aghst

Maybe he has to drink to liquor up the women he wants to pick up.

It's too bad that she felt she had to, in her mid 50s, do all that work. But I guess she wanted to play younger roles? In this she's younger than Clarke so maybe Margaret is suppose to be in her mid 40s, which is about right with the children characters. She has a lot of other high-profile projects lined up, including BLL Season 3 so maybe viewers get used to it.

I think he was denying that he had the files but Liz and Pete suspected otherwise.

Well Mercy was trying to get a job as nanny and was texting her friend about it while at a busy night market with a toddler. She wasn't holding his hand because she had two hands on her phone. What an audition. Mercy is so out of place among all these friends and mutual friends who are children of rich HK families. But she went to HK to get away from her mother after graduating from Columbia on a scholarship, without a job? She's vying to become a nanny and seems to be punishing herself for her mistake. I forget the exact dialog while she and "Dirk" were having sex but it was something involving humiliation. They don't make it clear why Margaret gravitated towards Mercy in the first place. Mercy catches Gus before he gets to the railings of the boat and then she jumps into the water to impress her rich friends and Margaret comforts her after she's shaken after trying to swim under the boat. Margaret doesn't want to stay in HK but Clarke gets too good an offer to stay another year. That means another year she delays her own career, because there's not much demand for a landscape architect in a city full of skyscrapers. She's also alarmed that her kids, especially Gus, is bonding too much with Essie who goes beyond housekeeping and cooking duties to be kind of like a surrogate mother, putting Gus to bed. Mercy may be more interested in a steady gig than wanting to especially take care of kids. It seems like they've been to that market before, at least Margaret and her children. Doesn't seem like a place that affluent people would frequent though. Sure see it once or twice just to check it off the list but HK is also full of huge, posh shopping centers, which would probably have a lot of appeal to well-to-do families. Hilary doesn't want children, secretly goes back on the pill while David, who'd agreed that they wouldn't have children, want to "reset" with a child. He's also drinking behind her back. Margaret tries to tell Hilary that there's been too much dishonesty in their marriage and Hilary takes offense at her friend telling her about her marriage.

It's getting poor reviews but I decided to give it a shot because maybe it will show a HK that no longer exists. The setting is 2014 and in the background is news coverage of missing MH370, though they don't identify the flight in this episode. But the episode starts with a preamble about people who unintentionally hurt others. I forget the first one but the second one is about US military pilots who cut a gondola cable in Italy killing 20 people who were in the gondola. I remember that story. The third case are young identical twins and while rough housing it, one pushes his brother into a coffee table, causing him permanent paralysis. The narrator cites these examples to show the people who are responsible for these tragedies, because their story is never told. There is also a description on the Amazon Prime app about the story being set in 2014 a tumultuous time in HK. The one thing that comes to mind is the Umbrella Revolution, which occurred in the last 3 months of that year. The MH370 flight disappearance occurred in March. Yeah I did get annoyed at them not wanting to talk about the big tragedy. Is there something else than Gus, apparently another son of Margaret, apparently dying or gone somehow. Margaret's in-laws and acquaintances wonder why they stay in HK after this event. But she insists HK is their home. So much that she has a secret dingy apartment, where she spends time alone, away from her family. Quite a contrast from her luxurious apartment up in Victoria's Peak, not to mention quite a distance, as Kowloon is on the other side of the harbor and not sure it would be easy to sneak away to unless her private driver is keeping her secret from her husband. Other thing is they go out of their way not to show the beauty of HK, certainly not the usual tourist shots of the Harbour or the view from up in the Peak. No views from the luxury apartment nor from the hotel where they hold the birthday party. Well it seems to be a lugubrious tale, at least at the beginning, so glamour shots which the HK Tourism Bureau would approve would not fit the tone that they're trying to establish. I didn't realize Mercy's f buddy Dirk is David, Hilary's husband. Seemed like he was younger. Given the history she has with Margaret, who was once very close to Hilary, that seems like a weird choice. Margaret sees Mercy and is triggered, while Mercy has a panic attack, runs out of the party and pukes. So given the intense connections, why would she go there with Hilary's husband? Other thing is, apparently Hilary and Margaret socialized when they were very young, when a Blondie song was more current enough for them to memorize its lyrics. So they were friends in college or so? Yet they both end up in HK, married and very wealthy, enough to have a luxury apt in HK, one of the most expensive cities for housing in the world, with private limos? And they live in the same building, though different floors!

Apparently the California to London couple weren't married but they bought a house together and now moved to London? They didn't say if they sold the house back in CA, which would give them a huge rental income or if they sold it, a big bank account. I would guess that this is a temporary posting, something to add to their resume or they see it as an extended adventure, with the ability to go back to their previous jobs. They were willing to splurge for more space after all. They must be planning to entertain a lot, with friends and family from back home.

We don't know how much of a say TJ has in how the seasons are plotted out, the themes, the rules (which they make up as they go along), who's invited, what kind of individual stories they want to feature, etc. He could just be the on-air talent with little say in how the seasons are shaped, including who's disqualified for medical reasons or for fighting or whatever. Does he make editing decisions, like how Nurys was suppose to be close to Jay and Michelle but they forced her to choose between Olivia and Horacio this episode. Or when ASAF was smirking on his THs like he and his partners were masterminds in manipulating people both in and out of their alliance.

Watched both episodes back to back. So far don't find the lead characters too engaging. The American guys are pretty arrogant in England despite not having much combat experience. The narration explains that US chose precision day time bombing because they had a piece of equipment that let them choose specific targets. The first mission was a disaster and they were unprepared. I guess the arc will be how these men rose to the challenge, didn't flinch in the face of tragic losses at first, how some of the most heroic were unsung and how they came from all across the nation to carry out these sacred missions. The second mission was a smashing success and they all risked their lives to escort that one damaged bomber back to base, flying slower and risking attacks from German fighters. It's fascinating about how they operate these antiquated planes, with the gun nest being -50 degrees. The B-17 Fortress planes were already rickety before they flew the first mission but these airmen made it work with the strategy of protecting each other and of course a lot of American moxie. How can that one navigator Crosby be an airman if he frequently gets airsick, yet he wants to keep flying. But the conditions on those planes are a far cry from modern airliners so it's more than an individual just being more prone to motion sickness. They haven't shown why these men are so driven by the mission other than few comments about beating the Nazis. For instance, why would Crosby pass up the chance to work on the ground rather than being hands on in conditions that are challenging to him? The opening credit sequence show some black airmen. I wouldn't expect too much exposition of race relations but they probably operate as separate units.

Reviews are mild or even poor so far.

Highest ratings in 4 seasons. Also high ratings for the Reunion Part 1 on Peacock streaming. That means we're going to get more of the Shep/Austin/Taylor/Olivia mess next season? And no return for Catherine?

Yeah maybe Craig's sewing hobby originated from looking around at branding opportunities and choosing the products he can easily sell and endorse or brand. Presumably Bravo allowed it because they're getting a piece of the sales. So across several seasons, they featured scenes of him doing sewing while at the same time Naomi was talking up her web site as well, Abeille or something like that. It's a good story about perseverance and following your dreams or some such banality. But it worked out for him, while Naomi's little venture, maybe it didn't work out. Nor Trop Hop. If JD didn't get into trouble, he was going to use the show to push his whiskey or whatever liquor he was pushing. Ah, looked it up, it was Gentry Bourbon. He wasn't even a major cast member but they see these branding opportunities. Maybe Bravo pitches them these ideas when they hammer out a pay agreement: "We won't pay you as much but we will feature scenes on the show so that you can try to sell some branded stuff and make money that way."

So they translate it into French for Canada but not for France? Because they have all kinds of American shows, though they like it dubbed, not subtitled. There have been a number of house hunters originally from France, not to mention of course a lot of episodes based in France as well. Far East is kind of weak. Some Thailand, some Japan, some South Korea, some Singapore but it's just a few here and there. Obviously nothing like all the Australian or even NZ episodes. I recall India episodes once or twice, mostly for house hunters from Australia or other Pacific region.

Just guessing that people who sign up to appear on the show are more likely to do so if they're fans or at least have watched the show.

Didn't think about it too much but HHI must be distributed all over the world. Maybe dubbed or subtitled or even just sold in anglophone countries? That might explain so many English-speaking house hunters from all these countries. Not that it's rare for people to speak English across the world but you'd think most of the house hunters draw from people who've watched the shows. For instance, this episode should indicate that South Africans can watch this show? Of course all the prices are denominated in USD but that's also a common currency benchmark, even if people don't transact in dollars, they have some sense of what their currency is worth relative to dollars.

Asaf also had a really lousy attitude, this unearned sense of superiority and entitlement, like the prize is only for their little circle. His only previous Challenge appearance was to be eliminated on the first day? I didn't recall that. He looks pretty fit but apparently can't perform under pressure and the math puzzle stumped him. Yet he was acting like he was this social game mastermind as well as some physical beast. Jay at least has some ability -- won in several eliminations -- and he's taken lumps over several seasons. Not that it excuses his behavior but once he found himself in an advantageous position, the asshole within came out.

I have to admit I didn't look at the product line until just now. I didn't pay attention to when they showed his pillows or whatever on the show. Looks like okay stuff but horribly overpriced. If I was going to pay $70 for a couch pillow or $65 for sweatshirts, I'd look at stuff on other sites with a lot of reviews. Clearly the branding is what allows them to try to get a price premium. I didn't see a clearance section, like you see with just about EVERY clothing site. Are they selling so well that they don't have to discount from those inflated prices? What else can it be but fan support when Craig is modeling most of the merchandise? A few with Paige but it's all him. What kind of lemming buys overpriced crap because some third-rate reality TV show personality is hocking them?

After weeks of there being about 16 out of the original 24, two got eliminated in this episode. Yeah both games were good, though you just have to trust that the producers are timing the Dailies truthfully, because it would be so convenient to pick who's purged. So they're going to Croatia and Horacio did some paddle boarding just in case. A couple of the women are not good swimmers nor did they try to learn. Well in this case they had life jackets so they only needed to dog-paddle. In the Final, there should be longer swimming. So not being able to swim, you can't really have expectations of doing well in this game. Horacio failed to win because he couldn't get the ring toss quickly. Otherwise he was probably first back to shore. It's Ed's prerogative to pick which alliance he wants to be a part of. Again, the design of the game shows that the producers want alliance drama. But he must know that if his alliance loses the Daily, he'd like be among the bottom 3. Then again, if he flipped sides, he might be in the bottom of their list too. The Conquest Elimination was a lot of athletic ability and the puzzle solving, otherwise, Zara would have no chance. Unfortunately, she's dyslexic. She has the best attitude in this season, along with Horacio and Kyland. Low drama, always positive and ebullient. Has to be way more pleasant to be around than any of the other challengers, especially the women. But even if she didn't go into the mud at the wrong time, I'd think she'd struggle to climb that wall. Really they don't have a lower wall for women? I'm not sure any of the other women could lift themselves up over it. And also be at risk of falling and turning an ankle or worse. It's interesting that they didn't let the others observe. Maybe they plan to use it for all the Conquest Eliminations. They haven't done trivia in the Daily challenges this season have they? Wonder if they're going to make most of the Dailies more athletic-centric than the Dailies they've had already. They could do one that is very puzzle-centric but people working on puzzle isn't that interesting visually.

Cape Town to Phuket Island, Thailand. Middle aged couple with a 13-year old daughter (hers). They say Cape Town life is stressful so they move. The wife's parents have retired to Phuket. They plan to work remotely from Thailand. Requirements are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms -- they don't like to share. Also a pool and an oven. Budget is $1200 House 1 is 3 bedroom, 3 bath but is $1500. Meets every requirement but is far from the kid's school. House 2 also meets requirement but is on 3 levels with a roof top shared pool. It's $1300. Husband says too many stairs but love the views from the roof top deck with the shared pool. House 3 is 3 bedroom, 3 bath, large pool but lacks an oven. Mother and daughter want the oven for recipes to make together. It's $1400. They eliminate #1, probably more than they want to spend and choose 2 because of the oven and the views. This is a couple who's been married for 11 years after meeting online. They can't keep their hands off each other. Realtor comments in TH that his clients usually never engage in so much PDA. They joke about both being able to fit in the showers of the homes together and husband says the shared pool of house 2 may not work out because he likes to skinny dip with his wife.🙄 Supposedly the kid is going to go to school so the location of the homes relative to the school was also a criteria. But they've kept their jobs back in South Africa so while they may enjoy the island lifestyle, maybe again, it's not a long-term stay.

Is this Glover's first TV project since Atlanta? Didn't realize PWB was going to be the main creative force for this series. Wonder if Glover will continue to delve into issues involving black people as he did in Atlanta. Maybe for POC in general given his new co-lead. Never saw the movie, interested in the show because of Glover.

Wow this thread started in 2018? They've been advertising it to death so hope it lives up to the hype. Loved the book but I have very little recollection of the mini series, though I know Mifune was a big deal in Japanese cinema.

A few reviews trickling in. Will be curious how it compares, reviews-wise, to The Undoing. Nicole's TV projects since The Undoing haven't fared that well critically. Kind of more intrigued by the trailers for this than Shogun as the Far East TV show of 2024.

Let's be realistic, they ordered some cheaply made textiles from some Chinese factory, slapped their branding on it. Great for him that it's doing well but he saw the social media reaction to his dumb pillow cases and whatever on the show and he used it. Certainly better than Trop Hop but it's the same idea, the actual production is outsourced and it's about branding, which comes from mass media exposure of the show. That is why product placement is a big deal for these shows and networks, because if products had to buy 30 second commercials, it would cost them a fortune. But instead, they get free product placement and they talk about it for minutes across several episodes. I presume that is why QVC is a thing. I've never watched that channel but clearly Pat was making money off the show and appearing on QVC, selling fairly useless things. But people have bought useless shit for decades now, like the pet rock, those I❤️NY T-shirts, etc. All through marketing hype and mass media but now we also have IG where influencers can earn tens of millions or more touting BS beauty products.

Remember that one season he worked for JD's whiskey or whatever? And he was suppose to be entry level or little more than an apprentice and he wanted to be strategizing the brand or whatever and JD had to lay the law down, that he was just a peon. Just like Austen's beer, where they hire a microbrewery to slap his brand name, they had to try to make these cast members not appear like total losers. Craig at the time had been going to a low tier law school forever or taking forever to pass the bar. In any event, they don't want to show any cast being slackers or gold diggers or whatever. They're suppose to be upwardly mobile professionals in Charleston.

Producers stashed Natalia in the city after she left so that she could show up at the end. In fact her departure probably was scripted too.

Yeah Natalya’s appearance wasn’t contrived at all. The Luka and Jessika thing also was dubious. Only thing kind of surprising was that Kyle and Lara spoke in Afrikaans and Tumi apparently doesn’t.