Bastet

The first season is excellent, even when you can tell they're tinkering a bit, deciding what will change and what will remain the same. While there was no Provenza/Flynn caper in those ten episodes, it seems deliberate that they made the fourth episode a comedic one, to assure the audience the occasional forays into wacky cases/characters would continue in the new series. (And then, in the same slot of season two, they aired a Provenza/Flynn caper, to assure the audience those would continue as well.)

Probably his "calm Psalm palm" answer (instead of "calm palm Psalm") to "A sedate date tree that's the subject of a Biblical poem".

Same here -- my problem with the inconsistency is that they sometimes do let incorrect answers of that nature slide, not that they didn't do it this time.

Remember, no, as that was a whole 16 hours ago. 🙂 But, per the archive, it was the $600 clue in American Idols (game two): The legendary Dick Clark was an idol of mine [this was presented by Ryan Seacrest] growing up; we both started out as D.J.s, me in Los Angeles & Dick in this city where he first hosted "American Bandstand". James pointed at Brad and said "Ha Ha" then gave the correct response of Philadelphia. Folks laughed, and Brad said, "No need to rub it in." It seemed all in good fun.

That's all there is to it - Brad is from Pennsylvania, but James beat him to the buzzer and got to answer that clue, so he directed a "Ha!" at Brad.

I think my favorite of this is LaGuardia on Cagney & Lacey. He was the most tertiary of the squad characters, and well past eligible for retirement even when the show opened, so it wasn't remotely weird for this most supporting of supporting characters to no longer be involved with cases without any fanfare. When Sidney Clute died (of cancer), LaGuardia wasn't killed, he was just quietly said to have retired (to spend time with his new wife/girlfriend, whom we'd "met") but continued to be occasionally mentioned by the rest of the squad - and the actor remained in the opening credits for the remainder of the series.

I love those types of clues and am very good at them, but trying to figure them out before these champs did was quite a challenge (I never once beat them, and I only said the answer semi-simultaneously three times; "Goodnight Moon Over Miami Dolphins" was my best, then pleasant pheasant present, and I can't even remember the third, and otherwise I was on word one as they finished answering) -- for them to be that much better under game conditions than I am at home is a prime example of what great players they are. As is the fact I was frequently struggling to spit out my answer before the first one of them did. I may need to switch from cocktails to wine until this is over, because I felt a bit overwhelmed tonight. Team Brad for writing his name normally - and coming in, since the other two can annoy me, but only after extended exposure, which isn't an issue here - but with no real oomph behind it as these are little things; I just enjoyed the contestants' play and camaraderie and Alex's enjoyment. Brad has dug himself quite a hole with those DD blunders, so I'm glad I'm not overly invested in his victory Did we really - especially in this level of play - need the audio portion of the "recorder" clue? (No, we did not, but it was fun to finally say an answer well before they did because they had to wait.) The Guantanamo Bay clue in game one had no place in a DJ round, either. Nor did the Raul Castro clue in game two. Dolly Parton as a picture clue was unconscionable. Overall, though, quite appropriate to the tournament. My "I'm screwed" eye roll upon revelation of the first game's FJ category could be seen from space. And, indeed, "I have no idea" was my first response. And my final answer. No surprise they all got it, though. But I got the second FJ even though Brad didn't, so good for me. Just two TS tonight, is that right? It's as it should be at this level; contestants frequently talk about how any given clue can likely be answered by all of them, and it's just a matter of who rings in first or lands on the DD, so at this level I expect minimal clues that none of them can come up with in time. Good for Ken winning a good game, but as a J! contestant who parlayed that into a writing career, did he really say, "Me and a friend decided to try out [for the show]"?! Not just in real time, but in a package on which he had final cut? Please tell me I had one drink too many and heard that wrong in his "about me" package in game two.

Better than going with Rose's family recipes -- you won't have many repeat guests if you serve yak intestine crackers, eggs gafloofen and pigs in a svengabluten as appetizers, herring pie casserole as the main dish, vanskapkaka for dessert, and finish the night off for anyone left with spearhuven krispies as a midnight snack.

Maybe she did and got beat on the buzzer both times? Although, she didn't know the nonpartisan DD. She still has my respect, but I bet that was embarrassing for her. Sad for Karen to lose in the episode Alex started by talking about all the annoying men who’ve had good runs and contrasting her as just a normal woman who played the game. Of course, that’s not how he phrased it, and not how he meant it, but I like the Karens of the world a lot better than the Austins, Buzzys, and Jameses of the world, so that’s how I feel about it. But I’m not certainly not mad at someone like Lisa taking over after playing a great game, so I was just glad to finally see a game after missing several altogether and relying on the archive for quite a few before that. And I got a good laugh out of her "Who is that soccer guy?" answer for FJ. I knew it had to be a male soccer player, and after quickly figuring Beckham - who first sprang to mind - was well past his popularity prime, came up with "That guy in his underwear. Christian Something. No, Cristiano." I didn't get to his last name in time. I’m surprised Longfellow was a TS after Karen just screwed up the first name. And that Dubai was a TS when "Emirates" was shown in the photo (meaning it pretty much had to be Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and was most likely Dubai, yet the only guess was Singapore instead of even a city in the UAE).

Yep. (It's sold on Amazon, too.)

She survived depression and drug addiction, and then cancer comes along and she barely makes it into her 50s. That's rough.

Not only do bartenders recognize the customer from last week, they remember what she/he was drinking and and how she/he paid. Even though the customer had a few beers and paid by credit card, not something memorable like drinking six alien orgasms and paying with nickels.

Eh, they're under such tight deadlines and work for assholes who won't accept "I was trying to help the murder police figure out who gutted my neighbor like a fish" as a reason for delay, so I let the delivery guy slide more than the executive in his corner office. (Yes, I know the real reason is simply that it's more visually interesting to have movement in the scene rather than just three people standing there talking.)

Absolutely, that's his entire MO -- updated facilities, equipment, and procedures all exist, and the clinic can afford them, but if the old way works, he sticks with it, even where the new way would work better.

I can relate. When I was quite fond of frozen meals for the first few years I lived on my own, my peeve was how many contained peas. I like snow peas, but not regular peas (even fresh, and certainly not the ones found in frozen meals). Thankfully, a friend moved in with me for a couple of those years, and one of her cats loved peas, so I could set them aside as I ate and then put the plate o' peas down for him when I was done. So, no waste at least, but those suckers seemed ubiquitous. I've never bought a bag, just individual peppers, but it annoys me when I want to make sausage and peppers and cannot find one pepper each in red, green, yellow, and orange in basically the same size. It's easy to use the excess of whatever color(s) in something else, of course, and I know it's utterly ridiculous to have a peeve with nature being asymmetrical when my usual fit is how factory farms (whose products I mostly avoid) grow for uniformity rather than taste, but sometimes all that's available from local farms of one or two colors is really off from the rest, and it aggravates me for a moment.

YES! I love Seattle's play call on 3rd down, and of course love even more that it worked to put the game away.

Per the halftime report, Jason Garrett finally officially got the boot.

Yeah, Gregory is the right answer, and Gregorian is wrong, so I'm glad she didn't get credit. It's annoying that they're not terribly consistent, and it really bugs me the times they accept things like that - paying proper attention to the clue's wording is part of the game.

Well, boo, to the Saints losing, but that was another good game to watch. Now, go Seahawks!

I only watched during breaks in football play, so I'll have to watch a repeat in its entirety, but the conversation between the Dorchester parolee and his son both warmed and broke my heart; it's lovely that he's using his regrets as motivation to finally be a positive role model for his son, and that the son is rooting for him instead of resenting him, but it's sad to hear the child in a relationship sound like the adult. That's the kind of motivational speech you're supposed to give as a parent, not get from your adolescent child. That kid has too much weight on his shoulders, trying to concentrate on school so he can eventually use higher education as a way out of a tough neighborhood and worrying about the father he has grown up without. I hope he has a great mother and maybe extended family; if he's turned out so well in spite of everything in his life working against him, that would be very impressive but also incredibly sad. The only thing I saw of the adopters who backed out was the husband making a point of walking around to open his wife's car door, despite her not appearing to have any physical limitations making it difficult for her to do it herself, so I gave him the side eye and went back to football. I then saw the boat testing, which was adorable -- one would think that dog was born on a boat for how well she took to it. And finally I saw Tia tell M2 about the it's off/no, it's back on weirdness with the adopters. I'm glad Tia made the decision for them; if the dog is someone he's going to use as a power play every time they fight (just my supposition, obviously), that's not a good home.

Same, and I'm an NFC fan - the idea that I'll wind up far more jazzed about Wild Card weekend (which I love; there are ways in which it's my favorite round of the playoffs) on the AFC side than NFC is a bit foreign, but today's games have created a lot to live up to. For all my issues with the NFL, the playoffs always remind me why I still love the game so damn much.

I hadn't seen "The Ecstasy and The Agony" in its entirety in a while, so I was hoping the Patriots would lose by 8:00. Alas, it took longer, and my post-game euphoria continued to distract me, but I still saw more of it than last time. Thorn (or "Prick") was always an obnoxious cartoon of a character, made all the more difficult to watch now knowing what an asshole Michael Weatherly is, but the other characters' reactions to him keep it a fun episode. My favorite thing about it may be one of the little moments this series does so well: Provenza standing in the background, while Sharon and Andy question Thorn, using his fingers to calculate how much it would cost him to engage Thorn's life coach intuitive life strategist services for 15 minutes. I love all of Sharon's reactions to Provenza getting caught up in the idea of a life coach; such great facial expressions and physical gestures. I also love Fritz wondering at "unmitified". His reading of the script pitch overall is great, as is Morris musing they should have wired up the women's phones. I like Provenza sending Buzz off on a coffee run once Sharon justifies using Buzz to drop Rusty off at school, but a nonfat vanilla latte doesn't sound like a Provenza drink. Is there precedent for that from The Closer (which I don't know nearly as well)? And, of course, I love everything with Sharon and Rusty. Her trying to get him out of bed in the morning always makes me want to send the opening clip to my mom and ask, "Bring back memories?" Their conversation in the car is great ("it's hard to believe you're not more popular") and the scene in her office is even better. Heading into that, she puts an end to Provenza's questioning by telling him she's told him what she wants done, does she really need to phrase it as an order, and then she comes in and just hands that hypocritical priest his ass ("Let's review the events as I understand them" had me grinning in anticipation the first time I watched it). Rusty loves it, and thinks he's off the hook, only to discover he's just last in the line of people being schooled by her on their behavior. Finally there's the sweet scene at the end (during which Sharon is packing them each a lunch for the next day, which I find really cute) when Rusty says he can follow the rules and be civil, but asks for 30 days notice when he's going to have to start over someplace new, because this is temporary. "It's true; whatever happens here, you will one day go off on your own and be the new kid again. But wherever you go, and no matter when, you'll never be a stranger to me. I will always know you ... whether you like it or not." I truly believe that if Philip Stroh had dropped dead the next day, meaning they no longer needed Rusty as a material witness, Sharon would have told Rusty she'd keep fostering him until he finished high school. It's also interesting to learn Sharon employs the silent treatment in (at least some) personal disputes, where she has room to leave someone to think about their actions - and can be a little less mature - as opposed to going toe to toe in professional ones. Roma Strauss cracks me up with her recounting of Agent Morris wanting to send them to Tulsa. "Like anyone would believe we are the McDougals." Also the way she nags her son (especially about drinking water). She's a cartoon, too, but the actor grounds her with that scene at the end when she tells what she knows to lessen her son's sentence. Speaking of the son, "You killed your father because you didn't want to live in Oklahoma?" makes me laugh, since I got dragged to Oklahoma every three summer vacations as a kid to visit my dad's family and hated it. Also because Sharon's incredulous delivery of that question and Andy's "all fourteen years?" response to the kid talking about his "whole life" are perfect. Because I like the way this cast got along so well, and love the Sharon-Fritz relationship, one of my favorite behind-the-scenes photos is from this episode:

Indeed. While my greatest laugh of the day came from the Patriots' loss, watching Belichick lose his shit over an opposing coach pulling a Belichick was a very close second. That was when my cat first gave me the "even for football season, you're acting crazy" side eye.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I just disturbed not only my cat, but probably all animals for three houses, and I do apologize for that. But. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!