| Author |
Message |
Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 7:57 am 
Good job Juju! I felt like I was there.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 12:01 pm
Juju, thank you for using names! I could not figure out who was doing what when you were saying "the husband" and "the wife." It's been a long time, and my memory is not so sharp as it used to be.
(Also it's not considered "spoiling" once the show has aired. Anyone who doesn't want to be "spoiled" should know not to come in here and read, if they haven't watched the show. You are fully within the rules to name names. Thank you!)
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 12:09 pm
I’m enjoying Juju’s first watch (and our virtual re- watch with her here). 
As I’ve mentioned, my DD and I have been rewatching and it’s as good or better the second time around.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 1:35 pm
I rewatched every ep twice the first 2 seasons.
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 4:33 pm
It is one of those series that is enjoyable to re-watch because it is so complex. Little things too. For example, the infamous crock-pot was clearly shown in the first episode. Plus this series holds together well and logically (unlike Lost and Game of Thrones .... but I digress, LOL).
What do you cook in a crock-pot, anyway? Any good recipes out there?
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, April 11, 2020 - 9:30 pm
I watched another two episodes today. But I have done a bunch of other things in between. Let me see what I can remember.
Both episodes are mostly about the first Christmas after Randall's world exploded when he found out his mother had known about his biological father ever since the day Rebecca and Jack brought him home from the hospital. It was going to be the first time he had seen his mother again, and everybody was going to Christmas Eve at Randall's house, and then everybody pretty much cancelled out.
And the show becomes "nothing bad happens on Christmas Eve", and we are back to the 8 year olds, and going to Rebecca's parents' house for Christmas Eve, and Kate has a stomach ache, which her mother pooh-poohs, and Jack says she is burning up, so they go to the emergency room, and it is her appendix, and her brothers have to be pried off her stretcher, especially Kevin, and then Kate discovers Dr. K, who delivered Kevin and Kate and the stillborn, is also in the hospital with some sort of accidental trauma he suffered en route to his sister's home for Christmas. And because of his age, surgery is likely going to kill him, and his sister is en route now, but will probably be too late, so Kate, Jack, Kevin and Randall become his family and pull him through, whereupon begins the "nothing bad can happen on Christmas Eve" family meme.
Then there is a flashback to Rebecca and Jack finding out she is pregnant, which escalates to triplets, in a too-small 6th floor walk-up apartment they can barely afford. Jack keeps saying they will work something out. He gets a raise from his boss, but it is not enough (backflash somewhere in here about Jack's abusive father) (also backflash about Rebecca's awful mother who is LIVID that her daughter is pregnant and penniless with triplets by a ne'er-do-well "handyman"). Jack sells his very hot Chevette for money and goes begging to his estranged bad father for money, taking off his wedding ring and agreeing with his father that he needs the money for gambling debts. Jack buys the monster-problem half renovated house in the burbs his boss is sweating selling. He will finish it himself.
Sloane (was blanking on her name)! Is the lovely girl Kevin beds after Olivia storms out of the cabin in the woods the 36 year old Pearson kids go to after Randall wigs out on Thanksgiving. Sloane wrote the play, which is now dead because Olivia has walked off. Kevin and Sloane resurrect the play with Sloane and Kevin playing the leads. Olivia returns rehabilitated, seeing the error of her ways. Sloane overhears the exchange.
And it's back to Christmas Eve at Randall's and one by one, everybody who cancelled begins showing up. Upshot of this episode is William goes to a final N.A. episode to say farewell, and his jilted lover also shows up and calls him out, so William brings the lover to Christmas Eve, and Randall's oldest daughter Tess has to point out that William is gay or bi. Kate arrives at Randall's house after a harrowing plane ride. Toby shows up as Santa Claus, even though he and Kate have broken up. Toby and Kate immediately go upstairs and have sex, noted by Beth as they come downstairs. And then later that night, Toby has a heart attack (or something resembling it) and falls down possibly dead across Randall's coffee table while the party is winding down.
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Sunday, April 12, 2020 - 4:56 am
Wow Thank you Juju
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, April 12, 2020 - 9:07 pm
Toby lives and has surgery to correct his heart arrhythmia. Kate decides not to have gastric bypass surgery. They decide they are in love and get engaged.
Kate goes off to a 30 day weight retreat program in the woods. She thinks the methods are stupid, and it appears she is going to drop out. Then she talks with the overweight stable guy, who tells her she is right, but she goes back in to a primal drumming session where they are all drumming to a certain beat with sticks on the floor. Kate drums and thinks about her inner rage and comes up with her father's funeral and bursts into a primal scream that scares everybody in the class.
Sloan breaks up with Kevin. Kate (who is at the retreat) asks Kevin to show Toby around New York. Toby and Kevin go to a cocktail lounge, and Kevin tells Toby of his empty, predictable life of drinks and bedding willing super models. Kevin tries to get Toby to help him decide between Olivia and Sloane. Toby offers to give Kevin lessons in grand romantic gestures, but Kevin must only make the gestures to the "love of his life." Kevin comes up with a name, and we wait breathlessly to see if it will be Olivia or Sloane. Kevin knocks on a door, which is answered by his ex-wife Sophie. She is flabbergasted, but later texts him that she will see him.
Two new characters are introduced - a fire inspector and his wife who are having marital problems. A newborn baby is dropped off at the fire station, and instead of taking it to the police as the other firemen told him to do, the new male character takes it home and suggests they raise the baby to repair their marriage. Wife says a baby won't cure what is wrong and husband decides to take the baby to the hospital. The baby, is, of course, Randall. Husband and wife decide to pretend they just met and try to fall in love again.
Clips of multiple birthday parties as the "Big Three" grow up and all celebrate their common birthday which is also their father Jack's birthday. Just before the Big Three's 10th birthday, Kevin calls a family meeting in the parents bedroom just as parents are about to get it on. He wants a separate party and so does Kate, and they ask Randall if he wants a separate party. And he would like one with a magician, but the rule at his school is everybody in the class must be invited. So Rebecca and Jack kill themselves and put on three separate birthday parties. Two of them seem fairly successful, but only three kids show up for Randall's. Randall explains the other kids didn't come because they are not his friends. Randall says he has three friends at school, and they all showed up, so he is happy. The three parties degenerate into everyone attending Kevin's Princess Bride party, which apparently involves sword fighting. Kate's best friend Sophie is sitting next to Kevin, and his parents call him aside and suggest he ask Sophie to go back and join Kate who is now all alone at her party. Kevin says he can't because he loves Sophie. Rebecca and Jack look at each other and realize they had to have three parties because of Sophie.
We realize this is probably the same Sophie Kevin later marries at a very young age.
William goes off chemo, so he can enjoy the few days he has left. He gets on a feeling-good high and goes to Randall's workplace at noon, wanting Randall to take the rest of the day off to buy some clothes and etc. Randall is furiously working on a competitive project he needs to have done by the next morning, but he goes out with William and indulges all of William's longings, including finding an egg cream that is made correctly. William wants to drive Randall's fancy car. He doesn't know how to drive. Randall teaches him.
That was two episodes.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, April 12, 2020 - 11:31 pm
I am enjoying reliving this..
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Monday, April 13, 2020 - 11:25 am
Thank you again Juju. Please keep them coming.
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Monday, April 13, 2020 - 11:56 am
I'm enjoying the recaps but I'd also appreciate hearing your opinion, Juju. 
When Toby fell through that table, I was worried he was done. 
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, April 13, 2020 - 1:51 pm
And that fall was followed by a break, as I recall.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Monday, April 13, 2020 - 5:03 pm
Juju, these eps that you are watching are treasures!!! the later seasons aren't all gems like the season you are watching, enjoy!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, April 13, 2020 - 8:29 pm
Toby recovers from what he calls his heart attack, crashes the fat farm. He distracts everybody in the class and embarrasses Kate,and she sends him back to The City. The stable guy lays some more harsh words on Kate and then tauntingly again invites her to his cabin. Kate GOES TO CABIN 13, where she tells stable guy off bigtime, and then he tells her he works there because his parents own the place, and she is DONE there. Kate joins Toby in the hotel because she got kicked out of the program.
Bunch of stuff about William's imminent death, and Randall keeps getting wound tighter and tighter.
Flashback to when Randall had his first breakdown because of stress overload. His hands shook then.
Randall's hands are shaking now, and things at work just keep getting more and more strung out, as his father is dying, and everybody is acting out and Randall is trying to cover it all, and then Beth's mother breaks a hip and has to race down to D.C., leaving Randall with the whole mess, which most of them have NO idea about because they are used to Randall handling everything. It's Kevin's opening night of the show, and the New York Times is sending a reviewer and Kevin is having his own self-centered breakdown. Randall is not there at showtime, and Kevin has a premonition and does not show up on the stage when the lights go out, and is instead racing across town to Randall's office where he discovers Randall catatonic sitting on the floor in a corner.
Meanwhile flashing back to when the Big Three are teenagers, maybe 16-17? And Becca overhears Kate telling Kevin he is just acting weird because he is having sex with Sophie. This is same period when Rebecca has started singing with her old band, presumably old boyfriend. And the band is doing so well, because of their lead singer being back, that they have been offered a 5-week road tour, and Rebecca wants to go, but she can't leave Jack with the kids. And then Miguel and Shelly are getting divorced. Miguel might be fooling around with secretary at work.
Lots of stuff in the air at the end of today's two episodes.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 5:14 pm
OMG, road trip to Memphis with William. Back story of William growing up in Memphis. Randall meets 12 cousins, gets drunk, is happy, happy, happy. William is playing with the old band. William dies next day. Randall didn't get to see the ducks (it's a thing people have always done in Memphis, go see the ducks that live in the Peabody hotel). Randall stops his car on the way home to let ducks cross the road.
Damn.
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 5:45 pm
Probably my favorite episode
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 5:59 pm
OMG is right. I couldnt breathe from crying so hard during that ep! when he held his face...omg Im crying again!!!!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 8:05 pm
Yeah, and then I watched the next episode and cried almost all the way through that one.
It is the period immediately after William's death and how he touched everyone. The MAILMAN cried when he found out. Waaaahhhhhhh. He wants the girls to do his memorial. Waaaaaahhhhh. Beth got NO goodbye from William. Until she did. Waaaahhhhh. William's partner says, "He was the armchair everyone rested their weary soul upon." Waaaaahhhhhh.
Randall's office sends him a box of pears as a condolence gift.
The girls put on a lovely memorial service for William, which ends with a walk around the block. Rebecca bares her soul to Randall. He forgives her, says the time he had with William was enough.
Kevin's show in New York is wildly good. All of the family (and Sophie) attend; New York Times reviewer did not. Kevin and Sophie finally have sex. Phone rings in middle of night. It is Opie (Ron Howard) offering Kevin a part in his next movie which will be shot in Los Angeles.
Back to when kids are 16, and Rebecca goes on road trip, and Jack is kind of a turd about it, drops kids off at friend's house after Rebecca leaves. Kat stays in car and asks Jack if he and Rebecca are okay. He says all is fine, it's just marriage, goes to a bar, gets drunk, calls and asks if kids can sleep over, drives (presumably home) drunk.
Next scene is the present following Kevin's performance, and Kate told Toby earlier in day that she would tell him about her father's death tonight. Final scene is Kate tells Toby it is her fault her father died. Credits roll. Waaaaaahhhhhhh.
Oh wait, I forgot about Randall going to the office at 10 pm, and the entire team is in there working on something, and Randall enumerates all he did to build up this firm, all he sacrificed. He says "The Team" sent him a box of pears as a condolence gift. He said he is deathly allergic to pears, and the boss well knows it, as he was with Randall when he went into anaphylactic shock after eating a pear many years ago. Randall quits his job. Ta Da!
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 9:30 am
Probably my second favorite episode.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 11:20 am
Those were awesome episodes. Lots of tears.
Interesting that Kevin's meltdown is self centered (and that is how he seemed to most back then.. But when Randall needed him, Kevin sacrificed.. And will Randall remember that? Hmm.. )
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 11:27 am
Even without pears being deadly,what a lame condolence gift! Obviously the company had a contract with Harry and David..
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 6:23 pm
that was another fantastic ep!!!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 8:45 pm
2 episodes today, both pretty dark. Events leading up to Jack and Rebecca separating, if only for one day. Jack moves onto Miguel's fold-out couch. Rebecca has a change of heart, goes to get him. Jack says he is drunk now, has been drunk all day, admits he has gone back to drinking and has been drinking secretly for some time. He says he can't come home until he fixes it. Rebecca brings him home, saying they will fix it together.
Just after William's death Randall wants to adopt an infant, Beth does not. It appears they might adopt an older child that nobody in the system wants to take on.
Twin separation issues with Kevin and Kate and Toby still playing second fiddle on the twin's 37th birthday. Not much development of this thread but it looks like Kevin takes the Ron Howard movie part and goes to L.A., and Sophie comes out to join him.
Final scene is of Randall and Kate as 16 year olds at Miguel's house crying their eyes out and Kate saying she has to go find Kevin and be the one to tell him. Rebecca pulls up to a burned out house that still has firemen and police outside the Do Not Enter tape. Rebecca has a man's watch and some other stuff in a plastic on the passenger seat of the car. Rebecca begins crying in deep anguish.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 5:36 am
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 6:32 am
Thank you Juju. I am glad you have become a fan.
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