S03.E10: This is The Pits

[thewhiteowl]

Walter takes a perilous swim to rescues a woman from the La Brea tar pits. Paige's mother maximizes Ralph's troop cookie sale.

[Maverick]

 Do the Boy Scouts sell cookies now?  Wouldn't that piss the Girl Scouts off?   They will cut a bitch over their cookie sales.

[theatremouse]

I think the point was that they didn't want to explicitly mention Boy Scouts or real things they sell, or Girl Scouts and real things everyone knows they sell, so they made up a fake scouting org with fake cookies.

I want to know what the hell time it was. Was this implied to be a weekend? I didn't think so since Tim was in San Diego for a medical review. So it's: after business hours; they already had time to watch a movie, then they leave to go be rescue, there somehow isn't enough traffic for it to take them more time than she has to breathe before getting there, and then their usual build shit out of nothing happens. So what the hell time was it when he was selling those cookies? Like 9pm? Also grandma is a terrible con if she doesn't want her daughter/the scouts to find out about the con, but does put it on social media with Ralph's face.

Also if they could crane Walter down directly to the car the second time, why didn't they do that the first so he wouldn't have had to walk very slowly with low visibility for 15 paces?

Edited December 13, 2016 by theatremouse

[Pepper the Cat]

12 hours ago, theatremouse said:

 

Also if they could crane Walter down directly to the car the second time, why didn't they do that the first so he wouldn't have had to walk very slowly with low visibility for 15 paces?

I think the first time they didn't know 100% where the car was. Remember, Beth had to shine the flashlight to help Walter find the car. The second item, they knew where the car was. 

[theatremouse]

They seemed to have imaging of where the car was. The first time Toby told him turn 4 degrees and approximately 15 paces. The flashlight was so Walter knew he wasn't missing it, not because the people on the surface didn't know where the car was. Happy talked her way into operating the crane because her precision was supposedly so much better than the regular operator. I mean, this show's track record, if the writers told me exactly what you did, I'd not be shocked, but it doesn't make it make more sense.

[Artsda]

Paige's mother is still so unlikable, she makes me want Paige to kick her out. Also her being Walter's cheerleader doesn't make Walter&Paige any more root worthy. I can't stand that forced relationship. 

[kaygeeret]

Gosh, I really like this cast...they all have some real chemistry and the backstories blend well.

BUT - - and it is a GIANT but - -the writing and plotting and the show running is absolutely beneath awful.

Seriously, this show as written might belong on the 9am Saturday cartoon block.

Except....there is that damn chemistry by the cast and their ability to somehow sell the stupidest plots with a certain elan...sigh.

I am slowly giving up and actively looking for other shows in that time slot.  I will use this as a filler, but, gosh, what a waste of a talented group of actors.

[theatremouse]

I was intrigued by Ralph's whole "you seemed intelligent in your letters" thing with the grandma. It might've just been the way the kid played it, but it read so "I'm bored by everyone but I bothered with you because you seemed smarter" but then he wanted nothing to do with her both because she's unethical and because she's not actually all the smart about it.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

...the writing and plotting and the show running is absolutely beneath awful.

Seriously, this show as written might belong on the 9am Saturday cartoon block....

I think they should just make it more campy, like on the CBS summer show, Zoo. I mean, with Walter surviving lethal situations unscathed each week, they're almost there already.

[possibilities]

They're not even trying to make it make sense, so I've decided not to try either. I laughed when they said Walter would have to go into the tar because he's lightweight -- when Happy surely weighs less and was standing right there.

I think it's more fun when I imagine it's one of those party games where everyone says one sentence and you string it all together into one big outrageous story. Or it's like that game where you pick words out of a bag and turn them into a poem.

I know shows calculate various elements they want to include in order to hook various audiences (a little adrenaline, a little romance, a little cuteness, a little conflict....) but I've never seen one this transparent about it. Still, it's like the junkiest junk food, sort of addictive even if it's sickening at the same time.

[Texasmom1970]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I think they should just make it more campy, like on the CBS summer show, Zoo. I mean, with Walter surviving lethal situations unscathed each week, they're almost there already.

But don't you know this is the main reason I watch this show is the realism, wink, wink! I actually get a good laugh at how more implausible their situations and solutions with every episode.

On a serious note please stop with Walter and Paige. Have her marry that dullard Tim and move to Iman (sp) please!

[theatremouse]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

They're not even trying to make it make sense, so I've decided not to try either. I laughed when they said Walter would have to go into the tar because he's lightweight -- when Happy surely weighs less and was standing right there.

They at least had a good reason on that one since presumably Happy's the only one with precision crane skills whatevers. Plus at the time only Tim and Walter were volunteering to go in, given the possible death factor. So I'm assuming they weren't going to volunteer Happy for her. It was a "lighter of the two suicidal volunteers" choice.

Edited December 14, 2016 by theatremouse

[madfortv]

I like that they didn't go with obvious plot of having Ralph be duped by Grandma.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I was perfectly fine with Ralph and Grandma taking the hipsters for all they had, but it was past bedtime. That bugged me. 

[Hanahope]

The bit with overselling vanilla ice cream sandwiches reminds me of how Martha Stewart started out.  She tried selling pies outside her upscale neighborhood supermarket for $5, no one was interested.  She changes the price to $20 and suddenly everyone and their mother wants one.

The car crashing through a fence into a tar pit, I was like, oh come on, seriously?  Good thing she had all those handly supplies with her.