Bastet

Here’s my fundamental problem with Stephanie Dunn as the killer in “Hindsight”: Why did she kill Tamika with The Uzi, so that the old case would be brought back up, rather than with a gun that has no bodies attached to it? Yes, because Jeremiah was killed, too, it became a major crime and the connection to the Reese murders effectively distracted them for a while. But Stephanie didn’t know she was going to need a smokescreen; she didn’t think Jeremiah would be in the car that late. If she had “just” killed a black drug dealer in that neighborhood, which is what she thought she was doing, it would have been largely ignored by the LAPD, just like all the other homicides of its kind, and she’d have gotten away with it. Even once she killed Emile, too, because Tamika’s connection to him/the Reese murder was unknown. So Tamika’s murder would have gone unsolved, considered just another drug/gang killing in a bad neighborhood, Emile’s would have been accepted as an accidental OD or suicide, and Stephanie - having eliminated the two people who could say hey, the murders of her husband and Rachel Grey weren't actually part of the Reese murder - would be set for life. But I like the way they set her up – I like Little Weezy not knowing the phrase “hook, line, and sinker” and really like that we can see Julio going over to Steph’s desk and then coming back and putting something in his. It’s subtle, and I didn’t notice it on first viewing, but whenever I watch it knowing that he switched her gun, I'm tickled that we can see him doing something, we just don’t know what until after the fact. And I love Sharon telling Taylor, no, that’s not why men follow the women who break up with them. My first time watching, I didn’t figure out Stephanie was the killer until Julio realized there was corn starch on the gloves. In subsequent viewings, I can see I should have been onto her once they started laying out their case against Hickman; if it wasn’t him, it had to be someone with all the same access – we can rule out Mike, so that leaves Stephanie Dunn and Sherry Hickman, and Dunn is the one who is also privy to all the present-day information and works in Narcotics. Or maybe I should have suspected her from the moment Julio was interested in her, heh. Poor Julio, for his first foray back into actual dating to end in such disaster, but “as first dates go, it was pretty bad” makes me laugh. I think my favorite part of this episode is the scene at the condo, with Sharon gathering her stuff for work while Rusty goes on about his other mom, and Gus walks into the middle of it to get ignored by Rusty and welcomed by Sharon. I love the sorry about him look she gives Gus when Rusty is short with him, and that she gives him a hug good-bye after giving Rusty a kiss; it’s such a sweet, natural moment indicating Gus’s growing integration into their routine that I almost like Gus and Sharon’s relationship better than his and Rusty’s, ha. (But it contains one of my few irritations with product placement on this show: Sharon Raydor would not drink Maxwell House coffee.) And I like Sharon prompting Rusty into setting Gary up to confessing his way into a mandatory life sentence, and Rusty’s glance at the camera and parting line when he gets it done. In the midst of all that, though, it’s sad that Rusty fixates so much on who hit him and whose idea it was to leave him at the zoo; his mom had the far greater obligation to him than Gary did, so there isn’t a lot of difference between what she did and what she went along with/allowed, but he’s always looking to lessen her actions. I’ve really liked Sherry Hickman throughout this arc, the various ways they show that, because she used to be a cop, she knows all of “our” people. I like Andrea noting people tend to forget she was a good cop. And I love her saying in this episode that Mike and everyone else who decided to keep Mark’s secret took sides; they were both fellow officers, so screw this “it was personal, I didn’t want to get involved” stuff – both Sherry and Mark were these people’s friends and co-workers, and everyone decided to let her come into work every day looking like a fool. The wedding is nice, and I really do think Patrice will be the last Mrs. Provenza. I like the mayor’s reaction to how they met, the cute little moment between Provenza and Andy when Provenza hands him his hat to hold and Andy shakes his hand, Morales noting the minorities feel safer clumping together, and Mike being left with his hand hanging in the air when the mayor doesn’t know who he is. “Present Tense” isn’t great; I find season five takes several episodes to really get going. I hate the Ponds, so the various reactions to them are my favorite parts of the episode. Given her history with Rusty, Sharon’s reaction to learning they stopped the adoption process of Tucker – the child they’d had for years, loved, and who called them Mom and Dad - ¾ of the way through is obviously terrific, but Mike is just as horrified, because it’s just that horrifying. We don’t even need to add on them calling homeless people “vagrants” and theorizing their daughter helped them just to irritate her parents to say these people seriously suck. I’m also quite irritated with the head of Care First, with all her complaining about the lack of attention paid to Amanda’s disappearance and lumping it in with the LAPD’s overall lack of concern over what happens on Skid Row. Because it’s bullshit. This is a young white girl. The only reason Missing Persons initially sticks to policy is that she has a recent runaway history, with the same boyfriend she’s presumed to be with now. Once doubt is cast on that scenario, they in fact ignore policy and investigate before the usual window has passed, going so far as bringing in Major Crimes. There’s also TV’s usual presentation of the homeless population. Sharon’s interaction with “the Admiral” is amusing, but overall – and especially including the deleted scene with the men living at the Pond’s other home – it’s just a lesser version of the usual crap. The timing not matching up is also a niggling irritation to me; Amanda went missing Friday night, but there are several conflicting indications of whether we’re joining the story on Saturday or Sunday; it should be Sunday, and sometimes it plays that way, but sometimes it plays like Saturday. But Julio’s discovery of Amanda’s body, and brief refusal to accept it is a body, is well done. And, while Tucker’s confession is incomplete (they wouldn’t let him skip over how “things got out of hand”), I like how it highlights the plight of kids who age out of the foster care system, and the specific circumstances of how what is quite naturally annoying to a privileged kid like Amanda is a home someone like Tucker can’t imagine being unwanted. And I like Sharon’s exasperation with the youngsters’ means of communication, and suggesting Rusty write Gus a note (and that it works). And Rusty shutting down Gus’s contention that because Andy spends the night all the time, he should be able to, by saying she’s the one who pays the mortgage and he’s not going to wake her up to ask. (But it’s really funny that Gus doesn’t specify Andy, instead saying, “She has overnight company a lot” like Sharon has a revolving door of men spending the night.) I’ve always been amused by Patrice labeling Provenza’s lunch container with “Louie”, thinking in terms of their refrigerator at home – who else’s lunch would it be, since she doesn’t have to pack a lunch for herself, being retired – and tonight it finally dawned on my dense brain that it’s for the refrigerator at work, to distinguish his meal from that of any of his coworker’s. Andy responding to Sharon acknowledging they’ve been taking things slow by saying “any slower and we’d come to a complete stop” coupled with some “finally” comments of Provenza’s to come do still puzzle me, though; I don’t think their trajectory is unusually slow. They’ve both gone a long time between serious relationships and there’s a lot at stake, so I don’t think they’re overdue for moving in together. (And I love the deleted scene that is a different take of the final scene, with Sharon's WTF am I getting myself into? reaction being more overt; I find it more true to the character [as did Mary McDonnell].)

Oh my, the deer farmers playing vet have no clue what they're doing. That kitten looked horrible! What a rough start in life. Like Dr. Emily and the rescuer, I was glad to see him make a fuss. I'm annoyed we didn't get an update. I cried along with King's owners; like Dr. Emily said, they come in thinking they're just dealing with a sprain or something, and soon find out their dog has cancer that effectively cannot be treated. It was unequivocally the right decision to euthanize then rather than try pain meds/steroids to see if they could get him feeling well - if it worked, it would probably be weeks rather than months, and it probably wouldn't have worked, because his quality of life was already pretty bad; he was just too far behind the 8 ball. The way the girl's leg started shaking when she found out really got to me, and then when she just buried her face in his fur and cried as they gave the shot I had no choice but to cry along with her. Poor Phoebe being dragged in and out for her check-ups; if she wasn't walking at home, either - poor thing! It seems horrible to only splint a compound fracture, but if goats don't do well with anesthesia, I guess surgical repair wouldn't even be possible? I'm glad they finally made good progress, and hope she made a full recovery. The owner of the Yorkie with seizures, Owen, looks familiar; we have seen her as a client before, haven't we? I was surprised to hear Dr. Pol say he was borderline diabetic; given the day he'd had - five seizures! - the elevated blood glucose was more likely a stress response (if he has an infection, that can also raise the blood sugar; there are causes other than diabetes). Dr. Sharkey cuddling Tia, the dog who ate a sock, upon putting her in the cage after surgery was cute. Dr. Emily's daughter looks a lot like her. I hope she asked the clients if they minded before bringing her in the exam rooms with her, but assuming she did, I like how the girl wanted to see the gross stuff. "Am I going to say 'Ew'?" was funny. As were Dr. Emily's total mom half-listening responses to her series of questions.

I'm a Los Angeles native, who's always gone to school with kids of actors, had friends whose parents worked behind the scenes in the industry, etc. and who worked for a record label for about five years when I was first starting out. So it wasn't my daily life, but seeing and even talking with celebrities wasn't ever anything new to me. But the first time I met Gillian Anderson (I've met her a few times at charity events), I stood there like a tongue-tied fool. I have no idea what actually came out of my mouth, because it was something of an out-of-body experience, but she didn't look horrified or perplexed so I guess I managed to come across as just mildly nervous. The next time I met her, she complimented me on my necklace, and I had to resist the urge to wear it daily. (And, on the subject of celebrity compliments, Katherine Helmond once told me I had beautiful hair.) I also kind of froze when I met Gloria Steinem. It was after a protest march and rally in San Francisco, and I turned a corner and damn near ran into her. She was carrying a takeaway bag from the deli I was heading to, so I babbled a bit about sandwiches before getting myself together and talking about the protest. Getting back to charity events, which is where a lot of my celebrity encounters have occurred (those, airports/airplanes, and grocery stores make up most of them), and sticking with celebrities I have been really excited to see, I was at a Feminist Majority Foundation event in the late '90s, milling around before the program started, and spotted Tyne Daly, whom I knew was going to be there. She had her mom and daughter (still a kid) with her, so I did not approach her. But I soon heard her say to her mom, "I talked to Gless, and she's coming" - something I had not known - and proceeded to quietly freak my shit at an impending Cagney & Lacey reunion (and, indeed, when Sharon Gless arrived, the assembled press went crazy for shots of the two of them together). That was a great night all around; it was also the night Sidney Poitier touched me. 🙂 This was after the program (in which he had participated), and we were in a somewhat crowded corner of the room the theatre exited into. He put his hand on my back to keep me from getting jostled, and then pardoned himself with that terrific smile on his face as he made his way towards another area. I was giddy.

Did anyone like the revival season? Because I finally re-watched the original series and movie, and, wow, I'd forgotten just how off the rails it went. No one I know who watched season three as it aired liked it, and the Blu-Ray of it is ridiculously expensive, so no way I'm springing for that, and I'm not even sure if I want to spend $17 on the DVD at this point. As bad as things got, though, the "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" batch of episodes are really great. I had forgotten so much, but who did it being one of the few things I did remember did not at all lessen my enjoyment watching it all unfold the second time around. My favorite thing about the series, that existed all the way through, is the relationship between Dale Cooper and Harry Truman. I love that they never once went down the tired road of friction between local law enforcement from the FBI, that Sheriff Truman was happy to have him there from jump and Agent Cooper was charmed by the town and population. I mean, I enjoyed Miguel Ferrer's character coming in and complaining about everyone and everything, too. But I love that the fundamental relationship of the show is one of professional cooperation that quickly grows into friendship. So that Michael Ontkean isn't in the revival is one of my hesitations about it. (That Lara Flynn Boyle is also absent thrills me, though - she bugged!) I'm sure curiosity is going to win out and I'm going to want to see it, even if I wind up not liking it any better than my friends did. But it's disconcerting how universally disliked it was among them, so I'm curious if the same holds true here or I just have a particularly negative circle of viewers in my life.

I don't remember why I hated the Manhattan episode, but I distinctly remember that I did. Oh, wait - wasn't there a scene with Monk on the street that went on forever? That was one reason.

I, too, am a Yankee Julia Sugarbaker -- and a drinker, so I need to know where these bars are!

Yes, a friend of mine. The sleep guy told her what she needed to do to sleep better was sleep alone (duh). She said she had no problem banishing her husband to the guest room, but she couldn't kick out the cats.

I love her thoughts on what she didn't want her character to be:

Wow. I mentioned during Mark Peel’s appearance (in which he lost in the first round with a passion fruit cocktail [only the cocktail, and not a great one at that, so an odd choice for him to put forward]) that – in addition to being surprised by his boneheaded move since he’s got major cred as one of the top go-to chefs for California cuisine and some good restaurants under his belt - I know his second ex-wife, Nancy Silverton (a similarly-accomplished chef and restaurateur in Los Angeles), as an acquaintance. Which means not enough to know what happened with their marriage and divorce, but after seeing Peel’s third wife on tonight's episode, I hope Silverton left him. Because if he left her in favor of taking up with this twit, yikes. I mean, sure -- ha ha that she got further than Peel despite not even being a chef, but she's ... not good. And annoying. She can't pronounce "chipotle" (to be fair, neither can Bobby) or Alton, or discern the difference between a frittata and a pizza, or generally behave like an adult (again, to be fair, she's not alone in that). I do love tomato bacon jam, but challenging Bobby Flay to a sandwich throwdown and then veering so far off course was not wise. Her sandwich wouldn't be bad, I'm sure, but it was never going to beat anything Bobby came up with. I hardly ever say this about a woman, but she got on this show because of her husband - her connection to Prawn is in name only; she is a home cook - and, while I don't think he's the reason she progressed to round two, I'm irked by her. I'm sure other challengers have made the first cut based partially on reasons that have nothing to do with culinary prowess. This just happens to be one of the few in which I have the slightest personal interest and it stands out.

I agree, because it wasn't about one specific kiss from one specific woman - she's not looking to go explore something with that bartender - but what her reaction to that kiss represents, igniting something she's suppressed for years into something she can no longer ignore. I like that his reaction wasn't to don a PFLAG shirt and proclaim "Of course you need to finally explore the feelings you've been pretending not to have, and I support you 100% in this journey to your true self," because his "WTF does this mean for me and the life we've built together over decades?" reaction is incredibly realistic for someone blindsided and hurt. And it hints at great things like explored on Grace and Frankie, where a cheated-on spouse is asked to better accept the betrayal when it's with a same-sex partner after a lifetime of suppressed - and oppressed - feelings than would be expected upon fooling around with just another partner of the opposite sex (how there is a difference, and how there isn't). But I also like the way she's handling it, because she's being honest in order to avoid that betrayal. She can't avoid hurt, once she realizes she can't ignore this any longer, but she can be up front and let him make his own decisions with eyes wide open, just as she's going to do. A woman kissed her. She didn't take it any further, and she told her husband about it and, most importantly, the long-suppressed confusion it forced her to confront. He's entitled to every negative emotion he feels, and to whatever - within reason, of course - action he takes in response, but she's not being a thoughtless or lying-by-omission ass. It's messy, and thus astoundingly realistic for something set in this universe.

It's an acronym - it stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure - so the capital letters are standard, and periods are generally not used. They can't help it that a P and an R look similar. And it's pronounced see-pap, so it doesn't sound anything like crap.

Hmm. "Blank Space" is the only Taylor Swift song I've ever liked, and that's in an "I can't believe I like this song!" way, but I think I legit like "Lover". Not the video, really, because there's something about her I find mildly annoying to watch. But just listening to the song, yeah, I dig it. But it kind of gets worse as it goes on, so I think I'll get sick of it if I hear it on the radio a lot.

Like @aquarian1, I've sat next to several celebrities on airplanes over the years, and normally talked very briefly with them, if at all. I know I mentioned this in the other Celebrity Encounters thread (there's one in Movies, too, but they're both about all kinds of celebrities), but it has been a while, so -- by contrast, Ray Charles was quite the Chatty Cathy. We talked off and on throughout the flight, almost always - and, in the beginning, always - at his instigation. Just general chit chat for several minutes at a time. I once sat behind Dick Clark and his wife (when I went to book my ticket, my usual seat - front row, left window - wasn't available, and it turned out to be because Mrs. Clark was in it ... and, yes, she had her hair in whatever you call that thing on top of her head she usually sported), and overheard some of his conversation with the flight attendant; he seemed very pleasant, and that voice was just so unmistakable and soothing. Melissa Rivers and her young son sat behind me once; he was very well behaved - and she quickly put the kibosh on any attempts at acting up - and he talked about "Grandma" a lot (we were flying from LA to NY, so perhaps they were on their way to see Joan). Then there was the time I was on a flight to Boston that was going on to Paris, and seated across from me were a pair of models whom I vaguely recognized but whose names I do not know, headed to Paris for a fashion show. We had a male flight attendant, and I practically had to make my own food, he was so busy chatting them up (sure, dude, they're going to join you at the airport hotel). I know this is another repeat from the other thread, but airplane encounters takes me to airport lounge encounters and I just have to reiterate how frakkin' fine Rob Lowe is in person. I used to also see him back home, because the Mexican restaurant where I held my staff meetings (discussions always go better with margaritas!) was also one where he met with his people, but in an airport lounge, we sat just one chair apart and talked about the NFL draft, that we were both watching on the lounge TV.

But she didn't suspect. I know airing them out of order caused that incredibly unfortunate implication (and ticked off Gillian Anderson [not to mention me, and to this day, as you're all about to be subjected to yet again]), but as Never Again was written, performed, and edited, Scully had no cancer worries going on. First, Never Again was written. So Scully's actions are predicated on four years of feelings about the path her life has taken (and Gillian, Morgan, and Wong's desire to finally get into the dark side of that), not any one thing - not even solely about Mulder's behavior, and certainly not about a cancer scare that doesn't yet exist. Next, Leonard Betts was being written. During that process, they found out Darin Morgan's script, which was supposed to be the next episode, definitely wasn't forthcoming (he's notorious for needing months on end to complete a script). Having to decide whether to move an episode up or write a new one (to take the place of Darin's missing script) in the midst of writing about a guy who eats cancer sparked a revisit of the heated discussion in the writer's room during the summer hiatus, when they'd argued about whether or not to give Scully cancer at some point (because they'd established that all the other abductees developed cancer, so did they have to follow through or was that not the right tone for the series); the "yes, cancer" faction (it had been a pretty even split) had won, but CC had not made a final decision on when in the season (or maybe even not until next season) they'd pull the trigger on that storyline. So, the decision was made to tack on the "I'm sorry, but you've got something I need" and nose bleed to Leonard Betts, and quickly crank out (which is why Memento Mori took so many writers four were credited) a script to follow that, in which she is diagnosed. Fast forward a couple of months, with all three episodes in the can, and FOX was scheduling its post-Super Bowl programming. The network wanted Leonard Betts - a more traditional episode, well-poised to draw yet more new viewers to the series (remember, this is not far into the switch from Fridays to Sundays, which was about the network wanting to expand XF's popularity; they were in love with the ratings, and wanted to take them higher and higher, and in fact LB wound up being the show's most-watched episode) - to air instead of Never Again, which would have aired that night had it been just another Sunday. Thus, the switch -- LB aired first, then NA, then MM.

I am quite happily not a mother, but I truly doesn't understand the lactation police. Breast feeding is great and we need to support it (time and access, not freaking the hell out over exposure to a boob or judging at what age a baby is weaned, etc.). But formula also provides balanced nutrition. So for whatever reason a woman is using it instead of breastfeeding - whether she can't or doesn't want to do the latter - she's providing her baby with a healthy alternative. We need to support that choice, too. There's not some wide gulf in nutritional quality, so I don't understand behaving as if giving a baby formula instead of breast milk is akin to feeding a child french fries and cake for every meal. If a mother fills her infant's bottle with juice, or soda, or coffee, or beer, go right ahead and judge. But formula? Come on! My peeve is mylar balloons. Too many people are careless about hanging onto them (or just deliberately release them!), and, in addition to the potential danger - especially to animals - posed by wayward regular balloons when they come back down, they can - and do, with disturbing frequency - cause power outages. They are just not worth it.