Demian

Not the show in the media, but the original case: Dominick Dunne's first article about it in Vanity Fair, from October 1990. It clearly shows how little he thought of psychological defenses for murder. (Note: Might be paywalled, but it shouldn't be, if Conde Nast's not stupid.) P.S. Is there a way to bump this show to the main forum page? This, American Sports Story, and Agatha All Along all premiered this week and are absent, while stuff like Madam Secretary, Mare of Easttown, and Ray Donovan are still up there.

My memory of the actual case is full of holes by now, but in short: Money. Oziel was hoping for a massive payday when he sold his story (and those tapes) to a magazine, or a publisher, or a TV producer. His mistress blew all of that up when she took the story to the police -- for free -- instead.

I think, with this episode, he's likely the MVP of the entire series. He was astonishing during that entire sequence, and the way he ended it with that one sidelong glance at the lawyer -- that glance that makes you wonder whether he's been bullshitting her (and thus us) the entire time? Phenomenal. It's too bad little else in this series comes anywhere close to matching those 33 minutes. Overall, this show's been a mess, but I wouldn't be surprised if this episode ends up getting multiple Emmy nominations next year.

Oh, plus the United States men's four rowing team, especially that guy who cried after winning, plus the guy who comforted him:

More surfing -- Ethan Ewan: Kauli Vaast, of whom Colin Jost has been jealous for stupid reasons: And another of Gabriel Medina, just because: He's 27! You're totally safe!

...I'm still not getting the truth about certain members of the mens' team. Would you please spill, already?

I don't know if we should be joking about authoritarian governments at the Olympics, but as My Dear Old (Dead) Dad always used to say when a Russian or Romanian or East German athlete failed: "Off to the gulag for you!"

Because NBC sucks. Best I can tell, the only way to watch it live is to livestream it beginning at 5 AM Eastern. You apparently get only 30 minutes of free livestreaming on NBC's site, after which you have to sign in either with a Peacock account, or with your Dish Network account. Peacock will then have the event available for streaming anytime (which is how I watched the platform finals), but that's it. Next week, the individual springboard finals are supposed to be airing on E!, if you get that channel.

It was my first opening ceremony as well, but what happened after? That was horrific. Period. And it's stuck with me throughout my life. And let's not forget the Beer Hall Putsch and the Munich Agreement. The Olympics should never have been held in that city in the first place. It should have gone to Montreal, but oh, surprise! The second-place city was Madrid, in what was then a fascist stronghold. So, Munich was it, because it was in what was then West Germany -- the good Germany, as opposed to the Soviet Germany. Lovely. The Cold War really fucked things up for everyone, right?

I must admit that I am one of those once-every-four-years gymnastics followers, but I have to applaud all of the salty tea in this thread. It's thrilling to read. Bravissima!

From the men's gymnastics today: Zhang Boheng And Illia Kovtun: And if anyone can find a good photo of swimming's Pan Zhanle, that would be awesome. (And yes, I feel gross, because all of these guys are in their twenties, but the hell with it. Compared to these guys, the synchronized divers look like infants. Yes, including Tom Daley.)

I think NBC made a big mistake in trying to make that Brody guy happen. NBC should have been all-in on Stephen Nedoroscik from the begining.

The Americans coming in second or third consistently refusing to congratulate the actual gold-medal winners is starting to grate. Edit: D'oh! I'm forgetting about how shitty NBC's coverage is. NBC's just not airing all of the moments where the athletes congratulate each other. NBC's coverage sucks.

I watched a bit on PBS tonight where Apolo Ohno admitted that, once he'd conquered speed skating, he had no idea what to do with the rest of his life. I wonder about gymnastic's "Clark Kent," but he's already on track to a career. The other guys on the team, though? I hope they all have Plan Bs.

Not sure if anyone else can see this, because it's a segment from my local PBS station, but here goes: https://www.pbs.org/video/stephen-nedoroscik-world-champion-gymnast-tacfqz/

I give you Tatjana Smith, from South Africa: I'm not saying I'm certain she's wearing waterproof makeup in the pool, but I'm pretty certain she's wearing waterproof makeup in the pool. Regardless, she's stunning. Brava! Also, Nic Fink, another Hot Nerd: Also, surfing: That would be Gabriel Medina, of Brazil.

I don't think I've ever had any.

Loved how NBC blew so much time on his hagiographic pre-taped bio piece the other night, and then he proceeded to bomb in the qualification round. Oh, come on -- you can't just tease me like that! I need details!

I offer you Hot Nerd Stephen Nedoroscik: Engineering major, possible medalist on the pommel horse. Also another possible medalist on the pommel horse: He's the Irish guy who proved that the Olympic beds are pretty sturdy:

You really want to reference Munich? Wow. That's certainly a choice.

The one thing I learned from the NBC broadcast of the opening ceremonies -- the only thing I learned from the NBC broadcast -- is that it last rained on an opening back in 1952, in Helsinki. Keep that fact in your back pockets if you ever do bar trivia.

Benedict looked like he could barely stand up on his own at Francesca's wedding after his week-long three-way sex sesh with Tilley and The Otter. I thought it was hilarious how many times the camera cut away from and then back to The Throuple during this episode -- evidently over the course of several days -- only to find them still going at it with each other. Did they never eat? (Well...food, I mean.)

Really? I'm doing On Demand to watch the first season, and it's frigging miserable -- seven poorly timed commercial breaks for 42 minutes of actual content, and all of the commercials in those breaks are for garbage Warner Bros. Discovery shows I'd never watch in a zillion years. I wonder why this isn't on Max.

Buck's subsequent throwaway observation -- "Episcopalians don't have guilt, which I don't feel great about" -- is the low-key most hilarious line of the episode.

He really is a terrific addition to the cast. I'm wondering if he's deliberately holding himself back as a Guest Star to avoid signing a multi-year contract, because that's not what he wants for his career.