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106 isn't evenly divisible by 4. I get the sense that it's not easy for them to find people wanting to do the TAR, which may be why they're prompting people to go to the website if you're interested in being on the show. So they may be beggars, not choosers, when it comes to finding good racers -- good in the sense of good on TV, not that they're good at playing the game.

That's the thing Lenu still compares every guy she dates to Nino. Something in her brain got hard-wired when she saw him and he proposed when they were like 10 years old. It's not uncommon for young women to make bad choices, to be blind to certain personality flaws or bad behavior. They usually grow out of it but maybe this is more than Lenu being inexperienced in the ways of love. When they were on Ischia and she was covering so that Lenu could sneak away to spend the night with Nino, Elena said something like "she was going to fuck him all night instead of me." That's the adult Elena as narrator using vulgarity for effect, given that she's an accomplished author by that point. Maybe she believes throughout her life in amour fou rather than finding a "dependable" life partner.

These two characters will be involved in each other's lives for most of their lives. If you remember, the show started with a middle aged Elena getting a call from Rino, Lila's son, that she has gone missing. But in reality you wonder how long they'd stay in touch if one of them remains in Naples while the other goes to university in the north, gets married and lives up there. Elena may visit back home to Naples or even Lila may come to visit her. But if Elena starts working, she will have less and less contact with Lila. The books however are suppose to be about their friendship so Lenu wants to maintain her friendship, even though Lila has been cruel to her -- and just about everyone else she gets close to. Still the show has depicted a lot of their lives apart from each other. Will see if that continues since they no longer have the same director/showrunner from the first two season. I re-watched My True Brilliant Friend, kind of a behind the scenes doc on the two lead actresses. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9426482/ You can tell Margarita Mazzuco (Elena) really liked working with Saverio, the original director, because he guided them through all those rehearsals, turning two young girls with no acting experience (Gaia Gerace was in school plays and an acting club but Margarita didn't do any acting even in school plays) into credible actors for a major show.

I wonder if it was only the elevator. Even if they did the other tasks better, they didn’t gain that much time on the piñata or the sound effects tasks. In retrospect, the first couple of legs after the restart were more physical, not as detail-oriented, though they were unlucky with the cheese and they seemed to be the only ones who had to paint the door knob. For all we know they took longer to do the tennis puzzle than the other two teams. I don’t know that the notes helped as much. Would Kim have written down the colors of the piñata candy while they were still racing? But the candy tripped up the flight attendants. You don’t know which details you need to remember, like the type of hat Napoleon was wearing, though I guess you better write down details of anyone in costume. Kim and Penn did well because they talked out the details when they could. They kept repeating up and down to each other while the boys were saying up or down. Enjoyed having the show back but it seemed there were fewer episodes than normal? We know they didn’t go around the world. OK checked Wikipedia, this season was 11 episodes. Most seasons have been 11 or 12 and a couple had 13 episodes. One season only had 8 episodes? Maybe restarting with fewer teams made it seem like we were several episodes short.

Heard that the actor playing Elliot is suppose to be a talented musician.

4 bedrooms in London, not in the real expensive areas but not bad for what they got. He must have jobs lined up, she didn't have any specific work set up. But she was smart to hold the line on any renovations, though the other property was so far under budget that they could have fixed it up (mainly adding a bathroom) and do a short term rental if they didn't want to live with their parents. But probably too far from parents and further out from central London. What were they making at the end? They mentioned pierogis but those looked like wontons or potstickers.

I've been mystified over the years by the raves this show gets. And I actually liked a lot of episodes of Louie and hoped that this show would be in a similar vein, having some unique experiences like the time he sneaks a duck into Afghanistan or brings one back. So this show is about a working actor -- she gets recognized sometimes but she's not a star -- raising her children as a single mother, getting up there in years. Not so different from Louie raising his kids while juggling a career. But the thing that I remember the most are those bratty, shrieking daughters. Do they think this show is about a lot more than difficulties of parenting two horrible young women? Are the "Better Things" these moments when the daughters say horrible things to her or Sam grinning and bearing it and still having an interesting career? The youngest daughter is mostly kind to Sam but she alone can't counterbalance what her sisters say and do. Max and Frankie weren't the worst these two episodes so maybe they're maturing? Or maybe the show finally got an idea of how unpleasant they were and decided to tone it down finally. Actually the producer in S05E02 says something about a sitcom with pain in the ass daughters so that may have been a meta thing. No mention whatsoever of Duke in these episodes. If they have her on this final season, will they have turned her into another monster like her sisters, just by virtue of her reaching their age? Sam is generally a likable character but I never noticed how she's always spewing fragments of songs, TV and movie quotes and other stuff. Especially in S05E02, when she apologizes for making a Dragnet reference. What is she, a female Robin Williams now? She was on a lot this episode. But I don't recall her being like this in previous seasons, though as a talented voice actor, she probably was doing imitations and characters. The thing that's always bugged me though about the series is how it's so precious, wanting to be seen as hip or make the characters hip. First the thing with all the females in the family having male names. Then the big house with the eclectic decor. Of course all the characters dress like hipsters. Sam has a hipster restored muscle car -- only car enthusiasts would GAF and the rest are just suppose to accept that it's cool. In the parking lot of the store, Croft had an old station wagon with wood panels which seemed to be in very good condition. Then after the shots, you saw a brown van speeding by. That car was also some 30-40 year old car, again another immaculate restoration. It wants so much to be liked and seen as cool -- maybe without the funky clothes and artifacts of coolness from the past, the show runners fear being seen as just a little family dramedy. BTW, nothing cool about those old Croft shows. Or maybe the point is that Sam is so cool she can like terrible old shows from her childhood.

They used the water sports toys once? Then did that beach picnic, which wasn't any better than if they dined on board. They chose to drink and eat most of the charter, that's their prerogative. I've seen large yachts, either in some glamorous port or anchored some distance off the coast. I'm not the most active person in the world but I think I'd be bored staying on a boat more than a day or two. You go to some exotic place and staying on a boat more than a couple of days seems like missing other things which make these places special, apart from the coast line. The dishes they show, the way they described them look all very appealing. But food is not the highest priority for me when I travel and on these shows, they often have a multi course meal, with drinks before and after dinner. Again, if you have finite time in these places, that's a lot of time spent on food and drink. I guess the really wealthy can spend as long as they want in the South of France or wherever and can spend nights in a 5-start hotel, even though they may have a $300 million yacht with luxurious cabins and a top-notch chef. Not interested in cruises or all-inclusive resorts either. Eating, drinking, lounging by the pool or on the beach the whole time? I guess cruise ships have slides, casinos, etc. But a lot of people love this style of travel so people splurging on private charters are probably trying to re-create the cruise or resort experience, just at supposedly higher level of service and privacy, not sharing a big ship with 1000 people or dealing with getting chaises by the pool or getting their food and drink orders fulfilled fast. That's the goal not a side effect. Feature, not a bug.

Zendaya and Hunter Schaffer emerged as the two biggest stars from season 1. They are the leads more or less. HBO is only too grateful to have Zendaya on the show, especially if she keeps having big blockbuster movie roles. So I wouldn't expect their roles to be reduced in season 3 or as long as the show is on the air.

The luggage thing could have been a contrived thing. They prodded Mike to bring too many suitcases and he gets to decide which suitcases get left behind? MTV is footing the bill for the private jet, not anyone in the cast. For that matter, MTV is making the travel arrangements, not the cast. So they probably chose to hold out the suitcases which would stir the most shit.

Besides her inflated opinion of herself looks-wise, she thinks she's as good as anybody at her job, so she may cause some drama with Gabriela. Daisy needs to make her laundry bitch for the rest of the season. Marcos puts his nose to the grindstone, just works, without complaints. No drama on the night out with the crew or in the hot tub. So far. As usual, they cast for people who are going to cause drama and they stir it up with booze and hot tub parties. Is it common in any other type of job where you'd hang out drinking with your co-workers in a hot tub? Seems like such an artificial situation. Yes the boat does have a hot tub on board but in other BD seasons, people are at most hanging out on different parts of the boat, smoking, drinking and talking. Some producer must have gotten the bright idea to make the cast go in their swimsuits and all squeeze into that tiny hot tub, with the water not even clear -- you can get all kinds of rashers and infections from hot tubs. Some of the cast members look good in swimsuits but these aren't swimsuit models.

S03.E01 Indecencies First scene picks up right after the season 2 finale left off, Elena having a book signing where Nino pops up. Lenu is ready to dump her fiance Pietro right then and there and go off with Nino, who chose Lila over her, abandoned Lila and his son -- he at least asks whether his child is a boy or a girl. He also shit talks Lila, how she has no dedication, not even with sex, which makes Lenu question whether she's not good at sex. But she goes to dinner with her future in-laws and Nino and Pietro shows up. After dinner, Pietro wants to spend the night with her but Lenu can only watch Nino walk away elsewhere. She let Donato Sarratore degrade her but she won't sleep with her fiancé? She returns to Naples where she hears her picture is in the paper. Turns out it's a scathing review of her book, something about a "young woman trying to hide her lack of talent." Ouch! She's sobbing and Pietro and his parents reassure her, telling her there will be good reviews coming out soon. But Lenu wonders if Lila has read her novel, because hers is the only opinion she cares about. Once a doormat always a ... Opinions she formed when she was a little girl in that dusty neighborhood override all the education and things she witnessed and experienced. Michele shows her a review by Donato Sarratore who says the book isn't for those under 18. Turns out he probably recognized the "racy pages" Elena included in her novel as depicting their disturbing scene on the beach. So the poor in that Naples neighborhood are parochial when it comes to works which have some graphic sex. Her younger brothers get into fights because other boys call her a whore for the book. Lenu's mother blows a gasket -- what else is new -- when she finds out that Lenu doesn't plan to get married in a church or have a big wedding reception party. She boasted that since she gave birth to her, she's more clever than she is and would have gone just as far academically if she was given the chances. Then she shows how small-minded she is. Back in Milan she runs into her old boyfriend Franco and Mariarossa, Pietro's brother. She also meets a young mother, who tells her a sad tale about how much she loved the father but in the end, he abandoned her and their child before she even gave birth. The name of the father is Nino Sarratore. Maybe it will finally break her fever for Nino. OTOH, she's going to hook up with Lila again at some point. I guess that's what the books are about, how they're close to the end or well into middle age. Yet realistically, Elena has a future and can live an entirely different life than anyone in the neighborhood she grew up in, including Lila. She also wants very little to do with Naples, where people are less educated, speak the Neopolitan dialect that the richer North Italians look down on. Of course this snobbery is a different kind of parochialism than the religious, uneducated parochialism of Naples that Lenu knows so well. Lenu offers to pay for a TV and telephone for her family. But she will be living in Florence since Pietro has got a job as a professor there. How will Lila get out of that sausage factory so that they can continue their friendship?

No problem! Rue isn't going to do drugs any more so she won't go by Laurie's place. Or Fez's for that matter. Yes Laurie did say she always gets her money one way or another and has a bunch of scary-looking men working for her. But she's happy for Rue that she kicked the habit, even though she tried to get her hooked on heroin!🙄

If Maddy wants to scare Cassie away from Nate, all she had to do was tell her that Nate broke into her room and played Russian Roulette.

Jessica Chastain won a SAG award! But for another role, not this dreck.😙

The gimmick with the show is about how unholy these spiritual leaders are. They make money hand over fist putting on song and dance numbers at their super church and broadcast or streamed on TV. But their words and deeds are anything but what Christianity is suppose to be. So you have Judy talking about her played out pussy if she had a child in graphic terms. Funny stuff though, about mostly horrible people who sometimes rise to the occasion like Judy taking care of her aunt or Baby Billy coming back. But the Jason Schwartzman reporter character was corrupt himself as well as a badass-wannabe, just like Jesse and Lissons. Turns out Lissons congregation is also rife with corruption, more than willing to kill to get ahead, keep the money rolling in. The real badass is Eli, who okayed the hit on the Lissons? His right hand guy led the cycle ninjas right to where the Lissons were hiding out. In the end the Gemstones take over Zions Landing, which is probably some sleazy timeshare designed to rip off people whom they are suppose to be leading spiritually. There’s satire and a sharp takedown of televangelists in there somewhere but covered over with profane dialogue and some gangster-wannabe plots.

There were moving scenes but the play could have ended after the gay locker room musical number from the previous episode. Audience loved all of it but the play delved into some personal relationships which are meaningful mainly to the limited social circle around the show’s characters? For instance, Lexi and Rue bonding over the loss of their fathers, while moving would not mean much to most of the students at the school. The uses these scenes as exposition to show aspects of these relationships, kind of little scenes forming snapshots of the backstories of some of these characters. However it seems they wanted to stuff a lot into this finale, wrap up some arcs, like Nate and Cal and Fez and Ash. It hints at major changes in the lives of many characters but are the stories going to change? For instance the play was cathartic for Rue and her walking away from Jules is suppose to signal a change, a sign that she has the hope Ali said she needs, because she had said she didn’t plan to be around long. But does that mean Rue’s life will be a lot less chaotic and melodramatic than it has been? Somehow I don’t think we will stop seeing crazy things on this show. Or Nate’s situation, has he closed a chapter in his life by getting Cal arrested? He was talking about taking over the business but on the way over to confront his father, he was loading a gun while driving like a lunatic. Even if nobody cares that Cal had sex with underage teens and led a secret life, what does he know about running a business? Or that it would necessarily be his company to run? They showed Fez as this wise young man, the drug dealer dropping truths. But he obviously failed in raising Ash, got him involved in a business which led to a tragic end. He himself should have found a way out of that life. His backstory was colorful but kind of a cop out, to say he was locked into this fate, beyond his control. They certainly didn’t show him trying to find another path.

Finished my rewatch. Lenu wants Nino more than anything. She’s also loyal to Lila throughout. Or she’s a glutton for punishment because neither of them treat her well. Lila mocks her for trying to socialize with a rich, well-educated crowd and this hurts Lenu that she avoids Lila for months to finish and get her diploma, which leads to her getting admitted to university in Pisa. But she reconnects with Lila, gets her to rent a home on Ischia because she knows Nino will be there. So she and Lila starts spending time with Nino and his friend, but her hope is to get close to Nino. She’s horrified as Lila and Nino fall for each other and she helps them cover up their affair from Stefano. The episode is called The Betrayal but Elena admits that she didn’t tell either of them about her interest in Nino. Yet Lila had asked her more than once if she liked Nino and Lenu kept denying. So she leaves for Pisa, more determined to get out of the neighborhood and Naples. She dates a guy from a rich family but he leaves her. Then she meets another guy from a connected family and they become engaged. For some reason, she writes a novel in a burst of inspiration and shows it to her fiancée, who shows it to his mother a publisher. The novel is published while she was contemplating taking an exam to be a school teacher. She comes home and sees her old teacher, the one instrumental in getting her family to keep her in school, has passed away and sent some books and school grade cards to her. But among these materials is The Blue Fairy, a short story Lila wrote when she was just 10. Lenu realizes that her novel is largely inspired by Lila’s story. She catches up with Lila who’s left Stefano and is working in the salami factory, with her hands ruined by the horrible work. Season 2 ends with an event to discuss Elena’s novel and from the audience pops up Nino, praising her novel, defending it against someone who criticized it. Lenu smiles at him, even though he ran away with Lila, only to get fed up with her and leave her, after impregnating her. So she has a future ahead of her but is she going to get drawn into Nino again in season 3? Or continue to keep in touch with Lila, even though she hates Naples? Her fiancée is from Turin, which is even further away from Naples than Pisa is. We know some of season 3 will be in Florence so if Lenu is going to be in Lila’s orbit, seems like Lila will need to get out of Naples herself.

There are several things about this episode which are questionable or wrong. 1. What purview does the state have over the MTA receiving a donation? 2. It's possible there are federal laws prohibiting subway trains made by a foreign company but pretty sure there are transit systems using things like trains and buses made by foreign companies. 3. But even if that's the case, the optics would look bad and it's impossible to believe that Prince hadn't vetted these rules or that Sacker wouldn't be aware of the legal ramifications ahead of time. Given that Prince is trying to curry political and public support for his Olympics bid. The federal law would be basic legal research, that paralegals would look up. 4. A company can't get ruined by social media alone, especially a company that rose with a lot of social media support suddenly having it turned all against him? But Taylor didn't have to buy some company, they could have hired click farms to generate a lot of negative social media posts. 5. Chuck may have had a lot of clout and connections when he was US Attorney in the SDNY but as NY state AG? Why would the Indiana AG, who's probably a member of the opposite party as Chuck, take his side against a big university in the state? 6. And how would some university administrator in Indiana know what's going on at MPC or know what Prince is planning at a given moment? The rich give their money to hedge funds so that they don't have to make the hundreds of trades and decisions hedge funds make. So no way that guy is going to be an effective plant for Chuck. Otherwise Taylor stabbed Rian in the back and gave her some empty platitude, apparently they didn't GAF about ruining that guy. Chuck and Dave didn't care about denying NYC new subway cars or screwing over the unions. But the show is spinning out of the orbit of any plausibility. This creative team is going to do the new show about Uber and the second season will be about Facebook. They're going to take a lot of liberties, if the pattern in Billions is any indication.

Heavily panned in early reviews. Yes the Billions team should cause wariness. Not just boredom but implausibilities, poor understanding of the industry. And will the characters all be dropping the same eye-rolling pop culture references as in Billions?

They literally had needle in a haystack challenge didn't they? I vaguely recall Phil having to come out in the dark to eliminate a team. They had to light up the field. So in this case it wasn't an NEL.

Ugh, he's going to have Raylan dress like a hipster and do John Woo slow-mo sequences of Raylan shooting with a gun in each hand while diving across the screen.

Yeah he was packing stuff like bocce balls in those extra suitcases. Pauly packed a suitcase full of sneakers. Wouldn't want to use that for clothes again. He had no weight problems because he and what's her name came on the private jet by themselves. So the murder-mystery prank could be good but obviously the production crew is behind it, probably their idea not Deena's. They probably had to tell the resort what they were doing so that they didn't have some random people yelling at each other in the public areas. The rest of the cast may be in on it, doing some over the top reactions. One reason is, when they're hanging out, the woman and the other man walks right past them. Often when they film, they cordon off an area so that random people can't just walk into the area where they're filming. So either the cast suspects they're not really random people for production to keep filming or they are in on the prank. Some of them were actually sobbing when they saw the body pulled out of the water. They're strangers, would people generally get emotional over seeing the corpse of someone they don't know?

Lucas ribbing probably cleared before filming? Because him mocking the husband for not going to college to be a tiler might be offensive to some. The wife wanted an extra room for her grown son, who is staying behind in Houston? But that might have been something they told her to say, as well as the pool thing.

I wouldn't mind more of an athletic competition with transparent rules and tracking of results. I think the results and the votes are rife for manipulation by both producers and the competitors, especially the voting. But it can't be a bunch of Hall Brawls between people who are vastly different in size, weight and strength. That's another thing, transparency on what the elimination challenges are going to be in a given episode. It's so convenient for producers to put up an elimination which is completely unbalanced to manipulate whom they want to win. I wonder if they have metrics showing which aspects of the Challenge shows are most popular. Is it the actual daily and elimination challenges, the partying and fights as the cast get drunk, the police-dicking or showmances and social game to have alliances? And within the daily and elimination challenges, do viewers like purely athletic aspects, the puzzles, the food challenges, etc.? But they probably don't care about micromanaging these aspects of the shows, as long as they get enough advertisers and subscribers, it's a quick and cheap way to crank out content year-round.