Production
The episode was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by John Dahl. It was O'Malley's first writing credit, and Dahl's first directing credit. [1]
| "Killer Carl" | |
|---|---|
| Shameless episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | John Dahl |
| Written by | Mike O'Malley |
| Produced by |
|
| Cinematography by | Rodney Charters |
| Editing by | Thomas Bolger |
| Production code | 2J5406 |
| Original release date | February 13, 2011 |
| Running time | 49 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Killer Carl" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless , an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by John Dahl. It originally aired on Showtime on February 13, 2011.
The series is set on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a neglectful single father of six: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam. He spends his days drunk, high, or in search of money, while his children need to learn to take care of themselves. In the episode, Fiona tries to prevent Carl from being sent to Social Services, while Frank tries to flee from two thugs to whom he owes money.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.01 million household viewers and gained a 0.5/1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised its tone and the consequences of Frank's actions.
The Gallaghers are left with no electricity, but Fiona (Emmy Rossum) promises to get money soon. However, she is approached by two thugs, Rod (Robert Knepper) and Vlad (Timothy V. Murphy), who state that Frank (William H. Macy) owes them $6,000 for a car, and threaten violence if Frank does not pay them back. Fiona scolds Frank for his actions, and asks him to attend a parents-teachers meeting for Carl (Ethan Cutkosky), who is facing potential expulsion for his violent behavior. Frank is not interested, and is also forced to run through the city to evade the thugs. Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins) ultimately agrees to distract the thugs, in exchange for Frank showing up as her father for a parent-teacher meeting. Meanwhile, Sheila (Joan Cusack) gets a VR headset, in hopes that it could cure her agoraphobia, but experiences a mental breakdown when her nurse tries to deviate from the instructions.
Without Frank on board, Fiona is forced to attend a meeting with Carl's principal, who explain Carl's actions have raised concerns among the committee. As Fiona is neither his mother nor legal guardian, the principal demands that a parent visits that same day or they will call Child Protective Services. Kash (Pej Vahdat) is scolded by his wife Linda (Marguerite Moreau) for the amount of robberies in the store, and warns that she will use their savings to buy expensive cameras. Noticing Mickey (Noel Fisher) leaving without paying, Ian (Cameron Monaghan) asks Kash to step up and be strict with the customers. Afraid, Kash instead asks Ian to buy the stolen items from other stores. When Linda discovers the robbery, she makes Kash learn how to use a weapon; Linda is impressed when Ian, using his ROTC training, shows Kash how to target.
To earn money, Lip (Jeremy Allen White) takes SAT exams for other students. However, he is caught by Professor Hearst (Dennis Boutsikaris), a representative of the Educational Evaluation Service. Hearst believes Lip is cheating due to the high scores, but is surprised by his intelligence. He offers Lip an opportunity to prove himself and asks him not to fall into cheating again.
During Karen's parent-teacher meeting, the thugs arrive and brutally beat Frank, warning him to get the money in a few days. During this, Fiona and Lip once again try to convince Carl's teacher and principal to allow him to stay. Steve (Justin Chatwin) suddenly arrives, and wins over the principal by giving him marijuana. As Frank and Karen leave, they run into Fiona, Steve, Lip and Carl leaving their meeting; Fiona shares a tearful glance with Steve, affected by her father's betrayal. At Sheila's house, Frank comforts Sheila, telling her she will eventually learn how to live without her agoraphobia. Lip is visited by a classmate, who attacks him as his SAT test marks are invalidated. When he threatens to throw Lip out a window, Carl hits him in the leg with a baseball bat, earning him an ovation from his family.
The episode was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by John Dahl. It was O'Malley's first writing credit, and Dahl's first directing credit. [1]
In its original American broadcast, "Killer Carl" was seen by an estimated 1.01 million household viewers with a 0.5/1 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.5 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 1 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast watched it. [2] This was a 6% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 0.95 million household viewers with a 0.4/1 in the 18–49 demographics. [3]
"Killer Carl" received highly positive reviews from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "Carl had been something of a neglected child on Shameless so far – at least when it comes to screen time. The funny thing is, he actually wasn't IN "Killer Carl" all that much – a bit more than usual, but not a tremendous amount. But his behavior still had a lot of consequences." [4]
Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Carl routinely displays the behavior of a budding serial killer, and so long as the power doesn't go out in the process, no one gets bent out of shape about it. But whereas earlier I'd have been a little put off by the double standard, now it's just a nicely observed detail of the Gallagher family dynamic." [5] Alexandra Peers of Vulture wrote, "The family seems to shake off Carl's behavior a bit too much. Perhaps because Carl is so self-contained in his chaos — he only kills the animals when no one else needs the microwave? — unlike Debbie, who hauls in a cast of characters to her crazy. But, this week, they can overlook it no longer." [6]
Tim Basham of Paste wrote, "The tone of "Killer Carl" plays a tad more sober than previous episodes, but is perhaps necessary to further highlight Frank's inhumanity as a father." [7] Jordan Cramer of TV Overmind gave the episode an "A+" grade and wrote, "Shameless is just starting to get its legs and I feel that this episode was the push needed to make Shameless a must watch show. The episode was fresh and very original in my eyes. Let's hope that we can see more episodes like this." [8]
Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote that the episode "was the perfect blend of comedic and poignant scenes." [9] Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A+" grade. [10]
Ian Gallagher is a character from the British Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless and its American remake on Showtime.
"Pilot" is the series premiere of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by executive producer Paul Abbott and series developer John Wells, and directed by Mark Mylod. It originally aired on Showtime on January 9, 2011.
The first season of Shameless, an American comedy-drama television series based on the British series of the same name by Paul Abbott, premiered on January 9, 2011, at Sunday 10:00 p.m. EST on the Showtime television network. Executive producers are John Wells, Paul Abbott and Andrew Stearn, with producer Michael Hissrich. The season concluded after 12 episodes on March 27, 2011. The show's season premiere was watched by 982,000 viewers, making it the network's biggest turnout for a series premier since Dead Like Me in 2003. The episode airing January 30, "Casey Casden", received 1.45 million total viewers, making Shameless the best performing first-year drama on Showtime. The season finale scored 1.16 million viewers.
"Three Boys" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by consulting producer Alex Borstein, and directed by Mimi Leder. It originally aired on Showtime on February 6, 2011.
"Frank Gallagher: Loving Husband, Devoted Father" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by Etan Frankel, and directed by David Nutter. It originally aired on Showtime on February 20, 2011.
"It's Time to Kill the Turtle" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by Nathan Jackson and producer Nancy M. Pimental, and directed by Scott Frank. It originally aired on Showtime on February 27, 2011.
"But at Last Came a Knock" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by consulting producer Alex Borstein, and directed by co-executive producer Mark Mylod. It originally aired on Showtime on March 6, 2011.
"Father Frank, Full of Grace" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. The episode was written by series developer John Wells, and directed by co-executive producer Mark Mylod. It originally aired on Showtime on March 27, 2011.
"Summertime" is the first episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 13th overall episode of the series and was written by series developer John Wells, and directed by co-executive producer Mark Mylod. It originally aired on Showtime on January 8, 2012.
"Summer Loving" is the second episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 14th overall episode of the series and was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by series developer John Wells. It originally aired on Showtime on January 15, 2012.
"I'll Light a Candle for You Every Day" is the third episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 15th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Nancy M. Pimental, and directed by Craig Zisk. It originally aired on Showtime on January 22, 2012.
"Father's Day" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 17th overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer Etan Frankel, and directed by Anthony Hemingway. It originally aired on Showtime on February 5, 2012.
"Can I Have a Mother" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 18th overall episode of the series and was written by main cast member William H. Macy and Steven Schachter, and directed by John Dahl. It originally aired on Showtime on February 12, 2012.
"Parenthood" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 20th overall episode of the series and was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. It originally aired on Showtime on March 4, 2012.
"Strangers on a Train" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 40th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Etan Frankel and directed by Peter Segal. It originally aired on Showtime on February 2, 2014.
"There's the Rub" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 41st overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Davey Holmes and directed by David Nutter. It originally aired on Showtime on February 9, 2014.
"Hope Springs Paternal" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 44th overall episode of the series and was written by producer Sheila Callaghan and directed by Mimi Leder. It originally aired on Showtime on March 9, 2014.
Shameless is a British comedy drama television programme created and executive produced by Paul Abbott. Set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate, the show revolves around the dysfunctional working-class Gallagher family, depicting and commenting on English working-class life and culture.
"The American Dream" is the second episode of the third season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 26th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Nancy M. Pimental, and directed by Anthony Hemingway. It originally aired on Showtime on January 20, 2013.
"The Helpful Gallaghers" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and was written by consulting producer Mike O'Malley, and directed by Randall Einhorn. It originally aired on Showtime on February 10, 2013.
