"the bear" - new series on fx

['stache 21,800]

6 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

Back to the walk in malfunction: that was the whole cause of Carms meltdown. He never got around to getting it replaced, and he blamed himself having a relationship for the oversite.

Or more importantly he blamed himself for trying to be happy for once.

The humanity of this show is its power more than anything else IMO. 

I thought it was a little too predictable that the second the restaurant had a setback he'd blame the relationship. Pretty minor overall though, will be interesting to see where it goes in Season 3.

[henrygandorf 29,189]

3 hours ago, 'stache said:

I thought it was a little too predictable that the second the restaurant had a setback he'd blame the relationship. Pretty minor overall though, will be interesting to see where it goes in Season 3.

it wasn't that relationship specifically, that was just a place-holder.  the idea was that if you're going to be great, you literally have to be fixated on this one thing and abandon everything else in your life.  you have to fully embrace the beast.  it's been a recurring theme throughout the series.

[LCHorn 2,615]

1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

it wasn't that relationship specifically, that was just a place-holder.  the idea was that if you're going to be great, you literally have to be fixated on this one thing and abandon everything else in your life.  you have to fully embrace the beast.  it's been a recurring theme throughout the series.

Well put.  

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

it wasn't that relationship specifically, that was just a place-holder.  the idea was that if you're going to be great, you literally have to be fixated on this one thing and abandon everything else in your life.  you have to fully embrace the beast.  it's been a recurring theme throughout the series.

And this is why I'll never be truly great at anything.  At least that's what I tell myself.

[MissingInAction 25,020]

37 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

And this is why I'll never be truly great at anything.  At least that's what I tell myself.

Well it is undefeated.

[henrygandorf 29,189]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

And this is why I'll never be truly great at anything.  At least that's what I tell myself.

counterpoint - that's a good thing.

to be truly great, you must suffer.  most brilliant artists are tortured souls who die miserable, many by their own hand.

[RPM 26,318]

I want to see Maître d' Cousin in action.

[ChickenSandwich 9,829]

Binging S2. 
 

Episode 7 may be the best in the series IMO

The anxiety and intensity are visceral, and the heart is Lasso-esc in this series.

Brings back tons of memories and emotions for those who have been there. 
 

3 to go but wow

Edited November 9, 2023 by ChickenSandwich

[ChickenSandwich 9,829]

On 6/29/2023 at 12:59 PM, A-Tex Devil said:

Every episode was named after something on the menu in finale, I believe.  Even Pop.  
 

I didn’t love the texts on Marcus’ phone at end.  We already have the main character conflicted between those he cares about and the job.  I don’t need the other.  
 

The biggest mistake even good TV shows make is contrived conflict/drama.  When I am watching a show like The Bear or any good TV show and I am trained to expect the other shoe to drop when something good happens, because it always does in TV drama. And then it doesn’t.  That is some of my favorite TV, frankly.  Richie’s arc in Forks is a great example of that. 

1000%

I felt the same about Lasso S1. 
 

Even in the finale I thought Syd would find Marcus knifed by the meth head in the alley, lol. 
 

Such a good series. 

[South Austin 52,458]

Like most series, I'm late to the party.  Avoiding spoilers on this thread, but I'm in the middle of Season 2 and this is some of the best TV I've ever seen.

The intro to Season 2, Episode 1 with Bruce Hornsby's "The Show Goes On" is outstanding.  

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

1 minute ago, South Austin said:

Like most series, I'm late to the party.  Avoiding spoilers on this thread, but I'm in the middle of Season 2 and this is some of the best TV I've ever seen.

The intro to Season 2, Episode 1 with Bruce Hornsby's "The Show Goes On" is outstanding.  

You have no clue how good it's about to get.

[YuppiesOfftheEastSide 28]

Phenomenal series but the coach k worship had me throwing up in my mouth. That’s not a spoiler, it’s a trigger warning.

[ajax 2,607]

I'm still so behind. The 7 minute long monologue in season 1 episode 8 with no cuts was fucking amazing.

I mean, I've acted. I've worked on independent films. If you've never done it, you have no idea how fucking hard that is, how fucking intense. And with the closeup, one little slip and it all falls apart and looks fake. Just an amazing performance. 

[someguy 1,508]

Wife and I watched Fishes tonight to prepare for the holiday season.  

[henrygandorf 29,189]

i'm rewatching s1.  it makes you like every character more.

except sydney.

[Deej 76,756]

10 hours ago, ajax said:

I mean, I've acted.

 

[South Austin 52,458]

Finished it last night. Easily in my top five of all-time favorite TV series.

All of the characters were outstanding, some stronger than others, but no weak links. Richie’s story arc was the most heart-tugging, and we felt ourselves tearing up and pumping our fists for him during those last few episodes.

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

12 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Finished it last night. Easily in my top five of all-time favorite TV series.

All of the characters were outstanding, some stronger than others, but no weak links. Richie’s story arc was the most heart-tugging, and we felt ourselves tearing up and pumping our fists for him during those last few episodes.

So you watched fishes the day before thanksgiving?  What a trip. 

[South Austin 52,458]

23 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So you watched fishes the day before thanksgiving?  What a trip. 

That and Review had me clenching the whole time.

[billfromlaketravis 11,448]

Did they ever explain Odenkirk’s relationship to the family? Dated Donna for a fairly long time is my best guess. Pretty ballsy to start a fight with Mikey when he’s really fortunate just to be invited. 

[RiverwalkMiner 247]

I introduced my 75 year old mom to The Bear, by watching Fishes after Thanksgiving dinner.  I am an only child, so that family chaos is totally foreign. 

She was traumatized and said she had to watch Hallmark Christmas movies the rest of the night. Oops 

Edited November 30, 2023 by RiverwalkMiner

[MissingInAction 25,020]

 Bro...

[South Austin 52,458]

They should have placed a warning at the beginning of Fishes similar to the ones they do before movies or TV shoes that have flashing lights which could induce seizures.

Edit:  I'll add that Review was equally phrenetic and clench-worthy, but had nowhere near the level of dysfunction and emotional chaos as Fishes.

Edited November 30, 2023 by South Austin

[RPM 26,318]

On 7/3/2022 at 9:46 PM, Hank Scorpio said:

The actor that plays Richie is so fucking good. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is outstanding. He's flown under the radar giving solid performances in The Royal Tenenbaums, American Splendor, John Adams and No Hard Feelings. This show has given him the platform to show his range. Cousin Ritchie is going to shine as Maître d'. 

[Deej 76,756]

6 hours ago, RiverwalkMiner said:

I introduced my 75 year old mom to The Bear, by watching Fishes after Thanksgiving dinner.  I am an only child, so that family chaos is totally foreign. 

She was traumatized and said she had to watch Hallmark Christmas movies the rest of the night. Oops 

She was going to watch them anyway. 

[henrygandorf 29,189]

6 hours ago, RPM said:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is outstanding. He's flown under the radar giving solid performances in The Royal Tenenbaums, American Splendor, John Adams and No Hard Feelings. This show has given him the platform to show his range. Cousin Ritchie is going to shine as Maître d'. 

also andor.

[LCHorn 2,615]

6 hours ago, RPM said:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is outstanding. He's flown under the radar giving solid performances in The Royal Tenenbaums, American Splendor, John Adams and No Hard Feelings. This show has given him the platform to show his range. Cousin Ritchie is going to shine as Maître d'. 

He’s definitely “that guy” who isn’t the lead but always does great work.  I first noticed John Adams but really started following his career after a 2 episode guest starring role on Person of Interest where they introduced my second true love (after my wife) Sarah Shahi. 

[mchookem 16,323]

6 hours ago, RPM said:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is outstanding. He's flown under the radar giving solid performances in The Royal Tenenbaums, American Splendor, John Adams and No Hard Feelings. This show has given him the platform to show his range. Cousin Ritchie is going to shine as Maître d'. 

he also shoved his face in Allison William's ass. so he's got that going for him 😄

[A-Tex Devil 2,446]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:43 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

Did they ever explain Odenkirk’s relationship to the family? Dated Donna for a fairly long time is my best guess. Pretty ballsy to start a fight with Mikey when he’s really fortunate just to be invited. 

I think he, Platt and Carmy’s dad were business partners and all of them are “family” in the worst way.  Odenkirk’s character is mentioned at least once in passing in prior episodes.  And he definitely had a relationship with Donna. When is unclear.  They still haven’t gotten into what happened to the dad. 

[Gordon Shumway 452]

Finished watching this last week.  Didn't want to spoil it, so stayed away from this thread until today.  Not much to add, this was such a great show from start to finish and the acting was incredible. 

I was wondering how everyone was related.  I know Fak and Ritchie were friends of the Berzattos, and Ritchie was basically raised by them.  Is uncle Jimmy  a real uncle and was it Jamie Lee Curtis's brother?  It seemed like he would be the dad's brother if it was a biological relation.  I know Mulaney and Paulson were married, but was Paulson another Aunt or cousin of Carm/Mikey/Sug?  

Unless i missed it, i don't think it was mentioned why Ritchie's wife left him and what happened to the dad. 

 

[LCHorn 2,615]

53 minutes ago, Gordon Shumway said:

Unless i missed it, i don't think it was mentioned why Ritchie's wife left him

They didn’t explain that and I hope they never do.  There’s this modern fixation with telling prequel stories and over explaining everything that flies in the face of 3000 years of story telling tradition.  

[South Austin 52,458]

Yeah, I don’t think every detail of the family and the characters’ backgrounds is necessary to the story. If some of that comes out in Season 3, great. If not, fine with me.

And it’s hard not to see why Richie’s wife left him, even if we don’t know the exact story. He was a hot head stuck as a utility player in a sandwich joint. His wife seemed to want some upward mobility, and in Fishes she had talked about finding a more-expensive house in a better neighborhood when they were up in the mom’s bedroom, and at the dinner table she was clearly excited at the idea that he might get a halfway decent job from Uncle Jimmy. And they never explain how that panned out, but a fair guess is that Jimmy gave Richie a shot at some sort of a job (Jimmy is clearly dirty, yet he also can be a softie when it comes to family) and he somehow fucked it up.

[Gordon Shumway 452]

I agree. Like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.  We may never know. Biggest question for me is the familial relationship. 

[Jerry Callo 8,699]

I doubt Uncle Jimmy ever gave Richie a job.  He just decided not to blow it all up at the Christmas table by exposing Richie as a liar right then and there.  

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

5 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

I doubt Uncle Jimmy ever gave Richie a job.  He just decided not to blow it all up at the Christmas table by exposing Richie as a liar right then and there.  

It was thoughtful of him to keep everything civil so they could all have a nice calm Christmas meal of 7 fishes together.  

[South Austin 52,458]

1 hour ago, Jerry Callo said:

I doubt Uncle Jimmy ever gave Richie a job.  He just decided not to blow it all up at the Christmas table by exposing Richie as a liar right then and there.  

Maybe.  But despite the position that Richie put Jimmy in with lying to his wife, I could see Jimmy being a man of his word after he told his wife that he'd be giving Richie a job.  And after that, Jimmy gave Richie a wink and a smile, instead of a "what the fuck" evil eye. 

But, Jimmy could've also lied to Richie's wife just to avoid throwing more gasoline onto the family fire that was heating up.

Again, good for message board discussion.  But it's not a detail I need to know in order to accept the other plot lines of the series.

Edited December 28, 2023 by South Austin

[RPM 26,318]

I assumed the job he gave Richie was schlepping for Mike.

[South Austin 52,458]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

I assumed the job he gave Richie was schlepping for Mike.

I may be wrong, but I recall in Fishes that Richie alluded to working at The Beef.

[VivaNaranja 466]

18 minutes ago, South Austin said:

I may be wrong, but I recall in Fishes that Richie alluded to working at The Beef.

*Berf

[South Austin 52,458]

It’s a collector’s item.

[mdmost 43,001]

Richie wanted to get out of working at the Beef which is why he was trying to get a job from Jimmy. I’m sure when the job didn’t materialize, Richie’s wife knew he was full of shit.

[Jimbaround 975]

I assumed he did give Richie a job and then fired him when Richie didn’t answer his phone when Jimmy called with some crisis.

That was cleared up in season 1 at the birthday party when Jimmy realized he was calling the wrong number.

[mchookem 16,323]

JAW wins his second GG which is well deserved...but wtf with this show in the 'musical/comedy' category 🤨

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

Cleaning up 

[billfromlaketravis 11,448]

I’ll say congrats to Ayo. Not my favorite performance on the show, but she’s the glue guy and I believe has directed and produced a few episodes. We probably don’t get The Bear without her. 

[mdmost 43,001]

Won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy. Stupid that it's in that category but it's awesome that it won a ton. Cousin should've won too. Thank you, Chef. 

[mchookem 16,323]

absolutely cleaning up at the Emmys, every category it's been nominated in 👍... should be a lock for best 'comedy' later, although yeah, what's with the category 🤨 lol. anyways...well deserved!

[utee94 15,808]

Just binged this over the long weekend.  Awesome show, but not a comedy.  

[henrygandorf 29,189]

On 1/7/2024 at 6:21 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

but she’s the glue guy and I believe has directed and produced a few episodes.

this is inaccurate. 

[mdmost 43,001]