# John from Cincinnati 6/24/07 - open spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277 "2007-06-25T02:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/21 "2007-06-26T03:00:17Z")
It would be illegal for anyone on the hospital staff to say anything to the media. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/22 "2007-06-26T03:01:26Z")
I forgot about them, the techs and lab staff. One way to keep the miracle away from the media would be if the staff decided that nobody would believe them, so they don’t talk. Doc can make sure nobody sees the hard evidence. The hospital administration might cooperate. They probably don’t want the hospital to be turned into a shrine. Anyways. I’d rather have news of the miracle get out, just to see where Milch takes it. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/23 "2007-06-26T04:10:53Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It would be illegal for anyone on the hospital staff to say anything to the media. [/QUOTE] Everyone always obeys the law. Especially in TV shows written by David Milch. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/24 "2007-06-27T15:17:36Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] What is wrong with Cissy? She screams profanity at everyone, even random people in the store, threatens to kill her husband in his bed, blasts Shaun’s father about neglecting him when Shaun can hear the whole thing… she just spews unpleasant, irrational meanness continuously. I could understand flipping out abuot Shaun’s injury, but she’s been clearly shown to be a crazy bitch before that ever happened. She doesn’t seem too fond of her husband, either, and I can’t see what he did to deserve such hate from her. If I were Mitch, I’d be jumping fences to get away from her too. She is so miserable. Whenever she’s onscreen, I’m wincing. [/QUOTE] Menopause? Just a thought… OK, this episode was just good enough to keep hanging around for a few more. I hope this isn’t going to be just a story about how a dysfunctional family became functional because of some mysterious stranger, but that does seem to be where it’s headed. I can’t stand the way everyone calls Butch “Butchie” and Shawn “Shawnie”, and how they often seem to use their last names, too. Butchie Yost… OK, we get it that their last name is Yost. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/25 "2007-06-28T18:33:21Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Loved that shot of Shaunie skateboarding. Who says the kid is wooden? Not when he’s moving, that’s for sure. [/QUOTE] He knows how to skateboard and surf. What he really doesn’t know how to do is act. At all. Kid can’t deliver a two word sentence that sounds natural. And it’s not just his delivery, he’s got an expressionless face. There’s enough to the show to keep me watching. Barely. But the lousy acting on this show (Shaun, Kai, Sissy…) is sure annoying. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/26 "2007-06-28T18:45:23Z")
[QUOTE=Yookeroo] What he really doesn’t know how to do is act. At all. Kid can’t deliver a two word sentence that sounds natural. And it’s not just his delivery, he’s got an expressionless face. [/QUOTE] Is it bad acting, or is the character supposed to be developmentally slow? If that is the case then the actor is a natural. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/27 "2007-06-28T18:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Menopause? Just a thought… OK, this episode was just good enough to keep hanging around for a few more. I hope this isn’t going to be just a story about how a dysfunctional family became functional because of some mysterious stranger, but that does seem to be where it’s headed. I can’t stand the way everyone calls Butch “Butchie” and Shawn “Shawnie”, and how they often seem to use their last names, too. Butchie Yost… OK, we get it that their last name is Yost. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and man. . .if I hear JFC say, “I don’t know butchie instead” one more friggin’ time. Follow me: So, he’s saying “some things I know. some things I don’t know.” So, Butchie knows it’s dumb sounding so he goes, “whenever you want to say ‘some things I know, some things I don’t know’, say, ‘I don’t know butchie’ instead.” So, JFC goes, “I don’t know butchie instead.” (ha ha) OK, Butchie corrected him the FIRST TIME. All it would take now is Butchie to say, “Whenever you want to say ‘I don’t know Butchie instead’, just say, ‘I don’t know’.” It worked the first time. Please say that to him. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/28 "2007-06-28T18:51:17Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > It seemed to suggest that he was an angel rather than an alien. Seems to me that the character’s initials are awfully suggestive: **J** ohn from **C** incinnati. Plus there’s a lot of walking on water happening in this show. And “baptism.” And people being brought back from the “dead.” And talk about the end being near. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/29 "2007-06-28T19:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=Yookeroo] He knows how to skateboard and surf. What he really doesn’t know how to do is act. At all. Kid can’t deliver a two word sentence that sounds natural. And it’s not just his delivery, he’s got an expressionless face. [/QUOTE] See, I don’t think he’s acting, or trying to act. I think he’s being himself. It works for me. Especially since he’s not changing, getting “better” at it. He reminds me a lot of my youngest son, whose normal voice is monotone. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/30 "2007-06-28T19:35:11Z")
In another thread about this show, someone was tracking whether John was saying something original, or was repeating what someone else said. So when he said that he wanted to “bone Kai”, was that an original statement, or was it something he heard someone say? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/31 "2007-06-28T21:19:24Z")
Bone Kai came from the first episode. Butchie said it. “The end is near” is original to John, and “Mitch needs to get back in the game.” There’s some speculation that he’s picking up on others’ thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/32 "2007-06-28T21:28:13Z")
The “see God” comment also came from someone else (Butch?), although John didn’t just repeat it exactly as it was said to him. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/33 "2007-06-28T22:01:15Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Seems to me that the character’s initials are awfully suggestive: **J** ohn from **C** incinnati. Plus there’s a lot of walking on water happening in this show. And “baptism.” And people being brought back from the “dead.” And talk about the end being near. [/QUOTE] If John is supposed to be a Christ figure, perhaps Shaun is supposed to be Lazarus. And perhaps the “end is near” doesn’t refer to the end of the world, but perhaps the end of the Yosts’ troubles. But I’m not yet convinced that the show is meant as religious allegory. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/34 "2007-06-29T03:07:27Z")
Just remembered another “tell.” In the most recent episode, Luke Perry’s character (seeing Shaun fully recovered) exclaims “Jesus Christ!” …and the camera immediately refocuses on a beatifically smiling **J** ohn from **C** incinnati. Of course, it could also be a purposeful misdirection by the writers. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/35 "2007-06-29T13:09:32Z")
John From Cincinnati sounds like a euphemism someone might say when they were trying to cut down on saying “Jesus Fucking Christ”. 🙂 I suppose there are only the two obvious possibilities for John - alien or angel. However, I’ll throw this idea out there: maybe he’s an _evil_ alien or an _evil_ angel. Or at least morally ambiguous or something. I think that would be interesting. What if a divine power truly contacts humanity, but it turns out to be something of a judgemental bastard? Sure, John _seems_ innocent … Ok, I got nothin’. Very odd show. I’ll watch another episode or two at least. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Venom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Lady\_Venom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Venom)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/36 "2007-06-29T16:31:44Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I can’t stand the way everyone calls Butch “Butchie” and Shawn “Shawnie”, and how they often seem to use their last names, too. Butchie Yost… OK, we get it that their last name is Yost. [/QUOTE] Say Butch Yost and Shawn Yost out loud. Sounds like Butchieost and Shawnieost to me. Maybe it’s kind of like a first-name-into-lastname kinda thing? That’s what I thought. Kinda like Butchy and Shawny with the Y being from Yost? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/37 "2007-06-29T17:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=Lady Venom] Say Butch Yost and Shawn Yost out loud. Sounds like Butchieost and Shawnieost to me. Maybe it’s kind of like a first-name-into-lastname kinda thing? That’s what I thought. Kinda like Butchy and Shawny with the Y being from Yost? [/QUOTE] Doesn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/38 "2007-07-09T07:07:29Z")
I thought I’d revice this to add my useless opinions. I think this series is a re-working of _Being There_ with John as Chauncey. Except that everybody gets he’s an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/39 "2007-07-09T16:13:13Z")
The last couple episodes have been disappointing, but I think I’d be happier with John if I didn’t keep comparing it to Deadwood. With Deadwood, I’d watch the 9 p.m. showing and watch again two hours later, and two or three times during the week, and then I bought the DVDs and watched again. The mystery surrounding John is compelling, but there’s nothing going on with the other characters that interests me (except maybe Cunningham and Dr. Smith). Every single character in Deadwood could have had a show of their own. You wondered what they were doing when you weren’t watching. These JFC folks are just props for John. I don’t care about any of them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277/40 "2007-07-09T16:16:35Z")
I especially don’t like Sissy. She’s just a royal pain in the ass. I’m rapidly losing interest. Last night’s episode did absolutely nothing for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-from-cincinnati-6-24-07-open-spoilers/409277.md?page=3)