pasdetrois

I read several true-crime books on the Black Dahlia a long time ago, but hadn't heard of the Hodel theory. Although Chris Pine is doing a good job, I'm finding the series a bit disjointed and I'm already FFing. Love the portrayal of the time period - old cars and buses! clothes! - but the acting is all over the place. Southern accents that come and go (Jimmie Lee is from MS), scenery-chewing, and a stiff caricature of the 2nd Mrs. Hodel.

I was a bit lost after watching last night and had to run over here to discover what's going on. Ali and Dorff: acting-chemistry, Certified Gold. My relatives had Alzheimers, so I'm greatly appreciating Ali's performance.

I think Gage has been planning this for a long time. He wanted money and a child. I doubt Gage "lost his job," as he and Jeff are presumably business partners. Gage is not simply an employee (unless he's dumb and hasn't protected himself). I suspect that his and Jeff's business plans didn't bear enough fruit, due in part to Jeff's self-destructive ways and Jeff's mindless spending on endless renovations. Gage made the decision to get out. The question is whether either of them really cares for Monroe. As reality TV shows us over and over, plenty of people fake it for the cameras. I expect Gage to try for primary physical custody and child support. A court-appointed psychologist will evaluate the family and make recommendations. Jeff will have to spend a lot of money to defend his interests, and that will drive him over the edge. He and Andy may have some success with their rumored project, but I think there's a limited shelf life for Andy's style of TV. Maybe another 10 years. Gage is smart and will land some good deals.

The Hendersons: too many humans, not enough animals. Leave the fiances, guitars, etc. at home.

Random memory: a female family friend tried to be an FBI agent in the 70s. As an agent-in-training she worked an overnight shift, doing nothing by looking at fingerprints through a lens, searching for matches - eight hours, every night. It slowly drove her mad and she left the Bureau. Thanks goodness this show has found its way back to its original brilliance. I favor season one because I grew up in southwest Louisiana, but this season will do nicely, thank you very much. Ali as the elderly Hays is remarkable, down to the way he walks out the door. The real find is Stephan Dorff, whom I last saw in a sleazy Aerosmith video featuring teenage girls (Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler). Dorff is perfect as the slightly shabby cop with the gravelly cigarette voice. He reminds me a little of Dennis Quaid. Loved his little moment with the bartender at the VFW; loved Hays' salute to the bartender as he walked out the door.

Yeah, he seemed thrilled that they noticed his assets, while pretending to be embarrassed. I'm pretty sure the guests were encouraged by production to pay special attention to Josiah. "I like 'em big and stupid." TM Julie Brown

That's Kate Fleetwood playing Feodora. Kate plays an 18th century dominatrix in Hulu's fabulous Harlots.

I'm watching a few episodes at a time, due to the Dark Grim Factor. The stunning scenery is a balm. I'll watch almost anything with at least one great actor, and Tim Roth has it in spades. Agree with LittleBopper that Roth stole the show in Rob Roy. The young actor who plays the teenage daughter is also very good. I like the unexpected surprises and I can go back and forth in time if it's handled well. Really like seeing Canada's First Nations, in this case Cree. There are real-life jurisdictional stand-offs at reservation borders sometimes; the NY Mohawks have done it. The weirdo sniper is a bit intriguing. I presume a wretched childhood. Five episodes to go.

That dog don't hunt + barkin' up the wrong tree = your dog is barkin' at my tree. A relative in his cups. Made me laugh. Not to mention, that adorable gif of the rolling laughing baby. One of my all-time faves. Cynthia plays dumb sometimes in order to look cute or helpless. It's annoying and NOT cute. NeNe would knock over her grandmother to get in front of a camera. She reminds me of the little girl in a dance recital who shoves all the other little girls off the stage.

We need to get Carson in a car with James Corden. Are brownstones usually that narrow? The ones I've been in are wider. Was that brownstone divided into more than one unit? There was a second floor, right? Thom, I'm trying to forgive you for painting the child's stunning fireplace (all that original beautiful old-growth wood) white. Both fellas looked so handsome in their blue clothing and tanned skin. Thom makes me laugh when a homeowner gets weird. He has the shocked big eyes, silent open mouth and profile. Every. Time. As he struggles for diplomatic words. As usual, the finished designs were too cluttered for my taste, but the oceanographer's place has been my fave thus far. I hope the programming move to Saturday night doesn't mean this series won't be renewed.

Did anyone spot Ruger, Bob's beloved dog?

I caught a repeat of an earlier scene with Krin and the baby, who yanked hard on Heimo's beard. He screeched and we got a belly laugh from the normally taciturn Edna. I laughed hard. My whole extended family loves this show. I look forward to watching the little ones grow up in the wilderness. Papa Selden reminds me so much of the Scandinavian men in my family - same temperament. There's a definite theme across the Alaska shows about weather changes and, in some places, scarcity of animals for hunting and trapping.

I'm wondering if ratings were really down. With Bravo standing up its increased home-design programming (Get a Room, Sweet Home), it would make sense to perhaps freshen Flipping Out and repackage it. Does Jenni somehow have a legal interest in the show, with a say in what happens to it? Or maybe Jeff thinks he has a better chance (paycheck) with a deal somewhere else.

She probably had at least two airport stops along the way, hopefully with enough time at each one to deplane for potty breaks.

When Leeann and Brandi were all Sharks and Jets, with the screaming, head tossing, finger jabbing, and flailing on the ground, they were clearing acting. Badly. I'm pretty sure they were both trying not to laugh.

I've only watched the first episode. Appreciated Amanda's brief explanation of how the shelters are learning to work together. There used to be a show where a Mississippi woman would transport a lot of animals to the northeast, where it appears there was more demand for them. Kind of a supply and demand deal. With all of the natural disasters, US shelters are getting better at this kind of teamwork. I hope more pilots donate their time transporting animals. Great way for them to keep up their flying hours. My shelter rescues pets from a nearby large airport - meaning when the airline travel goes badly - and I've daydreamed about a flying service that transports animals safely and humanely. I was anxious knowing that the two dogs with broken bones were not in the animal ER. I hope they were getting pain meds during the days it took to rescue and transport them and get them to the vets. They were handled a lot. I hope Amanda's operation thrives and she and her family don't burn out. My older friend runs a sanctuary for old dogs and she's kind of on fumes at this point.

I think I'm out. Even Tubbers and Pumps can't save this mess. Designers lose me when they start in with "the branches work back to the wallpaper" - explained three times. Also, I counted at least four references to Jennifer Welch Design. And now she's selling candles.

Hopefully the show doesn't go the way of Project Runway, whose producers decided years ago to ramp up the drama via ridiculous timelines. The timelines, not the design, became the series.

I started binge-watching this season on Netflix this week. Hurrah for finding it, as my local PBS stations have been maddening with "hide the episodes." I never saw who won the previous season and eventually looked it up. Really am loving Noel. He's sweet and gently funny, and he's quick with his quips. As an American, I love how all of these folks look like real people (even Kim-Joy with her makeup and hair). I'm exhausted from the shrieking plastic-stuffed bimbos on American reality TV. I love hearing the various accents and learning about British baking (I never heard of caster sugar until BBBO). A long-ago babysitter, who lost her London home to WWII bombing and lived with her son in the US, and I had a hilarious showdown over "biscuit." Which to me were my mother's beloved southern flaky white treats, smothered in honey. I like that production has picked up the pace in the editing, as sometimes I was bored in earlier seasons. The good humor around the tent is infectious, although I do think I see Dan emitting stealth snits. This episode inspired me to start dragging out my supplies for my grandmothers Swedish ginger cookies. She made them every Christmas - a chewy cookie instead of a snap. Now I make them for everyone each year. Regarding Rahul, I keep thinking what it's like to leave home, travel to and live in a very different culture (where there are haters), all by yourself. Very brave. That said, I'm a bit weary of his Frightened Rabbit routine; felt the same way about Ruby in a previous season. Jon may need to win this thing based on the pink tutus alone.

I think the designs are suffering from a rushed, penny-pinching TV production schedule. The results look kind of jumbled together and not well-thought out. Maybe they are limited to using products from the stores that are shown. I too have not cared for the wallpaper choices. And I hate the return of brass. The Shabby Chic fad had those painted chandeliers 20 years ago. Stop trying to make Carson as a DIYer happen; it cheapens him. I think they should focus on one property per episode. And they don't all have to be McMansions. Are Thom and Carson being tongue-in-cheek when they announce each week that the final costs were exactly the same as the boo-jay? Have always loved their TV chemistry, but would equally love to eavesdrop on their conversations when the cameras are gone.

So Tubbers is pampered and allowed to amble all over clients' new furnishings, but Pumps' two dogs are relegated to the hot Oklahoma sun full time? Let's hope Jenn was just being a smart ass when she said they'd been banished outside. And that Pumps house-trains her dogs if she hasn't already. I hope I don't see an animal shelter in her dogs' future. I like that Jenn uses color, but the useless assistant continues to annoy, and Jenn's repeated references to her brand are also annoying. This show is nothing more than an infomercial for Jenn. Pumps is supposed to fool us into thinking otherwise. Sigh. Bitterly disappointed.

The only thing holding Jeff back is himself. "Oh, I'll get a completely new staff FOCUSED SOLELY ON ME and everything will be miraculously better." Jeff confuses narcissism with quality management. He has focus problems, overindulges himself and wastes money (the endless expensive design modifications), is a lousy businessman, can't get along with the people who pay him, and has profound anger and control issues. A real estate correction is predicted; if he doesn't unload some of his properties, making a profit, all the frantic running around and micromanaging will be for naught. Although he may have rental properties and income that we never hear about. He was working in a casting office at one time - that's how he met Jenny. Megan better watch her back. She's made an enemy by being successful in the design business, and coolly announcing it on camera, blindsiding Jeff. Jenny's full of crap. She's facing her middle years, which are like death in Hollywood, without achieving her acting goals, and she can't admit it's no one's fault but her own. Jeff is correct on that account. She's always been camera-hungry, and lately the staff has been rolling their eyes at her. I've always felt Jenny is a master manipulator behind the sweet demeanor, and this was her last, grandiose attempt to control the narrative. Didn't she publicly blame Jeff for her failed career when she launched her litigation? She's trying to monetize the situation. She stumbled into a great Bravo paycheck and had a good run; she should be grateful. Jeff was brutal to her, but what does she expect after all this time? I don't buy the martyr act. She and Jeff used each other. Their lunch was a master class in manipulation and one-upmanship.

I agree. This scene seemed like product placement for MD Anderson. Gregg has his own oncologist in Atlanta (presumably), and never intended to have chemo at MD Anderson. Gregg has always been a big baby, living off of NeNe's notoriety (and paychecks). At MD Anderson his first comment was to whine about the drink they gave him for his gastro tests. He stole NeNe's pop-up shop scene, dramatically announcing he wasn't feeling well and attracting the ladies' and cameras' focus. (Calling Fred Sanford) NeNe grew tired of Gregg's shenanigans a long time ago, but it made sense for them to stay together as a brand. And they have a child. Now in her mind she has to - perhaps wants to - see him through this illness. She's caretaking a very difficult and demanding personality. I don't think he has worked for at least a decade. I haven't forgotten that in their earliest scenes together on RHOA, he lectured her about her need to lose weight and dictated her meal to her while in a restaurant, as if she were a child.

Well, except for Salt Lake. Maybe Kandi is visiting Utah. The thing about Kandi's shadiness and saltiness is that they all do it, but she really, really means it. She's her mother's daughter.

You know those people who peak in high school? That's these two. Their ultimate glory in life is being queen bees on this trashy sordid show. That's the most they will ever amount to.