercials with her husband, so there's that.

I don't think the soulmates need to be romantic. A soulmate doesn't necessarily need to be someone with whom you are involved with intimately, so the lack of romantic chemistry between Eleanor and Chibi didn't bother me. I thought they got on very well.

Tahani is interesting. Didn't she say something about Princess Diana being her aunt or something?? I too am curious about her backstory.

[Isabella11]

1 hour ago, mostlylurking said:

I don't think the soulmates need to be romantic.

Agree, and now that we know that nothing is what it seems-- in fact it's the opposite-- they're probably going with the "soulmate is the one who helps you heal what's missing and broken in you".  So the one who talks too much is with one who never speaks, and the unethical one is with the ethics prof.

And this isn't heaven, i.e. it's not a good place.  The idiot in charge has a few screws loose.  

There might be less to this show than meets the eye.  Or maybe it's going to be a metaphor for Earth and they spend the whole season trying to get things working for the highest good of all? 

[sjohnson]

^^^That sounds like you might be describing the real show, not the superficial glimpse we have so far. Hope not, because everything happens for a reason and works out for the best is kind of doofusy. In my opinion no one's ever solved the problem of evil. In the end all the apologias run into Euthyphro's dilemma.

[EyewatchTV211]

14 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.

To be fair, Chidi kind of indicated this and Eleanor clarified that she wasn't the only one with "flaws." Flaws aren't necessarily moral failings. It still wasn't a nice thing to say, but mean in a different way. 

[LADreamr]

Right, but the premise of being in The Good Place has to do with morality and good actions, not being flawless.  Clearly no one there is flawless.  They seem to trip over themselves walking in a straight line.  But the intentions seem to be good.  It's just an instance of her missing the point, I think.

[atomationage]

On 9/20/2016 at 6:45 PM, VMepicgrl said:

Something else I laughed at was when the walls closed around Eleanor's bed, showing a large picture of a clown and making clown music (if I remember right), and then Chidi saying, "That's creepy!"

I'm surprised that no one mentioned yet that the clown paintings look like copies of the works of John Wayne Gacy.  That was the first thing that tipped me off that they're not exactly in heaven.  Tahani was the second.  Loving Danson and Bell.  Chidi and the silent monk are great too.  Danson's character is named Michael, the archangel?

Edited September 22, 2016 by atomationage

[TAG42481]

22 hours ago, Kromm said:

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. 

That's an excellent point.  And as you say, this may not be the show for me.

[theatremouse]

On 9/21/2016 at 11:47 AM, 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 might be misremembering but I thought at one point he explicitly referred to himself as a "celestial being".

[holly4755]

I am thinking quick cancellation - I just can't see how this is sustainable, but then again I don't have much of an

imagination, hence do not work in creative business. 

[charlieboo]

Regarding the dog kick: Michael made an effort (albeit very brief) to see if the dog had an owner. When no one answered, I think he assumed it was a vision or fantasy or whatever those flying shrimp were (i.e. something not real that did not belong there). So he wasn't kicking an actual dog, he was kicking an imagined creature.  As soon as he realized it was someone's actual dog, he brought it right back.

As for all the questions many of us think the people there should have: I think it's a commentary on the fact that people - "good" or not - will believe positive things about themselves. So if all those people are told they are the super-best and deserve to be in The Good Place while others don't, they don't think to question it or ask what makes them better than everyone else. They just accept that they are, in fact, better.

[mahree]

On 9/21/2016 at 2:45 PM, GaT said:

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

Yes, though the colors of University of Michigan are, officially (and somewhat snobbily) known as Maize and Blue.  That's what the colors of the outfits were. In addition to Kristen Bell's Michigan connection (she is from Huntington Woods (Detroit suburb)), Mike Schur was born in Ann Arbor (home of U of M).

[DeLurker]

On 9/20/2016 at 9:16 PM, Isabella11 said:

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?

Now I can't stop calling her Tahini!  Darn you!

[Blakeston]

4 hours ago, charlieboo said:

Regarding the dog kick: Michael made an effort (albeit very brief) to see if the dog had an owner. When no one answered, I think he assumed it was a vision or fantasy or whatever those flying shrimp were (i.e. something not real that did not belong there). So he wasn't kicking an actual dog, he was kicking an imagined creature.  As soon as he realized it was someone's actual dog, he brought it right back.

And what he said about the dog not being able to feel anything (like love) makes me think that even the animals Michael intended to be there are basically imaginary, too.

[jhlipton]

On 9/21/2016 at 10:16 PM, Babalu said:

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 totally missed that -- it would have been intriguing if they did an optical illusion like that, but I don't think that's what was going on there.

 

I'm just worried that we are putting more thought into this than the creators did (which happens a lot!).

[theatremouse]

9 hours ago, charlieboo said:

I think he assumed it was a vision or fantasy or whatever those flying shrimp were (i.e. something not real that did not belong there). So he wasn't kicking an actual dog, he was kicking an imagined creature.  As soon as he realized it was someone's actual dog, he brought it right back.

 

5 hours ago, Blakeston said:

And what he said about the dog not being able to feel anything (like love) makes me think that even the animals Michael intended to be there are basically imaginary, too.

Yeah, I don't think they meant to imply it were ever an actual dog, in the sense of the owner and dog were both dead and "good". I think the dog was a manifestation in the good place, just like the yogurt shops, and people having houses that fit them, and all the stuff inside. So I think her having a dog at all in the good place was a factor of her being there. Like she could've just asked Janet for a dog and received one. So I agree, I think his check  was whether the dog was there because of his design or because of the unknown-shenanigans causing the shrimp.

[random chance]

On 9/20/2016 at 0:59 PM, A Boston Gal said:

Interestingly enough, this already WAS a movie. I hope Albert Brooks sues for copyright violations.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101698/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Wow, how cool that so many people mentioned Defending Your Life! One of my favorite movies of all time, which is why I can say with confidence that it was about how fearlessly you lived your life, not how good you were.  Since I am pretty much a quivering blob of cowardice, I sometimes watch that movie as a form of pep talk.

I like the theory that this is purgatory, even though using "theory" and "purgatory" in the same sentence triggers my Lost PTSD.  *Eye twitches, hand shakes; I look around for a cigarette and remember I quit in 2012. Dammit!*

I wasn't going to watch this but IO9 really talked it up so I'll give it a few episodes. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.

[Kromm]

On 9/21/2016 at 2:47 PM, 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.

He SAYS he wasn't (and may even believe it), but that doesn't convince me 100% that it's true. It probably is, but at least a few of my scenarios I've thought up involve either some of the people we are seeing lying, or some of them being deluded into thinking some version of reality/personal history that's been laid down upon them.  

1 hour ago, random chance said:

Wow, how cool that so many people mentioned Defending Your Life!

I think it's fairly natural to mention it, because it's the biggest example most of us have of a similar production (versus other stuff that's just vaguely about Angels, or show just The Pearly Gates, or something like that). Hell's been done a lot, of course--and this could still turn out to be Hell--but on the surface it's Heaven. so... not too many attempts have been made. What Dreams May Come is one of the few others I can think of (and that's not a comedy and doesn't stay in Heaven anyway). 

On 9/20/2016 at 1:59 PM, A Boston Gal said:

Interestingly enough, this already WAS a movie. I hope Albert Brooks sues for copyright violations.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101698/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I doubt Brooks thinks he owns the idea though.

[Rinaldo]

11 minutes ago, Kromm said:

I doubt Brooks thinks he owns the idea though.

Indeed. Plus, as has been pointed out here, Brooks's film was centered on not being afraid as the measure of a person's life (which I found a bit weird, but never mind, I enjoyed the movie anyway), rather than being good.

[Kel Varnsen]

I liked it, although I was surprised it wasn't the same level of rapid fire jokes considering it was from the creator of Brooklyn 99.

I don't even mind that Eleanor was kind of a jerk. Then again my favourite show is Archer.

Overall I am just shocked this show got made and put on network tv. NBC passed on Kimmy Schmidt because they thought that show was too weird, and The Good Place is way more high concept.

[kaygeeret]

Just saw episode 3 and am blown away.

Seriously this show needs to be watched episode by episode.

Love what they are doing and so funny.

Preaching to pretty much no one I guess and am sorry for that

[amaranta]

Quote

Wow, how cool that so many people mentioned Defending Your Life! One of my favorite movies of all time, which is why I can say with confidence that it was about how fearlessly you lived your life, not how good you were.  Since I am pretty much a quivering blob of cowardice, I sometimes watch that movie as a form of pep talk.

You are me.  Right down to the pep talk viewing.  I love that movie.

I'm in for at least the first season.  I have a lot of good will for Schur for Parks and Rec, which I still miss.  It took some time for the ensemble to gel on P&R so perhaps the same will happen here.  I enjoyed the opener; I also am bringing in a lot of like for Danson and Bell.  If it's akin to Parks, it may never be a laugh a minute type of show, but rather one that just makes you smile, chuckle and have an occasional laughter burst.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked it! The bright colors and Disneyfied Main Street reminded me of satires of the suburbs like Edward Scissorhands, Suburgatory, and Pushing Daisies so I was looking forward to the wackiness. Honestly, I loved Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars so much that I will watch anything she's in (as evidenced by the fact that I watched all five seasons of House of Lies despite it not being as great as the critics said it was).

I like the concept at face value but if it turns out that the Good Place is actually purgatory or some kind of hell dimension, I'm totally down with that too. There were so many visual jokes that I want to go back and watch the first two episodes again.

[AdorkableSars]

I really liked this. Parks & Rec is one of my favorite shows of all time, so when I saw that Michael Schur was involved in this one as well, I knew I had to tune in. Also, I absolutely adore Kristen Bell. She was great here playing Eleanor. She played the awful character so well, but since KB herself has such an inherent likeability factor, I think a little of that transferred over to Eleanor, and made me actually want to care about whether or not her character stays in the good place. 

Ted Danson can do no wrong. Loved him here. I though everyone seemed perfectly cast so far. Adored Chidi and the actor who played him. Overall, I forking loved this shirt, and think I am in it for the long haul!

[jumper sage]

I'm in!  Discussing the show in philosophical dissertations?  I am so in.

[Milburn Stone]

On September 23, 2016 at 8:01 PM, Rinaldo said:

Brooks's film was centered on not being afraid as the measure of a person's life (which I found a bit weird, but never mind, I enjoyed the movie anyway), rather than being good.

Plus, Brooks desperately needed to believe-slash-delude-himself that he deserved to be in heaven because of his actual life, and desperately wanted to prove it to TPTB. While Bell knows she doesn't deserve to be there and is trying to hide the evidence.

I loved Defending Your Life; I'm liking this show a lot so far.

[sjohnson]

There were some very good things about Defending Your Life, I thought. But for me, in the end, it was basically about how the most important thing is what they like to call nowadays "agency." You don't have to necessarily be a winner in conventional terms (though surely that would be acceptable,) but that you won in the sense you did it your way, and liked it. Expanding "winning is the only thing" to "winning the game you want to play is the only thing," is the way it felt. Which in the end I didn't find engaging enough to love.

[Notwisconsin]

What I think this is based on the theory that heaven and hell are the same place, and that some people are rewarded and others punished by the same things.....

[CurlyATX]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 11:05 PM, ajsnaves said:

My favorite was something about starting a social media post and then realizing that nobody cares about your thoughts on David Bowie's death.  And "telling a woman to smile" losing you points.  That made me wonder if they made additions recently based on recent events.

My son froze the screen to read them.  My fave was about eating vegan (small good points) and not talking about it (lots of points). 

[Jazzy]

On 9/20/2016 at 7:45 PM, VMepicgrl said:

Something else I laughed at was when the walls closed around Eleanor's bed, showing a large picture of a clown and making clown music (if I remember right), and then Chidi saying, "That's creepy!" or something to that effect. Admittedly, I was a little distracted while watching and may need to rewatch.

I loved that! The creepy clown music and Chidi's expression right after were spot on. 

[John Potts]

On ‎20‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 5:37 PM, Whimsy said:

This show reminds me a little bit of Selfie (RIP *sob*).  An unlikeable, seemingly unredeemable, person gets help to be a better "person" by a mentor.

It reminded me of Samantha Who? (the Christina Applegate comedy about an amnesiac who discovered she used to be a raging bitch and had to decide whether she wanted her old "Bad" life back or her new "Innocent" one) - though given it was cancelled after one season, there probably won't be many others who remember that show!

On ‎21‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 2:09 AM, zxy556575 said:

Jobs and cleaning and seemingly zero people who love you

Except they volunteered to clean up - they didn't have to do that. And the two brothers seemed to really enjoy it (or they have access to some heavenly drugs along with the free porn!).

[aradia22]

I have been hearing about this show for ages but I finally felt like sitting down to watch it.

The orientation video had so many great jokes on screen.

I feel like most of the episode was jokes I didn't find funny. Like I could definitely see the jokes but they didn't register as funny to me.

I do like afterlife-ish shows that aren't too religious like Drop Dead Diva or Dead Like Me so I'll stick it out. 

Tahani's condescending description of Eleanor's house and booping her on the nose was the first and only thing to get a chuckle out of me. 

[aradia22]

Kristen Bell and Ted Danson are interesting casting choices. They're so... themselves and so recognizable that it's unavoidable. But it does seem like the show is going to take advantage of that?

This episode I finally got a laugh out of Tahani and Jianyu trying to comfort Michael. 

I think part of my problem is that with good reason a lot of the show is focused on Kristen Bell and I don't find Eleanor funny or appealing. Other people mentioned Selfie. Sure, Karen's character was self-involved but there was good in her. Eleanor is terrible in all the ways. The end episode 2 at least opened the door to her trying and failing which is more appealing than watching a character entirely led by negative impulses.

I do like Chidi. 

[ashleylm]

On 8/17/2019 at 5:20 PM, aradia22 said:

Eleanor is terrible in all the ways.

She won't stay that way (spoiler alert!) as you get to know her better, I promise!

[Virtual]

And so it all begins... I think I find this episode all the more funny each time I watch it. 😆

My favorite line was when Michael told Eleanor about how she died, when he said, “And one of the first on the scene was a paramedic, who just so happened to be your ex-boyfriend....” then Eleanor said, “Ok, ok!” 🤣

I also wonder if I ever made a prediction where I was 92% right about how it’d play out.

[QuantumMechanic]

I happened to recently rewatch the pilot and realized that they blatantly gave away

Spoiler

the end-of-season twist -- at one point Eleanor is asked about her parents and she says they're probably in The Bad Place being used to torture each other. "Hey, that could really work!".  Schur, you magnificent bastard!