Avaleigh

I like your suggestions of Michael Fassbender and Matthew Goode. Matthew Rhys might have worked well too. I don't have any issues with Lily James being cast. Agreed that she's very pretty, but it would be easy enough to make her a little more plain. Love the suggestion of Carey Mulligan. All the actresses who come to mind for me aren't the right age. If they'd done this in the early to mid 2000s I think Rosamund Pike would have been great. Same for Felicity Jones.

When it comes to classic books and plays, I'm happy to see multiple adaptations every so many years. Each adaptation brings something new to the table and even when they're terrible, they can be fun to snark about. The 1995 Pride and Prejudice is "my" go to P&P but I'm still able to watch and enjoy the versions from 2005, 1980, 1940, etc. I enjoyed parts of the Rebecca adaption from the 1990s mainly because of Charles Dance and Diana Rigg. It was flawed, sure, (they shouldn't have shown Rebecca for example) but I thought it was worth watching. After thinking it over, I might give this a try just for shits and giggles.

I'm hoping that my wish for a AHS: Shipwreck is finally going to happen based on the little hints that we've had from Ryan Murphy. Looking back on this thread (started in 2014!?! wow, time flies!) a lot of the ideas that we've all hoped for have ended up happening, so maybe we'll be right about another one. I think there's so much that can be done with the ocean theme. You could start with a cruise ship horror show, complete with the obligatory serial killer on board. Maybe a spouse is framed for making their spouse disappear only it's really the work of a serial killer. Or maybe there could be an outbreak of a virus. (I can't decide if people would be more or less interested in a virus story due to Covid.) Then you have have the ship capsize and everyone has to scramble to get off. Then you have shark infested waters. After an episode of that, you have the survivors end up on an island that may or may not be inhabited by cannibals. Lots of potential for ideas. I also still like the idea of a story that's mostly set in space. Maybe have a Big Bad that's kind of like the Thing and can take on the appearance of anyone on board. Or maybe something that's set on Earth but has the extraterrestrial theme. AHS: Invasion. You can link the story with the aliens in Aslyum but also have flashbacks to stuff like Roswell. Pay homage to films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, and Independence Day. Upthread someone suggested the idea of a werewolf theme. I think this could be fun set in the 1970s or maybe even the 1990s. (I'm guessing he won't want to go back to the 1980s so soon after 1984.) AHS: Full Moon. Pay homage not just to past werewolf movies like An American Werewolf in London or Silver Bullet, but maybe movies like The Lost Boys, Salem's Lot and E.T. Get the suburban or small town vibe that you get from Stranger Things only have the action center around werewolves. As much as I'd like to see a Puritan/Crucible sort of story a la The Witch, I can't see Ryan Murphy doing a pre-20th century project. He relies heavily on modern music for every single project (by modern I mean anything 1960s and beyond) so I can't see him really straying from that. He'll touch on pre-1950s periods but only in a limited context.

For me the trailer looks like it's trying to appeal to the Fifty Shades of Grey crowd. The only saving grace is Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs Danvers but I'm not sure that's enough to get me to watch this. I'm not opposed to the idea of another adaptation, but so far nothing has been able to top the Hitchcock version.

When I watched the short program I thought I saw improvement in Trusova. Then I saw the long program and I basically feel like she's still in the same place artistically. The Romeo and Juliet program is a miss for me. It's like they want the music to do the artistic heavy lifting for her because she still isn't capable. She really, really can't afford to miss the jumps because she doesn't have much else to offer. I think Anna looks good. I wish that she knew how to properly point her toes. It's such a shame because she has great extension and she'd look a lot more finished if she could manage to point her toes and hold positions. She may have missed the quad but it didn't take away from the program in the same way it took away from Trusova's because there are so many other enjoyable aspects of her skating. I love Aliona but that short program didn't work for me. I wonder if she still has the triple axel? Speaking of the triple axel, Elizaveta seemed like the wind was taken out her sails after the fall. The entire program felt labored and uninspired. I root so hard for Evgenia and keep walking away feeling disappointed. I want somebody leave the Eteri camp and be successful. Obviously many people have walked away from her and been successful in life, but I want somebody to walk away from that camp and have the best season of their life the following year or so. I was starting to think that person might be Aliona, but I'm not feeling confident based on that short program. Was she there for the long? I didn't see her or Sofia's long. Kamila has a lot of potential. I don't think Bolero is a great choice for her but I enjoy her skating. Actually tbh I wasn't super happy with any of the musical choices from this group. Not one selection was a stand out. The Masquerade Waltz does seem like a good fit for Evgenia, but the overall program still needs a lot of work. Any word on why Alina wasn't there? I thought I read she was back in the hunt?

This is the best RH related news I've had all summer. Dorinda completely deserved to be fired. She's been a cruel drunk for years now. I wish it hadn't taken this long but at least it finally happened. It bothers me when people are rewarded for behaving badly and she continued to get her contract renewed year after year no matter how awful she was. (This isn't to say there aren't other people across the RH franchises who are also rewarded for bad behavior. Dorinda’s behavior was just particularly egregious to me the past two years.) I wonder who she'll be replaced with next season.

You aren't kidding that this article is scary. I think the most shocking thing for me after reading it is that these people's faith in QAnon isn't at all shaken when something QAnon predicts doesn't come to pass. QAnon is never wrong it's all somehow just "part of the plan" or needs to be reinterpreted by believers. I'm kind of glad that John doesn't want to give QAnon too much time. It's already been given enough attention.

I can understand why Bill is concerned about this issue, although I'm inclined to agree with others that it's probably more about him being uncomfortable around overweight people as opposed to him being genuinely concerned about their health. I think weight and health issues are worthy of discussion (especially now) but I do agree that he seems to lack empathy in terms of his overall approach. That being said, I agree with some of his basic points this episode like how it doesn't cost people anything to choose drinking water over drinking something like soda. Steaming a few vegetables isn't particularly taxing even after a long ass day at work. This doesn't address all of the many issues with the food industry itself (or the lack of access to healthy food for some people) but at least there is more awareness and knowledge out there for the people who are concerned about what they are putting into their bodies. (In my experience, the more you read, the more label conscious you become and that's an important step regarding developing healthier eating habits.) Regarding Bill's point about how Michelle Obama was raked over the coals for daring to try to get kids to eat healthier food--it seems like being told to eat healthier food is something that a lot of people from both sides of the political spectrum aren't particularly interested in hearing.

I'm almost ashamed to admit how loud my nerdgasp was upon reading this. Can't say I saw this coming. Trusova was kind of a given but Aliona too? More pressure for Anna to make it happen, I guess. More pressure on Kamila and Daria too come to that. I agree that Aliona is the strongest of the big three so I hope that Plushenko's group is a good/better fit for her than Eteri's. I really want her to get better music than she had last season. Hopefully they pick something that will really show off her natural artistry. Eteri must be so ticked. Couldn't have happened to a nicer lady...

I agree with your entire post but this bit in particular. I never would have predicted that I'd prefer Dorit to Teddi if you'd asked me three seasons ago. I'm not a Dorit fan by any stretch of the imagination but at least she showed some sensitivity to Denise's feelings at the dinner table. Garcelle and Sutton also get honorable mentions for making it not feel like a complete pile on. Kyle is so full of it to basically say that Brandi isn't capable of lying. She knows damn well that Brandi has been caught in major, bold faced lies particularly when she claimed that Adrienne and Paul were actually suing her. I fully believe that the people who sign on for these shows have to prepare themselves for the reality that *anything* is potentially up for discussion. It's all right there in the contracts that they sign. That being said, they're human. They all have their limits, they all have things that they don't want on the table for discussion and it's hypocritical for them to act like Denise is alone when it comes to getting upset when certain things are discussed on camera. Kyle, Adrienne, Taylor, LVP, Kim, Yolanda, Rinna, Eileen, Erika, Dorit--all of these women have flipped out when the subject turns to something that they feel should be off limits. Denise isn't any different and I don't really know why they would expect her to be a part from some of them deciding that she should be this season's punching bag.

I remember reading about this in an article I read about Sasha awhile back. Seems like this has been in the works for a fair amount of time. I'm looking forward to seeing this subject explored in a broad context like this because I think it's an issue that so many athletes face, even the ones who never become a force on the elite stage. Even people who are wildly successful like Phelps or somebody like Tom Brady--it seems like there's a struggle regarding how to move on and fill the hole that is left when they retire from their respective sports. Honestly skating could have its own documentary on this subject. How many skaters have their lives dominated by this one thing only to fall short of the expectations they've set for themselves. There are so many names. TSL recently posted an old interview with Shelby Lyons (a name I hadn't thought about since the 90s) and you can see how invested she and her family are it must have been so difficult when she decided to move on.

I had a feeling. Too much time went by without any news plus actors moving on to other projects. Oh well, it was fine while it lasted. I'm looking forward to seeing Lesley Manville play Princess Margaret in The Crown.

I feel like I should wait until more time has passed before I get into super specific comments about various episodes, but I will say right off the bat that this season feels like a huge improvement over last season. I mostly hated last season so even though I only enjoyed about half of the episodes from this season at least it didn't feel like a gigantic waste of time. (Or it could be that the covid quarantine is making me feel more charitable towards new viewing material.) I liked a lot of the concepts even if I didn't always care for the execution. Also, a couple of the episodes ran a little long for my taste. Ethan Embry did a nice job in episode three. Must have been fun for him as an actor. I was also hoping for a little more Billy Porter. Episode 9 (Try, Try) was very satisfying in terms of what happens with the lead characters. Topher Grace really brought the factor. The small town episode felt like a genuinely old school TZ episode so it worked for me. I imagine opinions on this will be mixed but I liked the boarding school episode even if I had to hand wave a few things out of disbelief. It kind of reminded me of Carrie and I liked the twist. I read a lot of hype about the finale but it fell totally flat for me. I hadn't seen Gretchen Mol in anything since Boardwalk Empire so I was really looking forward to seeing her in this but I thought it was mostly boring and could have easily been a 30 minute episode. Downtime was a mixed bag for me. I liked the Black Mirror vibe as far as the technology angle but they missed me with the overall storyline and characterization.

I hope it still happens. Maybe with modifications it could still be feasible? The US Open seems like it's going to happen only without the spectators. Maybe a similar arrangement could be put in place for skating. Maybe cut down on the number of competitors for the grand prix events so that fewer people are on the ice for each warm up. Maybe have people leave the arena right after they get their marks. Worlds, 4cc, and Europeans are more problematic but ideally they'd still be able to be held. I'm just really bummed with the idea of no figure skating season. I want to see how everyone is shaping up since we're less than two years away from the Olympics.

Not really. They're all pretty underwhelming. Maybe the episode with Jacob Trembley is worth checking out, but it still has a weak ending among other issues. There are some interesting ideas that are explored in the season but for me I felt like each episode missed the mark in terms of writing and overall execution. It's really disappointing because they assembled such a nice group of actors. Maybe my expectations were too high since the original series is so good.