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 couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our magical panel of TV-watching witches and warlocks – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Sarah, Jessica, and Michael (DA; former panelist Jeremy jumped the shark) – reconvenes Around the Water Cooler to continue our ongoing CPU! panel, for which we have Looked Back to Look Forward at all shows named Charmed. This is the fourth episode of an ongoing CPU! podcast series examining the various iterations of the Power of Three; this episode continues ongoing “Water Cooler” coverage of the reboot CW series and discusses Season 3 of Charmed (2018). This particular episode was recorded in April 2022, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of either version of Charmed, 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), 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: “Charmed (2018)” is an American fantasy drama and reboot of the 1998 series of the same name, which currently airs on spring Fridays at 8:00 PM on the CW.
What: Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, Charmed (2018) is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which was created by Constance M. Burge and which originally aired from 1998 to 2006 on the CW and its predecessor network. The series follows the lives of three sisters—Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery)—who, after the death of their mother, discover that they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, destined to protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces. Each sister has an individual magical power, which is noticeably stronger when all three sisters work together as the “Power of Three” to defeat their enemies. The sisters are aided by a Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans), an advisor who protects and guides witches.
SYNOPSIS
The series begins with sisters Mel (Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Jeffery) living with their mother Marisol, who is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force. Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but who recently moved close by to accept a new job at the local university. The sisters unexpectedly start exhibiting new magical abilities the first time they are together in the same room: the eldest Macy receives the power of telekinesis, middle sister Mel can freeze time, and the youngest Maggie can hear others’ thoughts. Soon afterward, their Whitelighter Harry (Evans) gathers all three sisters together and reveals to them that they are witches, as was their mother, and that Marisol bound her daughters’ powers when they were each born to protect them and to let them live normal lives but was in the process of unbinding their powers on the night she was murdered. The sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as The Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, who protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces.
When: Season 3 aired from January 24, 2021, to July 23, 2021, on the CW with a total of 18 episodes.
Where: In Season 3, the show is set primarily in Seattle, Washington, though the sisters have access to a magical portal that can take them pretty much anywhere.
Why: Listen to Episode 2 linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Charmed (2018).
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for a while now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A few years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. We started this series by Looking Back at Charmed (1998) in 2020. We subsequently Looked Back to Look Forward at the first two seasons of Charmed (2018) that same year. To catch up on those prior episodes, listen here:
The Charmed Series, Episode One: Looking Back at Charmed (1998)
The Charmed Series, Episode Two: Charmed (2018), Season 1 + Charmed (1998) Vs. Charmed (2018)
The Charmed Series, Episode Three: Charmed (2018), Season 2
This week, our Charmed Series panel – namely Sarah, Jessica, and Michael (former panelist Jeremy jumped the shark and departed the panel) – returns to the Water Cooler to continue its magical journey by resuming our Look Forward “Around the Water Cooler” at new seasons of the reboot. Tonight, we offer the fourth episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, wherein we recap and review the decidedly more frustrating and less well-liked (on average) Season 3 of Charmed (2018). Thisspecific series’ fluctuation in quality leads one to consider the trend (and costs) of rebooting and reviving older properties to capture and capitalize upon nostalgia, for better or for worse. The jury’s still out as to whether Charmed (2018) is “better” or “worse,” but after tonight’s discussion, the consensus of our panel seems to be leaning toward the latter category.
This podcast episode was recorded in April 2022, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the third season of the rebooted Charmed series. 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 Back at and to compare and contrast Seasons 3-5, i.e. the “WB seasons,” of the acclaimed animated mainstay’s original run to its first two Fox seasons. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) Will there be a huge battle to preserve the viability of magic between magical creatures and mortal humans, as panelist Michael hopes, wishes, and predicts?
ANSWER: There are some small battles in Season 3 but nothing of the size and scope for what Michael was hoping – and certainly not for the viability and sanctity of magic.
2) Who is the Conqueror and/or the leader of the Faction? Is it Julian (guest: Eric Balfour)? His once dead sister Rosemary? His Aunt Vivienne?
ANSWER: Deemed “the last Conqueror,” Aunt Vivienne Laurent was the Conqueror in question. She also led the Faction along with Julian; however, he defected when he realized what she was ultimately attempting to do (and in light of the feelings he nursed for Macy).
3) Will Julian’s sister Rosemary wake up/come alive and have magical properties, qualities, and/or identity since she has been given doses of Black Amber?
ANSWER: Rosemary wakes but only temporarily.
4) What happened to Godric? Where did he go after Parker gave up his demonic magical abilities?
ANSWER: Unknown at this time.
5) Will Macy get more power expansion in the coming season, as panelist Michael hopes? Maggie seems to have experienced the most magical evolutionary progress, at least in Season 2.
ANSWER: Yes, in the sense thatMacy successfully regains the demonic powers with which she was born after an evolving and somewhat reformed Abigael (Poppy Drayton) decides to return them to her as a means by which to make amends. Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for brief discussions about these events.
6) Will there be a musical episode, which seems to be all the rage on the CW these days and since Mantock and Jeffery can sing?
ANSWER: So far, there has been no musical episode.
7) Will one of the Charmed Ones die in this coming season, per the Ghost Elder’s (as Chief CP Kylie has dubbed her, though we now know her as “the Guardian”) prognostication when discussing the ledger of past Charmed Ones found in the Elders’ Command Center? If so, who would it be, and would she be replaced, similar to Paige’s storyline on the Original Charmed?
ANSWER: (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) Yes. Macy dies this season, and given that there is a Season 4, we expect a replacement Charmed One to appear in this subsequent season. We do not know yet how it plays out because none of us have started watching Season 4. Listen to the podcast episode for discussions, theories, and rants.
8) Does the Ledger of Charmed Ones list Charmed Ones that have existed in this universe? Wasn’t there only one set of possible “Charmed Ones,” as asserted by the Original Charmed? Or, does the Ledger suggest that there are parallel universes with different sets of Charmed Ones, as panelist Michael theorizes? Are the Halliwells and Paige listed in that book? Will we see their names listed?
ANSWER: Unknown. The Ledger was not revisited in Season 3.
9) Is Abigael somehow distantly related to the Veras and Macy? Panelist Jeremy said he was kidding, but now we can’t help but wonder if witches are all distantly related to each other.
ANSWER: We are safely betting not. It would be weird if she was, particularly since Abigael seems to have a thing for Mel.
10) Does the discussion of lay lines and of the existence of magical places imply that there are more sources for Black Amber or other mystical substances that fuel magic? Are there nexuses elsewhere around the world in this Charmed?
ANSWER: Unknown. Lay lines, magical sources, and magical nexuses were not revisited in Season 3.
11) Will the house and, therefore, the sisters move again since they were magically transported from Michigan to Washington State in Season 2? Are they drawn to where they are needed, or will they stay in Seattle for a time? If they don’t stay, what will happen to Safe Space, Jordan (Jordan Donica), and some of the other relationships that the sisters started in Seattle?
ANSWER: No. The sisters and the house remain in Seattle for Season 3.
12) Whatever happened to spells used for personal gain in this Charmed? Are they allowed without consequences in this series?
ANSWER: Unknown and unclear. Fortunately, the sisters did not seem to lean into spells for personal gain this season, so there was no way to really meditate upon this question.
13) If Julian is the Conqueror, how is he stopped? Will it require Macy to sacrifice her budding relationship with Harry to save him, since Julian still appears to be very much in love with Macy?
ANSWER: Julian is not the Conqueror.
14) Will Parker return in Season 3? Will Jordan? Or, is Maggie destined to be on a love-related carousel?
ANSWER: Parker does not return, but Jordan does; however, a magical “allergy” preventing the sisters from being close to each other or others precludes Maggie from further exploring her feelings for Jordan throughout much of the season. Only in the end do they contemplate a future together, which is teased in the final moments of the season finale.
15) What happened to Mel and Maggie’s special gifts, namely Mel’s bracelet and Maggie’s staff, left for them by their mother to channel their magical abilities?
ANSWER: Apparently, according to panelist Michael and at least in Maggie’s case, Maggie stopped using her staff because she lost the ability to be an empath when she gained her powers of persuasion/mind control/mind manipulation, thereby rendering her staff useless. Since Mel lost her freezing powers, at least for a time, and since she does not seem too preoccupied with jewelry, we assume Mel made a similar decision, since neither of these trinkets has been seen since Season 1.
16) Was there a spark of a little something-something between Mel and Abigael, as Chief CP Kylie noticed? Similarly, are Mel and Ruby done forever?
ANSWER: Mel and Ruby are still going strong, but Abigael definitely seems to have potent feelings for Mel as well. Mel does not seem to return them, and in some ways, it mightbe Abigael’s way of filling a void, a need for validation, but Abigael certainly expresses a type of respect for Mel that looks quite a bit like love in the end. If Abigael returns in Season 4, it will beinteresting to see how this plays out.
New Questions
1) How will the show (theoretically) replace Macy, since she was already a secret half-sister to Mel and Maggie and in order to reconstitute the Power of Three? The related magical beings have typically and always been sisters of some type. What will the show do to ensure its longevity, to the extent that any exists?
2) Will Abigael return in Season 4 since she left at the end of Season 3 to stay with her sister, with whom she had newly reconciled?
3) Will there be a truly “Big Battle,” as panelist Michael hopes, and would Abigael return to help the sisters in that event?
4) Will the show revisit the storyline in which a future Mel asks the “present-day” Mel to house an unborn fetus until the future Mel returns to claim the near-term baby? The panel all concludes that this was the show’s way of incorporating Melonie Diaz’s real-life pregnancy, but are we to assume that this is a future that may yet come to pass? Or, are these events associated with the future where Macy was still alive and using her demonic powers almost exclusively? Honestly, the future meets past/present storylines are fairly confusing to all of the panel, and we hope that the show attempts to clarify these pieces; otherwise, the lack of explanation might motivate a “jump the shark” decision.
5) Is there still a coming apocalypse-type event, and, if so, how far into the future does it occur? The time travel/visions of the future are not handled well or presented clearly this season.
6) What powers or benefits do the “Guardian(s)” in the magical tree below the Command Center under Safe Space actually provide to the Charmed Ones or to witch-kind generally? How many Guardian(s) are there, or does Macy’s spirit replace the one we’ve met already? How is the Guardian(s) different than the Elders that no longer exist on this version of the show?
7) If the third to-be-likely-replacement Charmed One is not a sister, who can she be, and how can she fit into the “Charmed One” aesthetic that has informed every version of this show since the original series premiered in the nineties?
PARTING SHOTS
All in all, our Charmed panel generally regards Season 3 much less positively than Season 2 and much more in line with how the remaining panelists regarded Season 1, which was not a favorable review (listen to the episode linked above). In particular, the panel feels that Season 3 is incredibly repetitive in terms of story structure while incorporating mechanics, such as the “allergy” – likely due to the influence of COVID-19 on production schedules and safety protocols – that ultimately undermined the serviceability of the plot as well as the entertainment value of the story, particularly as formerly appealing elements, like the “will they or won’t they” dynamic of Harry and Macy, lost the tension or urgency or novelty of their Season 2 introductions. In that vein, the story beats lost much of the heart and emotion that seemed so prevalent and so enticing in that second season. The panelists also opined that the season pacing and plot progression appeared to regress to something disjointed and lacking a forward evolution, at least for every character but Abigael, in this third season.
Thus, to that end, Charmed (2018) continues not to be recommended by any member of our panel currently, especially not to anyone older than younger Millennial viewers or Generation Z. The panelists unanimously see the rebooted Charmed as an entirely inferior product compared to its predecessor and adamantly believe that to the extent that Charmed can be recommended to anyone – and it would have to be the type who generally enjoys the magical, the fantastic, and the formula so often found on shows produced for the CW – the original Charmed is the only way to go in good recommending conscience, even as all four remaining panelists appreciate the modern context and the inclusive casting and concepts underlying the reboot. The panelists continue to unanimously believe that this reboot suffers from some drastically uneven performances, with some players (Mantock, Evans) being more convincing than others (Diaz); inconsistent writing; and poorly executed special effects. Still, every one of our Charmed panelists views Charmed(2018) as more of the same pure candy fluff representative of the superior original version. With the problems presented by the reboot, however, in terms of the production and performance quality as well as an unusual number of growing pains for a show that was controversially rebooted from another established series that ended relatively recently, our panelists are not so sure that this new iteration of the Power of Three will set you free. Take that for what it is worth, gentle listener, even if what it’s worth is but a casual mention in your personal TV-related Book of Shadows.
LOOKING AHEAD
The CW renewed Charmed (2018) for a fourth season, which premiered on March 11, 2022. No decision regarding renewal for a fifth season or cancellation has yet been announced. CPU! will next return to our Charmed Series following the finale of Season 4! Until then…stay tuned!
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 2022, our slightly smaller panel of peppy River Vixens and tough-as-nails Southside Serpents – moderator Sarah, Emily (S), Micah, Jessica, and Chief CP Kylie (one of our previous panelists departed the panel) – convenes for the fifth time around the CPU! Water Cooler (or are we at Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe?) to discuss Season 5 of the CW teen drama series Riverdale. As always, if you have not watched any of Riverdale, 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: “Riverdale” is an American teen drama based upon the characters of Archie Comics, which currently airs fall to spring Sundays at 8:00 PM on the CW.
What: Adapted for The CW by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “Riverdale” features an ensemble cast playing the traditional “Archie Comics” characters, with series regulars KJ Apa as Archie Andrews; Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper; Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge; Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, the series’ narrator; Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom; Casey Cott as Kevin Keller; Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle; and Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz as well as Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper and Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Archie Andrews’ (Apa) life in the small town of Riverdale and explores the darkness hidden behind its seemingly perfect image.
When: Season 5 aired on the CW from January 20, 2021, to October 6, 2021, with a total of 19 episodes.
Where: The action is set primarily in the fictional town of Riverdale, the comics-based home of the “Archie Comics” characters, though this season branched into New York City, New York as well as to an unspecified war location. The time is contemporaneous present day, presumably, but also seven years from when the main characters graduate, which occurs this season. Frankly, we are not really sure when this series is supposed to be taking place.
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
In 2020, we launched our Riverdale panel, caught up quickly on the first three seasons, and then continued this series as a Water Cooler entry later that year. You can listen to our first three episodes in this series below; the fourth episode was rerun last week into our audio feeds at Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music and is also below:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Panelists Emily (S), Micah, Jessica, and Chief CP Kylie triumphantly reconvene with moderator Sarah (one of our previous panelists departed the panel) Around the Water Cooler after an eighteen-month hiatus to pick up where our Riverdale series left off in 2020 when we last discussed this dark, soapy, and twisty Archie Comics adaptation. In tonight’s episode, CPU! continues forward-looking Water Cooler coverage of Riverdale with ourSeason 5 recap, and the Chief CP once again steps aside from the moderating microphone, so that Sarah may serve as the main moderator once more; if you recall, Sarah was a college roommate of Sarah Habel, who played Geraldine Grundy on the series for the first two seasons.
As such, our panel continues to remark upon the realness of Riverdale compared to its idyllically drawn source material in talking about the fifth season of this sudsy soap-opera-like teen drama, and in so doing, we ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and dark mysteries of this show – with a continued, and unmistakably plummeting, veritable variety of results and even more so in reaction to Season 5 and its seven-year time jump into the respective adulthoods of our four main characters. In tonight’s episode, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 5 of Riverdale, in which the town, the teens, some of their parents, and the various villains pockmarking this wry study of human nature, where real clashes with the ideal, grapple with saving the titular wicked little town from Hiram Lodge’s (Consuelos) efforts to de-incorporate its charter, resulting in even more new forms of darkness as well as new rounds of attempted murder, kidnapping, torture, and suicide, all of which definitely leave our panel confused and without proper suspension of disbelief as we try to puzzle through what is passing for the plot of the series in this fifth season.
This episode was recorded in April 2022, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points – very 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/or blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our This Is Us panel triumphantly returns to the CPU! Water Cooler, ready to process all of the informative events and jaw-dropping twists of the penultimate Season 5 in advance of the beginning of the end, the currently airing Season 6 and the upcoming series finale. Stay tuned for the return of arguably CPU!’s most enthusiastic panel – next week!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) Who is creating and/or sending the videotapes, and what is their purpose? Is it Charles? Is it Chic? Is it Mr. Honey after all (guest: Kerr Smith)? What do they even mean?
ANSWER: In a bit of an unexpected and marginally lame twist, the videotape auteur is revealed – in the leftover episodes clearly intended for the end of the fourth season – to be none other than Jughead’s (Sprouse) sister Jellybean, who becomes involved insnuff and other film productions for the purpose of capturing her brother’s attention, so that he would be compelled to stay in Riverdale. Unsurprisingly, she moves back to live with her mother following the family’s discovery of this information.
2) Has Skeet Ulrich left the show never to appear again, even though the end of Season 4 did not really tie off his character? Reports in the press and impressions left with the panel most certainly conflict, as some reports have Ulrich gone for good, while others suggest that he will at least appear in Season 5 in a recurring status, if for no other reason than to provide FP with a proper sendoff.
ANSWER: Skeet Ulrich appears in the handful of episodes starting this season that was clearly meant to be those originally planned to end Season 4; however, when Jellybean’s macabre hobby is revealed to the world, he leaves with her to ensure her good future. Ulrich does not reappear in the remaining episodes of Season 5.
3) What about Marisol Nichols? Is she going to appear long enough to provide Hermione Lodge an organic departure after Nichols announced her own departure from the series?
ANSWER: Marisol Nichols recurs somewhat in Season 5, but Hermione’s life transmutes to being a “real housewife” on some show that echoes real-life equivalents. She connects with Veronica (Mendes) once this season when Hiram’s (Consuelos) history and backstory are further explored, but she otherwise seems to have departed the show for good.
4) Will Molly Ringwald become a series regular in the future since Mary Andrews decides to stick around and care for Archie in the wake of Fred’s untimely passing (following Luke Perry’s untimely passing)?
ANSWER: Molly Ringwald has not become a series regular.
5) In Season 4, the show seems to tease “Barchie,” i.e. the romantic pairing of Archie and Betty (Reinhart), when they exchange some illicit kisses and, um, some illicit make-out sessions behind Veronica and Jughead’s respective backs, but then the show seems to “chicken out,” as several of our panelists described it, by having Archie return to Veronica and Betty return to Jughead. Was this sampling of “Barchie” a tease of what’s to come? Will “Varchie” and “Bughead” lose each pairing’s respective relationship momentum in the coming season? Will the show finally pull the controversial trigger of mixing up Archie’s love life, as often occurs in the comics?
ANSWER: In Season 5, Bughead is definitely a non-entity. With the passage of seven years as part of the show’s in-season time jump, Betty and Jughead drift apart and fail to reconnect, particularly when Jughead, in a state of progressive alcoholism, drunk-dials Betty one night to give her a piece of his mind about how she is an unsupportive significant other, which only serves to alienate Betty, somewhat understandably. In the meantime, as Archie and Betty reconvene in Riverdale as adults, their decidedly adult passions are teased and explored throughout the season, even though Archie temporarily contemplates reuniting with a separated-from-the-different-guy-who-is-her-husband Veronica, only for Varchie to realize that they are two different people who have evolved past the point of being able to understand one another and/or to make their enduring love work and/or to hold similar priorities.
6) At several points in Season 4, our characters remind us that they are living through their senior year of high school. Does the show mean to follow these characters to college? How would that even work?
ANSWER: No. In light of the writers’ decision to implement a seven-year time jump, we bypass “Archie: The College Years” and go straight to a future where Betty is a budding FBI agent, Jughead is a floundering and alcoholic novelist, Archie is a war veteran with ambitions for revitalizing his hometown, and Veronica is the “She-Wolf of Wall Street” as well as a high-end jewelry/valuables trader. In light of these developments, our podcast panel comes to tonight’s discussion equipped with some of its spiciest reactions to date. Listen to the episodefor details.
7) For several seasons, the series has discussed, and the character of Betty has grappled with, the idea that there is genetically-derived darkness within her; in fact, mysterious and possibly shady Charles informs her in Season 4 that she has the infamous “serial killer” gene, which she inherited from her father Hal. Is the show teasing a future in which Betty fully loses herself to this alleged darkness? Does that future transpire in Season 5?
ANSWER: While Betty continues to lean into that alleged genetic dark side with some choice decision-making this season – particularly during a vigilante investigation of a new serial killer – she does not fully lose herself in Season 5. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
8) Will we see Mr. Honey again since he informs our heroes that he has accepted the position as headmaster of Stonewall Preparatory Academy in the season finale and since Stonewall apparently battles Riverdale regularly in football?
ANSWER: No. Mr. Honey does not return to Riverdale. Stonewall leads itself, perhaps.
9) Josie left Riverdale to join the Katy Keene spinoff, which was subsequently canceled by the CW. Will Josie return to Riverdale in the coming season?
ANSWER: Josie (special guest Ashleigh Murray)returns in a one-off episode exploring the lives of Josie and her Pussycats post-time jump. This one-off episode has beenheavily rumored and all but confirmed to be a back-door pilot for a “Josie” spinoff. This is the only episode in which we see Josie in Season 5, though.
10) Who has access to Jughead’s story about Mr. Honey, which is played out in the series finale. It seems that the producer of the videotapes is someone who has proximity to sensitive information, particularly given the use of the masks in Jughead’s story and in the final videotape. Theory: is the videotape maker Betty? Does Betty have a dissociative identity that has started to engage in voyeuristic behavior, which she forgets when the “core” Betty reappears? Alternatively, who else could have access to the information, and why are the videotapes being made?
ANSWER: We were on the right track with our theories but were ultimately off-base, as we failed to suspect Jughead’s kid sister Jellybean in all of this voyeurism and videotape production. The child’s exposure to Riverdale was a bad influence on her, as the characters and our panelists all agree.
11) What will next season’s musical episode be?
ANSWER: “Next to Normal,” and, hoo boy, does our panel have*opinions*! Listen to the podcast episode for some strong ones.
12) Is Betty still in the FBI Junior Training Program? Or, did she quit?
ANSWER: Her length of stay in the training program is unspecified, but she’s now a full-blown employee of the FBI, so this question feels as if it’s pretty much moot.
13) Will we see Charles and Chic and/or learn more about them and their past next season?
ANSWER: Yes. Their relationship and, as it turns out, murderous schemes are, more or less, fully flushed out in Episode 2 of Season 5.
14) Is Kevin (Cott) and the others intent on restarting their “tickle ring” business? Why was this even a plot point this season? The story was universally unpopular with our Riverdale panelists.
ANSWER: Fortunately, this plot development was abandoned for Season 5, though Kevin is still cruising the woods outside the town. Poor Kevin. Giving him positive plot development seems like a challenge for this group of writers.
New Questions
1) What possible Big Bad can or will appear in Season 6? Will it actually be Cheryl (Pestch), on the warpath and determined to exact vengeance on behalf of her ancestor against the ancestors of Archie, Betty, and Jughead, who wronged her? Will Cheryl become a serial killer? Will her young, ginger protege kill for her?
2) What is the “Blossom Family Magic?” How did Cheryl seemingly manifest magical powers this season? Is she going to be the connective tissue that allows for the confirmed special guest appearance of Chilling Sabrina, Kiernan Shipka?
3) Will the show allow the relationship between Archie and Betty – otherwise known as the “Barchie” ship – to truly expand and evolve in Season 6 as Archie and Veronica and Betty and Jughead once did?
4) What will next season’s inevitable musical episode be? Guesses from the panel: Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Urinetown, Moulin Rouge, Spring Awakening (though Chief CP Kylie noted that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina already dipped into the Spring Awakening well), Rocky Horror Show, and Dear Evan Hansen?
5) Will there actually be a Josie and the Pussycats series?
6) Will Betty go “full dark side” in Season 6? Does Archie bring it out of her?
7) How effective is the town council in Season 6?
8) We assume that Archie and Betty will survive the bomb that exploded in Archie’s bedroom, having been set and activated by a disgraced Hiram Lodge. Where will Archie live now (presuming the house is destroyed), and will he and Betty go after Hiram, with or without Veronica and Jughead’s help?
9) How much of Veronica and Reggie’s (Melton) relationship do we see in Season 6?
10) Which of the supporting characters outside of the main four and Cheryl will return for Season 6?
PARTING SHOTS
Following the viewing of Season 5, the slightly smaller CPU! Riverdale panel reached a full consensus of opinion related to this series; at this juncture and unlike in previous episodes of CPU!’s Riverdale reviews, our five current panelists (including the moderator) do not currently recommend Riverdale to new viewers because the panel believes that anyone who has not yet chosen to watch this series will not likely be attracted to the show now, particularly as the panelists regardthe series’ already uneven quality to be at an all-time, disjointed low. In fact, several panelists went so far as to suggest that they might recommend the series instead to their worst enemy/enemies as a surreptitious means of subjecting them to torture and/or to suggest that consuming alcohol (drink legally and responsibly, kids!) could possibly aid the proceedings but for the fact that one would risk alcohol poisoning from the sheer volume of need for the dulling effects of the substance. Our most forgiving panelist, Micah, noted that the show was a tough sell from the start but would now ultimately require a phone scam to successfully foist it onto new viewers, so disreputable and ultimately trashy the show has become, at least to our current roster of panelists.
Our panelists also believe that Riverdale, if it is to appeal to new viewers, would still be most appropriate for anyone who enjoys watching teen dramas generally; for fans of noir storytelling, owing to Jughead’s overarching narration, as well as of horror and/or murder mysteries, in which this show heavily dabbles; for Archie Comics fans, with the caveat that these versions of the characters are nothing like their comic book counterparts; and for fans of CW-level standards of attractiveness, as the cast is filled to the brim with the usual types, in physical appearance anyway, that populate this network’s plethora of youth-oriented shows. To wit, the panelists spent much of tonight’s discussion focusing on how the writing remains woefully uneven to the point of nonsensical in Season 5, with most panelists regarding this season as the worst season yet. All panelists struggled with the time jump, the character choices and evolutions related to that time jump, and the repetitive nature of the storytelling despite the time jump, which only seems to heighten and emphasize the theory of many panelists that the writers have run out of ideas, despite the decades of source comics from which they can draw their perverted tales of inverted American utopia. In any event, our entire Riverdale panel, despite the panelists’ vociferously absent enthusiasm for this series (4 out of 5 panelists rate this show as 1 or 1.5 stars of 5 currently), remains committed if entirely unmotivated to watch Season 6, if for no other reason than morbid curiosity and a mild interest in a possible upcoming crossover between two CPU! panels, this one and that of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Stay tuned for all of the idyllic mischief, magic, and mayhem in our upcoming Season 6 recap and review, likely to publish later this year!
LOOKING AHEAD
In February 2021, the CW renewed Riverdale for a sixth season, which is currently airing and which premiered on November 16, 2021. In March 2022, the CW renewed the series for a seventh season as well. CPU! will next visit Riverdale at some point following the airing of the sixth season finale. 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 Riverdale 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 2021, our panel of would-be witches, warlocks, clairvoyants, mediums, and everything in between – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kels Selene, Jenn (K), and Jessica plus a special guest crossover panelist! – convenes for the fourth and final time around the CPU! Water Cooler (or are we at Dr. Cee’s bookshop?) to discuss the second part of the second season – and the final part of the whole, now-canceled series – of the Netflix supernatural/horror teen drama series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. As always, if you have not watched any of CAOS, 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: “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is an American supernatural horror teen drama based on the Archie Comics book of the same name created for Netflix, which means that all episodes are available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix produced original content.
What: Developed for Netflix by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is centered on the Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman, portrayed by Kiernan Shipka, and also stars Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Michelle Gomez, Jaz Sinclair, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Richard Coyle, Miranda Otto, Lachlan Watson, and Gavin Leatherwood.
SYNOPSIS
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a dark coming-of-age story that includes horror and witchcraft. Sabrina Spellman (Shipka) must reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her, her family, and the daylight world that humans inhabit.
When: Season 2, Part 2, was released to the Netflix streaming library on December 31, 2020, with a total of 8 episodes.
Where: The action is set primarily in the fictional town of Greendale, the comics-based home of the Archie Comics version of the Sabrina Spellman character. The time is undetermined.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1/Part 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has covered Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (or CAoS) since the beginning! You can listen to prior episodes here:
Season 1/Part 1
Season 1/Part 2
Season 2/Part 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. Well, with the emergence of the CW’s highly popular Riverdale and sister Netflix show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, acknowledged by both networks to be set in the same universe if not on the same network, several frequent CPU! ers became decidedly atwitter (not a Twitter) and began encouraging podcast coverage of the whole shebang in short order.
Thus, herein we offer a Season 2/Part 2 recap of the final segment of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in which our panel continues to remark upon the very dark tone of CAoS compared to its idyllically drawn source material and/or to its television predecessor, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Kels, Selene, Jenn, and Jessica return to the Water Cooler tonight to continue to ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and dark mysteries of this decidedly macabre and, now, canceled show. To wit, they also Look Back at the whole affair, now that all is said and done, in Canceled Corner, given this chilly adaptation’s short TV shelf-life.
This episode was recorded in November 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season’s second and final part. 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 panel convenes Around the Water Cooler for the purpose of Catching Up on a popular, star-studded HBO drama initially set to be a miniseries but which has elongated into two acclaimed seasons, ripe for discussion in a two-part mini-podcast series of our own. Stay tuned for the wine and philosophical waxing when we digest Season 1 of Big Little Lies, next week.
Lingering Questions
1) Why does the Eldritch Egg affect time? Did the Egg create a time bubble around the lake where Father Blackwood (Coyle) hides with Judith and Judas, in which Judith and Judas seem to abnormally age? Do the time effects stop when it hatches?
ANSWER: Unknown. The show never fully explains the Eldritch Egg or the time fluctuations or Judith and Judas’ abnormal aging.We only know that the Egg affects time, not why or how.
2) Are the Old Ones the Eldritch Horrors, and what horrors will we actually see in Part 2 of this season?
ANSWER: Yes. The Eldritch Horrors are labeled thusly: the Dark (based upon the Lovecraftian Darkness); the Uninvited; the Weird (which looks like a baby Cthulu, if we are being honest); the Imp of the Perverse; the Cosmic; the Returned; the Endless; and the Void.
3) What hatches from the Egg? Is it Cthulu?
ANSWER: Did the Egg hatch?! The internet says it was full of fetal fluid. What that fluid becomes is anybody’s guess because the Eldritch Horrors emerge from all sorts of origin points.
4) How does Father Blackwood find Judith and Judas in the dollhouse by the finale of Part 1?
ANSWER: Unknown.The entirety of Judith and Judas’ appearances in this series are underdeveloped, underwhelming, and underutilized.
5) Will we see more of the Hedge Witches that form the spell circle with the coven in the finale of Part 1?
ANSWER: No.
6) Where did Judas Iscariot go, since Sabrina is imprisoned in his rock in the Part 1 finale?
ANSWER: Back to the Ninth Circle of Hell, presumably, but it is not otherwise explained, as much of this show is not.Listen to tonight’s episode for rants.
7) Why is Sabrina dressed like Queen Elizabeth I in the Part 1 finale?
ANSWER: Unknown. Gross hubris as Queen of Hell or something?
8) Will both Sabrinas, the original and her out-of-time doppelganger, survive in the next Part? If not, which one will (or will neither of them)?
ANSWER: Yes! And they talk to each other and even hang out (le sigh). Listen to the podcast episode for details.
9) Will we see Edward Spellman in the next Part, and will he see either version of his daughter? Does he return in the form most familiar to the viewer, as the guide Zelda (Otto) sees in the Part 1 finale, or in some other form?
ANSWER: Not exactly. We see a version of Edward, brought forth by the Eldritch Horror known as the Returned, but he does not recognize his daughter, neither Sabrina Spellman nor her doppelganger, Sabrina Morningstar.
10) Will the Sabrina doppelganger be unseated from the throne of Hell and how? Will the unseating be caused by Lucifer and Lilith’s (Gomez) unborn child?
ANSWER: She is unseated in that she (SPOILER) dies helping Sabrina Spellman, the Earth-bound Sabrina, defeat the Eldritch Horror the Endless in a mirror world in which Sabrina the Teenage Witch crossovers occur, to the delight of many of our panelists. The child has no part in these events as Lilith is, ultimately, convinced to (SPOILER) kill her newborn child in a shocking turn of events. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
11) Will the existence of two Sabrinas further upset the balance between Heaven, Hell, and Earth? What does upsetting the balance truly mean?
ANSWER: Yes! According to Ambrose (Perdomo), the existence of two Sabrinas causes the cosmos to collide onto itself, all while the Eldritch Horrors exploit this happenstance to further bring on the end of days. It’s all such a situation, and we discuss it in tonight’s podcast episode.
12) Will we see Hilda (Davis) and Dr. Cee get married?
ANSWER: Yes!
13) Why did Lilith choose Ms. Wardwell’s form to appear to Sabrina initially in the first season? Was it really just because Ms. Wardwell is Sabrina’s favorite teacher?
ANSWER: Unknown. This is never (further) explained beyond that suggestion.
14) CAOS has been canceled by Netflix. How will it all end?
ANSWER: Not well. Listen to the podcast episode for rants.
15) Will we see the pagans again – the ones who survived, anyway, including Robin Goodfellow?
ANSWER: Robin Goodfellow hangs out, in a romantic type way, all season with Theo (Watson), but he is the only “pagan” we truly reunite with this half-season.
PARTING SHOTS
Our panel, resignedly, returns to its previous unanimity concerning its ability to recommend Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to other viewers by virtue of the fact that the panel regards the series’ final part, with a qualified exception in panelist Selene, as its universal least favorite of all available parts. In tonight’s episode, the panelists meditate upon the messy execution of this segment’s story threads and the writers’ almost pathological inability to capitalize upon interesting story ideas introduced but never developed or connected together in a satisfying way, of which there were many that were strung together in a continued convoluted spiderweb of plot, so much so that the panel was struck somewhat dumbfounded by the fact that the writers and producers were ultimately able to weave any of it together at all, though the least stable weaving certainly emerges in the show’s final eight episodes. Primarily, in tonight’s episode, the panel ponders several (more) instances of unrealized story potential, particularly as a negative for this half-season but also as the final note on a downward trend that had been evolving from the series’ promising if ultimately unsatisfying initial eight episodes.
Thus, the panel, unanimously, no longer recommends the show, except only in an exceptionally qualified manner, to anyone, at least beyond the first season, certainly, though Chief CP Kylie and some of the others cannot find it in their hearts or minds to recommend the series at all, having been thoroughly frustrated by the show’s chosen storytelling pastiche since the beginning. The panelists, by and large, enjoy the original spin applied to this adaptation, the overall visual aesthetic, the soundtrack of songs underscoring the action (though not necessarily those sung at times by the cast), and the supporting characters, especially Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardwell/Lilith/Madame Satan, even as most if not all of the panelists find Sabrina herself, whether as written and/or as a result of Shipka’s portrayal, to be wholly problematic and detracting to their overall enjoyment of the series. The panelists further opine that any would-be viewer should be prepared for a tale that, though centered on the familiar, somewhat saccharine characters of the decades-old Archie Comics, is nothing like the Sabrina Spellman of the comics or of the fluffier “Teenage Witch” variety played by Melissa Joan Hart in the late nineties and early 2000s. In any event, our entire CAOS panel contingent finds themselves, at the last, disappointed by the show’s final attempts at satisfying story execution and regards the show’s cancellation as deserved, in the end, given that the writers could not truly fully execute the spells they were weaving, despite the bevy of good ideas and inspirations on which they were drawing to attempt to bring the character of Teenage Witch Sabrina into a relevant, modern, horror-driven context.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
Canceled! Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was canceled by Netflix after four parts or seasons or two seasons with four parts (however you want to measure it), which are currently available to stream on Netflix. Did you watch CAoS from beginning to end? Let us know in the comments, and tell us what you thought of any or all of its seasons or parts or whatever unit of measurement you are using! And stay tuned! Though our CAoS coverage is complete with the publication of this episode, don’t be surprised if it makes an appearance or two in upcoming discussions, from time to time.
In the meantime, from our coven of witchy wannabes to you, thank you for listening to our episodes pertaining to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, all of which now officially end. To discover other shows discussed by CPU!, check here. For now, we bid you adieu!
Sabrina (Shipka) and Nick (Leatherwood) share a kiss in the afterlife before the final credits of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
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 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 2020, our panel of peppy River Vixens and tough-as-nails Southside Serpents – moderator Sarah, Emily (S), Micah, Jessica, Nate, and Chief CP Kylie (one of our previous panelists departed the podcast for life’s greater journeys) – convenes for the fourth time around the CPU! Water Cooler (or are we at Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe?) to discuss Season 4 of the CW teen drama series Riverdale. As always, if you have not watched any of Riverdale, 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: “Riverdale” is an American teen drama based upon the characters of Archie Comics, which typically airs fall to spring Wednesdays at 8:00 PM on the CW; it is currently on extended hiatus due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What: Adapted for The CW by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “Riverdale” features an ensemble cast playing the traditional “Archie Comics” characters, with series regulars KJ Apa as Archie Andrews; Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper; Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge; Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, the series’ narrator; Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom; Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy; Casey Cott as Kevin Keller; Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle; and Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz. Other characters in the series include the parents of the main characters: Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper, Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, and Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones.
SYNOPSIS
The series follows Archie Andrews’ (Apa) life in the small town of Riverdale and explores the darkness hidden behind its seemingly perfect image.
When: Season 4 aired on the CW from October 9, 2019, to May 6, 2020, with a total of 19 episodes after production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Where: The action is set primarily in the fictional town of Riverdale, the comics-based home of the “Archie Comics” characters. The time is contemporaneous present day, presumably.
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
Earlier this year, we launched our Riverdale panel and caught up quickly on the first three seasons. You can listen to our first three episodes in this new Water Cooler series here and at our audio feeds at Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Panelists Emily (S), Micah, Jessica, Nate, and Chief CP Kylie triumphantly reconvene with moderator Sarah (one of our previous panelists departed the podcast for life’s greater journeys) Around the Water Cooler to pick up where our Riverdale series left off in March of this year, when we talked about each of the first three seasons of Riverdale, in turn, in one of our “Catching Up” miniseries. In tonight’s episode, CPU! begins forward-looking Water Cooler coverage of Riverdale with ourSeason 4 recap, and the Chief CP once again steps aside from the moderating microphone, so that Sarah may serve as main moderator once more; if you recall, Sarah was a college roommate of Sarah Habel, who played Geraldine Grundy on the series for the first two seasons.
As such, our panel continues to remark upon the realness of Riverdale compared to its idyllically drawn source material in talking the fourth season of this sudsy soap opera-like teen drama, and in so doing, we ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and dark mysteries of this show – with a continued, veritable variety of results and even more so in reaction to Season 4 and its focus on Stonewall Preparatory Academy, the enigmatic Baxter Brothers mysteries, and the appearance of voyeuristic videotapes across Riverdale’s representation of #smalltownamerica (drink…if you’re playing along). In tonight’s episode, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of Riverdale, in which the town, the teens, their parents, and the various villains pockmarking this wry study of human nature, where real clashes with the ideal, grapple with new forms of darkness resulting in new rounds of attempted murder, kidnapping, torture, suicide, and a confusing mix of technology aiding the proceedings – camcorders meeting older generation cellular telephones definitely leaves our panel confused and without proper suspension of disbelief as we try to puzzle through what is passing for the time setting of the series.
This episode was recorded in September 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points – very 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 now 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/or blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our DCTU Series panel triumphantly returns to the CPU! Water Cooler ready to follow the cues presented in this past season’s Arrowverse crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, more or less, by beginning a two-part Catching-Up Miniseries. The first part of this miniseries offers a recap and review of the first two seasons of Black Lightning, newly included in the Arrowverse – recently redubbed the “CWVerse” – lineup following the aforementioned Crisis. Stay tuned for all of the DC-related snark from CPU!’s spiciest panel!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) Was the (alleged) Charles, the FBI agent and Alice’s (Amick) first child (possibly) with FP (Ulrich) that we see at the end of Season 3, the same Charles that was rooming with Chic, as Chic told Betty (Reinhart) and Alice in Season 2? Was FBI Charles living undercover with Chic, as moderator Sarah theorizes?
ANSWER: Yes, FP and Alice’s Charles (guest: Wyatt Nash) is the same Charles that roomed with Chic in Season 2, which means that Chic was, at least partially, telling the truth for once.Based upon information presented in one Season 4 scene, though, it seems that Charles and Chic might have been and might still be legitimately romantically involved, meaning that Charles would not have been living with Chic undercover, as moderator Sarah previously theorized; however, we do not have much detail related to Charles, Chic, or their back story beyond what we have been shown in the last three seasons, so there is still a hornet’s nest of questions surrounding that potentially toxic coupling.
2) In the flash forward in the Season 3 finale, why are Archie, Betty, and Veronica (Mendes) gathered at a campfire without Jughead (Sprouse)? Why do they burn his iconic beanie?
ANSWER: (SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER) Pursuant to events that transpire in Season 4, for which it is best to listen to tonight’s podcast episode for details, Jughead fakes his death to hopefully tease out the potential perpetrators of his planned murder by classmates at Stonewall Preparatory Academy. Jughead temporarily transfers to this new school on a writing scholarship, for reasons not entirely clear but which might be related to Jughead being poor and possibly the perfect patsy for mayhem and murder at this highly privileged boarding school, or so it is believed by his obnoxious classmates. His friends stage this campfire scene and burn the beanie to really sell the deception, which is closely monitored by the Stonewall students. It’s a long and convoluted tale: watch the season and then listen to tonight’s episode. The Season 4 plot is a bit of a brain busterthat simultaneously rings as less than convincing to the majority of our panelists.
3) Has FP (Ulrich) met Charles prior to Charles introducing himself to Betty and Jughead in the Season 3 finale?
ANSWER: Unknown. When Season 4 starts, Charles seems very chummy with the Coopers and Jones, who are living together in what used to be the Coopers’ house and is now the Jones’ house. The show does not explicitly answer the question of whether FP has encountered his biological son prior to now, but it is presumed that he has not.
4) Is FP actually Charles’ father? The panelists tossed out a wild theory that Hal Cooper is actually Charles’ father after all because the actor who plays Charles has some resemblance to Lochlyn Munro.
ANSWER: So far, the show is advocating that FP is definitely and actually Charles’ father and, therefore, Jughead and Jellybean’s half brother. The show has not even hinted at any nugget of a notion of an idea that Charles’ father could be anyone else, much less the erstwhile Hal.
5) Is Charles really who he says he is?
ANSWER: Unknown. So far, we have seen Charles acting as the FBI agent he claims to be, recruiting his younger half-sister Betty to be a junior FBI recruit, and helping out “Bughead” with their various exploits to get back at the rich and spoiled Stonewall Prep gang. If Charles has secrets beyond Chic, the viewer has not been made privy to them.
6) Where did the “Farm” members go when they “ascended?” Are they actually dead?
ANSWER: So far, they appear to be pretty dead. They certainly have not reappeared in Riverdale (so far).
7) What is Cheryl (Petsch) really doing with Jason’s corpse? Is she that far gone?
ANSWER: A little of this, a little of that. Cheryl’s grief over Jason consumes her this season, now confronted with his rotting corpse, which she stows in the Thornhill chapel below stairs. She also seems to have full conversations with his cadaver, which her girlfriend Toni aka “TT” (Morgan) seems far to copacetic with for our panel’s comfort. A B-plot this season revolves around Cheryl and the ensuing madness of the remaining Blossoms, and housing Jason’s body above ground only serves to up the macabre quotient; however, it’s best to watch the season to fully make sense of this development. Word to the wise: our panel barely discusses this plot point in tonight’s episode because, in the end, none of us were sure what difference it made to the overall story, except to further exploit Cheryl’s crazy and, perhaps, by proxy, Toni’s.
8) How does the show pay tribute to Luke Perry (RIP) in Season 4?
ANSWER: The Season 4 premiere is entirely devoted to writing Luke Perry’s character, Archie’s dad Fred Andrews, off the show. After Fred becomes the victim of a “hit and run” accident while helping a stranger on the side of the road, Riverdale, but particularly Archie, is besieged by grief. The town holds a huge memorial; the characters share memories of Fred; and when Archie goes to retrieve Fred’s body from the law enforcement agency that investigated the scene in the next town over, he stops at the location where Fred suffered his fate, only to encounter the stranger that Fred ultimately helped, who arrives to pay tribute to the man who lost his life saving hers. That stranger is played by none other than guest star Shannen Doherty. Many tears will be shed if you have not seen this episode, gentle listener.
9) What “revenge” is Hiram (Consuelos) planning for Hermione (Nichols)? Should we be rooting for these crazy kids at all?
ANSWER: This is a good question without an answer because it seems as if Hiram forgets all about revenge against Hermione and decides, instead, to go ahead with warring against his rebellious daughter Veronica in some sort of Shakespearean power play reminiscent of MacBeth coupled with the Greek tragedy Elektra. In fact, once Hiram is released from prison, where he does not stay for long, Hermione is persuaded to take him back quickly; we subsequently learn, along with Veronica, that Hiram is diagnosed with an unnamed degenerative disease. Of course,most of the season follows Veronica’s determination to upend her father’s hold over the manufacture and distribution of homegrown rum. So, if Hiram really cared to plot revenge against his estranged turned not estranged wife, it appears that he does a lousy job of his revenge machinations in the end.
Also, rooting for any member of the Lodge family feels like an exercise in masochism and futility. Our panel is most assuredly growing somewhat weary of that quarter of the Riverdale main four families. Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for details.
10) Is Season 4 really the best season yet, as some of our panelists earlier suggested?
ANSWER: No. The consensus of the panel is that this season is about as entertaining as Season 3, though it is slightly improved because the “Gryphons and Gargoyles” story line of Season 3 did not entertain as much as enrage, or at least frustrate, most of our panelists. Panelist Jessica, one of the early proponents of the alleged improved quality of this season, admits in tonight’s episode that she spoke too soon. All in all, the panelists described an increasing sense of ennui and repetition plaguing our collective Riverdale viewing experience, which is starting to engender restlessness amongst our panelists. Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for further rants and reviews.
New Questions
1) Who is creating and/or sending the videotapes, and what is their purpose? Is it Charles? Is it Chic? Is it Mr. Honey after all (guest: Kerr Smith)? What do they even mean?
2) Has Skeet Ulrich left the show never to appear again, even though the end of Season 4 did not really tie off his character? Reports in the press and impressions left with the panel most certainly conflict, as some reports have Ulrich gone for good while others suggest that he will at least appear in Season 5 in a recurring status, if for no other reason than to provide FP with a proper sendoff.
3) What about Marisol Nichols? Is she going to appear long enough to provide Hermione Lodge an organic departure after Nichols announced her own departure from the series?
4) Will Molly Ringwald become a series regular in the future, since Mary Andrews decides to stick around and care for Archie in the wake of Fred’s untimely passing (following Luke Perry’s untimely passing)?
5) In Season 4, the show seems to tease “Barchie,” i.e. the romantic pairing of Archie and Betty, when they exchange some illicit kisses and, um, some illicit make-out sessions behind Veronica and Jughead’s respective backs, but then the show seems to “chicken out,” as several of our panelists described it, by having Archie return to Veronica and Betty return to Jughead. Was this sampling of “Barchie” a tease of what’s to come? Will “Varchie” and “Bughead” lose each pairing’s respective relationship momentum in the coming season? Will the show finally pull the controversial trigger of mixing up Archie’s love life, as often occurs in the comics?
6) At several points in Season 4, our characters remind us that they are living through their senior year of high school. Does the show mean to follow these characters to college? How would that even work?
7) For several seasons, the series has discussed, and the character of Betty has grappled with, the idea that there is a genetic darkness within her; in fact, mysterious and possibly shady Charles informs her this season that she has the infamous “serial killer” gene, which she inherited from her father Hal. Is the show teasing a future in which Betty fully loses herself to this alleged darkness? Will that future occur in Season 5?
8) Will we see Mr. Honey again, since he informs our heroes that he has accepted the position as headmaster of Stonewall Preparatory Academy in the season finale and since Stonewall apparently battles Riverdale regularly in football?
9) Josie (Murray) left Riverdale to join the Katy Keene spinoff, which was subsequently canceled by the CW. Will Josie return to Riverdale in the coming season?
10) Who has access to Jughead’s story about Mr. Honey, which is played out in the series finale. It seems that the producer of the videotapes is someone who has proximity to sensitive information, particularly given the use of the masks in Jughead’s story and in the final videotape. Theory: is the videotape maker Betty? Does Betty have a dissociative identity that has started to engage in voyeuristic behavior, which she forgets when the “core” Betty reappears? Alternatively, who else could have access to the information, and why are the videotapes being made?
11) What will next season’s musical episode be?
12) Is Betty still in the FBI Junior Training Program? Or, did she quit?
13) Will we see Charles and Chic and/or learn more about them and their past next season?
14) Is Kevin (Cott) and the others intent on restarting their “tickle ring” business? Why was this even a plot point this season? The story was universally unpopular with our Riverdale panelists.
PARTING SHOTS
Following the viewing of Season 4, the CPU! Riverdale panel coalesced a bit more as far as overall consensus of opinion related to this series. In fact, at this juncture and unlike in previous episodes of CPU!’s Riverdale reviews, five of six of our panelists (including the moderator) do not currently recommend Riverdale to new viewers because the panel believes that anyone who has not yet chosen to watch this series will not likely be attracted to the show now, particularly as the panelists regardthe series’ already uneven quality to be slipping and/or deteriorating. Our panelists believe that Riverdale, if it is to appeal to new viewers, would still be most appropriate for anyone who enjoys watching teen dramas generally; for fans of noir storytelling, owing to Jughead’s overarching narration, as well as of horror and/or murder mysteries, in which this show heavily dabbles; for Archie Comics fans, with the caveat that these versions of the characters are nothing like their comic book counterparts; and for fans of CW-level standards of attractiveness, as the cast is filled to the brim with the usual types, in physical appearance anyway, that populate this network’s plethora of youth-oriented shows. Beyond these categories, the panelists expressed a wide spectrum of reasons why they would be less likely to recommend Riverdale after Season 4, describing the series as a a “niche” show, the guiltiest of pleasures, and occasionally “trashy” if not absolutely “bonkers,” like only the best soap operas can be.
To wit, the panelists continue to praise the cast performances and the original spin applied to this particular adaptation, even if the writing choices do not always successfully follow standard storytelling logic. As such, the panelists spend much of tonight’s discussion focusing upon how the writing remains woefully uneven in Season 4, with most panelists regarding this season as one of the worst seasons and virtually equivalent, in most panelists’ opinions, to Season 3, except for stalwart panelist Nate, who continues to rate the show “five stars” with the kind of devotion that only a true, unerring fan can muster. The panel modestly enjoyed the interweaving storylines of Stonewall Prep and Jughead’s alleged/faked death, Archie’s community center, Betty’s buddying around with her brother Charles, and, less so, Veronica’s business-related rebellion against her father Hiram, but common adjectives and phrases used by our panelists in tonight’s review, even by panelist Nate, included “repetitive,” “tedious,” and “it just doesn’t make sense.” In any event, our entire Riverdale panel, despite the panelists’ various and generally waning levels of enthusiasm for the series, remains cautiously motivated if somewhat less eager to watch Season 5, if for no other reason than to see how Season 4 would have ended but for the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
LOOKING AHEAD
On January 7, 2020, the CW renewed Riverdale for a fifth season, which is slated to premiere on January 20, 2021, following the delay resulting from a halt in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. CPU! will next visit Riverdale at some point following the airing of the fifth season finale. 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 Riverdale 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 couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, our magical panel of TV-watching witches and warlocks – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael (DA) – reconvenes Around the Water Cooler to continue a new, ongoing CPU! panel, one in which we have Looked Back to Look Forward at all shows named Charmed. This is the third episode of an ongoing CPU! podcast series examining the various iterations of the Power of Three; this episode continues ongoing “Water Cooler” coverage of the reboot CW series and discusses Season 2 of Charmed (2018). This particular episode was recorded in June 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of either version of Charmed, 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), 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: “Charmed (2018)” is an American fantasy drama and reboot of the 1998 series of the same name, which previously aired on fall to spring Fridays on the CW; it is currently on extended hiatus (due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and will be moving to Sunday nights when Season 3 premieres.
What: Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, Charmed (2018) is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which was created by Constance M. Burge and which originally aired from 1998 to 2006 on the CW and its predecessor network. The series follows the lives of three sisters—Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery)—who, after the death of their mother, discover that they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, destined to protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces. Each sister has an individual magical power, which is noticeably stronger when all three sisters work together as the “Power of Three” to defeat their enemies. The sisters are aided by a Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans), an advisor who protects and guides witches.
SYNOPSIS
The series begins with sisters Mel (Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Jeffery) living with their mother Marisol, who is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force. Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but who recently moved close by to accept a new job at the local university. The sisters unexpectedly start exhibiting new magical abilities the first time they are together in the same room: the eldest Macy receives the power of telekinesis, middle sister Mel can freeze time, and the youngest Maggie can hear others’ thoughts. Soon afterward, their Whitelighter Harry (Evans) gathers all three sisters together and reveals to them that they are witches, as was their mother, and that Marisol bound her daughters’ powers when they were each born to protect them and to let them live normal lives but was in the process of unbinding their powers on the night she was murdered. The sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, who protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces.
When: Season 2 aired from October 11, 2019, to May 1, 2020, on the CW with a total of 19 episodes (after production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Where: In Season 2, the show is set primarily in Seattle, Washington, though the sisters have access to a magical portal that can take them pretty much anywhere.
Why: Listen to Episode 2 linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Charmed (2018).
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. We started this series by Looking Back at Charmed (1998) earlier this month. We then Looked Back to Look Forward at the first season of Charmed (2018) last week. To catch up on those prior episodes, listen here:
The Charmed Series, Episode One: Looking Back at Charmed (1998)
The Charmed Series, Episode Two: Charmed (2018), Season 1 + Charmed (1998) Vs. Charmed (2018)
This week, our Charmed Series panel – namely Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael – returns to the Water Cooler to continue its magical journey by resuming our Look Forward “Around the Water Cooler” at new seasons of the reboot. Now finally caught up to the present, tonight, we offer the third episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, wherein we recap and review the much-improved and much more well-liked (on average) Season 2 of Charmed (2018). In fact, tonight’s discussion reminds all of us why persisting with a series might yield a more rewarding viewing experience in the long-run, even if initial episodes suffer from off-putting growing pains. Thisspecific series’ overall improvement leads one to consider how quick networks and streamers are to cancel cult properties these days, despite the trend of rebooting and reviving older properties to capture and to capitalize upon nostalgia, even if the newer version never fully satiates most viewers’ need for nostalgia because the new version is not the same as the old version. Of course, it’s too early in this series’ broadcasting life to deem Charmed (2018) the hallmark example for this argument, but it certainly makes one think and, in some small way, motivates further viewing of a series like this rebooted Charmed.
This podcast episode was recorded in June 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the second season of the rebooted Charmed series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
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Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Riverdale panel triumphantly returns to the Water Cooler, ready to kick off ongoing Water Cooler coverage of Archie-kins and the gang with their recap and review of Season 4. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
1) Will there be a huge battle to preserve the viability of magic between magical creatures and mortal humans, as panelist Michael hopes, wishes, and predicts?
2) Who is the Conqueror and/or the leader of the Faction? Is it Julian (guest: Eric Balfour)? His once dead sister Rosemary? His Aunt Vivienne?
3) Will Julian’s sister Rosemary wake up/come alive and have magical properties, qualities, and/or identity, since she has been given doses of Black Amber?
4) What happened to Godric? Where did he go after Parker gave up his demonic magical abilities?
5) Will Macy get more power expansion in the coming season, as panelist Michael hopes? Maggie seems to have experienced the most magical evolutionary progress, at least in Season 2.
6) Will there be a musical episode, which seems to be all the rage on the CW these days and since Mantock and Jeffery can sing?
7) Will one of the Charmed Ones die in this coming season, per the Ghost Elder’s (as Chief CP Kylie has dubbed her) prognostication when discussing the ledger of past Charmed Ones found in the Elders’ Command Center? If so, who would it be, and would she be replaced, similar to Paige’s story line on the Original Charmed?
8) Does the Ledger of Charmed Ones list Charmed Ones that have existed in this universe? Wasn’t there only one set of possible “Charmed Ones,” as asserted by the Original Charmed? Or, does the Ledger suggest that there are parallel universes with different sets of Charmed Ones, as panelist Michael theorizes? Are the Halliwells and Paige listed in that book? Will we see their names listed?
9) Is Abigael (Poppy Drayton) somehow distantly related to the Veras and Macy? Panelist Jeremy said he was kidding, but now we can’t help but wonder if witches are all distantly related to each other.
10) Does the discussion of lay lines and of the existence of magical places imply that there are more sources for Black Amber or other mystical substances that fuel magic? Are there nexuses elsewhere around the world in this Charmed?
11) Will the house and, therefore, the sisters move again, since they were magically transported from Michigan to Washington State in Season 2? Are they drawn to where they are needed, or will they stay in Seattle for a time? If they don’t stay, what will happen to Safe Space, Jordan (Jordan Donica), and some of the other relationships that the sisters started in Seattle?
12) Whatever happened to spells used for personal gain in this Charmed? Are they allowed without consequences in this series?
13) If Julian is the Conqueror, how is he stopped? Will it require Macy to sacrifice her budding relationship with Harry to save him, since Julian still appears to be very much in love with Macy?
14) Will Parker return in Season 3? Will Jordan? Or, is Maggie destined to be on a love-related carousel?
15) Whatever happened to Mel and Maggie’s special gifts, namely Mel’s bracelet and Maggie’s staff, left for them by their mother to channel their magical abilities?
16) Was there a spark of a little something-something between Mel and Abigael, as Chief CP Kylie noticed? Similarly, are Mel and Ruby done forever?
PARTING SHOTS
All in all, our Charmed panel, with the notable exception of panelist Jeremy, generally regarded Season 2 much more positively than Season 1. In particular, the women of our panel praised the transfer of the show’s setting to Seattle and the introduction of mechanics such as the Command Center, the Book of Elders, and the Sacred Tree – as well as the related adjacency to Safe Space – as elements that not only refreshed the story and added more intrigue and engagement but also provided room for Charmed (2018) to stand apart from the series from whence it rebooted. Generally speaking, the panelists also opined that the season pacing and story progression appeared to be much more structured, organized, and thoughtful in this second season, so much so that panelist Sarah evolved from outright hating the series to having some genuine enthusiasm for it.
Despite the observed improvement, however, Charmed(2018) continues not to be recommended by any member of our panel currently, especially not to anyone older than younger Millennial viewers or Generation Z. The panelists unanimously see the rebooted Charmed as an entirely inferior product compared to its predecessor and adamantly believe that, to the extent that Charmed can be recommended to anyone – and it would have to be the type who generally enjoys the magical, the fantastic, and the formula so often found on shows produced for the CW – the original Charmed was the only way to go in good recommending conscience, even as all five panelists appreciate the modern context and the inclusive casting and concepts underlying the reboot. Panelist Jeremy, assuming position as the panel’s new naysayer sees Charmed (2018) as more of a drab and repetitive recycling of formulae and tropes specifically employed on similar CW shows, such as Supernatural and the Original Charmed. He described watching Season 2 as a “chore” and a “slog” that no longer enticed him like the first season did because the new season lacks a “good hook” that renders the general tone of the entire show unique or different from other, similar fare. Panelist Jessica, however, cautiously sees potential for the reboot and feels comfortable recommending this more recent series with several qualifiers, including a disclaimer about the unevenness of Season 1.
Further, the panelists continue to unanimously believe that this reboot suffers from some drastically uneven performances, with some players (Mantock, Evans) being more convincing than others (Diaz, though she improved markedly in Season 2); from inconsistent (if improved) writing, even in this second season; and from poorly executed special effects. Still, every one of our Charmed panelists views Charmed(2018) as more of the same pure candy fluff representative of the superior original version. With the problems presented by the reboot, however, in terms of the production and performance quality as well as an unusual number of growing pains for a show that was controversially rebooted from another established series that ended relatively recently, our panelists are not so sure that this new iteration of the Power of Three will set you free. Take that for it’s worth, gentle listener, even if what it’s worth is but a casual mention in your personal TV-related Book of Shadows.
LOOKING AHEAD
The CW renewed Charmed (2018) for a third season, which is slated to premiere in January 2021 due to a delay in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though an official third season premiere date has not yet been announced at the time of this publication. CPU! will next return to our Charmed Series following the finale of Season 3! Until then…stay tuned!
As a footnote, and unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell.
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, our magical panel of TV-watching witches and warlocks – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael (DA) – reconvenes Around the Water Cooler to continue a new, ongoing CPU! panel, one in which we are Looking Back to Look Forward at all shows named Charmed. This is the second part of an ongoing CPU! podcast series examining the various iterations of the Power of Three; this episode begins ongoing “Water Cooler” coverage of the reboot CW series and discusses Season 1 of Charmed 2018 as well as compares both versions of Charmed in one of CPU!’s spicy “Vs.” debates. This particular episode was recorded in May 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of either version of Charmed, 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), 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: “Charmed (2018)” is an American fantasy drama and reboot of the 1998 series of the same name, which previously aired on fall to spring Fridays on the CW; it is currently on extended hiatus (due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and will be moving to Sunday nights when Season 3 premieres.
What: Developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole, and Amy Rardin, Charmed (2018) is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, which was created by Constance M. Burge and which originally aired from 1998 to 2006 on the CW and its predecessor network. The series follows the lives of three sisters—Macy (Madeleine Mantock), Mel (Melonie Diaz), and Maggie (Sarah Jeffery)—who, after the death of their mother, discover that they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, destined to protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces. Each sister has an individual magical power, which is noticeably stronger when all three sisters work together as the “Power of Three” to defeat their enemies. The sisters are aided by a Whitelighter, Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans), an advisor who protects and guides witches.
When: Season 1 aired from October 14, 2018, to May 19, 2019, on the CW with a total of 22 episodes.
Where: In Season 1, the show is set in the fictional college town of Hilltowne, Michigan.
Why: Listen to the podcast episode linked below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they found Charmed (2018).
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.
Charmed (2018) = 2.7, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
The series begins with sisters Mel (Diaz) and Maggie Vera (Jeffery) living with their mother Marisol, who is attacked and killed by an unknown dark force. Three months later, Mel and Maggie discover that they have an older half-sister, Macy Vaughn (Mantock), who was kept a secret by their mother for years but who recently moved to Hilltowne to accept a new job at the local university. The sisters unexpectedly start exhibiting new magical abilities the first time they are together in the same room: the eldest Macy receives the power of telekinesis, middle sister Mel can freeze time, and the youngest Maggie can hear others’ thoughts. Soon afterward, their Whitelighter Harry (Evans) gathers all three sisters together and reveals to them that they are witches, as was their mother, and that Marisol bound her daughters’ powers when they were each born to protect them and to let them live normal lives but was in the process of unbinding their powers on the night she was murdered. The sisters ultimately accept their new destiny as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful trio of good witches, who protect innocent lives from demons and other dark forces.
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. We Looked Back at Charmed (1998) last week. To catch up on that episode, listen here:
The Charmed Series, Part One: Looking Back at Charmed (1998)
This week, in keeping with the spirit of Marcel’s original suggestion and in light of Charmed controversially undergoing the reboot treatment, our Charmed Series panel – namely Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and Michael – returns to the Water Cooler to continue its magical journey. Tonight, however, we start our Look Forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the second episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, wherein we recap and review Season 1 of Charmed (2018), in all of its messy, slow-to-start, and somewhat awkward glory. Because the “OG” Charmed might be gone but is never forgotten, in this episode, our panel also engages in a semi-formal debate, CPU! style, wherein we compare characters, story lines, and other elements of the original Charmed to those of the rebooted Charmed in one of our spicy “Vs” discussions! It’s the kind of talk that is sure to resonate with the many vociferous Charmed fans out there, of then and now, since our panel’s opinions vary so widely among the five of us alone.
This podcast episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the first season of the rebooted Charmed series. 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 now 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, we’ll return to our Charmed series “Around the Water Cooler” a final time for the year when our magical Charmed panel returns to discuss Season 2 of the CW’s 2018 Charmed reboot (because the panelists actually all kept watching). Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
Charmed(2018) is not recommended by any member of our panel currently, at least upon finishing the first season. Most of the panelists see the rebooted Charmed as an entirely inferior product compared to its predecessor; the more forgiving of our panelists, namely Jeremy, stated very clearly that he needed to see more of the recent incarnation before he could affirmatively and definitely recommend it. Four out of five of our panelists adamantly believed that, to the extent that Charmed can be recommended to anyone – and it would have to be the type who generally enjoys the magical, the fantastic, and the formula so often found on shows produced for the CW – the original Charmed was the only way to go in good recommending conscience, even as all five panelists appreciated the modern context and the inclusive casting and concepts underlying the reboot. Panelist Sarah, easily the most vocal naysayer of our five, indicated that she would only likely recommend this series to someone if she “didn’t like the person” – or, at least, to someone who generally likes CW shows who has little to no expectations about the quality of what they are sitting down to watch.
Further, the panelists unanimously observed that this reboot suffers from some drastically uneven performances, with some players (Mantock, Evans) being more convincing than others (Diaz); from inconsistent writing; from poorly executed special effects; and from poor story pacing, to the point that the first fifteen episodes of Season 1 felt like needless filler, while the real story, or the most engaging parts of it, kicked in around Episode 15 or so. Still, like the show from whence it rebooted, every one of our Charmed panelists views Charmed(2018) as more of the same pure candy fluff representative of the superior original version. With the problems presented by the reboot, however, in terms of the production and performance quality as well as an unusual number of growing pains for a show that was controversially rebooted from another established series that ended relatively recently, our panelists are not so sure that this new iteration of the Power of Three will set you free. Take that for it’s worth, gentle listener, even if what it’s worth is but a casual mention in your personal TV-related Book of Shadows.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
The CW renewed Charmed (2018) for a third season, which is slated to premiere in January 2021 due to a delay in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though an official third season premiere date has not yet been announced at the time of this publication. CPU!’s next Charmed Series episode, which will focus on Season 2 of the reboot, will be published next week! Until then…stay tuned!
As a footnote, and unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell.
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, our magical panel of TV-watching witches and warlocks – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Sarah, Jeremy, Jessica, and new panelist Michael – by recommendation of viewers like you, gathered together to launch a new, ongoing CPU! panel, one in which we start by Looking Back at and reminiscing about a cult-favorite supernatural fantasy from the WB’s heyday, Charmed (1998). This is the first part of an ongoing CPU! podcast series examining the various iterations of The Power of Three; this episode will connect to ongoing “Water Cooler” coverage of the reboot CW series in subsequent episodes. This particular episode was recorded in May 2020, and, as always, if you haven’t seen any of the original Charmed, 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), 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: “Charmed,” a supernatural fantasy drama that aired first on the WB and then on the CW for eight seasons (1998-2006).
What: Created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, the series follows a trio of sisters, known as The Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all time, who use their combined “Power of Three” to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks.
SYNOPSIS
Each of the Charmed sisters possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they attempt to maintain normal lives in modern-day San Francisco. Keeping their supernatural identities separate and secret from their ordinary lives often becomes a challenge for them, with the exposure of magic having far-reaching consequences on their various relationships and resulting in a number of police and FBI investigations into their lives throughout the series. The story initially focuses on the three Halliwell sisters: Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). Following Prue’s death in the third season finale, their long-lost half sister Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan) assumes her place within the “Power of Three” from Season 4 onward.
When: The show aired for eight seasons from 1998 to 2006 on the WB and then, following the WB’s merger with the UPN network, on the CW.
Where: The show is primarily set in San Francisco, California. The time is present-day (relative to time of airing).
Why: Listen to the podcast episode below for the panelists’ individual stories on how they came to watch Charmed.
How – as in How Much Do We Love this Show?!
Couch Potatoes Unite! has been around for awhile now; listeners are finding us a bit more and becoming more comfortable reaching out with all sorts of feedback, which we highly encourage and welcome! A couple of years ago, a listener by the name of Marcel recommended that we launch a Charmed panel, particularly in light of the then-upcoming controversial reboot that ultimately premiered in 2018 amid much rancor and backlash from members of the original series cast as well as from the devoted Charmed fandom. “Controversial” might also be putting it mildly; we recorded these episodes during the spring/summer COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, long before members of the two Charmed casts starting taking pot shots at each other on social media and, therefore, in the press just this week.
Anyway, we are only too happy to take requests from listeners, my friends, which includes from you. It might take us awhile, though, to produce some episode discussions because requests around here tend to percolate for a variety of reasons, and when it came to Charmed, we had to wait and see how the new Charmed would fare before we could start comparing it to the much more beloved original version. Before we knew it, though, two seasons had already gone by (because the CW keeps renewing it…), a third season is upcoming, and so, therefore, we decided it was high time for the Power of Three to set Couch Potatoes Unite! free.
In light of Charmed controversially undergoing the reboot treatment, a few of our resident Couch Potatoes and Couch Potatoes adjacent join us for this magical journey, one in which we begin by Looking Back at the program the started it all while looking forward “Around the Water Cooler” as new seasons of the reboot are released. Thus, herein we offer the first episode of our series covering the various trios of sister-witches, which we at CPU! are calling our “Charmed Series.” Yes, the name is probably less than magical, but there is nothing like being direct and to the point, right? Speaking of direct and to the point, staffing our magical panel of united Couch Potatoes is our third most involved panelist Sarah, who is also part of our moderating team; Jeremy, who currently appears on CPU!’s Supernatural, Westworld, and Stranger Things panels and who recently appeared on our Mr. Robot Retrospective panel; Jessica, who appears on our Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina panels; and a brand new panelist!
This podcast episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points throughout the original Charmed series. 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 now 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, we’ll return to our Charmed series “Around the Water Cooler,” when our magical Charmed panel returns to discuss the first season of the CW’s 2018 Charmed reboot. Stay tuned for all of the spicy, witchy comparisons!
RECOMMENDATION
Charmed is not universally recommended by our panel in the sense that any one of our panelists truly believes that there is a wide audience for Charmed, no matter how much a couple of the individual panelists might wish there existed such an appeal. To wit, some panelists feel comfortable with the notion of recommending it to viewers with similar television-viewing tendencies – who enjoy the magical, the fantastic, and an occasionally soapy hue, such as is offered by this Aaron Spelling produced vehicle – while others see the potential for a broader connection, even as they acknowledge that Charmed, in any of its forms, might not actually be suitable for or enjoyed by all viewers. While none of our panelists engaged (yet) in a comparison to the reboot in this episode – stay tuned for that! – all panelists agree that the original (OG) Charmed offers heavy nostalgic appeal and a great, intimate main cast of big real-life personalities, since they famously have periods of not getting along with others in their immediate spheres or even with each other at times in the real and present world. It should be noted, however, that none of our Charmed panelists commented upon the expert or artisan-level production value of the show. Instead, every panelist agreed that Charmed is pure candy fluff, for the eyes, the ears, and the hearts, even as it bears an empowering, feminist message and produces a decidedly cult fervency in its fandom that has only become more vociferous in the wake of the creation of the (too soon?) recent reboot. Our panelists further agree that the Power of Three will set you free – oh, and that Rose McGowan wore very skimpy outfits on the show. Beyond these unanimous observations, the CPU! Charmed panelists proffer that Charmed will appeal to different viewers differently, given the series’ cast rotation and evolution – and that it is what it is, whether you like it or not.
Unfortunately, contrary to what I, your Chief CP, said at the end of tonight’s episode, as of this month, the original Charmed was removed from Netflix, given that its contract with the streaming service elapsed. The rumor is that it will be moving to NBC’s streamer, Peacock. If it’s there, give us a shout, or say a little spell. It was this move that prompted a couple of the OG cast to throw darts at the new series, which is currently on Netflix, with an ensuing few rounds of volleyed barbs and backlash to follow. We told you it was soapy – on and off camera, apparently.
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 2020, our panel of would-be witches, warlocks, clairvoyants, mediums, and everything in between – moderator Kylie, Kels (fka Kelsey), Selene, Jenn (K), and Jessica – convenes for the third and final (for now) time around the CPU! Water Cooler (or are we at Dr. Cee’s bookshop?) to discuss the first part of the second season of the Netflix supernatural/horror teen drama series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in this, Part Three of our three-part “Catching Up on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Miniseries.” As always, if you have not watched any of CAOS, 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: “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is an American supernatural horror teen drama based on the Archie Comics book of the same name created for Netflix, which means that all episodes are available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix produced original content.
What: Developed for Netflix by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is centered on the Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman, portrayed by Kiernan Shipka, and also stars Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Michelle Gomez, Jaz Sinclair, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Richard Coyle, Miranda Otto, Lachlan Watson, and Gavin Leatherwood.
SYNOPSIS
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a dark coming-of-age story that includes horror and witchcraft. Sabrina Spellman (Shipka) must reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her, her family, and the daylight world that humans inhabit.
When: Season 2, Part 1, was released to the Netflix streaming library on January 24, 2020, with a total of 8 episodes.
Where: The action is set primarily in the fictional town of Greendale, the comics-based home of the Archie Comics version of the Sabrina Spellman character. The time is as yet undetermined.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1/Part 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Part Three of our “Catching Up on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” miniseries. You can listen to Parts One and Two here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Castbox):
Season 1/Part 1
Season 1/Part 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. Well, with the emergence of the CW’s highly popular Riverdale and sister Netflix show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, acknowledged by both networks to be set in the same universe if not on the same network (one hopes logistics can be worked out for a crossover…though time is very limited now), several frequent CPU!ers became decidedly atwitter (not a Twitter) and began encouraging podcast coverage of the whole shebang in short order.
Thus, herein we offer a Season 2/Part 1 recap of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in which our panel continues to remark upon the very dark tone of CAOS compared to its idyllically drawn source material and/or to its television predecessor, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Kels, Selene, Jenn, and Jessica return to the Water Cooler tonight to continue to ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and dark mysteries of this decidedly macabre and, sadly, recently canceled show.
Tonight’s episode, therefore, is the third part of a three-part miniseries in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on Netflix in 2018. In this episode, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 2/Part 1 of CAOS, revisiting the town, the teens, their parents and guardians, the Church of Satan, Satan himself as depicted in this series, the wiles of Lilith (Gomez), pagans, the possible arrival of Eldritch Horrors, and the ongoing but potently magical combination of adding touches of horror and alternative worship to the traditionally bubble gum “Sabrina” property.
This episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season’s first part. 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, and on iHeartRadio(!) 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 Thursday, our The Good Place panel triumphantly returns to the LIVE and on Facebook Water Cooler to recap and review Season 4, the final season, and to Look Back at the existential situation comedy now that all is said and done. Stay tuned to our social media for the details!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
1) Why does the Eldritch Egg affect time? Did the Egg create a time bubble around the lake where Father Blackwood (Coyle) hides with Judith and Judas, in which Judith and Judas seem to abnormally age? Do the time effects stop when it hatches?
2) Are the Old Ones the Eldritch Horrors, and what horrors will we actually see in Part 2 of this season?
3) What hatches from the Egg? Is it Cthulu?
4) How does Father Blackwood find Judith and Judas in the dollhouse by the finale of Part 1?
5) Will we see more of the Hedge Witches that form the spell circle with the coven in the finale of Part 1?
6) Where did Judas Iscariot go, since Sabrina is imprisoned in his rock in the Part 1 finale?
7) Why is Sabrina dressed like Queen Elizabeth I in the Part 1 finale?
8) Will both Sabrinas, the original and her out-of-time doppelganger, survive in the next Part? If not, which one will (or will neither of them)?
9) Will we see Edward Spellman in the next Part, and will he see either version of his daughter? Does he return in the form most familiar to the viewer, as the guide Zelda (Otto) sees in the Part 1 finale, or in some other form?
10) Will the Sabrina doppelganger be unseated from the throne of Hell and how? Will the unseating be caused by Lucifer and Lilith’s (Gomez) unborn child?
11) Will the existence of two Sabrinas further upset the balance between Heaven, Hell, and Earth? What does upsetting the balance truly mean?
12) Will we see Hilda (Davis) and Dr. Cee get married?
13) Why did Lilith choose Ms. Wardwell’s form to appear to Sabrina initially in the first season? Was it really just because Ms. Wardwell is Sabrina’s favorite teacher?
14) CAOS has been canceled by Netflix. How will it all end?
15) Will we see the pagans again – the ones who survived, anyway, including Robin Goodfellow?
PARTING SHOTS
Our panel now waffles and retreats from its previous unanimity concerning its ability to recommend Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; we recorded this review and recap two months prior to the series cancellation, and upon further reflection, especially during the editing and production of the episode, it appears that, perhaps, we should not have been surprised by the announcement. After all, the panel regards the first part of the second season to be the panel’s universal least favorite of the three available parts. In tonight’s episode, the panelists frequently discuss the messy execution of this segment’s story threads, of which there were many that were strung together in a convoluted spiderweb (ha) of plot, so much so that the panel was struck somewhat dumbfounded by the fact that the writers and producers were ultimately able to weave any of it together at all. Primarily, the panel pondered several instances of unrealized story potential, particularly as a negative for this half season, especially now with the forthcoming series segment serving as the show’s final segment. How can it all be wrapped up in a convincing way, when Season 2’s first part seeded so many plot lines, many of which were not as developed or as cleanly presented as they could be and have previously been in the first season’s two parts?
Thus, the panel no longer forms a consensus when it comes to recommending CAOS to would-be witches and watchers. Those that do continue to recommend the show do so to anyone who enjoys watching horror or dark fantasy television generally, particularly those genre vehicles steeped in high-level mythology/mapped out lore, but also to anyone looking for something fresh and new; to fans of similar fare, such as American Horror Story, Supernatural, The Haunting of Hill House, and so on; and to those who do not mind a bit of gore, as opposed to “Disney-level spooky stuff.” Panelists Jessica and Chief CP Kylie, as well as Jenn (though she is not on the corresponding CPU! panel), also see the potential for Riverdale fans to enjoy this show, considering the fact that the series exists in the same television universe; in fact, some of us persist with watching both shows in the hopes of seeing a crossover (okay, that some of us might just be Kylie). As a whole, the panelists do not think that those who are squeamish, including those who are devoutly religious, might enjoy this chapter of Sabrina’s adventures, as satanic imagery is prominently used and referenced, unless the potential viewer does not mind different viewpoints and challenges to their comfort zone as part of their television viewing. The panelists by and large enjoy the original spin applied to this adaptation and the supporting characters, especially Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardwell/Lilith/Madame Satan, even as most if not all of the panelists find Sabrina herself, whether as written and/or as a result of Shipka’s portrayal, to be somewhat problematic and detracting to their overall enjoyment of the series. The panelists further note that any would-be viewer should be prepared for a tale that, though centered on the familiar, somewhat saccharine characters of the decades-old Archie Comics, is nothing like the Sabrina Spellman of the comics or of the fluffier “Teenage Witch” variety played by Melissa Joan Hart in the late nineties and early 2000s. In any event, our entire CAOS panel, despite the problems identified while analyzing the evolution of the story in this specific season segment, proves to be modestly disappointed by the news of the show’s cancellation and harbors some small hope that the series can end in a satisfying way when the final half is released, though Season 2, Part One, does not instill much confidence in this cautious optimism.
LOOKING AHEAD
Last week, on July 8, 2020, Netflix announced the cancellation of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which will end with the release of the second part of Season 2 some time later in 2020 (a specific release date has not yet been announced). CPU! will next visit Chilling Adventures of Sabrina following the release of the second season’s second part to process how it all concludes in “Canceled Corner.” Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding CAOS 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 January 2020, our panel of would-be witches, warlocks, clairvoyants, mediums, and everything in between – moderator Kylie, Kels (fka Kelsey), Selene, Jenn (K), and Jessica – convenes for the second time around the CPU! Water Cooler (or are we at Dr. Cee’s bookshop?) to discuss the second part of the first season of the Netflix supernatural/horror teen drama series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in this, Part Two of our (now) three-part (despite what tonight’s recording advertises) “Catching Up on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Miniseries.” As always, if you have not watched any of CAOS, 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
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