desertflower

Yes, I think this take is pretty spot on. He even mentions to Nat early on "I don't know if these people are scamming me or what..." so the thought does enter his mind. But as time passes he gets attached to the idea of having a family, then he just wants to prove Jim wrong. The scam plot was kind of entertaining but it had zero follow through after they rescued Erica. Just drop this traumatized kid off with Iris and call it a day! It's sad to think what she went through if she was not part of the scam. They should have had some kind of wrap up scene talking about how they targeted Dylan, how much Erica knew, if she was getting some counseling, etc. When they do bring her back a few years later Dylan isn't even on the show.

I politely disagree that GC wasn't good in the role. Early on I think she did a good job of playing the hyper-driven smart girl always ready to fight for her principles. I love the scene where Brandon asks Andrea if she's going to the dance and she launches into a long diatribe and goes on so long she forgets what Brandon even asked. I thought she was cute in those moments. I liked her confrontations with Gil and Brandon and thought GC conveyed the right level of indignation required. ("What would Whitman say about THAT, Gil?") Also I thought she was believable as a teen (a frumpy teen, but still...) in season 1, so I can see how she made it through the casting process. Of course as the seasons rolled on her age caught up with her. I will concede they didn't always write well for Andrea, especially past high school. And they styled her terribly, ESPECIALLY in freshman year if college. But for what she was given I think GC was fine. Mileage varies, of course.

Re: Brenda and the peanut butter, if I remember correctly she actually carries the open jar out the door with her when she leaves. So weird!

There was always a lot of confusion about how much money Dylan actually had. He told the horse lady he had some huge amount (100 of millions, I think?) But I think the amount Suzanne steals is like 8 million? Anyway. Does anyone know when Tori actually got her boob job? Because there are scenes here where she doesn't look like she's had them done yet, but I don't know if it's just her shirt minimizing it. I do remember it's very obvious when she is coming back from the beach with Griffin in a later episode; I think that is the Start of season 5? Anyway, it's nice to have some people to discuss these very important issues with. ;) I will voice my unpopular opinion here....I don't mind Jesse. I think he has a nice smile and he seems intelligent and confident. He even has his own friends and softball team in the beginning, although they disappear, since we know every new addition to the gang is forced to give up any previous friends. The only time I really don't like him is when he and Andrea separate and he stays with Dylan. They write him as whiny and pathetic even though he never came across like that before.

Even though the "Emily is my soul mate" storyline came out of nowhere, I did enjoy the San Fran scenes. They did have nice chemistry and she was more likeable when not trying be rebel girl with leather/guitar/motorcycle. I think it would've been nice if they followed through with them at the end of the series. She comes back with the bad haircut and they still have feelings but can't because he's with Kelly. But later after he and Kelly are done, why not mention Emily again, even if it's offscreen? I think in the final season they should've mentioned that Brandon and Emily got back together and were happy. It would've been a nice closure to the long lost love thing.

Agreed! I enjoyed Laith's performance and thought he did better than the other two, but the guitar shouldn't really be factored in to the judging, since it's called, you know, The VOICE. Adam W. sounds great playing guitar and piano, but his voice also easily stands on its own. I am glad Laith got a boost on his old album sales because he seems to work really hard touring, but I don't think he should win the show.

Apparently Dylan is Drew Barrymore. Yeah, don't forget he also had a history with the illegal car racer in one of the early episodes. He packed a lot of delinquency into his preteen years!

Yep, that sounds right. He definitely has it in front of Valerie once because I remember her freaking out about it because that's how her dad died. I guess it is supposed to be the same gun, unless he went out and got another one.

I think Kelly's birthday party was a Dave Koz concert. And yes, she made Brandon and Dylan sit on either side of her and they did, since they had no self respect. Colin was not at the party because he was at home painting the ugliest piece of artwork of all time.

I can't get enough of the screenshots you guys make of Brandon braying. So, so funny. And I say that as someone who actually likes Brandon more than most people. Brandon breaking into the house was such ridiculous writing. They could've accomplished the same idea by writing that Brandon had an extra key (that maybe Dylan forgot he had) and Dylan freaks out when he heard the knob being messed with. I know it's not as dramatic as glass breaking, but who would do that just to pick up a gift? Stupid. I don't mind the actress playing Lucinda but she and Brandon together are gross for some reason.

Solomon works for Scotty Hargrave. So in deciding to work with her (which Red seemed to think was necessary to get the bigger bad guy), they have to work with her crew, which includes Solomon. This episode in general was a bit confusing; so much explanatory dialogue and if you missed a couple lines you're lost. I kind of missed the whole connection with the "next president" and all that stuff. All I know is they stole a bunch of money to get to the big baddie. I find Ryan Eggold immensely watchable, so I might like the spinoff. But the flirty undertones with his mother are icky. Let her find out who he is quickly so she can act appropriately with him, please!

Schmidt beaming as he said "I'm having dinner with my father!" was the cutest thing ever. His smile kills me.

In that first visual aid Donna looks so normal, like a cute college student. Just wanted to say something nice about her appearance while I still can! I remember reading somewhere that ShanDo was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease around that time? Not sure how accurate that is but it might explain the change in her hair if she was ill. The overplucked eyebrows do her no favors, but it really is shocking how different her hair looks compared to a season earlier. Looks like the whole texture changed.

Brandon's goofy march to the door to greet Stuart seems like it was a joke. Almost like he and Echkouse were goofing around beforehand and carried it into the scene. Let's hope, anyway. Andrea looking at herself in the mirror in her robe is right up there with her scene on the merry go round (offering herself to Brandon) in terms of cringeworthiness. I can barely watch it, I'm so embarrassed for her.

I swear when the judges were giving their feedback, the camera zoomed in tighter on Christina than it did for the guys. I think they were trying to minimize the boobage. Hannah, Pharell's lone team member, has grown on me. She got lost in the shuffle for me for most of the early weeks but I've grown to like her. Gwen and Blake are very cute but I wasn't super impressed with their song.

I had to go back and rewatch this because I had forgotten some details, and I really enjoyed seeing it again, and reading Liz Meriweather's memories of making it. When I first saw it I thought the ping pong stuff was just a silly thing they threw in there, but apparently Prince was really awesome at it, and Jimmy Fallon told a funny story about it: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/jimmy-fallon-on-getting-whooped-by-prince-in-ping-pong-20160426

It was fun seeing Tom back in his "teacher look." That girl sure was trusting, inviting a random dude she just met to her house for a date. She's lucky he's a nice killer. He's good at multitasking, too. Smooth move removing the flash drive while simultaneously making out. I'm not really missing Liz either. I never disliked her as much as some others, but she was definitely the least interesting character. I would be MUCH more upset to lose Dembe or Aram or even Ressler than I am to lose her. The cop who abducted Red was Deacon from King of Queens! He looks a lot different but I recognized his voice.

I liked Donna's look this season, too. It's the most natural she ever looked. The flowered dresses and chokers are in full effect! I remember in the episode where the girls visit sororities, every single girl in every scene within a five block radius is in a flowered dress. I think they aged Nanna (hee) terribly when they straightened her hair. I know she looked older anyway but her curls in high school were cute. Maybe they thought ditching her glasses and giving her a new hairdo would make her look younger but I actually think it had the opposite effect. Oh John Sears. Something about him always made me feel icky. He looked like he was made out of wax or something.

I know him as the dad from Dog With a Blog on Disney, which I've seen more times than I care to admit thanks to my 7 year old. Add me to the list of people who loved Winston's sharkasm joke. Prime example of the type of random humor this show is so good at.

I used to watch Adam Arkin on Chicago Hope (great show, btw). It got overshadowed by ER, which was on at the same time. I remember them making a couple jokes in the show about his resemblance to Clooney. It was good seeing him again. I was also disappointed they ended up making the Christian guys anti gay after all. For a minute when the band was praying I thought it was going to be a refreshing take on it, but no. BUT I also must admit it was pretty funny to see Cam and Mitch's reactions during the song. "Unless they really love each other!!!" Lol. Also? I know it may be hard for some people to believe but not all Christian bands are cheesy and weird. There's some really original, creative stuff out there. I actually still enjoy Manny, I think the actor is fine. I miss little Luke, though.

Check out these pictures of Robert Reed a few years before Brady Bunch. He looks a little Bradley Cooper-ish. http://verybradyblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/robert-reed-as-cissys-high-school.html#comment-form

I've been catching a few episodes of this lately and I just have to say I love Robert Reed. He was so handsome (not a fan of the perm years but it seems all the boys fell victim to bad 70s hair as the show wore on) and he turned in a very natural performance. His voice was so calming and comforting, too.

I thought the scene where the Goldmans quietly walk to their car after the verdict was very moving. Such a contrast to the celebration and noise going on out in the streets. They had to attempt to return to their normal lives, but without their son and without any justice. And all the while knowing there were people celebrating that. Very sad indeed.

The montages suck, and I think pretty much everyone thinks so except for the producers. Why do they insist on doing it? Are they trying to have an element of surprise? It's just stupid.

Yeah, that's the rub right there. I can understand if the jury was swayed by the defense's takedown of the DNA guy, but how did they forget/look past/choose to ignore that there was NO evidence of anyone else there? Blood from Nicole, Ron, and OJ but from no one else?? No hairs, no fibers, no blood, nothing from the "real killer". Crazy. Not enough Sterling K. Brown in this episode! (Yes, I know he didn't have much to do with this plot but I wanna see more of him anyway. :)