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Gemstones sibling rivalry goes across generations. Even back then May-May wouldn't allow for peace with Eli, any more than Judy will give Jesse any quarter. Though Eli seems to be trying to be kind to May-May and her family back then and now and even Jesse got revenge for the kid who cut Judy's hair -- well more than getting even. Amber is also more forgiving of Judy than she could have been. But it explains a lot about Judy, how she was bullied and even her parents considered her too much sometimes. She suffered a lot of emotional injuries and her response is to put up this armor of bravado, about being desirable. Wow, McBride inserted some moments of heartache and nuance. Peter has nobody to blame but himself but now is plotting some revenge against the Gemstones for his own choices. BTW, were those Y2K buckets really a thing? Maybe it was regional? Because where I was, it was about fixing computers and having alternate methods if the systems went down, not resorting to survivalist impulses.

Looks like season 2, since it will be on Bravo, won't stream in advance on Peacock, not even a week ahead.

Finished season 4, interesting ending. Team faces a lot of moral dilemmas through the season, which is fast moving, with the end of one episode transitioning into another. Not melodramatic cliffhangers but they really want you to keep watching. A lot of the action takes place in Jenin, which has a big refugee camp. In real life, Israel recently sent a huge force, the biggest in 20 years, to try to find terrorists hiding out there among the civilians. So the villain of the season is doing exactly that, hiding out there, plotting attacks. This show doesn't get a lot of coverage but it's a good mix of action and characters facing moral dilemmas all the time. The team members believe in the mission overall but question some of the tactics they and other Israeli units use. But on the personal side, they are losing marriages and relationships or in danger of doing so because of how consuming the job is as well as the uncertainties. Curious to know how the show is regarded in Israel. On the one hand, they show soldiers taking decisive action against terrorists and other threats. On the other hand, the individual characters treat Palestinians about as fairly as one might expect. Some even have personal relationships with them and can converse with them beyond the level of enemies or someone from a relatively privileged position talking to second class citizen. In this season, one of the characters is Maya, a Palestinian who decided to join an Israeli police force, as a way to improve the life of her family, having moved from occupied territories to an Israeli town, married a former IDF paratrooper and working for the police. She's called a traitor by other Palestinians and when her brother commits terrorism, she's fired from her job and then unwittingly used to draw out her brother so that he could be apprehended. In the end, the way she is treated is portrayed negatively. They also show some of the divisions within the Palestinian and Muslim communities -- Hamas vs. Hezbollah, terrorists vs. Palestinian Authority, Shiites vs. Sunnis, etc. More than Americans would typically see, though I don't think this show is trying to seriously delve into the overall conflict.

Still no word on season 3 premier. There was hope they'd air both season 3 and 4 this year, as they shot for both seasons I believe. Oh well, I'm downloading season 1 for a rewatch.

Caught up. Yeah Will and Sylvia are strong personalities, often abrasive. Then they screw up and won't be contrite, at least nothing like Charlie. Many of the things they do and say aren't good but I don't know if I'd say they were despicable. I didn't see Neighbors so I don't know if they're trying to emulate how the characters on that movie behaved. The thing with them knocking over e-scooters, is it that they're angry -- Will all the time and Sylvia that one time -- or they're just sticking it to The Man? Or maybe the writers are annoyed with e-scooters and it's a running joke to repeatedly destroy them on screen? Just among Apple TV + shows, I enjoy Ted Lasso, Trying but it's nice to have an alternative, where people aren't so nice. Well Bad Sisters weren't nice and neither was the guy that got killed. And the guy in Trying repeatedly refers to his father or older relatives being racist. Shrinking characters are annoying too, not as clever and winning personalities as they think. Haven't watched Loot but it's about rich people so probably good chance of unlikable characters. In that context, Will and Sylvia aren't the worst.

Overall, the second season showed the effects of a larger budget. A lot of drone shots and you noticed all the music that they cleared. I definitely don't recall these elements from season 1. Of course you had celebrity guest appearances and the setting expanded well beyond that claustrophobic but intimate restaurant to even beyond Chicago. Not all these higher production cost features are necessarily good. I remember after the first couple of seasons of The Chi, you had these spectacular night skyline shots, maybe from drones. But that might as well have been from another city, another part of the world, because the Chicago skyscrapers are metaphorically distant from the hood where the characters live. In a way, these elements can pull you out of the story, the immersion. Hear a famous track and sometimes you just recognize the song, not how it relates or reflects the scene over which it's played. Just as the Fishes episode, you saw all these guest stars who are much better known than most of the cast. I assume there will be a third season, probably they have an agreement that they haven't announced yet. Because the way season 2 ended there's a lot more story to tell. Maybe they will pull back on some of these noticeable signs of greater production spending. Sometimes, you get the sense that they used them just to spend the more money they had, not necessarily that they made the show better.

Claire and Carm both have very demanding job, insane hours the norm. So they'd have difficulties holding it together.

I haven't started this, so much stuff to watch, even just within Apple TV +. I guess it's kind of a win though that they had so many actors who normally wouldn't do TV, at least in the US? Maybe that will give it a chance for renewal. But maybe it took a long time to shoot and edit this series so even if it came back it might not for a couple of years.

Just watched episode 6, the birthday party. Laughed a lot, including when Will and that old roommate guy were taunting each other about how old each other were. But Rogen acted the hell out of that scene where he sees Peyton dance and his face registered "what the fuck am I doing" perfectly. Never thought of him as much of an actor, just thought he played the similar personal in all his roles, the loud, stoner, contrarian type, like one of the early episodes where he doesn't want to sell his beer to the chain restaurant and him going around knocking over all those e scooters, even though he uses them all the time. But that was a great expression of a guy having an epiphany, just all in his facial expression. Rest of the episode he's great. Will though has anger, maybe about his ex-wife. He needs Sylvia's friendship at this point in his life. The earlier episode, with them doing the secret skills at the bar was fun too. I would say Rogen and Byrne are bringing it, not just pursuing a payday with this show.

Yeah probably. I think it may also slow down production, if the digital fx takes long rendering times. But there have been commercials featuring presumably de-aged versions of some rather well-known celebrities.

On The Ringer Watch podcast, Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan briefly discussed the new Indiana Jones movie. https://www.theringer.com/2023/7/5/23784934/movies-are-stuck-endless-ip-loop-indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-the-idol-finale Apparently for a good part of that movie, they use AI and digital effects to construct a digital Indiana Jones, from the first two movies timeline. IOW, Indiana Jones as played by a Harrison Ford in his early 40s. But 81-year old Ford speaks the dialog mouthed by the digital avatar of his young self. They talk about other implications of AI such as directors in post production making the actor smile in a scene when he or she did not when that scene was shot. This is in the context of the fact that the actors guild could go on strike and the fact that the writers guild is already on strike and they've flagged use of AI as one of their important issues. But the discussion made me think about Shrinking, because people remarked how good Ford looks for a 80 year old man. Could Apple have splurged the money so they could use digital effects to de-age Ford's character? Probably not, to do it for the whole series, every scene he's in. However it's technically feasible.

I wish that were the case but that's not the world we live in, at least on Bravo reality shows. Loud drama, fueled by alcohol -- maybe drugs as well that they don't show -- are what drives a lot of these shows. They could have more of a documentary feel, to show the everyday life of the crew on these charters, their mundane tasks. We get snippets of that, mostly when they're docking. But the rest of it is crew and guest interactions, much of it scripted or concocted like the costume shows. Or they could go another way, do it as more of a travelogue of these amazing places. But that would probably bore younger viewers.

I'm only up to episode 3 or 4. So far I like it more than Shrinking. Yeah the Seth Rogen character is loud and abrasive at times. And it's hard to believe Sylvia has that much of a leash, with a busy husband and 3 kids, including a couple of young ones who would demand a lot of her attention. So how is she going out and coming home at 4 AM? She was drugged but even organizing that party, you'd think the husband would have put his foot down. I liked when she ate the speech. So she's a little zany too, especially since as a successful lawyer's wife, she has to be placating his co workers and boss. I don't recall Rose Byrne in many things, never saw her doing a comic role. Hell I remember Damages. She's not hiding her Australian accent all the time. I didn't watch Physical, so looks like she's scooping up that Apple money.

Why does Judy try to make that marriage work? She's obviously attracted to other men. Does she have to keep up appearances of a happy marriage even though we see the Gemstones are anything but spiritual? On the surface, Jesse and Ely were happily married men. But what about Kelvin, he's not a kid, even though he's doing the youth ministry. Maybe marital problems would be less tolerated from a female church leader. So more intrigue, they steal chemicals to make a lot of bombs, Gemstones have to be always looking over their shoulders?

I didn't watch season 1. I think I watched the pilot and didn't feel it. Was even one season necessary?

They had her a couple of times in lingerie and showed cleavage several times, a far cry from first season when she was like 15 or something? The cleavage is understandable but lingerie for a 17 or 18 year old seems out of place. Overall enjoyed the season and series. Normally don't go for feel-good but it was expressive with joy throughout. I don't know if it depicted the Indian-American experience well. They suggested one of the reasons they moved to America was to give Devi a chance to go to some elite university. In absolute numerical terms some Indian universities are harder to get into than American ones because there are millions taking these exams which they have to excel at to have a chance for admission. But maybe opportunities for young women in the best institutions are not there compared to in the US. It's kind of The Mindy Project for teens with sardonic McEnroe as narrator.

A plate or for a menu of several courses and then wine pairing is even more? Some may also require at least two diners, so if a critic wants to go incognito, they'd need to bring someone?

I don't usually pursue fine dining, no. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy shows or movies about it. I don't usually binge but I went through season 1 fairly quickly and I went through season 2 in about a week to keep up with the discussion. Certainly Carmy's skills were being wasted making sandwiches, however great they were. We have seen hints, not the full picture, of what he endured to become great at his craft so I figured he wasn't going to make sandwiches for the rest of his career. He wasn't necessarily driven to go back to a high-end restaurant but Sydney was, she didn't have his trophies so she yearned for that and maybe re-awakened the desire in Carmy, especially after they found that money. I'm not so sure the show is about fine dining itself. It certainly depicts that culture but the pursuit pushes these characters emotionally and possibly towards growth. That is what I suspect the creator wants to show, about interesting characters who immerse themselves in this culture. They're not interesting characters because they chose fine dining, they already were but they transform themselves, leave behind a lot of baggage in their quest. The show might suggest that service and delighting clients are the goals. I don't find that convincing, because the clients are for the most part faceless extras, so while that restaurant Richie staged at prided itself on knowing its clients, how much can they know these people who come there at most a few times? They hear them talking to each other and pick up ideas, like the deep dish pizza thing. Similarly, the characters in Succession are not interesting because they want to run this media empire. They are interesting because they're emotionally damaged and the motivations behind this pursuit. They don't grow or get better, more effective, as human beings. Is it because they're just essentially flawed or that Jesse Armstrong doesn't believe people change. If he wrote for The Bear, Richie doesn't find his calling, doesn't improve. He's as confrontational and unpleasant as he was at the start of the show. He certainly wouldn't feel satisfaction from pleasing/delighting customers, sprinting to pick up that pizza and watch for the clients reactions. I don't think that's Sydney's or Carmy's goal either. For her, she wants to earn one of the highest stripes in the profession, leave behind her failures, that again they hint at. For Carmy, he wants to help her achieve that, see Richie grow, support Tina and the rest of the staff, all the people he loves. But given the amount of money he pours into it and the money he borrows, some of it has to be about making money. Because if they can't, he will have failed, not just himself but all those others and Mikey who also had a similar dream.

I think Noma is closed or will shut down? I thought they were known more for the weird things they grow and the unusual dishes they make out of them, not necessarily for service. People apparently traveled to Denmark to visit that place. And also Northern Spain, where there is a place that requires reservations months in advance, according to David Chang. Chang also said there may be a bubble. Lot on money being invested but will people always come? He said especially mid level restaurants, between the mainstream places most people go to or order delivery from and the fine dining Michelin star types of places, may crash. Thing is, if you travel to these places, there are plenty of other things worthy of your time than going to a world-famous restaurant. I remember researching my trip to San Sebastian and there was one place which was about 30-60 minutes drive out of the city which had a very big reputation. Even though I wasn't a foodie, I had good meals in San Sebastian without venturing far. You could go do a tapas bar crawl, which they're famous for, but those bars were packed and the popular items quickly ran out. So unless you're really into Michelin star dining, why would you spend your limited time during a trip to go way out of the way for a particular restaurant?

Rachel should have targeted her rant at the producers, the people who likely make up all these preference sheets. The guests are little more than mannequins or more like guest role players for these "reality" shows.

Ethan must be another adult actor playing a teen? Unless teen actors have big back tattoos these days? Yeah it is pathetic of Paxton to drop out of ASU to go back to high school. Is Sherman Oaks really that diverse or does it look like United Colors of Benetton as this show depicts?

Finished the season. Heard David Chang discuss it, how the chaos is true to real life in serious restaurants. One member of the crew dropping out to smoke crack could disrupt the whole operation. Family and Friends nights are rehearsals and one thing to look for is to see who deals well under pressure. In the finale, Syd kind of crumbled under pressure and Richie saved the day but according to Chang, it doesn't mean it will always be that way. But I guess this season established the cousin as a key member of the restaurant, not someone looking to find his role. They did a 9-course menu but those T-bone platters seemed huge. That can't be for one person nor could it be one out of nine courses per diner, could it? If it's a menu, why was that printer going off with individual orders which Syd was trying to organize? Pretty much everyone is suppose to have the same set of dishes with a few choices, like for desert and entrees? And maybe substitutes for people with food allergies? Also have to wonder about the business model. Natalie said they were booked full for the first week but not the second week and they didn't have a waiting list or the possibility of substituting guests if some of the ones with reservations couldn't make their reservation. Would they commit as much money as they have to renovate, train, develop extensive menus without some kind of confidence of being able to fill the restaurant for a few weeks at least? Then again Syd walked by a place that she had visited, so it looks like some of these places with great culinary reps can suddenly shut down. Presumably, people would go because Carmy had the reputation and maybe some customers of the Beef would also check out the place. I guess they're not going to try to get the restaurant critics in there early, to generate demand. So they're fully relying on word of mouth from the first diners? Or did they have some publicist try to seed local papers with stories about a Michelin star chef opening a new place? Maybe have a social media campaign just to create awareness. Probably done off camera but if only the first week is booked full, that could point to problems ahead. But in the first season, online ordering became too much of a hit, with that order printer going full tilt -- and it happened again on this episode, though not sure why, the restaurant didn't seem to have that many patrons and they were presumably having similar orders since it was a menu, not a la carte place. They will be able to bring in income for however many seasons they want to keep the show on the air. After all if this restaurant fails and the band breaks up, what would they depict on the show? Carmy and Syd both get out of the restaurant business or she becomes a caterer, maybe reduced to going on reality TV cooking shows? But if the chaos is what it's like all the time, you would think people would burn out and there's a lot of turnover, including maybe Carmy and Syd gradually moving away from daily hands-on roles. The other place Richie worked at didn't show chaos. They were suppose to be a well-oiled machine but how long can staff there drink the Kool Aid? The junior staff, unless they have a path to get promoted and make more money, would leave for other jobs so maybe the guy who trained Richie would move on in a couple of years.

Sorry if I offended. Just the whole ritualistic and sybaritic depictions have Satyricon vibes, excesses of a decaying empire -- in the episode where Sydney goes to taste all these restaurants in one day, you wonder if she's purging in between these tastings, just as wine connoisseurs are tasting and then spitting out several different types of wines in a day, as in Drops of God. Yes anyone's inclinations can look odd to others. Most people can obviously enjoy food without it being prepared by some pedigreed chef or delivered with the kind of obsessive dedication shown in the episode. But more power to those who do enjoy such experiences.

Not saying it doesn't happen. But those people have a weird hobby or passion. Or too much money. Or both.

Not sure guests are asking. It’s more of a way to show the chef and the crew being tasked with a big mission and how they handle it. It’s more likely the producers’ idea. In restaurants which offer multi course tasting menus, the customer can take it or leave it. They don’t get to ask for 6 or 7 courses instead of 8 or 9. Well they can but they’re paying for 8 or 9 courses. If I’m hungry, I just want bigger portions than those tiny plates of food coming out over hours. Also some people may not want certain types of foods so with that many courses they may be faced with stuff that they don’t want. One of the other BD shoes had some wine tasting or pairing that supposedly the guests listed on the preference sheet. Well the guests were game for the first couple of courses of wine and food but they got tired of it by the time they brought out the last few courses. The crew is suppose to be constantly challenged with delivering unique experiences so they are always in the pref sheets. But they’re often repeated across ll the BD shows so you can tell they’re going by a formula.