Dowel Jones

I had to laugh at the Chinese and the Irish walking out for better pay at the beginning. Damn that capitalism! In reality, I'll bet there was plenty of work available on the railroads after the completion, and the mining boss was under no contract to keep those workers for any length of time. So maybe they made the right decision to return to Bohannen. They should have doubled their pay, though. I also thought Bohannen was checking out, especially when Louise made the comment that no price was too high. All he lost, and his reward (and all the workers, black, white, and Asian), was to see a railroad company reap the great rewards of winning the contest. I realize that's the way it was in the boom era of western expansion, but it just doesn't feel right. As I understand it, according to one of Ken Burns' programs, the two RRs actually kept right on working past each other because of the pay for mileage contracts. Someone finally blew the whistle and Congress forced the issue, resulting in the ceremony at Promontory Summit. Sidebar: It is ironic that there is no through track to Promontory Summit anymore, having been bypassed by a direct line over the Salt Lake to Ogden. Even Ogden has been bypassed by Amtrak, as they go through Salt Lake City. When I rode in there sometime in the 80s (paying customer), the route went from Ogden to Cheyenne to Denver, and eastern Utah/western Colorado was served by the Denver & Rio Grande Western, known by hobos as the Dangerous & Rapidly Growing Worse. They ran this beautiful old refurbished 1940s train from Salt Lake over to the Colorado River and all the way to Grand Junction. Ah, rail travel.

Followed shortly by, Officer: "Hodiak, there's a call for you up front" Hodiak: "Can you make it so there's a call for me right here?" Never, ever change, dude. ETA: I can't be sure, but I'll bet that the song that Manson/Wilson were working on is the bonus, hidden track on the Guns 'N Roses album The Spaghetti Incident. Anybody have any further?

Beginning with the fact that the First Lady (even if interim) drives into a warren of narrow streets without a full scale security detail. And then she begins to scream for her daughter as soon as she awakens, despite the fact that they were being pursued just moments before. So, if Molly's plan goes ahead and she becomes a hostage, will Bassam fulfill his titular destiny and become a full-fledged tyrant, wiping out the caliphate in revenge?

Wait til' they get to Komodo Dragon.

As soon as cellmate said, "You want to use my phone?", I knew Mike was circling the toilet, but I didn't see that twist coming. Prison Rule #1 - I didn't get in here for telling, meaning don't ever rat on someone. #2 - Like he said, don't trust anyone. #3 - Do not ever get in debt to someone. Mike was sooooo gullible to not see through that setup, but, then again, this entire show has been built on the premise of either Mike, Louis, or Harvey not seeing the fastball coming and having to work twice as hard to get out of the jam. Will someone in Wardrobe pleeeaaase outfit Louis in a suit and shirt that actually fits his physique? That was so cringeworthy.

Then again, we had the Shick Women's Razor commercials....Trim that bush, and all. Thinking, "WTF? And they call us the savage barbarians?" I really had to laugh at the total ineptitude of the Junior Nazis as they searched for Margaret. Okay, Jason, since you brought up the Adam and Eve thing (a moot question now), will you be explaining just how you two will be repopulating the earth? Genetics and all that?

As Dariela pounds on the door switch, and Chloe gasps out "Caraquet", Dariela stares blankly at her. "Carrot Cake? What the hell does carrot cake have to do with anything?"

Was I wrong to be laughing as Dante launched into his "throw Dion under the bus" story? So what, I don't care. Even though it was telegraphed, it was an appropriate ending to that episode. Maybe Tommy can move on in a different direction now. Woichuck's "mob" seems to be the two guys who drive him around in the Van O' Dentistry. If they wanted him off their back, they could easily sell him out to another gang, presumably one more competent than the Asians. And Dion casually admits he stole some of the cocaine and instead he gets the Community Chest card from Woichuck? Come on, there's more than a few great chefs in New York that could staff that proposed waterfront restaurant and make Woichuck his money. For a plot device, that just doesn't work for me. And the detective? Why didn't he just arrange a shooting after his tooth got pulled? Mob guy dies, so what? Next. I agree with the food part of the show. If that is going to be an underlying theme to the plots, at least go into more detail, or make it somehow more interesting, rather than showing Dion shouting at his crew to go go go, and somehow these elegant dishes appear on the table.

Given the earlier talk between Baz and Nikki's father where he said he could make money disappear, I think he is going to be the point man on this job, and the family boys will not even be on the base. Extortion in return for getting his briefcase back, plus a cut of the proceeds.

Marry me, PartybitchKayla! Just kidding; that segment always illustrates so perfectly why some people just should not be connected to the internet.

"But, but, but I'm an American. They'll listen to me because I am the voice of reason. Even though I have no clue about their culture here."

Except for the cosmetic company scientists who will be locked in vises as various animals test out compounds to see if they sting or burn.

That would make a good backstory on another show that wasn't dedicated to the adventures of a single Navy vessel. How did those pompous buffoons end up as regional administrators, and so on? I would love it to pieces if they pull out one of the Revolution maps of the USA and give Billy Burke and Giancarlo Esposito some cameos.

Plus, the Civil War, if included in that survey, would certainly have driven down the average.

The thing that continually creeps me out is Manson, pre-murders, walking up to people and introducing himself, regular guy style; "Hi, I'm Charlie Manson.." It must have shaken people to their core to recollect that after the murders became public.

I thought so too, at the time, but on reflection, several goons rode up on her, which meant she was severely overmatched, and so she took the logical way out and accepted the bribe. Silver or lead.

If the Nathan James was surrounded by mines, how did they travel into that position? Or did the mines gang up on them and circle around behind them? Chandler's instructions to Sasha were to get to Okinawa if the ship went down. Yet the helicopter is showing low on fuel as soon as the operation is complete. Not good planning, folks. Love that the helo has idiot lights for critical operations. Low Fuel! Turn Back Now, He's Not Worth It! How did the pirates manage to fire a seemingly complex piece of ordnance from a fishing boat? 12v Diehard for the ignition? So the Pres. is feeling his oats with the regional authorities. No more Cheerios for you! And you're struggling with housing, basic services, etc., but next month are the Congressional elections? Better get that reporter on your side so you can have live coverage of the 23 people that actually took time to vote.

Believe me, as a long time skydiver, that scene would never, ever happen in a real plane. The effect on the stability of the plane would be dramatic, and the pilot would certainly not be idly flying along. However, accustomed to movie skydiving drama as I am, it's okay to stretch the boundaries a bit. Or a lot.

But, of course, the glass is next to impossible to break, because you certainly don't want the hoi polloi to go overriding whatever it is that needs to be overrode at certain critical moments. I noticed that, despite the team car being driven into the cavernous back bay of the plane, somehow between episodes it has managed to get itself turned around and facing rearward.

I just got around to watching the opener and, to be honest, I relish the opportunity to drop into this forum for the snarknado that this show obviously deserves, so here's to you, show. Make my summer. One note on the escape. Assuming air Gigantarandous has a takeoff speed of at least 150 knots, would someone please explain how both the car and the elephant would be able to keep pace up till the liftoff? And why the driver downshifted to go faster?

"So what the hell is 'ice cream'? I like this stuff they call 'beer', though (belch)".

I don't want to get into a long winded discussion about economics and trade and such, but, basically, trade is built on one principle: You have what I want/need, and I have what you want/need. The money involved is just a means of transfer; it is worth nothing on its own. Unless there is a)some kind of global trade going on already, and b)some kind of stability that would incur a global currency exchange, Panama would have no use for other countries' currency, and the other countries would have no other means of paying for the tolls. I only bring this up because the show has yet to illustrate why or how any of the stability shown has occurred, even within the US. F'rinstance, I assume that the Nathan James left some kind of IOU with the Vietnamese for the ship's fuel, or, they just took it. Probably not good policy in either case.

Seriously, who builds cages that have openings at least 5"x5"? Easy to reach out and grab the unwary victim, especially since he has a habit of turning his back on them. Despite the Nazi-like uniforms of the Jasonites, Pilcher's statements gave me a vivid image of the "Manifest Destiny" credo that we all grew up with in grade school, as if to justify the wholesale removal of any current inhabitants of land that was desirable.

Was it ever established if the Nathan James sailed all the around one of the Capes in order to get to SE Asia from St. Louis? Because I don't think it would be one of the top priorities in Panama to get the Canal operational again. And either journey is a long one.

Some of the antics involved here might even be bearable if it weren't for the complete unlikeability of Dion and Tommy. Stealing gas from the (conveniently close by) propane cylinder? Hey, let's do it! Frittering away money and hiding the trail? Ha ha! Everyone does it! We'll fix it later. And on and on. I did like the scene where the matron comments about "those whores" and one of the women waves to her husband. No Detective Asshat this week? Didn't notice. I'm hungry. I think I will make some mac and cheese from the box.