This is the one thing that irks me about this show. The writers don’t care to actually research their “geeky” subjects, like math, and we end up watching scenes that really only look “smart” to complete idiots. I mean, the prof actually SAID “show me that the square of the hypoteneuse is equal to the sum of the other two sides, squared” and she couldn’t even scribble that down. Add to that the fact that the statement isn’t even correct, as that would imply (b+c)^2, but whatever. The writers remember how scared they were in grade 7 when they had to do math, and project that to everyone else, regardless of age, academic level, or “geekiness”. It’s all horrible buzzwords and meaningless contexts. At the LEAST get a copy of some sort of school curriculum and pick buzzwords taken from there, please?? Or hire some kid with grade 12 math and chemistry, because this show desperately needs it!
Sorry for the rant. I still love this show, despite all that! I don’t want Kevin to be cured either. I’m hoping they will use these small changes in sensation (I mean, even Christopher Reeves feels SOME things in certain spots) and use it to make Kevin believe that one day, there might be a cure, and so he’ll work towards that and be happier. Enough recovery to encourage hope, but not a full cure.
I love that Joan and Adam are back together again, but I gotta wonder how long this can go on…will he become in on it (the whole God thing)? I’m eager to see where they will go with it, since hopefully they have many more seasons to work with!
Ugh. I realize I might be the only one who didn’t hate ---- and doesn’t want ----- to happen but I really do not like this happening so soon. It’s all in the slow build, people.
I had a HITG! moment when Richard walked in. I don’t know the actor’s name, but he’s played two stalkers on Law and Order…the second time, he married his stalkee!!
I really wish Joan would tone down the attitude toward God a bit. I’m not a xian, but even I cringe sometimes at her snotty tone.
I don’t like Joan being so bad at so many things either…drum playing, debating, math. Although she is good at boat-building.
I love the interaction between Will and Helen. Helen seemed very believable when she denied knowing who Richard was.
Yay, Grace again! More, please. I’m also hoping the Joan/Adam thing isn’t quite smooth-sailing. Maybe Iris will be around for a few more episodes, even if it’s to glare from afar.
It will be interesting to see how the whole Kevin-second opinion thing turns out. Surely the doctor would have warned him that spotty sensation is not a sign of a recovery? And go Bear for maintaining hope!! Good for him! His is the right attitude, I think.
Damn CBS for teasing us…a new episode, then nothing for nearly a month. Still, I guess they have to save some stuff for May sweeps.
I haven’t participated in these threads, since I just recently discovered Joan, so maybe some of my comments have been talked to death here. I for one like that she’s snarky towards god. She’s a 16 year old hormon bomb with Issues (intended capital i). God does indeed move in mysterious ways and I like how it actually work along with the big, ineffible plan about free will, good vs evil ASF. I like that god has a sense of humor and he did pick Joan for a reason. I think god is enjoying himself and from my gnostic POV, I think he prefers snarkiness from Joan, as compared to piousness (is that a word?) from priests.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen teens portrayed so true to life in any tv show. The awkwards silences, the bumbling way, the feeling of being in opposition with the whole world, the way a smallish thing can get so totally blown out of proportion. I hate that the geeky son wears glasses. I think the tv/movie shorthand of saying ‘nerd’ by putting glasses on them is very old, and even though I can feel Kevin’s angst, I have a hard time feeling sympathy for him - the boy really needs someone to smack him and tell him to wise up.
I liked the episode, but I didn’t like Adam and Joan together. It was just too sweet and didn’t feel right for the tone of the show. The acting between them was superb though,
As you watch more Joan, you will see that Luke hardly needs glasses to establish his nerdiness. He won a contest and got a scholarship into MIT, plus he was more interested in recovering a frisbee than looking at girls.
Kevin has become more of a jerk in later episodes, which I think started with the shoplifting incident, and continued with the dismissive way he treated Cute Reporter Girl (aka, Sydney Portier’s daughter, and why can I never remember her name? Rebecca?) and the time he kept punching everyone. I think it makes him a more well-rounded character, and OMG, it breaks my heart sometimes, how much he looks like his dad.
I agree with you about the interaction and the writing of the characters. My favorite is the moose/elk discussion Luke had with Kevin…classic! This is a beautiful show, in the characters, the writing, even the lighting. Sitting down Friday nights at 8pm is like diving into a vat of Ben and Jerry’s…pure treat!
Hey, mnemosyne, thanks for that post. I thought I was the only one who noticed!
On an episode awhile back, Joan’s brother writes, for the science fair, a computer program… THAT PROVES THE HEISENBERG UNCERTAINITY PRINCIPLE DOES NOT EXSIST!
And what the hell is so god damn special about a “rail gun”?
Wow, it is good to get this off my chest. My friend watches this show with me and I can not stand the parts when they begin to throw around random math and science terms.
Oh, and in the last episode, what in the world was he saying about ratios are equal to music? I could not hear him but I really wanted to laugh.
So, there was a new episode last night? Not here in Atlanta, pal – we got a one-hour special about Georgia goddamn Tech. Effin’ great. I had assumed that Joan wasn’t back yet.
What is it about college sports that makes local affiliates preempt network shows? Reminds me of when I was living in Lubbock, Texas in the late 70’s. “MAS*H” was on – a new episode. Ten minutes in, the local CBS affiliate breaks in and pre-empts the remaining twenty minutes so that they can show, live, the signing in of a new coach at Texas Tech.
I like “Joan”, but some of the half-baked science stuff has ticked me off, too. It’s not like the research would be hard to do. (Checking out an actual high school might be a good place to start.)
Note that, in the real world (where, as far as I know, there is no God), people do very occasionally recover from such injuries. Have there been any more farting incidents?
In 1995 I had a brain injury, I understand what it is like being disabled. It’s hard not to be a asshole when you cannot do the things that you used to do. I was able to walk again after a year and I have achieved more now than I ever achieved before I was brain damaged. I made several friends that had spinal cord injuries, one cannot imagine what it takes to face each day in this condition. I was intrigued watching Kevin make a life, learn to drive, get a job, have a girl friend. People in Kevin’s postion are vulnerable, my friends have told me sometimes they feel and it gives them hope. I’ve seen people look for second opinions and find a doctor that will tell them what they want to hear. There is always a “quack” that will sell you hope until your money and insurance runs out.
It is very interesting that Kevin lives in a house with guns. I was friends with a young man with a spinal cord injury when I was hospitalized. I saw him about 2 years later in 1997, he was doing well, everyone was so proud of him. He could feel his toes, he could hold himself up on crutches, and had much hope. There were guns in the house where he lived. I drove 75 miles to attend his funeral two years ago, it was closed casket.
Joan is in tears in nearly every ep. these days. Poor gal.
There was a lot going on, but it didn’t seem nearly as gimmicky this time as a few previous eps had been. Aesiron, if you’re in here, I got it on tape.
In the scene when Joan first starts playing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, there is no way she suddenly gets that much better, and adds in perfect LH chords, just by “feeling” it. That bugged me.
When the teacher explains about the Gm triad, and Joan suddenly realizes that “the ratios are the same” or whatever… that honestly didn’t make any sense. Even if she did notice some kind of connection between triangles and chords, it doesn’t mean she’ll be able to play it perfectly all of a sudden.
At the end when God says, and I paraphrase, “He has the note now, he’ll play it when the time is right,” did anyone else feel like a metaphor was being shoved down their throat?
Exactly. He’s been established as a geek other ways, so the glasses weren’t necessary after about two or three episodes. And I do agree that all the math and science “buzzwords” are annoying. Also, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed that what the teacher said would be (a+b)[sup]2[/sup]=c[sup]2[/sup], which is incorrect.
BTW, isn’t this this first time we’ve seen Joan in any class besides Chemistry?
I mean,no disrespect to your friend, but what exactly are you implying? That he committed suicide? That there was an accident? That the guns themselves crept out of their drawer and killed someone?
For the record, I think the Girardi children have probably been drilled on gun safety since they were little. Furthermore if Kevin becomes THAT despondent over his disability then whether he has access to guns is completely irrelevant.
I, too had a friend I went to high school with, whose family were STRONGLY anti-gun and would never allow such things anywhere near their house. Unfortunately, they weren’t anti-alcohol and my friend died of alcohol poisoning after a particularly intense depression-inspired drinking binge.
Chris W
PS BTW I hope Kevin is cured for the series finale, hopefully several years from now. Also, I hope they keep Adam and Joan together indefinitely.
riserius1, for the record, my freind comitted suicide. In high school he had been a star baseball player, being confined to a wheel chair got the best of him. At 20 it’s a hard thing to face. I know that he began drinking heavily, too. That probably would have killed him, I’m militant about temerance, too. When they brought me home, all of my guns were gone. Look at my location, I was an avid hunter. I am told that, while we were away, someone broke into our home and stole them. Just the guns, not the TV, stereo, or computer. Guns are a convenient way to kill yourself, there are others. Once my wife caught me getting into the bathtub with a window fan. I do volunter work with disabled people, everytime a paraplegic gets an itch someplace they haven’t felt in years, and it happens, they feel they will walk again. There are people in the world waiting to take advantage of this hope, too, and they should be flayed. If the story remains true to life, and so far it has, Kevin will live a full and rewarding life in a wheelchair, this will be a true miracle.
The season premier had her in “french” class. I use quotes, because the teacher clearly had never spoken a word of french in her life, until the script for this show was presented to her. And yet they gave her a horrible accent to pretend that maybe she did speak french in front of “le classe”.
Seriously, with all the flaws in this show, I’m amazed I like it as much as I do!
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