S03.E03: The Brainy Bunch

[Rockstar99435]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

Hems-Worthless

meet LARRY the Hemsworth Brother They

Don't Want You To Know About

My favorite part about that joke is that in the picture Larry has a stethoscope around his neck. Larry being a doctor and not an actor is the shameful secret they're trying to hide.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Rockstar99435

[possibilities]

11 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

 

I do think by the end Eleanor/Chidi and Jason/Janet will be couples.  After the end of season 1 that wasn't as certain but a lot of their arc in season 2 revolved around their romantic connection.  To throw that away after investing the audience in it would be highly questionable. 

But it would also make Janet sad if Jason and Tahani coupled up.

I don't know what I want them to do, but I'm strangely anticipating that I will enjoy whatever they decide. Probably one of the highest compliments it's possible to give a show.

[Bill1978]

As an Australian I may have laughed a little too much at the gun being used to signify when their table was ready. I can imagine an Australian based US themed restaurant actually using that idea, and every Australian nodding their head and thinking 'Of course we get a gun in America'

I also don't mind the Australian accents being used, while they don't sound perfect, sometimes the words sound a bit too New Zealandish, I often find myself thinking real Australian actors sound off when I hear them using their regular voices in American talk shows etc. Like I don't realise how much of a drongo we sound to other people until I hear the accent in a room full on non-Australians

[Lugal]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Hems-Worthless

meet LARRY the Hemsworth Brother They

Don't Want You To Know About

And he was the non-famous Hemsworth brother that Tahani mentioned she dated last season.

[Sakura12]

This was one of their weaker episode, but still better than most of what's on tv now. 

I think Michael is right Eleanor and Chidi will always find their back to each other once they are in the same orbit as friends or lovers. I do like Simone but I feel she's a place holder until they get their memories back. 

I liked that Adam Scott's douchest guy in the world bit and I liked that he added a touch of malice behind his words. However I hope we only had one episode of that. I only know him from Party Down. I loved his reaction to Tahani's calligraphy apology notes, I wonder if he'll take that idea down to the bad place with him. 

Poor Janet having to do everything like a human where all we do is wait for stuff. It was almost as good as Michael complaining about why we were built with food tube next to our breathing tube. Then building up a queue and getting all delivered at once. 

The American themed restaurant was spot on. That's probably exactly what other countries think of us. 

[Maelstrom]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So, what do I have to do to get a Brainy Brunch shirt of my own? Go to Trivia Night? Get a mountain of coke for Mindy? Paint some creepy clowns?

That will probably guarantee that you don't get a shirt ;) Just say no to creepy clowns!

I mostly enjoyed this ep, most especially Janet and seeing how already our little cockroaches are starting to improve just by being around each other. Trevor is funny for about twenty seconds and then I'm ready for him to be gone, so I hope that's the last we see of him for awhile. Honestly, he's pretty much my least favorite demon - I'm much rather watch Sean, Vicki, or even idiot Glen or the Biting Guy (Gunther?). I cheered when the Judge flicked Trevor into space. (I really wish I could do that!) I have to wonder though if Trevor's role in disrupting the Earth experiment wasn't originally intended for Vicki. I could see her being able to be a lot more subtle/passive-aggressive in her manipulations, and therefore being more effective longterm in causing trouble for them.

Was I the only one who found Maya Rudolph extremely irritating and over the top in this? If Michael and Janet being stuck on earth means we won't see her and her schtick for awhile then I say yay earth, where you spend most of your lifespan waiting for things!

I can also agree with everyone who's a little disenchanted with this season so far - it's so out different from the previous two seasons and I miss a lot of the elements that are absent now. But I know better than to try to predict anything with this show, so we'll see where it goes. And even if this season doesn't live up to the others, the following still holds true:

1 hour ago, Sakura12 said:

still better than most of what's on tv now. 

[ALenore]

Quote

Did anyone catch what the back of The Brainy Bunch shirts said?

 Per the AV Club:  I went to Australia and all I got was this lousy cross-disciplinary academic study and a ton of new best friends.

[arc]

5 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I thought she knew he wasn't sleeping because she found him at his desk in the morning.  And he said he'd managed to have  8 minutes of sleep, not consecutive of course.

Sure, that's possible, but she also saw him bite into a raw egg like it was an apple. I think that's more of a mornings at home thing than breakfast at work.

[PityFree]

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Hems-Worthless

meet LARRY the Hemsworth Brother They

Don't Want You To Know About

 And remember? Larry Hemsworth is the one that Tahani once  hooked up with.

 

ETA:  I really do not like how Maya Rudolph is playing her character. She’s trying too hard to seem “hip.” Her performance is going to feel very dated when people go watch the show in reruns in a couple of years.   It sucks because I adore Maya normally.

Edited October 6, 2018 by PityFree

[PityFree]

4 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

If the Judge was threatening Michael with retirement, what fate will the doorman suffer for giving Michael the key?.

 Oh you’ve made me think.  We don’t know that the doorman isn’t actually more powerful than the judge do we? Yes demons and celestial beings need the judge’s permission to go to earth, but ultimately the doorman is the one who controls access to the “afterlife” and earth on the show.  Why couldn’t the judge do something to just get Michael and Janet back?  When they were summoned, the doorman is the one who ushered them back into the afterlife.  I’m going to predict that the doorman is actually more powerful of the two. 

 I also think that the key will give Michael and Janet their celestial powers on earth in some way.

[dusang]

I loved it!! I'm excited to finally be watching the show is (almost) real time. I LOVED that Trevor got Tahani & Jason drunk on the expectation that they'd hook up and Tahani would flee the continent in shame but instead Jason escorted her home and slept in a dumpster -- like a decent human being!!

Poor Janet, I've never had the power of reality creation but I feel her frustration on waiting for things.

[Milburn Stone]

I'm just not feelin' it this year.

I hope I will.

[CherithCutestory]

5 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

If the Judge was threatening Michael with retirement, what fate will the doorman suffer for giving Michael the key?

 

I'd bet nothing because they can't find anyone else who would ever want to do that job. He is there for billions of years. I don't think celestial beings go to Earth very often so the doorman lacks any social connections. 

1 hour ago, PityFree said:

ETA:  I really do not like how Maya Rudolph is playing her character. She’s trying too hard to seem “hip.” Her performance is going to feel very dated when people go watch the show in reruns in a couple of years.   It sucks because I adore Maya normally.

I really liked her last season. I thought she was a good mixture of all-knowing but somewhat innocent and also very bored. But it felt very forced this past episode. 

Although she was 100% in the right in regards to Michael. He went way out of bounds. Messed up the entire timeline. And, frankly, did more to hurt the Four's chance of redemption than help by throwing their ability to do it themselves all in doubt. And abused her generosity. 

[secnarf]

6 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

I didn't like this episode as much as the premiere, mostly because I cannot stand Trevor and if I am being honest, I find most of the Bad Place people (aside from terrifying Shawn) to be too exaggeratedly annoying. Wish Adam Scott had gotten a better part on the show.

I also cannot stand Trevor. I'm not keen on any of the demons other than Michael, and I also find the Judge too over-the-top.

I prefer following our core six characters. Any extraneous ones fall flat for me. Except Simone, but I have a feeling she is not really as she seems to be.

[kaygeeret]

I seriously love this show in all it's manifestations.

While Michael and Janet and the 4 core characters remain the focus.....

They do such crazy switches every time I turn around that I have stopped trying to guess what the future brings....'cause I would drive myself completely nuts!

I just settle in for the ride.

Gosh I love this show!

[bros402]

11 hours ago, RainbowBrite said:

I have to wonder if viewer's enjoyment of Trevor (both in this season and the first) has to do with residual love for his character on Parks & Rec...because I watched Season 1 of the Good Place without having watching P&R and found Trevor to be fine but nothing special, although comments on here made me feel like I was missing something. Between that time and now, I have binged P&R and found Trevor to be more entertaining upon rewatch. I was still ready to be done with him by the end of this episode.

I've never seen the actor who plays Trevor before Good Place (well, nothing that I particularly remember him from, at least) - I enjoyed it. He was a bit grating by the end of this episode, but he was in just enough to not be super annoying

[biakbiak]

I enjoyed the Byron Allen buying the weather channel aside because I also found it weird when that story came out! Not wrong but weird!

Mike mentioned on a podcast not sure if it was TGP pod or another that the doorman’s love of frogs would have an impact and because I used to have that exact same sticker on my laptop I loved it!

[Amarsir]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I wonder if there really are American-themed restaurants in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter.

The thing is, American culture is pretty unavoidable most places on Earth. American TV and movies are shown (which is why American accents are rarely considered "exotic" when traveling the same way theirs would be here.) And of course our chains expansions give the illusion of being "American" even if they change the menu for the location. So you're unlikely to go to any first-world country and find people thinking "Gosh, wouldn't it be neat if we could experience American references?"

That said, two things I've noted:

1) A diner, especially a chrome stools and checkered floor 50s diner, is distinctive enough and US enough that you probably could find a few of those around the world and they'd all be intentionally American.

2) You can often find an "American foods" shelf in grocery stores. (At least in Europe, I don't know about Australia.) Marshmallows, Peanut Butter, and crappy fake maple syrup seem to be standards. 

[Milburn Stone]

6 minutes ago, Ivydoom said:

Scott played his role perfectly, looks like he annoyed the shirt out of everyone which was exactly his job.

I'm not so sure Scott's performance was exactly what it should be. Trevor clearly annoyed the shirt out of everybody, and that was his job. But Adam Scott also annoyed the shirt out of me, to the point of making the episode unpleasant for me to watch. A perfectly gauged performance would have allowed me to delight in the annoyance felt by the team instead of personally putting me through annoyance-hell. That's a tall order for an actor, and I have no suggestions for Scott as to what he should have done differently, but it seems to me I've seen it done.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Milburn Stone

[Ailianna]

That's a devastating human insult.  The Bad Place is devastated!

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

I'm not so sure Scott's performance was exactly what it should be. Trevor clearly annoyed the shirt out of everybody, and that was his job. But Adam Scott also annoyed the shirt out of me, to the point of making the episode unpleasant for me to watch. A perfectly gauged performance would have allowed me to delight in the annoyance felt by the team instead of personally putting me through annoyance-hell. That's a tall order for an actor, and I have no suggestions for Scott as to what he should have done differently, but it seems to me I've seen it done.

By the end of his second scene I was ready for someone to obliterate Trevor, so the payoff of Gen flicking him away was beyond satisfying. On that basis I think if I had been delighted by the annoyance I would not have appreciated the comeuppance enough.

[Enginerd]

I thought this episode was weaker than most, but the restaurant was funny, as was Eleanor's struggle to not respond to Trevor in her old bad-person way. The set and prop people must have had a grand time with that restaurant...there were just so many hilariously awful details!

I've never understood why people love Gen or think the performance is so funny or award-worthy. To me, Maya Rudolph seems to be really chewing the scenery in this role...open-mouthed, with a lot of slurping...and then spitting it on the table. It's way too broad, like a school drama club performance where the actor lacks restraint and nuance and wants to make sure the people way in the back of the auditorium can see how snarky the character is. It seems out of place on a smart television drama, and not in a good way.

[topanga]

3 hours ago, Ivydoom said:

And the Bad Place torture is really kinda basic.

‘Chidi? Ya basic.’

My favorite quote ever from The Good Place.

[possibilities]

16 hours ago, Enginerd said:

To me, Maya Rudolph seems to be really chewing the scenery in this role...open-mouthed, with a lot of slurping...and then spitting it on the table. It's way too broad, like a school drama club performance where the actor lacks restraint and nuance and wants to make sure the people way in the back of the auditorium can see how snarky the character is. It seems out of place on a smart television drama, and not in a good way.

In my opinion, this is exactly how Maya Rudolph plays every single role she's ever had, and also when she's playing herself in a supposedly not-in-character interview. I always find her tremendously annoying and wish they hadn't cast her.  I didn't find her worse this episode than in others, I think it's just the way she always is. She could play Trevor and it wouldn't require her to change much of anything other than saying different lines.

The restaurant was awesome. Manifest Destiny! Guns! This show manages to make the most unexpected things funny. If you told me I'd laugh at a joke about Manifest Destiny, on a network sit com about moral philosophy, I would surely have been more than skeptical.

Edited October 7, 2018 by possibilities
typo fixed

[Bruinsfan]

I seem to recall hearing about an American BBQ-style restaurant in London, though I don't know if it's specifically American-themed rather than just focused on the cuisine.

[Texasmom1970]

Jason asking for extra radiation and trying to sneak the spider into the MRI; perfection!

[biakbiak]

12 American themed restaurants from around the world! Shout out to the Seahawk fans at the Stars and Bars in Monaco! There used to be tons of cheesy American themed restaurants in Tokyo but I haven’t been for a few years.

[Endeavour]

On 10/5/2018 at 8:32 PM, Maelstrom said:

Was I the only one who found Maya Rudolph extremely irritating and over the top in this? If Michael and Janet being stuck on earth means we won't see her and her schtick for awhile then I say yay earth, where you spend most of your lifespan waiting for things!

I found her acting over the top as well. Very distracting and out of place. Her performance up to this point hasn’t bothered me. Not sure what she was going for there. 

[festivus]

13 hours ago, Enginerd said:

I've never understood why people love Gen or think the performance is so funny or award-worthy. To me, Maya Rudolph seems to be really chewing the scenery in this role...open-mouthed, with a lot of slurping...and then spitting it on the table. It's way too broad, like a school drama club performance where the actor lacks restraint and nuance and wants to make sure the people way in the back of the auditorium can see how snarky the character is. It seems out of place on a smart television drama, and not in a good way.

 

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

In my opinion, this is exactly how Maya Rudolph plays every single role she's ever had, and also when she's playing herself in a supposedly not-in-character interview. I always find her tremendously annoying and wish they hadn't cast her.  I didn't find her worse this episode than in others, I think it's just the way she always is. She could play Trevor and it wouldn't require her to change much of anything other than saying different lines.

Yay! I'm not alone. I think she's had a couple of good moments as the judge but mostly I just find myself wishing they had cast Megan Mullally in the part.

[bethy]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

I just find myself wishing they had cast Megan Mullally in the part.

And Megan Mullally wouldn’t be over the top? :)

I totally get that Maya Rudolph wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but the flailing energy made sense to me in this episode given the damage done because of something she allowed, but went beyond what she’d planned.

[festivus]

25 minutes ago, bethy said:

And Megan Mullally wouldn’t be over the top? :)

Maybe, but I think she's better at it than Maya. Karen on W&G is a broad character but they all are on that show. I've seen MM be totally different in other stuff. 

[arc]

16 hours ago, possibilities said:

In my opinion, this is exactly how Maya Rudolph plays every single role she's ever had, and also when she's playing herself in a supposedly not-in-character interview.

She plays Gen very big, but her role as June on Forever (which also shares some Parks and Rec DNA as both co-creators were Parks writers) is much more subtle.

[BellyLaughter]

I love this show more than any other,  it's top of my list with daylight second.... however, as an Aussie I am not sure I can endure a whole season of butchered Australian accents....I'm gonna have to put on my big girl pants however because this show is the best thing on TV right now! 

[EyewatchTV211]

For anyone concerned, this article somewhat references Mike Schur's thinking regarding love triangles and how often they can reset the characters (he acknowledges they know they can't keep doing that). https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/good-place-michael-schur-eleanor-chidi

[Eva Marie]

Vicky would indeed have been amazing in the Trevor role. She would absolutely RELISH the acting opportunity of a lifetime! Alas, she was so good that she scored herself a lead on an ABC show.

What kind of a neuroscientist is Simone if she doesn't pick up on Chidi having near textbook traits of high functioning autism (HFA)? This has been bugging me the entire show. His whole character is written to fit HFA: paralyzing indecision, crippling love shyness, general anxiety, tics, rigidity, high book smarts to low life smarts ratio. And yet NOBODY ever suggests that he get his butt over to get diagnosed. Because if they did - then the premise of his character would disappear because HFA is incurable. No amount of character growth can cure the neurology causing it, and ending up in The Bad Place because of it would send a terrible message.

Yeah, Maya wasn't bad on Forever. It seems like it takes the right director to reign her in. At least we don't have Jason Matzoukas anymore. That dude has managed to build a whole career out of being the only bad thing thing about great shows: Enlightened, Brooklyn 99 and here.

[Bruinsfan]

He was the worst thing about Dirty Grandpa, which is a far more impressive achievement in dragging a project's overall quality down.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Bruinsfan

[clack]

My impression is that Jeff the doorman and Gen the Judge are just co-workers, each with their own equal roles in the afterlife hierarchy. Gen is not his boss, and cannot override his decisions.

[hertolo]

The star of this episode was obviously the over -the-top American-style restaurant. All the puns they put in there, incredibly. It seems to me that they designed this episode around that joke which kinda explains why it is more of a 'basic' episode. Classic sitcom jokes and no big turnaround. And yes, Trevor made me uncomfortable, but I guess that was his point? He played his role well... And since they so quickly got here, I'm curious what they plan next and really have no idea what this could be.

And that's why I like this show.

[Mabinogia]

Just now, hertolo said:

It seems to me that they designed this episode around that joke which kinda explains why it is more of a 'basic' episode.

OMG that's a devastating insult. This episode is now devastated!

I found the episode hilarious, though I am over Trevor for a while. A little Trevor goes a very long way. And i do kind of wish Vickie had gotten the gig. She had perfected her Australian accent for one of the many, many reboots and never really got to use it. 

[topanga]

3 hours ago, hertolo said:

It seems to me that they designed this episode around that joke which kinda explains why it is more of a 'basic' episode

Chidi? Ya basic!  

...I’ll see myself out now.

But seriously, I did find the episode funny, but maybe not as funny as some of my favorite episodes. I don’t if I could call Eleanor sidelined—she was in almost every scene. But I found that the ep focused more on Michael and Trevor than it did the Big Four. 

[possibilities]

7 hours ago, clack said:

My impression is that Jeff the doorman and Gen the Judge are just co-workers, each with their own equal roles in the afterlife hierarchy. Gen is not his boss, and cannot override his decisions.

Great catch! I wonder who THEIR boss is?

[Dame sans merci]

21 hours ago, Eva Marie said:

Yeah, Maya wasn't bad on Forever. It seems like it takes the right director to reign her in. At least we don't have Jason Matzoukas anymore. That dude has managed to build a whole career out of being the only bad thing thing about great shows: Enlightened, Brooklyn 99 and here.

Her guest stint as Dionne Warwick on 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' wasn't reigned in (and was hysterical), but that seemed to work, perhaps because the performances in general on that show are just a bit bigger and broader so it didn't feel out of place like it did here.

[Ilovepie]

On 10/6/2018 at 6:57 PM, possibilities said:

The restaurant was awesome. Manifest Destiny! Guns! This show manages to make the most unexpected things funny. If you told me I'd laugh at a joke about Manifest Destiny, on a network sit com about moral philosophy, I would surely have been more than skeptical.

These were my favorite things about the episode. Only this show could make a joke about Manifest Destiny and have it actually work!  I loved when Chidi was handed the gun and said "I think it's real."

Trevor doesn't bother me, I like Adam Scott best when he's a smarmy jerk. I do think Vicky would have worked better in this scenario though. I was hoping Bad Janet would pop up - she's actually my favorite Bad Place character......

[festivus]

5 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

Trevor doesn't bother me, I like Adam Scott best when he's a smarmy jerk. I do think Vicky would have worked better in this scenario though. I was hoping Bad Janet would pop up - she's actually my favorite Bad Place character......

I think I like Adam Scott best when he's a charming nerd like he was on Parks and Rec. I was thinking about why I liked Trevor so much more the first time we saw him and it was definitely because of Bad Janet. 

[possibilities]

Bad Janet makes everyone better.

[AnnieBeez]

I really couldn’t stand Trevor this go-round. I hope he’s actually gone.

 

Also, on a shallow note, Adam Scott is starting to look like Madame (from Waylon and Madame). 

[cpcathy]

OMG, you're right! He is so skinny now his head looks ginormous on his body.

[DrSpaceman73]

Surprised everyone was so annoyed by Trevor.  I enjoy his annoyance and Adam Scott in the role

The American restaurant was great. 

What I started wondering is, if they did this "reset" and saved their lives, and if the premise is that their flaws in many ways caused them to die in the first place, if they change now, won't they theoretically live for a long time?  Which means we may not see them again in the afterlife for a long time, until they "die" in the reset. 

On the other hand, if they don't change, they will likely all die again soon and end up in the bad place once again, but this time for real. 

[clack]

This show needs the afterlife. Without it, it's still a very good sitcom, but not all that special.

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

What I started wondering is, if they did this "reset" and saved their lives, and if the premise is that their flaws in many ways caused them to die in the first place, if they change now, won't they theoretically live for a long time?  Which means we may not see them again in the afterlife for a long time, until they "die" in the reset. 

I think, if they were supposed to die, fate will find another way to kill them. I can't imagine them being allowed to live much longer, not just because it's better for the show for them to go back to the afterlife, but because the longer they are alive the more then might change the world. What if Chidi becomes this youtube sensation and the entire world becomes ethical? Ok, that would actually be hysterical to watch. Ethics professors could replace pop stars as the new American Icons. Tahani could become the new Martha Stewart and teach us all to be posh and sophisticated and name drop all the ethics professors we have in our contact lists. 

And what about Michael and Janet? If they are trapped on Earth, without power, are they mortal? What kind of mess could those two make?