pasdetrois

Production's hands were all over this episode, and I'm pretty sure some of the costs of Eva's wedding were sponsored - she mentioned the company that made her second dress. $1000 per guest? I'm guessing Eva meant the entire wedding, not just the catered meal and alcohol. Nene's ego is monstrous, and her endless whining about Gregg is real, but production is coordinating the drama between her and Gregg for the show. The cameras were carefully placed and the women walked in and out of the shots to discuss Nene and Gregg (including in the cars), so production upstaged Eva; she probably agreed in order to have some of her wedding costs covered.

Sidwell Friends in DC is one of the city's most elite schools. Admission is specifically NOT based on whether one is a Quaker. Chelsea Clinton attended, as did at least one Obama daughter.

Cautiously optimistic. Not impressed with the contestants' skills, but I loved the top two designs for the start - probably executed on very little sleep and fatigue from the travel and adjustment. Hill's was stunning. I hate the sob stories. One preview last week showed some gorgeous design and I hope we get that - I don't want drama TV, and I want design TV. I still mourn the first season's fashion.

I agree the episode felt off - less polished and the results didn't seem to be as well-thought out as some others. It must have been a scheduling issue - maybe they crafted the episode at the last minute, maybe the homeowner had limited availability for production, maybe they knew it would be a kind of filler episode because they had other priorities. My question about HVAC and other big dollar costs has to do with the costs that Ben cites on each episode. Did the homeowner's $120K cost include stuff we didn't see, or was it really just for property purchase and the stuff they showed us? The show very clearly tries to say "for $xxxxxx you get a move-in ready home," and that's misleading. All of these design shows do the same thing. One of my complaints about the show is the way Erin dismisses Ben. When he tells a corny joke or makes a suggestion, she takes jabs at him.

Wondering if this is a part-time residence for the retired anesthesiologist. She lived/lives in Jackson. Kind of small, but maybe that's what she really wanted. Or it's an investment property. I didn't care for the exterior color scheme; it didn't come together. I do like the pale gray-greens that Erin uses on her interiors. What did they do about AC? The wall units disappeared and were surely replaced by new HVAC. Do we ever see them replacing or repairing a roof? The laundry chute was cute but she has to reach down and inside of that thing to pull out her dirty laundry.

Kandi on her sex show: "No one else is doing this kind of show." Everyone else: "Times Square, 1970s. Bob Fosse, multiple choreographed productions. French Quarter. Juarez. Thailand." I could go on. Kandi is trying to come off as liberated and cool, but as others have said, this is just another money grab. Cynthia is trashing her once elegant "brand." How desperate is she for money, or a man? Or attention? I don't get it.

One of the blind items states that during a reality tv reunion, filmed recently, a sick and sobbing husband was begging his wife not to leave him. The two of them are taking Gregg's illness to the bank.

I've never seen wood countertops. I wonder if the homeowner considers them temporary until she can upgrade to butcher block stone. I also wondered if she is a former Peace Corps worker, or perhaps an international aid worker. It's puzzling to me that they "discovered" the rotten subfloor and joists after their design plans. In a house that old it would be one of the first things one would check for. Having recently been forced to take my very old bath down to the studs because of water damage, I learned from various contractors that invisible leaks in old bathrooms are very common. I do love seeing the budget finishes. Some of us live in the real world, or we don't want a brand-new McMansion. The only off note was the art work on the kitchen vent hood; it struck me as a bizarre choice.

How did Fauna get the bloody nose or lip? I didn't see her getting hit or run into furniture or whatever. Ultimately I hated that her character was 16. It made so much of her story implausible. And those scenes of her in the silk slip, especially bloodied and captive to Hodel, were distasteful. It's as if the producers were trying to titillate all the pervs in the viewing audience, yet not go too far in showing a minor being mistreated. The best thing that came out of this series was the revelation about Chris Pine's acting chops. He was never on my radar before this.

Nene is mixing pills and booze. That's why Gregg called Marlo and Cynthia to rush over. She was literally dancing with joy that Gregg was out of the house. After she made her grand entrance and sat down at the table, she began slurring her words and was struggling to keep her eyes open. Then she segued into weeping and rage. Classic symptoms of mixing pills and booze. And she was wearing a wig. You could see the bottom ends sticking out when she lowered her head. Tell-tale sign.

Besides all of everyone's great observations, one thing I could never accept was Jenna's high-pitched posh accent. The high pitch made her sound like a fussy granny. And with all of those children, I kept thinking she should be much plumper.

I think I heard Ben say that Erin had wanted to renovate the house for a long time. It's cool to see linoleum as an affordable option. Today's lino can be beautiful. It took me forever to switch out my kitchen cabinet hardware because there are too many choices and I drove myself nuts. Every conceivable metal, stone, resin, etc. and every conceivable color. I love Erin's hair when the humidity makes it curl a bit. Don't fight it Erin! Helen's at that scrumptious age. I feel bad for Ben having to do all of the sweaty work in Mississippi's horrible heat. There was a very quick shot of him under the house, and the other worker was able to rise up on his knees - Ben wasn't because of his height and had to work on his elbows.

I was underwhelmed by the final episode, for many of the reasons already posted. I'm glad we didn't have another child trafficking scenario. Lord knows lots of respectable people have bought babies. But the implausible gaps were distracting, and I think there were too many red herrings and too many pat resolutions. The ending was a couple of tacked-on ideas (Hayes in the jungle in VietNam). I also was bored by the Hayes marriage and the endless dialogue; shades of the wretched "By the Sea." Plus, the actress tried too hard for languid sexy. But the season-saver was our two leads, acting together. That alone was worth the viewing.

I recommend reading “Jackie, Janet, and Lee." Explains a lot.

Lisa's talking heads, and her chat with Amelia, were quite possibly the most disingenuous things I've ever seen on reality TV (Phaedra lying about her due date is up there). The Hamlins clearly pressured and fostered the false idea that it was a good idea for their girls to go to NYC at a very young age and live alone while they attempted a modeling career. For the cameras' sake, Harry pretended he wanted them to go to college. Given her health issues, Amelia had no chance. Lisa staring at the camera and blathering on about her own eating issues and self-obsession with appearance was obnoxious in the extreme.

I wonder if the young woman is related to former Senator Trent Lott, who was a US Senator forever and then went down in some scandal - I think financial. I have (non-fancy) Lotts in my MS family tree. As I watched I heard an imagined chorus of nasty comments about the women. MS is still an EXTREMELY conservative state. Having an unscreened porch in MS is the definition of insanity. You will get eaten alive eight to nine months every year.

I didn't know about this dedicated forum either. Such a treat to see Kevin Fitzgerald again. Was it 20 years ago that he appeared in Emergency Vet?

I'm glad they put Barrington on a diet (Hendersons' dog). Hopefully he gets down to at least 90 lbs so he suffers less from joint pain and difficulty breathing as he ages. I laughed at his begging, especially the mournful face placed pointedly on the treat table. In my family we have a Lab who positions herself at the edge of the couch, then raises her head just enough that only her eyes and forehead are visible over the edge. She thinks she's minding the "no begging" rule. Over the course of the evening, she'll drop and rest, then resurface again, like a submarine.

The closed-in courtyard would have sold me on that house. Reminiscent of old New Orleans houses. And I love a live oak. It seems as if this season they are cutting back on the mountains of pillows and knick-knacks. I'm glad.

I can't believe that close-up shots of the duchess showed modern highlights/streaks in her hair, and dark roots!

Washington Post just had an article about an apparent surge in vet suicides. The article talks about their crushing debt (education, equipment, low salaries), dealing with difficult humans, and of course the inevitable and ongoing euthanasia. The Hendersons are just so...cloying. And honestly kinda weird. But they appear to be good vets and that's what counts. Loved the donkeys.

NeNe and Greg are two extremely immature people - self-absorbed, childish and entitled. The cancer is bringing out the worst of their dysfunctional relationship.

I enjoyed it. I thought the pacing was great and only got bored with the bazillion bathroom scenes a couple of times. Charlie Bartnett is great; don't recall seeing him before. The Washington Post critic likes the series, but mentioned that the ending had a Leslie Knope feel to it (a cheery ending).

I noticed that error as well. Sounds like very rushed production. I also thought that the 2nd house was a set-up for some (very minor) drama. Cut it out, show. The contrivances aren't necessary. Loved the lady plumbers! And I'd love to know more about the adopted children, although of course everyone wants to protect their privacy (thank goodness).

I agree about the Preciousness factor; ignore production's pressure to ham it up, and tone it down. On his own Ben's sense of humor is charming. Erin does the same thing some of my south MS family do: pronounces a hard "g." "I'm goinGAH...." I confess I have my 100-year-old windows, with wonky mullions. I adore old wavy glass and could never afford to replace 24 windows, so I'm stuck with them. In the interest of old-home preservation my county offered a class with an expert old-window restorer and I learned how to take care of them and repair them. My summer project will be gingerly cleaning some of the mullions up - possibly scraping and repainting. If one pushes too hard the old glazing will give out. In terms of energy efficiency, I re-did the weatherproofing and I use interior storms and insulated curtains; works great. Glad to read other posters' comments about lead paint and asbestos tile. Been there, done that. I'm not a fan of ranches and more "modern" homes, and I miss it when they don't restore something from the 40s and earlier.