chrisrose

THANK YOU. All those scenes were such a waste of time, and I really didn't appreciate the whole "we have to keep Boyd's soul clean, so let's have Sara do the dirty work" thing. As if Boyd hasn't already made questionable decisions, like covering up Tillie's murder. (Which, if he hadn't done that and instead locked Fatima up in the jail for her own and everyone else's protection... maybe Elgin wouldn't have been able to kidnap her so easily.) And Boyd smashing Elgin's hand wasn't going too far? Nah, Boyd's still Our Hero. I guess we can just write Sara off though, with no hope of saving her soul? Okie doke. But honestly, Elgin was literally on his way out and they could've just followed him to Fatima, but no. What a lazy, contrived way to delay the plot so Fatima can give birth in the cellar with the underground passage to the tunnel where they need to have Boyd see the Smiley monster in the end. I feel like maybe the writers have an idea for the "shocking reveal/ending" for their episodes, and then they write backwards from there... like, hmm, how can we get to that point and stretch things out in the meantime? I hear it's a common complaint that this show is full of filler, and I agree. Another thing that bugs me, is all the characters just delivering exposition and telling us things they've suddenly realized/remembered, which is pretty anti-climactic. What happened to "show, don't tell"? Maybe they can't afford more flashbacks? It was so underwhelming to have Tabitha tell Jim about her past life with Jade. And how about Fatima telling Ellis and Kenny that she somehow "saw what the monsters are" - people who sacrificed their children for immortality. We didn't see her figure this out, or even have a vision/flashback. She's just... telling us. I guess some viewers are excited to get any answers at all, but I find this method of giving us information to be... not very satisfying. But hey! Jim's dead! I was totally shocked because he was suddenly listening and apologizing and helping and having Caring Father/Husband scenes with everyone and I had NO IDEA the show might be doing that thing where they make a character more likeable before killing him off. :P

I understand Kenny had to be away for plot contrivance purposes...in order to leave his mom less protected (plus he would've been able to stop that group who stormed into their house stealing food) ...but I really hated the, well, plot contrivance! Like, did we see Kenny and Jim bonding in the past and I've just forgotten? I don't really understand why Kenny felt the need to go off with Jim. Call me heartless to Jim's loss of Tabitha, but if I were Kenny, I'd be like...well, you can risk leaving your kids orphans if you want, but I'm needed back "home" to take care of my mom and maintain law/order/peace. Leaving the children and elderly behind and expecting Boyd to take care of everyone with basically no help (no offense to Victor who's been very helpful but still)... just... pisses me off. I wish the writers had found some other way to keep Kenny occupied if they *really* needed to kill his mom. Which I wish they hadn't done as she was one of the more likeable characters on this show... I don't really care about most of them. I especially hate it when TV deaths feel more infuriating and... "this could've been easily prevented!" ...as opposed to feeling inevitable. Yeah yeah, I know death in real life is often senseless. But it's fiction. I'd rather not be irritated and questioning the writers' decisions. 'Cause then I'm not even as moved by the characters' deaths as I should be. I mean... whyyyy weren't they keeping a talisman on the barn door to protect the animals all this time? Sheesh.

If so that's a shame...to punish Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (the actual showrunners) because of Joss Whedon's actions. My understanding is Joss was barely involved after season 1... Also wondering if it helps that Daisy Johnson is a character from the comics... would the Whedons still get paid when she's technically not their own original character?

I could be wrong, but I think Maddox, Kelly etc were responsible for the deaths on Ark 3? Unless that was a different Ark and I'm getting them confused. :P And I think Eva's brother was the one who moved the dead bodies out of the cargo hold (where the Ark 1 crew moved them last season) and posed them to make this "museum" ...because he went insane and thought they were still alive and imagined they were his friends? I don't think he was even really married to "Millie" ...just chose her corpse to be his ...um.... Corpse Bride, after his shuttle landed there? I think there was some quick dialogue about this. I question how he was able to make the dead bodies stand up/stay in position...even if they were frozen. But I guess it's another one of those inaccurate science things the show does, so I shouldn't question it. :) I'm with you tv echo... it's so unrealistic they keep all these clearly unstable people unrestrained in the infirmary. The man threatened to kill you all and you're not taking that seriously... just because he's Eva's brother and you feel sorry for him 'cause he snapped due to isolation (I asssume)? I really didn't care when he died, and I guess I'm heartless but I don't really care about Eva either... or her mysterious criminal past. Haha... but did her eyebrows finally move? I feel like they're painted on, or something. (Sorry, that's mean of me. I think the actress is just trying too hard to be Serious and Intense all the time.)

Yup, I think you summed it up perfectly...that's why I wasn't digging this episode, even though I normally would find an alternate reality/universe/dimension/whatever story fun. But you're right - the fun comes in seeing how different circumstances and decisions lead to different lives...but the characters need to be recognizably themselves at their core, like you said. Instead it seems the writers just decided to make the alt. versions of the Ark 1 crew the opposites of the ones we know. For no discernable reason. Thus, an overly-emotional, somewhat pathetic Garnet, violent cheater Angus, jaded and uneducated Alicia, selfless Trust (but still brilliant, why? shouldn't we be consistent with this whole "opposite" thing? Trust #2 should be nice but not-too-bright, right?) and a randomly British Cat (huh? okay, I checked wikipedia and the actress was born in London so I guess they just wanted to let her use her own accent even if it makes no sense, and, unlike Alicia's actress, Cat's actress was convincing with her American accent.) Anyway....I predict that Brice in our reality was not as heroic during that Lunar incident and probably left Spencer's father to die instead of saving him. 'Cause that would be the opposite of what happened in the other reality. And I guess Kimi's trying to dig up dirt on Brice because she suspects him of some cowardice that led to people's deaths? Welp. It *was* nice to see Cat's actress again, at least. P.S. If Brice and Cat switched places 'cause their characters died in eachother's realities... shouldn't we have seen other characters pop up who died in season 1? Silly me, looking for logic in all the wrong places. :P The Ark writers live in their own wacky reality. P.P.S. Methinks it was a miscalculation to show any version of Angus & Alicia this way, if the showrunners actually want viewers shipping them and intend for them to be "endgame". To use tv echo's example of Stargate SG-1... just imagine if that show gave us an alt. reality version of Jack who cheated on Sam, and had her punching/kicking him in response. I think it'd be pretty hard for shippers to erase that visual from their minds and continue to want the characters together....even different versions. Because we *do* expect the characters to basically be themselves in any universe. I'm kind of waiting for Angus to show his "true colors" now. :P 'Cause surely these tendencies must be inside him, waiting to be unlocked, right? :P Luckily I'm indifferent to Angus & Alicia, but I feel sorry for their fans!

Ahh, thanks for the info...never seen that movie. :) Yeah I guess the electricity merged with the FTL warp bubble thingy when he ejected it...and did something... causing the lack of stars etc when they got out of FTL? So they're not where/when they should be? Time travel would be fun. This show is so silly but I do enjoy it.

I'm guessing the Juno Project paired her with Felix Strickland and that's why she was kinda unnecessarily aggressive and yelling at him about Kimi ...that scene happened soon after she read her Juno match... and just something about the way she said "Strickland" when she first saw him...she sounded kind of embarrassed/uncomfortable and trying to cover it up by being even more authoritative than usual. Like she wanted to emphasize that their relationship was super-professional, not personal, y'know? At least, that's how I read the scene. Also, Sharon's reaction when she read the Juno results was more utter confusion (which makes sense since Felix is gay) rather than disgust (which I imagine would be more how she'd react if it was William Trust :P) Also...we're supposed to be worried about that guy vanishing and leaving his clothes behind but... clearly he'll be rescued... naked. That's some wacky fanservice there. :P I mean...what a suspenseful cliffhanger! ;)

Yeah the showrunners should've just let Alicia's actress use her natural accent instead of trying to hide it... it's distracting. I'm just gonna think of it as her own unique "hybrid" British/American/whatever accent and pretend it's meant to sound that way to indicate how cultures have blended/evolved in the future, or something. :P Also agree with tv echo that they want to keep Kelly around and make her sympathetic...while still using her as a scary wildcard to create mayhem. Basically, the dialogue they gave Garnet where she said she feels sorry for Kelly and is also afraid of her....that's how we're all supposed to feel. And oh my goodness I rolled my eyes at the hole in the wall ...like ottoDbusdriver said, couldn't they patch that up?! And heeeyyy how about that love vs. eugenics/chipped tooth first kiss chat between Garnet and Spencer...plus his shmoopy grin at the end of the scene? I'm feeling pretty proud of myself that I guessed the writers were setting them up for romance back in season one.... I mean, I guess it was pretty obvious they were gonna do the Enemies To Friends (To Enemies Again To Friends Again) To Lovers thing with them, but I'm patting myself on the back anyway. ;) And now I'm gonna make a new prediction ... next up on The Love Ark... Dr. Kabir and Dr. Marsh? I mean, she called him an "insufferable man"... seems a bit Jane Austen-y to me. :P

I... like Kathryn Grayson. 🤫 In general, but especially in Kiss Me Kate. Not a big fan of The Taming Of The Shrew story...but it's a great musical. I also really enjoy the 1940 Pride And Prejudice... love the cast and the humour! I guess some folks are upset that the costumes aren't period-accurate? But I've seen so many dull adaptations of Jane Austen (especially those stodgy, stagey BBC ones from the '80s) that I really appreciate the almost-screwball MGM version. :) Also, John Hodiak's cute and all, but I thought Judy had great chemistry with Van Johnson in "In The Good Old Summertime" ... the banter...and also the build-up to that kiss. Whew! 🥵 (There should be a smiling sweaty emoji....just pretend that one's smiling. :))

I love The Harvey Girls too. :) This was my introduction to Virginia O'Brien and yes, she's great! Luckily Judy has so much charisma that I didn't really notice that I didn't really notice John Who..diak. ;)

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that history! I feel simultaneously sheepish that I didn't already know that, even though I consider myself a big fan of hers... but also proud of myself that Judy and I were on the same page. ;) So nice of Angela Lansbury to try to help her out... It'll be nice to rewatch their rivalry in The Harvey Girls, knowing they were friendlier in real life. :) Thanks again for your reply! I don't have access to TCM anymore, but I love visiting this thread and reading people's thoughts/learning more about classic movie history.

Rinaldo, I haven't seen any adaptation of Auntie Mame, but your description makes me wonder if Judy Garland could've done the role? I might be biased as a huge Judy fan, but when I think of "terrific singer", "brilliantly funny but capable of warmth", as you said... well, I think of Judy! :) And she seemed very caring and nurturing towards children in the movie A Child Is Waiting... Anyway, despite my lack of knowledge of Mame, I enjoyed reading your thoughts and agree with you that "some innate qualities are hard to erase, or imitate"... even the best actors can be miscast!

Love your post, and your references.... nice quote from The Strawberry Blonde! :) (I just had to show off that I got your reference...forgive me ;))

This is such a mind-bending show. It makes me question everything I thought I knew about the laws of nature and science. :P I had no idea a dog (wolf?) or any animal would run into a forest fire instead of away from it. Also good to know if you're surrounded by flames that hiding behind a piece of cloth (someone bring a spare shirt?) will protect you even as everything else around is charred to a crisp. Dowel Jones... the dam stuff was dam ridiculous, indeed. :) I'm with you, iMonrey - hilarious that we have time for more sob story backstories for everyone. I can't wait for Scott to find new love at the last minute... maybe via a wordless flirty invitation by a heretofore unseen sinkhole extra... paying homage to the scene with Jon Cryer and Nameless Blonde in Pretty In Pink. Yeah! Why not? :) Didn't Sam also have a flirty extra approach him at the end of last season? Where'd she go? I think we've got time for a love triangle between her and Sam and Scott. ;) Funny you mention Ione Skye, Babalu06... she's actually the reason I tuned in to this show (remember her from Say Anything and also the short-lived medieval family drama Covington Cross) ... but of course she was barely in this. I keep watching for the snark. Kinda sad it's ending soon... it's nice to have a show that makes me actually laugh out loud... not many (intentional) comedies can do that!

To be honest, I would've been kind of annoyed if (the overrated IMO) Greta Gerwig got a best director nom when Sarah Polley (my hero) didn't. I know I "should" support all women, but...sorry, I can't root for someone if I don't actually enjoy their work. I think the pacing/timing/editing of Barbie was pretty bad. There were jokes that worked better in the trailers because of the snappy editing and then when I saw the movie itself... oof. So many scenes just went on too long and lost their impact and/or became cringeworthy. I feel like editing is a big part of directing and also can make such a difference in how the actors' performances come across, and I think Greta botched it. (I wasn't a fan of her chopping up the story of Little Women either, messing with the timeline and again wrecking the emotional impact, IMO.) Anyhoo! I'm surprised about Margot Robbie though... feels like a personal snub since America and Ryan got nominated.

ME TOO. I always click on the thread with a feeling of dread. (Sorry if you click to read this new post and I've made you worry again! ;)) I fear the worst since there have been other shows that were initially renewed and then cancelled... plus the strikes delaying productions, causing studios to re-evaluate. :/ Mainly, I guess I was so surprised School Spirits got renewed (most of my favorite things tend to be pretty unpopular!), I keep expecting a reversal of fortune. :P

Don't worry, I highly doubt it's Hannah... she seems to be portrayed as Grace's True Love, and it would be too cruel of the writers if Grace lost Hannah (to prison) as well as Edgar (to poison, presumably :P). This is supposed to be a fun murder mystery after all! So I can't see them giving us such a downer ending...

I guess I should sympathize with Belly crying and calling her mom at the end, but I just thought it was selfish of her to take Laurel away from her book promotion, and expect her to "fix" everything. Fix your own mess, Belly. Yeah, I'm having trouble sympathizing with her in general. Maybe I could understand her trying to move on from her First Love She Still Pines For with the Best Friend She Also Lusts After... IF THEY WEREN'T BROTHERS. I know, I know... I shouldn't even be watching this show if I have a problem with the basic premise of a love triangle involving siblings. Basically I just checked out this show for the actress who plays Susannah. I liked her in the Clueless tv series. I'm old. :) But Belly's the clueless one here. :P I know she's not the source of *all* the conflict between Conrad and Jeremiah, but she's certainly not helping, bouncing back and forth between them. Make a choice and stick to it, fer cryin' out loud. Stop playing with people's feelings. Sigh. Clearly, I'm too old for this. ;) Anyone else confused by Belly saying if she'd only known Conrad asked for Jeremiah's blessing, she would've "fought harder for them"? I mean... I thought Belly might be mad that Conrad didn't tell her about that because instead he gave her the impression Jeremiah was happily dating other people and was completely over her, therefore, no need to feel guilty/nothing to prevent her from being with Conrad, etc. In other words, I thought for a second she was upset on Jeremiah's behalf, or because she felt manipulated/deceived by Conrad. But I guess not. She just wanted more signs from Conrad that he was serious about her, or something? Why is it up to her to "fight harder" for their relationship anyway? Isn't she 16 years old? Who even thinks/talks that way at that age? She seems so selfish and immature, and yet ..."I would have fought harder for us!" ...like she's a middle-aged about-to-be-divorcee? Or someone in a soap opera. Why am I watching this show... it is not for me! Although, believe it or not, I did have my own "summer I turned less-ugly" when the braces came off, the contact lenses went in, and I lost some weight... which did lead to attention from the opposite sex for the first time in my life. But... I still can't relate to Belly. Thankfully. Actually, I think my main problem might be that I find it hard to believe these guys would ever see her as anything but their "little sister", considering they basically grew up together since infancy. No matter how pretty she turned out to be. Is that naive of me? Am I underestimating adolescent hormones?

I think, at the time, (when so many male-centric sex comedies were popular) this movie was actually considered somewhat progressive simply for having a female protagonist and showing some sensitivity in writing her feelings and insecurities and overall POV. It was something a little more relatable to female viewers than the teen movies that came before it. HOWEVER. :P Not defending this movie at all. I've only seen it once, when I was very young, and I never wanted to see it again. It was probably my introduction to the concept of rape and consent - but even if I didn't know those words, I remember *knowing* it was wrong, the way that guy passed his unconscious girlfriend to another guy. I couldn't believe we were supposed to root for him and Molly Ringwald to get together. Won't even get into the "comedy" involving the Asian character... I enjoy other John Hughes movies, but this one makes me kind of ashamed I'm a fan of any of his work. Did anyone ever ask him about Sixteen Candles (in a critical way) while he was alive? Anyone know if he ever expressed regrets?

I think, when he was introduced, Travis was described as a "Redditor" (person who posts on the Reddit forums) - so I wonder how the folks on Reddit feel about this portrayal. I mean, it's kinda neat that the writers included a character this season who's an amateur detective Redditor who deciphers codes, etc. I assume it's meant to be a cheeky tribute to the real folks on Reddit who were super-sleuths last season, finding secret messages and clues in every episode (pretty sure morse code was one of those methods used) and solving the mystery way before the reveal. Seriously, don't go over there if you want to figure it out yourself or be surprised. :) The showrunner did a Q&A/AMA on Reddit, and I've seen some interviews praising those fans, so I *think* Travis is supposed to be a likeable character we poke gentle fun at? Ultimately, he seems to be a good guy who genuinely cares about Grace. Still, I wonder if anyone's gonna be offended that their representative is depicted as a conspiracy theorist the other characters look down on, not to mention the stereotype of the "loser who still lives with his mom". Of course lots of people are living with their parents in these financially tough times (also in order to take care of their elderly relatives too, which is commendable) and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that! It's just one of those stereotypes, y'know? Then again, Chris Miller (and Phil Lord) are all about using/spoofing tropes and stereotypes... so maybe it's not that serious and nobody's feeling insulted. I'm tempted to visit Reddit and see for myself how people are reacting to Travis... but I don't want to navigate that minefield of spoilers. :P

I agree...I think whoever was sneaking around Mom's house during the Homecoming dance, was still skulking nearby when the Sheriff told Mom and Nicole about finding the murder weapon. Then this shadowy figure followed Nicole into the woods and dug up the money she buried, I guess? In the brief flashback Maddie had about fighting with her mom, she says something like "it belonged to me" and Mom tells her to get over it. So I thiiiiiiiiink her mom took Maddie's necklace which is now missing, right? Probably wanted to sell it so she could buy booze. But I doubt she killed her daughter over it. I really don't know who's left to suspect, other than someone we've barely seen, like the principal or that other teacher (the one who put her jacket on Maddie's empty chair and helped with the flyers, etc.) - they don't seem to have a purpose in the story, so far. Wouldn't be very satisfying though. I'd rather it be the Sheriff since he's a weasel and a bully. I did like that scene where Claire stood up for Xavier and basically said "no, *you're* the loser, and you suck at your job". Heh. But it can't be the Sheriff if it's someone who was *watching* the Sheriff talking to Mom and Nicole. Oooh, unless it *is* the Sheriff who pretended to leave after that, but waited around for Nicole to leave the house and then followed her? But then he'd have to be smart enough to suspect Nicole had the money and would be worth following? Don't know if I believe he's that smart. :P

I know, it's ridiculous, like so many things on this show - yet another plot contrivance so the writers can move their action figures/characters where they want them to go, even if it makes the ship's designers seem incompetent. Too bad the writers can't think of another way to make things happen more realistically. I mean, how did that one Ark 15 guy even maneuver himself into position to open the airlock? At first I thought he was one of the guys who'd been shot out into space by Garnett, but I guess he was just sent on a separate mission to infiltrate while the Ark 15 shuttle provided a distraction, since Garnett later said she was using that same tactic to board Ark 15. But even so, how'd he *not* float away? And how'd the Ark 1 crew not spot him exiting the shuttle (presumably) to propel himself over to a different entrance/airlock thingy? I'm clearly not an expert scientist myself, but I'd do more research if it was my job to write a sci-fi space show. :P Even though I'm nitpicking and I know this isn't actually a *good* show, I'm still kind of hooked and interested in what wacky thing will happen next. Maybe Angus will suddenly develop the ability to read social cues and turn into a master manipulator who uses Kelly's mommy issues against her in order to escape his comfy prison. Then he can speed-grow a poisonous plant to drug Ark 15, rescue Lane and Trust, and they shuttle on outta there! Unknowingly leaving Sharon Garnett behind on Ark 15, to wander through all the passed out people, in confusion. But then she boots them all out of the airlock and takes over Ark 15! But then it turns out Kelly's alive! She's good at hiding and being the last survivor. Which super-skinny, super-strong redhead will win? I'd say Garnett, but since Kelly's actress is the daughter of one of the showrunners...we might be stuck with her as a recurring thorn-in-their-side villain who never truly gets defeated. Yay. :P

We've never met Janet but we've been told she's a ghost who crossed over ... but it seems pretty obvious that Mr. Martin did not actually help her cross over. Especially now that the other ghosts have felt/experienced what it was like when Dawn crossed over, which they did not before, with Janet. My guess is Mr. Martin is pretending to help the ghost kids but actually preventing them from leaving the school/moving on to the afterlife. He's obviously threatened by Maddie and trying to maintain the status quo. Remember when he was talking to Maddie about writing an obituary and made some throwaway comment about how the views in hell weren't as nice... I'm guessing that was a clue that he's some kind of evil entity and very acquainted with Hell. Now that Maddie actually suspects her mom killed her, I'm gonna say... probably not, because the show's writers would want the shocking reveal to be in the very last episode. I'm enjoying this show, although I groan at the idea of a Simon/Maddie/Wally love triangle. I was hoping for a truly platonic relationship between Simon and Maddie. But now Simon's confessing love and upset that Maddie went to the dance with football player, and Wally's getting jealous whenever Maddie mentions Simon and...ugh. I mean, are we supposed to root for Simon to die so he can be with Maddie? How...romantic? Either that or Maddie comes back to life somehow and Wally's left behind. Or Wally crosses over and leaves Maddie behind. I DON'T NEED THIS KIND OF ANGST. Can't we just have a fun show about a bunch of dead kids haunting their school. Ha ha. :P

So does keeping your father's last name mean you "belong" to him? ;) I think there are many reasons one might want to change their name (or keep the one they were given at birth.) It's possible to not want to be connected to your father, and for that name to have painful associations for you. It's possible to prefer your husband's name, without any icky ownership implications.

Not sure, but it seemed like Jimmy blamed him, and if he was capable of - I'm guessing yes, he could arrange a more dangerous challenge to get rid of Abby when the threatening letters failed to get her to drop out of the games. The revelations at the end definitely could've been written more clearly though :P I probably don't need to use spoiler tags at this point, but oh well. :) Regarding the Sheriff...