Uncle Benzene

How hard must Bear be shipping Ms. Groves and Bespectacled Man right about now?

Or... Red: Liz, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. They're trying to bring about immortality, for crying out loud. Liz: You know, I still don't think you truly care about me. Red: *gaze of emotional intensity* Liz: Say, did Tom mention anything about truly caring for me? He did, didn't he? Red: *rolls eyes* *sigh* Is Ressler around?

I think it's gonna end up being something based in classism. I think they're eventually gonna show that Hamlin and Chuck McGill are every bit as sleazy and "unethical" as Saul Goodman ends up being (or even moreso) but Jimmy doesn't realize that yet, at least as it relates to Chuck. I don't think Chuck is necessarily gonna directly screw Jimmy over per se, but rather, I think Chuck is gonna eventually sit Jimmy down and break his spirit real good... something along the lines of "Jimmy, you're just not capable of running in these circles. Swimming with these sharks. You can't pull it off. Good for you for passing the bar and uncovering this fraud case and all that, but you'll never be good enough for the corner office on the sixth floor of the swanky building. You'll never be able to rock the club collar and the mother of pearl and gain admittance to The Club. Get yourself an office in a strip mall and know your place in this world. Because you're beneath us, beneath me, and nothing is ever gonna change that. You just don't have it in you to be One of Us." Chuck might even think he's doing right by Jimmy in telling him some "hard truths" and "freeing" Jimmy of some of the ambition that Chuck feels Jimmy will never be able to realize, and sparing him a bunch of heartache in the process. And Jimmy's gonna believe it, because Chuck said it. It's gonna beat him down like nothing else possibly could. And then to top it all off, I think Jimmy is gonna have the wool lifted from his eyes at some point re: Chuck, and finally see that Chuck is no less a shyster than any of 'em (sorry, lawyers, nothing personal.) That Chuck is just Slippin' Jimmy in far more expensive clothing. (I assume he already suspects as much of Hamlin, but he's got a blind spot when it comes to his brother.) And that's what's finally gonna break him and let his cynicism run amok, turning him into Saul. I suspect Mike's cynicism might also end up being a major factor, as Jimmy and Mike get more intertwined. I could see Jimmy unloading on Mike one day at a diner of some sort, and Mike rolling his eyes and sighing and saying "Yep. Tell me, kid, how did you not see this coming? It's just the way shit works." And Jimmy furrowing his brow as if to say "Yeah, you're right. Guess I just never wanted to admit it, but..."

This show really is barreling headlong toward being included in the "best show on tee vee" conversation. It's not quite there yet, but it sure does look headed in that direction. I thought the dumpster scene was Classic Gilligan. Fortunately, I've never been in that kind of situation myself, but I couldn't help but to cringe through the whole thing because it was just so visceral. I found myself holding my breath at times because whatever Jimmy must have been smelling at the time... and then just looking at the state of his clothes... then he gets another couple bags dumped right on his head, and he's got schmutz on his freakin' mouth! UGH! So nasty. And on a different/lesser show, it wouldn't have fazed me at all. Just something that happened. But, as was so often the case with BB, Gilligan is able to just NAIL a nerve with something that otherwise might be largely insignificant, or played off for comedy, or... I don't know, something. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that he can (and I'd wager deliberately does... it's kinda his thing) turn something that shouldn't be compelling in any way, and somehow manages to hit you with it powerfully, even if it's just a visceral gut reaction. A cringe. I'm having a tough time reading Chuck's behavior at the meeting with the opposing counsel. (Again, Classic Gilligan.) On one hand, Chuck seemed kinda comatose, like he was frozen with fear and/or doubt and whatever neuroses he's got going on. That's what I thought was happening at the time. And then, for whatever reason, he kinda snapped out of it right before the $20MM counteroffer. But then, on further reflection, I was wondering if that was Chuck at his absolute best. Like, that's just what he does, it's his typical style. The wheels were turning the whole time. He just lurks there while others do the talking, and he listens, and thinks, and waits, and thinks, and then BOOM. He hits you. That's clearly what happened in this instance, but the question I can't answer yet is whether he "snapped out of" something at the last minute, or if he was "on" right from the minute he walked into that room and was just waiting for the perfect time to strike. I hope it's the latter.

Back in the early 90s I majored in Brit pop and just hangin' out, so I figured Jimmy's Cloudcuckooland reference just meant he was a big fan of Lightning Seeds.

Xander Berkeley is always a treat. He'll always be George Mason (24) to me, but he's never anything less than awesome regardless. Hope he sticks around.

Ha! (Sorry to veer off-topic for a second, but) this is one of my pet peeves too. They do it on crime procedurals all the time (I'm specifically thinking of Castle right at the moment) when they say "GSW" (five syllables) rather than "gun shot wound" (three syllables.) Drives me nuts. It also drives me crazy when people write/type "till" as short for "until." I mean, for crying out loud, if you're gonna shorten a five-letter word just to save a couple keystrokes, why would you turn right around and squander half of your keystroke savings by adding a superfluous L that not only doesn't even belong there, but also changes your "shortened" word to a whole different actual word with a whole different meaning? What a weird thing to do. Either bite the bullet and type out all five letters, or enjoy the full well-earned two-keystroke shortcut and type "til." (Sorry about that. I'll shut up now.)

Archer was referencing a line from an old comedy record from the 70s by a guy named Mantan Moreland: "Shit, if this is gonna be that kind of party, I'm gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes!" The Beastie Boys sampled the line in a track on their album Ill Communication, which is probably why it remains a fairly popular reference among bros on the internets (and, apparently, Sterling.)

You know, that's a very good point. And I can't disagree. I'm not sure what was going through Rachel's mind at that point, but I definitely agree that the response was pretty awesome and amusing as hell. But, in Raylan's defense, I have to point out that he did explain to Rachel that it was because Tim's an asshole. Heh. Also, just for the record? Babies are outstanding. (For about 3 or 4 minutes per session, anyway.) Big picture, I can totally relate to Rachel's "Ew, keep that thing away from me" attitude. But for just a little while, no strings attached? It boggles my mind that she (or anyone) could resist.

Man, I don't know what show you guys were watching, but this show is better than ever! It never ceases to amaze me how after 14 seasons they're still raising the bar. Never rehashing a single plot, always coming up with brand new storylines. How do they keep it so fresh? And better yet, it's all just so damn real! It truly is amazing, and it's what makes this show so great even after all this time. I mean... the lamb was RAW?!? And the pork was dry?!? And they sent it anyway?!? What the hell? I'd say "Now I've seen everything!" but I know that with this show, I most certainly haven't. What will they come up with next? Oh, and when Ramsay smashed the rubbery scallops with his bare hand? I jumped off the couch! And don't even get me started on when Ramsay said "Monique.............................................. back in line!" Whoa! Never saw that coming. I just really hope all these contestants don't start getting pissy with one another. This show has always been above that kind of thing. Sadly, it kinda seems we might be heading down that road. Hopefully Ramsay and/or Production will nip that in the bud pronto. I, for one, trust them to do just that. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure I could keep watching if they let it get too far down in the gutter. I really felt sad for the customers who had to wait so long to be served. Such bad luck to have gotten reservations on such an uncommonly bad night. I mean, when you dine at Hell's Kitchen, you quite rightly expect a certain level of professionalism... Some serious talent though among these here contestants, that much is already obvious. How does this show keep landing the best of the best of undiscovered culinary talent? I'm just glad Andi hasn't gotten tired of this shit yet, because for the last several seasons, she's been pretty much the only eye candy for this here straight guy. Also, she's hilarious. I wish they'd give here more face time. Hell, if I were to get greedy, I'd ask for Andi to have her own talking heads. That would be fantastic. She's by far the most entertaining person on this show. (On a related note, I really miss Scott and JP. Especially Scott. But especially JP.) Men vs Women, eh? Have they done that before? Or did Ramsay decide yet again to do something he's never done before in the history of Hell's Kitchen???

I was disappointed we didn't discover that Art Mullen and Avery Markham once dug coal together. Holy crap though, I'd watch the hell out of a show with Nick Searcy and Sam Elliott as co-leads. It'd be like Raylan & Boyd: The Golden Years. Or something.

Oh, PLEASE let this stick!

Pretty sure they'll just pretend [edit: Lenny] (and, by extension, last season) never existed. There will be plenty of references to past winners Guy, Mauro, Damaris and maybe a sprinkling of D'Arabian. Hell, they'll probably go to great pains to make it seem like Damaris was the most recent winner (just by heavy implication, if nothing else) and just roll with it on the assumption that people don't think too much about it. And I suspect they'll end up being right... people won't think too much about it.

I'm going to assume CTE refers to: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a form of encephalopathy that is a progressive degenerative disease, which can currently only be definitively diagnosed postmortem, in individuals with a history of multiple concussions and other forms of head injury.

Welp, Tara Ariano has gone and done it. Dammit! I will not be able to move on with my life now until Jimmy Fallon writes and performs a full version of Break On Through To The Snuggler Side! Thanks a LOT, Tara!

Boo to the set dressers for missing out on the opportunity to outfit the Night Room with black curtains!

Sunny was on my last nerve this morning when she was doing her baguette with six eggs thing. (Totally doing that ASAP, by the way, though I'll be taking it a little farther than bread/butter/eggs because that seemed a little boring. Needs some garlic, herbs and cheese. Kickass presentation though.) Anyway, GZ was attempting to reel off a list of names people use to refer to "toad in a hole" and after every single one of them, Sunny had a "Uh huh!" or a "Mmmmm hmmm!" or a "Whaaaa?!?" and I absolutely hate that shit. Just let the other person finish whatever it is they have to say, dammit. You don't need to make a sound that adds nothing to anything every single time anybody pauses to take a breath. Pauses are good. They're helpful. Random noises? Not so much. All it does is create cacophony, and that's not pleasant. Which is perhaps the biggest problem with this show. Too many people talking at once, far too often. It's amateurish. Bush league. Like a podcast produced by people who have never "done radio" before. The content might be (more or less) fantastic, but listening to it is frustrating, because nobody really knows what the hell they're doing as far as producing a show that doesn't make the audience's ears bleed. And they're obviously not getting a whole lot of guidance from... you know... Production. They just talk (or make sounds) whenever they get the urge, there's pretty much zero choreography to the dialogue. There's no flow. GZ is the only one who's not a bull in a china shop when it comes to knowing when to speak and when to shut up. And to a degree, I suppose it makes sense that that would be an issue, given that 3 of the 5 are used to having their own show, where they're (or were) THE voice, THE face, etc. and suddenly they're all thrown into a big pot. It's a whole different dynamic, a whole different job. But this show has been on long enough now to where they ought to be a hell of a lot more tuned in to the cues to speak and the cues to keep their damn mouths shut for half a second while one of the other folks is doing their thing. But it seems like all Production can come up with to at least mitigate the issue somewhat is to give each one a segment offstage, and do most of the show with a rotating 4 as opposed to a steady 5. Which I suppose might help to some extent, but it falls far short of a "solution" in my opinion. It might very well come down to a quite literal case of "too many cooks in The Kitchen" but I think it could work with all 5 if they'd just teach them to wait their turn.

The Fap: The Costanza family, which was never all that happy to begin with, begins to fall apart when Estelle walks in on George failing to master his domain.

Surprised nobody has suggested David Cross yet. As a total menacing badass. Like Tuco's boss or something. A Jewish Gus Fring. Wouldn't that be a hell of a thing?

Lenny: But, aw shucks, y'all promised... Tuschman: Read the contract you signed, asshole! Fogelson: ONE MORE WORD AND I WILL BURY YOU!!! Lenny: *slinks away slowly and quietly*

Chuck already suggested that Jimmy refrain from riding on his (and his firm's) coattails by using the McGill name. And Jimmy made a stink about it being suggested that he shouldn't use his own given name. I don't know whether the change to Saul Goodman will happen sooner or later, but I suspect it'll be one hell of a big deal on the show, and for Jimmy personally. Does the firm, or Chuck, persuade him? Or does he end up wanting to distance himself from all that? Either way, this show will probably never be BrBa, but these kinds of questions lead me to believe it's gonna be great in its own right.

On the other hand, 9 out of 10 cars in my town are white minivans that are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Mileage varies. I do often get really pissed about how quickly they get from point A to point B, however. Takes me right out of real life. Grrrrrr.

I had been wondering where I'd seen Ilana's dad before, and it was bugging the hell out of me. Holy crap! It's Russell Dalrymple!

I hereby nominate "Tom Noonan"

I enjoy the hell out of Damaris and her show as well. She is incredibly pleasant, and for the most part I find her food appealing. She can be a bit of a goofball at times, but I like that, as long as it's not too much, and I've never felt that she's trying too hard or going overboard with it. I feel like she'd be big fun to hang out and drink beers with. Or in other words, to me, she's pretty much the polar opposite of Paula. ;-)