Archery

If they had wanted a different ending for the finale, they could have made one. They could even have re-dubbed the dialogue to make that make sense, as they did all the time in that show. But Sam doesn't go home, and we know that he accepted that he controlled it because he visits Beth at precisely the right moment. Yes, the red bow ending might have been nice, but Sam's choice was actually more deliberate, in-universe. All I'm saying is that, given the prior 4 1/2 seasons, it actually did make sense for who he had become, not as just some slapped-together mistake of TPTB.

Back to TV. I was watching Apocalypse: World War I on the American Heroes Channel (I know . . .), which was brilliant. It's a documentary that tells the story of the causes and course of WWI chronologically and from all points of view, using actual colorized and restored film footage from 1913-1918. Just brilliant. Except that the date cards constantly read "Febuary," not February. It got to the point that I pulled up the dictionary app on my phone to make sure I wasn't crazy.

I've never had any problem with Quantum Leap's ending, even with the last slide (except they spelled Becket wrong). GTFW tells Sam that he can stop leaping whenever he wants to. He's always had the ability to go home. To me, that means that Sam understands that in his soul he actually wants to keep leaping more than he wants to resume his normal life. He's doing what nobody else can do. It's the culmination of the selfishness/selflessness arc that his character undergoes through the series.

This show is my kryptonite whenever we are on vacation. If I watch 10 seconds, I am in for the rest of the episode. I work in law enforcement, so it is interesting to see how it really works on TV, as opposed to how TV writers think it works. One episode changed me. I don't know the title, but the victim was a young man shot as he waited for the bus late at night. Turned out he was just an innocent caught in the cross fire. When the police went to tell his mom, she wailed, "I should have picked him up! I should have gone to get him!" Imagine living with that for the rest of your life, knowing that if she'd just gone out and given him a ride home, he'd still be alive. I think about that every time my son calls or texts me, asking for a ride home. Part of me always wants to say, I'm busy, take the train, take the bus. And then I hear that woman wailing, and I grab my car keys.

I don't think 10's grief (or pining) for Rose was out of character. He lost her into another dimension and left a lot unsaid. Also, she was the first face his face saw and we all know what that does. You maybe could make an argument that Classic Doctors didn't get the feels like nu-Doctors do, but I personally don't think that's a bad thing; characterization and drama in general have changed over the years. 9, 10, and 11 mourned people. (Losing Donna turned 10 into Time Lord Victorious.) The fan-whining over the years has very much been about Martha's crush on 10, as if that's all she was. Frankly any woman in her right mind would crush on the Doctor under those circumstances. I respect the character because it was something she accepted wasn't ever going to happen, whether because of Rose or general Timelordiness, but still gave 10 everything she had.

I was rewatching the Library episodes today, and I really love that River is so sad that the Doctor doesn't know or trust her yet -- and she keeps on saying, The younger you is so much work! More affecting even than her sacrifice, to me, is when she apologizes and whispers his name to him. There's so much packed into the fact that she apologizes.

I agree. River makes the same, or a very similar, point in AGMGTW. And "Doctor" translated as "warrior" in the Gamma language. The Doctor never wants to believe he is That Guy, but he generally is.

I don't think Danny Pink was any more a plot device than Mickey, the butt of every joke and insult for two seasons.

You couldn't; the clue forbade taking notes.

TV shows have been doing homages to literary works since TV began.

Martha's crush on the Doctor gets wildly exaggerated. If you listen to anti-Martha DW fans, you'd think she was baking him cookies all the time. While her arc did include her crush, which began when 10 superkissed her while saving everyone in the hospital ON THE MOON, her real arc was about her being invisible. Even though she was academically successful, any time she was with her family, they were all about their own drama. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was pining over Rose. Over the course of her season, Martha made everyone see and respect her, because was awesome and not Rose. Honestly, I love 10's relationship with Martha and how it evolved. I love how she is the one who chooses to leave the Doctor, on her own terms, but doesn't leave behind everything she learned and saw.

Seriously. The explanation of that was quite specific. I love that the Christmas episodes are homage episodes: Inception, A Christmas Carol, Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, Poseidon Adventure, Don Quixote. It's very clever.

I like these interpret something on a plate challenges. The EVIL QUEEN one with Charlize The ron as guest judge yielded some great results. It's a chance to show some real creativity.

Maya show appropriate concern for Amy's condition. She started asking about how Amy was feeling starting in the cab. Even before that, she was offering water. When they got to the mat, she knew Amy's symptoms, that Amy was hot but was feeling cold. In the talking head, her comment about having been concerned about not being able to finish the race was after the fact, the big picture.

I liked LCK original variety because it gave a second chance to chefs who may have been eliminated on a fluke, or because a bad partner had immunity or some thing beyond their control. And the tournament style meant that whichever chef came back participated in the same number of elimination challenges, either in the main competition or in LCK, as everyone else. This version seems more like people jumping the line. I have to say, I really enjoyed the judges' approaches to shopping, except for Blais, who is immature. The other three chose stuff that their contestants would likely excel at. Tom went the "widest variety, widest choice" route, as you would expect a restaurateur to do, while Gail and Padma, both foodies, thought about what they would like to eat, if cooked well. I liked that twist.

House of Cards episode where Frank goes to his alma mater and gets really drunk with his friends. Just an excuse for Kevin Spacey to sing old songs. So pointless, but I watched the whole thing because I was sure some plot point hinged on it. (HoC is so tightly plotted, that even throwaway scenes can be important later. This time? Not really.

I love how Gunnar's coat doesn't even rate a photo in the recap discussion. <br /><br />Sam's coat was weird because it looked like her model was keeping it closed, or holding it up or something. Her arm was not relaxed-that can't be how it'supposed to fit, right, with her shoulder all hunched? Maybe the pocket was too high?<br /><br />Dimitri's coat looked like the lab coat your radiologist wears. I didn't understand all the fawning there.