Anna Fricke on “Nice Girls Finish Frist”

Episode Date: February 8, 2007

We always get into interesting conversation in the writers’ room about the differences between men and women… which is useful, since that’s what the show is going to be about. But never before had the women so confused the men about an issue. The question we grappled with for this episode is why women go over the top to be nice to someone – even when they don’t particularly like them. We all had a bunch of stories to tell about bending over backwards to make someone else happy, even though you’re not sure why you’re bending so far back. I told a story about buying three hundred dollars worth of wedding china for my ex-boyfriend and then never hearing from him again. I was just trying to be nice and say that I applauded his marriage! Okay, and maybe I also wanted to show that I was a generous and loving soul and important enough in his life that he would also eat dinner off of plates I gave him. These things are complicated. Jenny hoped that I would work through some issues in writing this episode. I think that I did. But Zach: A thank you note? Something? Anything?

Anyway, the production process of this episode proved to be fascinating. Our show shoots in Vancouver, as you know, so a lot of our meetings take place via speakerphone. Jenny and I had a conference call with our co-executive producer and the director of the episode, Jeff Melman. Jeff is a great guy and also directed my last episode. But he was initially mystified by Marin’s actions. “I’m just trying to understand,” he said over the speakerphone. “Why exactly is Marin getting Lynn such a huge gift?” Jenny and I looked at each other. This episode always made perfect sense to us. “She thinks she’s being nice. She wants Lynn to like her. She’s getting this gift to show that she’s fine with everything, and the best way to show that is to get the best gift possible.” We said. There was a pause. Jeff, on the other end said, “but Marin still has feelings for Jack.” “Exactly!” We said. It’s complicated. Jeff got on board and said that we were teaching him a lot about women. Hopefully we’re spurring conversations in bedrooms all over America and women will stop spending money on other women they don’t actually like and we can put an end to fake friendships once and for all.

We felt it was important to show this dynamic between Marin and Lynn. Two strong personalities that, in another world, might have been friends. But in this world, they don’t have a heck of a lot of reasons to like each other. We knew it wasn’t believable to play Lynn as Marin as friends and we wanted to address that. Lynn struggles in this episode, too. She knows it’s awkward to ask Marin to celebrate her baby, but it’s even more awkward to leave her out of it, right? And Jack is trying to be nice to both Marin and Lynn, which is clearly not working out well for him. We know that many of you are frustrated by the Jack/Lynn relationship. But this episode is a good example of Jack’s struggle. He doesn’t feel entirely comfortable about what he’s entering into with Lynn, but he’s carrying through with it because he’s a good guy (as will be furthered in next week’s episode).

We went through a few different versions with the Sam and Jane story. We wanted it to be a deeper issue than that Jane is just a career-crazed woman and Sam is laid back. That would be an insult to career crazed women everywhere (half our staff). We wanted to show that, while we love Sam and Jane together, maybe these two people fundamentally don’t work as a couple in the real world. When you’re in Elmo, it’s easy to get caught up in the laid back small town fantasy. But what happens when the honeymoon is over? When we were writing this, we had to make sure there were moments where both Sam and Jane were at fault. They both had their not-so-pretty moments. But personally, I could watch Sam and Jane all day. I think they’re really great together. I hope those two work it out.

We’ve known for a long time how we wanted to play Buzz’s reaction to having a gay son. We knew it would be tentative and awkward between the two of them, but that Buzz would want to embrace George the way he’s embraced Patrick. But Buzz is an old fashioned man and not necessarily well versed in the modern ways of homosexuality. He really is trying to do right by George, but he unknowingly does very wrong. George and Terri = delightful. I loved them. I hope you do as well. I think they accurately portrayed how a deep seeded neurosis about one’s body can affect your ability to hook up with someone you’re attracted to. I am clearly using this episode to work through some issues.

Oh – CASH. I haven’t even gotten to Cash. Somethin’ else, right? He is the man who says what we’re all thinking. He was also a good way to work out the frustration we all have with contractors. Look for him to shake up Marin’s life even more…

Thanks for watching,
Anna

p.s. During the shooting of this episode, I had the stomach flu for several days and had an unfortunate but contained incident on the set of Ben’s house. The cast and crew were incredibly supportive. Sorry. Just couldn’t go without mentioning that.

Comments

[gigi]

Terrific episode!!! That said...Lynn has to go! Hopefully with her exit the Jack we all fell in love with will reappear. In the meantime, not opposed to watching Marin with Cash if Jack is sufficiently jealous! Thanks again for another great episode.

[Jody from Massachusetts]

Fabulous show, once again. Do not let Jane and Plow man separate, they are great together and they can work it out. Cash is way cool. Buzz's new son is a wonderful character and his new relationship will be very interesting to watch. Great job.

[Donna, NL, Canada]

As much as I love MIT (and I do!!!), this episode left me feeling a little drained....flat even!!! It was difficult to see Sam/Jane decide to move on. They have become such wonderful characters in this story. I did notice the door was left ajar a little on that one. I did not like the sudden emergence of Lynn's baby-bump and then the baby shower thing. It was way too sudden!! I just cannot adjust to the Jack/Lynn storyline, although I am enjoying watching Marin being out on her own and spredding her wings. The sparkle is gone from Jack's beautiful eyes, and his soul is far too tortured. He cannot truly adjust to the "other man's baby" thing, so get him out of that relationship...Time to bring back our old Jack!!!! Bring him back front and center in the storyline. I don't even care if he's with Marin....as long as he's not with Lynn!!! That's how strongly I feel about that!!Buzz and his family are still strange and loveable, although I didn't like the acting of his new son George....to me it was flat acting. If we're going to see more of "George", we need a more vibrant, stand out kinda guy. And where is Celia??? She's been missing for the past couple of episodes, and his presence is truly missed. The best part I found in this episode was the introduction of CASH...this could make for something interesting. But as handsome as he is....HE'S NOT JACK!!!! Sorry to be such a downer, but had to let you know what I thought. Even with all of that....I am still looking forward to next week's episode.

[Charlotte]

Okay, not one of my favorite episodes at first, but it got me thinking. The reason my initial impulse was lukewarm is that it hit a little too close to home. Indeed, how many of us ladies have done exactly what Marin did...buy the extravagant gift to show how thoughtful we are or that we are over the past (or how much they are missing out by not being with us since we are such the catch!) During those baby shower scenes, I was thinking No, No, No...Marin, don't do it! I've been there, done that, and it doesn't work!

A job well done on the Sam/Jane plotline! I love these characters and I too hope they work their differences out. And I mean WORK. A relationship takes a lot of work to sustain it and it would be great to follow these two through it!

And Cash? What can I say but yummy. More hardened than Jack, less sophisticated than Stuart. It will be interesting to see the interaction between Cash and Marin. I'm waiting for some sparks there! Anything to get Jack to do something to fix the mess he's in!!! Thanks and keep up the excellent writing!!!!!!

[Elizabeth]

Dear writers,
I've watched the show from the beginning, and I really enjoy it. However, I think way too many new characters are being introduced, and the viewers are being asked to follow their stories/lives at the expense of the old characters...the show is starting to feel very cluttered. I want to know more about the lives of the original characters (Jack, Jane, the guy who owns the bar, his wife). I think three new characters were introduced in the last two episodes (George, Cash, and for some bizarre reason the obnoxious guy from sex and the city), and the previews for next week show even more!! For what it's worth, I'd prefer more story/character development of the originals, who are now starting to seem like background noise. On a positive note, I love the Jane/Sam dynamic, and the Lynne, Jack and Marin triangle is great.
Thanks,
E

[bobbi]

a great episode. I'm biting my nails with the wait to see a little more interaction between Marin and Jack. A little more anger would be good for Marin. I'd be pretty miffed if her situation happened to me. But she is always the nice one.........
she needs to have one good melt down though

[Kristin]

Love MIT...really. I've watched the show all season and I've always herelded myself as a Grey's fan through and through...but you've kept me captivated all season which is something I cannot say about Grey's. Great job and keep up the good work! Keep things funny and please don't fall into tired/predictable storylines.

PS...Someone really needs to knock some sense into Jack!!!

[Dawn]

I have to say again. I am just not warming to Lynn. To put it bluntly she makes me want to throw up. I'm sorry I can just not take her. This episode I have to say was not my favorite.Can I put a reason to it.. Not really just kind of slow I guess.I enjoyed the real reaction to the George and Buzz situation and Patricks never ending hope. Cash now I have to say was a highlight. He could make things intresting for Marin. This however does not mean I am giving up on my hope of Jack & Marin. They simply are magic together. Did you see the look on Jacks face in the preview for next week!!!I can hardly wait to see what that is about. At this point he has to start to wonder if Lynn & Him are right together anymore. I certainly don't see a whole lotta sparks. A little disappointed in the Sam & Jane ending. I thought they complimented each other. That poor lil mouse. Anna, Each week I fall more in love with the show and most of the characters. It's time TV had a show like this.

[Samfan]

Please don't let Jane and Sam break up - Sam is the sexiest man in Elmo (those eyes!) and it is so sweet to see two people from such opposite backgrounds attract to one another (great chemistry between the characters). Thanks for throwing in Cash to dangle in front of Marin. If Stewart isn't going to be the guy, then let it be Cash - ANYBODY BUT JACK. Sorry, but Jack missed his chance and Marin would be a chump to take him back at the end of it all.

[Betty]

Dear Anna,
Congratulations. This episode was very well written and rang true. I completely understand Marin's extravagent gift and her emotional outburst at the baby shower. I have been expecting her to explode somehow, somewhere. Her subsequent conversation with Lynn seemed to provide the beginning of a catharsis ; she should explore this further with Dr. Cohen.
Jane and Sam were poignant and provided a fabulous word for our lexicon : vacationship ! On the subject of vacationship, thank you for Cash. He is gorgeous and sexy, exactly what I had in mind for my February virtual vacationship.
Buzz, George , Terri ...another great dimension to the Elmo saga.

[DEE]

Good episode, but I really do hope you understand just how frustrated Jack and Marin fans are getting the last few weeks. Jack is losing a great deal of appeal lately. Please make him "man up" and soon.

[Kit]

You're killin' me people! You're KILLIN' me! I feel like crawling onto my roof and wailing "Jaaaaaaack, Marinnnnnnn, Jaaaaaaaane, Saaaam!"

Seriously, you're killin' me!

[Rachel Rose]

Still not happy with the Jack and Lynn thing. They can sit next to eachother on a couch and yet their is no intimacy. I am sad to see Sam and Jane struggle and that they didn't try very hard but it is also understandable. Jane is a New Yorker and Sam is not. That isn't either of their faults. Cash is quite the eye candy and I think we will see Marin get a little more crazy in her single life.

[Anabalistic]

I was frustrated, but in a good way, with last night's show. I love Jane and Plow Guy together and I was a little mad at Jane for giving up so easily and for not telling Sam she loved him too. I know that part of being in a relationship is getting to know all about the other person good and bad and a lot of relationships fail at that point. I sure hope this is not one of them. Also, like most of the other viewers I am getting pretty sick of Lynn. I feel like Marin got her heart pulled out and now Lynn is stomping it into the ground. I know all about the ettiquette thing. I was brought up like that and I have been in very similar situations and done the exact same thing with the exact same results. I had to learn the hard way and now so does Marin. I just wish Jack would stand up for her once in a while. Overall I think you guys are doing a great job on the show. Keep up the good work!

p.s. Thanks for showing that people still write Thank You notes. I was beginning to think I was one of the only people besides my mother that still did that!

[Downeast]

Just want to say this was a very enjoyable episode.

Good things are happening.

Loved the mouse on the ship bit, the baby shower, and Buzz's son George. Orlando Jones is such a professional, he's spot on. I hope we see a lot more of his character George interact with Buzz, on MIT.

And nice to see Terri's return.

I think you are back on track with the overall direction of the show. The people of Elmo, Alaska.

Sure, the Jack thing is still very wierd and I'm confused as to what Jack's doing--after Lynn had hurt him so badly, but I guess you've go it figured it out without sacrificing his character to much.

He is a nice guy...but similar to this episode about being nice girls, isn't he being a little too nice to someone who--we believe has hurt him so badly? He was introduced to us as the strong, silent, sturdy mountain man who knows what he's about and isn't easily fooled. We don't want him to be a pushover to anyone.
Lynn hurt him badly. Or did she? Are we misinformed about that? We aren't really sure what happened between them. I think you might need to explain a little more of why they broke up in the first place. It wasn't just over having babies, was it? If so, Lynn's return to Jack, pregnant by another guy comes as quite a slap in the face to him, don't you think? We can understand him helping her out, if she needs it, but not falling in love with her again, or taking her back as a lover. That's a hard one to buy.
And it's quite disappointing to see Jack so quickly take her back when her very presence and condition is more like...rubbing it in his face. The way it looks is the poor guy is being un-manned!
Just sayin'....

I don't mind if Jack needs to be alone for a while and broods as a hermit in the mountains. That's okay. That's how we first found him, only he wasn't too broody. He's a mountain man and gets his strength from the wilderness.

It's so true about women being people pleasers. I related a lot to Marin, trying to get people she didn't like, to like her. Why do we do that? All that agreeing with them, while they think nothing of trashing what you say, and then smiling to the point of your jaw hurting after they've insulted you. Good one.

Liked the bar scene with George and the Buzz's friends.

I was applauding the scene of Marin trying to get the unmotivated contracted tradesmen to do their work. I'm surprised they even made it to her cabin. That's usually the hardest part in remote areas. They have no competition. Getting them to come to the house is a miracle in itself. But the sequence was perfect. Thank you for tipping your hat to realistic small town rural situations.

MORE!

And I hope there is a lot More surrounding Marin's cabin. It's a delightful setting that takes us out in the woods, and doesn't necesssarily have to do with love relationships, but just people interacting with each other and with a place in Alaska.

I like Cash already. He's off beat, sexy, provocative as hell...
I like the fact that the other characters dont' trust him as they seem to have trusted everyone else in Elmo. This is good.
What's he up to? Who is he? What does he want, besides the basic needs of survival? Is he a wandering philosopher--like a wandering minstrel in medieval times? What does Marin see in him?
He's the kind of guy who wants you to slap him across the face, so that he can slap you back. Like a patsy dance.

Cash can take a bath over at my house anytime. It was adorable when Marin was bashful, not looking too closely at free spirted Cash in the buff, flaunting it...

LOL!

Jack was sweet trying to make Marin comfortable at the shower, after she clearly to all made such a spectacle of giving the baby the biggest present.

I liked the preview for next week. Can't wait.
Keep up the good work!

[Meg]

What a disappointing episode! I understand your reasoning behind the plot but it's too contrived to have Marin "move on" when you pepper characters like Stuart and Cash immediately after her break up with Jack. They're certainly nice diversions but when you come back around to show her struggle with this episode, it's with an inappropriate present for the other woman? One of the best scenes I remember was Marin crying after she realized that she and Jack couldn't be together. It was REAL, and that's how people react when they are hurt. I would have appreciated seeing her get drunk with Cash and do something stupid, than play nice and bring an awfully expensive present to that shower. Please send Marin on a road trip or a dream episode, if only to dwell less on the current state of affairs and maybe open up some refreshing possibilities. Love the storyline about Buzz's son and would love to see more of Sarah. Cash is great by the way, less wimpy than Jack.

[Meow]

I loved this episode! You are a very good writer.

I totally get the "extraordinary gift/action" thing by women... I do it too.

Cash is EYE CANDY!!! Thank you so much. =)

[Sara]

I really enjoy Jane's character. I love her and Marin's interaction...Reminds me of my close girlfriends.

[Cássia]

has anyone liked this episode? I really didn't!! (and I'm A HUGE MiT fan!) I mean, the only good scenes were between the gay guys, what was going on with Marin? She's always so selfasured and then in this episode she was dislocked, as she was feeling bad for something. well, I don't like it and I hope the old Marin comes back. Oh yeah, and I really hope Lynn and her stupid baby die. (ok, kidding. the baby can live!) but is just was ugly and stupid and... well... you all know the list...

[Jill]

I absolutely loved this episode.

And who couldn't love Cash?

In general, I have trouble being "fake nice." I've done it, but I don't like it. I've done exactly what Marin has done in the past, so I can totally see where she's coming from and where Lynn is coming from.

Though since I love Anne Heche and have loved Marin from day one, ultimately, I'm on her side like Jane. Can't wait for the upcoming scenes with Cash.

[Robin]

I love Marin's closing montages, is there a way for you to include them in all your blogs?

[FC]

Thursday is usually girl TV night in our house but my husband watched last night with me (not the first time, but a rare occasion). We both cracked up when the hawk picked up the mouse. Definitely did not see that coming!! And, George and Terri - priceless! I think my husband is hooked now. Great show!

[mtra11]

Really enjoyed the show this past week..esp that eye candy...Cash.I look forward to more between him and Marin. There are so many interesting story lines to come.
I heard..that..and I do hope it is not going to affect MIT...after Grey's
Anatomy....abc loses a big audience...before MIT..
MIT is my very favorite show...more so than Grey's or any other tv show.
It must NOT go off the air!

[TA]

Who the heck is the actor who is playing Cash?? I would pay to watch that man stand still! Yum!!

[Babe]

Great Episode. Love Orlando Jones--find a way to keep him in Elmo! You've won me back after I just about gave up with my frustration with Jack & Lynn. Hope you plan to give us back the Jack we loved and not this pathetic shadow of a man who makes my skin crawl with his sudden blah-ness. My un-asked-for advice...writers, have Jack dump Lynn, she dumped him and is rubbing it in his face--give her a place to go and get her character off the show. It doesn't need a baby character yet anyway! This Jack/Lynn thing is just too soap opera-ish. Marin just gets better and better (but I still liked Anne's hair short in her earlier life--long and stringy isn't so flattering to such a beautiful, petite woman!)