MisterGlass

This was kind of odd. It's like they felt like they needed a case of the week, so they gave it to Hoffman and Lee. They did have some lead up to Hoffman and Lee as a thing in the last episode where they were together, so I wasn't surprised by the end. I second the hope that this doesn't lead to Hoffman pining over lost Dex and losing Lee. It seems like Hoffman is a lot less tense in conversations with Lee than he is with Dex. I don't know if that's a deliberate choice by the writers or just different chemistry. At the end I was waiting for a pan down to show that the unit member had been killed with Chekhov's knife. That was probably my favorite part of the episode. Both of them had such painfully real let downs, and it was good to see a little companionship between them. I thought that was a pretext for him making a move.

I thought this episode was uneven but I genuinely laughed at the electric scooter chase.

It appears to be on CBS. The articles I've seen say it is set in the 1990s. If I recall correctly NBC couldn't get the rights to Clarice, and that is why she wasn't a character in Hannibal. While they may not have Hannibal Lecter in the announced plans, his shadow will hang over this series, and they might be tempted to bring him in for a ratings boost one day. However, it wouldn't be anything like the Mikkelsen/Fuller version, since that belongs to NBC. Or maybe they'll have a Hannibal-lite character. It may be for the best that this is divorced from Hannibal if it ends up a standard procedural.

My understanding is that the app isn't voluntary. They are required to have it on their phone and to have their phone on them. It automatically clocks them in and out of their shift, and the old system was retired. Employee tracking is real for some companies. I agree Dina and the vet are a good couple, and I lol'd when Sandra said yes to the phone assistant! "I always say yes." There were just a lot of funny blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments in this one.

I liked the last little shot of the cars showing that the Mustang has a friend now. There were several 'Hey it's that guys' in this, so it was pretty clear who was going to matter. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty good.

Ha! There is perhaps a resemblance around the eyes. It seems like they left it open for this character to recur. I was relieved it went as it did.

Also enjoyed this one for the most part, and don't have much to add. I liked the call back to Tacos a la Cosgrove. Also, I like Tookie's assistant chef. Also, I like that most of the characters in Dex's orbit don't necessarily like each other but will get along for her sake or to humor Ansel. It's an interesting tension.

In spite of everything that was going on in this one I was not that interested or surprised by anything. The only smile I got out of this was Tookie telling Ansel "this is wrong, and it solves nothing" before egging the house. I almost smiled when Hoffman pretend to tear up the check to get back at Grey. While I wasn't looking forward to serious drama in the Hoffman family, Steven Williams is welcome. I hope they have a little comedy while he's around. I'm glad the car robbery subplot is over, but I hope the contract killer doesn't take over the rest of the season.

This was a lot of fun. I hate love triangles but have been oddly engrossed by Sandra and Jerry and Carol. It was great to see Sandra and Jerry have a happy day in the end. All the characters had great little moments, with Garrett's rodeo speech a standout. And Jerry and Sandra singing a romantic acapella version of Creep was inspired. It was great that they included a last little shot of the cat so we knew it was okay. ETA: The extension cord bit made me "aww," and then laugh when they used it for impromptu limbo.

At the end Piper hinted that Helen planned to heal Ed using nanobots, so between that and healing herself Helen did seem to have them. I think the disassemble part is supposed to be new.

This was a little messy if it ends up as THE finale, but I enjoyed it on the whole. I agree the nanobot cloud takes a lot of hand waving. Helen as a biological AI did use nanobots to heal after Emily cut her, but converting over entirely to tiny robots is a leap. I have to say I do like Alex and Brooks. I'll forgive the testy exchange because Alex was stressed and because Piper was bothering him. As others have said, at least the adults in the triangle are being adults. Maybe it did. That would make more sense than the bracelet hurting her. Maybe it wiped her main program, and they went to slo-mo to emphasize that. The upload stopped because Piper wasn't wiped, but maybe Helen's consciousness got zapped into the ball and sent out to the aliens.

I'm okay with adding some modern touches to Austen. I thought the "Emma" miniseries ten years ago with Romola Garai and Johnny Lee Miller was a great period adaptation that was also expressive and accessible for a modern audience. This one doesn't have that balance. This episode was...fine. I think that's the problem for me. I was thinking this episode that I've seen this already. It's starting to be clear that they are pushing a novel set-up into a weekly series. The story doesn't really progress, and there isn't enough variation week to week to keep my full attention. I will probably stop for a bit. Maybe I'll watch the remaining episodes in a block some time.

I was also not very invested in this one. I found the client skeevy for taking advantage of her employees, and remain apathetic to the car theft subplot. However, Ansel and Tookie were nice. I'm starting to think they want Hoffman to be a character that is as emotionally turned around as Dex. My face? No. Every surface in a kitchen? Yes. Related question - is baked Alaska flambe a real thing? I know you toast the meringue, but this is the first I've of heard of setting it on fire.

It's possible that Augur stole it from the government lab that created Helen. It's also possible someone else intercepted the original signal and tried to make a competing A.I. Maybe there is a version of Helen in Russia who looks like a Russian scientist. And on that topic - making artificial life forms in your own image is just asking for trouble. True, a lone survivor. I also found that a bit suspicious.

I thought this was a pretty good episode; the romance was rushed, but they could recover. My understanding of the plot points is as follows: A human woman and government scientist named Loretta built A.I. Helen from a design in an 'intercepted' transmission that was believed to be from Russia or China. Helen later killed all her creators and escaped. She was then involved with creating all the other A.I.s we know except Piper. The partial upload was triggered when Emily and Justin disturbed the big ball of mercury and it floated up in the air. Presumably it is some kind of transmitter, but needs to draw energy from something to continue the upload. The power it gave off temporarily charged Chris's phone. Jo gave Loretta a duplicate or fabricated exobyte disk to get the syringe of fluid that can kill Helen. The original was left with Chris for safe keeping as confirmed by Benny. This made it seem even clearer that the A.I. are an alien design. The signal was sent intentionally by the E.T.s (or E.T.A.Is) and the U.S. government took the bait and made an A.I. This is not unlike Contact. Helen's mandate is to gather information and transmit it, and she created other A.I.s to accomplish her mission. All of them are somewhat deskilled compared to her. I'm guessing that if Piper does get uploaded they will try to use the exobyte disk to restore her. I hope next week has a good ending.

It seemed to be alive if possible, but the number one priority appeared to be that the baby didn't end up under anyone else's control. The imperials probably think of the baby like a weapon - they want its power, but they really don't want anyone else to have it.

I enjoyed the third episode more than the second, perhaps because it was a little less anachronistic, and because the animosity between the two leads was dialed back. I'm starting to warm to the characters, other than the Denham clan. Their machinations are a little too mean-spirited. It looks like their are eight total episodes, so next week is the mid point. I tried googling a bit more to see if there was clear contact, and found this article from the Jane Austen Society of North America. It seems Jane Austen met Belle's cousin Elizabeth a few times.

I was convinced by some friends to watch this series in spite of my disappointment in the last few Star Wars movies. And wow. This is such a better Star Wars. Character, stakes, story arcs, and good effects use! This was a good finale to a good series. I was surprised that we saw Mando's face but the context and the reasoning that it was a droid makes sense. I thought it strongly echoed the reveal of Vader in ROJ; seeing the vulnerable human underneath the impenetrable armor is a shock. Based on the rules they have set up, he shouldn't reveal his face unless alone, no matter his relationship with another person. I don't think it's necessary - he's an expressive character even with the helmet. I have one question about the troopers at the beginning. Was that a real communication about the Moff? I thought that was a faked transmission by IG to give him time to get there. There were no trooper bodies at Gideon's feet when they cut back to the stand-off. For the first time in a while I can say I'm looking forward to the return of a Star Wars property. This is good as a space western, but it's also good as a space ronin.

I wonder if Miss Lambe was inspired by someone like Dido Elizabeth Belle.

I think this is accurate. Grey has an official position as an informant with the department. Paperwork was signed. Informants in the real world can receive pay based on news articles I've seen. Here's a quote from an interview with a retired FBI agent about ending an informant's employment:

I found the case of the week interesting, and really enjoyed Grey helping Ansel with his list. The undercover operation was less interesting to me. I think they missed an opportunity to level the playing field between Miles and Grey when Miles backed down about dismissing Grey. This should have been more about them getting a feel for each other than about Grey meeting the redshirt car thieves. Michael Ealy at least got to smile this episode while Miles was sitting in his car listening to jazz and about to eat a tasty burger. I think Jeremy was reeling a bit from all the new information, first that he was adopted, then that he could never know his mother, than that he was stolen, then that the theft might have contributed to her addiction, and so on. His adopted parents were the most visible reminder of all that injustice, so I can understand why he would initially be angry. It was indeed Keith Allan, who was Murphy on Z-Nation. I gave up after 3 seasons, but it did have its moments. He was also an Enterprise guest star as a Suliban once upon a time.

I knew it had to be Iago. No antagonist character likes to talk to himself and others quite as much. Well, good for Ken. And credit to Hulu for the episode subtitle that the competition "continues," not that it ends. I was shocked that he went all in on the first FJ, and that he bet nothing on the second. But, he knew that he wasn't going to lose the tournament on this game, and that he had a chance of winning it. I think James felt it in those last few questions that he odds were against him. He perked up again when he got to the point where he could conceivably beat Ken with the right wager. I'm sorry Brad didn't win a game, but as others have said he was charming and graceful in defeat. There's an article link on the home page in which he says he struggled against to opponents who were quick on the buzzer. Best wishes to him.

This did feel like a lot. At the same time, I was interested and engaged. I am also leaning much more to these AI as alien constructs. If Benny really did defy his programming and start to become something like Piper, we may get answers through him. Abby's "That guy's real dead," and the debate about whether Jo would get an electrode implant made me laugh. It was sweet that Piper's mental library was Jo's house. I think Jo's attempt to erase the last month of Piper's memories is going to come up again. It is definitely not that chip, since Piper removed hers ages ago and she is still 10x the "Humabot" of the rest of those posers And Emily was able to wire up the dead AI guy to use him like a computer. When Abby scanned the dead guy's head with another resolution he had another chip at the front of his brain. That's the chip that Helen is taking. The chip behind the ear has some kind of tracking/homing function. I'm guessing the brain chip has more central functions. There may be other chips located throughout the body with different functions, such as in th eyes. It looked like Emily tied into the body using the data port location in the arm, and another possible location in the neck. The processing may have been done by other implants. I think "the mission" requires the brain chips of the AIs, but not the bodies. Helen probably doesn't trust even the most loyal to sacrifice themselves when the moment comes. She seems especially leery of the ones who've been in contact with Piper. The chips are easy to transport, and pre-extraction reduces mission risk.

I agree with the comments about the disconnect with fully Austen works. I think I'll have an easier time watching this if I think of it as an Andrew Davies original. Their father James Fox and uncle Edward Fox are also costume drama veterans.

I was not familiar with Sanditon. Based on the Wikipedia article the first two episodes are already passed what Jane Austen completed. It's interesting that they've marketed this so heavily as an Austen adaptation when it's more of a jumping off point. I haven't decided what I think about the first two episodes yet.