DearEvette

I think there were things you definitely wouldn't see on an 8:00 network show. For instance the profanity, I don't think "shit" has made it to network yet. Also I can't remember ever seeing someone on a sitcom getting ready to snort lines of coke. I also don't think if it were on ABC the network would have been happy with what is looking like Zoey's continued drug use. The "just one more time" sets off bells for me. It feels like they are gonna try and push the envelope a bit, so they might be able to delve into some things they can't on ABC. It'll be interesting to see what else they try. Apparently the ratings were great for these two eps. According to Deadline, it was the best debut Freeform has had since 2012.

Great episode. The therapy scenes were intense and very well acted. I loved the looks on Rebecca's face when the therapist started talking about Jack. Mandy Moore gave an excellent 'Bitch don't start it....' lemon face. And then when she defended him she finished with a polite 'thank you.' I don't care that Beth doesn't like Kevin. Doesn't make her a bitch in my book just makes her the wife of the guy that Kevin tormented when they were kids. I know the show is making a big effort to give Kevin's issues context, but doesn't mitigate the fact he was a total asshole to Randall every chance he got. He did not take any of it out on Kate. It was always directed toward Randall who tried over and over again to hold out an olive branch. An IRL Kevin would strike me as someone who is exhausting to be around. Fuck Kevin and his DUI ass. If he were my bro-in-law I'd probably hate him too. But I do admit I liked the final scene with the siblings. I liked the 'shadow therapy session' at the bar with Beth, Miguel and Toby.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. Originally I really hadn't planned to watch, just kinda decided that Dear White People was enough college drama for me. But I saw some provocative tweets and decided to give it a try. I like that it is edgier and a bit darker than Blackish. A comedy but NOT a network comedy. I like that they toned down her super coolness. I was also really pleasantly surprised by the frank depiction of drug & alcohol use in college and that Zoey herself wasn't immune. I like how all the 'good' Jewish girl and 'good' Indian guy aren't all that good. I also liked the bits of classism sprinkled about. And how each character is a really, sharply drawn personality. The only thing I didn't like was Zoey's stupid crush on Super Activisit Bruh. But I'll welcome it if it is a springboard to being a commentary on bad college relationships.

I think this is why the road trip portion of the story did not connect with me. It felt like it was more about her than it was about him. We have seen Claire and then Claire and Jared both try to connect socially with Shaun, move him out of his comfort zone a bit. And each time he was very clear about where his boundaries were. When they invited him for a beer, even though Shaun was reluctant they explained about they why of it. They had all three just bonded in a difficult medical situation and it was the first time Jared at least began to see Shaun as a peer. We got to see Shaun connect the dots with that and accept it as a part of the socialization process. I don't feel like this storyline had Shaun really involved. He just seemed, I dunno, confused mostly.

I have to agree here. I was rather bored by the road trip to be honest. Leah's character felt like the show decided to their version of the manic pixie dream girl while dragging Shaun along for the ride. I loved the hospital parts though, (still lament that Dr. Hottie has to be a pervy sexual harasser. sigh.) enjoyed the twins although since they they made a point to say they shared a a major nerve in the brain and they are now separated, I wonder if it now somehow affects the musical twin? I am wondering where they are going with the Jared business? I did like Claire confronting Dr. Harrassment, but interesting that they are holding the hard line with Jared.

I've read authors who might have one or two books that seem Heyeresque but rarely anyone with a complete bibliography that reminds me of her stuff. I do think Stella Riley comes close. She writes historical fiction with a liberal dash of romance. She also has some novels that are strictly romance. Her Rockliffe series to me is very Heyer in spirit. Mary Balogh has a ridiculously deep backlist and she writes very differently across books, but Slightly Dangerous had a very Heyer feel as does her The Lady With The Black Umbrella

I liked this season better than the second season. I assume since this is all season talk we can't help but spoiler.....? Anyway, I love Angus as a part of the team. Outside the Evie and Dylan stuff, the four of them together are great fun. Loved the scene of them four of them on the front steps in a group hug, comforting him. Or all four of them in bed together. I liked the Hen party episode. And I enjoyed Jonesy for Luke quite a bit. I am kinda mad we didn't get to see Luke do an Irish step dance again. I so wanted to see that. It was a high point of the first season. I was never on board with Evie and Dylan. I liked him with Abigail. Dylan seems to be a bit more mature and grounded with Abigail. With Evie he is too much in his head and so desperately in love. Like Luke, I keep waiting for him to fuck it up. But I did love his break up scene with Abigail, good writing and good acting. And I also enjoyed the follow up scene with Evie where she lets him know it is is ok not to feel good about what just happened with Abigail. I kinda hope that now that they are together, that they realize all their pining for each other was just that, pining and all that angst was because they never got a chance to really be together. Kinda like, the rode not travelled or some such. But now that they are, they realize they aren't in love. If there is a S4 it opens the door for Dylan to gt back to Abigail and for Evie to finally get a good relationship.

Snort. Just bad typing on my part.

Caught the Blacki-ish spinoff featuring Zoey, Grown-ish. I hadn't really planned to because as much I love Shara Yahidi's aesthetic, not sure if she could carry an entire show. But the show was surprisingly good and frankly surprised me with its exploration of drug use, partying, and even profanity that they would not get away with on ABC. They aren't trying to pretty up college life. Anyhoo, Zoey has a posse of friends and that posse is very multicultural. There are several black BFFS, one jewish bisexual girl, one Indian guy ( who is also a Drake worshipping drug dealer), and her roommate is a devout catholic Latina. One of her male friends looks to be in the fashion design program and while his sexuality is not explicitly addressed in the first two eps, there is a decided metrosexual/Lenny Kravitz thing going on with him. Outside of the race stuff there are also class issues. The indian guy feels contempt for his can driver father. Two of her friends played by the singers Chloe and Halle have the weight of expectations on them to make it out of the hood and be successful.

I do agree that she does a fantastic job at what I call 'job competence porn' in her books. And she really gives her characters some really offbeat occupations. And yeah, I think the very unpredictability of the book is what made me like it so much. She really breaks a lot of 'romance novel' rules in this one. And it definitely does not fit the very predictable pattern of her trilogies. Again, a plus. I like the idea that it feels like she is setting up it up to be a multi-generational epic. And she left a lot hanging. A whole swatch of important characters basically are left in limbo at about the two-thirds point of the book. Really want to get back to see what is going on with them.

I just finished Year One by Nora Roberts. I am not a huge fan of her trilogies, and sometimes her stand alone suspense novels are hit or miss -- the last one I really enjoyed was The Witness. I tend to prefer her alter ego, JD Robb stuff. But I have to admit I liked this one. Helps that it can't help but bring to mind Stephen King's The Stand (which is one of my favorite books) as there were some similarities there. Seems larger of scope than some of her stuff with a lot of characters and it doesn't emphasize romance at all. But it is still very Nora Roberts. Earlier upthread some posts were talking about her overused phrases. This book included one that I notice she uses a lot: "bet your ass" and she describes one character as having a "poetic" face. She likes that description as well. Even so, this was a really engrossing read and a little darker than she usually goes in her trilogies.

When I read this I immediately thought of Homicide Life on The Streets. In that show, Andre Braugher played detective Frank Pembleton. That show also had a bottle episode that took place entirely in an interrogation room that consisted only of three men: Pembleton (Braugher), his partner Bayliss (played by Kyle Secor) and their suspect in the murder they had been investigating all season long, played by Moses Gunn. It was called 'Three Men and Adena.' It was THE standout episode of the season. Given the Braugher connection and the composition of the characters, I couldn't help to drawn the comparison. I hope that was sort of the intent/ easter egg for this concept.

No it really isn't the same. Candace came to the show already at an extreme disadvantage comparative to other characters because she was black. They race bent Iris, so there was already pre-negative feelings about that. If a relatively unknown white female actress had been cast as Iris, she wouldn't have started at the acceptance deficit Candace had to start with.

This was one of my favorites of the whole series. Yes, Landry/Todd was a terrible person and a really sadistic asshole. But beyond that I liked that this was darkly funny. The clones' cynical acceptance, their resigned "we have to laugh or we'll cry" way they brought Nanette up to speed, Walton's entire no-fucks-will-be-given attitude. The entire scene where they tell her about their lack of genitals was great. And I love that they committed to the TOS:Star Trek aesthetic even until the end, complete with the cheesy special effects as they were going through the asteroid belt. "He's a Jolly good felloowww so say.." SLAP "Oh my fuck!" - I swear I rewound this twice and giggled I was so scared they'd all fall to the Black Mirror depressing, dark end twist and he'd come out victorious, so glad he got punished. And I love that they were free to explore the universe and probably become expert at the game since Cole and Dudani at least all worked on the code!

For me personally, it was the more agency + the Iris ghosting that led to the concern. I didn't have any issues when I first heard they were bringing on Patty. It actually made sense. At the end of S1, Eddie was about to propose to Iris and all things signalled that she would have said yes when he died and s1 ended. Without a significant time jump it would have actually made Iris look worse for having her go from Eddie's barely cold corpse to falling in love with Barry right away. So yeah, there needed to be a breather there and I like for the OTPs to have at least one or two rom interests before settling with each other, it gives their final pairing the weight of choice rather than just fated mates. But even so, a good OTP story always lets us know they are still connected to each other, even when they are with the others. But Iris was off in her own West family storyline, her screentime was greatly reduced, and she had barely any interaction with Barry. And what scenes they did share they seemed more like the sibling theirs detractors kept claiming they are. Heck they even teased that she might start her own new romance with her new boss while the supposed reason she wasn't pining for Barry was because she was in mourning for Eddie (thank god that went nowhere!) To me, it just seemed so bizarre. It felt like the writers were actively trying to erase any romantic feelings, not just stall them or subdue them. And then bam Patty was gone and hey, Iris and Barry notice each other again. There as no transition, no hints that they were moving them back toward each other. The episode right after Patty leaves is when Iris gets injured during Wally's drag race and Barry angsts about his speed because he wasn't fast enough to save her. I've always had S3 as my least favorite season but the more I remember about S2... I dunno. And it isn't just he Barry/Iris stuff. It was that there were at least, what, three episode that were jump offs for The Legends (which I now LOVE -- but back then...). And all he confusing zoom and Jay Garrick stuff.

I like this entire post, but want to comment specifically on the bolded parts... 1. Yes indeed. I felt bad for Katie Cassidy and Laurel because I thought she was written so poorly and you're right, she just didn't have the ability to rise above the bad material and make people warm to her. I think nostalgia and backlash against Olicity makes people more fond of her now than they were then. But Candace was more anemically written than Laurel, and yet she had a warmth and charisma that prevented the level of vitriol against her that Katie got. and 2. I ship Barry and Iris because I am an Iris fan and want all the good things for her. And that is her rightful place as Iris West Allen. But real talk, I thought she had a crack ton more with Eddie than she does with Barry. I will say, though, there are moments when Barry and Iris do give off nice tingles of sexiness that does allow their chemistry to come to the fore. E-2 Iris ad Barry were hella sexy. It was like they were different people. And then there was a scene of them at a party at the West house right after she and Barry got together officially. Iris was wearing this killer red velvet dress and she was sitting on Barry's lap. An while they were talking he was lazily stroking her leg and thigh. It was such a natural, couple-y sexy thing that it was one of the few times I remembered thinking they might just grow into their chemistry. I've never given it much thought, but now I wonder if the show not showing more sexy-times with Iris and Barry has actually hurt them chemistry wise?

Man, I was so sure they were gonna pull a Laurel on Iris in 2A. The writing felt like it was on the wall. Here comes this new love interest for Barry who in just a few episodes had more agency than Iris had all season 1. Also she had a mentor/mentee relationship with Joe. And they made her all perky of girl-nerdy. It really did feel like they were trying to make her a Felicity type character. I really was nervous for Iris and I remember seeing so many people talking how cute and perfect Barry & Patty were together. The one thing that I think Iris had that Laurel didn't have were very vocal and combative fans who were ride or die about their ship. I think 2A was when i started seeing what felt like a concerted campaign by the WestAllen and specifically Iris West fans to hold the show's feet to the fire wrt to Iris, her screentime, and her character arc etc. And yes, a LOT of those fans were black women who did not want to see Iris sidelined like they had seen Abbie sidelined on Sleepy Hollow. The abrupt exit of Patty and the re-localized focus on WestAllen in 2B made me wonder what happened? It just felt like such a shift. Since I found out later that the actress had only been signed for those episodes, I wondered if the intent for Patty was just to be a temporary WestAllen impediment for awhile but writer bias beefed her up more than it should have with an intent to actually create a more viable partner for Barry. But then something behind the scenes changed. Whatever the shift was I am glad.

Ryan Murphy (of Glee and American Horror Story) has a new show ordered to series at FX. It is a "dance musical" that is "Set in 1986 and takes on the rise of Donald Trump-style superwealth, the denizens of downtown (including the literary scene) and the underground LGBT subculture known as ball culture." On the one hand this is great for LGBTQ inclusion because they are planning to cast a lot of LGBTQ actors. On the other hand... ball culture? In the hands of Ryan Murphy? I have not been in any way impressed with any handling of black characters in any of the shows of his that I have watched. They all feel like caricatures in the end, full of cliches and no real inner life. If he is the one writing this, I can't think he'll do any better with the black & latino men who were part of the ball culture in the 80s. I have visions of him centering some white midwestern Kurt like character into the story and having him walking a ball. Gah!

Happy Beebo day, all. Go hug someone who is so damned huggable!

Snort. That is one the least blind, blind items I've ever read. There was no attempt at subtlety there. LOL.

I actually liked the Governor and Woodbury. He was an interesting villain with some layers and Woodbury was a good concept and it was a great reintroduction and final character arc for Merle. I did hate they didn't quite stick the landing on that arc, making the Gov another energizer bunny villain, the leader who against all laws of physics stayed alive while his minions all died around him only to pop up a season later and kill Herschel. And yeah, yet another person Rick wouldn't inexplicably kill when he had the clear chance. But the I loved the Woodbury arc.

I am reading Tiffany Haddish's memoir The Last Black Unicorn because I needed something a little lighter from my most recent book. This is Laugh out loud funny and smart. Also and I can hear her 'voice' in this so clearly. My girl crush on her has not been crushed yet, thank goodness.

With Zoom and Savitar the reveal of their actual identity was part of the story arc. The problem with that is that is by the time they were revealed so much crap had happened you forgot why you even cared or even forgot what their actual beef was in the first place. And in the case of Savitar, the end didn't quite match up with the beginning (or if it did, then it was so convoluted it was too hard to trace back). I like that at least it seems like with DeVoe it is relatively straight forward. He does seem to be playing a chess game with Barry and Team Flash being both his opponents and the pieces he's moving around the board. He is thinking four moves ahead and they are still catching up. But, I'd characterize Barry not as the pawn, but more is more like the King, the piece he has to completely stymie and box in before he can declare checkmate. I wouldn't say he is at checkmate just yet, more like 'check' because obviously Team Flash is going to come out triumphant, we just need to see how they maneuver Barry out of this mess. If the showrunners/writers can manage to restrain themselves from getting too fancy with too many flourishes like they did with Savitar, and keep this a story of a two opponents out-thinking each other, Devoe has the potential to rival S1 Thawne as the show's best villain, imo.

I think last season was a failure on every front -- tone, character, story, romance etc. It did no one any favors, it was too dark, didn't make any narrative sense, regressed Iris, misused Tom Felton, badly deployed Killer Frost, and gave us the worst incarnation of Harrison Wells, imo. If any time was to bail on the show it as last season. SO far this season has been a major improvement in every area. The hardest part to pull off, imo, is the long story arc and I think they are pulling that off admiably so far. It is difficult to give us a season long villain and parcel out his villainy in such a way we keep invested and entertained and also give us little surprise twists to keep up invested in the story. Also, to give us someone to both dislike and admire because you have to be engaged in the villain as well as the hero, or else the story gets hard to watch *cough* Negan *cough*. They've managed to do that this season with Devoe. The only thing the are falling down a bit on, is making the heroes do out of character stuff, even dumbing them down a bit to make plot work. You don;t have to do that. You can keep your heroes smart, just make your villain smarter. And I do like that they aren't sacrificing the romance but are also not letting the romance cannibalize the show. We are getting a nice amount of Barry/Iris that deepens their relationship but it isn't at the expense of the bigger plot.

And here I was thinking they were doing a great job of balancing the romance and the action, keeping the show still a superhero show while not shortchanging the relationships.