Thog

I hadn't realized how much I missed Magda until she returned. I laughed out loud when she said the redhead with a Russian accent in the kitchen was trying to poison her - nice shout-out to OITNB.

Why would crazy scheming Beth suddenly want Hailey at the wedding? Is she suddenly not psycho because Hailey has a boyfriend? Or perhaps the writers realized how insulting her portrayal was becoming. I'm in the minority in that I don't like the duck storyline. Yes, they're cute, but it's irresponsible to give people the idea that you can take wildlife into your home and raise it as a pet. It's almost never a good idea, and in many states it's illegal if you're not a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Does this mean 11 teams of Justin? (I get that he's not an Internet star, but "radio personality" seems like it requires the same over-the-top personality traits.)

Sadly, it does work that way in many states - the person married to the mother at the time of birth is the legal father. It's intended to protect the child. I'm not anything close to a lawyer, but I had a friend in graduate school (in North Carolina, 15 years ago) who lost all rights to his daughter because the mother married someone else before the child was born. His lawyer told him that a paternity test would not have helped - he simply had no standing, and could not be awarded even partial custody. Apparently that law has recently been upheld in Michigan: http://judgedavidhoort.blogspot.com/2011/04/court-of-appeals-asks-msc-to-revisit.html I don't know how this relates to Florida or telenovela-land, however. Here's hoping Petra isn't married to Milos 8 months from now anyway. I know she's a psycho, but she's kind of a lovable psycho and I don't want to watch an abusive husband storyline.

This show actually convinced me to be on team Michael for a couple episodes, but the reminder of his temper issues squashed any interest I had in them as a couple. Rafael will always be part of Jane's life, and Michael will never be able to handle that. I also would not have blamed Rafael at all for turning Michael in, because Sin Rostro killed Rafael's father and Michael interfered with an investigation that could have brought the murderer to justice. I can't hate on Michael too much, though, because now he has lost his girl and his job and is apparently being kidnapped. I hope he comes out of this okay, if only because it would make Rogelio sad to lose him.

I'm oddly excited that Jason may be a sociopath/ticking time bomb. It's a much more interesting idea than potential love interest, which is where I thought they were going with him. I was very distracted by Diane's hideous plastic chain necklace. I'm usually crazy envious of her impeccable wardrobe, but that looked like something you would give an infant to chew on.

I can't decide whether it's kind of sad or entirely adorable that Ben's loved one was his dog. His tearful elation upon seeing him tips the balance toward adorable.

All I can think about when I look at these guys is how much hair gel that one guy must have packed so that his hair could stick up like David Boreanaz's in Angel. I'm never a fan of alpha male teams, teams that focus more on others than on the race itself, or teams who think God is on their side. I also resent how much screen time is taken up by their manufactured feud, and I really want them out just so we can move on to other storylines. I have enjoyed watching their mistakes bite them back, though.

I also thought that was very sweet, but then the Texans donated all their money as well and it seemed as though they had been instructed to (from the way Phil asked if that was all of it). Still, I did appreciate that Justin seemed to really want to do it, and he really felt for the orphans and all they had lost. It will be interesting to see if the other teams also donate all their money. It would be a cool move on the part of the producers, because not only is it a way of giving something back to the country but it also helps to equalize the teams by ensuring they all have the same amount of money at this point.

That's exactly what I said when I first saw it! I love that he's a balding guy who finds humor in male pattern baldness. And apologies if this has been covered and I missed it, but is that a caricature of himself on his T-shirt? I actually really liked Nora's. The idea that a black sheep in a Munsters-like family would be the sunny optimist was a good one (if not entirely original), and the sculpt was adorable. I also wish Scott had made it over Evan. Even when Evan has won I usually haven't understood why, and his losers have really been duds. He does seem like a nice guy, but Scott was stronger overall. Also sad that Scott went out on a tribute to his dad, though I agreed that it didn't quite read Zombie enough - mostly just a grey grandpa. Walking Dad was a cute joke. Jordan's over-the-top spinster made me laugh out loud (in the way he intended), so I would have chosen him over Evan as well. I didn't expect the third slot to go to "most improved" over "most talented."

Paul the Illustrated Seal. I know he was a minor character, but I thought Mat Fraser was a revelation and I would love to see more from him.

As a former evolutionary biologist, parts of this were painful to watch. I don't expect make-up artists to have an in-depth understanding of biological processes (or even anatomy, unlike some judges), but some of their thinking was just so wrong that I found myself shouting at the TV. Evolution does not magically prepare you for some potential future calamity! You don't suddenly sprout gills because there's lots of water around! You can't rub ash on yourself and expect it to get passed on to your offspring! Nobody becomes a cockroach just because "nuclear" and "cockroach" are often partnered in word association games! In that sense, only Jordan's seemed successful to me. Rolls of fat? Many of us already have them. Change over time in response to the environment, building on features that at least some members of the population already have, is exactly how it works. (climbing off my supremely nerdy soapbox now) Really glad not to see Ben go, though it feels like some weeks he coasts based on previous work. I didn't agree that Stevie should be in the bottom, and of those two I liked hers better. But I guess they didn't want to be rid of Ben or Nora just yet, and honestly it probably should have come down to them this week.

Sadly, Phil is the only one I can stand anymore.

Yes, at the beginning when I hadn't yet learned names I kept referring to him as "Sad Mustache Guy." But I really, really like him and his work, so it's always a treat when a smile pokes through. I agree it should be him and Nora at the end, as long as there are no more major mistakes from either of them. I wouldn't have hated Mackenzie's dress if some of the scales didn't seem to be wearing off.

I thought it was really funny, but I was predisposed to like it because I adore Fred Savage. It's just a bit difficult to get used to him as a grown up. At the end, when he reluctantly said "Maybe you don't have to leave" I totally flashed back to him as a 6-year-old saying "Maybe you could come back tomorrow and read it again" to Peter Falk in The Princess Bride.

I have been waiting for Paget Brewster to get back to a comedy role, because she is just so good. She wasn't just a guest star on Friends... she was one of the best parts of Andy Richter Controls the Universe.

I love that they're letting Alex be happy, and not just the perpetually put-upon middle sibling or the designated "smart" one. And I would totally wear one of Dylan's T-shirts.

In this case, it's = it has (boldly goes where IT HAS gone before). Totally correct. I always enjoy when the models show their personalities, so we're reminded that they are working on live people and not just mannequins.

It's official - Cat Deeley's going to be a mom! http://www.tvguide.com/news/cat-deeley-pregnant/ She's so friggin' radiant that every year I think she must be pregnant. Nice to finally be right, and what a lucky baby. Is that Nigel they're quoting in the article? I wonder why they don't name him.

I'm going to miss Jason's lime-green sweater in the interview segments. I love Ben, and I think he stayed most true to the task, so I'm glad he won. It's also good to see Stevie starting to gain confidence as she continues to do well in the challenges. I also geeked out over the guests. It was striking to see the modern Jonathan Frakes right after viewing the video clips of him on the King of Disparate Things Mountain...I kept wanting to see him sit down.

I actually wondered the same about Paula, after she dared to criticize the choreographers for their choice of music in Virgil and Jaja's routine. I actually cheered. I can't remember a judge ever saying anything so directly critical to the choreographers before, even when they clearly did a disservice to the dancers. I assumed it wasn't allowed.

Man, that was hard to watch. I can't fault anyone for voting for Hailee (and Gaby was a given), but watching Jim barely keep it together for the farewell segment just broke my heart. He is an amazing dancer and seems like such a sweet, genuine person. Best of luck to him moving forward.

I love Jim, and I threw a lot of votes his way because I feel like he keeps drawing the short straw and unfair comments. But I also can't see him as a back-up dancer to J-Lo in Vegas. Hopefully all this exposure will open other types of doors for those who have made it this far. Really, I'd be happy with just about anyone winning at this point. Even the weaker routines are usually a joy to watch.

I was a middle school science teacher at a North Carolina private school in the late 90s. Kids spent all year reading ahead and waiting to get to the chapter on puberty and sex, but when it came time to actually teach that section the principal told me to skip it. She also refused to let me have a speaker come in to give an age-appropriate talk on changing bodies, etc. (with permission slips, if necessary) because the program was developed by Planned Parenthood and some parents might object. My last-ditch effort was to try and show the very biological Nova video that I had seen in high school (The Miracle of Life, I believe), but the principal wanted to preview it and as soon as the word "sperm" was used it got vetoed. Meanwhile I was intercepting notes and overhearing conversations that contained shocking and dangerous misconceptions, and kids were routinely caught behind the school engaging in activities I wasn't allowed to name. To this day I feel like I did those kids a disservice by not fighting harder (I quit after one year). I'm so glad to see John Oliver tackle this one head-on.

I agree. I like Gaby well enough, and I'm not really sure what choice she has here, but I have a real problem with the attitude toward tappers. I get that they're not always cross-trained, but didn't two of the top 4 last year come in as tappers? I don't see why the judges act surprised that they can do anything else.