[FBI: International - General Discussion]

8 minutes ago, preeya said:

Why didn't she take the [fake] folder from Forrester?

He subtly shook his head, letting her know it was a setup.

Probably that guy's words about choosing between country and family. Like he wanted to make the right choice his mom didn't and regretted.

[S05.E09: Survive]

19 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

Probably one of TV's worst characters. I'm sure Shemar Moore learned the lessons of JJ and made sure JJ's character issues were not repeated on S.W.A.T. Besides, I can only imagine playing a woman like Christina Alonso is just far more satisfying...digging in to her faults and having to contend with her struggles gives an actress far more to sink her teeth into than someone who is hyper-competent. We tend to only think of how bad it is to watch Mary Sues...I can't imagine it's much of a thrill to play a flat character like a Mary Sue because there is very little to draw from.

Yes. Unlike with Chris, they tried to make JJ interesting a little too late in the form of her BIG ADMISSION near the end of the series. But it was too little, too late.

And I like that even though the mourning of her friend's death was tedious to get through, I'm glad at least it's paid off with her learning some lessons and growing from it. 

She's no fragile flower, but she's not a bad-ass in leather pants either. The guys don't treat her any different than the other members of the team. 

Mary Sues and their Marty counterparts are boring. And yes, Shemar 's character growth is proof he understands about a character having faults and having to overcome their difficulties rather than everyone praising them constantly for being the best of the best.

Also, in that vein, there's something I forgot to mention. Deacon opening up about his fear to Chris was amazing. Again, most of the time when a show has a dude with a g*n in his hand, ready to face down the bad guys, they're all macho about it. Him telling Chris he was scared was a great moment between them and went a long way in healing their short-lived feud.

[S05.E09: Survive]

So, I was away from home for a lot of January, and I didn't realize I'd missed some episodes.

This was awesome. Another fantastic resolution to a feud any other show would drag out forever. They talked like adults. Deacon got off his high horse and was willing to see things Chris's way for a minute and talked about the amazing legacy she's leaving behind. 

I think if Hondo's great lesson has been "open up," Deacon's big lesson has been, "loosen up." 

I think it's great he's around people who've lived such different lives and is now open to listening to them and getting an entirely different point of view. It's always good to get out of your own bubble.

The episode was exciting, with the only dumb move being made by the accountant who stuck his head out the window.

I like that he looked like an accountant and that it wasn't some mask for a really bad guy. He looked like who he was, a mild-mannered family man. But really, Deacon, you might want to do a bit of a background check on people before you get in a car with them and drive them across the desert.

On 1/9/2022 at 7:14 PM, Danielg342 said:

I find it refreshing. Christina is far more compelling and interesting the way S.W.A.T. has portrayed her than every other show that has went way over the top in creating contrived "strong female characters" (like JJ on Criminal Minds from S7-S10). I wish more Hollywood writers would understand that a female character- like any character- isn't made into a strong character because they don't lose. They become strong because they lose.

OMG. S7-10 JJ was so OTT crazy. They made her Superwoman.

Yes, I want my characters with some flaws who don't always win.

They built these guys up as the best of the best, so if she'd easily beaten him, it would have really cheapened the whole point.

On 1/3/2022 at 8:54 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

Deacon-centric episode, WITHOUT Annie. Thank you show! Love it. Love it. Love it. 😍

Mmmmm...yeah. 

 

[S07.E11: Rage Against The Machines]

HA! Nate! Can you describe the ruckus?

Awesome episode. They've really been hitting it out of the park lately. I know I'm a couple of episodes late on this, but can I just say that it's so nice that Behrad is no longer the stoner dude? I was thrilled when they dropped that.

The Zari/Zari fight was tremendous. So many of them are these bad-asses who know how to fight, that it was awesome to see someone on that ship just flailing. 

And how did they get me to care about Thawne? Wow. These shows do love their character redemptions.

I'm also with The droids being made to have normal bodily functions. And he did say it was "like" food poisoning, so who knows? I mean, Gary is an alien.

Robo Nate is awesome. I'm so glad he made it out of there and that RealNate tricked him. Did he ever mention that they made Robo Nate super dumb? 
 

[S01.E12: Spies, part 1]

Oh, wow, Junior from Hawaii Five-0.

I was wondering why they made him from New Zealand, and it turns out he was born there. I had no idea. He hid it well.

The whole thing with Maggie immediately insisting on drinks should have been a tip-off.

[S05.E08: Safe House]

10 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

This episode was the exception. Not the rule. Their drama, even before they got together, was suffocating the show. Especially in most of the episodes this season. Hence, most of us have been pleading for the show to cool it on their relationship focus. Seeing them focus on the Christina character in this episode, instead of just her relationship with Street was much more interesting. That's what the show seemingly had gotten away from. They stopped trying to develop her character, and just tried push the relationship drama with Street.

While I agree that they've been floundering with Chris's character, and like I said, seemed to have found their footing again without making her overly maudlin and brooding, I was talking specifically about how just a few episodes ago, Street was getting upset why she showed up to comfort him if she wasn't willing to go whole-hog into a relationship. But now he seems to have realized that approach doesn't work, and he's backing off, allowing them to take things slow and be friends, rather than jumping into them immediately sleeping together, things getting weird, Chris feeling like she made a mistake and rushed into it, etc. That's where I thought they were going, so them taking a left turn with the relationship and slowing it way down, was great. 

And as you said, by doing that, Chris gets to be her own character rather than her only being interesting because she's with Street.

[S05.E08: Safe House]

3 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

Kind of like how a lot of Hollywood relationship drama could be avoided if the characters simply behaved like adults about the situation instead of, well, being childish and defaulting their emotions and shutting off their brains.

Next time there's baby drama on a Hollywood show I'm going to evaluate it against how Nichelle and Hondo handled it in this episode. It was that good. Hollywood, you've been warned

This is almost as bad as "the misunderstanding." You know, where someone overhears or misinterprets something, and rather than having this cleared up in mere moments, by the person who misunderstood saying, "I overheard/saw this. Does it mean what I think it means?," they react on their assumption, and when the other person tries to explain, they won't let them, and the person trying to do the explaining lets themselves remain misunderstood.

I agree that this could have gone a number of ways, with Hondo continuing to resent Nichelle for not telling him sooner, Nichelle saying, "Fine! I'll raise this baby myself!" after Hondo's initial reaction, or like you said, Nichelle not accepting the baby, and Hondo being relieved. He said he'd support her before she told him she said yes, and he stood by his words.

It was indeed a very adult conversation, and I really do hope they continue along these lines. I love grown-up Hondo.

There were a lot of tropes this could have fallen into, but they avoided all of them.

[S05.E08: Safe House]

I have to say, the evolution of Hondo as a character is a joy to see.

Some shows, in an effort to create conflict and drama, have a character learn lessons, become better, and then have backslide after backslide.

In this episode, Hondo had a momentary lapse of judgement and then realized it immediately. I love the way they ended the episode, with him stepping up to the plate. It was also great how both women backed off and let him make the decision on his own.

The evolution of Luca is pretty cool, too. The "law and order" dude coming around and becoming friendly with Marcos, shows great strides with him as well.

Deacon, on the other hand...dude, what IS your problem? 

We've seen his black-and-white thinking with Chris's relationship, before he came around. And it did seem like when he saw Chris at the end, that he may have softened up a bit. But the guy has to know that talking to Mama Pina like that would not make her give up the goods. Especially looking like he does. 

And it seems like they might finally be figuring out what to do with Chris . They seemed to get lost with her character there, where she was either brooding or acting wild. But they've finally settled her into a nice groove that appears to fit. I hope they continue along these lines. 

They've also continued with Street being a supportive partner who listens. He's not pressuring her anymore and letting Chris be Chris, which I can appreciate. Their relationship is getting a chance to breathe and work its way up slowly. Too often, they get characters together and immediately start creating drama, so I'm relieved they've decided to take this route with the relationship.

The COTW was fine. It provided a backdrop for hitting a lot of character strengths and weaknesses. 

I assume just before the season finale, they'll start ramping up some of the other stuff that's been brewing, but for now I liked that, except for the Chris/Deacon exchange, this was a pretty drama-free, soap opera-free episode.

[Magnum P.I. (2018) - General Discussion]

21 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Can we just stop the stalling already?  Please??   We've all been Wile E Coyote'd to death with dodging the damned anvils out here in front of our TVs.

I have good news for you.

They seem to be following the familiar pattern of the wt/wt playbook.

1. The show makes it obvious there's some attraction there.

2. The show flirts with it. Other people notice. Encourage it. 

3. The characters themselves come just shy of admitting it.

4. Just when you think it's about to happen, they find a significant other. 

5. That relationship lasts until they either realize their feelings for each other are stronger than for the one they're with, the one they're with realizes they can't compete, or the show finds a way for the couples to break up.

And so, I agree this will be in the season finale:

15 hours ago, MountaineerBro10 said:

IMO, Magnum & Higgins will finally have their scene in Season finale. I guarantee it

 

[S05.E07: Keep the Faith]

On 12/7/2021 at 10:26 AM, nittany cougar said:

I agree that Chris could have  handled  the birthday attention better.  Just say thanks and move on.

Even though it was annoying to Chris, I thought that the team going over the top with the birthday celebrations was cute.  My favorite was when Hondo and Luca smiled at each other, knowing that she was about to go in the locker room and get confetti bombed.

It was sad when Chris told Street that she didn't like the attention because she thinks that she doesn't deserve it.  That's just depressing. There's always been an undercurrent of insecurity with Chris, even though she is very accomplished in SWAT. 

Agreed that it's sad she doesn't feel she deserves love and attention from anyone. I think they've done a good job of showing how her relationships reflect her feelings about herself, and in fact. this is the most interesting direction they've taken the character in a while. It provides an explanation for a whole lot of stuff. 

This was a good episode for how the men deal with the women in their life going through some insecurities, because I thought the way Street handled it was with style and grace. He listened to her and just quietly gave her the skydiving lessons. It helps me forgive him for his previous faux pas of asking her why she came over to comfort him, if she wasn't going to have sex with him or whatever.

Also agree that what the guys did was adorable and really shows just how much they adore her. I love it when these big "macho" guys get in touch with the little boy inside and act like kids.

On 12/5/2021 at 11:40 PM, Danielg342 said:

Tan did have a great episode. He really came across as someone who has his heart in the right place and means what he says. When he tells Bonnie, "you are my world", he isn't saying that to defuse the situation, it's because it's true and Bonnie needed to hear it. Relationships are funny because it doesn't take much for our inner securities to come out simply because a simple thought crossed our mind. It's perfectly logical for the "all-American girl" Bonnie to think maybe she doesn't "fit in" with her Cantonese husband because they have different cultural experiences, but Tan rightly told her it's not rational because he married her, not a Cantonese woman.

Yes, her insecurities made sense after seeing him able to communicate with this other woman in a way he can't with her. And Tan did handle it in the best way. 

I love it on shows when couples have realistic discussions without passive-aggression and blame. I think the writing gets much more interesting, and the relationship gets much deeper, when this happens. You also don't get agitated the minute they're on screen.

6 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

Something tells me the show doesn't have that much longer with the Sunday move, after already coming from a Friday slot. Maybe one more season, at best. And if it's going to stay on Sunday for next season, I would expect a truncated episode order and a midseason start date.

I looked it up, and it's actually in a great spot, right after the long-running N.C.I.S. L.A. It's taking over the vacant spot left by S.E.A.L. Team.

According to this article, their ratings are up while in the Friday spot, and they say it may be a bad move. I guess we'll find out. But it doesn't seem like bad ratings is the reason for the move.

S.W.A.T. Moving to Sundays

[S05.E07: Keep the Faith]

My favorite line:

"Is 'athletic' a code word for 'hot'?"

I don't think I've ever liked Chris and Street better than in that one little scene. The picked up on the jealousy stuff and actually offered good advice. Bonus points for not talking about how women always say "nothing" when they mean "something." The way Tan said it wasn't hostile, which I liked. And she wasn't saying "nothing" because she was being coy. Bonnie felt it was petty and didn't want to burden Tan with it. But I'm glad that was resolved so quickly, and Joy isn't some woman trying to take her man, another horrible trope.

Tan acts the way all women wish their men would be. I thought that scene was well done.

You had to become suspicious when the Russians showed up at both locations about the same time S.W.A.T. did, and the only person right there getting the info with Hondo, was Saint.

Nothing more annoying than a character who hates when people celebrate their birthday.

Here's an idea, Chris: If this happens literally EVERY year, where your teammates don't respect your wishes, and in fact think of new and even more elaborate ways of celebrating your birthday, maybe set some boundaries, like you all going to a bar and having a few drinks to celebrate. Just an idea to try out if this behavior truly drives you up a wall.

Sounds like Saint is going to pop up from time to time. We'll see how that goes.

I was also grateful that this was just another COTW.

S.W.A.T. is moving to Sundays...interesting.

[S02.E05: Partners and Third Wheels]

I do think it's hilarious that the big rager the kids threw was barbequing and playing horseshoes in the middle of the day. If it was an act of rebellion, it was mild at best. That was by far the tamest, most laidback teenage party I've ever seen.

But not knowing when the grandparents would come home was a rookie mistake.

Agree that Augie wasn't thinking of a full-blown party.

I'm glad Walker tried to clear up the Geri situation right away and didn't let it drag on for weeks, with him trying to explain, and her not letting him. I hate that trope so much. But it's interesting that he couldn't admit he didn't still have feelings for Denise.

Poor Trey. They're not doing any favors for the Micki character before she goes. 

[S08.E03: Armageddon, Part 3]

Okay, what the heck is going on with Cecile? I mean, she wasn't just chewing the scenery, she was gnawing on it and spitting it out. I don't mind a bit of good cheese overacting, like for instance Despero is doing. But she's telling Joe's daughter, "HE WAS THE FATHER OF MY CHILD!!!!!!!" And Iris and I together go, "Ex-ca-USE me?"

It was so far over the top, that it took me right out of the scene. I really do hope this is supposed to be some kind of clue that it's not really her, or it's some freaky timey-wimey stuff going on, because there were too many scenes of her completely losing it for me to take her seriously.

Indeed, it seems Cecile's hysteria has leveled up.

[S13.E06: Sundown]

Sam negotiates and Rountree goes undercover, when a man takes a busload of hostages and threatens to blow it up unless his daughter’s war crimes are posthumously cleared.

[S02.E04: It's Not What You Think]

How is this the first time I realized that Dan was played by Dave Annable of Brothers and Sisters? I think it was the gray hair that threw me. 

By him shooting that guy, he took away a lot of his problems and unwittingly helped throw everyone off his scent.

I always hate plots that revolve around misunderstandings, so I hope the Geri thing works out quickly, because that will get annoying quick.

I also believe Denise will be eating a lot of crow when she finds out Dan was, in fact, one of the people behind that camera. 

My guess is that Dan will let it slip about seeing her with Walker.

[Magnum P.I. (2018) - General Discussion]

The minute Rick gave him that fake passport, I thought we'd be in for another round of, "Rick might go to jail," with the FB! breathing down his neck.

I was almost relieved when the guy's car blew up.

[S03.E06: How Does Your Garden Grow?]

I do like it when a show follows  through with certain points that are made.

I thought they were going to trivialize everyone ignoring Mary waking up in a park without knowing why. 

This point has been brought up a few times, and at first it seemed insignificant, so I really like that it kept ramping up until it became a real problem.

They have been taking Mary for granted a lot, and I'm glad it's not only coming back to bite them in the a$$, but also that Luke and Ryan finally got it. It's also good that they acknowledged it wasn't just that she was Poison Ivy. They realize that her own feelings have been amplified.

I'm also glad that they haven't forgotten all of the harm Alice has already done. I know the show is trying to strike a balance between rehabilitating her and maintaining her essential personality and reminding us that she's not Team Angelic. ILike they even mentioned Sophie shares a wall with a serial killer. 

I think they made a huge mistake with Earth 2 Lauren on Arrow by completely forgetting what she did in the past and making her into some kind of saint, so it's nice to see that corrected here.

I know in the real world, there's no way she'd be set loose, I feel they've made it at least semi-plausible. And I also like it much better than the trope of the good guys visiting the bad guy in jail to get essential information, while the bad guy snarls and threatens them. 

[S04.E07: Fire Fight]

16 hours ago, Surrealist said:

I agree that writers turned Castle into a doddering dolt, but Nolan is a dip. Not worse than Castle, but a character (for me) who's still cringey.

I think, maybe, Nathan is always playing an enhanced version of who he is in real life. He's That Guy. 

Agree he can be cringey at times, but at least now it's not his entire personality. He's able to talk to people about adult things and not just conspiracy theories. He was goofy at least eighty percent of the time on Castle and only about twenty percent here. But I also agree that he probably wants certain aspects of his actual goofy personality to be a part of his character as well.

13 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I had decided to rewatch Castle on one of the streamers. After the first episode I stopped. I think the memory of how it got crappy was highlighted in the first episode, even though as I recall the rest of the season was good. And I very much like Nathan Fillion, I haven't had the issues with him here as many have. I just wish they'd find him a decent girlfriend with whom he had chemistry and a mature relationship. Mature doesn't mean you can't be silly (speaking as a person in a 35+ year marriage).

I also like Nathan and have zero problems with him. If I did, I wouldn't have stuck with Castle until the very end.

I also agree he has zero chemistry with his Mary Sue girlfriend. The relationship does seem on the mature side, because they've been through stuff together and aren't having stupid little squabbles, but there's no THERE there.

[S05.E06: Crisis Actor]

Here's why I think Sanchez was so easy to get rid of and why I think he was just the first round, rather than the whole bout.

1. He mentioned to Deac and Luca that the higher-ups are never going to reinstate Hondo, and indeed they haven't. 

3. He told Hondo that the commissioner's going to make his life miserable, and I quote, "'I'm just the start."

He's stated numerous times that if it's not him, it will be someone else.

I think they intentionally made Sanchez not really have any teeth. Through his words and actions, he's made it clear that it's nothing personal against Hondo. I think his "advice" was sincere and that he feels he's actually "helping" by giving Hondo a way out. It's  not personal.

So, Sanchez was a symptom of the problem. It's like having a cold and taking something for your sniffles. You're still sick.

On 11/12/2021 at 6:24 PM, Danielg342 said:

I do appreciate Hicks taking one for Hondo this time and repaying the favour Hondo did for him. That was nice. I wonder if Hicks' own job will hang by a thread and it'll be a recurring storyline this season.

As much as I hate for Hicks to have problems, I really do want more to come of the anti-corruption storyline from somewhere because to end it on this kind of a whimper is too frustrating.

THIS is what's going to happen.

He didn't get the okay to reinstate Hondo. Sanchez could not have foreshadowed more that he would not be the last obstacle but was only the first lob in what I believe will be a major escalation.

Sanchez is not the cause of the problem. The commissioner sent someone in there he knew would be focused on getting Hondo out. But Sanchez was smart enough to realize that he'd be heading up that team forever, because he would not be accomplishing his mission, and by then all of his opportunities would dry up.

But trust me, the fact that Hondo's reinstatement is far from "clean" is a good indication that this is not close to being over.

As for the story, I liked that they didn't resort to stereotypes. I thought it was a nice change of pace that the host of the show wasn't a frothing-at-the-mouth conspiracy theorist and that the most dangerous guy was the one who used to believe in them but was hit with a dose of reality and was pissed off about alienating everyone who ever cared about him.

[S04.E07: Fire Fight]

7 hours ago, Surrealist said:

The relationships Nolan's been given on this show (so far) aren't very believable. He comes across as an immature doofus, which is probably why some of us have an issue with his pairings. He acts younger than he is, but looks older.

Oh, goodness. The main thing I like about this show is that they haven't made him a man-child. It got so bad on Castle that the subtext became the text, with his supposed girlfriend acting like his mom and even mentioning it on occasion. 

Here, at least, he's competent at his job and takes it seriously. He is sometimes goofy in an endearing way, but I don't feel he comes off immature like he did on Castle. 

Maybe I'm biased because of his previous show, but as far as I'm concerned, his maturity level went up by 500%.

Look, I hate to break it to y'all, but once a show even hints at a romance, it's going to happen. I've seen it 100% of the time where it's obvious what the show is doing. People say, "I want them to remain friends and colleagues. I really like their relationship" as the show pushes the two people closer together and gets them into more and more intimate situations, until the UST gets too hot, and the inevitable happens. 

I mean, him having to lift up his shirt for her to put on the wire...yeah.

Also, I've seen TV shows record actual situations where someone plays a hitman, and they try to get the person to admit to wanting to kill their husband, and yes, they always have to wait until the money is given, because otherwise it's just a fantasy.

But I absolutely loved the comic relief with Chen and Bradford where the women kept turning each other in. This was much needed in a really tense episode, particularly with Wesley.

Speaking of him, I'm so glad he's finally fessing up. I was worried there. I mean, it took a couple of baseball bats, but at least it happened.

[Magnum P.I. (2018) - General Discussion]

7 hours ago, Lya167 said:

Let me join you on your way out, as I also am mesmerized by the way Higgins only calls him Thomas now, never Magnum. I'm a shipper, can't help it, tried not to many times, but it's useless... And I loved the episode too, curious to see where this MI-6 storyline is going.

Seems like we're kindred spirits, then.

Agree on all counts.

[Magnum P.I. (2018) - General Discussion]

I liked the episode. It had a nice twist, and I didn't mind the heart-to-hearts between Thomas and Higgins.

And okay...I'm going to wade into the shallow end here...but does anyone else find Thomas's (Jay's) hands sexy? Like, whenever they show a close-up of him doing the lock-picking, I'm mesmerized. 

I'll see myself out.

[S02.E03: Barn Burner]

I think with Trey and Mickey being at odds, and the constant animosity between the two families, and Trey and Walker arguing, it made the show a little hard to watch.

 

[S02.E05: Followers]

I'm really glad the "mom" not seeming frantic that her child was kidnapped wasn't just bad acting. She just seemed so calm, and I thought that was weird. So kudos on the show for making that a clue.

I thought the Karen thing was true to life. We've seen videos pretty much exactly like that play out numerous times. I don't feel it was an exaggeration.

I did think, however, that the proof would be the store cameras and not Delilah's phone. However,  I do feel it's realistic that she would record it, and I'm sure it's a lot quicker to just show that video.

Plus, it would have deprived us of that last scene, which was pretty awesome.

[S05.E05: West Coast Offense]

The sports agent did seem like the obvious choice and usually is, so I was pleasantly surprised that for once the slick dude in the suit wasn't the bad guy.

I knew beforehand that Hondo would contradict Sanchez, but when all was said and done, I was wondering when that happened. He didn't move in until he was given the go-ahead, so it adds another layer to Sanchez's smarminess that he took what Hondo did as insubordination.

I'm in a wait-and-see approach right now. With the whole team in on it,  I'm thinking they may wind up turning the tables on Sanchez, which is how they get him out of there.

It's interesting how Sanchez walks the line between actually caring about the job he's doing and looking for ways Hondo can screw up. I find it fascinating how he could lay all of that on Hondo and still talk to him like a comrade. 

For these reasons, I believe Sanchez isn't coming off one-dimensional and mustache-twirling so much as a man brown-nosing his way to the top by doing whatever the top brass asks of him.