Melina22

I found this episode really uneven. Was it my imagination or was Matthew Broderick reading cue cards at one point? I also couldn't look right at Jackie's costume. Ewwww. But I still love her acting.

People on crime shows and thrillers are such underreactors. I remember the time my cat came home after days of being gone. I jumped up and down and screamed and I'm not even that much of a cat person! If it was my child or husband, I'd lose my freaking mind. On tv police will say "I'm sorry but your significant person has just been found dead." Usually, they look quite sad for a moment, then say, "How did he die?" IRL, there would be massive shock, fainting, screaming, denial, etc. I suppose that would get tiring after a few episodes, though. Half of every police show would be spent dealing with hysterical people.

I listen to Rob's podcast while doing dishes and cleaning. It's nice background. I never get through the whole thing. I could never just sit and listen to it. I do the same with BB podcasts. I enjoy them, but they're not exactly riveting.

This makes me even sadder for the people who make it to the show, against all odds, then get voted off first. Or in the case of one season, which I hate to remember, get eliminated BEFORE the season even starts. That's one aspect of these shows I really hate. The wasted potential. And the crushed dreams.

I listen to Taran, too. I miss the daily BB updates.

I didn't realize there was a RHAP thread. I'm glad because I've listened to his podcasts faithfully for Survivor and BB since I discovered podcasts. To me it's all part of the experience, and really increases my enjoyment. I enjoy his humour and dedication.

Wow, what a strange interview. On the one hand, I'm sad to hear she hurt her back at the first challenge and was in pain and sleepless for 10 days. She's even tougher than I thought. But on the other hand, she says that her main failing out there was "trying to downplay my power". To me that's another way of saying, "My main fault was that I tried too hard not to be awesome." Comments like that make it impossible for me to parse the rest of the interview. Is she saying what really happened, or simply her interpretation of what happened seen through a skewed and slightly paranoid lens? I guess only people who were there can say for sure. Either way, I can guarantee that no one is changing her mind on anything. Ever.

In my defense as someone who has mentioned them twice, I try never to fat shame and I certainly didn't mean to come across that way. Those pants would look grubby and horribly unflattering on anyone. TBH, I think Angelina is gorgeous and would look amazing in... almost any other garment. Those pants just hurt my eyes, and this is basically the only place I can have the joy of snarking on them. But not on Angelina. I like her.

I think this is why I watch these shows. It's the same reason I watch Survivor and BB. No matter how well you think you understand people, they'll always surprise and mystify you, and do the very last thing you expected, or that even makes sense. If there was a fictional movie in which a man with a bomb around his neck, real or fake, strolled into a bank, delivered a holdup note, then calmly took a lollipop, I'd dismiss it as 100% phony and unrealistic. Same if I watched a movie where the main character was a highly visible, highly respected military officer, who was secretly a psychopathic murderer. And yet people really did these things. Horrifying, but fascinating.

I wondered about that too. Angelina said she'd had no protein for 2 weeks which I took to mean she was passing on the small amount of fish and shellfish they were eating. So, yes, just rice and coconuts. It doesn't sound healthy, although she seems as healthy as the rest. Over time maybe not.

Interesting read. I will say one thing for Natalie, even though I found her bossy and abrasive at times. Okay, always. For a 57 year old woman, she was tough as nails physically, and not a complainer. We saw her last night sitting in torrential downpour, unbroken, and throwing herself off rafts and down wooden poles like everyone else. She may not be in fantastic physical shape, but she is physically and mentally tough. I do admire that.

Haha, that's been true in my experience too, now that you point it out! I'd be happier that she hadn't chosen the no-pants route if she'd been wearing anything but those eye-searing grey yoga pants. For her sake, though, I was glad she had them on when they had to slide down those wooden poles in the challenge. Ouch, that must have been painful for the pants-less Survivors.

Good point about Big Brother. But they do something on both Survivor and BB that annoys me. They force various types of deprivation on contestants, whether minor ones like slop in BB , or major ones like subsistence level food, little sleep, scorching /freezing weather, itchy bugs, then almost never refer to them in the show. When's the last time we listened to a Survivor truly describe the lack of food, how they were coping, and how much they were actually eating? How did they survive sleeping on bamboo in torrential rain? How did they feel? What did they eat? Personally I'd be really interested. Others would be bored. But if you're never going to focus on these things, if they're just a given, why do this to them? The effects can be permanent and life-altering, so the show shouldn't be so dismissive. Yikes. I just realized I'm saying that as long as I'm entertained by lots of explanation and detail, their suffering is justified. That's weird. So I guess I'd be willing to forgo some or most of the suffering, since for me, it's the psychology I enjoy. You don't have to be starving and passing out for that. Finally, I totally agree with the evacuation. If Jeff hadn't done it, and someone had been killed or injured, that would have spelled the end of the show we love so much. (Oops, I did it again. Making it all about me the viewer. I'm a very nice person in real life, I swear.)

I really enjoyed Lyrsa in this episode and was very impressed to hear she graduated Magna cum Laude from a Paris cooking school. (Did I hear that right?) I just wish I could get over my antipathy to nose rings. When she's talking I struggle not to stare at it. I noticed Natalie's "compliment" about Lyrsa's purple hair. I think she meant it, but it's like she always throws in a compliment about someone's eyes or hair as she votes them off. Why doesn't that give me a warm, fuzzy feeling? It makes her seem even more manipulative than ever. Sorry, I mean "salesmanlike".

Thanks for naming Justin Long for me guys, but here's the crazy part. When I saw him I thought "Oh! He looks like a young Justin Long! I wonder who he is?" All I could remember about Justin Long was seeing him in a Die Hard movie. I guess I just assumed he was old by now. Yikes, I'm losing my grip on time. I like him, though. I'd be happy to see both him and Juliette Lewis again. Surprisingly strong guest stars for a new sitcom.

The man Darlene dated looked so familiar. What's he from??

That was one of the cases where hearing about it makes you feel like you can't completely know anyone. I believe his friends and family when they say that his being a psychopathic murderer never crossed their minds, not for a second. For Pete's sake, they trusted him with the Queen! Creepy. I try not to dwell on that kind of thing too much. I read a book about him too, but had to skip the really gruesome bits. I'm very interested in psychology, but hate to read about people's suffering. Weird, isn't it?

That was really good. Great acting, and I laughed out loud several times. Even teared up a bit during the David and Darlene scene. (When did she become such a great actress?) Anyway, this is all I ask from a sitcom. So far so good. Question: doesn't David have to go off and be on The Big Bang? Does this mean we won't see him much?

As a Canadian I had a special fascination with this case. But there were other reasons too. As so many experts stated, he just didn't fit any of their profiles. I think of his interrogation video often when watching fictional crime shows. It was so calm and civilized, and that made it more shocking when after several hours, without any drama, he just admitted to doing it and appeared genuinely worried about his wife. I've never seen a fictional interrogation remotely like this.

Wow, are you in my head? I was wondering this too. I agree with the other poster that hate watching can be fun. I watched a whole season of Under the Dome just for the joy of snarking about it. But I also love the idea of separate threads for love vs hate watching. Still, everyone here is civil, and we all feel able to state our opinions without attack, so that's nice. I appreciate that.

I think this is my last episode. There are many things about the show that I enjoy, not least the beautiful intro and listening to Gord Downie sing, but I have to accept that the whole show has been reworked from the books to suit a present day perspective and I'm just not enjoying that. I'd love to see events exactly as written, not altered to fit today's sensibilities. That's just me. It doesn't mean I don't think the show is any good, but for me it's like watching Shakespeare or Dickens, only totally rewritten to fit with how people today think. Still interesting, but not my cup of tea. Or cordial.

I'm enjoying this show, but also finding it stressful to watch. I enjoyed having one baby at a time, but it could get pretty tiring. Having to deal with 6 babies 24/7 would be my worst nightmare. I can only imagine the nights... 4 hours of broken sleep as the babies take turns waking up. I'd be crying. I agree with others that the scene where Blu sits up was just heartwarming. You could see by everyone's body language that it was real and not faked. I was impressed by Courtney's photography skills and determination. The single shots were lovely. People keep joking about her obsession with photos, and I don't blame them, but it looks like she knows what she's doing. I cringed at the sight of the pool. With 9 children, I'd just fill it in. But that's my particular phobia. I hope they're faking us out by implying Courtney plans to look after the babies alone. That's just ridiculous. I'm sure I'll watch the finale just out of curiosity, but I don't know if I could handle another season. For me, I found the toddler stage to be the most exhausting and demanding to deal with, all 4 times. Watching someone wrangle 6 toddlers at once might be more stressful for me than enjoyable. That said, I do really like this family.

If John was younger I'd agree with you. Sadly, older faces aren't as forgiving. They tend not to "bounce back". Gravity sucks. I'm shocked to hear the actor playing Mark OD'd. That's so sad. It must have made this episode that much more poignant for the cast.

I agree with everyone that Dan/John looks haggard, but I just see it as a natural result of losing a significant amount of weight at a later age. I've seen it in friends and relatives. It takes some getting used to, because it tends to make people look tired and drawn when they're often quite healthy. I'm pleased John didn't go the plastic surgery route at least, and right now his exhausted and haggard look is actually very appropriate for his character. Watching tonight's episode, there was a big gap in quality between the good and the bad actors. A few of the bad ones really took me out of the story. But I'm hoping they'll get better with more experience, the way some of the original cast did.

I was finding the show just okay, until the scene between Darlene and Jackie, which choked me up more than any show, drama or comedy, has in a very long time. It was so moving, and so beautifully acted. And the final scene with Dan alone in the bed felt so real. I have to admit, though, that I'm uneasy with Darlene's son's storyline, which appears to revolve almost entirely around his sexual orientation. To me this seems sort of inappropriate, given that he appears to be about 8. It's almost like he's there to make a point, rather than just being a member of the family. I wish they'd made him older and/or less one-note. I'm sure lots will disagree with me, but that's okay. I'm not 100% onboard with the show yet, but I'll definitely keep watching.