A spin-off from Young Sheldon, but now focused on Georgie Cooper, aged 19, as he assumes the responsibilities of father, husband, and a son watching out for his grieving mother and his younger sister.
In case the description doesn’t sound like a comedy, let me assure you that Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage is sweet and funny. and it sets the stage in the very first episode by a conversation about how some TV shows include laughter. Also, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage has laughter, as it was filmed in front of a live audience – unlike Young Sheldon, but like The Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory laugh track was hated fiercely by many viewers, including me. Oddly, I don’t mind it in Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage. That may be because the show is set in the mid-1990s, and has a retro feel.
For those familiar with Young Sheldon, this show starts a few months after that series ended. George Cooper Senior is dead. Sheldon is now living in Pasadena and is a grad student at Cal Tech. The show is focused on Georgie and Mandy, who moved in with Mandy’s parents during the last season of Young Sheldon after the Coopers’ septic tank failed.
This show is both different and similar to Young Sheldon. We’ve already mentioned the laugh track. It has none of the science (although Meemaw and Georgie both demonstrate a real gift for probability) and neither the older nor the younger versions of Sheldon appear (at least in the first season). There are also many similarities. First, other than Sheldon, the characters from Young Sheldon make at least guest appearances (Georgie even has a dream about his dead dad). There’s the same length to each episode, and a similar approach to humor (very PG).
But to me, the most interesting thing is the core plot. Young Sheldon is about someone who is very young but with a very high IQ. Georgie may not have a high IQ, but he has a very high EQ, the emotional intelligence quotient. He is not his brother, starting high school at age nine. But at 19 he is coping with the responsibilities that usually don’t arrive until one is older. Not only is he married and a father, he and his wife are in debt. He’s dealing with his own grief from the loss of his own father, as well as the sense of responsibility of being the only man now in the Cooper family, and doing best to lend a hand when his mother and his sister need help.
He has a high EQ, but he lacks life experience. His youth is a disadvantage in the working world. He can’t drink (well, not legally). We see him get his first credit card. But he’s sweet and optimistic and always helping out. Jim, his father-in-law, really likes him and his brother-in-law becomes a fan. Even Audrey, his mother-in-law, will finally admit Georgie is a good husband – although she has to be drunk to do it.
But can the marriage last? Mandy and Georgie have an 11 year age difference. They only married because they had a kid together, something they say often. Are they deeply in love? They say they love each other, and they usually have each other’s back. Mandy knows he’s not educated, but she defends him to others and her corrections when he makes a mistake are gentle and not insistent. There’s a bond between them, and a sense of loyalty. But will it work out?
After all, there are stresses. Debt. The exhaustion associated with raising a small child. Living with her parents (it’s nice to see Mandy, as she gains experience as a mother, learning to appreciate her own mother). Different religions, with big tensions between the Baptists and the Catholics (especially as Mary Cooper takes her faith so seriously). Moreover, both Georgie and Mandy are really ambitious. Mandy is desperate to resume her career reporting the weather, and Georgie wants to become rich.
Also, as they only married because Mandy got “knocked up” – no judgment here, especially for any preachy reasons – but the shotgun wedding meant Georgie and Mandy never discussed certain important things, such as goals, how many kids, where to live, financial obligations, and more. Nevertheless, they are sweet to each other. And Georgie knows that in many ways this is a step up. He’s got his own bathroom now (well, I assume he shares it with Mandy).
We want it to work out. But given the title, and given the tendency of television shows to mess up relationships for the sake of drama, I really don’t know. But they make it through one season.
Title musings. The title of the series is “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage,” which implies there could be a second marriage – between the two of them? Or with other partners? At the end of the first season there are many pressures on the marriage, and they both admit to being worried about it. Also, we see many of the stresses of a first marriage in the early days. A fine title.
Bits and pieces
I scanned some reviews of the show. Other than the laugh track, the biggest complaint was the tango sequence in the opening credits. I personally like the tango sequence. First, they are pretty good dancers. Second, obviously thinking about this at some point in Young Sheldon because at some point Georgie assumes "it takes two to tango" is an expression for sex. Third, the dance is a great metaphor for how they’re trying to navigate a their lives with all the obstacles.
We see from a tombstone that George Cooper Senior died in 1994. The series starts less than a year since then as it’s Mary’s first Thanksgiving without him.
I really appreciated the choice to use “Georgie” instead of “George” in the title of the series, even though we learn in The Big Bang Theory that he has stopped going by Georgie and is going by George (at that point the character is probably around forty). First, Georgie emphasizes the character’s youth. Second, Georgie is much easier than George to find on the internet.
Very much the 1990s, which I remember well. Pay phones! The prosperity gospel!
The 11 year difference between Georgie and Mandy is the same age difference between the two actors, Montana Jordan and Emily Osment. Emily Osment is the younger sister of Haley Joel Osment from The Sixth Sense.
The one character they replace from Young Sheldon is Connor McAllister, Mandy’s younger brother, now played by Dougie Baldwin. This isn’t a big ask as the other Connor only had one appearance in one episode in Young Sheldon. Although he’s still pretty weird, the new Connor’s weirdness is delightful. I love his playing a polka on an accordion with turkey calls.
Quotes
Georgie: I like laughing shows.
Audrey: What are you talking about?
Georgie: Well, some shows you can hear people laughing, and some you can't. Wonder Years, no one's laughing. Is it funny? We'll never know.
Audrey: I prefer to laugh when I choose to.
Georgie: Really? I ain't never seen you laugh.
Audrey: Eavesdropping is when you want to listen. Overhearing is when you have no choice.
Mandy: Okay, no more credit card talk around Georgie.
Audrey: I assumed you told him.
Mandy: Well, you assumed wrong.
Jim: Don't you think he has a right to know?
Mandy: Of course he does.
Jim: So what's the holdup?
Mandy: He thinks I'm perfect. Why would I take that away from him?
Mandy: Sweetie, you know I love and support you, but what the hell are you doing?
Georgie: Standing up for myself.
Mandy: Well, great, how much does that pay?
Georgie: I can't stay where I'm not wanted.
Mandy: What are you talking about? My mom didn't want you here, and yet here you are.
Ruben: Why are you reading Cosmo?
Georgie: Trying to learn how women think. You know there's a lot of dirty stuff in here?
Ruben: Are there pictures?
Georgie: Sometimes. Listen to this, the health benefits of sex. Travels in his, automobile or something? I don't know what that is. Eleven secrets of world class lovers.
Ruben: Eleven! I only got two, and three, tops.
Georgie: Besides, Cooper men don't take sick days. My dad once had his appendix out; he was at work later that afternoon.
Jim: Really?
Georgie: Yeah. I mean, he passed out in the teachers' lounge, but he passed out at work.
Jim: Son, I'm not sure you're taking the right lesson from that story.
Jim: What are you mopin’ about?
Georgie: I’m not moping, I’m fretting.
Jim: What’s the difference?
Georgie: Moping is sad about yesterday. Fretting is sad about tomorrow.
Dale: Connie, please come home! I miss you. I don't care if you run a book or if you rob banks or if – if you're a serial killer. I love you.
Mandy: So, how much debt are we in?
Georgie: Well, let's just say we ain't gonna be moving out real soon.
Mandy: Boy, you piss me off.
Georgie: You piss me off.
Mandy: Well, marriages have been built on less, right?
Overall rating
An amusing, pleasant, and sometimes deep show, each episode running about 19 minutes without commercials. Well worth watching if you want to be entertained without having to worry about violence or the world ending due to some external threat. Three out of four tangos.
Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.
SPOILERS from Big Ban Theory, don't read if you don't want to know.!
ReplyDeleteOn BBT, when Sheldon won his Nobel Prize he states that he got a congratulations text from George's first ex-wife and from his second ex-wife. So it it pretty much written ins stone that they will divorce. I've always assumed calling it their FIRST marriage was to give hope to fans of the couple that eventually, they get back together. It at least leave the door open.
Good point, although they don't always stick to "canon". It's hard to see this lasting through two marriages, though, and the charm of Georgie's youth cannot last through more than a few seasons.
ReplyDelete