carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 20, 2010 16:23:05 GMT -5
Ian and Maxine have had a minor role since they got together. Aside from some sparring between Mickey/Maxine and Mickey deciding to give up, they were on the backburner. They were shown quite a bit last week but that was more about Ian trying to deal with his feelings of being worthless.
Some of the more depressing stories, like Karen's mental illness, have taken a backseat for a while. Libby and her mother moving in with Frank had some very funny moments, although I know Frank can be too much. Mickey and the film he made had some light moments. So did Mimi getting the old women high on coke and having them in naughty poses. A lot of stories seem to be somewhat dark and then have light moments near the end, so it's hard to say. The scenes where Shane found out about Paddy and Kelly were dark but the ending where he forgave Kelly and married her was beautiful, if too rushed.
I'm not sure how to describe it. I think the show is more balanced now, although part of that is due to the stories that are now being used for drama not being as harrowing, for me, as some of what was going on earlier this series. The main dramatic plot recently has been Chesney and Carl on the run for a murder they witnessed, which is more about outside elements and doesn't affect me the way something like Karen's breakdown or Paddy paying Kelly to sleep with him did.
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Post by devillies on Mar 24, 2010 15:55:36 GMT -5
the preview for the next episode looked so good,especially Mickey's parts and Mimi with the knife
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 24, 2010 16:10:44 GMT -5
Mickey's scenes looked great.
I just wish they would actually focus a little more on the relationship between Ian and Maxine or what that relationship is if they aren't going to break them up. They rarely talk about this relationship or being together. I guess it's supposed to just be, not any type of real reason, but after the tension over Carl I wish they'd had a little to say instead of just getting back together after Carl said they were soulmates.
I think Carl has a lot of reason to be upset with Ian but I liked their friendlier relationship as brothers so hopefully that can come back. I'm glad Carl seems to have moved on. I'd rather not see him tied down in a regular relationship anyway, unless it was with Mickey...
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dmagiclight
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Post by dmagiclight on Mar 24, 2010 18:14:34 GMT -5
I think they need to change the picture on this thread to mickey it looks like they may keep Ian straight,Which I think is stupid,I seems like alot of shows are either writing the gay roles off,or making them straight so I may quit watching this show
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dmagiclight
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Post by dmagiclight on Mar 24, 2010 18:17:01 GMT -5
I think they need to change the picture on this thread to mickey it looks like they may keep Ian straight,Which I think is stupid,I seems like alot of shows are either writing the gay roles off,or making them straight so I may quit watching this show
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Post by devillies on Mar 24, 2010 20:01:10 GMT -5
I hate when they make ppl straight all the sudden, but I love Shameless otherwise! I think the thread pic should be of Mickey ! I LOVE MICKEY!!
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 24, 2010 21:57:00 GMT -5
This has happened before with Ian, so I don't know if it's sudden. If anything bothers me with Ian it's that he seems pointless and in the last few episodes he's seemed like a whiny brat. I know Carl beat him up but it was sad to think he was so jealous of Carl's relationship with Maxine that he didn't even really care about Carl being in danger. The problem is that it seems like this season whenever Ian isn't in a story where he's being a selfish knob, he's on the backburner. Whether he is with Maxine or whether he's not I'd like at least one or two episodes where he has a major story where he can be likeable and funny. Otherwise he just seems pointless or unpleasant. I'm hoping this might happen now that this story is over and he and Carl have settled their differences. It still seems strange to me that a lot of conversations he and Maxine should have, we don't see. Did anyone else think, when Ian couldn't get it up for Maxine, that one of them might assume the reason had to do with more than just his being beaten up? I guess not... I still think Ian is probably bi, or gay and just likes one or two women, but I love Mickey so if anyone wants to change the photo, I won't complain Speaking of Mickey, the best part of this episode was when they found out Shane was sterile, and Mickey said to Jamie and Paddy, "Do you think it tastes any different?" ;D The looks on their faces! I want Mickey to be able to come out to his family but the comedy in this thin veneer never stops cracking me up. The best part of this episode for me was Shane and Kelly. They're a great couple and I felt so sorry for them, especially Shane. What was that about with Joe flashing back to tackling that guy who killed Bonehead? Were they saying he'd caused the whole thing?
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Post by ivaniv on Mar 25, 2010 0:25:52 GMT -5
I think he'd taken care of him, in Al Pacino kind of way, but I might be wrong. They all tried to help any way they could. Ian really is becoming one pointless character, isn't he I used to like him.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 25, 2010 0:49:39 GMT -5
I think he'd taken care of him, in Al Pacino kind of way, but I might be wrong. They all tried to help any way they could. Ian really is becoming one pointless character, isn't he I used to like him. Thanks. I wasn't sure what the flashback was about because the last time Joe had a flashback, it was when he beat up Stan and that led to Stan and Yvonne selling him the shop and leaving the country. So are we supposed to like Joe now? Or are they biding their time? I don't know what's going on. It would help if he wore less clothing. Ian is becoming pointless, yes. I don't want to blame that on him being with Maxine because if they weren't doing this he'd have even less story, and honestly he's been pointless for a while now. I know they still have a lot of characters and stories but I wish that some of the stories like Karen's bipolar or like the fallout with Ian and Maxine were more explored. There are stories for Ian even if they keep him with Maxine. What if he decides to go into medicine, because of the time she spends talking about her job. How would she react to that? Would Frank start using him to get free drugs? What about how her family would react when they learn about his past? What if somebody sells Ian's story as some type of "ex-gay...people can change!" saga, and he has to refute this type of propaganda? What if they go back to the story with Ian's half-brother/ex-lover? Do they have any other relatives out there Ian might meet? If they don't come up with more story then they might as well write him out, because I don't think things will change if he suddenly breaks up with her or if he gets together with Mickey or if he stays single. Gerard Kearns is a very good actor and if Ian is going to stay then he needs some sort of revitalizing.
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Post by shamelessfan on Mar 25, 2010 9:01:05 GMT -5
I would really favor Mickey's photo as I like his character a lot more than Ian.
I said it before- I don't want Mickey with Ian. I don't think Ian's character is that interesting anymore. I want to see Mickey take center stage.
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softfurbear
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Post by softfurbear on Mar 25, 2010 19:14:54 GMT -5
OT but Shameless related... fans of Elliot Tittensor (Carl) might be interested in knowing that he was in a short gay film called "Protect Me From What I Want". I've put the trailer/info for it in the Short Films thread.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2010 6:00:58 GMT -5
So, this was a very odd episode, as Joe was in anger control and desperate Karen tried her best to get him to react to her, even offering to start their affair again. Finally she posed as his wife and listened to him pour his heart out at his anger meeting. Meanwhile, Debbie has been sent off to Afghanistan and this caused Liam to withdraw from his family and befriend a WW2 veteran. Once the Gallaghers and Kelly learned about this they began to wonder if this old man was a pedophile, and they became more upset when Frank's girlfriend Libby saw Liam in the old man's flat wearing a dress (apparently he was wearing one of Debbie's old dresses because it reminded him of her...). Liam himself even began to think that the old man was trying to make a pass at him, but finally at the end realized this wasn't the case, and he went back to visit the old man one last time, to be with him as he died. Carl chased him down and caused a huge ruckus trying to get into the house but stopped when he realized the man was gone. He, Liam, and Libby hugged...as Frank checked the old man's wallet to see if he had any money. The gay-related stories were a bit all over the place but there were some good moments. It looks like Maxine's brother Bruce is sticking around for a while. Bruce is a jerk but there's something fascinating and sympathetic about him, he's also kind of cute in a strange way. He's like a rougher Russell Tovey. Bruce showed up at Maxine's and Ian's place with a black eye, telling them that the Donnelly father, Cameron, beat him up when he came out, and that the mother had left. Bruce asked Mickey and Ian how their fathers dealt with the coming out, and is surprised to learn that Mickey and Ian never told their dads. He's even more surprised to hear that Ian is dating Maxine so he has no reason to tell his father. He asks if Ian is bi and Ian says he doesn't really know and that he's just found the right person. A furious Maxine went over to the family home and got Bruce's stuff and berated her father for his homophobia and disowning his son. Cameron was shocked when she said Bruce was gay -- he'd thrown out Bruce because all Bruce did was smoke dope. Mickey told Bruce that the only way to survive in a rough area like Chatsworth is that if some bloke thinks you're perving on them, you have to headbutt them. Mickey and Bruce went into the pub and Mickey tried to lie to Mimi that Bruce was straight. Bruce didn't really care about lying and said flat out that he was gay. Frank started making homophobic comments and Bruce walked over to him. Initially it looked like he was going to headbutt Frank but actually he grabbed him and kissed him hard on the mouth! Bruce/Maxine's father Cameron was there and he was also there when Mickey and Bruce went back to Maxine's place. Cameron insisted to Maxine that he'd thrown Bruce out because he wasn't making an effort with his life and he then wiped the makeup off Bruce's eye to prove he hadn't hit Bruce. Bruce then told his father that Maxine had lied too, and that Ian wasn't actually a doctor, Ian didn't do anything. Cameron left. Maxine then threw Bruce out of the house, washing her hands of him. Maxine tried to get closer to her father and went to his place to cook him some dinner, but when he showed no sympathy after she told him of the pain she'd felt all her life because of his lack of confidence in her, she left. Bruce befriended Mimi and repeatedly tried to needle Mickey by asking Mimi in front of Mickey how many women Mickey brought home. Mickey had several nightmares about his parents killing him for being gay. Finally he offered to give Bruce a place to stay if Bruce stopped trying to out him. Bruce thought this was a come-on but Mickey said Bruce wasn't his type. Cameron and Frank bonded as "in-laws" and both got drunk and stayed out all night. Frank tried to counsel Cameron on how to accept his son being gay. Finally Cameron just asked Bruce outright if he was gay. Bruce said yes. Cameron punched him in the face. So it looks like Bruce might be around for a while. He was in the previews for the next episode. I don't know what they're going to do with him, if he's going to be with Mickey, or Ian, or neither of them, if he's replacing Ian in the gay bracket, if Ian is leaving altogether (he wasn't even in any Gallagher family scenes tonight, oddly enough, even though they found out Debbie is in a war zone). I guess we'll see. The most interesting scene for me was when Frank, after listing the benefits if you have a gay son (they have hot female friends, they're tidy, they don't have kids, they die young), asked Paddy how he would react if he had a gay son. Paddy said he'd "Do the right thing." Mickey looked so happy. Then Paddy said, "I'd put him out of his misery." Poor Mickey's face just fell
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2010 6:05:52 GMT -5
The weird thing about this episode is it again confused me over where Mickey lives. I thought he was living with Maxine and Ian, but then he told Bruce that Bruce could live with him. This was after Maxine had thrown Bruce out. Next week looks to be a very good Mickey episode. He decides to become a fireman. Paddy shows no confidence in him and Mickey is extremely hurt. Mickey then risks his life by saving someone (it sounded like Kelly) from a fire, as a grief-stricken Paddy, Ian, Maxine, etc. look on.
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Post by ivaniv on Mar 31, 2010 11:58:36 GMT -5
It's not Maxine's house, so if Mickey wanted Bruce back, he probably could.
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dmagiclight
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Post by dmagiclight on Mar 31, 2010 12:35:45 GMT -5
Ian leaving?
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2010 12:44:29 GMT -5
It's not Maxine's house, so if Mickey wanted Bruce back, he probably could. That's true, but it's Ian's house, and Ian also wanted Bruce out, so I'd think Mickey would have to ask Ian first. So what did you think of Bruce, or the scenes in that episode? I kind of wonder if they might bring in Maxine's family as other characters leave, as I was surprised at how much they showed her father as well as her brother, but maybe that was just for the episode.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2010 12:45:01 GMT -5
That was just my speculation, I haven't heard that. He doesn't have much of a role on the show at this point.
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Post by ivaniv on Mar 31, 2010 13:29:49 GMT -5
It's not Maxine's house, so if Mickey wanted Bruce back, he probably could. That's true, but it's Ian's house, and Ian also wanted Bruce out, so I'd think Mickey would have to ask Ian first. So what did you think of Bruce, or the scenes in that episode? I kind of wonder if they might bring in Maxine's family as other characters leave, as I was surprised at how much they showed her father as well as her brother, but maybe that was just for the episode. So many characters left last series, they could do with new ones. Bruce might be there for longer, he's pulling pints now, so if nothing else they will have to write him out. I liked how he teased Mickey. BTW you did not mention the bingo at Lilian's in your summary ;D
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2010 13:52:35 GMT -5
So many characters left last series, they could do with new ones. Bruce might be there for longer, he's pulling pints now, so if nothing else they will have to write him out. I liked how he teased Mickey. BTW you did not mention the bingo at Lilian's in your summary ;D I'm hoping some of the fans here who stopped watching the show might start again...that might have put them off for good. Well, it was funny and shocking, although I'd love to hear how the writers decided to put that in. I think a friendship or more with Mickey and Bruce might be good too, the way he was with Mickey was a bit toolish but not as serious as the previews suggested. I hope Bruce pushing Mickey's buttons may eventually help Mickey decide to come out, but I'm starting to think he never will. Maybe that's for the best...but I'd like to see Mickey play the material where his family finds out. If nothing else I guess at least the show is breaking away from the idea that if gay men are on a show they have to be romantically involved. The mother just leaving was a bit odd. I guess they didn't even want to pay her for an appearance now or in future.
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Post by shamelessfan on Mar 31, 2010 16:38:35 GMT -5
Does anyone know how I can see recent clips?
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Post by ivaniv on Mar 31, 2010 22:35:09 GMT -5
Maybe Mimi will find out, she had no problem with Bruce, although with her son it would be different. It would move things forward a bit, but they could have Mickey behaving as usual with everybody else.
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Post by davedoty on Apr 1, 2010 5:12:02 GMT -5
That summary sounds a lot more like the show I used to like, I'll probably check it out. (I'll probably still hold off on watching the other eps I've missed, for now.)
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 1, 2010 7:24:09 GMT -5
I hope you'll let us know what you thought of the episode if you get to see it.
I can't blame you if you hold off with the others -- there were some nice moments with Shane and Kelly and some of Mickey's comic moments were hilarious but there was also a lot of stuff that wasn't as entertaining or sort of fell apart. I do enjoy Libby's mother, I think she's a great comic foil for Frank and she had a good scene with Liam in the last episode.
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dmagiclight
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Post by dmagiclight on Apr 2, 2010 13:59:43 GMT -5
It seems to me there making the gay role more of a comic role now and that bothers me
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 7, 2010 5:39:05 GMT -5
I actually thought the latest E4 episode was pretty good! Much better than it sounded reading the teasers. The only story I didn't really care for was Libby's egg drama. Maxine's brother Bruce had little to do in the episode, other than be support for Mimi's desire to sing at the Jockey talent competition. He also had a scene in a towel, and he looked just fine. I guess they're still keeping him around as a supporting character. He had zero interaction with Maxine -- even when they were in the same room together they didn't notice each other. The main stories in the episode were: Liam was being bullied because some of the kids saw him wearing a dress under his school uniform. Liam wouldn't accept any help from his family. One day Liam saw his main bully, a boy named Dean, dancing in an alley. Dean is gay and tries to kiss Liam, assuming Liam is also gay. Liam rebuffs him, but they sort of become friends and Dean starts helping him get away from other bullies. At the talent show, Liam is supposed to play his guitar, but he freezes up from nerves. Dean decides to stop caring about his tough guy image and starts dancing so that Liam will feel confident enough to play. Dean's mother soon storms in and demands he stop, calling him a "poof," but he defies her, and keeps on dancing as Liam plays and everyone cheers them on. At the end of the episode, both Dean and Liam are being jeered by the bullies, but they're too scared to go after Dean, so Liam is safe. Ian had been going (offcamera) to the local boxing club, run by an old man named Jock. Ian had spent time there to help him overcome his fears after he was beaten up by the thug who framed Carl and Chesney for murder. Ian encouraged Chesney to start attending, and Chesney reluctantly went along. There was a good scene where Chesney lashed out at Carl with his fist and talked about what was really upsetting him, which was that so many people had cared about Carl, but no one had cared about him. Carl said he was Ches's best mate, of course he would always care, and Ian said the rest of the guys would care too. This seemed to make Chesney feel better. During an exhibition match later Chesney agreed to go up against a tougher opponent and won. Jock was in bad debt to Paddy. He and Paddy had a very bad history which neither of them would talk about. One day Ian went to the club and saw that Jock had serious cuts to his face. He went back home and saw that Maxine was cleaning up a cut above Mickey's eye. Mickey tried to explain that he had had no choice, and that he wasn't going to work for Paddy any more, and Maxine defended Mickey (I guess they've patched things up), but Ian told him to move out. This scene turned out to be a bit odd, as there was never any mention of this again -- a few scenes later, Ian was congratulating Mickey over his fireman test, and they got along fine through the rest of the episode. At the start of the episode, Mickey went to get money that a woman owed the Maguires. She began to take off her blouse, but he wasn't interested. He was going to take her laptop. Before anything else could happen, Mickey noticed that her little daughter had started a bin fire outside. He put out the fire with his wet shirt and was so proud of himself that he left without taking anything. Mickey decided he wanted to be a fireman. Unfortunately for Mickey, Paddy wasted no time in verbally abusing him and telling him he was worthless. Mickey did his best in the training, but he was clearly affected by Paddy's insults. When he got back to the pub, Paddy got everyone to start a singalong which sort of mocked Mickey. Mickey could not take any more and begged his father to "stop kicking [him] in the head", saying he had scars on top of scars, and didn't Paddy see how hurt he was? How can he deal with that? Paddy says, "Be a man and deal with it. You'll pass next time." Mickey says, "Who says I failed? I'm going to be a fireman. You'll always be a bitter c***." The look on Mickey's face during this scene is Mickey continues to be haunted by Paddy as he begins the last portion of the test. Meanwhile, Ian decides to hold a fundraiser for the boxing club, with Jock getting a famous boxer to show up. Ian, with help from Maxine and Carl and various others, sells a lot of tickets, but the boxer never shows up. Ian is angry and disappointed when Paddy tells them that Jock barely ever knew this boxer. At the talent show, Ian convinces Paddy to let him get together enough money to pay for the club, because even if Paddy hates Jock, it's helped Ian and so many other kids. Gerard Kearns is very very good in this scene -- nice to see him get material beyond moping and pouting. Meanwhile, at the club, Jock is drunk and decides to set the whole place on fire. Chesney stops by and sees the flames start, so he runs to tell Ian. Maxine tells Mickey, and they rush over there. Ian runs into the smoke-filled building, but Mickey pulls him out, and goes in himself. By this time all the Maguires are outside the building, terrified for Mickey. Some weird music video of the Maguire clan and Maxine's brother singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" is shown as Mickey saves Jock. Mickey's a hero! At the hospital, Paddy finally says why he hates Jock. Jock trained Paddy when he was a kid, and Paddy hoped he might be able to have a decent shot as a boxer. Instead, Jock was forced to sell him out to the local mob, as they needed a young tough. Paddy always blamed Jock for ruining his chances at a better life. Mickey told Paddy that he'd lied earlier, and he'd actually failed his test. He'd only said he passed to upset Paddy. Paddy says who cares, pass or fail, Mickey is more of a man than Paddy will ever be. This causes crestfallen Mickey to finally start to smile again. As has happened over and over in these episodes I still have no idea if I'm just reading too much into a scene or if they are putting Ian and Mickey together, but near the end of the episode, when the club is being repaired, Ian starts hitting Mickey playfully and they begin shadow boxing and having a good time. Maxine, carrying cans of paint, sees them and is NOT happy. I don't know if this is over them laughing and being close or if she's just angry that they're goofing off while she's working. They look properly ashamed of themselves when she glares at them, then sort of start to smile and laugh again. This scene sort of came out of the blue, as Maxine and Ian were generally very close in the episode, so maybe it didn't mean anything. Anyway, I love Ciaran Griffiths, he can play anything and he was great in this episode, and finally, finally, Mickey is moving out of Paddy's shadow. Whether Mickey is with Ian, with someone else, or with no one at all, what I most want for him is to be happy with himself, and we're finally starting to get to that point.
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