Dots And Stripes

This is how I saw it too. I like the show, but I think Oliver is over rated and segments like the Scientology one are why. He acted like he was being so clever, but to me it's more of an example of him not planting the seeds right all along. He uses sarcasm and hyperbole all the time.He didn't outsmart the audience because no one, except maybe a Scientologist, would have taken what he was saying seriously. Or should we now think Oliver really and truly believes the Olsen twins are one person since he repeats that as well?

I think the truth is probably someone between the BBC version that Danny was a nightmare and the BBC version where it was a run of the mill spat. IMO, the push back would have been stronger if it was all made up. I feel bad for Amy because I’m sure she wanted to show what she can do as a pro, but exiting now is probably for the best. Both Danny and Seann were at th bottom of the leaderboard when they were eliminated. It’s not like they were both doing spectacular dances while the public abandoned them. I have 0 sympathy for Seann. Not making out with your married dance partner on a public street on your girlfriend’s birthday doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Why would I want to root for that guy? I think if Joe improves a little, he could win it all. He comes in with a fan base and doesn’t have the ringer backlash. He’s going to need to do better than this week’s strange samba. Shirley’s 8 for Faye’s jive seemed low.

Anyone notice a Lil Sebastian like mini horse among the animals in this episode? D’Arcy Carden (Janet) posted a pic of herself with one and I assume it was taken when they filed this episode. Too bad this wasn’t the real horsey heaven.

I missed the good place neighborhood so much! I loved seeing the tissue moment Michael told us about last season.

Your fears came true! That was a nice moment, though. JHud seemed genuinely happy. I'm not usually very good at keeping track of people at this stage, let alone making predictions. I preferred Chris to Micheal, but I thought the reaction to Michael showed he could be a threat to hang around a while. He might be Blake's best bet for the season. I haven't been too impressed with Team Blake overall though.

Thanks so much! Your explanation was helpful. It sounds like a pop star's version of hip hop. Such a strange choice of styles. I would think theatre/jazz would have been more up Kevin's alley. But there's a theatre/jazz option! I think Kevin (and likely an outside choreographer) kind of went the theatre route borrowing some elements of hip hop. IMO, she didn't pull of hip hop. I don't see Kevin from Grimbsy making the jump to the U.S. He'd be a fool to try it. The Strictly producers love him and he is one of the more well known pros. I would see less of him if he came here because Strictly>DWTS at this point.

Stacey had "street and commercial." Do you mean Ashley? She received 3 10's. I'm slightly bitter that Shirley gave that a 10 but not Faye considering Ashley is very close to Mark. The other judges scored them identically. I know Ashley judged a show over in the UK, but I can't adjust to seeing her a star. Speaking of "street and commercial," did Strictly explain what that style is? I assume it's something related to hip hop? Is this something British audiences would understand because I am an American and I am completely lost. I thought Stacey's dance was a mess and did not deserve the 9's she and Kevin got. I happy that we finally broke the pattern of having the lowest scorer leave when Danny was at the bottom of the leader board. His dance was strange. I don't know that I've ever seen someone lose their timing that badly in hold while seeming to have it together the rest of the time. I like him. I'm still missing some sort of electric performer this series.

Yep! Second new commercial I’ve seen. The first features Amy, Jake, and holt in a tub.

I did’t feel that Eleanor was forced to forgive her mother. I was worried that Michael was going to give some righteous speech after Eleanor realized why she was so upset with her mother, but he didn’t. He validated her feelings. It is awful that her mother couldn’t be the parent Eleanor needed. I’ll admit that I was so overwhelmed by that step that I didn’t quite absorb how she came around. I definitely didn’t get the sense that Elneaor was compelled to forgive and forget every bad thing her mother had done. She still expressed some of that residual anger in the car when she said she couldn’t tell anyone she loved them. My takeaway from the episode was more that sometimes it’s ok to feel bad.

This seems to be a theme: the soul squad is growing more than the people they are trying to save. I hope they are doing something more complex than just doing a reveal that Michael lied when he said they couldn’t get into the Good Place and they have now gained a lot more points while thinking they are doomed.

That was an emotional one. Both story lines got to me. I totally understand why Eleanor was so upset that "Diana" had finally become the mother Eleanor always wanted when it was too late. I also really appreciated that Michael didn't just dismiss those feelings. It got to me.

Seann and Katya leaving is for the best. Katya's choreography was cool this week, but Seann's dancing wasn't worth the circus. Lot's of struggling this week. I think Kate had the worst dance. I can't tell what the doctor did, I was so distracted by that costume that took over everything. The ringers are clearly in a league of their own. I was a little underwhelmed by the jazz, if I'm being honest. I want to like Faye better because I love Gio. Below them seems to be Kevin's partner (Stacy?) and Joe. I wish I could get more on board with them but neither is bringing much personality to the dances. I expect more personality for Joe, maybe its the ballroom dances that are making him feel flat. Danny might be the best combination of ability and performance for me.

I started out thinking "guilty" but switched really quickly when they dug up the body of the woman from Germany. It was a huge red flag for me that they wouldn't let the autopsy be done where she was buried and needed the states own expert to do it. Not only that, but the findings were way too heavy handed. It seemed like the prosecution was overplaying their hand there and manufacturing the evidence they wanted. At one point, a prosecutor argued that maybe Michael Peterson had seen the fall in Germany and basically used that to make Kathleen's death look like something that would be ruled an accident. I also was expecting to hear more witnesses talk about how they had seen cracks in the marriage. I was waiting to hear more about how Michael had been complaining about her nagging him or maybe him or Kathleen telling friends that the marriage was in trouble. I would expect to hear more of that if Michael did it. The other thing I can't shake is the blow poke. We know law enforcement knew it was not the blow poke because they found it early on and could see there was no blood or sign of damage. Not only is that a major Brady violation, but the prosecution relied on it because there were things about the death that they couldn't explain otherwise. If they thought Michael had committed murder without a weapon, they would have said so. They also didn't think it was an ordinary blunt object. They needed an object with the characteristics of the blow poke, but we know it wasn't the blow poke. What else could it have been? There is the reasonable doubt.

I liked bits of tonight’s episode (Tahani reacting to finding out who Donkey Doug is, Janet providing her own sound effects, Eleanor taking over Simone’s part of the simulator), butthe plot didn’t really work for me. Too much felt like it was unexplained or like it didn’t fit. It felt forced. I had a similar feeling about the brainy bunch experiment.

Tahanni always thought she was doing her charity for the greater good even though she was really doing it for her own vanity. Same thing here for Pillboi. He’s not really doing to good deeds for pure reasons.

They saved Pill Boy from committing more crimes, but he’s still not doing good things for the right reasons. He thinks he needs to avoid crime because of some secret mission. He may not be losing as many points, but he’s not going to gain many either.

I'm not particularly a fan of the guest sharks since several are too timid (clearly there are exceptions like RB). The guy tonight didn't have enough personality for me. I don't really get the critique that tonight's shark was no use outside of NYC. The bio they played mentioned his role in the Miami dolphins and a few sectors that he tends to invest in and he demonstrated knowledge of the restaurant industry. I think he was fine as an investor just a dud as a television personality.

I am very happy those kids got a deal. I couldn't believe how well they handled themselves. Once I heard their father was a firefighter on 9/11, I figured that they matched them with the guest shark who had been NYC press secretary on purpose. I also knew based on Damon's reaction and his past deals that there was no way he was letting those kids leave empty handed. Good for the sharks for doing that deal for charity. I hope they stick with it and help those kids become a success.

Per Wikipedia, the lowest scoring couple has gone home every week so far this series. That strikes me as unusual, in the past the worst dancer has frequently escaped the bottom 2 because of their popularity. I blame Graziano for not putting together a better cha cha for Vick. She should have been able to out score Seann and a few others this week. James and Ola have been all over Graziano for dancing off time. I know James also pointed out yesterday how strange it is to have Graziano with a celebrity while Neil Jones is just there as an extra. I assume they were going for eye candy with Graziano, but I don't think he's worked out.

It’s frustrating for me because I live in the US and I have given up on out version. The show still pretends to judge the Dancing, but so much of the comments and the reaction are based on the overall production. There are so many props and extra dancers that it doesn’t matter what the actual dancing looks like. Strictly has done a better job of keeping props limited to the start of the dance and still having the dancing matter. Charles is a great example bugs me about the “couples choice” thing. He’s been bottom 2 for 2 weeks. Now he gets to pick a style completely unrelated to anything else on the show and is near the top of the leaderboard. It’s completely out of left field and it creates the illusion of growth. It will also probably play well for Jeannette, who once again struggled to teach her partner ballroom. Ashley will do absurdly well too considering she was basically a backup dancer for the PCD.

I want Seann to go. It's too awkward and he's not worth the trouble. I also hated the guitar gimmick. Vick wasn't great, but I think the real difference in Seann and Vick is the skill of their partner. Stacey is becoming a typical Kevin partner. She's good, but the last two weeks she's been a touch over-scored. Kevin's reaction to the scores last week, after years and years of getting good scores on the show, was obnoxious. I really liked Danny. Good for Amy. Charles danced well, but I hate Strictly going further away from ballroom.

Afterlife time being “Jeremy Bearimy” and not linear can take care of that.

I saw it as a joke about throwing in something that didn’t belong. The recipe isn’t appropriate for an apology about sexual misconduct or a manifesto about the meaning of life.

Gen told Michael the humans can’t get in to the good place once they know the system. Michael told the humans they can’t get in to the good place once they know the system. It’s not Michael’s lie, it’s the truth. Even if Michael somehow thinks he came up with a brilliant trick, it strikes me as a simple cheat rather than a hell of a gambit. Just tell them there is no reward for them feels more classic sitcom than brilliant lie. It just seems so obvious. They can’t be motivated by a reward? Fine, tell them there is no reward for them. It’s too easy for me to find it a satisfying turn of events, if that is where the show is heading. I think (and hope) there is something bigger.

Didn't Judge Gen tell him that a few weeks ago? That if he tipped off the humans they could never get in to the Good Place? I think Michael believes that. Having it be a big lie feels too easy.