Ottis

So another in what is becoming an endless series of “why?” questions on this show: Why was Raffi fired because JL wanted to save Romulans and resigned? Even if she was on his side, she didn’t do anything. Unless later she insisted a high-ranking federation officer allowed the attack on Mars. Which, if so, and she was canned, why would she blame Picard? Man, it is taking forever to get JL off planet. Oh boy, another beardy McBeard, this one Han Solo. All bearded characters are by definition annoying. He and his various EMH’s were not interesting. What... he isn’t taking Number One? I think it’s sad it took JL 14 years to figure out he never felt truly at home at his family chateau. Though I hope JL never had any small kids over. Lots of guns to find under tables. i guess this is a slow build to show an out of shape mentally and both physically Picard taking steps to return to what he once was. But I don’t like my Picard cowering. Just waiting for the Borg to come on line. Mau’dib the Destroyer! I wanted to throw something at the TV when creepy Romulan McBeardy said he was falling in love with Soji. This blonde woman Agnes is remarkably like the redhead on Discovery. What’s her name? Tish? Tilly? Note: Use of "JL" here cynical and mocking. Ugh.

This show has the uncanny ability to make me ask questions in one ep about things that don't make sense, that are then answered in the next ep by the characters (so for a week I wonder why no one on the show has asked them). This time I was wondering why a Romulan is in Starfleet, and why Federation scientists/citizens are openly working with Romulans (in charge?) on a Borg cube. But I guess that admiral is assumed to be Vulcan? Sad to say, but Picard's actions through two eps do indeed seem like those of a cantankerous old man who wants attention. He's not making me feel like he is able to save anything. I already can't stand beardy McScientist on the cube, just as much as I couldn't stand beardyBadGuy on Disco. I guess I'm an anti-beardite, because I find both characters insufferably smug and not at all attractive. And we are to assume he is the director of the Borg project, from his odd 'no I don't need permission" comment? I did love what they did with the Borg. I always thought Borg were too sanitized in the TV show and movies, given that are living people with mechanical appendages inserted into them. Liked this reality more. Pretty slow overall, though.

Thanks. I understood that was the premise, I didn’t understand the premise. Who cares what a delivery person thinks about your order? You could be saving some for the next day because you work and don’t like to cook, for all they know. On any case, who pays attention to the delivery person’s perspective?

Wow, I was not feeling this one. JJ was fine, the material was uninteresting. Aside from Che’s comment about how this is the perfect way to start Black History Month, and the football helmets with Olay on them, I didn’t crack a smile. And that country music makes me want to hurl. Johnny Cash or nothing. EDIT: Just saw the voiceover skit, OK, that was funny. “This other team is good!” I didn’t understand “Food Dudes.”

A lot of the humor around Adam Driver in this ep seemed to be based on him being intense, which never works for me because he seems like a NY hipster doofus. He is the worst villain ever in SW, I laugh every time Kylo Ren throws a hissy fit. It’s like the Radio Shack nerd getting mad. Some great zingers in the cold open. It’s nice to get away from Trump on the screen. I FF’d through both the girls and the sanitary pad and the Del Taco skits because repetition in skits annoys me. Keep it moving, I don’t laugh at people saying the same thing over and over. Undercover Boss was fun. Though I laughed at Randy like I do Kylo Ren. Halsey did a nice job. Not sure her music is my thing but I appreciate her artistry. ”Practicing Removing crazy dictators around the world for 100 years.” Wow. That was good. Aidy’s 7th grader seemed oddly low key. I wish everyone would just ignore Mr Peanut and the agency who is patting itself on the back for all the free publicity. The cheer skit was as annoying as the actual “sport.” Though putting “prayer on it” was funny. And the ketchup bottle skit was a nod toward past SNL skits that were goofy and poignant and fun at the same time. Liked it.

That what I mean by matches. I mean, he’s 90 percent there and he has to see the face? Versus figure out who the kill squad is? Without the paintings, he knows the girl is a synth and is likely connected to Data. It seems in the scale of important things, seeing that her face appears in a painting wasn’t up there. Also, I could argue that the painting also looked like Princess Leia, so.... a match is useful I guess?

Some odd choices in episode one, maybe on purpose, maybe by accident. - Confronted with a kill squad of (Romulans, I guess?) who knocked off at least two people, instead of pursuing who they were and why, Picard ... rushes to the archives .... to see a painting that matches one he already has. - The on-camera admission to why Picard left Star Fleet was too pat, coming after his Romulan handlers told him that the interviewer promised multiple times not to ask about it. Picard should have ended the interview right there, or they should have shown him being slowly guided to a "you can't handle the truth!" moment. They did neither, and I just kept wondering, "Why are you answering this question now?" Those that run Starfleet won't be eager to aid him after being publicly criticized. - Same for Picard's Excalibur-like sudden realization that he has been hiding away on the sidelines for years when he could have been doing good, or at least something. Too rushed, not enough reason shown for him to have arrived here, and it minimized the impact. - I'm not sure why Picard had such an immediate affinity for Dahj. Here is a man who had isolated himself for years, who sees a sudden intruder and knows enough to realize this person could be a foe. Yes, his dog liked her. That's fine. But why sudden;t jump on the Dahj bus? With minimal info, BTW. Sir Patrick is over 70, and I admire his skills at any age, much less his current one. At the same time, he moved fairly feebly through the episode. I wonder if his choosing to go to the archives is emblematic of this older Picard, and will be reflected in future choices. Let the new young folks do the fighting and adventure. I'm interested. And I love seeing this world back on my screen. And it can get as dark as it wants to, as long as the characters are true to themselves. Sometimes the world is dark.

The best plot suddenly disappeared... what happened to the old guy who wanted to die? They just walked him off? I really thought that had possibilities and it evaporated. Could have done with a lot less Manny and his show and more of this plot. I did like Phil’s Pop-pop line.

Agreed and I got that. My issue was that this was from something decades ago. And it was such a small thing. Not something that memorable. In fact, they didn’t even seem to remember much at all about it until the plot required them to.

Well, it was a better episode, anyway. Claire and Mitch's obsession seemed contrived. I suspected Phil or his dad were the penguin, and wa-la. Enjoyed Cam's hillbilly.

It *is* annoying, and it doesn't have to be that way. When Modern Family is at its best, it isn't that way, and it can be very funny and also very clever. Even this bad episodes have some clever lines. The thing that is puzzling about MF is why they made the family so awful at the end, and why they seem to have thrown any character development out the window. Do they have no pride? As for Schitt's Creek, this isn't that thread so I'll be brief ... I tried to watch it, and the humor is very broad and bland, and not very clever. Couldn't get past that.

And Stella. I really shouldn't think about this show afterward, but the more I thought about Beckham and Cox being on this episode, the more inexplicable the whole thing was. First, why choose them? A couple of 90s A-list stars? If the point was that they were no longer celebrities, it wasn't made well aside from some members of the family not knowing at all who they were. And speaking of that, why do most of the characters not recognize who they are, or, if they do know who Beckham is, focus only on Beckham's wife? My 14yo daughter watches Friends on netflix. She would have identified Cox right away. The whole interaction made no sense. Credit to Beckham and Cox for being game, and getting in the hot tub. No fault with their work. I wonder what they were paid?

The only thing I could figure was that Gloria was right.... Vincent the hair dresser was a hack. But if he was that much of a hack, seems like people would have noticed before Claire.

“I know I am but a lowly stable boy...” Stephen Merchant was wonderful. The family was horrid.

I finally started watching this show, and binged almost all of the episodes over the past few weeks. The only one I couldn’t finish was Kristin Wiig, because the number of times she said “like” drove me insane. Someone her age really shouldn't speak that way. I enjoy the dissection of comedy and specific bits. Also, when you are worth $950 million, you can afford to not care about much and do what the heck you want.

I enjoyed the season. The Treadstone program was bigger than anyone knew in the movies, bayonets were happening outside the US and now some secret group has activated it again for its own purposes and the program, which was admittedly already dubious, has been “corrupted.” So w shave a few people who know this and the beginnings of a side to root for. i liked the complexity and multiple story lines. We needed to see more about the abilities the program helps create, to explain some of what we saw. I hope there is a second season.

I’m not having any issues following the show. I like the Bourne-Esque action and spy craft. I don’t need so much fighting though. The show set up a nice extension of the mythology from the movies, and fleshed it out a bit. They need to give us reasons to root for someone. The Treadstone subjects were sympathetic, but most of them volunteered and they end up needing to use their skills to survive. I’m not sure who we should like in this show. For now, the world building is enough for me. But I’ll need some kind of “good guy” soon.

Largely unnecessary episode. No need for us to see the history with John and Petra. We know what she did, we know the impact on him, not sure why the show bothered giving us details. The Matt and Haynes adventure was more interesting, though we didn’t make much progress. Still want to know who is waking them up and why. Factions within the CIA I guess? One either creating or aligned with businesses? I hope the show isn’t about how Big Business is Evil. Sonyu looked pretty pissed in China (?). And then she just went back to NK? Would like to have seen more about Sam.

I struggled with this one. There was no reason for John to talk to Katya about his life, when John has no idea who is friend or foe. And the fact the NK smuggler who was never caught suddenly was caught was convenient, and when he was caught he seems to have to cover or any plan to deal with being caught. And the whole prison access with Sebastian and set up was mighty convenient. I enjoy this show when it’s characters act within logical boundaries given the show’s world. When they are sloppy or poorly prepared or contradictory, it bugs me. I did enjoy the attack at the beginning and the struggle Doug is going through. His experience seems to be the most logical of the Treadstone assets we have seen so far. The many story lines is one reason I’m interested. Not every human reacts the same to what the Treadstone subjects went through, and all of them are still being used. By whom and why vary and I’m curious.

If you had watched the movies, some answers are available to many of these points. I like to nitpick as much as the next person, but it’s better if nitpicks are truly unclear. The program used drug doses over time that permitted various abilities, and a combination of strength and knowledge/skills of pressure points on handcuffs is consistent, at least in a TV show like this. Haynes said that the hypnotist in his questioning triggered a reaction- “I saw red” - and that’s why he killed the hypnotist. Haynes quickly regained some control. Jason Bourne had no memory of who he was and his skills came back instantly when he felt threatened by the police in the German park. Supposedly none of the Treadstone subjects had family in the sense of a spouse or kids. Those that had parents, according to this show, the parents were apparently told “standard agency protocol” that their child was killed in the line of duty, whatever that duty might have been. Sam would have known all this. Soyun’s husband fleeing his bosses’ party to chase his wife would have been seen as an act of weakness in that male-dominated society. He may not even have been particularly worried... where could she go in NK? I actually find his blind love for her later to be the odder aspect of his behavior. I guess I chalked it all up to him being in a tough spot and having to choose the state over his family.

This is one reason why I am enjoying this show. I don’t need to know why everything is happening out of the gate. It’s enough to learn of different aspects of what clearly will end up being connected. For now, I am enjoying the ride! It is also fun guessing who is a spy asset and who isn’t. Clearly many of these sleepers have handlers nearby, in one role or another.

Actually I’m almost positive I saw a non white car in a driveway as Elliott was walking by the homes. Yep, I did... right after the green house he walks by. Also, Elliott’s own car wasn’t in the township, was it? Wasn’t he in “the city?” I still think WR’s machine was more multiverse than time machine. And wonder at what world White Rose is living in. Mostly I was surprised that what we saw actually happened, from fsociety to Angela dying to the rich people being taken down. I was sure that was going to be part of a world Real Elliott created in his mind. But it was real. So the white light was the Real Elliott’s actual life going forward, with his now unneeded personalities just watching?

I want to start using The Law of Surprise IRL. Next time someone owes me in a tight spot, it’s happening.

I think I laughed more in this episode than I did the rest of the season combined. Buckwheat doing Respect alone had me rolling. I don’t know if many of the skits ended abruptly or what, but the crowd didn’t quite seem to know when they were over. Very hesitant. Also I just discovered Lizzo a month or two ago and I liked both of her performances tonight. All in all a great way to head into Christmas week. I’ve been critical all season, so I’m giving props where due... thank you, SNL.

That was it? Where are the rest of the episodes? I binged it. And I generally liked it. The women were far more interesting than Geralt. There were big gaps in my understanding of what was happening and what it meant. I expected another 8 episodes. What happened that it was so short?