DearEvette

Yeah, I think it was an outgrowth of message boarding. i first saw it on Soap Opera message boards in the 90s. It just seems easier to smush your couple name while writing instead of spelling out both names over and over every time you refer to them in writing. Fewer keystrokes. I think the idea of couple portmanteaus came out of niche and into the mainstream with "Bennifer" driven by popular press co-opting the convention.

Every week I am like "This is my favorite song" (Good to be Bi) and then "No this is my favorite song" (Jap Rap) But I have to say, no really, this time, I loved the UTI song. So funny and clever. I also liked Heather after Josh delivered his apparently favorite insult ('dumb face') when she sat there with a crestfallen look on her face only to declare that she has the smartest face of all!

I don't think this bothered me as much. I think round that point they had to have become pretty numb to death a bit. it was post-Prison pre-Alexandria which was pretty demoralizing for them all. Hershel was dead, they had lost pretty much all of their red-shirts, Everyone else was scattered so he had no idea who else was still alive. As far as Rick knew Judith was dead, He had just bitten out a guy's jugular in a rabid fight to the death. Really they were all practically feral. I honestly think at that point Rick simply had nothing to give as far as reacting to Beth's possible death.

I think the thing that saves me from thinking Bob is insufferable are his THs. He comes off as someone who is genuinely thrilled to be there and is just so happy to be doing this. He said "I am living my dream" or something like that. He doesn't seem to be cynical about it or just so over it, (like Betty seemed). And although he doesn't come off as exactly nurturing there is nothing overtly bitchy about him. He only ever gets snarky with the other queens after they have already snipped at him. We are getting a lot of the Bob edit through Thorgy's frustration and so I think that colors it a bit. But that is more on Thorgy than on Bob. That said I am not 100% behind Bob taking it all. I like all of the queens left (except Derrick) but I am not 100% behind anyone winning. I think the perfect Season 8 queen is a Bob-KimChi-Thorgy mashup. They each have the qualities, that, imo make up the perfect Drag Race winner. I like Bob's instincts and performances, but her runway is way subpar. I like Thorgy's aesthetic and personality, but she always falls a little short in the runway too. Kim Chi's make up skills are brilliant and her humor and personality are great but she really doesn't have polish and seems a little tentative.

I've read that Shernold has also left the building.... This says to me that the people behind the scenes of TWD are more in tune with their show. Michonne of course has dreds in the comic, but Sasha is a new character for the show, like Daryl. A less smart show would think nothing of having her with silky smooth hair all the time. But it sounds to me like either Sonequa or someone on the creative side basically said... Uh black woman. Natural hair. She won't have time to put in a relaxer in he ZA. And TPTB were like "ok makes sense."

I would normally agree with this 100%. But I can see why the writers are getting some personal flack. Some of them have been very responsive to fans on twitter, even to the tune of reassuring them things would be great. Abbie fans have alwasy been vocal about fighting for her and writers have been saying things like "trust us" and " things are going to turn out great." it isn;t just that they were out there pimping their show, they created relationships and rapport with some of the fans. Yes, some twitter users have gone over the line. Some stuff is just wrong. And not everything on screen is the writers' decision. But a lot of people who are calling out the writers have a right to feel betrayed beyond just the stuff on the screen, but because they did put trust in the writers who asked for it in their own mentions. I think it was Mo Ryan who wrote an article in the wake of The 100 debacle about how to handle publicity in the Social Media age. And the first thing she says is "don't mislead the fans or raise their hope unrealistically". She acknowledges that writers/showrunner etc. will engage with fans to help raise the awareness of the show and use their fandom to pull along the show often manipulating their expectations to do this. And that is what happened here, imo. this is why I can't completely be mad at fans for turning on the writers. i do think the cast should be left alone, though. This was 100% Fox. After Goffman really screwed up massively in S2, I think they wanted to get away from that. Also, only about two of the writers from S1 were left. Honestly I don't believe the talent or vision was there anymore. That Metzner guy is a total hack. He was writing for himself, imo, putting Jenny in a leather skirt because he thinks she's hot. And then the big push to put Betsy and her boobs in the forefront. Gah! I am still so mad/sad right now.

First things first, Rupaul looked totally fab on the runway. Her make-up was flawless Ok so the thing with Bob. Look, I know they are all supposed to be super bitchy but I can't co-sign on the bitterness about Bob winning. Her wins have been well deserved. She is doing what she is supposed to be doing. Don't come for her, up your own damn game! Derrick Berry just needs to STFU because it is clear she is only still here because she was being protected to a point. Of the queens snarking at Bob, At least Thorgy, and to a lesser extent, Robbie have at least shown some creativity. Michelle's critique of Derrick is dead on! I thought Naomi was he clear winner. As much as I liked Kim Chi's look. I thought Naomi's was perfectly referential, you immediately knew just by looking at her which character she was. The make-up was clever, the straw socks, the burlap-like fabric, was perfect for scarecrow, and the skirt looked both high fashion and exactly like the sort of cast offs you'd see on a real scarecrow. I was surprised Chi Chi wasn't on the B2, but from what I gleaned from the panel -- the judges hated Robbie's look, except for Ross. And they weren't at all concerned about Chi Chi glue gunning her way semi-success. I get the feeling Chi Chi is this season's Adore. A broke, baby drag queen who RuPaul wants to give exposure to and nurture. I loved Marc Jacobs' response about glue-gun gate. And Michelle's too. "Who's mad at a hot glue gun!" I loved Marc Jacobs period. He was great and I cracked up at his "laying of the brooms" comment and his read of Thorgy's wig "a mark down St. Patrick's day situation." ha! Todrick Hall's outfit! This is what I love to see when someone comes to guest. He was all in. Good on him. Also, his comment about Thorgy's wig, what did he call it? "Grinch pubes" Ha! Also his comment about Naomi "I could not have been more proud and I don't even know her!" Basically the judging panel was LIT and I loved it! Robbie completely disappeared in that LSFYL. I couldn't even see her. Derrick of course did Brittany. I was rolling my eyes at the irony of her talking about being in her Brittany box while standing there looking Just like Brittany after having done a LSFYL that basically looked like a Brittany performance. Whatevs!

ha! I love how incoherent with rage all the (former) fan podcasters have been. And so many critics who gave up reviewing the show have piled on and done some think pieces. Just goes to show... I don't get the impression there was cast tension too much. Nikki tweated some "you go girl!" stuff about Lyndie a few months ago. None of the SH cast outside of Orlando are bit twitter users. I think Peter Mensah did more in his few months that Tom or Nicole did in their whole time there. I would be more inclined to believe Tom & Nicole fell out in some small way if he had been part of the promi junkets that all the lesser cast have been part of. But both he and Nicole have been absent. I am inclined to believe there was a bit of solidarity there on his part. At least I like to think so. I just imagine if it were just Nicole with the issues, we would have seen Tom doing more solo promo with all sorts of excuses made.

My husband loves Love. Me, I found the main guy character, Gus, became unbearable as the show went on. So i gave up. I am enjoying The Catch as mindless eye-candy -- the beautiful clothes, the expensive cars, the art, the homes etc. i think this will be one of those shows where the supporting characters are more interesting than the two main ones. As far as cancelling shows. I cancelled Sleepy Hollow with extreme prejudice. If it comes back I won't watch it, it if doesn't, good. I'll miss Nicole an Tom though. They were magic. I also cancelled Empire. I just don't have any excitement for it anymore. I had six eps on my DVR saved to catch and just decided to delete them. I realized I just stopped watching Scandal. It wasn't intentional, more like... neglect. And I have no desire to pick it back up. Same deal with Project Runway & So You Think You Can Dance.

I agree they are trying to Yang-ify Stephanie, but we can't make a full-throated comparison between Stephanie and Yang just yet. Yang was a fully realized main character, fleshed out, given background and context. We got to witness her competence and struggles many times over. We were given opportunity to build rapport and really come to known her. In my opinion we got more character & personality development in Yang in the first short season than we have with Stephanie in the past three seasons she's been on. And even though Yang is a very popular character, she wasn't always fair-minded in her assessment of her competition. For instance, In the case of Katie Bryce Meredith made the discovery of what was causing her seizures. When Derek picks Meredith instead of Christina to be in the surgery Christina, in a mad huff, says Meredith only got into Med school because her mother was Ellis Grey and she got picked for the surgery because she slept with Derek. She never took a minute to acknowledge that Meredith figured out something that even Derek couldn't. Stephanie's character development has been stunted and it has really only been this season that there has been any real movement on her. You can tell they are trying to create something quick. This was the first season we got to really learn about her. Previously she was just a day player in other dramas, like Heather's death, Leah's harassment suit, and the stupid intern/resident competitions. So yeah, It does seem like they are trying to establish her as an psuedo-Yang: someone who is competitive and confident and a little snobby, but they are doing it in quick, shorthand strokes so it doesn't come off as quite believable. Those qualities, if not done well or right, can be off putting and negatives rather than positives. Still though, Stephanie aside, I find the awarding Penny the grant thing such a contrivance. She's been around all of 10 episodes. And most of them have been her schlepping around like some victim. She messed up in her first surgery with Meredith. And the only other doctor beside Mer she has really worked with was Amelia. So unless Amelia's recommendation for Penny was better than her recommendation for Stephanie, how did she jump to the top? How are we supposed to believe she is better? I would be less sympathetic to Stephanie's bitterness over Penny if the show had really demonstrated that Penny was a really good doctor But it hasn't.

I think we have heard of Bow's sister before, I know I was not surprised to hear of her in this episode, so I am sure we've heard of her. I think the flashbacks are very Dre centric because they seem to happen in maximum Dre Whine Mode so it is all about him. But I wouldn't be surprised if it is also because Ruby always had a marked preference for Dre and so she spent more time with him. I may need to go and re-watch the Raven Symone ep, but I swear Ruby is blatant about her favoritism of Dre.

I think The Good Wife and Grey's Anatomy might have us beat. But just by a hair. Speaking of The Good Wife, I always believed that Diva thing was about Juliana Margulies.

I was so caught up in my rage spiral over Abbie, I completely forgot to mention how horrified I was with what they did to Headless. I hated what they did to him in S2 and that they made him nothing but Emo Abraham and muted all the of menacing dread he'd displayed in S1. I didn't particularly miss him in S3, since they had ruined him in S2. But I would have loved for him to come back. When it seemed like he did I was thrilled. Until... WTF? He was reduced to a walk on that did Ichabod's bidding? "Come along Headless kill the mean Goddess! Good job. Now you can go away now." And he does. Sigh.

I do blame the writers. Nicole may have wanted off but they all knew this. it wasn't a surprise to them. Ok, so. Write toward that then. Lay the foundation so we could see the clues. They were going for maximum shock and awe. But we would have still been shocked even if we had gotten the breadcrumbs to follow the trail because as viewers we find it inconceivable that they would kill off such an important character. But in retrospect, written well, we could have looked back and said " Ah, ha!" I think half of the anger is how they killed her. There is a serious tone deafness in how they killed her. How many times does Abbie have to sacrifice herself? This'll make the third time. Did they have to imply that her presence was simply there as "a guide" for Ichabod? Do they not know how "Magical Negro" that sounds? Why not just kill her in an epic battle, let her go out swinging and fierce? I think the other half the anger, esp among the hard core Nikki fans is because of the ship teasing. They went at that really hard in the back half of the season promising a pay off that never came and now never will. Why not throw the Ichabbie shippers a bone and pay off all the UST they've been playing with for the whole damn season? It would have cost them nothing because they knew she wasn't coming back and just might have softened the blow to some fans because at least they got that? It is rather academic anyway, if the show had been well written engaging all along Nicole's leaving would have been sad and horrible but people would still be excited for the show. For most people the ONLY thing keeping them on the show was Nicole and Tom together, so yeah, the writing is the problem.

I feel like I just got my divorce papers from a sad three year marriage. The first year was so giddy and happy and wonderful. But he cheated on me the second year, barely noticed I was alive. We tried to reconcile in the third year, we really worked at it, we had some great moments, things were starting to look up. But then nothing seemed to feel right. We just couldn't recapture the magic no matter how hard we tried. And then he betrayed me one last time. One time too many. So that's it. it is over. I need to watch a finale that ends on a hopeful, happy note. Maybe I'll go re-watch the Eureka finale.

- My theory is that they will try to capture lightning in the bottle again and maybe attempt to cast someone new. Since the show's most rabid fanbase at the end seemed to be WOC and the show was being hailed for its diversity, i would imagine they are going to try to cast another black actress. I Of course, if Tom negotiated for a lighter schedule and Nicole is gone is this really a show anyone is going to want to watch? Already Nicole's fan-base & Ichabbie shippers are fleeing like the building is on fire. Tom's fan-base may stay but if he isn't going to be on, then they won't be as invested either.

Ok I just saw the funniest tweet: The Walking Dead: We've just has the worst season finale ever. Sleepy Hollow: Challenge Accepted! BWAH. And now I can't find it to attribute it....

Nope. Nope. Nopity, nope. I am done. What kills me, is they knew she was leaving and still couldn't throw Ichabbie a bone. They could have given the shippers half a season.

I think Stephanie is arrogant, yes. And super confident in her abilities. But I don't agree that I am seeing entitlement. I remember when Meredith got the job of Chief of General Surgery(?) and Bailey low-balled her salary, almost to an insulting degree. Finally Mer went in to negotiate it and Bailey told her, nobody is going to give you anything you are going to have to fight for it. And also words along the line of "know your worth." It was obviously a meta-message in there from feminist writers in a feminist leaning show about women being more assertive and commanding the right salary for their skills etc. etc. But also in the back of my mind is the meta-message about how they seem to be finally crafting Stephanie's character this season. This is a show created and written by a black woman in an industry that largely finds black women invisible. I can't help thinking that in the season where issues of race, visibility and credibility have already come out through Stephanie, if this isn't yet another iteration of that in another form as well. Is she being given these characteristics of hyper confidence, arrogance and this extra hustle because it is what she knows she has to do it because no one will be doing it for her?

Ha! IKR? Even Mary Sue is like "Does she know who I am?" LOL.

i was willing to cut Penny some slack. But this episode really makes me wonder what kinda crack is in the pipe those writers are smoking with this character. Maybe if Samantha Sloyan was a more approachable actress then I could hand wave away some of the problems with her storyline. But she isn't really a sympathetic actress in this case. Her 'mic drop' speech was just bad, terrible, terribad. And who are all these people who are so impressed with her than she has them all recommending her? I don't think Stephanie & Jo are necessarily upset that she won the grant, after all it is available for anyone to apply and at the start of the show they seemed to assume she was going to apply. I think they were upset because in the end it looks like she was being shady about it. Like she was purposely lying to them only to stealth apply. Again, not a horrible thing on a professional level but I could see how they could feel skirty about it on a friendship level. I am not sure I am 100% certain that Owen knwos the truth about Riggs' marriage. But even if it is true, it doesn't matter if Riggs was fucking the every Doctor without a border. That is not the reason his wife died. It is also not Riggs' fault that Amelia, a grown ass-woman, didn't tell him she was an addict. I am so tired of Owen's anger at Riggs. I do like the actor who plays Rigg's a lot. His face when he realizes Amelia was an alcoholic was a great bit of non-verbal acting.

I irrationally hate Scorpion, a show I have never watched, because it co-stars Kat McPhee who is on my "celebrity I irrationally hate" list. But I like your reasoning better. Leverage is like the tv version of comfort food for me. When I am flipping around and can't settle on something, I'll find an episode of Leverage and watch it. Always makes me happy.

I think they've evolved with Zoey and I like where they're going with her. I remember the episode last year where Bow takes Diane to work with her and Diane becomes fascinated with the guy with a hatchet in his head. Bow characterizes Zoe as the one who would not work outside the home but marry well "probably several times." Junior is characterized as the typical nerd who would probably live at home for awhile. Jack is the only one who is considered not quite bright. while Diane is smart, with her only age and lack of life experience limiting her. This episode seems to have continued with those characterizations with the exception of Zoe. Before, the show seems to have taken pains to paint her as a smart but rather shallow person. But starting with the car episode and now this one, it seems the show has decided to give Zoey some depth and I like it a lot. I don't think Junior is being painted as dumb, really. But rather naive and credulous in the ways that people who tend to live inside books and video games can be. He's book smart, not street smart. Now Jack, they really are making him rather dim, bless his heart. Diane is a baby shark. I think they had to give her some vulnerabilities and still make her believe silly things otherwise her character is at risk of becoming unlikable. Thankfully Marsai Martin is so charming that she helps keep Diane from stepping over the line into too pre-cocious territory. I loved the the whole Tilapia as trash fish. That scene was great. Also, I liked the sly little line from Stevens to his "female diversity hire." It is a great little acknowledgement that "diversity hires" (i.e. affirmative action) in the workplace actually benefits white females more than POC. Poor Josh, not even considered a possible option for being a guardian. I LOVED the Different Strokes credit sequence. I was humming the song all night.

I finally got to watch untucked and I liked how awkward Chi Chi and Kim Chi were together at first then they bonded on Turkey Necks and Oxtails. I love how they were both pleased with the idea of sucking out the marrow! Kim Chi is a down-low Southerner! Nobody doubted at all that Betty and Naomi would be the B2. It feels weird but Betty's outro on Untucked seemed much longer and, I dunno, more ominous than anyone else's. Almost like that slo-mo scene you get in those Dateline episodes before somebody gets killed. I loved Robbie giving Naomi very accurate and very welcome runway advice. Yes, she is resting on body and all her runway looks are the same. Take the advice, Naomi! My reading from the things Bob and Thorgy have said about Betty is that yes she is a bitch and prickly and difficult, but I get the sense that even with all that they both like Betty. They hold her in affection despite all that. So in that sense she can't be all bad. I can imagine that she's the type who can be off putting until or unless you get to know her and then she may be a good friend. I have friends like that, people that I have to explain to other people. After the vidoe message from her sister she was talking about their division of labor in their business. She is the people person, Betty isn't. And frankly for all her bitchiness I like Betty's brand way more than, say, Derrick's. [1] - I don't know if that was a mind game, though. It feels like Bob had come with a bunch of complete ideas for Snatch Game and just so happens Whoopi was one of them. She actually talked more about Carol Channing than Whoopi. So I didn't get the sense she just pulled Whoopi out to psych out Naomi since she doesn't strike me as that vindictive. What I got from scene that is that Bob was super excited and wanted to show all her new friends all her great toys. I mean, she was talking so fast her words were spilling over themselves. [2] - Now the Madonna thing is a case where I suspect the Queens did psych themselves out. When I think of Madonna iconic looks, I immediately think of: 1) Madonna during the 80s 'Desperately Seeking Susan' time period with the crop tops, the messy hair, the 10,000 rubber bracelets 2) Like a Virgin Madonna with the bustier wedding dress, the big wonkin's cross necklace and the Boy-Toy belt. 3) The Vogue tour look that Chi Chi Channeled - The John Paul Gaultier stuff 4) That black and white polka-dot circus top and the white hip hugger pants, and curly hair from the Blonde Ambition tour So I wonder if maybe they thought, "oh everybody is gonna do those... let me think of the most obscure Madonna look I can" and weirdly they all settled on the Kimono. LOL. And finally, I have to mention the LSFYL. While I don't think either Betty or Naomi killed it, I love that it wasn't one of those desperate lip syncs with all sorts of crazy flourishes. Neither one was trying to get in the others' way and upstage her. They were basically doing their own thing, and in some cases it looks like they were politely giving each other their own space.

These days, this is me in a nutshell. I love TV, not gonna lie but I've watched damn near 40 years of tv with very little diversity. So now, I figure I can balance the scales a bit. Right now, any whiff of diversity, esp. a show featuring a black female will get me to give the show a try. A bad show won't keep me, but at least I'll give it a couple three looks. And it will get me to watch channels/shows I may not have normally given a second look -- Killjoys (love), The Expanse (took me a while but loved it by the end of first season), The Outsiders (fascinated despite myself), Stitchers (gave up, not even my love for Salli Richardson will get me to like this), Archer (sure, Lana is animated but that still counts). I'll still watch a show that has little or no diversity, but it is generally shows whose storytelling is irresistible like Breaking Bad or Mad Men. But if it is standard procedural fare or a doctor or lawyer show then, yeah I'll most likely pass.