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I would say, if she did take Ambien, it might explain WHY she got that drunk ... not excuse her for doing so. As CaughtOnTape said, she still hadn't even absorbed some of what was in her stomach. If Ambien has the hypnotic effects that ZaldamoWilder explained, Diane might not have consciously realized how much she was drinking because she didn't even feel it, so she just kept drinking. It doesn't change the fact that she's still responsible, but it might sort of make more sense as to why someone would ever make those decisions and behave that way. That's the part of this case that makes it so freaky - if it was just a sloppy drunk who couldn't see straight and swerved at the wrong time and ended up killing all those people, it would be tragic enough. But the fact that she appeared to be alert and focused yet behaving in a way that was inexplicable - that makes it something hard to wrap my brain around.

I think if she was just an ordinary person, who wasn't adhering to Hollywood/TV standards (too skinny, too much makeup, blinding white teeth, overly tight/revealing outfits), she would be pretty. She used to be a lot prettier and more natural looking. To me she seems like someone who's desperate to maintain a certain image as she gets older and becomes more fake looking over time as a result. I wouldn't even mind her looks if it weren't for the fact that she seems like she has a really nasty streak in her personality. Kind of a "mean girl" thing.

You're right, you'd think the family would've gone for that as a possible defense if they'd thought of it, but maybe they just didn't know enough about Ambien and nobody put it together? I seem to remember them talking about how Diane had suffered from insomnia. On the site where I originally saw this theory, someone asked if Ambien would show up in the toxicology report, and apparently if it isn't something they're looking for, it wouldn't necessarily be included in the report. Who knows, maybe Ambien had absolutely nothing to do with this case, but I definitely think it's a potentially dangerous drug and that not enough is known about its side effects. Because it's prescribed liberally as a sleep aid, people assume it's harmless. I agree someday it'll probably be illegal or more highly regulated.

Came here to say something very similar. They admonished Rue for not talking about South African food, a foreign cuisine that none of them really knew anything about, and then they chastised Alex for talking about foreign food too much. Yeah, I know Alex should have explained that his sandwich was fried chicken, but they specifically called him out for using "foreign words" and claimed they couldn't even begin to pronounce the name of his sandwich. WTF. I'm not even familiar with a katsu sandwich but seeing it written, I can easily pronounce it. I bet if Rue had talked about South African cuisine, she might have used an actual African word which would probably be even harder to pronounce than katsu. But somehow the judges would be fine with that, because it's her "POV" and they want her to be constantly pushing it. On another note, Giada looked absolutely ridiculous in that first outfit. I did a double take because it was so weird looking. Her head looked huge in relation to her body. I think she deliberately forces herself to be extremely thin and it looks unnatural. She just seems fake from head to toe, including and especially her gigantic white teeth. I used to think she was really pretty when I first saw her about 10 years ago, but to me she just looks freaky now.

I was in high school when those bands first came out, and was in college when Kurt died. I followed it all very closely and was a big fan. I was a fan of all the bands mentioned above, but think the reason Nirvana was a bigger deal (and remains more influential to this day) is because their sound (on "Nevermind") was more accessible than the others, letting them cross over into the mainstream. Soundgarden was always pretty heavy & abrasive. They, and Alice in Chains, were more anchored in the heavy metal genre. Nirvana weren't heavy metal at all - they had a real 'poppy' sound on that album, along with some grunge-y guitars. The catchy melodies were what set them apart from the other bands and what made them the breakout stars at that time. It made them a better sell on MTV, like with the "In Bloom" video where they mimicked an old 1960s variety show appearance. That wouldn't have worked for Soundgarden or Alice in Chains. People I knew who would've never been into a band like Soundgarden were in love with Nirvana. They were also more iconic because of their "punk" attitude. Kurt had a highly recognizable persona even before he died. Kurt used to be publicly snarky about the big-ego bands like Guns N' Roses, or mock the whole heavy metal scene by wearing a giant yellow ball gown for an interview on Headbanger's Ball. He was outwardly rebellious and disdainful of the music industry. Whether that's a good thing or not, it made him stand out more than people like Chris Cornell or Layne Staley who were just singers. When Kurt married Courtney, it was sort of a big deal, even in those pre-social media times when celebrity culture wasn't as huge as it is now. They were two big personalities who came together in a very public way. I remember they were on the cover of Sassy magazine (the cool alterna-teen girl magazine at the time) and I had the picture on my wall. They were like counter-culture icons. Certain people just capture the cultural zeitgeist, and Kurt was it for the early 90s. As for the film, I liked it well enough, but then I read Buzz Osbourne's comments about how most of it isn't even true, and I see it differently now. It might still be an entertaining work, but apparently it isn't the definitive portrait of Kurt's life that some believe it to be.

Here's a theory I saw posited on another site -- Diane was possibly taking Ambien, which can cause people to do things that they have absolutely no memory of. People sometimes take Ambien and then find out later that they did all sorts of things they don't remember at all -- eating the entire contents of the fridge, going over to someone's house and saying things they don't remember, etc. These effects could be extremely magnified if the person also drank alcohol or smoked pot while on Ambien. Theoretically, it's possible that if Diane had taken an Ambien earlier that day, and then smoked/drank an amount that she could usually handle, it could've led her to make the bizarre, fatal decisions she made that day. I don't know how likely any of that is, but it just seems like there should be some explanation for what happened, aside from her just being drunk/high. If she was a regular drinker, she would know how much she could handle. And even if she drank way more than she could handle, she'd be more likely to just pass out, or maybe weave into another lane accidentally because she'd be having trouble focusing on the road. An excess of alcohol doesn't make a person drive arrow-straight, with precise focus, the opposite way on a busy highway! It just doesn't. It would have to be an unusual combination of drugs that made her have a psychotic break or something. That, or she did it on purpose.

On paper, that all makes her sound like an alcoholic but I guess I just didn't see it convincingly portrayed in the show. They didn't devote all that many scenes to her progression from harmless social drinking to alcoholic. They didn't show her struggling with quitting much at all - it was maybe one or two scenes that portrayed her inappropriate drinking behavior (the passing out incident, and then a couple other scenes of her staring at the bottles and giving in to a drink). They seemed to go straight to "I'm an alcoholic!" kind of abruptly, IMO. Maybe I'm just expecting more gritty reality than is feasible on a TV show like this, after seeing this sort of thing play out in my real life. The point about not wanting to go down the same road as her father is a good one, though. That can definitely make a person more wary of even the earliest signs of having a problem.

I'm glad to see someone else felt this way about Trixie's storyline - I thought I was the only one! I didn't really buy that she was a full blown alcoholic based on what we had seen of her drinking. Yes, one time she drank too much and passed out, but otherwise seemed to drink pretty moderately. I get that using alcohol to cope with stress is never recommended, but in reality, lots of people do it who aren't necessarily alcoholics. That's why it's such a common workplace trope to hear people saying "Man, after the day I'm having, I'm going to need a couple stiff drinks tonight!" or "Let's go out for happy hour to blow off steam after the stress of this day." Not everyone who drinks regularly (even daily) is secretly an alcoholic. Drinking can be more of a 'kind of negative lifestyle habit that should probably be replaced by more healthy choices' rather than something that's completely out of the person's control. Trixie's dramatic "I just want to stop drinking!" would've seemed more realistic for someone who had been dealing with the ramifications of severe drinking for quite some time - someone who had to drink to start their day, someone who had lost their job and relationships due to alcohol. I have alcoholics in my family and the portrayal here just didn't ring true to me.

I agree. I want to like her character (and she does have a great voice), but I'm distracted by how fake she looks. The artificially plumped lips, the weird over-contouring of her face ... even the smoothness of her skin looks fake (but it might just be the caked-on makeup). And those wigs. I guess she technically looks "good" by certain modern standards, but there's nothing natural about her at all. I guess that's realistic for the pop-star career that her character has, though.

Add me to the list of people that loved it! I was checking this site for a few days while I watched it, hoping there would be episode threads to talk about it as I went along, but there was just one thread and I didn't want to be spoiled. Now, I see there are episode threads but by now I've finished watching the whole thing. Oh well! Anyway, I can certainly understand people thinking it drags a little at the beginning, but I find that's the case with a lot of shows that end up being really good. If you give it a chance and let yourself become invested in the characters, it's worth it when the action starts to pick up around episode 4. I really don't understand people who are so fixated on what the "payoff" will be and just want to get to the end. The pleasure in watching a show is in the journey - watching the little moments between characters, the tense feeling that builds up when you know something is going to happen ... Speaking of which, I found myself practically holding my breath and cringing in horror as Danny's true nature slowly revealed itself throughout the latter episodes. He just got more and more evil. At first you think he's just a black sheep who is a screw-up but basically a good guy, and that maybe they'll all work things out ... but he's truly a toxic individual. The way he manipulated each of his siblings and his mom, it was the very definition of psychological cruelty. He absolutely would've destroyed all their lives if he had not been killed. Ben Mendelsohn embodied the character of Danny perfectly -- charismatic and charming enough to successfully manipulate people even when they definitely should know better, but pure menace underneath it all. I'm usually sympathetic toward damaged types, but he seemed rotten to the core. What do you think Season 2 (if there is one) will hold? Investigations into how Danny really died? Fallout between the siblings?

What did you guys think of the "fry-day" episode? All 3 of the chefs besides Mo seemed embarrassingly bad. The judges were really struggling to say anything nice about the first 2 dishes from both of the female chefs. And I think they deliberately played up how great Ann's dessert was so that there would be at least a little bit of suspense about who'd win. Maybe it really was the best thing they ate all day, but even so, it was obvious Mo had the win in the bag.

I hated the "reality stars" episode. I'm not familiar with any of their shows, by choice. I'm not a fan of the whole "people being famous just because they want to be on TV" phenomenon. I watch a few reality shows, but they're all competition-based shows like Top Chef or Project Runway where the point is (ostensibly) that these people have a particular talent and are being rewarded for it. Shows about "mob wives," "housewives," "little people," etc. ... I don't see the point. And the fact that they all have cookbooks annoys me even more! Why should they make money for something they know basically nothing about? I'm as qualified to put out a cookbook as these people are (and I have no qualifications other than cooking at home). I'm just really disgusted by our fame-whore culture sometimes. That said, Travis seemed like basically a nice guy who has some decent cooking skills and I'm glad he won.

Just realized that this topic was posted last November and mine is the only reply since then. Guess there's not much chance in having a discussion about this show, but if anyone's lurking out there and wants to chime in, please do! :)

Yeah, I think that's what's bothering me about it. If it was portrayed as Mimi having an abortion from a one night stand or someone she had no current, positive relationship with, it would've made sense for her to treat it that way. I could see where she had no reason to talk about it with him. But the person you're currently living with and by all indications happy with? Sure, you don't HAVE to mention it to him or be sensitive about it, but why wouldn't you want to? I would want a guy to share important things with me too, whether or not it directly affected our potential procreation together.

I can't relate to the people cheering Mimi-Rose for being so blase (and in my view, cold) about the abortion. (Not meaning anyone specific on this board, just a general sentiment I've seen across the internet.) I'm absolutely pro-choice and don't think any woman should need "permission" from the father, but at the same time, when two people are supposedly in a loving relationship (even if it's not an extremely long term one, but maybe will become one), open communication is a good thing. The attitude that the pregnancy had literally nothing to do with Adam is, IMO, unfair. He created it equally with her. That doesn't mean he can say she has to have the baby, of course. But it does affect him and he has a right to have emotions about it. They're living together, they're in a sexual relationship together, this happened to them together. Ultimately it's her body/choice, but I certainly don't think it's ideal for it to be not even mentioned to the father. Or, if she really doesn't want him to even know about it, for whatever reasons, then why mention it after the fact? And furthermore, if she WAS going to mention it after the fact, why not at least bring it up in a sensitive way like, "Hey, there's something I want to tell you, and I hope you understand why I kept it from you until after it was over." Not just, "Oh I can't go running because I had an abortion yesterday" and then pretend to be absolutely oblivious to why that would be a big deal to him! I dunno, this is definitely something that we all have our own personal perspectives on, and I'm not saying my attitude is the "right" one, but I can't relate to that decision not being a big deal and being something you do repeatedly, without sharing feelings/options with the person you're currently sharing your life with. It's not about "needing" the other person or getting permission, it's about communication and mutual support.

I just watched this and enjoyed it a lot. Love the stunning views of the Welsh countryside. I usually have a good ear for understanding British accents (Manchester and Cockney don't throw me off, for example), but the Welsh accents on this show were hard enough to understand that I had to turn the captions on to make sure I didn't miss anything! Interesting that it was originally filmed entirely in Welsh and then they made an English version (but the credits still have the Welsh version of every title underneath the English version). lucindabelle, not sure how much you missed about Catrin, but she was a mother to a baby (Emma) when she was only 13, having given birth in the home, and then the baby was killed by her friend out of jealousy. Later in life, she married that guy (Dayfed?) and got pregnant but lost the baby. She was so desperate to be a mother (obviously an effect of the trauma of losing Emma) that she put a baby doll in the nursery and pretended it was real, right down to changing its nappies etc. So when the detectives came over to visit her early in the episode, and she said the baby was sleeping upstairs, she was lying (or more accurately, delusional). I believe the old films of the kids were done by Helen ... is that what you mean by "who taped her"? Looking forward to watching another episode.