S01.E01: Pilot

[queenanne]

On 9/21/2016 at 7:17 AM, TVForever said:

Okay, this is going to sound weird. I was watching this with closed-captioning, and   During the early scene with the parents at the soccer game, when the dad says, " That's my little badass", the caption read, " That's my little Bull Dyke." It was a needle-scratch moment. Wait, what? I rewound it about 4 times. Then, watching his lips, it DID look like he was saying something other than "badass". Like, maybe it was voice-dubbed. And that caption was the same each time.

If you still have this recorded, or if you can watch OnDemand, PLEASE watch this scene with your closed-captioning on and tell me I'm not crazy.

 

On 9/21/2016 at 2:21 PM, mojoween said:

I just have to believe that was an error on the part of the captioners because I cannot believe in 2014 or 2015, when this was presumably written, that any person on earth would ever use the descriptor of "bull dyke," let alone anyone who was calling their CHILD that.

No, when there's a mistake in closed captioning IMO you know it, because it's nonsensical in context; not offensive (I always use subtitles to counteract air conditioners/space heaters' hiss and am a collector of their malapropisms).  The father said "bad-ass" aloud, which sounds not one whit like "bull dyke" to anyone's ears for there to be an aural misinterpretation; and I absolutely believe that the same writers who would include that the first time around, would also think it was "edgy, cool, cute" writing to have Bigger Boyfriend ask Girl Twin about "a handy" as well. I can only assume Standards & Practices and good sense prevailed for the former.

I liked it well enough, but didn't JJ Abrams try this concept already for us in the presence of that show with Erika Christensen (and screamingly fail in ratings flames)?  Which may or may not have been the same show as "a dozen disparate strangers are thrown into each other's lives via a winning lottery ticket pool"?  I give NBC credit for trying to sell this hard, and I might stick with it for a few more episodes, but it too, as I was lamenting in the thread about another show, I fear is reductive and probably not all that interesting in its premise once you have time to absorb it and its twists.  (I do openly grant that I have little to no interest in the likes of its forerunners, Brothers and Sisters, Thirtysomething, etc., so this too "might not be the show for me".)

[Tiger]

On 10/2/2016 at 3:35 PM, queenanne said:

 

I liked it well enough, but didn't JJ Abrams try this concept already for us in the presence of that show with Erika Christensen (and screamingly fail in ratings flames)?  Which may or may not have been the same show as "a dozen disparate strangers are thrown into each other's lives via a winning lottery ticket pool"?  I give NBC credit for trying to sell this hard, and I might stick with it for a few more episodes, but it too, as I was lamenting in the thread about another show, I fear is reductive and probably not all that interesting in its premise once you have time to absorb it and its twists.  (I do openly grant that I have little to no interest in the likes of its forerunners, Brothers and Sisters, Thirtysomething, etc., so this too "might not be the show for me".)

Are you talking about Six Degrees?  It was a great show with a stellar cast that actually got decent ratings, but its retention out of then-monster Grey's doomed it.  

Back then retention was still everything.

[WhosThatGirl]

Six Degrees was such a good show! And I can't really remember why all those strangers were thrown together in that show but I don't think it was the lottery..to me, this show has more of a feel of that show that was on FOX, it was called Reunion and yes, I do feel that way only because of the added flashbacks both shows had..

and off topic but on the last page someone said Freaks and Geeks was an NBC show!??!?!? I always thought it was a FOX show. Mind blown. I loved Freaks and Geeks! 

[Raja]

The board is jumping to the last post. That is okay before going back I din't catch on until the fireman pulled the cigarette out. But in saying 36 years does that mean the main show is set 10 or 15 years ago?

Edited October 4, 2016 by Raja

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, Raja said:

The board is jumping to the last post. That is okay before going back I din't catch on until the fireman pulled the cigarette out. But in saying 36 years does that mean the main show is set 10 or 15 years ago?

No its set now.

[kat165]

In the market for a new show as this season's viewing is basically crap, I watched this and didn't really get interested until the end. I really liked the surprise. And I really liked Randall and his family. I loved how he walked
out on the birth father and then turned around and said, "So you want to meet your grandkids?" And when his kid said, what's happening when she saw Daddy sort of losing it and him mouthing to the wife "what's happening?" - loved the actor's read on that. I've not seen this actor and really enjoyed him throughout.

I'm not one for sap/"feel good" shows that try to make you cry so I wasn't sure I'd get through the whole 60 min., but the humor grabbed me. It's almost wise-ass, always a plus for me.

I'm not familiar with the actor who plays the actor but his mannerisms on the set on the Manny were so reminiscent of Mark Harmon that I thought the actor was his son. Looked him up, he's not. But the similarities were eerie.

This isn't really my kind of show so I don't know how long I will stay with it. I never saw or read any previews.

Another dumbass for the club. I didn't catch on either.

I didn't really like Toby. Too pushy.

I'm not familiar with any of the actors except Mandy Moore who has always been too saccharin for me, but she wasn't completely nauseating here. At least so far.

Hospital decor through the ages and birthing in any time period are not on my radar so I didn't notice anything "off" about the hospital. I might have caught on that the hospital was in a different time if I'd seen a wooden wheelchair though. :)

[methodwriter85]

Let's just make this easy- Kevin is a guy who mixes up dates easily, and he really meant 1st grade or kindergarten, and Kate didn't feel like correcting him when he said 2nd grade to her later. Also, that this is set in 2015 and they were born in 1979.

Edited October 8, 2016 by methodwriter85

[NutMeg]

I must thank PTV for hooking me up with this show - opening the site window, and without reading far, there was something there in the Ep 3 review that made me want to give this a try - maybe I was in the mood for some crying, and what better way to get tears coming that movies/series about fictional people? Beats the hell out of crying about your own family problems :).

So I've watched two epiodes in a row, then came here and was amazed at the number of posts. I started reading dutifully, then ended up skipping, because I never post without reaing and, really, I wanted to say how much I like this show, based on the first two episodes. And no, I had no idea what it was about, even less that there was a twist. But this seems really clever to me, and the cast is fantastic, so I'm in.

(Why would anyone compare it to Parenthood? I'm serious, I don't get it)      

[Hanahope]

I wasn't going to watch at first,  but I've heard good things, so I watched the pilot over the weekend.  It looks pretty decent.  Yes, I had already heard about the twist, so I spent the show looking for tells before the obvious reveal at the end.  There wasn't much.

As an overweight person myself, I appreciated those scenes, and admittedly chuckled over the thin person agonizing over gaining 7 pounds.  You just have to walk that mile.  I have to be a bit impressed that a show is having an actress who is that obese, more than even Melissa McCartney.  There's just so few, especially when you consider how many obese people are out there watching TV.  So I'm interested to see how that story develops.

[limecoke]

I love looking for anachronisms in shows that portray an era I'm very familiar with.  They did pretty well but I did catch the odd one here and there.  I'm fairly certain those little one piece outfits for infants were not called "onesies" at that time.  I had babies then and for the life of me, I can't recall what we called them but onesies is pretty much a 21st century term.   Yes, a Caesarian would have been standard for triplets in 1980 and would probably have saved baby number three's life.  I'm not sure it was common for a dad to be in the birth room at that time.  Mine was born in '79 and my husband wasn't given that option.  Probably wrong on this as procedures varied from place to place and I had a c-section.

But, I loved the show.  Didn't cry but I rarely do with TV but I got a bit verklempt.  Loved seeing Milo as Not-Jess.  Loved Dr. McRaney.

[RachelKM]

4 minutes ago, limecoke said:

I love looking for anachronisms in shows that portray an era I'm very familiar with.  They did pretty well but I did catch the odd one here and there.  I'm fairly certain those little one piece outfits for infants were not called "onesies" at that time.  I had babies then and for the life of me, I can't recall what we called them but onesies is pretty much a 21st century term.   Yes, a Caesarian would have been standard for triplets in 1980 and would probably have saved baby number three's life.  I'm not sure it was common for a dad to be in the birth room at that time.  Mine was born in '79 and my husband wasn't given that option.  Probably wrong on this as procedures varied from place to place and I had a c-section.

But, I loved the show.  Didn't cry but I rarely do with TV but I got a bit verklempt.  Loved seeing Milo as Not-Jess.  Loved Dr. McRaney.

The terms is definitely older than 21st century, but I think you're right that Onesie was not a term for baby bodysuits in 1980.  Onesie is actually a trademark term (a thing I did know since only Gerber bodysuits are actually called Onesies).  I looked up when they even came out with them and it seems Gerber introduced the line in 1982.  That appears to be the origin of the name and it would have been after that it became a generic term like Q-Tip and Coke.  

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I looked up when they even came out with them and it seems Gerber introduced the line in 1982. 

Makes sense, as I dressed my late 80's baby in onsies (probably Gerber, come to think of it). That's the only term I ever used, I think. I didn't have anything to do with babies before then, didn't even babysit as a kid.

[jeansheridan]

Mixed for me. The cheese was sliced a bit too thick. But Alan Thicke was perfect stunt casting.
Justin Hartley is awfully pretty. And charming. He was my preferred Green Arrow.

[jeansheridan]

  On 9/26/2016 at 8:42 AM, Lady Iris said:

I didn't cry but I was quite touched.. I liked the time twisty development. The anvils were falling with the 'high risk pregnancy' so I had an inkling something sad was going to happen. I forgot how much I love Gerald McRaney as an actor. I loved the bro/sis vibe between the twins. Loved the chemistry between Mandy and Milo. Thrilled to see Sterling K. Brown on my tv again after his well deserved Emmy win. So with all that said, if I get attached to this show and NBC cancels it after one season, I shall be quite displeased. I still haven't forgiven or forgotten about how shabbily they treated Freaks and Geeks.

We need to be friends...I could have written this post INCLUDING the reference to Freaks and Geeks...one of my favorites of all time. I was the braniac who hung with the "burnouts" as we called them. Also your assessments of the actors - spot on IMO. I agree with everything you said 100%!

I think Freaks and Geeks is great because it just had one season. I would rather have one perfect season--My So Called Life, Firefly, Galavant--than 7 seasons of diminished returns. See Buffy, X-Files, Gilmore Girls.

[kassygreene]

I'm not going to go back to watch, but those "onesies" seemed more like hand-knitted long shirts, and I vaguely recall long shirts (didn't have kids myself, but fellow students did).  I also seem to recall that more natural methods of childbirth (i.e. not flat on the back with legs in stirrups) were beginning to be a thing - partly, I suppose, thanks to the hippie/commune movement.  And dads being present were beginning to be a thing too.

I remember my mom telling actual late-70s early 80s hippies (we had a commune in the area) that while natural childbirth was a thing, so was natural infant mortality, and natural maternal mortality.  The drug-em-to-imbecility practices were going away (think Betty Draper's third delivery in Mad Men).  My contemporaries (late 80s onward) were expecting their husbands to be there, and the husbands were smart enough not to resist.

[dotdot]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 11:16 PM, MaryPatShelby said:

OK seriously, I'm a moron, so could someone explain this to me?  What I'm getting from reading here is that Milo and Mandy are living in 1980, so they are the parents of Kate, Manny, and Sterling......right?  

I actually thought that Gerald McRaney was their father, after Kate recounted "Dad's" telling of the lemon/lemonade story. With that in mind, I couldn't figure out why stuff in the hospital was so dated.  
 

Oh good! I thought I was the ONLY one who thought Gerald McRaney was their father when Kate said that. LOL

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 10/30/2016 at 7:41 PM, limecoke said:

 I'm fairly certain those little one piece outfits for infants were not called "onesies" at that time.

We called them that in 1990.

[Tiger]

On 11/4/2016 at 9:19 AM, jeansheridan said:

I think Freaks and Geeks is great because it just had one season. I would rather have one perfect season--My So Called Life, Firefly, Galavant--than 7 seasons of diminished returns. See Buffy, X-Files, Gilmore Girls.

That is what concerns me about this show.  Im afraid it will be like Brothers & Sisters with an amazing hit first season, and then a malignant confluence of network meddling and the writers/producers attempting to stop any perceived slide will turn all the characters into cartoons by season 3 with accompanying cartoonish plots by season 4.  

And its not just the family drama category that struggles with this.  I think the only dramas that Ive ever watched that had amazing first seasons and then went to hell afterwards were ER and NYPD Blue.  

So in season 4 when Beth & Kevin have an affair, and its revealed by a letter Jack wrote Kate that he instructed to be delivered to her on her 40th birtbday, no one act surprised.  

[jeansheridan]

Quote

So in season 4 when Beth & Kevin have an affair, and its revealed by a letter Jack wrote Kate that he instructed to be delivered to her on her 40th birtbday, no one act surprised.  

Sigh.  So possible.  Six Feet Under managed to have a pretty good run even if it wasn't my favorite show of all time.  And I haven't watched Friday Night Lights yet but I've only heard good things.  But they had what?  Three seasons?  Might be enough.

I''m very fond of British shows because they have 10 episode seasons and often know when to stop!  Same with Korean shows.

[WhosThatGirl]

Friday night lights had four or five seasons. But their last season aired first on a cable network and then later on in the year aired on NBC. It's an excellent show. It would possibly do better now, because of DVR recordings and it was on before DVR was a thing. 

[doodlebug]

On 9/21/2016 at 7:54 AM, BonnieD said:

 

Also, what's the deal with people thinking a doctor wouldn't deliver Caesarean in the early 80s? That's nuts. My sis had her babies in the mid to late 70s and had to have them both Caesarean. For triplets I'm certain a doctor would recommend it back then. Unless they're saying that Milo and Mandy refused because they wanted to try a natural delivery despite knowing the possible complications.

OB GYN here.  Although the current management is to do cesareans for triplets, back in the 80's, many OB/GYN's would let them labor and only do a C/S if something intervened.  As a resident in the 80's, I saw 2 sets of vaginally delivered triplets.  However, in both cases, the mothers spent some weeks in the hospital on bedrest before delivery.  As far as smoking in the hospital, usually not allowed except in designated areas.  Not that patients didn't smoke in the bathrooms all the time, setting off the fire alarms.

[mtlchick]

Wanted to bump this back up.  RIP Alan Thicke :(

[kat165]

thanks, mtl, I didn't know.

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, kat165 said:

thanks, mtl, I didn't know.

It happened this afternoon and, apparently, there was some confusion about what happened.  I think it finally came down that he had a heart attack while playing hockey.

[kat165]

Ah, that is so sad. He wasn't even that old of a guy, was he?

[memememe76]

That is the last thing I saw Alan on. He was excellent. I  actually did feel sorry for Alan Thicke. RIP.

[kat165]

Yeah, me too, meme.

[OtterMommy]

2 minutes ago, kat165 said:

Ah, that is so sad. He wasn't even that old of a guy, was he?

He was 69.  Here is his obit from NPR (the hockey detail is missing. I had heard both that he was playing tennis and that he was playing hockey, so who knows....)

 

http://www.npr.org/2016/12/13/505494572/alan-thicke-80s-sitcom-dad-and-theme-song-composer-dies-at-69

[Court]

Wow. I feel like a piece of my childhood died.

[chocolatine]

Sad! It's almost like his departure to nowhere with an empty suitcase was prophetic.

[kat165]

Thanks, Otter.

[SueB]

Pilot rewatch:

- I really appreciated Kate in this episode.  Everyone was excellent but I think that her story was very well played.  We got so many little details about her personality from that little montage. Particularly the post-it notes, with backup post-it notes.  

- I cringed when Kevin had his meltdown.  Not that it wasn't warranted (that showrunner is an ASS) but it just hurt to see him ramble.  OTOH, I loved him squatting on the floor with Kate.

- The scenes with William were very powerful but for some reason, watching the girls at soccer helped me to know Randall and Beth so much more ("over, under. back through" ... how awesome was it for Beth to cheer French Braid instructions!).

- Dr. Folksy really was special.  I like the notion of having a brief but intense encounter changes someone's life.  He really did that for Jack & Rebecca.

- Milo's bum... well, they really went there didn't they.  Bless the actor for playing along.  And for Mandy Moore for doing the awkward sexy dance of Shamu. And my heart broke for them as Jack was telling Rebecca about losing the third baby.  That was so very hard to see.  

An EXCELLENT Pilot.  They have to set up so many complex characters but I thought they did a great job.  

[BoogieBurns]

18 hours ago, SueB said:

("over, under. back through" ... how awesome was it for Beth to cheer French Braid instructions!).

Every time I rewatch, which has to be at least 5 times now, that's been the best part. They are just supportive, not pushy parents. Even right now it makes me happy. 

[methodwriter85]

On 12/13/2016 at 11:56 PM, kat165 said:

Ah, that is so sad. He wasn't even that old of a guy, was he?

He had a later-in-life kid, too. His youngest son is only 19.  That's going to be really rough for everybody, but that's a pretty big loss for someone so young.

What I loved about that moment was that the Manny really did feel like some dumb 2000's sitcom with a preachy "aww" moment, and Kevin was furious that he managed to have a good moment but the producer wanted it to be lighter to fit in with said dumb 2000's sitcom feel.

[Quickbeam]

I finally got around to watching the pilot on Hulu. I felt like such a dumb ass when the fireman pulled out a cigarette. Arghhhh! I've been had. My favorite part was when the skinny woman was complaining about her 7# of gut. You could feel the teeth gnashing in the room. 

My only real tip off was letting a woman labor with multiples. But then I thought maybe that was her birth plan, etc. I was definitely surprised. 

[Zima]

On 5/29/2017 at 3:42 PM, Quickbeam said:

I finally got around to watching the pilot on Hulu. I felt like such a dumb ass when the fireman pulled out a cigarette. Arghhhh! I've been had. My favorite part was when the skinny woman was complaining about her 7# of gut. You could feel the teeth gnashing in the room. 

My only real tip off was letting a woman labor with multiples. But then I thought maybe that was her birth plan, etc. I was definitely surprised. 

I just got around to watching this myself. Don't feel bad; I didn't realize the twist ending until I started episode 2, LOL.

[SnarkySheep]

I too recently got around to watching the pilot - I was interested since the show initially aired, but just had too many other shows to keep up with.

So far, I've only watched two episodes, but I really like it. I was pleasantly surprised at how subtly the show manages to reveal connections and new information. I'll definitely keep watching!

[Miles]

Only now getting around to watching this. I don't know what to think. The acting is certainly top notch, but I wanted to strangle whoever overused that acustic guitar so much (last song wasn't just guitar, but still with guitar as the prominent intrument, so it contributed). But the guitar was really just a symptom of the overall sappyness, that was way too sappy, even for me.

The Twist that the parents of the triplets storyline was in the past was interesting, but not quite earned, imo. There was basically no indication in the bedroom, that this was in the past, but at the end of the episode it was suddenly the most late 70s / early 80s bedroom there ever was in the entire universe. Plus that doctor had way too good a bedside manner for that timeframe. I think they tried to explain wwhy, but still not buying it. They also toned the dads and moms clothes way down. Then at the end, suddenly peak 70s/80s. Basically they cheated and they cheated hard. I don't think I would have minded that much if they hadn't done that hard turn at the end.

 

I don't think I'd usually continue watching, but everybody seems to love this show, so I'll give it a few more episodes.

[Violetgoblin6]

8 hours ago, Miles said:

Only now getting around to watching this. I don't know what to think. The acting is certainly top notch, but I wanted to strangle whoever overused that acustic guitar so much (last song wasn't just guitar, but still with guitar as the prominent intrument, so it contributed). But the guitar was really just a symptom of the overall sappyness, that was way too sappy, even for me.

The Twist that the parents of the triplets storyline was in the past was interesting, but not quite earned, imo. There was basically no indication in the bedroom, that this was in the past, but at the end of the episode it was suddenly the most late 70s / early 80s bedroom there ever was in the entire universe. Plus that doctor had way too good a bedside manner for that timeframe. I think they tried to explain wwhy, but still not buying it. They also toned the dads and moms clothes way down. Then at the end, suddenly peak 70s/80s. Basically they cheated and they cheated hard. I don't think I would have minded that much if they hadn't done that hard turn at the end.

 

I don't think I'd usually continue watching, but everybody seems to love this show, so I'll give it a few more episodes.

My mom had a very similar OBGYN in 1974, when I was born. Even better. But yeah, it was rare. 

[topanga]

On 10/3/2018 at 10:22 AM, Miles said:

I don't think I'd usually continue watching, but everybody seems to love this show, so I'll give it a few more episodes.

And I think you should. But keep in mind that the people who love this show gush hard—and loudly—about it. Just don’t think you have to luvvvvv the show the way some viewers do —that might backfire and make you hate it.