CaliCheeseSucks

Can't argue there, it's a fair point. Agreed about the contrivance but in a way, I'd welcome seeing those four interact more regularly. I generally find Robert and Sol (moreso Robert) exhausting on their own but rather enjoyable when they interact with their exes (or their partner's ex). If it means less-to-zero of Peter next season - yes, please!

I did not buy for a second that Grace would tank Mark Cuban's investment offer.

So much this. He's a character I wish had been cut loose years ago.

In spite of having watched every season, I haven't always been the biggest fan. Often by the final episode I felt let down by the promise of season (and series). This is the first time I finished where I thought everything worked. I will never care about the kids but they annoyed me less this time around; same with Sol and Robert. I think breaking Grace out of the beach house infused fresh air into the primary relationship. I've been disappointed in the past to see them introduce characters - be they totally new to G&F or supposedly old friends - only to see them vanish after the episode ended. I was glad to see Millicent Martin again, and appreciated that Mary Steenburgen had more than a walk-off appearance. I still don't understand why on earth Sol and Robert continue to socialize with Peter. He's really a toxic, hateful person who contributes nothing to that relationship. That's one character I wish they would have completely dropped already.

From the Primetimer article about cancellation rumors: Most people here have probably been on the Project Runway ride since the beginning. Who really thinks it deserved any of the nominations it got during the increasingly awful Lifetime seasons? The Bottomless Fries season was nominated in the top category, for goodness sake's. Tim was nominated (with Heidi) for best host when he was reduced to performing like a Price Is Right girl, fawning over refrigerators. To me, S18's failure to get an Emmy nomination for the show or host(s) suggests that voters were voting for it out of habit - and not actually paying attention to what the show had become, which was a cheap, depressing shell of the show that started on Bravo. In addition, PR had a long hiatus - a year-and-a-half - from the time it transitioned back to Bravo. Long absences can be an awards killer. Even though Veep's final season did make a show of nominations after a two-year absence (qualifying in far more categories than PR), it came up with nothing on awards night. Give them time and voters move on. Bravo would be foolhardly to cancel PR, which by all critical accounts has somewhat been restored to some of its former glory that Lifetime had sold off to the highest bidders. It is undoubtedly a better show now than when the TV Academy was showering it with nominations. To circle back to the topic of 'Blast Off': I thought this was a good kickoff and I was relieved Jenn and Asma were booted, though I suspect we have Nina and Brandon to thank for it being a double as Elaine clearly wanted to give Asma another chance. Elaine is, in fact, the only thing I haven't liked about the reboot.

None of what they're doing with Jonah makes sense. It doesn't make sense he's running for President, it certainly doesn't make sense anyone who wasn't a bottom-dwelling desperado would go work for him, and turning him into an endless geyser of horrific vile insults doesn't make a lick of sense. As I said last week, in the Iannucci Era, the insults were part of a larger story being told; with Jonah, insults *are* the story. It's as if David Mandel thought it was enough to channel every terrible thing Trump has done/said through Jonah and have that suffice as an excuse to keep him around. But the context for why Trump 'got away with it' isn't at play with Jonah's character, and someone like that could *never* get away with it. Insults are not plot. I did like Richard and Selina's outburst at Catherine but a few good lines does not a good episode make.

That was... not good.

Definitely, something was missing in that spot. As soon as Stevie started crying at the front desk, I expected a 'Maybe This Time' moment - but it still did not disappoint. An outstanding season finale. It's a shame that the Television Academy fails to recognize the show, because that Best Actress In A Comedy Series trophy belongs in Catherine O'Hara's hands this year. Even Roland was amusing in this episode - that line about Jocelyn planning a funeral for under a hundred bucks gave me a good laugh.

Holy cow, the creative collapse of this show is unreal. There's barely any plot anymore, just excuses for endless insults (whereas the insults used to be part of overriding storylines, and thus more satisfying). Everyone has been Congressman Furlong'd. None of the pacing of the plot points in the first two episodes makes a lick of sense and everyone - everyone - acts 100% stupider than they did in the Iannucci Era. Thank goodness there's only five more episodes. It's just cringeworthy-awful.

In fairness to the point she very poorly tried to make... Of course, party and campaign loyalists are rewarded in every Administration. That is generally the rule, not the exception and it's not a Democratic/Republican thing. It's how D.C. works. What she failed to clarify, though, was to Bill's point: Never before has an Administration so front-loaded appointments, top to bottom, not just with loyalists but either: A) Utterly unqualified stooges who have no business running a dog walking business, never mind a major government bureaucracy/department, or B) Utterly compromised individuals who represent the industries/areas that are supposed to be under the oversight of said bureaucracy/department and instead, once installed, dismantle or gut said bureaucracy/department's mission statement with regard to those industries/areas.

Enjoyed the interview with Julián Castro, though I parted ways with his take on Biden. My blood pressure absolutely went through the roof when Bill minimized Brett Kavanaugh's behavior as just "drunken teen stuff" (not his exact words but pretty much his exact sentiment). What in the hell? I wish they would revisit the two-person panels that were being experimented with last year. Last night would have been an excellent time to deploy it again and leave Danielle Pletka out of it.

I expected the proposal as soon as Patrick parked by the side of the road but it was still very well done. There was an extra in the background of the hospital seen that, at least from a distance, looked like it was Amir and I kept expecting there to be some reveal with that (but am glad it wasn't). Always nice to see Twyla get a little more screentime.

I think it changes the point significantly. The difference between two weeks notice from renewal to production start time and a year is significant. Plus, you can flip the argument on its head: Most shows *find* their voice once they're past the awkward 'setting up' season and have enough episodes under their belts to know what (and who) works and what (and who) isn't working. Savage certainly had more time to prepare for season two of I'm Sorry than, say, Dan Harmon with Community, Michael Schur of Parks & Recreation and The Office or Tina Fey & 30 Rock. There's a long list of shows - including those previously mentioned, though many more beyond that - whose second seasons are considered at or near perfect after wobbly starts. In fact, Schur has rather famously said that (not the exact quote) after the first six episodes of a show are done, the real first season should start, because it takes about six episodes to really know how the show is going. I just don't buy that Savage had a sophomore slump or she was too pressed for time. What we saw this season is what she has when she does in fact have a very long lead time from renewal to shooting. In my opinion, it just wasn't very good.

That's a bit off - TruTV announced it was renewed in August 2017. Filming on season two began... oof, it wasn't until mid or late summer 2018. Can't remember when I started seeing her Tweets about it. But it was in the ballpark of a full year between renewal and production of season two.

It was a surprisingly lethargic show, given all the news of the week and the breaking news of the day.