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scrb

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Everything posted by scrb

  1. So that's one way to end Ronnie's arc. How convenient, random shooting on the streets, though guess it was some revenge killing in the name of Coogi. 3 years later? Tiffany and Dom didn't know Smokey Robinson? But Emmet their contemporary does? Douda gets screwed over by the ex wife, Jake and Trig. But why would messing up his candidacy make it easier for Jake to get away from him? The Chi hasn't been always uplifting or happy but this season, they've gone to some dark places. Thinking that is suppose to get them more respect? But the kidnap plot wasn't received that well and now the random murder of Ronnie. Yes there are random killings in Chicago but it's also a convenient plot device. Maybe they wanted to spare us another redemption arc, followed by a big fall, followed by another redemption arc. It's one way to end a cycle.
  2. Only just started, watching the first 3. The cases are very moving. What struck me was that Amanda was getting her ultrasound, seeing her fetus for the first time. She and her husband Kevin were both smiling and then it turned instantly as they saw the problem with the fetus. She was almost frowning and he seemed confused. Then the Hispanic ER doctor, who had to deliver by Caesarian. Holy cow, she's awake for it, though they shield her from seeing what's happening below. You figure if anyone could overcome any squeamishness, it would be a doctor. But they open up her belly and the doctor reaches in and pulls out the baby! I thought the scene of the doctors trying to cheer up the spine specialist on the neck cancer diagnosis was moving. Earlier in this episode, the main neurology guy was having a dispute with this spine doctor about bringing over another spine specialist to the team. The older woman who had cancer under her skull seemed ready to give up, said she would just take a pill and her husband might as well if he decided he would miss her too much. Like she didn't want to go through chemo again. The case of the Tennessee cop just raised more questions. Does her insurance allow them to see doctors in NYC? Because that's probably not the case for most Americans. It would also cost a fortune for the family to stay nearby, never mind the hospital bed they're taking up. Then you see the scenes at the ER where they're caring for patients who are essentially homeless. It's unlikely the hospital is treating people pro bono. They are a part of a larger provider network, Northwell. I guess the people in ER will have some big bills looming over them but I wonder how the TN couple are going to manage it. The other interesting part about their case is that Dr. Langer enumerated the reasons why he is treating her, the fact that she has all this family depending on her. Did he have to agree to treat her but did that decision mean they may have negotiated a good rate with her insurer? Because the reality is that people with insurance are discouraged from going to certain providers or certain policies with flatly not cover out-of-network providers. Dr. Bockvar is treating a couple of patients as part of the clinical trial. Again, it's not clear if patients with little hope are accepted into the trial at the discretion of the doctor in charge or if some FDA process determines who is eligible for these experimental treatments. BTW, there's a Peter Bockvar who's a financial guy who appears on CNBC all the time. The resemblance is unmistakeable that they're probably brothers or closely related. But Dr. Bockvar certainly gave an engaging account of his experience with his father and how be came to choose his specialty and areas of interest. At the end of the first episode, they kind of showed how the doctors left the cocoon of the hospital and went out into the hubbub of the city, all taking the subways like millions of others from all walks of life. One of the doctors had looked out into the Manhattan skyline and remarked how still the city looked from inside. I'm looking forward to the pandemic episode to see how tied they come to feel to the city, in contrast to this first episode. They note the origins of the hospital as a community hospital, in the upper east side, which is one of the wealthiest places in the world. Of course the ER facility is downtown. But they obviously take patients from all over the country, maybe the world. When the pandemic hit NYC, most of the cases and deaths were to people of color, living in often crowded conditions in Queens. Maybe they get some of those patients from other boroughs.
  3. I think before the pandemic, especially around the time the last season aired, there were stories bout the market, especially the high-end market in Manhattan crashing. Big double-digit declines. I don't know about NYC but some high-end properties in some parts of the country are said to be doing well, like Seattle for instance. Makes sense, the big tech companies are still making lots of money and their workers are working from home.
  4. The reviews are really poor. Though only a few of them still. I guess we'll see if it's under appreciated.
  5. I wouldn't have minded if they hooked up with past SHIELD agents in the finale, maybe a cameo here and there. Didn't have to be a reunion, just maybe a couple of them having contact with them. Maybe even a message exchanged with Grant or is he really really dead?
  6. You may be right, it might not have lasted as long without the MCU tie in. But that would mean that it was a gimmick all along unless they were prepared to do more crossovers or explicitly link plots. Again, they saved the planet more than once not the Avengers, which is why the MCU tie in is dubious.
  7. OK so I'm not a big MCU or superhero guy, though I read a lot of the Marvel comics. Not so much the DC comics. I've watched a lot of the MCU movies, also the DC ones too. I didn't go out of my way to see them though, I watched several of them on flights. In general they're well-made, acted. Probably fulfillment of dreams of every kid who read the comics or watched shows, to see these characters put on the big screen with special effects. However, I think it may not be the best thing that they're among the most popular movies which are being made. Why do adults, even those who were heavily into comic books, need to believe in superheroes? So I wasn't the most likely person to watch this show. Reason I did, there were some photogenic cast members and you figured maybe some crossover of movies and great special effects regularly on TV. The series as a whole carved out it's own place within the MCU, it seems. There were references to events occurring in the movie and there were some crossover appearances of the movie characters,, beside the obvious one in Coulson. I get that the show runners didn't always get as much cooperation from the people making the MCU movies. I'm not disappointed about that at all. In fact the show might have been stronger if it didn't have anything to do with MCU. Call it something other than SHIELD, just make it about other characters. Because it seems like by tying it to the MCU, they progressively raised the stakes in the show. They started out like junior cadets, investigating strange artifacts or phenomenon. Seemed like they were sent on missions that Tony Stark and Thor or any of the Avengers would be too important to bother with. I actually enjoyed the first couple of seasons, when it seemed like they were kind of interplanetary detectives, going all over the world and triaging relatively low-level threats. But as the MCU movies raised the stakes, going from alien invasions to the death of the universe, it seemed like Agents of Shield tried to tag along, creating highly consequential situations, where the planet is threatened repeatedly. This is when you wondered, if they're dealing with alien invasions, where are the Avengers? Why send the B Team or the JV team out to the state championships? Because as long as they're in the MCU universe, that's what they would be, not the team of superstars which make up the Avengers. So the plots became progressively outlandish over the seasons, where the agents had to deal with being transported hundreds of light years away or being trapped in time, then learning to time travel. Having plots grow in complexity and gravity isn't necessarily a bad thing. For instance, that is the series arc of Breaking Bad, where Walter White gets into more and more extremely existential situations but keeps escaping. But in Agents of Shield, the characters are repeatedly put in predicaments which would end the life they'd know. Instead they'd be stranded on distant planets or in different timelines, separated from their loved ones. They kept getting out of those predicaments, including this last season, where they were traveling through time and to distant planets, switching timelines. So it's not surprising that all the characters collectively win again, defeat the alien killer robots and return to earth with satisfying careers and personal lives. It just seems a little too pat and predictable. I'm not saying it's bad because everyone gets a happy ending. Or that it would have been better if one or more major character didn't make it out alive, like Walter White, maybe sacrificing himself to save the others. But it makes you a bit distrustful over the trajectory of the series, with the massively increasing stakes, with them saving the planet repeatedly, even though once again, you'd think saving the planet would be someone else's responsibility in this universe.
  8. I have to admit, I haven't always paid too close attention to the various plots in the series over the years. So did I miss something that Fitz and Simmons had a child or was the finale the first and only time they revealed it? Also the montage of Fitz, Simmons and Enoch connecting this plan to go back in the timeline to foil the Chronicoms with Fitz in hiding from the Crhonicoms, controlling the timelines. This is the first time they've shown it right? So hiding that is the reason they've kept Fitz out of the final season until the last episode or two? The Daisy rescue in space made me roll my eyes. A big nuclear explosion closes up those 4 giant ships into millions of pieces yet here is Daisy completely intact. Not only intact but among millions of pieces of debris, they're able to find her and then resuscitate her with magical inhuman powers.
  9. Actually surprised they would have filmed this much footage without Alex before his racist posts came out. Did they really dedicate a crew to go with everyone but Alex down to Miami? Or could some of this episode have been filmed after Alex was "fired?" Seems like they're digging up all these side stories like Kelsey being jealous of Juliette's bikini deal. Does MTV pay for people like the bikini designer to participate on the show? Why would Sam, who apparently is loaded, want to take part in this show? There must be tons of women drawn to him despite his looks because as Chole termed it, they like his "lifestyle." Juliette's attractive but why would he want to put his business out on TV? Guess rich people are fame whores too? Especially when the reason they're rich is that they were born into it, hasn't done anything in particular to distinguish himself rather than spend money. He doesn't seem to have Alex's asshole personality though I didn't see his social media. Maybe just young and rich, just copying the baller lifestyle.
  10. They have to back in, because the yachts are set up to board and disembark from the back, not the bow of the ship.
  11. Lot of people would find her physically attractive. Men have chased her, probably women have found her attractive as well. Whatever one may think of her behavior ...
  12. Whether it was professional or not is irrelevant. It's a Bravo TV show. Talking trash and yelling at each other is Bravo's bread and butter.
  13. Malia and others have said it's not an automatic fireable offense to have prescribed drugs abord. So Bravo, not Sandy, chose this as the pretext to send her off. Because what would be the alternatives, that she quit in the middle of a season because of Kiko or some other reason? Or that she did her job horribly, maybe got someone injured? Or that she crossed the line, like hook up with a guest or used something like cocaine on board? Probably Hanna agreed that being caught with a prescription of Valium was a palatable enough reason for her departure, compared to the alternatives. Supposedly the captain has discretion, as there's no law that says it's automatic, zero tolerance thing, like three strikes laws and such. In any event, this "firing" doesn't preclude her coming back in the future. Same thing with Kate, maybe she finds doing WWHL and other Bravo shows occasionally is boring or doesn't pay enough and she will crawl back. If Bravo can't find someone they like, they can throw a lot of money at her.
  14. Terrific mini-series, very well-done, liked how the detectives were meticulous and persistent. I never watch procedurals like CSI but I think this is much more than that, kind of shows why these detectives pursued this case. Grace mocks the women-bond thing but maybe male detectives would have given up, especially if they never connected the way Karen and Grace did. I kept wondering if the detectives would connect with Marie, but that didn't seem likely, they don't have jurisdiction. Did the Lynwood cops never collect DNA? I get that rape victims have a huge obstacle to get over to be believed by cops. On the one hand, they just wore her down making her do her statement over and over again. I can understand why she wanted to get over this. But once she recanted she wasn't cooperative with anyone, including the foster mothers. She only tells the therapist at the end because she'd gained her trust. However when there was another case in the area and one foster mother wanted her to follow through with it, Marie was shut down. Again she went through an ordeal but maybe if she tried once again with the police, the detectives in different PDs might have been able to connect and engage the FBI, maybe the rapist never gets to Colorado. She lost friendships but the guy friend, she shut out. Maybe she also broke things off with the foster mothers as well. Did she go to see the detective as portrayed here or was that something they added? The detective was contrite, especially after he saw the evidence in Colorado. But while Marie didn't come to boast, her "do better" remark, as well as how she mistrusted everyone makes you wonder if she's somewhat insufferable. Her call to Karen seemed heartfelt, about how her faith in humanity was restored and all that but that seems a little too pat and I don't know if people change the way they think so drastically.
  15. Because it's fake. Hanna wasn't wronged. She was likely in on it, as a way to bow out of the show, at least for now. Don't let them yank your chain.
  16. You know this is all a show right? The situations are contrived to evoke strong reactions , which almost always means casting some characters as villains.
  17. Malia said on WWHL that there is no such rule. It’s a question of whether the captain and crew wan t make accommodations for the couple. So cabingate was typical Bravo BS. They just wanted that confrontation. For all we know Hanna didn’t care but she played along to cause this fake conflict. Did Malia say “man the fuck up” o Hanna directly or in the TH? Oh and I don’t buy the bf just happening to visit when they need a chef. With a fully booked charter season would they really dump a chef without a replacement or alternate lined up? what would Sandy have done if there wasn’t a Michelin star quality chef available? BTW anyone who could get a Michelin Star would open his own place, probably get financial backers because those places mint money, not work on a cramped boat by himself without souls chefs. So the chef switch was planned and scripted and Hannah’s exit is also planned. Hannah seems either over the show or at least on good terms with Bravo, meaning she is okay with how her departure will be depicted
  18. 4 main characters are good. Always nice to learn about other cultures. In this episode, we learn not to mess with bathroom attendants. And certainly not linger around the place where the bathroom attendance works. I don’t think they’ve established that Freddie is capable of murder or at least get Baba to murder. She likes him, doesn’t want him deported so gets him to kill Simon? Also she really didn’t want to have sex with Simon. OK they took the mystery out. While Baba is a hardened murderer, he and Freddie are not criminal masterminds. They must have left all kinds of physical evidence. Unless they that these two have killed before in the U.K., no way they should be able to evade capture or at least being found out.
  19. Arabella forgives Simon, but learns of Terry’s role. Then the mother’s birthday get together, with the unexpected visit from Auntie Lenora triggering that unpleasant memory. Bro thinks Bella doesn’t remember Auntie L. because she was out of it when they were kids but she was carrying the burden of discovering Daddy’s side piece. Turns out mother knew and has been over it for years. Is that why Bella forgives Terry or doesn’t let her spit out her admission or apology? Maybe she decides to cling to the people important to her, the same way Grace said she prioritized her children. Something of a contrast because we’ve seen Arabella can be quite vindictive against those who wronged her or even those who commit minor offenses. Kwame probably hasn’t had intimacy despite his prolific Grindr activities.
  20. I didn't say that's why she was abducted. But this plot is fictional. More likely, people will be targeted for having valuables on them. That is the real world. That is the probability of people, especially women, being alone in certain high-risk crime areas. Remember, this show started with the murder of a kid and there was a chain involved. It's been established since the beginning that it's not safe for people going out alone. We've seen Ronnie beaten up repeatedly.
  21. They had to fill 8 episodes and the one case being a season-long mystery seems to follow the fashion of the True Detective, Sharp Objects and other recent crime dramas. Now, will they stay with the one season format? If they can get name actors to play a guest character for the better part of the season, I guess they would. Alternative would be to have a maybe several cases or even one case wrapped up in one episode? If they go with one big season-long cases, then there are going to be characters whose value to the story may not seem substantial enough to be featured the whole season.
  22. No it's not her fault. She didn't deserve what happened to her. But she took risks. The Williams family has a nice renovated apartment. Keisha has a nice MacBook laptop and Kevin has a nice video game system with extra controllers which cost $50 each and a good sized room. But that's TV show realism. They're suppose to be in a neighborhood with a very high violent crime rate. It seems highly unlikely that responsible parents would allow teens 16-years old like Keisha go out by themselves into that neighborhood at night or for that matter, even younger Kevin to ride his bike along with friends to a "trap house" at night. That's not to blame Nina but apparently Keisha went out by herself without her knowledge. It's one thing if Keisha goes behind her back once or twice but many times means the parent is negligent. She also had what looked like a nice phone the night she was abducted. People know not to flash certain things of value in certain places. For awhile, you didn't show a fancy new iPhone in some parts of the NYC subway. Or some grown men knew not to walk certain streets wearing a Rolex or some other expensive watches. It's incredible that these characters don't have more street smarts, living where they do.
  23. Was it Mason who bribed or Burger, who suddenly has a need for an investigator like Pete? Thing is, he doesn't necessarily have anything to gain by screwing over Barnes, who seemed likely to run for higher office, leaving the DA title to Burger. Turns out, two of the jurors were not going to convict either. Must have been Perry's soaring eloquence. Hell half the women were tearing up. Stella looked like she might switch teams. Certainly the publicity must put Perry Mason & Associates on a great footing, apparently flush with cash now? Della is talking about taking a big cut of the profits as well as a 20% raise. They didn't show it but presumably Perry offered Drake a permanent gig so Drake turned in his badge. If they have future cases where there's jury tampering/bribery, then maybe Perry is crooked and you have to question his integrity. Especially if they keep reciting the motto of Perry Mason & Associates, "there's what's legal and what's right."
  24. It's not her fault as far as the way she may have dressed. But Kevin implies that he's covered for her many times while she's been sneaking out by herself. We will see if the actress playing Keisha is good enough to depict getting over sexual assault. Not sure they will do too much more with that story line. Maybe the burning of the clothes (ruining the bathtub) is meant to signal that she will recover and find her way to college, despite this experience. It just seems this season is all over the place, with the weirdo abduction plot and now her recovery. Real departure from the previous seasons. If they wanted to depict how violence could touch the lives of these characters, they could have done it in other ways. They must have had increased production budget to get aerial skyline shots at night, as well as time lapse. Looked gorgeous, don't often see Chicago this way on shows or movies. However, it's out of place here since the characters on this show have little to do with those famous downtown skyscrapers. So two more episodes before the finale? We going to find out if Douda wins the mayoral race or will it be a cliffhanger? Or whether Trig gets custody of Jake and moves him out of the hood? Maybe show Ronnie taking positive steps, after feeling better about himself for rescuing Keisha? Not seeing too many exciting possibilities for these characters. Showtime usually renews their shows though.
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