52 minutes ago, Agent23 said:

the baby episode JLC character reminds me waaaay too much of my own mother. I'm just picturing the day my sister ends up having her first kid and that's essentially what I would expect. (not the Christmas episode though... thankfully I'm safe from that level of crazy) 

Sorry to hear that. It's a reality that isn't show quite as much on TV, parents with mental health disorders and the generational mental health issues.

On 8/7/2024 at 2:49 PM, UK Eagle said:

The filler episodes got in the way a bit and the Tina one was 10 minutes of story stretched out - the Marcus episode in season 2 was a better way to do it.  I still enjoyed the Bear a lot, but I did prefer season 2. The Funeral episode managed to the bring it together for Carmy and set the scene for next season - they nailed that.

I did like the addition of the Computer.  It's a good wrinkle

It was out of place to do a Tina backstory now. That's what I mean about the pacing. They could have used the buildup of building the restaurant and while the line cooks are training to be chefs to do some flashbacks of how they got there. One episode showing Tina, Marcus, and team then and now in season 2. 

At this point, they're pending the Tribune review and I hope the next season just focuses on the direction of the restaurant, Syd making her decision (I wish she'd leave already, Carmy keeps undermining her anyway), and Carmy working through his anxiety and family relationships.

5 minutes ago, DBW said:

Fun fact:  the Christmas episode "fishes” was not originally planned.  Season 2 was picked up and They had planned for 8,  with the success they had, the network asked for 2 episodes to be added. The Xmas episode was one.  I believe "sundae” was the other one which was a filler for Sydney visiting various Chicago restaurants for inspiration.  

 Fun fact 2:  season 3 and 4 were filmed at the same time but was originally only supposed to be an extended 3rd season.  Episodes were running long so they split it into 2 seasons.  Which is why season 4 mostly sucks.  Much of what we see is supposed to be filler for the longer 3rd season but instead they split it up.  The back half of season 4 is better and finale is back on track IMO. 

 

I don't understand how TV used to make 22 episodes a season for 4-5 seasons and now with streaming, they make 6-8, break up seasons into pieces and take years to produce them.

1 hour ago, DBW said:

Fun fact:  the Christmas episode "fishes” was not originally planned.  Season 2 was picked up and They had planned for 8,  with the success they had, the network asked for 2 episodes to be added. The Xmas episode was one.  I believe "sundae” was the other one which was a filler for Sydney visiting various Chicago restaurants for inspiration.  

 Fun fact 2:  season 3 and 4 were filmed at the same time but was originally only supposed to be an extended 3rd season.  Episodes were running long so they split it into 2 seasons.  Which is why season 4 mostly sucks.  Much of what we see is supposed to be filler for the longer 3rd season but instead they split it up.  The back half of season 4 is better and finale is back on track IMO. 

 

Is there a secret season 4 that's been released that I'm unaware of?

3 hours ago, mikemack8 said:

Is there a secret season 4 that's been released that I'm unaware of?

Sorry I didn’t explain that well, I fixed it.  There is a season 4 coming.  It was filmed at the same time as part of what was supposed to be just the 3rd season.  They decided to split it and do a 4th season instead.  That’s coming soon.  The actors report were pissed and often confused because of the filming schedules they were filming later episodes a first and had to constantly remember where their character was in the arc.  That’s not unusual for actors but it was interesting to hear them talk about it.  Sounded like they weren’t fans of it.  

3 minutes ago, DBW said:

Sorry I didn’t explain that well, I fixed it.  There is a season 4 coming.  It was filmed at the same time as part of what was supposed to be just the 3rd season.  They decided to split it and do a 4th season instead.  That’s coming soon.  The actors report were pissed and often confused because of the filming schedules they were filming later episodes a first and had to constantly remember where their character was in the arc.  That’s not unusual for actors but it was interesting to hear them talk about it.  Sounded like they weren’t fans of it.  

Great - so it sounds like S4 will be even more of a mess 

4 hours ago, NOTW said:

I don't understand how TV used to make 22 episodes a season for 4-5 seasons and now with streaming, they make 6-8, break up seasons into pieces and take years to produce them.

Yeah crazy how that works.  Mostly due to actors scheduling and contracts and the actors unions.  Hence all the strikes.  Alot of people don’t realize that Netflix especially will split things into 2 part seasons because of silliness of language in an actors contract that a if it goes 5 seasons they get accelerators and bonuses.  So they say F you and make it 4a/4b.  Cough cough Cobra Kai 

15 episode single final season that will take a year to release instead of breaking it into 2 seasons.  

3 minutes ago, mikemack8 said:

Great - so it sounds like S4 will be even more of a mess 

Highly possible! 

21 hours ago, DBW said:

Fun fact:  the Christmas episode "fishes” was not originally planned.  Season 2 was picked up and They had planned for 8,  with the success they had, the network asked for 2 episodes to be added. The Xmas episode was one.  I believe "sundae” was the other one which was a filler for Sydney visiting various Chicago restaurants for inspiration.  

 Fun fact 2:  season 3 and 4 were filmed at the same time but was originally only supposed to be an extended 3rd season.  Episodes were running long so they split it into 2 seasons.  Which is why season 3 mostly sucks.  Much of what we see is supposed to be filler for the longer 3rd season but instead they will split it up.  The back half of season 3 is better and finale is back on track IMO. 

 

That makes a ton of sense. Leaving on a cliff hanger was smart, but it meant we got the good old filler episodes.

21 hours ago, NOTW said:

I don't understand how TV used to make 22 episodes a season for 4-5 seasons and now with streaming, they make 6-8, break up seasons into pieces and take years to produce them.

I think that is in part because of the move to streaming and the overall lack of desire to have a procedural being filmed. You can argue 22 episodes is what companies should be doing as it gives more time to explain things, explore characters while giving more content to fill a schedule, rather than the hyperactive 8 episode season.

I suppose it would mean the need for better writing, planning and so forth; something Hollywood seems to see as an exception nowadays.  We'll fix it later on mentality.

2 hours ago, UK Eagle said:

I think that is in part because of the move to streaming and the overall lack of desire to have a procedural being filmed. You can argue 22 episodes is what companies should be doing as it gives more time to explain things, explore characters while giving more content to fill a schedule, rather than the hyperactive 8 episode season.

I suppose it would mean the need for better writing, planning and so forth; something Hollywood seems to see as an exception nowadays.  We'll fix it later on mentality.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think every show should be 22 episodes. That creates filler and "case of the week" repeats and cliches. I think each show creator should map out the story and think about what is the most effective way to tell it. Some movies would be better told as a 4-6 episode limited series. The 10-12 episodes per season works well for a lot of shows.

What I am complaining about are the shows that only produce limited episodes but take years between seasons, or break up the final season into parts like Cobra Kai or Stranger Things. If they used to be able to do 22 episodes every year, why can't they knock out a 10 episode final season and get it out for viewers?

1 hour ago, NOTW said:

Don't get me wrong, I don't think every show should be 22 episodes. That creates filler and "case of the week" repeats and cliches. I think each show creator should map out the story and think about what is the most effective way to tell it. Some movies would be better told as a 4-6 episode limited series. The 10-12 episodes per season works well for a lot of shows.

What I am complaining about are the shows that only produce limited episodes but take years between seasons, or break up the final season into parts like Cobra Kai or Stranger Things. If they used to be able to do 22 episodes every year, why can't they knock out a 10 episode final season and get it out for viewers?

Miguel had to go make Blue Beetle for your people who think DC movies are good! 

4 hours ago, NOTW said:

Don't get me wrong, I don't think every show should be 22 episodes. That creates filler and "case of the week" repeats and cliches. I think each show creator should map out the story and think about what is the most effective way to tell it. Some movies would be better told as a 4-6 episode limited series. The 10-12 episodes per season works well for a lot of shows.

What I am complaining about are the shows that only produce limited episodes but take years between seasons, or break up the final season into parts like Cobra Kai or Stranger Things. If they used to be able to do 22 episodes every year, why can't they knock out a 10 episode final season and get it out for viewers?

Agree.  I'd like some 22 episode TV with shorter more focused TV like HotD to fill the schedules.  It used to be the sweet spot of TV

Finished up season 2 last night. It’s a good show for sure, just not quite worthy of all the hype. Jimmy’s the best character on the show, Sydney gets a little more annoying with each episode.

On 8/20/2024 at 7:47 AM, The_Omega said:

Finished up season 2 last night. It’s a good show for sure, just not quite worthy of all the hype. Jimmy’s the best character on the show, Sydney gets a little more annoying with each episode.

Sydney is annoying. She wants to be taken seriously, but is timid and unsure of herself and indecisive. Carmy is too anxious and chaotic, he is not the right type of chef for her to work with in the first place. He promises to respect her, then vetos all her decisions and does what he wants anyway. 

It would have made more sense for him to gradually improve the sandwich shop standards and quality, train and identify which staff were able to take the next step and pick Tina as his sous chef. 

2 hours ago, NOTW said:

Sydney is annoying. She wants to be taken seriously, but is timid and unsure of herself and indecisive. Carmy is too anxious and chaotic, he is not the right type of chef for her to work with in the first place. He promises to respect her, then vetos all her decisions and does what he wants anyway. 

It would have made more sense for him to gradually improve the sandwich shop standards and quality, train and identify which staff were able to take the next step and pick Tina as his sous chef. 

Agreed

A few episodes into season 3 and I've gotta say, so far at least, season 3 sucks. I mean, a full 2 episodes into the season and it's still the morning after the opening and they're still yelling at each other for the stupid stuff they said.  And Carmy was the a-hole in that argument. The 3rd episode moved along a little bit but didn't really get any better.  It's been so bad that my wife, who was the one who wanted to watch this because she'd heard good things, was asking when the next episode of Bad Monkey drops.

11 hours ago, The_Omega said:

Agreed

A few episodes into season 3 and I've gotta say, so far at least, season 3 sucks. I mean, a full 2 episodes into the season and it's still the morning after the opening and they're still yelling at each other for the stupid stuff they said.  And Carmy was the a-hole in that argument. The 3rd episode moved along a little bit but didn't really get any better.  It's been so bad that my wife, who was the one who wanted to watch this because she'd heard good things, was asking when the next episode of Bad Monkey drops.

Yep season 3 sucks - bad monkey is awesome 

Season 3’s pretty much transitioned from The Bear to The Fak. Not necessarily a bad thing but they’re on screen twice as much as anyone else anymore. The season has gotten a little better overall.

The new series is out this week.

Trailer was promising - hopefully better than Season 3 - which was really hard to watch with all the screaming.

13 minutes ago, sameaglesfan said:

Trailer was promising - hopefully better than Season 3 - which was really hard to watch with all the screaming.

From what I understand they shot season 3 and 4 mostly together so I wouldn’t expect it to be much different

2 hours ago, sameaglesfan said:

Trailer was promising - hopefully better than Season 3 - which was really hard to watch with all the screaming.

The screaming got a bit much at times. I didn't get it initially as the UK release schedule was weekly vs the Hulu binge model, but by the end... Annoying.

1 hour ago, mikemack8 said:

From what I understand they shot season 3 and 4 mostly together so I wouldn’t expect it to be much different

I think it was NOTW (could be wrong) that pointed out they made a call to split the series into 2, hence why some of the filler got added in around the side characters.

I just realised the trailer did kind of spoil the cliffhanger from season 3 though.

I'm 7 episodes into the new series (trying not to binge it all in a week) and The Bear is still good as usual. Even the shouting isn't as prevalent than other years, so it works when they do it.

I did double take on the cameo in episode 7

Spoiler

when Brie Larson turned up. I had no idea she was going to appear, so quite a surprise.

The Bear does a great job of random cameos from people that don't just stick out like a sore thumb like Ed Sheeran did in AGOT.

Season 4 was better than season 3, although the scene under the table at the wedding was insulting. Even Sidney was more likeable and less annoying. One small complaint, not enough Jimmy (that's what she said).