ABay

Liked it a lot. Glad it's back.

Every time I hear someone expressing moral outrage about smoking, I remember the only worthwhile moment of dialogue from Death Becomes Her: Second-hand smoke kills! But not reliably.

So that FB meme of It's a Wonderful Life that said "Every time a bell rings, A Republican says 'Benghazi'" is true. Damn.

I feel as if I've recently seen this exact same plot somewhere else with different actors.

Has anyone else had problems with blu-ray disks freezing the player? It seems to have something to do with the bd-live portal, as far as I can tell.

My choice would be Bill Cosby--hilarious. In the 1960s.

Sure! Netflix has all 3 series for those who don't have (or want) the DVDs.

But he has a soooooouullll now!

I was hoping for Buffalo or Pittsburgh for the Manchester equivalent, that rust belt feel. The NYC setting was definitely all wrong. In addition to that and the having to be in every scene thing, I thought the other major failing was how they screwed up the Sam & Gene relationship. It was essence of the original and what they did was just not going to work.

It was Venus! </xfiles>

The twist on the spit-take--setting it up and then not doing a spit-take--was my favorite moment.

Eye trauma. Why'd it have to be eye trauma? I cannot deal.

Greekgeek, thanks for reminding me how awesome Barney Miller was.

I just started rewatching this morning and had to stop halfway through episode 3 to come to work. I'd forgotten 1. How crazy Crazy Jenny's eyebrows are and 2. Just how much I love this show. Can't wait to get home and continue the binge.

Me, too. I don't believe one format is inherently superior to the other, and I don't think anything is truly original--everything builds on something that came before--what matters is what the storyteller adds or twists, the mix of convention + invention. What brought me to the series was Michael Emerson and the premise. For me, the beating heart of the show was Finch & Reese redeeming each other, or the Machine redeeming them both through each other...basically, Finch & Reese's evolving relationship. The medium for delivering that was the mix of POIs of the week, the introduction of the other characters, and setting the groundwork for the current long-term arc. But those were never the heart of the show, imo. I'm not sure if Finch & Root is going to be as compelling to me as Finch & Reese.

Although I would've been just fine with more Finch, Reese, and Bear in the forefront and everything else in the background, I understand why the show had to change. I'm OK with Shaw and I will eventually, I hope, overcome my dislike of Amy Acker and get to like, or at least tolerate Root, because I think her scenes with Harold are the key ones of the series now. Carter wasn't essential to my enjoyment, but I do think it's a pity they killed her off after they made her interesting instead of in season 1 when the character brought the narrative to a screeching halt every time she was on screen. I certainly intend to stay until the end because of Michael Emerson and the underlying themes of the series. I expect that I will love some episodes and bits of episodes and really hate others, and get very tired of squeeing and shipping. Like any other show I watch.

I don't think you can dictate others' responses. Well. You can dictate, but unless you're the Mod and saying no one is allowed to voice dislike of the show, or have the ability to prevent people from watching the show and posting, how exactly will you impose your will on others?

I've always wondered if that was true or an urban legend.

dubbel zout, there's discussion about Che in the In the Media thread.

Sing it! That's exactly what I thought as the words came out of his mouth.

The Machine is the Redeemer. If this show goes on long enough, and he survives long enough, even Greer will have a redemption arc.

This might have been mentioned before, but I really like the theme for Haven. It's evocative and also reminds me of the theme from The 4400, which I also liked.

"French, Tish!" Gomez Addams was the best husband on TV, ever, imo.

I believe the "dumber than a" declension is: sack of hair, bag of hammers, box of rocks. But it could be regional.

I think you've got it, stealinghome, Reese has become the Everyman. I think the scene in DC where Finch, Reese, and Shaw are debating what they think the Machine wants them to do and whether they should, illustrates that. Reese is the middle path I was going to call him the straight man in my post because he serves an essential but under-appreciated role that lets the others shine. Summing up: His big character arc is done, until they find him another, but his purpose goes on.