"You wanna watch Shameless?"
HOW IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION?
Over the mini-break created by MLK day, my roommate and I ventured into the dark cycle of binge watching a show that has become quite popular and talked about. I had seen the first two episodes of season 2 of "Shameless" randomly. Granted, those I had watched it with had been a little hesitant if I would like it or not, going so far as suggesting we watched something else. (Clearly, they didn't know me well enough.) And, yes, "Shameless" isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea.
1. WTF Is This Show?
Going into it, you're left in a constant mind-blown state. With everything that goes down, you're left thinking "how? Just, how would this happen?" And then you just keep watching. You get hooked. In the midst of the show, you end up thinking "Of course this character would do that. Why do I question anything anymore?"
2. Rude, Crude, but Ridiculously Funny
Yes, coming from someone who would probably be considered a prude, this show is crude. So if you're 'faint at heart' this probably isn't for you. If you can't handle swearing, nudity, drugs, the sort, well...
And sometimes it brings out the worst comments from within us.
3. The Music Selections
This may be a thought off the beaten path, but the music selections in "Shameless" are quite interesting. For most situations they're very relaxed and casual, almost as if they give a sense of normality to the whatever situation is going down.
Plus, the theme song is insanely catchy.
4. Constantly Yelling at the TV
With every twist and turn my roommate and I are usually yelling at the characters. As we watch, a lot of discussion goes on and then when something unexpected happens or Frank messes up again we just yell at the TV.
I apologize profusely to those that live around us because of how much we yell in irritation/excitement/revelation because of this show. If you hear yelling from our apartment we're watching "Shameless."
5. Hating 90% of the Characters
My roommate and I basically only like the Gallaghers (minus Frank, and adding Kev and V). There were solid episodes where my roommate and I were yelling and hoping that certain characters *cough* Monica *cough* would get off the show. We anticipated the leave of different characters and got frustrated with how they were messing up an already messed up situation. And a lot of the time, when a new character would show up we would immediately declare that we hated them (unless they proved that we shouldn't hate them).
6. Gallaghers Get Away With SO MUCH
The things this family does to survive. There's almost too much to discuss. And, of course, Frank's 'seen' more of North America than I have. (He ends up in Canada AND in Mexico.) There's a whole thing with a helicopter and Ian. Lip does so many scams it's silly- STILL gets a full ride to MIT though. Fiona has so many jobs it's ridiculous AND she raises ALL of the kids.
7. Lip Gallagher
We cheer Lip on, he's our favorite. We want to see him excel, but instead, we see him mess up time after time. He's wicked smart and instead of using his scholarly abilities as one would normally think, he uses them to help keep his family going. But, he also is a destructive force unto himself, which is a mix of entertaining and irritating. It adds an underlying dynamic to the hot mess that is already the Gallagher family.
There's actually a guy in a class for my creative writing minor that is a dead ringer for Lip Gallagher.
8. Another Episode
"Are you still watching?" What kind of question is that? OF COURSE I'm still watching? When we started Shameless my roommate and I got halfway through season 1 despite the fact I had to get up for a recruit breakfast and tour the following morning.
9. Jimmy Steve
Can we talk about Jimmy Steve? He loves Fiona, but he's tied up in so many things that, well, HE'S SKETCH AF. He was sketchy from the beginning. He's also just got a sketchy look to him- it might be the tall hair and the dark circles around his eyes. When he's in episodes we get irritated and suspicious of him. Then, when he's not in episodes we kind of miss him.
10. Lessons Learned
Even though the majority of the show you're just sitting there thinking "wow the Gallaghers and everyone else involved are dysfunctional AF" there are a lot of good points brought up throughout.
I've found that Kev and Fiona are usually the ones that gives the "words of wisdom."
You see characters in what could be seen as a terrible lifestyle surviving and thriving. Their conditions push them to excel. For example, Lip is making his way with his smarts. Ian has the drive to excel in the armed forces. Fiona is raising six kids and is my age. Debbie basically ran a summer daycare. And as much as Frank says that he's the reason they excel so much, he really didn't anything for his family.
They also stick together- the family, the neighbors (when it comes to it). A great example of this is when everyone- EVERYONE- in the neighborhood was going to beat up a sex offender in the neighborhood in season 3.
In Conclusion
Do it. Watch Shameless. Watch it shamelessly. For some episodes I've been live tweeting it. It's just so crazy. It gets you hooked easy. My roommate even said she was expecting it to be good for a few episodes then we could switch to something else. Nope. Whenever we've had time to watch TV, it's been Shameless, all the way.
