Keely

Ha! You are not alone in this. My head popped up when he said it...and I promptly made a serious face when he said some mustard madness. So not only were my hopes for an eastern sauce dashed, he added insult to injury by calling a SC bbq sauce and NC sauce. Hmph. And to pay homage to one of NC's oldest arguments, an eastern sauce does not include tomato abominations, hint or otherwise. Edited to add: I'm still surprised anyone went home on a brisket challenge in which they did little to no actual smoking of the brisket. Smoking meat/bbq is a skill unto itself. Brisket is one of the hardest things to learn to smoke properly. I suppose that's why they had someone else do it, but by that same token, why then bother with a brisket challenge unless it's just because they are in Texas and therefore must do brisket?

Because, as harsh as this is to say, Jackson lied about why he was taking it. He was not using it for sleep. There are far safer drugs out there for sleep. Lithium is a serious drug given for mood disorders. Usually bipolar disorder. Weaning off it is just as bad if not worse than being on it in terms of the show. Essentially, he'd be out there unmedicated, in a high stress environment. The mental and physical strain is huge. In that environment, I would say it was a matter of when his moods unstablized, not if.

This is the right answer. She later took out a mortgage on it, but paid it off. Regardless, it's in her name. How Lip wants to talk about his rights and splitting anything is beyond me. They can't do anything without her signature. Beyond that, Carl literally bought the house. Lip has no right to any money from its sale unless Carl and/or Fiona want to be nice and give him something.

The ending ruined what could have been a pretty good episode for me. Talk about it! Clocked in at just under 10 minutes screen time. That is a lot of screen time that could have been devoted to the actual story, fleshing it out, building the tension, more on the gods, getting them back into the prison. Instead, we got another PSA. While it is an important subject, it felt very shoehorned to me and only just connected to the overall plot. If I squint. I don't mind the socially awkward part. While this is a fanwank, to my mind, the Doctor uses it as part of the/her human vernacular. We understand socially awkward. It's a lot easier to point to that reason than trying to explain all the little differences that mark her as alien, including but not limited too emotions and how they manifest and are handled.

From the time Ruth broke the glass onward, the actress might as well have been channeling Alex as River. If she doesn't turn out to be River, I will be very surprised. The argument between them at the end, when Ruth kept telling the Doc to be quiet, was eerily similar to the Husbands of River Song when Ruth kept shushing and telling her to be quiet. The facial expressions and tone were on seriously on point. Overall, I loved this episode. It hit all the right notes and was the best ep they've done since the regen for me. I have no idea what is going on and I don't care. The overall was pretty dang good and if there were plot holes or problems I was having too much fun to notice or care. Major props to them for keeping Jack's return under wraps. That could not have been easy. I'm not at all convinced Ruth is the doctor though. Like the doctor was during the episode, the fans are now so focused on it I can't help but to think it's a misdirect and Ruth is someone else entirely. How that works I don't know, but the doctor incorrectly identified Ruth as human at the start. Then an unknown species whose encryption she couldn't break. Considering the trouble she had scanning her correctly, that casts doubt over her 'same person' scan - to me anyway.

Cheese doesn't usually come with heavy handed lectures. That's what makes it cheese and fun. As to the other point I've been trying to ignore. First, I'm a woman. Second, while there have certainly been people who dislike her or the show due to her gender, there are also valid criticisms of the show beyond them. The voices of the former do not invalidate the latter.

Well, now that you mention it, you are sort of right. A female doctor is making a difference here. A huge one. Were the doctor a man right now I would be excoriating the show on multiple points and very close to giving it a miss until a new show runner took over. I hate that I have to admit that. It makes me feel dirty, but it's true. The writing is abysmal and has been since Chris took over. Even the strongest episodes have had multiple issues. The show itself is a mess, there are too many companions on screen, they've not fleshed out this iteration of the doctor, forget the companions who are mostly just there for props, the pacing is abysmal, the writing uneven, properly wrapping up an episode is a foreign concept more often than not, they aren't even trying to hand wave the issues as timey wimey, the science is particularly bad (if you can call it science at this point), for every old detail they delight me with by bringing back, they kill me with the lack of basic effort on a dozen other details. Where the hell is the show bible? Seriously. They don't have to marry the past mythos, but I expect them to make a basic effort. This week's episode does not work within the universe of Doctor Who. At all. That is not how timelines work here. We already know how humanity ends and a boatload of other details about humanity and Earth's timeline. This all but resets the entire universe, but frankly, it doesn't deserve to reset it - I don't believe it's a reset to do something new so much as a lack of real knowledge about the universe at large. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm missing Moffat. For all his flaws, he at least loved the show. When the fans called him on the delayed Tardis translations he admitted he screwed up. Most of all, he'd written for sci-fi before. None of the writers brought in for Jodi's run has and frankly, they are proving that a pre-existing, extensive universe may not be the place to toss newbies to the genre into. And that is just the tip of the iceberg on my thoughts about the show. I just keep setting those thoughts aside because first!female!doctor. Ugh. I need to go shower now. Oh and most of all? I'm still waiting for her to get proper angry.

Yes, it does do that. But. Good science fiction also makes you think. It can challenge ideas and make you reconsider the world around you. Good speculative sci-fi transcends sci-fi to influence through modern culture and thinking - Asimov's fiction on robots and AI for example. I don't expect DW to be at Asimov's level, but I do expect it to have a far more deft touch. The writing here won't provoke any real conversation on climate change. The only new idea it presented was the possibility that we'll all turn into carbon breathing monsters if we don't change. (Story aside, science doesn't work like that, but I digress...) Scaring people into change might work. If it does, I'm all for it. Unfortunately, when the DW audience is, for the most part, rolling their eyes and turned off by the sledgehammers, I'd hazard a guess it's dang sure not going to reach the people who most need to hear it.

Me and mine really like this show and hope it being put up at once isn't a bad sign. My one constant complaint from last season immediately rears its head in s2, however. Emma isn't without issues. She needs to breathe, take it down a notch and all that. But I'm damn tired of her being the bad guy. She's painted as unreasonable regarding the building when the opposite is true. Things weren't working before. Leaving them as they were won't help. Sentimentality doesn't pay the bills. I feel bad for Eddy, but nope. If they weren't married, she doesn't get say because she is neither liable nor on the hook for anything. Even if they were, the world doesn't stop for you to mourn. Especially when you're a heartbeat from foreclosure.

That part got me as well. Especially when it goes on to list all the ways he failed. I knew he wasn't a good advisor, but forgot the chapter and verse list.

Game of Thrones Had an Opportunity With Daenerys Targaryen. The Show Squandered It. I've been struggling to put all of my issues with this turn and how it played out into words. That review up does a masterful job detailing all the problems and will probably be my go-to when the discussion comes up in the future. I'm just going to leave it here for anyone else struggling.

Based on what we were given, Bran plotted to take Dany down the same as Sansa - to be king presumably. He was adamant Jon be told who his parents were . He pressed the issue. The show gave us zero reason why he had to be told much less for the timing of it. Lacking any other reason, its purpose must then be the one thing it accomplished: fracturing Dany and Jon. Everything that came after, including Dany's turn, was a direct result of Bran's meddling. Given Bran knew everything in advance, he became an active participant in the events that followed. The choice to remain silent is still a choice - especially when he placed himself on the throne through his choice(s).

Because Bran knew he was going to be king. You can't say yes to a lordship when you're going to be king soon.

So Sansa and Bran successfully set their own rise to power into motion. I'm almost impressed by that. (Sansa through the betrayal, Bran through telling Jon about his lineage, knowing what it would set into motion.) Jon isn't my favorite, but I'm glad he escaped his nearest and dearest at the end.

I'm firmly in this camp as well. To me, Clarke only has one extra special skill: she is a natural born leader who can make the hard call. The ability to put a value on human life, such as with the list, is part of that skill set. It's a terrible aspect of it, and not one many of possess. Sometimes it has to be done anyway. The others snark "who put you in charge?" to her, but don't have any inclination to step up when a leader is needed. They hate her for the things she does, but by allowing her to do them, they get to sleep peacefully at night. She's flawed. She doesn't always make the right decision. There is always a price - for her and everyone. But at the end of the day, when a decision has to be made, she'll step up and make it for good and bad. You can talk a problem to death, spend ages looking for alternatives and trying to find the path with the lowest price. Sometimes you're successful and sometimes there is no better way. You just have to make the call and be done with it. This show has been on for 6 years. Whatever lies they tell, the characters on it want her to make the call. If they didn't, they would have stepped up more and made a different choices. Instead, when the next time comes (and it will) they'll moan, whine and stomp, but ultimately leave it in her hands again. Then after, they'll turn her back into their whipping post. I'm tired of the cycle, but it seems to be the only one the writers know.