BlackberryJam

There is a lot that The Crown has gotten wrong in prior seasons, like re-writing Elizabeth's annus horribilus speech, but this season is just off the charts silly. The summer before Diana died she was out there living her best life, finally free and likely happier than she had been in years. She met Mother Teresa. She auctioned off a ton of her dresses in NYC raising over 3million for charity. She went to a gala at the Tate, Gianni Versace's funeral with Elton John, and the Bosnia trip. She was building a life outside the restrictions of being part of the royal family. The Crown showed her as a melancholy drip. I mean, I was no big fan of the woman, but The Crown never let her stop being Miserable Diana. Ugh.

I’m going to make a few guesses here since there is no speculation topic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. My non-speculative thoughts…I’m gonna watch it all because I want to know if I’ve picked anything correctly. However, wow, what a bunch of dull characters. I don’t care if any of them die. Why is Bill’s hair so stupid?

I thought the scene with Charles, Elizabeth and the dogs was masterful. Elizabeth never had any intention of attending the party and she clearly thought Charles should already know that. She didn’t want to have the awkward conversation with him and he love for Camilla made him blind to that. He knows she doesn’t approve of the relationship. Elizabeth sidesteps every attempt by Charles to guilt or manipulate her into doing something she knows will be a PR disaster and which goes against her personal beliefs. Focusing on the dogs gives her a means to avoid what could be a messy and emotional scene. Then, when Charles leaves, we see her staring at him, only to glance back at her dog when he looks back, because she knows if he catches her he will come back and beg. I don’t think this scene is about Elizabeth as a mother and Charles as a son, but rather about Elizabeth as a Queen and Charles as a fool in love.

I agree this could have been the season premiere. The three prior episodes veered between heavy handed and dull af. This wasn’t balanced, and fell into silly, but it’s the only episode that held my interest. As someone at that time engaged to a Brit and on the phone with him talking through that night and the weeks that followed, I can truly say that the outpouring of grief made many Brits uncomfortable. Those people, the ones who appreciated the stiff upper lip and found the public crying to be humiliating for the nation, they never get air time. It was an awkward time for many people, but this portrayal, like so many others, extrapolates those tv images to encompass the nation. Just once I’d like a scene of a couple dudes in a pub saying it was a damn shame the pretty princess died like that, a waitress reminding one guy that’s why they don’t let him drive drunk, and the other guy saying his sister travelled to London with some decoupage for Diana, which they all find ridiculous, then the switch to discussing the cricket.

See...now that's fun. Like, maybe there could be a murder at a reunion at Jones and Troy's school. Because I'm on MM Memory Lane right now, remember when they chem-tested Troy and Cully? The murder involved one of the patients of a widowed psychologist friend of Tom's. There was a party and Troy played the spoons and was great at it. (Found a video link!) One of the psychologist's kids was played by Perdita Weeks who later became the new Higgins on Magnum, PI. I remember thinking, NOOOOoOOOOo, GAVIN, don't get sucked into the Cully Vortex!

I moved my Lewis talk over to that forum. I did know the DI v DCI difference, but there are so many different initials for UK police personnel. I forget. Apologies. I would love an episode that catches us up on the old sergeants. It would be nice to see Troy married with a wife and a couple of kids, maybe they like visits from Uncle Tom and Aunt Joyce. Why can't they give us the fun things?

Bringing this over from the Midsomer Murders forum. I cannot do a rewatch because of Laurence Fox. He opens his mouth and bullshit comes out. And he admits he got all his "opinions" from watching YouTube videos. Well, you know what Larry, there are YouTube videos that "prove" the world is flat, so SHUT UP. I am just pissed because I really loved Lewis and I am struggling to separate the character/show from the actor.

It's a Bengals/Cowboys/Raiders/Ravens issue for me. Yeah, I don't care that the Bengals suck and have sucked for half a century. They can continue to suck and I will revel in it.

With James Callis, I'm just yelling "OF COURSE GAUIS BALTAR DID IT!" I like finding actors who have also been in Poirot, Marple or Death in Paradise. Lewis did a run where it was always the single middle-aged woman as the killer. That was a truly annoying period in the show. I do enjoy trying to pick the killer from the stereotype. That's why these shows are so fun and comforting. I can engage only on a shallow level and let my brain relax.

I love playing, "Where is that actor now?" and "Wait is that...?" Young Orlando Bloom, Henry Cavill, Olivia Colman, James Callis...so much fun. I enjoy new shows, things I haven't seen before, but there is something really comforting in a rewatch.

@LlywelaI would love to have Troy or Jones back as the new DI. I don't want to get off topic, but I loved Lewis until Laurence Fox started opening his stupid gob. That guy is like the UK's response to the Charlie Sheen meltdown. Now I can't watch it. I didn't know about the Barnaby name issue. I guess it makes sense, like Bergerac. As long as they don't try to bring back Cully as a DI, I'm good! It might be a good running joke to bring back Troy or Jones and have everyone refer to them as Gavin Barnaby or Ben Barnaby and say, "Well, the DI has always been Barnaby, so get used to it," or something. I should do a rewatch of the entire series.

It took me awhile to warm up to John over Tom Barnaby, but in doing a rewatch of the first season, Tom was mean to Troy. I get that book Troy is pretty gross, and show Troy makes homophobic comments, but Tom is just outright mean sometimes, and not about Troy's homophobia. I know that dynamic improved over the years, but I appreciate John Barnaby more than thought. However...Neil Dudgeon narrates the Cherringham mystery novellas and the "female" voices he does are horrible. It's to the point that I just giggle.

I support this statement. Kee-riced my Steelers suck. Yet, again they win. Glad to see Joe Burrow lose again, and wow do I hate DeShaun Watson, but Pittsburgh is in the hunt and Kenny Pickoff hasn’t tanked the season…yet.

I've only read Dreamers of the Day by MDR. I really enjoyed it, but for some reason, I never picked up anything else of hers. I should give them a go. I am reading The Magpie Murders. Here's the thing though...I "read" it when it first came out and could have sworn that I had seen the Pund mystery as an episode of Midsomer Murders. To the point that I knew "whodunit", how and why. I was so frustrated with it being a ripoff of a MM show (and yes, I realize AH has written some MM episodes), that I refused to follow the Ryeland part of the story. Now that it's a PBS show, I thought I'd give it a try again. And I swear to Bob that the Pund part of the story is an episode of MM that I have seen. I can actually remember John Barnaby and Ben Jones I don't know what's going on in my brain.

I absolutely agree about Winter! Even when they are playing him just for comedy, he's giving a ton of emotion. Maybe it was in the scripts for Nelson and the actor just wasn't very good? At one point I thought they were going to pair up Nelson and Kate romantically, but that never happened. It would have given Nelson something to do. I adore Fleur. I love that they gave her the name Fleur, which I mostly associate with the young pretty girl from Harry Potter, and not an "old lady" name like Shirley or Gertrude. I love that she has sex, drinks, bikes, all the fun stuff. She looks like Miss Marple but parties like Mic Jagger. And she knows her forensics.

Just finished Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe. I listened to Anderson read it. He's a great narrator. This is stuffed with a lot of facts, but it was all really interesting. You can tell how much Cooper loves the topic. I also read The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley. Louise is 81 and recovering from a broken hip. Tanner had to leave college because of a knee injury ending her scholarship. They go on the run. It's fun. No great revelations. No stunning moments. Just a lot of fun. I realize I'm in the minority, but I enjoyed Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield. Certainly more than I enjoyed American Wife. RC was light-hearted and fun. I'm down with that.

Nelson is a big personality void for me. He was "fine" but I never took to him. I like Winter so much better. I'm sure I'm one of the many, but I do not miss Cully at all. I do miss Joyce though. I wish we would get more of Sarah working now that Betty is older.

Finished Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy. I recommend. It’s a Sister Holiday mystery, so looks like the start of a series. A tattoo-ed, smoking, gay nun in New Orleans. No one in the book is particularly likable, but I still enjoyed it.

But he’s pretty and there are better things for him to do with that mouth. ;)

My Steelers are dreadful, and yet somehow, they pulled it out. I despise the Ravens and I had been only semi-watching with the sound muted. Ahh...Kenny Pickoff is terrible, but that Defense manages not to totally suck and then makes just enough magic to pull out a win.

I saw it live. I gasp/screamed and then prayed they wouldn't show it again. And for once, the broadcast didn't disappoint me. I remember the Theismann injury replayed on endless loop. (Fuck, I'm old.) Kenny Pickett is kind of dreadful. It's going to be a long season for this Steeler fan.

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin. Did anyone enjoy this? It’s just three women (mom and two daughters) being horrible to each other. I enjoyed the time period and the setting, but ugh.

@EtheltoTillie I agree about TJR. I’ve never found her books to be more than mediocre.

I rage quit Yellowface. I just couldn’t take the main character. Hello Beautiful. I don’t get it. Maybe because I don’t revere Little Women, but it just wasn’t good. For funsies, I read Helen Tursten’s An Elderly Woman Is Up to No Good and the sequel. Nothing earth-shattering, but they made me laugh. The House of Eve was great, but also, I’m tired of books about motherhood. I feel like I’m not reading enough books where women aren’t defined by their relationships with children or men.

Okay. Laurence’s dress was a structural rip off of Chanel’s 2014 Spring Collection. How did she not get called out for that? COME ON. ETA. I mean, LOOK at this.