justawatcher

I'm going to go out on a completely unsupported limb here, and suppose the following: Swapnil's on drugs. Literally. They might be the prescribed kind, in which case, there's nothing they could do and to discuss on a filmed television program could prompt a lawsuit under the ADA. or, they might be of the party favor persuasion, in which case they might choose not to prosecute as it would have landed in the real time law enforcement news cycle rather than the delayed broadcast. Also, it might have been apparent behind the scenes for quite some time but lawyers may have told them to find a completely different reason to get his ass out of there. The end result though, is that we have speculated for weeks that he was smoking something other than tobacco. Perhaps we were right, but they can't say anything.

I agree. It was a delay caused by being people of color from the last leg. they couldn't overcome it. The shows also never showed just how far behind they were.

Swapnil will be back next week with the TGS. They would otherwise be short a week with Jake self-eliminating.

I picked the show up about 2006, when my son was 10. It was before he had any lightbulb of sexuality in general, much less straight vs. gay. My son would flit in and out while I watched the show and catch snippets and say "Oh, Tim's right about that" and such. And then one day we were out and about and a gay couple walked by and my son turns to me and says "That man sounded just like Tim Gunn" and it was so matter of fact and accepted and my son simply went on about his day. Tim Gunn's presentation influenced how a straight kid viewed gay men and absorbed and accepted. We need more Tim Gunns to set the example.

I just keep chewing on the cab at the end thing. I don't recall any other team having trouble getting cabs to the pit stop. The first 7 teams were all athletic, white people. No problem getting a cab. The last three teams were two teams of color and one with a visible disability (for lack of a better way to put it). We watched cab after cab pass all of them by. At what point does the production crew call in and say "You know what? We're having a situation of DWB here. We need to let them all continue on and get out of here." I felt like it really came down to which teams had the least bigoted cab driver and that bothers me. The Amazing Race has always been played fair. It has always been competition exclusive of age, race, or gender. Being eliminated should not come down to who finally got a cab to pick them up. If one of them had flubbed the detour or the roadblock...but they didn't. Bigot cab drivers should not influence the race. Stupid cab drivers? Certainly. But not like this. This is wrong. Edited to change my description of the cousins to "visible disability" which is more what I was trying to convey.

I'm rather glad they did the take a number thing on this one. Can you imagine the pushing, yelling, running, and fighting to get into (and then once in) a basilica in a Latin Catholic country? It might have resulted in some Top Gear level escape and evade action (coincidentally, also in Argentina) Instead, I guess they had a production member smacking them around off camera as everyone walked, had knees and shoulders covered, and spoke softly.

Who knows? Maybe the priest is a TAR fan. Sidenote: I went to Easter services in the Duomo in Milan a few years ago for the high mass service. They ushered all the tourists to the outside of the screened off sanctuary, but once one made it clear that they were there to worship rather than sightsee, they were welcomed in to the sanctuary area to worship. The rest of the tourists went by with their tour groups behind the screen.

- I want to formally apologize to Team TMZ. It turns out that they were reasonably spot-on with the Norman Bates and his mother description, although that applies to her, not to him. They judged the character of her in the space of LAX and that's really quite impressive. - Justin, shut up about alliances. This is not Survivor (as hard as CBS sometimes tries). This is The Amazing Race and in 27 seasons, no one has ever not made it to the next task because some other team withheld information. They've not made it due to bad cabs and no money and bad locals, but not because you didn't tell them the name of the church. Shut up. if I never hear one more word about alliances on TAR, I will be glad. - the male doctor is an ass. I realize editing is everything, but not one positive edit of him in two legs. There has to be a reason. - I have no problem with any of the teams except Justin and Mom, so no opinion on the rest right now. - I don't know the cultural politics of Argentina, but would it have been an issue getting a cab being a team of color? Two of the last three teams were teams of color, and the show may have edited the cousins in the same way so it wasn't blatant, but the thought did cross my mind, especially as the camera would have been on the sidewalk and not glaringly obvious until they all got in. - (Commenting on the situation, not the sexuality) Mom seems to continually infantilize James Earl. Wear pink, come out of my belly. She has the feel of an Alabama pageant mom who cannot accept that her son is grown and likes men in a sexual way. Like she goes squick at the thought of her baby boy engaging in a sexual act with anyone. I wonder what would happen if he brought home an uber masculine man as his partner? Or an older partner? I don't think she could hang. He is one of those who I would like to know more about separate from her.

The other thing very ironic about the whole mumsy/matronly thing is that I have much more disposable income at not-quite-fifty than I did at not-quite-twenty. Do you want to sell $100 pants or do you want to sell $19.99 pants? I like those mumsy/matronly/boring designs. I would get laughed out of my office and my job title if I wore some of the crap that gets pushed, including some of Michael Kors' current collections.

I'm going to defend Laurie: I think she had a classic case of disconnect between acceptable in fashion and acceptable on Lifetime and may have only discovered the difference upon returning to the workroom. Because: every real life designer this season (and about the last 3) has consistently sent down sheer with no bra. Gucci did it 3 or 4 times in last week's fashion show And then you've got this thing for Marchesa, MARCHESA, for God's sake: where you can (literally) see that she has a good waxer. Laurie lives in a fashion world where good, quality, good-selling, respected designers are sending nudity down the runway. It likely didn't even cross her mind that Lifetime would make her put pasties on. and then they weren't the correct flesh colored pasties and she couldn't go back to Mood for a different fabric. I think that's why they had her stay over Lindsey. Production may have told the judges they handicapped her after decision and fabric selection so she shouldn't held responsible. Just my guess. And thank you to TomandLorenzo.com for the Chrissy Teigen photo. I tried to find the duplicate on Google and couldn't.

Spoiler: I was on the E site looking at photos from Season 2 from the actors Twitter and Instagram accounts (granted, E published them so ...) not one shot of Ophelia or Ted. Yay! maybe they are gone?

As far as producer manipulated drama: lessee- we've had the Blake being precious, we've had the Ashley is fat/Mean Girls (that was never revisited), we've had the Marlene singing and disrupting the workroom(which was never revisited), we've had the Swapnil smoking and slacking off. Personally, I think they simply don't know what to do because the producers are hell bent on making a show about drama rather than letting a creative show evolve. Look at the Great British Bake Off. Has there ever been an ugly moment on the GBBO? Not that I can remember. Everyone is so polite, everyone is so supportive. And people watch. It's ok to not have drama. But Lifetime can't handle that. And, they have got to be running out of sponsors for the hair and makeup and the accessory wall. Something has happened behind the scenes to cheap it out- move to Brooklyn, quit shopping at Mood, no more L'Oreal, no more Michael Kors, no more great guest designers for judges, no more inspirational trips to Paris, no more Parsons. I have been watching past seasons and see what they used to have - Banana Republic, Macy's, Vera Wang, Catherine Maldonado, Roberto Cavalli, Miss America, Mattel, and the list goes on. So Kayne gets to make a dress for Miss America in the second episode of Season 3 and Blake glues Hallmark cards on muslin? Really? C'mon now. The Amazing race has been going longer and sponsors are still lining up to do product placement. What the hell happened at Project Runway that caused ALL these sponsors to leave and the replacement to always be one (or more) steps cheaper rather than an equivalent? Something rotten behind the scenes...

Underwear is supposed to get you laid! That men's collection...I'm trying to think of a time and place that a straight man would buy that underwear...OK, on vacation overseas, there's been a bit of digestive difficulty so your original supply is used but you can't go commando and this is what the little store near the hotel in Mykonos has available.

I have to disagree on the word "panties". Said in a sexy, gravely male voice, as in "Take off your..."

Ashley not getting the win: Heidi knows Ashley designs for plus size and Heidi is not going to put anything plus size next to her name. In order for Ashley to win, they would have had to manufacture the plus size, so - sorry Ashley. Same reason Joseph's or Jake's could have also reasonably won, but didn't. Heidi won't be selling matronly underwear on her site. Things for Heidi's line- they also do a Nina magazine challenge every season, they do a sponsor promo every season. How many items over the years have we seen for Sarah Jessica Parker, Banana Republic, Macy's, Lord and Taylor, etc? It's nothing new. Know who we HAVEN'T ever seen do a "do a piece for my collection" challenge? Michael Kors or Zac Posen. I found it extremely weird to have an underage minor from Disney as the judge for the lingerie episode. Who thought that through? Blake: guess his boyfriend ran out of favors. Or he really pissed off someone behind the scenes.

Both looks by Pucci. Both looks with very similar colors to the challenge.

I'm going to disagree on the fabric sabotage theory. I distinctly remember one of the blue team's talking heads saying that they decided before they began running for the fabric to get as much of the blue fabric as they could and then get the rest, so even before they sketched, they already knew what they wanted to accomplish. Even if they had ended up with blue, lime green, and neon yellow (which I believe were the colors), those colors do indeed blend together, just as pink, purple, and orange could have but didn't. Picture the blue team's designs exactly as they were but instead of blue, they were purple/lavender with the yellow traded out for the orange, and the exact same thing could have been accomplished. Colors had nothing to do with it. Execution did.

I am revising my cannon fodder order. I had Amanda, Blake, Jake, and Lindsey as the next four to go, then followed by Merline, Kelly, Joseph, and Laurie in some order. Now I am going to change that and say the next two people to go will be Merline and either Lindsey or Kelly, for two reasons: 1st- Blake and Jake bought themselves some time by doing well on the challenge and Blake defending Ashley. 2nd- there are 6 women left and they have to get rid of two of them to combine dorm rooms and get Candace and Ashley in the same one. Which means Merline is doomed. And then either Laurie if they want to go full on mean girl 3 against 1 or Lindsey or Kelly if they want to go tag team Laurie/Ashley and Candace/one who doesn't go.

What does bouncing 3 international contestants in a row have to do with anything? Can you justify that any of their garments from any of the three challenges projected them to be in the finals? I certainly cannot. Duncan stood up there on the initial challenge of "Show us who you are as a designer" and told Nina he hadn't yet found his voice. Had his garment been decent, they wouldn't have even spoken to him, but it wasn't. And some other designer somewhere who HAS found their voice didn't get to compete. David understood the cards were to have been the basis of the garment and yet he chose to do a muslin jacket with decorations from the cards. Were there other muslin based pieces? Of course, but his was the only one that had zero Hallmark cards on it, which really is a big F You to the sponsor. The others had cards, his had the card decorations. not even the cards were good enough for him. Hanmiao had an interesting view as a designer, but it wasn't ready to wear. I predicted her to go later in the game, but alas, she got screwed on the partner pick. I kind of expected Tim to use his save on her. Having said that though, she should have been savvy enough to understand that she was on the firing line with Edmund having immunity and she was the one who chose to fight. And that yellow thing in the first challenge was a monstrosity. Project Runway always sorts out its contestants with a few who will go all the way (usually 7 or so with the potential), some good TV, and some that were so unmemorable you wonder how they got cast (I figure those are the "do somebody a favor and put my kid on your show" contestants) like Gabrielle. Those first 9 to go? They could go in any order and it's up to them to extend their shelf life. Say what you will about Blake- he picked a bright print for that first dress, he used bright and fun colors for the Hallmark dress and got some cards on his muslin, and he made something with color and movement that would photograph well for Nina's wind machine. He's not long for this world, but he bought himself some more TV time.

It would seem to me, that a designer auditioning for PR would have a stable of designs in their mind ready to pull out as needed. Would you not think that each designer has a pant, a skirt, a cocktail dress, an evening gown, a businesswear, etc already plotted out long before they got there? A truly inspired designer may have also figured out a color scheme and a way to integrate all of their challenge looks into a cohesive "collection" and brand themselves. Would you not think that they have already practiced sewing those same designs in 6-8 hours at home? Even if just in muslin? And also know what fabrics they would make them in and how much they cost at Mood? Seriously, you know Edmund and Ashley have. As well, have they not all walked through various stores where they live and tried to figure out what was stocked at each one so they could pull it out on an unconventional challenge? I know a chef who was one of the 40 flown to LA for Hell's Kitchen but not chosen. He knew ahead of time that he was in the final selection process. Would these folks not know as well? Would you not either be wandering the aisles of Mood to know what they had and where it is or stalking their webpage to find out? C'mon now. There is endless possibility for preparation. Some of these folks are just not prepared. All three of the first three challenges had the materials supplied and all three were filled with color and print. It shouldn't be rocket science to figure out that that's what is wanted this season- color and print. So why do they all revert to black? And lastly, Blake has to have an older lover who has that "daddy" thing going on- not quite a M/s thing necessarily, but an "I'll take care of you, you precious little boy. Don't worry your pretty little head over it" kind of thing. If that is the case and he and his lover are surrounded by similar types, he may not have had that much grown up, stand on your own two feet interaction. I'm not in any way excusing it, but if he socialized in "daddy" circles, the comment about speaking Indian might have gotten him a pat on the head and a laugh instead of contempt. I think they're keeping him around for the inevitable meltdown/smackdown that's coming from people who won't praise that crap.

Personal thought on why Blake was given the win: it guarantees him for two more episodes- the next where he has immunity and the one after that where he could possibly go. They are running out of cannon fodder and he gives better TV than Amanda and Jake and Lindsey. Let's face it: the final four are likely Ashley, Candace, Edmund, and Swapnil. There could be some interesting things along the way for Laurie and Kelly and Joseph (who does have a market for his older woman look) and Merline. So, I think you will see Amanda, Jake, Blake, and Lindsay be the auf's in the next 4 episodes (order not important) and then I think the challenges will be structured in a way to keep the final four safe while highlighting the talents of Merline, Kelly, Laurie, and Joseph. I don't think they are on crack- they are actually producing good TV, and they haven't auf'ed anyone wrong yet- just perhaps in the wrong episode. I would have sent both Gabrielle and Hanmiao home in that first episode if there hadn't been the more horrific thing to go first.

I'm pissed off/frustrated at George Martin and HBO. HBO knew that there were 16 years between book 1 and book 5. Why did they think he would start writing any faster? Martin must have some kind of contractual control over what they showrun vs the books because this entire season felt like filler while waiting for Martin to get book 6 done. When I saw the Dothraki come around for the second time, it enforced that nothing new had happened on this show for two seasons. They either need to get it in gear or I'm done. It's time to move this story along, with or without Martin. And to Martin, I would say this: you sold the rights to your story knowing that this might happen. If you want to be in charge of the characters, plot, and speed, then get your ass busy writing. If not, you signed it away just like an author to a movie script.

On the white walker guy resurrecting the dead: I took it as if you get killed by a white walker or wight, then you get resurrected into the group, but if you're dead in a cemetery, you stay dead.

If Ramsey goes out and gets himself killed/crippled and Sansa turns out to be pregnant, does that kid survive? Could she murder her own child knowing Ramsey was the father? Because I can't figure out where else that is going and she looked pregnant in the first shot. Then she stood up and she wasn't but it sure looked like it to start.

On the show moving very slow: I will posit that the first time (I am aware of, since I don't read the damn books) the writers went "off-book" was in the Blackwater episode. Some character said something about some military thing being 200 ft when in the book it was 400 ft and the book readers collectively lost their minds!! They are obsessed with every detail exactly matching Martin's books and raise hell when they don't. In addition, I went and looked at Wikipedia (and thank you Wikipedia for designing the page with no spoilers. Yay!) for the book publication dates and they started in 1996 with an average of 3-4 years between them, taking a total of 15 years to get the first 5 written. Wikipedia says there are two more books to go (as of now) so I think the showrunners are simultaneously trying to keep an HBO series going, kick a writer in the ass to write faster, and realizing that if they want to do the rest of this, they are going to have to make up the ending and do it. But, I also think the author isn't going to give up control of the end of this story and we may quickly be at that point where the characters completely diverge from the books and turn into fanfic. HBO has done it before (looking at you, True Blood) so it wouldn't surprise me. What I do know if that if we are going off-book, it's time to go off-book and quit with some of this stuff and move this story along. Commit to telling the HBO version of GoT and quit worrying about the George Martin version of GoT. @SimoneS- Roose Bolton calls her Fat Walda because Frey offered him any of his daughters in marriage and the dowry was the daughter's weight in coin. So Roose, being the practical man he is, choose the fattest one to get the most money for a dowry. From all appearances, he treats her well and she has survived at least a year as his wife and appears happy.