Is it crazy that I loved watching Gary's (Soctt's) on the ottoman? He just couldn't keep them still and I was mesmerize!

Well I thought the show was fabulous and better than I had suspected given the chant of “Give the show a chance.” Scott/Gary is in this episode a lot, I would say not as must as Frannie, but close. Claire seemed to be the character that wasn’t in the episode as much. If you want to critique re-shot scenes with Scott as Gary in it, I would say that one or two scenes were a little offbeat (??), but not so much as to spoil the scene -- the point got across just fine.

I like that Scott is trying to lose his Jersey accent and replace it with a whistling-type Wisconsin, higher octave voice. And Gary’s character isn’t geeky to me. He’s a dad with two -- and now three -- teenagers. The only real hint of Luke was when he was calling the alpacas to feed them: “Come On And Get It.” Old wants and wishes really don’t dissipate, do they?? So, as Scott has said: “Gary ain’t Luke.” There is no ranting Gary.

For me, Justin’s character is going to need some more observation. It’s a little non-descript. To me he doesn’t look old enough to be a junior in high school (16 going on 17) even though in real life he’s 18. Claire does -- way more mature. His voice sounds older when he’s being the narrator of the pilot episode -- talking about his family. He realizes he’s having difficulties fitting-in, in school and wishes he could be different -- but we don’t really know what or how. Does he want to be good in sports?? With Girls??? Socially accepted with more friends? Is he a science geek?? Can’t really tell if he is a honor roll student or not. I noticed that when the guidance counselor, Mr. Carl Matthews, was talking to Frannie about signing up for a foreign exchange student, there was this pin-wheel circle pinned on the wall with labels of “college, work, family, career, military, drop out, jail, and then “loser” -- and he was directing the arrow pointer to “ Loser” when he was talking to her about Justin. Then when you see the pinwheel again the arrow was pointing at college (in the same scene). I thought that was a bit cruel.

And it seems that Claire is not only built like a brick --it house, but she’s also athletic -- playing softball. I wonder if that’s a lead-in for father/daughter interactions in the future? Also, there seems to be teenage sex issues in the future -- just like in GG. Whole different spin on that one though -- different from GG. Also, Claire doesn’t come off being clueless very well. With her rebellious streak I think her character is going to be fun to watch.

Well, Frannie, is a gas. She goes off half-cocked at every turn -- I mean in every scene she was in. And it seems as though Gary is playing the calm one -- calming his wife down when “she’s” on a rant -- and there were plenty of rants in this episode, just not from Gary. Frannie is also talking fast like Lorelai, but the delivery isn’t the same -- LG was way stronger on her mile-a-minute dialogue scenes. Frannie is going to crack me up each week to the point of making me weary. She’s a hoot!!

The character I really could identify with and show empathy for, was Raja. He seemed the most stable. Not too nerdy, needy, not too opinionated -- he just wanted to meet new people and get along and discovered that in Medora, Wisconsin, it’s going to take a little more effort to do that. He really likes the Tolchuck family. Maybe we will find out more of his background as the series progresses. I wouldn’t say that the Tolchuck’s are a typical American family, but normal enough in my view.

I love the show and its concept -- It surprised me -- happily. Count me in as a supporter for Aliens.