S05.E12: Push-Down Coffee and a Working Turn Signal

[paulvdb]

Quote

When Christy’s car dies, Bonnie refuses to let Adam loan her money for a new one.

[movingtargetgal]

I am glad that Baxter came through for Christy.  As I remember in the earlier seasons, Baxter was not exactly reliable in paying child support.  I think he owed Chisty and Roscoe a lot of money.  Baxter acknowledging the fact that he owed Christy an amends was really wonderful.  I never felt that he was a bad guy he was just an immature stoner.   Baxter had been there for Christy and the children before she got sober but he was still an unreliable twit.  He was irresponsible but never abusive and he tries to be a good father and stayed in his son and stepdaughter's lives.  It is totally in character to be so generous to Christy now that he is doing so much better financially.  I really like Baxter.  Would I want to be married to him HELL NO, but I would love to have him as a friend because in his own idiot stoner way he would always have my back.

[TheOtherOne]

Aw. I was so happy to see Baxter I actually yelped, "Baxter!" I miss his character.

I know that in a lot of ways this is a better show now than when it started, but I liked the show in the first season, and part of me still misses that house, and the kids, and Baxter in the driveway...

Edited February 2, 2018 by TheOtherOne

[bad things are bad]

I yelped "Badger" :) It was nice to see something actually not implode in Christy's life. 

I miss the restaurant kitchen. I have an unjustifiable fondness for French Stewart since the 30 Rock days. 

[TheOtherOne]

Huh. I didn't realize that was the 100th episode. It didn't seem like they did anything special, unless Baxter's return was supposed to be it. I'm guessing not.

[iMonrey]

I'm still not feeling it with Christy and Adam's brother. I still don't even remember his name, and that's not a good sign. I think the show has really veered off course by focusing so much on Bonnie and Adam and moving away from their friends from AA. It's like we get one obligatory scene in the diner with them and that's it. What about the struggles Marjorie was going through with her husband? I realize Jill is off at a spa somewhere but that doesn't mean every episode has to revolve around Bonnie, Adam and Christy. It's just not that interesting.

I admit it was nice seeing Baxter again - the actor who plays him has his own show now on Pop TV but it's not very good IMO. Also, when Baxter pops up it begs the question, where the hell is Roscoe? I understand they kind of wanted to phase Christy's kids out of the show but now it's like they don't even exist anymore and it's weird. You'd think they'd at least mention him.

[ButterQueen]

I barely laughed.  Too much Christy, not enough Bonnie.  The show works best when they play off each other.  

They need to lose the boyfriends and focus back on the AA friends.  I miss them.

19 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm still not feeling it with Christy and Adam's brother. I still don't even remember his name, and that's not a good sign. I think the show has really veered off course by focusing so much on Bonnie and Adam and moving away from their friends from AA. It's like we get one obligatory scene in the diner with them and that's it. What about the struggles Marjorie was going through with her husband? I realize Jill is off at a spa somewhere but that doesn't mean every episode has to revolve around Bonnie, Adam and Christy. It's just not that interesting.

I admit it was nice seeing Baxter again - the actor who plays him has his own show now on Pop TV but it's not very good IMO. Also, when Baxter pops up it begs the question, where the hell is Roscoe? I understand they kind of wanted to phase Christy's kids out of the show but now it's like they don't even exist anymore and it's weird. You'd think they'd at least mention him.

I assumed it was Christy's weekend off, Baxter works weekends, so Roscoe was with Candace.

[Chaos Theory]

I was really disappointed with the ?episode .  That episode should be something special and although it was nice to see Baxter nothing really happened.  

I like Christy and like episodes where she is the main character and would have really enjoyed this as the 99th episode or even. 101.  Seeing that although certain things in her life have changed she still has a tendency to let some things slide.

Then again I don’t like her new boyfriend.  I actually liked the young college kid better.  They had the train wreck chemistry that this show needs to be funny.  

[bichonblitz]

50 minutes ago, ButterQueen said:

I barely laughed.  Too much Christy, not enough Bonnie.  The show works best when they play off each other.  

Yes! I loved the one liners they used to throw out at each other and the sniping back and forth and that is what is missing now. Now Bonnie just seems to be a bitch and not in a funny, self deprecating way like she used to be. Why so much Adam I will never understand, he bores me to death.  It's almost as if the show has different writers now.  We know Anna Faris and Alison Janney can pull off the comedy beautifully so I blame the writers for the lackluster chemistry. 

 

1 hour ago, bad things are bad said:

I miss the restaurant kitchen. I have an unjustifiable fondness for French Stewart since the 30 Rock days. 

Omg, French Stewart as the chef with his dry humor was perfection on this show,  bring him back! 

 

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I realize Jill is off at a spa somewhere 

I thought we had an episode this season with the girls where she was back from the spa and skinny. Not a word was said about it, either. I think it was the first episode, I will have to go back and watch,  I could be wrong. 

[jewel21]

I loved that they brought back Baxter. He still amuses me and I loved that he got Christie the car. Very nice of him. I hope we'll continue to see him.

[Marley]

I thought Christy had a new car from her dad that died later on...am I remembering that wrong? Why was she so obsessed with the new car when she had a new car. Hm.

[wendyg]

I think the one her father gave her was a good used car; this one was new...although then I feel I have to point out what a terrible financial decision it was for her to buy a new car instead of a less expensive used one. (Although it's also true that dealerships spray even used cars with that "new car smell".

bichonblitz: after five years, the writing team almost certainly *has* changed somewhat.

[msrachelj]

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm still not feeling it with Christy and Adam's brother. I still don't even remember his name, and that's not a good sign. I think the show has really veered off course by focusing so much on Bonnie and Adam and moving away from their friends from AA. It's like we get one obligatory scene in the diner with them and that's it. What about the struggles Marjorie was going through with her husband? I realize Jill is off at a spa somewhere but that doesn't mean every episode has to revolve around Bonnie, Adam and Christy. It's just not that interesting.

I admit it was nice seeing Baxter again - the actor who plays him has his own show now on Pop TV but it's not very good IMO. Also, when Baxter pops up it begs the question, where the hell is Roscoe? I understand they kind of wanted to phase Christy's kids out of the show but now it's like they don't even exist anymore and it's weird. You'd think they'd at least mention him.

agree. he seems out of her league. i know that sounds terrible but ok, maybe it's just they have no chemistry. i want more marjorie. i have liked the actress since dharma (yuk on what's her name who played her) and greg. too much bonnie. she's not very likable.

and what happened to annas face? it seems so different. the mouth, the eyes. she looks like a puppet. i always thought she was cute but something is off.

7 hours ago, Marley said:

I thought Christy had a new car from her dad that died later on...am I remembering that wrong? Why was she so obsessed with the new car when she had a new car. Hm.

she did get a new, newish? car from him but she is an idiot and never got it serviced in all that time because someone would have told her you have to have the oil changed. and if she didn't do that, what about taking care of the rest of the car?  there are some pretty pretty ignorant people out there!

[possibilities]

It wasn't a financial mistake for Christy. Baxter bought her the car.

[MaryMitch]

3 hours ago, msrachelj said:

she did get a new, newish? car from him but she is an idiot and never got it serviced in all that time because someone would have told her you have to have the oil changed. and if she didn't do that, what about taking care of the rest of the car?  there are some pretty pretty ignorant people out there!

He owned a garage; I'm pretty sure the car was a good used car.

I know 2 people who blew engines because they never changed to oil. One was a friend whose father died and he had always taken care of the cars; she and her mother had no idea. (This was about 30 years ago.) The other was my niece who bought a used car which I think was probably a Katrina car because it had electrical problems from the start; I think she was either counting on the "change oil" light (like I do), or she was just ignoring the check engine light because it was always on (like Penny in The Big Bang Theory). So yeah, it happens.

[MissLucas]

This felt a bit like a filler episode. I'm glad Baxter finally made an amendment (he!) and I loved Bonnie's confusion at being in the middle of row that she was not responsible for. I wonder if Patrick ever got that cheque back.

[bichonblitz]

6 hours ago, wendyg said:

bichonblitz: after five years, the writing team almost certainly *has* changed somewhat.

Well, they suck. 

[theatremouse]

I thought Christy was supposed to be a good liar? She's terrible at it. Alls well that ends well I suppose, but the original lie that Baxter gave her the money needn't have suggested anything suspicious to Steven Webber. They have a kid together. It'd be totally reasonable for Baxter to want her to have a reliable vehicle with which to transport their child. Nothing unseemly and that NewBoyfriend immediately got all jealous and untrusting really rubbed me the wrong way.

[cork dork]

The show has completely lost its way from what it once was.

Bonnie’s always been vile and with the shift making her the primary mom, there’s really no room for her to have any redemptive moments. When Christy was telling her about her discomfort in telling the newest boyfriend her faults and Bonnie said “you live with your mom” and indicated she was a loser because of that, it pissed me off given the history of the show. It’s not like Christy sought Bonnie out so she and the kids could move in and have her take care of them. 

I don’t know what the writers are doing or where they’re taking things. It’s beyond ridiculous to have mom/daughter dating siblings. The sooner the men are written out, returning the show to some semblance of its origins, it’ll benefit the writers and the viewers. 

I’m not on board with the direction they seem to be headed with Bonnie being the glue holding everything together. Add in that she’s awful all the time while being positioned as more together than her daughter and it’s just not working. The group keeps her character grounded in reality; without them, she’s a shrew no one wants to be around for very long, if at all. 

[JDAlexander]

Regarding Christy's old car--her father Alvin bought it at a police auction.  He said something along the lines of "I did some work on it and you can't even see the bullet holes anymore."  Something like that.