Dejana

I was wondering if I'd missed some sort of rapid aging with Karen, because no one was mentioning that she was underage in the tape until Olivia reminded those parents they could be charged as sex offenders over it. I am just tired of Liv's love triangle and all things B613.

Ellen's show is syndicated. Didn't Kimmel host the Emmys last year? I don't remember the reviews being stellar. He's great with the post show. Kevin Spacey appeared on it this year and expressed interest in Oscar hosting. That would be different, at least. NPH is in Gone Girl, so he might have some fun with that. Whoever hosts or produces, there will be montages. The studios insist on their inclusion because it's a way for them to advertise their back catalogs during such a highly-rated telecast.

Didn't Coldplay get something like 3.5-4 songs the night Amy had her baby? It was 2008, Jon Hamm's first time hosting. There was some last-minute juggling in other areas, too, since Amy had been scheduled to take part in the show that week. I think they threw the Black Eyed Peas out there for an extra song during the January Jones disaster.

IIRC, Fitz leaked Liv's name after Mellie went public about Fitz being unfaithful to her. The media were camped outside her building (part of a season finale cliffhanger) but Liv managed to shift attention to that staffer. Because no POTUS, especially one known for being involved with an intern (one of the first "scandals", in S1, Fitz turned to her for "solace" after Liv quit her White House job), could ever have more than one mistress at a time. After JFK and Jackie's baby died, she had a bad time of it for a while and eventually took a trip abroad to get away for a few weeks (on her future husband's yacht-her sister was the one "friendly" with him at the time and invited her along, plus another ambassador and his wife were there, too, to minimize the bad PR). The Kennedys were more jet set than the Grants seem to be, and maybe the writers are going more in a Mary Todd Lincoln direction with her grief, but if Mellie had gotten out of DC, even spent time with friends and family, I doubt it would've been that scandalous. If Fitz seemed to be falling apart publicly, people might say she abandoned him, but the media weren't saying he wasn't holding it together.

Box Office Mojo is back up! Not sure if it was mere technical difficulties (though they usually don't inspire hours/days radio silence from site runners) or if a scheme to put BOM's data behind the IMDb Pro paywall was walked back after negative feedback from the industry (unlike the time IMDb nuked BOM's forums and blocked them from the Internet Archive, the entertainment media actually noticed this move). BoxOffice.com and the-numbers.com also have years of box office info in case BOM disappears on everyone again. Box Office Guru has been around even longer than Mojo; its archives consist of weekend box office write-ups that go back to mid-1997. Not so great for comparing pure numbers, but unbeatable time-capsule reactions back to the days when the $100M weekend seemed impossible and people thought Titanic would be lucky to break even. October 10–12, 2014 Estimates: 1 (1) Gone Girl, $26,800,000 | 3,284 Theaters | $8,161 Avg. | $78,281,190 2 (N) Dracula Untold, $23,457,000 | 2,887 Theaters | $8,125 Avg. | $23,457,000 3 (N) Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, $19,100,000 | 3,088 Theaters | $6,185 Avg. | $19,100,000 4 (2) Annabelle, $16,365,000 | 3,215 Theaters | $5,090 Avg. | $62,155,572 5 (N) The Judge, $13,330,000 | 3,003 Theaters | $4,439 Avg. | $13,330,000 6 (3) The Equalizer, $9,725,000 | 3,117 Theaters | $3,120 Avg. | $79,885,373 7 (N) Addicted, $7,600,000 | 846 Theaters | $8,983 Avg.| $7,600,000 8 (5) The Maze Runner, $7,500,000 | 3,072 Theaters | $2,441 Avg. | $83,839,821 9 (4) The Boxtrolls, $6,676,000 | 3,270 Theaters | $2,042 Avg. | $41,032,412 10 (6) Left Behind (2014), $2,909,000 | 1,887 Theaters | $1,542 Avg. | $10,919,872 Outside the Top 10: Meet the Mormons, $2,700,000 | 317 Theaters | $8,517 Avg. | $2,700,000 This is Where I Leave You, $1,645,000 | 1,511 Theaters | $1,089 Avg. | $32,116,000 No Good Deed, $990,000 | 801 Theaters | $1,236 Avg. | $51,766,483 Kill the Messenger, $939,000 | 374 Theaters | $2,511 Avg. | $939,000 The Good Lie, $550,000 | 461 Theaters | $1,193 Avg. | $1,702,723 The Skeleton Twins, $430,550 | 268 Theaters | $1,607 Avg. | $4,234,611 Pride (2014), $230,000 | 97 Theaters | $2,371 Avg. | $481,649 Breakup Buddies, $195,000 | 24 Theaters | $8,125 Avg. | $535,000 Whiplash, $143,503 | 6 Theaters | $23,917 Avg. | $143,503 St. Vincent, $121,054 | 4 Theaters | $30,264 Avg. | $121,054 One Chance, $32,800 | 43 Theaters | $763 Avg. | $32,800 Christian Mingle, $20,500 | 15 Theaters | $1,367 Avg. | $20,500 Global Totals: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: $361M Overseas Total | $687M Global Total LUCY: $286.2M Overseas Total | $412.3M Global Total TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: $164.5M Overseas Total | $353.5M Global Total HERCULES: $154.1M Overseas Total | $226.7M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER: $140.4M Overseas Total | $224.2M Global Total GONE GIRL: $63.2M Overseas Total | $141.4M Global Total THE EQUALIZER: $57.1M Overseas Total | $137M Global Total ANNABELLE: $60.3M Overseas Total | $122.4M Global Total LET'S BE COPS: $30.8M Overseas Total | $112.2M Global Total DRACULA UNTOLD: $62.6M Overseas Total | $86.1M Global Total THE BOXTROLLS: $31.8M Overseas Total | $72.8M Global Total

It's not like the Duggars are alone in referring to the sex of a child as its gender. I've never heard of them being called "sex reveal parties"...not to agree with that sort of squeamishness, but it's not strictly some weird Duggarism/Gothard thing like working out in jeans.

I really can't hold it against Mellie or Fitz not spending time with their older kids when IMO it's more of a product of them being characters on a TV show where TPTB had almost zero interest in writing about children for 95 percent of the show's run. It's not like Jerry and Karen were regular onscreen characters the whole time and Mellie ignored them to get drunk and get her hair done. They were just off in boarding school (when IRL, you'd probably have to go back to Coolidge or something, to find kids of a sitting POTUS who attended boarding school--presidents get flack for sending their kids to private day schools, boarding school would be viewed as wildly elitist) because Shonda probably thought kids would be a buzzkill. It's like how TV characters are hardly ever concerned about their toddlers never talking and having to be carried everywhere, not because they're ignoring developmental issues, but because it's way easier to film with three year olds that way.

A close race for the top two that might switch with the actual numbers. October 3–5, 2014 Estimates: 1 (N) Gone Girl, $38,000,000 | 3,014 Theaters | $12,608 Avg. | $38,000,000 2 (N) Annabelle, $37,200,000 | 3,185 Theaters | $11,680 Avg. | $37,200,000 3 (1) The Equalizer, $19,000,000 | 3,236 Theaters | $5,871 Avg. | $64,500,000 4 (3) The Boxtrolls, $12,425,000 | 3,464 Theaters | $3,587 Avg. | $32,539,000 5 (2) The Maze Runner, $12,000,000 | 3,605 Theaters | $3,329 Avg. | $73,921,000 6 (N) Left Behind (2014), $6,850,000 | 1,825 Theaters | $3,753 Avg. | $6,850,000 7 (4) This is Where I Leave You, $4,000,000 | 2,735 Theaters | $1,463 Avg. | $29,003,000 8 (5) Dolphin Tale 2, $3,530,000 | 2,790 Theaters | $1,265 Avg. | $37,974,000 9 (8) Guardians of the Galaxy, $3,034,000 | 1,894 Theaters | $1,602 Avg. | $323,360,000 10 (6) No Good Deed, $2,500,000 | 1,580 Theaters | $1,582 Avg. | $50,157,000 Outside the Top 10: Bang Bang, $1,215,000 | 271 Theaters | $4,483 Avg. | $1,386,000 The Good Lie, $935,000 | 461 Theaters | $2,028 Avg. | $935,000 Let's Be Cops, $735,000 | 781 Theaters | $941 Avg. | $80,879,000 The Skeleton Twins, $734,000 | 461 Theaters | $1,592 Avg. | $3,533,000 My Old Lady, $482,000 | 263 Theaters | $1,833 Avg. | $2,225,000 The Drop, $260,000 | 429 Theaters | $606 Avg. | $10,384,000 Love is Strange, $121,000 | 134 Theaters | $903 Avg. | $2,034,000 Men, Women & Children, $48,000 | 17 Theaters | $2,824 Avg. | $61,000 Global Totals: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: $330.4M Overseas Total | $653.8M Global Total LUCY: $280.5M Overseas Total | $406.3M Global Total TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: $160.8M Overseas Total | $349.1M Global Total HERCULES: $153.3M Overseas Total | $225.8M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER: $101.6M Overseas Total | $175.5M Global Total THE EQUALIZER: $39.6M Overseas Total | $104M Global Total THE BOXTROLLS: $26M Overseas Total | $58.5M Global Total DRACULA UNTOLD: $21M Overseas/Global Total (25 Territories)

Premiere receives huge DVR boost:

I thought the emphasis there was about making it clear to Mac that people aren't "supposed" to have babies (or sex) until they are married, so they were just laying the groundwork for the abstinence lessons they'll drum into the kids' heads later down the road.

Did one of the pop-ups really say that combined, the Duggar children have more than two million strands of hair? Seriously, show? All reality producers need to study this season as an exercise in plumbing the depths of filler.

Here's the cover for those who haven't seen it.

In America at least, tampons were commercially available by the 1930s, but I don't know the UK and if the war had any impact. In the books, Claire doesn't really mention that as one of things she'll miss about the twentieth century, and there are recurrent mentions of how she's lived without running water or electricity at various points in her life. I think it was in The Outlandish Companion that Diana Gabaldon discussed some of her reasoning for making Claire from the 1940s, so that when she went back in time, there would be a clear difference in the two worlds, but she would be able to adapt. If she'd been a 27-year-old English woman from 1990, it might have been a different story. Also, she knew she wanted the story to jump forward some decades without having to set the story in the future (given that the first book was published in 1991).

During the Scottish independence campaign, when William and Kate announced they were expecting again, Scotland's First Minister congratulated them using their Scottish titles. The commentators over there accused him of playing politics because they are rarely referred to that way, but as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Admittedly, things might have been different back then, but it would be natural for two English people to default to the English reference first, I would think.

There's some upset about Roger or rather book fans noting his presence which sort of alerts non-book fans to the idea that maybe this isn't some random kid who will never be seen again, and they're considering that too much of a spoiler. While others say the camera lingered on him too long and mentioned his name twice and that's enough of a sign to know he'll have a bigger role down the line. I'm wondering if it would have made a difference if he'd been introduced as he was in the books: before Claire went through the stones, and someone she and Frank discuss in reference to their fertility woes, with Claire considering adoption, while genealogist Frank doesn't think he has it in him to bring up a child not of his blood (oh, if only he knew). I guess people still would've been squeeing about wee Roger, but it would've had the side effect of painting Frank with an attitude about adoption that wouldn't sit well with contemporary viewers. In later seasons he clearly comes around, but non-book fans wouldn't have known that right away and maybe it would've made him slightly less likable to some. As for the strapping scene, it could be written so that the men demand to witness it, to ensure that Jamie actually goes through with meting out "proper" punishment and not be swayed by Claire's "feminine wiles". Frame it so that Jamie's upset to have to go through with this, because it leaves Claire humiliated (remember his gallantry to take Laoghaire's blows for her). Then, you might have book fans bothered that he's let off the hook, and non-book people will still be wondering why the domestic violence angle was introduced at all. Even so, the show's been getting a lot of press from TV writers about how it captures the female gaze and is so feminist, and I suspect a lot of that is going to go up in smoke if the show portrays Claire staying with the wife beater who's all jokey about it. The whole thing's already been filmed, so we'll just have to wait and see how it's done, but I'm bracing myself for the fallout.

September 26–28, 2014 Estimates: 1 (N) The Equalizer, $35,000,000 | 3,236 Theaters | $10,816 Avg. | $35,000,000 2 (1) The Maze Runner, $17,500,000 | 3,638 Theaters | $4,810 Avg. | $58,018,000 3 (N) The Boxtrolls, $17,250,000 | 3,464 Theaters | $4,980 Avg. | $17,250,000 4 (3) This is Where I Leave You, $7,010,000 | 2,868 Theaters | $2,444 Avg. | $22,557,000 5 (5) Dolphin Tale 2, $4,835,000 | 3,376 Theaters | $1,432 Avg. | $33,665,000 6 (4) No Good Deed, $4,600,000 | 2,130 Theaters | $2,160 Avg. | $46,623,000 7 (2) A Walk Among the Tombstones, $4,234,000 | 2,714 Theaters | $1,560 Avg. | $20,871,000 8 (6) Guardians of the Galaxy, $3,789,000 | 2,451 Theaters | $1,546 Avg. | $319,192,000 9 (7) Let's Be Cops, $1,515,000 | 1,534 Theaters | $988 Avg. | $79,628,000 10 (8) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), $1,450,000 | 1,585 Theaters | $915 Avg. | $187,182,000 Outside the Top 10: The Skeleton Twins, $1,262,000 | 385 Theaters | $3,278 Avg. | $2,354,000 The Song, $600,000 | 340 Theaters | $1,765 Avg. | $600,000 My Old Lady, $568,000 | 255 Theaters | $2,227 Avg. | $1,473,000 Mas Negro Que La Noche, $550,000 | 178 Theaters | $3,090 Avg. | $550,000 Lucy, $368,000 | 488 Theaters | $754 Avg. | $125,478,000 Boyhood, $279,000 | 215 Theaters | $1,298 Avg. | $23,037,000 Tusk, $277,000 | 449 Theaters | $617 Avg. | $1,411,000 Hector And The Search For Happiness, $200,000 | 94 Theaters | $2,128 Avg. | $252,000 Pride (2014), $84,800 | 6 Theaters | $14,133 Avg. | $84,800 Magic in the Moonlight, $75,700 | 111 Theaters | $682 Avg. | $10,330,000 Global Totals: DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: $488.2M Overseas Total | $695.7M Global Total GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: $325.1M Overseas Total | $644.2M Global Total LUCY: $269.1M Overseas Total | $394.6M Global Total TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: $154.9M Overseas Total | $342M Global Total HERCULES: $151M Overseas Total | $223.3M Global Total THE MAZE RUNNER: $90.7M Overseas Total | $148.7M Global Total LET'S BE COPS: $26.8M Overseas Total | $106.4M Global Total THE BOXTROLLS: $17.7M Overseas Total | $34.9M Global Total

If they did have a regular church, it might be one of the ones that have a "Harvest Festival" or "Trunk-or-Treat", where all the kids wear religious costumes (or definitely not ones inspired by the "occult") and get candy but it's totally different from Halloween because...yeah. And Easter is "Resurrection Sunday" and "Santa" is an anagram for Satan. Their beliefs about Halloween are shared by other, more mainstream Christians, too (not all or even the majority). I would love to see a good novel/movie/TV drama about the Quiverfull/Gothard life, like you see about the Amish or FLDS, if there aren't any already. The nonfictional accounts are good but I wonder about the reach they have with people who aren't aware of the world. The Duggars themselves only seem to get kid-glove or "well, aren't they wacky!" treatment from the media at the worst and I think a fictional work going mainstream might change that.

I've been wondering if the writers are building up Frank a bit too much in this series, which will make some less willing to like Claire once she chooses Jamie. I get it, because if Frank is too boring and she's able to build an interesting life for herself in the 1740s, then there's little investment for viewers to watch her try to get back to her own time. Going into it, between the fact that there are (at least) eight books in the series, and the dilemma (woman torn between present and the past), you would think that it is pretty clear which side Claire will end up choosing. Maybe in a one-off story, it would be more of a mystery. OTOH, maybe the unspoiled think Frank is going to somehow time-travel, too. I guess the writers know what they are doing here.

Paying the tuition for private schooling would've been a concern before they were on the TLC money train, but in the Gothard world, don't they not believe in Sunday school? Children aren't to be separated from their parents, even in the house of the Lord, because you never know how they could be "influenced" in Sunday school or children's church while Mom and Dad aren't looking. So regular school five days a week, even a church-affiliated one, would be an even worse idea in their eyes. Though I guess if they go off for some Gothard training/program, that's totally different and therefore completely okay.

I didn't think I was supposed to be taking Annalise's tearful confession to Wes seriously, either, especially since she took the opportunity to feel up his chest long enough to make sure he was left completely flustered.

I didn't grow up fundie but close in some ways, with many aspects of the Duggar lingo and way of life being familiar. Not that this was how it was expressed at church, but basically the mentality behind women having to be "modest" is that in general, men are infinitely hornier than women and more visual creatures, who, left to their own devices, are willing to be far more immoral in thinking about sex and procuring it, so if all the women around them cover up, then they won't have so many urges or the opportunity to act on them. The mentality at play is that if girls do think about sex, it's likely to be in a more romantic context, part of the whole "does he really like me", doodling "JSlave [HisLastName]" in hearts, "first kiss on the wedding day" Prince Charming fantasy they've been sold. Ideally, they'd be thinking about laundry or cooking or their countenance, but "good girls" aren't strictly out to get some. Teen boys and men, OTOH, the thinking is that at their worst, they are super horny and lustful, imagining pretty much every attractive woman they see naked and fantasizing about having sex with all of them. And the more they have it on their minds, the more likely they are to break down and do something "sinful" and since men have penises, well, how can they be expected to control themselves? Hence the rules about modesty and strict gender boundaries. To be fair, even outside of Gothardism, Christianity or any religion at all, some can find a way to blame the woman no matter how heinously men behave (see Ray Rice, Elliot Rodger, the celebrity hacking scandal).

The show is probably bigger now than it was back when Josh married in 2008, and Duggar daughters dating probably draw more eyeballs than a son's courtship, so there's more money in milking all the wedding stuff over the course of a season vs. a one-time special.

All the fuss and proclamation that the dress must be "Modest!" when brides of other sects/faiths typically wear wedding dresses that have higher necklines and sleeves past the elbow. There are even bridal shops that sell white hijabs! Of course, any of that typically takes more time than a two-month engagement has to offer. Not to say that Jill's dress showed too much, not at all, but really, what would the Duggars do with themselves if they weren't constantly telling everyone how modest they were?

Didn't the Duggars see an early screening of Fireproof and even meet Kirk Cameron? So, Jill and Derick could go see whatever "inspirational" movie happens to be out at the time for a "family-friendly" evening out. Or, he can just Redbox or Netflix whatever he wants in a few months (unless Jill has the family password). He really might not be into movies at all; some people are like that, even non-religious types. Jill was allowed to bring one of her little brothers to a college football game despite the presence of cheerleaders and how many ever "scantily-clad" female fans were in the stands, so perhaps Derick won't have to give up everything secular in order to keep peace in the family.

Some guesses: 1. Derick watched the show for years and the Duggar lifestyle appealed to him. 2. He was eager to marry soon after returning from Nepal, and doubted a local girl from a regular conservative Christian background would agree to an insta-marriage. 3. Being 100% certain his bride was, you know, "pure".