S03.E02: The Marshmallow Experiment

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Liza's identity is threatened by Thad's laptop and Kelsey. Also: a Silicon Valley billionaire makes an investment in Empirical.

[Eri]

I still don't understand why Kelsey would have been that offended by Thad's password choice - he's said worse stuff to her face! She knew he was always a douchebag so why would he have been any different before he died?  Chad is a creep but that was expected and the engagement ring spiel would have been all I needed to say goodbye and never look back.

She seriously dodged a bullet =|

[rallymantis]

Oh, Christ!  Between the Silicon Valley virgin calling Charles & Diana "dinosaurs", and the party of hipsters  Modern Family's Hayley threw at her Dad's Open House, I despair, as an over-40-something, EVER EVER finding another job.

Dear Show: Please let Diana have the idea that rescues Empirical.  And then let her hose down that rude douchedork with a barrel full of Givenchy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Thad was such a douchebro and Kelsey knew it, so I'm glad that she not only dodged a huge bullet in marrying that philandering asshole but she also managed to avoid being related to Chad. Ugh. His password was totally in line with what we knew about him (as was the password hint) so I don't think she was shocked by it. But I think that she, like many other people, was doing that thing where someone dies and you concentrate on the good things. The whole password thing reminded her what an ass he was. Or at least that's how I hope it worked in her head because there is nothing good to miss about Thad. He was gross and he treated Kelsey like crap. She is so much better off without him!

I remember when I was 20 and a lot of people in my office were in their 30s and 40s. I knew they were older (many of them were married with kids) but I didn't look down on them because of it. They were good at their jobs and most of them were nice people. There were some who I definitely wouldn't invite to go clubbing or anything like that, but I didn't think disparagingly of them. I think that there are some millenials who share Bryce's attitude (and I think Kelsey has that attitude as well to an extent, but not nearly as much as Bryce), but not all of them do.

And in Bryce's kind of defense, I think his major issue with Charles and Diana is that they are part of what he considers a dying dinosaur of an industry (print media). They're holding on to paper when so many things are now digital. He sees them as Dennis Duffy selling beepers and wondering why they still bother with something that he thinks will be obsolete very soon. Given how many newspapers and magazines have closed or greatly reduced their staff in favor of online content, I can't entirely blame Bryce for that part of his attitude (and I say that as someone who still buys physical books even though I also have a kindle). He is looking to the future and how technology can be used to change the industry. He sees Charles and Diana as the equivalent of people who are still holding onto their VCRs. To be fair, at least he was mostly polite with Charles and Diana (although I'm sure Diana didn't see it that way during the beaver anus conversation). Diana couldn't control her judginess long enough to keep her mouth shut (which is the smart thing to do when you're courting an investor) and called the termites in his tattoo revolting, which was really rude. But yeah, I still find the "old people are so dumb" attitude annoying.

Edited October 6, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

To be fair, at least he was mostly polite with Charles and Diana (although I'm sure Diana didn't see it that way during the beaver anus conversation).

He's on the spectrum! I wonder if he really was, or if he used that as an excuse to be a jackass. I wouldn't put it past him (or the writers).

I'd love for Diana to have the saving idea, too. (It will probably be Liza, though, given she's the main character.) What I don't like about the show is the idea that anyone over 40 has no clue what's going on. Just because Diana and Charles aren't completely up to date on the latest apps doesn't mean they're against using them. As long as they're open to new tech and ideas—which they are—I think they're fine. In their positions, they have other things that are more important uses of their time.

[Texasmom1970]

Tired of the oh shit Liza's secret is gonna come out stuff. Also they Liza/Charles and Josh stuff, so not interested. Pick one and be done with it already.

Best part of the episode to me was Debi Mazar and his scene with all her sex knowledge, too funny!

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

So, Kelsey had drunk sex in a barn with Chad while she was dating his identical twin brother Thad, the name she kept calling him, and Chad is somehow convinced that it was some sort of game? No. 

That's rape by deception. It's gross and disgusting on it's own, but it's profoundly disturbing that absolutely no one recognizes it as such. 

The "Houdini" is also rape. 

[atomationage]

Bryce was interesting in  a very annoying sort of way.    I forgot about the episodes last year that featured the annoying "youngers".  I hope that's the last of Chad/Thad. 

[rallymantis]

On October 6, 2016 at 5:06 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 I can't entirely blame Bryce for that part of his attitude...He sees Charles and Diana as the equivalent of people who are still holding onto their VCR

He can think whatever he likes.  But that whole "You stink" speech to Diana was rude and unnecessary.  He is doing nothing but confirming what people that age think of people his age.  I thought immediately of one of my favorite movie lines (from The Sting): "Sit down! And try not to live up to all my expectations."

At least Diana showed restraint by waiting a few hours before the termite comeback.

Edited to add: Slightly cranky when I wrote this earlier (no kidding, rally!), and I need to amend my earlier statement with something I truly believe:

That is, that no matter your age/sex/affiliation, it can be a tedious bore to conform to stereotype.  That's the reason I despise women who wear sports team regalia because they "look good in that color."

Edited October 8, 2016 by rallymantis
My version of apology

[holly4755]

so it is wrong to hold on to your VCR because you have some tapes it would cost you a lot to replace, and jsut in case someone wanted to see them..... My sisters shower and wedding, my brother's weddings, my cousins hula dancing with the first movie camera in the family from the early 50's, I could get them transferred, but right now, it is cheaper to keep the VCR and no one wants to see them. 

With the password, you try and ignore the douchier aspects of your relationship because being in a relationship seems like a good thing, but then they are gone and of no value in that sense to you except as a memory, and are not there for you and a douchey thing they did comes up and reminds you of all the things you forgave- Boom, you say, ok, enough I don't care anymore. like the veil before the eyes drops. I can see it. 

as to generational differences, well, there is some changes in who women think of themselves as sexually free and there for have to accept some behavior that is insulting to them to be cool, under the guise of being free to make this choice, it is some weird justification for maybe not seeing some behavior as douchey. We have discovered some things are better not discussed between generations, like how many people you threw up on when drunk. 

[dubbel zout]

2 minutes ago, holly4755 said:

We have discovered some things are better not discussed between generations, like how many people you threw up on when drunk. 

That's probably better not discussed with anyone, IMO.

[Negritude]

Between this show and the current season of Survivor (Gen X vs Milennials), I'm starting to feel like the media is trying to tell my 36 year old butt to take a long walk off a short pier lol.

[BabyVegas]

Hey, if it makes you feel any better, the media seems to think that I (a Millenial) am an idiot or an asshole. Or, worse, some combination of the two.

Honestly, I get really annoyed at this show and the way they portray Millenials. At least to me it doesn't come off as remotely believable; it comes off as what a Boomer thinks Millenials are like. I'd be curious to know how many people under 30 they have on the writing staff and how much MPK drives the story. Bryce was being a jerk, no question. On the other hand, something that a lot of the Millenials I know talk about is that at work we are expected to basically be tech support to our bosses who make no effort to learn how various technologies or social media platforms work and sometimes are proud of how ignorant they are of tech/social media. It is certainly an undercurrent I've had to deal with when teaching Boomers how to use programs. I enjoy the show for what it is, which is a fun way to turn my brain off for half an hour, but this episode really crystallized for me my frustration with the writing on this show.

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, BabyVegas said:

Hey, if it makes you feel any better, the media seems to think that I (a Millenial) am an idiot or an asshole. Or, worse, some combination of the two.

Honestly, I get really annoyed at this show and the way they portray Millenials. At least to me it doesn't come off as remotely believable; it comes off as what a Boomer thinks Millenials are like. I'd be curious to know how many people under 30 they have on the writing staff and how much MPK drives the story. Bryce was being a jerk, no question. On the other hand, something that a lot of the Millenials I know talk about is that at work we are expected to basically be tech support to our bosses who make no effort to learn how various technologies or social media platforms work and sometimes are proud of how ignorant they are of tech/social media. It is certainly an undercurrent I've had to deal with when teaching Boomers how to use programs. I enjoy the show for what it is, which is a fun way to turn my brain off for half an hour, but this episode really crystallized for me my frustration with the writing on this show.

Bosses often don't make an effort to understand "various technologies" or social media because they have lower level (usually younger) people around to either do it for them or help them through it when necessary.  It's always been that way.  They wear it as a badge of honor because it's a sign to them that they're "above" all that stuff.  It isn't really based on what generation anyone comes from.  My boss is 40 and I'm 58 and I'm more "tech savvy" than he is.  Then again, he's a VP and I'm an exec. assistant.  He's been too busy climbing the corporate ladder to learn that stuff and he has "people" to do it for him.  Believe it or not, back in the stone age before everyone had to use a keyboard most higher level people were proud of their inability to even TYPE for the same reason.  If you typed it meant you had to use a typewriter, which meant you were a lower level employee.  So I don't take what I'm seeing in this show as a generational thing but a job level thing.

That said, I agree with you about this show portraying Millennials the way older people see them and I'm down as saying just that on this board in Season 1 or 2.

[holly4755]

hey, I am a boomer, and I know that shots is what people are doing, that part is real. I don't understand it, but I have enough young relatives that have added me to facebook, that I finally blocked their posts, so I don't have to report them to their parents or grandparents, heh. I have asked them to consider not putting nude photos up because , no matter what they think, the internet never forgets. And now we have a new bunch off to college and bragging about their drinking and what ever.  I missed it when people stopped fearing stuff appearing on their permanent record.  Anyway as to some other stuff, all I can tell you is what the fun aunt hears from the younger ones.  

[dubbel zout]

17 hours ago, BabyVegas said:

how much MPK drives the story

Who is this, Michael Patrick King? He has nothing to do with the show.

15 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

So I don't take what I'm seeing in this show as a generational thing but a job level thing.

This. It's always the assistants who are clearing the copy machine jams and changing the toner. Managers are paid to manage, not to figure out why track changes isn't working properly in Word. It seems generational because assistants are often younger than their managers.

[BabyVegas]

8 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Who is this, Michael Patrick King? He has nothing to do with the show.

Forgive me, I don't know why I mistakenly thought he did. But replace Michael Patrick King with the correct showrunner and/or creator and I'd still say the same thing.

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, BabyVegas said:

 But replace Michael Patrick King with the correct showrunner and/or creator and I'd still say the same thing.

That's what showrunners do: oversee the direction of the story. It appears you don't like that direction.

[aradia22]

I wish Kelsey would have looked at the laptop anyway. I'm tired of this same plot of Liza almost getting found out and then something coming in to stop that from happening. The laptop didn't fry dramatically so I wonder if they won't contrive it so it's still in play.

They're walking a fine line with this guy being 'sort of on the spectrum' or whatever he keeps saying. 

I don't hate Chad. I hope they keep that actor. Besides, it's a raw deal to get written off just because the writers wrote themselves into a corner about Liza's secret almost getting revealed. 

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I'd love for Diana to have the saving idea, too. (It will probably be Liza, though, given she's the main character.) What I don't like about the show is the idea that anyone over 40 has no clue what's going on. Just because Diana and Charles aren't completely up to date on the latest apps doesn't mean they're against using them. As long as they're open to new tech and ideas—which they are—I think they're fine. In their positions, they have other things that are more important uses of their time.

I would love that too. I get that she's the main character, but the problem with having Liza constantly fix things is that it makes everyone seem incompetent. That was alright (if still rather annoying) on Ugly Betty when a lot of people (like Daniel) were somewhat incompetent or narrow-minded or something else but Diana and Charles and Kelsey are professionals in the publishing business who've been at it for longer than Liza who took a break for years and just jumped back in to a different world. We don't need to pretend she's the greatest at everything. I would like a bit more of the practical stuff to come into play... book signings, audio books, e-books, putting books into the hands of "influencers," giving book deals to youtubers, etc. What does it take to stay in business nowadays? It doesn't have to be the whole show (this isn't Smash) but a little of it would be nice and might produce more organic (and different) conflicts.