rippleintime17

It says season 9, episode 2 also, which is confusing.

Huh, there's a new ep in my DVR for this Sunday as well. Is it going to be another one-off challenge with a different set of kids?

It was a fun mix of kids! I didn't realize when watching that it was one episode only though, so was confused when they declared a winner at the end! I was happy to see Brady again, his reactions are great.

Since last seen in this thread, I have fallen pretty hard for BTS. I get the reservations for them, as I wasn't really interested until all of a sudden, I was, and they've quickly become a favorite. And especially if just judging based on SNL, which didn't represent them super well. "Mic Drop" (the more hip hop of the songs) is a fantastic full package song but a little hard to replicate on the SNL stage, and "Boy With Luv," while not one of my favorite songs of theirs, was much better presented on Colbert's show. I'm honestly fascinated by how much I love their music as an English-speaker. Since getting into them, I've gone back to absorb their lyrics but the songs are so appealing to me regardless. Only their earlier stuff ("Dope," "Look Here," etc.) remind me of the boybands of my 90s youth. They kind of become their own thing after that, mixing genres, making use of their seven members almost equally (too many? never! especially with military service on the horizon) and creating artistic music videos and live performances that blow away any of the boybands of my youth (check out "Blood Sweat and Tears" or "On" for a good intro to the world of BTS music videos). They are definitely a step ahead of those groups when it comes to choreography. Yes to the person who called out their lyrics as poetry! And I think that is helped by their lyrics being written by their three rappers (RM, J-Hope and Suga) instead of someone who isn't in the group. Those three are very good at expressing themselves and include pretty mature, self-aware and open-minded topics. As time has gone on, the four vocalists have gotten more involved, and now each member gets a chance to shine on their own with solos on the albums & in their shows as well. This allows them to play to their own strengths and interests, such as Jimin's contemporary dance background, J-Hope's dance leadership, Jin's particularly positive messages in a band that is full of positive messages, etc. Their live shows are massive and full of energy. Their NPR Tiny Desk concert is also fantastic, and represents them very well! Mostly, they are just good for the soul. They are kind, and encourage the same of their fans. Their messages of inclusivity, acceptance and self-love are inspiring and refreshing. They even spoke at the UN about it! They're easy-going and down-to-earth, considering they're among the most famous people in the world, and they clearly love each other and interact so comfortably with other another. It's just really nice to see in today's world! Anyway, not here to sway anyone, just wanted to share a little more about them. Check out a few of the links above if you're interested to know more! And make sure captions are on, as most of their music videos include English translations!

I really like Cliff Calley from The West Wing's portrayal of Watson. In the books, they make Watson seem kind of old, though caring (iirc, the illustrations of him, he looks middle aged and bald) but the show right away shows him trying to support Kristy's new idea and show her that he's not a bad guy. He's a little flashier than OG Watson with the spending (yet the interior design of the house is... old) but it comes across more generous than irresponsible. I also love how he handles the car thing. Re: Watson's family... not sure we ever meet his parents but don't they all go to Shadow Lake because of the house being left to him? Was that an aunt & uncle? I'm having a lot of fun watching this, even though I know the details of the stories so well, I keep pointing out to my roommate (who isn't as familiar) what's different about the plots. Like, how in Kristy's Big Day in the books, the entire family comes for a whole week and the whole BSC has to baby-sit all the cousins, broken up into color groups by age. I also knew as soon as Boy-Crazy Stacey started that it was filmed in Canada! I was like, that's a Canadian beach set if I ever saw one. I always loved the Sea City books, and yeah, that is noooot the Jersey Shore. Everyone looked freezing the whole time! The show is all in on the CT license plates, though!

I loved Alyssa's look so much. The slight issue with this concept of competition is that if they're going to be bringing in these popular past contestants, they're going to be expected to win. But the new rules would be boring if the assassin wins every week. So now and then, the legend brought in is going to have to lose. It seems like having Alyssa lose to someone like Shea works better, Shea was awesome and even if Alyssa had done better, it's possible Shea would have won. There will be weeks where the assassin is the clear winner, and they can play the popular vote/hold the tip card then.

Nick seemed to be pretty into watching the performances, at times to the point of being a distraction! That point where he had the big "SHUT UP BLAKE" sign and no one acknowledged him at all was hilarious. The little brother vibes "if we don't pay attention to him, maybe he'll stop," amazing. I have been super impressed with Nick as a coach on this show. He's been very engaging and personable, which isn't always a given with him. I hope some of his team makes it! Micah was my favorite of the night, I love that arrangement of "Your Song" and was psyched when he went in that direction.

I definitely feel like Jenny was clued in to guess Barry Zito because now he's made it to the Top 5 and he's not someone most people are going to know when he is unmasked. I, personally, am delighted. I am just bummed his dish wasn't his trademark avocado scramble! Or piece a chicken, piece of fish, throw it on the grill, think win! I am well and truly offended for Skylar Astin that someone who has worked with him and heard him sing thought he was The Astronaut! My goodness, Nicole!

When Barry Zito was still playing baseball, he was contractually unable to go surfing. It's one of the first things he did after he retired! He also played on the AAA team Nashville Sounds, which allowed him the opportunity to work on both his baseball and music at the same time!

Val was being so dumb about the dinosaur eggs! "Does this REALLY look like a dinosaur egg?!" Sam's all "well, we don't really know, do we!" Tell her, Sam!!! And with the nuts! To tell the kids they have to add nuts after they already decide on the flavor profiles for their cakes, and not even give them the choice to include the kind of nut they want is so annoying. It's clearly a major challenge, with the five hour bake time, and then they have to rearrange in the middle of that? Meh. I guess it doesn't matter much since each nut kind of works with most flavors but Graysen was right that pecans would have gone better in her cake than almonds, making the almonds basically gratuitous. I really thought they might end up giving it to Sam at the end because they seemed to really like his cake the best overall, taste-wise. But he really wasn't up to par decorating wise. I was super happy for Graysen, as she really did a great job, has a good attitude and could hold her own with the boys while still keeping her polite Southern charm. "Um, no, it's PEE-CAN." I really liked Reggie the entire competition but the stress of the finale and whatever edit they opted to give him didn't really do him any favors even as someone who appreciates him, so I was pleased that Graysen ended up winning.

I have a friend who is in his 20s that sounds like Sam. It happens. Sam seems well-adjusted and confident, just like my friend, so hopefully he continues on that path. Rainbow cookies are pretty challenging of an ask for someone who is completely unfamiliar and has never even had one. Granted, it's further in the competition, but I sympathized with Naima a bit. She was a little whinier than she should have been, but she was frustrated and bummed and she's a kid. It probably stinks to know you're going to go home because you really have no idea what any component of your dish is supposed to be like. I actually felt my eyes tighten when I saw Morgan's! They were so beautiful, and she was so thoughtful to add the powdered sugar and apricot garnish on top! I loved when Valeries was inspecting Reggie's and was like "hmm, your red looks a little off!" and Reggie was like "it's strawberries, dude."

Reggie clearly isn't a warm and cuddly dude but he seems to be genuine when he congratulates those who do well, and relieved each time he does well himself. Also, it IS a competition, so not sharing ingredients you're still using yourself shouldn't really be seen as a character flaw! I loved Liam last night, who was singing about strawberries under his breath and made very delightful looking cupcakes! I wish he had called them banana split cupcakes, though, since that is clearly what he was going for, he just never used the term (that I heard). I was hoping Naima's goal to appeal specifically to Duff wouldn't backfire. Glad that it went well for her, but probably not the best plan of action going forward. Graysen seems like the one to beat to me, but so did Davis last year, so you never know when it gets down to the wire!

Reading through this thread and safe to say, Harry has done alright for himself thus far. Anticipating his new album had me going back to the 1D catalog. I always liked 1D but more on the periphery, I listened to songs on Spotify but not as much full albums. It's amazing to me how well-written some of these songs are. I made a playlist with a few other guy group faves and they are miles ahead of NKOTB stuff and even significantly better than the 90s boybands that I loved a teen. Made in the AM is such a great album! The stuff on Four is fantastic! It's fun listening to it in retrospect and hearing them evolve as their fans did, and also hearing especially Harry come into his own. I'm very excited to see him live again next summer! I've also been on a Jonas Brothers kick. I'm never sure if they fall into this category, since they are more of a band with Nick and Kevin playing their own instruments, but their reunion tour is just a total blast. I'm hoping they maintain their balance of having time/space to do the things they enjoy individually but also performing as a group, as having them back has been a lot of fun. Anyway, I'm also a little on the "older" end for some of this stuff, it kind of makes me laugh that when I was in high school, though I liked the pop and boyband and TRL stuff going on, I leaned more toward classic rock and stuff from before my time, and now that I am a full blown adult, the pop music is still calling to me!

Me too! That and his 2012 "Take On Me" stuff is what made me a fan of his. I was so thrilled when he came to the Giants in 2014, and he was instrumental in their pennant that year and also hit in the winning run of the World Series! He is a fun dude.

And if you happen to follow Mike on Twitter, he's still pretty invested in the fun and success of the Nats!