terracool

I'm struck by how my best program on TV can also somehow be my worst program at the same time, and the difference is Paige Paige Paige. I am increasingly disgusted by the whole story line and, at the same time, increasingly bored with it. While I still mentally think of the show in terms of my favorite show on TV, I find that when I actually watch, it is becoming an uninteresting slog because way too much time is spent on Whiny Paige. It'll be easy to finish out the season because there's only one episode left, but if next season starts out heading up Whiny Paige Road again, I know I'll lose interest quickly. While shows like this require some suspension of disbelief for the main storyline, we all expect the background details to ring true. P&E's demurral to Paige's demands are so discordantly unlikely and unreal that it's hard to keep watching. Example is them telling her to please, pretty please understand that she doesn't HAVE to work Matthew for them, and that she should please not worry about them. What would ring more true to many would be for them to tell her that under absolutely no circumstances whatsoever is she to continue her bs amateur-hour questioning Matthew and then start limiting her time with him. But the problem isn't "with Paige" or "with the parents". The problem is with the writers who somehow think that this storyline and character are interesting (or, given that it could have been interesting, is well-executed), because it's not. They need to broom this nonsense next season.

I wonder if the other players will start wondering themselves if Jeremy has a second idol given that he somewhat easily gave one to Stephen. Usually a player plays an idol on someone else's behalf only in fairly dire circumstances like "my alliance is on its last legs - if this person gets voted out, we're done and I'm done" Jeremy playing the idol for Stephen seemed more like "it's better for my game if this guy stays" but definitely not desperate especially with such fluid voting this season. Having two idols is a stretch, but it seems like playing one for Stephen in that situation might ring some bells for the other players - he gave up a precious idol and his own eventual protection too easily. And I agree with whoever said that TPTB probably came up with the sacrifice-immunity-for-shelter idea on the fly as they watched the misery and physical deterioration of contestants bring both the game and its watchability to a complete standstill. I think viewers want to see players challenged, but hopeless misery that goes on and on is hard and negative to watch. The new shelter was to help the show as much as it was to help the players.

I love when we can see instant AR-history in the moment it happens. "Hagoo" will always be with us now, just like "my ox is broken!". We all knew it was a classic the second we heard it. I'm on Team Cheerleader. They're decent, appreciative of the opportunity, have good attitudes and are pretty good racers. They're fun to watch.

For the first time ever, I shut off an episode of Amazing Race before it was done. I found myself bored by too many wait-in-line tasks. Plus I also hated all of the last three teams. When Team DumbAss finished that lion walk with a hearty "huh? What? What clue? The skull?" I'd had enough and turned it off. I just didn't care to watch angst and balancing for another ten minutes. Nor to watch the freaking paparazzi escape blessed elimination. Justin is growing on me, much like dentist Jim did a few seasons ago. He's a pretty good racer.

That's a really good point. Carolyn just cost Rodney the only chance he had at winning - going to FTC with Will and Dan was his only path. First she takes his orphanage/BBQ trip, then she takes his surf-n-turf, and finally she takes his million dollars. Awesome. I'm warming up to her for S31 too. Sierra is very distracting to me because I think her face looks just like the Statue of Liberty. It's that very very straight nose.

I just went to try to vote for next season's cast - I was very excited because I love AS seasons. Then just discovered two things: 1) I didn't recognize most of the people all "done up" - I think I need a Pictures From The Island cheat sheet, esp for the women. 2) Among those I recognized or thought I recognized, I couldn't find anywhere near ten that I wanted to see. Quite a letdown for an AS. I guess I'll have to wade through each season's web page or Google Images to try to figure out who they are. I'm glad Tyler is gone. He had a smarminess or something that I just found off-putting. And I think it's interesting that they have to see Rodney as a goat - that's the only reason I can think that he'd never even be discussed as a vote.

Shirin, all is forgiven. Please win this game so one of the flaming assholes doesn't get a million dollars. Thank you.

If Joe can make that awesome immunity idol out of sticks and stones, his jewelry designs must be fabulous. You could certainly see his profession shining through in that fake idol.

The bs with Geneva Pine going after this person no that person no some other person is getting beyond tired, and that's not even counting the absurdity that such prosecutorial misconduct could just continue. And Kalinda is headed out to kill Bishop blah blah blah The show is kind of becoming a chore to watch. All drama, few cases. For me it's in that inertia stage where is not really good enough to watch but there's so much invested after so many seasons that you sort of hang on longer than you should. Even the great job by Christine Baranski can't save it from its excessive storylines forever.

I don't remember the last time - or any time - that a contestant had such a consistently hilarious episode as Jenn did tonight. That was great - she's now my rooting interest. I thought Prob was more decent than expected during the IC. At least he wasn't constantly screaming at the red tribe to PICK IT UP PICK IT UP YOU GOTTA PICK IT UP.

What was that? A courtroom? Yes, I think that may have been a courtroom. And I'm sure I saw a settlement in a conference room with lawyers and parties and such. Wow. I didn't know The Good Wife was still about law and judges and legal maneuvering. Great show - like a sigh of relief. It's hard to believe that the people who put this together are the same folks who brought us last week's utter mess. It actually makes me wonder if they knew right away how completely bad that was and got rattled into reconnecting with the roots of the show. So Canning was setting her up, right? Pretending not to remember the conversation so she'd really have been hanging in the wind if she'd pursued it further. And I guess Illinois must have some special law allowing verbal powers of attorney.

The New Kid mentioned on the plane that he thought they would land about two hours behind the other teams. I think that teams should be able to make up - or at least have the potential to make up - two hours or so on every leg of the race. If it's impossible, I see it as bad leg design. This one seemed impossible. Feeding cats and lighting candles and being driven through traffic? The navigation parts left some room to shuffle order, but there was no way to make up any significant time. Sorry to see them go - they were nice to watch with no bs or drama. Yay Rochelle for just owning that transmission. That couple is growing on me while most of the others are growing thin. At least Phil isn't badgering the blind date couples at the Amazing Mat for signs of romance, or at least I didn't notice it as much this week.

Dullsville. I'm going to lose interest in this season quickly if they continue to have only one challenge per episode. Yawn.

Thus concludes what may be the second-to-last episode of TGW that I watch. After tonight's dull and disjointed mess, I'll give it one more chance before I give up on it completely. Please, show, move the story forward with the great writing and characters that made you a favorite. Why the self-indulgent, faux-artsy and unfunny crap that was tonight's episode? Louis Canning may die soon. That's the only plot point that moved forward. A wasted hour.

At the F4 vote, when it was either Keith or Natalie going, I had my remote pointed at the TV and finger on the "Last Channel" button. The very second I saw Natalie get voted out, I was going to be out of there and not watch the rest or the reunion. Great job by Natalie. I didn't see this asked or answered upthread. Why did Natalie need to do the idol-for-Jaclyn trick to get Baylor out instead of just getting Jac and Keith to vote for Baylor directly? The only remote reason I can think of would be that Keith would spill the beans at TC, but even if he did there wouldn't have been anything the other Missy and Baylor could have done about it. And Natalie had already, in a prior vote, sucessfully coached Keith on how to behave at FTC during a blindside (forget who was voted out, but Natalie instructed Keith to act all depressed like he was going home, and he did). So I wasn't sure why the extra chicanery. Even if the plan leaked pre-TC, she had the last- opportunity II to play on herself. Any idea why she did that? Has she said anything in interviews? Also, why did Baylor want here to play the II for Misty? If there was any chance at all that Misty was at risk, Natalie would have had to have been a part of it. Was it a test of Natiale? If so, it was pretty bad because there was simply no risk to Misty.