Hello, my dearest Marathoners,
I'm so sorry I'm so late! Between business trips and lots of work, I was unable to do my homework. I'm starting the thread but I won't be able to post my review of 104 before the weekend. So, if someone is ready, please go ahead and do the honors! Be my guest!
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Hi, eoliver! I took a stab at the episode. What fun! I know it's kind of long, but a lot happened in this episode!
We open the episode at the Liberty Diner. Boy, these guys sure do eat out a lot! I guess it’s the nature of the beast. They’re all single, and what with all the late nights at Babylon, I’m sure cooking is the last thing on their minds. I like the early use of Michael narrating in the episodes. It wasn’t overused, and I’m sorry it went away. Mikey voice-overs that last Saturday night at Babylon was ‘to die for’. I love the décor at the diner, the vintage signs, and the lava lamps on the tables!
The guys are all recounting the tales of their latest tricks. Mikey’s guy seemed perfect, but he ended up having a bad case of Brazilian beach parasites, in his ass! I wonder if those are actual things? I’m afraid to Google it. Emmett’s guy was an undertaker, and had a goth dungeon to match. Emmett asks Brian what he did, and he says he made an early evening. As he’s talking, we see a flashback of his beautiful naked behind, approaching his bed, with an equally naked Justin in it. I can’t say it enough… Gale has the perfect little rounded butt! Then Deb approaches the table, and takes them to task about not visiting Ted in the hospital.
Poor Teddy at the hospital in a coma, from his unfortunate fling with twink Blake. The guys meet Ted’s mom and chat for a bit, but Brian is distracted by a hot male nurse, or is he an orderly? The hospital hottie has one of those old-fashioned white, high-collar orderly shirts on, so I’m not sure.
Back at Justin’s, his mom Jennifer comes in to wake him up, and takes the opportunity to snoop a bit while he’s in the shower. She sees his sketch pad, with drawings of naked men’s body parts, and the name Brian written over and over. Ruh-roh!
Back at the hospital, Em, Mike and Brian are peeking in at Ted through the window, and they discuss Brian’s sort-of sex with Ted, at a semi-orgy, which happened the weekend John-John’s plane went down (that’s John F. Kennedy, Jr., to you and me. And for the record, his plane went down on July 16, 1999). Brian cautions the others that you should only do drugs with your friends, because they’re the only ones who give a *beep* about you. Later at the hospital, Mikey tries to reassure Ted’s mom that he wasn’t a regular drug user. She seems like a sweet lady.
We switch to Justin at school, where he’s entertaining Daphne (Daphne! I love that girl!) with a sketch on his pad, of a naked man from behind, in a “The Thinker” pose. The guy’s butt does look like Brian’s a bit. I have to say, for all the dissing of ‘Breeders”, CowLip did a great job portraying the straight women on this show. Daphne, Jennifer, Mike’s friend Tracy, Cynthia, and of course Deb… all are wonderful, real characters, who certainly don’t ‘hate them behind their back’. Anyway, the class discusses the definition of yearning: when you want something so bad it hurts. Jock Chris Hobbes gets in trouble for goofing around in class, and he piques Justin’s interest. Justin later pokes his head in at Chris’ detention. Chris isn’t a bad looking kid, but he totally has the dumb jock thing going on.
Switch to Brian’s office, where he’s seated at his desk, with his feet up on it. Typical Brian! Melanie arrives, and lets Brian know that Ted made him the executor of Ted’s living will. Brian is extremely upset, not only that he’s the one who now has to make the decision of whether to pull Ted’s plug, but also that Melanie never told him. The tension in the office is palpable as soon as Melanie walks in. She and Brian have butted heads from the beginning, but I’m glad they softened her character a bit towards the end of the 1st season, because she sure was unnecessarily bitchy!
Back at school, Chris and Justin are hanging out. Chris opens a soda (or is it a beer?), and as he hands it to Justin, you can see the Babylon stamp on Justin’s hand, which looks like the Mars/Male symbol (circle with arrow). Didn’t he take a shower at the beginning of this episode?! I guess he didn’t want to wash his Babylon souvenir off! Chris is talking about girls at the school, and how far they’ll go sexually. He’s already a pig! Calling girls whores and sluts. He tells the story of a girl who came over to his house to interview him for the school paper, and ended up jerking him off. Justin is really getting turned on by the story (sheesh, Randy has beautiful lips), and Chris is getting into it as well. No surprise that he doesn’t protest when Justin reach over, unzips his fly, and jerks him off. This is a pretty steamy scene, even though everyone is fully clothed. Chris gets off pretty quickly, which is lucky, since the teacher comes in right afterwards and nearly catches them.
Back at Justin’s, he’s telling the Chris Hobbes story to Daphne, who is incredulous. Jennifer comes in, and gets on Justin’s case about quitting art club. Justin is such a snarky, bratty teenager in these early episodes, with such attitude! Thinking she'll confront him about his sketchbook, Jen bribes him with a shopping trip, and says he can drive the car. In the car, Jen notices Justin’s Babylon stamp, then not-so-subtly asks if he has a boyfriend. Justin flips out, stops the car, and runs down the street. Drama queen!
At the diner, Michael and Deb have a nice little chat. I love their sweet moments, when they aren’t arguing (which, truthfully, is hardly ever). She gives him a hug and kiss, for being such a nice friend, and gets together some food to take to Ted’s mom (is this the first appearance of the lemon bars?). At the hospital, Ted’s mom mentions that she’s going to stop by his condo to get him some pajamas and things. Mikey then calls Em at Torso (split screen phone call… I miss those!), freaking that they need to go and clean up all of the incriminating porn, magazines, and 33 joke dildos at Ted’s place.
Brian shoes up at Lindsay’s, and adorably picks up baby Gus and kisses him. So sweet! Sometimes I forget Brian has a son. Mel comes in and immediately starts ragging on Brian, even speaking about him as if he wasn’t there. It turns into a shouting match, with Brian complaining that he doesn’t want to be responsible for Ted. Lindsay just looks on helplessly (as she tends to do), and eventually tries to get Mel to see Brian’s side, and to give her credit, she does try.
A wasted looking Brian goes to Babylon to try and take his mind off things. In the glowing red lights of the back room, three different guys throw themselves at him (can’t blame them!). It’s so strange to see him kissing another guy!! I forgot that he used to do it all the time in the early episodes, before he and Justin made their agreement.. He ends up freaking out and leaving, out a back door, into the daylight. Don’t the back room frequenters have jobs to go to?
Em and Mikey rush to clean up Ted’s things. Em finds the box of dildoes (some are huge!), and they start sword fighting with them. I love how sweet the Mikey and Emmett friendship was portrayed throughout the series. Em open an armoire in Ted’s room, and finds Ted’s little photo shrine to Mikey. They both stare in disbelief.
Justin talks Daphne, who is grounded, into driving her to Brian’s. Once there, Justin stands outside and shouts for him. Some random guy yells “Shut up!!!” Funny! Daphne says she needs to get home, and suggests he go find the ‘crazy lady’ from the diner. Heh! He ends up going to Deb’s, where she answers the door wearing hilarious animal-print, feather-trimmed rubber gloves. She then calls Michael. “Michael, it’s me. You’ve got male!”.
Linds comes to see Brian, apologizing for Melanie’s behavior. Linds says that Ted needs him now. The machines say Ted’s still alive, but Brian wants to know, how do they know *they’re* alive. He’s getting all philosophical now. I like most one-on-one scenes between Linds and Brian, that illustrate their friendship. She's often the only one who can tell him the truth, and vice versa. Brian looks really scruffy and broken up about things. Gale has aged very well, but in these early episodes he looks like an young, gorgeous angel! A scruffy, sweaty, hasn’t-slept-in-days angel in this ep, but still gorgeous.
Back at the hospital, Brian is hanging over Ted’s bed, and he’s pissed. "*beep* you for going home with some tweaked out little twinkie. I hope it was worth it”. He says he should let Ted lie there forever. I’m sure I couldn’t handle having to pull the plug on a friend, but Brian is resisting with all his strength. The male nurse/orderly guy shows up, and they quickly get down to things on the other bed. Hot scene! There’s just something about beautiful guys getting it on while they still have their underwear mostly on! Of course, Ted chooses this time to wake up from his coma, and the first thing he sees is Brian and the nurse. “Jesus….” Heh!
Back at Deb’s, Justin is alternately eating and freaking out. Using the excuse he has to vomit, he goes up to Mikey’s old room, looking at photos of Brian and Michael. Deb says she’s going to call Jen, and Vic states she’s probably relieved now that she knows Justin is gay. “Now she knows; it’s not drugs, it’s not booze… it’s just cock”. Vic always had a way of getting right to the point. Brian shows up, with the news that Ted has woken up from his coma. Michael gets all petulant about Justin inconveniencing him. Now, we all know he’s just jealous! Brian goes upstairs, where he and Justin have a very steamy scene, all shadows, kissing, and unbuckling of belts. Down in the kitchen, Michael gazes up at the ceiling… he knows what’s going on! Later, everyone prepares to take Justin back home, but Mikey of course takes Brian to task for *beep* Justin in his mom’s house, in his room. I can’t say as I blame him.
At Justin’s, Deb rings the doorbell, and introduces herself to Jennifer, all while gushing about the house. She sweetly offers to be a sympathetic ear to Jen; she knows what Jen is going through. Jen doesn’t seem to know what to do or say. Debbie is quite a lot to take in at first, for sure!
Ted prepares to go home from the hospital, and there’s a sweet scene with his mom, who is grateful that Ted has such great friends. She reassures him that she loves him, doesn’t judge him, and accepts him for what he is. The guys bring him home, “Just so you don’t freak out, your dildoes are missing. And your porn.” Ted thanks Mikey for everything. It’s strange that they abandoned the “Ted has a crush on Mikey” storyline so quickly. For as much as people complain about Michael’s character, he is really a good friend. Ted tells Brian that he saw him *beep* when he woke up, “I’m in hell and this is my punishment; watching Brian Kinney *beep* for all eternity”. Brian wants to know why Ted chose him, and Ted admits that Brian is the only one he knew who would be able to do it. He’d know when it’s time to go. I think he chose wisely, truthfully.
In the last scene, Brian and Michael are dancing at Babylon, and they each agree to be the one to pull each other’s plugs. Sweet!
Very good comprehensive recap with observations to give it a personal touch.
Don't aggree that Brian's butt is either beautiful or rounded. But it does look better here than it usually does.
Think that Justin is drawing Hobbes in class, picturing him naked.
I also miss the split screen calls of season one.
Brian leaving the backroom, or wherever it is, into the light of day brings up a point. There certainly is a lot of daylight on this show. We can tell from the clothes that most of the ep takes place in one day. Brian can work a full office hours day, talk with the guys at the gym, go to Melanie's house to yell at her, and attempt to forget his woes with sex. All in the bright daylight. It's like North pole summer in this universe.
I took a stab at the episode. What fun! I know it's kind of long, but a lot happened in this episode!
Hey, Katrina. Thank you very much for sharing your review! What a great job! I don't usually read the reviews until I had the chance to watch the episode, but I'm making na exception this time!
We open the episode at the Liberty Diner. Boy, these guys sure do eat out a lot! I guess it’s the nature of the beast. They’re all single, and what with all the late nights at Babylon, I’m sure cooking is the last thing on their minds.
I think they eat out exclusivelly. I do that too, but I order a lot of take out. I think the only one who likes to cook is Justin.
The guys are all recounting the tales of their latest tricks. Mikey’s guy seemed perfect, but he ended up having a bad case of Brazilian beach parasites, in his ass! I wonder if those are actual things?
Noooooooooo, it's not true. I'm Brazilian and live in Brazil and never heard of these parasites he's talking about. I'm sad that the only couple of times Brazil is mentiones in the show is in a derrogatory way. Unfortunately when people think about Brazil they think about sunny beaches, and the Brazilian wax but we have so much more.
As he’s talking, we see a flashback of his beautiful naked behind, approaching his bed, with an equally naked Justin in it. I can’t say it enough… Gale has the perfect little rounded butt!
I think Gale's butt is the butt of a model. This is why he looks so good in jeans! But I confess I like them rounder and meatier!
Brian is distracted by a hot male nurse, or is he an orderly?
This is something I have to know: what's the difference between na orderly and a nurse?
I have to say, for all the dissing of ‘Breeders”, CowLip did a great job portraying the straight women on this show. Daphne, Jennifer, Mike’s friend Tracy, Cynthia, and of course Deb… all are wonderful, real characters, who certainly don’t ‘hate them behind their back’.
Totally agree. Unfortunately there are almost no straight male characters who act the same. Most of them are homophobic.
The tension in the office is palpable as soon as Melanie walks in. She and Brian have butted heads from the beginning, but I’m glad they softened her character a bit towards the end of the 1st season, because she sure was unnecessarily bitchy!
Yes, me too. I hated her so much in the begining of the show!
In the car, Jen notices Justin’s Babylon stamp, then not-so-subtly asks if Justin has a boyfriend. Justin flips out, stops the car, and runs down the street. Drama queen!
I think Jen was very sweet and non-judgemental about Justin's sexuality. Even so, I don't think she should have confronted him in the car when he was driving. The could have had na car accident!
At the diner, Michael and Deb have a nice little chat. I love their sweet moments, when they aren’t arguing (which, truthfully, is hardly ever). She gives him a hug and kiss, for being such a nice friend, and gets together some food to take to Ted’s mom (is this the first appearance of the lemon bars?).
I think so. Even though Michael is a nice good boy, I think Deb exagerates in praising him for every little thing he does. But I guess that's what Moms do. But I'm glad that she also can scold Michal when he desserves it.
Brian shoes up at Lindsay’s, and adorably picks up baby Gus and kisses him. So sweet! Sometimes I forget Brian has a son. Mel comes in and immediately starts ragging on Brian, even speaking about him as if he wasn’t there. It turns into a shouting match, with Brian complaining that he doesn’t want to be responsible for Ted.
Again, I hate Melanie so much in this scene. She had no right to do treat Brian that way. Brian kissing Gus is so sweet!
Justin ends up going to Deb’s, where she answers the door wearing hilarious animal-print, feather-trimmed rubber gloves. She then calls Michael. “Michael, it’s me. You’ve got male!”
Why did she call Michael and not Brian? I wonder if that kind of thing has happened before, I mean, one of Brian's tricks going look for him everywhere.
Gale has aged very well, but in these early episodes he looks like an young, gorgeous angel! A scruffy, sweaty, hasn’t-slept-in-days angel in this ep, but still gorgeous.
What's with this man? He is gorgeous no matter what!
There’s just something about beautiful guys getting it on while they still have their underwear mostly on!
I hear ya, sister!
Back at Deb’s, Justin is alternately eating and freaking out. Using the excuse he has to vomit, he goes up to Mikey’s old room, looking at photos of Brian and Michael.
By the way, they are already full grown men in those pictures. I expected to see teenage pictures.
Michael gets all petulant about Justin inconveniencing him. Now, we all know he’s just jealous!
He sure is. I wonder if Michael ever expected that one day Brian would be his. It's obvious that Brian loves him as a friend. But on the other hand, Brian seems to enjoy seeing Michael always going after him.
Brian goes upstairs, where he and Justin have a very steamy scene, all shadows, kissing, and unbuckling of belts.
That's disgusting that Brian had just had sex with the nurse and even so lets Justin do a B/J on him. Ewwwwwww! I hope he had a shower earlier.
The guys bring Ted home.
I think it's so sweet of the boys to buy Ted groceries and flowers. Even Brian says Ted should eat the chicken, showing he cares. They are really great friends.
For as much as people complain about Michael’s character, he is really a good friend.
I'm not a Michael fan, but I have to agree.
In the last scene, Brian and Michael are dancing at Babylon, and they each agree to be the one to pull each other’s plugs. Sweet!
I often say that a good friend is so much more importane than a romantic partner. With a friend you can do that kind of agrément, chances are a good friend will be with you forever!
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Unfortunately when people think about Brazil they think about sunny beaches, and the Brazilian wax but we have so much more.
In the last scene, Brian and Michael are dancing at Babylon, and they each agree to be the one to pull each other’s plugs. Sweet!
I often say that a good friend is so much more importane than a romantic partner. With a friend you can do that kind of agrément, chances are a good friend will be with you forever!
I always say the same (that's why I'm surprised I'm a B/J fan!) and at least with friends, you can have more than one without being considered promiscuous.
You betcha, sister!
This is something I have to know: what's the difference between na orderly and a nurse?
Thank you, Katrina. In Brazil we call orderlies "nursing assistants", as opposed to nurses, who can assist doctors in medical stuff.
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Just love how Cowlip made every moment, scene, and dialogue connect with each other. If you will recall, when Michael and Emmett go to Ted's apt to "cleanse" it- Michael finds the film "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. He wonders why it is mixed in with the porn. Then, later Debbie reiterates the line when Justin appears at her doorstep and says " You've Got Male".... Cowlip does this kind of continuity thing throughout the series. If you haven't always picked up on the nuances..... Have fun looking for them.
Wow. All this time I never noticed the dual "You've Got Mail" references. But I have noticed something more obvious that might be in the same vein. When Brian asked why Ted picked him to "pull the plug", Michael, who we know Ted has a secret crush on, suggests that Ted might be secretly in love with Brian.
..............................Thoughts on qaf ep 104.......................................................
Though he is unconscious through most of the episode and has to share the spotlight, this can still be considered Ted's episode. Ted's mother is in this ep quite a bit, and she has several nice scenes with Michael, yet we learn little about Ted from these talks. Mrs. Schmidt does provide some very strong hints about Ted's feelings for Michael. Hints that Michael fails to pick up on. We actually learn more about Michael and his cluelessness from these conversations than we do about Ted. While I didn't expect a full on biography from Margaret Schmidt, the amount of screentime alloted to Ted's mother should have netted more than how upset she is, or talk of Ted's Michaelcrush. We already know about Ted's feelings for Michael but very little else about the man, and we don't learn much more here. And even after Ted's feelings for Michael come to light, there is not much payoff. So it all seems like a lost opportunity to me.
Brian's story is all about possibly taking Ted off life support and how how he deals with it. Not to well actually. And Brian gets no real support here. Emmett and Michael have nothing useful to say and Melanie calling him a coward is way to harsh , even if he did come by unannounced. Even mindless anonymous sex isn't enough of a distraction. This scene makes more sense on repeated viewings, because as the series goes on, we learn that this is a sign that Brian is really upset. Never was a Lindsay fan, find her character to be without much merit and most of her scenes boring. But once in a while, there are times when she really comes through for Brian. This is one of those times. Her scene with Brian is still boring, since it's still Lindsay after all, but it helps Brian to make a decision.
Things improve when Ted's recovery saves Brian from having to make a truely terrible decision. But then Ted tells him that the reason he chose Brian was that we was a "heartless s!*t" who would be capable of such a thing. Hearing this delivered in such an objective fashion seems to rattle Brian far more than the impassioned dressing down he got from Melanie. Find it interesting that Brian deliberately cultivates this uncaring jerk attitude but then seems blindsided when others actually believe it to be so. Can't say it was fun to watch Brian suffer through this, but it gave me the rare opportunity to like Lindsay, and it wasn't boring . Well, except for the part with Lindsay. But things end on the upswing, as Brian and Michael both agree to pull the other's plug, not because anyone is a heartless s!*t, but out of mutual love and friendship.
Like the way this episode demonstates that now that Justin's a "practicing homosexual" it opens up new opportunities as well as problems. Opportunities including a whole new social life such as Brian and the nightclub Babylon. And problems like your mother finding out your secret prematurly. There are also opportunities that may become problems such as sexual experimentation with fellow male classmates. The unsubtle and ham fisted way Jennifer deals with finding out about Justin is shown in sharp constast to how Debbie handled things with Michael. But the writers are fair about it, showing that these women do live in totally different worlds. Think Debbie is used particularly well here. She is helpful without being too overbearing, something that doesn't always happen with her character. And Justin's reaction to his mom finding out before he was ready for her to know, is believable. Wanting to flee is what a lot of people would feel in this situation. And flee is what Justin does, literally.
Was entertained by Justin's teenage behaviors such as was running away, thinking he was going to live with Brian, writing Brian's name over and over in his schoolbook, and showing up at Debbies with wild stories, threats and histronics. But I found a couple of things confounding, such as the constant display of the babylon stamp. Why do they keep showing this? Is there some significance to this that I am just not getting. Also don't understand why Justin quit art club when he is clearly still interested in drawing. This made no sense at all. But must say it was a pleasure to look at Justin in this episode. He was particularly attractive in the english class scene and when he was with Hobbes. Not sure if this is due to the color blue being flattering on the character or a newly aquired uniform fetish on my part. Was never one who considered Justin to be beautiful, but here he looks very, very good, even coming close to the beauty that so many others attribute to him, and in a couple of moments, might actually attain it.
................favorite scenes.........
Only this show could make a hand job this erotic. Chris Hobbes may be an ass, but he is still fairly good looking, and Justin, as said earlier, almost approaches beauty here. Appreciate the way the writers set up the escalating sexuality yet keep Hobbes in character in his recounting of his views on, and experiences with girls. When he senses that Chris will be receptive to his advances, the look Justin gives Chris is like that a cat gives a bird. The H.J. itself is hurried and frantic, with both parties fully clothed, which, at least for me, makes the whole thing a bigger turn on.
Brian's monologue to a comotose Ted is not a favorite of mine, but it is considered an important scene by most, so it bears mentioning. Always thought the lines seemed a little overwrought, or that the writers were trying to hard. It's one of the few times I was taken almost out of the story. And when the nurse/other hospital worker cames out of nowhere to accost Brian, I thought it was a fantasy until Ted woke up. And even then I wasn't completely sure.
My favorite scene of the episode is with Vic, Debbie and Michael with Justin explaining why he can't go home. Enjoy Justin's bratty attitude and his overblown lies and threats about his dad calling him " a big queer" and selling his body to "gross old homos". Enjoy Vic's comeback, offering Justin twenty bucks and Vic and Michael's shared laugh over Justin's theatrics, even more.
The scene where Justin goes down on Brian in Michael's room is undeniably hot. There are three major players in this scene, Brian, Justin, and the "not so in the background" music. But while the music does greatly enhance what is going on onscreen, the action is pretty sexy on it's own. Once again Justin looks good here, and Brian's body is shot to display every sculpted muscle. The cut to Michael staring up at the ceiling adds a voyeristic touch. But one of the most unique things about the early Brian/Justin sex scenes is the kissing. During the first season their kisses are emotionally charged and believable with noticable chemistry. It is the sexiest thing about this scene in my opinion. The supposed coup des gras, wherein Justin slides down Brians body, is almost an anticlimax.
........................other things of note....
Michael seems to have gotten over his earlier reluctance to bring men home. Too bad he's still not having much luck.
When Emmett asks his partner if he is "bi", it is the only time the idea of bisexuality is mentioned in the entire series.
What exactly does "sort of sex" involve? I would really like to know.
Really like Michael's pants in this episode. So much more figure flattering than the baggy affairs he will usually sport.
Emmett wags his little finger when Brian speaks of the Todds. I take this finger waving to mean that the man in question is underendowed. Does this mean both Todds are lacking, or does the finger wag have another meaning?
Always love all the use of food in this show, and this ep has several examples. The opening diner scene, one of many as we will see, Michael taking meatloaf and lemon bars to Ted's mom, and the "whole f#*!ing chicken" the guys get for Ted. Absolutely love the way Brian delivers the line "Are you going to come eat the chicken?".
My favorite small moment is when Brian comes into Debbie's kitchen and touches Vic's shoulder. Things like this demonstrate just how much a part of this family Brian truely is.
Another small moment I like is Debbie crossing herself and the look of relief from Michael when Brian tells them Ted woke up.
Brian looking a bit contrite over his and Justin's activities in Michael's room is the first sign of respect I recall him giving Michael. But it is limited. Seems Brian doesn't respect Michael enough not to have sex in his old bedroom but does respect him enough to feel guilty about it.
And I would really, really like to know what "sort of sex" entails.
I'm guessing that "sort of" sex means that Brian and Ted were adjacent to one another, and having sex with others, and possibly touched each other, but that's it!
shareAbout what sort of sex means. While envisioning it as involving a little more physical contact, I cannot come up with anything more specific, so your guess is better than mine.
shareGreat review, dergil, and I agree with most of your notes.
Does this mean both Todds are lacking, or does the finger wag have another meaning?
Thank you clofa.
I never clearly understood why Brian didn't want them to say anything either. And he was rather emphatic about it too. I supposed it to be some sort of code against drug users turning in other drug users, with Ted's condition looked upon as an unfortunate hazard of such activity when you make the wrong choices. But that is just a guess.
Great review, dergil27 !
Ted's mother is in this ep quite a bit, and she has several nice scenes with Michael, yet we learn little about Ted from these talks.
Yes. I wonder if Ted himself told her he's gay or she figured out for herself. She seems a very nice lady. Only in TV: in real life there would be more Family members visiting Ted, I guess.
Brian's story is all about possibly taking Ted off life support and how how he deals with it. Not to well actually. And Brian gets no real support here.
This is the storyline I found more interesting in this episode. Seeing Brian in a moral dilema. He would be the last person I would choose to pull my plug! But Ted did it anyway. And I liked his explanation at the end of the episode. It makes all the sense in the world to me. But still...
Never was a Lindsay fan, find her character to be without much merit and most of her scenes boring. But once in a while, there are times when she really comes through for Brian. This is one of those times. Her scene with Brian is still boring, since it's still Lindsay after all, but it helps Brian to make a decision.
You know, if I were Lindsay I would have slapped Melanie because she was so mean toward Brian. She only said something after Brian had left. Melanie was a real b-e-a-c-h!
But then Ted tells him that the reason he chose Brian was that we was a "heartless s!*t" who would be capable of such a thing.
It shows how well Brian can hide his real feelings. No one knows him very well, not even Michael, nor Deb. This is where Justin comes in. Justin is the one who along time can bring up Brian's vulnerability to the surface.
By the way, all this discussion about who's pulling whose plug is a typical American concern. I believe that need was raised by lawyers, so they can make money. In Brazil, there's no such a discussion. No one thinks about this, if the situation arises, then we'll think about what to do.
Was entertained by Justin's teenage behaviors such as was running away, thinking he was going to live with Brian, writing Brian's name over and over in his schoolbook, and showing up at Debbies with wild stories, threats and histronics.
On eof the fun things in this show is to see Justin growing up and maturing along the series.
But I found a couple of things confounding, such as the constant display of the babylon stamp. Why do they keep showing this? Is there some significance to this that I am just not getting.
You know, I never realized that was a Babylon stamp. I thought Justin wrote Brian's initial on his hand, like teenagers do.
Only this show could make a hand job this erotic. Chris Hobbes may be an ass, but he is still fairly good looking, and Justin, as said earlier, almost approaches beauty here.
I've Always thought Justin had a school boy-crush on Hobs. At least until he met Brian.
Enjoy Justin's bratty attitude and his overblown lies and threats about his dad calling him " a big queer" and selling his body to "gross old homos".
Always the drama queen.
The scene where Justin goes down on Brian in Michael's room is undeniably hot. There are three major players in this scene, Brian, Justin, and the "not so in the background" music. But while the music does greatly enhance what is going on onscreen, the action is pretty sexy on it's own.
I agree the scene is hot hot hot {explode]. But every time I watch this scene I wonder if Brian took a shower after having sex with that nurse! Ewwwwwww!
But one of the most unique things about the early Brian/Justin sex scenes is the kissing. During the first season their kisses are emotionally charged and believable with noticable chemistry. It is the sexiest thing about this scene in my opinion.
I agree. Their kisses in early seasons are the hottest.
Absolutely love the way Brian delivers the line "Are you going to come eat the chicken?".
Me too! I think it shows Brian cares! A few minutes earlier he said Ted had to each the chicken. Very nice of the boys to buy groceries and flowers to welcome Ted home. This is the thing women would do for their girlfriends. I thought it was very sweet.
And I would really, really like to know what "sort of sex" entails.
Well, let's see. Maybe some touching, but not all the way? I really don't know!!
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Good idea for the marathon! Although, I just got into this show last fall and finished it in January I think it was, so it's all still pretty fresh to me. I enjoy reading these reviews and I'm glad I found them now :)
I like that someone caught the "You've Got Mail" bit. Never noticed that before. :)
I remember when watching this episode, I was super happy that they were showing Brian with, as you said, a moral dilemma. It made me realize how deep Brian is and I thought, there has to be more to him than meets the eye. Thankfully, he does get deeper as the series goes on. I was happy to see the beginnings of the show revealing Brian's caring side :)
Love Justin's mom and the way she handled the situation with Justin. I think she's a really sweet lady and I love the differences between her parenting style and that of Debbie.
I agree with everyone else that Melanie was straight up b*tchy in all these early scenes! It was really hard to watch- especially since Lindsey mostly just stood by and allowed it to happen. Oh well, Melanie grew on me later and I ended up loving her character!
Brian/Justin scenes- always hot! Forgot about the kissing thing too- looking back, it is weird to see Brian kissing other guys!
Oh, the Hobbs scene with Justin and the HJ with clothes on was a really hot scene, but now that reminds me of the hot HJ scene in season 4 with Justin and Cody, while keeping their clothes on. That was a really hot scene too, more-so than with Hobbs I think, probably because of the bada$$ attitude and more rough aspect of the scene.
Anyway, thanks again for starting a thread for a marathon. That's a really cool idea! I'll try to watch the episodes here and there, but I pretty much still remember it all- love reading everyone's reviews of the episodes :D
responce to eoliver 17:27:46
Thank you eliver-4
Agree that no one really knew Brian very well. But don't agee that Justin knew Brian better than everyone else. And when it came to showing vulnerability, Brian was usually even more on the defense with Justin than with others.
Also agree that it's fun watching Justin act like a teenager. And it's something you can really only appreciate after you see him mature in later seasons and then go back to the early episodes.
About the Babylon stamp. I'm really not sure it is a Babylon stamp. On first viewing, I too thought Justin had wrote Brian's name on his hand. It would certainly go along with his writing Brian's name over and over in his schoolbook. But several different people referred to it as a stamp, so I just decided they might be right. But, there is nothing to indicate that it is a stamp, and a markered up "B" actually makes more sense. So I guess I should have said "what could be a stamp". Maybe I'll update that. But regardless of what it is, still don't understand why they were contstantly showing it.
About the Babylon stamp. I'm really not sure it is a Babylon stamp. On first viewing, I too thought Justin had wrote Brian's name on his hand. It would certainly go along with his writing Brian's name over and over in his schoolbook.
I've always thought the author of the American version of QAF has deliberately chosen for Brian a name with the same initial letter of Babylon.
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
I remember when watching this episode, I was super happy that they were showing Brian with, as you said, a moral dilemma. It made me realize how deep Brian is and I thought, there has to be more to him than meets the eye. Thankfully, he does get deeper as the series goes on. I was happy to see the beginnings of the show revealing Brian's caring side :)
As for there being more to Brian than meets the eye, I've always loved how intelligent and well-read he is. In the context of the show, we don't often get to see him use those skills. It's fun when we can see his sharp mind at work, or when he throws out obscure literary references, or we see him watching a classic film.
Yes, that surprises me too. He is very cultivated and intelligent. He often mentions philosophy, history, quotes literature. I love those moments, when we get to see something deeper in Brian. Considering that Brian and Michael went to the same schools, and Michael doesn't show the same polished culture, either Brian belongs to a higher social class, or learned everythin by his own effort and interest.
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Good insight, epcure88! I had never noticed the "You've got mail"/"you've got male" connection!
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
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Yes, I think this is exactly why Melanie and Brian don't get along: because they have a lot in common.
As for Justin, it's so nice to see how he matures along the series!
"I'm not antisocial, I just can't stand people." Justin Taylor
Think Melanie and Brian didn't get along because of Mel's hostilty. A hostility brought on because she was jealous of Lindsay's attachment to Brian, and for good reason.
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"If Justin wants golden gardenias, he should have golden gardenias!" Brian Kinney [love9]
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If Justin wants golden gardenias, he should have golden gardenias! Brian Kinney
I'm sorry, but if I woke up from a coma (from which i could possible die) and found my friend *beep* somebody in the bed next to me, I would go the *beep* off. i mean, WTF! The scene was funny and hot, but in reality, i would have had a hard time getting past the fact that my friend did that. i mean, i could die and your doing this right next to me- go do it in another room! Damn.
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If Justin wants golden gardenias, he should have golden gardenias! Brian Kinney