And lame jokes aside, the intent and tone and vector of every scene is the same problem. It's like... U-Turn, it feels like U-Turn when the whole world was sick and ugly and gross. Not depressing, or mournful, but just... Diseased, and I don't know why that's happening this time. Or maybe it's the kid rape jokes. (Next week is way better, in both respects.) But U-Turn world was so aversive and nasty that I nearly stopped watching the show -- in fact, took this gig so I'd have an excuse to maintain my interest in the show -- and I looked at the past scripts by this writer and yeah, pretty much nasty and hateful right down the line. And maybe he's a great guy in person, loves dogs and hugs, maybe he's really strong in the room, I don't know, it's not my business, but: The banality of human weakness is not inherently interesting, that's what makes it banal, and that's really all we get this week.

Nancy says hello to her dead parents (Arlene Price 1933-1998, Sherwood Price 1931-1997), makes subtle fun of Jennifer Jason Leigh for getting the cheapest possible stones, and then introduces them to Stevie. (Wait, so if the Mom's born in 1933, she's 36 when Nancy is born and dies at 65, when Nancy's 29. Nancy is born in 1969, repeatedly raped by the hilarious, good-natured Mr. Schiff starting at 14, attends high school 1984-87 and goes off to Paris 1987-? Around 22 she marries Judah and Silas is born; she's 25 when Shane is born, an orphan at 28 and a widow -- for the first time -- around 38, I think. Check my math but I'm pretty sure about this. I mean, usually I would say it doesn't matter, stop being a nerd, but this show has been on for half a decade of our lives and we still know nothing about its protagonist, which makes it more interesting and less OCD.)