Pop Tart

I loved this one for the funny bits, sarge trying to kick in the door, Nolan getting taken out by the old lady, etc. Also loved how the rearranging of characters made the scenarios they ran into more interesting and the chemistry was so good with each pair. Felt like actors who’d been working together for years. This is a solid cast one and all. Nice job on the casting of Nolan’s son. Not only did he resemble Fillion, but the actor was doing a good job with mannerisms and facial expression so that he really did work as the son.

This is a fantastic typo and I'm now surprised the show didn't go there for extra drama while they were at it. Yes! I was like wait, Nicky is transgender and is now Alice? How’d I miss that? Then I realized typo for alive, and was like yeah hate that too. Had all those thoughts in the space of about two seconds, and then thought, meh, show truly could have gone either way for the dramatic shock value.

I think the difference is in the "reporting" it as an issue to the boss. Yes all the others have said things that are horrendous and if it happened at the workplace (or sometimes even outside of the workplace depending on circumstances) then they had every right to file a complaint with Lisa as their boss. But while various of them have had bitch sessions with Lisa where they've told her about what so and so said, none of them did the thing that Katie's discussion with Lisa did which was to make it about the work situation. Or at least not explicitly. Katie brought James' behavior to her boss's attention and then told her that she could not work with James because he was creating a hostile work situation. Katie making it Lisa's issue requires Lisa to take some action. Of course I know that most of this is actually for storyline purposes, James does bad things, everyone hates him, Lisa fires him, James makes sad faces at everyone and promises to do better, Lisa rehires James - and thus a reality show redemption arc is created. But for the actual Sur "business people" James' out of control behavior when he's drinking, while at work, is a major concern.

Yes business people would consider the bottom line, but part of the bottom line includes not being sued for allowing a hostile work environment. In all the prohibited harassment training I’ve had to attend (as a worker and as a supervisor) it’s made clear that if you feel harassed by comments or actions, then it’s on the supervisor to respond and do something about the harasser. It’s not whether James meant it or not or that he was drunk so not responsible or that he was irked by Kristen’s presence, it’s all in whether the targets of his comments feel harassed. And they’ve said they do, to their boss Lisa. Now was she required to fire him? Not necessarily. But if I were a manager there I’d certainly be concerned about a lawsuit - and I’m not talking about Katie or Brittany who are part of the cast. The problem for management is if James goes too far with a staff person who is not on the show or with a customer, especially if he does so after they’ve had notice that there’s an issue with his behavior? That is very bad business because he’s a real risk. All that aside I was grossed out by some of the responses from the crew at that staff meeting. Billie trying to blame Kristen for being there and provoking James so it wasn’t his fault - this despite the fact that it was others he went after. And Scheana’s suggestion that if Katie didn’t want to be around James she should just not work those nights? No words.

Yeah, I could totally see her marrying the very next guy she's with, like six months after whatever date she and FI breakup. She's too cool for it right now, but I just watched the "behind the scenes" of the first year and it's clear that she once thought she was too cool to be on a reality show, until she changed her mind. My prediction is when the show is done (either for her or when it ends), she'll be done with FI and we'll hear that she's engaged within the year after that.

I felt like there was quite a bit of producer manipulation going on in that scene. Not that Stassi can't throw a fit all on her own, but she was so drunk/high/whatever that it wouldn't take much from the producers/camera people to get her going. And to me, that all felt very scripted (by the show runners, not Stassi). It's a show thing for Stassi to throw a tantrum at her parties, so I could definitely believe they were there in the background, "why isn't he answering?" "did he leave?" those kinds of things to get her revved up. I base this both on how it seemed to come out of nowhere/nothing and the way her talking head interview about it was so choppy. She says something like she fears being left, or words to that effect and I wonder what questions the producers were asking her to prompt that response? It didn't have much context. As to James, if his only nasty comments were to Katie, in response to her commenting on his shorts, I'd have a smidgen of understanding for him. Not that his response to Katie was at all proportional or all right, but okay, she started it technically. The problem with James and how he behaves when he's drinking or even just when he's thinking he's being clever, is that he is equally nasty to someone who's done nothing to him - Brittany (mocking her with Jax's cheating multiple times while she's standing there supporting his performance), or Lala,who was his best friend who he's been going after with super nastiness (don't like Lala and think her "boyfriend" is probably as skeevy as James suggests, but still his attacks are often over-the-top creepy and vile). Even the things he has said to Raquel (his dim girlfriend) when she confronted him about cheating were beyond gross. He goes from 0-10000000000 with everyone the minute he starts to feel defensive or questioned about his behavior. And then he apologizes, cries and starts over. Notice that in all these instances the subject of his worst attacks are the women on the show. Certainly he's had beefs with Jax, but other than that, I don't remember him becoming so egregiously offensive with any of the men. I've never liked Sandoval, but last night he pretty much took the top spot in most loathed when he was commenting to Schwartz about Lisa maybe firing James and said something like he just hated to see James lose his job because Katie was making Lisa fire him. This wasn't just something he said for the show or dramatic purposes, he really looked like he hated Katie there and how dare the bitch take down a guy with her demands? The fact is Lisa "fired" (and I use that term loosely) James because of James's behavior and James's behavior alone.

I hadn't realized just how much of a "meh" feeling the general cast of this show has been giving me (especially Sheldon) until the moment I felt myself perk up at the appearance of Anu in her first scene with Raj (when they were sitting on the bench talking about the cheese-eating raccoon). I just like her energy, and it could be just because it's actually something new for the show which has revolved way too much around Sheldon of late, but her chemistry with Raj is great and I love their dynamic. I did enjoy that Amy was getting more credit (at least the headline) for their shared research since it's good karma for Sheldon who got all the credit for Leonard's idea in the scientific article a number of seasons ago. And what was even more clear was that Amy had given him lots of credit in the actual interview. In Sheldon's case he had not made clear to his interviewer that it was Leonard's idea, who was later identified as Sheldon's "team" in the article. A perfect ending would be for every one of the scientists on the show to end up with Nobel Prizes - with the exception of Sheldon. So Amy, Raj, Leonard, Bernadette, Howard are all lauded and Sheldon is not. Because really what he's mostly proved about his genius is that he's good at figuring out the math of other people's ideas and any idea or discovery he's had or thought he had on his own has proven out to be wrong or non-existent. I'm not saying being a genius who can figure out the math is nothing and many/most scientists have false starts, hopeless research, etc, but he's been such an ongoing jerk about how he's just so much smarter than everyone else, this is the only ending that would make me happy. Oh and Raj and Anu should be together.

It did have to be reported because it wasn't clear why the SecDef was acting that way. Could have been sun-downing in early stages of dementia where it's worse at night or sick or what it turned out to be, medication. My issue was Elizabeth asking Henry to be the one to report it. She's a cabinet member, the highest ranking?, and a fellow cabinet member appeared at her house late at night rambling and incoherent. She should have been the one to take it right to the white-house, perhaps even that night. This is the Secretary of Defense. What if world emergency happened that night? This was just another way to insert Henry into things, and really at the expense of Elizabeth's characterization once again.

Me too. Like when the pregnant woman's husband/partner was trying to get to her and enter the contagion zone and she's all like no, you have to stay out so you can be there for our son, and that's what talks him down 'cause he's all like, 'we're having a son, sigh'. But how is that a comfort? She's in a quarantine zone where three people have died and a fourth is on her way to death. So how will this work? Pregnant mom dies from contagion but baby somehow doesn't and dad gets to raise his son?

I had a real issue with how they were treating the potential infectious-ness of it all. They feel pretty strongly that it’s airborne and highly contagious but wait for the second death to close off the area - and what about the hospital’s air circulation system, wouldn’t it be spreading the germs all over? And then every time they’re in with the paramedic guy they’ve got their Ebola suits on, but both had already spent time with the guy, talking and interacting with no suits, so already exposed. Then Lim is talking to Reznick, no masks or anything, when she suddenly realizes she has a rash and oh no she’s got it, so she shuts herself in the room with the paramedic? They were all exposed all over the place and yet being very blasé about it all or being highly dramatic and oh noes now I must lock myself away. So none of the actual transmittal of the disease made any sense to me and made it so the storyflow was being constantly interrupted by me saying “ oh come on”.

I had that same thought. I hate that Henry was sitting in at that discussion. POTUS, V-POTUS, Sec of State, Chief of Staff and Henry. One of these things is not like the others. And then the conversation between him and Bess a little later about how his contribution is almost more important then hers or something like that. I can't quite remember it, but I think it was because she was biased or it's his super-ethical powers that were needed. It may be that this conversation happened in another episode altogether, but I just want to throw something at the tv every time he's on screen with that group of people so I get distracted. And yeah, count me as one of those who does not want a Dmitri redux. At all. When Stevie came into that hotel room I thought sure Dmitri had given her some coded message (that the CIA couldn't figure out) in his letter and was going to meet her there, so at least we didn't have that. But really, she went there for nostalgia? I didn't think the politics of the surrogacy story made sense. So the VP leaked about her daughter and son-in-law's connection to one of the imprisoned surrogate? Right? Which I would think would be very bad politics, and Bess thought so too, that it would damage her chances to be POTUS. That made sense to me (not why the VP leaked it, but that it would damage her politically). What didn't make sense was that her going to Laos to talk about the situation and kinda-sorta apologize for the US bombing Laos during the Vietnam War was going to somehow make things better for her politically?

What I thought was funny about the birthday party group was that they only took up half of the table that was given to them. Even if Tamra had attended, that still would have left about a half dozen chairs empty. Does Gina not have more friends? Was this planned before Vicki and Shannon had their surgery, so they thought they'd be there? Just looked so odd to have a whole half a table empty and them all huddled down at the one end.

It was a nice callback to the way that Bernadette's dad bonded more with Sheldon (over football) in the Thanksgiving episode years ago and how jealous Howard was of the bonding. This was easily the best episode this season. It felt like the stories each had enough time with nice payoffs for both main ones (Raj and Anu, Sheldon and Amy's parents) and some nice moments for each of the other cast members. Raj has been extremely jerk-ish in regards to his attitude towards women over the years (still remember his "no uggos" comment regarding finding a date), but I think a lot of that has been an act he has put on to ape/keep up with Howard or because he thinks it's how he should be acting to be cool. But when he's been in relationships or even contemplating them, he has generally dropped those attitudes. In Anu he's found his perfect match because she wants what he wants, a partner, kids, a settled life, domestic bliss basically (something Raj has been seeking going back to the last time he had his parents find a date for him - the woman he wanted to marry after one date even though she was a lesbian). And not only does Anu want what he wants, but she's practical, confident and competent, all of which balances his more romantic, impulsive mode.

Clearly he wanted to be on tv - I thought the "finally legal" or whatever comment was referencing that because hadn't Simon made it part of their custody agreement that the kids couldn't be on the show? I'm getting the feeling the producer's script for this year is that "Shannon is crazy" and that's really bothering me. Yes, she's always been high maintenance, but she's in the midst of a divorce from her husband of 20ish years, a divorce she did not want, so her being all over the place emotionally is totally understandable. Could she benefit from the help of medication, maybe, but that's a personal choice and certainly not the panacea many want to think it is. I can almost take Vicki, Tamra and Kelly being "concerned" about Shannon's mental health, but for Gina to talk to her about it and tell her she's doing so because she's concerned - after spending the entire season badgering Shannon on various issues - is kind of gross. Gross because I'm sure Gina is doing it for purposes of the "storyline" and not because she cares one iota about Shannon. And same goes for Emily in her trying to compare Shannon to her mother. Shannon who she's know for all of what 10 weeks? Or however long they've been filming?

I’m doubtful I’ll be watching this season, far too much Porsha. But one question. When Cynthia was talking about her new boyfriend, in the talking head that narrated the scene where she’s FaceTiming with him, she says “he’s swam in lake ???something” several times. What lake? I got that it was a euphemism for something but though I rewound a bunch of times I couldn’t get the word after lake.

There are just no beats to anything on this show anymore. It's all action, to next action, to next action. In show time Phyllis found out Billy slept with Summer, what like a week ago? If that? This is the love of her life - we've been told that for the last two years - who she slept with while married to his brother (because theirs was the deepest, truest love ever experienced by anyone) and yet it's barely a blip for her emotionally. Not that I want any female to be portrayed as a fragile flower, but truly anyone would be a basket case if they found out their fiancee/partner/whatever just slept with their daughter! But no, it's on to business stuff (CEO of Jabot - puke, puke, puke) to boinking Nick on the desk, to whatever's next. This 100 mph storytelling is about as satisfying as a rice cake.

I know the whole "Jason decides to turn down his scholarships because he's scared" story is just a way for the show to keep the character on the show (rather then off at college), but my question is why? The Stevie, who conveniently dropped out of law school so she could move back home, and Noodle (can't remember her name) going to school close enough to home so she's always there, versions of this trope are okay, mostly because I sometimes like them and they at least seem like reasonable human beings most of the time (some of the time?). But Jason? No. He's like all of Henry's worst traits combined with arrogant, spoiled, teen-ager-y jerkiness rolled into one. Tell me what fans are clamoring for him to stay in the house and thus more present on the show? Anyone? Bueller? Oh and speaking of Stevie, they had one brief PTSD comment in last night's show (where Jason, the jerk, startled her), but she has certainly rebounded from surviving an rocket explosion and a glass (wooden) shard being driven into her body. The Henry in Thailand story was so horrendous I can't be bothered to comment.

I’m going to make a prediction that it’s Abby who dies next week and it’s her funeral Vince is attending. There was a flash of a scene in the previews for next week where a woman is getting choked on a bed and it looks like Abby. And I keep going back to the scene a few weeks ago where Vincent was warning her about working/hanging with Ashley and the activist dude. He told her I’d could be dangerous for her to get caught up in their stuff. I’m thinking that may have been the purpose of the scene with Vince and his dad. Vince talking about how he wants to settle down with Abby. Just seemed fore-shadow-y to me. edited to add: looks like I was totally wrong...

And wasn't a coup the reason for the whole BAC being pulled out by Jack? Jack was taking time off to spend more time caring for Dina. Ashley, within days, started trying to take the CEO position. His chair was barely cold and she was trying to undercut him. When he got wind of it is when he pulled the BAC thing - I think? So again it was a case of her failing at a coup and then portraying herself as the victim of his vindictiveness when he acted to protect his position. Truly I'm just glad she's gone. Feels like we've been hearing that the actress was leaving for months and months so I kept waiting for the thing that was going to send her away. Of course we get a dumpster fire of a story, because it's Mal, but yay she's gone. The only time I've liked her at all in recent years was when she was interacting with the Michael Knight doctor character (can't remember his name).

I loved this one more then many of you, sounds like. I loved all the interactions between Mary and the drama teacher and thought the way the story went was a nice surprise. Thought they'd go for Mary's version being another news-making disaster, but they turned it around. Laughed a lot when George was pointing out all the deadly sins Mary was exhibiting when she was ranting about the drama teacher taking over her production (wrath, envy, pride...). And her horror that he was making the sins sound too good and his insistence that the subtext was there in the script? All worked for me. Especially with the payoff of her pastor just being happy they were making money - all while he stands there dressed as a woman (can't remember who).

The thing that bugs is that after Ashley does something truly heinous and lets it go on for almost a year - something that should have Jack mad at her for a long time to come - they immediately write something that Jack does that's bad too. Jack can never be allowed to be the aggrieved party for any period of time. It's not that I think he should never forgive Ashley or acknowledge that he's done wrong too, but for pete's sake he's entitled to feel angry about this for a while. And Ashley should have to feel the guilt (though she doesn't seem very capable of it at the moment) and everyone else in the family should be solely on Jack's side. At least for more then a moment. But no, they have to write Jack doing something bad and Traci then does the immediate kumbaya moment. They all need to forgive each other, blah, blah, blah. Jack can never just be the one getting all the support. Victor kidnaps him, his wife sleeps with a doppelgänger, but no, think of poor Victor, he loves his family. Phyllis cheats on Jack with his BROTHER, but Jack needs to get over it and forgive for the sake of the family. On and on it goes.

I've seen it work (12 year age difference for my parents), so agree with you there. But, though I know Nolan's partner, Talia?, said that Lucy was endangering her career by being in a relationship with another cop and I sort of get that. Certainly that would have been the case in the past. But Nolan isn't her superior, they are exactly equal in rank and experience, so I can't imagine as a couple they would be a big deal to a police dept as big as this one in LA. If she was his training officer or vice versa or if they were even working directly together as partners? Sure, that's problematic. But otherwise? She's not hooking up with everything in a uniform. She's dating one guy who she met in police academy. I like the combination of humor and drama because I kind of think that's what being a police officer entails. Lots of weird, wonderful, wacky people out there to deal with, while also handling criminals - big and small - and the real-life drama that comes with having to deal with the whole world's emotional baggage. Oh and as someone who has been watching This is Us immediately before this, any ounce of humor is greatly appreciated. ;-) For both episodes I've sort of started them thinking, ah, this is nice, low-key entertainment, and by each episode's end I've found I've been genuinely drawn in emotionally (in a deeper way then I'm expecting).

Yes KWCK! This is exactly what's going on. Sure Brandi misinterpreted the convo at the benefit - though she was so drunk, I'm not surprised - but she's not wrong about what LeeAnne is doing to her. LeeAnne does take every opportunity in every conversation she has with Stephanie to at some point mention Brandi in a negative way. Same goes when she talks with D'Andra, though there she's usually a bit more direct about it given their friendship. I don't think she has decided to befriend Stephanie solely to get between Steph and Brandi (and thus torture Brandi), but I think it's a big reason for her wanting to be "friends" while taping. And if Stephanie is going to be "hurt" about what Brandi said then she's doing just as much willful misunderstanding of a conversation as Kam, Brandi, and D'Andra have done this season. I've run the gamut with LeeAnne, sometimes have felt bad for her because so much of her behavior seems to stem from a very deep-seated insecurity, sometimes have liked her humor, sometimes dislike her, but right now I'm kind of admiring her reality show game. She's controlling the drinking (and thus the true crazy shit) and is gas lighting Brandi very effectively. Earlier in the season when Brandi said she was upset about LeeAnne warning everyone she's low-class and a bad influence I took her tears with a grain of salt. Now I think she was right - and do wonder if the filming of that scene actually happened a lot later in the filming schedule (out of sequence). That's what LeeAnne has been doing all season. She has been oh so concerned for D'Andra and the influence Brandi is having on her, suggesting she's now drinking too much and is in danger of losing her place in Dallas society, etc. And with Steph it's all about how empowered she is without Brandi strong-arming her into things, how independent she can be away from Brandi, etc. And she's enlisted Kam to spread the word about "low-class" behavior. How many times has Kam mentioned the keurig cup thing to anyone and everyone and used it as an example of how Brandi is dragging D'Andra down? She does so again in the previews for next week where it looks like LeeAnne is going full on "CONCERNED" about D'Andra's drinking (even going to her mom). I'm not a huge Brandi fan, but she's not wrong about what is happening.

I was okay with him looking mire weathered given his previous profession was construction. Doing 20 years in a job where some proportion of the job is outside ages a person’s skin. I watched this, like many, because I like Nathan Fillion, but really thought it would be fluffier, a la Castle. I actually loved that it had a bit more dramatic heft. It really was the best pilot I’ve seen in a while.

The Trump republicans are convinced that the Royals are all left-leaning-socialist-liberals and also liberal-hollywood-elites or words to that effect so everything they say and do has to be slammed as unimportant. Their popularity is a direct slap in the face (or so they see it) and must be put down at all times. And all this despite the fact that the Royals must be very, very careful to never say anything political at all. But because people like them and I'm guessing because of the causes they support and because people LIKE them, they are the devil.