Counting On: Season 3, Part 2, Different Show, Same...

[onekidanddone]

6 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

I know, I used to LOVE TLC but they have gone downhill since the about 2012, about the time they really got into it with the Duggar's hardcore, they dropped The Learning Channel and went to The Lousy Christians channel.  My 19 year old kid in video production/film school can and does make better TV/Video's than this "professional" network does.  

My 22 year old nephew graduated from film school in December and already landed a job.  We are all a bit shocked and very proud. I mean who gets a job right away like that? So cool.  Especially when my brother begged him to take film as a minor and major in business or engineering. Bro didn't think nephew would find a job  The kid dug in his heals.  Now four years later ....once again I say we are all so proud. 

[Fun Undies]

On 2/2/2017 at 4:01 PM, Jana814 said:

Maybe he felt he needed to find someone fast or he would loose his job in the church. 

I know it's been speculated before that Jeremy got married in order to land himself a job (or better job) as a preacher.  Personally, I hadn't given this theory much stalk, but my other MIL is a preacher, and she's in her 60's.  She's a wonderful Christian lady, who is trying to teach the "older generation" that unless they're more accepting, and truly welcome all (read: LGBTQ+, etc.) that things aren't going to go well with the next generation of Christians (i.e. we're shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world to a dangerous point). 

But I digress - point is, she works mostly as an interim minister, and she says it's been getting harder and harder to find jobs, because all the congregants want the "young family".  The way she put it was they want the young man, who has the stamina, the young wife who basically is "free labor" for the church/outreach, etc., and the young children who represented the hope for the future/next generation.  To be honest i was flabbergasted.  Because I really didn't think this was a thing.

I really, really hope for Jinger's sake, that Jeremy actually wanted to get married to her - and she's not just a placeholder/Stepford Wife who fit the mold so he could get ahead in his career :/

6 hours ago, OyToTheVey said:

I'm still kinda surprised that Jeremy had a Rembrandt. My all time favorite artist. But doesn't he know the background? Rembrandt had a 'slaughter' room in his house. There was a room that had a table and equipment for him to cut up corpses. He wasn't a very light guy. Anyway, I hope he has art books and Jinger reads some of them. Also, Rembrandt was all about modern science. His paintings were attributed to benefiting autopsies. 

Okay, so obviously I'm familiar with Rembrandt's art - being an artist myself, and having taken a few art history courses in college - but I swear to God I did not know that until I read your post, and I'm like, "What the hell did I pay for in college, that that little snippit wasn't deemed important enough to share in class?!"  Shit.

[eveandadam]

Just a few more thoughts on the third episode:

I didn't like the new setup of the apartment. It was much too cramped  and full of little decorating items. For the guest bed room I would have chosen a pull-out bed or couch which can be extended as needed. for the living room I would have chosen a couch that has a corner element (also extendible) and of course a dining table that can be extended as needed as well. With such a small apartment it is necessary to be practical with space. It was obvious that Jessa didn't know about that. I live in Munich where rents are sky rocketing and almost every piece of furniture is extendible or has extra storage room on the bottom or in the back.

 

Something about the married couples:

I have the impression TLC wanted to give the role of the serious grown-up couple to Jill and Derick and the role of goofy, funny couple, that has not yet quite grown-up, to Jessa and Ben. If that is the case then the plan completely backfired. Jill turned out to be much more child-like and Derick turned out to be much more aggressive and paranoid than expected, whereas Ben seems to grown into his role as a father more and more and Jessa is a take-charge person, anyway.

 

 

[HarleyQuinn]

From reading these recaps it seems like the Duhlards get the least amount of focus. Maybe TLC realized how boring/dumb/disgusting they are? (by Duggar stanards anyways)

[OyToTheVey]

13 hours ago, Fun Undies said:

I know it's been speculated before that Jeremy got married in order to land himself a job (or better job) as a preacher.  Personally, I hadn't given this theory much stalk, but my other MIL is a preacher, and she's in her 60's.  She's a wonderful Christian lady, who is trying to teach the "older generation" that unless they're more accepting, and truly welcome all (read: LGBTQ+, etc.) that things aren't going to go well with the next generation of Christians (i.e. we're shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world to a dangerous point). 

But I digress - point is, she works mostly as an interim minister, and she says it's been getting harder and harder to find jobs, because all the congregants want the "young family".  The way she put it was they want the young man, who has the stamina, the young wife who basically is "free labor" for the church/outreach, etc., and the young children who represented the hope for the future/next generation.  To be honest i was flabbergasted.  Because I really didn't think this was a thing.

I really, really hope for Jinger's sake, that Jeremy actually wanted to get married to her - and she's not just a placeholder/Stepford Wife who fit the mold so he could get ahead in his career :/

Okay, so obviously I'm familiar with Rembrandt's art - being an artist myself, and having taken a few art history courses in college - but I swear to God I did not know that until I read your post, and I'm like, "What the hell did I pay for in college, that that little snippit wasn't deemed important enough to share in class?!"  Shit.

TBH I'm kinda obsessed with Rembrandt. I'm kinda dark and moody and it speaks to me lol But yeah I didn't know about the room until I went to Amsterdam. I made my friend come with me to the Rembrandt house. I might have a picture of it. I don't remember if cameras were allowed. If you walk into his art studio, there's a table and some of the instruments looked like doctor instruments.

[mizandry]

23 hours ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

[snip] 

NOTE: I wish they'd give up already on the horrible Gothard-mandated adoring/attentive listening. The girls look like druggies and the guys like smug assholes when they do this--every time. Its one of the worst parts of this cult. It just looks STUPID. 

[snip]

omg seriously. More than half the time when they do the creepy stare it just looks like they aren't listening to their partner, just concentrating on how hard they should stare and whether they're giving too much/not enough sex eye depending on the sister. It's rude and distracting as fuck, which might be why they do it? To distract from how fucking boring the THs are? I don't know why Jeremy seems so periodically thrown off by it, though... I mean, he had to have known about the mandatory Duggar staring... 

[picklepizzas]

just watched the second episode, where ben performs at the flame concert...it made me so uncomfortable to watch, and not bc of ben's fanboy performance. it's bc i get the distinct impression that flame and his friends (especially his hype man that he did all the THs with) are are subtly mocking ben in all their interactions with him/interviews about him.   he seems like such an eager, hopeful puppy around them. it feels like i'm watching one of those movies where the cool kids pretend to be friends with a nerd for  bet or a joke [or free expsoure on a tv show] and it's just so uncomfortable to watch.  i reallllly hope they're done with the flame storyline now. 

[calimojo]

52 minutes ago, picklepizzas said:

just watched the second episode, where ben performs at the flame concert...it made me so uncomfortable to watch, and not bc of ben's fanboy performance. it's bc i get the distinct impression that flame and his friends (especially his hype man that he did all the THs with) are are subtly mocking ben in all their interactions with him/interviews about him.   he seems like such an eager, hopeful puppy around them. it feels like i'm watching one of those movies where the cool kids pretend to be friends with a nerd for  bet or a joke [or free expsoure on a tv show] and it's just so uncomfortable to watch.  i reallllly hope they're done with the flame storyline now. 

There may be some of that, but I hope they bring Flame back once in awhile.  It is about the only time we actually see Ben happy.  He was truly having a good time, and he was even able to use self-depricating humor, so I don't think he is naive to the fact that he looks a bit ridiculous.  If he honestly enjoys the music, and if he really does feel a kinship with Flame and his entourage,  what does it hurt? 

I think we underestimate Ben.  He has some artistic skill,  he has broader interests in music and culture away from the narrow constraints of the clan, and he is enrolled in college courses.  He is awkward as hell during most of his time on screen, but I honestly enjoyed seeing him have, what appeared to be genuine fun with Flame and his crew. 

 

The other thing I noticed is that Flame better keep his day job, because there was barely any crowd listening to his music at that festival, even with the 'draw' of Ben and Jessa being there. 

[Cheetah]

20 hours ago, Fun Undies said:

But I digress - point is, she works mostly as an interim minister, and she says it's been getting harder and harder to find jobs, because all the congregants want the "young family".  The way she put it was they want the young man, who has the stamina, the young wife who basically is "free labor" for the church/outreach, etc., and the young children who represented the hope for the future/next generation.  To be honest i was flabbergasted.  Because I really didn't think this was a thing.

It's totally a thing, even among more liberal churches.  To the point that people who are in charge of hiring processes for their regions have to explicitly talk to call committees about diversity and looking outside the box and that sort of thing.  I was the head of the call committee at our church about 6 years ago (ELCA) and my dad was a Presbyterian minister.  The more liberal version of this is cool with a woman pastor, and even a gay pastor, as long as they have younger kids, because families looking for a church want one that already has some kids in the congregation, and a pastor with kids will get to know families in the area who don't belong to a church yet and talk them into coming to yours.  

[picklepizzas]

49 minutes ago, calimojo said:

There may be some of that, but I hope they bring Flame back once in awhile.  It is about the only time we actually see Ben happy.  He was truly having a good time, and he was even able to use self-depricating humor, so I don't think he is naive to the fact that he looks a bit ridiculous.  If he honestly enjoys the music, and if he really does feel a kinship with Flame and his entourage,  what does it hurt? 

 

idk, i find it really tragic to watch him working really hard to be accepted by people who are basically laughing in his face - i'm always expecting him to suddenly realize it and be absolutely crushed. i just find it so cringeworthy. 

[Dandruff]

On 2/3/2017 at 3:18 PM, Carm_88 said:

He did but the doctor really didn't know what was wrong with him. 

Also, Jill and Derick said that Israel wasn't feeling well and we didn't find out what - if anything - was wrong with him either.  We found out that he's high on the height and weight scales for his age, which had been obvious already.

Who wants to watch a puking hippie Jesus and his nervous wife move from one unsuccessful scenario to another?  Not me.  And I wish he'd stay off Twitter...it really doesn't seem to be helping him or anybody else. 

[seasonsoflife]

6 hours ago, mizandry said:

omg seriously. More than half the time when they do the creepy stare it just looks like they aren't listening to their partner, just concentrating on how hard they should stare and whether they're giving too much/not enough sex eye depending on the sister. It's rude and distracting as fuck, which might be why they do it? To distract from how fucking boring the THs are? I don't know why Jeremy seems so periodically thrown off by it, though... I mean, he had to have known about the mandatory Duggar staring... 

Between that and Jinger's "babeeee" I am just over even trying to watch Counting on.

These episodes are so boring. The reason I started watching the Duggars was to see how these gigantic family lived. newlyweds decorating are not entertaining.

Also, I am done with Jinger's hair. Wash it. Comb it. I don't wanna be a b%*$, but your sole purpose in life right now is to look nice for your husband. You have NOTHING to do all day. Wash. Your. Hair. Dammit. 

 

 

[SamiKatz]

1 hour ago, Dandruff said:

Who wants to watch a puking hippie Jesus and his nervous wife move from one unsuccessful scenario to another? 

 

I'm not sure why (although I am drinking a beer), but this phrase made me laugh out loud!

[Alachantal]

On 2/3/2017 at 8:35 AM, calimojo said:

I think the producers of the show, must really be bottom of the barrel and they better hope they don't lose the show because if I were them I would not put this show on their resume. 

 

They have so many missed opportunities to actually make it interesting and instead they ask "What kind of cheese would Jinger be?".  It is embarrassingly bad work on their part. 

It is even worse than 19k, and that sucked.  TLC sucks, and their standards for production must be extremely low.  I can't imagine any self-respecting producer wanting to be associated with this show.  I would rather work at Walmart than have people know I produced this boring yawnfest. 

And,  really it isn't that reality shows have to have drama to be good.  They could be inspiring and uplifting.  But this is nothing.  When the only drama the show has to offer is two sisters having a minor disagreement of what picture to hang, or a stick thin Jesus freak gagging a long side of the road, And when the only Inspiring message they have, over and over,  is waiting to see what the Lord has in store for them, then they are really unclear as to what makes good TV. 

 

 

Are we absolutely sure the producers didn't come second rate from Buzzfeed with stupid and uninteresting questions like that?

[VeganCupcake]

On 2/3/2017 at 8:34 PM, Fun Undies said:

/

Okay, so obviously I'm familiar with Rembrandt's art - being an artist myself, and having taken a few art history courses in college - but I swear to God I did not know that until I read your post, and I'm like, "What the hell did I pay for in college, that that little snippit wasn't deemed important enough to share in class?!"  Shit.

What you said about churches wanting the "young family"……so true! Of course new young couples or fams looking for a church will connect. Then also, many middle-aged women (actually most women any age) are OBSESSED with young "hot" guys like Jeremy (I am talking about physical looks only). It's ridiculous  and strange, but holds true. It's like watching this cute young couple is the next best thing to living out their own fantasy fundie life, instead of the drab boring reality they're stuck in. 

[eveandadam]

Jinger's behavior in the third episode seemed so staged I could barely watch it. It's like she is acting everything, every emotion, every movement, it's so weird. Of course, I don't know her and maybe that is what she is really like but it just seems so ingenuine. The way she gazes at Jeremy seems rehearsed and her smile looks fake, sorry to say that. The scene where they were standing beside the car on the way to the airport he was talknig, she was staring at him and as soon as he turns around to look at her she cracks that weird "fake" (?) smile.

I have the eerie feeling that the very few times we saw the real, raw Jinger was in the earliest episodes of around 7-10 years ago (with all the eye roling and sass), then the turkey shooting episode in 2012 and the last time when she cried on camera due to the Josh scandals.

I really hope for the future that she gets some of her tomboyish sass back and that Jeremy will let her. the 12 hours driving distance from her family might help with that.

[seraaa]

1 hour ago, eveandadam said:

Jinger's behavior in the third episode seemed so staged I could barely watch it. It's like she is acting everything, every emotion, every movement, it's so weird. Of course, I don't know her and maybe that is what she is really like but it just seems so ingenuine. The way she gazes at Jeremy seems rehearsed and her smile looks fake, sorry to say that. The scene where they were standing beside the car on the way to the airport he was talknig, she was staring at him and as soon as he turns around to look at her she cracks that weird "fake" (?) smile.

I have the eerie feeling that the very few times we saw the real, raw Jinger was in the earliest episodes of around 7-10 years ago (with all the eye roling and sass), then the turkey shooting episode in 2012 and the last time when she cried on camera due to the Josh scandals.

I really hope for the future that she gets some of her tomboyish sass back and that Jeremy will let her. the 12 hours driving distance from her family might help with that.

Could be that she is just literally acting, as we know they recreate some scenarios. And some are just more self-conscious and on guard when they know a camera is on them.

I hope, too, that she's enjoying life away from the house.

[nst]

12 hours ago, Alachantal said:

Are we absolutely sure the producers didn't come second rate from Buzzfeed with stupid and uninteresting questions like that?

I have this theory they ask such stupid questions because they want them to see hip but these people will never be hip and if you asked them lets say Why do you love the Lord - they would just throw the bible down and get all dramatic 

[MamaJunebug]

I'm in all your debt for watching for me. Over on Pickles' page, I saw the screencap of Jeremy's face when the producer asks the nickname for Texas, and by gum, if that isn't *the* most vacant stare that was ever stared!

Boy seriously looks like he's drugged, or dead. [/Teen Girl Squad]

I mean it's epic in its vacuousness. Vacuity?

[Jana814]

I really hope JB has money in a trust for the kids in case something happens. I have a classmate from high school that just died of a heart attack. Only 36 and had 3 kids 6 and under. 

[RosyDaisy]

Whoever filmed Josie's blowout, needs a camera shoved up his ass. That was simply uncalled. She was just a little kid.

[Bad Wolf]

3 minutes ago, RosyDaisy said:

Whoever filmed Josie's blowout, needs a camera shoved up his ass. That was simply uncalled. She was just a little kid.

Yes, she was just a baby, and we all remember it. She doesn't need that following her forever. Maybe it's good she's not going to school.

[2manyKidzzz]

2 hours ago, nst said:

I have this theory they ask such stupid questions because they want them to see hip but these people will never be hip and if you asked them lets say Why do you love the Lord - they would just throw the bible down and get all dramatic 

I'd pay to see that. Ha ha. 

[choralcrusader8613]

1 hour ago, RosyDaisy said:

Whoever filmed Josie's blowout, needs a camera shoved up his ass. That was simply uncalled. She was just a little kid.

Scott Enlow was joking about that, basically saying that if Josie came up to him at 16, embarrassed at that footage, he'd tell her, "But why wouldn't I? It's good TV!" He is such a gross human being sometimes.

[VooDooChild]

17 hours ago, seasonsoflife said:

Between that and Jinger's "babeeee" I am just over even trying to watch Counting on.

These episodes are so boring. The reason I started watching the Duggars was to see how these gigantic family lived. newlyweds decorating are not entertaining.

Also, I am done with Jinger's hair. Wash it. Comb it. I don't wanna be a b%*$, but your sole purpose in life right now is to look nice for your husband. You have NOTHING to do all day. Wash. Your. Hair. Dammit. 

 

 

Jinger's "baaaaaabe" always cracks me up because the tone of it makes it sound likes she's annoyed, IMO anyway.