random chance

Ha! So true. I finally watched this the other night because I was tired of hearing crap about it without knowing the context(s). (I hate Disney, although I did get roped into Once Upon a Time for awhile there thanks to Robert Carlyle's Rumpel.) I agree that the storyline was wafer thin - so thin that if anyone at all had acted sensibly at any point in time, that would probably have been the end of the story. "Let's make snowmen!" "No thanks, go to sleep." The End. And yet it was entertaining, and very very pretty. I won't be buying mugs or anything but I do get why it's so popular.

Is Center Stage considered stupid? Because I think I've watched it about a hundred times by now.

Whoa, I did not know that's what another season would have inflicted on us. I'll remember that list the next time a show I love is canceled. "Coulda been worse."

That's so funny, that was exactly what I thought about her.

The worst thing about it to me was that she didn't tell him that Jess was okay before she ripped into him. Simple human decency: tell the parent or guardian that the kid isn't dead first, then shred him for having the nerve to allow that kid to breathe the same air as Rory.

I think she doesn't notice how mean she is sometimes because she's more like her mother than she ever wants to believe in a million years. If she notices she's like Emily in some way, she changes whatever she notices, but she isn't always aware of the similarities. I never made that connection but I think that's exactly it.

I think the response she wanted was that plus Luke shooting Jess and then running over him with a car.

I like 70's furniture.

Haha true, Debra does a really accurate impression of them all, especially Marie.

I loved Goth Frederick! Hallmark is so weird, I'm so glad this show is on Netflix. One of my favorites that I haven't watched in awhile: Flour Child. "Oh dear, the dingo ate your baby!"

I liked it better after I realized that the entire episode was a setup for the punchline of Debra saying "who knows, maybe he'll bring home someone whose father works in the sewers." For some reason the first time I watched it I didn't see that part. My least favorite episode is probably "What's Wrong With Robert?" where he's mean and bitchy to everyone and it turns out it's because he didn't like moving out of home once his wound healed. The whole thing is just off to me. Like it was a script they didn't like but they shoved it in a drawer in case of emergency.

You've all covered most of my favorites, so I'll just add: The Plan where Ray tells Robert to fake being bad at the wedding invitations so she'll take over, The Liars (I think) where one little lie spirals out of control (Robert: "this is great, usually I'm behind the glass for this part"), and I can't remember the title but it's early in the series - when the cable goes out so they play Scruples. I had to throw out that game because the one time we played it, it worked out almost exactly like it did on the show. Do not play games with friends where you have to prove they're lying to win! It leads to things like "of course he took the pizza, look at him - does he look like a person who ever turns down a free slice of pizza? Oh wait ... let me rephrase that." And I also loved the fruit - it's like they stole that bit directly from my parents.

Aw, I liked Zach. When he thought Lane was telling him that he couldn't go on tour as that band's opening act (the dream of a lifetime for him), he didn't even blink. I can't remember the exact words now but he immediately said of course, no problem. No pissiness, no sighing, no secret look of "crap, you and the kids have ruined my life," none of that. Granted he was nowhere near as flashy as Dave with his egg sandwich patter and whatnot, but he was a good guy.

I think if someone tries to help, but what they do doesn't work so they get all pissy and take it personally, it's not really help.

I would if it was one of those stinging ants. (Not even being sarcastic here.)

I'll probably keep watching because I want to see the deputy be vindicated, but this is a really hard show to watch. Even the content warning freaks me out - whoever does the voice for that sounds like he already murdered five people and now he's coming for you.

I hate her so much that I was actually happy when that car hit her because I thought they were killing her off. No such luck though.

One of my top ten is that timeshare ski weekend that was a parody of a tense spy movie. Also the one where he tries to keep Carrie drunk because she's more pleasant that way. Favorite part - when Arthur yells at Doug all outraged, "you mean this is why [she's so pleasant ] you've been pouring booze down her throat?" and Doug says yes ... cut to Arthur wheeling in a bar cart. Their titles were always something clever too - I can't think of the word for them, puns? That doesn't seem right.

Ah man I wish I knew the song, I'm so sorry. So many funny moments in that one! "Empowermente!" Yep that Chinese restaurant one is the same one where they rented the apartment, and then Doug got all "use a coaster" on people, that was hilarious. So true to life. So many talented people on this show too - there wasn't a single dud in the cast, they were all fantastic.

That's one of my favorites too, that entire episode was just perfect from start to finish. It was the kind of "wacky" comedy that you could easily imagine actually happening. "The wheel of fortune is a fickle whore." I can quote great swaths of this show, I've probably seen every episode about 20 times. In fact, I've been laying off it this year so that I don't get burned out on the funnier ones. Some of my favorite episodes: the one with the stripper pole, the one where Deacon and Kelly buy them that horrendous painting, and the thanksgiving episode with the eyepatch guy. But probably my favorite just because the first time I saw it I screamed laughing for about ten minutes straight and then every time I thought about it for days after: the one where Arthur buys them a tiny tiny car.

Thanks, good to know! If I see it streaming somewhere I'll give it a shot.

Yeah, Zoe/Lemon was nice, I enjoyed that part, and that was a sweet Brick/Magnolia scene at the end. The rest of it was just exhausting. Also, I didn't get why Bicycle Guy had to be a douche in order for Zoe to realize it was too soon to date. Wouldn't it have been too early even if he was a great guy? And I couldn't care less about Wade and Zoe anymore but I do want him to ditch what's-her-name and her awful kid. It's like he got sucked into a cult.

I didn't see the movie either, Lonesome Rhodes. I only watched the TV show because it got so much buzz that I knew I'd be hearing about it all the time anyway, so I might as well watch it from the start and at least have the advantage of being surprised by the plot twists. (A strategy developed after the Game of Thrones "Red Wedding" episode.)

It didn't feel that way to me either, it was more like fleshing out her character by exploring her humanity. Also, Jack bonded with plenty of children and I think in many ways he related to them better.

Most of the time when kids have trouble reading they're just not getting how consonants and phonics work together, and once they do get it, they take off like a rocket. It also helps if someone isn't standing over them "helping" them by finishing the words for them when they get stuck, which parents tend to do. You can't learn how to sound things out if people won't let you get to the point where what you're sounding out suddenly forms a word and you're rewarded with that eureka moment. Or in other words, I bought Vincent's progress. I have seen kids do it in real life. Not much else on Parenthood is realistic, but I did buy the reading.