S01.E01: Pilot

[tenativelyyours]

Being optimistic that there will be enough traffic to earn episode threads!

 

I liked it.l  I think this was a good role for Katy to take on.  I like Katy so that made this fun to watch if a little wobbly here and there.  I'm not sure about Dietrich though.  I hardly dislike him, but not sure he is the right guy to play the husband.

The kids were interesting enough and just a little off center without being too heavy handed for a pilot. 

I hope they don't try to find a warm fuzzy place with Two-Fit-Bit lady.  I would rather they continue to recognize that Katy's character is over the top and self aware but also cynical and smart enough to know how things are played.  A bit or rue or remorse but also plenty of sharp observation.  I do not want them to slowly become friends or see the worth in each other.  I'd much rather Leslie Bibb's character be one of those oblivious people who can't see or just don't want to see how small minded and offensive they are for finding others don't wish they were just like them.

I read reviews that like the show and say it gets stronger after the pilot.  Since I liked the pilot I'm not sure if I should be happy about that or worried.  I'm so looking for an unapologetic comedy that doesn't do life moments or tell me how being bad is bad and being good is good.  And all that matters is love.  This might try too hard to be irreverent but so far I'll take it.

[cooksdelight]

So far I think it's funny, but some of the fat jokes will get really old, really fast. Little girl with all the weird obsessions is cute (except peeing in the yard, someone needs to stop that), son is obnoxious, oldest daughter is the typical teenager who doesn't want to be seen in public with the family.  I love Norman. Two-Fit Bit Lady is going to be fun to watch in action.

ON OCTOBER 10, 2016 AT 11:35 PM, JMONIQUE SAID:

There's something about the lead's delivery of every line in the previews that screams I'M ACTING to me, and just takes me out of the moment every time. As a result, I'm not really looking forward to this show at all.

She's not that bad overall, just the clips they've shown are the worst, I think.

[chocolatine]

I found the harping on how "fat" the protagonist is supposed to be all kinds of offensive. She looks like a size 12, 14 tops. She doesn't even qualify as plus-size. The actress is very attractive, like a curvy version of Eva Longoria, so I'm not buying the insecurity. And if she needs bigger women around her to feel better about herself, then she's not much better than the fit moms she is deriding.

[jumper sage]

I'll give it one more week.  Did not like this week.  How can an actress be sexy on one show and then fat on another?  I don't like the whole premise.  The Trump like kid was the only funny one.

[random chance]

I wonder if Katy Mixon deliberately gained weight for this role, because up until the last season she was thin on Mike & Molly.

I didn't hate it, but there was something off - I'm not sure what. Too much "you're not going to be that kind of kid," maybe. Weird judginess of the fitness moms - why is an obsession with food ok but an obsession with fitness is not? It's not like the fitness moms were in her face putting her down. Her husband on the toilet. (I don't need to see that on TV, sitcom writers! Feel free to go back to the days when nobody shat on TV, I'm fine with the repression, I promise!)

It's kind of weird to make people who are trying to exercise and eat healthy into the bad guys? (Can't we all just get alone?)  I don't know, but I'm sure I'll watch next week since it's on after The Middle.

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, random chance said:

It's kind of weird to make people who are trying to exercise and eat healthy into the bad guys? (Can't we all just get alone?)  I don't know, but I'm sure I'll watch next week since it's on after The Middle.

Yeah not to mention the weird judginess of Westport.  Is this some strange California idea of what Westport must be like?  I used to live in a town that bordered Westport and I'm just not getting that "yeah that's how it is" feeling.  To me it feels more like a negative thing, not an endearing poke.  If they really wanted comedy they should have cast someone like Leah Remini to be the square peg rather than harp on weight.  There are certainly obese women living in Westport, certainly heavier than the star of this show.  I agree she isn't even that heavy.  I think it should have been more about culture than weight, perhaps a blue collar vs. blue blood theme.  I think that would have been funnier.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[zxy556575]

This was all sorts of bad for me -- the focus on weight to the exclusion of jokes, the soliloquies to the camera, the giggly shrugs about the youngest daughter's behavior, the toilet Dad "gag" (for real). It came off as mean-spirited to me, not ironic or sarcastically wry.

46 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

If they really wanted comedy they should have cast someone like Leah Remini to be the square peg rather than harp on weight. 

Agreed. Katie's two friends are thin. A single physical trait is not enough on which to build a sitcom. I'll see how the next episode goes, but I'm not optimistic.

[jmonique]

I decided to give it a chance, mainly because of insomnia.

To be just as superficial as the show, the near-duck lips thing the lead does with her mouth is distracting.

[LVmom]

After GCB(only series I ever bought on DVD after cancellation), Leslie Bibb can do no wrong for me. I'm in until it's cancelled. I got a little Christy Masters(mmm) from Romy and MIchelle's High School reunion feel from the lead mom who kissed Katie. I think I could like this show a lot as long as it isn't all about how heavy she is. Just the kid peeing in the lawn should have moms giving her the stink eye. 

Edited October 12, 2016 by LVmom

[me5671]

I absolutely loved this.  Katy was great IMO and I got a lot of laughs from this pilot.  I'm encouraged because comedy pilots are usually kinda terrible and this wasn't for me.  I am hopeful that with a few more episodes the characters will develop  a little more and this can grow into a really funny show. 

[AncientSand]

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I found the harping on how "fat" the protagonist is supposed to be all kinds of offensive. She looks like a size 12, 14 tops. She doesn't even qualify as plus-size. The actress is very attractive, like a curvy version of Eva Longoria, so I'm not buying the insecurity. And if she needs bigger women around her to feel better about herself, then she's not much better than the fit moms she is deriding.

I thought the fat stuff was a bit much as well.  

[Snarklepuss]

9 minutes ago, AncientSand said:

I thought the fat stuff was a bit much as well.  

Knowing how sensitive women are about their weight, and given that the average women's size in the US is 14, showing a woman harp on how "fat" she is when she's around that size is kind of insulting to a lot of the female audience.  I think they're going for "validating" but it's just not coming across that way, IMHO.

[iMonrey]

Katy Mixon and Swoosie Kurtz were often the best thing about Mike and Molly, so I would like nothing better than to see Mixon succeed in a show of her own. Unfortunately, this pilot felt extremely pedestrian. I might have gotten a chuckle or two out of it but overall the whole thing fell flat for me. And I'm not sure Mixon's persona really lends itself to a lead role, frankly. Will give it another episode or two but I'm not hopeful. I could tell from all the promo spots they were having trouble finding reasonably funny bits to highlight.

[jumper sage]

10 hours ago, random chance said:

It's kind of weird to make people who are trying to exercise and eat healthy into the bad guys? (Can't we all just get alone?)

Have you seen this commercial, which I think is dumb?

 

10 hours ago, random chance said:

 

I wonder if Katy Mixon deliberately gained weight for this role, because up until the last season she was thin on Mike & Molly.

 

I don't think she has gained weight.  I think on Mike & Molly she was portrayed as a curvy, sexy woman.  On here she is portrayed as fat.  I dislike the portrayal.

[random chance]

16 minutes ago, jumper sage said:

Have you seen this commercial, which I think is dumb?

Yep! I've had their salad, it's pretty small and pedestrian.

Katy Mixon was a lot thinner in the early years of Mike & Molly, but I don't have the ambition to look up photographic proof. I don't care, I just wondered if that's why she gained weight. It wouldn't be the first time someone gained weight for a role. (This used to be titled something like The Fattest Housewife in Whatever Town, right?) Is she hugely fat? No. But for some reason that's the premise of the show. I think it's kind of a stupid premise, and I think judging the judgy people who judge in a vicious circle of judgery is a terrible theme, but I'll watch it a few more times and see what happens - maybe that was merely the hook and now it'll settle into something else. Like Cougar Town did.

[barbedwire]

I think Katy had a baby sometime this year.

 

I adored her on Mike & Molly - this show, which I really wanted to like, was just eh.  I will give it another try because I also hated the pilot of Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond and went on to love the shows.  The little girl going into the bathroom with dad on the toilet was all types of wrong!  Disgusting, unreal and boarding on creepy.  Hope the jokes get better.

[AnnaRose]

6 hours ago, jmonique said:

To be just as superficial as the show, the near-duck lips thing the lead does with her mouth is distracting.

Thank you!  OMG, I spent the whole episode distracted by the duck lip thing Katy Mixon kept doing.

The little girl was adorable though.

[Cherry Cola]

I really liked it.    They can tone down the fat talk, and just be quirky.  I would be ok with that.   I get that the youngest has ocd , but what does peeing on the lawn have to do with that? I didn't get it.  I cracked up at Take my breath away playing as they panned up on the larger woman.  That was funny.   I was glad that the skinny moms weren't mean.  That was refreshing.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I get that the youngest has ocd , but what does peeing on the lawn have to do with that? 

I'm guessing as a germaphobe she's afraid to touch the toilet. 

Edited October 12, 2016 by iMonrey

[Yogi Mantle]

I watched this show because I love Katy Mixon. But, like Conviction (Hayley Atwell), I think my love for the actress is going to wane over the course of a few more episodes because I thought this one, like Conviction, was too over the top for me.

I'll give it a few more.

KM was thinner at the beginning of Mike & Molly but did put on weight over the last 3 seasons. But I certainly wouldn't consider her fat.

As a Stamford resident, their description of Westport is spot-on, but they could have used an actual shot of the town rather than one of Bar Harbor, Maine.

[Beezella]

I appreciated the lack of a laugh track.

[sjankis630]

I didn't like it. I don't like when the writers take a whole season worth of quirks and try and shoehorn them into one episode. It was just too much especially the two younger kids. The little girl seemed to have way too much neuroses for someone that young. 

And can we ever unsee the "dad taking a dump" bathroom scene? 

[BubblingKettle]

I didn't love the constant talk of being fat and having a fat-ranking in the neighborhood. Personally, I think Katy Mixon is a very pretty woman, and I realize that physicians' guidelines probably chart her at 'overweight,' but I think she's pretty. I hope the writing doesn't make her confidence waver IRL. I was heavy when I was younger, so maybe my perspective is skewed. Another thought I had -- I hope it doesn't turn into a Rico Rodriguez situation (Manny, Modern Family) in which the talent remains at a certain size, even if they'd personally consider making a change, because they believe it's job security due to their character's portrayal. (Background: I read an article a few years ago about Rico R's parents discouraging him and his actress sister from losing weight because of their penchant for getting cast as the 'chubby misfit child' or 'sassy fat friend.') 

I have to admit that I did laugh when she said that Spanx-enhanced boobs are 1/3 gut. Gotta love my Spanx. 

I got some Alex P. Keaton vibes from the son. 

I could have lived without the daughter peeing in the yard and the dad on the toilet toilet scenes. I'm so not into bathroom humor. 

I'll keep watching and see how it goes -- I do like the adult actors/actresses in the show.

[lallalla]

11 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Knowing how sensitive women are about their weight, and given that the average women's size in the US is 14, showing a woman harp on how "fat" she is when she's around that size is kind of insulting to a lot of the female audience.  I think they're going for "validating" but it's just not coming across that way, IMHO.

I don't want to argue sizes, and regardless of size, Katy is beautiful and funny, however, I'd be shocked if she was just a 12-14 now, but I admit I have skewed self-perceptions on size. She may well be a representation of "medium" to average-ish American woman size (of course, depending on where you live).

She is bigger without being the size of the woman/potential neighbor she drove off. 

Added, I don't feel she's "fat", though I guess it's all relative?!

Edited October 13, 2016 by lallalla

[lallalla]

36 minutes ago, CoolWhipLite said:

I didn't love the constant talk of being fat and having a fat-ranking in the neighborhood. Personally, I think Katy Mixon is a very pretty woman, and I realize that physicians' guidelines probably chart her at 'overweight,' but I think she's pretty. I hope the writing doesn't make her confidence waver IRL. I was heavy when I was younger, so maybe my perspective is skewed. Another thought I had -- I hope it doesn't turn into a Rico Rodriguez situation (Manny, Modern Family) in which the talent remains at a certain size, even if they'd personally consider making a change, because they believe it's job security due to their character's portrayal. (Background: I read an article a few years ago about Rico R's parents discouraging him and his actress sister from losing weight because of their penchant for getting cast as the 'chubby misfit child' or 'sassy fat friend.') 

I have to admit that I did laugh when she said that Spanx-enhanced boobs are 1/3 gut. Gotta love my Spanx. 

I got some Alex P. Keaton vibes from the son. 

I could have lived without the daughter peeing in the yard and the dad on the toilet toilet scenes. I'm so not into bathroom humor. 

I'll keep watching and see how it goes -- I do like the adult actors/actresses in the show.

All of this and the other comments about weight in this episode.

Mixon is gorgeous..even the other "fatter" almost neighbor was very pretty (I hate seeming like we're justifying beauty/weight, gosh, they are pretty women, weight not a factor!).

[possibilities]

I don't consider Katy Mixon "fat" but I'm hoping the show is going to be making that point-- that even a normal sized woman is considered an outlier in a culture obsessed with thinness, and feels the need to defend herself.

I took her desire to not be "the fattest" (or the "second fattest") not to be competitive, but a desire for an ally and someone to take some of the pressure off of her.

I agree the show is skirting very close to the line with all of this, though, so I am watching cautiously, waiting to see exactly how they handle it beyond the pilot.

I did like quite a few other things about the family and the two friends she had lunch with. Her decision not to sell them out was a relief.

[Snarklepuss]

2 hours ago, lallalla said:

I don't want to argue sizes, and regardless of size, Katy is beautiful and funny, however, I'd be shocked if she was just a 12-14 now, but I admit I have skewed self-perceptions on size. She may well be a representation of "medium" to average-ish American woman size (of course, depending on where you live).

I spent a lot of time as a size 14.  Now I'm a 16-18 and a good judge of eyeballing a size based on being an avid clothes shopper, which is why I pegged her as a 14.  I actually think that at times the camera makes her look more like a 16 but there's the fact that the camera adds at least 10 lbs. to consider, and I do think the show is trying to make her look heavier by purposely dressing her to look heavier than she is.  I seriously avoid tops like she was wearing in this episode just because of that, LOL.

[juliet73]

I'm not a fan.  I know it was only the pilot, so I'm willing to give it a couple of more episodes. 

First, bathroom humor is not funny. Ever.  The daughter peeing in the yard. The dad... 

Second, this show is trying waaaayyy too hard.

Finally, the "realness" of the wife/mother is most of the moms/wives I know. Yes,  I know a few of the skinny, yoga pants, green drinks, etc.  I also know a few that drop their kids off at school in their pajamas.  I'm just not buying that she is such a rarity in the neighborhood. 

[Jrae9233]

I didn't care for all the fat jokes but just because it got boring. I'm a fat girl and I make fat jokes all the time so jokes don't bother me. But I just felt there was too many for this short of a show. Gotta space them out.

However, I love Leslie Bibb and the lead is extremely likable so I'm gonna stick it out. Seriously, I have never heard of the lead but she just has something unique.

[mansonlamps]

I hated this.  I thought it was just insulting to women everywhere.

[cooksdelight]

I think because this was a pilot, they tried to cram a whole lot of "stuff" into one episode in order to sell it to the network. It was frenzied, and that's usually how pilots are. Hopefully, they'll settle down to the usual sitcom style of show.

[SmithW6079]

I enjoyed it and laughed out loud several times throughout. I like Katy Mixon; she was one of the best things about "Mike and Molly."

Personally, I found the use of the "f" word -- "fat" -- to be empowering. The actress is zaftig, the character is fat -- she didn't sugarcoat it or use euphemisms. I thought it was refreshing. 

I could have done without the dad on the toilet, but I liked pretty much everything else. I'm in for a while. 

[atomationage]

I thought the family was interesting enough.  The episode was pretty clunky until about the last five minutes, and then it got very good and funny.  I thought the scene about getting rid of the plus sized bigoted potential neighbor by making out with her lesbian friend was hilarious.  Of the kids, I like little Alex Keaton the best.  The husband was okay.  I don't need any more of Naked Norman.  Leslie Bibb, HOORAY!  I'm in for now. 

[Big Mother]

I found it very funny. I love Katy Mixon. I think the cognitive dissonance with this episode and its focus on 'fat' is that the show was supposed to be titled 'The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport' and therefore she kept calling herself fat and everyone else 'fat'. Now that the show has been renamed I think they won't be using that word so much anymore.

I think Diedrich is good for this role, though he's a little bland. But he seems to be a good straight man to Katy's insanity. I think we're used to seeing him be way more funny and weird - I keep seeing him as Charlie from Outsourced or Holly's literal boyfriend from The Exes. So seeing him be bland and not hilarious is a little surprising. I think he'll grow into his role.

Love the kids. Though it's a little heartbreaking to watch that adorable little girl and her OCD. It's not funny. It's a real mental illness. The middle son who refuses to give charity cracked me up.

One gripe I have though: Westport is a real place. How do the residents of Westport feel about their town being so ridiculed on a national tv show???

[laurakaye]

The previews had me pretty excited for this show, but the actual show left me very disappointed.

All of the fat references flying around were just not that funny to me, especially since I would not classify the lead actress as "fat."  The emphasis on her body wasn't appealing for me.  Of course, there are always going to be the super-skinny moms at school drop-off/pick-up who dress in Lululemon (as if they've come straight from yoga class) and have perfect hair, makeup and jewelry (which suggests that they did not, in fact, come straight from yoga class).  I feel like it would've been funnier to make the emphasis less on body size and more about the mom who is super disorganized and rolls into pick-up still in her jammies (been there).

As for the kids, I also got the Alex P. Keaton vibe from the son, and I certainly got a Brick vibe from the youngest daughter.

All in all, I may watch a couple more episodes, but I feel like this show is a lesser version of The Middle.

[random chance]

1 hour ago, Big Mother said:

I think Diedrich is good for this role, though he's a little bland. But he seems to be a good straight man to Katy's insanity. I think we're used to seeing him be way more funny and weird - I keep seeing him as Charlie from Outsourced

Awwww Outsourced. I thought I was the only person in the world who watched it.

3 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I feel like this show is a lesser version of The Middle.

Oh wow, that's a great description of it!

[iMonrey]

I agree the show relied too heavily on the distinction between the mom's weight versus all the plastic, stick-like denizens of Westport. I think that was originally the intent of the pilot, to emphasize the fact that Katie doesn't fit in with all the other superficial, upscale women in her neighborhood. Hopefully that will get downplayed in future episodes.

I'm more concerned that Mixon may not be a good fit for a lead role. Her quirky persona and specific delivery might be better suited to supporting roles in ensembles. If she has to tone down the very thing that made her so good in other shows it's kind of a waste of her talents; at the same time if she acts like Victoria from Mike & Molly it's hard to base a show around a really offbeat character like that.

[Texasmom1970]

I love Kathy Mixon but I don't think I laughed or even giggled in this episode. Will give it a couple more viewings.

[SmithW6079]

On 10/14/2016 at 8:15 AM, Big Mother said:

I think Diedrich is good for this role, though he's a little bland. But he seems to be a good straight man to Katy's insanity. I think we're used to seeing him be way more funny and weird - I keep seeing him as Charlie from Outsourced or Holly's literal boyfriend from The Exes.

 

On 10/14/2016 at 9:21 AM, random chance said:

Awwww Outsourced. I thought I was the only person in the world who watched it.

I enjoyed "Outsourced" and was sorry when it was cancelled. I liked "The Exes" too.

[grayson]

On 10/12/2016 at 0:55 PM, barbedwire said:

 

Quote

The little girl going into the bathroom with dad on the toilet was all types of wrong!  Disgusting, unreal and boarding on creepy.  Hope the jokes get better.

Edited October 15, 2016 by grayson

[Snarklepuss]

Having lived near Westport for several years and knowing it the way I do, I think the show is resorting to stereotyping and not in an endearing way, nor is it succeeding at making any important points in doing so, at least not in this first episode.  Anyway I am just so over shows that exaggerate the truth to pretty much encourage a negative image of a place that is more than what it's being depicted as.  Geesh when I lived near Westport I was never so hung up on my weight and believe me I was never "stick thin".  Plus I knew women of all shapes and sizes.  Who cared if there was a group of skinnies that turned their noses up?  Besides, in Westport you're more likely to be snubbed on the basis of perceived social class or fitting in in other social ways.  Why make weight the primary factor?  I don't get the point of making this character act so self conscious and judged just based on her weight alone.  She might as well be the nerd who wants to sit at the "cool table" in high school.  Grow up and hang with the real people and screw the rest.  She's 40-ish, not 16.  Of course I never hung with the cool people but I never felt like a social pariah because of it.  Plus there were nice people to hang with.  There are even such nice people in Westport, contrary to what this show would have the audience believe.

[tribeca]

The family also rents instead of owns their house which could be social class thing.  This was the pilot so maybe the emphasis on her weight will lessen in the next episode.    She did say she was self conscious about it though.   I have worked for people like those skinny women.  Their jobs were to go to the gym and look good for their husbands.  They didn't work outside the house. Hired help cleaned their houses.   It could be intimidating if you let it get to you.  JMHO 

[Snarklepuss]

Well there's no way she would be the "second fattest" woman in Westport.  Trust me I worked with women who lived there and shopped there all the time.  She doesn't need to be fixated on just the vain skinny "bitches".  That just makes women think it's OK to compare themselves to other women based on weight when it's just so unnecessary.  Westport isn't high school where you can't get away from the bullies who call you names or ostracize you.  I too hope the show focuses on other things but it seems like the entire premise is flawed from the get go.

[torqy]

On 10/11/2016 at 9:47 PM, random chance said:

 (Can't we all just get alone?) 

No offense to random chance, but this is the typo (Freudian typo?) of the week!

[stillhere1900]

NM

Edited October 17, 2016 by stillhere1900

[random chance]

On 10/17/2016 at 1:00 AM, torqy said:

No offense to random chance, but this is the typo (Freudian typo?) of the week!

HAHA! Totally did not catch that!

[windtrix]

Wow, who thought this pilot was a good idea? Bleecchh!!! No wonder sitcoms are on the way out. Modern Family is the last good one.

[halkatla]

On 12.10.2016 at 4:46 AM, chocolatine said:

I found the harping on how "fat" the protagonist is supposed to be all kinds of offensive. She looks like a size 12, 14 tops. She doesn't even qualify as plus-size. The actress is very attractive, like a curvy version of Eva Longoria, so I'm not buying the insecurity. And if she needs bigger women around her to feel better about herself, then she's not much better than the fit moms she is deriding.

She´s a tiny bit fatter than me, so thanx.