DeathQuaker

When the Netflix trailer first showed up on Youtube, it was still called "Anne." I noticed a lot of people in the comments were mis-reading this as "Annie" (including confusion about where Daddy Warbucks was and why wasn't anyone singing). Literacy and comprehension issues of typical Youtube commenters aside, I think they decided to go with something that would provide more brand recognition. Likewise, calling it "Anne of Green Gables," as sensible as that might be, would result in Internet searches that conflated this series both with the Sullivan series as well as the books. As you say, "Anne with an E" will still ping fans of the book series while the name also sets aside confusion with any other similarly named franchise, related or unrelated.

I think the sketch is Magda. I know we haven't seen her in awhile, but it's why Petra would look so shocked, and Magda has motive in protecting her daughters (she's a horrible mom but still a mom). Could be Rose, but given how paranoid she is, seems like she wouldn't have been so foolish to show up in her own face. I think she was worried about getting caught last time she showed up not b/c of Scott's murder, but Michael's (since he did ultimately die of that gunshot wound). Though I would like them to tie up the Sin Rostro storyline. I started watching the show solely because of Bridget Regan (though quickly grew to love the whole cast and kept watching because it's overall a good show), but they're doing a terrible job with pacing this story. I'd rather they end it then keep bringing it up randomly, have it go nowhere, then drop it like a hot potato by the next episode. I know Regan and Yara Martinez have busy schedules... But either contract and pay them enough to do the story right, or just end it. Doing it halfassed does no one any favors, not the actresses, not the audience, not the show.

But it hasn't been, last I checked. They didn't order the back nine so a lot of spec and rumor sites have declared it "cancelled" but there is no official cancellation, and ABC has not released the options on the actors (see Media thread). I saw a tweet from Merrin Dungey that said she was told by ABC the 1st season would remain at 13 EPs but it wasn't done yet. I should note I would not be surprised or even terribly upset if the show were cancelled, but just pointing out that the fat lady has not yet sung. They maybe waiting to see how the last few eps play out, including the last 4 in a new timeslot. If the quality continues to increase and more viewership isnt lost, who knows?

Although I'd disagree strongly on the last sentence (IMO TV tends to underplay the corruption that goes on in the real world), you make a fair point on the rest. For me, the only reason I'd like to see a guilty case is for variety, but you're right most cases that look questionable are ones where it might seem like the wrong person got caught.

Sam frustrated me, and I'm not sure the writers know what to do with him. That said, it was interesting to me that what was important for him was being right, not finding the right perp. One could argue he was trying to defend his integrity as the prosecuting lawyer... but he at the same time undermines his professional integrity by effectively sabotaging his current work. A person of his ambitions should be more concerned about preserving his current state with his job, not undermining it to back his actions in an old case (especially when other lawyers understand that your job as prosecuting attorney is to prove guilt and he was just originally doing his job--but NOW he looks like a jerk). There COULD have been an interesting story here about the moral/ethical complexities lawyers have to face depending on the position they're in but it didn't come off well. Although we have yet another innocence proved, I liked this case in that they chose it just because it was timely--the girl showed up, the time to reinvestigate was now. I don't like that a lot of cases have been chosen for high profile stuff or because of a random vendetta Hayes has. If I were in charge of the retool (because ABC totally wants to put a random academic secretary/freelance editor in charge of a TV show), I'd keep the team as Hayes, Maxine, Frankie, and Tess. I like all of them and each have a clear, relatively consistent personality and role to play. Frankie's probably my favorite. I like his balance of street-smart and forensics-smart, he's interesting to watch. Wallace gets ousted for professional misconduct, and he and Naomi can run off together to happily do questionably legal things in another country, permanently offscreen. I'd promote Sam to DA but keep him largely the background just as providing oversight to the CIU, serving as a source of occasional ethics questions or antagonism based on the nature of the case or what Hayes wants to do vs the other legs of the law enforcement community. If the powers-that-be want Hayes to have a "sexy nemesis," make it another high powered lawyer who is a relative equal power-wise to Hayes, someone in a similar position in another unit who perhaps competes with the CIU for funding/media attention/etc. I've realized one of the huge issues with Hayes and Wallace is that he's her boss and she owes him her freedom, let alone job, and that creates a massive power imbalance that becomes super-creepy when you bring the sexual tension into play (sorry to keep whining about Wallace--I don't want to become one of those people who just harps on one character all the time and I know that's what I'm doing). So ANYWAY: give her a new nemesis who is a relative equal; they can also have had a past (perhaps, for example) they frequently tried cases against one another and have developed a deep competitiveness with one another). Don't connect this character to Hayes' family (again, that creates weird imbalances and creepiness), but the character could be connected also to the political world in some ways which complicates and enriches their relationship and history. A million bonus points if this character gets played by Bridget Regan. (And now I am off to watch this fantasy version of this TV show in my mind. I'll be in my bunk.)

Honestly, I fell asleep during this episode, which had nothing to do with the episode itself, I was just tired. Could also be folks were/are getting a jump on Thanksgiving and not online as much. I normally don't comment a lot on these boards--I'm much more of a lurker--so the fact that I've felt the need to comment on this show a few times speaks that for me personally, it's worth discussing. I'm sorry too that it's garnering less reaction. Also, I've noticed shows that get recaps tend to get more comments. PTV seems to have given up its recaps on this show after episode 2. If a recapper doesn't like the show I don't want them to feel forced to watch it, but I wish they'd cover it more, at least to get Atwell's face on the front page from time to time (yeah, I'm shallow). thuganomics (who I can't quote because I borked the quote function), while I miss Agent Carter too, ABC and Atwell always made clear in interviews that Conviction and Agent Carter weren't a one-or-the-other deal. Since Agent Carter always aired during the "off season" in Jan-Feb, whereas Conviction was ordered for a usual fall/spring semester setup, Atwell could have done both. She would have been working her butt off, but actors tend not to object to that much--that whole "having regular work" thing is a big dealmaker. If Agent Carter had been renewed, we might still well also be watching Conviction (and probably still making snarky comparisons to the other, if less bitter :)).

What's odd is according to both the above article and this... http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/conviction-cancelled-abc-season-1-1201913099/ ABC has not ordered the back 9 (which strongly says "canceled") but has kept the options on the actors. Now it names an unnamed "insider" as their source, which could be "my friend Bob who saw the inside of ABC's bathroom once" so take that for what it's worth. But it's interesting ABC hasn't commented yet, and hasn't released the actors. Maybe they're considering a retool. Or maybe they're just doing a slow death.

Netfoot, yes, I meant lead/first on call sheet/primary protagonist. Though I appreciate your and Cranberry's mentioning other shows with bi regulars or leads! I don't watch a lot of TV (though get quite obsessive about the shows I do pick up) so it's good to be aware of what's out there. (Cranberry, I agree that on Supergirl, Alex is gay, not bi. Some people read her interactions with Max as flirtatious but I saw that as part of her spy work, not showing a real interest in him. And I also agree I don't see a romantic buildup between her and J'onn, just a close familial-like friendship.) romantic idiot, you make an interesting point about facial expressions. I can enjoy subtle or overt in a given character; some can be barely expressive but can do things in their own way that stand out to me with more subtle body language; others could have their face win the Olympics in gymnastics. But I think there needs to be a match when you want to see a certain kind of relationship between characters. Hayley Atwell is extremely expressive with her face. She does a LOT with her eyes especially that says so much, and you can see what she's thinking even without her saying anything. The folks in the MCU she worked well off of--Chris Evans, Bridget Regan, Enver Gjokaj, etc. etc.--were similar. They all get very facially expressive, whether it's a meaningful stare or a goofy grin. So you could just watch Atwell and one of those actors even simply stare at each other and see layers of interaction. But watching Atwell silently but dramatically emote her way through a scene while Cahill does a few tiny things with his mouth and otherwise hardly moves or changes expression (he may do other stuff with his body), THAT's what creates a disconnect. It also then makes sense why Cahill and Ex-Girlfriend (I am sorry I don't remember her name) actually seem to bounce better off each other, but there's still a disconnect with Hayes. Who directs on Conviction?

Hayley Atwell had more chemistry with THOSE sunglasses (you know the ones) than with Eddie Cahill (who I feel sorry for; he'd be fine on this show if he was JUST a villain and not forced to play a shoehorned love interest). Or even that potted plant Hayes was planning to give to her brother. It was better with the ex-girlfriend, I thought, but that really isn't necessarily saying much. (On a scale of Potted Olive Tree to Bridget Regan, still only about a 2 or 3). The other issue with the ex-girlfriend, which could be interesting, is just that, as someone said upthread, the whole scenario's rather implausible WRT her helping Wallace, etc. I should be jumping for joy there appears to be an openly bisexual main character on a TV show, let alone that she's played by Hayley Atwell. Again, this show would be so much better if they just focused on the cases and got away from all the DA stuff. I know critics seemed to slam it for it being a "by the book procedural" (and I've only watched a handful of legal procedurals so I can't judge it for that) but the cases and the team IMO are the still the best part (YMMV). I like the casting of and performances among the team as well (I know some disagree but they're all fine to me). They should have been mixing in some "oh, they did get the right person" cases by now however. It DOES feel like the Innocence Project (and not a CIU) without it. I don't want realism, per se, but I want to see more sides of what might happen in a CIU through a dramatic lens.

I know little of the actor outside of this show, and understanding how much goes into a construction of a character and their scenes, I am always reluctant and jumping straight to digging at actors, who end up easy scapegoats. (Yes, there is bad acting; I just don't personally have a sense if this is the case here.) His scenes are sparse enough it's hard to tell how much is performance and how much is direction , writing, and editing. As I think about it, I realize even the very dynamic cinematography that is one of the show's best assets is largely absent from his scenes, which is so strange: the show visually is extremely kinetic yet all of the DA's scenes are almost always shot the same way, very still, lots of 3/4 close up shots from what I recall, same shots of the same boxy office scenery. Heck, I think even the music stops--everything all over the place is this dancey Bonesy-style music and then around him it's silent or slow moving. Whenever I picture him, I always picture him with the same look on his face, same suit, complete with books on the bookshelf in the background, like he's just a prop in the office. The framing, the shooting, the atmosphere all sets him and his scenes up to be utterly RIGID--all in a show that is otherwise fast-moving and dynamic. This makes him stand out in a very bad, boring, out-of-place way, yet none of these elements are the actor's decision. It's like the writers are trying to push at this purported romance through (very stilted and unreal) dialogue and literally all the other cast and crew are working against it. What I'm sure of is the character doesn't work for me and I don't enjoy the scenes he is in. If he was written purely as a villain who Hayes was trying to politically defeat, I could probably get into it, but the twisted sort of attraction storyline isn't working for me at all, and I think ultimately his scenes simply and very unnecessarily take time away from the best parts of the show: Hayes herself and her team's work on the cases.

IIRC I remember Hayes mentioning "talking to her dad" in a prior episode which suggests he is alive but clearly not involved in Harper's campaign, etc. I know what Hayes did prior episode hurt her family's ambitions, but the show seems to be casting this as "Hayes is obviously a terrible person for being honest, and she should feel terrible for not supporting her obviously corrupt and manipulative family who treat her like a meat puppet." I hate watching what seems like a totally capable and smart woman grovel and apologize for not allowing herself to be used. Maybe that's realistic, but still painful and hard to watch. Hayes, I know you're not this lady, but please, repeat this until you believe it: "I know my own value. Anyone else's opinion doesn't matter." I changed the channel whenever the DA come on. Did I miss anything? Liked the case this week, and liked the team's interactions. They are slowly starting to gel. Liked Frankie's story a lot. At least with the case it was slightly different in that they confirmed that the convicted murderer was indeed responsible, but he wasn't the only one. I do want to see them do one where it turns out the convict is the right one all along--perhaps even someone totally sympathetic, but obviously guilty.

I can acknowledge that Kara is Very Bad At Journalism (and needs real training and shouldn't expect to be handed all the awesome jobs immediately) and also acknowledge that Snapper Carr is an unprofessional douchemonkey who shouldn't be allowed to work, let alone be editor-in-chief, at a major publication. I used to be a (small-town, totally nonglamorous) reporter. I had an editor who I am fairly certain was the living inspiration for Lou Grant, Perry White, and J. Jonah Jameson (sans the mad-on for Spider-man). He was beyond blunt, and had massively, ridiculously high standards for the writing in our little county newspaper. If he said, "hey, this wasn't bad," you knew you had written something worthy of a Pulitzer. If you messed up, you knew about it in no uncertain terms, in explicit and face-melting detail. He told you EXACTLY why you screwed up in very plain terms, often involving cursing (much to the copy-editor's eternal horror). He also told you EXACTLY how to fix it in specific terms that actually helped you be a better writer (not just, say, "do it again with less bias"). What he did NOT do, was call you stupid names ("ponytail") or ever threaten to "emotionally break you." He didn't treat YOU like you were a bad person. Why? Because that isn't editorial leadership, that's harassment. That's HR violation. Not to mention, it's childish, unprofessional bullying unfitting ANY workplace let alone a high end, high quality one. My editor also didn't question a publisher's hire, because you do what the mother-effing publisher tells you, period---and on that note, I'm disgusted with Cat not asserting her authority over him last episode, and I AM delighted with Jimmy asserting his, even if the scene was done poorly so it made it look like he was propping up Kara's bad writing. Snapper is infuriating, and I actually seriously worry that his characterization is an unwitting condonation of workplace harassment on the part of the showrunners, and I find it deeply troubling some viewers appear to find his hideous bullying behavior acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. Kara might be in the wrong too, but two wrongs don't make a right. This isn't a good side, bad side thing here. This is two people both being really bad at their jobs. Kara ABSOLUTELY does need someone (who is actually competent) to teach her the difference between reportage and op-ed if she doesn't know already (I would assume Cat wouldn't have considered her to have reporter potential if Kara didn't at least have a BA in English or Communications, where you should have been taught that at some point, but obviously not). Not to mention, as a fledgling journalist she should not be handed interviews with CEOs of major corporations; she should be covering unusual weather, holiday events, and routine building openings. It's boring, but that's how you get started. It's obvious the writers of the show barely understand how journalism works and under that circumstance, this plot just shouldn't be happening at all. It's sad because I was actually excited for this plot just because "reporter" IS a good cover for a superhero because you have to leave the office quickly a lot and you're on the road a good deal (so there's an excuse to not be at your desk and be hard to find). (What I am now is an administrative assistant--way better pay, bennies, and job security--and in that job one can't disappear from your desk all the time; Kara should have been fired from her previous position ages ago, Cat's soft spot for her notwithstanding.) But they shouldn't do journalism if they themselves barely understand how a newsroom works. == In other news, I didn't like Maggie at first, but by the end, totally rooting for Maggie/Alex. The reveal on the President in the end was awesome, and I guess that means we'll be seeing more Lynda Carter. Yay!

The show is actually getting pretty good, EXCEPT for the DA. Hayley Atwell can have chemistry with a coffee cup, but yet somehow there is NOTHING but frigid air in the room between Hayes and Wallace in their scenes and the idea they have sexual tension between each requires far too much of my suspension of disbelief. I will accept a lady with a rift to an unknown dimension in her face who has people&rat dissolution powers as far more realistic (and good story-making) than the idea these two people have or ever had a "thing" going on. And her sympathy toward him at the end made absolutely NO sense. He's a weasel, he's been nothing but awful to her, she KNOWS he has been using and manipulating her for his own gains and has resented it, and he is getting exactly what he deserves for, you know, actually doing something wrong that he got caught doing. Which, come to think of it, is the whole point of "conviction integrity": making sure you punish the right person responsible for the wrongdoing. (Of course the results of the case of the week muddies that, but it was an interesting outcome---in a way the mother still assumes responsibility for having neglected her daughter (for understandable reasons) in the first place. I would have liked to have seen the daughter herself developed better and see her deal with the consequences more though--as soon as they mentioned the autistic kid had a sister I knew she did it, and it took them way too long to bring her in.) If they got rid of the DA and focused on Hayes, the team (which get more interesting when they're given time for development), and maybe some of the rest of Hayes' life outside the office (but beyond the DA). I know the blonde girl is hit or miss with viewers, but I liked her a lot in this episode, and I like that she and Hayes are opening up to each other. I love the ex-con and Maxine. I don't even mind the sleazy lawyer dude--he's not my favorite by far, but he's at least an interesting rogue element and fulfills the crooked lawyer role with more story and nuance than the empty suit cliche DA does or ever will. I'd love to get rid of the DA and have the antagonistic tension in the story be about Hayes and Iceman vying for the leadership of the unit. I really loved the brother UNTIL this episode. I can't stand anyone IRL who refuses to respect someone else's boundaries when it comes to offering help: he wanted to help her, great. She said no. He should have backed off right there. He pushed his "help" on her anyway. She relented to keep the peace. (And relenting to keep the peace never works for long, and it's on her for not knowing better.) He's clearly just as desirous as their mom to shape and mold Hayes into what he and the Morrison family can use her for than respecting who and what she is. I see someone mention above he's helping mom with the campaign--so I guess it's clear where his loyalties really are and that he doesn't care about Hayes really at all. Good riddance. He can find someone else to be his doll to play dressup with. I want Hayes to get a friend, a real friend who is respectful but also calls her on her BS and indeed helps her #keepitreal. I hope some folks on the team become that in time. Of course we don't know how many episodes we'll have on that, but hopefully we'll see the good stuff--Hayes herself, the team, the cases--develop well enough before the show ends. If the show weren't a legal procedural but a broader drama, I'd like to see her build on her sudden unexpected fame and run for Senator against her mother.

"Redskin" is a term that originates in colonial and early-United States hunting bounties that called for the murder of American Indians, e.g., "$20 for a male Redskin scalp." (One article on this here: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29318/redskin-name-update/and also just go Google "Phips Proclamation" and similar subject matter and you'll find a number of examples.) In other words, it was used to describe them in the same way a hunted animal would (coonskin, bearskin) rather than as a human being. So yes, it is a very hurtful term, and yes, it is the actual name of Washington, DC's football team (along with a mascot that is a very unflattering caricature of an American Indian), and a lot of people are working to protest it. I was almost afraid that Jacquelyn wasn't going to speak out against the family and I'm so glad she did and that's what brought her and Russ together. Really liked this season a lot overall. It had its missteps but overall I think it was a little more tonally consistent than last season and it was funny as heck. Kimmy's mom issues were made such a big deal of this season and last it'd be hard to pay off the build up. There may have been less sparks fly than I would have liked but ultimately it was a good story, well-performed, and I enjoyed the roller coaster confessional.

I generally have enjoyed this show; I know it's not super-strong in the writing department but just set my expectations at a middle level and watch mostly for Supergirl herself being kind of awesome and some fun FX and over-the-top villains. Martian Manhunter and Alex also have started to really make the show enjoyable. A lot of the more poorly written stuff I just try to handwave and just wait for the next scene of superheroics to have fun again. But I just couldn't do it this week. There were SO many cringeworthy, I-feel-embarrassed-for-the-character moments, I switched over half the time to "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," and when you're switching OVER to "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" to AVOID cringeworthy, I-feel-embarrassed-for-the-character moments, something is wrong. The whole episode felt like a bucket over overused and badly used tropes. Cat being childish and hiring snotty competition for Kara seems out of character for Cat--who can be a jerk, but usually a reasonably mature one. The absolutely textbook-mean-girl, one-dimensional nature of Siobhan made it no better. And while it's a superhero show so we could always learn that Siobhan is really an octopus demon from Venus, it otherwise seems pretty predictable. It also makes NO sense why Kara stays working there at this point either. She wants a "normal" life she could get a part time job as a barista at Noonan's and probably be happier. (PS: since someone asked about the pronunciation, "Siobhan" is an Irish name, and in Irish, i after an S softens the S to a "sh" and an h after a consonant softens it, so in the case of bh it becomes a v sound.) And then the whole Alex not telling her what happened BS, complete with random event to interrupt the confession--been DONE, been DONE, been DONE. It's tiresome, boring, and old, and the fallout will be utterly predictable, and I find myself not wanting to watch AT ALL knowing what's going to happen. Kara is also being weirdly out of character in her nastiness to Hank, given even in the story she thinks happened, he saved Alex's life. Is she implying she would have preferred Alex to die instead? The moralizing over Max Lord being imprisoned was loads of crap too (and if the DEO has all this evidence against them, WHY DON'T THEY USE IT?). It's especially ridiculous knowing other shows by the same production company do the same thing to their villain with no talk of morality or repercussions, and it's especially stupid the one guy who really needs to stay locked up (who we know is at least being fed and given some comforts, unlike, say, the villains locked up in Star Labs on "Flash"). Jimmy was just playing useless-plot-anvil and he was boring me to tears. Generally if the show kept, in addition to Supergirl, Hank, Alex (with no dumbass secret plotline), and maybe Cat, and got rid of the entire rest of the supporting cast, it would be SO, SO, SO much better. I individually often like the other characters but they all just distract from one another's screentime and end up being plot devices more than characters most of the time. I really HAD been enjoying this show, warts and all, and looking forward to the build up to the fight with Non. Now... well, thank goodness the Gotham premiere is next week. I thought I'd be torn as to what to watch once Gotham came back but now I won't be. Not that Gotham's writing is much better, but the whackier vibes will hopefully make it entertaining on some level. I'll probably catch up with Supergirl a little later and see if it's gotten over this awful doldrum of predictability and tired cliche.

I am really liking this show. The fight-scenes are awesome and in this particular episode, I loved Sara showing off her assassin knowledge, Hunter got better development, and while some of the dialogue was cheesy, I liked Ray and Stein together, and exploring some the more interesting applications of the Atom suit. Especially with Carter gone--I realize that it probably won't be forever, given they can travel through time and pick him up in another life--but while I try not to be the kind of viewer who just hates on a character (not worth the energy to feel vitriol to someone who doesn't exist), I really felt he had little contribution to the team. Other team members have flight and ass kicking skills, Kendra also has past-life memories, and while he tried hard at being a self-absorbed and arrogant jerk, Stein and Snart each have their own takes on that that are far more entertaining to watch. The team feels tighter and more interesting without him... plus it brings the male:female ratio down to a better dynamic. They need less discussion of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff (this episode was already somewhat of an improvement) and more kicking ass in different time periods, and this show will be excellent. PS: Dear show, please bring in Scandal Savage. She's totally Sara's type.

Wow, Sarah Hope's article/recap is so very the opposite of my perception of Trish and her role in the show. Trish is NOT a typical damsel in distress, and part of the point of her character is she saves Jessica in her own way as much as Jessica has saved her (including by risking her life to pop that Red to take on Simpson). The takeaway I got from their childhood relationship wasn't merely that of Jess "saving" Trish but also highlighting to Trish that she doesn't have to live the way she does. They originally are each other's secret-keepers, but when Jess realizes some secrets aren't worth keeping--Trish realizes that too. You can call that a "rescue," but it's more than fighting a monster. The author also gets a few facts wrong: - Kilgrave sent Simpson after Trish not because she was Jessica's friend, but because Trish insulted Kilgrave on the radio. In other words, that attack on Trish was because of Trish's actions, not Jessica's. He doesn't think to target her specifically because of her relationship with Jess until [spoilers]. - The answer to "where was Trish in all this" is "fighting a terrible drug addiction," which is made reference to in the series SEVERAL times. She's had her own battles to fight and she's fought them. (Although in fairness, yes, it's awful given she is a former addict that she enables Jess's obvious alcoholism. Although this is because there's this weird TV trope where it's okay for hot broody women to be alcoholics for some reason.) Trish is a "liability" only in the way any person's friends or family are liabilities: they are people who if they get hurt, the friend/family member feels pain too. Yes, this makes her a target for Kilgrave. But also as the person who reminds Jessica why she needs to be a hero, she's essential. (Both of these facts... well, spoilers.) If anything, remember, without Trish's early pep talk, Jess would have just flown to Hong Kong, and Kilgrave would have eventually followed her there where Jess would have had to deal with him without any friends or backup. And that has nothing to do with Trish needing to be saved.

Milz, no they hadn't gotten that far--that was the whole point of Bullock's realization: Barbara saying she'd booked a church tipped him off to their location precisely because he knew when they were engaged they hadn't done that yet.

I liked this episode overall. I felt for Selina and I don't feel the need to be hard on her: I was actually impressed she knew Silver was clearly trying to manipulate her, as I expect Silver's plan A was simply to make Selina feel so insecure she'd leave. Selina trusted Bruce enough to believe he'd believe her... and she went the wrong way in outing Silver, yes, so Silver got what she wanted. I'm not going to be upset that a 13 year old sneak thief does not behave yet like suave, sophisticated adult Selina Kyle. These are exactly the experiences she needs and the mistakes she needs to make to get there, and I have every confidence she'll get her own back in the end. Likewise, Bruce is not grown-up Batman and behaved the way most 13 year old boys would--and likewise, he has hard lesson coming that will likely ensure he will not make a similar mistake again. So sad for Mama Cobblepot but knew she wasn't long for this world. Someone I think in the last episode thread suggested he might kill his mother himself so he would no longer have any weaknesses, and I almost wish it would have turned out that way--not that I want to see a son kill his mother, but it would just be a badass villain sort of thing I'd expect from the Penguin. Still, I loved his plan at the end, and I expect Tabitha in particular is going to die in an especially painful and gruesome way at Penguin's hands (although if she survives and continues to evolve into Tigress as others suggest, that's okay too). Again, many other villains' mistakes is underestimating Penguin and I like seeing him come out on top---his perseverance is what makes him an admirable villain. Still disappointed that Kringle was just a fridge-catalyst for Riddler---I REALLY wanted her to turn out to be evil and tempt Nygma into embracing his dark side and it almost seemed like they were going there, and the actress deserved a chance at such a fun role... but instead the writers just went for the boring, predictable, lazy route. *sigh* They can do better and I'm so very disappointed they didn't. I DO like how they set up Riddler's MO -- I expect what's going to happen is his evil persona is now in charge, but in a reversal of what happened in this episode, it will be his good persona who leaves the riddles at his crimes in hopes of getting caught. So that realization is cool and all... but other than that, I am no longer interested in Nygma at all. Otherwise looking forward to the next episode... SO glad Gordon wised up to Galavant. Things are going to get interesting.

I feel bad for Selina but I feel like a slap is a more than fair trade for killing a dude. And a young woman who has killed a dude--and brutally clawed another's eyes out--can bear a single slap. The hurtful part is her being warned away from Bruce, probably the only healthy (ish) relationship she had access to. Kringle's ultimate reaction to Nygma cinches it for me that she also has villain potential. Just based on her name, I'd guess at her ending up a genderbent Calendar Man (I think there was a "Calendar Girl" in one of the animated shows, although the term "Calendar Girl" has different connotations so I hope if she does go in that direction she has a different name. "Calendar Queen" perhaps?). Sorry the recapper's so bored by them because I was far more interested in Nygma's story than, say, Galavan. Galavan and his plot is not doing it for me. Looking forward to Penguin killing him brutally, as I'm fairly certain will happen one way or another this season eventually. Hope we see more Mrs. Kabelput though, but I have a feeling she's not long for this world.

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I saw Paul Blackthorne's panel at Baltimore Comic-Con on Saturday. I saw other folks taking video so probably it will be up on Youtube soon if it isn't already. He was very charming and funny; there was a hilarious moment where a rather young viewer asked him who his favorite villain on the show was, and while he first went through the usual list of big-bads (Merlyn, Deathstroke, Ra's) he started to digress on how hot Jessica DeGouw as the Huntress looked handcuffed during an interrogation scene... then remembered the quetion he was answering was to about a 10 year old, and quickly reversed his answer to "Deathstroke!" ;) He remarked in general that he enjoyed Lance family scenes, and he was enjoying working on his evolving/changing relationship with Ollie. He was very careful to not give spoilers for Season 4, but alluded that there was a scene worth watching out for in ep 4 or 5. Katie Cassidy also came to ComicCon on Sunday, but I only went for Saturday and was sorry to miss her. I hope also some vids of her panel will be up soon.

I started rewatching season 1 with some friends, and on reflection -- the way Barbara is portrayed seems to indicate VERY early on that something is NOT quite right upstairs there. On rewatch of episode 1, Montoya says something like "he doesn't know you like I know you," which on the surface is just the usual jilted ex dialogue, but the expressions between the two women seemed to suggest Montoya was also suggesting, "He thinks you're a good person, and I know you're more complicated than that." I could very, very well be reading into things, but I'm seeing signs that on reflection she was meant to go down crazy street all along. I think the reactions to the character may have sped up that storyline, but I'm seeing seeds of it even in the pilot. It's largely in performance so it's hard to put into words however.

I had a number of the JEM dolls -- I had Jem and Glitter and Gold Jem, Rio, Roxy, Stormer, and Jetta. I could never find a Pizzazz to complete my Misfits collection. Unfortunately most of them got destroyed in what we shall call the "attic incident." I still have my Jetta doll, she sits with my action figure collection. Jem was a full inch bigger than Barbie--they didn't want to make them too similar to avoid cross merchandising with Mattel, but I liked their more realistic torso design better, and their feet held shoes on better. I loved fantasy stories, and I turned my JEM dolls, Barbies, and She-Ra action figures into different "fantasy races" to explain their size differences. :) I also have a Stormer from the Integrity toys line from a couple years ago. The new Integrity dolls are GORGEOUS--if you really want something that looks like a glamour-fashin doll they're what you want--but they're high end collector dolls, and ridiculously expensive. I suggest taking a look at pictures of them though, as they really are beautifully made.

I really wonder why Hasbro hasn't released a collection of the music from the cartoon. Even if folks only bought it for nostalgia, it would make buttloads of profit--doesn't cost a lot to press a CD or upload an MP3. I know there are some possibly some weird rights issues with Hasbro having distribution rights while Ford Kinder and Anne Bryant would need to be paid songwriting royalties, but why be stingy? Jem nostalgia is high, the comic is amazing, and I guess the movie exists too, so why not just build on that? I wanted to give the tribute album a shot but I listened to the previews on Amazon -- samey-sounding, unoriginal, canned pop music (the criticism is that it's awful, not that it's pop music) of the kind you could BARELY get away with putting in a kids' cartoon. It's sad when the actual stuff from the cartoon is far more original and brilliant. Review rating is 1.3 stars and the one positive review is from someone who is apparently connected to the production staff.

Barbara "Batgirl/Oracle" Gordon's exact parentage changes from continuity to continuity. While sometimes she has been depicted as Barbara Kean's daughter, she has also often been written as Jim Gordon's niece, whom he adopted when his brother and his wife died (so they have a father-daughter relationship but are not biologically father-daughter). I think sometimes she's also shown as the daughter of another wife of Jim's. Given the direction they're taking Barbara Kean in Gotham, I would be strongly surprised if they made her be the mother of Babs. I reckon if Babs is introduced at all, they'll probably do the niece version and bring her in in a later season. In the comics, Barbara Kean is only consistently depicted as the mother of one character: I do like the twist of her storyline and am looking forward to how they develop her.