S01.E10: Show Boat

[AnnaRose]

Quote

The Kids Are Alright

Show Boat

8:31PM EST | ABC

Against Peggy's wishes, Frank secretly helps design a set for a musical in which Timmy is performing. Feeling jealous of all the positive attention Frank is getting for his work, Timmy devises a plan which forces Frank to admit his involvement on set, but Timmy's scheming backfires. Meanwhile, Mike grows increasingly concerned that Joey is heading down a shady moral path with all his wheeling and dealing, and decides to teach him a lesson.

Original Airdate: January 15, 2019

[festivus]

Damn, mom and dad were pretty mean to Frank. Good for him for saying his piece. He became a person to me tonight and not just the butt of the joke.

 

On the other hand, I loved how Mike dealt with Joey. There's always one moment on this show that has me crying and this time it was Mike cheating and taking all the money and then doing the countdown as the lift went down. 

[Snow Apple]

A good episode. This was the first time I warmed up to Frank. He's still seeking mom's approval but wasn't being a brown noser. Hope it continues. That boat *was* pretty impressive.

And yes, Hungry Man dinners were a treat.

[festivus]

5 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

And yes, Hungry Man dinners were a treat.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. This show makes me remember things I  had forgotten about. I loved the Mexican TV dinners. Next time I go to the store I'm gonna see if they still make them.

[Bteam]

First time I liked Frank- and what a speech. However my two favorite things?  1.  The TV guide!  Loved seeing it its old size and format. 2.  For me the best line - with pitch perfect delivery - belonged to Lawrence. “Hum..there it is.”  I laughed so hard I had to pause and back up to catch the rest of the scene.  

[RollingStone23]

I always root for the underdog so this was bound to be an enjoyable episode for me. Glad they delved into Frank and Peggy’s co-dependent relationship. I think many families have that one kid that the parent sees as “low-maintenance” as in they don’t really have to follow behind them and keep them on track and can just rely on them to be dependable and on call for whatever. 

Peggy’s reaction when Frank told her he loved her is literally me. “Ahh.... that word ” *chuckles* I feel so uncomfortable saying it. LOL. 

I just love this show. Pat is the cutest! 

Edited January 16, 2019 by RollingStone23

[biakbiak]

Seafood Fort is a truly stupid name for a restaurant.

[AnnaRose]

30 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Seafood Fort is a truly stupid name for a restaurant.

Yes, but it's better than Seafood Fart!  I missed that joke the first time I watched it - and it went over my head when Joey's friend said he brought the bag of crabs from Seafood Fart.  It wasn't until I watched the episode a second time I saw that was what was spelled out over the restaurant with the wheel missing. 

So many hilarious lines and bits in this episode, as usual... but I also really liked the conversation between Timmy and Frank, and later between Frank and his mom.  Aww... he loves her and she will make him a Hearty Man dinner, because that says even more than that word that makes her so uncomfortable.  Their fight and its resolution were great. (And Joey's amusement during their fight was perfect.)

I loved the Joey/Godfather stuff.  Especially Williams face when Joey's friend had his lips on his ring as the door closed.  (I also loved when William told his mom that he's still afraid of her and Mom replied that he always knows just what to say to her. Haha!) 

Everything in the treefort was gold, especially Dad saluting Joey as he descended. (And his nonchalance about whatever was squirming in that bag.)

I'm forgetting tons of stuff.  God, I love this show and all of these characters!!

[possibilities]

I loved this episode, but I did feel sad at the end when the parents were admiring the filming, and not the set design.

Edited January 16, 2019 by possibilities

[AnnaRose]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I loved this episode, but I did feel sad at the end when the parents were admiring the filming, and not the set design.

Yeah, poor Frank... but it still made me laugh!

[LBS]

I loved this episode and was so glad that Frank stood up for himself.  To echo a previous poster - he finally felt like a real character instead of the cliched brown-noser.   I love how the brothers actually seem to love and respect each other and it doesn't feel sitcom-y.  

I almost lost it when Peggy and Mike were carping to Frank about buying name brand food and in the cabinet was a Spam like container labeled "Smeat".  Such a funny small detail!

[AnnaRose]

14 hours ago, LBS said:

I loved this episode and was so glad that Frank stood up for himself.  To echo a previous poster - he finally felt like a real character instead of the cliched brown-noser.   I love how the brothers actually seem to love and respect each other and it doesn't feel sitcom-y.  

I almost lost it when Peggy and Mike were carping to Frank about buying name brand food and in the cabinet was a Spam like container labeled "Smeat".  Such a funny small detail!

Thanks for reminding me of that.  What did Mike say?  Something like: "Never buy foods spelled correctly.  At Ralph's you pay extra for good grammar!"  LOL!

Edited January 17, 2019 by AnnaRose

[zillabreeze]

13 hours ago, Bteam said:

 For me the best line - with pitch perfect delivery - belonged to Lawrence. “Hum..there it is.”

That was gold!

1 hour ago, LBS said:

Spam like container labeled "Smeat".  Such a funny small detail!

Such a glorious detail!  I think Mike said something like "at Ralph's you pay extra for good grammar"

 

10 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

(And his nonchalance about whatever was squirming in that bag.)

I guess nothing riles you when you have that many boys.  The non-reaction was so cute.

Does anybody think Mike is the reincarnation of Brian Keith?   

[Grundoon59]

I enjoyed the episode very much but hoped they'd circle back to the crab that got away. 

[libgirl2]

14 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

A good episode. This was the first time I warmed up to Frank. He's still seeking mom's approval but wasn't being a brown noser. Hope it continues. That boat *was* pretty impressive.

And yes, Hungry Man dinners were a treat.

Growing up any kind of frozen dinner was a treat, mostly they were Swanson's. I loved the little brownie in them. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

39 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Growing up any kind of frozen dinner was a treat, mostly they were Swanson's. I loved the little brownie in them. 

Oh, I loved the little blueberry muffin that was shaped like a brownie.

ETA: But speaking of little things to notice, I loved the way they shot Joey carrying that ship's wheel through the back yard, framed by the window.  He can do such great things without dialogue.  In a previous episode, there was a scene in the kitchen when Peggy was telling Timmy and Frank that the family doesn't have the wherewithal to have kids who are special, and Joey is in the background gnawing at something on a fork.  I've watched it over and over and it kills me every time.

It's in the videos here.  It's at the bottom, called "Behind the Scenes with The Kids are Alright" (damn, it pains me to type "alright").  The image for that video is from the scene I'm talking about, and it occurs at about 1:18 in the video and lasts just a few seconds. 

Edited January 16, 2019 by StatisticalOutlier

[libgirl2]

14 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Oh, I loved the little blueberry muffin that was shaped like a brownie.

Frozen dinners are so common and so complex nowadays. I kind of miss the simplicity of a Swanson. 

Edited January 16, 2019 by libgirl2

[Rockstar99435]

"I'm good at important things...like algebra and penmenship." And with that, Frank became my new favorite character. This was such a great episode for Frank. I loved him standing up to the Mom and advocating for himself. The Dad vs Joey was gold. I loved the Dad confessing to cheating as he was leaving the tree house with "It's okay. It's astronaut rules." 

This show is really good at giving everyone a chance to be the focus of an episode, and even when a character is only in the B or C plot, there's still character development going on. A lot of authors who write about large families fall into the trap of giving each kid character one defining detail and then never developing the character passed that, until the characters become boring cardboard cutouts. But here, everyone is becoming well-rounded.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I loved this episode, but I did feel sad at the end when the parents were admiring the filming, and not the set design.

I thought Peggy was going to comment on Pat's talent tooting the showboat horn!

So, sleeping arrangements:

Pat and Will share the double bed in the same room with Timmy and Joey in the bunk beds (and I suppose the double bed will eventually give way to another set of bunk beds), Andy is in a crib in his parents' room, and Lawrence and Eddie share a bedroom with 2 twin beds.  Where has Frank been sleeping since Lawrence came back home?  Wasn't he under the dining room table in the pilot?  He's clearly not doing that anymore.

They either need one of those bunks with a double on the bottom and a single bunk on top for Frank in the younger boys' room or they need a bunk bed in Eddie and Lawrence's room, to make room for Frank.  Then, if everyone is still living at home when Andy leaves the crib, they put two bunk beds in the older boys' room and Joey moves in there, Timmy moves up to Joey's spot, Will moves over to Timmy's lower bunk, and Andy shares with Pat.

[Bteam]

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I thought Peggy was going to comment on Pat's talent tooting the showboat horn!

So, sleeping arrangements:

Pat and Will share the double bed in the same room with Timmy and Joey in the bunk beds (and I suppose the double bed will eventually give way to another set of bunk beds), Andy is in a crib in his parents' room, and Lawrence and Eddie share a bedroom with 2 twin beds.  Where has Frank been sleeping since Lawrence came back home?  Wasn't he under the dining room table in the pilot?  He's clearly not doing that anymore.

They either need one of those bunks with a double on the bottom and a single bunk on top for Frank in the younger boys' room or they need a bunk bed in Eddie and Lawrence's room, to make room for Frank.  Then, if everyone is still living at home when Andy leaves the crib, they put two bunk beds in the older boys' room and Joey moves in there, Timmy moves up to Joey's spot, Will moves over to Timmy's lower bunk, and Andy shares with Pat.

I have been thinking on this myself- not to mention there is a couch, so why was Frank under the dining table?  

[Angeltoes]

16 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

(And Joey's amusement during their fight was perfect.)

Yes, it was!  It was clearly "Whoa, this is gettin' good!"

 

Joey:  I know people.  Mike:  In court they're called accomplices.

and...

Joey:  I don't want to go to jail.  Mike:  No, you don't want to go to jail.  There are better ways to hear Johnny Cash for free.

 

I was about Joey's age in '72 and I would've definitely been crushing on him.  Eddie Haskell types were always my downfall.  My guess is that the principal of their Catholic school had the Cleary phone number memorized.

[xander874]

On 1/15/2019 at 9:24 PM, festivus said:

I loved the Mexican TV dinners. Next time I go to the store I'm gonna see if they still make them.

I haven't seen them in that form for a while. Lots of Mexican options, but not the same. I loved the nasty cheese enchiladas!

On 1/15/2019 at 10:48 PM, RollingStone23 said:

Pat is the cutest! 

He is! There is something about little kids in oversized glasses that is so adorable to me.

I loved the visuals of Timmy and the lead girl in the musical, with her towering over him and him kissing her chin. I also liked the water effects Frank came up with - glad they have developed him past being a brown noser. I was worried they would go the route of having Frank crush on Wendi. Then I thought he would go after the soccer girl. Neither happened, although I wouldn't mind them exploring a soccer girl thing relationship - it would be interesting to see the family react to an interracial romance.

[Bteam]

5 hours ago, xander874 said:

Neither happened, although I wouldn't mind them exploring a soccer girl thing relationship - it would be interesting to see the family react to an interracial romance.

Lawrence would be obnoxiously pleased. 

[zillabreeze]

20 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

Joey:  I know people.  Mike:  In court they're called accomplices.

and...

Joey:  I don't want to go to jail.  Mike:  No, you don't want to go to jail.  There are better ways to hear Johnny Cash for free.

Loved those lines, and Mike's matter of fact delivery!

 

On 1/16/2019 at 12:46 PM, Rockstar99435 said:

This show is really good at giving everyone a chance to be the focus of an episode, and even when a character is only in the B or C plot, there's still character development going on. A lot of authors who write about large families fall into the trap of giving each kid character one defining detail and then never developing the character passed that, until the characters become boring cardboard cutouts. But here, everyone is becoming well-rounded.

Excellent post and observations.  Seeing the first previews, I really expected this show to be gimmicky and formulaic.  So very pleasantly surprised at the thoughtful and creative writing.  It's def number one for me in the comedy genre.

[possibilities]

I think I've had more than enough of watching people be stupid about interracial dating, but I could see these parents being really upset about it if any of the kids date someone who isn't Catholic.

[Ilovepie]

Oh this show. Once again, Joey is my favorite. When he rode up on that scissor lift I died. All the Godfather stuff was gold.

I also laughed at the surfer on the river - "I filmed this at the beach".  And soccer girl's disgust at Timmy singing "Old Man River". Ha! So not right, but so funny.

I like that in Mom's mind, food = love.  My grandmother was the same way. My favorite TV Dinner was the Turkey one because it had the apple crisp :-p

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, Ilovepie said:

Oh this show. Once again, Joey is my favorite. When he rode up on that scissor lift I died. All the Godfather stuff was gold.

Loved the brother trying Joey's whistle ring and the door closing in the other little brother's face. 

[SmithW6079]

On 1/17/2019 at 3:18 PM, possibilities said:

I think I've had more than enough of watching people be stupid about interracial dating, but I could see these parents being really upset about it if any of the kids date someone who isn't Catholic.

Except this is the 1970s, so interracial dating would be very much a big thing. Just because history makes us uncomfortable doesn't mean we should ignore it. Lawrence would be all liberal about it, but the parents would probably have an issue with it at first, but I think they would come around. 

On 1/16/2019 at 1:46 PM, Rockstar99435 said:

"I'm good at important things...like algebra and penm[a]nship." And with that, Frank became my new favorite character. This was such a great episode for Frank. I loved him standing up to the Mom and advocating for himself. The Dad vs Joey was gold. I loved the Dad confessing to cheating as he was leaving the tree house with "It's okay. It's astronaut rules." 

Frank was becoming my favorite even before this. Maybe I identify with him a little -- follows the rules, does the right thing, even if he's a bit of a prick sometimes, but he gets overlooked because he doesn't make waves. 

I thought it was interesting that when Peggy accuses him of being involved in the play because of the girls, he was, "Ew! No!" I wonder if that's foreshadowing or just that he was more intrigued by the engineering/design challenges. 

While the "hell, yeah!" moment was Frank telling off Peggy, to me the most poignant was at the end, when he gives Peggy the program and says, "They put my name in there." There's the slightest catch the actor puts in Frank's voice that speaks volumes -- he's finally been recognized for something he did. Lawrence is the ex-seminary student finding himself; Eddie is the jock; Joey is the operator; Timmy, the showman; William, the smart one; Pat, the cute one; and the baby. There's nothing that sets Frank apart.

I wonder if his rant at Peggy will induce her to take steps outside her world, like learning how to drive.  (And speaking of driving, how many cars does the family have, just the one that Dad drives to work?)

I don't like the direction they're taking with Joey. While I appreciated the spoof of "Godfather," Joey's gone beyond just the mischevious neighborhood "operator" to out and out felon.

When were they doing this play? The girls (except for Wendy) were in their school uniforms, which would imply they were in classes. Maybe it's summer school?

I have to give props to the girl playing Magnolia -- she had the singing voice down perfect for a female singer in the vaudeville era.

Edited to add: In a family of eight boys, shouldn't the older ones (Lawrence, Eddie, Frank, Joey, Timmy) all have assigned chores? So far, they've made it seem like Frank does everything. We've seen Eddie be the go-to guy for watching the baby, but that's it.

Edited January 22, 2019 by SmithW6079

[biakbiak]

On 1/21/2019 at 8:53 PM, SmithW6079 said:

Lawrence would be all liberal about it, but the parents would probably have an issue with it at first, but I think they would come around. 

Mike didn’t seem to mind that Lawrence was seeing an Asian woman in the first episode. 

[Cowgirl]

On 1/16/2019 at 9:07 AM, zillabreeze said:

Does anybody think Mike is the reincarnation of Brian Keith? 

Yes! He reminds me of Brian Keith too. I've seen this actor pop up in a ton of things ever since he dated Donna in Beverly Hills 90210. It's nice to see him get a leading role in something.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Cowgirl

[dcalley]

On 1/16/2019 at 12:54 AM, AnnaRose said:

Seafood Fart! 

Seafood Seat Noise!

Timmy: You have been one of my harshest critics. You and that smug second grader who writes those reviews for the school paper.

Frank: Well she's a hack!