STOPSHOUTING

Also, OMG, Cress Williams -- aka Mayor Lavon Hayes and Michel B Jordan's dad -- was on 90210? How is this possible?? He's charming, talented and incredibly hot so, clearly, we must never have seen him again.

C'mon clearly Brenda didn't come from doing Stuart, it was clearly figure skating rehearsal. Check out that Kerrigan costume!

Great job, Maddie, now look what you've gone and done!

I haven't seen the new Star Trek trailer but, if accurate, what a bummer! The initial Star Trek reboot, not reMAKE, was amazing and, hey, something else Hemsworth, albeit appearing only briefly, was good in besides Thor. Maybe the rule shouldn't be no reboots/remakes unless helmed by J.J. Abrams. :) To take it back on topic, I am sort of wishing they'd done a reboot, a la Force Awakens or the '09 Star Trek, than just remaking the original with women. I mean, I'm not upset about the recasting the male roles with female part, and actually think it could be a good twist, but I'd rather they ALSO reexamine and twist the world more than they appear to be doing. I don't need a new marshmallow man, or woman -- "this time with s'mores!" -- I'd prefer a whole new take on the silly Ghostbusters universe that references and honors the original, without aping it.

We saw the trailer before Captain America: Civil War and as someone with a great fondness for the original, and a lot of respect for the cast here, I was seriously disappointed. My first thought was, 'Wow, that looks terrible,' while feeling sad about that, because I really wanted it to work. The fan cut trailer was WAAAAY better but, and it's a big but, only because they cut almost everything out, which, while working well to help an audience be more excited about seeing it, does nothing for actually, you know, making the movie itself any good. The international trailer linked here wasn't really any better -- the jokes shared still fell just as flat as Leslie Jones crowdsurfing attempt -- but I was intrigued by the fact that they left Hemsworth speak in his actual accent. Is that a movie first for him? Of course, the fact I was fixated on Thor's voice probably doesn't bode any better for the actual movie, which I really, really wanted to be good but really looks like a major stinker. Is that Hemsworth's non-Avengers fate? To be cast either in underperforming Howard films, or have glorified cameos where he's the best thing in bad comedy remakes (Vacation, etc.)?

Not that this show is even remotely reasonable or realistic at ANY point, but that's not how emancipation works. That's not how any of this works. Legal emancipation is not done to ALLOW teens to be actors or musicians (when talking about high profile emancipated minors), it's done to PREVENT physical abuse or, more often, halt ongoing monetary siphoning, where the parents are draining their working child's nest egg. There is also always an independent advocate set up by the courts to make sure the minor ISN'T just being manipulated by a new person, meaning the very fact that Cash is sitting next to her in court, would eliminate her as Maddie's possible manager, and her taking meetings all over town on Maddie's behalf would be not just a huge legal red flag, but likely void Maddie's emancipation claim altogether. It's terrible that the two most consistently infuriating characters (three, if you count Gunnar's hair as a character) are also it's best singers: whiney, woe-is-me Scarlett, and the Maddie half of the real-life Lennon sisters. Several seasons ago when stupid Scarlett befriended that homeless person at the publishing company, I hoped he'd choke her to death with her own hair extensions. Now, I'm wishing Rayna would lace Maddie and Cash's bronzer with poison, which will kill them both off lickity split, given that Maddie is clearly bathing in the stuff. Rayna: "But, judge, you can't let my daughter go with her; she's turned her into an Ooompa Lupa!" Judge: "You're right, Miss Rayna James, case dismissed" [crowd cheers; Maddie glowers while glowing orangely] <<<<-----There, fixed it for you Nashville writers. Seriously, though, this show has been ridiculous since Rayna, literally, drove it off into a ditch way back in the Season One finale. At this point, it's not even a soap, it's more self-parody with occasional record sales. Oh and, given the appearance of both Jessy Schram and Alicia Witt in recent episodes, I'm assuming this season's cliffhanger is a will-she or won't-she regarding Rayna filming that Hallmark Christmas movie she was offered with Candace Cameron.

I actually really loved this movie, but agree that the villain's plan requires you to think about it NOT AT ALL, or it doesn't work. I also don't buy that Tony would go toe-to-toe to Cap like that, for so long, without coming to the, 'This is crazy, I'm not mad at him and Bucky was brainwashed,' conclusion, because the Stark we know is genius smart AND super practical. That latter bit is the only element I'm sincerely critical of, because I don't think it felt true to character, since all the Marvel villains, minus maybe Loki, could be named McGuffin A Plotdevice for all their subtly, logic and character development. I also think they could have got the same point across, and had the head-to-head fight scenes they wanted, without the Cap/Iron Man battle going on so long, so hard, ending with Iron Man realizing the futility and just forcing Cap to choose one last time (or saying he's made his choice be gone), then keeping the shield and being pissed off when he went with Bucky. But even with those gripes, I really did enjoy it. The fight at the airport was awesome. Fun, easy to follow -- unlike the Age of Ultron, quick-cut, 100% CGI battles -- and looked spectacular, plus with plenty of non-spoiled-by-the-trailer highlights. Black Panther somehow made the silly cat ear suit work, thanks to Chadwick Boseman's awesome portrayal. Likewise, Anthony Mackie's Falcon really comes into his own as an Avenger here ... Though when did he get bullet/repulser proof? He's not an "enhanced person," he just has wings, right? Of course, to make the airport fight scene possible, I found it hilarious that, even though, earlier IN THIS VERY MOVIE, Bucky and Cap were literally outrunning speeding cars on foot, it took them so long to cross an airport tarmac to the Quinjet that I think I saw an elderly woman with a walker pass them. And, not for nothing, the best written/acted and most fun scene in this very fun, giant action movie was the little verbal interstitial with Sam and Bucky in the car. Hilarious; as well as perfectly timed and played. I also agree with the masses that, even as a non-Spiderman fan, they nailed that character here. I hope whoever wrote for him here is involved in the upcoming solo film. This also marks the first time I've actually liked/cared about Bucky Barnes, including in First Avenger. Either Stan is growing on me, or he just finally got an interesting storyline. Though, again, shut off your brain and ignore the ridiculousness of A) Tony's dad looking in 1991 exactly like he did in 1960, at least since John Slattery played him in those eras; since in most of the 1940s he looked a lot like Dominic Cooper B) There would be not only cameras on a random road in 1991, but they'd be able to ZOOM IN on the Winter Soldier's face AND have plenty of angles of what went on PLUS crystal clear sound C) You could even see the Winter Soldier's face, since every other time Bucky has been shown in that persona he's been wearing a mask that didn't even allow Cap to recognize him. ... But, yeah, other than all that. PS on the multiple Howard actors: In terms of Tony asking Cap if he knew; I'd love to see a joke outtake where Steve is like, 'I swear I didn't, because that's not how I remember Howard Stark looking AT ALL.' Still, even with all those picked nits, I loved this big, silly, but not actually dumb, summer blockbuster ... And am not looking forward to what I fear, based on Chris Evans' public comments about his future in the Marvel family, them killing Cap off in Infinity War(s) and handing the shield, which you know Cap's getting back, over to (my guess) Stan at some point during the next two Avenger flicks. <<<<-----This is just my gut, and not any type of actual knowledge or spoiler. I just don't know if anyone else can play Cap with the charm and charisma that Evans has brought to this role he really was born to play. And I say that thinking that Evans is a fine, in more ways than one (hubba, hubba), but not in any way exceptional, actor; just that what he does on screen works perfectly to bring Cap to life and make him likable. So, here's hoping Marvel has enough money left in the dump truck they used to secure RDJ, apparently in perpetuity, to change Evans' mind about dropping the shield in real life. Of course, Downey also understands the practical realities of showbiz a bit better than Evans at this point, with the whole not-letting-a-crowd-pleasing-cash-cow-go sentiment likely a lot more resonant to someone who has previously been nigh on unemployable.

Yeah, I think the guy who plays Lincoln's genes are just fine. Like, extremely, extremely fine. Yowsa! Though one of those "doesn't make sense things" is how Abacrombie model-buff he is. Let's fanwank the idea that folks in the Ark had daily access to a gym, hence their Yoga-Pilates-Crossfit bods, but the Grounders? I mean, fit, yes, but you don't get 10-pack abs from hard labor alone; that's a modern, fitness invention of what we expect physical perfection to look like. Hard to picture the Grounders finding time for multiple sets of crunches, done in different ways to work their obliques and lats and abs in between scrounging for food and fighting for their lives on a daily basis.

We were for real poor, or at least very lower middle class, and I took every AP test I could, because paying for that was a lot LESS than paying for a college course. I didn't, though, apply to that many colleges, because of the application fees. Lots of kids applied to five, six or more schools; and I just applied to two: my dream school and an in-state fall back. Joke was on me because when my dad saw how much aid I was offered in-state, didn't much matter when I got into my dream school, too. Wah-wah.

And why is he walking so closely he's literally touching his "dad". Back the eff off dude!

Oh my god, the 60-year-old virgin. Somehow Carteris looks even older than her actual almost-40 age here. Can't believe the episode wasn't called, 'Throw a Bone to Your Spinster Great Aunt.'

Yes, like in one episode Kane was dying under rubble, bleeding out with a femoral artery tear and needed a tourniquet and the next ... Fine. I think he was even carrying someone else. And Lincoln has been shot what seems like dozens of times now, with zero medical attention, and he's okay-dokey in a jiffy. He immediately returns FROM BEING SHOT IN THE SHOULDER and lifts Octavia up to hug her ... Because that seems plausible (or necessary). Jasper was SPEARED THROUGH THE CHEST what, like, TWO WEEKS ago when season two rolls around? After having makeshift surgery with no drugs in an unsterile environment, he's not only fully recovered, but doesn't even have a scar. (According to a timeline I saw, the entirety of season 1 AND 2 takes place over less than two months.) Their blood must really, truly be magical. Let's face it, unless they are bathing in penicillin, they'd all be dead already from the myriad of viruses and diseases they'd lost immunity to while on the Ark, not to mention the infections from all the cuts and injuries they've sustained with zero hygiene.

I'm closing in on the end of the second season on Netflix, having binged the whole thing in the last month or so, and while I've clearly become a fan I have soooo many questions. I really did think we were going to see so many of the young teens (i.e. Fertile Myrtles) becoming pregnant after all their early sexcapades in the first days on the ground. I sincerely expected it to be a plot point. (I was so waiting for, and dreading, the "But I'm having Finn's baby" thing from Clarke. Kudos to the show for not going there.) Why do the Mt Weather people not weigh, like, 400 lbs each, as all they ever do is eat pancakes? I mean, that dining room is a 24-hour cruise ship buffet. Where are they growing that wheat? Milling it into refined, white flour? Milking the somehow-not-irradiated cows for the butter pats I kept seeing? Also, and most confusingly/frustratingly plot-wise ... OK, so bone marrow saves the Mt. Weather folks. Now that they know that there are LOTS of other Ark survivors out there, and not just the 44 kids they haven't killed, why not a truce with a one-to-one donor ratio to cure the 300 or so people they've said are living in Mt. Weather? There are AT LEAST that many Ark survivors and, while somewhat unpleasant, a single bone morrow donation is very doable without any longterm damage. Plus, you know, no one dies or gets melted with acid fog and/or radiation, all of which seem pluses. Also, no longer needing to trap Grounders for their blood and create Reapers to deal with the bodies/protect the mountain would definitely go a long way to peace with them as well. The local population overall is very low, and if they all stopped fighting, there is plenty of room for all to start living again, setting up cities/towns/etc. Seems so incredibly obvious that the fact they didn't even ADDRESS it is bonkers.

Kelli's hairdo in the final shots with the butterfly clip is a national disaster. Apparently all the gals got oil-slicked that week. Exxon Valdez reference? I mean, since we know the show is so hip and political.

Not sure if this the right spot, but anyone know when Season 3 should be on Netflix? Starting watching a month or so ago, and am almost through the first two seasons there only to find out that Hulu only has the five most recent (NOOOOO!!!!) and wondering how long I'll have to wait to see season 3. Fingers crossed it's shortly after the season airs and not next fall.

How did you not discuss during the podcast that Donna and her mugger are wearing MATCHING outfits. Which is awesome. Perhaps he thought it was his purse?

On the khaki-colored monstrosity that Brenda is wearing ... I'm seeing pocket straps. Why would anything have pocket straps? It's a strap. It's a pocket. It's pocket straps. No. All the way to hell and back no.

OK, so I was never clear then, or now, if by "not graduating" they meant, unable to go to the ceremony or any school event, which is what she tells Brenda on the phone, or ACTUALLY not graduating and having to repeat her senior year. The former, which is what I believe it had to be, sounds like a very fair punishment for the crime. The latter is probably not even possible. If she'd completed the required course credits and testing, she was a graduate already, she just hadn't had the ceremony. They couldn't really go back and "undo" her school year. They could, perhaps, withhold her physical diploma -- which our school threatened to do for anyone not returning their rented cap and gown; which is why we were handed an empty folder when we formally crossed the stage and didn't get the insert until later -- but she would still be a high school graduate. You don't need a physical diploma for ANYTHING. I don't think I've ever even opened mine. College acceptances, which would already have been done at this point, are based on final transcripts, which the school sends automatically, or upon request, and those would show she'd completed all the course work, testing, etc. My point is that EVEN AT THE TIME, when I was a stupid teenager, I didn't get what the BFD was. Don't go to the ceremony. Who cares. My friend and I got a flat tire and were late to the rehearsal and they threatened to, "not let us walk." No one threw a protest march in our defense -- actually they were pissed, because they all had to wait for us, which I totally get -- but I can tell you I wasn't overly distressed at the threat. Oh and, the last we heard at prom was Teasley saying, "I'll take it from here," and then Donna's mom says she could "barely walk to the car," ... Which was it? I mean, I'm guessing Mrs. Teasley didn't mean, "I'll help you carry her." In any logical world that would have meant, "I'll call her parents and wait with her till they get her," so her parents would totally have SEEN the state she was in, not just heard about it from Teasley. And every time you played a clip with Tori saying "Daddy" I got a major case of the creeps. You just KNOW that's the tone she used on Aaron in real life. And it's gross either fictionally or in reality for an 18-year-old young woman to say. How is stupid Gil still working at this school? The shady business with Dead Scott's sister, even if it was false, brought out the stuff with the OTHER girl and there's no way that contract would have been renewed, especially coupled with his buddy-buddy student attitude DESPITE TWICE BEING ACCUSED. I can't with this moron who, while technically probably the same age as Jason Priestly, is SUPPOSED to be the reasonable adult. Telling students to ditch finals to march in favor of someone who did EXACTLY what she's accused of? Go jump in a lake, Gil! Also, I swear in that Gil clip Brandon says they're the "class of '92" when everywhere else it's '93. Of course it makes sense he can't remember because I was a freshman when this show started, and they were supposed to be juniors, and I was also the class of '93 so ... What sort of dumb school has prom and THEN finals? It's prom one weekend, graduation the next, with three days in between of seniors doing fuck-all, having random ceremonies and rehearsals, and then getting out early. You know, just generally being the obnoxious twats that 17 and 18-year-olds tend to be. Trying to have them do real work that close to the finish line is a recipe for disaster in every sense. Stupid show, making me analyze it far more than any of its writers ever did.

I agree. I'm a Paula defender, because while I think that, in real life, yes, her actions are inexcusable and likely an indication of a deep-seated, probably dangerous psychosis, I think of these people more as cartoon characters; relatable up to a point, but grossly exaggerated for comedic value. Still, I LOVED that moment were Paula and her husband reconnected. So, to then (basically) never see him, or her kids, again, was disappointing. Also, I don't really love all the mom connotations from Paula's (admittedly great) season finale song. I never, ever saw her as Rebecca's mother figure. She was her partner in crime, her enabler living vicariously through a younger friend's life, the one so nutty she made even Rebecca's plans look sane, but nothing Paula's done, other than perhaps baking a pie, has felt remotely mom-ish to me. Can't women of different ages be friends without it being a "mother-daughter" relationship? Disappointing story turn.

Except when they wrote and filmed this episode they MUST have been thinking it was the end of the series, not just the season, as all signs pointed to cancellation. We sort of know one of the lesser producers whom we heard from, coincidentally, just as they were starting their final work week. They said they had no clue at that point, and while they had hope, because of reviews and awards, they knew the deck was stacked against them. (This is the sum total of my inside info, so I'm not trying to sound braggy, just confirming the production staff was on the same page as the general public that renewal was far from guaranteed.) So, this episode was put together completely with the idea they were a long shot to return, therefore I think calling plot points dropped/ignored/contradicted is entirely fair when it was assembled with the very real possibility it could be the final episode. Doesn't mean I don't love the show, because I ADORE it. And, actually, seeing this producer's name in the credits early on, was just icing on the cake ... Meaning, we liked it before we knew our friend was involved in any way.

A few episodes ago she was losing her car and pawning rings for airfare, with every credit card she had maxed out, and now she can afford a $2,000 porcelain figurine to give as a gift? I'm not buying that works with a "one paycheck" solution; even if you think she has a salary of $250,000/year (which seems like a lot at that firm). A single $10-$12k paycheck, while substantial, isn't gonna pay off maxed out cards, get your car back and get you back into the black with $2k to spare. Instead, it seems more like the writers just dismissed that storyline to make a joke. And, yes, never following up on the ring seems like another fail.

It was a Llardo figurine. Very expensive porcelain figurines that often depict romantic or maternal moments. They're often sold at jewelry stores and are a status symbol amongst a certain set. (See: https://issuu.com/www.lladro.com/docs/novedadesspring-summer2016?e=1084391/3907019) I, personally, find them kind of tacky, but one of my best friends in the world, who has what I'd consider excellent, and very exclusive, taste AND who just happens to also be Filipino, collects them. It's what her husband always gets her for Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, etc. And I never thought about it until watching this episode if it's specifically culture, but one of the only other people I've ever seen who has a Llardo figurine is my sister-in-law's mom who is ... also Filipino. Could be a coincidence or maybe they were poking fun at a cultural stereotype I had no idea existed? EDITED TO ADD: And I also immediately thought, but what about Rebecca's money problems?? Dropped storylines annoy me.

This is, well, very surprising ... 3 season renewal for Girlfriends Guide: http://tvline.com/2016/04/13/girlfriends-guide-to-divorce-renewed-season-3-bravo/

This is, objectively, not a good show. It's hackneyed, the swearing is gratuitous and somewhat jarring since it's, in every other way, a TV Land-caliber, incredibly traditional sitcom. It seems to be desperately trolling for Red State viewers, but aren't those the same folks who prefer their TV shows "clean"? Also, the cliffhanger endings in the finale are woefully unearned, in a complete lack of character development/taking itself way too seriously sort of way. The weird thing is, despite all of the above, I watched the whole thing. Chalk this up to my mother's childhood reverence for Sam Elliot and Debra Winger perhaps?

I loved this episode. I laughed so hard at the UTI song -- how Santino made that charming ("I'm so good at sex your maidenship got wrecked" LOL) I have no idea, but he did -- and the "I think I like him" with so many dirty little Easter eggs (when he was pushing her head down, I just died), and all the talk about who has the "upper hand" ... Very true to new relationship dynamics as you come out of the sex haze and assess where each partner is, emotionally. I loved that they didn't make Greg hold out on Rebecca, cause "it's just sex" or not talk, we all know they legit like each other for more than just bedroom hijinks. And Josh's latent jealousy (missing the adoration more than missing Rebecca herself) and his return to relationship form with Valencia (it wasn't really great before, he was scared to lose her, but now that he's got her back reality returns). All are so relatable and the big heaping, helping of ridiculous humor on top of that is just what makes this show so awesome. Also, OMG, I can not believe any of that aired on a network show at 8 PM. Wowsa.