reggiejax

My point was that Jake jumped to a huge conclusion, one that he would realize made no sense if he gave it even a moment's thought. Bill as second shooter only works if you believe that the conspirators, Oswald evidently included as such, are the biggest imbeciles in the world. No conspiracy to kill the President is going to be so dumb as to recruit the local idiot to fulfill such an important role as a second shooter. If it is a conspiracy, it can only be between Lee and Bill. It cannot possibly include any other entity, let alone one such as the CIA or the Mob or Texas Oil Men, or the Dharma Initiative or whoever. Oswald might be stupid enough to try and include Bill, but no one who has put together such a plot is going to be stupid enough to let that stand. They certainly would have never even let Lee believe he could make such a move. You don't have to be an all-powerful, Machiavellian mastermind to know Lee recruiting Bill is too stupid for words. If Lee is recruiting Bill, then there is no big conspiracy. Not even a little one. Oswald is acting on his own, and Jake can kill him right then and there. This is of course fiction, and I am watching it as such. But it is also fiction utilizing historical facts. And the one specific fact, the JFK assassination, happens to be an obsession of mine. Try as I might, there is no way I can keep my BS meter off, though I have been keeping my reactions to that, particularly on these boards, as tempered as I can. And yes, this is me tempered when it comes to the JFK assassination. In any case, even if this were pure fiction, that is having no connection to any historical or true life event, recruiting Bill is still terribly idiotic, a plot point I think we wouldn't think twice about pointing out as ludicrous.

I don't think it was "luck". The audience knew it was Jake and Bill, but Oswald would never have had any reason to believe it was Jake and Bill. Even if Oswald didn't believe the FBI was out to get him, I would be amazed if he thought it was Jake and Bill listening in. Strangely, if Jake really thought it was Oswald recruiting Bill to be a second shooter, then he would have no reason to believe that anyone but Oswald was behind the assassination, and he would have the proof he needed to go ahead and kill Oswald. If nothing else, if one believes there was a conspiracy behind the assassination, then it is essentially a given that Oswald is not pulling any strings. You can't be a patsy, framed to take the fall, AND be party to planning the conspiracy as well. As a side note, I can't think of a single theory involving a second shooter where that second shooter was anyone Oswald was friends with. There have been quite a few people accused or named as the second shooter, and not one was an acquaintance of Oswald's. The closest is a man named James Files. He is a man who has "confessed" to being behind the picket fence, and he claimed to have spent time with Oswald in the week before the assassination. Forgetting for a second that his story is clearly the biggest piece of bullshit in the annals of JFK assassination conspiracy talk, (only rivaled by the story of Judyth Baker, the woman who claimed to be Oswald's mistress), even Files says he only knew Oswald for that one week. Otherwise, the second shooter is generally a pro, brought in to do the job, and had no connection to Oswald. And that is your "JFK assassination minute" for this week. ;)

Turns out I was right in my prediction that Jake and Bill would not follow Lee to New Orleans, or Mexico City for that matter, and the action would pick up when Lee returned to Dallas I was wrong about Lee and Bill becoming friends. I didn’t think they would go that route because I felt it would be too out of character for Lee, but it happened anyway. And that was just one of many things that were out of whack. First, Agent Hosty did not meet Lee, or even set eyes on him for that matter, until after the assassination. That confrontation, where Lee is upset about Hosty “harassing” Marina took place while Oswald was being interrogated by the police after his arrest on 11/22/63. Also, Lee did not move back in to that same apartment, the one above Jake and Bill, when he returned. At this point, Lee was living in rented rooms in boarding houses. Marina was separated from Lee, and living with Ruth Paine. And Lee did have a birthday party, but it was at the Paine home, with only the Oswalds and Ruth and her two children in attendance. It was not the raucous affair that was shown in the episode. Certainly not filled with members of the White Russian community, all of whom were out of his life by then, and it did not include Lee’s brother and mother. They were both out of Lee’s life and would not see him until after the assassination, a year separating their last meeting. And of course, George de Mohrenschildt was not even in the country. He was in Haiti. I point this all out not to nitpick (ok, to nitpick a little), but rather to illustrate how far off things have become. At first, I thought it was just dramatic license, but of the mundane type that all dramatizations of true events indulge in. But instead it was a drastic change, one owed to the nature of the story. Of all people, screw up Bill pointed out what should have been obvious. His and Jake’s participation has changed things. Whether it is for better or worse remains to be seen, but things have indeed changed. Jake simply cannot see it because he is too involved with his own life to keep up. I was wondering what, if anything, Al had told him about what happened in between the Walker shooting and the assassination. Al told Jake to kill him at the scene of the Walker shooting if he was alone. He must have said something about what to do if it does not play out that way, but I find it hard to imagine Al told Jake to sit it out for the next 6 months. Just what was Jake supposed to do?

This is something most people never even bring up. The gloves were not custom made, they were sold in general sizes, I believe the gloves in question were XL. I could have tried them on, and they might have fit, or not fit, as well as they did OJ. Granted, I was not on trial, but the point remains, it is a pair of gloves that are sold to fit a wide range of people. In the end, the value to the prosecution was simply not that great. But the damage ended up being devastating. On another note, I have to side with the minority here and say I couldn't give a shit about Marcia Clark's and Christopher Darden's G-rated sexcapades.

I'd say about the same as her ever shutting up. Sorry, but I am not an Anna Kendrick fan. To say the least.

As loathe as I am to come to Raven's defense, it seems clear she was categorizing them all as actors, meaning simply by profession,. I don't believe she was saying she was on their level, be it by fame, success or critical acclaim. Not to mention, Brad is not an Oscar winning actor. He has an Oscar, but it is as a producer for Best Picture winner "12 Years a Slave". The funny part is, I imagine Angelina would be even quicker than I was to point that fact out. I guess Raven could have used any number of the C or D List Hollywood on-set romances, but in that area, Brad and Angelina would clearly come to mind first. Theirs is this generation's version of Liz Taylor's on-set romances.

The Susan Ross show might be enjoyable, but sadly, I believe it would be canceled in the middle of it's premiere episode. As much as I enjoy Gregg Henry, who can bring the douchiness like no other actor alive, save for perhaps Mark Pellegrino, I really can do without Hollis Doyle pulling a Trump. One real life Trump is alls I can stand at the moment, I don't need to watch a fictional one. I have to co-sign on this. They always talk about how great Mellie is, but I have yet to see any proof of this greatness. As far as I can tell, the only impressive thing she has done is not mess herself on the Senate floor during her filibuster. Loved Abby going Abby Unchained on Cyrus' tired ass. But I fear that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. I love Abby, but in a world of sharks, she's tuna. I know Scandal is not realistic, but on the other hand sometimes they do take the drama to places they really don't need to. Such as just about everything involved with Cyrus and Vargas. I am pretty certain that Cyrus can go find a new Fitz to cultivate without all the cloak and dagger. He certainly doesn't need to engineer an incident that costs people their lives, and he really doesn't need to be secretive around Fitz. No surprise that Jake is plotting something with his fiancée, but I have to say, I still don't see why the hell Liv should care? Let Jake play his little spy games, what the hell does that have to do with Liv? Speaking of Liv, I don't mean to minimize the trauma of being kidnapped, but was she actually tortured? I don't recall any torture going on during that tiresome plotline. She was being held captive, and threatened, but I don't recall any torture. I guess we could consider it psychological torture, but on this show we all know what they mean when they say torture, and it ain't mind games. Maybe someone can tell me different.

The opening scene was just so perfect in how it captured the way conspiratorial nonsense mucked up the works. I remember the talk of "Columbian Neckties". I don't remember if they went further in the description of them in real life, but on the show they didn't quite get it right. Yes, the victims throat is slashed very deeply, almost to the point of decapitation, which is what happened to Nicole. However, there is a little more to it. The "necktie" part comes from the fact that once the throat is slashed, they reach inside and pull the tongue down through the wound, so it hangs out from the wound, approximating the appearance of a "necktie". This of course, did not happen to Nicole, so it kind of blows that theory out of the water, not that it had much merit to begin with. Still, I am not surprised the Detective (Lange?) didn't know what they were. Probably because they used the lesser known name for it. I had heard of them, only because I had watched an episode of the Michael Mann TV show "Crime Story". However in that show, they were referred to as "Sicilian neckties". The Sicilian of course coming from the fact that they were given out by members of the mob. I would hear of it a few other times, and each time they were referred to as Sicilian neckties. Until the OJ trial, I had never heard of them referred to as Columbian neckties. At the time, it was confusing, but on second thought, it was not a stretch to believe that Columbian drug lords would borrow that particular method of brutality. It certainly sends a statement. But the idea that they would send that message secondhand, to a friend of the person who was in trouble with the drug lords, stretches all credibility. If anyone was going to recieve a Columbian necktie, it would have been Faye Resnick. Or probably not as, despite her drug problems, it seems unlikely she would ever piss off drug dealers to that extent. And not to be too gross, but they would have employed other methods on her before going that route. Just sayin.

It was friendly on the surface, but I took it to mean that Lee was saying "If you want to talk, I'll only talk about this (Marxism).". And in truth, I think Lee thought Bill would never read it, and if he did, it would just be an opportunity for Oswald to speechify about his own obsession with leftist ideology. I think they are, for the most part, sticking with a portrayal of Oswald as close to real life. In real life, Oswald was not a people person, to say the least. Not even when it came to his Marxism. He was the lone member of his chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba committee and there is no evidence that he ever tried to connect or even truly seek out fellow travelers. Marxism wasn't just his obsession, it was his way of placing himself above others, intellectually and politically. Marxism of course is a very unpopular belief system in this country. Oswald certainly did not choose a political belief that would win him friends. But he did choose one that had the benefit (for Oswald that is) of being mostly misunderstood. By which I mean people really didn't, and really still don't, know all that much about Marxism, other than it was the system of our enemies. A lot of people will do this in their lives, spout off about something they are at least certain they know more about than the average person. I'm kind of doing it right now, with these facts about Oswald and the assassination. Difference is I don't believe I am the foremost expert, nor do I believe I know everything, even though I have been an assassination buff for the better part of 30 years. And I certainly do not let it drive my life the way Oswald's obsessions drove his. Anyway, they might have Bill buddy up to Lee, but it would definitely be a huge departure for the character (Lee, that is) that would stick out like a sore thumb. I hope they don't have that happen, but I guess Bill has got to have something to do.

I am no expert, but I am pretty sure “good to go” is a phrase that comes from the military, one that was certainly in use during WW2 and Korea, and by 1963, with the large number of veterans in the population, had made it’s way into popular shorthand. I agree it would make absolute sense to follow Oswald to New Orleans, but with 3 episodes left, and Jake devoting himself to Sadie, I am not so sure they will do so. Oswald leaves for New Orleans within two weeks of the Walker attempt. So Jake declaring his undying love for Sadie and then saying “sorry, I got to take off to the Big Easy for the next 5 months” seems unlikely. He could send Bill, but frankly speaking, even Jake isn’t dumb enough to do that. And the idea that Bill befriends Lee and joins him in New Orleans is almost as unlikely as traveling back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination. With the notable exception of George de Mohrenschildt, Oswald was not the type to a) befriend anyone or b) involve anyone in his schemes. Even those who staunchly believe Oswald was innocent, believe he still fit the “lone” part of “lone nut”.

I was under the impression it was 2016 in the show's present, but Jake himself said in this episode he would return to 2015. Though if the present were viewed by Bill's, or Sadie's eyes, the exact year, (be it 2015, 2016 or 2017) really wouldn't make much difference. No surprise that Jake and Bill failed miserably with regards to the Walker attempt. After all, the show is called 11.22.63, and not 4.10.63, the date of the Walker attempt. I do wonder where Jake and Bill's investigation goes from here. Do they follow Lee to New Orleans, where he will spend the next 5 months, before he returns to Dallas (with a detour through Mexico City first), in early October. It would seem they would, but with Jake devoting himself to Sadie, that seems unlikely, My guess is they will wait it out in Dallas until old Lee Harvey comes back. On the historical tip, I wonder what the real Dr Clark (who was chief of neurosurgery and would attend to JFK that fateful day) would have thought of his TV counterpart being so idiotic when informing Jake about Sadie. Who the hell doesn't start out with "she's alive"?

I can never un-see the sight of Jimmy Jr suffering from butt fever. Thank goodness it was just a part of Tina's daydream about being a nurse's assistant.

This would only be the case if the show adhered to reality. But the show has never done that. So it is no stretch to suggest that the White House of the Scandal-verse is rather lax on protocol. And that is fine. The real problem with the show has been that it no longer adheres to it's own reality. The biggest example of that being Mellie suddenly giving a shit about her kids. She never has before,except in the incredibly rare moments like this where it suits the plot. And if we never see the kid again this season, or for the rest of the show's run, it would surprise absolutely no one. In fairness, I don't believe for one second that Fitz would ever have a movie night with young whatever his name is. More likely the kid will be locked in his room with a bucket.

Not really. Fitz wasn't doing anything around their child. The kid evidently lives with Mellie, and in that particular scene she was dropping him off unexpectedly. It is not as if Fitz was parading his floozies in front of the kid. But even if that were the case, it just doesn't play on this show because the Grant kids have never been anything but props, and rarely used props at that. I'd call the Grants bad parents, but they are not present enough in their kids lives to even qualify as that. So Mellie can drop the concerned mother act, because it just doesn't work.

Forget about Jake, I cannot believe they had Liv get on her high horse about Fitz's sexcapades in the Oval. Her blaming him for the Secret Service being reduced to covering for his booty calls was rich. If that is all they know how to do, they didn't just learn by watching Fitz. They also learned by watching you, Liv. I get that no one is perfect, and we all have our moments of hypocrisy, but this was just ridiculous. I know they are relying on the audience basically forgetting everything that happened before, but I guess now they are writing Liv to have forgotten as well. On the bright side, I was having a hard time remembering where I recognized Jake's fiancée from. Then it hit me: She's Penny Hardwicke, from High Fidelity. She was Rob Gordon's #2 (chronologically) on his list of Top 5 all-time breakups. Not too shabby, Jake.

So OPA goes the "we'll cover up a murder, feel guilty about it, have a change of heart and make sure the perpetrators are brought to justice, and we'll hope the audience forgets our very illegal, and very prosecutable part in the crime" route again? Just goes to show, the old adage is true: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, and why the fuck am I still watching this shit? "

By all accounts, Oswald's daughters, June and Rachel, grew up to live normal lives. They do not speak very often about their father and the assassination, usually only during the bigger anniversaries, and they keep their opinions, their public opinions anyway, rather open ended. Neither stating their father was the lone assassin (as Oswald's brother Robert has stated) nor stating he was a patsy, completely set up and absolutely innocent, as Marina now believes. Marina had earlier accepted the Warren Commission's conclusions, but over the years, not without some influence from conspiracy researchers, she has changed her mind and believes Lee is innocent. Though despite this change in thinking, her testimony has remained basically unchanged over the years, particularly about the facts of the backyard photos. From day one she has maintained she took those photos at Oswald's request, and she has not changed anything about that. And to be sure, there has never been any mention of George de Mohrenschildt being present at the time the photos were taken, as portrayed during this episode. However, the "hunter of fascists" line was something Oswald inscribed on the copy he gave to de Mohrenschildt.

It will be interesting, especially since Marina speaks almost no English, and Bill's Russian is whatever he has retained from the Russian to English book from the Junie High library. Which I doubt is much. Though I do think he has already gained her trust. His kindnesses are the few she is receiving during this time. Oswald, when he isn't beating her, has her completely under his thumb. He refuses to teach her English, or to let anyone else teach her. They are as poor as church mice, and Marina's has almost no contact with people beyond Lee and her daughter. On top of that, he is also constantly threatening to send her back to Russia. Which in reality was the last thing she wanted to do. Marina really was living a pretty harsh existence, and this was all before JFK ever visited Dallas. So she's got that to look forward to.

I hate that she backed down because she really didn't have to, And as far as Frank;s psycho threats, I was really hoping that Cathy would call Frank out on his posturing with something like "I don't think so Mr President. You're out of shape, Frank, I'll kick your ass!" That's what frustrates me the most about Underwood and Stamper's bullying. They are just seriously the least intimidating people on TV. It's like getting threatened by a couple of 5 year old girls. And particularly wimpy and petulant 5 year old girls at that. Spacey has only been intimidating once, as John Doe in Seven. But that character was frightening for completely different reasons than a politician like Frank Underwood. Underwood's threats just come off like hissy fits. World class hissy fits, to be sure, but still hissy fits. That his threats work is only because the writers make them work by making Frank's opponents both stupid and spineless. And Stamper, well he has only been convincing as Frank's enforcer when he was getting his ass kicked by the prostitute.

As someone who falls under "neither", I resemble that remark! ;) I am not a lawyer, but I imagine lesser charges can't be brought. The whole point of double jeopardy is to prevent the court system from repeatedly going after an individual over a specific crime. And giving the crime a different name doesn't change the crime in question. If you have been acquitted of the crime, that is it. The law has had it's chance and it can do no more to the individual in regards to that crime. Besides, if such a loophole was possible, I think it would be common practice and we would know about it. This wouldn't be the first time new evidence came to light after a crime has been adjudicated, and I doubt OJ would be the first person to have been acquitted to later have been shown to be guilty. There is no statute of limitations on murder. If by some crazy miracle the knife somehow shows that someone other than OJ did it, then that person can be tried. OJ of course cannot due to double jeopardy.

That blue wall of silence is very real, but so is the age old tradition of giving up a scapegoat, which is the one thing that always supersedes any code of silence. And in this instance the scapegoat came ready made to be sacrificed. You hardly need the 2016 version of Ed Exley to put his big and devious brain to it to figure out how this one plays out.

I don't think we'll ever be free of them. Far-fetched plot devices are here to stay. ;)

Though 1962 was way before my time, I know that what the kids were doing at the dance was a line dance called "The Madison". I happen to know it because it was featured in the film "Hairspray". By which I mean the original, John Waters directed "Hairspray", not the crap remake. Though I imagine they used it in the remake too. But for my money, Ricki Lake is the Queen of The Madison. All by it's lonesome, it does not. But in proper context, using the vast amounts of available evidence, and a bit of logic, it makes for incredibly strong circumstantial evidence that Oswald acted alone in the JFK plot.

I have found all three episodes available as of midnight CST. Was glad to be back on the trail of the assassin. And I like that the nature of the plot means they have the opportunity to go a bit deeper than most JFK assassination related material tends to go. By which I mean the inclusion of General Walker. The Walker assassination attempt does not get a lot of attention in other works about the assassination. The Oliver Stone film completely ignored it. Yet it is important because it was one of the linchpins of the Warren Commission case for Oswald being a lone assassin. Their investigation saw them conclude that Oswald acted alone in attempting, and failing, to kill Walker, so it was therefore a precedent for his acting alone in the successful JFK assassination. The only people who give the Walker attempt any time are those who agree with the Warren Commission. Conspiracy theorists recognize the event, but tend to dismiss it offhand as yet more chicanery that bolsters a conspiracy. I really appreciate that Walker is central to the plot of 11.22.63. OK, enough assassination geekery. This was a good episode, and I am loving the actress playing Sadie. She is easy on the eyes to be sure, but she has a natural charm that can't be contained. Yet she also manages to convey that there will be trouble ahead for her and Jake. I haven't read the book, but I am sentient and from this planet, so I know our star-crossed lovers will face a hurdle or two. And they are really setting up the time and place of the Dallas-Fort Worth area of the early 60's. We expect to see the bigotry of the times, but they are really showcasing how virulent the strain was in that particular area. For those who want an overview on the particular issue of the radical conservatism of Dallas at the time, I recommend the book "Dallas 1963" by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis. It really demonstrates what kind of place JFK was coming to on his fateful trip.

Normally I find Chris Rock to be overrated, but I really enjoyed him as host. Loved DiCaprio and Innaritu winning, but was disappointed that The Revenant lost out to Spotlight. I haven't seen Spotlight, and while I imagine it is probably pretty good, I seriously doubt I will enjoy it more than The Revenant. Also have to love Mad Max: Fury Road being the big winner of the night with 6 Oscars, even if none were in the major categories. And on the shallow end, I found Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett and, as always, Naomi Watts, to be the big winners on the red carpet.