lidarose9

Maybe I watched too much TV during covid, but I quit after episode 2 and reading the comments here, I'm glad I did. Everything in this show is something I've already seen somewhere else, and most of it is overused, lazy, and shallow. I'm ready for something new or different. The evil mining corp, the "scientists" doing vague secretive research, the drunk Inuits, everybody sees dead people in Ennis, a micro-organism that cures cancer or whatever. All that joyless bonking, the middle-aged "troubled" cop struggling to balance private life, parenthood, job, etc... what a yawn. All of it. The dialogue was just "off"... like the writer was going for a blend of film noir and Northern Exposure. It just did not work. I did love the look of it, though. Good direction, great art direction. It's a minority opinion, but I found the acting to be a huge problem. Jodie Foster's acting was horrible, awful, bad, pee-yew. Like she was trying way too hard, all the time. But I really liked Kali Reis' acting. She's got the goods. One reason why I hated this so much is cuz I just watched The Head and hated it too, for many of the same reasons.

I watched 3 episodes and gave up. This is one of the stupidest shows I've ever watched. Let's start with the bright green and electric blue cars that stick out like a sore thumb, especially for cops doing surveillence, yeah right. Randomly parking your helicopter in someone's field and then leaving the student sitting in it (I have a dentist appointment!) while you chase who/what/where? The nanny freaks out, steals the SD card, and runs -- but Maya just imagined the whole thing? It was a collection of tired predictable TV tropes that someone tossed in a paper bag and then arranged into a script. What a waste of time of all involved.

I'm watching this a year later and just want to add, for those of you interested in the murder of the Romanovs, the film "Nicholas and Alexandra" was very good. The screenplay was adapted from a book by Robert Massie written long before their remains were found. After the fall of the Soviet Union, more evidence came to light, and it turns out Massie's book did a good job of filling in the blanks. The only point where his account lacked important detail (imho) is the fact that most of the men who took part in the massacre were very drunk that night. The Whites were breathing down their necks, they were nervous and scared, and they wanted to get the hell out of dodge. It was a sloppy, horrific operation. They made a huge mess of it, it was dark and there were so many bodies to carry out and heap onto carts. The room was full of smoke and blood. Some of the victims were still moaning as they were being carried out. The forest was pitch black. One of the carts got stuck in the mud. They had to dump them temporarily that night and come back the next day to dig a better grave. They literally abandoned the Ipatiev house that night after the bodies were removed. When the Whites arrived a couple days later, they found everything as it had been, including the bloodstained walls and personal items left behind. Also the jewels were small and had been sewn into the gowns' seams so they'd be less obvious. It's an exaggeration to say the bullets bounced off the jewels.

The final episode would have been OK if they'd left off that whole black-and-white section in the first half about the kid. It was meant to tell us how Jason came to be so down and out in that 12-step meeting, and we could easily infer that from what we learned elsewhere without being bashed over the head by it. (I had never heard of Jason Segal before seeing this series so I know nothing of his past history.) I hated the whole Clara thing. It was a clunky plot device that didn't work. My other complaint is that Fredwynn's character was not as well developed as the others. We never really got much back-story on him. The game itself was original and fun. Overall, the series started out with an interesting premise that eventually resolved into just another "we need to connect with other people to be happy" story.

We both found season 2 very disappointing, in spite of many great actors. The writing just tried to shoe-horn in way too much stuff, which had nothing to do with the actual story, and much of it just made NO sense. Chee's character just seemed like a supreme dumbass, either bad writing or bad acting or both. Who goes on surveillance driving a car like that? The blond guy was supposed to be some superhuman monster who could voluntarily dislocate his shoulders to escape handcuffs and walk through a frozen desert with only one shoe -- yet is dumb enough to turn his back on the bad man with the gun? On the plus side, the music for season 2 was fantastic, though. We watched the one with Wes Studi last night and in spite of the lower budget, it was a much better show.

Tom was OK with pimping out his wife, metaphorically if not literally. And Shiv was OK with it too. Once she realized she could "win" by proxy with her lapdog husband in the driver's seat, she knew this was a great way to make her brothers pay for underestimating her.

Behind the times, just finished this.... Struck me: Lamb is the anti-Smiley. When we meet him, Smiley has been shoved out to pasture and is discredited like Lamb. He makes himself invisible by being ordinary, small, nondescript, and so does Lamb. It's just that with Lamb, he goes for the whole grungy drunk smoke working class dirty raincoat type. Smiley was the aging bachelor uncle, retired schoolmaster look. All that boozing and snoozing with Lamb is a cover story; he can sober up for field work any time he needs to. I knew Min or Louisa would die cuz they were happy together -- tired of that predictable trope. And River was just a dumbass throughout. They really are bad agents. My big gripe was the editing: Mom's plane was in the air way too long with London in the distance, River was writhing on the floor too long, the evacuation and crowd scenes went on too long. They were working too hard to cut back and forth between scenes. I see this all the time these days: time gets prolonged and shortened to make believe things are happening simultaneously when they just simply could not. But overall I love this show and have recommended it to friends. Hope they can keep it up with season 3.

I am catching up with episodes I missed when they came out and just have to say... I hope they fired the people doing Diane's hair, makeup and clothing for this season. Her hair looks yellowish and her foundation makeup looks powdery and too tan. She has always worn such gorgeous suits, often with beautiful coordinated necklaces, but this season she's in a lot of monochrome colors with weird geometric shapes that look vintage 1980s and vaguely J.C. Penney. Worst of all is the lipstick. Some horrid wine or cranberry color. The overall effect is to age her 10 years. I was always impressed by the way this show could make the women super-stylish and slightly sexy while still looking professional. Not here. And at home the decor in her bedroom/sitting room is that mauve I associate with 1990s. Star Trek Next Gen. Also I am really tired of the endless arguing. Every discussion immediately breaks down into pointless arguing. Last season leaned heavily on this, obviously meant to reflect the unfortunate dynamic paralyzing public dialog these days. Everybody wants to argue, nothing ever gets resolved, we cut to a new scene and the story moves on. We see this over and over. I find I can't remember how storylines wrap up because many of them don't -- they just peter out. I see enough of this crap in real life, don't find it entertaining. I am currently only hate watching the rest of this show. Although I love the Mandy Patinkin storyline.

To me Maxy seemed genuinely distracted, like she just found out she's pregnant.

So how did Tosh get out of that caravan?

In the earlier seasons, this did play a factor, as did having to take a ferry to get from one island to another. As the books got further into the rear view, it became less of an issue. Which is a shame cuz it was part of what ramped up the dramatic tension: the feeling of being isolated in these remote islands.

I am one of those people waiting for the whole thing to be done before watching, so I am only now starting. I just finished the second episode, where Jimmy & Tosh drive out to the junk yard when a body is found in a car there. Jimmy takes a look and says to Tosh: "It's her. It's Bryd," and they both act like Bryd's been missing and everybody's been looking for her, when in fact we just saw her at the dorm the night before, getting a text from Connor. Why did they both expect it to be her? Did I miss something?

Why did she want Becca's address. I was just lost there.

1. Either Ursula is really really stupid or she just didn't care if anybody knew about her affair. Throughout this show, people were doing lots of really stupid things. At least once per episode, someone did something so unbelievably stupid, I would have turned off the show if I hadn't been enjoying it so much. All of them make promises they promptly break or overlook obvious red flags. We end with an innocent bystander blinded, an innocent cat dead, Minna frozen to death, Roger's life ruined, Gabriel outed, Ursula's family torn apart, Eva's career derailed... JP may be the cause, but the sisters are leaving death and destruction in their wake throughout. But then I remember the title: these are not good sisters. 2. Apparently Irish police are incredibly stupid too. 3. Did anybody understand what the pregnant wife was doing with the files?

For me it would have held up better if they'd had Grace discover his secret life BEFORE her birthday, maybe confronting him about it at the cabin. And I agree the strangling would not have left cause of death undetermined. A good bonk over the head with a blunt object would have made more sense, and been easier to explain than a convoluted motorcycle accident in the middle of the night. Especially as she is so tiny and thin and we're seeing her in the flimsy white slip. It seemed like they were deliberately stripping away her emotional defenses along with her clothes. I do like the way she switched gears from being weak and passive to being protective and strong once she knew how he'd been victimizing her sisters. I can somewhat understand Eva keeping quiet about the rape, esp since she was obviously blackout drunk. They'd said repeatedly that she had a drinking problem back then. Unfortunately, I've had the experience of being so drunk I really couldn't be quite sure who did what to whom the next day, and since it was her sister's huband, she'd keep quiet. On the other hand, it felt like a very tacked on reveal to up the ante, and it wasn't needed at all. We all knew what a malignant prick he was. They were all flawed characters, none of them blameless. I didn't need them to be innocents and I was OK with their flaws. Yes, I wanted to slap the shit out of them at times, but they were flailing in an extreme situation. That's the makings of a great TV show! I hope there isn't a second season. It ruins shows like this by trying to drag out a story with tacked on drama. In the end, though I'm not 100% happy with the finale, it's a good story that worked and ended where it needed to end. Although I do hope Grace and Roger across the street get together. :)

I love this show! But people are repeatedly doing really stupid things, not the least of which is Ursula and her affair. Natch, these women are not strategic murder planners but the writer(s) are asking us to accept a lot of gaping plot holes. Wouldn't a doctor determine the man had been shot by a frozen pea after not finding any actual paint in the guy's eye and instead a mushy pea? And why didn't the roofie knock out JP if Ursula is a nurse and was in charge of the drug? And you'd think someone would realize it was not a good idea to follow JP down to the marina where they would be recorded on CCTV if not actually seen by a witness? So many things. I'm guessing that nose piercing will play some role in next week's events. Checkov's nose ring.

Watching later on... I agree with all the comments. Not likeable. Not relatable at all. Rich, super privileged people being narcissistic. The show presents us with their rich, privileged lives and I can't figure out if it's supposed to be ironic or what. I am not an Aniston fan and see nothing here to change my mind. Her acting range extends from A to B. (I forget who originally said that.) Her constant complaining, whining, tantrum-throwing... whatever. The biggest issue is I have NO IDEA why Reese W would play along with this circus. IF we're to believe her character is such a maverick and outsider, why the fuck is she there? She would have vamoosed right after the first day. I would really love to see an actual, nuanced discussion of workplace sexual harrassment. There are little moments where it looks like we might get somewhere but so far it always falls back into the same old crap of shitty people being shitty to each other. I LOVED the moment when Steve Carrell realizes Martin Short actually is a predator. Can anybody please acknowledge that there is a big difference between Harvey Weinstein and Al Franken? I guess not. Also I am sick to death of the way journalists are demonized. Are these people just "personalities" or is there ANY PROFESSIONALISM there? Sheesh. Early on I was thinking this would end up as a warmed-over remake of "Network" where Reese would scream, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Even that would be an improvement. I am not sure I can continue to watch. I don't find this entertaining.

I just finished a complete rewatch with a friend who'd never seen it before. Both of us were confused by the abrupt ending in the series finale. I kept thinking there was one more episode out there, wrapping things up, tying up loose ends, or just giving us some closure. Season 5 was confusing and felt random. It made an unsatisfying end to a really great show, imo. The show should have ended when peace was made between the 2 universes and when David Robert Jones and Evil William Bell are out of the picture.

I rewatched all the previous seasons to get back up to speed for watching the new one, and just finished. I feel a little traumatized. Maybe it's me, but seeing these kids bullied, beat up, terrorized, shot at, kidnapped, etc. is borderline too much for me. They are *children*. I've also been watching a lot of TV for the last 2+ years thanks to covid and am a whole lot more critical than I was (I think) when this show first started. I had zero time and interest for any of the Russia/Alaska thing, none at all apart from Murray, who I would watch read the phone book. It was so obvious they were just dragging that whole thing out as long as they could padding it with completely unnecessary and uninteresting and irrelevant action to keep the Joyce/Hopper reunion for a big payoff moment. Ugh. They could have done all of that in 2 episodes. I don't find it entertaining to watch a young girl being brutalized mentally and physically for HOURS AND HOURS. I feel really sorry for some of these actors. Can you imagine what it was like for Millie Bobby Brown to go to work every day and do the same traumatized reactions over and over, the tears, the anger, the screams. And really what was the point? Again, they could have wrapped ALL of that up in a 2-episode arc. HUGE LONG portions of that storyline were complete filler. Having the gang broken into so many little groups, in different locations was confusing to me. I wish they'd had some titles plastered over the opening scene when they'd jump around. We got a bunch of new characters thrown at us and it was a lot to keep track of. I don't see why they even needed that subplot about the bad people torturing that govt guy. (I fast-forwarded through it.) I'm so tired of torture. It's a lazy plot device. I also found a whole lot of the comic funny moments needlessly prolonged. We get it! Adults are out of touch! Yes, Dustin's funny! OK move on! Will has been a big nothing. His only function this season is to look troubled and touch the back of his neck. Why have they done basically NOTHING with his character. Jonathan and Will are both just along for the ride. Everybody else gets actual agency, things happen, they do stuff. I like the way Mike looks cuz that's how high school freshmen look: they spring up tall and haven't filled out yet, so they're strangely angular, bony-looking, their features not quite in proportion. It's totally realistic. The 80s were all about big hair and bad haircuts. I think he looks just right for his character, the same way Dustin is a bit chubby, still has his baby fat. They are KIDS. Every time Robyn opens her mouth, I want to slap her. I understand this is her character: the motormouth, the nervous talker, but holy cow. That actor does a great job at making her annoying as hell. I don't care about love triangle. This is what kids do: they get together, break up, get back together, realize that was a bad idea, find someone new, move on. Couples in high school almost never stay together in the long run. (Yes, I know, some do.) Same with Will crushing on Mike, if that's what it is. Mike may simply be outgrowing their friendship and that is painful for Will. This is 100% normal for teenagers. Steve's character so easily could have been like Billy, a typical big man on campus, and I love what they've done with his character. Except he is apparently able to hold his breath under water for 5 minutes without drowning. (This is a major pet peeve of mine.) I do appreciate the way they have taken pains to highlight how hard high school is for kids, even without supernatural threats. Broken families, alcoholics parents, bullying at school, the cliques. At the beginning of this season, the gang is not really a gang anymore, even the ones in Hawkins. To me that is realistic. Max is self-isolating, Lucas is experimenting with the possibility of being popular and making new friends, Will's kind of lost and lonely (like usual), and Jonathan's fallen in with a stoner crowd, when he used to have actual ambition. Mike's been distancing himself from both his best friends (El and Will). Dustin continues to carry the torch for the gang but really it sounds like other than their D&D games, they're just not as close now. And that is exactly what happens in high school. The whole thing with the Jock Posse would easily have been left out and nothing would have suffered. However, the jock leader (can't remember his name) makes sense to me, in that a lot of times (especially in small towns), high school sports heroes are made to feel they *need* to take a leadership role in any given situation, that it's expected. He'll run for mayor when he grows up. That Satanic Panic thing was real. The vast majority of us laughed at it. But for a small percentage, it was a big deal. I actually know people who believed it was real and who claim to this day to have knowledge of it. People can believe really crazy things -- we have ample evidence of that right now. And yes, not everybody dated in high school and not everybody had sex. I don't want to see children being sexualized. (This show does pretty good with that, at least so far.) And yes, in the mid-80s, it was a VERY big deal to be anything other than straight, again, especially in a small town. Also it has finally dawned on me that Hawkins, like the town in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is located at some kind of psychic crossroads where this kind of shit happens. It helps me to understand why this little town is so full of monsters. In spite of all that complaining, I do love this show. I just want it to be its best self. I also have the same major gripe about it that I've had with EVERY season of this show: It's too fucking dark! I don't mean depressing, I mean actual DARK. Half the time I can't see wtf is going on. I thought it was a mistake in the first season and was really disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to improve in the second season, and it's been the same all throughout. SO much in this show happens at night, in dark places. GIVE US A BREAK for god's sake. I am so tired of a black screen with two flashlights bouncing around on gross stuff. OK. I'm ready for Part 2.

I've resorted to fast-forwarding through all the Russia/Alaska scenes and the scenes with El and Brenner. This is just torture porn.

I recently got access to Peacock and I'm so pissed that I have to watch ads while watching the Office! WTF!

Watching this way later, but have to comment. Molly clearly felt Issa did an end run around her talking directly to Andrew herself. So doing so left Molly out of the equation altogether, which is what Molly wanted, right? Molly didn't want to complicate her relationship by asking for a favor? OK. She got what she wanted. If I'd been Andrew, I would have said: "OK, just so I'm clear. You don't approve of Issa being in touch with Nathan cuz of him ghosting her a while back? How do you know they haven't made peace about that? Or is it that you don't want Issa talking to me at all without you being involved? So you want advance approval on all my interactions that involve Issa? Or maybe you just didn't want Issa to get help with her block party. Which is it?" Yeah, I am not good at keeping my mouth shut either, but I have enough self awareness to know when I'm being a petty bitch.

It's gotten to the point where I expect a shitty ending, even for the best shows. I hated this whole pointless, random, nonsensical season. Why is it so difficult to write a decent ending?

This was a show about privilege disguised as a comedy. The guests were all solidly narcissistic, right down the line. I found it very frustrating cuz they were all as fucked up at the end of the story as they were at the beginning. If I'd known that was the deal, I would never have started watching. Which is a shame cuz it was really well done -- except for the gross part, which should never be seen by anyone, ever.

Finally binged season 6. It's like they're torturing Jimmy, it's almost too much. I just lost my mom, she'd had dementia the last few years -- it feels like every other story on TV has someone coping with a parent with Alzheimers. It's excruciating that Jimmy lost his mom and found out about his dad basically at the same time. All while shit was hitting fan at work. I felt there were too many storylines and way too much stuff unexplained. I am fine with a cliffhanger if it all makes sense but I don't think this did. I just have trouble with a hospice patient with terminal lung cancer would be lolling around without even an oxygen nose tube. She seemed pretty hale and hearty to me. And waaaay too much time spent with horrific flashbacks, I mean, we got the point ok? I'm kind of over the PTSD-wracked veteran storyline, which has unfortunately become a tired TV trope now. Sister What's-It living on the beach for X number of days, why? A politically ambitious spouse is *always* your first suspect in a murder, don't we all know this, with her campaign manager as backup? How did she get the antique gun and homemade bullets? If she was going to kill or frame all the people who participated in the nonsensical coverup of Mary Anne's death, she had a lot of work to do cuz it sounds like everybody and their dog was involved. And the kitchen sink. I also rolled my eyes: they decide to cover up her death why? and not just call 999? And what did the the druggie woman with her cocaine boyfriend have to do anything? Or just a coinkidink? Did I miss anything? Was there another kitchen sink they forgot to throw in there? I do give props for having Sandy fuck up again. It's unfortunate since we like Sandy but it's totally not realistic to have people never take a wrong step, never screw things up sometimes. It happens! (They never figured out who was the in-house leak back a while ago when someone tipped off the creepy bearded trafficker guy who was holding the Nigerian girl. When he was sitting in his van supposedly doing the exchange, where he got a text warning him. We are left to assume, i guess, that Jimmy blabbed to his old girlfriend who then blabbed to her husband -- while their marriage was imploding. Right.) Also, if you had Mary Anne's ghost come back to take revenge on these guys, you'd have the plot of a really bad movie called "Ghost Story" from back in the 70s. Also, I agree that Jimmy should not get involved with the friendly nurse. NO chemistry. But he needs a woman. Whatever happened to Archie Panjabi? I just rewatched all of the previous seasons to prepare for this, and I have to say this is my least favorite season, and not just cuz there was a cliffhanger ending.