New Showtime TV Show: "Shameless" (William H. Macy)

I'm not giving up yet, simply because they are bound to enter a dramatic story arc over the 14 episodes of this current season (I believe it's being split into the first seven now, and then the final7 in January/February)...
Hopefully then can muster up something meaningful.
I do remember the first few seasons vividly displaying the (seemingly) real hurt of growing up in a dysfunctional family spread out over each character...a good example is Debs, who, when her character was still 'young', suffered greatly between having a good heart and watching family members like Frank and Monica letting her down continuously...that pain was palpably portrayed by a young Emma Kenney...hell, her sad scenes were tear-jerking...but then looking over the whole family, the writing was keen enough to portray their pain (from said dysfunction) in myriad ways...Carl's youthful violent side...Deb's abandonment pain...Lip's drinking and sexcapades...Fiona's motherly side crossed with sexcapades and broken hearts...Ian's problems...Liam's bright, happy side shining - mostly because he was a little too young to (yet) be drastically harmed by the vicious family-cycle...Kev's lack of solid parenting in his youth...all of this mashed into the Southside of Chicago's rough-and-tumble ways...top it off with Frank and Monica at the top of the heap (which has always clearly shown the effects of their parenting - or lack of parenting - on the kids and even friends and associates of the Gallaghers...)...
So, I will agree that they seem to be beating a dead horse...but I am gonna hang on just a little longer...
I wish Debs would turn herself around and really shine...but hey ...that's up to the writers.

 

I will too. I'm hoping it improves. I'll give it a few more chances. But i'm not counting on it.

A trend I've noticed...Fiona's story didn't really involve anyone else in the family. Ian's marginally. But it was mostly just her.

Frank didn't interact with anyone outside of Liam, and that was only to further his story.

Kevin and V could have a whole different show, not interacting with, or talking to any of the Gallagher's.

Carl is succeeding in boot camp.

Debbie is working but getting underpaid.

Lip is watching a child that isn't his.

Ian is fighting social injustice in jail.

It's as if it isn't about a family anymore. That's what's putting me off. Same characters. But not much else connecting it to what drew me in in the first place.

I get it. Characters have to grow. Evolve. But their evolution is killing the show. Fiona is making the right decision.

 

Okay, in order to be current for tonight's episode...I finally watched the entire Season 9 opener last night...
This episode was full of light-hearted comedy...with a few darkly funny moments...I can see how the worst is yet to come in later episodes...
But the yellow diaper of Deb's? When you think Shameless can't get any lower...I hope we don't see any more of those. Hollywood or not, we don't need Debbie's pee!!

 

I want to still like this show. I do. But i'm losing interest quickly.

Do I care? About anyone?

Liam. That's it

 

Liam truly is the only interesting character left. That last episode was awful. The writers seem to be more lost with Ian's storyline than any other, although Deb's now bi-curious left turn seems particularly cheap-any way to get these characters sucking face with each other has always been Shameless's fall back.

 

Yeah, these first three episodes are snoozers...but...it seems like the perfect setup for a gut-wrenchingly dramatic second-half of the season...we can only hope.
Fiona is somehow about to get cheated on this real estate deal...and to cheat on Ford...Debbie is going to mess things up on her schedule...Carl and his potentially-dead wife, and a basement full of geriatric dogs...Frank supporting a completely inappropriate politician...Ian and the stupid story line he's living out...Lip (who knows?!) and Liam, who is now learning about public school. That leaves Kev and V, and they could have their own show, to be honest...
I think the whole $hithou$e is about to go up in flames...

 

It looks like this might be a classic case of a formerly good show not tying up loose ends when it should have.

Honestly... I'd have fond memories of this show if it bowed out about the time Jimmy/Steve left

 

Someone remind me. Like three seasons back, Debbie was a live-in nanny and didn't she try to seduce the mom (at Frank's suggestion) to avoid ending up homeless? Was her name Ericka?

 

Until things improve I shan't be posting in this thread-it seems pointless.

 

I think the series is undergoing it's first tidal wave of the season...things should get more dramatic from here...but ya never know!

 

I'm certainly glad that we're finally seeing more of Debs, if you know what I mean.

 

Finally the first episode of redeeming value.

It was quite touching that Lip wanted to protect the young girl from her returning drug addict hooker mom. Looks like leaving the check there he might make it happen.

It was cringe inducing watching Moe White ogle young girls. Funny? Not even a little. Creepy? Completely

Kevin and V no longer have the rapiest bar on the south side. Appealing to the low? Sure. But effectively funny.

Fiona continues to practically have a separate show not interacting with her family at all. Smart. She can easily be written out of the show this way without skipping a beat.

 

Not to mention...Katey Sagal has posted (on social media) a picture of her "on top" of Frank for the upcoming episode...so the undertow of Gallagher joy and misery seems to be about to bust wide open.
I'm not looking forward to the "break" in the season after episode 7 (I believe it will resume in January or February)...but the next few episodes should prove to be interesting...
Although Fiona has been a bit distant from her family...her own current story has a lot to go haywire...we shall see!

 

Someone has mentioned this "break" before... maybe you. Are they really doing that? Why? It seems unusual for this show as it ordinarily plays straight through.

 

‘Shameless’ Gets Expanded Season 9 Order, Showtime Sets Fall Premiere Dates

"The ninth season of “Shameless” will be 14 episodes instead of the usual 12, the premium cabler announced Monday at the TCA summer press tour.

Season 9 of the critically-acclaimed series will air in two parts, with part one launching this fall on Sept. 9 and part two debuting on Jan. 20,, 2019. Season 9 will also feature the show’s 100th episode."

 

I don't know how many more seasons they plan on making this show. But what used to make this series great... interacting family character dynamics... is all but gone.

Ian is going to be sentenced for a crime? Deb's too busy wanting to look like a lesbian. Lip too busy racing motorbikes.

I don't know how old Liam is...9 maybe? Don't sexually assault him in a dark closet by the school skank.

Frank's looking for drugs? Intriguing.

After this week's episode... they should rename the show the Alibi...I heard it's a vag*na safe place. Various local boobs could stumble in... including the occasional Gallagher. Where hijinks will occur and everyone knows your name.

That sounds better than the dreck they've been shoveling me.

 

I'm so glad we're seeing more of the Alibi's regulars. That's a show I'd watch.

 

You must see this week's episode. It's pretty epic.

 

Sunday's episode was the opening of the 'seal of craziness' -- and episode 7, the last before the mid-season break, should be an even larger $hit-storm...if the writers still have what it takes...
SPOILER ALERT: Ian's exit from the show was epic -- and yet another example of something happening to a Gallagher that turns out to be okay for them...okay, no spoiler here...

 

I thought the episode was okay. The highlight for me was Bob Saget as the priest.

Courtney Cox was nearly unrecognizable.

Fiona and her escapades were pretty predictable.

Even though there was little drama in the Ian is going to prison story line... having Micky be his cell mate let us know he's going to be okay

Carl learning karate was fun.

Ive decided i'm going to see this through to the end. Not because I think it's great TV. But... because even with all their faults... this show about a family has become family. And with any family... warts and all... they are yours like it or not.

 

They pushed me right to the edge of the cliff-and then pulled me back in. That was an episode where things actually happened, and gave me hope for the future. That Mickey reveal almost had me welling up (welling up-for Shameless! What the hell). If they are leaning a certain way with Fiona, and I think you know what I mean, that would be a huge mistake, and really beyond the dramatic capabilities of this show. We are seeing all of the Gallaghers together quite a bit this season, and I think that's a good thing. About Courteney Cox: she did look fairly plastic, but she's looked this way for quite a while now. Kudos to the show for not having Lip and Jen hook up; they usually have Lip banging anything that moves. That was the best episode in quite a while.

 

Nice end to the first part of the season. I do have questions, though:
If Randy is going to Mt. Fuji, is Frank going to watch Ingrid? Is Randy so worn out that he would leave her in Frank's care?
If Max is going to cover Fiona's 25k fee, doesn't she get her $100,000 back?

Are we going to see a Frank-like spiral now for Fiona?
Otherwise, it looks like Debs has completely redeemed herself, and it was great to see her taking care of Fiona.
The Carl/West Point storyline is stupid beyond description-can you get in solely on a hardship case? Because he's dumb as dirt.
If Lip has a relationship with Tami, can booze be far behind?
As usual, the cutest moments are saved for Kev and V.
And R.I.P. Kassidi?
It looks like Pt. 2 of the season will most likely be the end for this show, if the show runners know what's good for them. No Fiona, no Ian-just end it.

 

The season that just ended was like Shameless Lite. Some nice things happened, and some awful things happened. I did hear that next season will be the final hurrah.
It's time.

 

I didn't even realize that the latest episode was the last until I noticed there was no next week preview during the closing credits.

 

Maybe it's the month-long 'lock-down' talking, but....
the "Fiona-less Shameless" wasn't that bad!
Sure, Karl & Lip seem to have both grown a conscience, and some of Frank's 'grifts' are predictable, but still.... the wife and I found it fun.....