Moxie Cat

Argh! Why is men's short the only thing I can't get?! Why is NBC SN not running that on Friday night? It's running all the other shorts.

My ABC affiliate has a 20/20 special on tonight about Trump (ugh, would much rather watch Annaliese!). Could have sworn HTGAWM has been promo'd as returning on Jan 19 after Scandal. Anyone know more? No news on this board that I saw.

Yeah, that hit me as soon as the wife revealed he was going to leave her when she was 8 months pregnant. Call it Bridget Moynihan syndrome!

My system shows episode 5 at 6 PM on Thursday, July 21. DirecTv's BBCA On Demand STILL has not added Episode 4 - almost a week later. Pathetic. We only have eps 1-3. So I will record Ep 5 and sometime maybe watch Ep 4 so I can watch #5. I know I can possibly watch it on the website, but I'm a little annoyed about that - I pay DirecTV to watch shows on my TV. If it was my fault for missing the episode, that's one thing, but BBCA is to blame here. This was the first "new" show I had watched on their channel in a long time, and after this, I doubt there will be another. (Anyone remember the glory days of BBCA, a decade or so ago, when they ran a bunch of current dramas and not Star Trek all the time? It did happen!) Well - I liked Thirteen while it lasted. Glad for the intro to Rankin before his Outlander debut.

Yup, missed it! Went to set it at 9 PM EST, came to this board, saw the notice. I was not home at 6 PM! Thanks a lot, BBCA. This is one reason why I haven't been watching any new shows on BBCA for a very long while. Seriously - they couldn't have made space for TWO freaking episodes to air at the normal times for those of us who are watching this to the end?!? ETA: I have DirecTV - just went to BBCA On Demand. Episode 4 isn't even available yet. So I can't even watch it tonight.

Since she's being discussed to death in this thread, here are some tidbits about Brianna from Entertainment Weekly's interview with Ron Moore today. Hope it's OK to quote and post a link. On casting Brianna: "It was difficult. They’re very tricky roles to cast, especially when you’re casting the adult child of two of our leads. So, you want to see both characters in her immediately, which is a big challenge in terms of who that actress is going be. She also has to literally play the daughter of Claire in the episode. She has to have a certain chemistry with Roger." On casting an American: "We did talk about that. We looked at Americans. I think there were some Canadians in the mix. It was a fairly wide net." Interview here: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/09/outlander-season-2-finale-ron-moore My interpretation, from reading between the lines, is that Skelton was the best they found in terms of physical resemblance to CB and SH, and had chemistry with Richard. But my guess is that he/they are not 100% over the moon about her. I can't find anything resembling praise for Skelton in this interview. Compare that to what he says about Rankin: "He just needed to be charming and funny, and you had to instantly like him and feel like he was a good match for Brianna. Richard Rankin had that in spades. Everyone just immediately likes him when they meet him." He also notes that even though she is in this episode a lot, she's not as present next season - that the roles of Brianna and Roger grow over time. So those who really don't like her won't have to take her in such large doses next season, and (hopefully) her acting choices will improve. Whoever compared her to Lennon Stella: unfortunately, you're right on the mark - that's who she reminds me of as well. The problem is, the Stella sisters were cast on Nashville because of their performing ability, and were only recurring for the first few years. This actress plays a main character on a well-cast, well-acted, award-nominated show. I'd love to know why she was chosen, because I haven't seen it so far.

I've been thinking all season how the women, in every plot thread, have been slowly taking over, and wondering if that's the ultimate goal for the series. Don't forget that Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are likely in control of Dorne, and given Dorne's history with the Targs, may be the next to ally with Dany. The argument can also be made the Margaery and Lady Olenna are the current (and likely future) brains for Highgarden. Plus: Brienne, full stop. Yes, a lot of this is revenge, but I see this world's gender dynamic quite obviously flipping, too.

Wasn't Drogon always supposed to be the biggest of the three in the books? Though that's a good reason too..

Ha ha .... when the Vale army arrived to save the day and Ramsey heard the horn blow, I said, "It's the horn of Gondor!" Serious LOTR inspiration in this eppy!

You mean, a plan with obvious logical flaws that would likely fall apart under normal circumstances, and yet, probably magically won't? Have you been watching the Blacklist? LOL Seriously, you're right though - my guess is that the plan might have been for Lizzie to "die" in the ambulance while en route, and then the doctor would have Red and the driver stop somewhere - because why continue to the hospital if she were dead? Mr. Kaplan would take the body at that point from wherever they were. Actually, Mr. Solomon's gang created a worse situation than arriving at the hospital would have, because they could have taken Lizzie's (alive) body and shot the whole crew if Red's team and the FBI hadn't held them off. And not only would a funeral potentially give things away, but I kept thinking: won't Red want to see the body at some point? It's kind of crazy to assume that he wouldn't ever see Liz's body again after leaving the ambulance. (But then, knowing this show, he'll say to Mr. Kaplan at some point, "I can't even bear to see her again," and we can all think, well, that's convenient!) Actually,

I am 99% sure that Lizzie's death was faked by Mr. Kaplan and the doctor, just based on the episode (although Boone's lack of exit interviews is also telling). Here is why: After Liz first arrives at the nightclub, Red is on the phone. When he hangs up and goes to see Dr. Nick, we overhear Mr. Kaplan saying to the doctor: "...it's a risk to all of us, but can it be done?" This is the key line. Dr. Nick then begins filling Red in on the medical situation, and there is no explanation for what Mr. Kaplan was saying to him. Keep in mind, this is right after she sympathized with Lizzie in the car. After this scene, she admonishes Red for failing to keep them all safe (and, remember her cleaning team's assassination - this also forms her motivation). During the C-section, Dr. Nick notes that Liz has abdominal adhesions, and asks if she's had her appendix removed, which she confirms. This is a random, odd bit of dialogue, and I'm not sure why it's present unless it's information he uses to cause her breathing problem/fake her death. When things go "south" after the birth (maybe due to whatever was in the epidural injection too), Red tells Dr. Nick to tell Mr. Kaplan what equipment he needs. They confer separately in a corner away from Red, and we don't hear what is said. The equipment in the ambulance is obviously what the doctor needs to fake the death. And while he acts choked up when Dembe and Ressler open the ambulance doors, we then see him exit and stand stoically with his arms folded - his demeanor changes quickly. I think only Mr. Kaplan and Dr. Nick know. Both have reasons for sympathizing with Lizzie and leaving Red themselves. I really doubt that Liz is in on what they are doing to her (she would never leave the baby and Tom voluntarily) unless Mr. Kaplan already shared with her a plan to extricate them at a later date. I doubt if Tom knows (given the spinoff) and this entire plan only works if Red doesn't. So unfortunately for the Lizzie haters, I think Boone will be back. Narratively, it's hard to see how the connection between Red and the FBI (basically, a main point of the show) exists without her, at least for any length of time.

So because I'm either a masochist or have too much free time, I decided to transcribe the Jill/Holly fight. And I learned that it's no wonder we're confused. The original question was: which mom was most changed by Hollywood? Jill says Holly, because she now takes Nia away from the group (and their regular schooling, whatever that is) to pursue other projects. Holly argues with Jill's assertion that they're always late, so that gets the ball rolling. It's KIRA who says that Nia and JoJo missed the most school in LA, which is what brings up the "missing school" idea. (Actually, Holly should have jumped down Kira's throat for that statement.) After transcribing, I'm actually on Jill's side, because her point seems to be that Holly is the most different BECAUSE she permits Nia to spend part of each day pursuing other opportunities instead of attending regular school (or with a tutor) on the same schedule as the other DM girls. (A far cry from anything Pittsburgh Holly would have done.) All Holly hears Jill say is "Nia misses school" and she flips out and accuses Jill of lying. Here's the transcript; it's probably not 100% accurate because Holly and Jill talk over each other a lot, but you will get the gist. Jeff: When you look around, is there one of you that you would say Hollywood has changed more than any of the others? Jill: Well, I think of the moms here, I think Holly in my mind has changed the most.... Abby: Yes. Jill: [Holly] has gone totally, like flipped, totally different. She's no longer a Pittsburgh mom, and she's all Hollywood, off and running. Holly: I took Nia's passion, her desire, when we came out to LA, what she wanted to do, and I treated it how I would approach a job. How are we going to be strategic, how are we going to network, no different. There is nothing wrong with what I've done. Jill: OK. Holly has a lot going on outside of what we do here, and Holly's always late because she's off with Nia doing stuff... Holly: Oh, that's not true. Jill: No, no. Holly: How dare you...always late...oh. Jill: Holly, I'm not making it a bad thing. Kira: Well, I think too...a lot of it too...is like, the two kids on the team that probably miss the most school and had to make up were your two kids. (looks at Holly and Jess) Holly: No, wait, Nia was on time, she took advantage of opportunities, but Nia has done and fulfilled all of her schoolwork. Jill: OK, so you miss school and other things to take advantage of opportunities. Holly: No, she did not miss school...missing school would be - Jess: You miss school in the morning and then you do it in the afternoon. Holly: Absolutely, always make it up. Jill: OK. But when we were all together, you were out making opportunities for your child, doing something else. It never used to be like that. That's all. [THIS is the key line - and the rationale for Jill's answer to the original question.] Holly: No. Jill: Don't be so defensive, Holly. Holly: Oh, falsifying information. Jill: No, no, you're very defensive, and you shouldn't be. Holly: Because you're lying! Jill: Holly.... Holly: You're lying! Jill: Do not sit there and call me a liar. Everybody here knows....your kid wouldn't come.... Holly: You said my kid doesn't go to school! Jill: She wouldn't! She'd do it later in the day because you were... Holly: Oh my gosh! She went to school. You can go to school before or after. She went to school after. Jill: Right, OK. You didn't show up when everybody else did. So what is different? Holly: You're saying she didn't go to school. That's different. That's a lie. Jill: I didn't say she didn't go to school. Holly: You did. Jill: I said she didn't show up.... Holly: She did....just in the afternoon.... Jill: Holly, be quiet for once and listen to what I'm saying! Holly: She did her schoolwork when she was supposed to, after. Jill: (repeats it) Holly, be quiet for once and listen to what I'm saying! Holly: You know what, I am not going to have this woman lie about Nia...[can't make out the end] Jill: She will never be quiet, because she can never listen to what anybody else says. (Holly gets up) Holly: If she is going to talk about Nia not going to school, which is a lie.... Jill: I'm not talking about Nia.... Holly: You are, you just said it.... Jill: I said YOU, Holly! Holly: (leaving) I'm not...not...not....'cause that's a lie. Jill: Holly, I did not lie. Holly: Saying [indecipherable] that Nia did not go to school....not doing it. Then it descends into clapping and the "Bye Felicia" nonsense, and Holly is still yelling that Jill is lying and Jill says Holly can dish it out but she can't take it.

To those who follow the "Dance Moms" backstories more closely than I do, can someone clarify Kira's background? On this show, she says that she owns a dance studio. But on the "Kalani/Kira" special, she says that she initially signed up Kalani for dance lessons because a studio was located down the street from her house. And moreover, to pay for lessons, she and Kalani cleaned the studio regularly. Kalani just happened to take to dance naturally, but Kira said that she would have been fine with her doing sports or other stuff too (and in fact, wanted her to). Don't people who own dance studios generally have a strong background in dance? How did she go from someone who signed her daughter up because a studio happened to be convenient to someone who owns a dance studio--only about 10 years later? (I also call BS on Kira's reaction in that interview to the question "you were really young when you had Kalani, right?" She hems and haws a little and then says "I was like, 19, I think?" How many women don't know how old she was when she had her--presumably first?--child? This was not 50 years ago, but about 14-15. How old IS Kira? Is she older than the 33-34 y.o. having Kalani at 19 would make her?) On another topic, I noticed there is no discussion upthread about Abby's notecards. It's obvious she was using the cards to sneak her own comments in that couldn't be edited out by production, but they did shoot around them. We get a quick glimpse of one that reads "They fined me $80,000 because I refused to attend a fixed competition." Then there is another one that starts "This show..." (seen during the recap of the Kira argument) but production was careful to only shoot headshots of Abby while she was holding that card so you can't see the rest. Has Abby revealed what the cards said anywhere online? Tessa's comment above about Abby is right on the money, IMO. It seemed apparent to me that she was disgusted with production months ago, when she gave a fairly testy interview to EW. I'm guessing she's trying hard right now to extract herself from filming this show in the future. Oh, and the Holly/Jill argument was definitely about Nia's schooling. Holly was irate because Jill said that Nia missed a lot of school over the past months (possibly more than the other girls) with the clear implication it was due to the video(s).

The ghost bride thing may be real, but seriously....is it really his family's fault if a young man dies before getting married? I can see blaming the girl who ditched him at the altar, but do the Chinese, in this day and age, really blame their entire family if they remain single? Why would a dead young man wish a horrendous fire, early death, and other assorted bad luck on his loving parents and brother just because he never got married? Why was that their fault? Egads, these scenes of Red doling out tidbits of information, while then refusing to say more, and then Lizzie threatening to "find out on her own" are getting so freaking tedious. Well, why not rip off Alias; Scandal has already tried that too. At this point, I'm absolutely positive that Lizzie's mother will turn out to a) not be dead; b) still be a spy; c) be Blacklister of the week, likely in the season finale; and d) Lena Olin. Only good scenes here were coroner Marshall and Navabi's con (I totally bought her ruse in the car!) And I still like Tom, or maybe just Eggold. As long as he's doing car commercials for the show, I'm guessing that Tom isn't going anywhere.

On second thought, isn't it also possible that Colllins used every connection possible to construct and hire staff for Nia's video, while Abby ruled over Kendall's with an iron fist and demanded that everything be done her own way? I can see that situation achieving the end result as well (as opposed to production setting BOTH videos up just to produce a storyline). That actually makes more sense to me, since it would explain Abby's reaction to Nia's video. She could clearly see that Nia's costumes and production values were higher than what she was able to produce on her own, so naturally her reaction is to say that Nia's costumes were too mature, she "sold out," blah blah. I also don't believe that Abby would want "her name" be associated with a video that she didn't handle herself, so I doubt that she wasn't 100% responsible for Kendall's. I think Nia's stage presence in the video (and in the acting audition earlier this season) shows that her strengths haven't remotely been utilized, either by Abby nor her mom. Dancing is fine, but it's not her forte the way it is for some of the other girls. And as for Kendall, she is a gorgeous girl and she handles the group dances fine, but I can't think of one of her solos that ever impressed me.

I was hoping someone else noticed that Payton was in Kendall's video! I thought that was her, but I couldn't be sure. I think that clinches the theory that the reason for the outburst/tattling over Holly's photos was because Nia's video looked much more professional. I'm sure both videos were set up by Collins, and probably even engineered to create that effect (to rile up jealousy). But seriously....Kendall's video was populated by ALDC dancers? I'd wager Nia's wasn't. I also didn't think that Holly was bragging when she mentioned the folks who worked on the video. If I had been in her shoes, I would have been totally excited that "Katy Perry's hairstylist" and "Janet Jackson's makeup artist" were working on my kid. And they sure did pull off some incredible looks for Nia--she looked gorgeous and so mature. And Nia SOLD the performance too, from the tidbits we saw. Way more than I ever recall Brooke or Mack doing. And I was super-impressed with her conversation with Abby, and reaction afterwards. She seems like a great kid. But the bottom line? Nia and Holly seemed to have an awesome time making that video, and I'm glad they got to do it--whatever the background. It's so sad that both Kendall and Jojo were more upset about Abby potentially yelling at them than they were disappointed in their performances or where they placed.

Loved seeing Carter again, and at the "reveal", I wanted to go back and rewatch to see which part of the conversation never happened (apparently everything after Reese flipped on the radio and began pumping the heat). That said, for a show that's usually careful about details and direction, this ep dropped the ball a few times: - Reese clearly got shot in the shoulder, but I completely missed when he got shot in the stomach. There was a cut to commercial, correct? It was just done very fuzzily. He didn't get shot in the stomach in the cabin, did he? I still can't figure out why he was immobile on the floor just from a shot in the shoulder. Not this guy! - Why was Carter prodding him so hard to get the keys from the dead guy? I'm guessing it was to start the car and the heat, but then when the car wouldn't start, she was just like, "John, you dumbass, of course it's too cold to start," like she knew that all along. Then why the struggle to get the keys? Just a weird bit of writing, IMO. Also, having lived through very cold temps in the northeast this past winter, I doubt that a half-hour or so would make those cars' ignitions stop working. Maybe the killer's car had been there longer, but John's car hadn't been there very long. Why couldn't he get to his car? I know there are possible reasons given above, but again: weird for POI to be so vague. I honestly couldn't keep track of whose car John was in, or why there was a gunshot in the window. - Couldn't we have had one shot of Fusco looking at the cabin's address in Carter's records? I thought that was him at the end as well, but it would have cleared up who came and that it wasn't a hallucination. - And last but not least, that poor POI! It was like we were supposed to forget about him during the last 20 minutes of the show. Reese showed absolutely no interest in that poor guy when he was in the car with "Carter", and yes, he was dying, but the lack of concern seemed out of character to me. (I also thought the guy had faked swallowing the pills, because he could have, the way he did it, with his hand covering his mouth entirely. I was surprised the half-brother didn't say, "Open your hand.") I think we could have done with a minute or two fewer of the car scenes, a tad more exposition, and a slightly longer conclusion at the very end (including Fusco's arrival that was cut, as mentioned upthread). Interesting ep, good in some ways, but very strange in others.

Thank you--so it wasn't just me! The background music was particularly egregious during the end shootout: there was some alt-rock song playing that really didn't seem to fit with the scene. Don't they usually just have action-type score music during scenes like that? The song really lightened the scene, which was odd considering it focused on a seriously bad-ass criminal with a machine gun shooting (and apparently killing) both tourists and police officers. Jon Lovitz's house was beautiful though.

Throw a T-shirt to me. I watched all 8 eps. Not sure how to prove it, except I think I might remember something from each character's specific story. I also thought Hugo would run over to Harry at the end. It would have been a natural followup to the scene from last ep, which showed that he wasn't nearly as tormented (or: at all) as his parents thought (or hoped). Hugo hugging Harry would have paved the way for the Wechslers to stay at the party and show the promise of some type of detente among the players. And in the larger picture, it would have shown that nothing that happened in the series really mattered; that this huge event that tore their lives apart was actually completely irrelevant. (And appropriate ending for this show, actually.) Who in their right mind would let Hugo hold a baby?! And how was that relevant anything in the show? This show should have ended with the judge's wrapup--it was the first common sense thing that happened. I would have excised the Anouk episode, which had nothing to do with the larger plot, and alloted episodes to Gary and/or Harry's wife (whose name escapes me). The episodes that worked were those that forwarded the plot: Harry's ep when he gets arrested, Manoulis's because it introduced the lawyer, even Aisha's because it brought the affair into the light. But Anouk's and arguably Connie's? A waste, IMO. One last thought: Hugo reminds me uncomfortably of Max Braverman, and after six years, I thought that trauma was finished. Alas. I guess now it finally is.

To me, the dog is indicative of the bad writing on the show as a whole. Why did Ressler have a throwaway line about the dog last week? It doesn't make any sense when we a) never see the dog, and b) Lizzie never seems take care of it. They could have easily written in a line late last year or early this year in which Lizzie mentions giving the dog to a friend when she left the house....but clearly no one was thinking. I agree: unnecessarily convoluted storyline. I didn't realize until the last 10 minutes or so that Vanessa's girlfriend who was complaining about sexual harassment was the plastic-mask guy's assistant. I actually thought that Abby Issa was one of Cruz's aliases--didn't even realize it was the girlfriend. I second whoever wants a revamped Red-and-team Blacklist. I would add in Paul Reubens too (whatever happened to him?) and actually Tom, who is far more interesting to me after the last bunch of eps (plus, I need something pretty to look at). They can run around the world doing some FBI-related tasks that also advance Red's agenda. Add in Samar, too, so she can escape from her prison of plot exposition.

Yeah--when I was younger, I used to dislike LIW because at least 80% of it is actually about Eliza Jane (and as a kid, I was all about Zaldamo and Laura!). This week was one of the first times I watched it all the way through in forever. It's a shame that the Eliza Jane character wasn't more explored until the episode in which she left!--she had the potential to be a really complex character. I love her speech to Charles at the end. And thank you to whoever posted about the real Eliza Jane on this board--so interesting!--it's a shame THAT person wasn't written into the show! Two more winners from Adam in "To See the Light." Both lines are addressed to Mary (which is key): When they are driving in the rig, Adam gazes at a field and says: "Would you look at that?!" ("Um...I can't.") Then later, Adam is rhapsodizing about the lawyer's picnic: "Did you ever SEE so much food?" ("Well....you know I am blind, Adam.") Seriously tone-deaf writing. Adam is a piece of work in that episode, too. I think we're supposed to assume that his restlessness with teaching occurs over a period of time after his sight returns, but all we see is that one day he's in the hospital, and the next day he's back in the school, gazing out the window wistfully.

Hey everyone - longtime TWOP LHOTP lurker here who just found the PTV Little House forum. All I can say is: don't read these boards while sitting in a public area. I literally could not control my tears of laughter when I read the posts that set the Benny Hill theme to the blind school fire. Anyway, just started catching up again with Little House in the afternoons on Hallmark (after watching them regularly when they aired in the evenings a few years ago). The show is at my favorite spot right now, namely the seasons with "all the husbands": Adam, Percival, and (to a lesser degree) Zaldamo. Plus Albert, who's always been a favorite of mine. That said, I don't know why I always rewatch HLM, HLMN and LIW, since Almanzo is a flat-out ass in both of them--but I always do. "May We Bake Them Brown" was just on, and holy cow, that is a sad episode (I actually never saw it that much over the years). I did watch carefully for the Baby Battering Ram, as I know it's a favorite moment around here, but I had a hard time seeing it--isn't Alice just holding the baby in one arm and hitting the glass with her other elbow? In any case, the scenes with Alice screaming at the window are truly horrifying. If I were Hester Sue, I would have needed therapy. What IS 100% ridiculous: that scene in which Adam runs in to the bedroom, tells Mary the school is on fire, and they just LEAVE THE BABY....what parents would do that?! They didn't know how bad the fire was or how much time they had! Even if they wanted to help the kids and thought the baby would be a hinderance, you still grab the baby FIRST and pawn it off on Hester Sue or Alice (who could more easily hold the baby while running around). I just can't believe the director (or writer, or ML) would think that scene made sense! I also noticed an odd script choice in these eps: why does Adam often refer to "seeing"? For example: In "May We Bake Them Brown," he says (about Mary): "I can't stand seeing her like this!" Me: "Well, then it's good that you can't." And then in "HLM, HLMN", he says (about the courthouse): "You gotta see this place!" Me: "....because I can't." Is this a common occurrence? It seems like a really weird script choice for a blind character. I mean, instead of "You gotta see this place!" Adam easily could have said, "This place is huge....you won't believe it...." It's just strange.