dvr devotee

Amen! Perfect description of Daniel and Abby. So far I'm enjoying Daniel being just a little off his game this year. He didn't get to the buzzer in qualifiers, now he got badly hung up on the power tower. Couldn't happen to a more smug competitor. Oh, except for his protégé, Kid Owhadi. I was so glad to see him fall so early (second obstacle?) back in qualifiers.

OT hut have you heard the Pentatonix version with Maren Morris? Take a listen, it's on YouTube! I always forget how powerful Jojo's voice is. And I know she was like 13 when she released "Leave (Get Out)," but when she said she'd just turned 30 in September I was shocked.

Doesn't this show film within just a couple weeks' time? There were multiple episodes where the ladies were in the same outfits as the previous week, which I actually hadn't noticed in previous seasons. But yeah as soon as Donnie started singing, I knew it was him. Maybe Jenny was thrown off by the song choice.

Both the mother and father had the alcoholic bloat to their faces, so I wasn't surprised the father was revealed to be an alcoholic, but I was surprised that it seemed the mother wasn't, as well. But maybe she refused to admit it on camera so she wouldn't lose custody of her granddaughter. I wonder how violent the father got when they were kids and he was drunk--either Lexi or her sister said that he'd destroy their stuff, but the sister also obviously had her nose broken at some point and it had not been re-set to heal correctly. Also wonder about the brother who clearly did not want anything to do with the intervention. Outside of saying Lexi was the third and youngest, nobody ever mentioned a word about the brother. I just hope the granddaughter doesn't fall victim to the cycle. She was a cutie.

I watch it on Hulu, right after I watch the episode (I don't watch live, usually within the next three days after airing.)

See, this is how I feel about raspberry. Except they don't always mention on a menu if they decorate a dessert plate with a raspberry "flourish," so I've had so many otherwise delicious-looking desserts ruined that way. Too many times I've played the "is this strawberry or raspberry syrup on the plate?" game and lost HARD. Funnily enough, when my parents bought me a birthday cake a few years ago at a bakery, the cake had raspberry syrup between the layers of frosting. My mom couldn't see that from the cross-section they showed in the case before she ordered it. I took one bite and had to spit it out. Happy birthday to me! Back on topic: I've been craving corned beef hash since this episode aired. I might have to try making it. Blais' order was like the kitchen sink of breakfast orders...and surely given to him by producers to order. (If everyone remembers, Blais was kinda pudgy his first season of TC and then lost a bunch of weight after, and has kept it off. I doubt he's maintained his weight ordering potatoes with a side of potatoes for breakfast.)

To me, Chantal Malarkey was a dead ringer for Debbie Mazar. But she seemed like a really ungraceful loser. However, I would've absolutely chowed down on the Marlarkeys' second dish. Every thing that went into the dish, as Brian cooked each item and explained what he was doing, I was like "oooh, yes, what else?" And I'm never particularly excited about the food he makes. And, yes, Xea looks A LOT like Antonia. Was 89 the highest total score we've seen on any of the GGGAH episodes?

Way back when they first competed against each other on Top Chef, I preferred Bryan to Michael Voltaggio. But in the years since, I've come to really like Michael, as well. I knew Bryan was going to lose, as it seemed he was having the same issue they were always calling him out for last season on Top Chef--while he is a fantastic in technique, the passion, and therefore flavor, is just not always coming through in his food. And I'm pretty sure he blew Christian out of the water in the technique score, but the other scores just couldn't compete. And I was honestly sorry to see Michael lose to Brooke. I really like Brooke, was thrilled when she won her TC:AS season, and was also thrilled she won TOC last year. But it's hard to believe Michael scored a 95 in his first round cooking, beating out Cat freaking Cora, but then this round his score was like...88 or something. And I also think he made better use of the takoyaki pan, though I actually thought he should have gone ahead and used it to make his empanada, too. But Brooke using it to toast her spices was really not at all in (what I thought was) the spirit of the curveball of the randomizer. But, I'm not a judge, or even a producer of the show, so what do I know?

It's funny, as Chuck was talking I was thinking "yes, this guy very clearly is a CTO/CEO, he is quite skilled in telling the technical truth, and putting on a good show of it." And when someone tries to pin him down and call out his lies, he gets upset and says that being treated in such a "rough" manner "doesn't work for [him]," You don't say! I think he enjoys playing the "stable, supportive" husband to the mentally ill, cruel wife. He thinks he looks better by comparison of NOT being borderline, and what an absolute saint he is for putting up with her craziness! He loves the drama and chaos, he loves that he can blame everything that's wrong in their family on the mom having so many issues, and he loves the control he's able to maintain by having a wife who, let's be honest, really can't work. She is completely dependent on him, and he absolutely gets off on it. The birds made me sad. My parents still have the cockatiel they got me in middle school, so it's about 28-years-old now. The poor birds in that house are constantly breathing so much garbage into their teeny little lungs. I wonder how many young birds they've had that have just died 'out of nowhere.' That was incredible. As she was talking, I thought "she has rehearsed this, so she can show how perfect her family is, even when it's not perfect." Her words were just total *facepalm* for me. "Susie, I'm not glad we did drugs together. But I'm glad for the time we had together. I really am. That was precious."

I just watched the first two episodes tonight. For Raccoon, I thought Danny Trejo from the clue package, but Trejo doesn't walk like a geriatric quite yet, and I just can't see Danny Trejo screeching like that. I'm not saying I think he'd be a great singer, but I feel like he'd give a better performance, one that didn't include blowing out my eardrums. But I could 100% see that being Gary Busey. And I was personally offended on behalf of Sammy Hagar for that guess. Though I haven't checked in on him in probably 25 years, I can't imagine Hagar's voice has been so decimated since then that he can barely even screech on-key. I loved Seashell, what a beautiful voice. Honestly it sounded a little Lea Michelle-ish to me, but she's mostly known for Glee (and Spring Awakenings on Broadway before that), so "I was a singer back in the day" would be really disingenuous coming from her. The Kristin Chenoweth guess had me in danger of straining my eyeballs from the rolling. First, Kristin has an extremely distinctive tone, and, second, just like Lea, I would never say that she put singing aside to focus on other career paths. I think the last thing I even saw Kristin in was a country music Christmas show, so...just...no. And, again, like Lea, Kristin has Broadway roots. So...no. I wasn't mad at the Hillary Duff guess, but I just had another thought: that could be Mandy Moore. She started out at about 16 as a pop singer (my fellow Xennials will recall "Candy" for the absolute bop that it was back in like 1999), but she pivoted to acting with A Walk to Remember, and, though she sang in that movie and has sang in a few movies she's been in since, I'd definitely put her down as an actress at this point. Though she did just release a new Christmas song this past year. Robopine is incredible, though I have no idea who he is. I thought Jamie Foxx could definitely fit, but he's 53, not 60. Russian Dolls were great, though I wish the speculation of who it is hadn't been kinda spoiled for me before the season started, because it certainly does sound like Hanson. I wonder if they will finally split into three dolls when Group A next performs. I also had Kermit's reveal spoiled for me, though how anyone could have heard anything but Kermit the Frog's voice under there, I don't even know. Kermit was leaps and bounds better than Raccoon, but I guess it's probably better to keep the rest of the competition to real humans. So Raccoon will be cannon fodder for the next Group A episode. But I think it's a toss-up between the other three of which two go on to the combined top 6 show. At this point I'd bet on Seashell. Russian Dolls definitely have the talent to secure a spot, but it'll depend on what else Robopine comes out with. He's a totally unknown quantity at this point. All in all, not a terrible premiere episode.

Like I said, Harry has a big machine behind him. I got into One Direction late (like, six months before they took their "break"), and, yeah, they pushed Harry as the "front" of the group, but the guys actually pretty evenly shared lead vocals (except Louis, he really has no voice) as well as songwriting on their last few albums. But Harry had the swagger and he has the style. He also ultimately benefitted from the crazy Larry Stylinson..."rumors," and his interest in gender-bending post-1D makes him even more intriguing. I don't begrudge him his success, as I like a lot of his solo stuff and really enjoy his personality (like when he hosted SNL). Frankly, when 1D went on their "break" to pursue solo careers, Niall was not the one whose work I thought I'd end up preferring, but here I am. And as for Niall having "nice guy off across the street vibe," may I present Exhibit A: Ed Sheeran has 13 Grammy noms with four Grammy wins. I think Niall and Ed are pretty comparable as songwriters and performers. But I think that, like JC Chasez, Niall having been part of a boy band where another member was pushed as the frontman just sets him back in his solo career. Justin is incredibly talented, but his dating Britney Spears pushed him further out in front of his band mates while still in NSync, and ultimately he was able to use their breakup for fodder as he started his solo career, with "Cry Me a River" being the second single off his first album and an ENORMOUS commercial success. The parallels between Justin and Harry are really interesting to think about, actually.

I love Megan Thee Stallion, and not just for her music but because she's a smart woman, too. I can't remember who I saw her interviewing with last summer (possibly Colbert), but she told him that she's currently working on her BSN because she knows she needs her education to fall back on for if/when her music career reaches its end. I found that to be incredibly refreshing, and not something you ever hear a popular artist say they're making a priority. Also respect how she clearly sang live while dancing...pretty sure Cardi B wasn't singing live. Lil Baby's performance with Killer Mike (and a woman I didn't recognize) brought me to tears, as did Mickey Guyton's song. Beyonce tripped over her words when she realized she was acknowledging her oldest daughter but not the younger daughter. Made me laugh. It also made me laugh when Megan was talking about being a little girl and resolving to be the Beyonce of rap (but a little ratchet) when she grew up. I'm the same age as Beyonce, and, granted, Megan was 4-years-old when The Writing's On the Wall was released, but...damn. Way to make a woman who's still in her 30s sound old. And it kind of bums me out that Harry was the first member of One Direction to win a Grammy. I think Niall Horan is an incredibly talented singer and songwriter, but Harry has a much bigger machine behind him, so...oh well.

I read this comment as I was watching the episode with Rick, the astrophysicist-turned-detective from Massachusetts, who didn't sound the slightest bit like someone from Massachusetts. But if you put the slightest Boston accent under an Australian one, you have Rick. And then I realized the woman he was playing against had a much more pronounced Australian accent. It's made it interesting to listen for the slight Australian accents on the remaining contestants. They don't all have it, but when you're looking for it, you easily hear it.

Wow, you know what? I remember Derek died from another doctor's stupidity, and I remember that Derek basically got himself there by stopping in the middle of the damn road to make a phone call. But I totally forgot the heroism that came before that, because Derek's actions immediately after were so blindingly idiotic. I have had the feeling all season that they're sending Teddy on this spiral where she'll commit suicide. I really, really hope that Deluca's death was basically unavoidable, that his injuries too severe to recover from, and it's not a mistake Teddy made in surgery by being so tired and emotionally frazzled (as Richard said, she'd been on shift for 20 hours at the point when Deluca needed surgery, and her shift ended with intubating Meredith...and right after that, Teddy had the emotional conversation with Tom). Teddy will already blame herself for Deluca's death, but I just don't want there to be "real" reasons she's responsible for it.

I was absolutely sobbing at the end of this episode, and even now, three hours later, I get emotional thinking about it. I was not expecting it, even when he first showed up on the beach, since Bailey and Webber had been on the beach, too, last year. It feels really unfair that they killed him off right when he was getting his life back together. Yeah, he died doing a heroic act, so that's good. But his storyline in dealing with his bipolar disorder and showing how people living with serious mental illness can still be extremely successful professionals had a lot of potential still. I'm sorry we won't get to see it--though I guess I'm also making the assumption that Grey's could have even done the storyline justice. But, man, the whole last bit on the beach, starting with the sandcastle scene..."I had plans." That killed me. I will miss GG's gorgeous face.