Thog

I'm just going to pretend that babynapping didn't happen, because it will upset me too much to think about that for a few months. How will he eat? I was really glad they didn't have Xo and Ro sleep through the alarm. It was really moving to see how invested Rogelio is in his daughter, and that scene with the three Villanueva women at the birth was just beautiful. I liked that they didn't have Jane choose a suitor, and that they more or less redeemed both Rafael and Michael. They're both good guys, both right and wrong for her in different ways, and now is not the time to focus on a romantic partner. Love the theory that Luisa is Sin Rostro, because she seems to have come back as a different (and much more competent) person. But the brother-sister bond would be hard to fake, I'd think, and didn't she know things Rose wouldn't know? Anyway, I was betting on the wrestler but that looks to be a red herring. I also thought Jane's baby would turn out to be black, and that would set up a whole different kind of mystery. Clearly I'm not in tune with these writers. I totally want Rogelio's alarm.

Agreed with all of the vitriol above, but I'll say this for the writers: They managed to write a storyline that justified an entire season of Renard ripping his shirt off.

Oh, I'm so happy to see that, because I do want to like her. One of the video extras this week shows her going off on Jelani, Hayley-style, in an airport. If that's just her having a bad day that she ends up regretting, I'm glad they're not showing more scenes like that on television.

Have we been given any actual evidence that Finn is straight? She's certainly given him enough chances to make a move. He never seems to react definitively one way or the other to Alicia's advances (personal or professional), and he did say he's seeing someone but never specified a gender. Finding out he's gay would answer the question of whether they're getting together. And it would fit in with this season that seems to be all about taking Alicia down a few notches.

I laughed out loud when Holt told Gina to "limit the alerts to RoyGBiv." And I thought I was tired of the Jake/Amy dance, but damn they're adorable.

Several people have said that they hope none of the blind date couples wins, because TPTB might get the wrong idea that this silly premise was actually worthwhile. Honestly, I think the worst possible outcome would be for any of these couples to start dating. Because I haven't really minded watching strangers get to know each other, but if anyone decides this should become a blind dating show I'm out.

This show could use some new blood, but another baby would kill it. My hope with this storyline is that Cam and Mitch realize they want a sibling for Lily, but they know they can't handle a baby again. So they adopt an older child (one who can act).

After many years of perusing (and laughing at) the SkyMall catalog, Mr. Thor and I are convinced the statue was the "Hercules and Diomedes" statue from Design Toscano (not sure if it's appropriate to show here, but it's easily Googled). It's the right mix of classical and offensive, and we're pretty sure we recognized the feet. I always thought it would make a great feature for a sit-com, so I was tickled to see it.

I really like this team. The underdogs have won a couple other seasons, so I still hold out hope. There's a bonus clip on the CBS site called "American Jerks" that really shows off their character - they seem to understand that they are visitors in other countries and the locals couldn't care less whether they win a million dollars, so they try to be gracious (e.g., not cutting in taxi lines). I hope that's not their downfall.

I'm actually starting to really enjoy Blair, ever since I realized that he reacts to Hayley EXACTLY the same way my brother reacts to our mom, side glances and all. My brother once told me that you just have to think of Mom as an alien who has no idea how humans are supposed to interact (I never mastered it, which is why I live several states away). There's a bonus clip this week that shows more of Blair setting up Hayley's tent, and it actually is very sweet the way he takes care of her. I really enjoyed this leg for the scenery, the fun tasks, and the humor. I guess I'm not really in this for well-designed legs or competition, because my favorite legs have nothing to do with those things. I can't imagine how uncomfortable Jenny must have been, standing on the streets in a soaking wet robe in 37-degree weather trying to figure out what II III meant.

That does it. I'm naming my next pet Rogelio.

For Matt & Ashley the U-turn was revenge for an earlier leg when J&J were supposed to be working with them, but ended up leaving them in the dust. At the time Jelani even said that he was afraid it would come back to bite them if they made enemies. I haven't gotten the feeling that anyone actually dislikes Jelani, but I thought someone did mention that Jenny is high-strung.

I felt awful for Aly's meltdown. She was clearly in that zone where you're tired and irritated and know you're acting badly, but can't get out of it. At one point she even said she was annoying herself, and that kind of self-awareness always gets my sympathy. I've been there. Hope she doesn't feel bad now for how she came across on her last day of the show.

I didn't think Matt and Ashley U-turned Jenny and Jelani just for revenge, and I also don't think they necessarily wasted it. They mentioned a couple times that everyone knew J&J had the Express Pass. So no, U-turning probably wouldn't get them eliminated, but it would keep them from going directly to the pit stop and coming in first. Slowing them down on that leg was in everyone's best interest. (I'm sure the revenge part was pretty nice too, though).

Rogelio is an absolutely adorable mama's boy. Don't get me wrong, I did appreciate that he came around in the end and put (the fabulous) Rita Moreno on a plane, but his pouts and side glances made me giggle.

I just want to say that "Tilden Swindle" is a brilliant turn of phrase.

Maybe, but I was at least impressed that she could drive a stick shift on the first try. After harassing Jelani about his handling of the car and admitting she'd never done it before, I was sure she'd struggle. I'm not her biggest fan, but it was nice to see the "Asian/woman driver" stereotype get smashed in that one scene.

Couldn't Bella just use some heavy concealer on that green face? I mean yay for freaks finding love, but in terms of getting/keeping a job and all it seems like it would be fairly easy to cover up (easier than the burn scar, at least). Did Alexis Denisof do something to piss off TPTB? Or is he too busy with his other show? He seemed to be written off rather abruptly, just as I was starting to enjoy him.

Maybe, but the same could once have been said of Tea Leoni and Lauren Graham. I do hope they keep trying with her (with this or another show), because I find her very watchable.

Didn't they hire Taye Diggs a while back? Maybe he's doing all the work behind the scenes while they bicker. And he's got Robyn helping him.

When McVeigh suggested a hunting trip with "the world's richest man" or whatever, could he have meant the guy he suspects was funding the settlement (and threatening to crush the plaintiff if he continued)? Because that would be kind of bad-ass, and not just a weak excuse for us to lose Diane for a few episodes.

Can they use the U-turn more than once, or are the truck stop couple now at a disadvantage? I thought their reason for using it was solid, but I would be concerned about using it so quickly if there wasn't another chance. I also thought that maybe they had to deliver more than one sake but the task was edited for time. But then one team (NKOTB, maybe?) was shown trying to take a second order, and the samurai refused to speak. So it was just one sake per table, and I don't think they had to deliver to more than one table. It still seemed like a really difficult task to me, and I was impressed that they made it look so easy.

Sorry to see the older team go out, partly because I'm not getting any younger myself so I tend to root for these couples, and partly because he looked just like Barry Bostwick. The couple that has been dating for 10 years is going to get very tiresome if she keeps talking about getting married and he keeps brushing it off. I almost have to wonder if didn't agree to be "on again" only because there's no other way they could get cast for this season of the Race. Love the Olympians and the lawyers. Don't really dislike anyone yet, though I'm wary of the Vegas showgirl and especially the hairdressers.

I'm rewatching, and making my husband watch for the first time. His main response, repeated over and over, is "This show is weird." Well, yeah. I'm surprised at how well it's held up for me, even though so many things are dated. I can deal with the clothes and the phones, but the prevalence of cigarettes is almost shocking by today's standards. And I forgot how awesome Leland is. Ray Wise must have had so much fun in that role.

I admit I'm naive to how these things work. Do the writers of a show even get to unilaterally decide who's going to star in it? It seems like they could easily have deflected and said they had to bring it to the network so a casting committee could decide (or, as others have said, insisted that he audition). I know they did try to claim Helen had vetoed it, but they made her vote seem more like a second opinion rather than the normal channels.