I suppose they’re eventually going to explain why the family doesn’t kick Frank out on his ass?
Interesting look at surviving poverty though.
They love him? In a fucked up manner? And if they kicked him out he’d die?
This show is hard to watch but awesome. And it’s pretty obvious the kids, especially the little kids, do love him. They take care of him as much as they can.
Do you guys really find Shameless hard to watch? It’s been pretty silly for a long time, what with Gallaghers and the “fahhhmily” and all that. It might have the odd bit of drama but it’s mostly lighthearted fare, Coronation Street with a bit of an edge.
They’re talking about the remake.
Also, keep in mind essentially no one is poor on American TV. American TV features the rich, the upper middle class, the middle class, and a smattering of working class here and there, but almost no one who is actually poor. There are stories of economic crisis, but they’re usually about middle class people or above in emergency situations, aka “How will I pay to get this totaled car replaced” or “how will I pay for college”, not “the washing machine is broken, it has been broken for a year, it will be broken next year, and we wash our clothes in the sink.”
I watched the first episode of this and thought it was pretty terrible. It’s just so by-the-numbers, and the writing isn’t very good. The premiere also had about six endings.
Ahhh. I had no idea that was a thing. William H. Macy, I see. Interesting. Sounds like it might be a bit grimmer than our Shameless, which occasionally gets a bit overwrought and melodramatic but is pretty much shot entirely through with a pretty solid dose of dark humour (and Dr. Who dream sequences in the latest series, bizzarely).
Fair point about poverty and US TV. I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot more poor people on shows in the UK. Though rarely is it grinding, endless, hopeless stuff. I mean, even the kid in Shameless might have a benevolent alcoholic for a dad and live in a run-down house, he’s still regularly shown in his school uniform playing Fifa on the 360.
It’s hard to hate William H. Macy, cause usually you just want to give him a hug, but uh. I think I can manage. When he headbutted his kid in the face and broke his nose, I wanted to beat him to death myself.
I like this show because it’s not by the numbers. There’s no magic wand waving to make the situation okay. It’s fucked up. The dad isn’t looking to be redeemed and there’s no promise that he’ll be anything but worse as time goes on. It’s heartbreaking to watch how the youngest girl just totally still adores him even though he’s a piece of shit. Or how little he cared when the oldest boy was listing out how the kids pay for everything, barely getting by, while he drinks $700 a month away at the bars.
Poverty in the U.S. is usually stuff like Rosanne where the family is poor because they wear old clothes, this is a little different.
Hmm, a guy who will most likely be dead soon or a family that is trying to survive? Yeah, at some point you cut the strings and say so long but I care more about these kids than I care about you.*
*Assuming of course they’ve tried to get him help, get him in a program, dry him out, split the money, etc. Because what is he doing other than killing these kids? He offers nothing.
These kids have nothing. So the nothing he’s offering is still something. He is, if nothing else, a point they rally around. They’re so busy picking up the pieces he leaves behind that they never feel how utterly overwhelmingly broken everything is. Or at least, they’re able to put off thinking about it.
When you have nothing, being busy is good. Having constants, even if they’re fucking awful like trying to figure out how to pool money to pay a bill every month, are crucial. And when you have nothing, losing anything hurts all the more.
If he was gone wouldn’t the pool of money be larger, with less going to booze? And they can’t rally around their big sister to make things work? After two episodes I can’t find a single positive thing he does for them.
He’s their father. Surely, you know people who love family members, even if they’re bad people, right?
I’m going to assume you’ve never been in a remotely similar situation, Jeremy.
It was too hard for me to watch. I think I am weakening in my old age, but the crap the little ones have to go through was a bit too much. There is a lot to like there, but it is not for me, I think.
I also find it hard to watch, though not hard to take. It’s more like a chore :(
Every single scene is crammed with a shameless degree of exposition, as if the writers are asking us, “Can you BELIEVE how un-PC this whole thing is?! We’re a handful!” I like the idea, quite a bit actually, and I do like a few of the principle characters, but the presentation and overall tone is a bit of a distraction.
Maybe it’ll pull a Spartacus: Tits and Ass and improve dramatically as the series progresses?
My father wasn’t fall down drunk every minute of my life and I wasn’t forced to steal milk for breakfast. My opinion is worthless, I should stop watching the show, because obviously I can’t relate. This show is only for people that were emotionally abused by their alcoholic fathers.
I’m not saying put the guy to death. Big sister letting him stick around just shows that she doesn’t care about the mental and emotional well-being of the kids. Their lives could only be improved by him not being around.
A lot of families have a dysfunctional member, without whom everyone else would be better off. People do not, however, make universally rational decisions when dealing with family members.
I apologize. I didn’t realize you’d get so weepingly sensitive that you’d completely miss the point. Though looking over every post you’ve made so far, I’m not sure why I’d ever come to that conclusion.
Ah yes, I’m weeping over your brilliant post. Please continue to astound us with your insight.