Trial & Error - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Drogo

[GaT]

I just watched the pilot, & this is really funny, so I plan to continue. I loved the whole bit about "Northeasterner", & I was surprised that I liked Sherri Shepard's character so much since I think she's a terrible human being in RL. I will continue watching.

[Lava VaVoom]

This one looks like it will be a blast.  It's one of those shows where stuff happens in the background that you can miss easily if you're not paying close attention.  John Lithgow is always a hoot.  I agree, Sherri Shepherd seems to have found her acting niche.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Lava VaVoom

[Suzysite]

When Sherri Shepherd was talking about her grandmother falling off a balcony and onto their car, I just lost it.  Actual thigh slapping laughter.  This show is a riot.

[clb1016]

It's hilarious, so it'll probably be canceled soon.

[teebax]

4 hours ago, Lava VaVoom said:

This one looks like it will be a blast.  It's one of those shows where stuff happens in the background that you can miss easily if you're not paying close attention.  John Lithgow is always a hoot.  I agree, Sherri Shepherd seems to have found her acting niche.

An idiot playing an idiot. It's the perfect role for her.

I liked it too. I'ma huge Lithgow fan. Third Rock was great, but he gave me my favorite season of Dexter too.

[meep.meep]

I loved Sherri Shepherd and her never ending series of strange syndromes.  (But then I loved her on 30 Rock and have never seen all those talk shows.)   I loved Jayma Mays.  Lithgow was fantastic.  Ted's mom was silent but great.  The only one who seemed off was the redneck assistant.

[Guest]

I really liked it.  Hope it can remain funny and stick around a while.

If you like Lithgow be sure to see The Crown.  He becomes Churchill.  

[marymon]

Quirky fun.  

John Litgow always makes me laugh with his OTT acting. 

I love the various disorders Sherri Shepard's character had and the disdain she had when  the  guy thought she had OCD too.  

Jayma Mays is an underrated comedic actress.   Her flat out  invitation for the guy to stay the night was hilarious and his reaction to wanting to not wanting to was spot on.  Also love all the weird Laws on the books and the crawings of said laws.

[Guest]

I can see the litany of disorders getting old if they keep piling them on, but so far it's funny.  I liked Shepherd's character Anne refusing to shake the investigator's hand at the end, or his high-five, whatever it was.  

The lawyer guy going back for Mays' character's phone number was funny.  Also the joke about the 200 lb. 6-year-old you can barely get on a tractor.  

I wonder if the jabs at southerners will cross a line where some people find it offensive.  So far it's been pretty tasteful.  

[Frisson]

This show is making me laugh out loud. Lithgow's character talking about gender fluidity and his fluids was so funny. 

[UsernameFatigue]

OMG, this show had me laughing out loud as well, numerous times. Ligthgow's character insisting that he rollercises, not rollerblades was hilarious. I even liked the assistant with the brother-cousin. And while I am not usually a Sherry Shepard fan, I love her character in this show. My favourite exchange was when Judge Horsedich pronounced her name and said the 'n' was silent, and the lawyer frowned, shook his head and mumbled "the 'n' is invisible". LOL. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by UsernameFatigue

[Ciarrai]

John Lithgow roller-cizing made my night. I howled.
Definitely added to the PVR; now I just hope it doesn't get cancelled.

[zxy556575]

The brother-cousin reference made me laugh every time. Sherri was made for this (cheerful and upbeat but dimwitted) role, so sincere congrats to the casting people.

I don't necessarily think Anne's lack of face-memory should be a joke in every episode but the writers can't just forget about it, either. The nametags were good, or maybe an explanation that she writes down what everyone is wearing each day and "recognizes" them later by that.

I was sorry to see the taxidermy go, if only for the sight gags.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Lord Donia

[hilaryvm]

I liked it, although I didn't find it quite as funny as everyone else.  However, it was funny enough that I'll stick around for awhile.  It definitely has promise.

I did love Lithgow roller-cizing, although even better was pretending to roller-cize with the lawyer while listening to music and seeing if they could hear the screams.  That was the funniest bit for me.

[JasmineFlower]

On 3/15/2017 at 6:11 PM, Suzysite said:

When Sherri Shepherd was talking about her grandmother falling off a balcony and onto their car, I just lost it.  Actual thigh slapping laughter.  This show is a riot.

I complete agree. This was the moment when I completely lost it, but I also laughed out loud several times during the two episode premiere. For me, it's a great mix of the absurd, feels very original and yet great elements of Arrested Development with a different vibe in a workplace setting. Series recording set. I'm all in on this one.

[Charlesman]

They really pulled everything out of 'The Staircase', didn't they? Bisexual poet/novelist, pinning it on a bird, etc. 

[Gemma Violet]

I saw half of the first episode and deleted it from my DVR.  I love John Lithgow, but I was kind of disappointed.  I just thought it was silly.  And I can't stand Sherri Shepard, so that may have affected my liking the show.

[Black Knight]

According to my DVR, it's an episode doubleheader every week, not just premiere week. So I think we're safe from the possibility of the show being yanked early, as they're getting through the episodes quickly. I imagine a S2 would feature a different case, so this season should wrap up everything nicely if a renewal didn't happen.

[tennisgurl]

The Brother-cousin thing probably made me laugh more it should have.

I really like this show. Its kind of cartoony and ridiculous, and its down to earth enough that it seems like an actual set of events. Plus, I live in South Carolina, so I'm enjoying all the southern jokes. It hasn't gotten mean spirited or anything, it all seems to be in good fun. Also I really like Jayma Mays in this. I really like her, but she seems to get stuck just playing "cute and slightly quirky" a lot, but here she gets to be really funny.

[FrauBlucher]

I wanted to like this show and was hoping it would be something my teenager and I could watch together. About halfway through the pilot it started feeling, I don't know- obvious? Overdone? Then when they threw in the gay adultery angle and the female DA propositioning the lawyer, that was about it for me. Cringeworthy sexual jokes aren't my cup of tea.

But for those that are enjoying it, mazel tov!

[biakbiak]

On 3/18/2017 at 4:30 PM, Charlesman said:

They really pulled everything out of 'The Staircase', didn't they? Bisexual poet/novelist, pinning it on a bird, etc. 

Similar death in his past.

[GaT]

Margaret’s funeral was hysterical, almost as hysterical as Dwayne & Anne’s sex recreation.

[DrSpaceman73]

I'm loving this show.  Its been funny from the very start.  Sure only 3 episodes so far, but even the opening with him on the phone with 911 was great. 

I didn't realize there were two episodes last night though until about 950, so missed most of the second episode.

[UsernameFatigue]

I loved it when Margaret's tombstone was unveiled and Larry was engraved on it as her murderer. Lol. Also that everytime they show Margaret's sister in law she has a martini in her hand. I am trying to figure out who the murderer is. Right now I think it is the prosecutor - she eliminated Margaret since she was sleeping with the same guy. Though she said she didn't know, I find that hard to believe. Shallow dating pool, and all. I also loved that dim Dwayne is the one who came up with the evidence to release Josh.

I am already thinking ahead to next season. I picture Josh and Summer falling in love, Josh staying in town and continuing to solve cases with the dream team. And of course Larry is his father in law so John Lithgow stays on the show.

[SimoneS]

I am enjoying this a whole lot. I don't see how it goes to a second season though.

[UsernameFatigue]

12 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

I am enjoying this a whole lot. I don't see how it goes to a second season though.

Why? I thought my scenario was plausible.....at least I hope it is. Lol.

[AlleC17]

This show makes me happy...it is so funny!  I never really liked John Lithgow much, but he is a hoot in this.  I love the Arrested Development vibe the show has, while also being it's own show, versus being a copycat.  It's refreshing and fun.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Also that everytime they show Margaret's sister in law she has a martini in her hand. I am trying to figure out who the murderer is. Right now I think it is the prosecutor - she eliminated Margaret since she was sleeping with the same guy.

I think the murderer is the sister-in-law :-)

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

I think the murderer is the sister-in-law :-)

Me too! I think in the finale episode she finally speaks and goes into a huge motive rant about why she killed Margaret, then goes back to drinking!

This show cracks me up, I love it so far.

[mortonsalt]

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I loved it when Margaret's tombstone was unveiled and Larry was engraved on it as her murderer. Lol. Also that everytime they show Margaret's sister in law she has a martini in her hand. I am trying to figure out who the murderer is. Right now I think it is the prosecutor - she eliminated Margaret since she was sleeping with the same guy. Though she said she didn't know, I find that hard to believe. Shallow dating pool, and all. I also loved that dim Dwayne is the one who came up with the evidence to release Josh.

I am already thinking ahead to next season. I picture Josh and Summer falling in love, Josh staying in town and continuing to solve cases with the dream team. And of course Larry is his father in law so John Lithgow stays on the show.

 

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Why? I thought my scenario was plausible.....at least I hope it is. Lol.

Yes, I thought that they were doing a new case each season if it's renewed, so I would like to see this scenario to keep John Lithgow on the show. Plus, at first I thought that Josh and Carol Anne might be paired up at first, but if they pair Josh up with anyone, I think it would have to be Summer after Carol Anne betrayed him and because she seems hung up on the guy she was having an affair with. 

 

1 hour ago, GaT said:

I think the murderer is the sister-in-law :-)

 

Just now, tennisgurl said:

Me too! I think in the finale episode she finally speaks and goes into a huge motive rant about why she killed Margaret, then goes back to drinking!

This show cracks me up, I love it so far.

I think so too. She just seems very suspicious to me. I don't think it's Margaret's brother because he did hire an attorney to help Larry at first. I don't see it being Carol Anne at this point either or those working to help get Larry free, and that doesn't leave many characters that were in the first episode unless it's not someone that's been there since the beginning. I also think it would be funny if Larry did turn out to do it after all because I read that only John Lithgow is the only actor that knows if his character is actually innocent or guilty. 

[ElleBee]

On 3/18/2017 at 4:30 PM, Charlesman said:

They really pulled everything out of 'The Staircase', didn't they? Bisexual poet/novelist, pinning it on a bird, etc. 

 

On 3/20/2017 at 0:07 PM, biakbiak said:

Similar death in his past.

And now the trekking pole = fireplace poker. There's a whole extra level of humor for those who've watched "The Staircase"--kind of hilarious that they can skirt it so closely but still get away with it... 

Edited March 23, 2017 by ElleBee

[Charlesman]

2 hours ago, ElleBee said:

 

And now the trekking pole = fireplace poker. There's a whole extra level of humor for those who've watched "The Staircase"--kind of hilarious that they can skirt it so closely but still get away with it... 

They could certainly milk a lot of humor out of the word "blowpoke" 

[babyhouseman]

I loved Lithgow on 3rd Rock from the Sun so I thought I'd give it a chance. I really like it. I agree that while Sherri is annoying as a person, she is a decent actress.  I live in Eastern NC, and the Southern jokes are funny. My area has a taxidermy shop and a tobacco company. lol

[aradia22]

Episode 1 thoughts... After watching shows like Superstore, Emerald City, etc. on the NBC site I was inundated with Trial & Error commercials. But unlike all the cop procedurals, etc. this one didn't drive me crazy. I've been looking forward to it and it did not disappoint. It was the silliest I was hoping for. 

I didn't realize Jayma Mays and Krysta Rodriguez were part of the cast. Even better!

It certainly feels like other shows in this vein... workplace comedy, quirky characters, documentary, optimistic lead character, etc. but I enjoyed it for all those reasons. I think I'm in a bit of a trope-y phase. 

[aradia22]

Episode 3 was fantastic. This show has hit the ground running and knows its sense of humor so well.

[qtpye]

It's so refreshing to me to see the male lawyer manipulating the female prosecutor with his sexuality.  The genders are usually reversed and it makes for an interesting dynamic.  She does not care for him, but would not mind having a roll in the hay, while he is totally turned off by her cut throat attitude.

The whole cast is hitting it out of the park.  Jayma Mays is so good, I almost did not recognize her.

[Guest]

21 hours ago, SimoneS said:

I am enjoying this a whole lot. I don't see how it goes to a second season though.

I think each season is a separate case.  It's a true crime mockumentary so it'll be something else 'ripped from the headlines', I guess.  I assume it'll be a new cast.   I like this one fine but I prefer a whole fresh start each season.  

 http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/13/entertainment/trial--error-review/

[OtterMommy]

8 hours ago, aradia22 said:

It certainly feels like other shows in this vein... workplace comedy, quirky characters, documentary, optimistic lead character, etc. but I enjoyed it for all those reasons. I think I'm in a bit of a trope-y phase. 

I agree that this definitely fits into that trope--which makes it all the stranger that my husband and I can't get enough of this show.  Neither of us were ever able to get into shows like "Parks and Recreation" or "The Office," but this one is definitely a hit with us.

[aradia22]

Quote

It's so refreshing to me to see the male lawyer manipulating the female prosecutor with his sexuality.  The genders are usually reversed and it makes for an interesting dynamic.  She does not care for him, but would not mind having a roll in the hay, while he is totally turned off by her cut throat attitude.

The whole cast is hitting it out of the park.  Jayma Mays is so good, I almost did not recognize her.

I don't think Josh totally dislikes Carol Anne. They're definitely hinting at possible relationships with both her and the Krysta Rodriguez daughter character or maybe a love triangle. But I like it where it is now where they don't have to deal with the consequences of either of those choices. It almost feels like high school, where you have a limited dating pool and so everyone's flirting and posturing and not very willing to commit to anything. 

I think Jayma is doing great but I'm still undecided on how I feel about her voice. I mean, she's nailing the lower pitch and (to me) the accent (though some might disagree) but it feels wrong coming out of her mouth. It's not just that I know her voice from Glee, it's that the voice doesn't really suit her voice or build. Unless she's maybe 20 years older and has been smoking a pack a day. 

[UsernameFatigue]

On 3/22/2017 at 5:43 PM, ElleBee said:

 

And now the trekking pole = fireplace poker. There's a whole extra level of humor for those who've watched "The Staircase"--kind of hilarious that they can skirt it so closely but still get away with it... 

I remember seeing a couple of Dateline type shows about his case, but had no idea that it was a movie/series! Now I will have to watch it. But reading things that I had forgotten or did not know that have shown up in this show is just crazy - and in a good way. I also read that just last month the guy (whose name I cannot remember off hand) pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife and was set free as he had already served longer than the sentence for manslaughter was for. He also did not admit guilt. I really hope though that in this series Larry is not the murderer. 

[Texasmom1970]

Male Semen? OMG I love this show!

[Shannon L.]

I just saw the first 4 episodes and I can't say I love it yet, but I'm definitely in.  It has great potential and has made me laugh out loud a few times.  I'm loving Dwayne.  When he was talking to the cops in the other cop's kitchen?  Fantastic!  When he Josh said that his behavior was inexplicable and he said "Ok, let me explic it"? I'm glad I wasn't eating anything. 

I also like Josh because he reminds me of Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec and I loved Ben.

[bosawks]

Murder board!  Murder board!  Murder board!

[LADreamr]

"I want to take a lie detector test."

"You can't. If you pass..."

"When I pass..."

"But if you fail..."

"When I fail..."

Love this show. Too many great lines to quote them all, but this got me.

[GaT]

Still really enjoying this, it just makes me laugh. But I did start wondering, if they're showing 2 episodes back to back every week, why didn't they just make it an hour show?

[UsernameFatigue]

Soooo  many great lines. Loved the board listing cannon balls as the third leading cause of death in East Peck, and Larry  listed as the fourth. LOL.  Also loved Dwayne talking about his ancestor, Reid Reed who could not read. Priceless! Also Summer and Anne interrogating Larry, especially when Anne was playing the judge. I usually end up watching each episode twice as there are so many funny lines and gags that it is easy to miss a few. 

[teebax]

13 minutes ago, GaT said:

Still really enjoying this, it just makes me laugh. But I did start wondering, if they're showing 2 episodes back to back every week, why didn't they just make it an hour show?

Maybe they didn't originally plan to air them. Or maybe it's easier for syndication.  Not sure. 

[LADreamr]

38 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Loved the board listing cannon balls as the third leading cause of death in East Peck, and Larry  listed as the fourth. LOL.

Loved that too, but mostly because it wasn't obvious in the frame. The fact that you have to pay attention to this show is one of my favorite things about it. 

[BusyOctober]

This show is getting funnier each week. I really enjoy scanning the background for extra things like the leading cause of death list.  I am a fan of Lithgow. Sherri Shepard is good as long as she is playing a character...the minute she opens her mouth IRL, all bets are off.  She is one of the least informed people I've ever heard.

I like most of the characters and minor characters too (news anchor Heidi & taxidermist Dave are hilarious). 

My minor problem with this show is the hair styling, Josh and Carol Ann specifically.  Why is Josh's air so full of product and plastered to his head like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals?  And I know Carol Ann is supposed to be a hard ass lawyer, but her "serious" hairstyle bugs me.  The swoopy bangs with the severely pulled back sides, minus those two little strands hanging by her ears just makes her hair look greasy to me (not as much an oil slick as Josh's, but still).