The geese-as-children thing was REALLY heavy-handed. I didn't know they made geese-shaped anvils.

Allison's characterization is weird, compared to what I remember last season.

Colin? Still funny.

Shorts? I hope they were ritualistically burned at the end of filming.

I'm glad that I read this before I watched the episode, so that I had my finger on fast forward to get past the shorts quickly. I'm just getting irritated at the "Carter is dumb/Carter out-thinks the scientists" plotlines. It's what I think of as the Watson problem. Watson is Everyman, and he has to be portrayed as reasonably intelligent for Holmes to look like a genius. Also, they're criminally underusing Matt Frewer.

Colin is still doing an admirable job of playing the character the scriptwriters are giving him. I just wish the writers were doing as good a job. It does seem unlikely that the actors were able to film the gym scene without a few rounds of breaking into helpless laughter.

eta: This sounds crabbier than I meant it to be. I blame my headache or possibly an errant magnetic quantum field thingy.

Carter in the gym. Total poser. I'm rolling!!!

I'm just getting irritated at the "Carter is dumb/Carter out-thinks the scientists" plotlines.

Yes. This.

On second viewing, I enjoyed the episode much more. It also gave me a chance to see Carter exit the elevator again with the immobilization field. Ha! The relationships and interactions are the gold of this series.

I was kind kind of sad for SARAH car. She should totally get to see the ocean.

I know! I'm all traumatized about SARAH. I think I feel a feminism rant coming on. Oh, no wait, that was just a belch.

I accidentally skimmed this thread before watching, so I went through the whole episode (okay, not the whole episode) thinking the geese were more literally children. Made the whole neck-breaking incident less goofy fun and more unbelievably upsetting MASH episode. Gah.

And then I was all, ooohhhh, metaphorically children. Well, okay. Some people juggle them. Geese, that is. Not children. I don't know if people juggle children or not. If they do, don't tell me.

See me completely ignoring the whole gym thing? Gym culture is something I completely don't understand. Which is fine, because that means I can blithely walk in and lift the bar without any weight attached and feel no shame. Hey man, if I were already fit, I wouldn't need to be in here.

Definitely like the relationships and am loving Zoe.

Hey guys,

Okay. This is where I get hung out to dry.

The whole gym thing was based on a line of Stark's. He said something like "What, did Richard Simmons forget his gym bag or something?" Which was the whole reason I was dressed that way - to justify his line.

BUT they cut it!! They cut the line that was responsible for the whole outfit!! So I end up looking crazy....great....

And the scene was supposed to take off from there with Carter not knowing what to do in a gym and being a complete idiot but they cut around most of it until it just looks weird and pose-y. Great.

And we too were so bored with the Carter is smarter and yet dumber endings. Completely and resoundingly agree.

Did that ending between Finn and the Megan bump anyone else? Was that a really weird tone for him to hit?

Or are there so many other bigger unresolvable problems right now.

I accidentally skimmed this thread before watching, so I went through the whole episode (okay, not the whole episode) thinking the geese were more literally children. Made the whole neck-breaking incident less goofy fun and more unbelievably upsetting MASH episode. Gah.

The first time, I had the same reaction. Not so much with the goofy at all. Then the geese were revealed to be machines so it took some of the sting away, but still, way harsh, and gasp worthy at the time.

Did that ending between Finn and the Megan bump anyone else? Was that a really weird tone for him to hit?

Yes! Finn's emotional delivery of the line was a tad on the scary side. If I was Megan, at that age, I think I would still be a little wary of him even though he said he was kidding. It undid the "person you could trust" and made him just creepy. Or maybe just completely socially inept. Either way I wouldn't have wanted to work with him after that. I liked the character up to that point.

Or are there so many other bigger unresolvable problems right now.

I still want to tune in each week, so I don't have any unresolvable problems. I nit pick because I love.

Did that ending between Finn and the Megan bump anyone else? Was that a really weird tone for him to hit?

I think it did seem a little weird... We get that he's prickly and traumatized from his science fair experience. But then, he comes back and faces his demons, and... becomes better for it, I guess? Because he did something useful besides watch the equipment? So then he's in a place where he can crack that joke? Only... if that was the goal, it fell flat. Because he wasn't really funny enough to make it work.

If the daughter had been the one to steal the mother's invention, it might have been funnier as a jab... oh, ha ha, don't steal from me, nudge wink. But we hadn't seen a nice sense of humor that was otherwise marred by his scarring experience. We saw an angry, cranky man, so it came out angry-yet-trying-to-hide-it-under-humor.

I thought there was a gym bag line? Colin, you had a line about the clothes being loaners, that you "forgot" your gym bag. I don't think I heard it the first time over me (forgive me) laughing at the shirt.

Did that ending between Finn and the Megan bump anyone else? Was that a really weird tone for him to hit?

I enjoyed that. Threw me off balance a bit, but in a good way.

And the scene was supposed to take off from there with Carter not knowing what to do in a gym and being a complete idiot but they cut around most of it

Oh, we did get all that. We just had to watch from the hall. pats poor Carter on head

I'm starting to wonder if when Rodney McKay says he grew up in Canada, if it's actually a code name for Eureka.

I agree with not wanting Carter to be dumb. He has to be everyman, I get that. But he doesn't have to be a doofus.