ElleBee

I'm happy they've brought this back, because any The Mole is better than no The Mole, but I really miss the older versions, where the contestants seemed more into the spirit of the game than their own best interests. At the rate this is going, I can't even feel any sympathy if the final contestant ends up with next to nothing. Completely agreed on being really relieved that Tony's out so as not to have to listen to him go on and on like a lovesick teenager about some woman he's just met and who he's technically competing against. I'm not sure how much Hannah played him, but I respect that she at least seemed to prioritize the game over the showmance. I wonder if there's fine print that the show is allowed to lie to the contestants? I could see, if they were getting worried that too many people were onto the real mole, that they might set up a game like the container one where people have to guess who everyone thinks the mole is but then reveal someone completely different just to throw them off.

Agreed and it makes this season less entertaining, at least so far. I'm super glad it's back, and I'll be watching no matter what, but too many self-serving people and people trying to intentionally sabotage, just to make themselves look like the mole, is frustrating. At this point, the mole has probably been told to switch gears and try to get something back into the pot since it's so stupidly low.

I went to a UC (University of California) in the second half of the 80's, so I just pulled out an old check register. Tuition in 1988 was $1,550 per year and my share of a fairly standard apartment with roommates was $200 a month. Even though minimum wage in California was only $4.25 at that point, it was definitely very doable to get through college without loans, or with only small loans, by working part time during the school year and full time during the summer. (Also noticed I paid $15.50 for an on-campus Simple Minds concert, so clearly super hip back in the day. 😎 )

I've always gotten more of a friendship vibe between Will and Angie, even though the show is clearly trying for a slow burn relationship with them. And ever since Derek has shown up, it's really been evident that LM has much more natural romantic chemistry with AB than with TK. I wish they'd go in that direction, because they really sizzle on screen together and it's fun to watch, but I have a feeling Derek is going to break Angie's heart just as soon as she lets her guard down. As for Angie and Will, I think it would be great if they'd keep them as best friends--it's under-explored territory with a lot of shows and just seems like a more natural fit for both the characters and the actors.

(Totally laughing at the random "Good Place cursing" reference in a GBBO thread.) I'll be sorry to see her go too. She was a bit over the top with some of her self deprication, but she seemed pretty sincere and she'd had some pretty outstanding bakes in the past. I thought she'd make it further, but one bad weekend is all it takes...

I don't understand, if he really felt this way, why he didn't speak up at the time? Seems to me that he just piled on, and he certainly didn't seem to "disagree with Bateman" from what I read in the interview. Love this idea! Unfortunately I think they'd already finished filming by the time the accusations against Tambor on Transparent came out. But they certainly could have fairly easily left him out of the press tour, instead of circling the wagons around him.

I was also horrified that not only the drifter's girlfriend but "several neighbors" heard a young girl crying from the basement and apparently just shrugged it off. I know he was using the explanation that it was his daughter and he was punishing her but how does that make it okay? And who hears crying from a basement and figures "eh, whatever" and just moves on with their day? These types of shows really showcase the best and the worst of humanity.

I had to turn this one off about 2/3's of the way through because I couldn't stand the cat fights for another minute. Totally agree that there wasn't one person in the whole scenario who was even remotely tolerable. This mistress (oh, sorry, she doesn't like that term--step off, lady) was killing me with her "building a life together" illusion, when the guy was very clearly married. It was like she was offended that the wife wasn't just rolling over. And the wife was just as bad with her sobbing, excuses, and fallacies about her "wonderful" marriage. But the part that pissed me off the most was that Bill, who was the cause of all of this and seemed pretty unapologetic, largely escaped both of these women's ire. Francis, it was Bill who openly shat on his commitment to you. As horrible as Bonnie was, she wasn't the one who broke your marriage vows so how about directing some of that hatred toward your philandering husband. Bonnie, shut up with your delusional attachment to a man who's married and has a family. Take those huge fake boobs and find another schmuck who isn't in a relationship. Bill, alas, sometimes we reap what we sow.

I like elements of Unconcluded but have the same critique. It's like he's trying too hard to be a Serial Next Gen by emulating Sarah Koenig's vocal style, but isn't really pulling it off.

So refreshing to read this--I go through the same. I have a prepaid flip phone (which people find hilarious--you have a FLIP PHONE?! LOLOLOLOL!), that I use for emergencies. I'm good at responding to e-mail, and my landline is right there when I'm home, but somehow what worked perfectly fine for many, many years is now totally unacceptable. It's like people get downright angry that I'm not conforming. Fact is, when I'm away from a phone, I like being disconnected. I find it re-energizing to live parts of my life technology-free. (Funny too about your story with the doctor's office. The front desk of one of my doctors called to tell me that the doctor had an emergency and I would need to reschedule. There was a big confusion (boring details omitted) but after several miscommunications back and forth, I asked her why she didn't leave a message. She said "I couldn't--there was something wrong with your phone." Knowing my phone was perfectly fine, I asked her what she was talking about. Turns out she'd gotten a busy signal on my landline and apparently didn't know what that sound was, so she figured my phone must be broken. <Sigh>)

Those "break-in burglar" alibis are way too frequent, and really pretty unforgivable. I simply cannot understand, if you wake up disoriented in the middle of the night and you have other people living in your household, that you wouldn't take the most basic of precautions to make sure you weren't shooting a loved one before pulling the trigger. He says it was completely dark--okay--but all he had to do was to take a split second to yell "Debbie?!", she'd answer, and tragedy would be averted. So yeah, I'm very skeptical of this Lars guy's story. Either he's a murderer (most likely) or he's an idiot whose utter stupidity cost someone her life--either way, I'm not shedding any tears over his outcome.

But she continued to try to convince him otherwise, even after he'd initially rejected her, so I figured there was more to it. Why go to the trouble of almost pleading with him to continue with her, just to reject him back once he's seen her point? Just a tit for tat "you rejected me so now that I've gotten you to regret it, I'm going to reject you instead" kind of thing? In any case, I'm probably just overthinking it--thanks!

I feel like I missed something, but I can't quite figure it out. When June is talking to Nick in the kitchen, trying to convince him to continue on with their "relationship" (not sure that's the right word to characterize whatever it is they have going on), he finally comes around but then she kind of verbally smacks him, reminding him he's an "eye". What was going on there? Had she been baiting him all along--waiting until he wanted her again so she could pull the rug out from underneath him--or did he piss her off somehow? I watched it twice, and I'm still confused about the reason for her seemingly abrupt turn-around.

For fellow fans of "My Dad Wrote a Porno", the first episode of season three is now up.

They're working for me (in the US).