Cherpumple

I don't know what order the clean-ups happened in real life, but if they played out the way we saw, I thought it was pretty shitty of them to leave Peter and Sandra's house until last. That was the situation in most need of urgent attention, and I can't help thinking things might have played out differently with Sandra's fall if the clean-up had started earlier. Granted, she was a very ill woman living in terrible conditions, but I still think it was a bad decision on the show's part. Other than that, I enjoyed this episode and was actively rooting for Peter and Raymond to succeed (don't care about Donald). I was incredibly impressed that Sam had managed to keep most of the house clean and clutter-free for so long. I honestly don't remember another episode where that was the case (except a few times when a hoarder's kids managed to keep the hoard out of their room). I really hope they continue to get things organized and that Peter doesn't spiral back into hoarding to cope with his grief.

Dimochka! It's a diminutive form of Dmitry. I giggled when I heard it because his parents were so cute. That's what I thought too! If it wasn't actual rigatoni, it was definitely made to look like it. I was very distracted during the judging trying to figure it out. I hope it was!

Yes to your entire post! I would have loved to see an episode devoted to Whitney researching and practicing different teaching techniques, and consulting actual professionals in this field. It would have brought back some actual "learning" to TLC. And that in a nutshell is what frustrates me so much about this show - the wasted potential. I could put up with a lot of her childish drama and inappropriate behavior if it was balanced by a focused professional ambition. BGDC is actually a really good idea, and (don't hit me) I think Whitney has the capacity to be a fun engaging teacher. So it pisses me off that she's not willing to put in the work and make this class a reality. It has franchise potential written all over it! And a lot of her side projects (like the No Barriers event) offer a real opportunity for her to show people from all walks of life how accessible and enjoyable dancing can be. So much money, attention, and publicity wasted on such a lazy person. It's depressing.

Considering that re-runs of the Cosby Show and Roseanne are already back on the air, I wouldn't count on a permanent ban on her old stuff just yet. And even though I'm pretty disgusted by the charges against her, there's no reason to punish the fans and workers of WCTH by pulling the show mid-season. Slightly off topic, but this is the reason I wish recasting was more common in TV (just like on the old daytime soaps). There have been too many shows over the years derailed by behind-the-scenes disputes and scandals, and in many cases I'd much prefer an actor switch, than a show cancellation. I'm pretty sad about the end of Garage Sale Mysteries. It was one of my favorite series, and I fully support a new franchise starring Sarah Strange. There are plenty of cozy mystery series out there, no need to re-tool GSM with a new lead. And I know I'm in the minority here, but I really like the actor who plays LL's husband, and would love to see him in more Hallmark movies. His character is a total drip, but I like the actor. As far as filling the hole in the schedule, I would like a few more Emma Fielding movies. I know they're not the most popular, but I love history-based mysteries, and would love to see more of them. I doubt it would ever happen, but I would love for them to make some cross-over mysteries. A mystery surrounding a collection of old books would have been the perfect Aurora Teagarden/Garage Sale cross-over, but since that's not happening, they could have Jill Wagner's literature professor character be a guest speaker at Aurora's Real Murders club, and then the two solve a mystery together. So many possibilities!

I wasn't paying too close attention, so the Evan Dando reveal caught me by surprise and I loved it. I haven't thought about Confetti in years, but my love of the Lemonheads all came rushing back. I definitely remember cutting out Evan's picture from Sassy magazine, and thinking he was so cool because he agreed to be the prom date of one of his fans.

I noticed this too and it made me sad. I thought he was so handsome in the earlier seasons, and now he seems to be going the Courtney Cox route. If they're temporary fillers, I hope they settle a bit as this season goes on.

I thought this was a very sweet movie, and smiled through much of it. I love Emily Blunt's portrayal of Mary and think Lin-Manuel is a big ball of sunshine, so I loved his little subplot with Jane. Like most of you, I enjoyed the music, but nothing really stayed with me after I left the theater. But this isn't unusual for me; it often takes more than one viewing for me to really remember specifics. I liked the dancehall song, but the verses were sung so quickly, especially Lin-Manuel's, that I barely caught any of the words. The only part that really fell flat for me was the scene with Meryl Streep. It seemed very disconnected from the rest of the story. I loved seeing Dick Van Dyke, and greatly appreciated that they spelled his name as an anagram in the closing credits, just like in the original movie. For those who missed it, the original Jane (Karen Dotrice) makes a brief cameo about midway through. She's a well-dressed older woman who walks past the house and bumps into Jack briefly before continuing on. It made me very happy!

Isn't Leon on that show too? I really wanted him to appear on the reboot, but without Roseanne to spar with, it wouldn't be much fun. Unless he gets a scene with Beverly. I loved the ending scene with Jackie and Dan, where she's educating him about all the different looks women give men when flirting. It was a great call back to the episode where she and Roseanne spend the whole evening over-analyzing Arnie's kiss, and the episode where she's teaching Becky "the look" to attract her new crush, and Becky gets it totally wrong and looks ridiculous. That was some awesome continuity!

I agree, and in this vein, I was REALLY hoping that Becky's baby daddy would be someone from the original show. My list of options included Chip from the bowling alley, Jimmy Meltreeger, the Tongue Bandit, Darlene's crush Barry, and of course Dean Dean the Son-in-Law Machine. I even had Ziggy as an outlier. Any one of these would have made me so much happier than a random bus boy who so far just seems like an excuse for them to do a heavy-handed immigration storyline.

You mean like Quentin Coldwater from the Magicians? (Which is basically Harry Potter/Narnia cross-over fanfiction). No, I mean I think Quentin Kowalski is a descendant of Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein from Fantastic Beasts.

Awww, that hug! It hit me right in the feels. That film was actually pretty well done, but it solidified my opinion that I have no interest in seeing a Marauders series because, as many of you have said, they were assholes. I can root for them as adults (mostly - I still found Sirius to be an ass sometimes in the books), but I wouldn't want to sit through hours and hours of watching them be arrogant bullies. Stuff like that is best left to my imagination. Also, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of Voldemort's first rise to power, and don't really have any lingering burning questions about how it all happened. I'm planning to do a full HP movie marathon before seeing the new FB, and I'm pretty pumped for it. I'm trying really hard to stay unspoiled by reviews, and go in with an open mind. To be honest, I'm just really enjoying the feeling of getting a new story in this world, despite some of its flaws. It's not quite as good as going to the bookstore at midnight to get the newest book, but I'll take what I can get. This isn't new information, but I was listening to Quidditch Through the Ages last week, and in the section about the most recent Quidditch World Cup (2014?) I noticed that one of the players on the US team was named Quentin Kowalski. Coincidence? I think not!

It wasn't me, but I'll definitely look for the podcast! I still find Spaceballs highly quotable, even to the point of quoting some lines when I'm watching the real Star Wars ("My hair! He shot my hair!") This is one reason why I'm glad I didn't watch it as a kid. I didn't form any attachments to the original look, so I don't really mind all the "improvements" that have been made since. I've seen before/after videos showing all the ways George Lucas messed up the originals with unnecessary CGI, and I can understand why some fans are so bitter about it. It's like watching some weird imposter version. I don't even mind the idea of having an updated version, as long as the original version is still available. The one change I can get behind is the new song at the end of ROTJ, to replace the Yub Nub song that I found so cringey. But of course the trade-off is the horrible Jedi Rocks song at Jabba's Palace, which is the only scene I actively skip over when watching the movies. Speaking of "first timers," a few months ago someone I know (a male in his 20s) wanted to watch Star Wars for the first time, and asked people what order he should watch the first six movies in. I said episodes 1-6, but someone else argued for the original release order. Then I found something online that recommended 4-5 then 1-3 then 6. I think the argument for the last two options was about getting the "reveal" of Vader's connection to Luke and Leia, rather than getting "spoiled" by watching the prequels first. I get that, but honestly, I would be very surprised if an adult raised in the US didn't know the big secret already. But I am intrigued by the 4-5-1-2-3-6 watching method because it definitely has potential to be very dramatic. At the end of Empire you're left with the WTF feeling of the big reveal, then you dive into the prequels to find out how it's even possible for Vader to be Luke and Leia's father, and then right after seeing a flaming limbless Anakin writhing in pain, you get to watch ROTJ, and see how his last shred of humanity redeems him. Very dramatic! I may try that the next time I feel like a marathon.

I've seen it! I didn't think it was that funny, but I loved seeing the Death Star as a giant waffle maker. And I just discovered that you can actually buy ones that makes waffles in the shape of the Death Star and Millennium Falcon. Something for the Christmas list! I also liked the use of Paul Frees as the narrator. He's done a ton of stuff, but I mostly know him from several Rankin Bass specials (the Burgermeister Meisterburger!) and the Last Unicorn. As much as I love getting sucked into the emotional drama of SW, I also love a good parody of the series, probably because I grew up watching Spaceballs (which I thought was hilarious as a kid), which I saw years before I saw a real Star Wars movie. I didn't actually see the OT until the prequels started coming out and I decided to finally see what all the fuss was about. I liked them well enough, but since I already knew the major spoilers and the general plot, I missed out on having a "moment" when Vader reveals that he's Luke's father. I've liked them more as I've rewatched them over the years, but it really was a slow burn, and I don't have the nostalgic childhood attachment to them that so many others do. And I still love Spaceballs. Actually, if I'm being completely honest, the first Star Wars movie I ever saw was the Ewok Adventure, which my parents taped when it first came on TV, and my sisters and I watched an embarrassing number of times (one of my sisters is still terrified of the Gorax). And now I'm really into the sequel trilogy, so clearly my Stars Wars journey has been a bit unusual. Anyone else remember the first time they saw Star Wars and what you thought of it?

I support your decision. I still enjoy Hallmark movies (mainly because I can turn off my brain for a while), but with each passing year their rigid worldview looks more and more antiquated. Some of their decisions are unrealistic in a laughable and relatively harmless way (e.g., no mention of sex, ever), but as you say, deliberately ignoring/erasing entire sections of the population is harmful and hurtful. I doubt anything will change unless they take a financial hit, and even then I imagine progress will be slow. I only follow Hallmark stuff on this site, so I have no idea what kind of feedback they get from viewers on other platforms, but I hope there are more rumblings of discontent out there. Everyone deserves to kick back and enjoy some warm, fuzzy entertainment, and I hope that Hallmark drags itself into the 21st century soon, before they lose more viewers like you.

Yesterday I watched the Roseanne episode where Dan freaks out because DJ wants to dress as a witch. It was an interesting contrast to Dan's "anything goes" attitude in this one, and frankly I didn't agree with him either time. I thought the plotline was a little too ham-fisted this time around, but it's also a reflection of how times have changed (I still can't believe how long ago the original show started). Mostly, I was just impressed by how good Mark's costume looked, especially considering their tight budget. I'm surprised how much this show is starting to feel like the original series. I watched last year out of nostalgia, despite not liking it much, but it feels a little more comfortable this year, even with the huge change. But one thing that continues to irk is the disjointed feel. In the original run you really got the sense that everyone in the family had a unique dynamic with every other person, and we saw lots different interactions. But now, we have whole episodes without Mark or Harris, or whole episodes where Becky and Darlene don't interact, or Jackie only talks to one or two people. The most egregious issue for me is that Becky doesn't seem to have any real relationships with her nieces or nephew. Aside from a few generic one-liners, I can't think of a single conversation she's had with any of them, or any indication of what kind of aunt she is (aside from a disinterested one). It's very weird to me, and quite disappointing and sad, especially considering how close she's been to Jackie her whole life. On a shallow note, Lecy looks really good with no hair. She could totally rock a short pixie cut again.