DearEvette

Prior to this episode I didn't 100% like any of these characters except maybe Celeste & the kids - I hated Perry - Jane seemed too much of a blank an d a bit of a cipher to be such a main character - Renata just seemed like she was laboring under a massive case of imposter's syndrome and was a little too unsympathetic to be likable even when she was in the right - I thought Madeleine was bitter and needlessly confrontational about everything - Bonnie and Nathan have little to no agency and were being interpreted by everyone around them so it is hard to determine just what their motives are. They are not active participants in this story at all, but rather passive recipients of the other characters' (mostly Madeleine's) story fall out. - I found Ed to be passive aggressive But this episode shifted my perceptions quite a bit - Still like Celeste the most and it is probably due to how well Nicole Kidman is selling just how utterly complex it is to be a vicitm of DV - Hate Perry even more Man, what a fucking sociopath. That therpy session was a masterclass in the con of self denial. But I have to hand it to Scarsgaard man he is totally selling Perry as an abuser. - Jane is still the weakest link in the ensemble, but I feel a bit more empathy toward her after her revelation. - Sorry but my estimation of Renata went way up. I know I should hate the mommy one-upmanship, but man Laura Dern is brilliant in this role and I thought the party was fab and like the woman said, the Frozen gift bags were the perfect touch. Also the fact that Bonnie and Skye ( who was pointedly NOT invited to Disney on Ice) were prominently on display at Amabelle's party added to the clapback toward Madeleine. Such fabulous shade. Also she has some great lines. - Still think Madeleine is an "itty bitty ball of rage" LOL. And still thinks she is just really unpleasant and way too bitter a lot of times, taking out her own feelings of anger and dissatisfaction on the wrong people. But I do like her relationship with Jane and her reaction to Jane's revelation softened me quite a bit toward her. I don't like her quite as much as I think others on this board do but like jane this episode did make me see her more sympathetically. - Bonnie and Nathan are still distressingly underdeveloped I mean both of these characters have probably had a total of maybe 10 minutes of screen time combined over the first three episodes of the show. But even so I liked them a little more in this one. I feel like they are both awkwardly trying. But it doesn't help that they still have no agency and as such their motivations are still being largely seen through the lens of Madeleine's larger, more complex story and even through the observations of unreliable third party narrators. Bonnie's dance was no more salacious that Renata's since they were dancing together. I do find it interesting that the final police interviews of the ep make pointedly name check Bonnie specifically in addition to Celeste, Maddy and Jane. It make sense that those three would have a light shone of them since they are the main players, but Bonnie is very small bit player. Makes me wonder? Where does she fit in the murder because it is obvious by her inclusion in that last little bit that she has some larger role later. - For some reason this episode made me like Ed less. I find him whiny and even more passive aggressive.

I binged this yesterday but not *ahem*on CBS all Access *ahem* Anyway, I am really digging this and this episode was the best of a really strong season so far. - Matthew Perry -- Oh man -- is he ok? He looks terrible. I'm serious and not snarking. Between his bloated face and his slurring is he really medically ok? - I only casually watched The Good Wife, but I always loved the Elspeth episodes and she was even more excellent in this one. I don;t now how but she managed to come off a little... menacing... in her cozy sharing of wine and ice cream with Kresteva's wife in their kitchen. It was such a great "don't come for me unless you are called" scene. - I get such a tickle out of seeing what snazzy outfit they are going to put on Delroy Lindo every episode. He is such a snappy dresser here that his pocket squares almost give me as much joy as Lucca's shoes. - Lucca is really, seriously the MVP of these eps so far. How nice to see her stretch and come into her own as a character and I just love Cush Jumbo. She has a sparkle! - Diane is a wonderful center and I am glad she finally got a win with bringing in her Chum Hum whale. Good for her. And yet, I don't want the show to set her up as some white savior of the black law firm either. - But I also need for Barbara to get a win too. Erica Tazel is too good an actress to be wasted as just some glorified office manager. I want to see her do law and not just as some set up constant foil for Diane where she constantly comes up short because Diane is the star. The optics of that are just not good. For instance I loved that scene of her and Diane in the previous episode talking quietly about life choices. Great scene. - Maia's scene with Elspeth is probably one of the best Maia scenes/storyline since the premiere. The Maia stuff is dragging for me, tbh. I get impatient with her stuff and want to get back to watching Diane, Lucca, Delroy etc. Maybe if we got to see her actually interact with other newbie associates at this firm and not just have her off on her own storyline or mainly interacting with Marissa in the office. There is the optics of creating this white silo in a black firm but also it just seems to make it feel like she is in her off on a different show. It is good that this ep tied the Rindell stuff in with this firm and her jeopardizing the firm so that has possibilities, but so far her storyline has been a bit of dud. -Speaking of Marissa, man, I find her just too much. I am starting to roll my eyes when she appears because they are skating the line of making her a Mary Sue.

Sigh. CBS is so basic. And poor Andy Weir, he writes these diverse characters and casting just keeps messing stuff up .

Man, I get not liking a show but I was less struck by her dislike for this show than what feels like an smug disdain for tv and tv viewers as a whole. And good lord, her prose is so purple it practically undermines her opinions in the review. She sounds like a pretentious twit and not because she dislikes the show, but because she is so unnecessarily florid about it. She could take lessons from Roger Ebert. That man could write a scathing review with style, wit, and without piling up the metaphors and adjectives like they owe him rent. But he actually enjoyed movies and that shown through regardless of how much he disliked the one he was reviewing. And even when he hated a movie I liked, I could still love reading that bad review because he was a damned good reviewer.

Yup. I feel like I could have written that entire article. it completely aligns with what I feel. I will say they've had some stand out guest stars though, Samaire Armstrong, the pair who played her parents, LaTayna Richardson, the prison lawyer and the prison doctor just to name a few.

Rashida Jones will make a guest appearance on the show in April playing Bow's sister. http://ew.com/tv/2017/03/13/rashida-jones-black-ish/

Rectify gets such glowing reviews. My husband and I finally sat down to watch it. He likes it and plans to continue. I found it wrist-slitting depressing so I was out after the first 20 minutes.

Christine Adams cast a ex-wife in CW Black Lightning series Produced by Mara Brock Akil and Selim Akil along with Berlanti as part of his DC empire on the CW.

I agree with everything on your post, but I have to absolve Richard of responsibility here. The way I read the scene with Bailey, Minnick was basically given authority over Richard in any role he maintained in the Residency program. She made it clear she wouldn't work with him, she took his job. If that is the case then it should have been on Minnick to make the approach to Richard, not vice versa. No subordinate goes to their superior and says "I am willing to work with you." At the very least Minnick realizing that she was entering into a sensitive work situation and Richard's relationship with the residents and longevity with the hospital should have been a lot more diplomatic in how she incorporated him in her plans. For me, Bailey is the real villain in this piece. She allowed herself to be manipulated by Catherine, she allowed Minnick to dictate terms and a level latitude in the hospital that just alienated everyone, and she allowed Richard to take the blame for a system that (if it was broken) wasn't one he created. She basically bungled the whole thing.

Me too. Love the Misfits opening and the song. Love the Punk new wave-y sound of it.

What can she really do to him though? If I recall, only April actually saw the original balloons. The woman threw them up in the toilet and flushed them down before Choi and Jeff made it into the bathroom. April is the one that told them she was a drug mule. He couldn't even say how many other there were. The only one left that he did actually see was the one balloon that burst in her esophagus. And they reported that to Goodwin who agreed that with just the one they didn't have to report it. I did like the pysch patient story because it could have easily gone either way. The girl could have been the victim of her mother, or she could have been a perfect pathological liar. It was a nice dilemma. I also liked the additional issue of her being trapped in the system actually would make her mentally ill. What a nightmare. Felt bad for April. And this was the first time I liked her brother. At least she cried at the end and it broke her out of that sad numb state she was in during the whole show. First step in healing. Manning. Sigh. I won't even talk about her because she makes me ragey.

Things I have no time for: Riggs and Meredith . I don't dislike Meredith. But could somebody please explain to me what Riggs sees in her? Sure they had sex in a car. And maybe she really rocked his world. But he is a grown ass man and I would hope that one night of sex, even good sex in a car isn't enough to make you fall in love. Especially if the woman in question is habitually dismissive, stand offish and snotty to you. It completely baffles me. They have no chemistry. Amelia. I won't even add Owen to this mess because the man is blameless, imo. Minnick. Really show? So everyone is giving her a tongue bath and she's winning people over? Really? Just like that? The lack of any fall out of her part in that child dying is ridiculous. Even if it was something that could have happened to any surgeon, her inability to actually teach Stephanie something as simple as how to deal with it should at least have Steph looking at her as a fraud. I mean, Steph and Minnick haven't even had a scene together since then, but we are get a scene of Steph praising her? GTFO! Minnick and Arizona: shudder. No chemistry. Karev and Riggs: This "fight" was such a transparent, contrived thing that it practically insults our intelligence. No way would Karev not have at least considered transplant as an option for that kid instead of rejecting it out of hand. We've seen Alex weigh options before when it comes to trying to make a decision on how to do treatment. This was ridiculous an in service to the terrible Riggs/Mer romance. Catherine's mentoring April. If Catherine is actually seriously mentoring April on the up and up then it is not in keeping with her character and it is just as contrived as Alex & Riggs fighting. Things I am here for: Catherine Manipulating April. Not because I dislike April necessarily, but because it is more in line with what Catherine would do. And frankly it is more interesting. I could see Catherine keeping April close in order to try one day have some influence over Harriet, especially if April and Jackson really do part ways. Maggie Adulting. I think we've had two eps in a row where Maggie actually felt more like a chief than a Dougie Howser. Jackson having a storyline. One that doesn't revolve around his marriage or non-marriage to April.

Zazie Beetz who plays Van Donald Glover's off-and-on girlfriend in the tv show Atlanta has been cast as the super hero Domino in Deadpool 2. This is another case of Marvel race bending a character from the comics.

Great episode. Lots of great points made and still very funny. Bow was hysterical. Good showcase for Tracee. Right out the box love the opening scene at the B-day party with Jeanine. Gets right to the heart of continuing issues of the lack of intersectionality in feminism without hitting you over the head with it. It felt natural that Jeanine felt very good about giving Diane the white doctor doll, never thinking that maybe a little black girl needs something a little extra more than just a feminist toy. Also, the Count Chocula bit cracked me up! I really like Casey Wilson she was good as Patrice. Also, Patrice-rhymes-with-Mattress was a great call back to the names thing and I immediately thought of A-A-Ron again. LOL The B-story was also good. This is how they should use Ruby. A few other fun things: Sassy Selma came with an afro pick. LOL Charlie's empty brandy snifter and him calling Dre out on 'beige rage' colorism. and on a shallow note: Zoey was rocking some really cute tops this ep. I especially liked the white one she wore early in the ep and then the cute oxford she wore at the spades tournament.

Now, this makes me wonder if the racial element of the baby storyline was also thanks to Jennifer and not the writers. Remember in that storyline when she and Tina were looking for donors, Bette specifically chose a black donor because she wanted the baby to reflect who they both were racially. Doesn't sound like this kinda of thought process would have come from those writers...

Sonequa's character is supposed to be the actual lead of the show. In a departure from other ST tv shows, she, the Lt. Commander is the POV character rather than the captain. I wonder if that is still technically true since Fuller is no longer attached. But yeah, I complained about how CBS has fet rather deliberate in creating diversity on the shows that is it putting on their pay channel. For instance, The Good Fight, the spin off of The Good Wife, is now set in an all black law firm and apparently, from the reviews I've read, Cush Jumbo's character Lucca has really blossomed as a character since she is now from under the shadow of Juliana Margulies. I think if you add the tv + the movies, I will give Marvel a slight leg up on the diversity track. Yes they had a great (missed) opportunity to make Danny Rand Asian, but at least Colleen Wing is. But there is also Agents of Shield, Luke Cage & Daredevil. And if they do a Heroes for Hire thing, then the cast would be multi culti with Misty, Luke, Danny, and Collee. For the movies at least they have a major character in Storm, even if they didn;t use her that well. And they race bent Johnny Storm, Nick Fury, Valkyrie (in an upcoming Thor movie), and for the umpteenth remake of Spiderman they've decided to race bend Mary Jane. And of course the entire Black Panther cast which is a who's who of black excellence is highly anticipated. And there is even some speculation that they'll introduce RiRi Williams (the black teenage female Iron Man) on screen at some point. DC otoh, seems to do much better on TV than in their movies. The issue with their movies is that they really just concentrate on Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and really that's it. Not a lot of room there since they aren't going to their bench. The Green Lantern movie they put out was forgettable, Ryan Reynolds just seems blah to me. Instead of going with Hal Jordan Green Lantern they could have gone with the John Stewart Green Lantern instead. Now that Flash is gonna appear on the big screen it is nice that they are keeping Iris West black in movie. And Jason Momoa is Aquaman, so that is a plus.

I think it is both things. From the perspective of the people in that room at that time, I think they did get robbed of their moment. But I have to agree the mistake really did give them the sort of exposure they wouldn't have had without the mistake and will make them more memorable in the long term. One thing I do notice kinda anecdotally is that in the aftermath, Viola Davis seems to the be the one winner of the major categories who feels like their win is being celebrated as a win, and not just as some addendum to the bigger story. She's gotten a few cover stories in mags holding her Oscar. Everyone else -- Emma Stone, Damian Chazelle, even Mahershala Ali to a lesser extent -- their wins all seem to be discussed as associated or an addendum to the bigger story. Not surprising since they are all associated with the two films in question. I mean he Best actress Oscar which is kinda typically a "belle of the ball" thing and now it seems like Emma's importance that night is more linked to being the associated with the reason the mess up happened and not because she was a big winner. And then there is Casey Affleck whose win feels really lost among everything else that went on.

Ok I was very curious about this because like I said I've paid very little attention to Jennifer Beals but like so many other actors who have gotten the side eye over the years for denying blackness, I figured I would have heard about that. But like I said, one of the very few things I had heard was her really wanting Bette to be biracial. It seems like a weird thing to go from "I'm not black" to asking your network to make your character biracial. I am no industry insider but it doesn't strike me that a studio is going write a role as explicitly biracial unless they have an actual reason in the script to do so that hinges on the character's race. Hollywood is not that subtle. There was no reason to make Bette biracial or her character in Lie to Me biracial other than she wanted them to. I would imagine that no way in hell would the character in Flashdance would have been written as biracial and since it was her first movie, Jennifer would have had no clout whatsoever to dictate character. I looked up the Ebony article and while it hit on some very valid issues with the industry and colorism, many of the things we discuss on this site, it is written in what I feel is a rather unsophisticated way that really lacks nuance. For instance they decide that biracial actors who do not identify as black are taking advantage of some "new ethnicity" -- um, ok? The gist of the article sounded like it wanted Jennifer to explicitly claim blackness rather than to simply claim part black heritage, which imo are two different things. The article quotes her where she says 'I'm a minority but I'm not black and I'm not white. I am other." when talking about applying to Yale. the article was written in 1990 but I am not sure when the quote was attributed, but it sounds very much in line with how I've heard other biracial people sounded back in the day when they tried to grapple with explaining their race when they want to claim both before we had a more inclusive vocabulary in how to talk about issues of identity and ethnicity. My children are biracial and if asked that is what they both say "I'm biracial." They don't claim or deny blackness but try to be inclusive. And I am glad about that. And finally, there is actual footage of her attending the NAACP awards when she was nominated for Devil In A Blue Dress. It may seem like it, but I am not stanning for her in any way, but I do think a person claiming their biracial identity is not the same thing as a person who denies their black (or other non-white) identity. And from what I can see so far she has done the former but not the latter.

I've never paid much attention to Jennifer Beals really but I do know that unlike, say, Vin Diesel she very much acknowledges her black father and her biracial identity. The one interview I can remember reading is the one where I learned she was biracial. It was where she talked about advocating strongly for Bette in the L Word to be biracial rather than white and the casting of Pam Grier playing her half sister and Ossie Davis playing her father. I believe it was the same deal with her chracter in Lie to Me. I don't think that character was originally written as biracial but Beals asked for her to be.

Watched a new show on NBC called Taken, which is the prequel-but-not-really-but-origin-story of the Liam Neeson character of the movies. To my surprise it is actually quite good. Also a nice multicultural cast, (there is also an Asian actor not pictured on the cast page who is on the CIA team) I especially liked Jennifer Beals's character who plays the cool-as-frost leader of the shady CIA team that recruits him and Gaius Charles who I had only seen in Friday Night Lights and Grey's Anatomy. His character is more menacing and forceful in this. The action and fight sequences are great and I read that Luc Besson is an exec producer so he is involved in the show.

Huh. Despite myself, I liked this. I had it on on background noise but got sucked in. The fight sequences and action sequences are very well done. The scene in the house when Bryan lies in wait for them to come get him in his own home was especially good. Both Jennifer Beals and Gaius Charles, whom I've seen normally play much softer characters, really sell the cool operator characters they are now. Beals is especially good as the cool as a cucumber leader and Charles does menace very menacingly. LOL. Read that Luc Besson himself is a producer and involved in the show, probably why the action sequences look so good. I think I am in.

Every new story or eyewitness account that comes out is really fascinating and some of them contradict each other. But that is par for the course. I feel extra terrible about Barry Jenkins. Man it sucks he couldn't deliver his speech. Hearing what he would have said and probably how emotional it would have been in the room given that it seems like they had such a huge amount of support in there, it just super bites that he (and we) didn't get to experience that. But everything else... I have an Ryan Gosling level smirk on my face. This is such a delicious little story to follow and my cold dead heart is loving the drama of it all. And yeah,fuck that Fred Berger guy (the third La La Land Producer) who said in his own interview that he knew they hadn't won before he spoke, but he wanted to thank his wife anyway and he said 'Why not.'

I agree and disagree with this. I agree that if this had happened to any other film -- say, Arrival -- the sympathy to all involved & awkwardness of the sheer blunder of the moment would have been the exact same. But I disagree that Moonlight being a film by and about black and queer folk does not on some level play into some of the emotions and conversations surrounding all of this. The triumph of a tiny film that looks at a slice of black experience and the LGBTQ experience was legitimized by this award from an industry that is incredibly white has a much deeper meaning to many than just a win of an award. It resonates with a lot of what is happening around the world and a lot of the agitating discussions about the importance of inclusion and representation. Of course some people are cynically saying Moonlight's win is an appeasement to the criticism the Oscars received last year. The only reason those voices aren't louder, imo, is because everyone is still too titillated by the fuck up.

USDA data for SNAP recipients indicated sugary drinks was the second highest food category money was spent on, coming it at 9% of total grocery budget. For the rest of the population sugary beverages are the fifth highest food category money was spent on coming in at 7% of their total grocery budget. In both cases, sugary drinks seem to be a problem. Personally, in my household they'd come in waaay lower. I used to love soda but about 10 years ago I had an epiphany and realized it was the carbonation I needed, not the sugar or the flavor. So now I just do sparkling water as my go to beverage. When my kids were in grammar school. the district they were in had an opt-in directory where parents could include any or all: email, phone, & address in a directory to be distributed by classroom. It was a life-saver for party & play date planning, especially since the school my kids went to kinds straddled a rural and suburban area and the kids were really far flung. We moved when my youngest was going into fifth grade and were kinda bummed the new school didn't have anything similar. made it a little bit harder to try to plan things outside of school.

So the third guy knew they lost even before he took the stage and started his speech. I missed that earlier, I though he was overhearing in the background while he was speaking. But from this he knew. So he stood there with his Not!Oscar in his hand and made a speech thanking people knowing full well it was not his moment to take. Talk about the anti-Horowitz. I agree that Horowitz took the charge that the people IN charge didn't take. Kudos. While everyone else stood there with their thumbs up their asses, he made a decisive move that probably cut through what was shaping up to be at least 30 seconds more of hemming-hawing. But I don't feel he needs to be hailed as a 'Hero.' That is literally what some articles are calling him. It is bad enough that what should have been a great moment for Moonlight's team has been tainted but now even the aftermath of it, all the articles are lionizing a guy who simply did what he was supposed to do. Cookies, indeed. I love this so hard! All the shocked reactions and then Ryan's Gosling's face -- like a held back giggle and a little bit of unholy glee. As a sight gag this is excellent. I assumed that is what is supposed to happen? After all the rumors about Jack Palance reading the wrong name and Marisa Tomei not really winning (for the record I was thrilled with her win and thought she totally deserved it because she completely rocked in My Cousin Vinny) the Academy and PWC people did a series of interviews reassuring people that they'd never let a wrong name stand. As a matter of fact one article I read said the PWC rep was empowered to immediately take the podium and announce the winner themselves. And that 'they weren't shy' about it. So this is interesting because this makes it sound like he wasn't paying attention and instead was tweeting. But it also kinda answers my earlier question about what took so long: So apparently they have protocols for this but didn't follow them. Finally, there is this interesting article in Cosmo that puts a little spin on optics of what went down that I hadn't even considered. Since the Oscars are so political and given the what is going on with diversity and racial politics & the reasons people like to give for Cheeto's election win, this line in the article kinda stood out to me: It speaks to the anxiety that some whites have around the issues of diversity. The feelings that POC are coming in to 'take' what is normally theirs, things they didn't rightfully deserve and are only granted because of 'PC' policies. And to see a sort of visual representation of that on stage is really a rather interesting take.