[QUOTE=sturmhauke]
I’m not sure I buy the kissing through plastic wrap bit, but I’m willing to go with it. I wonder if they’ll take it to its logical, kinky fetishwear conclusion…
[/QUOTE]
What really makes it kinky (in a very morbid way) is that Chuck was originally strangled with a plastic bag.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
I guess I am doomed to be out-of-step even with those I am mostly in-step with, because I found this the least satisfying ep yet. True, there were loads of good bits, but a couple of things really bothered me.
The biggest thing was that Chuck slamming the coffin lid was so potentially dangerous. After she had wasted most of a minute in a previous ep, I wonder how much longer they can risk bringing her along. Yeah, she’s damn cute, but not cute enough to excuse that!
And even for an incredibly over-the-top show I thought the bit about the chinese civil war guy being mistaken/accepted for a dead reb officer was too extreme. So I didn’t see the reason for making the grandson oriental, other than to be cute and wacky.
Was there ever any follow-up on the anti-depressant drops in the pie Olive and the aunts ate? Or are we just supposed to accept that the homeopathic remedies are snake oil and their peddler a charlatan?
And - um - I know this is really too silly of me, but I used to fence a bit, and I had trouble with that scene for a couple of reasons. Not only was that fencing completely different from what one would do with a civil war hanger/sabre, but they were WAY too accomplished for rank amateurs.
Yeah, these are all nits, but in my mind this ep had an excessive number of them.
Of course, I’ll keep watching if for no reason other than to see if they can make Olive’s dresses any shorter…
[/QUOTE]
I didn’t mind the Chinese guy but I thought it was silly, too. I really hated Chuck slamming the coffin lid, that was extremely stupid and I wanted Ned to touch her for that. Did I miss her being apologetic for that at all? This is what annoys me about her, she keeps inserting herself into these situations and then mucking them up and never apologizing or changing her ways. If anything she just keeps interrogating Ned and giving him a hard-time about his side-business and trying to lay guilt trips on him. By the way, how did she get into the mortuary?
I like Olive but I am finding her neediness of Ned a bit annoying, too.
[QUOTE=Wile E]
IDid I miss her being apologetic for that at all? This is what annoys me about her, she keeps inserting herself into these situations and then mucking them up and never apologizing or changing her ways.
[/QUOTE]
Right you are. No apology or any recognition that what she did was incredibly irresponsible. She just smiles, and Ned just seems to think everything is okay - I guess due to the strength of his childhood love for her and his guilt over her daddy’s death. And then he keeps bringing her along where she can fuck things up again, despite his partner’s terribly clear wishes and better judgment.
[QUOTE=D_Odds]
This is only the third episode (assuming I am counting correctly). I’m pretty sure (but not completely sure) the script was written and shot well before ABC was aware of any reaction to the aunts, unless the reaction you are referring to are test audiences and studio execs.
[/QUOTE]
No, I think this is more like Martin Sheen on The West Wing – they liked the roles and the producer liked them in the show, so the show was rewritten to add them as recurring characters (Sheen was originally supposed to be in only a quarter of the episodes).
Remember, the aunts were going to leave the house and go out into the world in the first episode (probably never to be seen on the show again), but they changed their minds in this one.
Chuck was becoming quite annoying, but once she discovered that someone had died to keep her alive, she seems to tone it down.
The show has made it to my favorites list after this third episode. The swordfight was just BRILLIANT! And the southern guy was …well, pure genius. The plastic wrap kissing was sweet (and I’m an insensitive guy) and I just like the way they handle the no-touching thing.
Great show.
My first thought on the plastic wrap kissing was “How can he breathe?” My second thought was trying to figure out how they could have sex. Definitely a case of one condom not being anywhere near enough!
[QUOTE=Aesiron]
This was the first episode I watched and I loved it.
[/QUOTE]
Me too; I’ll be watching again. I wish I’d seen the earlier episodes, but I’m hoping that they’ll be repeated.
I hope no one has mentioned this before: I felt that I had seen this before, and it took a few moments to sink in. The overall tone reminds me of those Walgreen commercials of the perfect town where nothing goes wrong, right down to the voice over narration. If they ever schedule one of those ads, it will be very hard to tell where the show ends and the commercial begins.
You can watch the episodes on abc.com
I couldn’t help but think as the town as Pine Cove, CA, from the Christopher Moore books.
My wife also finds Chuck incredibly annoying, frequently stating that he wishes the Piemaker would touch her. Of course, if there was somebody who could kill me by touching me, I doubt I would be within a hundred miles of that guy. Still, I really like the show.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
I guess I am doomed to be out-of-step even with those I am mostly in-step with, because I found this the least satisfying ep yet. True, there were loads of good bits, but a couple of things really bothered me.
The biggest thing was that Chuck slamming the coffin lid was so potentially dangerous. After she had wasted most of a minute in a previous ep, I wonder how much longer they can risk bringing her along. Yeah, she’s damn cute, but not cute enough to excuse that!
And even for an incredibly over-the-top show I thought the bit about the chinese civil war guy being mistaken/accepted for a dead reb officer was too extreme. So I didn’t see the reason for making the grandson oriental, other than to be cute and wacky.
Was there ever any follow-up on the anti-depressant drops in the pie Olive and the aunts ate? Or are we just supposed to accept that the homeopathic remedies are snake oil and their peddler a charlatan?
And - um - I know this is really too silly of me, but I used to fence a bit, and I had trouble with that scene for a couple of reasons. Not only was that fencing completely different from what one would do with a civil war hanger/sabre, but they were WAY too accomplished for rank amateurs.
Yeah, these are all nits, but in my mind this ep had an excessive number of them.
Of course, I’ll keep watching if for no reason other than to see if they can make Olive’s dresses any shorter…
[/QUOTE]
I think you’re being too analytical. This is a show, after all, where a guy can bring people back to life…but only for a minute…or something else dies. If you accept that, you need to be more open to all the other quirkiness. I loved the Chinese Southern guy!
So it seems there’s some sort of correlation between what survives and what dies. In the thread about the first episode, I wondered how he was bringing all the dead fruit back to life for his pies…it showed in this episode that weeds die. Bringing lightning bugs back to life means a spider dies. Digby survives, but a squirrel dies (and squirrels died when the frogs were revived.)
So, I guess we can assume plant = plant, animal = animal, insect = insect, human = human.
[QUOTE=ivylass]
I think you’re being too analytical. This is a show, after all, where a guy can bring people back to life…but only for a minute…or something else dies. If you accept that, you need to be more open to all the other quirkiness. I loved the Chinese Southern guy!
So it seems there’s some sort of correlation between what survives and what dies. In the thread about the first episode, I wondered how he was bringing all the dead fruit back to life for his pies…it showed in this episode that weeds die. Bringing lightning bugs back to life means a spider dies. Digby survives, but a squirrel dies (and squirrels died when the frogs were revived.)
So, I guess we can assume plant = plant, animal = animal, insect = insect, human = human.
[/QUOTE]
Minor nitpick - it was Birds that died for the frogs - counted 6 falls but they only showed 3 bodies.
The Spider dieing was a possible ‘one off’ since in his experiments the closest jar of fireflies died.
Otherwise, your equation is correct - insect/insect - plant for plant - animal for animal.
Ed wanted to be a Jedi, the other guy was the master swordsman of his re-enactment group.
[QUOTE=simster]
Ed wanted to be a Jedi, the other guy was the master swordsman of his re-enactment group.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. That was a brilliantly funny explanation for their crazy skill. And the whole Errol Flynn hommage was just the cherry ontop.
[QUOTE=simster]
Ed wanted to be a Jedi, the other guy was the master swordsman of his re-enactment group.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I caught that. But having tried a little swordplay for a year or so, I recall how incredibly difficult even the simplest parries can be - especially at speed and against an uncooperative opponent. No matter how much he wanted to be a jedi, after his initial two-handed “en garde”, he reverted to some pretty standard fencing. And if the other guy was a “master” of civil war sword play, that would generally involve hacking at people while on horseback.
Ivy - It is funny, isn’t it, how you can watch/read/enjoy fantasy and accept a whole string of impossibilities, but then come upon one or two things that make you say, “I don’t buy that!”
I didn’t think my question about the drugs in the pie was overly analytical. Fantasy or not, the story should have internal continuity. That’s not an accpetable quirk, just bad writing.
And regarding the pie-man’s continued adoration of Chuck despite her repeated and unrepentant reckless behavior, IMO even in fantasy the characters need to have believable emotions, motivations, and reactions.
I don’t think they’ve answered one way or the other on the affectiveness of the drug in the pie - I think we are meant to imply from the smiles that started to appear that they would have a positive affect - and it could’ve just been really good pie.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
Ivy - It is funny, isn’t it, how you can watch/read/enjoy fantasy and accept a whole string of impossibilities, but then come upon one or two things that make you say, “I don’t buy that!”
[/QUOTE]
You are right. But there’s so many quirky funny things about this show I’m willing to let some of the stuff slide.
Ivylad was most concerned when Chuck slammed the coffin shut and Emerson started running. He said, “If they kill him off, I’m never watching this show again.”
A cynical private investigator who knits. I love it.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
…
And regarding the pie-man’s continued adoration of Chuck despite her repeated and unrepentant reckless behavior, IMO even in fantasy the characters need to have believable emotions, motivations, and reactions.
[/QUOTE]
Nah, I buy that that. She is lovely, generally nice and his childhood sweetheart. She is also sweet and caring, but not as cloyingly clingy as Olive, who comes off a little scary. He is responsible for her being alive and for accidentally killing her father all those years ago. He has apparently lived very much alone for 2 decades, all but abandoned by his dad. I buy his unswerving attachment to her. He loves her and probably has for 20 years. He also apparently feels responsible for her and her well-being. He wants her to be happy.
In the pilot we found out she led a very sheltered life, as much taking care of her aunts as her aunts took care of her. She died on the first big trip of her life. She apparently never attended college and her closest companions were two eccentric aunts. I do not think her reckless behavior is all that out of character.
Jim
[QUOTE=What Exit?]
Nah, I buy that that. She is lovely, generally nice and his childhood sweetheart. She is also sweet and caring, but not as cloyingly clingy as Olive, who comes off a little scary. He is responsible for her being alive and for accidentally killing her father all those years ago. He has apparently lived very much alone for 2 decades, all but abandoned by his dad. I buy his unswerving attachment to her. He loves her and probably has for 20 years. He also apparently feels responsible for her and her well-being. He wants her to be happy.
In the pilot we found out she led a very sheltered life, as much taking care of her aunts as her aunts took care of her. She died on the first big trip of her life. She apparently never attended college and her closest companions were two eccentric aunts. I do not think her reckless behavior is all that out of character.
Jim
[/QUOTE]
It was at that moment, 14 Hours, 10 minutes after the show had aired that the perfect explanation for Chuck’s behaviour was granted.
[QUOTE=What Exit?]
In the pilot we found out she led a very sheltered life, as much taking care of her aunts as her aunts took care of her. She died on the first big trip of her life. She apparently never attended college and her closest companions were two eccentric aunts. I do not think her reckless behavior is all that out of character.
Jim
[/QUOTE]
You forgot that she died. That might make one a little eccentric.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
Yeah, I caught that. But having tried a little swordplay for a year or so, I recall how incredibly difficult even the simplest parries can be - especially at speed and against an uncooperative opponent. No matter how much he wanted to be a jedi, after his initial two-handed “en garde”, he reverted to some pretty standard fencing. And if the other guy was a “master” of civil war sword play, that would generally involve hacking at people while on horseback.
[/quote]
The show is not intended to be realistic, and if that bothers you, watch something else. If you want everything real, stick with Sixty Minutes.
Nothing bad about it. It’s purely a setup for a later episode. Not everything has to be neatly resolved in an hour.
And it’s unbelievable that someone loves someone what has some behavior traits you don’t like? Have you ever been an a long-term relationship? When you’re smitten, then you’re willing to accept some iffy behavior; that’s a fact of human relationships (take a look at “Dear Abby” for proof).
[QUOTE=Plynck]
I hope no one has mentioned this before: I felt that I had seen this before, and it took a few moments to sink in. The overall tone reminds me of those Walgreen commercials of the perfect town where nothing goes wrong, right down to the voice over narration. If they ever schedule one of those ads, it will be very hard to tell where the show ends and the commercial begins.
[/QUOTE]
It reminds me a lot of Big Fish, personally.