filmfan2480

I completely agree. I miss the days of School Figures for skating and Compulsories for gymnastics. I think both sports need an overhaul for both the EXECUTION of lesser skills, and also for their SCORING systems. There has to be an easier way to score both sports. It went from incredibly easy and accessible to nearly impossible (unless a commentator thoroughly explains it or you know the sport extremely well). In skating, they should replace the Short Program with a Compulsory Program that emphasizes execution of easier elements (simple layback spin, simple camel spin, straightline footwork, maybe a double axel and one triple jump - since they are so common now), etc. And I LOVED gymnastics Compulsories back in the day. Make them be a part of the overall total for medals. I'm super glad Rebeca Andrade held on to Gold (what with Biles out and Jade not doing well), because - air execution aside - those were some POOR landings. I was disappointed by that; yet ecstatic she won.

I wonder if after a few days, Simone might bow out of Vault (too mental, allows her good friend MyKayla Skinner to sub in) and bow out of Bars (she'd likely not medal) ... but focus on beam (which she missed Gold in Rio) and FX. Hoping she competes in a few, if not all. But it's all up to Simone.

I don't care what anyone says ... that was deplorable coverage of the Men's All-Around. 52 minutes and, really, probably 30-35 minutes when you take out commercials. AND ... we saw 2(!) routines from the winner ... and 1 (!!!) routine from the Silver Medalist, and it was his final event when the caption read "Leader after 5 rotations". WHO DOESN'T SHOW THE LEADER AFTER 5 ROTATIONS UNTIL THAT LAST ROTATION (AND FINAL 5 MINUTES) ??? I understand that Malone/Mikulak weren't medal contenders, I understand the time change, and I even understand that some Live events would be coming on around 930 pm. And STILL ... the coverage could have been so, so much better. What a shame. I don't remember coverage being this thin and scattershot in previous Olympics. And yes, I realize that there are more events to cover every 4 years. But Prime Time was always going to be the stalwart Gymnastics/Swimming/Volleyball/Diving, anyway. So why shortchange some of those so very much? Disappointed.

Just watched the USA Mens Podium Training online. General thoughts: Our men look to be in good spirits, but some podium training jitters here and there. Yul Muldauer looked best, to me. Calm on all the events, lots of stuck landings. Brody Malone looks outwardly confident, but maybe a bit nervous inside -- lacking in some of the Int'l experience of his compatriots. Struggled a little on PB. Didn't have a lot of stuck landings. Sam Mikulak really seemed to struggle on FX with his hardest pass (ending in the double front). But overall, he looked more solid than not. Shane Wiskus looked pretty good; struggling a bit on Vault (he is a great vaulter who did awesome at Trials, but struggled at Nationals with that event, as well). To my eyes, it looks like the Floor (FX) does not look as springy as the team might've hoped? I saw lots of under-rotations on FX, so, the athletes may have to adjust to that quickly. And Vault seemed iffy to me, as well. Lots of under-rotations and unsure take-offs/landings. So there are some ironing out of the kinks that will likely occur between now and a few days with Qualifications start. But yeah, on the whole, the team looks ecstatic to be there and ready to go.

Just watched the USA Mens Podium Training online. General thoughts: Our men look to be in good spirits, but some podium training jitters here and there. Yul Muldauer looked best, to me. Calm on all the events, lots of stuck landings. Brody Malone looks outwardly confident, but maybe a bit nervous inside -- lacking in some of the Int'l experience of his compatriots. Struggled a little on PB. Didn't have a lot of stuck landings. Sam Mikulak really seemed to struggle on FX with his hardest pass (ending in the double front). But overall, he looked more solid than not. Shane Wiskus looked pretty good; struggling a bit on Vault (he is a great vaulter who did awesome at Trials, but struggled at Nationals with that event, as well). To my eyes, it looks like the Floor (FX) does not look as springly as the team might've hoped? I saw lots of under-rotations on FX, so, the athletes may have to adjust to that quickly. And Vault seemed iffy to me, as well. Lots of under-rotations and unsure take-offs/landings. So there are some ironing out of the kinks that will likely occur between now and a few days with Qualifications start. But yeah, on the whole, the team looks ecstatic to be there and ready to go.

Fascinating! Most interesting to me is that the Men's 4-person team did not come down to 4th place finisher Sam Mikulak (more solid that we thought) and someone else ....... but Shane Wiskus and - not 5th place finisher Brandon Briones - but Cameron Bock, who finished quite a ways down the results placement. That is because Bock is so solid and needed, really, on PH, SR and HB (weaknesses for the USA). Bock was soooo close. Also, the Women's 4-person team came down to McCallum and Skinner. They gave the individual spot to Skinner because of her medal potential on Vault. And I'm kind of surprised that Leann Wong - with a great Vault and FX - was not in the conversation for the 4-person team.

Maybe someone knows this answer. Why do some male gymnasts shave their armpits and others don't? I see that many male gymnasts from Europe and Asia tend to. And we see most male swimmers/divers shave their armpits. Most American male gymnasts don't seem to go with that trend, but some do ... like Brody Malone (US Champ). His are shaven clean. Anyone know why this is done by some and not by others?

I just realized, no Brandon Briones as an alternate (there are 5, yes?) for the Mens team, yet he finished 5th at Trials. Odd???

I've been thinking a lot about the Team with Grace and with Mykayla as the specialist and ... I'm starting to come around to it a little bit. At first, I was very disappointed for Mykayla, because I thought she earned that 4th spot and now will not win a medal with the TEAM. However, I think they chose Grace because she is more solid overall and can be asked to step-in in a cinch for UB and BB if need be, whereas, I wouldn't necessarily trust Mykalya there. Grace will provide a solid Vault score (though, the team will lose .4-.5 there with no Mykayla). And really, Grace was outscoring Mykayla on FX lately, so no biggee there (the team might actually gain a few tenths there; and or, if they put Suni Lee in, etc). The discrepancy in scoring is very minimal and, like I said, Grace - with a lot of experience - could step-in on other apparatus if need be. The big bummer I still feel is for McCusker or Eaker, because both "could" contend for a medal. But really, those would be stretches, too. So a double crack at Vault Finals for Mykayla and Jade is the way to go, it seems. Based on results lately, it does seem like Mykayla has the slightly better shot there over Jade, anyway. Also, if Mykayla and Jade decide to do All-Around in Qualifications ... is it Simone, one of Suni/Chiles AND one of the other girls if they all qualify ... or do they still cap it at the 2 persons from the same country rule???

Does anybody know? Do ONLY the 4 athletes on the Team win a Medal for the Team Event or do all 6 (Skinner, Jade Carey) get the medal??? Because if that is so, that really, really stinks for Skinner - who I thought was a lock for the Team event - and, instead, she will compete for a spot in the Vault Final with Simone Biles and Jade Carey (who would likely make the finals over her anyway). Kinda frustrating; the decisions that were made.

Oh. Oh, no, no, no, no .... no, no ... no. NO ONE has been, shall we say, loopier than Kelly. That was on a whole other level. I remember watching Kelly in those early seasons and seeing the purest definition of delusional right before my eyes.

This episode started out so well. I loved hearing - for 10 minutes or so - the race discussion. Eboni defending herself was great. Heather "getting it" was great. Luann shutting up and listening when someone explains why they feel the way they do, was great. Sonja ... is just great. For all of Sonja's faults and ridiculousness, she reallllly does get it, and is sweet, and has more of a brain and heart and conscience than a lot of these women combined. Then is all went down the tubes. Oh, Leah. Rarely has a 'housewife' been a fave of mine that has just completely obliterated herself - for me - by the next season. There are still things she does and says that I agree with or find funny or find interesting. But boyyyyy has she drank the Kool-aid about herself. I find her annoying, shrill, WRONG, and a real drag to the rest of the show now. Bring me Bethenny, Carole, Dorinda, Tinsley, Heather (I actually really like her and have missed her), whoever! Where is the best place on the internet to voice displeasure about a housewife to the producers? This episode just became all too much. The Leah-being-angry-at-Heather came across as so forced in the final 10 minutes. Do I think Heather is perfect? Hell no. Does she overstep her mothering and explanations to the point where she can verge on causing more of a problem than a solution? Yes, I see that from time to time (even if well-intentioned). But she did not deserve that onslaught from Leah. Mess. I was entertained during portions of that episode, for sure. But mess.

While this show wasn't perfect, BOY did I find it satisfying; particularly in these final 3 episodes. I kinda thought it wouldn't be John about half and hour in, but did NOT expect it to be who it was. Unreal. I wasn't the biggest fan of the first ep and I thought Mare would bug the crap out of me. But I was dead wrong. While I always think Kate Winslet is great, her performance here as Mare is just on another level. Give Winslet the Lead Emmy/SAG, nominate Julianne Nicholson and Jean Smart in Supporting ... and have Nicholson win there. Holy crap was she gut-wrenching in those final 10 minutes. SO glad this actress got a role and a show/movie to showcase her talents.

Really liking Crystal so far. Love her home, kids, Lucy(!) and her whole vibe. And Kathy Hilton is a riot, so far. Add me to those who felt the Garcelle/Kyle conversation went surprisingly well how quickly it could have gone south.

Between the therapy couch scene and the last 10 minutes ... Winslet may have sewn up another SAG/Emmy combo win. Nominations certainly seem possible. She's doing great, great work in this series.

I feel like I'm living in an alternate reality. To me, Ava was far & away the best of the night. What a talent, and at that age. Her voice is angelic, clear, full-voiced, nuanced. And I loved her duet with Josh Groban -- maybe because I've loved that song since hearing it in 'Love Actually'.

Thoughts: Symone and Rose winning felt correct. Both had fantastic commercials and runways. Of the two in the bottom, I thought Tina brought it in the 1st half of the lip synch and Utica brought it in the 2nd half. But overall, I thought Tina was better in the lip synch. Kinda bummed she left, just because that is two weeks in a row that I would not have sashayed the one who left. Come on, Ru! Kandy's commercial made me chuckle a little bit. I don't seem to loathe her as much as most here. But oooof, that runway. I'm one who has never fallen in love with Gottmik and, I thought her commercial was far and away the weakest of the night, even worse than Utica's self-professed bad job. To me, the OVERALL bottom two should have been Gottmik vs. either Utica or Kandy. Tina was not great, but she wasn't the worst commercial or runway look. She was ON brand, she just needed to elevate it. I still like Olivia a lot, but I believe that Symone & Rose have eclipsed her. At this rate, I expect the Top 4 Finale to include Symone, Rose, Gottmik (meh) and Kandy (blech).

I'm not mocking sobriety ... but if I had to hear Whitney say "Sober Living" (throughout the course of this season) one more time, I think I would lose my mind.

I'm liking - not loving - this group. Kandy is messy and my least favorite, but I don't hate her yet, either. Denali slayyyyed that LSFYL. Symone slayyyyed the challenge. Really liking Rose, so far. Kahmora is gorgeous and sweet, but clearly the weakest - at least, to me. I'm kinda surprised that Joey Jay wasn't in the bottom 3. Must've just made the "safe" cut.

Right. Like, do the producers step-in to say: "Hey, we're gonna film this particular segment in 8 hours from now where you can finally ask or talk about what was brought up earlier in the day. Just please don't say anything to anyone until we get you all corralled in the same room and then bring up the topic. Ok? Thanks." For example, everyone hears Gottmik's lyrics on stage. And then not a single person asks Gottmik about the context of those lyrics either ON or OFF camera til much later or the next day. Sure.

Liked this second episode better than the first. But I miss seeing allllllll the girls together in the Top 13-14 pile-up. I just do. Actually liking most of them, so far. Kandy is definitely at the bottom for me, but I don't even mind her that much ... yet. Her personality is too big, she certainly isn't a fishy queen, and she thinks a bit much of herself. But she provided glimpses of someone with a heart and mind, at times. And I have loathed many, MANY more so in the past. Let's see where she goes from here. My faves are Symone, Olivia Lux and LaLa Ri. They just haven't put a foot wrong yet, for me. Elliott surprised me (in a good way). Gottmik (the name bugs) is cool. And Tina Burner looks/talks/acts like such a pro. I hope she keeps any ego in check. Love that this show is back. But I'm concerned that there aren't any gorgeous queens or that this new model (only seeing 7 competitors for a few weeks) won't gnaw at me. Show them all! :)

LetsStartTalking ... Yesssss, wish we could've seen those discussions during the commercial break.

Eh. I'm glad Meghan is back. I certainly don't agree with a lot she says. But she brings the fire. She lends conflict. She has a different "view". She's why I tune-in. The show has been borrrrringggg while she was away. I don't honestly believe Joy didn't miss her. And to that, I think it was a sh*tty thing to say, even if it was in half-jest or not. Joy - who I typically agree with and enjoy - has a knack for over-talking and talking down to people, too. She and Meghan often deserve each other. Having said THAT, shut up Meghan ... you interrupt people all the time. I'm glad the show is back, Lol.

I feel like most of this cast is well aware that cameras are on them and act accordingly -- like, even more than any other franchise. It makes me not care about most of what the heck is going on.

I agree with DanaK that too many of the songs were sleepy. But all 5 are very talented. My favorite is Carter, followed closely by Jim/Desz.