S01.E05: The Game Plan

[DebbieM4]

On 10/26/2016 at 4:39 PM, WhosThatGirl said:

My whole fuss about Toby pausing the show was not that he paused tv, as in a DVR watching and always pause, it was that he paused it to then put a hold on this experience to have his friend share stories of Toby and his old adventurers. Which Kate wasn't here for that. 

I agree.  She had made it clear that watching the game was very important to her, and she wanted to do that alone.  The alternative he pushed on her was not anything like what she had clearly said she wanted.  If he had listened to her at all, he would have realized that it wasn't a social event for her.  The game itself was hugely important.  He completely disregarded that, not only by not taking the game seriously and keeping her from actually watching it, but also by inviting some random guy she didn't know without telling her in advance.

It would have been more understandable if he had followed through on,  "I know this is something you've liked to do by yourself, but how about if the 2 of us do it together?"  I'm sure that's what she was expecting, but that's not what she got.   This was clearly hugely important to her, but he obnoxiously did not honor that.  If I were her, I would be thinking, "WTF!  This guy doesn't listen to me at all."  He's more focused on his own agenda than actually paying attention to what she says.  She could not possibly have been more clear.

[Cardie]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 3:09 PM, marymon said:

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

The Steelers played the LA Rams in January 1980.  If the kids were born in 1979 that SB party they went to should have been celebrating Pitt and Dallas.

 

The pilot was shot in 2015, which meant the kids were born in 1979. Because the show is premiering in 2016, subsequent episodes changed their birth year to 1980. But they never went back and corrected the pilot; that's why Randall being in second grade for the Challenger explosion also seems off.

[ShellSeeker]

On 10/27/2016 at 0:03 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

It was 35 in 2000 when I had my child, too.  I was 34 and it was NBD but if I'd been 35 they said they would start doing things like suggesting amniocentesis and things like that, to prepare for abnormalities.  

I was 40 when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2008, and I was 41 when she was born in 2009. I was indeed of "advanced maternal age" and I was at the doctor every couple of weeks to get poked and prodded for one reason or another. 

I think what it comes down to with Toby and Kate is that they're both very insecure, and their insecurities make them do over-the-top or even irrational things. Someone else said upthread that it seemed like Toby thought Kate was blowing him off when she told him she wanted to watch the game alone, which seemed like an accurate read on the situation to me. He overreacted by inviting her over to his house to watch the game with him and one of his buddies to keep her from doing whatever it was he thought she was going to do without him. Insecure and a little paranoid on his part. Last week, Kate let her curiosity about Toby's ex-wife get the best of her, and she looked up the ex online (normal curiosity), read her Facebook page (also normal), drove past her store (normal, but edging into unhealthy curiosity), went into her store (stepping over the line), and then pretended she was there to apply for a job and the unsuspecting ex interviewed her and wanted to hire her (way, way, way over the line). So I'm hoping that a big part of their relationship that we see is both of them overcoming their insecurities and learning to trust each other, and themselves.

[kili]

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He completely disregarded that, not only by not taking the game seriously and keeping her from actually watching it, but also by inviting some random guy she didn't know without telling her in advance.

i suspect Toby is not a sports fan because he demonstrated only the most superficial etiquette (providing snacks). He seemed to not understand at all that devoted fans have their rituals, want to watch the game and want to watch it live. I further suspect that the random friend who was invited over is somewhat of a sports fan and was there to cover for the fact that Toby had no clue (he was there to provide the sports chatter and obscure the fact Toby didn't know the difference between a half back and a full back).  Who pauses a game in the middle of the play? Somebody who has zero interest in the game. I have no clue what the difference between a half back and a full back is and even I know that once the ball is snapped, you wait until the play stops before demanding all focus be on you telling a story. 

While I can fanwank a reason for the friend being there, Toby was still way out of line. Has he ever accepted a "No" graciously from Kate? She didn't want to date him. He persisted. She wanted to keep exercising. He turned off her machine. She didn't want to go to a party. She went with him. She wanted to do her job instead of doing things with him. She ended up spending the day with him. She went to deal with an emergency involving her boss/brother, he sulked and she had to grovel in apology (and give him the sex he kept asking her for). She wants to spend one evening alone doing something personal. He persists until she comes over to be with him. Even when it ends up in a disaster, he still barges into her house and demands that she explain herself.

"No" never works with Toby. The only way to get him to stop is if you give him exactly what he wants.

Run, Kate, run.

[Tiger]

I wonder how Toby's words and actions would come across with a different actor in the role . . .

. . . because as someone who watched General Hospital for 23 years, Im definitely 'actor' over 'character', and after reading the myriad of thoughts on Toby, Im starting to think that while the writing is a problem, the actor is the problem.

[luna1122]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

I wonder how Toby's words and actions would come across with a different actor in the role . . .

. . . because as someone who watched General Hospital for 23 years, Im definitely 'actor' over 'character', and after reading the myriad of thoughts on Toby, Im starting to think that while the writing is a problem, the actor is the problem.

It's not, for me, at least, not in this case, anyway. It's the character's pushiness and neediness I'm responding negatively to. As mentioned previously, the actor played Benny on 'stranger things' and tho he was a brief-lived character, I loved him. LOVED him. I believe I'd have the same impression of Toby no matter who played him. 

[Guest]

Yeah, I think it's the writing (and his styling, that hair).  I'm starting to think they're making an ass of him so the audience will cheer when Kate kicks him to the curb or at least puts him in his place.

[retired watcher]

I was watching the after show and the actor who plays Toby was on. He wears a fat suit to play Toby. I wonder how that makes Chrissy feel?

[possibilities]

I defended Toby in the past, but this week I was really fed up. It's not just pause vs don't pause the tv, it's how he's never sorry when he messes up, and she's always sorry whether she does or not, and he basically demands that she change all the time and that he himself never takes responsibility for anything. I agree they both have insecurities, and I find her to be annoying in several ways. But he's finally crossed my line from enthusiastic to unbearable. I would love it if she broke it off with him and found someone else she's better suited to.

Count me among those who are still bothered that they never resolved what happened to William's cat, and also as someone who thinks being one and a half weeks late and feeling crappy-- without a pregnancy-- probably means something else is wrong, and the relief over not being pregnant needs to be followed up by worry about what the hell is going on. Women on the pill are extremely regular, but even for women with less regular cycles, a week and a half is a lot of variation. It's not like she was a couple of days off. I've been menstruating for 40 years and even without ever taking the pill, I've only been that far off twice-- both times when I had a major trauma and everything about the rest of my body was way off kilter at the same time. Plus, she was feeling crappy. I don't want to see something tragic, but I was not at all satisfied with the "no pregnancy, so everything is fine now" resolution and would be very surprised and skeptical about the writing if they don't follow up on it next episode-- then again, maybe they really are that sloppy and lazy, as with making a big deal about William's cat and then never explaining why that's no longer an issue.

Also, the assumption that if pregnant they will have the kid annoyed me. If neither of them wanted it, that's not a great life for them or the potential kid.

Rebecca's joke about not having kids was something like "promise me we'll never have kids" so to me that is more than "haven't talked about it" or "I want kids but not til later"-- the sudden turnaround struck me as ridiculously sudden.

The genius of this show is that I like it and am invested anyway, but it's weird how they make these kinds of choices when they really don't have to. It's all easily fixable stuff, so why don't they bother?

[ShadowFacts]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I defended Toby in the past, but this week I was really fed up. It's not just pause vs don't pause the tv, it's how he's never sorry when he messes up, and she's always sorry whether she does or not, and he basically demands that she change all the time and that he himself never takes responsibility for anything. I agree they both have insecurities, and I find her to be annoying in several ways. But he's finally crossed my line from enthusiastic to unbearable. I would love it if she broke it off with him and found someone else she's better suited to.

Count me among those who are still bothered that they never resolved what happened to William's cat, and also as someone who thinks being one and a half weeks late and feeling crappy-- without a pregnancy-- probably means something else is wrong, and the relief over not being pregnant needs to be followed up by worry about what the hell is going on. Women on the pill are extremely regular, but even for women with less regular cycles, a week and a half is a lot of variation. It's not like she was a couple of days off. I've been menstruating for 40 years and even without ever taking the pill, I've only been that far off twice-- both times when I had a major trauma and everything about the rest of my body was way off kilter at the same time. Plus, she was feeling crappy. I don't want to see something tragic, but I was not at all satisfied with the "no pregnancy, so everything is fine now" resolution and would be very surprised and skeptical about the writing if they don't follow up on it next episode-- then again, maybe they really are that sloppy and lazy, as with making a big deal about William's cat and then never explaining why that's no longer an issue.

Also, the assumption that if pregnant they will have the kid annoyed me. If neither of them wanted it, that's not a great life for them or the potential kid.

Rebecca's joke about not having kids was something like "promise me we'll never have kids" so to me that is more than "haven't talked about it" or "I want kids but not til later"-- the sudden turnaround struck me as ridiculously sudden.

The genius of this show is that I like it and am invested anyway, but it's weird how they make these kinds of choices when they really don't have to. It's all easily fixable stuff, so why don't they bother?

Maybe if they do go back to Beth's problem it will be perimenopause or a minor endocrine problem, because I can't see them going with a serious illness for her on the heels of William's Stage 4 cancer.  I wouldn't want to see that. 

Rebecca's sudden turnaround was also ridiculous to me, she went from I love our life, I don't want to deal with this, to let's get it on the unprotected way all in the space of a Super Bowl game.  I do still like the show, most of the characters, but they can probably do better with less contrivance and less impulsivity from the characters.  That feels less than real, whereas in the first couple episodes my feeling was that they weren't going for the cheap manipulation.  I now feel there's a bit of treacle and I can only handle treacle in small doses.  Very small.

[ClareWalks]

I am guessing that based on Beth's symptoms (similar to early pregnancy, but no pregnancy), she ovulated a bit late (a week and a half late ovulation isn't too unusual if one is under stress or some sort of physical duress). The symptoms she is having are somewhat normal post-ovulation symptoms, but she is reading a bit more into it because she is "late" and worried about pregnancy. It happened to me once, except in my case I was trying to conceive, so the negative pregnancy tests were extremely disappointing rather than a jubilant occasion ;)

[kili]

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I am guessing that based on Beth's symptoms (similar to early pregnancy, but no pregnancy), she ovulated a bit late (a week and a half late ovulation isn't too unusual if one is under stress or some sort of physical duress)

She is on the pill. Shouldn't she not be ovulating at all?

Maybe the nausea is just her getting used to the new pill.

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, kili said:

She is on the pill. Shouldn't she not be ovulating at all?

Maybe the nausea is just her getting used to the new pill.

If she didn't get a bum pack, that is true. I have also gotten a bum pill pack. Horrifying, but it happens, and a woman would be much more likely to have weird PMS going on if her pills weren't working.

[Jx223]

3 hours ago, retired watcher said:

I was watching the after show and the actor who plays Toby was on. He wears a fat suit to play Toby. I wonder how that makes Chrissy feel?

I was surprised to read that but I googled pics of him and saw that he is actually considerably smaller in real life. That is interesting. 

[ThoughtAFool]

What are Jack's ashes doing in LA?  Seems a little odd that Kate has them instead of Rebecca.

With Toby, I'm leaning toward "Warning Signs" rather than "Romantic Gestures", but I'm not fully confident the writers see it that way.

[biakbiak]

27 minutes ago, ThoughtAFool said:

What are Jack's ashes doing in LA?  Seems a little odd that Kate has them instead of Rebecca.

With Toby, I'm leaning toward "Warning Signs" rather than "Romantic Gestures", but I'm not fully confident the writers see it that way.

in my family ashes are often split between various family members or they meant more to Kate or perhaps the pass them around and Kate gets them for football season.

[J0nas3]

I will be very interested to see what kind of effect Jack's death has had on the family. It seems like Kevin's acting success (such as it is) came after, and both of Randall's kids seem too young to have known him (assuming that his death came around 2005.)

[Eeksquire]

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Women on the pill are extremely regular, but even for women with less regular cycles, a week and a half is a lot of variation. It's not like she was a couple of days off.

You're really lucky - I started taking the pill because I regularly swung from 8 weeks to 3 to 6 and so forth.  That was my "normal", with no other underlying issues.

I doubt we'll get a whole lot of nuance on Beth's condition, because she's not one of the Big Three - it'll probably be hand waved by the change of medication and the stress of William and now Kevin's surprise appearances (and long stays) at her home.

[Texasmom1970]

Watching this show is almost cathartic for me. I am an extremely emotional person and love a show that touches me enough to make he cry.

I assumed Jack was dead, now I want to see the back story.

I now some are not loving thus show, but I adore it so far. This show and/or some if the cast better get some recognition for this work come award time.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Texasmom1970

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

Women on the pill are extremely regular, but even for women with less regular cycles, a week and a half is a lot of variation.

I haven't been on the pill in decades but I don't understand how you could be a week and a half late on the pill.  Don't you start the next month's pack after your placebo week regardless?  I used to skip periods regularly, on and off the pill.  They told me not to worry about it, consider it a bonus, and just start the next pack on time.  

[ClareWalks]

I wish they'd just explained what the deal was with her pills. She said there was a medication issue, maybe she had to go off her birth control for a little while and it screwed her schedule up. I know there are antibiotics that can make the pill not work.

[ShadowFacts]

40 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

4 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

Women on the pill are extremely regular, but even for women with less regular cycles, a week and a half is a lot of variation.

I haven't been on the pill in decades but I don't understand how you could be a week and a half late on the pill.  Don't you start the next month's pack after your placebo week regardless?  I used to skip periods regularly, on and off the pill.  They told me not to worry about it, consider it a bonus, and just start the next pack on time.  

Something's wacky about the quote function (I've noticed it before) because I didn't make that comment -- I don't know about the whole pill issue, just said I hope it's not serious and maybe it's perimenopause. 

[mojito]

Quote

Something's wacky about the quote function (I've noticed it before) because I didn't make that comment

If you initially quote someone using the "Quote this" option, but change your mind and delete, the Quote window doesn't completely clear because a delete merely removes the quote you copied and pasted using the "Quote this" option, but not the Quote header that shows who you were initially quoting.  Thus, you might've started to quote mojito, changed your mind, and ended up quoting ShadowFacts with mojito's name on it. I've found that you need to refresh the page and then delete the original quote box to remove the quote header. 

I've also found that an old-fashioned cut and paste without the slick "Quote this" option works best for me. 

That said, I merely want to say that Randall and Beth probably had a better night as a result of the issue that almost made it a disastrous night. 

I may enjoy some characters more than others, but I can't make any decisions on whom I hate because I still don't know these people very well. 

As for what you're "supposed to think"....why does anyone feel that he or she is supposed to think a certain way? The writers are probably eating it up that people are interpreting things differently. 

Edited October 30, 2016 by mojito

[Marsupial]

I know I'm being totally manipulated by this show, but I don't care, it sucker-punches me every time and I fall harder and harder. This episode was wonderful in every moment, and Kevin's description of his painting, accompanied by the various scenes from past and present of this family, had me riveted and, finally, moved to tears.

 

Quote

I've been pretty supportive of Toby, and I may be again in the future, but in this episode?   No.  Just no.  Woman told you she wanted to be alone and you wouldn't drop it.  Then she agreed to watch the game with you and you invited somebody else.   Just NO!   

Agree 100%, I love Toby but this was just OTT.

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i suspect Toby is not a sports fan because he demonstrated only the most superficial etiquette (providing snacks). He seemed to not understand at all that devoted fans have their rituals,

Yes, absolutely right. As a fanatical football fan, I do not want to make conversation with a stranger during the game. I want to watch the game. And sports fans are notorious for their off-the-wall superstitions and rituals.

Quote

Count me among those who are still bothered that they never resolved what happened to William's cat

I DEMAND to know what happened to Clooney! Seriously, you cannot introduce that plot point and just let it drop!!! William clearly loves/loved that cat, traveling hours every day to make sure he was fed, and from all appearances no arrangements have been made to take care of Clooney. In real life, or iina plot with some semblance of credibility, someone would be offering him a ride every day, or paying for a pet-sitter, or SOMETHING.

Quote

Rebecca's sudden turnaround was also ridiculous to me, she went from I love our life, I don't want to deal with this, to let's get it on the unprotected way all in the space of a Super Bowl game. 

This irritated me, but I'm always irritated by storylines that insinuate that women who say they don't want kids just don't know any better. People who want kids should not marry people who emphatically state (as she apparently did) that they never want kids, and that is certainly not a difference that can be resolved over a few drunken conversations during a football game. It's a plot detail I really wish they had left out.

All that said, I still love this show and continue to look forward to the next episode.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Marsupial
clarification

[Rosebud1970]

On October 27, 2016 at 11:01 AM, Lady Calypso said:

It is. I looked up when the Steelers won and we do know that Kevin and Kate were conceived during the superbowl, so it was January 1979. That means their birthdays must fall between September and October. I think in the pilot, Rebecca mentioned being six weeks early? Or three weeks? Either way, their birthdays are supposedly in September sometime, and I think three weeks/at least a month has passed. So it should be October (most likely around the same time as it is for us) and yeah, I find it somewhat odd, but not totally. Now, if we don't start seeing snow by the midseason, then I'd be questioning their choices. 

If it's the game I'm thinking of, it was the LA Rams (the first time) vs. the Steelers in the Rose Bowl in 1980.

I know that game because I was there. We had just moved to LA and my Dad had Steeler season tickets, so we got to go to the game.

Great game, by the way.

[Rosebud1970]

13 hours ago, Jx223 said:

I was surprised to read that but I googled pics of him and saw that he is actually considerably smaller in real life. That is interesting. 

You can see him sans padding in the behind the scenes clip posted earlier in this thread. I was a bit taken aback to see him au natural, so to speak.

[SlackerInc]

23 hours ago, kili said:

Who pauses a game in the middle of the play? Somebody who has zero interest in the game. I have no clue what the difference between a half back and a full back is and even I know that once the ball is snapped, you wait until the play stops before demanding all focus be on you telling a story. 

Definitely.  I had remembered it as being before the ball was snapped, but I went back to check and you are right: it was right in the middle of the play, and on third down to boot!  D'oh.  Serious faux pas there.  Once he made that mistake (which is pretty bad), he should have hit the "jump back" button, but then not caught up to live unless doing it carefully between plays or at the next commercial.

 

20 hours ago, luna1122 said:

It's not, for me, at least, not in this case, anyway. It's the character's pushiness and neediness I'm responding negatively to. As mentioned previously, the actor played Benny on 'stranger things' and tho he was a brief-lived character, I loved him. LOVED him. 

He was Benny?  Oh wow, I did not catch that at all.  You are right: Benny was awesome.  I'm now more impressed with the actor's chops, because those characters really are different.

[Guest]

I didn't recognize him as Benny, either, though Benny's role was pretty small wasn't it?  

I assume that Toby is going to lose down to a healthy BMI on the show, which is why they chose a healthy weight actor then padded him-- to insure it happens exactly according to the writers' schedule.  And if Metz doesn't also lose weight, they'll just write it as one more wedge between the two... 'damn men lose weight so easily'.  

William's cat is reminding me of Shroedinger's cat.  If writers mention a cat in passing, does it in fact starve to death if they never mention it again?  

It's not like these people are being written as the type who would just blow off the care of a pet cat so I would just relax and assume we don't see the resolution of every single situation referred to in the script.  We don't see Rebecca get Randall a black barber so his neck rash will heal but we can probably safely assume that situation's been taken care of as well.  

[Dowel Jones]

Regarding the ashes, it's also possible that Rebecca, after marrying Miguel, opted to give the ashes to Kate, for whatever reason.  That sort of thing shows up a lot in the Dear Abby type advice columns.   Or so I've heard (ahem).

[DollEyes]

 They've done it again! This Is Us keeps finding new ways to get better. In flashback-land, Jack & Rebecca's debate over having kids too place in an unlikely place-in a bar during the Super Bowl. If Jack & Rebecca had discussed it before they got married, they wouldn't have put their business in the street in a bar full of football fans in various states of sobriety watching the biggest football game of the year. Speaking of watching football, re Toby, while I liked him in the past & I still like him, I thought he was as out of line in this episode as Kate was in the previous one, when she spied on his ex-wife and got a job at her shop under false pretenses. Watching football with Jack is very special to Kate and Toby should have respected that and his violating that without her permission was childish. A couple doesn't need to spend every waking moment together to have a real relationship. If I were Kate, I would have left too. 

  On a sadder note, Jack's death was confirmed by Kate, which makes Jack & Rebecca's flashback scenes even more poignant because I already know what's gonna happen; I just don't know how nor why. 

  Randall & Beth Rule! They're a great couple with a great marriage and great kids. However, great couples need quality time to stay great, which Kevin knows, hence his letting them spend the night in his hotel suite while he & William babysat. Randall & Beth are so awesome that they even make pregnancy scares romantic. 

  Kevin was this episode's MVP. His asking William if he could read and his telling the girls about death were cringe-worthy, but his comforting the girls later more than made up for it. Getting back to Kevin & William, their confab was equally amazing. Ron Cephus Jones was great in that scene, but the revelation was Justin Hartley, who showed in that scene and in the one with the girls that he can act as good as he looks. 

Edited October 31, 2016 by DollEyes
To add *a lot* of stuff.

[DrSpaceman73]

It didn't cross my mind the first time watching this, but Kevin being left alone with the kids and attempting to get closer to his only nieces was much like his attempt at acting.  He is trying to be a "real" actor much like instead of acting like a Manny on this TV show, he was trying to be a "real" uncle able to deal with real kids. 

[Llama]

I've read all 6 pages, and re-watch this scene and have not seen it mentioned so maybe I'm reading more into it, but did anyone else wonder why they focused on Beth handling William's medication? It almost seemed like she gave the appearance of taking it out the bottle but we never saw it taken out the bottle. So why zoom in on it? 

[BoogieBurns]

44 minutes ago, Llama said:

I've read all 6 pages, and re-watch this scene and have not seen it mentioned so maybe I'm reading more into it, but did anyone else wonder why they focused on Beth handling William's medication? It almost seemed like she gave the appearance of taking it out the bottle but we never saw it taken out the bottle. So why zoom in on it? 

I feel like we were watching Beth get overwhelmed. I think that may explain her stress leading to a late cycle. It looked like things were just so much crazier in the house than they were before, and Randall and Beth handle it differently. 

[Guest]

There was also that line about Randall almost putting a chemo pill into his own smoothie, which seemed odd.  

I also thought it was odd that Randall and Beth seem to have taken over William's medicine at all.  William seems perfectly capable, mentally and physically?

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

There was also that line about Randall almost putting a chemo pill into his own smoothie, which seemed odd.  

Come to think of it, I'm confused why William is having chemo at all. I thought the doctor Randall took William to said that the cancer is end-stage, so why do chemo - which destroys the immune system and has horrific side effects - instead of letting him enjoy however much time he has left? Why not just manage the pain?

[Randomosity]

1 hour ago, chocolatine said:

Come to think of it, I'm confused why William is having chemo at all. I thought the doctor Randall took William to said that the cancer is end-stage, so why do chemo - which destroys the immune system and has horrific side effects - instead of letting him enjoy however much time he has left? Why not just manage the pain?

Not all chemo is that strong or has those effects. Cancer is not one single disease and chemo is not one single drug; many things called "chemo" are actually pretty standard steroids that don't have the extreme side effects that you normally see in TV shows/movies. My mother's side effects were merely fatigue and some mild gastrointestinal upset. If that's all William's side effects are (Beth did tell him to eat with the med so as to not have an empty stomach) and Randall is willing to foot the bill, why not buy the guy some extra time with his newfound family?

[SlackerInc]

4 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

There was also that line about Randall almost putting a chemo pill into his own smoothie, which seemed odd.  

I also thought it was odd that Randall and Beth seem to have taken over William's medicine at all.  William seems perfectly capable, mentally and physically?

Good point.  But yeah, what was that about with the pill and the smoothie?

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Randomosity said:

Not all chemo is that strong or has those effects. Cancer is not one single disease and chemo is not one single drug; many things called "chemo" are actually pretty standard steroids that don't have the extreme side effects that you normally see in TV shows/movies. My mother's side effects were merely fatigue and some mild gastrointestinal upset. If that's all William's side effects are (Beth did tell him to eat with the med so as to not have an empty stomach) and Randall is willing to foot the bill, why not buy the guy some extra time with his newfound family?

I didn't know there was such a thing as mild chemo. Everyone I know personally who's had chemo has suffered horribly from it. 

[Randomosity]

13 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I didn't know there was such a thing as mild chemo. Everyone I know personally who's had chemo has suffered horribly from it. 

It's different for different cancers. I didn't know either until my mom got her diagnosis and treatment. But she had outpatient chemo for a year and still went to work, etc. Like I said, just fatigue/stomach issues. And luckily she's in remission right now. But no hair loss, no 'typical' chemo and side effects.

ETA: regarding immune issues, technically she was/is still immunocompromised, but it's not like a cold landed her in the hospital. And she interacted with everyone as normal, no masks, no precautions. So it didn't really affect that either. (So William would be fine around the germy kids, etc., if he was on that sort of treatment.)

Edited October 31, 2016 by Randomosity

[femmefan1946]

Back to the pregnancy scare.

http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/pregnancy-miscarriage#1

Most women do not realize that 50% of all pregnancies miscarry.  And even when the pregnancy has been recognized, 15-25% will miscarry.

I'm pretty horrified that young women these days are using early pregnancy detections. There is a commercial on Canadian TV where a woman is confiding delightedly to her friend that she is two weeks pregnant!

No wonder so many women think they are infertile or unable to carry to term. No one is telling them the statistics starting in their youth!

There is a reason why women my age were told not to mention a pregnancy until the third month. It wasn't modesty, it was just sensible.

I also agree that TV seems unable to admit that women, even happily married women with high family incomes like Beth, would not consider abortion as the answer to an unwanted pregnancy. (Which is one place early detection is useful.) Many would not even tell their husbands before dealing -- if ever.

[Quof]

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that she is two weeks pregnant

And given the way that pregnancy is counted, that means sperm hit egg last night, not two weeks ago.  I don't want to hear you're pregnant when it's so recent you haven't even changed the sheets yet.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Quof

[MaryPatShelby]

On 10/26/2016 at 6:32 AM, Jodithgrace said:

Well, if it makes everybody feel any better, I just read a post mortem interview with Milo Ventimiglia in which he confirms that the scene with Randall packing William's things was, indeed, a flash forward. 

However, he didn't offer any clues as to his own character's demise..so no spoilers there.

Argh. I love when a show createssome mystery, some doubt, something to think about.  I don't like supplemental content that tells us what a particular scene meant. 

On 10/27/2016 at 1:19 PM, cardigirl said:

As for pausing a live tv show?  Do. It. All. The. Time. But that is why I watch alone.  Because I like having the control.  Even if I'm DVRing a show, I'll pause it for 5 - 10 minutes so it's ahead of me and I can fast forward through commercials.  It's not for everyone, but lots of people do it, so it really isn't the crime of the century. 

For a particular show I watch (OK, The Voice), I DVR it and start watching at 7:40pm.  Fast forwarding through sob stories, commercials, and fluff, I catch up to real time at just about 9:00 when it ends!  Works for me.  

[ShadowFacts]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I didn't know there was such a thing as mild chemo. Everyone I know personally who's had chemo has suffered horribly from it. 

I didn't know it either until my father was prescribed some pills that I picked up at the pharmacy, for him to take at home.  I was under the impression that a person had to get their chemo through an IV, at a hospital or clinic, and would be in some way sick from it.  There was something odd, though, about the camera focusing on the blender after Randall made his smoothie.  At the time I didn't even think about the pill angle, I was thinking, this guy is a neatnik, he's got it all clean and dry lickety split. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

There was something odd, though, about the camera focusing on the blender after Randall made his smoothie.  At the time I didn't even think about the pill angle, I was thinking, this guy is a neatnik, he's got it all clean and dry lickety split. 

Oh yeah, I remember that, too.  I was thinking, "Hm, must mean he's type A and a perfectionist or something.  I do that, too, every morning."  I guess that was all meant to show they have their morning routine down but William's throwing a bit of a stick in things?  

[Sake614]

I think the idea of an unplanned pregnancy caught both of them off guard, but I'm not sure either was completely against it to the point of considering termination. I mean, as the scene went on, you could see them both warm to the idea. When they were sitting in the bathroom waiting for the test results, they talked about it. Randall kind of liked the possibility of a son, and Beth admitted the girls would be over the moon. So I think it was more shock than 'hell no!' But they were still relieved when the test came back negative, because while they would have welcomed a new baby, they're happy with their lives now.

[captain1]

The two best moments for me:  Rebecca channelling Linda Ronstadt singing "Willin'" (awesome song), and the Steelers hat on Jack's urn!  As those younger than me say (unless its passe already) "Totes adorbs"!

[PRgal]

On 2016-10-31 at 4:23 AM, Quof said:

And given the way that pregnancy is counted, that means sperm hit egg last night, not two weeks ago.  I don't want to hear you're pregnant when it's so recent you haven't even changed the sheets yet.

Obviously, the commercial was written by someone who knows ZERO about reproduction - other than...er....the actual...er...process.

[mojoween]

I've seen it mentioned that Kate saying she watched the Steelers with her dad in 2006 means he must have died in 2005, but why would that have to be?  Isn't it possible that they watched the game together, both alive, and because the Steelers won she kept watching with the urn after he died?  Unless I missed something she said that made it clear she was watching in 2006 with his ashes?

[Lady Calypso]

10 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I've seen it mentioned that Kate saying she watched the Steelers with her dad in 2006 means he must have died in 2005, but why would that have to be?  Isn't it possible that they watched the game together, both alive, and because the Steelers won she kept watching with the urn after he died?  Unless I missed something she said that made it clear she was watching in 2006 with his ashes?

I think it was the tone in conversation that makes it seem like maybe he died in 2005. She seemed to pause as she talked about the 2006 game and how they'd watch together. Kate had stated that when she moved away from home and away from her dad, she stopped watching. But then suddenly, 2006 has her watching again with her dad? I think it was supposed to be implied that he died in 2005 and Kate's first year with his ashes in 2006 got her watching the games again. 

It's just a typical TV trope when you're trying to drag out a surprise that the dialogue is very vague until the moment of the reveal. He could have died earlier, but I don't think he died later than 2006. But I do think 2006 is when she had his ashes and that prompted her to watch again, UNLESS there's some other reason why she started in 2006 that hasn't been discussed yet. 

[Pristine]

On 10/31/2016 at 6:27 AM, MaryPatShelby said:

For a particular show I watch (OK, The Voice), I DVR it and start watching at 7:40pm.  Fast forwarding through sob stories, commercials, and fluff, I catch up to real time at just about 9:00 when it ends!  Works for me.  

Mr. Pristine does this with football games, too, but he would never pull a Toby, if it was one of my games, and we were watching live.