CeeBeeGee

I almost forgot: ROTATE! That sequence was fucking hilarious. Is there nothing that doesn't aggrieve Linda?

Yes! How satisfying was that? And all those black women giving Monica the side-eye but also asking empathetic and caring questions of her like girl, what were you THINKING? And caring about her ordeal at the Ritz-Carlton. Loved all the jurors' unimpressed, "not buying it" expressions whenever Linda tried to justify her betrayal. Oh, and their "what are you smoking?" expressions at her paranoia. Great episode--never thought I would find grand jury testimony so interesting! ETA: FUCK Steve Jones. Good for you, Paula. I don't even know if I believe IRL Paula but Show!Paula--kick him to the curb, girl. I loved her realization that the whole rigamarole--lawyers, lawsuits, everything--was just to get him to believe her. HE initiated the lawsuit after the article and HE turned down the settlement.

Which is honestly...utterly pathetic. Takei tweeted to Jeff Bezos "why didn't you pick me?" (or something along those lines). Because Shatner is iconic in a way that you aren't, Takei. I find the desperation to keep a 50+ year old "beef" alive really distasteful. I knew he didn't like him but I feel like the only time he gets attention is when he craps on Shatner, so that's what motivates him to keep it up. Grow the hell up and find a better hobby.

Right? It's so busy. Bolero takes time--it's generally a mistake to use it for figure skating because the piece is so long, but especially so for younger skaters. T&D obviously owned it and Carolina Kostner had the patience to work with, not against, the music.

That message predated the events of this year, as the movie Clerks had come out in 1994 and Dante's girlfriend, who'd famously sucked 37 dicks ("in a row?"), brushed it off as no big deal. And specifically distinguished it from actually having sex.

Oh, for God's sake, Tammy. Get. Off. The. Cross. She was probably thrilled to actually find herself mentioned on national TV. You're the only one embarrassing yourself with that faux-martyr complex.

I missed the ladies free skate this afternoon--did Amber Glenn throw the 3A?

I really wish Johnny would lay off all the rhetoric about Nathan. Haven't we learned anything from Simone Biles? Fucking STOP with the insane pressure. It's so, so obnoxious.

Yep, yep, yep. She should do gymnastics again only if she wants to--she doesn't owe us, or anyone, anything. She's a damn superhero for continuing to compete for the sole reason of holding USAG accountable. I hope she is living her best life and having ALL the fun because she has damn well earned it. (Can't wait to see her on tour next month!)

Yup. My favorite example of this is James Eckhouse who has carved out a niche as "dastardly pharmacist" in both NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans.

Good GOD. How on earth did you not die of mercury poisoning?

I was wildly impressed with how she managed to hold her own even though she was obviously terrified. Good for you, Monica! Loved the oh-so-'90s mall moments--the agents desultorily following Monica through Pentagon City (a mall every DC-er knows well ;) ), even down to dining at what looks like TGI Fridays but what according to the Slate article was actually American Grill! And the "et tu, Brute?" moment of Monica spotting Linda after having shopped at--dun dun dun--The Body Shop. I kind of miss malls. Oh God, what an obnoxious blowhard. What a flaming, bullying asshole. Emmick was doing so much better with her. But yes, a woman agent who wasn't an asshole would've done better. When Ginsburg got on the phone and was deploying profanities left, right and center, I kind of loved him. And when he was giving hard, good, caring advice to Monica (especially when he was calling her "sweetheart" after 11 hours of being sequestered by these assholes)--I wanted to marry him. Good for you, Ginsburg.

Well, Joseph Kennedy Sr. had a stroke early on in Jack's administration and he was pretty much over as any kind of political power after that. Mainly Clinton was treated differently for a variety of reasons--Kennedy's era normalized womanizing to a much greater degree (as bad as Jack was, his father was much, much worse--I remember reading that the father had tried to hit on the teenage friend of one of his daughters), plus as you say the culture of the press had started to change.

Fantastic documentary! Very frustrating to see Tamara and Elena refuse to acknowledge the corruption and how the judging process was compromised. It was sweet to see Jamie and David again though. They need to tackle the Ladies Singles event in Sochi next.

I lived in DC during all of this and I well remember reading that article in the City Paper (for those who don't know, it's like the DC version of the Village Voice). The article was such a breath of decency and kindness amid all the dreadful pillorying of Monica. I've liked Jake Tapper ever since. And they cast the guy who played him perfectly!

He's appalling--he views her entire experience as something that happened to him. Paula made some great points about the pragmatism of settling--that would've been a LOT of money for their little corner of Arkansas. What an ass. UVA is indeed a well-regarded law school. RFK went there. UVA is one of the public Ivies. George Salazar has made a serious career error in accepting the role of George Conway--he looks like he's aged 20 years since his last high-profile project, which was playing a teenager on Broadway in Be More Chill, and singing its most famous song. I am stunned he accepted this role. He just Xed out a good ten years of playing 20-somethings.

God, yes. I was stunned when I found out it took place in Alabama--Alabama???! Literally just a few years before, in another big city in Alabama, four little girls were murdered via bomb--and there were plenty of white Alabamians who celebrated that. Birmingham's rep was so bad, its nickname was Bombingham. Make the setting outer Philadelphia or outer Detroit--anything but the deep South. I love this show and will continue to watch it but that kind of rose-colored gaze re: Southern whites (I am one, if it matters) is not historical.

The thing is, when you're creative, by definition you're putting yourself into what you're creating. So it feels terribly personal when someone mocks you when giving you criticism--it's not like "okay, that tasted good but you're too good to make safe choices like that--we'd like to see what more you can do." Rather it's an attempt to use whatever mistakes she's made as a platform to showcase his "bitchiness." It's just really unnecessary. Nobody watches these shows to see nastiness--we want to enjoy our warm cozy holidays and imagine how good the cakes must taste. It's the TV equivalent of comfort food.

I hate that shit. You can offer constructive feedback without being a jerk about. And since the contestants obviously can't say anything back or dish it right back to him, it's tantamount to bullying. I agree with whoever said reality judges have been far too influenced by Simon Cowell.

HATE THIS VERSION. Really, really dislike the new host and his hat. Am hoping the lack of Jonathan and pumpkins is temporary and next year will be back to normal. But I'm not watching it this year.

The Blaze is still around--I've never been but all my friends know I'm a huge Halloween fan so they keep telling me I should go. Interesting, did not know about the fake pumpkins!

Have they chosen the Worlds team yet?

I don't understand why a couple of times now, the scripts have shown Sam being bullied or gossiped about. She's rich and beautiful, she's nice and she dresses fairly decently--in most schools, that would make her one of the popular kids. Also, why was she suspended? She was defending herself--is she just supposed to let that psycho maim her? Especially when it was established that the teachers refused to step in. Psycho literally announced that she was "coming for you"--the fault is hers. Cannot stand Tory. I haaaate those types of people who just invent drama and feuds. Yes! They have wonderful chemistry and their scenes are such a pleasure Someone here posted about how kind Danny was in KK1--yes! When he saw the dog at the new (crappy) apartment complex and immediately got him some water, I thought that was so sweet, it really warmed my heart. I really dislike that idea that "DaNnY wAs ThE rEaL bUlLy" nonsense--I don't know if it was originally intended as a joke but I hate it when people minimize actual bullying and ignore kindness. Johnny and his goons kicked the crap out of Danny every chance they could and even kicked him down the hill on his bike--yes, for the most part they had nuance (except for Dutch) and it's nice to see they grew up but the Cobra Kais were the bullies back in the '80s. (Although I loved i when Johnny insisted on giving the trophy to Danny himself. Classy move.) I hatehatehate that Aisha was dropped. Hate it. Loved the scenes with Ali. She was oil on troubled waters and the reunions with her were so sweet. LOOOOVED the last scene! Finally, Johnny and Danny are on the same side!

God, that was hilarious. I...actually have problems with their relationship, adorable as they are together. Miguel needs boundaries. It's really not appropriate for Johnny to date his mom. It's interesting--I was a kid when the first movie came out (I am Johnny's age) and a coach like Kreese just came with the territory if you were on an elite team. I was a freshman on our varsity soccer team--a very good team and we were expected to win State. (We came in second.) Our coach was honestly just as bad as Kreese. He never actually tried to kill any of us but he absolutely screamed abuse at us--teenage girls. He would make fun of our bodies and try to embarrass us by talking about--well, things like breasts, etc. He was horrible and when I think about him now, it reminds me of how far we've come--I can't imagine any parents would put up with that now. So yes, I think Kreese might find the parents (i.e., those who are paying the fees) a very tough sell. I love it when Johnny and Daniel get along. One of my favorite scenes was in Season 1 when they're both bopping along to REO Speedwagon. I passionately adore the trope of "enemies working together"--it's so inherently hopeful. Oh my God. You're right. You're absolutely right. Not to mention--what administrator would allow a student to just barge into the office and grab the intercom? Take it back, lady. I know, I know--willing suspension of disbelief. That said--Tory is a goddamn psycho. (And her dudgeon at being accused of stealing Amanda's wallet is ridiculous. If you don't want to be accused of theft--maybe stop stealing.) And Hawk is halfway there as well. His stalking Demetri through the halls was honestly scary for me, it made me think of Columbine. I liked his transformation into Hawk but now he's just a common bully--and I expected better of him than to turn on the sensei who helped him. Also (I can't stand that whole "Daniel was the real bully" garbage, I hate it when people try to whitewash bullying), Johnny says that Danny attacked him out of nowhere on Halloween--dude, you and your friends kicked him down a steep hillside when he was on his bike! He literally could have broken his neck. A little impromptu shower is very mild payback indeed. (That said, I'm adoring this portrayal of Johnny. Wonderful, nuanced writing. One of my favorite moments in the first movie was Johnny having the class to give the trophy to Danny himself and I love that they're expanding on that brief moment of decency.) That really sucks that Aisha won't be there for the third season. She's one of my favorite characters and also, she's one of the CK students who didn't change allegiances to Kreese. As soon as I realized that Tommy was the guy in hospice, I knew why they'd chosen him and had a pretty good guess as to what the closing image would be. Hey. Betamax was the superior product. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!!!!! I just got into it a week ago and it's fantastic. Can't wait to binge Season 3!

I agree--the growth of Jo and Blair's relationship throughout the show was very well done. New York, New York is one of my favorite episodes on that theme.