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Oh god, yes. His American accent is distractingly bad. All I could think of was Olivia Colman unintentionally shading his American accent during an appearance on the Graham Norton Show (the movie clip in question was from Clifford):

Agreed. As much as I love Michael Ealy and Tiffany Haddish, I absolutely hated this. I fast-forwarded through most of Danner’s story to get to the “meanwhile, Zoë is engaging in shenanigans” bits. This episode seemed like a complete waste of time.

For crying out loud, this show needs to stop trying to make Nathan and Faith happen. Also: the Coulter baby has to be a girl and they absolutely MUST name it Mia. I have spoken.

I loved Aziraphale and the Bentley, and David Tennant’s ability to fully embody Crowley even with half his face covered by sunglasses for most of the show makes me appreciate him even more. The season felt unfocused for me, though. I think the “minisodes” were great and would have been happy with just those, but the envelope story felt tacked-on and forced. We didn’t see enough of Nina or Maggie for me to care about them at all. The kiss between Crowley and Aziraphale was just weird to me, not in a pearl-clutching way but because it seemed unnecessary; adding that romantic element seems so…earthly…even for the two of them (and yes, I felt the same way about Beelzebub and Gabriel, which wasn’t even earned). I will 100% watch a season 3 if it happens but I’d like to see a much more tightly-plotted main story rather than finding myself spending most of every episode wondering what any of this had to do with Gabriel going missing and why Heaven was so mad about it.

I was cracking up over the regency dress mixed with smart watches and helicopters.

I just watched the first couple of episodes of Top Chef Season 1 and honestly, if this had been my true introduction to the show (my first season was actually season 10) I would have watched an episode or two and never come back. Tiffani Faison and Stephen the Sommelier are absolutely horrible, I’m surprised that obnoxious Ken guy from Ireland managed to behave the way he did around a bunch of people with sharp knives and still walk out of the kitchen unscathed, and Brian is just gross. He laments Andrea’s elimination because of her “hot body” and cheers himself up with the fact that there was still “a lot of ass” among the remaining contestants. Oh - not to mention the episode 2 EC that was centered on a sexy dessert cocktail party in a sex shop. I also noticed that several of the chefs didn’t seem to be professionals anywhere near the caliber of the chefs we see today. It was only slightly less trashy than Hell’s Kitchen. I had to tap out after 3 episodes and don’t know how I managed to get through those except by fast-forwarding some of it. It was even harder to watch because the last few seasons have been so wonderful with the drama mostly shifting to the food mishaps rather than focusing on a bunch of grown adults who can’t be civil to each other for five minutes at a time. If Padma was the driving force behind this show’s clawing itself out of the mud, I pray that the producers appreciate just how good it is compared to where it started. More Portland-Houston-London cheftestant chemistry and respect, please, and keep leaving that season 1 crap on the cutting room floor where it belongs.

The golden buzzer dance group really impressed me. As a former musician and sometime dancer, the most amazing thing to me was that they were able to maintain such precision while blindfolded. That music didn’t have the obvious (to me) cues like lyrics or a clear rhythm, and they didn’t even have their director’s cues. I would have been completely lost because I was always too lazy to count, instead relying on specific cues from the music. I liked the magician and the India Warriors. Sofia being Simon’s mouthpiece entertained me (as well as how she said “ventriculist”). I liked the country girl but dear god, can we please ditch the Hat of Singer-Songwriterness? It’s time for a new Uniform of Individuality.

Phoebe’s face while she worked it out…it’s so good to see child actors who can act. I loved that moment, and her argument for why Jamie owed her a pound.

Well, that was…a tv show.

Oh, man, I’m sobbing just thinking about that scene. Mean Dani Rojas (and Van Damme’s utter confusion in the face of it) made me shout-laugh. I love them! Barbara’s inability to accept the snow globe as a gift (and asking for a receipt and then a refund when she came back) was priceless. I honestly don’t think I can love Rebecca more. I’m okay with Nate’s arc. I’m glad he quit West Ham (did not see that coming), and I’m glad that his apology tour is starting with Will. Finally, Rebecca spitting her tea at Ted had me laughing so hard I was wheezing. Favorite quote: “I’m like an incomplete list of Madeline Kahn’s best films: I ain’t got no clue.”

Dwaraka! It’s on SE Hawthorne between 39th & 40th (about half a block west of New Seasons). The food reminds me of my one visit to India, where I stayed with friends and ate home-cooking for two weeks. The first time I went to Dwaraka it tasted like I was back with my friend’s family, having dal and pakoras for breakfast. When the server came by to check on us I told him everything was delicious and tasted like someone’s mom was in the kitchen, and that’s when he gave the sweetest smile and replied “My mom is in the kitchen.” I’m absolutely thrilled that they seem to have made it through the pandemic. I’ll miss Victoire’s dry sense of humor. I didn’t think she was rude at all when she mentioned that she didn’t particularly care for spicy food, and I agreed with her when she commented about the effect on her sense of taste. I feel the same way: though I appreciate some kick, I don’t like food that is so spicy my lips start to burn. At that point I can’t actually taste anything and it’s pretty disappointing. Gabri is just…exhausting. I like him and he’s clearly talented or he wouldn’t have been his season’s winner, but I would not enjoy working with him.

Because of this episode I ended up going to my favorite Indian restaurant in Portland, OR, where the chef is at least one server’s mom (dad was cooking last night, though). They do have a delicious thali plate but it was a hot day and I just didn’t want that much food. I really loved Amar having such a good time in the kitchen. I like him anyway but this time he just seemed to cook with so much joy. He and Ali are my favorites.

Or Mork & Mindy!

Higgins mocking her for her response of “that guy from Cream” killed me. 😂😂😂😂

Yep. I would never get away with talking to an adult like that. No, I wasn’t a perfect angel and did fall into occasional teenage backtalk (truly occasional), and do you know who put up with it? Literally no one. Bailey’s behavior actually makes me kind of hate Owen even more.

I’m back to wanting to drop-kick Bailey off the nearest tall building.

I interpreted Isaac’s response as maybe hurt that Colin hadn’t confided in him? I hope that’s it because I love Isaac. He handled it terribly but it’s also normal for surprised people to handle things terribly. Yeah, it sucks for the person dropping the surprise, but sometimes people need to process. It doesn’t make either party wrong. I’m speaking as a heavy-duty processor who once found myself so completely incapable of thought that I just pointed across the room and told the other person “I’m going over there now.” Is it helpful? No. Is it necessary? Sometimes. Roy refusing to join the Diamond Dogs (while still being very much a Diamond Dog) cracks me up. Trent’s tentative “Woof” was adorable.

Regarding Jack defacing the book: aside from the general horror of defacing a valuable first edition, am I the only one who caught Jack’s not-at-all-red-flaggy line about being jealous and possessive and not wanting anyone else to be able to have the book/Keeley? Which she (Jack) quickly laughed off as a joke? If anyone at the beginning of season 1 had told me I would end up completely loving Jamie, I would have recommended that person for a psych eval. I have come to completely love Jamie. This show is a roller coaster. Laughing out loud (scaring the dog) over Will’s Beard impression, then crying over Sam’s breakdown, then happy tears over the last restaurant scene. I downloaded that final song and have been playing it on perma-loop.

I’m liking this so far, but yes, this most recent episode is the first one that didn’t make me want to drop-kick Bailey off the nearest tall building. The way she says Hannah’s name so often triggers my Spaniel Rage. I don’t know about y’all, but nobody says my name several times in a conversation and people repeating it even without disdain is just so off-putting. The kid doesn’t have to see Hannah as a replacement mom, but basic manners go a long way. I agree with the people who thought tossing the duffel under the bed was pretty weird. Even if Owen does turn out to be a good guy, I don’t know how they go forward from this. I get that knowing nothing protects them from the authorities, but knowing nothing also opens them up to potentially trusting the wrong people. Not to mention the extreme violation of trust in play here.

I’m satisfied with most of the season. I could have gone without the Augusta/Edward story (she’s too smart, he’s irredeemable: last season’s Esther plot was my point of no return for him), and Tom doesn’t seem to have evolved at all. The biggest thing for me was Otis & Georgianna. That felt completely rushed and un-earned to me. He shows up for a scene or two, goes back to London, and next time we see him, Georgianna is back in love with him? Building that story would have been much better than wasting our time on Augusta & Edward. I would watch the hell out of a Susan/Samuel series.

That “Meta” clue was brutal, and I’ve actually read Snow Crash. Problem is, I read it when it was first published and all I could think of was “cyberpunk novel about a katana-wielding pizza delivery guy,” which was absolutely no help at all. I’m mad at myself now because I’ve been meaning to re-read it for some time now.

I loved this episode so much. That is all.

I think it just got her thinking of following the money regarding the murder. The line about the jewelry was just her trying to get him to talk about where his money was going.

I’m really enjoying this show but I do not like the direction they’re taking Angie. While I appreciate the effort to portray her struggles with addiction in a realistic manner (rather than hand-waving it away as “that time I was a junkie but I’m better now” as many shows do), they’re scooting dangerously close to putting her in irredeemable territory. Homicide: Life on the Streets did this when one detective came to the unit under a cloud of suspicion from an accusation in his previous unit. The show spent almost an entire season establishing that detective’s integrity and he was ultimately cleared (as we knew he would be). Then what did the show do? A season later, after spending all this time writing him as a clean, honest cop, he kills a suspect in cold blood in front of his partner and then spends a bunch of episodes trying to cover everything up. It completely ruined the show for me. I would like to see Angie take a proper leave of absence to get herself squared away and let Will figure out how not to lean on her.

My 74-year-old, 5’5” mother with knee problems drives a Dodge Ram and a Chevy Avalanche, as well as a smaller car for tooling around town. My parents have been driving pickup trucks or SUVs for as long as I can remember. They still go camping, though now they use a trailer rather than a tent. If you can handle the vehicle and need something like a truck, there’s no reason not to have it. Same!