S01.E06: Not My First Hall Pass

[Drogo]

Mark's past comes to light, shocking a homesick Jenna. Also, wealthy Texans arrive and want a Lone Star experience, pushing Mark to the limit and stirring up drama; Colston connects with a guest; and Cynthia launches an investigation following a Tinder date.

[Neurochick]

Ugh, tacky, ugly Americans.  Why am I not surprised?  They should have stayed home with their nonsense.

Jenna, bless her heart, she's young.

That older, blonde woman needs to lay off the chemical peels, and she was rude too.  If she asked an employee what their sexuality was, she'd get sued.  What an awful person.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Neurochick

[urusai]

"I wonder what the poor people are doing right now?"  What a fucking douche.

That fat lush deserves to be embarrassed after this show airs.

[walnutqueen]

Jenna & Texas schoolbooks can go fuck themselves.

This Canadian has lived a wee bit too long in "The States" to be polite.

 

ETA - Nikita saying someone's rudenss "is painful" to her?  Made MY fucking day.

Edited January 10, 2017 by walnutqueen

[biakbiak]

Vomiting at the notion of a vodka and diet coke. 

Jenna and Mark were beyond ridiculous with her straddling him when the guests were there.

Blake and Mark we gross after what's her names hookup. The word of the ep was Jamie's was his well placed "awkward" to describe the morning after behavior of everyone after the hookup.

5 hours ago, Neurochick said:

Jenna bless her heart, she's young.

She is 27 or 28 not that young to be as ridiculous as she is behaving.

The taking down the the Texas flag was gross and how ridiculous was requiring not one but two different brands of vodka made in Texas while on a one day vacation. They were just so awful. It also seemed like they barely knew one another the only thing was odd.

Nikita broiled halibut is a thing, broiling something doesn't mean overcooking it. I mean they seemed to want there 

The straight/gay convo thing between the guests and Jenna and Mark was offensive. Mark was also completely wrong in confronting her but she was revolting.

Colston manages to be the most mature and responsible even when he is trying to hit on a guest!

Vomiting at the notion of a vodka and diet coke. 

Jenna and Mark were beyond ridiculous with her straddling him when the guests were there.

Blake and Mark we gross after what's her names hookup. The word of the ep was Jamie's well placed "awkward" to describe the morning after behavior of everyone after the hookup.

5 hours ago, Neurochick said:

Jenna bless her heart, she's young.

She is 27 or 28 not that young to be as ridiculous as she is behaving. It seems we keep lowering the age of holding adults responsible for their views and actions.

The taking down the the Texas flag was gross and how ridiculous was requiring not one but two different brands of vodka made in Texas while on a one day vacation. They were just so awful. It also seemed like they barely knew one another the only thing was odd.

Nikita broiled halibut is a thing, broiling something doesn't mean overcooking it. It did seem that they want their fish dishes well done but broiling halibut isn't weird.

Edited January 10, 2017 by biakbiak

[bblancobrnx]

What a wonderful and tolerant country America is to allow these idiot Texans to live here. However, as wonderful as America is, a large portion of our citizens are not so wonderful. Of course that is who is chosen to represent us to the rest of the world on the TV box.

   I am enjoying this show, though.  More mindless fluff for me to watch. Thank you Bravo 

[Neurochick]

6 hours ago, biakbiak said:

The straight/gay convo thing between the guests and Jenna and Mark was offensive. Mark was also completely wrong in confronting her but she was revolting.

I don't think Mark was wrong at all.  Why is it that whenever someone is attacked they always have to be the "bigger person?" 

The "guest" was a disgusting pig.  When she told Mark that she would fire him if he worked for her, he should have told the pig that if she asked him a question like that, her chemical peeled face would be sued.  As soon as that "guest" questioned Jenna about her love life, she crossed the line, because an employer should not do that. 

[Primetimer]

As Texas tries to transplant itself to Whistler, Mark gets some competition at the bottom of our TCL Ranklings.

View the full article

[Wouldofshouldof]

I don't get the weather in Whistler.  I wonder what month(s) this was filmed in .  We're told it's 35 degrees in one shot, 63 in another, Jenna says it's winter, yet Louise is out sunbathing, in one ep they're slip and sliding...  I guess the mornings start out cold and then the days warm up?  Does it have to do with the elevation? I wish Chicago winters were like that!

[TattleTeeny]

The editing on this show is so out there--it's like random bits are shoehorned in where they don't fit. Like after the main bra-Sharpie scene, there was a tiny bit of what's-her-name asking Mark again if he wrote on it, but it was at the end of a completely different scene in which she was not even standing there with the bra. Then there was some quick shot of someone standing at the end of a hall. And there are numerous short audio clips that don't match anything that's happening. And it also seems like stuff is left out--stuff that might even be interesting. For instance, it seemed like we saw the middle chunk of Mark's dustup with that guest. Same with Jenna's conversation--no indication of any lead-in to personal topics, and they acted like they already knew each other.

[Jennifersdc]

12 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Jenna & Texas schoolbooks can go fuck themselves.

This Canadian has lived a wee bit too long in "The States" to be polite.

 

ETA - Nikita saying someone's rudenss "is painful" to her?  Made MY fucking day.

I'm with you! Especially about Nikita's pain about rudeness.

Unfortunately the Texan's too were terrible. I'm generally pretty tolerant about people with different ideals then me, but taking down the Canadian flag for the Texas state flag for a one night stay is really fucking rude. Not to mention tasteless.

WalnutQueen - glad you got on board about not being polite! Sometimes politeness is overrated.

Mark does need though to remember these are clients. 

And Nikita - yes you can broil fish. Very tasty if done right. 

Edited January 10, 2017 by Jennifersdc

[Jennifersdc]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

The editing on this show is so out there--it's like random bits are shoehorned in where they don't fit. Like after the main bra-Sharpie scene, there was a tiny bit of what's-her-name asking Mark again if he wrote on it, but it was at the end of a completely different scene in which she was not even standing there with the bra. Then there was some quick shot of someone standing at the end of a hall. And there are numerous short audio clips that don't match anything that's happening. And it also seems like stuff is left out--stuff that might even be interesting. For instance, it seemed like we saw the middle chunk of Mark's dustup with that guest. Same with Jenna's conversation--no indication of any lead-in to personal topics, and they acted like they already knew each other.

Who's the production company? I always thought that made a difference. I also thought they were Bravo contractor's and mostly sold finished product? Love World of Wonder BTW.

Good eye - TattleTeeny....?

[TattleTeeny]

In one of the first episodes, there was this weird, mischievous disembodied "tee-hee-hee" laugh that happened right after someone said something completely innocuous like, "Let's go" or "Good morning." That's when I started noticing the show's odd choppy nature.

[LucyHoneychrrch]

Jenna is the absolute WORRRRSTTTTT

[Neurochick]

1 hour ago, Jennifersdc said:

Mark does need though to remember these are clients. 

Just because you work for someone, doesn't give them the right to abuse you, asking about someone's sexuality?  Not okay.  That woman was a straight up pig, with a nasty chemical peel.

[Jennifersdc]

33 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Just because you work for someone, doesn't give them the right to abuse you, asking about someone's sexuality?  Not okay.  That woman was a straight up pig, with a nasty chemical peel.

Sorry - guess I have thicker skin. I'm pretty much a lone female in institutional commercial real estate acquisitions (Ivanka Trump doesn't count). I've put up with a lot of "inappropriate" behavior over the years. IMO - if Mark had an issue (I'm totally discounting him admitting to be willing to flirt for a tip) - he needs to bring it up with his employer - and not getting into a drunken argument with a client/guest. It's immature and not professional. 

[Neurochick]

7 minutes ago, Jennifersdc said:

Sorry - guess I have thicker skin. I'm pretty much a lone female in institutional commercial real estate acquisitions (Ivanka Trump doesn't count). I've put up with a lot of "inappropriate" behavior over the years. IMO - if Mark had an issue (I'm totally discounting him admitting to be willing to flirt for a tip) - he needs to bring it up with his employer - and not getting into a drunken argument with a client/guest. It's immature and not professional. 

It's not about having a thicker skin, it's about accepting the unacceptable.  It that today if someone acts inappropriate, racist/sexist/whatever, others are just supposed to suck it up. 

However, Mark really should have spoken to Jenna because she was the one who told the guests her feelings, which in itself was a bit strange.

I think the problem with this place is the boundary lines are very blurry; when you have people partying with guests, that kind of confuses things.  When people drink, sometimes things get said that shouldn't.  Texas Pig never should have spoken to Jenna about her relationship, but that goes both ways, at any rate she had NO right to ask Mark his sexuality, what a poor excuse for a human being.

[Jennifersdc]

43 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

It's not about having a thicker skin, it's about accepting the unacceptable.  It that today if someone acts inappropriate, racist/sexist/whatever, others are just supposed to suck it up. 

However, Mark really should have spoken to Jenna because she was the one who told the guests her feelings, which in itself was a bit strange.

I think the problem with this place is the boundary lines are very blurry; when you have people partying with guests, that kind of confuses things.  When people drink, sometimes things get said that shouldn't.  Texas Pig never should have spoken to Jenna about her relationship, but that goes both ways, at any rate she had NO right to ask Mark his sexuality, what a poor excuse for a human being.

I'm with you. Nobody needs to suck it up per se, but IMO there are appropriate ways to voice objections to offensive behavior in a "professional" setting (meaning at least sober and not racing over to confront Miss Bad Chemical Peel based on something Jenna said). So I still don't think that was the right way to handle it.

Totally agree with blurry boundaries...

[rho]

2 hours ago, Jennifersdc said:

Mark does need though to remember these are clients. 

First off, I do not like Mark and I'm not saying this to get him off the hook. What he did was impulsive and dumb. But I think the real problem is their cool, young, hip boss Joey is telling them they should be hanging out with the guests and that is extra stupid. It's one thing to be friendly with customers/clients, and another to hijack the vacation with personal issues. Jenna sure as fuck should not have been telling the women about her relationship problems, and she and Mark REALLY shouldn't be macking on the sofa within minutes of guests arriving. Even Colston said it in plain words; they have no idea where to draw the line. I don't understand why Mark was even sitting in the living room with his feet on the coffee table in the first place. 

The guests were clearly assholes in many ways. The woman who kept wanting her food cooked through just reminded me that everything these people eat is probably deep fried to a crisp. But I think Mark lost his opportunity to address it in the moment. It's weird that he left the house, stewed outside and the barged in looking for a fight. He wasn't mad about her asking if he's gay, he was mad she was trying to mediate his relationship and really the blame lies with Jenna for including the guests in the first place. So now he's yelling at a guest because he's pissed at his not-girlfriend which I think is super unprofessional, even though she is an asshole and definitely deserves it.

I've never staying in a lodge so I'd love someone else to weigh in, is this normal? There are more staff than guests and the power dynamic is totally off. I'm hoping this is all just for the show. I imagine 2-3 people could easily run this thing and actually create an enjoyable experience for the guests. Besides, I can't imagine TCL is actually turning a profit when there is a staff house of eight people.

[Neurochick]

20 minutes ago, Jennifersdc said:

I'm with you. Nobody needs to suck it up per se, but IMO there are appropriate ways to voice objections to offensive behavior in a "professional" setting (meaning at least sober and not racing over to confront Miss Bad Chemical Peel based on something Jenna said). So I still don't think that was the right way to handle it.

That's true.  He should have waited until the next day, then spoke to Ms. Bad Chemical Peel. 

But it was weird for Chem Peel to refer to Mark as an "employee" after she just asked his sexuality, which you really shouldn't do with an employee.

Quote

Jenna sure as fuck should not have been telling the women about her relationship problems, and she and Mark REALLY shouldn't be macking on the sofa within minutes of guests arriving. Even Colston said it in plain words; they have no idea where to draw the line. I don't understand why Mark was even sitting in the living room with his feet on the coffee table in the first place. 

Agreed.  Blurry boundaries.  Jenna felt that since the women were from Texas, and she was from Texas that they had something in common, and she felt it was okay to cross the line from employee to daughter figure. 

Quote

The woman who kept wanting her food cooked through just reminded me that everything these people eat is probably deep fried to a crisp.

Why does this seem to bother people?  I always prefer my meat cooked well done; that way I know it's cooked. 

Edited January 10, 2017 by Neurochick

[dleighg]

Since when are cowboy hats made of reeds or whatever they were made of? But then I saw *one* of the guests had one made of that as well? Huh? I thought real cowboy hats are leather.

[OnceSane]

Oh Mark, no.  No, honey.  Bad Chemical Peel crossed the line, but Jenna did as well by discussing her personal life with a guest.  Go annoy her.  

The guests seemed almost as determined to be dicks as Dean on Below Deck.

[Jennifersdc]

28 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

 

Why does this seem to bother people?  I always prefer my meat cooked well done; that way I know it's cooked. 

Thank you! I actually prefer my food mooing when it gets to the table, but what's with the elitist attitude? Full foreclosure though - I have a good friend with little money I take out to dinner. I have on occasion refused to let her order a $50+ steak MW. I can cook to death for her a $15 ribeye from Safeway. She thinks it's funny (and then orders the next most expensive thing on the menu).

[dleighg]

"Dinner's ready - everybody needs to sit down" Direct quote.

Sounds like me (mom) when people won't turn off the TV. That does NOT sound like a five-star guest experience.

[biakbiak]

10 hours ago, Neurochick said:

I don't think Mark was wrong at all.  Why is it that whenever someone is attacked they always have to be the "bigger person?" 

The "guest" was a disgusting pig.  When she told Mark that she would fire him if he worked for her, he should have told the pig that if she asked him a question like that, her chemical peeled face would be sued.  As soon as that "guest" questioned Jenna about her love life, she crossed the line, because an employer should not do that. 

If he had talked about the conversation and how that was inappropriate I wouldn't have said he was wrong. What he was complaining about to the guest was the conversation that she and the other guest had with Jenna that he was not apart of and did not hear and his basic argument was that you she had no right to make the girl I like have second thoughts about me which is not a valid argument.

[urusai]

5 hours ago, Jennifersdc said:

Thank you! I actually prefer my food mooing when it gets to the table, but what's with the elitist attitude? Full foreclosure though - I have a good friend with little money I take out to dinner. I have on occasion refused to let her order a $50+ steak MW. I can cook to death for her a $15 ribeye from Safeway. She thinks it's funny (and then orders the next most expensive thing on the menu).

As a former line cook, I applaud you!  And your friend should as well.

If you return a steak and ask it to be cooked more done, expect charcoal.

[lisalionheart]

On 1/10/2017 at 3:11 PM, rho said:

First off, I do not like Mark and I'm not saying this to get him off the hook. What he did was impulsive and dumb. But I think the real problem is their cool, young, hip boss Joey is telling them they should be hanging out with the guests and that is extra stupid. It's one thing to be friendly with customers/clients, and another to hijack the vacation with personal issues. Jenna sure as fuck should not have been telling the women about her relationship problems, and she and Mark REALLY shouldn't be macking on the sofa within minutes of guests arriving. Even Colston said it in plain words; they have no idea where to draw the line. I don't understand why Mark was even sitting in the living room with his feet on the coffee table in the first place. 

The guests were clearly assholes in many ways. The woman who kept wanting her food cooked through just reminded me that everything these people eat is probably deep fried to a crisp. But I think Mark lost his opportunity to address it in the moment. It's weird that he left the house, stewed outside and the barged in looking for a fight. He wasn't mad about her asking if he's gay, he was mad she was trying to mediate his relationship and really the blame lies with Jenna for including the guests in the first place. So now he's yelling at a guest because he's pissed at his not-girlfriend which I think is super unprofessional, even though she is an asshole and definitely deserves it.

I've never staying in a lodge so I'd love someone else to weigh in, is this normal? There are more staff than guests and the power dynamic is totally off. I'm hoping this is all just for the show. I imagine 2-3 people could easily run this thing and actually create an enjoyable experience for the guests. Besides, I can't imagine TCL is actually turning a profit when there is a staff house of eight people.

Because none of this has anything to do with an actual money-making lodging business. It's totally about creating a reality show. The awful guests and their "demands," the challenges, the entire structure of the lodge, forced partying--it's like a caricature of actual hospitality industry stuff. I don't understand Bravo or Gibbons' obsession with making a reality show out of this place.

I really dislike Mark, and I think that he was leading on the guest in a way, making him feel like the sexual comments were welcome. I just can't stand flirting for professional reasons. But the woman was completely out of line. I find it difficult to figure out exactly what behavior was real and what was egged on or suggested by the producers. (All of the flag stuff seemed really heavily produced.) But I think that if your behavior is bad on reality TV, it doesn't matter whether it's "real" (self-motivated) or "fake" (staged).

[Neurochick]

1 hour ago, lisalionheart said:

Because none of this has anything to do with an actual money-making lodging business. It's totally about creating a reality show. The awful guests and their "demands," the challenges, the entire structure of the lodge, forced partying--it's like a caricature of actual hospitality industry stuff. I don't understand Bravo or Gibbons' obsession with making a reality show out of this place.

I think this is true in most if not all reality TV.  The reason being is that real life is boring most of the time.  If they did a true show about the hospitality industry, if would probably get canceled because people would call it boring.  Drama is what sells.  

Reality TV is taking real people, not actors, and putting them in semi real situations with other real people.  The producers manipulate the participants by suggesting things to them, "he said this, she said that."  "You're from Texas, I think it would be cool for you to ask for the Texas flag to fly while you're at TCL."  But even knowing that, I'll still watch.

[dleighg]

I think Bravo might be getting essentially free filming rights from Gibbons. My theory is that this is driven primarily as a marketing venture. See this article: http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/gibbons-hospitality-group-to-launch-new-brand/Content?oid=2549288

Quote

 

"This is an opportunity for us to be smarter at inviting the world to Whistler and doing our part, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for Tourism Whistler to invite all our guests, and Whistler Blackcomb to invite our guests," he said adding that he believes resort partners are doing a good job and he wants to help.

"We feel like we want to help be a part of that solution."

Part of that equation will be using 100 per cent of the net profits of the new business to support events — "things that we believe benefit this resort and bring the right people to town," said Gibbons."

 

And I guess the "right people" are hard-partying, hooking-up, rich people.

[yourmomiseasy]

For me the biggest issue was stupid Jenna taking the leap from Mark was sexually assaulted by a man to Mark is bi or gay.  How fucking offensive.  She's an annoying idiot.  He may very well be bi or gay, but being sexually assaulted doesn't prove that.  There's that whole it being against your will thing.  Her face while he was telling about his experience told it all.  She wasn't concerned about him or feeling empathy.  She was worried about how it impacted her.

Edited January 13, 2017 by yourmomiseasy

[lisalionheart]

On 1/11/2017 at 9:57 PM, Neurochick said:

I think this is true in most if not all reality TV.  The reason being is that real life is boring most of the time.  If they did a true show about the hospitality industry, if would probably get canceled because people would call it boring.  Drama is what sells.  

Reality TV is taking real people, not actors, and putting them in semi real situations with other real people.  The producers manipulate the participants by suggesting things to them, "he said this, she said that."  "You're from Texas, I think it would be cool for you to ask for the Texas flag to fly while you're at TCL."  But even knowing that, I'll still watch.

I get it, I watch an awful lot of reality TV. But it is much more egregious with Timber Creek Lodge. Drama sells, but it has to have at least a basis in reality, and I don't think anything with TCL does.

[Princess Sparkle]

15 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

For me the biggest issue was stupid Jenna taking the leap from Mark was sexually assaulted by a man to Mark is bi or gay.  How fucking offensive.  She's an annoying idiot.  He may very well be bi or gay, but being sexually assaulted doesn't prove that.  There's that whole it being against your will thing.  Her face while he was telling about his experience told it all.  She wasn't concerned about him or feeling empathy.  She was worried about how it impacted her.

Yeah, that's what bothered me the most too. I actually rewound the initial convo twice, because from her reactions immediately after and later (with her "THATS NOT FUNNY!"), I thought for sure I missed him saying he had other consensual same-sex encounters. But no, she assumed he was bi or gay because he was sexually assaulted by a guy and didn't mind flirting for tips. Her reaction is a huge part of the reason that men underreport sexual assaults.  That, coupled with the fact that she had to have Cynthia explain to her why Donald Trump is a bad person, makes me want her off my screen.  

[GreyBunny]

The more Jenna opens her mouth the more I hate her.  For someone who allegedly has a math degree she's fucking stupid.

Those trashy Texans were revolting. (The one that went swimming and actually wanted to do stuff didn't seem that bad.) Jenna is going to be just as disgusting when she gets older and she's already much of the way there.  I'm so glad I don't live there and I never would.  I would have taken their stupid flag off the pole and had a moose shit on it.  

Hey Jenna, what would happen if Alaska were cut in half?  There would be TWO states bigger than Texas.

How does an Alaskan feel when they go to Texas?  Claustrophobic.

Shut up, Jenna.

Edited January 14, 2017 by GreyBunny

[sasha206]

On 1/14/2017 at 6:34 AM, GreyBunny said:

The more Jenna opens her mouth the more I hate her.  For someone who allegedly has a math degree she's fucking stupid.

Those trashy Texans were revolting. (The one that went swimming and actually wanted to do stuff didn't seem that bad.) Jenna is going to be just as disgusting when she gets older and she's already much of the way there.  I'm so glad I don't live there and I never would.  I would have taken their stupid flag off the pole and had a moose shit on it.  

Hey Jenna, what would happen if Alaska were cut in half?  There would be TWO states bigger than Texas.

How does an Alaskan feel when they go to Texas?  Claustrophobic.

Shut up, Jenna.

Jenna's big mouth just annoys me.  And I'm talking talking about just what comes out of it but the shape of it.  She's irritating and stupid.

Now, I don't blame her for being concerned about his actual sexuality if she's dating/planning on dating someone.  But discussing it with the guests?  The guests were truly revolting as well.  

That said, while I feel bad for Mark, I do think he's struggling with his sexuality.  I think he's likely more gay than bi or straight.  

[booboopbedoo]

Whistler is a mountain and some snow remains all year.

VerticalWhistler: 1,530 m (5,020 ft)
Blackcomb: 1,565 m (5,133 ft)

Top elevationWhistler: 2,182 m (7,160 ft)
Blackcomb: 2,436 m (7,992 ft)

Base elevationCreekside: 653 m (2,140 ft)
Village: 675 m (2214 ft)

Skiable areaWhistler: 4,757 acres (1,925 ha)
Blackcomb: 3,414 acres (1,382 ha)

[zoltana]

On 1/9/2017 at 7:28 PM, Neurochick said:

Ugh, tacky, ugly Americans.  Why am I not surprised?  They should have stayed home with their nonsense.

Jenna, bless her heart, she's young.

That older, blonde woman needs to lay off the chemical peels, and she was rude too.  If she asked an employee what their sexuality was, she'd get sued.  What an awful person.

Oh my gosh!  I'm from Texas and was SO embarrassed by this group of guests.  I don't know what they do, but they were trashy.  Just shows that money cannot buy you taste or class.  I'd be embarrassed to be around these people.

[LucyHoneychrrch]

Shockingly, this episode endeared Mark to me. I loathed him at the beginning as just another bro; but I feel like I misjudged him a bit. He's got some layers. I agree with Jamie that his approach wasn't the best, but I do kind of admire him for standing up for himself -- and in the process, showing the entire viewing audience how utterly vile that Debbie person is.

[walnutqueen]

On 01/17/2017 at 5:41 PM, zoltana said:

Oh my gosh!  I'm from Texas and was SO embarrassed by this group of guests.  I don't know what they do, but they were trashy.  Just shows that money cannot buy you taste or class.  I'd be embarrassed to be around these people.

So, I take it Texans are NOT in the habit of visiting a foreign country and taking down their national flag to put up the flag of fucking Texas?  Good to know these particular asswipes were particularly douchey.  :-)