Mannahatta

Here's the link: https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/8813-abcfxhulunational-geographic/ I noticed it's pretty quiet over there. So it seems a lot of people can't find it.

20/20 is now a sub-forum under ABC/FX/Hulu/National Geographic - a category name that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. lol That podcaster seemed out of central casting and not in a good way. Maybe she should try her hand at writing fiction because she certainly seemed to have a vivid imagination.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/arts/television/aaron-hernandez-american-sports-story.html "The saga of Aaron Hernandez has riveted the sports world and beyond for more than a decade. An N.F.L. star on one of football’s best teams killed a man in 2013 even as he chased fame and glory on the field.....Hernandez has been the subject of multiple books, true crime podcasts and documentaries. But his story is getting the Ryan Murphy treatment in a new 10-part anthology series, “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” premiering on Tuesday on FX and Hulu. Its showrunners are trying a playbook similar to one used for dramatizations of other well-known scandals.... But this time, they’re grappling with new terrain: pro football."

I get what you're saying. But on the other hand, maybe this title will attract some voters who otherwise wouldn't have watched it. And those are the people who really need to see it. Otherwise, it will just be preaching to the converted.

Seriously. That was one helluva job interview. I was about to give up on this show as I found the ratio of unlikable characters to be far higher than the likable ones. (Plus I'm bad at names.) But I've been loving these last two episodes with its emphasis on small folk and dragons. And the acting is superb.

Good news - maybe? According to Screen Rant: "Rotten Tomatoes recently shared a list of “renewed and canceled TV shows 2024,” where it states that Project Runway has, in fact, been “renewed.”.....Project Runway season 19 premiered on October 14, 2021. There was no new season in 2022. The huge gap between seasons 19 and 20 could mean that while season 21 does take place in 2024, it could be much later in the year, so it could extend into 2025." https://screenrant.com/project-runway-season-21-latest-news-potential-release-window-potential-cast-trailer-everything-know/ However, I looked for news about Project Runway at the Rotten Tomatoes site and I couldn't find any such announcement. I hope Screen Rant is right and the info is hiding in plain sight (from me anyway). But it does seem like a long wait.

https://people.com/bethenny-frankel-used-to-force-herself-to-have-sex-with-ex-jason-hoppy-8635088 So bizarre. I didn't think it was possible, but she's taken her self-perceived victimhood to a new level. It's an insult to actual assault survivors.

Fun fact: I once had a cat who absolutely loved water. He would jump up on the bathroom sink and purr in gratitude as I poured water over his little head. Such a weirdo. I miss him. However, it is true that most cats don't like water. Plus they're pretty good about keeping themselves clean, so the cat washing station was about as odd as the alligator pits. I have to say that while I do enjoy this show, between the laughs there are some moments of absolute horror. It's like witnessing a perfect storm of bad architectural choices, ultra tacky interior design, and a complete disregard for safety. But at the same time you know that the previous owners were probably having the time of their lives as they manifested their "vision" - for lack of a better word.

I can - because I was traumatized! I don't know what the housekeeper did next as I was able to watch only the first 10 minutes of last night's show. Good Lord! The sight of Larry engaging in oral sex just about wiped out whatever is left of my libido. No, no and just no. That was not a sight I needed to see....However, when I am fully recovered I will go back to watch the rest of the episode.

I had read "Answered Prayers" a few years ago. (I had wanted to read it, couldn't find it anywhere, but lo and behold, I found it in Brooklyn in a pile of books that someone had thrown out.) Anyway, I found the book to be so mean spirited that I really wondered about the writer. Was he a sociopath? Plus the writing wasn't so great. I had read In Cold Blood and was riveted by it, so I expected more - just like I did of this show. Anyway, today I read an essay in the NYTimes, written by Babe Paley's granddaughter, Belle Burden. She writes: "I can accept that details are changed when real people are fictionalized. I know it is hard to capture the ineffable magic of someone’s presence. There are no live recordings of Babe, no way for an actress to know how she moved and spoke. What I cannot accept is the theft of my grandmother’s narrative." She describes Babe as an affectionate, brilliant, funny, well-read, charismatic, and having a "steely strength". She outlines all the falsehoods in the show, and adds that no one in her family was consulted "to lend color or truth to Babe’s portrait, to her strengths and struggles, her complexities and contradictions". And this passage I found especially poignant: "My grandmother was wounded by Capote taking the things she told him, changing them, betraying her confidence and her privacy, which she guarded fiercely. Now her life has been stolen and twisted again, posthumously, by the creators of “Feud,” including the executive producer Ryan Murphy, the writer Jon Robin Baitz and the director Gus Van Sant. In the show, Babe is drawn as the ultimate victim: of her husband’s infidelity, Capote’s betrayal, her failing health. In victimhood, in her constant suffering, in the dramatic fabrications, she becomes one-dimensional, a woman defined by surfaces — a woman defined by men, reconstructing her life to suit their needs." I thought her critique was pretty brilliant. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/opinion/feud-swans-paley.html

For anyone interested in reading more about the Vanderbilt family, "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt" by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, published in 1989, is a fascinating, well researched page-turner told with wit. The extent of their wealth, and some of the massive egos is mind-boggling. After that I then went on to "Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt" by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, published in 2005. But I found reading it to be a bit of a slog, a dry recitation of facts and some odd asides. It made me appreciate Vanderbilt's book even more.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/the-gilded-age-back-third-season-expected-film-18571278.php In addition to making viewers happy, having a season 3 should help the local economy.

I can appreciate your point. But if there's one thing I've learned from watching Dateline it's that being able to light up every room you enter is also a risk factor.

I've gotten to the point where I just proceed to the last 8 minutes or so. In fact, lately I've been toying with the idea of putting them on mute....I think they did a nice job with the bones of this last house. And the tiles were more subtle than usual. Plus the sellers seemed like fun. However, I could do without all the close-ups of the inevitable baskets on the wall, the excessive amounts of pillows on the beds, the fake plants that continually pop up in the unlikeliest of places, the often cheap looking faucets, and the ever-present macrame. But who am I to complain now that I've learned to fully embrace the magic of fast-forwarding!

I think the same could be said for their clothing choices.