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Suburgatory "Thanksgiving"

1887 Views 12 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Steveknj, 
S
Not actually that great of an episode, IMHO. But one line made me LOL:

"God...you guys SUCK at Thanksgiving!!!"
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M
You know, one thing that struck me about this...

Teenage girls are portrayed in a fairly unflattering light, no matter what their background. Each girl, from the spoiled rich girl to our supposedly selfless protagonist, is incredibly self centered and obnoxious to the point of being unpleasant.

There are moments of humor, and some heart warming scenes, but overall, I think these girls are difficult to be around.

Although, on reflection, that is very likely true-to-life. I have a sister, and I lived through her overinflated drama. She and her friends were difficult to be around.
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Maui
Gobble Gobble!
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G
Maui said:
Gobble Gobble!
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I really hope that's something they made up for the show. I cringe thinking that there might actually be people in the world who would greet people like that on Thanksgiving.

Although this is my favorite new comedy of the year, there's one thing about it that bugs me, and this week's was a good example of it...Until they make it a plot point, I forget that they supposedly live as close to Manhattan as they apparently do.

Maybe it's my own perception, but the suburbs they live in seem more like something you'd find around Los Angeles than New York City.

When I think of stereotypical sitcom people from the NYC suburbs, I'd expect them to be people who likely grew up thinking they were Manhattan sophisticates, even though all they'd ever done in NYC is the same typical things that every tourist from around the world does. You'd think that type of character would be the perfect foil for Tessa's "real New Yorker", but it doesn't seem to exist on the show.

I thought it was unrealistic that Dallas would have been so unfamiliar with (even scared of) Manhattan. It would have been more in character (I believe) for her to be excited to go into the city and have her talk about all the touristy places she loves, while Tessa wants to show her the "real" Manhattan. Sheila is a character I could see having no interest in Manhattan, but not Dallas.

The suburb characters all seem indifferent to their proximity to NYC, which just seems unrealistic to me; but maybe I'm wrong.
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TonyD79
getbak said:
I thought it was unrealistic that Dallas would have been so unfamiliar with (even scared of) Manhattan. It would have been more in character (I believe) for her to be excited to go into the city and have her talk about all the touristy places she loves, while Tessa wants to show her the "real" Manhattan. Sheila is a character I could see having no interest in Manhattan, but not Dallas.

The suburb characters all seem indifferent to their proximity to NYC, which just seems unrealistic to me; but maybe I'm wrong.
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I used to work with people who lived in New Jersey, right near the GW Bridge A couple of them vowed to never go into the city because it was dangerous. My sisters landlord in Queens hadn't gone into Manhatten for decades, which they called "the city."

I know lots of people in Maryland who never go into Baltimore or Washington unless it is for a sporting event.

It is not as unusual as you think.
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getbak said:
Until they make it a plot point, I forget that they supposedly live as close to Manhattan as they apparently do.

Maybe it's my own perception, but the suburbs they live in seem more like something you'd find around Los Angeles than New York City.

When I think of stereotypical sitcom people from the NYC suburbs, I'd expect them to be people who likely grew up thinking they were Manhattan sophisticates, even though all they'd ever done in NYC is the same typical things that every tourist from around the world does. You'd think that type of character would be the perfect foil for Tessa's "real New Yorker", but it doesn't seem to exist on the show.

I thought it was unrealistic that Dallas would have been so unfamiliar with (even scared of) Manhattan. It would have been more in character (I believe) for her to be excited to go into the city and have her talk about all the touristy places she loves, while Tessa wants to show her the "real" Manhattan. Sheila is a character I could see having no interest in Manhattan, but not Dallas.

The suburb characters all seem indifferent to their proximity to NYC, which just seems unrealistic to me; but maybe I'm wrong.
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Actually, this is quite realistic. I grew up in New Jersey, just 10 miles north of the George Washington Bridge and we hardly ever went into the "city". For starters, it's a pain in the neck to drive and park, and many parts of NJ, even close by, don't have good public transportation. It's a world apart in the burbs.
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desaun
TonyD79 said:
I used to work with people who lived in New Jersey, right near the GW Bridge A couple of them vowed to never go into the city because it was dangerous. My sisters landlord in Queens hadn't gone into Manhatten for decades, which they called "the city."

I know lots of people in Maryland who never go into Baltimore or Washington unless it is for a sporting event.

It is not as unusual as you think.
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Similar situation here in Detroit. I was born and raised near downtown Detroit, but once I moved to the suburbs (just 10-15 minutes from downtown) I was amazed at the number of people who've never crossed into the city limits.

I can definitely see the same being said about NY.
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JYoung
getbak said:
Maybe it's my own perception, but the suburbs they live in seem more like something you'd find around Los Angeles than New York City.
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Probably because they are shooting in Los Angeles.
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Aniketos
StacieH said:
Not actually that great of an episode, IMHO.
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I thought it was one of their better ones simply because they are starting to flesh out the other characters and they weren't all just walking punchlines.
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M
getbak said:
Until they make it a plot point, I forget that they supposedly live as close to Manhattan as they apparently do.

Maybe it's my own perception, but the suburbs they live in seem more like something you'd find around Los Angeles than New York City.
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Aren't they supposed to be an hour or more out of NYC?

(I've never been to NYC, but sure think I've seen lots of other shows depicting [fictional or factual] suburbs that near NYC.)
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vman41
mattack said:
Aren't they supposed to be an hour or more out of NYC?

(I've never been to NYC, but sure think I've seen lots of other shows depicting [fictional or factual] suburbs that near NYC.)
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How far out of town is New Rochelle, where Robert Petry lived?
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Steveknj
MikeCC said:
You know, one thing that struck me about this...

Teenage girls are portrayed in a fairly unflattering light, no matter what their background. Each girl, from the spoiled rich girl to our supposedly selfless protagonist, is incredibly self centered and obnoxious to the point of being unpleasant.

There are moments of humor, and some heart warming scenes, but overall, I think these girls are difficult to be around.

Although, on reflection, that is very likely true-to-life. I have a sister, and I lived through her overinflated drama. She and her friends were difficult to be around.
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Have you BEEN around teenage girls? Totally accurate IMO. Sure it's over the top, but it's supposed to be. I thought this episode was great. Loved how the sullen girl finally got the nerve to do something about her overbearing mom and did the naked thing in front of company (and the little cousin saying to her...nice rack, had us rolling!!)
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Steveknj
As someone who grew up in Brooklyn and live in NJ, I can tell you that the attitude toward Manhattan is accurate, if over the top. Except for this point....a lot of affluent folks who live in the NYC 'burbs will come into "the city" for "nights out" Broadway shows, or concerts or restaurants, that type of thing. I don't think they treat is as some dirty place that nobody goes. But I DO think, the Dallas character, is not native to either Manhattan OR the NYC 'burbs so the attitude I've always gotten from those types, is that NYC is a dangerous place to go.

They showed a sign in this episode when they were driving "into the city" that they were getting on the Hutchison River Parkway, which is in Westchester. So it's probably a 45 minute drive with no traffic and maybe a bit more during rush hours. Now a lot of folks in Westchester would probably take the train in, which takes you to Grand Central Station, in Midtown Manhattan.
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