Rockfish

Not having read the comics, which meant I didn't realize that the focus on Annville lasted too long, I quite enjoyed the first season--although some of the town's odious citizens completely squicked me out. For the most part, though, the levity and creativity more than made up for my discomfort. But I'm excited to see what the trio's road trip brings. Plus, I love the attention to detail: like the "Old Tyme Axel Grease" van, which cracked me up; I also enjoyed Fiore's flashback, which was announced with "A Couple of Days Before" on the screen--as if a couple of days was enough time for him to experience all of his deaths/regeneration, the creation of Ganesh's show, as well as all the production of Ganesh swag and advertisements.

I'm getting caught up on the thread (slowly), but it would be wrong of me not to say, "Spot on!" Best description ever, lol. He also drove a station wagon with spilled Cheerios everywhere.

This question is for someone who has a better eye for detail than I. Did Kevin's and Nora's hotel look the same as the hotel Kevin was in while he was in purgatory? My memory of last season is hazy.

I found this episode riveting. It was obvious at the airport that things would soon be over for Kevin and Nora, but I never expected such a brutal end. So much unspoken rage finally let out.

I just discovered Rectify a couple of weeks ago and am loving it. If I could, I'd watch at a more rapid rate, but my husband finds it too slow--which is understandable since he belongs to the "Die Hard is the greatest movie ever!" club--so I watch an episode or two when I can on my own. The series reminds me of a good novel, where you feel as if you really know the characters and understand why they do what they do. Even when their choices seem wrong and illogical to me, I understand why they did what they did. Another thing I like is how my opinions of characters change with the subtle writing. Many of the characters whom I disliked at first have revealed good or sympathetic facets. Breaking Bad did this for me, and I think it shows such a deft writing hand. Last thing about Tawny, which is silly to write because I'm years behind the discussion: For some people it takes years to figure out how to communicate effectively with others, even with a loving spouse. We've seen her get excited about something--usually Daniel, unfortunately--and then blurt out what she's thinking at the worst possible time, something she didn't realize. Because she feeling was so intense and inspired, she most likely felt that if she expressed what she was thinking right at that moment, she'd be able to convey her thoughts accurately. (And I do think at first she was just happy to have another quirky kindred spirit in her family and wasn't attracted to Daniel.) But Teddy couldn't fathom what she was going on about because she hadn't shared with him what her thoughts were in a gradual way, and he, being Teddy, took everything wrong and reacted like an ass. And this made everything worse. I think Teddy's a creep, though, so I'm not absolving him--I just think that if she was married to a kinder man, her marriage would have hit a bumpy part because of her communication style (or lack thereof).

Lol. I found the whole "baby" thing cringeworthy, similar to when I hear it in regular life. When couples use that endearment, they seem as if they're trying too hard to sound in love. Of course Marni and Ray say "baby" to each other: each is pretending for different reasons.

I pretty much like almost everyone this season. And obviously, I'm just seeing what the editors choose to show. My favorites are Brooke, Shirley, Sheldon, and Sylva. I don't see Brooke as entitled at all; she seems extremely confident and there ain't nothing wrong with that, especially since she can back that confidence up with skillz. And I'm partial to her because she reminds me of a good friend--same mannerisms, cadence, sense of humor--but that's neither here not there. About Restaurant Wars, I didn't get to see everything that Bravo viewers see (judges walking through kitchen) because in Toronto, Top Chef airs on Food Network Canada for an hour only regardless of super-sized episodes. I was fine with Katsuji going home--even though John was probably equally culpable--since he seemed like he was being extra "tricky," as my MIL likes to refer to manipulative, cheat-you-if-they-can people. But I know that to other viewers John seemed more tricky. A lot of times Katsuji made me laugh when he'd needle someone because I'm immature at times, but I hated how he went after Emily, whom I just feel sorry for at this point. She may be unpleasant, but the way people are hating on her seems extreme. And I think the reason she never seems to smile is because she may have teeth she's embarrassed by. I'm too lazy to find an image or her smiling, but last night when she flashed a nanosecond of a smile, I thought I saw something was up with her teeth. I have a weird fondness/sympathy for Tesar, even though I think he'd be annoying as hell to be around. From the little I know, he was considered to be a brilliant chef back in the day but continually screwed things up because of his addiction/s, yet because of his ability and potential he kept being given new opportunities. So here he is today at the point in his life when others his age have accomplished a lot more and are slowing down, but he's got to start over once again. He's competing with a bunch of whipper-snappers who cook much differently than him, and although he looks great for his age--despite his previous lifestyle (I find this crazy since hard living typically results in faster aging)--he's probably exhausted and embarrassed. And because of his past, he'll probably remain passive-aggressive and manipulative all the while thinking he's much more evolved than he is, since extreme addicts manipulate and shift blame onto others so much that that mindset can remain even after they're clean. That's my read on him anyway, even though most of it may be utterly untrue. Must add that John's dish was insane. What was in it besides canned (yuck) crab? And this is coming from someone who doesn't mind running into a slow cooker full of canned chili and velveeta queso dip at a party, lol.

I am obviously not a Molly Shannon fan because she irritates me on this show--her bathtub scene with her hubby was especially squicky. Likewise, I'm not a Thomas Haden Church admirer either: when I watched Sideways, I couldn't figure out how he could possibl be a ladies man, but we all have different tastes. However in this show? With the incredibly awkward way he acts and the cringe-worthy stuff he says, there's no way I can believe that he and Frances would ever have been married. I guess like Sarah Jessica Parker or I wouldn't be watching. Even though the show is a mess, there's usually a scene each week that's funny. But I don't remember laughing at all during this episode. I was mainly embarrassed for all. Frances's spazzy behavior with the Sotheby's execs reminded me of a boss I used to have, who would sometimes suddenly get really hyper and start talking rapidly with wild arm and hand gestures. If we were around higher ups, I'd try to subtly change the subject or do something to try to get her to calm down. Good times, lol.

Compliments to all of the witty posters--your comments have been making me laugh. I don't know what's different with me, but I'm finding this season so dull. I'm not rooting for anybody and am only slightly irritated with some (as opposed to being full of insane rage every time some misogynistic asshole speaks). Or maybe it's the editing. And I've watched every season, so I know there have been worse seasons. I'm glad Paul's gone but I was confused why he was in the Gen X tribe to begin with. I was born in the last Baby Boomer year, and he's older than I. Maybe there's a new chart I should consult. Between this and hearing that I'm no longer the same astrological sign because the signs are supposedly all wonky and wrong, I don't know who I am anymore! If this has been mentioned before, my apologies (this is the first episode this season that I've read comments), but David looks like the love child of Kevin Spacey and Boyle on "Brooklyn 99."

Lol! I love watching this show in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 kind of way, even though I'm not as witty as Joel and his robot friends. The writing and editing are terrible--each episode seems to have a noticeably missing scene that causes me to foolishly rewind, looking for that evasive scene that logically sets up what I'm watching--the characters don't react realistically (to be fair, though, I have no idea what's realistic during a ZA). Same stuff everyone else is saying, basically. However, I am an outlier because I like Kim Dickens, so I don't mind Maddie. Dickens earned my everlasting loyalty by being in a favorite movie of mine long ago: The Zero Effect, with Bill Pullman. I liked her blase line readings and her non-starlet looks--cranky, bored expression and all--which rang true to me; so I have no problem with her now. I just wish her character (and all the others) was written better. Now if the actor who plays Chris is in a quirky movie I like, I might bestow the same courtesy on him, but as of now he needs to be eaten. I also couldn't figure out why Travis didn't know any rudimentary Spanish. okay. I would have wanted to lock up Celia with her friends for her never-ending pious lectures. If I wanted to listen to that I'd watch more Ted Talks!

Yeah, I noticed Debbie's eyes following her, too. My assumption is it was some kind of surrogate daughter situation. Julia seems charming and cute, so she was probably a respite from all of the ugliness out there. I'm obviously talking about Benchwarmer and his pal. What's funny is physically Benchwarmer isn't an unattractive guy (ignoring his ink), but when he's being a hateful asshole, his face turns absolutely hideous-looking to me. I'm just dreading the future. Please tell me one of the two wannabe He-Mans doesn't win.

I agree with you--I was just trying to get across how unsympathetic toward Hannah and her feelings I am at this point. Regardless if her feelings make sense or not, she was in a lot of pain, and I didn't care.

Because I thought Hannah was such a disrespectful asshole at the play, as were others but not to the same extent that she was, I felt not one bit of sympathy/pity for her at the end when she felt the betrayal by Adam and Jessa. I know--logically--those two things have nothing to do with one another, but I'm just so sick of this character's amazing powers of self-centeredness that I don't care that I can no longer compartmentalize her disparate qualities and behaviors. If she were still writing and, let's say, doing a reading somewhere, she'd lose her shit if anyone dared speak loudly or interfered with her art. But she has no regard for anyone else's art or performances. Speaking of the play, I'd love to see something like that. A few years ago I read about a similar performance of Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca that sounded very cool. I floved Desi's and Marni's impromptu singing of that ridiculous song. I need to listen to that again because I think the lyrics were that they were telling the bird of a cuckoo clock to quit staring at them, lol.

Thanks for the correction! You're right--Sophie is her name. I guess she looks like an Edna to me.

Often, my husband and I eat some a late supper while watching Survivor. Suffice it to say that I was beyond grateful that we ate at a normal hour before watching. The most uncomfortable part for me, though, was seeing Debbie's and Tai's conversation. It was so, so obvious from his body language and monosyllabic answers that he was uncomfortable and just agreed to anything she asked just to get her to leave him alone. Her obliviousness was cringe worthy. Many people are saying that this is the worst season ever, but for me it's not. It's bad, and there are many people I heartily dislike, but I hated the one with Dan and 'Merica so much more (even though I liked Joe and the cool kids). And the last time Coach and Ozzy were on (Edna won, and I did like her) was another season I disliked more, probably because that wacko Hantz kid was on for almost the entirety and I. cannot. take. him.

I'm confused about what people are saying about Mike's daughter-in-law--obviously, I've been watching the show too late because I've forgotten some details. The view seems to be that she's scamming him to pay for a beyond-her-means house, but I assumed she probably needed help with a down payment and then would be able to afford the mortgage because she's a nurse. (The R.N.s I've known made a decent salary.) However, I must be missing something. I was feeling stressed when Kim had the phone conversation about her job offer in the bathroom because I was sure there was someone eavesdropping who'd ruin her opportunity. But I feel as if she sabotaged herself with her decision to join Jimmy. But I hope I'm wrong!

Isaac though, he sort of reminds me of my husband. My hubby was raised in a big family with A LOT of aunts and grandma's and his own mom is very close to him, so he is used to being hugged and kissed and loved on. Issac sort of seems like a mamma's or grandma's boy a bit, and does that batting eye thing to look cute and innocent. He is sort of endearing but he does use it to his advantage a bit. I think it's innocent though. My husband thinks he is just the cutest, sweetest thing ever, and it's just because he has spent so much of his life getting such positive attention from women. You know, this seems like a good guess to me. Isaac reminds me a lot of an old boyfriend, who was also doted on by the women in his family and had an fun, aw shucks-type charm. I guess I'm not paying too much attention because I don't remember any of Carl's stories or Jeremy's bro-dudeness (before this episode), so they're not bothering me. I actually like all of the cheftestants just fine, although I'm judging Jeremy and Amar a little more harshly because of their poor performances in Restaurant Wars. As for Marjorie, I'm just assuming everyone gets asked about each competitor and TPTB are choosing to air her "Isaac isn't a refined cook" talking heads because they both make it to the end for the ultimate battle--just my impression, but most likely I'm wrong.

I love almost everything in this post--especially the NYPD Blue reference! (Actually, I only remember a couple of things from that show: David Caruso's amazingly bad career decision and Andy Sipowicz's success with the ladies). Maybe Joe is another misplaced tribesman and should actually be with the Brawns. Not only was his attitude about boiling water a head-scratcher, but so was his need to use so much kerosene to get a fire started. That guy on the Brawn tribe, Jason? He reminds me of one of the monsters in the book Where The Wild Things Are.

I was so bummed to see that not only was Desi back, but he was Marnie's bridegroom. I hoped that she'd dump him after he was a no show at their big performance in the season finale. Bleh. Every one of these characters can be irritating as hell, but almost everyone also has his/her own certain charm and often has an insightful, revealing piece of dialogue or moment. The juxtaposition and tension between things like narcissism and selflessness, banality and insight, etc. are what make this show so entertaining to me--plus, there's usually something that's lol funny for me in each episode. I feel like an outlier because I could do without Shoshonna, I don't hate Marnie, I think Adam's physically icky (love his character, though), and I think Jessa and Adam make sense together, so I don't care if they hook up. It didn't look like there were as many wedding guests as Marnie and mom would have strived for.

This was one of the few episodes where I could accurately predict who'd be packing his/her knives (I'm usually a dunce at that). With the animated talking heads she was giving, I knew Karen would be either the winner or loser; however, when she seemed to force too many Chinese flavors into her region's dish, I knew she'd be going. And by no means am I an expert on the many different regional cuisines of Asia and the various eras, but she reminded me of me when I'm BSing. Like, I believed what she said--that Chinese influences were appearing in Japanese food--I just thought she went a little overboard with the Chinese flavor profile. About the challenge, though, I was one confused viewer! I've always thought that each chef was to add his/her style the challenge's parameters. But in this case I guess the judges wanted more literal interpretations. I didn't see the problem with Jeremy's dish because I thought he just modernized a chowder, but maybe I missed something. And when they were talking about the meat being too rare, I was all, "C'mon! You'd have been seething if you were given a well-done protein, you mercurial judges." To wrap up: Karen gave one hell of a classy exit! That's the way to do it.

I ended up feeling sorry for Phillip during this episode. He seems emotionally stunted, and his look of complete befuddlement after being so naively sure of his awesomeness made me uncomfortable--after I laughed, of course. The name of his drink, Bangkock Dangerous, reminded me of the way little kids nane stuff when they're really into pretending. Like, a classmate of my daughter's who insisted his name wasn't Luke but Super Agent Luke because he was actually a spy with magical powers,not a six-year-old on the playground. I was glad Isaac won, but if Marjorie had won that would have been fine, too, IMO. Since I often have bad dreams where I'm not dressed or need to do my hair and I have to be somewhere really, critically important right at that moment, I was just happy to see Karen in a dress and at the podium when she was. That was soooo stressful seeing her try to prepare her dishes while the waitstaff was milling about, knowing she still had to get presentable for her FOH duties.

(Accidentally put this in the wrong thread.) I thought Kwame was right to want Phillip to simplify his salad, for both of their sakes (seriously Phillip, you can't trust anyone to meticulously follow that many steps--especially for a salad, especially when he has his own dish to make). Also, every time Phillip talks confidently about how popular a dish is at one of his restaurants, I cringe because it never seems to go the way he predicts. And because I find it so unbelievable when someone completely ignores another teammate, I'm just assuming that the scene of Marjorie's team discussing the menu and ignoring Isaac was heavily edited. I love Restaurant Wars, but I hate when the contestants have to do the decor--makes me exhausted just thinking about having to do that in addition to everything else.

I took the test, and it was bang on. I've lived in Toronto for more than a decade, but it listed a city in central California that's close to where I grew up (also listed Reno and Boise). Definitely, for a lot of us from the Central Valley we have a twang that's hard to eliminate and that others hear. I think it comes from the effects of the many Oklahomans who migrated during the dust bowl of the 30s, but I'm no linguist.

The name that's seemed the most unrealistic to me is Stacy. But maybe Helen really loved her Barbie doll collection from when she was a girl--wasn't there a Stacy doll, in addition to Skippet? Dating myself, I know.Edited to say: I posted before finishing the thread and see that others are also puzzled by the youngest Solooway's name. Joanie is believable--old-fashioned names are in and Joan was Alison's beloved grandmother's name. Neither here nor there, but I adored my grandma; however, there was no way I'd saddle my child with her first or middle name, they were way too out there.

This was my least-favorite episode, but to be honest, I had a great laugh when Noah and Whitney had their encounter. Far-fetched or not, I enjoyed that icky scene because every once in a while I like being sleeved out. Plus, my husband was sitting by me at that moment, and although he doesn't really watch The Affair, he does enjoy seeing Noah make a fool of himself. So, that was fun. But here's what I really wanted to share: during Alison's and Cole's joined scenes when he heard her wails (and some have said he heard the baby's cries, which I didn't notice, so I should rewatch), I immediately thought of Jane Eyre, when Mr. Rochester was bereft and desperate and calling out for Jane, and she heard him from far away, which influenced her next move. Although Episode 9 (already?) was formatted differently, to me it was clear that each scene was from each character's perspective. Also my two cents about the server in the bar--I thought she was trying to be helpful to Helen, yet was somewhat clumsy in her effort, which added to Helen's discomfort. Seemed realistic to me, based on my experiences of sometimes feeling awkward, out-of-place, and too old while everyone around me seems young and hip. Someone drew correlations between those who are sympathetic to Noah and Alison with his or her marital status. To throw my experience out there--I'm in a stable, mostly happy marriage (of course there are ups and downs); I haven't cheated, nor have I been cheated on (that I know of), and I've been quite understanding of Alison and Noah. Of course, now I find Noah quite repulsive, but until the last few episodes I didn't dislike him. Obviously, I wouldn't want to be in Helen's shoes, but I realize that some people do meet and fall in love with others while married. And sometimes it's the real deal. Life can be messy, and I've been enjoying the depiction of these four messy lives. Now, however, it seems that Alison and Noah don't have much of a connection at all, which brings me to that scene right before he was arrested in Season 1. I think that's when the viewer learned that they were living together with a baby, yet I remember that their interaction immediately before the arrest seemed off, as if one (or both) was keeping something from the other. Thanks for all the great commentary--I love reading what everyone has to say!