Not only is Adam eyeing another girl, but Amber Tamblyn’s father, Russ, guest stars.
(Remember, West Side Story and all that? That’s him!!)
I thought I told you to stop watching my TV shows!
And Monk’s on tonight, too. Yay!
Hey, I gave up on Trading Spaces when Vern went MIA…
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Ivylad wanted to go out and get a bite to eat. I duly set the VCR to record Joan, because I didn’t think we’d be back in time.
We ate at Long John Silver’s, went to Kash & Karry for some odds and ends, then went to his sisters’ houses to drop off roses from Ivylad for Valentine’s Day. (Yes, he’s a good brother.)
On our way home I suddenly dropped my head in my hands and groaned. I had set the VCR, but I had forgotten to tell the Dish to tune to CBS.
So, instead of Joan, I recorded The Factor with Bill O’Reilly. (Yes, we watch Fox News.)
So, pretty please, may I have a recap?
:ivylass goes off to bang her head against a wall:
Wow! That was a good show.
This is the 1st time I’ve seen this series, is it always this good?
Ivy, try downloading a copy via bittorrents. NovaSearch is a good place to look.
As for the episode, I thought it was subpar on some levels. Everything seemed too forced for me, the resolutions too pat. Didn’t like it.
Okay, ivylass, let’s see:
The recurring theme of the episode was everybody getting all tense and wigging out.
Will was looking through a crackhouse, pulled his gun on a little girl, wigged out, temporarily put himself on leave, yelled at his wife, decided to get counseling for PTSD, and reconciled with Helen at the end.
Luke was acting all pissy for no apparent reason, wigged out and yelled at Kevin for always picking on him, said he was glad when he first heard Kevin couldn’t walk after the accident, and sort of reconciled with him at the end.
God told Joan to work with kids. Joan and Adam met Iris – who has the most annoying voice I have ever heard on television, so I hate her – who volunteers at a shelter where they take care of abused children. Joan signed up as another volunteer. Adam got tickets to a White Stripes concert for him and Joan, Joan had to work that night and couldn’t go, Adam took Iris. Which really upset and confused Joan, which in turn confused Adam.
Joan finds out that Iris won’t let the kids build a piñata to play with, so she helps them build one. Iris walks in on the kids beating the piñata and wigs out, because apparently her dad beat her and her mother with a stick just like the kids use. I thought this totally came out of left field and was completely unbelievable, and the horrible actress with her GHRHGHRHAHHRGH voice didn’t help sell it at all.
At the end Little Girl God tells Joan that everybody’s got resentment and pettiness that they carry around, but they have the choice to put it down. Or something. I’m sorry, I was so pissed off that Adam likes this annoying twit Iris so much, all of a sudden, much too suddenly, so much that he’s holding her hand at the end and forgetting about Joan, that I’m blanking on the moral of the episode.
Help, somebody?
Oh, and I was so disappointed that Russ Tamblyn got about 90 seconds of screen time as Dog-walking God. Hopefully he’ll come back!
Yes, and that’s also how I felt when Luke kissed Glenys last week.
Yay Doctor Jacoby! I mean, Russ Tamblyn!
I’m glad that Adam is going with someone else. When he and Joan kissed in that earlier episode, I was completely unmoved. It felt too quick. They need to be apart at least a few episodes longer … maybe not even until next season.
NCB, I can’t believe you’ve missed so many episodes. Get caught up. NOW!
I still want to know what the deal is with that nutcase of a chem teacher.
The Girardi family was having quite the meltdown tonight. I loved Joan’s carrying-on in the kitchen at her mom, though.
I’d been wondering when Luke might flip out. He was always the quiet one, but he certainly was coming to a boil and tonight it came out all over Kevin.
I didn’t like tonight’s episode much either, especially Iris. I hope she doesn’t last long. Completely unbelieveable acting. Then again, the script didn’t give her much to work with. And yes, her voice was unbearable.
Yeah, definitely not one of their best episodes.
The woman playing Iris can’t act her way out of a paper bag – the scene where she came in and found them with the pinata totally didn’t work. Of course, it probably should have been sent back to the writers one more time, too.
I liked the bit where Joan’s mother started ragging on Iris in class, then kind of “oops!” backed off again when she realized what she was doing.
One thing that’s starting to get on my nerves about the show as a whole – does the whole look of the show have to be so friggin’ DARK all the time? Yeah, I get the whole point of visual style, but Jesus, people, would it kill you to turn on a light? Or let people go outside on a sunny day?
I so missed his character in TP-Fire Walk With Me!
Hey Rik, can you tell me about torrents? Are they reputable? I’m not going to download a virus or anything, am I?
I must have just blocked out the Iris voice, because I didn’t really notice it; I’ll have to pay more attention next week, I guess.
This was such a heavy episode and definitely not a happy one. 
I’m not buying into the oh-so-quick clicking of Adam and Iris, even though they seem to have a lot more in common than Adam and Jane; there’s no real spark there, at least imo. And I think there’s something more behind Luke’s moodiness than resentment and anger about Kevin. Part of it is the Glynnis-Grace thing and part is also how much he’s ignored or taken for granted as being the “normal” one - that is, the child they don’t have to worry about much! Excellent job by Michael Welsh too. 
According to this week’s TV Guide, Chris Marquette (Adam) is now a regular cast member, even though he’s being listed in the credits as “special guest star.”
Love seeing the relationship between the Girardi parents too–it’s great to see a real adult relationship! Oh yes, I do -not- like Iris; and the actress…? I’ll only say that imo Amber can act circles around her.
That was my favorite part of this episode.
I can’t help but think that, at some point, Joan is going to tell Adam about talking to God. Would that ruin the show’s dynamic if it happened?
God has warned her off from telling Adam, saying it’s not fair to burden him with things when he’s got enough to worry about.
Besides, would he believe her?
I was finally home for once on a Friday night but still missed it. I thought it came on at eight but it comes on at seven. Curse you, Central Time! I need tape stat, viva.
NCB, welcome to the fanclub. I didn’t see this episode but considering you did and thought it rocked, I can assure you that it’s always as good as this. If I weren’t such a partisan Trek fanboy, this would even be my favorite show instead of Enterprise.