Chyromaniac

I still contend that she’s named after Ryan Reynolds and his eponymous film character, Van Wilder. But, I agree this was a solid start for her character, and she’s much more interesting than the casting notice suggested (even though a lot of the details made it in). I think a lot of that is due to Javicia. Apart from the numbers speech (which I doubt many actors could pull off), she did a great job fleshing out the personal moments.

The can opening demos felt very timely. Also, I’m not surprised Joey got cut- that seemed to be the theme of the episode. Otherwise, I actually think this is a pretty good season so far. Maybe we just lucked out and the wackiest personalities are already gone- but the remaining contestants seem fine to me. Bartender Amber is an all time great for this show, and her past life duplicate McKayla seems fun too. Even Cameron is tolerable when he’s not in full Ross Matthews mode. Beyond that, I’m glad this was back to the 60min version this week. 90 is too long, and I wound up ditching the “dirty dishes” show the past two weeks- that can stay on the unnecessary streaming service.

I want the Hallmark series where Osyrra is a Junk Journal Youtuber who also solves murders.

Maybe it’s just me, but that taco pie thing Tiffani(?) made looked... fine? Sure it was huuuuge, and apparently the spice heat was too much, but overall it seemed like it could have been a real family meal from some “quick meals” cookbook.

Glad to have this dumb show back. Looks like the same old crew of misfits and wannabes as usual, but hey - new coats! I finally got to visit Vegas this time last year (even had dinner at HK), and it feels like an appropriate venue for this series. It’s a bit too soon to pick favorites, but Cori from the chicken challenge seems promising. On the guys side, Adam seems knowledgeable- but who knows.

As the person who brought this subject up last week, I appreciated how genuine the reunion between Hugh and Adira felt. I don’t know if it was strictly familial, but there was a sense of warmth about the greeting. Then again, Hugh has that with everybody, so go figure. But yeah- if they are a family, it would have been nice to see them act like a family before the last episode. Not only would it have supported the character development they were trying to accomplish, but it would have been meaningful to present this sort of found family doing stuff any family would do. Still, if it seems like they all are fine with the relationship next season, I’ll be happy. Very interested to know how the holo program was able to manifest a “physical” version of Gray. Like, I know Ezri did that ritual to “summon” the murder host- but it felt like he was just a projection of her subconscious. This suggests that Gray is somehow physically there, as if he’s a floating invisible consciousness. Is Gray a g-g-g-ghost? But now that they all know it’s possible to give him a form, it should hopefully be simple to duplicate - surely the Doctor’s mobile emitter tech is still around. Overall I thought it was a fun episode - Star Trek doesn’t always do action well, but I thought they did a good job of keeping up the tension for all the heroes. In particular I was really invested in the crew story - I thought Tilly was a good leader, and I’m glad we didn’t just learn something new about Owo only for her to get bumped off. I’m relieved both that we got an explanation for the burn, and that the season ultimately wasn’t about finding a way to “solve” it. I think I would have been disappointed if this had ended with some kind of reset button, where they go back and prevent it from happening. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the new status quo that they had developed for this season - but overall I think it’s been good for the show. I’m glad that they didn’t just wipe out everything we’ve come to know about this future (and an entire season of stories).

Meanwhile in Kansas...

I thought I remembered that Chris had sold the bbc on a five year plan (and this link backs that up). Presumably that means five full seasons- if so, it would feel weird for Jodie to depart in the middle of it. But, three seasons seems to be the standard tenure, so I guess it’s possible. Personally, I feel different about her potentially leaving than I did about Peter or Matt at this point in their runs. Mostly, I just don’t know if one more season is enough to follow up on: what they set up in the timeless children, whatever they have planned for Yaz, and introducing the new guy- never mind the regular episode stories. In any case, if a regeneration is coming I’m sure bbc will make a big deal about it. Until then, I’m more concerned about them being able to complete the episodes, than whatever comes after.

Fair enough - good to know.

I tried finding a specific number earlier this morning, but they really haven't given one. So since "over 19 years" and "decades" are both accurate answers, I just went with what I thought was funnier. He's a bit like the tuxedo guy from Voyage for the Damned to me - yes, he's a jerk and it's a shame that he survives when most of the people we're supposed to care about don't. But at the same time I kind of feel like the fact that they get away is supposed to diminish them as villains - like they're beneath the heroes effort to deal with. I'm an American, but I get the sense that this may be a British attitude - "let him go - he's not worth fussing over." It's kind of what happens to the Malfoys in Harry Potter as well - their main punishment is knowing that they turned tail and ran. Or, maybe they have plans for Robertson, and he may yet get his just desserts. As the Curator would say, "Who Nose?"

Just made this...

I didn't catch all the photos in her apartment, but I do recall at least a shot of a liberated concentration camp. I think the implication is that she's been active - perhaps the year of sightings is meant to just indicate how long she's been in DC. I do think it is reasonable to assume that she's had to "reinvent" herself a number of times - you can only be an ageless demigoddess in one place for so long. Isn't she working out of the Louvre by the current timeline? I bet "Diana Prince" gets terrific references whenever she needs to switch jobs... I don't think Barbara got two wishes - her (only) wish from the rock was just to be "more like Diana." Then on the chopper, she says she wants to be an Apex Predator - but that wasn't a "wish." However when Max is taking all the wishes from the world, he directs some of the "payment" her way, which is what transforms her into the Cheetah. I do think they left it intentionally vague as to whether she renounced the initial powerup. They could have had her say one way or the other - leaving her silent indicates they want to keep their options open, I don't think it's much more complicated than he wanted to be successful. He just found himself in a position where he had taken a bunch of big (probably foolish) risks, that didn't pay off. And rather than admit to his situation, he tried to wish (aka cheat) his way out of trouble - but each fix came with greater and greater blowback. Surely the next wish would be the one that solved everything, right? Nope - he still needed more power, to the point where he was basically triggering nuclear armageddon. What Diana finally helped him realize was that there was no way to out game luck, and that he had to give it all back. As for the moral, I don't think the film is saying we should just accept the world - however simply wishing for changes isn't going to make anything better on it's own either. Absolutely you can try to make yourself or the world better - just do it on your own merits, and be okay with whatever the outcome may be. Also, you shouldn't take shortcuts, whether that's in a race, business ventures, popularity, or even love. There will always be a price to pay. Overall, I enjoyed this film a lot. Gadot and Pine were great together again, and I appreciated the role reversal from the first film. And, for personal reasons, I get why they wanted this to be a story about Diana getting a second chance with Steve, but then coming to terms with letting him go. And, the whole Invisible Jet sequence was really wonderful. I thought Pascal and Wiig did a tremendous job bringing depth to what could otherwise have been cardboard villains. I certainly feared Barbara could be another Jamie Foxx Electro, but I felt her performance was more grounded (ha ha). And man, I did not expect the climax to hinge on the conscience of a wannabe 80's oil tycoon - but Pedro pulled it off.

I enjoyed the little Monty Python Holy Grail-ish chimes during the opening graphics. I kind of wish they had continued. It was basically the same set as “Doctor Ruth’s” Tardis from the Judoon episode (besides being the one they hijacked from Gallifrey). This may mean that it’s replaced the “all white” look as the default console room in this iteration of the series. If so, it’s a bit of a shame - the white was a sharp, classic design. However I liked the alternate version here too (Jodie’s has grown on me, but it’s still not my favorite) so I hope we haven’t seen the last of it. And yes, knowing what we do about them, it’s a shame to lose any Tardis. Sadly, as an American I have to assume that 90% or more of our police departments would happily use crowd control drones that look like alien tanks, just because they look like alien tanks.

As far as Dalek stories go, this wasn't bad. Personally, I prefer them in episodes like Resolution - give me one Dalek with a plan and a hostage over a bunch of shouty floating CGI things. Still, this had some of that personal menace from the cloned Recon Dalek - and it did feel like they were trying to say something about how easily "security" can be manipulated. I'd like to think they'd have a stronger message if this had been produced this year instead of 2019, but hey... Beyond that, I don't think "Present Day" Earth has seen a full scale Dalek attack since Journey's End, so I suppose we were due. I also think there was an implicit understanding that the universal reboot of Pandorica/Big Bang erased all previous knowledge of alien invasions - Dalek or otherwise. It actually felt like a running theme of the Moffatt era that humanity has the memory of a hummingbird when it comes to major extraterrestrial events. And realistically, I don't want them to have to reference every single past instance when they do these types of stories - I'm more than happy to let them treat each one as a novel event. Sad to see the Fam split up - but I think they gave Ryan and Graham good reasons for leaving. And, it's a relief to see companions depart on their own terms, with hugs and gifts no less. I grew to appreciate Ryan's earnestness and enthusiasm over the past few years - it's not surprising to see him want to essentially watch over his home planet. And Graham has just been the best - funny when there needs to be humor, wise when someone needs advice, and above all unfailingly caring. No question he would give up all of time and space for his grandson. In any case, it'll be interesting to see how the lineup works with Yaz and the new guy. Barrowman was back in form as Captain Jack - the breakout scene was super fun, and had the classic Jack/Doctor chemistry. I also thought his talk with Yaz was well done - I hope she takes it to heart (there were a few moments where I felt they may be taking her into Rose/Martha territory, which I hope is not the case). Otherwise, I do feel like Jack kind of fell out of the story - his last bit being a voice over was kind of disappointing, despite the shoutout to Gwen. And, for all the weight the preview gave the line about being immortal, he didn't die once! Missed opportunity there. I was secretly worried they'd do something like actually turn him into the Face of Boh - so I'm glad that he's still human, and available for future returns should the stars align. Bring on Season 13!

To be clear, I don't have any problem at all with found families, fictional or otherwise. And as you say, Star Trek is chock full of them - one of my favorite moments in Season 2 is when the bridge crew basically "adopts" Wesley. I guess what I am missing is a scene like that here for Paul and Adira (and again, Hugh as well). If Paul wants them all to be a chosen family, that's great - but it's something that they all need to choose. And if the series is going to treat them all that way, then it should show us that choice. Even if Adira was only a teenager, they have the right to that conversation - let alone the fact that they're also an alien with seven previous lifetimes. Until they all have that moment, Adira can be "like a child" to Paul. Otherwise, it feels as though he's overstepping the trust that Adira has placed in him to just assume one of the most personal relationships one person can have for another. It's also putting Hugh in a position that he is may not want or expect. I get that it's really tricky to write scenes like what I'm suggesting without becoming didactic - and that it may be easier to just let their relationship grow through moments in other story arcs. But this is one situation that I feel needs to be stated explicitly - both for the characters, and the audience.