Cherpumple

I didn't notice before either, but now that I've read about all the behind-the-scenes stuff, I definitely noticed it in tonight's episode. There were only a handful of shots that genuinely looked like Garlin was on set with the others, lots of back and forth camera shots of single actors talking, and lots of shenanigans with back of the head shots (included the Bev/Murray hug at the end) that were probably shot with stand-ins. I don't generally notice this kind of thing, but it really jumped out at me tonight, and then I started paying closer attention and it was super obvious. It's a shame that Garlin made the working environment so toxic, because a good heartfelt scene actually showing Erica and Murray working on her vows should have been included.

Not that I saw. I have heard in other places that the actress who plays her was quite ill during the filming, so Tina's part was rewritten to be drastically reduced. If true, that's disappointing to me, since I like her character and she has key relationships with both Newt and Queenie. There has been other speculation that they got around the filming issue by having Tina polyjuice her way through the movie in the guise of someone else (such as Newt's assistant Bunty), but I hate this idea so I hope it's not true.

Interesting info in the update to the Deadline article: It's hard to believe they added episodes to this dying show, but there it is.

Is it just that one? I'm currently watching Netflix season 4 (with Selasi and Candice) and am getting the same message at the start of each episode. Say it isn't so!

So, if they started this show in April 1968 and it's now Christmas, are they skipping over the Mexico City Olympics? That would be a shame. I liked this episode, even though it was sad. I hope they don't kill off Bruce- he seems like a great guy, and there are so many interesting storytelling options in having him come back and make a life for himself post-Vietnam. I haven't watched many Vietnam-themed films, even the super famous ones- was the movie Dean's friends were talking about real? Which one is it?

I agree. I also think they focus on expired foods as one of the "easy wins" to get the clean-up rolling. Empty fast food containers? Easy decision. Item destroyed by vermin? Easy decision. Expired food? Easy decision. Obviously, this doesn't always work with the hoarder's disordered thinking, but the organizers do tend to at least try to tackle the more obvious garbage before addressing the items with clear emotional attachments. Yeah, that was uncomfortable to watch. And even though I was super curious, it felt invasive when the daughter talked about it at the family meeting when Peggy wasn't there. I gave up on that show when I saw several episodes in a row that spent the first 40 minutes showing multiple walkthroughs of various friends and family oohing and aahing about how bad the hoard was, then about 10 minutes of clean-up, then *poof* the "after" reveal. I'm here to watch a good clean-up, not endless repetitive tours of a hoard. But I'm not super happy with the current format of Hoarders, either. There's just way too much set-up and family drama, and the pace is far too slow. Hour-long episodes featuring one hoarder would be more than enough for me.

It was also one more example of Darlene selfishly putting her needs above someone else's. Nick wasn't phoneless because he couldn't afford one or because he was too busy to buy one; he intentionally got rid of it because it was having a negative impact on his life. And rather than respecting that or having a discussion, Darlene just bought him one to make *her* more comfortable, because apparently that was more important. And when she revealed her cheating past, he easily accepted it with a smile and no judgment. Seriously, these men falling all over Darlene are getting more and more unrealistic. I liked Dan's storyline, even though it would have been nice if the kids or Jackie had expressed a little sincere nostalgia between all the jokes. The viking funeral was sad, but cathartic. I could've done without the end, where a buyer stopped by who was willing to pay full price. D'oh!

I'm having the same problem. I'm all for self-deprecating humor, but a lot of the jokes on this show are awkward and unfunny in a "punching down" sort of way, which is very difficult to get right. I suspect they're trying to go for the "awful people doing awful things" genre, like Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I think- I've never really watched that show), but it's ending up more like the Big Bang Theory, which purported to be about celebrating nerd/geek culture, but really just made fun of it. By contrast, I'm thinking about the original episode when Becky and Mark moved into a trailer. Roseanne and Dan were embarrassed and viewed it as a step backwards, but Becky and Mark were thrilled to have a place of their own and excited about making it work in the short term to save up for a better future. There were some funny jokes, and a great interaction with the quirky neighbor (played by Sharon Stone), and it all worked. Becky and Mark didn't feel degraded or humiliated by the move, and Roseanne and Dan made the best of things and found humor in a situation that they didn't really like. It was a good balance.

I don't mind the idea of the Hollywood handshake - it's nice to have a mechanism by which the judges can recognize exceptional work - but it bothers me that it ONLY comes from Paul and is built up as this magical thing. I wonder if Prue has ever wanted to add her own comparable gesture to put her on equal footing, and was shot down by either Paul or the producers. It just seemed weird to me that she told Jurgen that she would have given him a handshake during the signature bake, rather than just going ahead and doing it, and it made me think that maybe she's not "allowed" to do it.

Same here. I've watched the original series many times over (on re-runs, DVD, and now streaming), but this reboot has zero rewatch value for me. I haven't seen a single episode more than once and when it's over I'll never revisit it. But I'll continue to watch the originals!

Yeah, that was weird. I actually rewound my DVR because I was convinced I missed a scene. At first I thought they were boxing up things to give to Michael and his brother, but then they mentioned Goodwill and I was confused. This makes sense, but it was definitely a clunky transition for me, since the "be thankful for your awesome family" message had been superseded by Dean's outburst by that point. Totally agree. The Kevin-Paul-Winnie combo was the heart of the show for me (possibly because I was their age), but now we're eight episodes in and I couldn't tell you any of Dean's friends names.

I think both scenarios happen. Depression and grief can certainly lead to isolation and a lack of caring about one's living situation. However, several hoarders have indicated that their hoarding was triggered by trauma or abuse (sexual assault, alcoholic spouse, abusive parent, etc.) and have explicitly stated that they use the hoard to keep people out and give themselves a sense of security that they never got from the people in their lives. And it's not just hoarding; a depressingly high number of people on My 600-Pound Life started gaining weight after being sexually assaulted, often as a deliberate attempt to make themselves as unattractive as possible to avoid further assaults. It's a very sad, but seemingly not uncommon, coping mechanism. I tend to be more optimistic about people like Carmen, who was probably always a bit of a shopaholic/packrat, but had things spiral out of control after her husband died until she was overwhelmed and couldn't see a way out. She seems to have a good support system and now that her house is usable again she can hopefully move forward. Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but at the end when she turned around from her clean comfortable room to look at the next room filled to the ceiling with her holiday collectibles, it looked liked things were really starting to click into place for her. I think she even acknowledged that it was a ridiculous amount of decorations, which is more than most of these hoarders admit. She still has a long way to go, but I'm rooting for her.

I hope Harris moves in with DJ so we can get a glimpse of his home life with his wife and daughter, but I doubt it will happen. The furniture storyline was idiotic, for all of the logistical reasons that have been mentioned already. I'll be generous and give them a pass due to Katey's accident though, since I assume it was originally planned that Louise would be a bigger part of the negotiations about what pieces would stay/go in the house. And just to be clear, the sofa and chair by the fireplace are not from the original set, so I'm completely fine switching them out if Louise has nicer things, as long as the afghan blanket stays. Totally agree that someone like Nick would not go for sourpuss Darlene, especially after seeing how nasty she is to her daughter. At this point, I just feel insulted that the writers think we're stupid enough to believe that an endless string of decent guys are lining up for Darlene. I haven't seen this actor before, but I was convinced he was another Savage brother, since he looked like a combo of Fred and Ben to me, and Fred is already connected to the show. Guess I was wrong! It's so weird to me that this show consistently omits a main character for an entire episode. This week was Mark's turn I suppose, which was disappointing because it would have been interesting to get his perspective on Harris's situation. Or, you know, get any inkling about what kind of sibling relationship they have, because after all these years I still don't know.

I found that line in the BSOJ to be rather chilling. Carl has spent decades burying himself in family memories and "history," unable to even part with moldy stuffed animals that reminded him of his brother but had no actual connection to him, and now he locks himself out of his parents' room? That seems like even more of a mental break than what we've already seen from him. This was an upsetting episode to watch (more than usual) and I hope he gets the care he needs.

Does anyone know what miso caramel tastes like? Cristelle used it multiple times and I can't imagine it.

If they can get over the bitterness and just be happily broken up, I'm totally fine with their creative snarking. It would bring back the Jackie/Bev or Roseanne/Leon dynamic of the original show that I always loved. I love the idea of Jackie and Louise running the Lunchbox together. Louise has plenty of experience and I'd love to see those two interact more.

I love this idea! I was also thinking that Colin would have an accelerated aging process, but I imagined that each episode would show a different decade of life, so to speak. I would love to see bratty teenage Colin Robinson, for example. Either way, I think he's going to be back in his adult form fairly quickly. Definitely. I just got Hulu so I'm going to rewatch the whole series. I'm sure there's plenty of awesome moments that I've forgotten!

I loved the storyline with the grandfather. I was worried it was going to go the dementia route that I've seen too many times, and was happy to see that he's still mentally sharp, just not up to driving anymore. I definitely want to see more of him! I also loved the reminder that the 1968 Olympic are coming up and really hope to see an episode about the famous raised fist salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos. That should definitely show us where Dean's sister is in her activism, now that she seems to have distanced herself from the Black Panthers. I appreciate all the "clueless" moments in this show too- like Dean not understanding why his grandfather carries around wads of cash, and his white friends making casual suggestions about Dean moving to another part of town. They get the point across without beating the audience over the head.

Yes! I'm so happy about the return of school nerd Becky and I hope it lasts. Agree with all the comments about how awkward Ben's presence is in the Conner house. I especially didn't like how nasty Darlene was being to him. She doesn't have to like him or be around him, but the constant snide comments are really immature. It sucks that he didn't want to marry her, but it's hardly a crime. It's not like he cheated on her for months, and constantly lied to her. Oh wait, that was her. I must be getting old, because Mark and Logan look so much younger to me than Becky and Darlene did at their age. That whole story line creeped me out because they look like babies.

It's one of Matt Berry's own songs. I've been listening to his albums all month, and I recognized it immediately. I love his music! This was a great finale, and I can't wait until next season. I'm curious to see how long they're going to be separate before coming back together. I hope it's not too long, since they're definitely strongest when they're together.

No idea. They go through the puzzle solving stuff very quickly. This show is really going off the rails for me, especially with the whole "breathing can heal bullet wounds" thing. And I had to laugh at Langdon running around "DC" with "Welcome to Toronto" signs right behind him.

I thought they renovated the Lunchbox, but it looks just as crappy as ever. And it certainly doesn't look like a sports bar.

I thought he said that he was from the Black Forest region in the first episode, but I could be wrong.

Speaking of the IT Crowd, Kayvon absolutely got his aerobic dance moves from Matt Berry's character on that show. I thought of this scene immediately when Nandor's pelvic thrusting began: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKdBSWJJMhI

No, he's definitely younger. When he was first introduced he and Louise were reminiscing about him having a crush on Jackie when she was a cop and he was a kid. It was a little weird.