Irlandesa
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Posts posted by Irlandesa
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If it expires on 7/29, I will have to watch that one soon but maybe I'll be able to squeeze in S1 before I go to Ep 2.
Thanks for the reply.
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So I have a question that may or may not belong here. I heard about this show and want to watch it but so far, only the final two episodes are available On Demand. Can I watch those two episodes and go back and watch the rest (first season on Prime and second season hopefully later)? Or should I really watch from the beginning?
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My memory of bloopers as a kid is that they were really funny. Either my memory is nostalgic or they've gotten worse but I kind of hate "blooper" reals now since they usually involve quick montages of people a) cursing or b) giggling* or c) maybe an actor messing up their line. None of them feel super light hearted, spontaneous or take me by surprise. They're mostly boring.
*Not that laughter can't be great. My favorite "bloopers" are from the Carol Burnett show when the cast would break.
The famous Siamese elephants.
Or the Dentist story (which was later retold and co-opted by Billy Bob Thorton's character on Fargo)
There are more here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIqofVwYi4I
But the difference is that often the reason people would break would be inreaction to something improvised or when something that would go wrong. Maybe that's part of why I don't like recent blooper reels, they edit so quickly that we are robbed of context.
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I think I'm in for the season with this show.
I like the two leads even though they are the worst. They add just the right touch of humanity to them. And I really like how the "slacker" friend acts as sort of the "angel" on Jimmy's shoulder.
But two things--I kind of dislike how almost every time there is a period/sex discussion on TV, it's brought up as an an absolute dealbreaker to sex. It is, sometimes with some people but not always with everyone. But I do like what the show did with it.
And they're going to need to stop this "Cameron-dissing" crap. I'll put up with a lot but no, just no. Cameron was actually the protagonist of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Here are more details.
http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/fargo-season-2-renewal-press-tour-live-blog
It looks like we are getting the Sioux Falls story.
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Ben and Leslie did break up when she was going to run for city council to avoid scandal. There were also Chris's rules but that didn't stop them before. It didn't last long and it wasn't full of triangles or other BS that usually accompanies a breakup. Ben and Leslie may not be the couple I've shipped the hardest in my years but the timing with them was done really well. They liked each other initially but had legit reasons for not dating. But once they realized how much they liked each other, they took the leap and it has been a pretty realistic progression ever since.
Also total agreement on writers caving into internet pressure when it comes to certain couples. I have always felt that, in the age of the internet and the increasing visibly of fandom, its important for writers to be aware of what fans are saying, but not be ruled by them. Its one thing to listen to actual constructive criticism, and hear what's working and what isn't. At the end of the day, I want to see how the writers tell the story, not how Tumblr would tell it.
I don't think creatives listen to the Internet as much as the internet thinks it does. I think 90% of the pairings/relationships told are told because that's the way TPTB want to go. There are enough disparate opinions on Twitter, Tumblr, formerly TWoP, ONTD, Livejournal that it's very easy for a creator to find confirmation bias for what they want to do. Creators may say that they're listening to fans but it will always be the fans they choose to listen to. Take the aforementioned Glee, for example, does anyone really think that an egomaniac like Ryan Murphy lets fans decide his story? Hell no. If he did, he would've tried to find a solution to how bad his show has become.
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To be fair, the Luke-and-Laura storyline was supposed to be a one-off. Tony Geary was initially brought in for a short period of time, and Luke was supposed to be killed off after the rape. Gloria Monty, who was the executive producer of General Hospital at the time, saw the chemistry between Geary and Genie Francis, and she rewrote the story and changed the outcome to capitalize on it. She was given thirteen weeks to turn the show's bad ratings around, and L-n-L was mostly responsible for saving it from cancellation.
But none of that explains why they had to throw Scott under the bus. I didn't watch back then but what I've seen shows a very interesting dynamic between Luke and Laura. I'm anti rape romance stories but even I find them very compelling to watch. But honestly, the thing that mars them the most isn't the rape, it's the fact that Scotty was thrown under the bus and they tried to rewrite the rape to a 'seduction.' If you're going to tell a somewhat tale of twisted love? I can respect it but goodness, please tell it honestly.
And I think things like that, for me, are the biggest issue I have with triangles. It's rarely the beginning. That's usually the best part because it's pretty easy to create two different people that one person would be attracted to for different reasons. Sonny/Brenda/Jax was perfect with this. And I can't think of another time that a plot twist was used so effectively to heighten stakes. The middle can be iffy. I get being torn but if it goes on too long, the middle person looks wishy washy.
No, where it usually falls apart is when it comes time to end it. It usually becomes about the unchosen in the triangle doing something "bad" to incredibly psycho to justify the writers' choice of OTP.
And that's why triangles suck. Shows seem to be afraid of putting responsibility on the couple that chooses to be together.
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Speaking of Marshall on USoT, Pivot is going to start airing season 2 of 'Please Like Me' in August. Some critics wanted to call it an Australian version of Girls, but to me it seemed a bit more like Marshall redone as a 19 year old Australian guy named Josh.
Well no thank you for that. I read this post Sunday night before I was supposed to go to bed and innocently started watching the show 'just to get a taste.' I ended up finally dragging myself to bed at 2 a.m.
I really enjoyed the show. I don't know if I get the "Girls" comparison, though.
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I don't mean to double post but it has been a while since my last post and there is actual news. Looking was at "Outfest" and some info about the new season was leaked.
8 Things We Learned about the Second Season of Looking
It talks in general about what will come up this next season and gives a little more detail about some of the storylines, including more info about the roles they are reportedly casting for. I am excited to read that the threesome will spend more time together in the second season.
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Speaking of Craig Ferguson, before there was Fallon bringing the "lip sync" battle to night time TV, Craig Ferguson was doing his cold open lip syncing with dancing, supporting characters and usually puppets. Some were huge productions and some were just low key but it usually involved lip syncing to the original track.
They were all great. I couldn't decide which one to post here. "Hey, He loves you?" "Rocky Horror Halloween?" "Pour Moi" for the Paris shows? But ultimately, I think I think one of the best versions of his musical cold opens was one where he was lip syncing to his own voice to lyrics I am pretty sure he/his show wrote--to the theme of Dr. Who. I don't even know if I'm cheating because I'm not sure if this ever aired. IIRC, they didn't get the rights to the theme music in time. But still representative and worth a watch.
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I don't know that Marsha backed out of White Collar. I don't even think the character was initially supposed to be a regular so it was always in second position to whatever else she had going on. When her other job ended, she came back and was bumped up to a regular in the second season.
While I have no doubt it was disappointing, this isn't the kind of thing that could kill a career. They spoke well of her during and after her stint on the show. She was kept as a regular through the first season. The show clearly just opted to go in another direction through no fault of her own. People get replaced on shows all the time. Often times after the pilot so it gets reshot. Heck, Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Ros on Frasier but they didn't feel like she was giving them what they needed so they recast her. It didn't kill her career. She went on to play Phoebe on Friends. It's just the nature of the Hollywood beast.
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That's kind of... low. I mean unless Morales knew all along it was only a limited commitment.
I don't know what she knew but the job only became available because another actress couldn't do the show. This kind of thing happens even in the regular world. It's not always a fit.
Honestly, I like Natalie Morales but I did not like her White Collar character. The creator does a poor job with developing new love interests and I think that's sort of the angle they were going with her in regards to Neal (Matt Bomer's character). Marsha's character was part of the creator's original vision for the show and the character fit better...not the least because she was a lesbian and there was no romantic undercurrent.
A lot of this is Jeff Eastin's fault and Natalie paid the price for it but in the beginning, I do think following his original vision was a smart quality move.
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She was cast on White Collar and then replaced, and I never knew why.
Marsha Thomason was in the pilot but was unavailable for the series due to scheduling conflicts. They brought in Natalie for the rest of the first season. Marsha became available later in the first season and for the next season so they went back to her.
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There are many great dance moments that I'm sure I'll think of but the one I immediately thought of was from Three's Company when Janet was in a dance class and the instructor convinced her that she could dance professionally. She later found out he was lying to her because he wanted to sleep with her. Janet was feeling down and Jack asked Janet to dance with him. It wasn't grand but it was sweet.
But in trying to find that on YouTube, another one from Three's Company appeared and I can't believe it wasn't the first thing I thought of. John Ritter at his physical best. The first minute is set up and it really gets in gear around one minute in.
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The West Wing had so many great musical moments. I think my favorite happens to be "Brother In Arms" that took place at the end of "Two Cathedrals." A lot of it probably had to do with the montage but oh what a montage.
Another moment I remember is Josh Groban singing on Ally McBeal. I didn't know who he was so when the geeky actor playing the high school boy started singing, I wondered if he was dubbed at first.
In YouTubable moments, I wanted to talk about the opening to the 2013 Tonys. If people thought Hugh Jackman's "hopping" opening was bizarre, I guess I can't really blame him for trying something different since it's very unlikely he'd be able to top this 9 minutes of pure entertainment from Neil Patrick Harris & supporting cast.
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Archie Panjabi is 42 and her character isn't a mother. I have my issues with The Good Wife but all three of the main female characters are past their forties with the mother and mother-in-law putting in significant appearances as well. That should be commended.
And Baranski may be older but is Diane her age?
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Once & Again was killed before its time but at least it got more than one season. Another one canceled before it's time is another & Again show...Now & Again. Now & Again starred Eric Close, Margaret Colin and Dennis Haysbert. There is no quick way to explain it but the story is that John Goodman plays a man married to Margaret Colin who "dies" when he's hit by a train. His brain is then transplanted into the body of Eric Close as part of some government project. He isn't allowed to tell his family what happened but can't help but try to get close to them again. Dennis Haysbert plays his "handler" of sorts.
It was so good and ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger.
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ETA: I personally do know women who have changed their minds. So while it may not be palatable to some to see that, it is not unrealistic, nor unrepresentative. Some people start out life wanting kids and change, too.
I appreciate that this is a difficult subject for you and I enjoyed reading your post but let me be clear again, since I think I'm the one who brought up Robin/changing minds, that I never argued that it was unrealistic. It's absolutely realistic. I've known people who have done it as well. I just argued that 'changing one's mind' is well represented on TV whether it's by choice or an "oops, I'm pregnant and now I'm super happy about it." Happily childless by choice is less so.
And people in your situation are also underrepresented on TV. They appear to give the "don't let the time fly by" lecture or they appear as the childless older woman who ends up adopting (whether legally or just spiritually) a troubled younger being because they never had the chance to have kids of their own. It's kind of sad that 99 times out of 100, an older woman who never had kids on TV expresses regret about it. I doubt 99% of older childless women regret that decision or result. Some yes, but not as many as TV would portray.
But I think the biggest insult with treating women like a ticking clock is the presumption that women are stupid. It's condescending to point out a woman's ticking clock. The reason I say it's insulting is because I believe most women know that fertility drops as they age. It's just that many make the choice to put off having kids for valid reasons to their lives at the time. Whether it's because they haven't found the right man or don't feel like they're where they want to be in their careers or whether it's lack of money, it's not so much complete ignorance about when the easiest time to get pregnant is but rather a choice to put it off for one reason or another. Eventually, they may come to regret not pulling the trigger earlier instead of waiting until the time was "perfect" but that's usually the benefit of hindsight and not because the younger woman doesn't understand biology. I doubt anyone decided to get pregnant because a nosy co-worker asked a woman when she was going to get pregnant because the "clock is ticking." Who knows? Maybe women have gotten pregnant solely based on that but I tend to think better of women.
I think there have been cases where women were too old to get pregnant but those women (Cuddy on House and Addison on Private Practice) were well off doctors who ended up adopting. Women who aren't in a position to go that route and genuinely miss out on motherhood aren't covered enough. But I think that middle/lower class is often not covered enough on TV these days in general. There always seems to be the money somewhere.
Moving on to other pregnancy tropes, how about the fun "women who has abortion ends up struggling with fertility" message that usually comes with abortion related stories. That's a fun one, eh?
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That paves the way for FX to easily win the Miniseries category this year with Fargo, while HBO is going to try its luck against Breaking Bad over in drama. There's no hard and fast rule for anything- basically the networks get to place their shows wherever they want.
Putting True Detective in "Drama" also solves the issue of True Detective and The Normal Heart not going head-to-head with each other and HBO can push for wins in both categories. While I think Fargo was terrific, I don't think it's a lock since the category is "movies and miniseries." HBO will put its resources behind The Normal Heart.
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I love the Powells and whatever they do. They're fun because their relationship is so equally twisted. I am thrilled Adrian didn't let Tony get away with it.
Not only was Rosie not smart in not keeping her mouth shut until the residency stuff was settled, but she acted like Reggie was sending his Uncle to the moon, not Sacramento. I get that it's quite a distance from where they are but this is not the dark ages. It's not like once he's gone, he'll be completely out of reach.
Adding to the stupid is Marisol, who I actually like, but inviting Opal to her house, knowing what she's capable of, without a backup plan? And then leaving the gun on the counter, behind her, with her back to the living room. What the hell?
I miss Odessa but I really do like Carmen working for Spence. It's just the right blend of platonic and not putting up with the other one's crap.
I knew Pablo would come crawling back and I can't decide how I feel. Part of me would like there to be a stable marriage on the show but Pablo ruined that when he wanted "space" and started dating Helen. I also love Zoila's nice, sexy boyfriend but the actors really sold me on Pablo and Zoila's "moment."
Despite some stupidity, I really liked the show too.
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Speaking of that, with a show where the hero is an asshole, which is very common nowadays, I submit Action with Jay Mohr.
Just beat me to it. Action is one I was going to mention. Profit, Keen Eddie and American Gothic as well.
I think almost anything Kyle Killen creates ends up here. There was the already mentioned Awake, which I watched and loved, but there was also the two-episode lived Lonestar starring James Wolk.
I would like to add Eyes too. It debuted about the same time as Grey's Anatomy but Grey's got all the promo and great time slot while Eyes was the superior show.
I may be the only one but I wanted to see where Hello Ladies was going to go. It started out weak but I felt it got better as it went on.
I'd also like to mention The Famous Teddy Z for no other reason than I still remember it all these years later. Jon Cryer was great as an accidental Hollywood agent.
I still miss Flight of the Conchords.
Me too but I don't know what category they'd fit in here. From all accounts, HBO was prepared to give the boys a third season but they chose to end after two.
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He's what passes for a major national reporter these days, not a buffoon from some little-watched niche show, and he's far from alone in asking women - but not men - that type of question. It's maddening.
Nope, he's not alone. It's also not just men asking this question. I've seen other women ask women this question as well. The sexism is so pervasive that his set up is based on the fact that somewhere out in the media there is a story in which her children are asked about how they feel about their mother taking this big job. I just can't imagine anyone doing a piece on a new male CEO and asking his children how they feel he'll be able to handle it.
Just ask Ann Curry...OT But this always baffles me. All I remember from when she was co-anchor of The Today Show was people talking about how she was a poor fit for that job and not good at it but once she was let go, the opinion of her fitness for the job was changed retroactively.
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Not having seen the whole sketch makes it harder to say, but I also felt Aida was the weak link on her team. She was flubbing lines and needing to be bailed out, then complaining they weren't "listening" to each other. But again, maybe that's true and we didn't see it.
I think we did see that. She did flub some of her lines but they all did. I think when mentioned "listening" she was talking about all the times that people were talking at the same time. Jimmy, especially, ended up talking over his teammates. Ultimately, the team just didn't find the rhythem or chemistry the first time discovered. They kept talking over one another and would descend into silence when they were thrown by it.
As for the stand up, I didn't laugh at Jimmy's set at all. He was energetic but I had more natural laughs coming from Aida. Rod Man seemed lost but I guess that's his thing. I remember him being funny so I'm not sad he won. I am sad that we're down to one woman.
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But, what of those who do? Are motherhood and being "strong, intelligent, and independent" mutually exclusive? Maybe I'm way off base and reading the tea leaves wrong, but that's the vibe I'm picking up.
Oh absolutely not. My mother was all of those things and a mother to boot. I firmly believe that a woman can have it all if they want it all even if I personally don't want it all. But that has less to do with my career and more to do with "me time." And not being very fond of kids but I digress.
As for her decision not to have children, would it have been more palatable if the writers had just had her change her mind and decide she'd like a baby after all? No, not every woman wants children, nor does she have to, but *some* women do change their minds. I'm not in the entertainment industry, but I write creatively as a hobby, and if characters aren't allowed to change or grow, they stagnate.No, it honestly probably would not have been more palatable. As @Sweet Tee pointed out, the desire to parent was not an underrepresented desire on HIMYM. Lily and Marshall were married with kids bound. (In fact, Lily was a career mother and was employed more consistently than her husband over the course of the series.) Barney even expressed an interest in having kids. It wasn't make or break for him but the desire was there. And Ted really wanted to be married with kids. In fact, their differing wants in regards to children was one of the main reasons we were told that Robin was actually "Aunt Robin" and not the mother. Robin's decision to not want children made her somewhat of a unique character on TV. I think the percentage of women who choose not to be mothers in the real world is significantly greater than the percentage of TV women who manage to escape their shows without having the "mother" label aded to their description.
So the fact that there was a positive and honest portrayal of a woman choosing not to have kids pleased me. I know characters changing is important in fiction but there are thousands of ways to change while still maintaining some core beliefs. Robin did change, by the way, but she changed for the worse.
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Devious Maids - General Discussion
in Devious Maids
The ratings were down in the second season. I'm not sure how it compares to the rest of Lifetime's lineup but I was surprised how often the episodes weren't rerun. (Maybe only once after a second airing on the night it premiered.)
If it's a contract issue, it's probably not directly related to the talent. It's not like this show is a runaway hit and they're in a position to ask for an extension/bump in their contracts the way that usually happens when shows are hits. It's likely due to Lifetime not wanting to pay as much for it as they may have paid for it in the past.