shapeshifter

Was there some reason the counseling wouldn't be covered as part his mental health insurance through the university? I can only guess that the outrageous money and cost distortions are supposed to be jokes.

Heh, I don't think that would get worked out for several decades. I remember my Dad saying how terrible it was to see a woman with her hair in curlers. And my mom never knew the whole picture of their finances.

So did "Red" just kill Kasey (was that her name?) and (I think) Kasey's brother-in-law? And Kasy's psycho-kidnapper sister didn't get killed or prosecuted for kidnapping because she just wasn't there? Some criminals have all the luck.

I guess that would in part depend upon 1) when in the show's universe the next presidential election is, and 2) how many more seasons they want. Based on these kinds of boards, I'm under the impression that most TV show actors' contracts go for 7 years, and so do most shows. Could they spread out the election campaign stuff over 3 and a half more seasons In such a way that anyone would want to watch? I'd prefer either the reboot of "Madam President," or, even better, have her maybe not run and stay as SoS for the new administration. It could be interesting to see her working with political adversaries like Senator Asshole.

Rachel Brosnahan's Golden Globe acceptance speech:

Was it ever explained how "Red" even found the already-kidnapped-Lake in order to re-kidnap her?

At last a pilot for which I don't feel I have to make excuses of it being a pilot! J.K. Simmons, so, why not? And JKS playing two distinct roles = totally worth watching. Reminiscent of Fringe, yes, but also the cancelled-too-soon Rubicon, and the opening credit video art reminded me of that of the excellently done but also cancelled-too-soon Manhattan, and then who should pop up in recognizable form in the last scene but Olivia Williams as Emily, who had a similar role in Manhattan. And then Richard Schiff, whose character in Manhattan was aptly and intriguingly named Occam, and who makes everything better, appears in the previews for later episodes. I hope they continue to develop the thoughtful, thought provoking, what-is-the-meaning-of-life writing and not spend too much time on the action sequences. I'm a time of life and have lived experiences that make this all relevant to me, but I am also not a popular target demographic. But that's okay. Just give me one good season.

Each episode should've begun with a warning text: Viewers advised to engage in ironing or other meaningful activity while watching. When "Red" parked the car at the top of the bluff, got out of the car, and ordered the now uncuffed Jane to get out, the Jane we had come to know would have slid over into the driver's seat and somehow* stared the car and driven off. But then they would've needed at least another episode to wrap it up, so, thankfully that didn't happen. *the keys would have been left in the ignition, or it would have been product placement for a push button starting car, or it would have been a manual transmission that she could've put it in neutral and been able to roll downhill until the engine was turning enough to pop the clutch and vroom off.

LOL! Am I a terrible person for being unable to stop laughing at this post?

ION has just started running CSI marathons on Fridays. They started with season 6. Was this show always so gross? I remembered filler montages of pretty colored test tubes and rock music. But the 2 episodes I turned on today had a family of real werewolves and a corpse wearing the eyeball of a homeless (and now one-eyed) guy with a lobotomy. I will miss L&O marathons on Friday.

Yeah... Looks good next week though! So maybe this week was a wig or extensions?

A college student comes into the station concerned for the safety of his or her recently retired grandmother, who has taken up as a "hobby" researching a man who raped the grandmother 40+ years ago when the grandmother was hitchhiking, but the rapist was never even taken into custody because he claimed she was a prostitute. The grandmother has always believed (rightly, as it turns out) that this was not the rapist's first or last attack, and that in this age of social media it should now be possible to locate both him and his other victims. The college student's fears turn out to be largely unfounded, as the rapist is now in his 80s and has suffered from erectile dysfunction for 15+ years. However, one of his victims committed suicide because of the rape, and the grandmother manages to convince Barba to try him for something like accessory to murder (or some more legally plausible charge) sine the statute of limitations has run out for the literally hundreds of raped hitchhikers.

Yes, but, as Sheldon would opine, I suppose that would have destroyed any pretense of it being a controlled experiment.

I wish the writers had thought of this!

There was a bit of dialogue in which Raj made fun of Howard, and Howard kind of awkwardly rolled with it. It's almost like maybe Raj's recent meltdown over Howard's emotional abuse of Raj was based on Kunal Nayyar being fed up IRL with his character's being belittled, and Simon Helberg is reacting to that rather than just having his character react. But, then again, Simon Helberg is, IMO, always the professional actor, so maybe Simon's just giving Howard a little character adjustment post the Raj-and-Howard-kerfuffle.

Rachel Broshanan did not disappoint—except that it seemed to end a little abruptly? Maybe because 50 Cent and SC's riffing off each other went a little longer than expected?

—probably didn't have time between Mommy's work, Grandma's outings, and bedtime rituals. Was it just coincidental that Mariska and Brooke looked so much alike? I'm sure they would have the same on-set stylist, but was Brooke Sheilds in part cast because she was the same age and phenotype, and, if so, what was the point? Was Sheila supposed to be Olivia's evil twin or alter ego?

Rachel Brosnahan is on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in about 20 minutes or on YouTube later.

Amanda's slapping the guy is problematic in so many ways. Let me count them: It implies it's okay because of her gender, which is a bundle of issues in and of itself waiting to be unpacked. The guy who got slapped is a victim of Sheila (as we have heard Olivia say about others countless times). The guy who got slapped is a "stranger in a strange land," and, like the character from that novel, he is sacrificed for the shortcomings of others. The main purpose of the slapping was to terrorize his daughter into giving information —which is a form of torture, and which primarily yields false information since the victim will make up information to make it stop. Feel free to add more to the list. Her dead mother was not her actual mother, so Benson finds out she is a child of rape once removed sending her world reeling? Or perhaps discovers that she is actually a twin? Maybe amnesia? This show really has gone full-on soap, hasn't it? Like maybe Rafi and Olivia can't ever consummate their unrequited love because they're really half-siblings.

That scene should be seen by all acting students, IMO.

Finally! What does it take for Spy Daddy and Spy Mommy to figure this out? A plot by a Russian assasin? Oh. Yeah. I guess it does.

Thanks. Only if you want to, @Xeliou66, you can probably make this look like the other episode threads by following these steps: In your first post, click on the pencil (edit) icon. Under Episode Topic, tap/click/slide (depending upon your device) to change it to an Episode Topic. Remove the season and episode numbers from the title field, and enter them in the fields that have now appeared for them (they will look right after you are done). Click the Episode Air Date and select the date that comes up if you do it tonight, or, if tomorrow or later, just be sure to select January 3. At the bottom, click the Edit Topic button. So this was why they introduced Sheila? I guess we should've seen it coming. Not realistic, in my opinion, but probably better than either realistic continuing family drama or saccharine relationships. (I'm assuming Brook Sheilds is moving on to other projects.) Why didn't Olivia tell Noah that Grandma was sick? I guess maybe "she did a bad thing" is a better object lesson in being responsible for one's actions and choices? Wow. Way to throw the new immigrant under the bus, Show.

No, I haven't seen the show at all. So please do tell us all about how car radios were featured in the plot—although I bet if it's not the battery getting drained, it's either the blaring noise of the still-on radio foiling the getaway, or a nostalgic song makes someone take action, or the announcement of a serial murderer on the loose causes an exchange of looks between the two people in the car that conveys I-now-know-that-you-know-that-I-know (which is most likely something that Only Happens On TV).

It was a discussion about whether or not you shut off your car radio before turning off the car. The reason to turn your car radio off before turning off your car is so that when you next start the car, the battery isn't also draining into the radio. Did I get that right, @ganesh? ETA: IIRC, this first came up with either "Only On TV do people turn off their car radios when they turn off the car," or, possibly, "Only On TV do people leave their car radios on when they turn off the car." —Which might have been a corollary to some other thing people only do or do not do on TV when turning off their cars, like turning off the heat or air conditioning. I do wonder whether it is only on TV that when the spouse (usually the husband) finds the the victim dead by means of a weapon that causes a lot of bleeding, and the spouse calls 911, the detectives on the scene will immediately assume the blood got transferred to the spouse's clothing in the course of the spouse killing the victim, rather than touching the victim to determine if s/he is dead, or to try to revive the victim, or to hold the victim and sob. Also, is it only on TV that it is very difficult to determine how the blood was transferred?

Hee.