LeapDayBaby

Like many fans of QE Original Recipe, I was more than a little reluctant to give the new Fab Five a chance...but I'm four episodes in now and (mostly) thrilled to pieces. I'm in for the season. On a side note: is it me, or does Jonathan visually remind anyone else of Dave Grohl circa the "Big Me" video and/or Neil from the BBC's "The Young Ones"?

Random musings: - I haven't watched "Top Chef" in a while, so many thanks to those who posted info about Judge Johnny's background. - Nia's sidekick Ian reminded me of the actor who played the hologrammatic doctor on "Star Trek: Voyager". - LeapDayBoyfriend -- a fan of GBBO, as I am -- came home halfway through the cookie hour. Seeing that only Mary Berry was on board from the Queen Mother Ship and that the format (including the illustrations and music) is the same as GBBO's, he noted, "This is like finally getting to see 'Hamilton' and having the only original cast member left be the guy who plays Lafayette." Which to me is not a bad thing, because Daveed Diggs is pretty terrific. He and Mary Berry both wear spectacular jackets, too. :-D

Looking at the Gremlin, I was convinced that the next spinoff for this show was going to be "Pimp My Ride: ZA Edition".

I'm glad I'm not the only one who heard it that way! All I could picture at CommieCon (TM) was a bunch of folks cosplaying as Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro, and the ladies from the "DAY-vear!" Wendy's commercial from the '80s:

LeapDayBoyfriend and I thought that the blurred image was Grace Jones; after doing a little detective work online, I found a t-shirt by Zara that may support that idea:

Affected, yes, but not uncommon in art/design school: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/arts/design/tales-from-the-crit-for-art-students-may-is-the-cruelest-month.html?_r=0

Or, for fans of the BBC series "Red Dwarf", The Cat's alter ego Duane Dibbley...

Yes! I've been referring to Flora as "Frances 2.0" when watching with LeapDayBoyfriend, who thankfully is just as much a fan of the show as I. Unfortunately, I suspect that Flora

My first introduction to Morris dancing was through a joke on another BBC show, "Red Dwarf", ages ago. Having finally seen Morris dancing in person for the first time last year, I howled with laughter at the idea of Paul and Mary grabbing their sticks and handkerchiefs. Of course, Mary would be impeccably dressed.

Speaking of Helen of Cry, I was thrilled that this season's runway sew-off was not the "rainway" that resulted when Helen cried a river over the prospect of cutting up another designer's losing look in her season of PRAS. Other random musings: Was it just me, or did Dom not have a "talking head" segment after her session with Seth Aaron? All the other designers did, if memory serves. I'm a big Seth Aaron fan -- his mother/daughter look in his season is still a favorite for me -- and was glued to my TV for the episode, so I would be surprised to have missed that. That blue dress shirt Ken was wearing in some of his segments looked great; that color is well-suited to him. As much as this seems to be a set-up for Dom to join Dmitry and Seth Aaron in the two-time winners' club, I would love to see Ken finish in at least second place. That would be a great end to his well-deserved redemption arc.

While I'm always happy to hear a little Bowie, I would have preferred that the show had used Seu Jorge's cover of "Five Years" from "The Life Aquatic". Seems more fitting, given this episode's setting. Speaking of songs from the show, here's another number I would have liked to hear, courtesy of Roxy Music: There's a new sensation A fabulous creation A danceable solution To teenage revolution Do the Strand... I'll see myself out.

If nothing else, I'm sticking with FTWD for comments like this in the forum. I'm still laughing. Brilliant.

While this was an all-around excellent finale, the scenes that resonated most with me were those showing footage of people across the country -- including slender Oprah! -- awaiting the verdict. I was hugely pregnant by the end of the trial, with the running joke being that it was a tossup as to which would arrive first: my child, or the decision in the OJ trial (my son was born a few days after the verdict). I was working for a large regional bank at the time, and my boss brought a radio into the office so we could listen to the proceedings. We learned later that the bank's call center, staffed by about 100 people, had a huge drop-off in incoming calls in the minutes prior to the reading of the verdict, with not a single call for nearly five minutes. It was a phenomenon that was unmatched until midmorning on September 11, 2001. Emmys all around for the cast, and I'm hoping that every one of them mentions Nicole and Ron in their acceptance speeches.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for namechecking Jeffrey "Fatal Vision" MacDonald in this week's recap. If I thought the casting would be anywhere near as spot-on as most of the casting is for this series, I would love to see what ACS would make of that case.

I'm probably dating myself here, but my first thought was, "Wow, she looks like Daisy from 'Keeping Up Appearances'."

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one whose "Minecraft" alarm sounded on that one. There's an indie comic/music store in my city that sells Minecraft swag of all types, and I think Emily's look would fly off the racks and into the closets of older players.

Maybe it's the Rhode Islander in me, but I think Richard (a fellow Ocean State resident) made an excellent point about the apparent lack of mental health services on the BL ranch. Based on some of the incredibly sad back stories the contestants have had over the years -- Colby and Toy this season, and certainly Abby in hers -- emotional breakthrough sessions with the trainers are not enough. If there's an emotional/psychological trauma that is behind a contestant's weight issues, diet and exercise are only two legs of the stool. These folks need counseling and coping skills from a clinician if their weight loss is going to stick. With that said, Stephen looked great, Colby was smart to take the cash, and as irritating as the twins could be sometimes, they earned the double win.

I'm still having residual Bruce Greenwood issues from his stint as Joan's jerk of a suitor in the final season of "Mad Men", but I agree that he's dialed down the smarminess so far. I'm impressed.

Having done this exact thing several years ago, that analogy is perfect. High points: Fäde, Kini, Swatch, and Dmitry. Low points: Sam, Mitchell, and that awful thing Daniel sent down the runway. Oh, and those mom-gauchos Alyssa was wearing. At least Mitchell isn't "The Mitchell" anymore, as he was first listed in his PR original recipe bio. The sooner he is off my TV, the better.

Love, love, *love* the nod to that oft-used rifle. Well played.

The combination of " '80s musician" and Merline sent me to YouTube to find the group that Merline would have been a perfect addition to, with her hats: The Belle Stars, in their "Sign of The Times" video. Classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdH0nIsd-B4

Random thoughts and musings: - Candice looks a bit like Corinne Drewery from the group Swing Out Sister. - A burning question that I don't think has been answered yet: Where was Scott "Mustache Man" Patric? He certainly wasn't in the makeup room! - If the words "Boston Strong" come out of Kelly's mouth once this season, I will Elvis my TV. She looks like she just walked out of Jackie's Packie from the "Real Housewives of South Boston" YouTube series. - Special Snowflake Blake's fabric looks better on the woman in this mural on the High Line in Chelsea: All in all, not a horrible first episode. Bring on Season 14.

Point taken about the fairness of the judging, but I can understand the emphasis on the changing pad versus the glasses: glasses are replaceable, while babies are not. Anything intended for use by or for a child should be designed with an eye to safety. I'm surprised more wasn't said about the potential safety issues with Carley's birdhouse craft storage, since she was so emphatic about its being designed for children. How sturdy were those wall hooks, and how were they mounted?

I'm not sold on Carley's talent or Katie's voice, but I do feel a little obligated to root for them: they're alumnae of my soon-to-be alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design (along with Jessica from "Framework", but I digress). With that said, Tim FTW.

I was convinced that at the end of the episode, Lori's departure limo would come to a sudden stop, the door would open: "Get out of the limo. This isn't over." Jillian. Roll credits.