Ed 10/29/03 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

"The Offer"

Yes, a $10 bet! And then we get Dr. Jerome as well, and more Mark and Cheswick "schooling" the new kid on "cool kids hatin'" that blows up in their face. Dr. Jerome "schools" Mike in a psych experiment.

Carol gets an offer to move to NYC to write for a start-up magazine. She vacillates, tells Ed she wants to stay in Stuckeyville with their friends, and then changes her mind at the last minute because she couldn't stomach teaching "The House of Seven Gables" for the millioneth time in class.

So next week, we'll get the upheaval of Ed and Carol's life as they embrace Carol's decision (though I don't really think they will go through with the move after everything is said and done).

 

[Lew Crippen]

No doubt they will stay in Stuckyville. But this will give a lot of tension for a few weeks as Ed has second thoughts, Carol claims that Ed is not truly supportive, Ed realizes that he is in fact not being supportive and gets on board, Ed has a hard time selling the bowling alley, meanwhile Carol is in New York and Ed and Carol are struggling with a long distance romance, the new magazine folds (or Carol gets fired) and everybody returns with enough tension to support another month of shows.

I probably left out some possibilities.

 

[Nathan_W]

Thought the Hello Deli bit with Rupert was darn funny...as well as the mention of Psychic Sandwich.

If you're interested in a few SPOILERS the Futon Critic has NBC's November sweeps line up listed with each show's description. The next three Ed episodes are there.

 

[Trenton McNeil]

Ed is overdoing the 'goofy happy go lucky guy next door' bit this season. I find it distracting and annoying. The Cheswick bit this week was refreshing, though. Really makes you think (if you were a High School outcast, that is...which everyone was in some way.).

I wish more people watched this show.

 

[Michael Martin]

I thought this week's episode was a fairly weak one, Ed-wise. The opening scene that ended with the $10 bet was great, and the last ten minutes were well done. In between....eeehhh.

Mike's storyline struck me as mean, not funny, and the "twist" at the end didn't make it any funnier.

Cheswick's storyline was the most solid, but it hurt that the kid playing a freshman (supposed to 14 or 15) looked at least 19!

Carol's storyline was OK, but the writing felt stale. It feels like the writers are so afraid of the David and Maddie syndrom that they're taking pains to NOT spend time simply showing them happy, and writing plots that don't involve huge stakes or conflict.

I hope the writing gets back to regular Ed quality, and soon.

Ed is overdoing the 'goofy happy go lucky guy next door' bit this season

I've noticed this, too - his goofiness seems a bit forced and less natural.

 

[MattGentry]

Agree with all the "overdoing the goofy." It does seem odd.

Things I liked:

- The "Halloween dry run." Not so much that, but when Ed gave Sara a cereal bar, and Mike said "that's weak." Then, Sara said "that's weak..." It was so cute I laughed for what seemed like an eternity after it.

- The whole Warren/Mark thing. I love those guys...

- I cannot believe no one has mentioned "The Human Box" yet. "The Human Box will strike you down!!" Hilarious...

- I knew Carol was going to turn down the offer, and was totally caught off guard at the end when she ran to the alley and said let's go to New York. Great twist.

Did not like how there was no Stubbs, but I can see how his character would have nothing to do in this ep. Anyways, not bad overall. Will love seeing what will happen with the whole move to NY thing.

 

[Pamela]

I do think the writers are still trying to find their "voice" now that Ed and Carol are together. That being said, I'd take a sub-par episode of Ed over 90% of the other TV dreck any day.

Good news ratings wise. This weeks ratings were up 33% over two weeks ago and 22% over last week.

 

[Michael Martin]

I'd take a sub-par episode of Ed over 90% of the other TV dreck any day.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

I'm enjoying this season more than I thought I would, given how the series came to a natural ending last season. But it seems to me that the writers are in a box themselves: if they break up Ed and Carol, they will face a massive revolt from the fans.

Someone referred to David and Maddie earlier in the thread. The difference is that, in "Moonlighting," the sexual tension was part of the plot but it wasn't the core. In "Ed," Ed and Carol are the core. Warren, Phil, Molly, etc. are great but people watched to see those two crazy kids come together.

So, how do you maintain the tension without alienating fans? Am I the only person who suspects that maybe the "surprise" or "twist" might be a baby or a wedding?

 

[Michael Martin]

So, how do you maintain the tension without alienating fans?

Frankly, I'm not interested in MORE tension. I want to see growth and humorous/entertaining situations. I'd like to see occasional episodes where Ed and Carol are just fine, with no real crisis threatening them.

I'm afraid the writers have simply exchanged the constant reasons not to be together with constant reasons for Ed and Carol to be in jeopardy as a couple. Ugh. If I want that, I'll watch a soap opera.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Good news ratings wise. This weeks ratings were up 33% over two weeks ago and 22% over last week.

Instead of baseball, it was on against the season premiere of "That 70s Show" and the series premiere of "A Minute with Stan Hooper". That's probably a big reason for the improved ratings.

As an aside, "...Hooper" was amusing in parts, and could be a good show once it finds its legs, but it is targeted at almost the exact same demographic as Ed. I guess it is this year's version of putting "Bernie Mac" on against "My Wife and Kids". It seems like a bad idea for both shows.

Regards,

 

[Don Black]

I like Ed a lot more with the Carol/Ed thing out of the way. I just didn't think that that plot line worked even though it was so central. The Ryan/Hanks or Messing/Mcormick chemistry just isn't there. With that gone, the show works very well as an ensemble comedy.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

I have to disagree. The fact that the show went into the tank once the characters got together supports it.

After I submitted my previous post, I thought about it and realized I was wrong about "Moonlighting."

We still agree about "Ed." The writers seem to be afraid to let Ed and Carol grow together as a couple. (I can only assume that it's because they think it's boring. Like Tolstoy, they believe that all happy families are alike; unhappy ones are unhappy in their own unique way.) Only the threats are more annoying than the devices used to keep them apart.

Plus the dreaded sweeps when the networks will go to absurd lengths to draw viewers.