tljgator

So pleased to see Woniya win. When her partner told her she was the only one who made it, she asked first if everyone was okay, rather than celebrating the money being all hers, etc. I think that speaks to what a good soul she is. First woman to win and longest cumulative number of days for anyone on the show. Well done, indeed. That said, this iteration wasn't nearly as enjoyable a watch as the original recipe version...

Yeah, I was a little confused there...he mentioned to Van that he had been offered a job, but he sounded like he'd have to move for that to happen and that he wasn't all that into it. Guess I was wrong. I don't know enough about the music side of things to delve as deep as all the above (great info, though, from y'all!) -- I just automatically think of Dre and Eminem as the go-to example there. There are plenty of folks who have made it as actors, per the list above, and I wholeheartedly agree that Snoop is the ultimate example of mainstream acceptance. I mean, my 70-something, white mom loves her some Snoop...if you'd have told me that 30 years ago, I'd have laughed in your face (she was beside herself with glee when he was on that Property Brothers Celebrity IOU show a while back; that dude is everywhere). I've really appreciated the return to Atlanta this season and I'm enjoying having the main cast featured in all the stories in a way they weren't last season -- appreciate it now that we're getting to the end.

I love that Earn got back to the southern US and just wanted to get a Publix sub, lol. IFKYK.

FYI:

Is it just me, or are these some seriously whiny "survivalists"? "It's harder than I thought it would be!" (You thought it would be easy?) "I have to do all these hard things like finding food or not having food and drying off when I get wet, just like I had to do last time!" (You thought it would be different?) "All my stuff that I barely covered with a saggy tarp is wet, and it seems like it's going to keep raining here in this place where I was told it rains/snows every day!" (You expected sunshine and rainbows?) "It's been less than a week, but I miss my people." (You know the show is called 'Alone' for a reason, right?!) Feh.

E03. "Smoke-Free, Bone-Dry Shelter" E04. "Wilderness Oven"

Watching now...oh, y'all didn't tell me that the homeowner was freaked out because she was worried Allison would paint her house black! HA! The owner of the "ugliest house in America" was worried about Allison. Perfect. Retta making faces and cutting her eyes every time Allison asked her if she liked a design choice was worth the price of admission.

E02. Bushcraft Bridge "Three former Alone participants take on a difficult challenge they've never tackled before - build a Bushcraft Bridge in three days using just a few simple tools. Lucas Miller (season 1), Callie North (Season 3) and Britt Ahart (Seasons 3 & 5) will compete to show off their skills."

Welp...that was a quick, anti-climatic exit. If you didn't want to be there, you shouldn't have gone in the first damn place (and it sounds A LOT like you already knew that was so before you went out there). Was he just trying to be reality-tv-famous and when nobody noticed the first time, he thought he'd try again, but it was hard work and so he gave up? Feh. Why didn't Callie go ahead and scrounge up some seaweed and mussels to mix in with her meal of watery seal fat? Seemed a bit much on its own, no?

Consensus seemed to be for one thread, but we can always do more later...in any case, E99: Before the Freeze aired a few weeks back and is up online if you want to meet the cast for this special season, described as: "In Alone: Frozen six of Alone’s strongest participants from past seasons return to put their survival skills to the test for a second time. Dropped off on the frigid North Atlantic Coast of Labrador, Canada just as winter is setting in, and battling howling winds, constant rain, and North America’s most fierce cold-weather predators, survivalists will set out to last fifty days in a location with the densest population of Polar Bears in Canada and face extreme conditions worse than any previous season of Alone. With just a few supplies and their previous experiences to learn from, the survivalists who go the distance will win their share of the $500,000 cash prize. Returning survivalists of Alone: Frozen include fan favorites Greg Ovens (season three), Woniya Thibeault (season six), Callie Russell (season seven), Mark D’Ambrosio (season seven), Amós Rodriguez (season seven) and Michelle Finn (season eight)."

Seems she also co-opted the entire animal pelt left behind by the team member who tapped-out for herself (she had quite the fabulous, furry hat/wrap situation going on there). *hrmph*

I bet they were really, really hoping for a proposal...

They did air the "episode 0" of Frozen -- meet the participants, etc. the other week. Do we want one thread for that whole show, or weekly episode threads like we have for original-recipe Alone?

...I think we're currently without a specific moderator, so what say you all -- just one thread for these things should be fine, yeah? Let's discuss the mad skillz, lol. E01: Earth Shelter

Well, that was certainly different than what we're used to...that was a lot of drama, even for this show. I guess we should've figured on that, given the celebrity (drama to spare) and the setting (oh, South Philly), but...wow. So, Amber's solution to stop Latina from selling drugs was to put her (presumably underage from the sounds of it) on the pole?! She was clearly amenable to moving away from the life and getting help, but we needed the Intervention producers to suggest that? (Yes, I'm sure that was probably worked out in advance, but still...not a great look for Amber.) Can't say I'm surprised at Tina not getting help, especially given the way it all went down -- you knew the minute they let her out of their sight, the whole plan was done for.

They're usually more creative with the camera work, so that we don't get a good look at the places nearby, but the house next door was falling apart and had boarded up windows. No way was someone going to pay that price for a place right next to something that was that sketchy. (They also usually say if they've bought other places nearby to fix up as well, but they didn't in this case.)

There was definitely a musing from her that she always had to keep the old adage in her mind (if he'll cheat with you, he'll cheat on you), but I didn't think there was definitive reason to think it was happening necessarily. I could've missed it, though...

I knew about the affair, but not the duration, or that he left wife #1 with 3 kids under age 5. I did like, however, that they interviewed the kids & talked openly about it (and had recorded interviews from the first wife). One of those kids has a "Joanne Woodward" tattoo on her arm, though, and I'd have liked a bit more on their odd family situation. Apparently, they seem to have adored Joanne for trying to make a family of them all, but her blunt honesty about the fact that if she had it to do over she wouldn't have had kids herself was refreshing and again, interesting in ways I wish there were more substance to. I also didn't realize that he was, essentially, a functioning alcoholic for so very many years. Overall, a really interesting little series and I wish Paul hadn't burned all the original tapes so we could possibly have more. I haven't quite sorted out what I think about the pandemic-ness of it all, it terms of the creation.

The replay is on before the new episode and I realized I meant to post about this last week. This is supposedly the "largest" single intervention they've ever done at one time (mom, dad, three siblings)...as ever, the one person you thought wouldn't make it -- the brother who was so far gone he had drug-induced paranoid psychosis, is the one who made it (and mom's random boyfriend who got clean and got out, lol). Go figure. I felt for the half-sister who was trying to have things work out for her dad and her beleaguered assortment of half-siblings. Time for her to move on, methinks. Star of the episodes: grandma's curly wig game, hands down.

This show really does feel like the most half-assed thing HGTV has slapped together in a while (usually their half-assed, fill-in shows come off as HGTV wanna-be folks who cobbled together some semblance of an idea, they didn't make the cut, and now HGTV is burning off whatever it is but this show was clearly their own doing, using a "franchise" they've done several times before*). The flippers are either unlikable or so restricted by the format that it doesn't matter. They're all exhausted and doing shoddy work because I'm betting they filmed this whole endeavor in about two weeks and are giving them two days per room. The HGTV "stars" are clearly phoning it in, and seem to show up to film for an hour or two here and there, with the exception of Ty who is likely living in his van down by the beachside (the Island Reno folks are promoting their show -- where I find both of them just as unpleasant as they are here, Allison is still working off her debt -- please wrap it up and get off my screen, and Ty is...well, just happy to have work, I'm guessing). Feh. *My favorite version of this was the first one, before they moved to the beach and HGTV bought a quad and gave them all the same condo floor-plan to redo in the building. I thought it was a cool premise at the time and liked the set-up. They moved to the beach to make it summer fare (and to likely cross-promote their other shows like Beachfront Bargain Hunt, etc.) and the first few were fine, if middling, IMO.

Yeah, joking aside, I was actually really worried about this -- at first, I thought he was pulling up the plants to get rid of them (isn't he a biologist of some sort, or am I misremembering that?). I'm going to suppose the area where they are sees plenty of people with all their horrible side-effects, so it matters a little less, but still, invasive species can wreck ecosystems.

Aw, poop-tomato leafy greens bisque, lol. A surprisingly emotional finale, but enjoyable.

It just occurred to me that we've only gotten one update on them so far, so...wither the poop-tomatoes? 🍅

Huzzah for the renewal! Here's a great interview with the costume designer about how she used costume design to define the characters. (Speaks to a few things mentioned in various episode threads, including Deborah's look at the party in the finale.)

Indeed! (And, for those old enough to remember, lol -- Linda adds the old school TWoP connection that so many of us miss around these parts.)