Me, Myself & I - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Media Topic!

[Princess Sparkle]

Episode Description: In the series opener, a 14-year-old boy living in Chicago in 1991, was on top of the world inventing cool things and celebrating the Bulls' first championship, until his mom moved him to Los Angeles.

[mtlchick]

Jaleel White is clearly channeling Stefan Urquelle with his speech pattern. 

 

I loved Bobby on SNL and John Larroquette is one of the all time TV greats.  But I didn't like this as I hope I would. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

3 thoughts:

1) The daughter is way too small to be riding in the front seat of Alex's car. I know it's to make it easier for him to talk to her, but she needs to be in the back seat.

2) The mother is fine with moving 400 miles from her young daughter to be with a new guy (who isn't the same guy who she cheated with)?

3) Don't know the details of their divorce settlement.. but I would think that the ex-wife would have the house so that the daughter could stay in her home.  There should have been a provision that if them other got remarried/moved away, they would split the proceeds of the house.

Edited September 26, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Scarlett45]

4 minutes ago, RogerDodger said:

I think this one is a pass.  While I generally like all of the people involved, none of the stories really clicked for me. I think part of the problem will be telling three complete stories in a 22 minute window.

I will stick around but half an hour sitcoms do move SO quickly. 

[AnnaRose]

I really don't like the actor who plays the middle age guy.  (I don't know his name and don't know any of his work.)  It seems like he just doesn't belong in this role, and I find him so distracting.  I just couldn't get past it/him.

[MaryMitch]

Sharon Lawrence is WAY too young to play a character the same age as John Larroquette!

I'll give it another go, but this show is going to be hard to get into. Too many characters, too much hopping around. Although I do like the young Alex's stepbrother and stepfather.

[AnnaRose]

11 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

Sharon Lawrence is WAY too young to play a character the same age as John Larroquette!

I'll give it another go, but this show is going to be hard to get into. Too many characters, too much hopping around. Although I do like the young Alex's stepbrother and stepfather.

Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me about the age difference between those two.  It was not at all believable that they were supposed to be the same age.

And, like you, I also hated all the hopping around back and forth between the three stories. 

I did like the kid with his new family the best, and I also liked the middle age guy's best friend.  That's about it.

[anthonyd46]

2 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I really don't like the actor who plays the middle age guy.  (I don't know his name and don't know any of his work.)  It seems like he just doesn't belong in this role, and I find him so distracting.  I just couldn't get past it/him.

Bobby Moynihan from Saturday Night Live. 

This show jumps around like crazy. I will give it a few more episodes, but going between timelines so often gets confusing.

[AnnaRose]

You know, I've thought about this show since I posted and I think the main problem is that I never really felt like or believed that the three iterations were the same person.  And without being able to buy into that basic conceit, the whole show just fails to work.

[anthonyd46]

4 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

You know, I've thought about this show since I posted and I think the main problem is that I never really felt like or believed that the three iterations were the same person.  And without being able to buy into that basic conceit, the whole show just fails to work.

I felt the same way. I think its because all three timelines are completely different actors. In HIMYM when they went forward in time it was just an older version of Josh Randor, but it was still Josh Randor not some other actor. Same thing for most other shows its just the same actor with makeup. It just feels like its 3 separate people.

[AnnaRose]

2 minutes ago, anthonyd46 said:

I felt the same way. I think its because all three timelines are completely different actors. In HIMYM when they went forward in time it was just an older version of Josh Randor, but it was still Josh Randor not some other actor. Same thing for most other shows its just the same actor with makeup. It just feels like its 3 separate people.

Exactly.  I was thinking if they used aging makeup, like I think they did with the step dad, it would have worked so much better.

[biakbiak]

I didn't mind the different actors particularly if they are going for such large spans of age on a weekly basis. I thought the old age makeup on HIMYM was laughably bad and certainly wouldn't have worked on a weekly basis for a third of the show. It barely worked for the five minutes per season they used it and their solution for college years was just bad hair.

I did like the "twist" that not only was the stepfather supportive but also had a great deal of influence on him. 

I just don't think it's that interesting a set of stories but I will give it a few episodes.

[Bina]

Seems I'm in the minority, but I really liked it. I kept expecting the stepbrother to show up in the middle-aged scenes, though. 

[sonyab]

I loved it! It was very funny.  Loved at the dance when at 14 he had the breath mint in his mouth and was choking, Then the breath mint went into Nori's mouth!!! Hysterical!!!! Loved the ending when at 64 he decided to just kiss her!!!! :) It was great!!! I will watch again.

Edited September 26, 2017 by sonyab

[Gregg247]

I thought the show wasn't bad.  The only problem I had with it was that the kid was tall and thin,and the older version was tall and (kind of) thin, but the middle aged version was a short fat schlub.  A different actor in the middle role work make this show work much better, I think.

I was pleasantly surprised when the step-father and step-brother turned out to be very nice people who took the kid into their family right away.  I was waiting for the step-brother in particular to turn out to be a heel, but he was pretty nice right from the start.  Nice change of pace!  I recognized the step-father from that show "How the States Got Their Shape" and some TV commercials, and found him to be a strong presence on the show.  I hope we see more family bonding; I like that portion of the show best so far.

I agree with the ex-wife--please, no more basketball references!

[PRgal]

So work clothing doesn't change in 25 years?  2042 officewear looks A LOT like 2017 officewear!  They need to get a little more creative, IMHO. 

[Traveller519]

You know what I liked. Everyone was generally competent, empathetic, and positive.

There wasn't pratt-fall levels of humor or going the easy route for stupidity. The step-father character genuinely wanted to care for Alex and gave him good advice. The step-brother wasn't territorial and wanted to make the best of the situation. The ex-wife was considerate of the whole situation. Alex was obviously good at what he did, just a little up-ended by his mid-life derailment.

Also the "worst day of his life" setting up as an accident at home to his wife sleeping with a paramedic was well set up. Who knows if it will have legs, but it's incredibly well cast and made for an enjoyable watch for me.

[chaifan]

For the most part, I liked it.  I like the actor that plays the young Alex.  I agree with an earlier poster that the middle age Alex is just a bit too schlubby between the young & old tall/lanky versions.  And John L. looks really tall compared to the middle age Alex.  (Too lazy to actually look it up.)  That was a bit distracting. 

I was ok with the bouncing around of the timelines - I think they did a good job of keeping a few central themes that flowed between all timelines.  And I really like the stepfather/Alex dynamic.

On the use of 3 actors (or at least 2 older ones), my biggest beef with All of Us is the aging of Mandy Moore and the best friend/2nd husband.  They do an ok job, but it still looks obvious and is distracting.  So I'm ok with the having 2 different older actors for this, I just don't think they matched them up very well.

I'll continue to watch for now, but my main concern is now that we know Alex turns out really successful it sort of makes the middle timeline a bit meh for me.

 

ETA:  OK, I had to look it up as it was annoying me...  Bobby M. is 5'7", John L. is 6'4".  So, yeah, it was bugging me for a reason - I like both actors but can't buy into them as the same person.

Edited September 26, 2017 by chaifan
Post post research

[Scarlett45]

I follow Jaleel on Instagram because I'm secretly in love with him (ok it's not a secret). 

 

[HurricaneVal]

You know....  I kind of liked it.  It is nice to have a sitcom that is warm and fuzzy where the characters are supportive of each other and not always snotting and snarking and scoring points off each other.  I also really appreciated that the step-dad and step-brother honestly took the kid into their family and it all worked.  Later on, when middle-age!Alex needs guidance, it surprised me he went to his step-dad for it.  Yay! for a TV show demonstrating healthy familial relationships!

[Robert Lynch]

That kid from It who plays Eddie. He just grew much taller than he did in the movie. He's like a Fred Savage type. Is this like Wonder Years?

[Boofish]

I was prepared to bounce if the step family were jerks but turns out the stepfather and stepbrother are the best parts of the show.

[willco]

I liked this  lot, so I'm glad at least a few of you did also. I thought it would me alone on another show !

 

Gregg247, thanks, I knew I recognized that guy who plays the stepfather  from somewhere. Now I don't have to look it up. I always have to look up actors when I can't place them. It's a sickness.

 

I will agree that it looks odd to have Bobby M. become John L., given the height difference. But I love both actors, so I'll let it go. John L. is a tv legend, and although I wasn't a huge Night Court fan, I really liked some shows he did after that. And Bobby was probably my favorite SNL performer and, while this show isn't as crazy as that, I still think he did a good job.

[Anela]

I love the kid, so I'll probably watch it again. 

[ketose]

19 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

Sharon Lawrence is WAY too young to play a character the same age as John Larroquette!

I'll give it another go, but this show is going to be hard to get into. Too many characters, too much hopping around. Although I do like the young Alex's stepbrother and stepfather.

Lawrence is about 6 years younger and Laroquette is about 5 years older. That decade gap is amplified by the fact that John is looking pretty old and Sharon is still pretty hot. It seems like a lot for a sitcom, but Modern Family does the same thing with 3 families in the same era.

I kind of like the idea that a pivotal point in your life informs everything else. 40 year old Alex remembers the table leg adjuster. Older Alex still uses "it was a 2 car garage" as an explanation.

[biakbiak]

11 hours ago, Bina said:

kept expecting the stepbrother to show up in the middle-aged scenes, though. 

I imagine he will, just like his mother will show up but there is only so much they can fit it. We do know he is Governor of California in the future.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

5 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Later on, when middle-age!Alex needs guidance, it surprised me he went to his step-dad for it

I wonder why he didn't move back in with his step-father and mother (if she's still alive) instead of into his friend's garage. His step-brother, the future governor, is probably not still living there, so there should be room.

I mentioned this before, but I still don't get the ex moving 400 miles away from the daughter, not out of a need to financially support them, but for a guy.  This doesn't seem like the kind of show where the daughter is going to be traumatized by this, but in real life, I would be highly judgmental!  (And yes, I would say the same if the father was moving away to be with a new partner, or if either parent moved and actually took the daughter that far away from the other.  I feel that if you have a child with another person who has not been determined to be an unfit parent, then your choices regarding relocating for the sake of subsequent romance are limited until the child is grown.  Perhaps even more so if you chose to end the marriage for reasons having nothing to do with abuse or danger.)

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

if she's still alive)

I am pretty sure she is because I think they mentioned that she made the awful pie he was eating when talking to his step-dad indicating that she still hadn't learned to cook.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I mentioned this before, but I still don't get the ex moving 400 miles away from the daughter, not out of a need to financially support them, but for a guy.  This doesn't seem like the kind of show where the daughter is going to be traumatized by this, but in real life, I would be highly judgmental!  (And yes, I would say the same if the father was moving away to be with a new partner, or if either parent moved and actually took the daughter that far away from the other.  I feel that if you have a child with another person who has not been determined to be an unfit parent, then your choices regarding relocating for the sake of subsequent romance are limited until the child is grown.  Perhaps even more so if you chose to end the marriage for reasons having nothing to do with abuse or danger.)

Maybe I need to re-watch, but I took it as she was intending to take the daughter with her, and there will be an upcoming custody battle where the main argument is... yep, you guessed it - he lives in a garage!  But, it's a two car garage!  And somehow dad wins.  Maybe he gets the house back? 

[biakbiak]

13 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Maybe I need to re-watch, but I took it as she was intending to take the daughter with her, and there will be an upcoming custody battle where the main argument is... yep, you guessed it - he lives in a garage!  But, it's a two car garage!  And somehow dad wins. 

Yes she specifically said that she was taking her to SF and he couldn't argue because he wasn't living in a space that was suitable for her. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Maybe I need to re-watch, but I took it as she was intending to take the daughter with her, and there will be an upcoming custody battle where the main argument is... yep, you guessed it - he lives in a garage!  But, it's a two car garage!  And somehow dad wins. 

Yes she specifically said that she was taking her to SF and he couldn't argue because he wasn't living in a space that was suitable for her.

I thought the ex-wife said at the end of that conversation that she didn't really want to take the daughter out of school during the year and that if the dad could just improve his financial position, the daughter could stay with him.  Then he went to visit the step-father, was reminded of his childhood invention which he was subsequently able to license, thereby improving his financial position.  So, to her credit, the mother wasn't going to leave the daughter with a guy with no prospects, but if he was earning a living, then she was willing to move 400 miles away.

Am I correctly recalling the conversation correctly?  I'm pretty sure that the daughter is a regular cast member who winds up living with her dad.

Edited September 27, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[LakeGal]

I was interested in how they would have 2042 look.  I thought it was interesting that he was paying with cash.  Will anyone even be using cash by then?  Even now a lot of people do not carry cash anymore.  The clothes looked the same too.

[msrachelj]

13 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I am pretty sure she is because I think they mentioned that she made the awful pie he was eating when talking to his step-dad indicating that she still hadn't learned to cook.

i thought she may have dementia. who in the world is so stupid that they mistake salt for sugar? completely different packages, there should be no confusion. bad joke. 

[PRgal]

7 hours ago, LakeGal said:

I was interested in how they would have 2042 look.  I thought it was interesting that he was paying with cash.  Will anyone even be using cash by then?  Even now a lot of people do not carry cash anymore.  The clothes looked the same too.

 

I'm surprised about cash as well.  I mean, I'm about two years younger than Alex and I don't really carry cash!  I won't even patronize a certain local coffee place because they're cash-only (insert eyeroll because it isn't even supposed to be a place catering to a more MATURE crowd).  But it looked very retro, so maybe they're just trying to go old-school?  Or catering to 80 and 90-somethings who insist on still using cash? 

 

Re height difference between Bobby and John:  Either we're supposed to ignore it or...heck...height extension surgery becomes more accessible between now and 2042 (puh-lease?  Make me 5'7"?  (I'm ~5'2"). 

[MissLucas]

I liked it - when I saw the ambulance I was all set for some drama (left-over from the This Is Us premiere) and laughed at the resolution. There were so many surprises: the stepfather and stepbrother not being jerks but genuinely nice and helpful and the mother agreeing that it would be better for her daughter to stay were all not expected plot-twists. Did I get that right, the stepbrother is now governor? Makes sense considering how much he was into 'image' and 'public opinion' when Alex premiered at high school.

[ketose]

2 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

I liked it - when I saw the ambulance I was all set for some drama (left-over from the This Is Us premiere) and laughed at the resolution. There were so many surprises: the stepfather and stepbrother not being jerks but genuinely nice and helpful and the mother agreeing that it would be better for her daughter to stay were all not expected plot-twists. Did I get that right, the stepbrother is now governor? Makes sense considering how much he was into 'image' and 'public opinion' when Alex premiered at high school.

I think one of the things they're doing is showing the origins for certain behavior, like the step brother who is all about first impressions. There's also Alex and swapping fries for salad. I have to wonder who they want to progress with it. Will young Alex meet his future wife in high school? Will we see what made older Alex a success as something from the present day? I think there's a lot of places the show can go, which also makes me fear the show will be short-lived.

[Kel Varnsen]

I liked it. I think it has a lot of potential to be really good. Like others i like that the step dad, and especially the older step brother weren't jerks.

The only thing i worry about is them keeping up the invention thing and actually coming up with good inventions week to week. I mean these are sitcom writers not inventors after all. If they knew how to invent good stuff, they would be inventors.

On 26/09/2017 at 11:24 AM, PRgal said:

So work clothing doesn't change in 25 years?  2042 officewear looks A LOT like 2017 officewear!  They need to get a little more creative, IMHO. 

Isn't fashion pretty cyclical? You always hear about styles from past decades coming back. Plus 25 years isn't really that far away, so i wouldn't expect them to be wearing star trek style jump suits. Especially for business wear, which i don't think changes alot. 

On 26/09/2017 at 0:33 AM, anthonyd46 said:

I felt the same way. I think its because all three timelines are completely different actors. In HIMYM when they went forward in time it was just an older version of Josh Randor, but it was still Josh Randor not some other actor. Same thing for most other shows its just the same actor with makeup. It just feels like its 3 separate people.

HIMYM of course had a different problem with age and the main actor. They never bothered to explain where Bob Saget's voice came from. At least here the voice overs are the actual actors. I also thought it would have been awesome if in the final episode of HIMYM they over dubbed Radnor's lines with Saget's voice for the future scenes. Well maybe not awesome, maybe suck slightly less.

[ketose]

24 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I liked it. I think it has a lot of potential to be really good. Like others i like that the step dad, and especially the older step brother weren't jerks.

The only thing i worry about is them keeping up the invention thing and actually coming up with good inventions week to week. I mean these are sitcom writers not inventors after all. If they knew how to invent good stuff, they would be inventors.

Isn't fashion pretty cyclical? You always hear about styles from past decades coming back. Plus 25 years isn't really that far away, so i wouldn't expect them to be wearing star trek style jump suits. Especially for business wear, which i don't think changes alot. 

HIMYM of course had a different problem with age and the main actor. They never bothered to explain where Bob Saget's voice came from. At least here the voice overs are the actual actors. I also thought it would have been awesome if in the final episode of HIMYM they over dubbed Radnor's lines with Saget's voice for the future scenes. Well maybe not awesome, maybe suck slightly less.

I think fashion changes, but people tend to wear the same things for a long time. Look at a show like WKRP, a workplace comedy. 40 years later, people still dress like Mr. Carlson or Bailey or maybe Johnny Fever and Jennifer. But guys like Herb and Venus and Andy were wearing more transient fashions. Some people wore pastels and big shoulder pads in the 80's, but most people wore button-down shirts and maybe jeans.

I was watching the movie Star Trek 3 and one of their super high tech displays was like a TV with a graphic right out of a Commodore 64. I like that Me Myself and I seems to use holograms, which are easy to CGI and will improve over time. I think people will eventually forgo displays for conversational interfaces like Alexa or Siri.

[PRgal]

Re fashion:  I don't know what industry Alex's company is in, but everyone seems very formal.  Unless people start dressing up again, full suits - especially for someone like Alex, who doesn't LOOK like someone who likes dressing up.

[TV Anonymous]

I kinda like it. It is not laughing-out-loud funny, but there is some sweet moments in it. My problem is with Bobby Moynihan and John Larroquette. It is obvious that Larroquette is significantly taller than Moynihan. While one may gain or lose weight, one does not gain height significantly after puberty. As well, the timbers of their voice are completely different. TL/DR, they can not convince me that 2017 Riley and 2042 Riley is one and the same.

[backformore]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 6:28 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I mentioned this before, but I still don't get the ex moving 400 miles away from the daughter, not out of a need to financially support them, but for a guy.  This doesn't seem like the kind of show where the daughter is going to be traumatized by this, but in real life, I would be highly judgmental!  (And yes, I would say the same if the father was moving away to be with a new partner, or if either parent moved and actually took the daughter that far away from the other.  I feel that if you have a child with another person who has not been determined to be an unfit parent, then your choices regarding relocating for the sake of subsequent romance are limited until the child is grown.  Perhaps even more so if you chose to end the marriage for reasons having nothing to do with abuse or danger.)

Most of the time, a divorce/custody agreement would include that the parent with primary custody couldn't move the child out of state, or outside a certain area,  without the other parent agreeing.  You can't just move a child away from their parent.  So, yeah, the mom was choosing a new boyfriend over her daughter.

All in all, it's a decent show.  But flipping among three different time periods in a 30 minute show is going to take some getting used to. 

Edited September 30, 2017 by backformore

[Lovecat]

On 9/26/2017 at 7:07 PM, biakbiak said:

I imagine he will, just like his mother will show up but there is only so much they can fit it. We do know he is Governor of California in the future.

Oh, derp.  I didn't catch on that "Uncle Whozits...that would be Governor Uncle Whozits..." is the grown-up stepbrother.  That's what I get for watching on the DVR before i had coffee.

On 9/27/2017 at 1:51 AM, LakeGal said:

I was interested in how they would have 2042 look.  I thought it was interesting that he was paying with cash.  Will anyone even be using cash by then?  Even now a lot of people do not carry cash anymore.  The clothes looked the same too.

I *did*, however, notice that the soup & salad special cost $79.95 in the future.  Heh.

 

Overall, I liked it.  Put me on the "On what planet is John Laroquette the older version of Bobby Moynihan?" train, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the gimmick, and thought it was pleasant and amusing enough to give it a try for a few weeks.

[AnnaRose]

I liked it better on rewatching it.  My main problem was, and still is, that I think the middle guy is terribly miscast.  That's why I was wondering if he was famous for anything else, because I couldn't understand why he was hired for this part.  Even in the early promos, he put me off of even sampling the show until I read a review saying how good the show was.  

The casting of the young boy and his family was spot on, but I think they really dropped the ball on the middle age and older versions.  They should have gone for two men who would be more believable as the same person IMO.

I'll still probably watch a few more episodes and I hope I can get past my apparent dislike of Bobby Moynihan.  (I'm not sure why he puts me off so much.  I've never seen him in anything else and he doesn't remind me of anyone I've know in real life.)

John Laroquette is fine, but I tend to only see the actor and not the character, so I still would have preferred someone else in that role.

[ketose]

5 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I liked it better on rewatching it.  My main problem was, and still is, that I think the middle guy is terribly miscast.  That's why I was wondering if he was famous for anything else, because I couldn't understand why he was hired for this part.  Even in the early promos, he put me off of even sampling the show until I read a review saying how good the show was.  

The casting of the young boy and his family was spot on, but I think they really dropped the ball on the middle age and older versions.  They should have gone for two men who would be more believable as the same person IMO.

I'll still probably watch a few more episodes and I hope I can get past my apparent dislike of Bobby Moynihan.  (I'm not sure why he puts me off so much.  I've never seen him in anything else and he doesn't remind me of anyone I've know in real life.)

John Laroquette is fine, but I tend to only see the actor and not the character, so I still would have preferred someone else in that role.

I'm pretty sure Bobby Moynihan is the "star" of this show, so his casting is the canter of this. I think his claim to fame is mostly SNL.

[Princess Sparkle]

Episode Description: Darryl encourages mid-life Alex to get back into the dating scene following his divorce; young Alex has trouble making friends after his embarrassing moment at the school dance. 

[AnnaRose]

10 minutes ago, ketose said:

I'm pretty sure Bobby Moynihan is the "star" of this show, so his casting is the canter of this. I think his claim to fame is mostly SNL.

Yeah, I figured they hired him because he was supposed to be the 'draw'.  I wonder if it is working?

[AnnaRose]

I like these people.  I'm in.

[anthonyd46]

I'm not exactly sure where this show is going. This episode was better than last week, but the whole episode I feel like the middle story had nothing to do with the first and third, but then we see the Darryl friendship made so that connects to the second. Eleanor doesn't seem to exist in the second timeline. The step brother doesn't exist in the 2nd or 3rd. I guess these people just aren't important those time periods? Which do make sense in life the same people aren't always important through an entire lifetime. While most time jump shows seem to go towards a goal which is weird about this one is we are seeing the future unfold at the same time as the present. In HIMYM we knew eventually we had to get to 2030, but for the most parts the events of 2030 were an end point. The 65 year old story is still happening the ending hasn't been chosen for that yet vs HIMYM the whole story was the show other than the last 5 minutes of the last episode. Anyway so far I feel the middle story just doesn't connect too much to the other two, but its only two episodes we will see what happens. 

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, anthonyd46 said:

The step brother doesn't exist in the 2nd or 3rd

He and Darryl have both been mentioned as alive and well in the third (Justin is Governor of California an Darryl is retired and living on a beach somewhere). Since Alex is a mainstay at the dinner I imagine there will be near misses with Eleanor in the 2nd. It's only been two episodes so it's a lot of characters to fit into all the timelines. We haven't seen Darryl's daughter or wife  in the 2nd but obviously they exist.