pasdetrois

I read a little about Glenn on TWOP but I don't remember the details. Do we know that he isn't supporting them financially? Maybe he is - maybe he has independent income, or makes sufficient income despite spending part of his time in AK. Maybe, like Erik, he makes income off-camera in AK and he's exaggerating how much time he spends in that remote area not working. Maybe he owns land in AK that generates income, such as mineral rights. After all, there are other people who are away from home and children for extended periods. Do we know his children are minors? It would indeed seem selfish if he's leaving a mother/partner to take care of minor kids on her own.

It's a shame this series was so brief. Such rich source materials and so many story lines and characters. I'd like to have seen much more.

I've recovered enough from my swoon at seeing Andre half-clothed to post that I cannot get past the casting of Peggy. It seems so wrong, or maybe the actress just cannot pull it off. I understand the Marie Antoinette-style wigs in public, as it was the fashion. But the massive curly wig cascading down her naked back as she stood at the window just screamed Hollywood. It was bigger than she is. And the forehead full of Botox and false eyelashes. Takes me completely out of the story.

Forgot to say that Danni (is that her name - the blonde who arrived late to the island?) looked positively skeletal. Also, gotta hand it to Craig - he's withstood the Mean Team assaults for two episodes now, with class. I guess I don't believe the lost-on-the-beach-at-3am story, or I think it's exaggerated for the cameras. The producer manipulations are ruining this show.

They had to go and ruin a perfectly good Shep. His behavior, and that of the rest of his castmates, was disappointing and annoying. Here they all are, at a beautiful place, in the prime of life and with many blessings, and they behave like spoiled brats. Of course the show is scripted, but it's been scripted in a very bad direction. I'm too busy laughing at Kathryn's Bad Ass imitation to take her seriously. Combined with her constant search for slights -- it's all she talks about -- she's tiresome. I don't mind Landon. Her positive spirit is a balance to the clumsily manufactured drama. She does indeed resemble Kathryn Hahn.

I can see why Demetria and Greg are attracted to each other. They are both scolds. Chantelle and Mica were definitely too loud, but as Demetria's PR person stated, you don't escalate the situation into a scene. That's exactly what Greg did, it backfired, and he looked like an ass. Will wonders never cease - Geneva handled the situation with class. So how many times are we going to see Daisy's bed covered with medical bills? And the bizarre, unrealistic drama over the chemo delivery? Hmmmmm...it's beginning to seem like attention-seeking behavior. I FFed through the entire Arzo/boy toy scene. Boring.

Just a guess, but Bryceton's loud bellowing and flailing seemed all for show. His rage was true, but the carrying on all over the place seemed like Drama 101. As if two minutes later he'd wink and say "just kiddin', I love ya." The wife annoyed me. She chose to marry and procreate with someone who clearly is not well.

I struggled to remain interested in this episode. It's the soap opera factor. And some lousy acting. (See soap opera.)

Yeah, this group is missing the unusual chemistry that the original group shares. And Bradley is such a tool that it ruins the entire group for me.

I had to laugh a little bit at Sue's lamentations and dread about going to the doctor. I was expecting major surgery on her "paws" from the way she carried on. It looks like she got cortisone injections and was able to leave immediately. I used to think of Sue as a female John Wayne because of the way she talks. Now I think of her as the female Ron Swanson. Love her. She takes such great care of Ermie (Ernie?) the elderly sled dog. Gotta love that.

Andy would be very difficult to live with in paradise. Imagine being holed up with him in the Arctic, with no way to escape - not even a walk - for many months out of the year. I admire many things about his capabilities, but he's your basic bully.

I think Lydia's doing her own PR - to her husband. Her sexiness is probably her currency in the relationship. She may be worried about being tossed overboard for a newer model. Plus, who would want her? I can't see a legitimate publisher pounding on her door with a contract. It's interesting that she has apparently been allowed to keep the copy-cat title, because her book and Omarosa's are available on Amazon.

I'm annoyed at all the blatant product placement this series is shoving down our throats. Chyka's firm appears to arrange most of the events we see, and she mentions it every time. At the Lexus marquee she said something like "We decided to mimic the Lexus grill with this ceiling grid full of roses." Instead of Chyka receiving a Bravo paycheck, I'm beginning to think she and her husband are paying Bravo for all of the free advertising. (Sarcasm) The show also publicized a dress shop, a milliner, several fashion designers, and of course Pettifleur's book. In my experience, we are seeing the women being repeatedly rolled out to pretend they are socializing during product placement. Interesting comments by Gamble's stepson - he said what many people are probably thinking. (E.g., gold-digger) Still, she seems relatively harmless, for all her gold-digging ways. However I thought the stripper-phobia storyline was a fail. I don't like strippers either, but I don't have a severe phobia about it. The show was desperately trying to continue the Gamble-as-former-stripper story. There's something offputting about these women dressed in their Aunt Mame finery groping nearly naked men. It just looks stupid when it's done to death. Over in the Blood, Sweat and Heels series there are women who self-publish and there is a link to the practical reasons why people do it, especially electronically. I'm pretty sure PF dug into her boyfriend's pockets to publish hard copy. Amazon shows a couple reviews and they are not favorable. Gina's losing me with her grinning attack dog persona. As an attorney you would think she would understand that it would turn people off, but instead she grimly pushes on each episode. I think she's doing it for screen time, but why would a successful woman do this? My psychic abilities tell me that Jackie's a brainless fraud. There's no substance there. Same with Lydia.

I have a slightly different take on Whitney's behavior. It was uncouth and embarrassing, for sure. I cringed as I watched. But I think he's extremely uncomfortable outside of his little domain and he doesn't have the skills to be a regular guy and integrate himself into a new environment. He adopts a persona - in this case he tried to be a wise, supporting friend - and can't carry it off. It veers off into all kinds of weirdness. Under pressure, he falls back on nastiness and an inflated sense of his own worth. I blame That Mother. I think Craig handled it very well; he didn't fly into a rage or escalate the drama. He was showing true respect for his parents by doing that. Hopefully he'll listen to his parents' counsel about not drinking to excess, because they reminded him that alcoholism runs in the family. I think Craig will settle down if he has to - if no glamorous entertainment offers surface - and find his way. In the end, he has to pay the bills. I've never been attracted to Shep, but I really like his manners, level-headedness and quick wit. He's clearly well-educated, which is a plus. Thomas is also capable of that kind of charm when he's not being a drunken ass. These are the two I'd love to have a meal with. I'm disappointed that the show is giving us too much Craig drama and Kathryn/Thomas drama. That's not what I want to watch at the end of a busy work day. I originally loved this show because it was the anti-Bravo show.

It was interesting to watch the normally repressed, cerebral, dour Cromwell panic and spring into frenzied action at Henry's "death." And the writers did a great job of helping us see the full universe of what that death would mean, from Cromwell to the return of civil war. I guess Henry's loss of consciousness is a good argument for a concussion or even traumatic brain injury and the resulting personality change. Of course, not having a male heir probably made him frantic and angry too. Random note: Joanne Whalley was once married to Val Kilmer.

I wonder what Kate does all day. I'm sure she has a lot to do, but we never get to see it. I guess they don't want the cameras in their home.

Ugh, I hated Mindie's parents, especially the mother. Say it with me now: what kind of parent in this day and age (Mindie's not very old) blithely dismisses a child's abuse reports? Assholes, that's who. (Grrrr...make me furious.) And we were not seeing the mother's real personality - she gave a command performance as the weepy, caring mother for the cameras and I saw right through it (as did Mindie, even in her meth haze). Yet Mindie is returning home to live with her family - that mother will trigger her like nobody's business. Donna was a good choice for those parents. I agree that Katherine may be bipolar and self-medicating. It would explain in part her impulsive disregard for the rules in a structured treatment center. (Disclosure - a family member works at Pine Grove. I believe it's where Tiger Woods went for his treatment, whatever that was about.) I think her husband was co-dependent and unwilling to intervene on her behavior, so the grandparents took custody of the kids.

I've been to Clyde's in Columbia many times, so it was fun having it pop up on my screen. Loved seeing Granny and Mica's loving family. Wish we had more of this on reality TV. Maybe Arzo is spending all her time with a younger, unemployed man because she doesn't really want to be married. If she really wants to avoid offending her parents, and be married, she should end the relationship and seek out a different partner. The relationship purgatory she's put herself in doesn't make sense. I have the impression that Geneva has spent ten years with the occasional freelance gig, being supported financially by her parents. Geneva mentions money, and the lack thereof, an awful lot. In this latest episode she dramatically declared that if this new venture fails she will have to move back to Detroit. Does this mean her parents have finally drawn the line, maybe after her latest shenanigans? I think there's a lot of back story there. I also think that Geneva is too immature and dysfunctional to support herself. Anybody can pull up an easel in a restaurant and pretend to brainstorm ideas for a new business idea; it's the execution that's killer. The summit between Mica and Demetria was - gasp - mature and did not dissolve into name-calling and lost tempers. It was encouraging to see them behave. Not sure if it will last.

I really liked this episode. I always get a bit misty when a baby is born, but this episode had me because of Attracta and Pegeen. Their few scenes together were magnetic. I love it when this show gives us these little moments between women - Sister Julienne tucking in the hair was such a moment. Although I kept expecting a My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding scene. I loved Maria Doyle Kennedy's singing voice in The Commitments, and it's great when she pops up here and there. Things that made me laugh - Dr. Turner's "Hello nurse!" Made me think Shelagh would get some action later that night. Fred's square dancing shirt. Sister Evangelina slinging the "cheese tart" down. I'm really enjoying the addition of Nurse Crane. She's not too much of a cartoon character and she broke my heart tonight. Agreed here. The acting is so one-dimensional and annoying. She creeps about with a perpetual questioning look on her face -- the raised eyebrows, the big eyes -- and has an odd plodding walk. We get it, she's unsure, shy, a wallflower, etc. etc. Let's move on.

Granny encouraging Kathryn to nail the rich old man was creepy. Very southern gothic - young beautiful woman marries wealthy older man and saves her family's fortunes. At the time I thought Granny was just in on the production storyline, but I've always wondered if the entire Dennis family really wanted the marriage because of the wealth and the Ravenel name. I still believe that Kathryn and Thomas knew that each was using the other, and that love had nothing to do with it. We see all kinds of stuff on reality TV. Often the participants hope to spin off a successful business or entertainment career. I've always been puzzled as to why Thomas and Shep were willing to be on this show. I think the others can be explained - Whitney and Camaran want to dabble in production, and Patricia supports Whitney. Craig seems to want a glamorous life. But what was the attraction for Thomas and Shep? Maybe for Thomas it was nothing more than a political career, and it evolved into this miserable relationship with Kathryn. When I watched season one, I clearly felt that Kathryn forced herself into the show, made a beeline for Thomas, and that it wasn't part of the original script as envisioned by Whitney and Camaran. Unexpected manna from reality TV heaven.

Wow - legal aid. I assume that tells us a lot about Geneva's financial situation. There are reasons other than financial that qualify someone for a public defender, but I wonder if Geneva claimed she could not afford representation.

Carolina beach music! Regarding involving Kathryn in the campaign, usually the spouses and children stay far away, except for public appearances. Too much conflict otherwise. I think the nasty email from Sandy Duncan was scripted.

I really hated watching and listening to her on the last episode. It was so unpleasant. I understand how disappointed she is. But she's placing responsibility for her happiness with a guy who's only going to disappoint her. She's avoiding the realization that her plan didn't work. Plus she's playing to her TV audience. I don't think either of them is madly in love - they tried to use each other and place unrealistic demands on each other. I keep wondering whether Thomas actually believed he had a chance in the election. If not, then what was his purpose for the sham campaign? (I know others have speculated in this forum.) Somehow I think he began to believe in his chances, and I can see him wandering around the plantation now in a drunken petulant funk.

I guess I'm watching it for the acting. For the fact that British productions often try to keep it natural - less boob jobs, less perfect figures, and so on. I think the actress who plays the struggling teenager is doing a good job. As are the two social climbers, who throw delicious shade. And my gosh that's a very pretty village.

Yeah, such as his mother, who did it more than once. I feel sorry for him sometimes too. He struggles to fit in. But then he behaves like an ass and I'm mad at him again. I did notice that when Kathryn flounced away from the table at the ball, Whitney stood up like a gentleman. (I don't need anyone to do this for me, but I do notice it when it happens.) Whoever was next to him - it was Shep or Thomas - did not. I did not realize until part of the way in to the episode that the Founders Ball is a brand-new thing. Craig actually looked crestfallen when he was fired. It almost seemed real and not staged. I did feel we were being treated to a commercial for his boss' business, and that the boss wanted to show off his home. *Nose in air. Sniffs* New Money.