helenamonster

What's interesting is that Rowling has expressed regret that Order of the Phoenix, the longest book in the Potter series by over 100 pages, ended up being as long as it was and that she wished she had cut some subplots out. Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows were much shorter as a result. So kind of weird that she's slid back into this habit when it has bitten her in the butt before. However, I'm not surprised that an editor wasn't able to get her to trim things down, if they even tried. It's become abundantly clear in recent months that Rowling has forgotten what it's like to be told no.

3 new cast members with nobody leaving and Jim Carrey coming on as Biden? Guess any speculation I had about potential budget issues was wrong. Wow, 20 cast members...anybody know offhand what the largest cast size has ever been? Wishing the best for the newbies--it's already hard enough to stand out in your first year. Big shrug to Jim Carrey. I'm so over the cheap stunt casting (especially since it's mostly to play to an audience reaction that they will not have this fall), and wish they would give the big impressions to one of their TWENTY cast members. Seriously, why have that many people on payroll if you're not going to use them?

Original airdate: 9/15/20

Just finished: Playing Nice by JP Delaney, about two couples who find out years later that their babies were switched at the NICU. I enjoyed it--it goes way beyond a child-swapping thriller/nature-vs-nurture domestic drama and gets into the backgrounds of the parents and how four very different personalities would approach such an impossible situation. Next up: One By One by Ruth Ware.

Surprised they'll do a show on actual Halloween, though I guess this year most people won't be out. I'd be fine if they started doing studio shows again (provided all precautions are taken), but I'll be really upset if they have a live audience. Like, upset enough to not even watch. Per NBC's website, they did run the ticket lottery this year: https://www.nbc.com/tickets/pages/tickets-and-nbc-studio-tour#snl

Original airdate: 9/9/20

Original airdate: 9/8/20

I wonder if it was a case of confirmation bias. Presumably she was told before she first ate them that it was Phoebe's grandmother's secret recipe. Knowing--or assuming, in this case--that something is special like that can influence how we perceive it.

Just finished: His & Hers by Alice Feeney. Incredibly dark and well-told murder mystery--upthread I mentioned it was like Se7en meets Heathers/Mean Girls and that stayed true to the end. I was not totally bowled over by the twist--I actually found the climax a little messy as the author kept trying to keep all the suspects in play as possibilities. But the overall tone/mood was very gripping. Definitely not recommended for those who don't like things too intense. I can usually self-censor when books like this get detailed, but a lot of it had me squirming. It's mostly the murder parts (like I said, Se7en is a good reference point), but also a lot of other elements are pretty gruesome. Next up: Playing Nice by JP Delaney.

Original airdate: 9/2/20

Original airdate: 9/1/20

I'm halfway through this right now! Really enjoying it so far. It's like Se7en meets Heathers/Mean Girls.

Original airdate: 8/30/20

The Chadwick Boseman news hit me like a semi. I thought of his hosting stint too. That version of Black Jeopardy was especially inspired. I thought they could never beat the Tom Hanks one and then they did. A lot of the cast have been posting their pictures with him from that week. He seemed like a really cool guy.

Seth is heading back to 30 Rock with Late Night after Labor Day. His office and studio are on the same floor as the SNL studio (SNL's offices are 9 floors up). I know we talked about the Tonight Show potentially being a test case for what SNL can do this season, but I imagine it would complicate things to have the staff from both shows being so close to each other. Those hallways are narrow and there's a lot of people going back and forth all day. I'm sure most of Seth's staff that don't need access to the studio will stay remote, but it does make things more difficult. Source: I was intern at Late Night 5 years ago, and we were constantly running into SNL people the weeks they had shows.