DearEvette

Ok, so on rewatch, I notice that when Henry gives Jenny the adrenaline shot in the warehouse, he mentions "you sister and my father." In true Jenny fashion she doesn't blink because, well, a Bad Ass wouldn't give away anything. But Jenny hadn't been privy to the fact that Henry was Jeremy and thus Ichabod's son. That reveal happened after Abbie was already in Purgatory and Jennie was trying (unsuccessfully) to contact them to let them know Henry was not on their side. I just thought it was odd, even in the parameters of Sleepy Hollow's Batshittery, that it was presented as fact that she'd be aware of this and even being shown later by even a look of surprise that this was a weird development. I mean, we all freaked out when we found out.

Nice interview with Mark Goffman here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/22/sleepy-hollow-season-2_n_5862476.html?utm_hp_ref=maureen-ryan (there are some mild spoilery bits). I especially loved this line: Very gratifying to know they continue to acknowledge that the heart of the show is the Abbie/Crane partnership.

This would make some sense except for the fact that all of season one, the way they presented the power of witches, this was not evident. The Reverend simply said incantations, Serilda too. She came back to wreak her revenge and was killing people left and right with her powerful witchiness. The Coven also seemed to work with just incantations and of course they showed Katrina poofing from Europe to America in a puff of smoke, again just on the power of an incantation. What would make more sense,imo, would be if all her years in Purgatory did mess up her powers somehow. It would actually make her interesting and give her a plot outside of just being Ichabod's wife (let's face she has no other identity at this point). If she had to come to terms and struggle with the idea that she is no longer as powerful as she once was it could give her something to work with. That would be a bit of a blow since being able to twitch your fingers and get what you want has to be a seductive thing. It would be akin to losing a limb.

I am loving the little glimpses of Ichabod's relationships with the various historical figures: He almost idolized Washington He respected Jefferson (until the unfortunate revelation that Ol' Thomas plagiarized Ichabod's own words and had relations with Sally Hemmings) He seemes to have thought of Paul Revere as a Bro-Dude and Now he thoroughly sniffs with disdain and Franklin.

This did not feel like a premiere. It felt like the third part of the Season 1 finale. I copped immediately to the fake-out. I knew something was hinky, but I kinda dug Abbie and Ichabod's travelling arsenal and a glimpse of a how well honed their partnership had eventually become. I liked the call back to the S1 premiere, though, the visual of Ichabod clawing his way out of a grave followed by him running out onto the interstate. Jenny felt very Jenny. Good on them for not forgetting that she is a world travelling, ex-Demon possessed, ex-mental patient, Sarah Connoresque freedom fighter, mercenary. Of course she'd free herself and in kick ass fashion. Anything less would have been un-Jenny. Katrina seemed awfully flustered at the sight of Headless' buffed torso. Makes me think that she and Ichabod did it under the sheets at night, partially clothed. Abbie, oh, Abbie. I love you so. I love how she's like, well I am in Purgatory but I do not need to be stuck in Barbie's hell house. She's running around, getting intel, figuring shit out. And Andy!!! Now that the bonkers but excellent premiere is out of the way I hope the show does get back to a more studied pace and deals more deeply with Ichabod & Abbie's relationahsip. The fake-out we saw at the beginning was two people who had a cemented trust. But I don't think Ab & Ich are there right now. There is the elephant in the room with Ichabod's tunnel vision with getting Katrina out and all that that lead to. Abby's questioning of his zeal to get the key "Maybe that's what they want us to do." is a not-so-subtle reminder of his laser focus on getting the map and how, in dping so, they played right into Moloch's hands. And finally, I am not a huge Ichabbie shipper (just a medium sized one), but come on! This whole episode was full of Ichabbie feels. You can't have Ichabod recording what he thinks will be his final message before he dies to Abbie and not have people draw obvious conclusions. This is why I don't trust them when they say "oh, we don't mean to write them that way..." Bullshit. The hugs, the soulful looks, the I will come back for you... I continue to fight.... blah blah blah. But all in all that was a freaking awesome ep!

Opie! See for me, he is Opie Cunningham. Because through the Magic of TV Richie is just Opie all grown up, they are actually the same person even in tvland. Even when he was in that Jamie Fox/T-Pain music video (Blame it on the Alcohol) I said, 'Wow, Opie Cunningham is hanging out with Jamie Fox, Rudy Huxtable and Ashley banks in a rap video."

Yup. I am counting every whole or half man (and Charlie Sheen) that has had a part of that show.

Three and a Half Men. Not a single actor on the show appeals. Dads. Which I hate a) because it sounds stupid and b) because for some inexplicable reason Hulu seems to think because I like 'Sleepy Hollow' I will like Dads. It keeps recommending it to me. Stop! No! The two shows have nothing in common. No. Thing. Their reccommendation algorithmn is horrible.

Aw... Where's Jenny's?

I am curious about why so many people are seeing Glee in this? I've also seen a couple of professional reviews make the comparison. But I am not flashing on Glee when I watched it. Other than the bright color palette and the teenagers, what about it is triggering Glee comparisons? I watched the first season of Glee and enjoyed it because it was quirky and a little bent (reminded me of Murphy's other teenaged show, Popular). I bailed second season. But yeah, not really getting that quirky vibe here. RBS feels more earnest, like it is taking itself more seriously than Glee ever did (that first season anyway). it feels like it has more in common with those shows that feature world-weary-i-know-more-than-you-do teen shows.

Extended synopsis of S02.E3. Apparently Henry is Irving's lawyer. How ...diabolical! http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/09/sleepy-hollow-episode-203-root-of-all.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=b3rt4

I agree with Elena from Vampire Diaries. She is a shitty friend and suffers from Speshul Snowflake syndrome. Sookie from True Blood is also a member of the Speshul Snowflake/Shitty friend club. I have to say I do hate Megan from Mad Men like crazy and I lay it completely at Matt Weiner's feet. He took a perfectly fine character who started out great and root-worthy and made her unbearable. He pushed her so hard as the anti-Betty that it made me like Betty more than I ever had out of sheer self-preservation and contrariness. Oh, look she comes up with the best copy evah! She's a natural Ad Man! Oh look, she's fab with the kids, Betty is a terrible mother. Oh look, she's so hot and sexy singing in a kittenish little dress making every man want her. Oh look, she and Don fuck like animals on the floor of their penthouse! Betty would never do that. Oh look, she doesn't take Don's shit, she fights back fiercely. Betty just gave bitch-face. Oh look Megan is skinny and sexy, while Betty is fat and unahppy. Didn't Don do sooo much better? Ugh!

Oh man, I hope Empire doesn't suck. Pleasepleasepleaseplease be good. I am loving Taraji P. Henson's instagram stills of her character Cookie.

Ha! That explains it then. Becuase I thought the exact same thing, that he was getting some maturity. It is the last movie of his I ever saw. It is too bad that he is such a control freak that doesn't just hire people. He's in a position where he could pay it forward a bit and give opportunities to talented black screenwriters who actually could turn his vision into something stronger. i agree. I understand the need to cater to the audience when he first started out because 1) it was all he knew and 2) those were his fans. Makes sense. But as time goes on he has to correlate his shrinking box office with the fact that 1) that original audience isn't growing 2) if wants to continue to get the distribution to open wide in theaters, he needs to not just account for the audience he has, he needs to appeal a bit wider so his audience can grow. It is all well and good to be proud about your vision and the fact that you don't need Hollywood money to finance your projects, but they still do control distriubtuion. And they will not be wanting to reserve precious space in multi-plexes for a movie that isn't going to put asses in the seats. I think one of the reasons he's still able to get even the audiences he does is because black folks are so thirsty for representation. But even so, after awhile that water starts to taste bitter. Even moreso for black women. I am sorry but we have enough issues with other people writing problematic narratives of our identites and politicizing everything about us (our hair, our bodies, our skin tone, our sexuality) without having those same problematic narratives constantly reinforced and granted some small legitimacy by a prolific black filmmaker.

I think we are kind of on the same page, but I think I give him a tiny bit more credit, LOL. I do think, other than his ham-handed writing, that his biggest issues is with morality. He does have a problem with women & sexuality. Or with women in general, actually. I think he is ok with what he perceives as 'maternal' women because they are perceived as 'good'. Hence, that is why I think his writing for Bates & Woodard was heads & shoulders above his writing for anyone else ever. But with every other woman his writing is really quite problematic. All the rest of the women in his movies suffer. The 'Good' ones suffer nobly. They are given tribulations they must overcome and they do triumph in the end. This is the 'Strong Black Woman' trope burdened with a Madonna complex. She is pure and good, but she has to overcome. She will be rewarded (usually with the love of a good man). The 'Bad' ones, though, they just plain old suffer. And not just in the plotting but in the characterization. They are loud, ratchet, buffoonish & slut-shamed. They are an object lesson: Black women this is what you must not be or you'll end up alone and broken and shunned. Admittedly this is a large part of the themes in his films as this is revisted over and over again in various iterations, but if you remove the judgemental piece of it, again, I think he has some interesting ideas. And he is insanely fortunate in the casts he gets because they do elevate his material. Of course, this is mostly because there are so many talented black actors who aren't getting enough work elsewhere. If anything, it is even more a testament to how good some of them are because they make Tyler Perry's work look not terrible.

At it's basics, his stories are good domestic drama. There are universal themes of love, betrayal, ambition and family. And the plots can be interesting. Sure they trend toward the soapy, but a lot of good stuff is. I saw August Osage County and frankly I felt it was a Tyler Perry movie but better written and with white people. Also some of the individual characters and the plot dilemmas he places them in are intiruging. I thought the Sanaa Lathan character & her plot in The Family That Preys could have been wonderful if she hadn't been written with such broad strokes. The whole subplot with Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard going on a road-trip felt fun. And there was this really great quiet scene with Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard in a hotel that really showcased how two really good actresses can lift a scene. It was one stand-out scene in the whole movie and it hinted at some depths in the writing that the rest of the movie frittered away. The Jill Scott character and plot in Why Did I Get Married also was a potentially good. If he had used some restraint in telling it, it could have been great. The reason it was even as good as it was was all because of Jill Scott herslf. But again, he had to hit us with anvils all over the place. I really think he is an ideas man when it comes to character and plotting and the ideas are very good and they strike a chord. He just can't execute them well. So I am left thinking what could have been. Admittedly, I have not seen a TP movie since The Family That Preys. I read the synopsis of the movie with Jurnee Smollett and stayed far, far away. I love her and would happily watch her in almost anything. But not even for her could I watch that.

The thing about Tyler Perry is that he his movies have the bones of really good, interesting storytelling. But when he gets to the meat of it, it gets overseasoned and overcooked. He goes overboard with caricatures and stereotypes. If he dialed it back and got some nuance, his stuff could be really interesting. For instance, The Family That Preys had some real potential to be interesting. Also it had Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard! Come on, how can you waste those two? They completly rose above the material. If he had only managed to edit himself, the movie could have been great. But in the end the story felt simple and mired in amateurish plotting and overwrought characters. And Eeeevil, bad womens! Maybe it is because he got his start in the new-wave chitlin circuit with religious themed stage plays that he can't get away from those broad themed morality underpinnings that can only showcase black/white (Madonna/Whore) dichotomies. Edit: And I am NOT talking about the Madea movies. That shit is just foul.

They were apparently not paying attention to the PEW research organization because according to a recent survey on the reading habits of Americans: love that This article points out that the fashion "expert" did not know what peplum was. This is a fail on every level. It is a horrible trifeca of the Strong Black Woman/Mammy/Sassy black girfriend stereotypes and in the process manages to dehumanize black women and also insult white women as well. Meanwhile, I will sit over here and read that Brandon Sanderson book I have been enjoying this week.

I hated Skylar in the first season. Hated her. I don't care what anyone says, she was a terrible person in season one. She should NOT have been liked. But as the show went on I became more and more sympathetic to her. Her life became a nightmare and I thought her reactions were how a person really should be reacting in her place. Ditto Hank. Hated him at first and then slowly began to love him. Never liked Marie, though. Ever. My UO is that I don't really mind the Kardashians. They are just narcissitic people who in the grand scheme of things don't really matter that much. Frankly they don't even crack my personal list of the top 100 awful people who need die painfully.

Thank you. I wrote this very thing on another board somewheres. It is disingenuous to sit there in interview after interview and say "Nope. No chemistry here. Nothing to see here, move along." And then write in a scene where a bystander presumes a romantic relationship. I get that a romance is not the story the producers are wanting to tell. That is fine, I actually agree that a romance would be a distraction at this point. I also get that what they put on the page back in the very beginning also probably was not about romance. But once Tom and Nicole brought the characters to life, what was on the page ceased to exist in that iteration. They did not count on what T&N brought to the pair. But not counting on it does not mean it doesn't exist. There is no reason they can't simply acknowledge that Ich & Ab may have some latent attraction. They are both pretty people thrown together into a highly emotional, quickly personal situation. It is natural for people to connect in any manner of ways. You can be attracted to someone without acting upon it or even necessarily even being conscious of it. It would make for a much smarter and much more nuanced type of discussion if they answered with some level of acknoweldgement in the interviews instead of denying it vociferously all the while putting little winks and nudges to it into the schow.

- I am trying to be cautiously optimistic about where they are going with Sophia. The Baby storyline did not develop in any way I expected. Even til the moment they said she 'lost the baby' I was sure Lena and baby would be fine. And the Brandon/Dani reveal was also handled superbly. The two stories were allowed to play out and I am satisfied with what the writers did/are doing. So I am hoping that they aren't pulling something obvious and clumsy with Sophia. - I am not (and have never been) a fan of Callie and Brandon. My personal opinion is that the two actors don't emit that type o chemistry for me. But also give all the angst they've had both Callie and Brandon wade through, a forbidden romance just seems too much. And well, it squicks me out. I want Callie to be adopted by Stef and Lena officially. - Kudos to the adult actors for the Brandon reveal scene. I agree with everyone else, it played out great and each person acted the way I think they would have acted. They were all in perfect character. I don't have quite the bad opinion of the Brandon actors' schmoop face, so I thought he was pretty good too. He certainly looks haggard enough. - I do think there was an undertone of racial implication in Marianna's conversation with Tia. The 'natural talent' thing is ambiguous enough that it should only have raised Tia's eyebrows a bit and she could take it as her being a bit hypersensistive. But then Marianna had to also throw in hip-hop. So, yeah, a little less ambiguous. Last week & this week have been two pretty strong episodes in a row. I am really digging this show.

The second season of Orange is the New Black is basically a showcase for Lorraine Toussaint's acting brillance. Her character Vee was a heartwarming, maternal, evil sociopath. If she doesn't get an emmy nom next year for it, I will be shocked.

I've always liked The A Different World opening credits. Not only does it show each character in their personal venue: Dwayne Wayne studying math, Whitely primping in the mirror etc. it tells the whole story of college from studying, romance, sports, greek life, graduation etc. all in just the course of the credit sequence. Also the saturated colors and the faux single-take tracking camera as it goes from vignette to vignette is nice. And Aretha Franklin singing the song is also pretty cool.

So happy so many already mentioned Homefront. I always think I am the only one who remembers that show! One I haven't seen mentioned yet, that I lament is Wonderfalls. Quirky and funny with a great cast. And I always loved Tracie Thoms' character name on that show: Mahandra. So pretty.

Nigel does that shit all the time. A couple of years ago he made a statement about a female dancer "looking ugly" when she talked about quitting. But the way he said it, given his cumulative comments about the dancer up to that point, made it seem like a reference to her phsyical attractiveness. It is bad enough she was cast as obvious cannon fodder but to give a back slap about her looks was just foul. Making matters worse, she was an AA female dancer who, let's face it, don't get a ton of exposure on SYTYCD.