DoctorAtomic

As I said before, we've seen will they/won't they so much now, it's hard to imagine a time where it was actually the first. Now, it's derivative and typically looked at as lazy writing. Having the show so fresh in my mind, the actors were terrific, but I could really only stand Sam&Diane plots when it was part of the show and not the out and in front plot. I'm not really a shipper by nature, so inherently I'm not really going to be too invested. I think a fundamental flaw is that this kind of plot isn't sustainable - it has to have some ending at some point. Sure, you can throw in some roadblocks like Frasier or the councilwoman, but you can't do that for 200 episodes. Regardless if Long had been difficult to work with, they ran out of what to do with Diane. Clearly, Long liked Diane enough to return to play her several times and also on Frasier, so it's not like she's sour. She was even in the 200th episode special. Being the first go around, TPTB may not have really forseen it. And Danson and Long were so great that they probably wanted to ride it as long as they could. Even then, they got over 100 episodes out of it and were talented enough to retool the show for another 175. I wonder in today's tv climate how a show like this could work. I think a little more drama into it than just comedy could be an interesting angle. Not that it has to be all 'gritty', but not all setup/punchline all the time.

Shit I loved Wildcats!

I would be surprised if they held back if they thought the story was funny. I think the funnier plot would be something about refusing to wear masks.

I can get he was a target because he was the head of the organization. He was very easily manipulated to get her in the house, but after that when push came to shove, he put his foot down. He even yelled at her here. Even when he put on the cross at the end, it was very reluctant, and he never released the statement she wanted. If it was just so he could be sitting in the car, that seems like a very long walk. I don't think he is as malleable as she thinks, and I'm wondering if he'll snap at some point on her. Magda got her riot and will get her world war, but it's not interesting if she's getting a win every time.

And Tiff looked like Tom Cruise in Risky Business! And Gus and Mo was from Coming to America! I saw a Beetlejuice too, and of course Audrey. I liked the play for shorting the yen to get the cash. Were tramp stamps trendy in 1988? And Lady Business! One thing I always like about Cheadle is that he chooses characters that are actually sharp. They might be terrible people, but he's always moving fast. His ex-gf/FBI agent is making a huge mistake breaking the deal on him.

No, I know who he is. I meant the whole project apparatus. There was way more going on than just some kid who was drinking yo-hoo. The plot on the show itself was what I was questioning as it was presented. Plus, wouldn't the mafia want to get a taste of that bomb dollars?

Especially Townsend's happy monologue. It seems like a lot of the period pieces are. I certainly don't mind. That's typical drama queen though so I can't say she's being ooc. The smart move is to just act on whatever you have to do and not give the advanced warning. I think it was the latter though - the Vegas were all at serious risk if Molly took off. While I was a little shocked about the revelation, the entire batshit delivery was something else. I did enjoy the banter in the car about inventing nuclear weapons. That's a bit of a stretch that he had the idea already. I don't really have a problem with them getting rid of him. They were being followed. If the Germans got him that would have not been particularly good. In hindsight, I'm not sure what purpose this plot thread served. Lewis in the end didn't really need the mafia connection for anything. There's the making of the material, the actual bomb, firing mechanism, etc. It's a little hard to believe a kid would be taken seriously over actual scientists. I will certainly miss the dancing! I liked the scene of the shops being destroyed because it was so sad. I'd be interested in a second season.

Did we know that Magda could exist as the other personas at the same time? I was surprised Fly Rico was the voice of reason. Until Rio shanked him! I guess that's why she was keeping Mateo around to do nothing all this time. Nice of him to come to Tiago's help though. Did they have gerrymandering back then? Townsend was rambling on about realigning the voting districts like it was something he just thought of. I'm again not so clear on what Elsa's purpose was with the doctor. I was impressed with him putting his foot down to her about not teaching the children to hate. Even if he ended up all nazi, it took a lot more work. I got a huge kick out of everyone ending up at the Vega's to hide out.

I think encouraging less time between pitches is a better approach than the minimum batters. I get it takes time to bring in relievers, but you could get rid of the warm up pitches, for example.

Yes. Naird escaped and picked up the daughter with a helicopter. On the flight back, the wife was outside waving them down. She escaped from prison with the gf guard and they all piled in the helicopter.

Fantastic! I had no idea it was back!

Say hello to your next superbowl MVP! (j/k but literally none of us here would be surprised)

'to some degree' is the key phrase there. It depends on whether it's an organic part of the show or not. I'm not really a shipper at all, but I can get if it's part of some shows. I don't like it to dominate the show.

I don't know if you've seen it to the end of the season yet, but the Kudrow issue is sort of resolved.

This is fairly on point for me. It's the summer. I sit out on my porch and watch the shit out of shows on my tablet. I'd say the monologue in episode 3 about the orange and Malkovich holding off and chiming in about using the satellites to save lives and money was really well done. Episode 4 was a clunker after that and then it picked up again. Carrell's and Malkovich's scenes together have been consistently good. It's not irredeemably bad. They need a more consistent narrative for Naird though. He's actually a good soldier and earned the 4 star rank, but he goes from playing harried to doofy at times, and I don't really buy the latter. Harried makes sense to me since it's a new armed forces branch. The show picked up a little more when Kelly (the contractor) got more time. She's consistently good in everything I've seen her in, and it gives another side for Carrell to work. Fuck Tony is the best name. I think they should have gone with capable but harried/put upon. You can still be capable but fuck up, and there's humor in that. Plot wise, I laughed when the Chinese ran over the flag.

The show has my redemption simply for the scene about Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I got that too. To be fair, the brainstorming about fixing the satellite was good.

Funny, because I liked Avenue 5. I don't think absurdity needs to be funny per se, but if they were going for absurd, it's too subdued. I'm going to watch more, and I do hope it improves with such a great cast.

Action! was definitely ahead of its time.

I saw all the rest. The one with Woody was OK. I take the point of Frasier not regretting the choice to move on and looking back is derivative, but I think the execution wasn't so strong. The one with everyone there was just meant to be a fun episode. I liked Martin and Norm getting along and Niles ended up having fun. I watched the one where Diane and Lillith were in his head. I liked it because all the actors can play well off one another. Diane painting a portrait of Sam and singing was funny.

Chelsea got a nice win to stay in the top 4 too.

I can't believe I don't remember that one!

Well, y'all ain't going to be playing Santa anytime soon, re: kids. I didn't really like my cousin's kids till they got to be in their teens.

Diane - I liked that the dad had a lot of disdain for her. Funny choice for the return of her tick. Long seemed to be playing her to the hilt. I loved the play. The characters nailed all the Cheers personalities. She's a really good actor. I guess I thought she wasn't in much since Cheers, but she's been getting steady work year in and out. I'm surprised she wasn't on another tv show long term.

Frasier is on Hulu. Tea Leoni is his gf! I'm glad Sam still has the bar. I don't know if I buy Sam fixing to get married. I still don't think there's anything wrong with being single, and it's clear the bar is his true love. I'm still meh on the plot point of Sam having sexual compulsion problems. Danson seemed kind of playing Sam rather subdued. I've only watched the show a few times because I was in college, but I enjoyed the back and forth with Frasier, Niles, and Roz.