iMonrey
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Posts posted by iMonrey
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Production is not immune to the fact that America's favorites are all on the jury.
Not mine. Some of them (but not all) might be better people, overall, but they sucked at the game. That's why they're sitting in the jury house.
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Yeah, there aren't really enough total episodes to keep doing marathons. I think there are 16-20 episodes, total. How many times can you watch them?
I like the show and the couple, although Tarek's eyes darting around is distracting at times.
Sometimes he strikes me as having OCD/ADD. I have to admit, though, that I find him strangely adorkable. He's got some funny facial expressions, which obviously the producers and editors have noticed, since they've captured one of his sillier ones in the opening title sequence (where he wins an auction).
Christine's voice doesn't bother me. In fact I like her best when the camera captures some actual live, unexpected moments (as opposed to the scripted re-enactments) - like the time they found someone sleeping in the house they'd just bought and she ran out of the house screaming her head off. Or when they went into that roach-infested house and they had to bleep out whatever she said. At least neither one of them try to pretend they're perfect little angels.
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I don't understand what Victoria gets out of this "I hate Derrick" sham. The satisfaction of knowing she's helping him win? She truly is an idiot. What she should have told him is "actually, that's true, Derrick. If you vote me out I will never vote for you in the Final 2 and will do everything I can to sway the jury members likewise." She's got no other leverage at this point. Her best hope of staying in the house was trying to convince Derrick and Caleb to keep her and take her to the Final 2 for an easy win.
I'm not convinced the jury members fully recognize Derrick's game play. They're still talking about Frankie calling all the shots, in addition to Derrick. And in all of their post-jury interviews, with Julie or with Jeff, they've singled out Frankie as being the one making all the decisions. I half suspect they were prompted to throw Derrick's name in there for the editors so they could maintain their "Derrick is the obvious winner" storyline. It wouldn't surprise me if there were alternate takes where they said Cody and Caleb were running the show. These aren't the brightest crayons in the box after all.
I hate to say it but both Derrick and Frankie deserve to be in the final two. Moreover, neither Caleb nor Cody deserves it as much as they do. Cody and Caleb haven't really done anything besides ride the coattails of a strong alliance and do whatever Derrick says. Granted, Frankie has done Derrick's bidding just as much, but he's had to fight harder to stay in the game and is the only one of the four who's actually ever been a target.
That said, I realize the two who most deserve to be in the Final 2 rarely get there. It's usually just one of them and a goat.
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Yet you ignore my point about it really not mattering what her reasons were. The story is that she left, not why she left. Just like it doesn't matter why the departed were taken. What matters is how people deal with it.
Doesn't matter to who? Again, what "matters" is entirely subjective.
I hate to keep raising the specter of Lost, but since this show is from the same writer, it's unfortunately unavoidable. I'm sure there are lots of Lost fans who thought it didn't "matter" what the secret of the island really was because they were satisfied just watching the characters interact with one another. I was not one of those people though.
In the same vein, I can't say it doesn't "matter" to me what happened to the departed, or it doesn't "matter" why Laurie left her family. I can't reasonably connect with any of these characters or this story if I don't know those reasons. It just seems all very superficial to me, ignoring the foundation of their existence in favor of some kind of voyeuristic peek into one specific chapter in the life of people I don't know.
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If it was a TV dog, it might be used to working on set, and wouldn't have been stressed by this at all.
Even a TV dog is used to having its trainer there with him/her. That said, it's possible the dog is so well socialized he's happy around just about anyone. I can't help projecting my own feelings into the situation, being a dog owner myself. Plus I'd feel sorry for anyone forced to spend time with these bozos. The poor dog didn't volunteer to go on Big Brother.
Can someone explain to me why most cops on competitive reality TV shows feel like its an imperative that they hide their profession?
Someone always feels it's necessary to hide their profession. Who was the girl who hid that she was a nurse, like she thought that would intimidate people? I'm not sure your typical BB houseguest is bright enough to perceive a police officer as having any kind of advantage in the game, especially if Derrick played it down like he was just a rookie cop (vs. an undercover detective). Sometimes it strikes me as egoism, like "I'm so important/clever/successful, these people mustn't know what I do or I'll be a target!!"
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Is the dog still there? I feel really sorry for the poor thing. It must be terribly confused, wondering where its owner is, and being in a strange "house" with a bunch of strangers. Even if they're treating the dog well, I just can't imagine telling a TV show "Here! Have my dog for a day!" Poor thing would be freaked to death.
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Okay, I never liked Matthew McConaghey until I saw him in True Detective. He was so good in that but he is squandering my good will with those Lincoln commercials.
I know, right? First of all, Matthew McConaghey drives a Lincoln? Sure. Second of all, he's at least got the balls to admit someone is paying him to drive a Lincoln, but persists in the fantasy that he's always driven a Lincoln, even before. Sure. And George Clooney drives a Chevy.
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Fair enough, so answer me my original questions about the details that were being requested by the posters here, namely:
1) How does it advance the plot to know that the citizens are complaining to the police, the mayor, the prosecutor? We saw it once with the town hall meeting. What do we gain by seeing it again and again?
2) As for the evolution of the Memorial Day Mayhem, why do we need to see that, exactly? Wouldn't that be gratuitous violence? In order to show the evolution of the day, we'd need to cut out some other scene, what would you sacrifice so you can see completely immaterial, non-plot advancing details? What do we gain by seeing this?What I find hard to believe is that the people of this town haven't burned down the GR complex before now. Like, after they broke into their homes and stole their pictures. We should have gotten more of a reaction to that. The lack of consequence to the previous crime makes the second one kind of absurd, because everyone should have seen it coming and taken precautions. If not through proper authorities, then on their own. Changing locks, standing guard, deadbolts. That sort of thing. Silent alarms. I don't know how the GR keep getting into these peoples' houses.
Honestly, I cannot simply fan-wank and overlook this. When Nora got up, went downstairs and found the dummies sitting at the kitchen table, the only thing I could think was "Didn't you HEAR anyone coming into the house? Because damn, those GR people sure must be stealth." They compounded the problem by showing the dummy of the kid with Down's Syndrome in his bedroom. Which, I assume, is just down the hall from where his parents sleep. So, WOW, they're pretty sound sleepers too.
They could have fixed this by maybe having a scene where some family does catch the GR in their house, and like, beats the shit out of them. Not only would I have enjoyed that, but it would have gone a long way towards not making the whole scenario look like a bizarro version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, with the Whos in Whoville just collectively waking up all at once and realizing what the GR had done.
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Judy chops?!?!
Also, when did Caleb start saying "Dad Gum" every other word in the DR? I strongly suspect someone in production is prompting him to play the hillbilly cowboy, because this seems like a new thing for him.
I can't begrudge Frankie calling Cody a little girl, because - honestly. Jumping up on a chair? Yeah, it's a classic case of a pot calling a kettle black, but still, Cody. Geez.
Frankie really is an idiot though. Pulling Victoria down and putting Caleb up was the obvious move because Caleb is about the only competition threat to him, standing in the way of his making it to the F2. Of course, he doesn't know about the reset, but that just makes him a lucky idiot.
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So apparently they're not even going to show the reruns anymore? Drats. There's still a bunch from earlier seasons I haven't seen.
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I don't think it's terrible writing as much as writing what is important to the story versus filling in minutia and spending valuable episode time in small details that would have NO impact whatsoever to the story.
The problem is that what's "important to the story" is entirely subjective. For me, knowing how things work, and what the hell is going on, is not just important to the story, but crucial. I realize that for others, just getting some kind of emotional reaction out of it is what's important to them. Therein lies the dichotomy. There are always going to be viewers who are fine with an emotional satisfaction even if they get no concrete substance, story-wise. I am not one of those people. In fact, I am unable to derive any kind of emotional punch from a story that is so vague and ill-defined I can't quite wrap my head around what makes these characters behave the way they do.
I think the only way I could really respond to these characters is if the story wasn't framed with a bizarre, unexplainable mystery which I suspect will never be solved. Put them all into a real world I can relate to and I'll have a better chance of connecting to them.
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See, I thought the nursing students went to the Scientology museum because they were studying mental disorders.
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The whole Killian/Eva thing was made slightly more interesting, to me, by the revelation that her grandmother (who we've never seen before) is actually her daughter. Before, I didn't really give a damn what she wanted with Killian or why she wanted his baby and considered it just a contrived plot device to keep Killian and Freya apart. Now, I'm kind of interested to know what's going on with her. So I'll give them a little credit for improving that.
On the other hand, I really don't see where they can go with Dash at this point, long-term. He's kind of crossed a line into super villainey there's no turning back from.
I wish Wendy would find a way to recharge her necklace and give herself a few more lives because it makes me nervous. She's easily the most watchable character on this show, and last week her ex told her he had used a little bit of her soul in each of his paintings. He also hinted he might be able to help her out with her necklace, so I'm thinking maybe some of her "soul" can be recovered from all these paintings he did of her.
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Didn't we know by this time last year that the show had been renewed? I'm not saying that's a sure sign it's been cancelled but it's sure not a good sign.
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The time to get Frankie evicted was weeks and weeks ago. Now there's fewer people in the house, and he's going to keep winning Vetoes and you're never going to be rid of that little monster.
Ironically, he's been good at physical competitions, but not question-and-answer ones. Because he's so delusional he thinks he knows shit he doesn't.
That said, I'm going to be generous here and give Frankie the benefit of the doubt that his tearing up at the Jeff and Jordan music video was genuine, just because he wasn't jumping up and down and twirling around like a demented windmill like he usually does when he's getting attention. It also cracked me up when they cut to Cody and HE was tearing up too. LOL.
But, yeah - this is one pointless freaking week.
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The recap gave an "X" to "People Do Magic Right Out in the Open and No One Seems to Notice," but that actually did happen, in the Bent Elbow, when Killian did the trick with the flaming drink.
I'm still baffled by the whole Mandragora thing and how that was supposed to work, because if they need someone who "trusts" them why didn't they just use Ingrid's body for the host? She was already in their thrall. In fact I don't get why they needed the Mandragora in the first place if they can basically just do the body carvings themselves. Like the victims would be less frightened by the Mandragora than they would by Freddie or Tarkoff.
At least Freya knows Eva is a witch now, so hopefully it won't take her too long to figure out Killian is under a spell. Then again, it's Freya we're talking about, so who knows.
What I do know is that it annoys the crap out of me when they use "spell" as a verb. "You need to spell him." "He's been spelled." Uh, you should only use "spell" as a verb when it's a spelling bee. Cast a spell, hex someone, enchant them, but do not "spell" them, because then I expect you to go "K. I. L. L. I. A. N." (This bugged me on Secret Circle, too.)
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I cannot get past the GR breaking into everyone's homes, setting up dummies of their departed loved ones, without once getting caught or heard in the attempt. That's just absurd. In the first place, do they have keys to these peoples homes? Didn't they change their locks after all their photos were stolen? Does everyone in this town work 9 to 5 and go to bed at the same time? Nobody works the night shift? Is everyone such a sound sleeper they wouldn't hear someone break into their house and set dummies up, sometimes right down the hall? Did the GR drug the water supply and knock everyone out? Do they have magic powers or something?
I don't get the smoking thing, either. It seems to me these people dress up in white, never speak, and smoke all the time just to look creepy. There doesn't seem to be any particular reasoning behind any of it.
In the end, what I got out of this show is that it's all atmosphere and no substance. I appreciate that they had a measure (albeit a small one) of closure in case this ended up being a one-season show, but I won't be back for a second season. I gave it a fair shake but I find it utterly pretentious and preposterous.
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J-Team for the win. I can't believe that guy got $60K in the cash builder round, gambles for a living, then didn't go for the bigger offer. He could so obviously have won the $120K. He didn't even need the other two players in the Final Chase, I think they answered 3-4 questions between them. It almost makes me suspicious how poorly The Beast did in the Final Chase. But good on him for coming down to the stage and congratulating him, I don't think he's ever done that before.
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I didn't think he was that far away either. Like, he spun out in a farther arc than where satellites are located, but not nearly fast/far enough to be unlocatable.
Plus, the squadron of Volm ships was right there when the power station blew. How could they be all "Gee, where did Tom go?"
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So, we can skip the next couple of episodes? Thanks for the break, BB! You know damn well someone is going to push that button because the nominees, in particular, have nothing to lose.
It's easy enough for Nicole to tell the majority alliance to start making "big moves" but the fact is, it doesn't benefit any of them to make those moves. The final 4/5 got to where they are by NOT making big moves. It may not be entertaining, but it worked for them.
However, Derrick can only play that "I'm doing what the house wants" card for so long. Because at this point, the "house" is him and three other guys. Trying to play it off like he just doesn't have the control is utter BS and anyone should be able to see that. Not that it matters anymore.
As annoying as I find Frankie (and believe me, I do), it amused me to see him win POV because Cody's hard-on for getting rid of him rubs me the wrong way too. Then again it's a toss up when Frankie starts spinning around like a demented five year old girl at her first ballet recital. But for what it's worth, he went back to check to see how far Christine had gotten in the POV puzzle (not his own).
I despise those stupid tweets they throw up on the screen through the whole show but it cracked me up they actually showed one that said "Ugh, Frankie is still listening to Derrick." Amen. They're all idiots. Not 20 minutes before, Derrick was telling everyone Frankie would go home if Christine won POV.
At first I thought the audience was booing because they were unhappy with this eviction because honestly, it was worse than either Aaryn or Amanda got last year, and they were far more heinous. But it occurs to me the show is desperate for a "villain" this year and may have prompted the audience to react that way. Who else do they have?
It's kind of like how they keep pushing and pushing this dumb Nicole and Hayden thing, like anyone gives a flying damn about their showmance. How was that even a relevant question on Julie's part at this stage? Hayden wasn't even in the house anymore. The show is just desperate for their showmances and villains, so they've got to use what little they have I guess.
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Also, there are a couple of local ads that begin with a BEEP BEEP BEEP noise. That sound is NEVER welcome, especially to advertise some crap on TV. When you live in a bad-weather area, you never want to hear that. Shame on them for using that tactic!
There's another one that starts with the alarm from a smoke detector and I always jump because I think it's mine. I can't remember what it's for though. Not smoke detectors. Probably insurance or something.
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Except he's not between the Earth and the moon. His ship was knocked by the shock wave of the explosion and went careening off somewhere. And there was no way to control it - Tom tried pulling on those wire-like things in the consoles and walls to no avail.
Wait, wait, wait. Either the Beamer can move at warp speeds, or it can't. Tom was between the Earth and the moon when the lunar power station exploded. It took them several hours to travel from the earth to the moon. So how far, exactly, was Tom "flung" by that explosion? Halfway to Pluto? How is that possible if the ship doesn't have warp speed? I can fan-wank, as Bishop has done, that perhaps the explosion knocked out whatever device the Volm used to track that Beamer, but I still have a hard time believing that they can't find any Beamer within a given radius. Tom simply could not have been flung that far away.
Not for nothing, the show wasn't great, but now it's kind of a pile of shit.
Personally I'd have graded the first season as a "C," the second season as a B+, the third season a solid B, and the fourth season a D. Maybe a D-. I can't quite bring myself to give it an F because I do intend to watch the final season so it hasn't put me off the show not to. I just hope they continue the tradition of getting a new show-runner every season because whoever was in charge of this one really blew it.
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Glad I didn't have to see all of Jordan.
What I want to know is, was he really completely naked? I always wonder that whenever they do bits like this and it's blurred out. The audience reacts as if they are, but I'm guessing they're probably wearing a G-string or something.
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Arrogance is never an attractive quality. Yes, Derrick is playing a great game, and yes, he deserves to crow about it a little, but still. Not attractive.
I'm beginning to think Cody is a bit of a dim bulb. The first Veto question was the easiest and he's the only one who missed it. He also did terrible in the Veto competition with the electric wires (the one Kathy Griffin hosted). Also, a dinosaur costume? That's . . . awfully random. If the connection is supposed to be dynomite = dinosaur, that's a real stretch.
At least we have some acknowledgement that Christine knows she's at the bottom of the alliance's totem pole, but it's too late for her to do anything about it. She still seems on board for getting rid of Nicole and Victoria followed by Frankie. That will leave her . . . in fourth place. I honestly have no idea how she thinks she's going to get to the F2.
I'm ready for Nicole to go home, her voice is making my ears bleed.
I know this episode was cut to make Derrick the puppet master of everything, but what they didn't show was
that it was actually Frankie who talked Caleb out of putting him on the block. Derrick may have laid the groundwork, but Frankie went up to the HoH room after Cody and Derrick were asleep and had a long talk with Caleb and convinced him he'd never put him on the block.
Hence Caleb's comment about seeing more "good" in Frankie than bad.
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S16.E36: Nominations #12
in Past Seasons
First of all, I'm so sick of this show trying to sell Nicole and Hayden as the next big thing, like they're this season's answer to Jeff and Jordan. Stop it. They are not all that. Hayden is kind of dirty looking and Nicole has an annoying voice. Both are a couple of dim bulbs, and yet I'm certain I'll be seeing them next year in the all-stars edition, right alongside Donnie. I honestly don't even think there's some huge fan base out there for Hayden and Nicole, I think the show is just desperate to push some showmance down our throat and this was the closest they got this season.
Second of all, it has become increasingly noticeable how hard the show is being framed around Derrick. Have you noticed that we never, ever hear from Frankie, Caleb, Cody or Victoria what exactly their strategy is for getting to the end? It's all Derrick, all the time, wheeling and dealing and explaining his moves in the diary room, but to date I still have no inkling who Frankie thinks he's going to the Final 2 with. I suppose maybe he and Caleb just figure once they hit the final four they'll all battle it out in competitions, but we don't even hear them discussing that in their DR sessions. Surely they have some kind of ideal Final 2 in mind, and we never hear it, because the show is all about Derrick and the web he is spinning.
Granted, Derrick is doing a marvelous job making everyone around him do whatever he wants, but the narrative would suggest nobody else has any kind of plan and are just mindlessly playing pawns in Derrick's game. Even if Caleb does make it to final three and ends up being the one who wins the final HoH, who is he going to take with him to the Final 2? Surely he has some idea, and they never show us him expressing it. That's just not part of their script this season, and it's kind of pissing me off.