A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in May 2022, our panel of (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 4 of the popular ABC medical drama The Good Doctor, in this, Episode Four of our four-part “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of The Good Doctor, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Good Doctor” is a medical drama series that airs on ABC, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: Based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name, the series stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young autistic savant surgical resident at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. In Season 4, Hill Harper, Christina Chang, Richard Schiff, Antonia Thomas, Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, and Paige Spara are also part of the regular cast.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Shaun Murphy (Highmore), a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the small city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled past. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
When: Season 4 aired on ABC from November 2, 2020, to June 7, 2021, with a total of 20 episodes.
Where: The action in Season 4 primarily occurs in San Jose, California, with one trip to Guatemala.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Season 1 via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Four of our “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” series. You can listen to Episodes One, Two, and Three here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes surprisingly suggested The Good Doctor, a previously passed series for show coverage at CPU!, and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang in short order. It was surprising because medical shows are very much hit and miss here at CPU!, but our roster has grown, and it is possible that so too has the appetite for medical shows and the willingness to discuss them. Ch-ch-ch-changes! Thus, herein we offer our Season 4 recap and review of The Good Doctor, in which our panel – consisting of Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series as we catch up, season by season.
As such, tonight’s episode is the fourth episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on ABC in 2017. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of The Good Doctor, in which we follow Shaun’s continuing adjustments to his job and his romance with Lea (Spara), the cast of supporting characters including a group of brand new residents for which our more familiar faces serve as instructors and mentors, and the effects of real-world sociopolitical events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on this medical drama that very much roots its story arcs as well as its patient-of-the-week cases in real world foundations. The panelists’ Season 4 reviews remain overwhelmingly positive, with few qualms to dissect, which we do thoroughly in tonight’s episode.
This episode was recorded in May 2022, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fourth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Animaniacs: the Once and Future Namey Series panel triumphantly returns to the CPU! Water Cooler, prepared to Look Foward and to review the 2020 reboot of the show, specifically the available first two seasons. Stay tuned for more baloney in the proverbial slacks!
RECOMMENDATION
The Good Doctor is now unanimously recommended by our latest CPU! panel – to those who enjoy other medical dramas, such as Grey’s Anatomy and ER, but especially to those who like and are looking for something different; to fans of Freddie Highmore, whose resume continues to expand at an impressive rate; and to fans of other David Shore properties, like House, as the tone of the show is not dissimilar to that auspicious predecessor, even if the subject matter and main character of both greatly differ. Ultimately, the panelists’ opinions about this show began to coalesce in this episode and in light of the viewing of this excellent fourth season. All panelists now regard the show as accessible and entertaining without requiring one’s full attention while simultaneously rewarding those who do devote their full engagement to the viewing proceeding. The panel continues to praise Highmore’s performance, deeming him the biggest draw and the most satisfying reason to watch. The panel also proffers some love for the supporting cast, particularly Thomas as Claire and Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, whose father/son dynamic with Shaun provides much of the series’ heart.
Contrary to the panelists’ opinions about the first two seasons but more in line with the third season review, the panel, in tonight’s episode, opines that the writing of The Good Doctor maintains the quality demonstrated in the third season. The panelists note that not only do the medical situations in which Shaun and the other residents and attendings at St. Bonaventure find themselves oftentimes seem to be more nuanced and more thoughtful than the situations depicted in Season 1 and even in Season 2 episodes, but the drama central to Shaun’s life, his romance with Lea, and the interconnections and dynamics between characters left our panelists with an altogether rosier view of the show than had been previously described, even by the hitherto less impressed moderator, Chief Couch Potato Kylie.
To that end, the panel continues to regard The Good Doctor as an easy, pleasant, and increasingly and frequently riveting watch that offers interesting and more holistically engaging, if not necessarily awe-inspiring, characters and situations by which to be entertained. Though there might not be a consensus as to whether The Good Doctor constitutes “great” television, there is still plenty to entice even the most skeptical of our panelists (still the Chief CP on this panel), though the median of the panel’s collective reaction to the fourth season more consistently leans toward vociferous enthusiasm than in past discussions. The panelists remain committed to the universal belief that there is an audience for this show, so long as the potential viewer in question walks into the experience with an open mind and a willingness to watch a hospital drama with a new and different spin on what is typically understood as the medical drama motif. To wit, all of our panelists remain steadfastly open-minded enough and more than willing to continue watching the fifth season, which we will cover as a regular Water Cooler series beginning later this year!
LOOKING AHEAD
The Good Doctor was renewed for a sixth season in March 2022, though no premiere date has yet been announced. Our The Good Doctor panel will return later this year to cover Season 5 as part of a typical “Around the Water Cooler” feature. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Good Doctor as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in March 2022, our panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared (one of the prior panelists temporarily departed the panel for lives behind the podcast) – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 5 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, winter to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lyric Ross, and Asante Blackk in Season 5.
When: Season 5 aired on NBC from October 27, 2020, to May 25, 2021, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall (Brown), an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction for much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey but relocate to Philadelphia in Season 4, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
In 2021, we launched our This Is Us panel, caught up quickly on the first four seasons, and now continue this series as a Water Cooler entry. You can listen to our first four episodes in this series below; the second, third, and fourth episodes are still part of our audio feeds at Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Panelists Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Kristin T, and Jared triumphantly reconvene with moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie (one of our previous panelists temporarily departed the panel due to lives behind the podcast) Around the Water Cooler after almost one year’s hiatus to pick up where our This Is Us series left off in 2021 when we last discussed the family Pearson and those who love them. In tonight’s episode, CPU! continues forward-looking Water Cooler coverage of This Is Us with ourpenultimate Season 5 recap and review, in which our panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps our continued learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains truly palpable, as this series has become one of the highest-rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in March 2022, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fifth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Call the Midwife panel returns to the CPU! Water Cooler to continue our Catching Up Series reacting, two seasons at a time, to the popular BBC/PBS period drama by discussing Series 3 and 4 in Episode 2 of our Series. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
1) Who does Kevin end up with in the future? Is it Sophie (guest: Alexandra Breckinridge)? Is it Cassidy (guest: Jennifer Morrison)? Or, is it someone entirely new? Will we get a chance to meet her in any sort of meaty or flushed-out way with the limited amount of airtime real estate left in this final season?
2) Why do Kate and Toby officially end their marriage since it is clear from the fifth season finale that Kate marries Phillip, the teacher she comes to assist at the music school for the blind? How does that love affair even come to be?
3) Are the producers/network really considering making a movie of any type and/or with an alternate storyline in mind, exploring what might have happened had Jack survived the fire?
4) Will Rebecca see Jack as she inevitably passes away in the future/flash-forwards as a result of the progression of her Alzheimer’s Disease, either as an actual vision of him or by mistaking, the vigilantly watching and patiently waiting, Nicky (guest: Griffin Dunne) for Jack as he sits by her bedside?
5) What happens with the farmhouse inherited by Randall and Beth from Randall’s birth mother Laurel, who survived long past what was understood to be her death, so we learn in Season 5?
6) Will the show reexplore some of the side stories they have seeded, such as the depiction of the inventor of email?
7) Will we see adult Nicky and Franny, Kevin and Madison’s children, in the future?
8) Will we see a big family reunion far into the future, following Rebecca’s death and focusing on the children of Kevin, Kate, and Randall?
9) Who will inherit Rebecca’s crescent moon necklace?
10) What happens to Miguel? Does he die before Rebecca? Or, does Rebecca “release” him from marriage with her, so that he will not have to witness her Alzheimer’s-influenced decline?
11) Where are Miguel’s kids from his first marriage? Will we see them at any point in Season 6?
12) What sort of Kate will we see in the end? A happier one? A thinner one?
13) What happens to Tess, Annie, Deja, and Malik in the future?
14) Will we see Kevin, Kate, and/or Randall’s grandchildren? Will the show invest in a Six Feet Under type of projection or time jump in any of the final episodes?
15) What will Nicky do in this not-too-distant future?
16) What happens to Toby in the end?
PARTING SHOTS
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well-performed, and well-directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series, Season 5 as much as the seasons preceding it, and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching Season 6, which we will discuss following the airing of the (gulp) series finale later this year, at which point we will also Look Back at the whole darn show. Stay tuned!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019). In May 2021, it was announced that Season 6 would be the show’s final season, which premiered on January 4, 2022. Our panel will visit This Is Us one final time to discuss Season 6 following the airing of the series finale on May 24, 2022; we will Look Back at the entire show in that same episode. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in September 2021, our panel of (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 3 of the popular ABC medical drama The Good Doctor, in this, Episode Three of our four-part “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of The Good Doctor, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Good Doctor” is a medical drama series that airs on ABC, currently fall to spring Mondays at 10:00 PM.
What: Based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name, the series stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young autistic savant surgical resident at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. In Season 3, Hill Harper, Christina Chang, Richard Schiff, Nicholas Gonzalez, Antonia Thomas, Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Paige Spara, and Jasika Nicole are also part of the regular cast.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Shaun Murphy (Highmore), a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the small city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled past. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
When: Season 3 aired on ABC from September 23, 2019, to March 30, 2020, with a total of 20 episodes.
Where: The action in Season 3 primarily occurs in San Jose, California, with one trip to Casper, Wyoming.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Season 1 via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Three of our “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” series. You can listen to Episodes One and Two here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes surprisingly suggested The Good Doctor, a previously passed series for show coverage at CPU!, and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang in short order. It was surprising because medical shows are very much hit and miss here at CPU!, but our roster has grown, and it is possible that so too has the appetite for medical shows and the willingness to discuss them. Ch-ch-ch-changes! Thus, herein we offer our Season 3 recap and review of The Good Doctor, in which our panel – consisting of Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series as we catch up, season by season.
As such, tonight’s episode is the third episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on ABC in 2017. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 3 of The Good Doctor, in which we follow Shaun’s continuing adjustments to his job, to the cast of supporting characters, and to the rotating parties in charge of surgery and the hospital itself, which leads to some lessons in what not to do, particularly in love and in life. The panelists’ Season 3 reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with few qualms to dissect, which we do thoroughly in tonight’s episode – though, notably, our panel universally regarded Season 3 as the best of the seasons so far.
This episode was recorded in September 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, a new, one-time CPU! panel convenes upon our virtual couches to lovingly Look Back at one of our collective panelists’ all-time favorite comedies and, really, shows of all time – we are finally sitting around our Water Cooler, er, our kitchen table, enjoying a slice of cheesecake, and reminiscing about the high and lasting value of The Golden Girls. Picture it – and stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
The Good Doctor is (more or less) recommended by our latest CPU! panel but not necessarily to those who enjoy other medical dramas, as the panel largely agrees that, medical drama though it is, it does not quite fit the mold of similar ilk, such as Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and others. Conversely, the panel does cautiously recommend this series to those who like and are looking for something different; to fans of Freddie Highmore, whose resume continues to expand at an impressive rate; and to fans of other David Shore properties, like House, as the tone of the show is not dissimilar to that auspicious predecessor, even if the subject matter and main character of both greatly differ.
Ultimately, the panelists’ opinions about this show vary widely. Some panelists, such as Micah and Jared, see the show as accessible and entertaining without requiring one’s full attention while simultaneously rewarding those who do devote their full engagement to the viewing proceeding. Panelists Eddy and Chief Couch Potato Kylie are more tepidly interested in the show, enjoying its quirky aspects and its lofty goal of depicting a surgeon on the spectrum and how he copes with such a high-intensity profession but also struggling with some of the more manipulative aspects of the story, including the series’ almost slavish devotion to the discussion of whether or not Shaun is capable of acquiring the technical skills required to be a surgeon when his skill is demonstrated fully in the pilot, even if not to rest of the characters’ particular satisfactions. The panel especially praises Highmore’s performance, deeming him the biggest draw and the most satisfying reason to watch. The panel also proffers some love for the supporting cast, particularly Thomas as Claire and Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, whose father/son dynamic with Shaun provides much of the series’ heart.
Contrary to the panelists’ opinions about the first two seasons, the panel, in tonight’s episode and in a rare show of overall consensus, opines that the writing of The Good Doctor vastly improves in Season 3. The panelists note that not only do the medical situations in which Shaun and the other residents and attendings at St. Bonaventure find themselves oftentimes seem to be more nuanced and more thoughtful than the situations depicted in Season 1 and even in Season 2 episodes, but the drama central to Shaun’s life, his (multiple) romances, the interconnections and dynamics between characters, and, most of all, the shocking two-part season finale, left our panelists with an altogether rosier view of the show than had been previously described, even by the hitherto less impressed moderator, Chief Couch Potato Kylie.
To that end, the panel continues to regard The Good Doctor as an easy, pleasant, and now, as of Season 3, more frequently riveting watch that offers interesting and more holistically engaging, if not necessarily awe-inspiring, characters and situations by which to be entertained. Though there might not be a consensus as to whether The Good Doctor constitutes “great” television, there is still plenty to entice even the most skeptical of our panelists (still the Chief CP on this panel), though the median of the panel’s collective reaction to the third season leans further toward vociferous enthusiasm than in the discussions of the first two seasons. The panelists remain committed to the universal belief that there is an audience for this show, so long as the potential viewer in question walks into the experience with an open mind and a willingness to watch a hospital drama with a new and different spin on what is typically understood as the medical drama motif. To wit, all of our panelists remain steadfastly open-minded enough and more than willing to continue catching up on Season 4, which we will discuss in Episode Four of our “Catching Up” Good Doctor Series very soon!
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
The Good Doctor, Season 5, premiered on September 27, 2021. CPU! will next visit The Good Doctor for the final episode, Episode 4, of this “Catching Up” Series in December 2021 (or January 2022), during which our The Good Doctor panel will focus upon Season 4. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Good Doctor as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in August 2021, our panel of (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 2 of the popular ABC medical drama The Good Doctor, in this, Episode Two of our four-part “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of The Good Doctor, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Good Doctor” is a medical drama series that airs on ABC, currently fall to spring Mondays at 10:00 PM.
What: Based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name, the series stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young autistic savant surgical resident at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. In Season 2, Hill Harper, Christina Chang, Richard Schiff, Nicholas Gonzalez, Antonia Thomas, Chuku Modu, Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Paige Spara, and Tamlyn Tomita are also part of the regular cast.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Shaun Murphy (Highmore), a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the small city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled past. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
When: Season 2 aired on ABC from September 24, 2018, to March 11, 2019, with a total of 18 episodes.
Where: The action in Season 2 primarily occurs in San Jose, California, with occasional flashbacks to Casper, Wyoming.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Two of our “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” series. You can listen to Episode One here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes surprisingly suggested The Good Doctor, a previously passed series for show coverage at CPU!, and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang in short order. It was surprising because medical shows are very much hit and miss here at CPU!, but our roster has grown, and it is possible that so too has the appetite for medical shows and the willingness to discuss them. Ch-ch-ch-changes! Thus, herein we offer our Season 2 recap and review of The Good Doctor, in which our panel – consisting of Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series.
As such, tonight’s episode is the second episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on ABC in 2017. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 2 of The Good Doctor, in which we follow Shaun’s continuing adjustments to his job, to the cast of supporting characters, and to the rotating parties in charge of surgery and the hospital itself, which leads to some lessons in what not to do on the part of administrators who do not wish to run afoul of anti-discrimination laws. The reviews are largely positive, with a few qualms to dissect, which we do thoroughly in tonight’s episode.
This episode was recorded in August 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, CPU! offers an encore presentation of one of our Patreon bonus episodes: our M*A*S*H Legacy Panel, entitled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” in which viewers who have a better memory of watching the classic comedy in real time comment upon the series’ longevity and timeless appeal to younger generations of viewers. Stay tuned for this thoughtful and nostalgic discussion, next week!
RECOMMENDATION
The Good Doctor is (more or less) recommended by our latest CPU! panel but not necessarily to those who enjoy other medical dramas, as the panel largely agrees that, medical drama though it is, it does not quite fit the mold of similar ilk, such as Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and others. Conversely, the panel does cautiously recommend this series to those who like and are looking for something different; to fans of Freddie Highmore, whose resume continues to expand at an impressive rate; and to fans of other David Shore properties, like House, as the tone of the show is not dissimilar to that auspicious predecessor, even if the subject matter and main character of both greatly differ.
Ultimately, the panelists’ opinions about this show vary widely. Some panelists, such as Micah and Jared, see the show as accessible and entertaining without requiring one’s full attention while simultaneously rewarding those who do devote their full engagement to the viewing proceeding. Panelists Eddy and Chief Couch Potato Kylie are more tepidly interested in the show, enjoying its quirky aspects and its lofty goal of depicting a surgeon on the spectrum and how he copes with such a high intensity profession but also struggling with some of the more manipulative aspects of the story, including the series’ almost slavish devotion to the discussion of whether or not Shaun is capable of acquiring the technical skills required to be a surgeon, when his skill is demonstrated fully in the pilot, even if not to rest of the characters’ particular satisfactions. The panel especially praises Highmore’s performance, deeming him the biggest draw and the most satisfying reason to watch. The panel also proffers some love for the supporting cast, particularly Thomas as Claire and Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, whose father/son dynamic with Shaun provides much of the series’ heart.
Contrary to the panelists’ opinions about the first season, the panel opines in tonight’s episode that the overall writing of The Good Doctor improves in Season 2, noting that the medical situations in which Shaun and the other residents and attendings at St. Bonaventure find themselves oftentimes seem to be more nuanced and more thoughtful than the situations depicted in Season 1 episodes, which struck several panelists as repetitive and derivative from and as compared to other shows in the genre, like Grey’s Anatomy. Most panelists commented that in addition to the medical cases forming the foundations of The Good Doctor’s episodes, it is how this cast of characters reacts to those situations that provides the series’ sense of difference and individuality among the plethora of medical dramas proliferating throughout the TV landscape, particularly when Shaun is involved in the case.
In any event, the panel regards The Good Doctor as an easy, pleasant, and occasionally riveting watch that offers interesting if not necessarily awe-inspiring characters and situations by which to be entertained. Though there might not be consensus as to whether The Good Doctor constitutes “great” television, there is still plenty to entice even the most skeptical of our panelists, which turns out to be the Chief CP on this panel. While the median of the panel’s collective reaction might not be teeming with vociferous enthusiasm this time around, the panelists universally believe that there is an audience for this show, so long as the potential viewer in question walks into the experience with an open mind and a willingness to watch a hospital drama with a new and different spin on what is typically understood as the medical drama motif. To wit, all of our panelists are certainly open minded enough and more than willing to continue catching up on Season 3, which we will discuss in Episode Three of our “Catching Up” Good Doctor Series next month!
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
The Good Doctor, Season 5, premiered on September 27, 2021. CPU! will next visit The Good Doctor for Episode 3 of this “Catching Up” Series in November 2021, during which our The Good Doctor panel will focus upon Season 3. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Good Doctor as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in May 2021, our panel of (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Eddy, Micah, Jessica, and Jared – convenes for the first time around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 1 of the popular ABC medical drama The Good Doctor, in this, Episode One of our four-part “Catching Up on The Good Doctor” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of The Good Doctor, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Good Doctor” is a medical drama series that airs on ABC, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: Based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name, the series stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young autistic savant surgical resident at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. In Season 1, Hill Harper, Christina Chang, Richard Schiff, Nicholas Gonzalez, Antonia Thomas, Chuku Modu, Beau Garrett, and Tamlyn Tomita are also part of the regular cast.
When: Season 1 aired on ABC from September 25, 2017, to March 26, 2018, with a total of 18 episodes.
Where: The action in Season 1 primarily occurs in San Jose, California, with occasional flashbacks to Casper, Wyoming.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
The Good Doctor = 4.2, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Shaun Murphy (Highmore), a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the small city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled past. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
THOUGHTS
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning (surgical) resident Couch Potatoes surprisingly suggested The Good Doctor, a previously passed series for show coverage at CPU!, and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang in short order. It was surprising because medical shows are very much hit and miss here at CPU!, but our roster has grown, and it is possible that so too has the appetite for medical shows and the willingness to discuss them. Ch-ch-ch-changes! Thus, herein we offer our Season 1 recap and review of The Good Doctor, in which our new panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series. The panel convening at the Water Cooler tonight includes Eddy, who is currently active on our American Horror Story Franchise Series and This Is Us panels but who has appeared on several past panels; Micah, who is currently active on our Riverdale panel; Jessica, who is currently active on our Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Charmed Series panels; and Jared, who is currently active on our This Is Us panel. Our newly constituted panel of Good Doctors and Good Couch Potatoes, therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to take a “First Look” at this drama about a surgical resident who reaches for his dreams despite his limitations, and in so doing, to ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, and writing of this program.
As such, tonight’s episode is the first episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on ABC in 2017. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 1 of The Good Doctor, in which we are introduced to Shaun and the cast of supporting characters – to him as well as to the show – at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. The reviews are largely positive, with a few qualms to dissect, which we do thoroughly in tonight’s episode.
This episode was recorded in May 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the first season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, after CPU! jumped the shark watching 13 Reasons Why with our “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” episode published in 2020, and given that the final season was released by Netflix in June 2020, Kylie, the Chief Couch Potato and the last United Couch Potato to persevere with watching the entire series, returns to the Water Cooler, all by her lonesome (again), to offer you her Final Thoughts about 13 Reasons Why, in the third published iteration of the companion feature to our “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” episodes. In “Final Thoughts,” anyone who did not jump the shark in the previous “SJA” episode visits the moderating microphone a final time for the relevant series to offer their individual Parting Shots about a show that their co-panelist(s) simply could not complete on their own, for whatever the reason. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
The Good Doctor is (more or less) recommended by our latest CPU! panel but not necessarily to those who enjoy other medical dramas, as the panel largely agrees that, medical drama though it is, it does not quite fit the mold of similar ilk, such as Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and others. Conversely, the panel does cautiously recommend this series to those who like and are looking for something different; to fans of Freddie Highmore, whose resume continues to expand at an impressive rate; and to fans of other David Shore properties, like House, as the tone of the show is not dissimilar to that auspicious predecessor, even if the subject matter and main character of both greatly differ.
Ultimately, the panelists’ opinions about this show vary widely. Some panelists, such as Micah and Jared, see the show as accessible and entertaining without requiring one’s full attention while simultaneously rewarding those who do devote their full engagement to the viewing proceeding. Panelists Eddy and Chief Couch Potato Kylie are more tepidly interested in the show, enjoying its quirky aspects and its lofty goal of depicting a surgeon on the spectrum and how he copes with such a high intensity profession, but also struggling with some of the more manipulative aspects of the story, including the series’ almost slavish devotion to the discussion of whether or not Shaun is capable of acquiring the technical skills required to be a surgeon, when his skill is demonstrated fully in the pilot, even if not to rest of the characters’ particular satisfactions. The panel especially praises Highmore’s performance, deeming him the biggest draw and the most satisfying reason to watch, though he might not be a neuro-divergent actor playing a neuro-divergent role (which we discuss briefly in tonight’s episode). The panel also proffers some love for the supporting cast, particularly Thomas as Claire and Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, whose father/son dynamic with Shaun provides much of the series’ heart.
On the flip side, the panel spends much of this episode struggling with the episodic writing of The Good Doctor, noting that the medical situations in which Shaun and the other residents and attendings at St. Bonaventure find themselves oftentimes feel repetitive of scenarios depicted on other medical dramas. If one is a medical drama aficionado, like panelist Eddy, they will likely notice this repetition more, while, perhaps, those who watch medical dramas less generally will not be bothered by the unfettered borrowing of topical medical cases already utilized in other television programs. Still, as panelist Micah notes, it might be difficult, given the sheer volume of seasons comprising the full runs of Grey’s and ER, to not be somewhat repetitive, and most panelists commented that despite the perceived repetitiveness of the medical cases forming the foundations of The Good Doctor’s episodes, how this cast of characters reacts to those situations is what provides the series’ sense of difference and individuality among the plethora of medical dramas proliferating throughout the TV landscape, particularly when Shaun is involved in the case.
In any event, the panel regards The Good Doctor as an easy, pleasant, and occasionally riveting watch that offers interesting if not necessarily awe-inspiring characters and situations by which to be entertained. Though there might not be consensus as to whether The Good Doctor constitutes “great” television, there is still plenty to entice even the most skeptical of our panelists, which turns out to be the Chief CP on this panel. While the median of the panel’s collective reaction might not be teeming with vociferous enthusiasm this time around, the panelists universally believe that there is an audience for this show, so long as the potential viewer in question walks into the experience with an open mind and a willingness to watch a hospital drama with a new and different spin on what is typically understood as the medical drama motif. To wit, all of our panelists are certainly open minded enough and more than willing to continue catching up on Season 2, which we will discuss in Episode Two of our “Catching Up” Good Doctor Series next month!
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
ABC renewed The Good Doctor for Season 5, which will premiere on September 27, 2021. CPU! will next visit The Good Doctor for Episode 2 of this “Catching Up” Series in October 2021, during which our The Good Doctor panel will focus upon Season 2. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Good Doctor as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in September 2020, our newly “fuller” (really! again!) panel of fans of all things Tanner/Tanner-Fuller–including moderator Kristen; Leslie; Samantha; Jared; a panelist new to the panel but not to the podcast, namely Stephanie; and brand new CPU! panelist Justin – gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to chat for the last time as a panel about the final season, Season 5, of the revival Netflix sequel series Fuller House as well as to Look Back at the entire series, now that the series is all said and done, in the sixth episode of CPU!’s Full/er House series (we previously looked back at original series Full House in Episode One and recapped prior seasons of Fuller House in subsequent episodes). Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at: couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Fuller House,” an American family situation comedy and sequel to Full House, which is available via the Netflix streaming service as an original series, which means, for the record, that it is available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix produced original content.
What: The series centers around DJ Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron Bure), a veterinarian and widowed mother of three sons, whose sister and best friend—the mother to a teenage daughter—provide support in her sons’ upbringings by moving in with her and into DJ and her sister’s childhood home.
SYNOPSIS
After the sudden death of DJ Tanner-Fuller’s (Bure) husband, Tommy, who was fulfilling his hazardous duties as a firefighter, DJ accepts the help of her sister, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and her best friend, Kimmy (Andrea Barber), as they move in to take part in raising DJ’s three sons: 13-year-old Jackson (Michael Campion), 7-year-old Max (Elias Harger), and baby Tommy Jr. (Dashiell and Fox Messitt). Kimmy’s teenage daughter, Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas), also moves in with DJ, Stephanie, Kimmy, and DJ’s children. Most of the Full House ensemble cast reprise their roles on Fuller House, either as regular cast members or in guest appearances, with the exception of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who alternated in the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House.
When: Netflix released Season 5 in two parts: 9 episodes on December 6, 2019, and 9 episodes on June 2, 2020, for a total of 18 episodes.
Where: The show is set in San Francisco, California.
Why: Listen to the podcast series, via the various embedded links below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Fuller House.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
So many CPU! regulars, including frequent CPU! contributor and panelist Kristen, love Full House and were particular excited, at least initially, by the Netflix revival of this long dormant sitcom, creating a brand new chapter for the series, which the streaming channel calls Fuller House. In fact, Kristen saw an opportunity for a new CPU! podcast series, in which CPU! panelists look back at the program that started it all while looking forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the sixth and final episode of said CPU! series covering the various versions of this sitcom, which we at CPU! call our “Full/er House Series.” Listen to our previous episodes in this series, in which we Look Back at Full House as well as review and recap previous seasons of Fuller House, via embedded links below:
Episode One: Looking Back at “Full House“
Episode Two: “Fuller House,” Season 1
Episode Three: “Fuller House,” Season 2
Episode Four: “Fuller House,” Season 3
Episode Five: “Fuller House,” Season 4
Most frequent panelist Kristen returns to serve as main moderator and is, in turn, rejoined by her fellow series panelists Leslie, Samantha, and Jared, all of whom proved game to return for this sixth and final episode of our “Full/er House” series (another prior panelist departed the podcast for life’s greater journeys). They are, in turn, newly and more fully joined by one panelist new to the panel but not to the podcast, namely Stephanie (who previously Looked Back at Reign), and by a brand new panelist, embarking upon his CPU! journey for the first time – Justin!
In this latest and final CPU! Fuller House episode, the panel discusses their favorite and least favorite moments from the fifth and final season of the reboot. In sum, the panel’s reactions to Season 5 are universally more overwhelmingly positive and genuinely heartfelt, in terms of an average rating, compared to reactions recorded to previous seasons. Listen to this last podcast episode in our Series, if you have watched all five seasons of Fuller House, and gauge whether you agree or disagree with our panelists’ final take.
This podcast was recorded in September 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points and comedic situations portrayed in all five seasons of Fuller House. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, after CPU! jumped the shark watching Will & Grace with our “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” episode published in 2019, and given that the series finale aired in spring 2020, Kylie, the Chief Couch Potato and the last United Couch Potato to persevere with watching the entire series, revival in tow, returns to the Water Cooler, all by her lonesome, to offer you her Final Thoughts about Will & Grace, in the second published iteration of the companion feature to our “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” episodes. In “Final Thoughts,” anyone who did not jump the shark in the previous “SJA” episode visits the moderating microphone a final time for the relevant series to offer their individual Parting Shots about a show that their co-panelist(s) simply could not complete on their own, for whatever the reason. Stay tuned!
Lingering Questions
Old Questions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: Will Michelle, aka Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, ever return to the show? (And why are they so snooty about it…it launched their careers, and the ability they had to start their alleged fashion empire?)
FINAL ANSWER: No. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen do not return to the show; in fact, apparently they were not even asked to appear in the final season, as they had declined to appear in all of the other seasons.As for the parenthetical question, we guess we will never know.
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Will we see any of Michelle’s friends?
FINAL ANSWER: No.
3) Will DJ and Steve get married – finally?
ANSWER: Yes!
4) What will Stephanie and Jimmy’s baby girl be named?
ANSWER: Danielle “Danni” Jo, honoring father Danny and sister Donna Jo (aka DJ).
5) Will there be a double wedding, with DJ/Steve and Stephanie/Jimmy, or even a triple wedding, with Kimmy/Fernando?
ANSWER: Triple wedding action all the way!
6) But seriously, will Michelle return? Or, will Stephanie and Jimmy name their daughter “Michelle” as an homage to the never-seen youngest Tanner sister, off doing her fashion thing?
ANSWER: But seriously, aside from a cheesy reference or two, Michelle was told to “cut it out.” By it, I mean “her.” Michelle never returned to the Full House universe.
7) Will we see Joey’s kids again (the panel votes “no”)?
ANSWER: The panel’s wish was granted. Joey’s kids do not reappear in Season 5.
8) How will the show handle the departure of Lori Loughlin, who was caught up in the college admissions scandal of 2019 and who is expected to go to trial related to charges for bribery, and others, after attempting to fix college admissions with financial incentives at prestigious schools on behalf of her daughter? Or, will Loughlin actually be allowed to make an appearance in this final season?
ANSWER: Lori Loughlin does not appear in the final season, presumably because she was serving her prison sentence at the time of filming. The show suggested that Aunt Becky was off visiting/caring for her mother in Nebraska.
9) Will Kimmy and Fernando finally remarry, whether in the previously theorized triple wedding or not? What’s going on with them?
ANSWER: They reunite and get married as part of that triple wedding scenario. Nothing but happy endings on this show!
10) Will there be a happy ending? It’s Full(er) House, right? Will the show be able to make up for the lack of a satisfying ending, denied to the flagship series upon its abrupt 1995 cancellation?
ANSWER: Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for the panel’s answer to these questions.
11) Will the begrudging CPU! “Full/er House Series” panelists come around in the end?
ANSWER: Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for the panel’s answer to these questions.
12) How many panelists will there be at the last? Our panels are full at six or seven, and this panel has experienced quite the roller coaster in panel composition!
ANSWER: We finally achieved a full panel, which has not been true since Season 1! What a comeback for Fuller House and for CPU!’s Full/er House Series Panel!
PARTING SHOTS
Our panel, yet again comprised of old and new panelists alike, offers up a mostly universally agreeable set of fresh opinions, showing less variety and disagreement than that generally inspired by prior seasons. All but one panelist declares that Season 5 is one of the best of the show’s total five if not the reigning best, as the panel opines that Fuller House finished on a surprisingly strong note, a pleasant twist for many of the panelists who begrudgingly stuck around after emerging from the viewing of the “messy” penultimate fourth season. In fact, even though new panelist Justin holds a special soft spot for the risks taken in the fourth season as well as for some of the Season 4 directorial choices, even he can agree that the fifth season marked an out-of-the-ballpark homerun of a strong finish for a show that has been notoriously plagued by ups and downs, from producer/creators accused of harassment and bullying-type behavior who are then asked to step away to the ignominious departure of Aunt Becky, due to her real-life portrayer’s flirtation with some decidedly non-family friendly financial wheeling and dealing.
As a result, in light of the panel’s rotating roster, and in the end, more of the panelists than before recommend this reboot series to others who might enjoy the admittedly “cheesy” humor, though the overall recommendation by the panel is cautious at best, due to the unevenness of the series, with particular focus upon the middle three seasons. To the extent that the panelists recommend the show, they do so mainly for the nostalgic appeal and “turn your brain off” level of entertainment resulting from the perennially saccharine premise of this well-loved cast and the tongue-in-cheek presentation of its “aw, shucks” humor. Most of the panelists, however, would hesitate to recommend the show to anyone who has not seen the original Full House series, as this reboot series happily and wantonly relies upon running gags, inside jokes, cameos, and callbacks to that original series to fuel the fires of nostalgia that entice fans of this sequel to stay loyal in their watch.
In any event, our panelists proved gleeful if not outright ecstatic when Fuller House served up the hoped-for happy ending that one would expect from this family comedy franchise and continue to advocate that this sequel series and its ham and cheese on rye quality of humor remains easily binged and easily digested, with minimal heartburn or regret, even given its (prior) less well-received moments. As such, our panelists declare that the series finale was all bang and no whimper, leading them to regard watching the less interesting seasons as more worth the time investment at the last. For the discerning viewer seeking direction on whether or not to pick up this series, then, one can obviously glean from the above that the general reaction comes down to it “is what it is;” if you accept the Full(er) House brand on its own terms, you will not be disappointed. As panelist Justin notes in tonight’s episode, comparing it to other popular comedies like Seinfeld or The Office is futile: Full and Fuller House are what they are, and walking into either viewing experience with these mitigated expectations will render the viewing experience all the more enjoyable for anyone who decides not to “cut it out” – that is, either series, from viewers’ respective watch lists.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
Ended! Fuller House concluded with this fifth and final season. All Fuller House seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
While our Full House as well as Fuller House coverage is primarily done, don’t be surprised if these series make an appearance or two in coming discussions, from time to time. In the meantime, from our panel of Tannerino Fannerinos to you, thank you for listening to our Full/er House Series, which now officially comes to a close. To discover other shows discussed by CPU!, check here. For now, we bid you adieu!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in March 2021, our panel of Planetary Union crewpersons – including moderator Nick as well as panelists Sarah, Spencer, Jared, new panelists Ryan and Alex, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – gathered Around the Water Cooler to take a First Look at the available seasons, Seasons 1 and 2, of Seth MacFarlane’s science fiction parody meets homage, The Orville. If you have not watched any of The Orville, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Orville” is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by and starring Seth MacFarlane. The two existing seasons previously aired on Fox, though the show will be moving to Hulu when its third season airs; however, the series is currently on hiatus.
What: “The Orville” was created by and stars Seth MacFarlane as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union’s line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century.
When: Season 1 aired from September 10, 2017, to December 7, 2017, with a total of twelve episodes. Season 2 aired from December 30, 2018, to April 25, 2019, with a total of fourteen episodes. Both seasons aired on the Fox network.
Where: The action is set primarily in a fictional future aboard the eponymous ship as it moves through space, carrying out missions for the Earth-based Planetary Union.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
The Orville = 4.6, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
The Orville is set on the titular spacecraft, the USS Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploratory vessel in the Planetary Union, a 25th-century interstellar alliance of Earth and many other planets. The show consists of adventures encountered by the ship’s crew, usually involving planet exploration and visits to various parts of the galaxy.
THOUGHTS
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes, Couch Potatoes adjacent, and Orville crew aspirants called for a The Orville panel. Eager to accommodate when the demands are particularly vociferous, herein Couch Potatoes Unite! offers our recap and review of both available seasons of The Orville, in which our brand new panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of Seasons 1 and 2 of this series. Said panel convening at the Water Cooler tonight includes requesting CPU! panelists Nick, our second most involved panelist, one of our moderating team, and this panel’s moderator; Sarah, Nick’s wife, our third most involved panelist, and one of our moderating team; Spencer, our fourth most involved panelist (this week) and one of our moderating team; Jared, who is currently active on our Full/er House Series and This Is Us panels; and two brand new panelists! Our newly constituted panel of Planetary Union constituents and supporting CP’s, therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to take a “First Look” at this humorous send-up of all things sci-fi, and in so doing, ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this Seth MacFarlane-helmed series.
This episode was recorded in March 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of both available seasons of The Orville. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly!Next Wednesday, our Outlander panel re-gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler once again to conclude their five-part Catching-Up series with Episode Five, in time to move the show into Water Cooler coverage of upcoming seasons. In next week’s episode, however, we discuss the most recent season, the fifth, of the wildly popular Starz romantic historical drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
The Orville is recommended by this latest CPU! panel to anyone who enjoys science fiction, particularly Star Trek and Star Wars; the Seth MacFarlane brand of humor generally; and television sporting a strong undercurrent of parody laced with loving homage. The panelists unanimously and effusively praised the technical presentation of this series, specifically the visual effects and music/scoring, but they were also generally impressed with how the show evolved from something evoking MacFarlane’s standard comedic cadence, seen also in his animated vehicles (Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show), to a fond, fairly dramatic, and poignant tribute to the influences that inspired it, devoting ample reverence to those influences but also, in some ways, exceeding what they were able to accomplish. MacFarlane and his team of writers thoughtfully incorporate modern nuances and complexities without shortchanging any of them, while unabashedly relying upon contemporary comedic foundations not explored in depth by the Star Trek series from the past, even as The Orville especially draws upon and mimics the structures and episodic backbone of Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as the other nineties Star Trek series. The panelists also credit the carefully layered episode writing as well as the performances of the ensemble cast as being highlights of the viewing experience, though special consideration and discussion were focused upon the guest stars, as a few luminary names grace the guest cast list as well as the directors’ chairs, including veterans from the aforementioned Star Trek series but also from television generally. The panelists further proffer that the second season greatly improves upon what the first season has to offer, as the show somewhat abandons the full force of MacFarlane’s joking style while honing in upon situations that allow the intelligence of the science fiction-motivated drama to flourish. This shift is emphasized by a slight rotation of cast that occurs in Season 2, which reconfigures the ensemble cast chemistry but also elevates it, as that chemistry mixes with increasingly more sophisticated storytelling. As such, because of the exceptional care and quality underlying the presentation of what initially seemed to be parody but progressed into something quite different and unique to the show’s execution, the panelists prove only too eager to continue watching the third season when it releases to new airing home Hulu sometime later this year or next.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
The Orville was renewed for a third season by Fox, but the series will be moved to streaming platform Hulu, currently majority owned by 21st Century Fox, when the new season is released. In addition, the third season is not expected to drop until late 2021 or 2022 due to production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our next The Orville episode will, therefore, not record until after the third season is fully released. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play/Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Orville as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in April 2021, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 4 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Four of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that airs on NBC, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lyric Ross, as well as Asante Blackk and Griffin Dunne in Season 4.
When: Season 4 aired on NBC from September 24, 2019, to March 24, 2020, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall (Brown), an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey but relocate to Philadelphia in Season 4, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Four of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episodes One, Two, and Three here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 4 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program.
As such, tonight’s episode is the fourth and final episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016; our panel will convert to one of our regular Water Cooler panels to discuss Season 5 later this year. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in April 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fourth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Altered Carbon panel triumphantly (or, perhaps, defeatedly) returns to the Water Cooler in the first of a two-part panel-ending series, in which the panelists recap what has now become the series’ final season, Season 2, in light of Netflix’s late-2020 cancellation of the high-concept science fiction drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 5, which we will discuss in one of our standard “Water Cooler” formatted episodes later this year. Stay tuned!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019). In May 2021, however, it was announced that Season 6 would be the show’s final season; a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced, and there is some speculation that This Is Us is not expected to return until 2022. Our panel will react to the announcement regarding Season 6 being the final season when they recap and review Season 5; in fact, CPU! will next visit This Is Us to discuss Season 5 “Around the Water Cooler” later this year. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in February 2021, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 3 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Three of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, as well as Melanie Liburd and Lyric Ross in Season 3.
When: Season 3 aired on NBC from September 25, 2018, to April 2, 2019, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Three of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episodes One and Two here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 3 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program..
As such, tonight’s episode is the third episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 3 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in February 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the third season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Star Trek 50+ Series” returns to the Water Cooler to continue their mega-sized Retrospective Series covering all shows under the Star Trek franchise banner. Next week’s episode will talk the penultimate Season 6 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 4, which we will discuss in Episode Four of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. It was widely reported as of today’s publication, however, that Season 6 would be the series’ final season, to which our panel will react when they recap and review Season 5 later this year. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Four of this “Catching Up” Series in June 2021, during which our panel will focus upon Season 4. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in November 2020, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 2 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Two of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, as well as Alexandra Breckenridge and Ron Cephas Jones in Season 2.
When: Season 2 aired on NBC from September 26, 2017, to March 13, 2018, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Two of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episode One here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 2 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our recently formed panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program..
As such, tonight’s episode is the second episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 2 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in November 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next week, our Outlander panel re-gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler to continue a five-part Catching-Up series with Episode Three, in which we discuss the third season of the wildly romantic historical Starz drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons (these become subjects of this and future episodes in our “Catching Up” Series). The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 3, which we will discuss in Episode Three of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Three of this “Catching Up” Series in May 2021, during which our This Is Us panel will focus upon Season 3. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in August 2020, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – convenes for the first time around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 1 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode One of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones in Season 1.
When: Season 1 aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to March 14, 2017, with a total of eighteen episodes.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
This Is Us = 4.8, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel. Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess and Annie). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
THOUGHTS
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole complex, multi-layered shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 1 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our new panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series. The panel convening at the Water Cooler tonight includes requesting CPU! panelists Kristen (L), our most involved panelist and one of our moderating team; Spencer, our fifth most involved panelist (this week) and one of our moderating team; Eddy, who is currently active on our American Horror Story Series panel but who has appeared on several past panels; Emily (S), who is currently active on our American Horror Story Series and Riverdale panels but who has appeared on several past panels; Kristin (T), who is currently active on our The Crown panel; and Jared, who is currently active on our Full/er House Series panel. Our newly constituted panel of “Big Three”/Pearson supporting Couch Potatoes, therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to take a “First Look” at this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, to ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program.
As such, tonight’s episode is the first episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 1 of This Is Us, in which we are introduced to the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel is palpable – this series is one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in August 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the first season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Star Trek 50+ Series” returns to the Water Cooler to continue their mega-sized Retrospective Series covering all shows under the Star Trek franchise banner. Next week’s episode will talk Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us is recommended by our latest CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience. Our panel believes that this show will resonate most with people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons (these become subjects of future episodes in our “Catching Up” Series). The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 2, which we will discuss in Episode Two of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Two of this “Catching Up” Series in April 2021, during which our This Is Us panel will focus upon Season 2. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in June 2019, our newly “fuller” (really!) panel of fans of all things Tanner/Tanner-Fuller–including moderator Kristen; Andrew; Leslie; a panelist new to the panel but not to the podcast, namely Samantha; and brand new CPU! panelist Jared – gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to discuss the fourth season of the revival Netflix sequel series Fuller House in the fifth episode of CPU!’s Full/er House series (we previously looked back at original series Full House in Episode One and recapped prior seasons of Fuller House in subsequent episodes). Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at: couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kelsey Rezmer Keyboard: Kelsey Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Fuller House,” an American family situation comedy and sequel to Full House, which airs on the Netflix streaming service as an original series, which means, for the record, that it is available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix produced original content.
What: The series centers around DJ Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron Bure), a veterinarian and widowed mother of three sons, whose sister and best friend—the mother to a teenage daughter—provide support in her sons’ upbringings by moving in with her and into DJ and her sister’s childhood home.
SYNOPSIS
After the sudden death of DJ Tanner-Fuller’s (Bure) husband, Tommy, who was fulfilling his hazardous duties as a firefighter, DJ accepts the help of her sister, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and her best friend, Kimmy (Andrea Barber), as they move in to take part in raising DJ’s three sons: 13-year-old Jackson (Michael Campion), 7-year-old Max (Elias Harger), and baby Tommy Jr. (Dashiell and Fox Messitt). Kimmy’s teenage daughter, Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas), also moves in with DJ, Stephanie, Kimmy, and DJ’s children. Most of the Full House ensemble cast reprise their roles on Fuller House, either as regular cast members or in guest appearances, with the exception of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who alternated in the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House.
When: Netflix released Season 4 on December 14, 2018, with total of 13 episodes.
Where: The show is set in San Francisco, California.
Why: Listen to the podcast series, via the embedded links below, for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Fuller House.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
So many CPU! regulars, including frequent CPU! contributor and panelist Kristen, love Full House and were particular excited, at least initially, by the Netflix revival of this long dormant sitcom, creating a brand new chapter for the series, which the streaming channel calls Fuller House. In fact, Kristen saw an opportunity for a new CPU! podcast series, in which CPU! panelists look back at the program that started it all while looking forward “around the water cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the fifth episode of said CPU! series covering the various versions of this sitcom, which we at CPU! are calling our “Full/er House Series.” Listen to our previous episodes in this series, in which we Look Back at Full House and review and recap previous seasons of Fuller House, via embedded links below:
Episode One: Looking Back at “Full House”
Episode Two: “Fuller House,” Season 1
Episode Three: “Fuller House,” Season 2
Episode Four: “Fuller House,” Season 3
In addition, lacking the ability to fully appreciate Full House (and Fuller House) age-wise by a few years, the Chief CP steps aside from the moderating microphone once again, so that Kristen may serve as main moderator with the kind of enthusiasm this juggernaut of nostalgia deserves. Kristen is, in turn, rejoined by her fellow series panelists, Andrew and Leslie, who proved game to return for this fifth episode of our “Full/er House” series. They are, in turn, newly and more fully joined by one panelist new to the panel but not to the podcast, namely Samantha (currently involved in the Grace and Frankie and The Crown panels, among others), and by a brand new panelist, embarking upon his CPU! journey for the first time – Jared!
In this latest CPU! Fuller House episode, the panel discusses their favorite and least favorite moments from the fourth, and now officially penultimate, season of the reboot. In sum, the panel’s reactions to Season 4 prove more widely mixed and, in essence, more difficult to pinpoint, in terms of an average rating, compared to previous seasons. Some of our panelists struggled through the nuanced changes in the show following the involuntary departure of creator and Executive Producer Jeff Franklin, including the evolving tonal quality of the show following the move to Netflix (and given the time period that has elapsed since the original series ended), while other panelists continued to enjoy what they have always enjoyed about the series, the heart and soul of the Full House banner, and to take that entertainment value for what it’s worth. Listen to this latest podcast episode in our Series, if you have watched through Season 4, and gauge whether you agree or disagree with the plethora of opinions offered herein.
This podcast was recorded in June 2019, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points and comedic situations portrayed in the fourth season of Fuller House. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , and/or find us on Google Play to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Except not next week…because next Wednesday, CPU! will be publishing a rerun, as it’s the day before the day of American Independence, and we deserve a holiday too! We should really try to get outside and enjoy the summer weather instead of being glued to our TV screens all the time, or so they tell us, anyway. Plus, it’s super hard to concentrate on sound editing with all of those darn fireworks going off! To that end, new episodes resume anew on July 10, 2019, when an exciting new panel will be launched, one that will boldly go where CPU! has never gone before! Our “Star Trek 50+ Series” will meet at the Water Cooler for the first time in July to launch the largest multi-part, multi-episode Retrospective series ever initiated at Couch Potatoes Unite!, covering every single season of every single series of the Star Trek franchise (and the films too)! On July 10, the panel discusses Season 1 of Star Trek, the Original Series. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: Will Michelle, aka Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, ever return to the show? (And why are they so snooty about it…it launched their careers, and the ability they had to start their alleged fashion empire?)
TWEAKED ANSWER: Still a question, likely with a “no” answer, even as our panelists remain twelve percent hopeful. Unfortunately, our panelists report that the show resumed the off-putting jokes addressed to a broken fourth wall to call out the twins’ (and Michelle’s) absence.
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Will we see any of Michelle’s friends?
REPEAT ANSWER: Still a question, but without Michelle, why would anyone care about her friends?
3) Will Stephanie (Sweetin) and Jimmy (Adam Hagenbuch) get engaged?
ANSWER: Yes! In the Season 4 finale, after Kimmy (Barber) delivers Stephanie and Jimmy’s new baby via surrogacy, Jimmy proposes to Stephanie, and she answers, “Yes!”
4) Will everyone REALLY be moving back into the house – Danny (Bob Saget), Jesse (John Stamos), Becky (Lori Loughlin), Joey (Dave Coulier), and all of their various offspring included? Will everyone REALLY be shuffled back into their old quarters in this San Francisco house that seems to become more like a TARDIS as time passes (it’s bigger on the inside)?
ANSWER:No. Only Dannymoves in with his daughters, Kimmy, and their children temporarily while he explores the possibilities and potentialities related to retirement, but he moves out again once he finds his new post-retirement purpose with the help of Aunt Becky, specificallyhis old job at Wake Up, San Francisco. The other uncles and aunt simply make their usual visits.
5) Will DJ and Steve (Scott Weinger) finally stick?
ANSWER: They are officially official in Season 4 and so far, so good.
6) Why are the Gibblers so weird?
ANSWER: Some questions can only be answered thus: “TV Magic.”
7) Since there were three viable embryos from Stephanie’s surrogacy journey, will Kimmy be bearing multiple children for her?
ANSWER: Kimmy, as a surrogate, gives birth to one baby girl for Stephanie.
8) Will the show get better?
ANSWER: New panelist Jared feels that the show has remained consistent and “good;” panelist Leslie feels that the show improved upon Season 3 in the fourth season; panelist Andrew thinks that the show improved in Season 4 but is still worse than Seasons 1 and 2; moderator Kristen and new panelist Samantha regard the whole kit and caboodle as all downhill from here.
New Questions
1) Will DJ and Steve get married – finally?
2) What will Stephanie and Jimmy’s baby girl be named?
3) Will there be a double wedding, with DJ/Steve and Stephanie/Jimmy, or even a triple wedding, with Kimmy/Fernando?
4) But seriously, will Michelle return? Or, will Stephanie and Jimmy name their daughter “Michelle” as an homage to the never-seen youngest Tanner sister, off doing her fashion thing?
5) Will we see Joey’s kids again (the panel votes “no”)?
6) How will the show handle the departure of Lori Loughlin, who was caught up in the college admissions scandal of earlier this year and who is expected to go to trial related to charges for bribery, and others, after attempting to fix college admissions with financial incentives at prestigious schools on behalf of her daughter? Or, will Loughlin actually be allowed to make an appearance in this final season?
7) Will Kimmy and Fernando finally remarry, whether in the previously theorized triple wedding or not? What’s going on with them?
8) Will there be a happy ending? It’s Full(er) House, right? Will the show be able to make up for the lack of a satisfying ending, denied to the flagship series upon its abrupt 1995 cancellation?
9) Will the begrudging CPU! “Full/er House Series” panelists come around in the end?
10) How many panelists will there be at the last? Our panels are full at six or seven, and this panel has experienced quite the roller coaster in panel composition!
PARTING SHOTS
Our new panelists bring with them an offset cache of balanced fresh opinions. Panelist Jared enjoys and is entertained by the whole show, from start to finish, while panelist Samantha struggles along with some of her veteran compatriots on this panel. Some of the panelists readily recommend this reboot series to others who might enjoy the admittedly “cheesy” humor, while other panelists cannot imagine a world of people who might enjoy this show enough to warrant such a recommendation. To the extent that the panelists recommend the show, they do so mainly for the nostalgic appeal and “turn your brain off” level of entertainment resulting from the perennially saccharine premise of this well-loved cast and the tongue-in-cheek presentation of its “aw, shucks” humor. Most of the panelists would hesitate to recommend the show to anyone who has not seen the original Full House series, though the panelists also believe that the core audience of Fuller House has been established and will likely not grow, given the show’s specific oeuvre and vastly uneven quality.
The panelists’ reactions to the fourth season, as above, proved to be vastly diverse, with some exhibiting effervescent enthusiasm for it while others claimed to be downright unable to finish watching it, either in light of or in spite of the change in show runners resulting from the involuntary departure/discharge of original creator (of both Full House and Fuller House) Jeff Franklin. Still, our panelists hope for a happy ending at the end of what was announced to be the fifth and final season and still, at times begrudgingly, admit that this sequel series and its ham and cheese on rye quality of humor remains easily binged and easily digested, with minimal heartburn or regret, even given its less well-received moments. As such, our panelists hope for a Season 5 that ends with the proverbial bang and not the (mostly) expected whimper, even as but a segment of the panel continues to champion the series, while the rest of the panel sees fit only to round out the investment of time that they have devoted to this series, out of loyalty to CPU!, if nothing else (aw?). For the discerning viewer seeking direction on whether or not to pick up this series, then, one can obviously glean from the above that the general reaction “is what it is” and will be what it will be, which is probably not helpful in the end. In other words: watch it, and form your own judgment, because our panel is literally all over the very fuller map.
LOOKING AHEAD
Netflix renewed Fuller House for a fifth and final season of eighteen episodes, which is expected to release later this year, though no release date has yet been announced by the streaming service giant. CPU!’s next Full/er House episode, which will focus on this fifth and final season, will likely record and publish some time after the fifth season drops. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the blog, iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes in the Full/er House podcast series as well as of new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review (give us stars – many of them!). Thank you!
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