ToxicUnicorn

Sense8 Season 2 (Part 1) expected December 2016: http://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/sense8-season-2-everything-you-need-to-know/

What a nice update. I hope Ms. Broom made a big impression on the students. Her character conveyed so much determination on the show, I can imagine I would have internalized that (even without knowing why) if I had seen that when I was that age. I have absolutely no idea who spoke at my high school graduation. I believe we got punch and cookies and a certificate for fifth. Maybe there was an award for best attendance. (!)

The parallel to the Barkley crew (your opportunities largely determined your life) was a point the show ended up making extremely well. It just took its time to get there. The tie back to the drug trade wrapped it all up nicely. I loved Season 2. My only problem with it at the beginning was that the transition was very abrupt. I was expecting a continuation of Season 1, so I was confused when all these new faces happened in Season 1. Also, I have to say, the characters and actors were not as charismatic as the people of the first season. I learned to care about Frank and his family, but not about the rest of the dockworkers (except abstractly). That was a big difference from Season 1, as well, where there were so many people who inspired feelings or thoughts of some kind (on all sides of the story). Very interesting post above, Raja. Since I did not watch in real time, I did not know any of that.

"Sanctimonious" hits the nail on the head. Yes, that's it. All of those characters more or less had a lot of ego and conveyed the message (to me, at least), that whichever woman was connected to him was pretty damn lucky to be in that position. Now that I'm thinking along this track, if I had to guess, his performances feel as though they're not very generous to the other actor. Yes, on The West Wing, he played a Presidential candidate - and the most interesting character in that story to me, by far, was his wife. However, there was very little exploration of her or of their dynamic. (A lot of wasted potential, in other words.) I would hate to see that happen again here, especially because he is supposed to be the side character, but I am expecting him to try to steal all the thunder. I hope I'm wrong.

Another enthusiastic vote for Tricia Helfer, especially as Head!Six. Makes me wonder if Orphan Black/Tatiana Maslany was ever inspired by all the incarnations of Six. I never became invested in the stories of Boomer or Athena (or Helo or their daughter, for that matter). For me, all the drama came to a screeching halt when they came on screen. The only time I was slightly intrigued was when any one of them was jailed and maybe on the verge of being executed. I much preferred the (crazy) surprise of Ellen, although her interactions with Cavil were pretty gross. I agree Cavil had potential and it was a real shame that it was squandered in that way. Good times, thinking about this show again.

From the Media thread: I was getting excited about the description until I got to the casting of Jimmy Smits. That made me unhappy. I'm old enough to remember him in LA Law and NYPD Blue. He was a flashy addition to LA Law, and I liked him there, and then he was ok in NYPD Blue. The next time I remember paying attention was West Wing, and I hated him in that. It seemed like he was really phoning that performance in. (Of course, that was one of my favorite shows, and so perhaps he got swept up in my discomfort with the new guard.) The problem is, I anticipate having a hangover from The West Wing to this reboot because his character sounds so similar. I hope he digs deep. I'm neutral about everything else. Still would love to see Yvonne Strahovski reprise her role. Wouldn't it be fun to have 2 kick ass CTU agents team up? (Michelle never counted, for me.)

I agree, that story was asinine. I wasn't sure if it was just me, since I have never liked Maya Rudolph in anything. I would follow this show if it were resurrected somewhere else. It would make a nice pairing with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The actor who played the young Alan Turing in The Imitation Game comes to mind. He might have to change his appearance somewhat, but I think he would be up to it. This episode might make my very short list of favorites - ever - on tv. It was beautifully put together. Daniel's decision to exonerate Bobby Dean and throw out everything from his past life was such a game changer. I did not see that twist coming - or, if I had any inkling, I would never have expected it to come so soon. Amantha's rage with the injustice of Daniel's decision, Daniel's interaction with his neighbor of the fallen tree and then with Teddy , Teddy's impotence to change his life while Daniel was making these huge leaps, Daniel's attempts to move on emotionally via the kitchen renovation juxtaposed against the impracticality of being able to do so because of mundane money reasons, the entire Sheriff vs. Bobby Dean interactions - all of it added up to an incredible meditation about - I don't know - our perpetual struggles to be. I really love this show. It's the first (serialized? Is that the right word?) show that has ever made me think I would come back to revisit a specific episode as a stand alone piece of art. (To give an idea of how much compulsion an episode would have to overcome in me to do this, I had to re-read the entire Harry Potter series before each new book came out, in order to feel fully ready to appreciate the new one on its release date.)

So very late to find this show, and I sat through all of Season 1 with a fascination I didn't quite understand. However, this first episode of season 2 was breathtaking. I didn't see any wasted movement. It was beautiful. The scene in the winter woods with Kerwin and Danny - the actor who plays Danny had his character tuned perfectly. His face was magnificent as Kerwin was talking. It felt as though all of Season 1 was a warm up for that performance. Bravo. The actress who plays Tawney has also become completely believable. And Danny's mom gave a beautiful performance. I can't give enough compliments about the casting director(s) on this show. Everyone is pretty much perfect, especially the women. (And the actress who plays Amantha blows me away because I have only known her as Scottie on Suits, and she is completely different here.) Speaking of Amantha: Oh, please, no. I think Amantha is much more subtle in this incarnation (although I agree, we've seen a type of character like hers before). I like her a lot. To me, she conveys that she is brittle, and that she is trying hard to be the perfect sister for Daniel, despite whatever hurt she has experienced herself. I also love that she seems genuinely happy around the lawyer. It is such a difference in her demeanor. I think she has a lot of layers. If Debbie Morgan were playing her, I feel it would be all pathos, all the time. Turned up to 11. I agree. I originally thought the guy who killed himself was another of Hannah's brothers. It does seem he killed himself out of guilt for lying that Daniel murdered Hannah. I haven't figured out what happened to Hannah, yet, although I have to believe Kerwin that Danny didn't do it. I would feel betrayed if Kerwin was wrong. When he tried to talk to her earlier when she was rummaging around fixing things in her daughter's (?) room, she wouldn't even acknowledge him Oh, thank you for explaining this. I couldn't figure out what that scene was about. I thought the guy who said, "I'm home" was the mean guy in the cell next to Danny's (who honestly deserves a shout out for his scene on the floor in this episode. Much more effective than the one in The Americans, which was almost exactly the same setting.) Oh, good comment, AuntiePam. I, of course, had jumped to the conclusion that Teddy had beaten up Daniel. That makes a lot more sense.

That sold me - I'll look for it, thanks!

In the end, I'm very happy for Alisan and Christina. Alisan has the pipes and is a deserving winner. Her Blue Bayou audition easily makes my short list of favorite auditions, and she herself might be my favorite winner of all seasons. Let me think - wait a minute, I can hardly remember any of them, so yes, yes she is. It was really nice to see Alisan and Christina screaming in joy at each other and jumping up and down. It was so spontaneous and real. I think Christina was genuinely surprised, and genuinely happy for Alisan. It was not all about Christina. That kind of selflessness is all I really want out of a coach at that moment. I would have put Hannah second. Of all of them, she was the most unique and has a lot of potential. I genuinely think Pharrell did her a disservice with that original song. (That song was awful.) This is the first time I've agreed with the final outcome out of all 10 seasons, and one of the very few that had a final group where I liked them all.

I've giggled my way through a few episodes of The IT Crowd. It's on Netflix and I'd think of it as a very British screwball workplace comedy. Stupid? Probably, but all the actors deliver in a very lighthearted way.

I feel that this show is finally finding its way and moving on from the premise. I like that while someone in the focus group was correct that Dean Sr was hiding something, it caused Dean Jr. to reevaluate his reliance on focus groups and that it did skewer the idea that television in general relies too much on ratings and focus groups. I agree with all of the above. I thought the premise was hilarious (really enjoyed the beginning of the season), enjoyed the meta-commentary about tv (which was missing for awhile but made a fabulous return with these focus groups), and thought this episode was funnier and more sound than anything they've done since bringing Fred Savage's character to the front. I don't want to see this show turn into another show about an adorable couple with a hint of realness, and their weird relative who appears now and then in the background. That's too close to an Everyone Loves Raymond formula for me. I adore Rob Lowe, and think it's the triangle relationship between him, Stew, and the rest of Stew's life that is really the central comedic relationship here. I don't mind if Lowe's character is toned down, but I want the show to keep bringing up the ways in which his perspective was completely distorted because he spent too much time in Hollywood. I think there's a ton of material that can come from watching someone, who has been far too credulous about accepting pop culture at face value, interact with more cynical, less privileged, but still intelligent and successful human beings. It's the level of intelligence (and the clash between optimism and pessimism) that makes this show fun for me.

Here's an article at Vulture that raves about Rachel and the show: http://www.vulture.com/2016/05/emmys-2016-new-contenders.html

Ah, thank you very much, MaryPatShelby. Somehow I missed all that, but it makes perfect sense. Eddie is much more interesting when he's questioning Meyerism. I don't think we know how he got started in the first place - the way he and his wife go at it, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were simply for the sex. (I guess I don't feel as if any of these characters are very complex.)