When this show started, it was about the Plunkett family, with Christy as the center of gravity. Pregnant Violet was hilariously snarky and defiant. Alternately resentful and protective of her mom and family. The intergenerational squabbles up and down the age ranges were funny. The characters and power dynamics at the restaurant were funny. Christy's father being brought into the mix was funny. The dating lives of Christy and Christy's ex were funny. The AA group was just one of a variety of settings available to the writers. All of these situations introduced perspectives to tell some particular slice of the story.
Sometime during season 2, a deliberate decision was made to transition the show from one about a family to one about a women's AA group. The children were rapidly phased out, the restaurant was rapidly phased out, even the original home was phased out. All of the original male cast and regular recurring characters were phased out. And with them went most of the hooks to hang stories onto. Not necessarily a bad premise, and not a show I'd decline to watch, but most definitely not the show I was sold.
With the introduction of Bonnie's therapist in season 6, and the expansion of the role in season 8, I was finally actually laughing while watching again, for the first time in years. The tension from the mix of resentment and dependence between them is not unlike the relationship between the teenage Violet and Christy in the first two seasons. And Rainn Wilson's delivery as the character is spot on.
If you're watching reruns in syndication, watch S1, S2, and S3, and then skip to S8. You'll get almost all of the funny parts, (Octavia Spencer attempting to flee to Mexico on a tricycle is a highlight), miss the unfunny interregnum, and save yourself a lot of viewing hours for shows with a better return on the investment of viewing time.
Sometime during season 2, a deliberate decision was made to transition the show from one about a family to one about a women's AA group. The children were rapidly phased out, the restaurant was rapidly phased out, even the original home was phased out. All of the original male cast and regular recurring characters were phased out. And with them went most of the hooks to hang stories onto. Not necessarily a bad premise, and not a show I'd decline to watch, but most definitely not the show I was sold.
With the introduction of Bonnie's therapist in season 6, and the expansion of the role in season 8, I was finally actually laughing while watching again, for the first time in years. The tension from the mix of resentment and dependence between them is not unlike the relationship between the teenage Violet and Christy in the first two seasons. And Rainn Wilson's delivery as the character is spot on.
If you're watching reruns in syndication, watch S1, S2, and S3, and then skip to S8. You'll get almost all of the funny parts, (Octavia Spencer attempting to flee to Mexico on a tricycle is a highlight), miss the unfunny interregnum, and save yourself a lot of viewing hours for shows with a better return on the investment of viewing time.
