*Ok, my tape and I both missed the “previously on” section plus the what I surmise was the first minute or so. So I’m not sure that this was the title of the episode, and I’m too lazy to look. But I’d bet a dollar that it was, since it could apply to not only the egg thing but also the theme throughout of balance.
Overall, I really liked this episode. I thought it was going to play pure goofy but the gunshots and WW lockdown was a good counterpoint. Even the phone call with the fictional Russian president was played a bit for comedy.
I thought that Ms. Federer (sp?) clobbering everyone at cards by just betting $50 each time was a bit unrealistic.
What was up with Chandler Bing interviewing for a job? Is he going to move permanently to West Wing, or just a part time gig? I thought he did okay, but toward the end he was smirking just a bit too much.
Still don’t feel any chemistry between Charlie and Zoe, sorry there.
Finally, I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t consult Cecil on the egg and equinox thing. I’d have fallen over if there had been a Straight Dope mention on the show. But alas, alack, t’was not to be. Especially since Uncle Cecil would have screwed with Sorkin’s premise. Can’t let truth stand in the way of a good fiction, I suppose.
I’m sure there’s some other stuff, but someone else will either cover them or I’ll get back to it.
I caught the last 30 minutes. With all of these re runs I forget it’s on. I need TiVo.
What caught my eye was the previews for next week. Is Hoynes really going to resign or is that just a scare? Some of my favorite episodes are with him. I love the tension between Bartlett and Hoynes.
It looks like the title of the episode was “Evidence of Things Not Seen”.
According to the commercial I saw last week, Matthew Perry will guest star on this and the next three episodes. I have to admit, he did a lot better than I expected. I love him on Friends, but haven’t seen anything else he was good in. But he was good in this, I thought.
Apparently, though they didn’t cite Cecil about the egg, they did cite the Bad Astronomer. Oh, and the Equinox does not occur at midnight.
The majority of the “previously on” segment was about Charlie and Zoe’s past relationship. Obviously this is going to be a major plot point in this arc.
Perry apparently is a big West Wing fan and offered/asked to play a guest part on the series.
Yup. The quote from CJ was directly from my egg standing page. Kewwwwwwl.
I got a phone call from my dad, and then my sister, around 7 o’clock my time; they are on the east coast and saw it three hours before it was on locally for me. My agent called me too.
BTW, there is an astronomer featured in the Volkswagen Driver magazine I got yesterday. Sort of more an astronomer in training, but still seems astronomers are all the rage.
I enjoyed the episode but felt that Donna and Josh were just a bit over the top. I really felt that their exchanges about a new Ainsley and how “other people” would find Mathew Perry attractive but not her, were just goofy and not like Donna at all.
I also thought that they for sure would have to quote Cecil on the equinox egg thing, they were using an internet search engine, for gum’s sake! Not a mention. *hrumph!!
I did like Josh M.'s line to C.J. about not being able to fine any supporters of her theory on the internet, “Gotta wonder how far from the norm you’ve strayed to not find a single supporter on the internet.”
It’s got to be incredibly annoying to be there for a job interview and have the interviewer be interrupted every five minutes. Donna didn’t even have anything urgent, she just interrupted him to make sure he was okay after the shooting. Hello, you can see him through the doors having a conversation with someone. Chances are, he’s fine.
I heard you can make an egg stand on its end by shaking it hard before you attempt it.
When I was in high school I had a history teacher who was married to a lady who was a science teacher in the same school. On the vernal equinox she sent one of her students to our classroom with a dozen eggs and my teacher spent the rest of the period trying to balance one. He did it too - I have a photo somewhere as proof. I have no idea how he did it… I know he didn’t rig it in any way because I was watching him while he was doing it. I don’t think it has anything to do with the equinox, I think he just was patient and lucky.
I don’t think she was worried about him having been shot, I think she was worried about him having gone into the same state he was in Noel, where she also saw him having plenty of conversations with many people.
Which is why she checked repeatedly and called his psych.
I love Charlie too, and I’d really like to see him win the girl in the end, just 'cause he’s a good guy.
I have to admit, that when they were poking around on the internet I thought they might end up on Snopes. But hey, Bad Astronomer gets a gig out of it, so it’s all good!
The entire interview pissed me off. I would hate to be treated like that in an interview. I haven’t watched Friends in many moons - is it on its way out? I just wonder if a guest spot may lead to something more permanent if Perry’s going to be out of work soon…
I seriously doubted them to mention any real sites, as they had the most important point completely missing:
You CAN stand an egg on end!
Cecil has said it, the Bad Astronomer has a hard drive full of pictures of little Rory Kalhoun-wanna-be eggs, and I’ve done it. However, it doesn’t have to be the equinox, it can be any day of the year.
Actually, the theme of the show was not something I agree with. CJ said you can only do it on the equinox, whereas everyone else said you can’t stand eggs up at all. Both are wrong; it can be done, and done at any time. I have pictures on my website all about it, as has been pointed out.
The theme was one of faith, with CJ saying she has faith in people. But it’s not faith, it’s trust. They are different. Faith is not based on evidence, whereas trust is. She trusts in her friends, and in the goodness of people, because she has experienced this goodness before. She trusts that people manning silos won’t launch if it seems too crazy. Trust is based on evidence, whereas faith is not.
In the end, she stands the egg up (at midnight, of course), and no one sees her do it. They’ll have to trust her.
I thought Matthew Perry underplayed his role to the point where he was barely breathing. Since a lot of the secondary characters in WW underplay, I have to believe it’s a directorial thing.
I did enjoy Lily Tomlin as Debby in this episode. Not only the bluffing at the poker game, but also finally acting like an executive secretary and getting on the phone to order a crash (although hadn’t the Secret Service already ordered the crash?). For once I didn’t hear myself say “I miss Mrs. Landingham.”
I missed the setup – why was it that in the first hour of free time any of them have apparently ever had, they decided to hang around the office for a while and play cards? Was this a special event, or they’ve just forgotten that there’s a world outside of the White House?
Anyway, ok episode. I’m not a big fan of the Charlie and Zoe show, and the whole Matthew Perry thing seemed a bit forced – like they had the script written and then Matthew Perry called and asked to be in it and so they wrote him in the day of shooting.
I used to work for a guy that had his secretary do that whenever he interviewed someone. He’d also have her put through calls that he’d take and make the interviewee sit and wait through.
He claimed he wanted to hire people that could think on their feet, but what he ended up with was a studio full of used car salesmen that could talk a good game, but may or may not actually be able to do anything worthwhile.
I love Charlie!!