HighMaintenance

So, I just finished watching all 8 episodes over 3-4 days. The sci-fi premise seemed pretty good and JK and Sissy were very good in their roles, they are great actors. Since this was the last episode of season 1 (I'm assuming there will be a season 2, although I won't be heartbroken if there isn't), I have some reflections on this first season. I guess that Franklin and Irene's portal (one of many around the world) was an inactive one since they either didn't know about the glowy ball and keypad hidden in the doorframe. If you don't punch in a symbol code, you just teleport to a view of desert planet? It was interesting that glowy ball teleported the coffee table to the desert planet outside of their picture window by default. Of course there has to be a war between 2 gangs: the apostates and the guardians. I was disappointed they didn't have jackets so we could tell them apart (insert sarcasm icon here). The big bads (Guardians) not only have to be stoic and secretive, but also sadistic and pervy with a penchant for creeping on young teenage girls. Even the Mom was an unreasonable PITA with Yes/No answers and kept her daughter in the dark about everything, even who her father was. BTW, my Spanish is far from fluent, but some of the subtitles really didn't seem to match up with what the Argentinian Mother and Daughter were saying. Maybe the dialect is different? I was waiting for something to happen from some of the "B" storylines, but nothing ever really occurred in this season. Lazy writing because they don't know where they want to go? *SHRUG*: Michael's depression (or bipolarism, it's never really clarified) manifesting in his daughter. It's pushed into the storyline, but never explored. Irene's health improvements after handling the glowy ball. She goes from being partially wheelchair bound, to climbing the house stairs within a couple weeks. I also noticed that over the course of the season she looked less "old" (sort of reverting to her appearance in the grown Michael flashbacks) and her hair looked less gray and more dark auburn. Meanwhile, Franklin seemed to still be slipping into his forgetfulness. It seemed Byron was going to be the sociopathic neighbor with his snooping, trespassing and alcohol use, but then he buddies up and it seems all he wants is to be "special". But he also seems to have a sordid past - like they had to leave Champaign, Ill. because of his behavior. Franklin seemed awfully casual about Byron disappearing on the "desert planet", not mentioning it to Irene till days later and totally blowing off Byron's wife. Did he not think that Byron's wife would get Chief Wiggam to come out and snoop around? I have to say the Jude storyline was the one I was LEAST interested in. I know he's the catalyst for us to find out more about the portals and the 2 factions and the "desert planet", but I just found his character too flat and uninteresting. I too got the "Tales from the Loop" vibe from this season. However, many of that series' episodes seemed to stand up better as individual fantasy/sci-fi stories that could exist on their own without needing to be part of a whole season of related episodes.

Well yes, but in the U.S. it's actually better known as a #1 hit song from Sammy Davis Jr. ( I know, right?) in 1972. But, yeah. It's kinda weird and random that they used that song for a Lowes commercial.

Perhaps she should wander out of the "feminine Hygiene Aisle" and get to the hair care aisle. Also, the fact the cashier asks "feminine hygiene aisle?" like she doesn't know her own store... no, honey, I got this in the aisle next to the kids toys and D batteries.

"Gimme, Gimme all the dresses!", um, ok, you can have them, they look hideous! Also, she's getting her hair done at Penney's??? Really? I didn't think anyone had done that since the 1970's. Then "shopping is back!" lady puts on her red Sally Jessie Raphael glasses and dorkily poses. Everything in this commercial screams that Penney's is forever trapped in the 80's or early 90's. We have a couple JCP around here, but every time I've passed thru them, they're like a ghost town. No customers, no staff, just muzak and the squeaking of the 40 year old escalator, and they smell like a room that hasn't been aired out since the Nixon administration.

This commercial caught my attention because I like The Platters. However, it immediately bugged me because in the black & white flashback, the man is a full head or more taller than the woman. When they flash to full color "today" they're both about the same height. So, either hubby shrank a full 8 or 10 inches, or the guy at the prom isn't her man now.

Why is that one little girl putting "craft ice" in her chocolate milk? I get wanting very cold milk, but that's a bit odd.

Here's the M. Night Shyamalan kicker. The giraffe is MALE!

And is the new Cover Girl foundation gluten free? There is a PSA commercial that shows endlessly on my AT&T Tv that makes me want to scream. It shows this nerdy neck beard who can’t seem to put down his phone for anything. All the while this commercial plays some song that repeats “never gonna let you go” ad infinitum. It shows him asleep with it in his hands, ignoring his wife @ breakfast, taking someone else’s coffee at a coffee shop while he glares at his phone, during a meeting he seems to be presenting, he’s giggling at his phone while his boss stares in disbelief. Final shot, he &His wife/girlfriend are in the car getting ready to drive somewhere and he hands her his phone. The message: text and whatever, just don’t text and drive. seems like someone this far gone needs more of an intervention than in more than the car.

Every time I turn to HGTV, they’re showing the same episode of the big white monstrosity with all of the modern touches. That house looks a giant prison if it were done by Restoration Hardware. How this show ever got the green light is beyond me.. Victoria annoys the crap out of me. Donovan seems mmmkay, but seems to play her whipping boy. HGTV, if still filming this drama fest program won’t mind if it has to can any future eps. Relatively speaking, these shows are cheap to produce

I tune into The Kitchen once in awhile just to see if they can inspire me to make something interesting for dinner. The show just seems to be so stilted and awkward to me. From the canned "audience" that seems to applaud at the weirdest things, to GZ's "I'm just too good for these people" attitude, to Sunny's lack of indoor voice(and questionable wig and makeup choices), it makes watching for longer than 20 minutes... uncomfortable. I'm confused by the high ratings for the show. As was said above, perhaps it's because there's not much else on during their timeslot?

I keep seeing the Trivago commercial where an indignant “not Lauren Hutton” discovers that her hotel room cost 25 dollars more than Trivago Guy’s. So many weird things in this commercial. The desk clerks announce out loud the total bill for the customer’s stay. Excuse me, I don’t need you telling everyone within earshot how much I paid to stay in your fleabag hotel. Are you going to tell everyone that I ordered a extra large pizza from room service and watched 3 pornos on the pay per view? ”Not Lauren Hutton” gets all bitchy because she is charged more than Trivago Guy. Honey, why are you under the impression that every hotel room costs the same? Maybe his room had a single bed and a view of the dumpster. The way the desk clerk yanks the credit card out of “Not Lauren Hutton’s” grip. Excuse me! No! I will give you the card when I am ready. Even if I’m being a Karen and having a snit fit. Finally, Trivago Guy snarking to other customers that maybe THEY should use the app next time. Rude! Mind your own bidnezz!

Other than Capital one’s reputation of being “evil”, (aren’t all banks evil?), I know little about them. But as was said upthread, I’ve done online banking for at least 10 years, haven’t written a check in about 20 years, and maybe spoke to a bank employee once every few years...usually to open a new account or sign paperwork. Maybe bank “coaches” are for mostly rich folks,with multiple cds or accounts? Also, I have never encountered a town with a lack of coffee shops. You can throw a rock from one Starbucks to the next, not to mention the plethora of Dunkin’s, Brew Buddies, Wawa’s and mom & pop joints. Should we anticipate Capital One coffee in the stores soon?

Christopher Lowell did some episodes on how to make decor changes in apartments. That was back about 20 years ago (or more).

I am thoroughly confused by those commercials with the hot DILF who is advertising capital one bank. So he proclaims THIS is the future of banking! And I am looking at all the actors in the background who are basically lounging in chairs looking at laptops and sucking down coffee. In one of the versions of the commercial, there’s actually a barista serving coffee at a counter. so, the future of banking is essentially Starbucks?

I may never get that "Christmas is Coming!" feeling again because it seems commercialism keeps pushing the envelope to have Xmas buying start earlier and earlier each year. I swear I think I saw Christmas decor being sold in early September this year. Anyhoo... my Christmas excitement USED to be triggered by the following commercials: Stop action Santa riding on a Norelco shaver over the hills of snow. Peter! home from college, making Folger's coffee for his sleeping family. The fir tree that opens the window and sneaks a spoonful of green bean casserole and then turns into a fully decorated Xmas tree. The snowman that comes into the kitchen and eats the Campbell's Soup and turns into a kid.