Sarah 103

I watched Picnic as part of a film class in college. What I remember was all of the ways they found to have William Holden shirtless, and at one point the shirt seems to spontanelously rip for no apparent reason.

As soon as TPTB vetoed circumcision as the subject of the song, you knew it was going to be part of the song in some way.

I want to apologize for the incredibly bad pun that I about to make, but there really isn't a good way around it. It would be really easy to launder some of the profits of the gambling money with the laundromat's finances, because there's no inventory to keep track of. Without constant monitoring, there's no real way to prove how much legitimate business they did in a day or a week. The video store is harder to do that with because there is a direct record of inventory and transactions.

I love this, but I would also need to see the conversation that follows about whether or not Sheldon believes in the twin thing.

Brooke's storyline bothered me. Looking out for her younger brother and keeping in mind what's best for him as person, not just a brand/celebrity is important and valuable. I think it's a shame the show diminished that and did not see that as worthwhile. It's not saving the world, but it's not meaningless either.

I loved seeing/hearing about each of the T-Bird's homelife, but it made me wonder with three episodes left to go are ever going to see Cynthia's? Richie's big dance in the garage reminded me of "Cool" from West Side Story-where does emotion go/how can you express emotion when for young men in that time and place there were few acceptable options for it. In terms of sound, I was thinking Meatloaf mixed with something else. The scene with all of the T-Birds sitting on the ledge reminded me of Breakfast Club. I enjoyed the way they kept coming up excuses (dust, onions, hay fever, to cover thier tears/sniffles). I thought it was clever the way they mentioned Elvis and made it clear where it was in his career, but did not actually have to play the record to get the message to the audience. Is just me or, did anyone else think that Buddy saying he got the DJ was not the same as asking her to the dance? To me, it seemed like Buddy backed off/backed down. I thought it was cute that Frenchie liked Richie better for Jane than Buddy. It gives me hope for some reason.

I always thought Susie went to Joel for two main reasons. 1) Susie knew that despite what happened between them, Joel would want to do what was best for Midge, would want to help her and make sure she was okay financially. 2) Joel was one of the few people Susie trusted and felt she could turn to.

I agree with this. Another negative is that people were no longer watching the same shows or even had access to the same shows, and it became almost impossible to be familiar with or even aware of every series that came out. We lost a shared form of pop cultural entertainment.

I forgot to mention that the golf course scenes were some of the best parts of the episode. I loved seeing her create/pitch a sitcom off the top of her head. Her idea to get tips on what was happening in all parts of the industry from caddies was brilliant. Great idea. Each cake could be a metaphor for the relationship, husband, marriage, or where she was in life at that point.

I totally know what you mean. David and the Russian operative girlfriend is from a premium or basic cable super serious drama that might get emmy nominations. This series is more of a fun network drama, maybe even light drama, but a totally different animal from some kind of dark edgy political spy drama.

I was pretty sure he was gay the minute I heard him and the way he handed her the bag. I'm not sure if they used the word in the show but flamboyant woud have been one of the euphemisms used in the era to imply someone was gay without using an insult/deragatory term. That was the moment (it was around halfway through the episode) when my suspicion that he was gay was confirmed. (FYI confirmed bachelor was another polite way of implying someone was gay). I would love to see Geoffrey again. Especially since homosexuality had just been decriminalized in England when this episode took place. While there was still prejudice and life would have been incredibly difficult, fear of arrest was not what it would have been a few years before. In the U.S the Stonewall uprising barely made the local papers at the time. Maybe a short paragaph/a few sentences at most. Also, there have been very few U.S news stories that have been covered within this series. Aside from the JFK Assasination, I can't think of a single major U.S news story that was mentioned/a major part of an episode. I was sure the MLK Assasination was going to be mentioned this season, but they went with a UK centric story to deal with race/racial prejudice. That would make sense. He told her the family owned a tiara with sapphires, and Trixie thought it sounded wonderful. I can believe that Matthew might not have done the best job of describing it. Once Trixie saw it and thought about it (especially after what Matthew told her about it), realized it was all wrong for her. That's what I think too. They were both stressed out and nervous over the wedding, and this is what the fight was about. If they didn't have the big argument over the tiara, it would have been something else. As you pointed out, they both realized pretty quickly being together and having a life together was more important than the wedding.

I think the idea is that by sering only one term, he will not have to worry about relection, which means while serving as senator, he will not need to fund a re-election campaign, which means there is no reason for corporations or anyone else to donate to his campaign/SuperPAC. I like two out of three possible set-ups for season 2. I am totally on board with the Nicolettis becoming a Leverage style team. Emma and her team investigating the CIA (and probably occasionly calling on the Nicolettis for assistance/advice) could make for some cool subplots. And they totally lost me with the Russian on David's campaign. David works best as a window into Emma's character, especially what shaped her growing up in that family. David's character is best when he is helping the series to explore Hill family dynamics, but David should not have arcs/storylines in his own right that are driving the series. I thought this was a satisfying season finale and I hope we get a season 2.

The last five minutes were spent on pandemic TV in the US, which is a different decade than what this miniseries is supposed to be covering. That bothered me. I can't believe they made the same mistake in this episode that they made in the TV episode of the 2000s mini-series. I was hoping they could use this as a bit of a second chance, but nope. They covered the critics' darlings and what generated buzz on the internet, but they barely mentioned the shows people were actually watching. For most of the decade, the top rated comedy was The Bang Theory and the top rated drama was NCIS and those weren't even mentioned. There's a massive split between what people were actually watching in large numbers and what the critics' darlings/what generated buzz on the internet. This is an important story/part of TV in the decade they were covering, and they just completely missed it.

I don't think they moved the trip up because I it's two different trips. This is a program for students. In two years he goes back as a visiting professor.

Sorry. I misunderstood your post and which part of the episode/characters didn't make sense.

@Rocknrollzombie There goes my theory that only young women or adult women will initiate start songs/musical numbers in this series. I'm getting a Vegas vibe from the pictures.

As soon as I saw someone taking pictures, I knew it was Henry.

If Amanda was a lesbian than I would completely understand why she wasn't allowed adopt in 1986. That would be a totally plausible reason that would make absolute sense.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from bluegrass rap, but it didn't quite work for me. I did enjoy the way Ryan refused to die during film dub when Colin was dubbing for the guest star and they were in a sort of backstage musical with gangsters.

Midge and part of her generation of Jews grew up assimilated and trying to get away from the "Old World/Old Country" and become/appear American and to fit into the mainstream as much as possibe. The idea of becoming a rabbi would be surprising since the family was not religious/observant and was not what most of that generation of parents expected or hoped thier sons would become.

AIDS seems unlikely unless he's bi, which I haven't seen evidence of. I know gay people were not the only ones who died of AIDS, but in a show like this, that's what it would interpreted as meaning, because they are in the entertainment industry. Especially because I don't see him getting into injectable drugs. I think he married Heddy as a favor to give her cover, but he is still free to have affairs with other women. My guess is lung cancer or something with his liver because of the way everyone smoked and drank in the era.

I know its TV and it makes for drama, but would the FBI really interrupt a religious service to arrest someone? Also, based on how full the congregation is and the fact the Midge and her family where there, I'm guessing it's the high holidays, because they don't attend synagogue that often.

I wouldn't have said Goodfellas specifically, but the whole episode did really feel like Scorcese, especially with the multiple narrators in stories involving organized crime. I think part of the reason the episode worked was that it was always clear when there was a time jump. It ususally happened with the guys around the table and it was clear someone was telling a story, and then we'd get a flashback to the story. For the choose your own adventure of how Susie got Harry Drake's clients, I'm going with option number three where she's the only one at his bedside when he dies. The "present" day for this episode is 1990. The event honoring Susie is taking place in 1990, and I am pretty sure Joel is arrested sometime in the mid 1980s. The Florida episode and the Carnegie Hall episode have some of the sexiest, steamiest scenes in TV history as far as I'm concerned. The way he looks at her is pure smolder. I am sure we going to have a final apperance from him before the series is over.

Mandy wanted the baby and she wanted to keep the baby. The Coopers did not force her or guilt trip her into having and keeping the baby so the baby is to some extent Mandy's responsibility. It should have been more of a conversation with Mary and George with an ask as opposed to an assumption that they would take care of the baby, especially since Mandy knows that both parents have paying jobs outside the home. Expecting support is one thing, but I don't think she went about it the right way. I did not know I wanted a scene or scenes with Dr. Linkletter and Missy alone until this moment, but now it is something that I absolutely need to see. Also, Missy and the Dean could be equally amusing.

I think the mini-series did an excellent job answering the question asked in the subtitle. I found the answer satisfying, if dissapointing. I am a younger person who was only dimly aware of his career pre-9/11, so I found that those episodes interesting, but I understand that people who lived through the 1970s and 1980s in New York might find it boring or revealing nothing new. If anyone falls into that category but is still interested in the mini-series, I would reccomend skipping the first two episodes and watching the last two.