JohnnyGilda

My main takeaway from the side by side is that they really aren't doing Crawford's lipstick and eyebrows justice on this show.

That sound effect always gets me, too. Just the sight of Joan in that wig gets me. Strait-Jacket might not have been as good a movie as Psycho, but it's campy fun, while at the same time being almost as disturbing -- especially the climax. I'd definitely recommend it before Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which is great for seeing Bette and Olivia together, but still not as enjoyable.

The conversation got me a little verklempt but I'm glad they included it. Just like the show, bars and clubs are supposed to be an escape, and...well, I don't mind an occasional reminder from RPDR that those spaces shouldn't be taken for granted. Also, I'm glad Cynthia's getting a second chance, but enough with the "cucu" already. You don't hear Shangela dropping "Sickening!" into every other sentence. Oh wait...

According to the very handy Inside Oscar: Bette was backstage for Best Actress because she had just presented the writing awards. But she wasn't waiting in the wings for her category; she and Olivia were watching alone in Sinatra's dressing room, holding hands, when Schell announced the winner. True friends. Joan was waiting in the wings, and she did stamp out her cigarette on her way onstage. She later insisted on hand-delivering the award to Bancroft in New York. Olivia's Dior gown arrived on a jet from Paris mere moments before the ceremony. Joan's escort wasn't Cukor, it was Cesar Romero. Now why didn't we see that? Otherwise, smashing.

I've been replaying it in my head since the promo last week. Christine's delivery on that was just perfect. Better the rodeo than an Arby's. Maybe Cody and Logan can help wrangle acts for a Baskets Family Music Fest or something. I'll be back to see in Season 3.

It was a jam-packed, A+ episode, and Trish running item by item down the minutes of the trustees' meeting definitely was a highlight. Now it's time for Martha to get a win. Haven't checked imdb but was that a different actor as Jody at Arby's? I liked our original Juggalo.

Yeah, keep the ring and maybe change your hair color or something. I went into this episode thinking that it's Wally, but then they leaned so hard in that direction...and I hadn't thought about Jesse Quick as a possibility, so, now I'm less convinced. Well-played. Not well-played: The Fastest Man Alive just standing there as Wally floated for a few in front of the speed force. It would have been just as dramatic if Barry or Jesse had made an attempt to grab him and failed.

"Let's just agree the editing was kind to you all and not remotely inaccurate." Said without a hint of shade. Make it work, Tim.

Young Jeezy take the wheel! Killed me, don't know why. I was disappointed that Figgis didn't get a grander entrance and/or exit, and he wasn't all that menacing. Eh. Loved Holt talking Peralta through Holt's minor surgery. Now, adios weird Juggalo encampment! Back to Brooklyn.

Definitely not a Mooney fan, but his not-Shaggy in the Hunch Bunch earned the biggest laughs from me in that sketch. Hope we see more Melania Moments. "Is there a Sixth Avenue?" Overall, good show, but I too missed Jay and Taran. Really enjoyed The Weeknd.

Two episodes in a row without cringing in horror or screaming at my TV at what the former Miss Teen Steam is wearing. Way to go, Alyssa('s new stylist)! This week's 'What the fuck is that' went to Zanna's workroom schmatta. My favorite Tinkerbell is Kylie's ersatz Tink in Moulin Rouge, and I can think of no more real-life spritely person than Kylie Minogue. She'd look amazing in Dom's design. I wish it would have won.

Dax snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Cause as soon as Laila came out of that gown...oof. It should've been easy to put her down. Bye, y'all. Chi Chi deserved the win, for her performance and for staying fierce despite the Acid rain. I needed more AB Soto. I always need more AB Soto.

I thought the camera crew and editors did an outstanding job on this episode. Besides the camera operators' apparent usefulness as added security, they delivered great shots under extreme conditions dealing with sapping heat, scant light, pressing crowds, fast-moving vehicles, stray bovine and the snippiest couple I think I've ever seen on this show. Shooting the Race eclipsed the actual Race for me...which is only mildly satisfying. Not really rooting for Team Justin! or Team Haag-oo at this point, just hoping for a tight race to the finish.

Boone as "Wakeen Phoenix" (or however he spelled it) cracked me up. A fun episode in general, thanks to: that Psycho homage flying off into directions completely unexpected; plenty of Denise Hemphill, who even got to change clothes; actual movement on the mystery; Ollie Hudson as Teen Wes; JLC kicking Killer Scalia's ass; and, to my surprise, Emma Roberts. I don't like Chanel, but I love how much Roberts seems to relish insulting her co-stars, in the name of screwball comedy.

We've seen a pair of Red Devils on more than one occasion. The question isn't whether there are two, but whether there are more than just two (#Cahoots™Denise Hemphill). The double-axe Devil chase through the not really secret tunnels was a genuine rush, in a horror movie sorta fashion. Not a rush: The Kappas and Scholars flipping from watching Caulfield's massacre to Let's get back to the slumber party, Yay. Even within the show's heightened, twisted reality, there can be such a thing as too emotionally detached. The scene was like dead air to me. That was unexpected and so subtly played for this show. Just when I thought I was over Chad.

Mr. J-G and I watched this show with a houseguest from a foreign land who'd never seen an ep (or even a clip) of AHS: 1-4. Interestingly, he found the premiere shocking to the point of being pretty appalling (the torture of the Swedish girls), and, probably because he's the father of two tow-headed tykes, he actually chose to leave the room when the detective's daughter started wandering around inside dark, disembowelment mansion. TBH, the fact that our guest found the show so disturbing struck me--a horror fan and regular AHS viewer--as a win for the show on the base level of Is All This Suspense, Dread and Terror Actually Scaring Anybody. I tend to find realistic depictions of junkies shooting up to be far more disturbing than ghosts, so I also experienced moments of extreme discomfort--but we kept watching, and I'll be back for more next week. (Meanwhile, we all laughed heartily at the Paranormal Activity ad that features characters being attacked by...CGI inkblots? Is that horror to some people?) On another note, I have loved Sarah Paulson's performances in every season so far, but I wasn't buying her Sally at all. Oh well. Still so many other luscious actors and elements to watch and look forward to...including what appears to be a much more pivotal role for Chloe Sevigny than she had in Asylum. She, Denis O'Hare and Kathy Bates were my MVP's in this premiere.

Adding to My First Time...with Dean Winters, for me it was Ryan O'Reily on Oz, and that character read nothing like Dennis the Beeper King, or the Vulture. One similarity with Dennis and the Vulture is their shared ability to unite casts of disparate regulars in their seething hatred of a total dick, but I think Winters and the writing do enough to keep this current douche feeling fresh, as it were. I like him as a foil for everyone in the precinct.

Reminds me of a friend of mine saying, "Y'know, I like Rihanna, but what am I supposed to do when my 8-year old's in the backseat singing 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me'? C'mon!" I agree that Bow should have gone with the hit-song defense. Charlie whipping out a firearm made me more uncomfortable than anything related to The Word, all of which I thought they covered with honesty and humor from just about every angle. They do give out Emmys for Casting. This year's comedy winner was Veep.

Campy fun. JLC always delivers, and I liked Chad, Denise('s 3 Steps) and Hester. I was sick to death of Rachel Berry, which adds to my enjoyment of Lea Michele in the role here. And I love a twisted murder mystery. They've got me for at least another week. Maybe at some point Emma Roberts will do or say something that actually makes me laugh. Or chuckle. Crack a smile, something. From Coven to Freak Show, and so far here, her bitchy isn't funny to me.

He does it very well (opposite Rashida Jones) in Celeste and Jesse Forever.

Hitchcock's always good for at least one. "Do you have any idea how much diapers cost?" "Yes!" So, another summer spent pining for the return of my favorite TV cops. Good finale, 9-9.

At one point while watching, I informed Mr. J-G of the important role that a young Jason Beghe (and his nude scenes on HBO's First and Ten) had played in my pre-adolescent development. Mr. J-G's response: "Yeah, but he sure is dumb, isn't he?" The celebrity CoS stories might be the most car-crash compelling--I learned just enough about Travolta's tale to feel a little sorry for him--but it's the stories of families being forced apart by their so-called church that really steam me. SP's and OT's--what BS!!

If musical comedy star ChaCha and fashion comedy star Zanna Roberts Rossi both entered the workroom and I could choose which one would be my mentor -- there's no contest, and I'm not even kidding. "Well, ChaCha, my woman is going to a red carpet event. Where are you going?" Thanks for the mention upthread of Florence Lawrence, The First Movie Star. Very interesting story, that dame. To whomever suggested that even Wendy Pepper is a better designer than any of our current crop, I respectfully, emphatically, really, really a lot, disagree. I thought Dmitry's dress -- IMO a chic, contemporary take on the white fringe number Marilyn as Sugar wore to seduce her (faux) millionaire in SLIH -- definitely deserved the win. Helen's limp dress warranted her elimination, but as Michelle knows well, S#$% happens. Squeezing out tears that shoot across space must take loads of practice.

Discussing Blaine Sternin, Lilith's con artist half-brother (played by someday Oscar nominee Michael Keaton)... Martin: I think he's charming. Frasier: Charm is just the viscous grease with which he oils his flim-flam machine. After Blaine shows up in a wheelchair and Frasier still believes he's up to no good... Daphne: Dr. Crane, the man is in a wheelchair. Frasier: Which means that someone. Somewhere. Is missing a wheelchair!

As a very young child, I would run screaming from the television whenever Lawrence Welk and his weird accent invaded our set, which never deterred my grandparents from watching his show. With that, and the decades-spanning success of someone like Ed Sullivan, I have no trouble believing that millions might crowd in front of the TV for a variety hour hosted by an offbeat Dietrich wannabe who sings songs from the future. "That boy is a star!" felt like a compliment not just from Desiree to the vanquished Dandy Mott, but from the cast and show to Finn Wittrock. The character and the actor earned the accolade. There was a lot of meta in this episode, but that line in particular really made me smile.