Shameless

[Skin]

I can't connect with any of these characters anymore. They are all so deplorable. I feel like none of them have any redeemable qualities anymore.

[DRW50]

 

I saw someone saying that American viewers just can't handle it like UK viewers (of course the US ratings aren't actually down, but I guess that's still a reason to talk about how stupid Americans are...), and American viewers can't accept a study of lower middle class life the way UK viewers can, and on and on, but, beyond the UK version having very little to do with a study of lower middle class life by this point in its run, I'd say if viewers fatigue of this show it's because it's repetitive and grimy and false, with a production crew far too in love with themselves to care about what they're putting onscreen. If the show was about "realism" then these people would be a whole lot uglier, and Frank would be rotting away underground. It is what it is - smug, repetitive misery porn with a few good actors and a few who aren't worth the effort of watching. 

 

I also see that they're reusing an old Twin Peaks story for Lip that was tatty and pointless even 25 years ago.

Edited January 18, 2016 by DRW50

[AllMyDaysatGH]

Tonights episode...disgusting

 

Carl selling guns at school is the biggest WTF. I was disturbed and offended by those scenes. Just NO. I also cannot get over the racist dialogue and undertones in all of his scenes. It's even spread to other characters like useless Svetlana who referred to Carls partner as "scary colored person" or something like that. It's just wrong and not comfortable to watch at all. This sh-t is horrible. What's most baffling is the tone...the upbeat rap/rock music, the cinematography, etc...all seems to indicate that these writers/producers are playing this off as hip, cool, "haha" funny. 

 

I appreciated some of the Debbie/Fiona scenes and where they were going, but the flour angle was absolutely unnecessary and came off mindless to me. Debbie freaking out when she left it on the train  I mean I get it, but, no.

 

Fiona being pregnant really caught me by surprise. That came out of nowhere! This show is sooo messy

 

When Debbie and Fiona were fighting in the grass, was that supposed to mean something more, like did they both lose their babies right there? Or could they have? By no means was that hinted at at all but I wondered. Fiona preceded to have unprotected sex with doped up Sean in the next scene which had me even more perplexed

 

Ian is soo annoying to watch this season. What on earth have they done with him? What a huge mistake turning him into a Monica bot. 

 

Fiona needs to fire every last one of those obnoxious people working at the diner if she continues to work there. I can't with those jealous hags always taunting her and talking back. And the chef dude who can't even cook his food the right temperature? Sh-ts out of control!

 

The Frank scenes were garbage. I'm not here for stories that back handedly make fun of and dismiss cancer. And the scene of him pretty much murdering that poor woman on the train tracks while trying to get her to have sex with him & do drugs was [!@#$%^&*] sick

 

Thank god for Kev and his body, tho. Thank God. Him & V are refreshing and the only saving grace, though their "story" isn't much.

 

This show continues to go downhill!

[All My Shadows]

The acting has never been the problem with this show. The cast is very talented, and if I'm being honest, being able to watch them has been enough to keep watching this show through its worst patches (which we're smack dab in the middle of right now).

I watched the premiere this morning, and I have very little to say because everything that was screwed up at the end of S5 is still screwed up. I'm just over a lot of the contrived bullsh!t. This Frank thing only exists to have us thinking that he has some kind of heart after all, but that doesn't sit too well with me because he's screwed over so many people (especially women) over the years that I just don't understand why Bianca was any different or why this is the point in his life where he starts to care about anyone other than himself. I just do not give a damn.

Fiona is almost the worst. I absolutely hate the fact that Sean made her assistant manager because, first, ol' girl was right, the only reason she got the job is because they're having sex. Second, like all other opportunities she's had, she's going to f!ck this up in a big way, probably by cheating on Sean, whom she's cheating on her husband with. She's an impulsive child who never thinks anything through, and that's why her siblings' lives are getting just as screwed up as her own. Her irresponsibility is evident every time she tells Ian to "make sure you take your meds!" Bitch, he does not WANT to take the meds, so he will not "make sure" he takes them. Every morning and every night, she needs to make him take those fcking meds in front of her. But no, she's too busy sleeping with every man she meets who isn't one of her brothers.

LOL at Derrick getting the hell out of Dodge.

They destroyed one of the best things they had going in regards to Ian and Mickey, and I don't even want to discuss it.

Kevin and Veronica seem to be reset after the huge blunder that was their S5 story, and I'll accept that simply because there's nothing else on the show that comes close to being decent.

The Carl story is lame and offensive. I wanted to vomit when they threw the party for him because at no point in any of these episodes has anyone mentioned the fact that he was in jail for running drugs. Everyone seems fine with ignoring that.

I'm just...ugh. I can't with this show right now. I just need to rewatch the old seasons because when this was good, it all just made so much sense and was so, so great.

The ONLY thing in the season preview that looked vaguely interesting was Lip and Ian fist fighting because it means we might actually see them being brothers for the first time in god knows how long.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

Exactly!!! Wonderful review.

[Cheap21]

I cant beleive the show has Fiona and Debbie both pregnant at the same time. The only consolation of this mess is that I hope its Steve's baby

 

Granted their situation, it might be best for Debbie to have an abortion but Im disgusted with the way Fiona is trying to force her to get one. Its the pregnant female's choice; no one else. Debbie wants this baby. Its not Fiona's place to order her to get rid of it

Edited January 18, 2016 by Cheap21

[Juliajms]

Maybe I'm nit picking, but I've never seen these people as lower middle class. They're living in urban poverty.  This show is so unrealistic that I can't see it as a study of anything. I agree with those who feel the show was really good in the first couple of seasons and than went off the rails.

 

As for Fiona, I'm not as upset with her as others. Sure, it would have been nice if she could have risen above, the show was better when it seemed like she was doing so. However, it's probably more realistic that she's failed. Lot's of people with more money and resources than Fiona fail at raising their own kids. It's not that surprising that she couldn't give Carl, Debbie and Liam what they needed.

 

 

[All My Shadows]

I'm totally fine with the fact that Fiona has failed in raising the children, and I agree, it's way more realistic that she has, and it makes for more (I hate this word) compelling drama, but the show just makes a big, huge joke out of everything that it's hard to seriously evaluate Carl turning to drug dealing or Debbie getting pregnant as good story points. Granted, I have no trouble admitting that a lot of my anti-Fiona feelings have been building for at least a season or two (or three). If they tried to approach this stuff from a place more grounded, then I could at least have some kind of understanding of her point of view and feel for her. Honestly, it wouldn't be hard for them to do. She's written to be a 25-year-old who's had immense responsibilities for a long, long time. The years she spent trying to raise five children were spent by her peers being young and dumb. She's had her fun, but it's understandable that she'd buckle under many years' worth of pressure and just not give a sh!t anymore about trying to make everything happen for everyone. I would TOTALLY be in for that depiction, but that's not the story they're writing. They're writing "OK, so what if we have Carl in braids, hangin' with the niggas and selling drugs? LOL He's such a little delinquent!" and "And of course, Debbie gets knocked up and her baby daddy splits, so now she's a baby mama LOLOL"

I always say this, but I'm starting to think it's more fact than opinion at this point. Character growth just does not stick on this show, at all. Carl setting sh!t on fire in season one was fine because he was a kid, and we were just starting out. We're in season six, and look at the foolishness we're watching. It would be one thing if the show highlighted the fact that these characters are in a hole so deep that they just can not get out, but how many times have we watched them all botch opportunities to be better? And no one's learning anything from any of it. It's frustrating as hell for a viewer who has invested so much into these characters.

[Juliajms]

AMS- I understand your frustration. It was probably season two before I really understood that this show was never going to be about character growth, no matter how much I wanted that. The tone of this show has always been odd. I might call it  hyper reality black comedy.  I'm sure someone else could nail it down better.

 

Right from the start we saw Carl torturing animals with a blow torch, but it wasn't treated seriously. His character has been that way all along.  So much with Frank has been off the wall too, there's no way to take him seriously. I'd rather the show be more grounded, but that's just not the show they are making. I remember in the beginning wanted to see some tiny glimmer that Frank gave a f*ck about these kids, but it didn't happen.

 

Things turned really bad for me when Liam ended up ODing because of Fiona. That was actually pretty realistic and grim, especially the parts where she was in prison. Still, it made me kind of hate her.

[All My Shadows]

Yeah, I guess it's time for me to just accept that what TPTB want and what I want are two different things. I did it for years with the daytime soaps, so it won't take me long to just let it go as far as Shameless is concerned. Still...ugh. There were so many great, great moments that I just know came from a deeper place. Someone on the show's team has to be just as frustrated as I am with what the majority of the team wants.

[John]

I hope they get Mickey back for S7 and that Ian realizes he acted like a tool towards Mickey & tries to get him back.

[Skin]

 

It's exactly this.

 

I think what really hit me was Fiona's descent, she was the heart of the show and her storyline in season 4 really destroyed the show and put it in a place where it never got back on track, it just continuously derailed. Which is a shame, because the show was really quite good. I continue to hold the opinions that seasons 1-3 were the best of the series. The show has also made a big mistake with several of the older characters: Lip, Ian, Mickey and Frank are poorly utilized, and the show suffers for it. As an ensemble show, the series works better when it has a multitude of interesting and compelling stories happening at the same time. They peaked really early with Lip and the love triangle between Mandy, Karen and him, and I think they threw away Amanda much too soon from the fourth and fifth seasons. They burned Mickey and Ian out last season, and are currently resting them, but they should have paced them better for a stronger narrative that could have last at least another season before breaking them up.

 

Frank is a dead end character, that lost his purpose along with Monica probably around season 2, at best. Debbie and Carl aren't interesting enough to lead story - they simply aren't' there yet and haven't grown into stronger characters to have their own storylines, and they are both quite unlikable. Debbie herself is so stupid, that I can't believe she can walk upright. I understand exactly why Fiona is pushing for an abortion, because she is right, Debbie doesn't know what to do with a child and she is ruining her life, and worse yet Fiona shouldn't have to raise a baby, and we all know that is exactly what will happen once Debbie comes to her senses. I understand that this happens, but it shouldn't have to, and it's preventable, Debbie is seeking out to have this problem that will ruin any possibility of her achieving something in her life. Same with Carl, they both seem to be fine with setting their lives on fire.

 

 

I hate that she failed, because the reasoning never made sense to me, and the story telling at that point was a failure to get us here. I still don't understand why she cheated on Mike, and why she needed to bone his brother. I still don't understand why she didn't throw away the coke when she saw that he left it for her. I still don't understand why she went with those crazy meth heads to Tijuana or whatever. None of it made any sense! She's still failing now, but we have no reason to understand why. Contrary to the shows opinion, they never delved deeply into the reasoning regarding her out of character breakdown, and saying she is an addict doesn't work. She's not an addict. She is easily bored, maybe. But she clearly is not an addict, and her self sabotage makes no sense.

 

 

For pretty much the entire series, we are supposed to see Fiona as this port in the storm who weathers through things and makes things work. She functions when everything else is broken. She works best with support (Ian and Lip, are her backbones, and Templars) but she can still make things more or less work without them. Even now she is more or less back to where she was with the Cup job she had at season 4. She's an assistant manager, and she is more or less the woman in charge because her boyfriend is relapsing so again -- she is the port of the storm, the one who keeps things going. She handles everything, and makes it all work. Why is she sucking so bad all of a sudden? At first I thought she was off kilter because of Jimmy being gone, but the show went through painful lengths to say that's not the case. So what's the problem? Why can't she get her act together?

 

Edited January 21, 2016 by Skin

[Juliajms]

I certainly don't blame Fionna for trying to convince Debbie to have an abortion. It got a little f*cked up when she considered slipping her the abortion pill though. I'm surprised this show didn't actually go there.

 

Someone asked if the fight might have caused a miscarriage. I couldn't pick up any clues, but anythings possible I guess. That could be the best thing that ever happened to Debbie, not that I think she's going to achieve anything in this world anyway. She and Carl are already too far gone, but why bring another life into the misery? Whatever happens it's hard for me to sympathize with this kid. It really shouldn't be because she's never had a real parent, but I just can't with some 15 year old purposely getting pregnant.

 

Lip is the only one who stands a chance, which in a way makes sense. It's obviously not fair, but only someone with a real gift is likely to overcome Frank and Monica.

[All My Shadows]

Oh, I think all of those outrageous things were stupid, too, and they were just more examples of the show going overboard because "The Gallaghers are fckn crazy and totally bout that life!!" but since those things did indeed happen, I think it only makes sense that the kids have turned to sh!t as a result. Given the fact that Fiona has been so absentee and blase about the kids and the house, I don't think it's far-fetched at all that they would end up the way that they've ended up. "I'm hanging with my niggas" Carl and "I want to get pregnant!!" Debs are cringe-worthy and frustrating, but they are definitely believable products of "*angrily takes off underwear and opens legs wide open*" Fiona.

[Skin]

I guess, but I feel more likely than not it's just poor writing with little exploration into what is motivating them.

 

Karen, Mandy and Mickey for instance were all much stronger and more rounded characters than Debbie and Carl are right now, and I feel they should all have more or less the same headspace regarding most of these issues. I personally found Karen and Mandy a lot more interesting than Debbie is currently. Same with Mickey and Carl who also seem to be on the same track more or less.

Edited January 23, 2016 by Skin