Finally - a show set in St. Louis!



what the fuck.

Just watched the premiere.

I thought it started off slow, but picked up towards the end,​​​​​​.

I’ll stick around for now.

For some oddball reason I thought more episodes were available so I was surprised when it was just the one

Uhm...Fargo.

And that's a good thing.

Richard Jenkins deadpan delivery of some of his lines crack me up

Ep 2 shifted a bit. It’s still a 6/10 for me

I'm going to need some actual "Linda Cardellini as a sexy umpire". She is rocking everything else. Aging like a fine wine.

I'm really perplexed . . . either this whole thing is painfully obvious, or this is going to turn into some really weird shit that I am not predicting. So far, nothing has been a big twist (even without those "next week on" segments).

As MrX said, this is worth watching just for Richard Jenkins and his awkward interactions and embarrassments.

Oh, and Indiana Jones porn.

This doesn't seem to be gaining too much traction here, but I'm loving this cast and the tone. I didn't think episode 3 advanced the plot too much, but I'm sure we're in for some surprises in the back half.

Floyd Frenching a guy because he didn't want to hurt his feelings David Harbour is great.

I don't know if you've seen it, but the creator of this did the show Patriot. I absolutely love that series and I think if you like the tone of this show you will too. It's on Amazon Prime if you're interested.

I'll have to check it out.

there is a lot going on for sure here.

Random question though, is that what an umpire normally wears? I've only seen MLB and they seem to wear the pads over the shirts?

Uh . . . sort of, no, not really and no.

Going to laugh a little bit, because I have been trying to figure out a proper forum or venue to write critiques of umpires portrayed in media. It's bad, it's almost all bad. There was a drug commercial recently that I really wanted to take to task.

No, umpires do not wear their chest protector on the outside, so I am not sure what you are watching for MLB games.

What she has tucked away under there is "a balloon" -- something that hasn't been used in respected umpiring circles in almost 50 years (late 70s-early 80s). Even back then, it was never worn under the shirt.



I have had a few different chest protectors over the years (currently carry two in my bag). Here is my current standard:



Additional critiques:

The backwards cap is a major NO-NO. Media loves to present this image though.

Wearing black long sleeves (or any long sleeves) under your shirt is also a no-no. Wear a proper long sleeved shirt (or plate coat) when calling balls and strikes. On the bases, a jacket or pullover is the norm for cold days.




From my memory, the rest of her uniform seemed fine for a newbie. Her technique and mechanics are dog shit, but are things we would expect new umpires with no experience to do.

Interesting that the "patch" says "Umpires of St. Louis County Association." Typically a league or organization would want you wearing their logo, but wearing an association logo is not unheard of. (No, this association does not actually exist. T-shirt merch opportunity!)

I had to laugh at the pay and the league they were discussing. I believe she said it was Little League, but Bronco and Mustang are PONY trademarks. $85 per game would be a pretty damned good pay rate, especially for that. My high school Varsity games pay between $70 - $100, depending on the school.

After that, she said "$600 per month." The math doesn't work out on that, and nobody pays "by the month."

Bonus piece: Little League does not even like their umpires to be paid. The national organization really pushes the "community volunteer" angle. Some local programs have found that is not feasible.



Still . . .

This is a very strange show. Not because of the story line (or at least not entirely), but the direction of it.

I don't care about how inaccurate the umpire details are, but I do question how someone can be an umpire and have very little knowledge of the game.

Oh … that happens ALL too often. Quite realistic at that level. Honestly.

Here is why I am finding the show strange: on the surface, it does not care about the details of showing an accurate representation of St. Louis or baseball or anything it touches on. It feels like some of the Hallmark crap my wife watches or the Chicago emergency shows — things with such rudimentary understanding that they feel like a 12-year old wrote about being a brain surgeon. However, I believe that is intentional for this show. The whole thing is designed to be an unreliable narrative.

Silly things like her umpire uniform, the cops chanting as they run up the stairs (in plain uniforms, not tactical gear), or the strange brutalist architecture, or even arresting the weatherman on air … it is simply meant to keep the viewer on their heels by being absurdist.

My prediction:

"You wanna hear the rest of the story about my dick?"
"Uh, yeah if you feel like telling me, yeah."
..........
..........
..........
."And that's when I realized learning ASL was my life's passion."
."So...what happened to your dick?"
"Oh that was way, way after. Oh damn, I gotta go Clark."

Can you speak up ?

I think the umpire outfit is supposed to show how she has no clue what she's doing by obviously wearing the equipment (which is severely outdated anyway) completely wrong. I every time I see her wearing that outfit, and how much it turns Floyd off. It's meant to look completely goofy.

I love how this show goes from completely absurd to serious on a dime. That story Floyd was telling, and then when he gets hit by the street sign had me rolling.

Is it just my mood, or did shit get seriously dark this episode? The way Floyd and Clark presented this proposal to her was just … f##ked up.

And now Detective Plum is corrupt?

Wow. No way, Jose.

The Chris Perfetti guest spot was funny considering it’s such a departure from his Abbott character.

i was bored by this episode, I’m starting to think it may end up being

If you watch this live next week’s finale is on an hour earlier a with the Euphoria premiere taking it’s regular time slot.

Oh shit! I kept thinking I knew that guy from somewhere! I quit Abbott Elementary in the 2nd or 3rd season, but I should go back to it.

I was thinking the same, but more akin to my original prediction.

They dropped a few breadcrumbs to point to the son this week.

Honestly, I’m more intrigued to find out what happened to his penis. I have a hunch they aren’t really going to answer that (despite the tease on the “next week on” segment).

I was grateful to see next week is the finale, not because it isn't entertaining, but because it feels like the plot has been going in circles for a while.

The 6 episodes that aired so far could've easily been done in 3 episodes... maybe 3.5.
So much time wasted with extremely slow conversations where not much is being said.

I'll admit, it is trying a bit too hard at the mystery box. The slow, awkward conversations are part of the charm, though.