aghst

Just as Dexter suspected something was off with Kurt even before he saw the kill cabin, Kurt probably had his spidey sense tingle about Dexter. Game respects game.

Larry complained to Irma that a swimming pool fence would cost him $5,000. But he promised to pay for her vagina rejuvenation surgery, which would cost more? Guess it would be worth it to him if it keeps Irma from mounting him for a couple of months. Larry ended up paying for parts or all of two vases, including double the price from Igor, who wanted some of Larry's shplendid Sheinfeld shyndication money! BTW, some Eastern European languages have prevalent sh- sounds? Only Jeff works yet Susie is the dominant one in the relationship. But she has to keep demanding pricey things to keep the domestic peace? Jeff seems to be the type who'd go for a trophy wife, younger, less combative, less scary.

Yeah I was surprised they didn't depict the wedding, just up to the day of. Season 4 is the only season I watched. Don't follow the royal family at all but it was impossible to avoid coverage of the royal family, especially all the Diana and Charles drama. Charles seemed like a snob before I watched this show. Well he is still kind of pedantic about plants and such. They were already having arguments before the wedding so they really don't show why Diana went through with it when he was ignoring her and seeing Camilla all the time even after their engagement. At least as the show depicted it. Then the petty way he was upset that she got all the attention on her Australian tour and later her triumph on stage or the NY tour. But was it Anne or Philip who predicted that he wouldn't react well to her getting more adulation and popularity than him? While they showed Diana being miserable and alone in Buckingham Palace, puking all the time, didn't she bring huge attention? A lot of it may have been sensational and tabloid stuff but it's clear that popular support was very important to Elizabeth. For instance, that Australian tour wasn't just some publicity tour. The Australians didn't want royalty or maybe even belong to the Commonwealth? (I like the act\or who played the Australian PM was also the lead in Rake.) But the tour was such a hit, especially how they loved Diana, that Hawke said they couldn't shake free from the British royalty, much as he wanted to.. I don't know if the money which the UK govt. gives to the royal family was ever in danger of being pulled (or whether they need it at all) but usually in debates about the value of the royal family, that money is often central to arguments for/against. My sense was that Diana was a superstar at least from that fairy tale wedding on. I remember some claims that it alone was responsible for how huge an industry the bridezilla weddings had become. So did the royal family pressure them to keep the marriage going because of her popularity? Maybe they didn't want tabloid stories but it seemed they raise the profile of the royal family so much that it boosted tourism. Probably silenced the critics who questioned the money the govt. gave them.

DNA evidence is there but is it true that DNA could also point at family members as well? The DNA probability, 67% that it was Kurt DNA on her tooth (it was because she gave him that hand scar), what is the threshold for judges and juries to conclude the DNA evidence is a slam dunk? In any event, Kurt as a little kid had to witness his father picking up runaway girls and having his way with them in the back of the truck cab. Now did the Runaway song play when these sexual assaults were occurring or in Kurt's memories, he imposes the soundtrack? Could explain why that particular song is so big for him but he danced with the hostess at the restaurant like it was his favorite romantic song of all time. So he picks up runaways, kills them, embalms them so that their faces are intact. Does he re-enact those creepy memories? When he kills Iris, he looks to be in his late teens or early twenties. And he has his own tractor trailer that looks very recent. If Kurt is anywhere near Clancy Brown's age, that would be 40 years ago! That truck looks like something from now, as does the rifle with the laser scope. He was going to rescue Iris, take her back home? But when this runaway tries to run away, young Kurt shoots her down and buries her in the cave? Harrison confesses that he has impulses to hurt people. Based on his memories of his mother's bloody death? He chose that knife because that is what he remembers Trinity using? Kurt and Harrison with fucked up childhood memories leading to psychopathic impulses when they're grown up or almost grown up? This theory of child psychological development seems unique to Dexter. Not sure all kids who may recall violent events from when they were very young, a toddler in Harrison's case, all end up with the Dark Passenger. Kurt signals to Dexter that he knows Dexter killed his son. But instead of getting revenge by going after Harrison, he goes right to the source. Harrison may have to save pops. Maybe if the kid can channel his energy elsewhere, he might not give in to his violent impulses. He wants to hang out with Audrey, who was really down to hook up when Harrison confessed about wanting to hurt people. But after seeing Harrison break a kid's arm, she doesn't want to hang out. Make up your mind!

Sure they don't have to delve into logistics. But they'd have to prioritize securing the basic necessities before putting on shows. Food and other supplies they have to have. Shakespeare performances? Not so much. Again why did they end up in these different groups? Did all the people who were performers gravitate to the TS while maybe the science nerds formed their own tribe. It's interesting that there is some demand for live Shakespeare performances. But apparently they put them on for free so why not? Some Shakespeare snobs might try to find some film adaptations somewhere, unless there's no power at all anywhere. Or, any kind of entertainment. After you see the live plays a few times, some people might look for some other entertainment, just to see something different. Kirsten was describing ride sharing apps on phones which could store all the plays to Alex, who is born after the end of civilization. If they came across people with access to old media, it might blow some minds. But this is a limited series so it's probably not going to touch on those possibilities or details.

I understand wanting to be different from other post-apocalyptic shows and movies but they're only showing one aspect of societies or as one character called it, "tribes" that people split into. Presumably it would be a survival strategy, where people could share resources and tasks. Finding food and supplies must not be a big issue? For instance, plenty of fuel to burn those torches so that they could put on plays and concerts? Are they bartering their services for other goods and services? They sang a song about not being able to drive or ride motorcycles so fuel does seem to be scarce, though if most of humanity died, there are probably enough out there. The bald guy came to invite the Traveling Symphony to their little tribe, the Museum of Civilization. But it doesn't sound like they wanted to leave and the place where they're settled is called the "Wheel" so maybe referring to the terrain, which seemed to be have a lot of water, maybe all surrounded by water so it's easier to defend? But the other two, who wanted to see the show, giving details which made Kirsten suspicious, are strangers who just wanted to see the show? Again, no exchange of services? But the one guy said they WILL join Traveling Symphony before Kirsten stabbed him. If there are any hostilities between different tribes, it might be due to competition for scarce resources. Within a tribe, there are a few leaders and they have the last word so he or she are equitable on who gets what? The one guy wanted to audition to join the TS and it appeared a lot of the TS members were enthusiastic about it but then it took Dieter to give the okay. But it's kind of a weird setup. Kirsten is the star of the performances, apparently has some draw to outside groups. But she's head of security or has a big role in security? How do the rest of the TS feel about her stabbing people? She must have saved the TS from hostile people on more than one occasion.

Succession is out of Yellowstone's league, as Shiv and Tom would say.

Perhaps the author didn't think of asymptomatic spread which is a key feature of covid. The Asian countries shut down the SARS epidemic because people didn't become infectious until it showed symptoms. And it was more lethal than covid, even though they're similar coronaviruses. So they aggressively quarantined people who showed symptoms and it prevented the kind of global spread of covid. You'd like to think in a better-prepared world, as soon as people showed symptoms, even if it was a normal flu or a cold, they'd be quarantined, pending testing. As soon as Siya started coughing, she was done for. But the hospital was suppose to get a shipment of some antiviral which obviously didn't work. Again, though it doesn't sound like this is about people reacting to a pandemic. More like people surviving and then trying to put the pieces back together after the end of civilization. In the previews, they showed the lights in the skyline shutting off, moving from skyscraper to skyscraper, as the lights went off. It wouldn't quite go like that. Power plants would run for awhile but run out of fuel eventually and then shut down because there wasn't refueling. Or the grid would fail from uneven load. But the end of electricity alone would kill a lot of people, as hospitals shut down and people freeze to death, as that guard in the lobby did. Also people would run out of food and medicines, unless they hoarded a lot of dry goods and survivalist food items like canned goods, MREs, etc. Still should make for interesting drama, as the characters adapt and probably witness extreme behavior -- with civilization gone, no need to observe civilized mores -- as we've witnessed in the last two years.

I think she sensed that things were serious. She watched Jeevan on the phone with his sister warning him that it was serious, don't trust the news, go and barricade with their brother. Even though Jeevan wasn't completely honest with her, after they couldn't get inside her home, Jeevan said she had to come with him because he wasn't going to leave her alone. Still it's a big leap of faith, to trust a stranger than to try to seek out her parents. Perhaps in the book they draw out this process more, Jeevan realizing they don't have time, they have to go isolate immediately before some wave of infections catch up to him and Kirsten giving up on finding her parents after a longer process or other attempts to reach them. It's just too convenient that she hasn't memorized their numbers and her phone is dead. Well they could find a charger and outlet and plug in but maybe they try those things and still couldn't reach her parents.

Wow, wonder if he acts like that on the CYE set. He must think he can channel Susie Green and get away with it in this day and age.

Just saw a news item that anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held holiday gatherings and asked invitees to get vaccinated or tested for Covid before attending. He blamed it on his wife for the vaccination and testing requirements. His wife? Cheryl Hines.

Interesting first episode. So Arthur died of that flu. Did the wild pigs infect him? There was a King Lear playbill in that outdoor space where they were squealing and they seemed to be near some house. But Siya tells Jeevan that the flu came from Europe. Most of the episode is one night. Yet by the time we see Siya, the hospital is inundated so tons of people are getting infected like instantly? It has to have a crazy R0 but it also seems highly lethal. If this virus kills hosts at a very high rate, it wouldn’t spread that far. Also if this thing ends civilization, how did Jeevan and Kiki avoid infection? They were in that crowded backstage. Then on that long train full of people. I suspect the writers of the novel and this show weren’t too interested in virology or epistemological details. It’s mostly about the survivors of this extinction-level pandemic. Other details which are puzzling, the airliner crashes right in front of them because the pilots died in the middle of a flight? It certainly had the effect of convincing Frank, and probably Jeevan and Kirsten too, that the world was ending and they had to barricade themselves. I doubt 4 full shopping carts came to over $9400 but looked like there was some bottles of liquor there? That might explain the high checkout total but is a lot of pricey booze what you want for a pandemic lockdown? I didn’t see one roll of toilet paper. But they were there for 80 days or 3 months. Chicago winters are suppose to be bad but it was already snowing so they were in December. That means they’d be leaving he apartment around the end of March. There could still be snow storms then but it looked like it had been doing nothing but snowing and freezing for all that time. Again, maybe it’s not about the plot but characters and relationships.

That Daily was serious, knocked Kendal out of the game. That would be a challenge for the younger players. So interesting twist, now it’s pairs meaning most anyone can get is $250k unless they pull the “ steal your partners winnings” move at the finish line. Two Life Shields saved 4 people. So if Kendal was in the Arena, would they have had pole wrestle for them as well? On paper Tyler and LT were well matched. Tyler said he was going to throw his weight around but a lot of weight was that big gut and he’s the one who got thrown around. LT is bigger than he was 10 years ago as well. But seem to be more fit or at least had the energy to be the aggressor. Yeah it’s kind of unfair, Jasmine caused them to come in last and he’s going home while she’s staying. No goodbye hug either. But they might have been vulnerable to getting voted in.

Maybe they knew and it factored into writing off the character?

Well new episodes today right? But I think I will try Station Eleven instead.

Strong reviews so far.

Never watched Survivor, nor Big Brother. I think the only other Competitive Reality show I watch is TAR. Would love to some of the Challengers get on TAR, which has had several BB people.

That's a good point about the Orange Cell going in an elimination and being able to choose the best partner. Kaycee got the best pick. But what do you know the oldest guy outran everyone else to the top and back. Memorizing the numbers was nothing, 10 digits are an area code and a phone number. Nice of TJ to give Nelson a big pep talk. Nelson would have outran everyone up that mountain and he probably would have kept Kaycee. The square puzzle separate the teams but Devon really struggled up that hill. He should go on some mountain hikes between seasons, fill up a backpack with a couple of water bottles. That was great that they tossed them some money. Easier for CT to do than Kaycee since this was her first time winning big money. I don't know why they gave the winners the option to share. Recent seasons have been pretty much winter take all or like 95% of the total prize money so nobody expected any money if they didn't come in first place. It would have been a narrative in future seasons if CT and Kaycee kept all of the money. Then again, the fact that they shared is probably going to be a narrative as well. Maybe it will help CT form alliances -- you run the Final with CT, even if you don't win CT may split off a piece! Emy did help CT throughout the season, unless there was a chance he'd have been thrown into the Lair on the one or two times he was in the Agency. Maybe he's also paying Devon for not voting him in all those times Devon was in the Agency. OTOH, the lesson might also be to keep CT away from the Final.

Just rewatched S07.E05, where Larry meets a handicapped woman. He was going to break up with her but then saw that she got a lot of benefits, like handicapped parking, moving up to the front of the queue for restaurants, being thought of as a good guy -- he had been disinvited from his party for suggesting that the party hosts' adopted Chinese daughter had some innate ability to use chopsticks but then got re-invited when they saw Larry with the woman in the wheelchair. Then Susie throws Larry's Blackberry in the ocean because he almost lets Sammie drown and he can't find her because he only had her number and address in his phone. But he meets another young, attractive woman in a wheelchair. He keeps doing awful things, or the show is written that way, that is how he generates comedy from these situations. But his behavior often backfires on him, again creating more comedy, or at least that is the aim.

Covid is not the best thing to happen to anyone.

Yeah I saw that on Tivo. Maybe they're not getting enough people to subscribe to Paramount Plus. Maybe ad revenues weren't enough.

Thing about Logan promising Tom to take care of him is that he's also promised his children many things and we see how that turned out. Tom's observation should not be that Logan never gets fucked but that Logan always fucks over others. If he's going to screw over his kids, why wouldn't he screw Tom over? Even in that last confrontation, he was trying to lie to Roman and then Shiv. They kind of wised up but I wouldn't be surprised if in future seasons, they're tempted again.

The N word would be called a fighting word, defined by courts as something that would incite violence. For that reason, courts have allowed statutes to prohibit fighting words. Rayna could have called her out right when it happened. Or she might not have known what to do in front of the camera in that moment but later decided she had to say something. She doesn't forfeit her right to be offended because she didn't respond right away. Just a song lyric? Are there exemptions for racial slurs? Are they okay in some situation?

It's a reality show staple, for the cast to periodically go out and get plastered. The first season after the pandemic, BD or BDM kept the crew on the boat for at least half a season and they just drank and got in the hot tub on the yacht rather than go out to restaurants and bars. Several of the crew would probably rather not hang out with others but not going out on these outings is not an option.

The writers may not have delved too much into the succession line for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. They might have prioritized other details. The point is to show what a climber and star fucker Greg is. He didn't like her because he found her attractive. He liked the status and the fact that Roman was chatting her up. The whole "out of your league" ribbing probably made him try to climb the dating ladder or whatever that phrase Tom and Shiv told him about.