Maverick

The episodes on BBCA are the best quality I have ever seen. Thinking about it, I guess this is the first time I've seen them on HD (MeTV and H&I are the only place I've seen TOS on air in ages).

#NotGayCorey

Trying not to be totally cynical, they could genuinely be interested in the experience. Some people like to travel and experience new things--if only for the sake of experiencing them especially as they get older and feel it's now or never. I know this is a show and there's a least a certain amount of staging, but I don't think any of these guys is hard up enough for cash (well, except maybe some of them need alimony money) to do this if they didn't have at least a passing interest. And if if they did need some cash they could probably find something that didn't involve trudging through Asia and eating animal organs (that's for the common folk that run the Amazing Race). I think this was an opportunity to have a guy's trip and get some new experiences on someone's else's dime. The ratio of interest in experience/money/exposure surely varied for each but there had to be at least a modest amount of interest in the experience itself.

TOS did several episodes showing the long-term impact of contamination ("Patterns of Force"/intentional violation and "A Piece of the Action"/unintentional pre-Prime Directive). I wish TNG had done something like that so we could have seen a take with a less campy angle. Instead it was always them creating a problem and watching them try to clean it up--which left us never truly knowing how badly they changed things. Voyager had a fairly decent story about unintentional contamination in "Blink of an Eye" where they get stuck in a orbit of a planet where time passes far more rapidly than normal. Voyager being there for a few days translates to centuries on the planet. Ancient astronomers spot the ship in their rudimentary telescopes and the entire civilization develops around progressing their technology enough to reach "the sky ship". Voyager was seen as some sacred object that shaped their culture and religion and wars were fought over it in a race to be the first to get there.

There are several instances where the Federation could have saved an undeveloped culture from extinction but wasn't supposed to because of the Prime Directive. In "Pen Pals" a geologically unstable world was about to kill the inhabitants. The Enterprise was able to stabilize the planet, but only did so as a violation of the PD (and only then after Data committed the first breach of the Directive by contacting an inhabitant of the planet). In "Homeward", Worf's brother beams the inhabitants of a dying world to the holodeck so they can be transported to a new planet. They were supposed to think they were just crossing the ocean, but a mishap leads one of them to discovered they're on a starship (and I think he ultimately kills himself overwhelmed with the knowledge...hate the episode and haven't seen it in a while). I agree not actively going in and interfering with a culture is a good idea. It's the basis for many sci fi stories that advanced aliens come in and "help" us humans because we're apt destroy ourselves with war, disease, overpopulation, etc. and that rarely works out well. But it seems clear that in instances where a race is about to be extinct through no fault of their own and the problem can be solved without them knowing it's inhumane not to help. The question is, where do you draw the line. And what happens if you end up inadvertently contaminating their culture when saving them? Is it better for them to survive even if they develop some false religion based on alien influence?

Chimps.

Ugh. Damiano? Seriously? I like Sherry Yard but I also can enjoy Aunt Sandy bringing the cra-cra. But Damiano over Ron Ben-Israel? No, just no. I didn't like him on the baking show and hated him on FNS. I agree Jeff Dunham is a total WTF, but it's still a massive improvement over blowhard Blais. So glad his fame whore arrogant ass isn't back.

I saw a quick commercial for the Halloween Baking Show (the one with Ron Ben-Israel, Sherry Yard and Carla Hall hosting last year). It looks like Aunt Sandy is one of the judges. I also saw Carla Hall, so I assume Sandy is replacing Sherry Yard. She may be replacing someone on the Holiday Baking Show too (hopefully Nancy), but the Halloween show makes more sense as she was always doing those Halloween episodes of her show where she looked like she was outfitted by Bob Mackey.

The conceit of these commercials is that these are regular Joe Johnsonville line workers who are describing what their commercial would like if they had the opportunity to produce one.

I don't like that Johnsonville ad (but I do kinda like the delivery of "book"--there's no I read) but I do find the other one (with the truck chase through the desert) amusing.

I'm sure it will be Iceland.

I think it's almost a given one will end up killing the other.

I believe he was the one being held in a stranglehold

Has anyone checked the fitness center. Smart money's on cardio in the ZA.

Maybe Chris is going to kill Travis because he won't bro down.

Told ya, Alicia McClane. Yippekayay, mutherfucker

I knew I should have fired you, Maria.

Where'd you learn to kill? Family road trip.

That depends on what the script calls for this week.

She's not your friend Alicia. Her guests check in....but they don't check out.

OK Alicia McClane. Guess she enjoyed Die Hard as a kid.

Did he say Baby Jane?

Yes...why don't you Zillow that and see what's available. How does he plan to find this magical house on a hill with a well? Just roam around Mexico?

Fool...there's no room for Pollyana during the end of the world.

2 surprise guests? Maybe this episode should have been titled "House Cleaning" instead of "Do Not Disturb"