Parenting Tips from “A Man on the Inside” S1 E1, “Tinker Tailor Older Spy”

Welcome to the Parenting Roundabout podcast. I'm Terry Morrow and I'm Catherine hileco. As parents and parenting writers, we can't help but see everything through a parenting lens. But as our kids have become adults, we find ourselves more interested in getting caught up on movies and streaming than I'm going over the same parenting topics over and over.

So since we're pretty sure we can find parenting wisdom anywhere, we're going to talk about what we're watching, what we thought about it, and maybe what we can learn from it, if only what not to do. Watch and listen along, and let's all make like we're doing something important for our families. Each Wednesday we bring you our thoughts on a newer entertainment property. And for this week of January twenty seventh, we've kicked off a new watch. It's called

I did not realize that when I watched it the first time, only when I watched it for this thing. It's perfect.

Yeah, I believe all the episode titles are like spy movies. So yeah, so yeah, this was a nice palette cleanser after the violence of Lost.

Yes, I like this a lot.

It's Ted dance, and I was thinking, you know, it starts off with you know, music playing, someone getting ready for the day again, like that whole like Desmond in the Bunker that we had already said was shown again on The Good Place.

But it didn't, but it was.

It was showing a whole day in his in his before that.

Right at the very beginning, it went to like a a little home movie. Yes, yes, of their wedding, I guess, And that is that c G I Ted dancing it So it was creepy.

It did not look like it really was of Ted dancing, or even d or even like makeup Ted dancing.

Yeah, definitely definitely wasn't current Ted dancing. And there's certainly enough older Ted dancing that you could AI it, I guess. But it looked like the things people do on AI. It's like it was just not right. Don't do that. We all remember him. If you are doing that, you are making the rest of us feel weird to feel very comfortable. It just didn't seem necessary. I think we could have understood that he loved his wife and they had a cute relationship. Without that, Yeah, the photo album,

You get yourself all sound?

Do you get yourself all dressed up in like a suit and a sweater vest.

For your.

I do wear skirts though on my days, yeah, yeah, but with a sweater usually is Yeah, No, I don't get that formally attired. But still I'm not quite as old as to dasn't but getting there. It's a little too closed to go for comfort.

Yeah.

So he the premise is, yes, that he's this sort of somewhat lonely, somewhat bored retiree and he you know.

He cl has lost his wife in somewhat recent right time, So it's completely just at loose ends.

He clips things from the physical newspaper and mails them in the physical snail mail to his daughter, which is a wonderful detail.

I think as a parenting tip, I think that needs to come back. I think that that I'm going to cut something out of a magazine and mail it to my daughter, even though she's living here at my house. That is such a such a grandparent or parents thing to older parent thing to do. And it's so cute and it's better than just texting them a picture of something, isn't it.

Yeah?

Next time, next time, I'm going to text my daughter a page from the computer. I'm going to print it out, put it off.

Put it in. Yes, she'd be like, I got some.

Man, it's charming. Yeah.

So so his daughter gently suggests that perhaps he needs some kind of hobby or project, and that's what leads him to this newspaper ad, which again like they had to put it in the physical newspaper, which was advertising for an older man to go undercover at this retirement home type place. Right.

Yes, she's like telling her assistant what to put in the you know, the ad has to be in the newspaper. Right, She's trying to get somebody seventy five to eighty five, and she wants them to know technology, and her assistant goes, it's when they do has a.

Phone, right, And of course they have the montage of the inappropriate candidates like, yes, I have a phone, it's at home.

I'm watching that and thinking my husband would not be able to pass this interview. He has a phone, but he doesn't know how to text or take a picture right from it.

So and that's what she wants him to see.

Yeah, that was that was very enjoyable, that little bit. And before that, we have another The Good Place flashback in that the client of the Private Detective is Mark Evan Jackson, yes, formerly Sean playing somebody whose mother's jewelry has been stolen in this place, right.

And another person that was appeared, you know, slightly less on The Good Place was Eugene Cordero, who played in this show. He plays the husband or partner of Ted Danson's daughter. But he was like, remember he was Jason Mendoza's friend.

Oh, well he's doing much better now then, that's yeah, he's like a lot less of a dirt bag it's a cute wife and three completely oblivious children.

Yeah, that was a very fun scene. Like the parent, she.

Offers them five dollars to tell her something that they have happened in their day, and none of them has.

At least been interested. She should have said she would been more than five dollars. That's right.

Yeah, some might have got their attention. Jesus, they are drinking the internet.

They don't need any water, they're drinking the internet.

Oh that was hilarious, but so yes, So he takes He gets the job by virtue of being able to take a picture and text it to her, and also that he was a professor, and and she tries to train him to be a spot and he is quite bad at it, yes, sort of adorably bad at it, but.

He's when he's having a great time.

Yes, she says, I think you're the best option in a sea of not very good options.

So she moves him into this this facility. I forget what it's called, like Palisade something that's one of those names. Yes, and he's he does pause for a moment because they do have a memory care unit, and so that is is hard for him, as that is what happened to his wife.

Yeah, I felt like that was a little heavier than the story needed, at least as the story is thus far right. You know, he could have just been nervous about it or something, but it's just like.

Yeah, it's like they wanted to give you know, that moment of will he or won't he actually accept this.

And think of lots of different ways he could have that could have had happened.

And also like with that, why we don't really need it?

You know? Yeah, he was looking for a project. One presented itself.

He did it right, like.

Right, yeah, unless that is going to come up later.

Yeah, presimilarly they're going to do more with it, but I don't want it.

Yeah, it's just being a cute.

And fun vehicle for like hilarious spying. Yes, do we have to have that sub theme of grief? Yeah, it's kind of feeling like another show we just stopped stopped watching. We need to have the grief? Could we just have the fun banter and rapartee and cute plot lines and no grief?

Yep?

This was This is also going to be another you have to have people to lean on story, So I think there will be some parallels, Yes, other than just a you know, old guy involved. Speaking of which, last week when we talked about Shrinking for really a very long time, Yes, talked about every permutation of that finale, including bumping boobs, and yet we failed to talk about that virtuoso speech word gives at the end about how his Parkinson's is getting worse and how that's gonna go

Yeah, just a good actor.

An actor, just a good actor, just a good actor. Award, Hello over here, nobody h come on anyway, So yes, head dancing also a known quantity, coming up with, you know, new stuff to do. Yeah, very enjoyable.

And he did remind me a little bit in this of the very end of The Good Place, when Michael became a real boy and was you know, just delighted by everything around him.

And that's kind of how he.

Was like with the spy, like, yeah, the glasses and taking pictures, you know, trying to secretly take pictures, and you know, he was just getting a real big kick out of all of it, which reminded me of Michael.

Wasn't his name like Michael realman.

Or something something, Yeah, something like that. Yeah, yeah, it's true. So I mean I can see this being very enjoyable and lots of We saw Sally Struthers for like thirty seconds.

Yes, but she'll be back.

I'm sure interesting to see her again, and you know, it'll be fun to see how they where they go with this and how they do it. From a parenting point of view, do you keep your kids drawings? Do you still have little drawings from when your kids are little?

A few?

Yeah, I have a box under my bed which is full of stuff from like elementary school. I have been through it a few times to prone it out, and then I get it down a little bit, and then I put more stuff in, and then it goes under I have not looked at it for probably decades at this point. And I should go through there, and I should find a couple of pieces r at work and put them up in my office.

Yeah, we have a couple framed things that I love, and I think there's more else somewhere.

I know that box is still under there. I can see it, but when i'm when the side of the bed, skirt gets pulled up. But my husband possibly either he doesn't know that it's under there, or he doesn't know what it is, because what are you talking about doing? Exactly well, right now in my office, my son has a buddy who enjoys coloring, and every time we see him, he gives me a coloring piece he has done. I

My daughter has been My daughter is into like colored by numbers on the iPad.

Oh so it doesn't well I suppose maybe you could, but it doesn't.

Yeah, it doesn't.

Produce a physical thing unless you maybe unless you want to. But it's very intricate, Like she's like she can spend days on it.

Wow, one of them.

It's not like Sandbox like we did.

Yeah, I do that too, but it's yeah, they're not not neither big nor elaborate.

Yeah, I mean I think I guess some of them are on Sandbox if you pay for it, but yeah, these are different.

So well that's cool. Well she should be able to like print it on color printer.

Yeah, maybe it's the it's the act of doing it.

But that is true, that is true that she enjoys. So yes, that was like me and counted crosstitch ands ago. It was nice to have the finished thing, but it was really just the hobby of having something to do right, take a long time, not so far sure. Also, I think parenting wise, there was a good indication here, especially

Then tell your daughter that.

Don't be telling her. It's the Art Photography gardening club. If you grasp for brochures.

There was quite a you know, quite a calendar of activity place.

So yeah, that looked like a pretty nice spot. I wonder how much that costs. Yeah, who is paying for him to be there? I guess the client.

I guess the client.

Yeah, because I'm guessing that eight cheap. No dude thinks, what's sort of appealing? I don't know. Yeah, yeah, I could see I could see that.

Yeah, well, you know.

My parents are in a similar type place.

And yeah, it has a lot of it.

Has a lot of activities, it has a gym and a library and restaurants and yeah, all kinds of stuff and has an appeal and they have you know, my dad is a musician and they have some various music groups and a choir.

And he tried.

He was like, no, not doing that again, like five sixth women.

It was not up to his standard.

Oh okay, yeah, so he was. I can see that he had enough. Yeah. My husband probably wouldn't take it either. He would be like, I just want to sit and watch TV. Why do I need to be in this special place? I would? I would. They'll be in every club, right.

Yeah. And it's but we are.

Never not going to have our kids with us. So unless there's unless I have some very open minded ones that let you bring along your family, right, I'm never going to be able to do that.

Yeah. Well it's it's kind of cute. You know.

Everybody has their their names on their door, and they kind of decorate their doors like like a college door.

I mean varying degrees.

Like some people just have like a wreath or whatever, but other people have all kinds of you know, stuff, and they have little tables outside their door for deliveries of various small things and so some people have like all little choschke's on the tables.

You're so dear, I bet like like socially, this is a lot like high school and college also, but there's gossip and there's factions, and yes, I gotta try hard to please people.

And certain people.

Oh my. Then again, maybe my little house.

Is right, got a lot going for it.

If you're just you know to U.

Yeah, well, I suppose that will be.

A wrinkly little honeypot as the assistant.

Yes, I suppose that will be part of the you know, ongoing drama is will he decided to stay there, although his house in Oakland was quite lovely.

That's what's going so enjoyed. How this show, even though very well written and well executed and well done, had the thing of I mean, assuming they're they're married, the daughter and her husband or partner. She's explaining to him all about her dad, how her mom died, and it's like, I see the size of your children. Probably he was there.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this.

But you gotta get that. You gotta exposition. You gotta get that exposition out.

Exposition may just.

Be like talking to a random stranger on the street. No, Okay, you know, certain things just have to happen. We understand how TV works. But you know, and and I'm sure there will be no complications of the fact that that he's calling the uh for the purposes of the undercover, calling the detective the same name as his daughter, right, that's not going to cause any waggy high jats.

Well, yeah, we'll see.

Oh, well we shall. We are here for it, Yes, we are here for it. We'll enjoy it. Next there will be no uh no supernatural visitors like uh lost. It'll be nice and grounded, right, you never know, goes to his wife could turn up.

Yeah, we'll find out next.

Week gets too close.

So next week.

It's episode two, the man who knew too much about bridges.

Because he's an engineer. You see, Yes, and we'll.

See you back here tomorrow for our weekly Roundabout roundup.

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