wonderwoman

There's an old Boston joke that 'GBH stood for "God Bless Harvard."

More media love for CTM: Emily Nussbaum in The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/call-the-midwife-a-primal-procedural And Jeanette Catsoulis at The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/arts/television/call-the-midwife-deserves-more-respect-for-its-depth-and-daring.html

Don't know about oxymoron. How about redundant?

Nice piece on Constance Zimmer in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/arts/television/on-unreal-constance-zimmer-leans-in-to-darkness.html?hpw&rref=television&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

While there was plenty of subtext to mine in that scene, I didn't find it shocking, and I didn't think her son was cavalier. As he said, she was 87 and had been ill, so for him, there was no reason to suspect anything untoward.

My impression was that Elizabeth wasn't a regular GH viewer, so it may not have been clear in that episode that Grant was a spy. But, I did love Paige's line, "It's not logical, it's emotional." And meta is always fun.

Of course, sometimes you can tell, even if you don't know. One example: I have no doubt that when Dirty Sext Money, returned after the writers' strike, ABC inserted themselves and completely destroyed the show. And sometimes you do know: the CW allowed Life Unexpected a second season only if creator/showrunner, Liz Tiegler,, agreed to the network's "suggestions," which, of course, were a disaster and the show never made to season. Difference is, Tiegler told everyone who would listen that all of the changes the viewers so hated were forced upon her by the CW.

Thinking back to your original post, this scene clearly stirred up some deep emotions for you. I, however, loved that the scene was included; when the bride voice her emotions, which I never saw as anything resembing a complaint, it became one of the deeply resonate, bittersweet moments that makes Call the Midwife such a special show.

Exactly! And, I never got any sense that she wasn't grateful for the kindness extended to her. As I said in my original post: her life had taken an unexpected turn, things were happening quickly, so, yes, JudyObscure, she was more than "entitled" to wonder if she would "feel like a bride."

I loved the idea of Sister Evangelina's dress being put to such good use. And re "But, will I feel like a bride," I didn't take that as complaining or whining, just a expression of what she grew up expecting: to be married in a white gown. Yet here she was: pregnant, thousands of miles from home, no family except of the mother-in-law she only just met. I found it wistful, and, yes, a bit touching

According to Soap Opera Digest, Trent Dawson is heading to GH for a short-term gig. Wished ATWT had made better use of his talents (hated Henry as a Stenbeck, and despite his and Colleen Zenk's best effort, I never bought Barbara and Henry), but it will be nice to see him again. http://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/atwt-alum-trent-dawson-joins-gh

Okay, bear with me here because I may well have forgotten something. But, while we know Stan should suspect P&E, I'm having a hard time recalling anything that's happened that suggests he should know.

And a new lab coat, or he could wash the one he's wearing. No idea why his is that dingy gray rather then white, but I find it so distracting.

i actually like the peek we get at the investigators' lives (looking forward to Vega and the ME who used to be on All My Children. And someone please remind me what's ailing Vega. I know it must be something major, but I can't recall the particulars), but I really hate this continuing case. They tried it a few years ago on Without a Trace, and I hated it then, as well. Totally disrupts the flow of the case of the week. So here's the rule of thumb for procedurals: only one case a week, but okay for relationship arcs for the characters.

Over at Slate, Willa Paskin, perfectly sums up my feelings, as I expect those of others, about the show: "Nashville was always showing glimmers of promise. It was not just a bad show—it was a bad show with a good show lurking inside of it " http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/05/13/nashville_has_been_canceled_and_the_middling_primetime_soap_opera_will_be.html

Which is why I think it's likely that Hayden's decision might well have been a major factor in ABC's decision to cancel. As others have noted, her absence left a big hole in the storytelling this season. The prospect of writing around Juliette for next season, even with Zwick and Herskowitz at the helm, may have seemed not worth the risk, so ABC bit the bullet and cancelled. So sad for Hayden though. I remember her as little Lizzy Spaulding on Guiding Light, years ago.

Totally bummed about this. Could be frothy, to be sure, but solidly grounded in emotional authenticity. Will miss this one for sure.

Me too. Oh well, with The Good Wife and Nashville gone, that frees up a couple of hours for the new season. Of course, being a soap fan, I've seen more than my fair share of writing teams try to clean up the mess they inherited, and it's never a pretty sight. But, I love the shows Zwick and Herskowitz created, while Nashville had indeed become a hot mess, there was still a lot of potential. Shame we won't get to see it.

I had just been discussing the finale with some friends: "Because the writers never fully developed relationship among the secondary characters (who, much of the time were at least as interesting, if not more so, than Alicia), when Alicia's journey began to pull her away from the center -- in particular, her campaign for state's attorney -- the show became fragmented and disconnected. this happened to some extent on Mad Men, but because their season was so much shorter (MM 13 episodes vs 22 for tgw), viewers didn't have as long to stew about it." when I came across Matt Stoller Seitz's observation at Vulture: "If Alicia could time-warp into Mad Men’s universe, Don Draper might propose to her." Now, that's a show I might watch, but only if it had fascinating supporting characters portrayed by an outstanding ensemble cast:) http://www.vulture.com/2016/05/the-good-wife-was-a-great-show.html

I'm in Boston, and shortly after the first break, the network broke in to broadcast a NBA playoff game because a game on TNT was running late. So, I'll have to wait until Friday, because I simply do not have to patience not to be able to ff through the commercials, which leaves out online and on-demand. Did this happen to anyone else?

Took you that long:)?

This is the kind of insightful writing that won Emily Nussbaum a Pulitzer this year: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/goodbye-to-the-good-wife

I clicked on this link several times, but the text blurs into something completely unreadable? Any one else having this problem?

I so want this show to knock him down a few pegs - not incinerate his character or anything but make him behave like an actual human - our PC here has made his share of gaffes, he's not perfect (not by a long shot) but this placing Frank on such a pedestal is just stupid and insulting to the intelligence of viewers - (in my opinion, anyway) - And mine, as well. And, as for Danny....

Todd VanDerWerff over at Vox shares his thoughts about when and why The Good Wife started to fall apart. Here's the basic thrust of his argument: "almost all of its important relationships involved Alicia." and unlike Mad Men, which was able to "occasionally build out its supporting relationships to the degree that the protagonist can remain largely absent for several episodes and not be missed." the departures of Will and Kalinda "created large holes the show just couldn't fill, no matter how it tried. I actually think that the best part of The Good Wife is its strong ensemble cast. Had the writers devoted more time to more fully developing some of those secondary relationships, the show would have been far more cohesive that it was in its final years, as Alicia pulled away from the center. http://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11604840/the-good-wife-finale-will