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I've only watched a few reruns of this show not in any particular order so it's even more confusing for me.  I thought reading the posts here would help straighten me out, but boy was I wrong!

Jennifer Coolidge has played basically this same character in at least 2 other places since I've known her.  What's completely amazing is that she looks pretty much the same as she did 15 years ago in the movie "Best in Show".  Here she is in a MAD TV segment playing what is technically the Sophie character.  She also played a masseuse on "Frasier" named Frederica in the same accent but I couldn't find a video of that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SRHsvG61mY

Never mind the implausibility of her character being pregnant, this entire show is implausible.  I haven't seen the recent episodes so I don't know how it's changed, but having a horse live in your back yard in Brooklyn is ridiculous as would be riding it in the street, etc.  It would NEVER happen without fines, etc.  Plus who broke and working at a coffee shop could afford to live there?  It would be more plausible if they lived in the Bronx.

Speaking of the coffee shop, it's like they went back in time to the 1970s.  In one episode someone commented on their "90s" uniforms.  Nope, those are '70s uniforms.  I know because I wore them in the 70s, LOL.  And the shop itself is a throwback.

I'm from NY so I kind of laugh at the attempt to be borough "New Yorky".  It's like the dystopian Hollywood comic book version.  I did like one scene when they were taking cupcakes somewhere on the subway and had to get off the train and walk in the tunnel.  Again, the train itself was a throwback as were the stereotypical people on the train, especially the Hispanic woman who kept adding "and whatnot" after every sentence.  I swear I KNEW that woman 30 years ago!

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On 2/21/2016 at 9:51 AM, Chicken Wing said:

I've never understood why Caroline couldn't find a better job than waiting tables at a greasy spoon in Williamsburg. Yes, the Channing name was like poison at the beginning of her "broke" life, but surely some office somewhere in any one of the boroughs would care more about her Wharton degree and Wall Street experience than what her last name is. And Max is too clever to be stuck doing what she's doing, although I'll grant that her laziness and inherently self-defeating nature might hinder her.

Back several seasons when I watched the show regularly, there was an episode where the girls were temping in an office. Carolyn really liked the job, and I think they were going to offer her a full-time position (insert sexual innuendo here), but Max sabotaged it, and they ended up back at the diner. 

In the beginning, Max kept putting herself down, but not like she does now. It's so self-defeating as to be unwatchable. 

I like Oleg and Sophie, but what's the point of her character?  In the beginning, she ran a successful cleaning business. I never understood why she lived in that awful apartment building. 

I remember Ed Quinn from "Eureka." Was he that built in those days? Because wow! Also, after doing something clever like "Eureka," I feel sorry for him doing a shit show like this. 

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On 5/7/2016 at 0:23 AM, Snarklepuss said:

Jennifer Coolidge has played basically this same character in at least 2 other places since I've known her.  What's completely amazing is that she looks pretty much the same as she did 15 years ago in the movie "Best in Show".  Here she is in a MAD TV segment playing what is technically the Sophie character.  She also played a masseuse on "Frasier" named Frederica in the same accent but I couldn't find a video of that:

Never mind the implausibility of her character being pregnant, this entire show is implausible.  I haven't seen the recent episodes so I don't know how it's changed, but having a horse live in your back yard in Brooklyn is ridiculous as would be riding it in the street, etc.  It would NEVER happen without fines, etc.  Plus who broke and working at a coffee shop could afford to live there?  It would be more plausible if they lived in the Bronx.

I like Jennifer Coolidge, but I agree, I've never really seen her playing something other than roughly the same character with the same voice. I wonder what a regular interview with her would be like.

There was a recent episode when Randy got hurt at the apartment he called the super because of all the issues in the apartment and the girls freaked out because neither is on the lease which makes me think illegal rent-controlled sublet. Since I'm not from NYC I have no idea how rent control works but presume it means rent is super cheap. 

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Jennifer Coolidge was on Seinfeld playing his masseuse girlfriend who disliked George. She acted and looked so normal that I didn't know it was her until someone pointed it out. I still have to look hard to recognize her in reruns. That's the only place that I know of where she didn't play the typical "Jennifer Coolidge" character. 

I think Sophie's "Polish" accent in the first season was tolerable; at least she tried. But like everything else in this show, it went over the top and off the rails.

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8 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

There was a recent episode when Randy got hurt at the apartment he called the super because of all the issues in the apartment and the girls freaked out because neither is on the lease which makes me think illegal rent-controlled sublet. Since I'm not from NYC I have no idea how rent control works but presume it means rent is super cheap. 

New York has been gradually doing away with Rent Control.  There are only 38,000 rent controlled apartments left in the city and here's why from the NYC Rent Guidelines Board:

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For an apartment to be under rent control, the tenant (or their lawful successor such as a family member, spouse, or adult lifetime partner) must have been living in that apartment continuously since before July 1, 1971. When a rent controlled apartment becomes vacant, it either becomes rent stabilized, or, if it is in a building with fewer than six units, it is generally removed from regulation. For more information on succession and the definition of a family member, check out DHCR Fact Sheet #30.

An apartment in a one- or two-family house must have a tenant in continuous occupancy since April 1, 1953 in order to be subject to rent control. Once it is vacated after that date, it is no longer subject to regulation. Previously controlled apartments may have been decontrolled on various other grounds. On rare occasions, a decontrolled apartment is ordered back under rent control as a penalty for certain violations of the rent laws.

In NYC, rent stabilized apartments are generally those apartments in buildings of six or more units built between February 1, 1947 and January 1, 1974.

Tenants in buildings of six or more units built before February 1, 1947 and who moved in after June 30, 1971 are also covered by rent stabilization.

A third category of rent stabilized apartments covers buildings with three or more apartments constructed or extensively renovated since 1974 with special tax benefits. Generally, these buildings are stabilized only while the tax benefits continue.

Note that rent stabilization is more complicated in that it only sets limits on how much rent can be raised from lease renewal to lease renewal and between tenants, but the rates allowed are not all that restrictive - It's a pretty fair increase for the market but doesn't allow for sharp or drastic increases.  Even so, there are only about 1,000,000 rent stabilized apartments in NYC.  There are a lot of conditions and special cases but the vacancy allowance can often be as high as 20% depending on how long the vacating tenant lived in the apartment, although there's some new rent law going into effect that may lower that a bit under certain circumstances.  So even rent stabilized apartments aren't going to be "dirt cheap" under most circumstances.  I lived in rent stabilized apartments in NY and they were definitely not all that cheap, IMHO.

In other words, to apply this to the show, I'm not buying it.  Having a rent controlled apartment these days would be like hitting the lottery.

That said, I have an old friend from high school who had an illegal sublet that was rent controlled for many years.  Eventually the woman who sublet it to her died, but then she somehow convinced the landlord that she was the woman's relative and was able to rent it under the rent stabilization law - While her rent went up a lot it wasn't crushing.  She is now 58 years old and still lives in the studio apartment on East 66th Street that she has lived in for 35 years.  I was jealous of her for a long time but having an apartment like that does strange things to people.  She once moved in with her boyfriend but sublet the apartment so as not to lose it.  Eventually she broke up with him and moved back into the apartment.  Then she bought a condo. in New Jersey and decided she didn't like it and again sold it and moved back into the apartment.  I sometimes blame the apartment for why she's still single and unhappy about it.

Edited by Snarklepuss
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My grandmother paid $850 for her two-bed, 2 bath Brooklyn apartment; she lived there for 30+ years. When she moved out, I think the rent tripled. I have a cousin who lives in a rent-controlled place that belonged to a great-aunt (not his parents - this great-aunt had no children. I'm not sure how he was able to worm his way in), and a friend who lives in the UWS apartment he grew up in (his parents retired to a place upstate). All dirt-cheap. I lived in a rent-stabilized apartment that was a little below market value, but not THAT cheap.

I remember a plot where Max & Caroline had to chase down the lease-holder when it was time to renew it, but I can't remember the details. I think their rent is in the $1700/month range (I remember another episode where Caroline found out that Max was charging her $25/month extra for her share and I think she was paying $850?), which is a good deal for a Williamsburg one-bedroom - you could easily pay $2500 for one depending on subway proximity and the building's amenities (their building appears not to have any). 

So it looks like they ARE spending all of the movie money on the business; I think they have $30K left. I'm curious how Randy works into the broke aspect of the show - if he and Max are truly going to be together, Max is no longer broke. I suspect they'll have Randy ask Max to move in with him and Max say no, she has to see this through with Caroline.

On May 8, 2016 at 2:47 AM, SmithW6079 said:

Back several seasons when I watched the show regularly, there was an episode where the girls were temping in an office. Carolyn really liked the job, and I think they were going to offer her a full-time position (insert sexual innuendo here), but Max sabotaged it, and they ended up back at the diner. 

That episode made me so mad. Max was on some "This isn't your dream and you know it, that's why I sabotaged it" bullshit, like, first of all, Caroline mentions with some frequency that she interned on Wall Street, so she very likely expected to work in someone's office at some point. Second, as someone who has been uninsured, if a job is offering you health insurance when you have none, you take it. Third, I can't remember what the job paid but it would have allowed them a greater level of financial security. Lots of people work day jobs while trying to get their businesses off the ground. Fourth, who would stay friends with someone who would screw you over like that? I get that they have to stay broke to keep up with the show's premise (although again, they're running out of steam there), but that was ridiculous. 

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My hate for Caroline (Max too now) was cemented in this finale.  After all the help they got while in the diner and cupcake shopCaroline didn't want to help Han.  Forget he let them use the space for a while - rent free and forget that Sophie gave them money to start the business. Or when they needed help with the 1000 cupcakes and Han let them use the shop.  The most is they suck at their job and should have been fired long ago.  No way they should have gotten part of the diner.  It should have been a loan and that's all.  Han didn't ask for part of their business. I hope he does next time they need help.  I can't believe the show would go there.  They are the two biggest moochers and the one time they pay back those who helped them they get part of the diner.  Nice show.

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(edited)

I haven't watched the show regularly in recent years, but I watched a couple of episodes recently, including the season finale. When did Han turn into a screeching woman? It was painful to listen to, and his whole storyline was awful. I thought the surprise would be that he actually could sing. 

Max is so damaged that it was no surprise she wasn't going to leave the security of the diner and her shitty life. (I always hate when shows present a possibility of change that's really no possibility of change because then they'd lose their premise.) Frankly, she deserved for Randy to leave her.

Do they still make a big deal out of Caroline's education at Wharton? Because if anything, this show has continually shown that she is a terrible, terrible businesswoman. 

The end tally showed them going from $31,000 to $1,000, but didn't they have $250,000 recently? What happened to all that money?

Edited by SmithW6079
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I'm going to watch. I can't help it, I like the show. I just started watching not too long ago but I think I've seen every episode now.  It makes me laugh but then again I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy. 

Plus, I have a huge girl crush on Max. 

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8 hours ago, Chicken Wing said:

I still love the show even though I agree that there is objectively little to love about it -- the writing, the characters, the plotlines, the ... pretty much everything. But I like it anyway. I laugh anyway. I don't know why. Maybe I'm ill.

I love the girls, and the settings.  I think I wish the humor wasn't quite so raunchy or obvious, and that the supporting cast weren't such caricatures.  Except Earl.  Kinda love Earl...

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The girls are why I watch, although they won't tempt me over Jane the Virgin. I'll catch the reruns. I love the girls. I like the moments when Max proves she has a soul. I lover her fashion sense. I think the first season was the best, and I get frustrated when they add something I enjoy only to take it away later (I'm looking at you, Candy Andy.) But still, I do think it's often funny and I love the friendships.

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I'm halfway through the premier and I have laughed my ass off a few times. I don't know about anyone else but I loved it.  Then again I have a crude, twisted sense of humor so it doesn't take much to make me laugh. 

I loved the episode. 

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I thought it was a good episode, but I don't understand the liquor license thing. If the diner's license extends to the dessert bar because of joint ownership, as Caroline seemed to think, Andy Dick shouldn't just be able to shut them down and fine them willy-nilly. And the girls seemed too sanguine to lose a $25k investment just like that.

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3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Andy Dick shouldn't just be able to shut them down and fine them willy-nilly.

Another case of a public servant using his position of power for personal revenge. If Caroline was as Wharton-savvy as she claims, she'd have gone up the chain of command until she got proper action, not roll over and submit. Must've graduated last in her class. Meh...why am I watching this?

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I don't know about the liquor license thing. Both arguments sounded plausible -- using the diner's license in the bar because it's the same property location and as the girls own both establishments they have authority to apply it as such versus J. Petto's argument that the dessert bar is a separate establishment from the diner so they can't use the same license. I don't know. I don't care. I just know I'm sick of Caroline throwing around her Wharton credentials to back up her nonsensical ideas.

Finally, Sophie popped that baby out. I admit, my first reaction when she sneezed the baby out (seriously, what's with that?) was sadness that Oleg just missed it. Could it be that I actually care? Nah. And I don't care what the girls say, Barbara Kachinsky-Golishevsky is music to my ears.

Still trying to figure out how old we're supposed to believe Sophie is.

Why are we still keeping the cupcake fund tally?

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Does anyone know what type of business they're planning on opening? I wish they had mentioned it at some point in the course of the hour.

I'm glad there are folks that liked this episode, but this one came as close to pushing me off the show for good. I say that as someone who really enjoyed the LA arc last season because it focused on what made the show so much fun to start with, the girls' relationship and antics, with each pursuing their own struggle. The return to Brooklyn and the Dessert Bar (sigh) seemed to at least set up a final arc, which I think it can, but this episode was just painful for me.

The attempt to go meta with Earl's pill comments and Caroline's, "three years and four businesses ago" line just rang home how much they try to force the same repeated jokes and errors. Then we saw all the same types of business mistakes they've made with all their previous ventures. Won't hire a well qualified employee, because his name will set off heart broken Max (wah wah, dames right?), Caroline gets rightous about her business acumen and can't rectify a simple situation, they assume something will work out for them (the Diner's liquor licence) and don't follow up on that, and then tragedy befalls them but, meh, who cares, "we'll open our restaurant business someday despite our failed launch." That was so frustrating.

And then the whole Sophie giving birth made my skin crawl on so many fronts.

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My DVR cut off so apparently I missed A LOT. I'm going to have to find it I guess because last thing I saw was Andy Dick applying for the bartender job. Something with cheese?  Really? A dessert bar I could see. I want to like this show but sometimes they make it hard. 

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11 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

Does anyone know what type of business they're planning on opening? I wish they had mentioned it at some point in the course of the hour.

I'm glad there are folks that liked this episode, but this one came as close to pushing me off the show for good. I say that as someone who really enjoyed the LA arc last season because it focused on what made the show so much fun to start with, the girls' relationship and antics, with each pursuing their own struggle. The return to Brooklyn and the Dessert Bar (sigh) seemed to at least set up a final arc, which I think it can, but this episode was just painful for me.

The attempt to go meta with Earl's pill comments and Caroline's, "three years and four businesses ago" line just rang home how much they try to force the same repeated jokes and errors. Then we saw all the same types of business mistakes they've made with all their previous ventures. Won't hire a well qualified employee, because his name will set off heart broken Max (wah wah, dames right?), Caroline gets rightous about her business acumen and can't rectify a simple situation, they assume something will work out for them (the Diner's liquor licence) and don't follow up on that, and then tragedy befalls them but, meh, who cares, "we'll open our restaurant business someday despite our failed launch." That was so frustrating.

And then the whole Sophie giving birth made my skin crawl on so many fronts.

 

As soon as they waved bye to the eye candy I waved by to the show.  To be fair though every time it returns I tune in to see if the return somehow signals a rise in quality.  Well a rise to quality.  Nope.  Still an incredibly bad show.  I think part of the continuing fascination for me is that it is still on the air.  Subjective takes and all, I've seen shows i don't like but consider better written, better acted and just plain better not even last a half dozen episodes.  Kat Denning, who I loved and tuned in for initially, sounds like she is reading her lines.  Over her phone.  While she does her nails.  And her taxes. 

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And the girls seemed too sanguine to lose a $25k investment just like that.

That was a total WTF moment. Andy Dick says he's going to fine them $25K. They invested $25K in the diner and became part-owners. So they turn around and tell Han he can have back the diner because now they owe Andy Dick 25K? WTH? How does that even make sense? They need Han to pay back their 25K investment now more than ever. Did this make sense to anyone? Were the writers stoned when they wrote this?

Now, I get that they need to keep the girls "broke," hence the whole premise of the show. But the way they just shrugged off the 25K fine and forfeited their investment in the diner at the same time was mind boggling.

I admit, I laughed in spite of myself when that typhoon came rushing out between Sophie's legs. Cheap joke but it worked on me.

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I got a sense that it was the owner of the diner being finer the $25k, which is why the girls suddenly handed everything back to Han; now he has to pay the $25k.  I could be wrong about this, that was just my take on the matter.

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25 minutes ago, Canada said:

I got a sense that it was the owner of the diner being finer the $25k, which is why the girls suddenly handed everything back to Han; now he has to pay the $25k.  I could be wrong about this, that was just my take on the matter.

Right, but by doing that they lost their $25k investment, and they seemed to shrug that off like it was nothing.

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No wonder they're broke, they have no idea how money works.

And the show can dispense with the cash register totals at the end of the episodes if they're not going to relate to anything. I expected it to read -$25,000. Instead it went from around $1000 to $500. WTF? 

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I like that they're still making reference to Randy but I wish we had gotten to see him again this week. Is the actor on another show and that's why he's not making regular appearances?

Oleg and Sophie continue to amuse and disgust me.

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I'm surprised , but happy, that Garrett Morris is still hanging in there, the man is nearly 80. The scenes of Sophie pushing the baby carriage around cracked me up, especially knowing there was no baby in there. Maybe that'll become a running joke, having a baby carriage but no baby. I wonder if the show will make any sort of attempt to show Sophie and Oleg as actual parents instead of a couple always just wanting to jump into bed together.

Caroline and Max both were pretty funny in the arm wrestling match. It's slapstick comedy like this that makes the show funnier, in my opinion.

For the person who asked about Randy, the actor is also filming another series , Mistresses. I think most of it aired during the summer so presumably he'll be back at some point. He is about 20 years older than Max though, it does seem a little odd seeing them together. 

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My best relationship (so far!) was with an older man so I have no issue with age differences, but it's weird to me when no one mentions it. Like on Shameless, Fiona almost married a man who looked to be a good 25 years older than her (IRL the actors were 22 years apart) and no one said anything. Randy's clearly older than Max but no one mentions that either. It doesn't even have to be a big deal, but just a mention about different stages in life or whatever would make sense.

But then, the show wants me to believe that a character played by 55-year-old Jennifer Coolidge, who looks her age, just had a baby, so [shrug].

I kept thinking the dessert bar was way too bright. I know it was for filming, but dim the lights! Create a mood!

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For what it's worth, I enjoyed this week much more than the premier. In no small part, I'm sure because the half-hour format works better than the hour given the amount of repetition to the jokes.

Plus we get more great physical comedy from Beth Behrs in the arm-wrestling scene.

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So Max and Randy broke up because they didn't want a long distance relationship, but they kept up the long distance sexting, and now they both want "more"? How is that going to solve the long distance issue?

The actress who played Pilar looks much younger than Garrett Morris, and certainly too young to have been dating him in 1961.

Almost every time the girls have a scene in the dessert bar, there are no customers, and it looks like the only money they made this week was from the Overeaters Anonymous orders. Not good.

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I liked Garrett Morris having a storyline this week. Actually I was hoping it would turn into a romance for him. For that matter, it wouldn't hurt to give Han a girlfriend as well. As for the dessert bar, I think it might ultimately end up failing. 

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The actress who played Pilar looks much younger than Garrett Morris, and certainly too young to have been dating him in 1961.

It took me a moment to realize it was Telma Hopkins. She looks good. Maybe too good, if you know what I mean... And yes, she is way too young to have been Earl's girlfriend of 50+ years ago.

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Almost every time the girls have a scene in the dessert bar, there are no customers, and it looks like the only money they made this week was from the Overeaters Anonymous orders. Not good.

It seems they only feature the dessert bar in a scene when it's closing hours. I would like a little more insight into whether or not the business attracts customers when they're actually open.

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Well Thelma is 68 years old so 50 years she would have been 18. Garrett Morris is 79, so he would have been 29. Not an unreasonable or nasty age gap. 

Thelma has aged very well. Whether with help or not she is still beautiful. 

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Almost every time the girls have a scene in the dessert bar, there are no customers, and it looks like the only money they made this week was from the Overeaters Anonymous orders. Not good.

I realize they have to keep up the concept of the two girls being broke all the time but Caroline was supposed to be a business major and they keep investing in these really bad business ideas based on passing fads like cupcakes and dessert bars. If Caroline had half a brain she'd be able to put together some kind of reasonably profitable concept, get a small loan and start a small business on her own. Maybe the takeaway is supposed to be that she's an idiot.

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And an example is how they opened a bar and can only make a handful of drinks. They really thought people would only order their specialty cocktails? Nobody would want a rum and Coke, ever?

Also no one orders a Greyhound. It's vodka and grapefruit juice. "Can I get a vodka & grapefruit?"

The Randy thing makes no sense logistically but I like him so I'll allow it. 

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10 hours ago, jewel21 said:

There are quite a few books out there on preparing mixed drinks. Even if they don't know what a certain drink is, they should have a book behind the bar with instructions on how to make it.

Not to mention, "There's an app for that!"

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Well Thelma is 68 years old so 50 years she would have been 18. Garrett Morris is 79, so he would have been 29. Not an unreasonable or nasty age gap. 

Well, actually the "50+ years ago" was really 55 years ago -- they said they were together in 1961. Telma was 12-13 then. So I'm wondering how old we were supposed to believe Pilar was supposed to be to have dated Earl that long ago but still look like that

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There are quite a few books out there on preparing mixed drinks. Even if they don't know what a certain drink is, they should have a book behind the bar with instructions on how to make it.

Seriously, it didn't occur to them to just look it up? Or that they might have to know these things anyway? I'm not a frequenter of bars but I've never heard of one to say, "Sorry, we only serve the 4 drinks on the menu" or who didn't know how to make a certain drink. You're a bartender, you have to know how to make everything under the sun.

It's interesting that Max never had chickenpox before. I'd think she would have caught everything by now, including diseases that don't even exist anymore.

That Sophie doll creeped me the hell out.

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On 11/16/2016 at 11:37 AM, Chicken Wing said:

Seriously, it didn't occur to them to just look it up? Or that they might have to know these things anyway? I'm not a frequenter of bars but I've never heard of one to say, "Sorry, we only serve the 4 drinks on the menu" or who didn't know how to make a certain drink. You're a bartender, you have to know how to make everything under the sun.

I've seen bars on Bar Rescue where the bartenders didn't know how to make drinks, but ... that's part of why they're on Bar Rescue. IAnd specialty cocktails are meant to be an addition to a bar's drinks menu (and you'd change them periodically otherwise they're not special), not the entire drink menu. 

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After episodes like the latest one I seriously wonder how a show like this is still running on CBS and so many clever, touching, funny comedies (admittedly, from other channels) get canceled after one season - like Go On, Telenovela, The Grinder, Grandfathered.... but this dreck is still on??? Which intelligent executive at CBS still lets this continue?

Edited by Big Mother
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