Shades of Red

That's an understatement! I can honestly say I've never really taken any notice of Evan Bates, but this changes my opinion of him 100%. Certainly not bland and boring in this clip. I didn't watch the Reader's Digest condensed version of Skate Canada on NBC so not quite sure what they showed, but wonder if they showed the Russian pairs couple who skated last in the first flight of skaters? They were skating to the Beatles I believe and she was wearing Daisy Dukes!!! I know the dress code has gotten more relaxed over the years, but seriously? Count me in with the people not impressed that Ashley Wagner reused a routine. Don't care if it's been reworked or not. It's only fair for everyone if they start from scratch each season. I'm pretty sure Tracy Wilson or Rod Black said she's been using it for exhibitions and skating shows. This used to mean that a skater was too lazy or couldn't be bothered to learn something new or really didn't care about the competition side of things anymore. Speaking of which, when did it become acceptable to stop in the middle of a routine? Pretty sure it happened in just about every discipline I watched. You would have been penalized or at the very least mocked endlessly for pausing/taking a breather in the middle of a routine. Meant you weren't in peak physical form and needed to work on your stamina. Maybe it's time to stop the jumping contest (which didn't go well for many this competition) and get back to basics and master those before moving on.

Schedule for Skate Canada for anyone who can see it. I'm a little late on this so this afternoon's broadcast has been left out. Currently TSN is showing the Men's short and I think the Pairs' short will be coming up. I've tuned in late for that. According to my guide off the tv it looks like there's going to be something on TSN at 5:30 am tomorrow morning. It doesn't tell me what they're showing. CTV is showing the Ladies' Free at 2 pm tomorrow, TSN will have the Free Dance on at 4:30, Pairs Free at 7 pm on CTV and TSN will have a recap at 8:30 pm tomorrow night. Check local listings to be sure. I got this from Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje's facebook page along with some from my onscreen tv listings.

Nice to see I'm not the only one who thought they were boring. The Canadian commentators hinted at injuries but didn't come right out and say what the injury was. David Pelletier was very refreshing in his comments about Denis skating or lack there of. He talked about the gaps when Denis fell and got back into the program and how he looked like he really didn't care and shouldn't be skating. David in essence said, everyone has a bad day, but at least look like you're putting in an effort and want to be there. Denis wasted the space and someone else could have skated - my words not David's. He also commented on Jason's skate and how weird it is that someone who can't seem to get their shit together (ok, my words, but the sentiment is his) to jump manages to rise up as much as he does. At some point his artistic marks aren't going to be able to carry him. DP figures Jason needs to go back to basics, master his jumps, especially the triple axel which is a must have for men and then get the artistic down. At the end of the day this is still a sporting competition. Artistic is wonderful for exhibitions and skating shows, but you have to have the athletic part for jumping if you're going to compete.

Too late for today, but CBC is covering Skate America. It's on tomorrow at 2 pm EST. Today the pairs' long and ladies' long program was on and tomorrow it's the men and dance. David Pelletier has been doing commentary and I have to say I quite like it. He's very good at giving his opinion as well as filling it lots of technical information.

Thank you for clearing that up. I stopped watching H5O several years ago so it's small wonder I didn't remember that was the show it crossed with.

This episode confused me because I thought there was a cross-over episode a few years back with both teams? It involved vials of biological weapons I think or am I imaging things and have confused this with another show? I'm pretty sure there was a scene in a market with all the active agents from both shows running around? Because I believe this, all the scenes with no one knowing each other etc made no sense to me. Thank you to everyone who said this was shot out of order. It never occurs to me that this happens and then I'm extra ticked off that plot lines don't make sense.

Glad the show is back and it's actually one I watch in real time vs on the PVR. I suspend belief in so many things, but the semen sample thing here is irritating me to no end. The sample has thawed, been kept in a container that doesn't have any cooling properties, has been out for several days and generally hasn't been taken care of very well since leaving the clinic. Having worked in a lab for years I know how difficult it is to maintain any kind of stability in such a sample, let alone one that you want to use to get pregnant. Just not happening - sorry, can't fan wave that one. There isn't a chance in hell that Petra could use it to get pregnant after all this time. The narrator still makes me laugh, so that's a good thing.

I noticed the gun thing too and was irritated by it. I know it's constantly mentioned, but that's beyond annoying given PW's past show. Some people are more comfortable and look more comfortable than others with weapons - some of it has to do with their jobs and some of it is just natural. Let the man handle his weapons as we know he can. PW mentioned in an interview that a director or someone on set commented on the way he handles a gun and told him to "tone it down" or something to that effect. Leave the man alone and let him do what he excels at! The improvisation of the weapons in the high rise reminded me of scenes from Strike Back when the fellows had to make do with whatever was on hand. I was waiting for Sully to show up to give him a hand or make suggestions. As for the dumpcop showing up on his own, well that happens all the time on shows which ranks up there with people going to investigate when they hear a noise in the dark without any weapons or smarts. As for the maybe dead/alive wife, it would have been nice if Alex's tech friend would have been able to get Alex a message about some of the stuff he downloaded last week to help with this. He must have looked at the stuff he printed out or recovered? It would also give Alex someone he could trust. This goes back to Mr. Johnson being the all knowing/all powerful guy. I can't express how much I despise this shit. He even knows that Cassandra is spying on him. I refuse to believe anyone is that powerful (putting my fingers in my ears now so no one can tell me otherwise).

So sad the series has ended. Overall I liked the ending and how it ended, but, I would have liked to seen how they got out of the barn and back onto American soil. I also would have liked to see the end of that disgusting politician. Of course it may be nicer to have look over his shoulder for a while, but in the end I'd have liked to have watched him get what was due. The boys on their way to Vegas. Guess Michael found his new job didn't he? Will have to rewatch to see if there's any mention of N.Y. too? I can't take credit for noticing this as I read it someplace else.

I too liked the double meaning for that and when he says "take the shot" and the guy looks at him with a stunned look on his face. Mr. Johnson is beginning to irritate me. The all powerful, all knowing thing has always bugged me so it's not surprising it irks me now. He was cruel to the poor tech guy and honestly I was surprised he let tech man see his face. I was hoping that buddy would figure out a way to let Alex know what happened and thought he had when Alex swiped everything onto the floor, but I was wrong. I want to know how Alex and Cassandra got back to the top of the building after hanging off the side. That took me out of the moment. One minute they are dangling from the side and the next they are back in position to take out the sniper. The editing was odd for that. I hand wave a lot of stuff, but that was weird. I'm in for the long run right now. The cast looks like they are having fun and don't take themselves too seriously. Wish the same thing would happen over at Blindspot with Sully. I don't think the magic of Strike Back will be duplicated, but Philip has more chemistry with his fellow actors (and not in a romantic way) than poor Sully does on his show. Just want to add it's nice to see a strong female character who can hold her own and has skills.

Thanks for the laugh! Maybe he needs to start doing that here ... oh wait, he's now on network tv and they don't do that kind of stuff. Maybe I watch too much "premium channel" (or whatever non-network channels are called) tv, but this show would benefit from some curse words. I think it would make the characters less stiff necked and more natural. I am happy he's out of his suit from the first episode. Don't get me wrong, I like a man in a suit, but don't like it when he looks uncomfortable in one, which Sully did in the first episode. I thought I was imaging that but guess not. At first I wondered if he was yelling "line" in between words. I think it's because they are sticking to a script and aren't comfortable enough to improvise or comfortable enough with each other yet. It must throw you off as an actor when you don't have chemistry with the people you're sharing scenes with and it shows with the dialogue and its delivery.

I so agree with the part I bolded. Count me in with the people getting sick and tired of looking at close-ups of Jaimie's eyes. Enough already. Makes me think she can't act so this is the default for that. I always like Sully, but given all of his close-ups I will admit I had no idea he had such nice eyes - thanks show, but now you can stop that too. Last night still didn't give me any chemistry between the leads. I also think the show takes itself too seriously and that's a huge problem. I know it gets tired, but there was lots of action on Strike Back, but they didn't take themselves seriously, always looked like they were in on the joke and having fun and I really believed the characters were a team. This show not so much. No one really seems to be jellying with anyone else. Makes me sad actually. Last night was the first time I really noticed Sully's accent. I thought at the beginning of the show his American accent was okay but as the show continued more of his Aussie accent came through. I'm not sure why that is as he really didn't have any issues with it previously and was very believable as an American in Strike Back. Maybe it's because he always has to think and realizes he has no chemistry with the others so nothing is coming "naturally".

I can't stand HTGAWM either. I couldn't make it through the first episode. I think it's one of those shows that people either gravitate towards and enjoy or like the two of us, can't stand. Truth be told, I'm glad The Player is on Thursday nights as I have no use for the "must see" Thursday night line up from ABC. Sully and Philip had amazing chemistry on Strike Back and played off each other really well. So far on Blindspot poor Sully hasn't had anyone he connects with this well. I know it doesn't always happen and having watched him in Strike Back it can colour a person's perspective on his acting on Blindspot. I can say I'm happy that Wesley Snipes hasn't appeared too much on The Player. I'm not a huge fan and there's something odd about him I can't quite figure out. It took me a bit to realize he changes up his accents for the person he's supposed to be on this show. At first I thought I was hearing things, but he sounds very different as the FBI agent vs Mr. Johnson.

He's not as buff and neither is Sully. It's not your imagination or lack of reviewing the evidence ;) The two fellows have talked in interviews about the stuff they used to take and the work-outs they had when they were filming Strike Back. Sounds like it was some pretty heavy duty stuff. I didn't recognize the boyfriend and as someone has said, he's lucky he wasn't shot. She really didn't look very pleased to see him. Lots of things I need to hand wave, but right now I'll go with it to have Philip on my screen weekly.

Call back to Strike Back with Alex jumping into the back of the plane. It was a mash up of several similar scenes on Strike Back. I think I saw Michael Bassett's name in the credit for directing this. Makes me happy and I hope he does more. The hour just went by. Not sure about the new people and something was weird with the goth niece. The police friend knows that Alex was Special Ops at one point doesn't he? So why does he keep asking Alex what he's into? He should know by now that Alex can't talk about most of the stuff he's involved in. I really hope this sticks around. It's fun and mindless entertainment on a Thursday night. I initially didn't believe it when Mr. Johnson took down Alex in the first episode and the body guard in this one, but then I find out Wesley is actually very well versed in martial arts. I had no idea which will make this more enjoyable and given Philip's capacity for stunt work, this could get even more interesting and fun to watch.

Great term! Now I have to find a way to use it, which given some of the shows I watch shouldn't be too difficult.

I cried during the scene with the daughter meeting the organ donor. It was okay for a pilot and I don't usually watch medical shows. If this continues with all the medical stuff then I'm out. I find shows like that boring. I gave up on House and ER because I found it boring after a while.

Until recently I'd never heard the term "Black movies" - being educated daily. I will have to check out some of these - thanks for the suggestions. I am known for checking out actor's other works after seeing them in something I like. As someone who has worked in a medical environment (a blood/sample lab), I can attest to changing clothes ASAP when leaving work. If I had the misfortune of having to go somewhere after work I always brought a change of clothes with me. In fact, at one point I had a "work wardrobe" that only was worn for work. There's something gross about wearing the same clothes from this kind of work environment to socialize in.

If you're talking about YPF - you missed out on a funny movie. It had some sad moments, but overall I thought it was hilarious. I don't know where you're from, but up here in Canada it produced a media frenzy with its title and the last word wasn't spelled out properly - turns out our censor board thought we were more sensitive about things then we actually are (at least that's what I like to think).

I think that as well. All the other tattoos were puzzles and this one got her to at least have some input into what they are. She pulled the right string to start the unraveling of things. My take on this may be wrong, but on Strike Back he was allowed to improvise a lot and swear. It's a little thing, but I think this show looks like he has to stick to a script a lot more than he and Philip Winchester did on his other show. They talk about it in interviews and joke about all the swearing they do. As he delivers his dialogue I keep expecting a curse word now and again ... which won't happen as this is network tv. I know actors need to memorize things, but depending on the circumstances, I think some shows/movies want exactly what's written on the page while others allow for some leeway and actor input. As for they eye fucking that's happening, I still don't see it. I still don't think the two of them have any kind of chemistry together. I like that Sully is finally out of a suit. He does look more comfortable in more casual outfits.

Thank you Castle for making it easy to drop you on a Monday night. I had too many shows I was juggling so dropping one makes life a little easier. I can't believe what this show has turned into and tonight's episode was the icing on the cake :(

We're behind up here in Canada so this just wrapped up last night. How more cliched could it get than to have her in the arms of her neighbour after brushing off the real estate agent? I haven't watched the movies so have no idea how the son and his wife got into their circumstances but he should have gone to England with her. At the very least they could have done something long distance for a little bit.

That was very cool and unexpected. She wasn't fooling around.

Oh ya, that was fun! Thank you NBC for bringing two of my favourite men onto my tv screen on a regular basis even if they're not together anymore. It's a little odd listening to Philip talking without a British accent, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. After reading and listening to some of Philip's interviews, I'm now paying a little more attention to some of the action sequences to see if I can spot where his stunt double takes over and how long he stays in a scene. His Strike Back training is definitely coming in handy for this show. Maybe I'm imaging things, but some of Michael Stonebridge's mannerisms are showing up ... they might be Philip's but given that I don't know him, I'll say they're Michael's. So the long game is finding his ex-wife? Here's hoping we don't end the season on a cliffhanger to see if she's really alive or dead. I also hope this doesn't become a plot point in every episode.

I'm going to begin in the shallow end of the pool ... Morris Chestnut - where did he come from? I checked his imdb page and haven't watched anything else he's ever been on. That's a fine man! I do think it's funny though that Lorraine is only 9 years older than he is and is playing his mother. Now onto more serious matters ... I had no idea about the story about Rosewood either. That sounds horrifying. I also liked how "normal" the ladies' relationship was treated. Nothing special, just two people getting married. The rest of the show was hit and miss for me. I will tune in again next week as I can usually give pilot episodes some leeway unless they really offend/bore/scare me.