DearEvette

I acknowledge that is is probably very shallow and irrational, but I couldn't bring myself to watch Penny Dreadful because Eva Green's face annoys me. It is a really weird visceral reaction, not sure why, I just don't want to watch her. I am sure she is a fine actress, but there is just something about her that rather repels me

I agree with this. Although I do think the actor who plays Abrams is missing the mark. The actor doesn't seem, imo, to have the ability to do natural asshole, so his brand of it feels try-hard. But I love Latham. I think the actor is hitting all the notes just right. I think the biggest issue I have with Manning (among so many others) is that she is forever crying. You can be a compassionate doctor without bursting out in tears all the time.

I didn't see the episode where Maggie got arrested so I don't know what went down, but was it so bad it would have been insensitive for her to have any contact with the dead cop and husband just by virtue of doing her job? I maybe could understand if there was some question about Maggie not being able to put aside a grudge if the woman came in sick. But the woman was dead already. The whole morbidity review with Natalie was soooo bad. Poorly acted. Soap opera theatrics. Completely laughable. From her telling Dr. Fire, "You humiliated me in there." Uh, no he didn't. If anybody looked bad it was him. To the trying-to-hard-to-be-a-badass Dr. announcing through a micophone "Don't date Residents." Dude! Even Grey's Anatomy which is overtly a soap opera doesn't come off that cringey. I liked the reprise of the Alcoholic/heart recipient storyline. And Dr. Charles felt like his season one self. I wish the show would tone down some of the Natalie stuff and let other characters get some shine. It feels lopsided this season. Choi is getting more airtime than he did last season, but Connor has all but disappeared and even Halstead seems to be sidelining. I love some of the focus to move from her a bit and spread a bit more evenly. If I liked her better or if she were more sympathetic it wouldn't be so noticeable, but the writing for her just seems to pile on the worst plucky-yet-sensitive heroine tropes.

That brings up an good point and interesting distinction though. As liberal and with it as Beth seemingly is, would the character -- or should a character -- always knows the exactly right terminology for whatever it is they are talking about. I'm not talking about something blatantly bigoted, but just the smaller incremental changes in terminology that take awhile to root in language. And most especially if those terms aren't part of your normal conversational vocabulary. Sure, on the one hand the writers could have easily used 'orientation' or another more appropriate word, but in casual conversation 'preference' probably still feels familiar since I think it is what people have been used to using until very recently. Which is probably why I can give Beth-the-character a pass on that even if it wasn't the writer's intention.

I am one of those people who hadn't planned to watch it because I am limiting my exposure to anything pertaining to The Cheeto. But I caught it. I actually think this was well done. I am glad they went a few unpredictable places, namely with Stevens NOT voting for The Cheeto because he isn't a real Republican . Lucy actually voting for him because Hilary wasn't the first woman she wanted to be President didn't make a lot of sense though. When she put it in context with Barack being the right first black president and questioning whether black people would have actually voted for any black candidate that part made sense. But her actually voting for him as protest didn't. It would have been smarter for her to not have voted at all, which most people I know who felt the same way did. All in all I thought they handled this the way they did any of their issue episodes, such as the gun episode, the voting episode, and the N-word episode. They presented all sides with some nuance. The humor wasn;t as high but it was still there. Dre's speech was great, especially with Nina Simone in the background.

Yeah, I didn't include Rebecca's Jewish identity as a statement of specifically ethnic inclusion, but as an illustrative example of how inclusive and diverse the show is across the board --ethnically, racially, age, gender, LGBT, religious, even culturally because we get glimpses of Filipino culture through Josh's family.

For the entire first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend I thought Vella Lovell, the actress who plays Rebeca's friend Heather was Indian or of Indian descent. But there is an episode of the show in Season 2 where we meet Heather's parents and I was suprised that her dad was black and her mother was white. Turns out that mimics the actress's own biracial make up. She did say in an interview that she tends to get cast as Indian. BTW, I am tickled that even with the low ratings, Crazy Ex Girlfriend just got renewed. The show is so fantastically diverse. Rebecca is Jewish. Valencia is Latina. Heather is biracial. Josh is Asian. White Josh is gay. Hector is Latino. Paula is over 40. Paula's new bff Sunil is Indian.

Oh man, I loved that moment. If felt very siblingl-ly. Like, sure they hadn't seen each other for awhile but they fell naturally into their old roles. I like Randall's brand of awkward. It doesn't come off as "look, at how preciously tv awkward I am!" but rather it comes out in little weird bursts that feel organic and it retreats when Randall feels comfortable again. I don't know if it is the writing or just SKB who makes it work, but it does. Randall is quirky without being TV-quirky. Ugh. Olivia is the worst. Still. I feel that her hair was a signifier of how fake she still is on the inside. Welp, William is gonna be dead by the end of the season. I like Ron Cephus Jones but, like Randall, I am prepared for it. Good epsiode.

This pisses me off so hard. It is female centric. Has a central lesbian character. Looks to have at least 3 actors of color in it in major roles. It looks good and is one of maybe two CBS shows I would actually watch and you have pay extra for it. Man, I hate CBS.

It is all speculation of course, but in the case of Queen Sugar though if they do go that route the white family might again be a logical piece of the story. The show is set is New Orleans and as such has a specific history of gens de couleur libres (free people of color) that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country. The black Creoles, the Octoroon and Quadroon balls, the biracial families of white landowners that consisted of their black mistresses that were set up to be actual "shadow" families where there was an entire social structure in place that mimic'd white society and the children were educated and expected to marry other gens de couler (but not blacks). And of course, the lighter the skin the more desirable. So given that the show mines some of the voodoun culture in regards Nova we know they are using the New Orleans setting as part of the story narrative not just as backdrop, And given that they've already tied the Bordelon family history as slaves to the white Boudreauxs as slave owners I could see them possibly using the gens de couleur history as well. However, I do agree that biracial people come in all hues and do POC who are not biracial. I often wonder why we don't see more Afro-latino/a characters who are coded expressly as Latin. I could be wrong but Laz Alonzo and Gina Torres for instance, typically don't seem to be cast as Latino/a but more typically as black.

That is true and would be a fascinating look at flipping the script sorta like the film Something New where in the interracial relationship had the BW in the role of the upper class person with the money while her white male love interest was blue collar and out if place in her more high society world. But I also see that if she is going to explore the issue of colorism in an honest way, that is needs to be done under the rules that currently exist. Basically in the way that we are discussing it now as inherently problematic with advantages tilted toward the lighter skinned.

Although not explicitly stated in the first season of Queen Sugar, I think Charley being lighter skinned is a very deliberate decision. We know she had a different mother than Nova and RA. Also that her father left their mother for Charley's mother and came back to Nova & RA's mother. You also get the impression that her mother has or came from money. So I think QS is actually playing to the trope, not just blindly falling into it through pretty casting. My sense is that Charley's status in relation to Nova and RA is definitely tied to colorism and that is something that will be further explored. But I also would not necessarily qualify Charley as well adjusted. Not any more than Nova who is an activist, journalist and well respected in the community and her weed-dealing ways isn't just run-of-the-mill criminality but a modern day manifestation of the voodoo queen who was often seen as a community wise woman who administered spiritual and physical healing through potions, powders, and gris-gris etc. There are quite a few scenes of Nova acting in this capacity. As far as desirability is concerned when it comes to skin tone, I think QS subverts that as well. The very first scene shows Nova, her skin blue-dark, being worshiped by her lover, the same man who leaves his white wife for her. Meanwhile Charley's husband cheats on her with a hooker he has on speed dial and facilitates her rape. And even in that storyline the show makes a smart observation about colorism when Charley speaks to the lawyer: And finally, RA being a felon isn't just a fall back on a black man in jail, but again a deliberate choice by Ava Duvernay, imo. She is incredibly passionate about prison reform. The entire show has a palpable social justice vibe. It hits on a lot of things, migrant workers, sex workers, the prison system, rehabilitation, drug addiction. I think some of things being included in the show are done by design not just a fall back to old stereotypes.

Oh man. We didn't get in BB until after S3 had already aired so we got to watch the first three seasons semi-bingeing on Netflix. There was a point in season 3 when my husband and I would look at each other after watching an episode and say "just one more?" After having already watched two or three in a row.

Normally I would agree with you. But TER is such a great comedic actress! Honestly when the show started I was in fear of them defaulting to the sitcom trope of the husband being the wacky-loser-manchild and the wife being the sensible-wise-straightman so much that we wouldn't really get to see her stretch comedically. But I really do see Tracee as a Lucille Ball type. So for me, letting her be a little more wacky even at work feels really good for me. And we have seen her be very competent at work in the past so I don't necessarily see these small glimpses as being really indicative of her abilities.

Her reaction was so over the top. God, I wonder why they insist on making her so insufferable all the time? They've managed to redeem Will, maybe they can do the same for her. I would hate for her to be my doctor, she is always in her feels. I loved the Choi/MMM fighter storyline. Went somewhere I didn't expect. Nicely acted. Also liking the April storyline. It is probably going to lead to a tragic ending both for the baby and the relationship, but it is a good dilemma for them to delve into. And I agree, good lord, what are they doing to Charles? And his continuing animosity toward Rhodes can't just be because of his relationship with the Robyn right? Tell me there is some backstory we haven't gotten yet? Cuz otherwise they seem to just be willfully assassinating his character.

HBO and Alan Ball have a new show as yet untitled about a couple played by Holly Hunter and an as yet uncast actor for her husband who adopted children from Vietnam, Colombia and an American born child of Somalian parents and then had a child of their own later in life. The adopted children -- they are adults when the show airs -- are played by Raymond Lee (American actor of Vietnamese descent), Daniel Zovatto (Latino actor from Costa Rica) and Jerrika Hinton (African American Actress) and the biological daughter is played by Sosie Bacon (Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon's daughter). Looks interesting, I like family dramas and I like the descriptions of the characters. The article is Here

I enjoy her work. I keep stumbling across her in shows I watch. She was on Misfits -- that was where I first saw her and really liked her in that. Then I came across her in this show called Love/Hate. I wasn't crazy about the show but I liked her. I tuned in for Preacher just for her and she is fantastic as Tulip O'hare in that. She is my dream cast for River Tyburn if they ever get around to making Ben Aaronvotich's Rivers of London book(s) into a series. I also thinks she looks like Mildred Loving and I also think they did a good job of casting Joel Egerton because he also closely resembles Richard.

Stevens has always been a privileged rich white guy, but some of the early eps this season they feel liked they crossed a line from just 'clueless' mild racism with Stevens to something a little more explicit and virulent. Imo, it was jarring and a lot of people seemed to notice it.

This was funny. I love that for all her precociousness we were reminded just how young Diane is and that looking at sexy things on the computer freaked her out completely. Her reading the old encyclopedias "Who is Ronald Regan and why does this say he is the current president" was funny. And so relatable because I think our family set of Encyclopedia's are just right around when Bill Clinton became president. I also appreciated that we got to all the breadcrumbs that led Diane to seeing porn -- especially when she walks into the house and sees Junior and Zoe and asks them 'what is sex?' and they simply say 'Google it" very disinterestedly. and she shrugs and says "ok." I absolutely feel that Dre's work scene was most definitely a bit of fan service. Pointedly telling us that Lucy got fired to make way for Stevens' son. And Dre speaking as an aside about the out of control racism. And Stevens and Son were still very toned down. But it was still funny because Charlie's freak out over realizing it was Diane they were talking about instead of Zoe was worth the entire scene and I like how the new woman who was obviously sent there to control them got sucked into the drama immediately. LOL. Also, glad that we are seeing more of Bow's workplace as well.

I love it. But.... it took me awhile to get into it. The first episode is rather a slog and my first time out I gave up because it felt a little too expositiony. But I came to it again after the show had aired all of its episodes and I was in a different mind-set and I binged it. I think this is a show where bingeing works to its advantage. It builds momentum and you get to know the characters real well and the storyline -- disparate seeming at first -- converge very nicely toward the end. If you already have Prime then I say go for it. I am re-watching in prep for season II.

I agree with the issues the article brings up. Altho i do wonder why editorialize about it now? The triangle hasn't really had an on screen presence since ep 4. There are other sites that do include editorializing and non-objective opinions in their recaps that have brought up issues with the triangle (usually negatively), but Tvline really doesn't do that. Their recapper tends to re-tell rather than opine. Honestly, as much as I hate the triangle -- and I really do -- it isn't the the thing I'd write about if I were writing a critical editorial about the show. To me it is a clumsy, misguided way to create romantic tension for Mer/Riggs while introducing a angst for Mer/Maggie. It is basically Grey's embracing their soap opera roots and in the end it is a plot string that can be resolved in a snap. No, if I were going to take the time to criticize a direction of the show that had the potential to be more problematic long term it would be the Jo's past storyline. There is so much wrong with it from its conception to its execution (not to mention the crater wide plot holes involved with her identity issues) that a really good article could have wrestled with a lot of the issues we've all brought up on these boards.

SYFY just cast the character of Bobbie Draper in their show The Expanse. In the books Bobbie is a tall, imposing amazonian soldier of Polynesian heritage. They cast an actress named Frankie Adams who is a 6 foot tall amazonian boxer of Samoan heritage. I haven't read the books but from what I hear the casting is spot on. Good on them. The Expanse is already light years ahead of many shows in their ethnic diversity across the board.

So I finished and I must say I did like the later episodes and the series seemed to find a groove. - I loved Marcy's reset. Poor David though. Poor guy. Out of all the people they have encountered (minus the baby -- but more on that later) as part of their host lives, he is the most sympathetic to me. - Honestly, Carly leaving asshole boyfriend to deal with a shooting of a teenage girl is a pretty damned elegant way of dealing with him. I actually cackled and hoped she wouldn't turn around. Agree that her situation is the most problematic. My biggest issue with the show is how it is handling her motherhood. There is no context for her to be so concerned with the baby. It sounds heartless but she should have just let the kid go with asshole dad. If the show were better written that is what would have happened, imo. When she is away from baby mama drama (sorry, had to say it...) she's actually a good character. - I like that they toned down Phillip's need to save people. But again, I think the show relies so much on plot that the characters get short shrift. We should have seen Phillip's struggle with heroin in a different way. He isn't addicted to it, his host body is. Phillip seemed to be simply portrayed as someone who is a heroine addict and dealing with addiction. Instead of someone who knows he isn't addicted but has to deal with the physiological & psychological affect is has on his host. It is a small distinction, but an important one. I mean they did the same thing with Marcy in a way. Her host was developmentally disabled but Marcy wasn't. She worked to compensate on the physical issues with the brain, but her consciousness overwrote the real Marcy's developmental issues. Not sure why they couldn't have explored something similar with Phillip. But maybe I am asking too much. - Loved the arrival of Grace and Ellis. It seems that with the last few episode the show found a glimmer of a sense of humor and those two, especially Grace were a breath of fresh air. - Liked the dilemma in the end of now knowing what to believe and of course they completely fucked up the future. Cuz of course they did. LOL. - Trevor is my favorite. His whole spiel in the woods with Grace was perfectly played. - Hated McLaren's feelings for his wife. God I hate when shows do that. She's annoying and boring. This is probably why I liked the Grace character so much. She is on task!

Heh. This tickles me greatly because 3x01 was 'We're Good People Now'

I agree. There isn't really a plot that goes from one show to the next and each episode is a different vibe. If there was a central plot it was following hapless Earn (Glover) in his efforts to be the manager of his cousin Paper Boi a rapper. But that is a really lame description. Honestly It feels almost like an anthology because each episode is so different. And there are whimisical elements. Glover said he kinda used Twin Peaks as an influence and you can see it. It did give me one of my biggest gut laughs of all year though with As far as prestige show, I also agree it is in the eye of the beholder. I mean, it seems to be a cable show that critics seem to like because it has an antihero, graphic sex and/or a level violence that can't be shown on network tv. Give it a big budget but also make it an intimate portrait of a central character. It almost feels arbitrary. So many of them just seem like male-centric volent soap operas. Which is why, even though I don't watch it anymore, I always give a side eye to critics who dismissed Scandal in the early days as just a Shonda Soap opera that they felt flummoxed by people calling Olivia an anti-hero and comparing her to Walter White and Don Draper. Because to me it followed the same pattern as all the stuff they were applauding except it wasn't written by a white guy on cable and centering a white male character.