S04.E03: Fun in the Shun

[Complexity]

35 minutes ago, Evil Queen said:

TH

What does TH mean? Googling it came up with a huge number of possible meanings.

ETA: Here's what just one site suggested for the meaning of TH in texting: T helper, Table Header, Table Heading, Table Heads, Targeting High, Tax House, Taylor Hanson, Team Handsome, Tech Haven, Technische Handleiding, Technische Hochschule, Teddy Hoosevelt, Temperance House, Templum Hierosolymae, Territory of Hawaii, terroir hunter, Texas Hold, Thai, Thailand, The Hated, The Hulk, The Husband, Theim, Theoretical Hypothesis, Theratechnologies, Inc., Thermal Hopper, Think Hardware, Thiokol, Thomas Hedison, Thomas Helmut, Thoracic, Thorium, Threshold, Through Hole, Thursday, Thyroid Hormone, Tilman Henry, Tim Horton, Time History, Timestream Horrorsphere, Tiny House, Today's Headline, Tokio Hotel, Tom Hanks, Tomlinson Holman, Top Hat, Torii Hunter, Tournament Hours, Tow Howth, Town Highway, Training Helicopter, Transmission Header, Transmittal Header, Travel and Hospitality, Trefil And Hazen, Trinity House, Trinity Hymnal, Truly Hierarchical, Truth Hurts, Try Hard, Trying hard, Tuesday And Huwebes, Turbo Hydramatic, Turbo Hydromatic, Turner Hooch, Tyrolean Haflingers, tyrosine hydroxylase ?

Edited May 17, 2017 by Complexity

[Willowsmom]

1 hour ago, booboopbedoo said:

So the store had no cover-ups or Caftans for Carmela to try on?

I don't buy the modesty act. Leggings are not that level of modesty. Her tops are frequently low. I call BS

[Complexity]

37 minutes ago, Evil Queen said:

Why did Jeremiah take her to that area and start his paranoid crap? If he knew he would feel that way it seemed silly to go there and then turn around to tell her he doesn't care what she thinks when nothing happened to warrant the paranoid behavior. Anxiety attack huh? He doesn't know why he gets scared huh? I can tell you its not what Carmela thinks that is for sure but more his being an asshole. 

The key word here is: if. A person often does not know in advance how they will feel in a situation until they are in it and then have the feelings.

So while I do not condone Jeremiah's overall behavior, I'll give him a pass on this instance. His behavior was consistent with having an anxiety attack, triggered from visiting a place with a high emotional content for him. When people are emotionally triggered like that, they often become very snappy and highly self-centered. Their autonomic nervous system takes over and they react without thinking. This is how our bodies are designed (fight or flight mode).

This behavior is often surprising to people when it happens. That's because it is an unconscious autonomic response which, by definition, is not thought out when it happens. That alone can be scary for some people.

Unfortunately, when a person is known for acting in a self-centered manner without apparent thought for how it affects others, it can be very difficult to determine when that person is acting as their normal ass self or is acting out of a true emotional trigger.

42 minutes ago, Evil Queen said:

This one made me wonder why the hell I am watching this crap still. UGH!!! 

I ask myself that question with every episode! ? I try to rationalize it by telling myself I'm studying human nature, but I know that's BS. I think it's that fascination we have with seeing things that are out of the ordinary, similar to why we must see a car accident while driving by. We are naturally programmed to pay attention to things that are new and different. True or not, it's a rationalization I allow myself to accept. ?

[realityobserver]

Why ? How come ? What is going on ? ....

The questions abound in this wacked out show that supposedly tells the 'true', 'real' adventures of Amish turned English, and their attempt to blend into society, leaving behind their religious upbringing. 

And then the folks, like me and others who post, who try to pick apart and disseminate our views to try to understand the reasoning or motives for these individuals behavior. Be it drug use, scandalous behavior, drinking and other things that seem so far from what we were led to believe an Amish or Mennonite advocate would be involved in. We ponder their behavior and make all the assumptions that these folks are actually being filmed doing the things that they themselves dream up, and then actually do. And we, as posters on this discussion board, back up our beliefs on why they do the things they do with some scientific data, personal experience or a college degree that may explain their outrageous behavior...

Which of course leaves me to believe what I observed from the very first time I saw this show (I am talking first 5 minutes), namely that it is a docu/drama written and produced by people who sit around in a boardroom somewhere, and dream up the most idiotic scenarios, and then narrow it down to the most entertaining one. Then write a script, and film it and produce it, and present it to any one of a number of cable networks, and fish around till one of them bites, and then broadcast it to the public. Most of the show is pathetically transparent in the truth department, and the plots are so out of left field that most normal people would laugh at this and move on, rather than try and understand the meaning of all the drama. Look at all the reality shows that are just beyond reality; 'Alaskan Bush People', 'Amish Mafia', 'The Curse of Oak Island' and on and on....

In reality, it all comes down to 'will we make a buck having this show on the air ?'  Will the advertisers still pay to have their products plugged during the course of the show ?  Once the money and profits disappear, so will the show... Or maybe the participants (also called paid cast) will tire of presenting themselves as ignorant, mouth breathing, miscreants and refuse to be available for filming.

All of these third rate actors are being told exactly what to say, exactly how to act, exactly how to react, exactly how to walk, talk, think and so on, and they get paid for it. Let's face it, if we were to watch these folks and how they really act, it wouldn't last a minute. Who wants to see Abe scratch his butt, or Jeremiah go channel surfing on a Tuesday evening, or Rebecca fold clothes, or anything else that they most probably do 99% of the time when the cameras are not rolling....

So why do we watch ? I watch for the entertainment value, and the ludicrous settings they present, so I can have a good laugh and then make fun of them here on the internet. I guess that is my hobby... I am just as entertained by all the comments and pseudo explanations for behavior that is so obviously staged.... 

Even the title to the show is preposterous, they are not returning to Amish. Just returning to the hollow, meaningless lives that they had when they left. Shouldn't it be 'Return to Amish Country' or something like that ?

[Complexity]

47 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

But truthfully, there really isn't much out there on the subject that I'd be comfortable presenting as anything more than an assumption or observations from "experts", not even a theory.

Because people's nonverbal response to lying is too complicated to put into anything so simple.

[OnceSane]

1 hour ago, Complexity said:

What does TH mean?

Talking Head (it's the mini-interviews on the show where the person is looking at the camera and commenting on the storyline).

[Lady Edith]

God help me, but I'm hooked on this ridiculous show.  And I hate that.  

Here's what I'm seeing;

Sabrina: Her upbringing in the Mennonite Church has given her the self-respect of a wet noodle.  Her entire life was monitored and controlled and, when she was finally free of that, she had no clue what to do.  She seemed to do OK when they first went to NYC and her "breaking away" was in a more controlled atmosphere where she was with others going through similar things and still influenced by their faith and culture.  But after that, when she was no longer in the camera lens, she discovered that being "English" isn't really as easy as she thought.  And she fell.  Instead of letting her flounder, TLC had a fantastic opportunity (and I see it as a responsibility) to help Sabrina in her transition.  And instead of helping her through separation/deprogramming counseling and education (and creating a more positive story line as a result), they watched her go down the rabbit hole into drug addiction and homelessness.  I guess it's a matter of what gets better ratings...seeing her break free of her upbringing and succeed in life, or watch her fail miserably.  And the failure won out.  And as far as Oakley is concerned?  There is MUCH more to this story than they are telling us.  CYS has a bad reputation for being slow-moving and not very effective with their actions.  Either she already lost her parental rights to Oakley (and they are faking it for the show) or she has had more going on than allowing her ex to see the baby without a court-appointed supervisor.  This smells as bad as Mary's jarred bologna.  And with the new baby, she is a complete idiot.  Does she NOT think that CYS will know as soon as the baby is born, regardless if she has a home or hospital birth?  And with this one, it's not guaranteed that they will take the baby unless she has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is an unfit parent, period.  CYS will most likely monitor her and start a new case file for the baby.  But they will not remove the child unless they have reason to.  My brother's neighbor had her oldest child removed from the home (she was a drug dealer and user and was busted for it several times) but she had more.  Three more, to be exact.  And those children stayed with her until her most recent arrest.  

Abe:  I do not understand why he can't find a job as a local driver.  Companies in our area are looking for local drivers and with his experience as an over-the-road driver, he could easily find work.  I have a feeling this work-related separation is driven by TLC to support a badly conceived story line.  

Rebecca: All I can say is, "you go, girl!"  I don't see her as being a bitch or conniving or any of that.  She is a realist and sees the bull that Mary and others are laying down.  And as far as her relationship with Sabrina...I agree with the person up thread who said that she has been through the drug addict thing before and doesn't want to go through it again.  She has two babies to protect and she does not need to introduce crap to those kids.  She is better to stand clear until Sabrina straightens herself out.  It's not up to Rebecca to provide that to her.  Sabrina needs to make the effort to change her life and no amount of "support" (whatever she classifies as "support") from her friends will do that for her.  As far as her relationship with Abe goes, he is weak and will continue to do whatever Mary asks of him.  So she had better get used to it.  When  she married Abe, she married Mary, too.

Andy: Good lord, man, you are a mess.  But good on you for not telling your dad about the Trans Am.  That would've been a HOT MESS.  Play dumb and let the chips fall where they may is a much smarter move.

Mary: I just want to grab you by the shoulders and shake you until you start thinking straight.  You were English before...you know how the outside world works.  Stop straddling the fence and pick a side.  You are putting Chester's life at risk by continuing these shenanigans.  If you are Amish, BE AMISH.  If you are English, BE ENGLISH.  There is no in between.  And as far as these "surprise" visits to your kids (natural and "adopted")?  STOP IT.  They are adults.  If I were Jeremiah I would've told you to get back into the Trans Am and start hoofing it back to Punxy.  That is incredibly rude of you to just show up and bring others.  I was seriously angry for Kate when you all showed up at her teensy apartment to stay for THREE WEEKS.  I was angry at Sabrina for mentioning it to you guys in the first place.  You should've respectfully declined the invitation or at least given Kate a heads-up that you were coming.  And then only stayed a few days, max.  The self-centeredness and total lack of self in these people KILLS ME.

Ugh, so much here and I've already written a book...

[Evil Queen]

5 hours ago, Lady Edith said:

Sabrina: Her upbringing in the Mennonite Church has given her the self-respect of a wet noodle.  Her entire life was monitored and controlled and, when she was finally free of that, she had no clue what to do.  She seemed to do OK when they first went to NYC and her "breaking away" was in a more controlled atmosphere where she was with others going through similar things and still influenced by their faith and culture.  But after that, when she was no longer in the camera lens, she discovered that being "English" isn't really as easy as she thought.  And she fell.

Just a heads up this isn't her first reality show. She was married on another one before this one came up. As well as my understanding is they were all already out in the "English" world living as it was. Heck Jeremiah is almost 40 yrs old and probably living away from the Amish longer than any of them. This is just one of the issues I have always had with this show (and a few others claiming "reality")....the lies told on things and what is or isn't reality. At this point the only things I see here that are real with this show are Jeremiah's nasty behavior/temper and Sabrina's messed up life that she can't even tell the truth about. 

 

5 hours ago, Lady Edith said:

Mary: I just want to grab you by the shoulders and shake you until you start thinking straight.  You were English before...you know how the outside world works.  Stop straddling the fence and pick a side.  You are putting Chester's life at risk by continuing these shenanigans.  If you are Amish, BE AMISH.  If you are English, BE ENGLISH.  There is no in between.  And as far as these "surprise" visits to your kids (natural and "adopted")?  STOP IT.  They are adults.

Couldn't agree more with this. It is so old this crap with her. At this point I don't buy her Amish/English debate but think she is all living the English life. If people see her out in her Amish outfit I will bet its so she gets attention and nothing more because she eats it up. The stupid "surprise" visits are such a joke with this show. Just like all the extra "trips" they take. 

[Thislullaby]

On May 15, 2017 at 4:25 PM, Complexity said:

Is your cable company not listed as one of the companies on the TLCgo.com list? And they don't have a website with on demand? That's no fun. Which cable company are you using?

I'm using Xfinity. They scramble all of the stations so you have to use their DVR that unscrambles the channels in order to record anything. So while I like their online on demand (which often excludes commercials or allows me to fast forward through them), I don't like that they require I use only their equipment for recording.

Kinda sucks how cable companies impose themselves on our ability to watch the Return to Amish Fun in the Shun episode (gotta stay on topic! LOL!).

I made an account just to say I have xfinity and also use a TiVo for recording shows. All you need is a cable card from Comcast (they can't charge you for using just one, they can charge a fee for additional) and you pop it in the back of the TiVo. Follow the onscreen prompts and make sure Comcast has activated it. Now you have the ability to ff through all of the annoying stuff on this 3 hour long episodes. 

[gonecrackers]

So am a bit behind; just finished this one yesterday.

I was a bit put off on how Rebecca said "I found someone..."  apparently to stay at her home & care for her kids while she jets off to Florida. It sounded like someone answered her ad on Craig's List.

More likely TLC paid for a nanny, because, you know, her GED tutoring is not too exciting. They need her to go to Florida for more tension with Jeremiah.

[Evil Queen]

5 hours ago, gonecrackers said:

So am a bit behind; just finished this one yesterday.

I was a bit put off on how Rebecca said "I found someone..."  apparently to stay at her home & care for her kids while she jets off to Florida. It sounded like someone answered her ad on Craig's List.

More likely TLC paid for a nanny, because, you know, her GED tutoring is not too exciting. They need her to go to Florida for more tension with Jeremiah.

I would bet it was Katie Ann that was with the kids IF she had to really leave them behind. Otherwise they were put up in a hotel with Katie Ann or a nanny during shooting scenes. In the end its one of the things I have never cared for about this show, the way they have them just "jet off" to wherever like everyone does that whenever they please at the drop of a hat...more so when there are kids. What bugs me as well is the time frame with this show over the last few seasons too. It is always all over the place. One episode we could be in summer then the next fall then winter. With Sabrina having the baby that means it would be around Thanksgiving of last year. So before that we have to wonder if it was Sept/Oct when things were filmed at those points. I also question if that GED tutor isn't just a paid hand to act as one or what. It just is way to scripted that whole story. Want to bet she had her GED long ago but TLC thought it would be a good storyline for her and Abe to not agree on. SMH

[gonecrackers]

11 hours ago, Evil Queen said:

I would bet it was Katie Ann that was with the kids IF she had to really leave them behind. Otherwise they were put up in a hotel with Katie Ann or a nanny during shooting scenes. In the end its one of the things I have never cared for about this show, the way they have them just "jet off" to wherever like everyone does that whenever they please at the drop of a hat...more so when there are kids. What bugs me as well is the time frame with this show over the last few seasons too. It is always all over the place. One episode we could be in summer then the next fall then winter. With Sabrina having the baby that means it would be around Thanksgiving of last year. So before that we have to wonder if it was Sept/Oct when things were filmed at those points. I also question if that GED tutor isn't just a paid hand to act as one or what. It just is way to scripted that whole story. Want to bet she had her GED long ago but TLC thought it would be a good storyline for her and Abe to not agree on. SMH

I think if it was Katie Ann they would've made another story line out of her handling the kids. But I do agree I think the tutor is a set up by the show as is their disagreement on her GED.

[Evil Queen]

9 hours ago, gonecrackers said:

I think if it was Katie Ann they would've made another story line out of her handling the kids. But I do agree I think the tutor is a set up by the show as is their disagreement on her GED.

You are right they probably would have...if they wanted to pay her for more than one or 2 appearances. LOL Of course it probably would be more fun to watch her and the little ones instead of Jeremiah's abusive ways or Sabrina's delusions.