Inquisitionist

Sorry, I missed the clue that there's a time jump. What's the basis for this? Thanks!

I'd love some more backstory on P&E's early years in the U.S. Even logistics like how they got set up in the travel agent business. They were in their early 20s upon arrival -- not really a plausible cover story for them to own an agency at that young age, unless they were supposed to have inherited it. But they seem to have been scrupulous about not inventing fictional parents. Maybe they (or Philip) started out working for the agency, then the KGB arranged for him to buy it? I'm also curious as to how much field work Elizabeth did when the children were young. We saw a flashback or two in the second season with Elizabeth talking to Leeanne, who seemed to be something of a mentor to her. It seemed she was showing her the ropes about child-rearing practices in this country. On the one hand, it would seem that Elizabeth couldn't have been running the kinds of missions in those days that we see her undertake today, but on the other, how did she retain all those skills (especially martial arts) unless she was actively using them?

A-frickin'-men, except that I've never been on the Kurt bandwagon. I hate Diane with him; she turns into sniveling ninny. In the past, I've characterized this show's handling of courtroom/testimony issues as feeling like a high schooler's interpretation of how the law works. They've regressed to grade schooler.

Above I noted my admiration of Tom Conti in the role of Emily's father. Today I read that this part was initially offer to Sir Paul McCartney. Talk about stunt casting! Has anyone heard that before?

Knowing there are only two episodes left, this one didn't bug me too much. And for all the talk of Zach making a huge mistake: who knows? He may turn out to be the happiest, most stable Florrick after all!

They could follow Martha to the apartment building, but not the specific unit. That was a large building and could have had multiple units rented by single men around age 40. Perhaps the landlord saw Martha visit Clark and the FBI showed him a photo, but she was only there a few times that I can recall, and a landlord usually isn't in a position to view the comings and goings of tenants' visitors. It still seems a bit convenient that Stan and Aderholt were able to get into Clark's place so easily.

I suppose you can be glad you didn't see the news before your interview. :-(

I haven't done a scientific study, but I think what's been unusual about 2016 so far is the number of celebrity/artist deaths that occurred before age 70: Bowie, Rickman and Patty Duke were all 69, Glenn Frye and Gary Shandling were 66, and now Prince at fifty-freakin'-seven. It's too much.

I've never heard who else was up for the roles of Marie, Frank or Robert. Have heard that Maggie Wheeler and Jane Sibbett (Janice and Carol, respectively, on Friends) were strongly considered for Debra.

Elizabeth appears to be working her due to a connection with someone (likely her husband) who has the Level 4 security clearance that the Center wants for William. Near the end of episode 4-2, Gabriel gave Elizabeth a list of people who had that clearance, and Young Hee is apparently who Elizabeth chose to work. I imagine Elizabeth receives information about each person and the Mary Kay connection gave her a good opening for "infiltration." Why the writers chose to make this character Korean is another matter, and I don't know if her ethnicity will play a larger role in the storyline. Love the actress, though!

From the transcript of the cast's tribute to Peter Boyle on Larry King's show in 2006: I love that scene, too.

Some great Marie moments here: http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/04/19/5-best-funniest-marie-barone-doris-roberts-moments-everybody-loves-Raymond Love her reaction after the nun whispers what she thinks the sculpture is. And the tossed off "you'd have to be a cook to understand" her fat-saving story is great, too.

The NY Times obituary for Roberts is disappointingly skimpy. Here's a much more satisfying account of her life in the Washington Post.

And now Katherine Helmond, age 86, is the only ELR "parent" left. Peter Boyle died in 2006 (age 71) and Robert Culp in 2010 (age 79).

Loved Doris Roberts as Flo Flotsky on Soap. In a show full of crazies, she managed to stand out. She was also Marge in Edith's Night Out on All in the Family. Always made an impression, even as a one-off guest-star. And she deserved every one of the 5 Emmy Awards she won. Just a fabulous actress, and it sounds like she was a joy to work with.

Haven't read all of it yet, but the New Yorker has a nice piece on the show and Kenya Barris.

Thank you! Word, word, word to this. ^^ Ha! Thanks for making me spew my coffee on my computer screen this morning.

Just rewatched the previous episode (4-2) in which Gabriel discussed the importance of getting William access to Level 4 at the facility where he works (William is currently cleared only to level 3). Gabriel gave Elizabeth a list of people to try to get close to for this mission. Young Hee would seem to be the avenue Elizabeth is working, but we don't get know whether the ultimate target is her husband or someone else in her immediate circle.

The portrayal of many things on this show is really weird.

Having rewatched some earlier episode recently, I can answer this one! Stan was at the shooting range with Martha when she was learning how to use her handgun. He gave her a tip about lining up the sights that greatly improved her performance. I was thinking about the double-meaning of the episode title. Yes, a lot happened at Clark's apartment, his physical "place," but Philip also seems to be struggling with Clark's "place" in Martha's life as well as his own. Is it Clark or Philip who loves and wants to protect Martha? 'Cause I'm pretty sure one of them actually does (as is Elizabeth, who could lip read Philip's statement through the phone booth).

Per Alan Sepinwall, the Reagan speech we saw last night was his SDI speech from March 23, 1983. I agree with Elizabeth: he did look like a clown. I found it kind of funny that, according to Gabriel, the USSR has been supporting William for 25 years without his doing much of anything for them, while P&E seem to carry out several missions every week. Talk about playing the long con!

Seriously. As good as Sarah Paulson was in this, I'd argue that Kirsten Dunst was in the same league for her performance in Fargo.

I thought the first episode was positively awful, and the 2nd wasn't good. I stopped watching then, until sometime into the 2nd season when my SIL told me how funny she thought the show was. When I watched the rest of S1, I thought it was OK, but not great.

Some interesting info about how Ben Schwartz was cast and other tidbits, but I still don't know who came up with the glorious name Jean-Ralphio.

From Marcia Clark's post-finale thoughts about the series: