The 6:10 to Lubbock
The Big Bang Theory universe expands with the third series, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage. The series follows Sheldon Cooper’s older brother, Georgie, starting a family life with his new wife and daughter following the events of the final few seasons of Young Sheldon.
Georgie and Mandy
Georgie and Mandy started a relationship with both lying about their age, but Mandy got pregnant. They welcomed a daughter named CiCi and got married. Now they are trying to make their way as a young family. Georgie works at Mandy’s father’s tire shop. Mandy was a meteorologist before leaving television. It’s also a family with an odd age gap due to Mandy being 29 and Georgie being 17 when they both got together, although Georgia pretended to be 21.
They are building a life together while learning how to be husband and wife. In the pilot, they live with Mandy’s parents until Mandy’s mother implies Cici might be dumb, because she sees Georgie as dumb. This angers Mandy and while Georgie initially attempts to smooth everything over, this stops when he hears what Mandy’s mother said about Cici. He doesn’t care about being called dumb. He’s been viewed as dumb by many all his life due to the fact his brother is a literal genius. But he also loves his family and refuses to let anyone insult his daughter.
Mandy’s parents
The other aspect of this show is the perspective of Mandy’s parents as they couldn’t be presenting themselves any more differently. Mandy’s mother is definitely antagonistic. She loves her daughter and granddaughter but doesn’t seem too fond of Georgie. I think it will present as she wants the best for her daughter and a teenager who got her pregnant doesn’t appear to be the best for her college-educated, formerly career driven daughter. I think she’ll come around on Georgie as he proves himself, but it’s easy to understand why she looks down on Georgie as the series begins.
In contrast, Mandy’s father is presented as more understanding. He isn’t necessarily thrilled that his daughter had a baby out of wedlock with a man a decade younger than her, especially one who is a high school dropout. But he wants to help them anyway he can, which includes giving Georgie a job and advice. Given Georgie always looked to his father for advice and George Sr. died in the penultimate episode of Young Sheldon, Georgie needs a father figure and Mandy’s father is stepping up. Georgie even acknowledges that Mandy’s father reminds him of his own which her father takes as quote “quite the compliment.”
Georgie’s family
Two Young Sheldon alums returned for the pilot of Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage. Georgie’s mother and grandmother, Mary and Meemaw, appeared when Georgie and Mandy moved out of her mother’s house and into a trailer for a short period of time. It was a short scene to remind us from where Georgie and Mandy both came. It even led to funny banter between Mary and Meemaw about how Georgie and Mandy don’t want to live with Mary. It was hilarious but still a little sad when you realize that not that long ago Mary had a full home with a family of five, but now it’s just her and her daughter as George Sr died, Sheldon moved, and Georgie moved in with Mandy.
While she didn’t appear in this episode, Georgie’s sister, Missy, is also advertised to appear in a later episode. I don’t know how often they will appear, but it will be great to see the familiar faces. Plus, it makes sense for characters from the show from which it spun off to appear on the spinoff. I hope we get to see more Young Sheldon characters.
Laugh Track
One of the more controversial aspects of the show is the change in format. The Big Bang Theory was a multi-camera sitcom, taped in front of a live studio audience, often with a laugh track for jokes that don’t hit. Young Sheldon switched to a single camera sitcom with no laugh track and no audience. Georgie and Mandy returns to the multi-camera format in front of the audience. While that in of itself is fine, the laugh track didn’t need to return. The canned laughter may have been a part of sitcoms in the past, but we’ve moved away from that and it’s very obvious when it’s the track and not actual laughter.
The episode addresses the laugh track from the beginning with Georgie saying he likes it because it tells him when to laugh and Mandy’s mother clearly finding his comment stupid. While I agree with Mandy’s mother on the laugh track, it was still a nice acknowledgment to the complaints many people, including myself, had with the change.
Rating
When CBS announced it was ending Young Sheldon, the show was still one of the most popular on the network. Many people, including some on the show, expressed disappointment in the decision. However, to stay true to The Big Bang Theory canon, George Sr. had to die, and Sheldon had to leave Texas for California. (As someone who once lived in Texas, I question that decision, but I moved to New England, so who am I to judge?). CBS decided to continue the story but felt they needed a new vehicle, so Georgie and Mandy was born.
The sad thing is the title, and The Big Bang Theory canon tell us the relationship is doomed to fail. In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon says Georgie has been married three times, and the title emphasizes it’s their FIRST marriage. Whether this means Georgie and Mandy will get divorced and remarried or just divorced, I don’t know, but it has the potential to be an interesting sitcom.
Still, in the first episode, many of the jokes didn’t hit as hard as they clearly hoped. There were definitely some good jokes worthy of a chuckle but nothing that had me belly-laughing. I was more intrigued with Georgie’s relationship with Mandy’s father than anything else. It’s one episode, but it needs to grow a lot.
Check out Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2024
Add comment
Comments