pasdetrois

I'm finding it hard to believe that a married wing commander would so blatantly carry on with subordinate staff during a time of war in a small gossipy village.

Couldn't Kate give it a rest with her ever-present need for conflict with someone? Now it's Ben. Repeatedly calling him an asshole on camera, just because she's a bit miffed, was uncalled for and unprofessional. Maybe she was expecting Ben to act like a boyfriend and when he didn't she was disappointed. Claudio tried to steal the camera a couple times and the camera crew didn't bite. I was expecting Ben to be frustrated with the request for old fashioned southern cuisine, but he handled it well (as he should).

Reading the blind item, my first thought was that if the drug rumor is true, it might explain the ever-present and overly familiar "makeup artist." Not to mention the failed business. Or sleeping late all the time. Or the seeming detachment from her children. Or humping Juliet's husband (which was very uncharacteristic for the normally reserved Caroline S.).

Surely that wasn't Caroline F.'s boy toy who was flinging her about in the ballroom? She says she's the first female heir. Perhaps her father's frostiness is based in part on his dissatisfaction with not having a male heir? Scandinavia is fairly progressive, but still...Maybe he expected her to behave more conservatively as his heir. She teeters on being very "to the manor born" in her interactions with others. Ordering her friends about and pretending to care about her servants. I'm not buying it. She's very demanding and entitled. Annabelle continues to struggle to be relevant and noticed. I wonder what McQueen's family and other close friends think about Annabelle continuing to exploit McQueen's death. Not a good look. Neither were her eyebrows, chain-smoking and eye-rolling at the dinner. What the hell is wrong with her? I was startled with Juliet strolled out wearing that gawdawful chunky sweater around her waist for the dinner. She's giving Caroline S's white popcorn thingy sweater a run for its money in the Ugly Department.

I agree. I suspect Brooks has been exposed to the inner workings of Vicki's professional and financial situation. I wouldn't be surprised if there's stuff that the IRS or other regulatory bodies would be interested in. Or maybe it's nothing more than Vicki not being as successful as she claims. Having that outed would mortify her and could also affect her business. Isn't pancreatic cancer almost always a swiftly moving fatal disease? Ol' Brooks ain't too smart if he claimed he had this kind of cancer. Vicki sold her soul to the reality TV devil a long time ago. She's morally bankrupt.

I always thought that Vicki's narcissism and desperate need for attention was based on her relationship with her mother. Way back when we first saw them together, I thought her mother was mean and cold. They played it off for laughs, but there was a weird vibe between the two of them.

I question whether Vicki was really medicated. This is the most calculating woman on reality TV. I think she was faking/acting, hoping that her co-wives and viewers would feel sorry for her and leave her alone. (Knowing everyone was loaded for bear.) I'd have to see her pupils up close to know for sure.

I'm not a Kate fan either. But I do think she knows how to give great service, and she certainly adjusted her on-camera personality in order to come off better for the cameras (compared to earlier seasons). She's playing the reality TV game pretty well. I think Leon was manipulated by production and that is part of his anger. But I also think his personality is pretty unpleasant.

Regarding Rocky's background, I found some stuff and posted it under her individual comment area here.

I looked Rocky up in LinkedIn. Has she been married? She's there as Raquel Dakota Bartlow. (Also, she's a brunette in the photo.) You can see her full entry by Googling Raquel Dakota LinkedIn. Here's her summary data. Raquel Dakota Bartlow Entertainer Greater Los Angeles Area Entertainment Current Bravo TV Previous The Little Nell, Happy Bones NYC, Aspen Skiing Company Education Institute of Culinary Education

Leon knew the firing was coming, but instead of saying "I quit" he tried to manipulate Lee into firing him. When they sat down together Leon almost immediately began making combative comments and talking over Lee and eventually said "what are you going to do about it" or something similar. I think production left it in Lee's hands to decide when to fire Leon, not if. I'm pretty sure it had already been arranged with Ben to save the day. Rocky and production waited all season for her Big Moment to strip down and dive off the boat. I mean, she's a champion diver and swimmer. Plus, as Kate said, where was Rocky going to go in her drawers, with no ID, clothes or money? That's why I can't get frustrated at Lee for keeping Leon and Rocky on. It wasn't Lee's call - he's a reality TV actor. Leon must have agreed to be on the show in the hopes he'd get a new chef gig, or investors for another restaurant. Instead he came off looking very bad - arrogant, misogynist, unimaginative, and not motivated to keep a clean kitchen. ETA: also stupid? Tweeting Ricky's private contact info. But the thing that caught my attention the most was his stupid decision to lie about Kate drinking. I wondered if he had seen her drink when they first shared a room, but when asked he didn't provide details - maybe Rocky told him Kate was drinking? He looked stupid for making the accusation and not backing it up. Eddie may be technically skilled, but he's immature. He's a bit of a craven toady. I'm not a Ben fan. He's a bit smug and seedy.

Each time I view the title of this show I see Home Fries. Yum.

Thank you STOPSHOUTING. My fingers and brain aren't caffeinated yet this morning.

The reality-TV-hatchet-editing was very evident, especially in voiceovers. I could hear the shifts in tone and sound quality in some of them. Jason and Effie cannot be blamed for the lack of control they have over the gazillions of other people on the production. All those individual activities, and the technology and people doing them, drive the results of the final product. I saw tiny snippets of this - the safety arguments a couple episodes back, the complex insert car rigging, the unpredictable and unsatisfying "car crash." The show would have us believe that the conflict between Jason and Effie was the key factor in the results, and I don't believe that. $3M to make a feature film is a drop in the bucket. Awesome movies for so little money are the exception, not the rule. A lot of the drama and chaos were inherent because of a ridiculous budget and time constraints; that environment makes everyone stressed and crazy. I don't know why Hollywood bothers with these kinds of efforts.

Little orphan children secretly weaving fabric and making an outfit for their teacher? Really? I mean, I assume tiny children were forced to weave and sew in sweatshops, but this was bizarre. (There were a couple camera shots of cloth that was being woven.) Not to mention all the couples smooching in the bushes outside the viceroy's residence. And Lady Macbeth (missionary's wife) having her dastardly way so easily with a aristocratic lady at a fancy dinner? I could go on with the show's idiocy, but let's just say I think the Drunk History writers have wandered over to Indian Summers.

If this series meant to glorify the WI's contributions to the war effort, it's doing a lousy job. We've got a snooty battleaxe, an unstable butcher's wife, a dishonest bookkeeper, an illiterate farmer's wife who would rather lose the farm than ask for help, a witless servant girl, an abused wife, and a drug-dispensing doctor's wife. And a lung cancer patient whose treatment plan appears to be to nap and make noble jokes (while his wife merrily chuckles along). And the clanking anvils from the sky brought us a newlywed widow. They did this with The Crimson Field - instead of stories of remarkable accomplished women, they gave us 1940s Real Housewives. Disappointed.

I'm going to miss Brida. I like how they didn't load her up with Hollywood hair and makeup - she looked real. Ubba is a hoot. Perfect mixture of crazy and curiosity. And Alfred's portrayal is fantastic.

I fear Naomi Campbell is making one last attempt to revive her career. We see her here and also on American Horror Story. She's a creeping menace. Scenes of this whack job trying to be all "we're girlfriends, let's sit down and schmooze while I pretend to care about you" make me snort. Is she auditioning for a role here? Cannot stand her, want her off my screen. When did Caroline F. produce her very young children? She's had two non-marital relationships since her marriage, yet has little kids? I'm confused. My guess is that AnnaPill is going to milk some kind of post-accident malaise, such as the need for another surgery.

Someone clue me in on eating baby food. Was Caroline S. really eating it? Kate Blanchette told Andy Cohen that she eats baby food too. Is this a secret rich lady diet craze?

I think a lot of Effie's rage is misdirected at Jason. I think her real rage is at the industry. It's simmering there, and then along comes a guy like Jason who pushes all her buttons and he becomes a target. (He's a pill, but I think a lot of her behavior is over-the-top.) Also, I don't think she respects the film's topic - rich white people's hijinks. Interesting that this has become about Effie/Jason, with hardly anyone (in the online/news world) still talking about Matt Damon. I think I said that I've been in Effie's shoes (producing and directing in the 80s, when all-male crews treated me as a secretary or were sexually aggressive - it was a VERY common thing and NOBODY cared). The rage is understandable, but it can derail your career. That's just the way it is. She's got to rein it in. ETA: What's so aggravating about Effie's job (for everyone that has it) is that it's all about the details - the nuts and bolts of production - yet nobody cares about the details. It's like being responsible for feeding an army on time, while the soldiers are busy running around doing their thing and the generals just expect you to get it done. Or being a project manager on a big computer network job, where the buyer just expects results and the development team is doing a million different things. Being the person responsible for holding all that together, on time and within budget, with no one helping you is what builds the rage. That's what I mean when I say that Effie's rage is at the industry. For all its seeming glamour, her job is a crappy job.

What was the black thing on Aafrin's plate at the posh dinner? Alice told him not to eat it. I think the servant put it there intentionally, to punish Aafrin for sitting at the table with the big shots. Heartbreaker: Aafrin so proud of his new suit, only to be made fun of because he's not in white tie.

I barely managed to watch the episode. It was overwrought and implausible. Although I did appreciate learning Frank's back story. And Charlie spilling the beans to his wife? Annoying. I wonder how many really did this in real life.

I'm pretty sure the tub scene was set up by production. Two dramas for one: the women in the tub, and keeping everyone else waiting and fuming.

Papa Zeno has the best laugh. I love this family's easy-going vibe. Mama Zeno said she's loved Papa since she was five years old. What the hell was the get-up one of the Persian sisters was wearing? A bandana, pink lipstick and black thigh-highs? One night Julie is going to flop back on the couch and the little dog who's always behind her is going to be ejected like a fighter pilot.

I'm enjoying this so far. I love these PBS/BBC period dramas any way. But this one appeals especially because my father flew bombing missions out of East Anglia during WWII. He used to talk about going into the nearby villages on days off. Occasionally they would be guests in the local manor homes - a kind of hazard reward. (American crews flew in daylight initially and thousands were shot out of the skies. English crews flew at night and also suffered tremendous loss of life.) So I watch this series with him and the other military guys in mind, seeing what they saw. The farmer is a good-lookin' hunk of beefcake. Good to see Francesca Annis. I saw her long ago in The Elephant Man. She disrobed to the waist on the stage, with her back to the audience, and the theater was utterly silent. She was dating the younger lead actor and combined with the on-stage disrobing it was quite A Thing.