I don't agree... I think Abby is very loving and understanding, but at the same time she feels strongly about preserving nature and what not. If these things collide, like in the occasion of the example you mentioned, it's natural that she'll have to abandon one of them a little. I don't recall the episode where that which you said happened, but I do believe her character would eventually accept (albeit perhaps grudgingly) and would certainly not object to Dharma staying with Greg.
I also actually felt like the fun poked at the Greg side was a bit harsher... which I guess makes me now believe it's actually quite equal.
In response to the OP, I do not actually think the Dharma family is hypocritical or hippie-critical, or even inconsistent so much. Dharma will fawn over the diamonds because regardless of her hippie background, she'll understand the gesture from Greg's perspective, which in itself is part of her personality. I think she's too nuanced a character to describe with simply the word "hippie" - her parents come closer to that. I also think Dharma would've fawned just as much over, say, a nice handpicked bunch of flowers or whatever.
About the tai'chi, well, I don't know anything about that, but I think you shouldn't take these things too personally. Just think that this might just be their variant of what tai'chi really is like, even though it's not an official part of it. I can understand that you might get aggrevated when you otherwise agree with many of their views, but I would just suggest you take the good in the way they are depicted and shrug off the bad, as much as possible. It's what I do.
By the way... I can't believe someone here said they would rather go to a Greg's family's dinner/get together than one of Dharma's family :| I would so kill... err, no... anyway, I would *love* to go have dinner with Dharma and her parents sometime :D
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Whatsifsowhatsit
14 years ago
Also about Dharma, there is an occasion kind of early on in the series I think, I forget where exactly, where she's with her mother and she's being shown something expensive or something like that and she goes "Whoaaahhhhh...... is what you would say if you liked that kind of thing!" (the second part when she saw Abby's look). I think although Dharma isn't really materialistic by nature per se, she still can kind of get swept away by that kind of thing despite herself, and then she will often try to compose herself etc. (yes, especially if Abby is also there, hehe). I think that's one of the things that make her such an interesting character, she's very much a caricature, yet she still has a lot of nuance.
Oh - I do agree that Edward is very lovable. I mean, he's lovable as a general rule and then sometimes he does something that makes him extra lovable on top of that, like in the very last episode (minor SPOILER) when all four parents are burying the head of a moose that Edward killed by driving into it on the road and Abby asks him to say a few words, he ends up getting kind of emotional unexpectedly. He just starts off with "This was a moose. He lived in the woods and he loved it there" but eventually he gets to "Probably had a lady moose in the woods he cared for. Maybe little ones. Probably had YEARS ahead of him, until I came along - bam. He will be missed!" Who could dislike him at that moment, even if you don't care for moose (not that I don't)? I especially like how he says "bam" very much such that it shows he is giving himself a hard time for it.
My vote history: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=13037287
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exodus_laughing
14 years ago
ditto everything you said. Abby is my favorite character, next to Kitty(heck id watch a show just about them), everyone on the show acts human, and humans have flaws.
plus i thought them going "whoooosh" was really funny... and it kinda makes sense... breathing out bad spirits, vibes, energy or whatever..
theyre just silly people who believe what they want to believe... like everyone else... there are no typical anythings
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