Downward Dog - General Discussion

[allboys]

I read that the guy that does Martin's voice stutters and  throws in a lot of "likes" and you "knows" to keep the flow so he doesn't get stuck on a word.

He created the web version of the show and they liked his voice.

[JudyObscure]

I keep wondering if this ad from two years ago was the inspiration for the show.

Beneful

[candall]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 4:11 PM, ChiBurbsMama said:

-- I can overlook the like, but . . .

Opposite.   I don't have kids, so no one on earth can compel me to listen to "like" wedged into every sentence after every third word.

[Sidenote:  I'm watching the next episode now, and happily, they've dialed that nonsense back a little bit.]

[Pfj99]

I'm glad Martin doesn't talk with his mouth full.  ?

[Fostersmom]

On 6/7/2017 at 2:32 PM, AlwaysWatching said:

Showtunes! Love it! I would like to think that my dogs picked up my constant bad singing, but I'm afraid they most likely just talked like sailors on shore leave. :)

A couple of years ago my cat started chewing a few spots on his hind legs bald and raw. He must have been bitten by a spider or something and had an allergic reaction. I had to take him to the vet and get him a shot of something to help the itching. When the vet brought him back to me, she told me he must be hanging out with some bad cats, he had quite the mouth on him. I told her unfortunately he learned those words at home from me. Oops! LOL! 

I too am loving this show and I don't even like dogs. I've pretty much been scared of all of them my entire life. Big or little, I'm nervous and hesitant around most dogs, no matter how many times I've met the same one. I've never had one, never will, but Martin I would probably like. Martin's small crisis of self doubt was both heart breaking and endearing at the same time. I like that no matter how much Martin might think Nan isn't perfect, we see she really is a pretty good owner. 

[Drogo]

Nan visits New York with Jenn and Kevin for a big marketing meeting, leaving Jason to watch Martin at home, but Martin uses it as a chance to go on a trash-eating bender.

[Pfj99]

Martin's flashbacks to his puppyhood always tug at my heartstrings.

[JudyObscure]

This wasn't my favorite episode, but Martin's final thoughts always remind me why I like the show so much.  He just loves Nan so much.  Plus we got to see him in the bath!

[Suzysite]

I was a little worried Martin would get lost after his trash binge, but he seemed to find his way home ok.

He looked so sad and pathetic all dirty and curled up on the porch.   And yeah, I'd have been furious if my dog sitter had done that, too.  And I've never even had a dog.

[Corgi-ears]

10 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Plus we got to see him in the bath!

You pervert.

I rather liked the writing of this episode, in large part because it felt like no other show could have done the storyline this way. Martin's existential angst about whether he and Nan are compatible and the "same species" (heee!) was obviously meant to parallel Nan's musings about her and Jason (and the differences in their class...if not class statuses, then class aspirations). But only in a show with a dog can the writers get away with conveying the point by having one party call itself "trash [dog]," and mean it literally.

[luna1122]

This episode made me cry. Martin's remembrances of his mom and siblings, calling himself a 'trash dog', his getting out and looking so sad and dirty, questioning his worth....and the whole Jason angle as well....it all made me emotional. My worst fear as a pet owner is that one of my cats will get sick or lost while I'm away and someone else is watching them....and it can happen so easily, to anyone. A door left open a fraction of a second too long, someone not paying enough attention...I knew Martin would be okay, of course, but it still made me so tense! And poor Jason...I've had a friend's cat get sick on my watch, and the guilt of it, tho it wasn't my fault, weighed heavily. And it was so sad to see Nan's little dreams of a possible happy life with Jason go up in smoke again. That said, I wouldn't have been able to forgive him either....Martin getting out for awhile is one thing, but for him to not even notice all night? not to check on him, see if he needed food or a walk, all night long, because you're stoned or drunk or too caught up in a game? No, pretty unforgivable. Still, I felt for him when he told Nan that she shouldn't talk to him like that.

I love this weird little show.

[iMonrey]

Why didn't Nan take off Martin's collar to give him a bath?!?

I have to agree with Nan about Jason. He's an irresponsible man-child and doesn't seem to have any motivation to change. Have they even said what he does for a living?

Nan's run-in with her doppelgangers was pretty funny.

[gesundheit]

Man, that was an emotional roller coaster. When Martin went on his trash binge and passed out, I was laughing so hard I cried. And then I for-real cried when Nan came home and Martin was sitting there covered in dirt looking so sad. I hope we keep this show. It's so lovely and quite frankly I think we all need this right now.

[wendyg]

iMonrey: We live in a present world where people say things like, "Me and him went to the grocery store", which would have been a lot more important to correct. Overuse of "like" seems like small beer by comparison.

[zxy556575]

I think Nan and Martin should stay in bed all day. With a live cam so I could watch the snuggles.

[Ms Lark]

I think I liked this episode best of all previous. Martin as trash dog, flashbacks to his mom and sibs, his love for Nan. I just enjoyed the whole thing. The doppelgangers were pretty funny, too.

[SnarkySheep]

I dunno...I want to like this show, and I do like Martin. Nan and Jason are starting to grow on me, though I kind of hated them together in any room the first few eps. I REALLY can't stand any workplace scenes, though.

Re: dogs talking like their owners - My mom and I actually had this discussion a few months back! I was talking for my dog, and quite naturally threw in a couple of f-bombs. My mom was all, "HE WOULDN'T TALK LIKE THAT!!" And I insisted he would, because duh, his owner does. /projection

[Pallida]

I love the subtle parallels of Martin and Nan woven into each episode. Nan needs to work through the insecurity from her background and we get to see Martin gain self awareness of the origins of his behavior. And the fact that these things aren't oversimplified into individual choices makes me happy. 

[meep.meep]

"origins of his behavior" ????   All dogs like to snag something tasty out of the trash.  It's what they do.  Just like they all seem to like to roll in things that are really smelly.  Especially boy dogs.

I'll like the show better if the pattern of Nan and Jason breaking up, then getting back together, just to break up again would stop.  

[tribeca]

This show makes me miss my dog. 

I can see why Nan has a difficult time giving up Jason.  They are very comfortable together.  She was right to be upset with him. He really messed up.  It still made me a little sad for him.  Maybe this will help him make some changes. 

[Fostersmom]

Poor Martin! You aren't a trash dog, no matter what you think. This one kind of hit home for me. I'll fully admit, I grew up feeling like a trash dog. It was well known my elementary school was the "poor" elementary school out of the twelve in the district. Most of us lived in apartments complexes in a city with just a few (3 out of the 4 that existed). That kind of went hand in and with our many single moms, our free lunches, and our K-Mart hand-me-downs. We were the trash dogs and we knew it. Much like Martin, every once in a while, some kids would revert to their trash dog origins, but the rest of us were still there when they became tame again. Martin needs a friend to be there for him besides Nan and Jason. Even the scary cat could be a buddy for him. Nan is of course going to let Jason back in sooner or later. He messed up big time and deserves to be yelled at, but I do think Martin would miss him and she would too. 

[2727]

Nichelle Nichols singing!

[Suzysite]

Uhura and an adorable puppy!  What's not to like?

[luna1122]

Great episode. I think I'm going to have to get used to this show making me laugh AND cry. There are a lot of layers here they're slowly unpeeling, mostly with Nan's obviously sad/weird family dynamic. And Martin's existential angst over aging mirroring Nan and Jenn's feeling old in the hipster bar. "do we look like MOMS??' ha. And that puppy! I really hope Jenn decides to keep that puppy after all. I loved Martin hating him but then conceding he was freaking adorable and that also he himself was a hero for going down to the worst place on earth to comfort him. This show is really unique and special.

[2727]

Allison Tolman was on Kimmel last night and mentioned that Ned has his own car with air conditioning so he doesn't get overheated between takes (because if he starts panting, they can't film). She specifically said "car," but I certainly hope he and his trainer(s) have a danged trailer on set where Ned can chill. I hate to think of him cooped up in a car!

Allison also said Ned has a large stuffed dog as his stand in and Ned doesn't like it at all. Took an ear off once.  :-)

Edited June 21, 2017 by 2727

[monakane]

I always laugh at the Pepper scenes.  Anyone who has had both dogs and cats in their house knows that shit is real.

[iMonrey]

Puppy! I felt so bad for the poor little thing trying to get back up the basement stairs! And was kind of mad at Martin for kicking him down the stairs - he could have gotten seriously hurt. One thing that bothers me, though, is why Nan would have left the basement door open in the first place if the intention was the shut the dogs up in the kitchen. Maybe she wasn't worried about Martin but surely the puppy could have accidentally tumbled down the stairs. 

Nichelle Nichols' appearance was a rare treat too.

[proserpina65]

On 6/21/2017 at 2:04 PM, iMonrey said:

Puppy! I felt so bad for the poor little thing trying to get back up the basement stairs! And was kind of mad at Martin for kicking him down the stairs - he could have gotten seriously hurt. One thing that bothers me, though, is why Nan would have left the basement door open in the first place if the intention was the shut the dogs up in the kitchen. Maybe she wasn't worried about Martin but surely the puppy could have accidentally tumbled down the stairs. 

Nichelle Nichols' appearance was a rare treat too.

I wondered about that, too., but maybe the door doesn't always latch properly and she doesn't realize that Martin can get it open?

Having lived this situation with cats (and currently living it with a different set of cats), I could relate to Martin's displeasure at having the puppy around.  Fortunately, I make sure my basement door is always shut, mainly because I had a cat which once got up into the space between the basement ceiling and the first floor joints.

Edited June 23, 2017 by proserpina65

[AlwaysWatching]

Damn. I know I've had to deal with some lousy health problems lately and I am in a weakened state....NOOOO!... Downward Dog is canceled and I am literally crying.  The last two episodes will air Tuesday night.  They are going to really try and find a new home for DD, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.  It's hard to believe how deeply I fell for that "trash dog". I'll never forget Martin (Ned). Still can't believe I'm crying.

[AlwaysWatching]

I was so upset that I didn't notice this anticipation thread. Just found out DD's been canceled.  The show grabbed my heart for some reason (Martin! with all the adorable "likes" and everything) and I'm truly sad as hell that it's only got two eps left to air on Tuesday night. I posted over on the last episode that aired thread before I saw this one.  many tears

[gesundheit]

17 minutes ago, AlwaysWatching said:

Damn. I know I've had to deal with some lousy health problems lately and I am in a weakened state....NOOOO!... Downward Dog is canceled and I am literally crying.  The last two episodes will air Tuesday night.  They are going to really try and find a new home for DD, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.  It's hard to believe how deeply I fell for that "trash dog". I'll never forget Martin (Ned). Still can't believe I'm crying.

So heartbroken. 

[Bronzedog]

33 minutes ago, AlwaysWatching said:

Damn. I know I've had to deal with some lousy health problems lately and I am in a weakened state....NOOOO!... Downward Dog is canceled and I am literally crying.  The last two episodes will air Tuesday night.  They are going to really try and find a new home for DD, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.  It's hard to believe how deeply I fell for that "trash dog". I'll never forget Martin (Ned). Still can't believe I'm crying.

Oh, No!  And yet, the worst show I've ever seen, 2 Broke Girls, has been on for what seems like 25 years.

[JudyObscure]

We can't have a sweet simple show, with actual stories, a clever concept and nice characters. 

Oh no.  What we need is another loud game show or maybe CSI Akron.

I'm not crying, I'm too bitter to cry.

[rubaco]

2 hours ago, AlwaysWatching said:

Damn. I know I've had to deal with some lousy health problems lately and I am in a weakened state....NOOOO!... Downward Dog is canceled and I am literally crying.  The last two episodes will air Tuesday night.  They are going to really try and find a new home for DD, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.  It's hard to believe how deeply I fell for that "trash dog". I'll never forget Martin (Ned). Still can't believe I'm crying.

There are lots of streaming services these days… have faith! It could find a new home.

[luna1122]

I'm devastated. Like, really. 

[Mockingbird]

I'm not surprised that ABC canceled it. ABC has a terrible habit of canceling things that I love. (Still not over Pushing Daisies...) But I will really miss Martin's darling face. My roommate and I watch the show each week, cuddling our dogs, alternating between belly laughing and tearing up. Damn it. 

[JudyObscure]

7 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

alternating between belly laughing and tearing up

It was a dog lover's, "This is Us."

[Lisa418722]

It's been so long since I found a show on ABC that I set on the DVR and to cancel it after a few episodes.  Was it "Seinfeld" back in the 1990's that was on the brink of cancellation but NBC decided to give it another chance.  Come on ABC, it's summertime, no show is going to get huge ratings.  I'm going to miss Martin and Nan (and yes, Jason too).  :-( 

[tribeca]

Sad news.  I was loving this show.   Poor Martin.   He is too adorable.   Now I will never know how community college works out, if Nans friends get married and if she makes up with her dad.  

[Evagirl]

Get rid of those stupid 1960 game show remakes that take up one hour each in prime time.  To Tell The Truth, Family Feud, Pyramid, Wall, Gong Show, Candy Crush (okay it's not 60's stuff, but still) and please, please, NO MORE STEVE HARVEY!!

Yet, they cancel a great comedy show like Martin that actually makes people laugh out loud.  They didn't even give it enough time to find a footing.  Used to be when a show had potential they would move it to a different night or put it behind a strong show and then move it because people would follow it.  Now if it doesn't generate top ratings right out of the starting gate, they cancel it.

I will miss this show very much.

[AnnieBeez]

I really enjoyed this show, after the first 2 office-heavy eps at least. I NEED something short and light and sweet to watch, and so does my cat! It was the one show we could watch together. Ack ack, send help! or a puppy, yeah! a puppy! Pip and I would both like a puppy. We lost our "lovely Estella" about a year and a half ago.

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by MissHavisham

[Kiki777]

Not gonna lie, I'm pissed off that DD is cancelled while the kardashians go on forever.  What is wrong with this picture???

I am also so sad about this beautiful show being cancelled.  The timing stinks because watching it has really helped me cope with the unexpected death of my beloved rescue.  I will miss Martin tremendously - on the bright side this loss is inspiring me to get off my butt and rescue a new dog hopefully this summer.  There are many Martins out there :-)

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, MissHavisham said:

Ack ack, send help! or a puppy, yeah! a puppy! Pip and I would both like a puppy. We lost our "lovely Estella" about a year and a half ago.

My cat missed my dachshund so much, I caught him with his rear in the air looking under the bed for her  six months after she died.  So, I got him a dachshund puppy and the two adored each other until that sweet old cat himself died last Thanksgiving.  Now, you guessed it, my dog is still going out at night to look for her cat. It's darn heartbreaking! I guess our animals are like you, MissHavisham, they carry a long torch.

[atlantaloves]

This is so horrible, I adored this show, sure it was uneven at times, but I an owned by a shih tzu and totally understood Martin. All I can say is POOP ON ABC.  We piss on your tennis shoes.

[Drogo]

An algorithm impacts Nan's campaign hours away from its launch and threatens to torpedo the whole campaign. Elsewhere: Martin tries to take out his sworn enemy, Pepper, but sees unexpected results.

[Drogo]

In the season finale, Nan goes on a vacation and visits her estranged father's place in the country, only to discover he's selling the family home. Later: Dad takes Martin for a walk, but Martin runs off into the woods, hoping to prove he's wild and free like a wolf.

[TresGatos]

Quote

I'll be watching the second episode, with my cat.

Pepper?

I had been meaning to watch this show and finally binge watched it this weekend after seeing members of the cast of @Midnight and realizing Lucas Neff, who I really enjoyed on Raising Hope was in it.

I liked it and once we got into it I really liked it.

I liked the lead actress, I've never watched Fargo, and was glad she wasn't a Vanessa Hudgens-type even though I liked VH well enough on the recently cancelled Powerless. The lead actress reminded me of Sara Rue while the boss dude reminded me of Silas Weir Mitchell. That bugged me a little but I think it bugged me because it made me feel old.

One thing I hated...and this is the reason I stopped watching Speechless...When watching ABC (and a lot of other networks) On Demand you can't fast forward through commercials and they structure commercials so in a 30 minute comedy you have 2 long blocks of commercials then, at the end, there is another, 3rd lengthy block, of commercials, to get to a tiny bit at the end which is often a very funny bit. I hate that. And Comcast.

[TresGatos]

I loved this episode because I love Pepper! Highlights were when Nan catches Pepper and Martin is "Nan is willing to fight a demon with her bare hands!" while Pepper nose bops her, and Martin looking back on his hubris and how power went to his head and in just a few hours he had "invited the greatest evil the world has ever known" (or words to that effect) into their home! I just about died laughing! More Pepper!

[TresGatos]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 8:35 AM, luna1122 said:

I loved Martin at Nan's work. That dog is so adorable. I don't have a lot to say about the episode, but I enjoyed it. Her boss is not JUST a dick, he's got some layers, and Martin brought them out. I love how he loved a guy who is scared of dogs. Cats inevitably gravitate toward people who don't like them but in their case, I think it's out of slightly evil motivation. Dogs just want folks to love them. I loved his sense of betrayal when Kevin didn't throw the ball. Also loved his fantasy of he and Kevin at dinner, with Kevin giving him a gift: an RIP Pepper statue. Ha.

And my unpopular opinion continues that Lucas Neff's hair is awesome.

Te RIP Pepper bit was my favorite part of this episode! I am also in awe of Lucas Neff's hair!

[luna1122]

Lucas Neff has posted a few sad photos on instagram about this..he's obviously quite upset, but still holding out hope that some other network will pick it up. (and sweetly, I noticed garrett dillahunt, his dad on 'raising hope', offering condolences to him over it)