beadgirl

Jane IS a hopeless dope. I wish she'd commit to something, develop a plan for her future. The model had a career and a commitment to civil rights, the French woman has a career and a life philosophy, Trewlove is great (although if she sacrifices her job for Fancy I will be irate), heck even Win appears to be content with her life choices (ballroom dancing! I love it) even if it's not something Joan wants. So what does Joan want? So rare to see Morse happy! Although he was crushed to see whatshername didn't think their relationship was anything other than a fun diversion. I swear, British mystery shows have done more than anything else to make me hate the aristocracy.

And the fact that he was dressing down a violent man twice his size and half (or less) his age didn't phase him at all. I'm quite pleased they've developed his character beyond Season One's hidebound relic who doesn't understand more progressive policing. I too think Joan was trying to signal to Morse with the French woman set-up that she's not interested in a romantic relationship. Which is fine -- even if they did get together, we all know it would be doomed -- but I do wish they'd move her character beyond love interest/doesn't want to be like her mom. So what does she want to be? Let's see a little of that. Ok, so clearly they are setting up Trewlove and Fancy, which I'm not thrilled about, but at least he's a lot more humble and respectful with her than their first meeting. If they do pair up permanently, I dearly hope it doesn't affect Trewlove's career.

This episode cemented for me why I think it's the best modern portrayal of Sherlock -- the writers aren't afraid to let him be wrong sometimes, and let him admit it.* I especially like that it involved emotional growth and the concept of forgiveness. And having Mycroft be already dead, as sad as it was, kept the whole thing from becoming too facile and tidy. *See also: the episode where he came up with an overly-elaborate plan to get some information from a criminal, and it backfired (offscreen) and he got arrested. I laughed hard when he mumbled what happened to Watson.

I loved reading about the dos and don'ts for various movies and books series. The "subtle" attempt at excluding Catholics, though -- I'd be offended if it weren't so stupid. Although now I want to submit a book proposal to that company where the female protagonist has an uncle/mentor/confessor/whatever who's an actual priest and see what they'd say. I'm avoiding the heat by watching the HMM Christmas movies in my air-conditioned living room (... and stitching a Star Wars sampler). Maggie's Christmas Miracle is surprisingly well well-written and has some naturalistic dialogue, even if it's filled with cliches, probably because it's based on an actual novel (is there karaoke in the book???). I'm not ready for the Christmas onslaught, however, and I wish they would do some Halloween movies, especially ones with a bit of spookiness and magic. I know there are Christians who think all things Halloween are evil, but I believe they are only a minority.

Normally I avoid the Serena episodes, but I caught the last few minutes of Equal Rights (the brother-in-law of an abused woman kills her husband) which was a mistake. I wanted smack Serena (hah) when she started spouting off about how if a guy hit her, she'd hit him back, she'd never accept abuse in a relationship, and saying that women might have a hard time leaving an abuser is infantilizing them. Way back in my lawyerly days I volunteered with domestic violence victims, and: fuck you, Serena. Is she seriously ignorant of the psychological abuse, manipulation, and isolation abusers can inflict on their spouses that makes it so much harder for them to leave? Is she unaware that the most dangerous time for an abused spouse is when she is leaving/has left? Gah, she is TERRIBLE.

I'm cautiously optimistic that they won't drag the Michael storyline too long (not past the season, at least), and he won't become a ridiculously overpowered supervillain. Joan said the hospital tests showed Sherlock's tiredness had developed into clinical exhaustion (or whatever fancy medical words she used), so I can buy him being simply too worn out to adequately pursue Michael. I hope to see Sherlock get some real rest in Vermont (I don't think Michael is there), handle some normal case-of-the-week uh, cases, and then when Michael comes back he's all refreshed and ready to outwit him. I also hope Joan destroys that heroin. I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this, and I decided that they took a picture of the earrings (which I think they showed to the store owner) and did a google image search of that picture which led to an image of the earrings on the store's website. Or maybe the artist's website, and she told them what store she sold/consigned them to.

I think it's just general Hollywood pressure to be as thin as possible, even though that's not actually a good look for some people. This show is still pretty bland, but it's so far better than last season. Abigail's line "I'm not going to call you Dr. Romance" got an actual laugh out of me. I'm going to pretend that if she doesn't explicitly say no charge, she sends bills for all the stuff she gives people. Like I pretend that she has an army of housekeepers, groundskeepers, bookkeepers, and cooks helping her run the inn who are always outside the frame of the camera.

Aw, that was really sweet! When this show tries, it can be really funny and really moving.

Yes. I'm really not happy with this development, despite how much I adored Michael. I just don't see how this works if this really is him -- having him have had amnesia just seems like a terribly cruel thing to do to both of them. Having him knowingly stay away is even worse. And having them not be in love going forward (because despite my preference for Michael, I've always expected Rafael to be end-game) seems like such a sad, depressing way to end their relationship. The show hasn't been the same for me since Michael was killed, but this doesn't make it better.

And good for Penny for standing up for herself and not falling for his guilt trip! Between this and the inversion where we think Amy's going to attack Denise in one way or another, but instead she asks to be taught about comics, this episode was surprisingly feminist. I hope Stuart continues to have success. Now that Penny and Leonard are married, surely the writers can stop worrying we'll think original-Stuart is a better match. It was odd (etiquette at subway and train stations is to start at the ends first then fill in the middle, for example), but I'm sure it was done solely to emphasize Sheldon's discomfort with sharing a sofa with a stranger).

This show is so good and so well done, and yet I'm not enjoying watching Seattle descend into a dystopia. It's just too stressful. I really like what they're doing with Chase, particularly the way they show him making hard (and sometimes terrible/evil). I like how good the actor is at depicting his internal struggles. I like that his apology to Ravi was genuine and quiet. The writers could have taken the easy way out with him, but they haven't and the show is better for it. Renegade had to die for storytelling purposes, but I really want Jaleesa back on my tv. Why are none of the "good" guys focusing on a vaccine or a cure??? That should be priority number 1, given the difficulty in controlling the zombie population growth and the food supply.

But he comes with two hours of Jewel. It's a dilemma.

It's making me hungry for twizzlers.

This was good! I like the take -- not an origin story, but a hero coming out of retirement. The younger daughter I found kind of annoying and bratty, but maybe she'll improve. And while I'm theoretically glad they showed the encounters with the police, because it's important and true, I also find such scenes stressful and infuriating, so for my own selfish reasons I hope there aren't too many of them. But I will continue to call him Supervolt. (yes, I know this was Black Vulcan, but that's because they couldn't get the rights to Black Lightning.)

The excellence of this episode was clinched for me with Louise's makeover. Nat absolutely needs to become a regular. But I think she'd completely overwhelm poor Teddy. This show is so good!

Brooke Shields's character was a former lawyer, though, and her love interest was a former cop? ex-military? Something like that. So between them they had the skills to investigate crime and/or take out the bad guys. That said, I didn't find that series particularly strong or memorable, and only watched because I liked the actors. I hope there's more of the Gourmet Detective; I enjoy that one. And I'd be in favor of another Murder She Baked, as long as they kept her relationship with the detective permanent. The crossword mystery sounds intriguing. I have to hand it to Will Shortz; between this and his hand in a great Simpsons episode, he's bringing puzzles into pop culture.

They've also fleshed him out from your standard rich, white, MBA/JD dudebro. Giving him daddy issues, especially daddy issues expressed in silly ways, has gone a long way towards making me like him. And then the stuff with his mom was just heartbreaking. I want him and his mom to dump the dad.

So the titles now have someone other than Josh's name in them. I wonder if the sign that Rebecca is finally in a healthy, content place is when the titles don't refer to men at all.

I watched Angry Angel last night, and wow was that different from most Christmas movies -- in a good way. I mean, the theology was insane (humans become angels? Being an angel is a punishment?), but I liked that Pyke learned a lesson other than "small town good, big city bad" or "true fulfillment comes with a boyfriend for Christmas." Brenda Song was a good actor, too, playing both bitchy and grief-stricken equally well. Plus, diversity!

Ooh, I'd love it if the Good Witch writer turned it into a book, with actual magic and stuff. I wonder if he/she retained any rights at all in the property?

Ok, I'm getting into the Christmas spirit and I've started watching the movies. And I have a general complaint -- what is it with female characters who on a snowy Christmas Eve in a cold climate are wearing short little sleeveless dresses? Who does that? How are they not freezing? I get cold just looking at them. I know, I know, according to Hollywood more bare skin = prettier, but sheesh -- put a cardigan on!

That was delightful, thank you!

Well, thanks to everyone talking it up I've finally relented and set my DVR to record A Crown for Christmas. I generally don't find royalty appealing at all, in fiction or real life, but since you all can't stop praising it .... However, I won't be watching it until Advent starts, so I'll have to wait to give my opinion. Ha, yes -- that's a great one! He's also lots of fun on Legends of Tomorrow.

I refuse to watch Christmas movies before Advent (except for Nightmare before Christmas, ha), but I appreciate all the discussions -- it's helping me decide which ones to tape (er, DVR -- showing my age). I'm disappointed i missed Darrow & Darrow, especially because I adore Tom Cavanagh; I assume they won't be re-airing it until the new year? And in other non-Christmas talk, I finally watched The Perfect Catch (had to wait until baseball season was over). The baseball, of course, wasn't very realistic, including the fact that the male lead was on the small side for a pitcher. And when she started the food truck, I thought it would be kind of cool if that turned out to be the solution to her financial woes -- sell the diner and continue her grandfather's legacy with the truck, a trendy yet practical move. But I guess that would not have been enough of a happy ending. Still, a pleasant movie.

They're like the Autumn equivalent of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I watched the first Inn movie, and it was ok, but it doesn't sound like the sequel is worth it. As for the realism of running an inn, that's what drives me bonkers about the Good Witch tv series -- unless she's sending her laundry out and hiring lots of invisible cleaners and cooks, there's no way she's running an inn with just her step-father-in-law, let alone a store, too. I just can't watch the Nancy Grace movies; I dislike her too much.