henripootel

So buying Pied Piper was the only way Keenan could get access to middle-out? He couldn't, I dunno, license it? This show keeps trying to get us to look past the most simple, obvious solutions. In order to make sure these guys keep getting shit on endlessly, which is ... comedy gold? There's been a few bright spots but this season continues to mostly disappoint. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm pretty tired of Erlich Bachman.

And besides, Nikki kept saying 'Emmit' over and over in the tape, so why would she do that if that wasn't Emmit? Seriously though, I found that detail hugely amusing, exactly the kinda thing you'd expect to fool dumb people. It was a nice touch.

Yeah, I'm expecting Lucy to pull the football away again - it's apparently their 'vision' of what makes this show 'funny'. That said, I actually kinda thought they were getting their swing back a little. Just enough Gavin, very little Jian-Yang, Erlich is actually competent, Richard doesn't make the worst decisions possible, and I even liked the hacker chick who got busted. I'm reminded that a little bit of Gilfoyle goes a long way and I want to see more, and Dinesh was also fun. Heck, they gave Monica something to do. By the last two season's lights, a solid episode. Please please please move things along and don't just go back to seeing all these guys being plot-stupid and endlessly shit on. That got old in season two, and that was two seasons ago. Please make it easy for me to like this show.

Not any thoughts of organ damage. It'd be impressive if Nikki had some and still managed to get home, but she's not out of the woods by any stretch. If Ray has any brains he'll take her to the hospital immediately. I mean Nikki's tough and I get the feeling that this isn't her first rodeo, but better safe than sorry.

I've never seen Reservoir Dogs although I hear it's ... Tarantino. Hard to say exactly why he irritates me so much but in brief, his films seem to show a fluency in the vocabulary of previous film making that delights many, but makes me feel like I'm reading a novel composed entirely of 'LOL's, 'OMFG's and emojis. Fine for some purposes but not to my tastes. Also, I've gleaned enough over the years to get a glimpse of the director behind a movie by what he puts in it, and what I've gleaned about Tarantino makes me want to punch him in the face. That one is harder to explain, but it's true. That said, his films aren't totally unwatchable, which makes me dislike him more for the same reason I eschew too much Chic-fil-a. It's easy and tastes yummy but I'm just sure it's shortening my life and my palate. Oh, I'm sure Sy was the intended target of the display and they don't give a crap about Nikki, but I'm not sure there wasn't a lesson in this for her, even beyond 'don't be mouthy to Russian gangsters'. I'm still wondering how Sy got Nikki's cell number and considering the idea that Sy told the Russians about her, they gave him the number and then (unexpectedly for Sy) showed up to make an example of Nikki.

Possibly a post-9/11 change in the finance rules. That would explain why the bank guy was trying to get Ray (in disguise) to consider any amount slightly less than 10,000. Less paperwork, but I'm a little surprised the IRS got involved so quickly. My understanding is that they're way understaffed and under-funded these days.

Amazing - can't believe I've not really been aware of her until recently. I remember seeing her in that Diehard movie a while back and being impressed, but I had no idea what a fine actor she is. I may have to dig up some of her earlier work, although my dislike of Tarantino is such that I think I'll skip Death Proof, MEW or not. Sorry Ms. Winstead, but Tarantino's work always leaves me feeling stupider and slightly soiled for having watched it.

I just assumed Emmit would know it was Ray, I mean he'd have to, right? Emmit knew he didn't make any tape. But then Emmit did what you'd expect him to do, he called Ray. Not surprising that he'd know Ray's number but how Sy know Nikki's? It crossed my mind that Sy talked to Varga or his guys to get Nikki's number. Hard to believe Sy'd feel comfortable doing this after he'd been made to drink dick water but a) Nikki seemed surprised that Sy had her number, and genuinely didn't seem to know who was calling, and b) Varga's guys somehow knew that something was up with Sy and Nikki. Varga seems to know everything so it's not hard to believe he could find out Nikki's cell number, and he had a vested interest in anyone else trying to play his patsy. Nikki's beatdown also made a nice object lesson for Sy, and anyone who thinks Sy and Nikki are in cahoots will have to explain why Sy left Nikki lying in the snow. Line forms behind me, SlipperyPete. She even broke up with her spouse a couple of days ago, but alas, I have not. A luminously beautiful woman and a very good actor, she. I soldiered my way through Mercy Street mostly for her, and I was hoping she'd get better material to work with. Glad to see she has.

Not if you tell him everything he needs to know to totally scoop you and cut you out of the picture. Richard is still the dumbest person on this show, and that's with solid competition. I think they've massively overestimated how interesting and amusing I'd find Jian-Yang and Big Head. Anybody else think their writing has gotten super lazy? When Erlich made his deal for the car, it never even crossed my mind that the resolution would be anything other than 'they're gonna find out that Jian-Yang's crappy app is actually gold', and that Erlich would find this out while looking at a reflection of himself in the car. There's a big difference between 'setting up a joke and paying it off' and 'copying a page from the big book of clichés', it's the difference between season 1 of this show and season 4 of this show. Why does no one seem to realize that there is at least one huge benefit to partnering with Gavin (even with the likely huge downsides) - no need to grub for startup money. I'd think that Gilfoyle would like to get paid at some point, and that this would make him a bit more amenable.

Oh, Ignoranceisbliss, you tried to warn me - why did I google image that? WHY?

Unpopular opinion here - I have, in seasons past, found the family visit episodes actually touching. Not so much lately, particularly with Jeff yammering on about 'who wins love' and whatnot. They're really managed to bleed the feeling out of the few (mostly) genuine moments we see these contestants experience.

My guess is that Martha's minder has orders that cover the possibility that she might make for the american embassy, which is why she likely carries a small-caliber handgun. I'm actually a bit surprised that Martha has an apartment in Moscow - they could obviate this possibility by putting Martha in Minsk or anywhere else. Might be very interesting if the CIA gets wind that Martha is in Moscow. I don't think she'd be in any danger but they might be very interested in approaching her. They might guess that she isn't delighted by living in the worker's paradise, and may indeed know some interesting things. Be a hell of a development if they smuggled her back to America, much more tension for the Jennings, and Claudia now that I think of it.

If she was smart (and a bit ruthless), she could have gone to the FBI and spilled the beans, saying she wanted a pardon and 10 million bucks in exchange for an actual Russian sleeper. They might well have gone for that deal. At worst she could have thrown herself on the mercy of the FBI and helped them find Phillip. Like as not she'd never have seen the inside of a court room and she'd have gotten a nice pension and a job in Omaha. Beats fleeing to the USSR. Were I her, I'd have assumed I'd never see the motherland, that I'd be shot and dumped at sea as soon as we reached international waters. This'd still be Martha's out if she every wants to end it - just make a beeline for American Embassy. She'll never make it.

Not possible. She can make Phillip Jennings, the Russians would never ever make a deal that allowed her to compromise such an asset. I'm actually surprised that they didn't just shoot her. Phillip would never know, and it's the safe, if ruthless, move. The KGB was nothing if not ruthless.

Am I the only one thinking that Oleg's dad isn't Oleg's biological dad?

I thought this too, and it crossed my mind that Varner was encouraged by production to 'make a big move', or whatever they're calling 'do something stupid / camera-worthy'. And he came up with this. I can't imagine that the producers would green-light him to out Zeke else they are colossally stupid, aiming the potential blow-back right at themselves. Also tried to imagine this being an editing thing, that the general theme of 'being deceptive' came up and Varner eventually landed here. Nope - even if it did come up a bit less abruptly than it looked on tv, Varner totally said it. I'm forced to conclude he's not as savvy as I'd thought. You'd think a person from NC (with all the attendant heat from HB-2) would have an easier call here. As an EP, I think he has a hand in whatever he wants to have a hand in. I mean they have casting people and editors and such, but I'm given to understand that Probst exercises a fair amount of control. I seem to recall that many of the 'twists' like the HII are all Probst-approved, and I've seen the argument made that the tone of the show changed a good bit when Probst demanded and got EP status.

With respect, that's not at all what I saw. I saw Jeff propping Brandon up in place, massaging his shoulders while everyone had one final go at him like a punching bag. Given the way he was coming apart (if the edit is to be believed), he was a danger to his tribe-mates and maybe to himself, and should have been whisked away quickly and quietly, escorted by burly guards. Yet again, basic decency took a back seat to 'producer gold', so we got a long awkward scene where Jeff pretends to be diffusing the situation while actually doing everything he could to exacerbate it. Or at least encourage it along while the cameras shoot. Sound familiar? Don't get me wrong, I know these guys have show to make, but there are times when they cross the line, and I think it's important to keep in mind that what we saw wasn't the only way the producers could have played this. We're not seeing an unvarnished glimpse into events that really happened, we're seeing what the producers want us to see. They're not journalists and they are entirely responsible for the content.

My guess: they flat-out dismissed Varner for cause and Jeff gussied this up with his 'we all know who's going home tonight, right, including Varner'. I'm pretty sure that the rules officially allow Probst (and production) to do whatever the hell they want but there is the potential for contestants to sue, contracts or not, so they took steps hey made it clear that this wasn't a normal situation where normal rules apply. Varner agreed to his being eliminated from the game (I'll bet in more explicit terms, but they edited that part a little) and that was that. If this is correct, it brings up ever more to me that production is complicit in this whole thing. If Zeke and GLAAD got input on how to mitigate the damage from this incident then something good might come from this sorry mess but I'm reminded again that production kicked off this sorry mess. When they didn't have to and stood to benefit from it (via ratings). That makes them complicit, and despicable, but hey 'showbiz'. ETA: I see Nutmeg beat me here, but I agree. I was thinking about Survivor: Nicaragua. This is based on spoilers that hit the net, but that whole season was thoroughly and accurately spoiled online, right down to boot order and (IIRC) winner too, which is pretty amazing. The story is that during FTC, Jane flat-out accused Sash of trying to buy her vote, offering to pay her mortgage out of his million if he won. This is a very big no-no and explicitly against the rules, so Jeff apparently told them to turn off the cameras, the producers huddled for a while to figure out how to handle it. In the end they decided to simply ignore it, edited out any mention of it, and reminded the contestants of their extensive NDAs. Sash lost anyway so maybe it was moot, but if it happened this way, it's what they could have easily done to protect Zeke's privacy in this matter. Production clearly had no interest in doing so, or if you prefer, far more interest in airing something that, as Kimberstormer pointed out above, isn't Survivor. Not their finest hour.

I too was relieved that Zeke handled this with aplomb but here's my thing - he should have had to. I think the only ethical thing to do was for Jeff to turn off the cameras and explain to all 'this is Zeke's outside-the-game personal stuff, and we will not even look like we're profiting by revealing it'. That's not what happened, even though Jeff has (apparently) done this very thing in the past in order to sort out a problem for the producers. Simple decency requires that they'd do the same for a contestant, not let it go on and certainly not put them in a position where the decision to let this continue rests on them. Zeke's a contestant on a game show, that alone might pressure him to allow something nobody should have to endure. Just my 0.02 dollars.

Can't disagree more. They could have easily edited out every bit of this, got the footage they needed, and booted Varner after a unanimous vote. The producers are under no obligation whatsoever to show us what 'really' happened, and in cases like this, editing it out and warning the others to say nothing - easily within the NDAs the contestants sign. Which probably wouldn't be necessary as the other contestants felt that Varner leaking Zeke's business was despicable - you really think they're gonna be in a rush to leak it further? No, I'm thinking the producers thought this was just gold, and there was no way they weren't gonna air it. Much like Brandon Hantz's exit, they took advantage of an ugly situation to 'officially decry it', while using it for ratings. Again, they were under no obligation to air any of this, and the fact that they did so leaves me feeling soiled. I don't know who they think their audience is but I'm ... not entertained.

I'm flummoxed that Varner could, in so short a span, think that this was a good idea and then realize just how terrible he was being. I mean his tears at the end seem pretty heartfelt, and not to be mean, but good. It was a galactically assholeish thing to do, and for the life of me I can't imagine what possessed him. That said, Varner did this in front of a few dozen folks - the producers aired it to millions of people. Leaning strongly that this was a despicable act on their part as well, even if Zeke gave his consent to airing it. Weaponizing other people's personal info - where does this stop being 'entertainment'? The cynical part of me wonders if Jeffy et. al were just salivating at 'dramatic gold' and didn't even ask themselves if editing it out was the right move.

The Knick covered ground sufficiently familiar to this show that it should have been recognizable (a hospital at the end of the 1800s/ early 1900s) but was brutally frank about the state of affairs in both medicine and New York culture at the time. It was gritty enough to make Mercy Street look like an episode of Full House. Deadwood - jesus, Deadwood. It's like Shakespeare wrote a western, populated by actual people from that time, and speaking the most incandescently filthy language imaginable. The worst, most depraved character from Mercy Street, probably Bullen, would not only be considered as harmless as a schoolmarm, he'd wither to a crisp at one glance from the awesome, profane majesty that is Al Swearengen. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Not for nothing, but indentured servitude was miles away from slavery and press-ganged penal colonies. I have in my possession the pay-off schedule of an ancestor of mine who bought himself out in fairly record time (in New York sterling pounds) and it was far more a business contract, usually for passage to the new world. Some were, I'm sure, mistreated and whatnot but indentured servants were not slaves, property subject purely to their master's whims. Not sure of the legal status of a compassionate penal colony but I'm guessing that one of the features was that you weren't free to leave or even contact the outside world. Given the state of malaria and yellow fever in the US around this time, I'm guessing long-term exposure was, in reality, not far from a death sentence. We were, of course, encouraged to, what with the rather dreamy-looking shots, a few improbably story elements, and the 'story we choose to believe' lines. I think they gave us too enough latitude that we can finish the tale in whatever way pleases us, and I'm cool with that. I just wish they'd provided a more plausible reason why Silver would think his telling of Flynt's fate would be believable to Silver. Does he really think Flynt will be bound by love long enough for the treaty to settle in and the treasure itself to become somewhat moot? Would everyone else stay away from the treasure because doing so guarantees the peace (another notion worth exploring, but whatever)? Seems to me that season 1 Silver was far too much a rogue to believe such a thing, and season 4 Silver far too battered and cynical to believe such a thing. Love didn't make Silver so blind that he refused to lie to Madi about something hugely important to her so it wasn't love, so what was it? I'm left to wonder if I believe Silver would ever be so hopeful as to bet against the nature of pirates, and somehow I don't believe he would. However you choose to frame the story you choose to believe, I think you have to respect the elements of human nature that ring truest, and the one that stays with me is 'treasure draws pirates like flies to shit'. Everybody has their loves at the end and I liked that, but still ... treasure. It seemed like the resolution had far less to do with love and hope and far more to do with 'we have to get everyone in place for Treasure Island even if it doesn't quite make sense'. If Flynt isn't actually dead, I think he was kept alive by plot armor, which, cool, but I'm not sure it left me completely satisfied.

I should have taken time to say this. With all my quibbles about what actually happened, I thought that scene was heart-rending. Stephens and Luke Arnold were amazing. I am gonna miss this show.

It's a nice thought and I know it's the one the writers want us to believe Silver settled on, but that doesn't mean it makes much sense. Silver's a smart guy, and if he was committed to keeping the treasure out of play in order to maintain the peace, he was being remarkably unrealistic about the likelihood that this plan would actually work. Too many people know about the treasure, most notably Flynn - what're the chances that he (if he really did make it to Prison Plantation) would remain there, laboring with Thomas, forever? I totally agree with you - he's perfectly capable of escaping any prison, and who's to say he wouldn't eventually blab about the treasure? Which we know he did, much later, kicking off Treasure Island, but Silver had no way of knowing Flint wouldn't do this after 6 months or 6 days. Plus tons of other folks know enough about where the treasure is to give it a shot. If the old guy who died on the way to the island could find his way back, who's to say who else among Rackham's crew couldn't. Who's to say Rackham won't? Maybe not this year or the next, but eventually. I mean the new order absolutely outlawed piracy, and we know this because Jack told that kid this very thing as he added him to his pirate crew. Smart guy like Silver knows the only way to keep a treasure safe is if only two people know about it, and one is dead. The only genuinely safe thing to do is find the treasure and put it beyond reach, but to do that he'd have to find it. Can't imagine why Silver left his and Madi's long-term safety basically to luck when there was no reason he had to. And I think the only reason this plan worked was ... because the writers said so. Oh, I know, I gave an example of a similar institution that went on for centuries. My point was that even though the ostensive reason for wet nurses was to farm out unwanted kids, the real reason was to get rid of them, while still being able to tell yourself a nice story about how their lives probably turned out great. What actually happened was that most of them died. I meant to imply that even if Prison Plantation existed and Thomas got sent there, it was unlikely that he'd have a long and healthy life. How long has Flint been a pirate? Many years, certainly, maybe decades. I'd find it easy to believe that even if Thomas was sent there, he didn't last long, not long enough to reunite him with Flint. Hey, I'm not against true love here, I'm just trying to be realistic. For a show that seemed a least somewhat anchored in reality for a pirate drama, Flynt's end seemed unlikely in many regards and unrealistically rosy. I still find it hard to believe that much of James even remained. He went full dark-side after Savannah - shit like that changes a man. I don't know if I'd be able to look my wife in the eye after I'd gone on a flat-out murder spree, I'd be too afraid of what she'd see there.