S10.E01: The West Side Curmudgeon

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

Grace's accidental run-in with Noah, a curmudgeonly man she follows on Twitter, hints at a possible new love interest. Jack wants to look younger before meeting Estefan's family on Skype but makes a terrible first impression after overdoing the numbing cream before his facial procedure. Meanwhile, Will helps Karen protect the intellectual property rights of her most prized possession.

Air Date: Oct 4, 2018

[chitowngirl]

Nice to David Swimmer doing a comedy role again. And I saw none of Ross there. Something other Friends cast members can’t do <cough>Jennifer Aniston<cough>. I see Rachel in just about everything she does.

Edited October 5, 2018 by chitowngirl

[janie jones]

I suspect it's Jennifer Aniston you're seeing in everything she does, including Rachel.

[Alonzo Mosely FBI]

I have not laughed at network TV as hard as I did last night in a LONG time with Jack and the face cream and the banana. I was crying laughing, and again skyping with his bf and parents. You an eternal boy.

That said, I hated every overdone unfunny scene w/Grace and Ross. All I saw was Ross on Quaaludes as though he is recovering from a big dumping by Rachel on top of Marcel getting hit by a car or something. 

[bichonblitz]

 Debra Messing is back to looking great again! She and Schwimmer have good chemistry. Will and Karen were funny, too. I didn't enjoy the Jack mess, though. Had to fast forward through much of that. When did he get this new boyfriend? Did he and the little cop break up last season and maybe I just don't remember? 

[festivus]

I groaned when I saw David Schwimmer was going to be on because I never could stand Ross and he always seems like Ross to me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I like him as the curmudgeon and he and Grace had good chemistry. 

I always like it when Will and Karen get a story together but I felt like there wasn't enough to this one. I want more!

[Jillybean]

The West Side Curmudgeon is Ross 10 years after Rachel left him for good and his friends all moved on with their lives. 

My husband kept asking what happened to Debra Messing's face. I didn't know what to tell him.

Jack's storyline was amusing considering how much makeup Sean Hayes wore throughout last season.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Jillybean

[SHD]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

I groaned when I saw David Schwimmer was going to be on because I never could stand Ross and he always seems like Ross to me, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I agree.  What I most appreciated was that he was acting at a normal level.  Everyone on this show plays every line at an "11" so it was nice to see someone who seemed like an actual person you might meet in real life.

[Manda317]

This was a great episode. I like Grace and Noah, and Will and Karen are always great together. Jack was over the top as usual, but I have to admit it cheered me up. I think this was the funniest episode since the renewal.

[iMonrey]

The physical comedy with Jack trying to eat the banana was hysterical, I have to admit. By far, the highlight of the episode IMO. However, I thought they took it too far when it turned out his boyfriend's father had a stroke. I don't remember this boyfriend, either. When did they become engaged??

The rest of the episode was just so-so. Karen had two scenes and they were insignificant. Talk about a c-plot. The Grace and the curmudgeon thing were just OK. 

That said, I still find this show to be funnier than 95% of the dreck that passes for sitcoms these days. And the characters always seem to elevate the material no matter what they're given.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

Karen. *flick*  Walkers. *flick*

Edited October 5, 2018 by DoubleUTeeEff

[Gothish520]

5 hours ago, festivus said:

I groaned when I saw David Schwimmer was going to be on because I never could stand Ross and he always seems like Ross to me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I like him as the curmudgeon and he and Grace had good chemistry. 

I always like it when Will and Karen get a story together but I felt like there wasn't enough to this one. I want more!

Agree, they had good chemistry and Noah bears no resemblance to Ross. And I just love the name West Side Curmudgeon. What a strange, social-media driven world we live in now!

Good ep, but man sitcoms seem to fly by these days. Too many commercial breaks. I swear, I sometimes feel like I'm just settling in and the episode is over.

[JakeyJokes]

Will and Karen barely had a story! C-plots aren't usually done in sitcoms, and for good reason.

I think Sean Hayes just got his second Emmy. That was 110% committed physical comedy right there. And I might have teared up when Esteban told him he was beautiful anyway.

[SrOfficial]

Well, that was disappointing!  ?  I’ve had enough of Karen & her chest.  Jack & the banana - not funny.  Will can still deliver a line & David Schwimmer was pretty good.

[freeser]

6 hours ago, Jillybean said:

My husband kept asking what happened to Debra Messing's face. I didn't know what to tell him.

 

If you figure out what to tell your husband, let me know too!  

I have been watching the old Will and Grace reruns for a few months.  So the way they looked back then is the way they first come to mind.  I have not watched the new ones until last night's episode.

I thought Jack looked pretty much the same - Karen also - but a little more weight maybe.  Will looked really good although I could tell he has aged some.  

But Grace - I am really with your husband on this.  I kept looking at her when she and David Schwimmer were sitting at the table trying to figure out what was going on with her face.  It is certainly fuller than before, but there is something really different about it.  Has she had any plastic surgery?  The others look basically the same (just a little older) but there is something unusual about Grace.  Also, she was so rail thin in the original series.  In all the scenes I saw last night she had on long sleeves so I don't know if she has gained weight overall or if it is just her face that is so different.  She is still very pretty, but there is something strangely 'off' from her appearance 15 years ago.  

[chitowngirl]

Thers something weird about her eyebrows.

[SrOfficial]

1 hour ago, freeser said:

But Grace - I am really with your husband on this.  I kept looking at her when she and David Schwimmer were sitting at the table trying to figure out what was going on with her face.  It is certainly fuller than before, but there is something really different about it. 

 

1 hour ago, freeser said:

She is still very pretty, but there is something strangely 'off' from her appearance 15 years ago.  

I think it may be fillers and/or Botox.  But, then my appearance is "off" from 15 years ago, too.  I think she might look younger with shorter hair.

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The physical comedy with Jack trying to eat the banana was hysterical, I have to admit. By far, the highlight of the episode IMO. However, I thought they took it too far when it turned out his boyfriend's father had a stroke. I don't remember this boyfriend, either. When did they become engaged??

The rest of the episode was just so-so. Karen had two scenes and they were insignificant. Talk about a c-plot. The Grace and the curmudgeon thing were just OK. 

That said, I still find this show to be funnier than 95% of the dreck that passes for sitcoms these days. And the characters always seem to elevate the material no matter what they're given.

Pretty much agree with this post. 

(As for the boyfriend, they got engaged...in last season's finale, I think? I'd have to double check.)

As for Will and Karen, I liked Will's response when Karen came into the apartment and was like, "Hi, Grace, is Will here?" 

[iMonrey]

Let's be real, all four of them have had work done. It's Hollywood, and they're on TV. 

[ButterQueen]

Jack and the banana was hysterical.

Will is HOT in glasses.

I think Grace looks great.

[Annber03]

37 minutes ago, ButterQueen said:

Will is HOT in glasses.

Hell, yes. 

(Also? Jack's got really nice arms.)

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Alonzo Mosely FBI said:

I have not laughed at network TV as hard as I did last night in a LONG time with Jack and the face cream and the banana. I was crying laughing, and again skyping with his bf and parents. You an eternal boy.

That said, I hated every overdone unfunny scene w/Grace and Ross. All I saw was Ross on Quaaludes as though he is recovering from a big dumping by Rachel on top of Marcel getting hit by a car or something. 

Lol! I'm in the camp where I think David Schwimmer is Ross in everything he does. To me, it's just a Ross 10 years after the divorce. Just as smug and neurotic, there's no nuance. I think he has the exact same problem as people complain about with Jennifer Aniston acting like Rachel or vice versa, you just don't hear people complain about him because he's a man and hasn't really been cast in as much high-profile stuff as Jennifer post Friends. Watching him here is just like watching some weird fan fiction crossover where Ross and Grace meet in a coffee shop and then spend the weekend having melancholy escapist sex to distract themselves from their disillusionment.

Jack's numbing cream plot would have been fine without the detail of his boyfriend's dad having a stroke. That part was just distasteful. Also, I'm disappointed that the writers insist on keeping his boyfriend such a one-dimensional caricature, because the actor is wonderful in his own content and very inclusive when it comes to identities.

Karen's C plot barely got any screen time – I guess it happened offscreen? That was really weird narrative structuring. In my opinion it should have been the B plot.

Eric McCormack looked sexy as hell.

[seacliffsal]

I was so happy throughout this episode.  Will and Grace is back and hitting all of its marks.  I enjoyed last season, but season it seems like all of the actors are comfortable in their roles (I felt like it took Debra Messing several episodes before she starting seeming like Grace).  I loved all of the interactions and was really surprised by how much I liked David Schimmer as I had never been a fan of his prior to this episode.  I felt like Debra Messing was finally the 'Grace' she had been during the first run.  Jack just makes me laugh.

Like others, I wish they had not had Jack's fiance's father having suffered a stroke.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this episode and am excited for the rest of the season (and many more seasons in the future).

[Bridget]

How does Eric McCormack get hotter and hotter each year? Seriously. How? I thought he was gorgeous last year, but he looks even better this year!

Not enough of Will & Karen for my taste.

Debra Messing definitely needs to lop off several inches from her hair and stop upsetting the wardrobe department. That black & white dress in the beginning of the episode could have been fine if the front of the dress didn't have such an unflattering pattern placement.

@freeser, may I respectfully point out that since the original series ran, Debra had a baby at the end of season six (during the first incarnation), is now 50 years old and her metabolism has most likely caught up with her? She has definitely gained some weight, but if you haven't seen last season, she had a pretty awful wardrobe, and a few bad hair days, which didn't help her at all. I think she undoubtedly injected stuff into her face, and it doesn't look good at all. As @SrOfficial pointed out, shorter hair would do wonders for her.

Her make up and the blouse she wore in the second act tonight were both really harsh looking, so maybe that was part of the equation?

[jewel21]

It's funny because I thought Debra Messing looked really pretty in this episode and younger than last season. She also looked like she had lost some weight, especially in her face. Funny how everyone else seems to disagree. Maybe I need glasses, heh. 

[festivus]

I thought she looked great. Grace's clothes are still horrible though.

[Delphi]

Even the relatively short time we got with Karen and Will was awesome.   Honestly these two are way more entertaining and oftentimes more touching to watch than the traditional pairings. 

[roughing it]

I think Debra looks great.  What looks offputting to me is her face makeup color is very pale, compared to the way she looks in real life.

[SmithW6079]

Yes, Megan Mullally, you have great tits. No need to keep thrusting them in our face.

When did Jack get a fiancé? I liked him with the closeted "pocket gay" police officer from last season.

Didn't care for David Schwimmer or his character.

I still find it sad that these people are in their mid- to late 40s and they're the same as they were 10 years ago, dealing with their issues (or not) in the same ways.

Edited October 9, 2018 by SmithW6079

[sskrill]

I thought they went to Columbia, not NYU?

[JakeyJokes]

29 minutes ago, sskrill said:

I thought they went to Columbia, not NYU?

That line was the curmudgeon trying to size up Grace, not saying it was the truth. I also think it was an attempt at an inside joke because Debra Messing has an MFA from NYU.

Schwimmer was okay here but very un-Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian in "The People vs. OJ Simpson", earning him a well-deserves Emmy nomination.

[link417]

I was not happy about the Schwimmer-as-love-interest news before the season, I thought Grace (we all, really) deserved better than David freakin’ Schwimmer. But I was surprised and actually liked his character.

I just wish they hadn’t had him turn the corner so fast so that he and Grace were already falling for each other at the end of the premiere.

[geauxaway]

I loved Grace’s dress in the beginning and also her blouse at the diner date!  I probably couldn’t afford either one, unfortunately.

[Inquisitionist]

I'm not getting Ross vibes from Schwimmer.  Really enjoying his storyline with Grace.

[Gothish520]

6 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

I'm not getting Ross vibes from Schwimmer.  Really enjoying his storyline with Grace.

Ditto, I admit I'm impressed with his acting chops. Before this, I'd only seen him as Ross and just assumed he would play a variation of the same character. But I see no similarities between Ross and Noah.

[wendyg]

If you want to see how good an actor David Schwimmer really is, have a look at the movie IT'S THE RAGE. Schwimmer did a lot of stage work before FRIENDS, and he's been doing quite a bit since. He's also exec-produced a program for the BBC about families living in temporary accommodation, based on a previous theatrical production I think he was also involved with: https://inews.co.uk/culture/david-schwimmer-why-my-bbc-drama-about-poverty-should-replace-doctor-who-at-christmas/