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Plenty of shows recycle old cliches and tropes and yet seem fresh and interesting to watch. It's the writing that elevated the show. There are plenty of original shows that have bad writing. If the show continues to have belly laughs, then that's all the hook I need.
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Sep 27, 2013 14:29
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Yeah, if we spend too much time going down the wanky rabbit hole of "It has to do something NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE" then we start encouraging shows like Zero Hour.
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Sep 27, 2013 15:10
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I find this watchable enough, but absolutely none of the characters except Michael and his boss were likable at all to me. And in the second episode Michael wasn't that likable either. It seemed way too fast paced with too much going on, too. It was really weird how his entire family seems to barely tolerate his presence, including his wife, unless it's time for sex. And his sister was really offputting. Her character was the worst, but also she's very hot so I didn't mind her being on screen. I hope they can improve it a little.
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Sep 27, 2013 15:28
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His family seemed pretty loving and happy with him, as a whole. I don’t think that it’s that they “barely tolerate his presence” I think it’s more that he’s been not working for five years and didn’t have a lot going on (other than medical treatment) which means that he focused all his attention on THEM. Now that he’s going back to work he has his time filled with something else and it gives them a break, so to speak. Years ago I had a boyfriend I loved very much but when he was out of work for a period of a few months it got a little overwhelming because he was always THERE and when I would get home it was like floodgates opened and he had all this stored up energy to unleash and words to say and omg can I please just have a minute? As a whole, I found the family dynamic pretty realistic and positive. He seems to have a good relationship with his wife. She is not a harpy, nagging shrew nor is she a perfect stepford wife. The kids are well adjusted, if privileged and lacking self awareness like most teenagers do. The youngest doesn’t seem overly precocious. The sister is the weakest part for me. I don’t think she really contributes much and you could have eliminated her entirely without the story suffering much (minus the fake kid plot line.) But it was just the first two episodes so maybe they will give her more (constructive) contributions.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:00
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Yea I thought the family was realistic. They love him but he's also been just kinda sitting around focusing all his energy on them for five years, and Parkinson's or not that's fairly annoying after a bit. It was frankly one of the most realistic portrayals of a family with someone they love suffering from a degenerative illness I've seen. That 'have your personal victory another time, we're starving' scene really was one of the best in that regard. Yea they're happy he's able to control himself fairly well, but they're also a normal family who just wants their loving eggs before school/work. There's no big sappy "DADDY YOU HAVE TO FIGHT THIS" speeches because the guy's had this disease for years now and all the worst adjustment phase is over. He's a normal dad who happens to have Parkinson's, and that's a pretty important portrayal even in silly sitcoms.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:28
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I think I'd be pretty pissed if I made a nice meal and set the table and everyone grabbed it and left whether I had Parkinson's or not.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:31
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Sometimes that happens in a family. Everyone is on a different wave length and has their own lives.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:35
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What's this purple thing? Some BrB inside joke?
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Sep 27, 2013 21:42
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HUMAN FISH posted:What's this purple thing? Some BrB inside joke? Yup. Betsy Brandt's character on Breaking Bad is almost always wearing purple and on the rare occasions that she isn't it's allegedly supposed to be a sign that something's up. hcreight fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 21:54
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Enjoyed the first two eps, gonna keep up with it. It'll probably take a few episodes to really find its voice, but here's hoping the writing stays fresh and funny. Michael's sleep talking gave me a huge laugh when he just casually gave up and said "Ok.." to his dream neighbour's advances.
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Sep 28, 2013 01:26
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For those wondering, the daughter is the same actress who played the psychotic, murdering elementary school genius on CSI a few years back.
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Sep 28, 2013 01:44
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Aatrek posted:For those wondering, the daughter is the same actress who played the psychotic, murdering elementary school genius on CSI a few years back. I remember her as the Little Girl God on Joan of Arcadia.
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Sep 28, 2013 03:39
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Aatrek posted:For those wondering, the daughter is the same actress who played the psychotic, murdering elementary school genius on CSI a few years back. I never made that connection. I've got to watch those episodes before I rewatch the Michael J Fox show. I do remember her creeping the poo poo out of me during her run on CSI.
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Sep 28, 2013 08:57
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I think what works in this show's favor is that everyone in the main family dynamic is likable. The motives of Mike and the daughter in the second episode might be selfish and self serving, but I don't think they came off looking as total jerks about it - the daughter more so than Mike, but his charisma keeps him in the clear, I think. The show isn't a constant stream of laughs for me, some of the jokes are hit and miss, but every now and then there's a belly laugh that comes out of nowhere. I will agree with someone said prior that it moves really fast for a 20 minute show. I'll keep watching because I love Michael J. Fox, and I think the show is successful in what it's trying to do.
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Sep 28, 2013 15:27
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Probably the best nonverbal gag was throwing the kids throwing water-filled condom balloons off the balcony. Michael was walking the next morning and saw that none of the balloons actually broke, which means they were beaning people pretty hard from a few stories up.
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Sep 28, 2013 16:14
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I really enjoyed the first episode, but I couldn't even get through the second one, it was just awful. The first episode seemed like it was setting it up to be more centred on Mike going back to work, but then the second episode starts out by hitting every single "family sitcom" cliché as hard as possible. Like Modern Family but not good. I might have a look at the third episode, but if it's more like the second than the first then I can't see it being any good at all.
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Sep 29, 2013 14:25
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I like the adult characters - the older son seems like dead weight. The younger son might turn out to be charming like Luke from Modern Family.
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Sep 30, 2013 02:59
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Tiggum posted:I really enjoyed the first episode, but I couldn't even get through the second one, it was just awful. The first episode seemed like it was setting it up to be more centred on Mike going back to work, but then the second episode starts out by hitting every single "family sitcom" cliché as hard as possible. Like Modern Family but not good. I might have a look at the third episode, but if it's more like the second than the first then I can't see it being any good at all. I felt largely the same way. I liked the first episode, but the whole "Oh no I'm attracted to the neighbor better lie awkwardly to everyone about it" plot brought the entire episode down. The aunt reminds me of the best friend/boss from Up All Night except without redeeming qualities. And the youngest son...takes up space. That's about all I could get from him.
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Sep 30, 2013 07:28
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Pyroclastic posted:I felt largely the same way. I liked the first episode, but the whole "Oh no I'm attracted to the neighbor better lie awkwardly to everyone about it" plot brought the entire episode down. I thought it was pretty hilarious due to the fact that the neighbor is actually Michael J. Fox' wife. v  v
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Sep 30, 2013 19:54
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The fact that the thread title hasn't been changed to "Oops. Parkinsons." is a disgrace, and I'm mad as hell < >
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Oct 3, 2013 13:57
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Tiggum posted:I really enjoyed the first episode, but I couldn't even get through the second one, it was just awful. The first episode seemed like it was setting it up to be more centred on Mike going back to work, but then the second episode starts out by hitting every single "family sitcom" cliché as hard as possible. Like Modern Family but not good. I might have a look at the third episode, but if it's more like the second than the first then I can't see it being any good at all. The fact that there's a full family in the "starring" cast and only one office guy didn't let you in on that it's a family show?
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Oct 4, 2013 01:30
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fariz posted:The fact that the thread title hasn't been changed to "Oops. Parkinsons." is a disgrace, and I'm mad as hell < I shot a request to the mods, but nothing happened.
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Oct 4, 2013 01:40
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Is this show a Pseudo-documentary now? News guy is still the best character.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:36
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Zero One posted:Is this show a Pseudo-documentary now? Those confessionals have always been there, it's just that there was a narrative excuse in the pilot. They don't seem to be leaning on it too heavily though, which is good.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:38
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Oh yeah.... seems a lot more forced now.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:39
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Effingham posted:The fact that there's a full family in the "starring" cast and only one office guy didn't let you in on that it's a family show? No, I knew the family were going to be the main characters, I just thought, given the show's name and the first episode's plot, that it would be more centred around Mike, and less like a lovely version of Modern Family. I haven't watched the third episode yet though, so maybe it gets better?
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Oct 4, 2013 02:40
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WORLD'S LONGEST CRAZY STRAW
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Oct 4, 2013 02:42
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I cracked up at "Albino Tim" and I don't know why.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:44
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MrAristocrates posted:I cracked up at "Albino Tim" and I don't know why.  Third time, Tim!
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Oct 4, 2013 02:45
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I think there's potential for a good show in here, but they really need to break out of the sitcom tropes and just write the characters more naturally.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:46
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Actually, I think they're doing the standard sitcom fare refreshingly well. In particular this episode I really laughed at Fox's timing with, "Don't call it that!"
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Oct 4, 2013 06:30
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Zero One posted:WORLD'S LONGEST CRAZY STRAW That was pretty hilarious, and something I anticipate my kid doing pretty much any day now. Gonna have to go throw away the solo cups...
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Oct 5, 2013 06:51
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Aatrek posted:For those wondering, the daughter is the same actress who played the psychotic, murdering elementary school genius on CSI a few years back. I thought that was like, a Fanning or something... I think what I like about this is, how it was said before, it makes standard sitcom tropes feel refreshing and different. I saw in the opening credits that one of the writers/producers is Lon Zimmet, who previously
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Oct 6, 2013 20:09
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As I said before, it's really the writing that elevates this show. Yeah, it's nothing that hasn't been done a million times before, but the show still manages to come up with consistent laughs, like the news guy trying to figure out which Michelle to call, or My Dad's Piccolo. I think if they got rid of the confessionals, they'd have a really great show. I get annoyed when I see reviews online, and the complains aren't about the writing, but rather "Oh, it's just a standard sitcom."Tiggum posted:No, I knew the family were going to be the main characters, I just thought, given the show's name and the first episode's plot, that it would be more centred around Mike, and less like a lovely version of Modern Family. I haven't watched the third episode yet though, so maybe it gets better? I'm guessing part of the focus on other characters is likely due to Parkinsons. It's probably tough on him to shoot the show, and so I'm guessing more often than on other shows with an obvious lead (like Frasier or Everybody Loves Ray), they'll go lighter on the Michael J. Fox stories. But he still plays a major role.
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Oct 7, 2013 05:10
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Open trash > Drag icon > "System Hacked!"
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Oct 11, 2013 02:43
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Are you guys doing Eve's run? 
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Oct 11, 2013 02:51
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I have a staplegun! 
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Oct 11, 2013 02:56
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Little Miss Can't Get Get Dong
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Oct 11, 2013 20:27
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Aatrek posted:Little Miss Can't Get Get Dong  This show deserves far more attention than it's getting.
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Oct 11, 2013 21:48
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I do love Emmys...
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Oct 18, 2013 02:42
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