scarynikki12

My favorite part is Bats saying "call me!" to Felicity after Oliver has to forcibly drag her away from the shiny gadgets in that illustration. I firmly believe that Selina/Catwoman is his One True Love but I can easily buy Felicity as a viable alternative due to sheer awesomeness.

I think the five year probation was the shows response to viewer dissatisfaction over the changes to Rory's character post-Chilton. They seemed to think that having the judge tell her she wasn't getting away with breaking the law and being a spoiled brat, coupled with a few scenes of her running the trash pick up show on the road, would be enough to appease this dissatisfaction. I do agree that the probation wouldn't have been a massive hurdle for Rory when she went looking for jobs, but I would have liked some follow up, maybe to show her struggle with being judged by her peers rather than getting voted the editor as soon as she went back to school. I also think that Rory's exit story shouldn't have been her getting that campaign job. Even though she didn't get the fellowship and was hired by a non-major paper, it still felt like she was getting something way too easily yet again. I'd rather have seen her moving on to Columbia to get her graduate degree in journalism. I think that would have made way more sense for who she was for most of the series, and would have allowed her to pursue an actual degree in the field like she'd always intended. Plus, it would have allowed the show's final run of episodes to just focus on this natural ending: Rory moving to New York. She graduates in the third to last episode, the second to last shows her and Lorelai going on their roller coaster trip, and the last just focuses on the Goodbye Rory theme with the party being the backdrop of most of the episode. The Elder Gilmores still could have shown up, Richard still could have said those nice things, Emily could have not been passive aggressive for once in her life and just admitted to Lorelai that she wanted to continue Friday Night Dinners with the three of them, Luke and Lorelai get back together amidst the fun (or not I don't care), Lane and Rory just have fun, and then the episode ends with Rory reassuring Lorelai that she's ready for this bigger change (since graduate school leaves very little time to visit on weekends and keep up with studies) and then they drive off to New York, Lorelai once again being there for Rory as she makes the next transition in her life (Chilton, Yale, now Columbia).

Just over a decade ago, when Brady was still a baby and Eric looked like Jensen Ackles, Kristen lost her mind. She was considered the Good Dimera and was friends with the approved Salem characters like Jen and Billie. Then she learned that then fiancé John Black was still in love with Marlena, miscarried, and her mind snapped. After that she became a typical Dimera: involved in kidnapping (Marlena), attempted murder (Marlena), baby stealing (EJ), body doubles (Susan), and all around stalker behavior. What was key about that story was that Eileen played as many as five different characters, so it went beyond just the Good Woman and Bad Woman fighting over the blah Leading Man that soaps love. To bring it back to her history with the town, her losing her mind and revealing herself to be a Bad Dimera all along likely felt like a betrayal to the Good People of Salem. Throw in her brother Peter also revealing himself to be a Bad Dimera and the town just went into judging overdrive (though they love to do that so you'd think the Dimeras would be their favorite people in the world). To bring it back to the present, Brady is now in his forties (he was rapidly aged like so many characters) and Eric looks like someone else, so Kristen naturally decided that fucking with each of them was the best way to get revenge on John for dumping her back in the 90s. There's really no rhyme or reason for her to target Eric, and going after Brady made even less sense, but Kristen is insane so I guess she doesn't actually need reasons anymore.

I think it was the home of Emma and her dad.

I'm so glad Abe finally mentioned that the infected initially seek out those they loved the most from their human lives. I hadn't wanted to post anything about that yet because it would have been a spoiler but now I can talk about it a bit. It also led to some subtlety in the scene in the nursing home. Abe revealed that the strigoi seek out their loved ones and then Nora saw one at the nursing home. While we initially see a monster feeding on helpless residents and their caretakers, what's really happening is that specific vampire was seeking out his loved one and then fed on the others because they were there. There's a poignancy mixed in with the horror and absence of humanity. Fet is probably my favorite character in the book so I'm just delighted to see his awesome reflected on the show. He noticed the rats are leaving the sewers, didn't know why, investigated, found the strigoi, and got the fuck out. I'm glad the action is picking up and that the eclipse looks to be upon us soon. I think the only reason Gabriel's wig is still on is because it was well attached when his genitals atrophied and it just hasn't gotten caught on something and been removed yet.

Just last night I watched The Birdcage on Netflix. I watched it because I love the movie but now I'm very happy I did. I was able to watch a Robin Williams movie one last time with only the reaction of laughter. I'll still be able to laugh at his comedy but it will have that tinge of sadness from now on as I'll always know he's left this world. The first thing that came to mind when I learned the news was how Billy must be feeling. Of course, his children, wife, relatives (is his mother still alive or has she passed?), and friends are devastated and I feel for them, but I never witnessed his relationship with them the way I did Billy. I saw them work together and fart around together on talk shows and their love for one another shone bright and strong. They always spoke of the other with such respect and admiration and they had a relationship that transcended friendship and became family. I hope Billy was with his own family when he learned the news. As I thought about Billy I began to think of his other close friends. Whoopi and David Letterman are no doubt equally devastated and I hope they take all the time they need to come to terms with their loss. Maybe they'll take time from their shows, maybe they'll work through their grief with the comfort of the routine of work, but I hope they do what's best for them. And, as I think of Robin's closest friends, his peers come to mind. He worked with so many different actors and directors and seemed to have a ball with all of them. I was reading a short list of the reactions from other actors and it's really amazing how many lives he touched. Sarah Michelle Gellar simply posting a photo display of the two of them on her Twitter brought on tears, but Jim Gaffigan really got me going: Comedians are such a close knit group and so many have tweeted their love and admiration for him in the wake of the news. Amidst the devastation it's heartwarming to see the love. I've got his stand up on now and it's helping keep my grief in check. Only Robin can help me deal with losing him.

I think it's a cultural thing. When I was in college in Tucson, people used N/S/E/W all the time, but the city is set up in a grid and such directions are easy to decipher. If someone were to use anything other than left or right when giving directions in Nashville, on the other hand, I'd just stare at them blankly (freeways don't count). But, I agree, it will take me out of the show when LEOs say stuff like that.

Carrie was mentioned in another thread and now I'm wishing she were part of the story. Which is weird, because I find her sanctimonious and hypocritical but the reason I wish she were part of the story is that it would be great for her and Sami. They could unite is their dislike/hatred for Abby, Carrie the DA (which will never make sense but I'd ignore it in this case) would naturally be involved in the case against EJ, and Sami's exit storyline would allow her to finally work through her issues with Carrie. Yet again, so much potential wasted.

Shark Week is hit or miss. They miss when they try to bring in the big crowds with sensational specials (last year's Megalodon special for example) but hit big when they focus on the details: the different species of shark (the search for Megamouth was one of my favorites, particularly the excitement among the scientists when they finally saw one in person), their feeding patterns, their intelligence, their mating habits, etc. That's what's interesting about sharks, not how often they mistake humans for food. When Shark Week focuses on the good stuff it's riveting television but recent years has seen more of the sensational stories that leave them open for ridicule. Hopefully next week sees more of the interesting stuff.

I don't think Arizona is to blame for the money issues either but I would like her to acknowledge that she was the reason she was on the plane, and therefore in the crash, in the first place. She was hurting from the diagnosis of her friend and, in what we would learn is habit for her, took her feelings out on someone else, Alex in this case. Then the plane crash happens, she gets badly hurt, she reaches the point where the only options are for her to lose the leg or her life, Callie makes the call to amputate, and Arizona, again, takes her feelings out on someone else. This time it's Alex and Callie. She blamed Alex for her being on the plane in the first place and has never retracted that statement. The episode where he was worried about her reaction upon learning he was going into private practice was an ideal time for her to acknowledge that he was not to blame for her losing her leg and apologize for her actions but, of course, that didn't happen. Instead Alex was worried with no indication that Arizona had ever apologized to him and then he was made to seem like the idiot for assuming the worst from her when she handled the news just fine. Same with Callie but in a different way. Arizona blames her for the amputation, refusing to acknowledge that the leg got worse before Callie could implement her plan to save it and Callie made the call in an effort to save her life. Arizona acts like Callie just didn't care about trying to save her leg and gave the ok to amputate because she's evil and out to get her. Like Alex, there's no indication that Arizona has acknowledged that Callie saved her life (and, if she truly would rather die than lose a leg she should just commit suicide. That would be a far more interesting story than trying to convince us that Callie is the worst person in the world for not letting her die with her all her limbs) and there's definitely no indication that she's apologized for her awful actions and words.

I don't even go that far. I just call if Comic Con. I've actually only ever seen it referred to as Comic Con International when I'm physically there and San Diego Comic Con when I'm on these boards. When I talk to people about it in real life they always know which one I'm referring. It's the other cons that get a qualifier when I talk about them. I do agree with this though: And I hope they never move. It's way too big, to be sure, but the location is just perfect: on the water, within walking distance of many hotels, within driving distance of many others, and super close to the airport. Plus, Anaheim would be the worst location in the world even if it can hold more people, so I never want it to move (not that I think there's a real danger but it comes up every year).

I finally caught up on the events of the last few weeks and it makes me hate the grief sex all over again. I know the writers don't think long term with these stories but, by having Sami cheat it gives Will something to throw in her face. Like others have said, it was unbelievably out of character for her in the first place, as the one thing we never saw Sami do was cheat on a partner but it also means that Will thinks she has no right to be upset that EJ cheated. Remove Sami cheating with EJ (though she did face consequences in her subsequent divorce and Will bringing it up now) and this would be the culmination of the return of Marlena and Roman when she was a child. We've discussed here and at TWOP many times how many of Sami's issues began with the emotional tailspin that the return of Marlena and Roman and John's sudden lack of interest in her (despite being her only parent for most of her childhood) brought. I think Sami permanently snapped when she witnessed Marlena cheating with John and this exit story really should be the culmination of everything that she's done/has happened to her since that event. Remove the grief sex and we'd have a character willing to do every horrible thing in the book except be unfaithful to her partner. It would also be way harder for Will and the other Hortons to get in her face as all she'd have to do is point out that she'd never cheated on anyone. Of course, Sami's only cheated one time in her entire life so her track record is still better than everyone on the show except for Ari and Ciara, though the Hortons will never acknowledge this. In light of her scene with Caroline I realize that her grandparents were the only other constants while she grew up and that likely plays a role in how she relates to them versus her parents. Caroline has been there her entire life, showing her love before, during and after the horrible things she's done. Caroline really knows how to make it clear to Sami that she loves her to pieces while being disappointed and angry at what she's done. Marlena and Roman have never done that. Roman doesn't even have a brain anymore and Marlena prefers to shower love and affection on the children who don't put her reputation at risk. That's not to say Marlena has to like or love Sami, as she doesn't, but she pretends that she does because it makes her look better to her neighbors and earns their sympathy when Sami tries to set the world on fire. Caroline doesn't give two shits about any of that. She loves her granddaughter and worries about HER not whether or not her actions will make her neighbors turn up their noses. The scenes between them were perfect in this way. Caroline is worried about Sami, how anger and hurt will affect Sami, how the need for revenge could destroy Sami, and if the outcome will truly be what Sami wants. Put Marlena in that scene instead and we'd get a lecture about how Sami brought it on herself for being with a Dimera in the first place, how dare she be angry, and what will everyone think when they find out what she's doing? Meanwhile, if Marlena were in that scene with Carrie or Belle, she'd act the role of Caroline, showing sympathy and concern at what her preferred children were going through and how it could effect them long term. Last night I had a dream where I met Bryan Datillo and he told me that Lucas and Sami wouldn't have any scenes together before she leaves. Let's hope that doesn't come true because I need Lucas to join in on the fun for old times sake. Plus, I'm still holding out hope that the crack theory comes true and Sami reveals to EJ that he isn't the father of Johnny or Sydney after all and it is really Lucas. Then I want her to shoot him in his balls a la Alan and stroll right out of town, dropping a mic as she does.

Right? I loved Fabio on Top Chef and everything he made had an Italian twist. Makes sense to me, as he's Italian and learned to cook in that manner. The criticisms of his food came when it wasn't cooked well and no one competing against him ever held his Italian-Only cooking against him. Meanwhile, Beverly from a later season was heavily criticized for only cooking "Asian food" with absolutely no awareness that a chef who could accurately be described as cooking Asian food (as in: China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Asian-Russia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc) would show more versatility than any other contestant. Because sticking with what you know is only a bad thing if the style of cooking isn't based in France/Italy (and I'd love to see someone tell a chef from that discipline that he/she cooks "too European". The expression would be priceless and they'd rightly get pissed because it doesn't make sense and comes across as insulting). I'd love to see someone try and tell a chef who specializes in Ethiopian cuisine (just typing that makes my mouth water as I LOVE Ethiopian food) and get told that his food is "too African", or someone specializing in Brazilian cuisine get told it's "too South American". That person would look like a colossal racist dumbass and would likely realize it as they were saying it because it sounds completely stupid and racist, yet doing the same for chefs whose style come from any of the different parts of the Asian continent isn't noticed. Before I finish, I realize that many on that season had problems with Beverly's personality, which doesn't bother me, but they never just said that. They dressed it up as being upset that she only "cooked Asian food", with kimchi being a particular offender. So they took a basic dislike of her personality and turned it into something racist. Of course they did. And then they got called on it by viewers and didn't understand what they'd done wrong. Idiots.

This is my second biggest issue with cons (the biggest is the idiot stans who spend the whole time screaming and making it hard to for panelists to answer questions)! For every panel that has a good moderator who asks about characterization, plot, themes, cinematography, etc, there seems to be three that have mods who only care about when characters are going to hook up, what the actors and producers think about said characters hooking up, whether the actors ship the characters they play, if the audience wants to see characters hooking up, how often the actors show skin, and so on. It's to the point that I'll just pull out my phone and start texting this annoyance to my entire phonebook (which prompts plenty of confused responses as very few of my real life friends even know what Comic Con is, much less has any interest in it). For example, as much as I enjoy looking at Amell's abs myself, I do think it's super inappropriate for him to be asked to show them in the first place, then to be pressured into it once he's already said no. On that point I agreed with Katie. The only thing more inappropriate would have been for the moderator to ask the question. If Amell had brought it up and lifted his shirt to show how effective his Arrow training still is, then I'd have no issue because it would be coming from him. But that one guy who brought it up annoyed for the same reason it annoys me when the fans won't shut up at certain panels: this is an opportunity to interact with the actors and producers of the shows, to ask them questions about their intent and approach to their craft and all you (general) care about is how hot they are/getting them to take their shirts off? Really? At the signing this year I actually had a few moments to talk to the actors as I was fortunate to be behind two deaf attendees who were very eager to converse with them (and the Warner Bros workers didn't seem to mind for once), so moving through the line took longer. I couldn't think of anything decent to say to the actors until I got to Blackthorne (he, Barrowman and Marc G were last) so all I said was that I loved the show and that I was looking forward to the new season. Had I known I was going to have more time I would have tried to come up with a little bit of conversation related to Oliver, Diggle, Thea, and Roy so that I wasn't just standing there waiting for the line to move. But, I would never have turned to Amell and said "since I'm standing here for a moment, how about you show us those abs and give everyone a thrill?", because that is so completely inappropriate (not that I'd have objected if he'd done that on his own, I am human after all). My rule for panels is thus: if the questions can't live up to the standard set by Hannibal, Breaking Bad, Orphan Black, Supernatural*, and My Little Pony**, then the moderator isn't doing his/her job. *I was shocked last year when the questions were all about characterization and plot because I was expecting their rabid fans to spend the hour screaming their love for the actors but they were quiet and respectful. **I sat through it on the way to Orphan Black and, yes, it's a kids show but everyone was interested in what the characters were going to do next and what kinds of stories would be told. From what I've seen at the panels preceding seasons 1 and 2, Arrow does a good job in general. The moderator asks relevant questions, the audience is generally respectful, and it doesn't get derailed by the vocal few. I want this to continue so, hopefully, the abs question was only at the DC event and won't become a thing.

I think it was the bit about how women keep platonic (male) friends forever because "you never know" while they dump girlfriends constantly (cause Pam thinks she's cute, the delivery of which always cracks me up), though I could be wrong. He talks about gender dynamics quite a lot and it all runs together after a while.

Thinking long term I'm wondering if the show will make adjustments to the mythology surrounding the Master and other Ancients? Like, maybe they'll present the angel stuff as an unproven theory on the creation of the vampires while the way to permanently destroy them proves accurate? I know del Toro and Hogan intentionally married science with vampire folklore/tropes, which is fine, but the Angel stuff was still a bit too heavy handed for my taste and I basically love the books in spite of it. I think it will work much better if it's just presented as one of the many stories Abe heard from his relatives growing up rather than the Reason They Exist. Though now I'm wondering how deep into the Master's backstory we'll get. Will the show go into the giant he inhabits and the turnaround from gentle and generous man to vicious monster or will that just be glossed over? The perfect time to show us this backstory will be when he takes over Bolivar's body for his own so it can wait but I am curious if they're going to show it at all. I also can't wait to see Gus and his crew kicking vampire ass and I think the set up for that is one of the better slow burning stories they've got (though I acknowledge that it may be because I know it's coming). I also can't wait for Fet to meet Abe and Nora. His relationships with both were some of my favorite parts of the series.

This is nitpicking but Rory was nineteen when she slept with Dean and twenty when she first hooked up with Logan.

Ansel told her to take the kids to her sister's so she was still unable to act without him first telling her.

Please be right, please be right!!!!

Because all documentary filmmakers are part of the 1%. I thought everyone knew that? The part that hit me hardest was at the beginning when the former whalenappers were recounting the experience. The systematic stealing of baby Orcas was so common that the whale pods had developed a strategy to trick the boats into following the wrong group of adults. That's some serious intelligence right there. Then the stupid airplanes saw what they were doing and redirected the boats. Of course, instant heartbreak came when the pod remained as witness to the stealing of their babies, crying out for them (likely the Orca equivalent of "Don't panic! We'll figure out how to save you! We'll get you back!"), and unable to make it better. The bit about each pod having their own language was really interesting. It makes a lot of sense, though, as each pod will have different experiences than those in different areas of the world (ie, the one we saw with its strategy for dodging whalenappers versus a pod in an area of the world where whalenapping isn't a problem). It reminded me of my primate class from college where we studied a community of snow monkeys that had been moved to Texas from Japan. The group handled the move fine, adjusted to the heat and terrain like bosses, but developed new calls right away for threats like rattlesnakes that simply didn't exist in Japan. My professor's wife specialized in primate languages and she made many recordings of these calls, took them back to Japan and played them for the snow monkeys that remained. They understood that the calls were from their fellow monkeys, but they couldn't decipher them since that adaptation wasn't necessary (and they did the adorable confused head cock that animals can pull off so well). We as a species are the dominant one on the planet yet we refuse (on a grand scale) to respect and understand the animals we live with. Whale experts tell us that these animals need to be in the open ocean, to have the freedom to explore and lives their lives yet SeaWorld pretends that the too small enclosures are just fine. That one former trainer was clearly talking out of his ass and I wouldn't be surprised if we one day learned that he called his old bosses and promised to lie about the whale treatment in exchange for money (the same reason I think the head trainer was put on the stand). There are videos of these incidents and it's clear in each that the human does not deserve the pain and suffering. That one woman survived through sheer luck (the other trainer's brilliant idea to open the grate to the dominant Orca) and that one man likely would have died had he not had the history of scuba diving and the net when he was finally let go (and the image of him scrambling to get away as the whale started coming back for more scared me more than Jaws because this was a real animal and not a machine). It's also very telling how SeaWorld has approached the deaths. They film freaking everything yet the video of the guy who was killed after hours is non-existent? No way. I think that man's death may have been the most horrific and, since the number of potential witnesses can be counted on one hand, it's a lot easier to destroy the tape and pay them off. I liked how the other former trainers approached the situations. They acknowledged that Tilly may very well have seemed playful in the first moments but there is no mistaking aggression and the fault of the deaths is on SeaWorld and their ilk. I'm glad it was expressly stated that there are not recorded cases of Orcas killing humans in the wild, and that they are even friendlier than in captivity. I don't know if Tilly's aggression is so far gone that putting him in the wild would fix anything but I think we owe it to him and the humans he killed to try. If he's given freedom, a place to explore and just live the rest of his life, he may very well relax and never bother another human again. And, even if his aggression remains, he's unlikely to encounter another human in such a situation anyway so who cares? And let all the others go too. Just seeing the pod at the end, with their straight and proud dorsal fins, was such a marked contrast to Tilly and the others and really drove home why, aside from the threat to humans, they should be back in the ocean.

I don't think this show and Arrow/Flash are supposed to be in the same universe nor are we to entertain that notion for one second. Different networks mean different universes. It would be different if Warner Bros owned Fox like they do CW but they don't and so the DC event at Comic Con is the closest we'll get to crossovers.

I think that's a smart move. Maroni makes for a good series long antagonist for the Gotham PD, sort of like Luther Mahoney from the old Homicide show (not that I expect this show to be anywhere near that level of quality but the Batverse mob bosses can still be utilized in this manner).

I was at Comic Con this year but I wasn't at the DC event. I'd already made plans to have dinner with a friend so I skipped it.

What's great about Comic Con is that I can have all sorts of conversations with fellow Arrow fans that I can't in real life. The one thing that everyone agreed on was a general dislike of Laurel and how the character was written and portrayed. But, being Comic Con, a lot of these same people wouldn't entertain the idea of Sara being the Black Canary long term on the grounds that Laurel had the name. I pointed out that Laurel doesn't even go by Dinah (and Dinah Laurel Lance in the comics still goes by Dinah) and that the show can easily make Sara's middle name Dinah if that's all they require but I got a fair amount of blank stares, as if such a notion never occurred to them. I have a girlfriend from high school who works at one of the booths in the Exhibit Hall and her boss and I ended up in a serious conversation about Arrow and Laurel. Like so many on these forums, he said that he'd gladly dispense with comics canon and replace Laurel with Sara since it's been almost fifty episodes and he still doesn't understand what she (Laurel) contributes to the story. He said that Laurel being the designated Damsel in Distress was the only consistent thing about her characterization and he just couldn't imagine a believable way for her to end up as the Black Canary with or without Sara. I couldn't agree more.

I did and it could very well work out great (I'm keeping an open mind until I see the execution). It's more that I'm worried about the change in the first place. There's absolutely no reason for it to begin with (if they really want to drive home her future as Poison Ivy, why not change Selina's name to Catherine-going by Cat, or Edward to Ridley, or Oswald to...something that connects to Penguin?-and I wouldn't support such changes either). Like I wrote above, they can easily fix it and move on but the fact that they did it in the first place makes me wonder if we'll see similar unnecessary changes/mistakes. My biggest hope is that this is the only area of the show I take issue with but its the unnecessary mistakes that lay the foundation for the bigger ones when shows go off the rails so we'll have to wait and see.