Bastet

If Geena isn't pregnant, how are they going to explain her being around so much? I highly doubt the military tells its active duty personnel stationed overseas, "Yes, by all means, pop back home every week or two." (If they do, I want my taxes back.)

This thread is tagged for spoilers already, so we can speculate based on spoilers in here without tagging them. I'm very disappointed about the pregnancy, even though it was my initial guess; if she has a baby, she's going to be stuck for the rest of her life. This was her window to turn things around, and instead she's going to fall right into the usual trap. Not all that unusual, but still disappointing, and these people's lives have already been realistically disappointing enough.

Because he's Will Pope. If he can just fall into getting credit for something he didn't do, especially when that means having a way to keep Brenda from barging into his office and demanding yet another special favor for at least a short time, he's not going to voluntarily turn down that credit. I love when Gavin, agreeing to handle the federal suit pro bono, gleefully spills the beans that, no, Will did not get the city to cover it the first time around (the one in state court).

LOL! The show is going to be preempted in Los Angeles for news coverage of the various fires in the area, so I came here to see what kind of game it was. Sounds like I'll be missing a doozy.

The law changed in the early '80s; no licenses needed since then (all applications for a license were automatically approved, so there was no point and the process was done away with).

I don't know about HAM, but you do not need a license to use CB radio.

She was in the finale:

Ha! I hadn't seen that one, but the description sounded funny (plus, it's a Geico ad), so I went looking for it: I log the dog's nose kicking in as accompaniment. And everyone's reaction shots are funny throughout. I'm sure there will be people squicked out by a shot up someone's nose, but I laughed. I had to look that one up, too, and I laughed out loud. The actors play that sibling dynamic perfectly:

After near-weekly jabs at Marjorie's abundance of cats, it was really fun to have someone react with sheer glee to learning how many there are.

That must get left off the broadcast TV version (or at least the few versions I've seen while too sick/hungover to change the channel over the years; maybe it's an ending credits thing that gets sped by/left out). Given the talk about Jake proving himself (ultimately via the glass company) before ever seeking her out in NY, I did have some hope that the ridiculous ending wasn't meant to suggest she, Hallmark movie style, not only screwed over the man she loved and hooked up with Jake instead, but also shitcanned the career she loved just as much (and was really hitting its stride) to do who knows what from Alabama, so I'll be somewhat relieved if while she inexplicably remarried and procreated with the dolt, she made that life in NY, but the "romance" is still inexplicably stupid.

“Did it get awkward because he’s dead, or because I’m talking about my sex life?” That is such an accurate reflection of how a group of people who routinely discuss sex react to the reminder that older women have it off, too. It’s different, more work, and less frequent, but it happens. People have issues with that. Bonnie inviting Marjorie to come over and hang out and then immediately regretting it, but sticking to it, was nice. I could do without Tammy in the mix, but I didn’t mind her there, either. Marjorie playing the widow and cancer card at once was great, and Tammy living with her could be a better-balanced use of Tammy, so I think that's a good idea. Jill’s reaction to the suggestion she get a job was great. I love how she fell into volunteering, and hope they keep that up.

Bringing Bette Midler back is the kind of high-profile secretary gag I thought we’d have 13 episodes of, so it was fun to see. I’m glad Diane English happened to run into her right before she started writing the revival scripts, so that the two agreed Caprice needed to return. And, always yay for Jim! I liked his reaction to Phyllis inviting herself, and then to her reference to a date. They should have hired more extras for the awards ceremony, though, because it looked like he was receiving an elementary school Best Math Student Award, which was particularly egregious when he talked about looking out and seeing all the journalists of the future. Murphy’s list of questions about Avery’s date was funny, and I love her and the date hitting it off. LOL at him sneaking her out of the house, and then the judge coming down from upstairs. Avery’s earlier “you should date” was a little too enthusiastic for a son about his mother, so it was hilarious that when he was actually confronted with his mom having sex, he freaked his shit. Muprhy’s laugh at that suit on Miles was great – and it’s so Miles to get swept up in shopping with Pat that he dons something utterly ridiculous. Frank running away when he realizes Corky and Katie Couric are wearing the same dress was fun, and I love the two women agreeing to unzip each other and go for burgers. If we’d seen Pat running into/making out with a female ex tonight, would people be saying, “I didn’t know Pat was straight”? No; like Miles, it frequently happens only upon learning something other than straight. Until we see characters in a romantic situation, they’re a blank canvas sexually, and may be gay, straight, bi, pan, whatever; straight shouldn’t be the default assumption.

Oh, the cheating - rather than falling for someone and ending her marriage before getting involved with him - is not a good look, but one realistic extension of the story of that marriage's dissolution. It's how they made her so sneaky and cold, and him so innocently blindsided, that is a ridiculous propping up of Mark's character at her expense. And it worked; when most viewers talk about the Greene divorce, they focus on her turning out to have had a boyfriend in Milwaukee or wherever she was, and ignore all of Mark's failures in that marriage that made divorce the inevitable result even if she hadn't cheated. I never abide cheating (it doesn't automatically render one a shitty person, but it is an unequivocally shitty thing to do - have the basic respect to end the relationship first, and then go forth), but in the grand scheme of that marriage, I am Team Jen. Despite their efforts.

I haven't either; I only got it from the other half of the clue, the sound a grapefruit makes upon hitting the ground (or something like that). And, judging from the way she answered, I think that's how the contestant knew it, too. So the chair part is my learn something new for the day. I was a little surprised he didn't get that DD, but I guess the Police Academy movies are well before his time, and if he doesn't watch cop shows in general or have an interest in law enforcement, police training class = academy wouldn't be a given to him. I also think citing one academy's focus on gun training (or whatever it said; I've already forgotten specifics) sent him off down the wrong path, trying to think of a word that tied into that instead of just answering the fundamental, "What's the police training course called?" question.

I surprised myself by taking a break from football to watch this game; football vs. teenagers and I picked the teens? Not as interesting a match as last night, but still worth it. I’m sure my neighbors, used to me yelling at football, wondered why I was hollering, “Pippi!” Damn the Broadway Debuts category; Chris Evans and the Harry Potter character kept me from running the first round. The TV characters category kept me from running the second; I didn’t know any of those! Alex, reading the category titles: “World Geography – sounds easy.” Me: “Yeah, because it’ll probably be a series of maps with highlighted countries.” It turned out, though, that I thought most of those clues were appropriate for a teen tournament. The stop sign clue, however – that should only appear in a toddler tournament. Or Celebrity Jeopardy. Alex, reading the category titles: “Women Authors” Me: <growl> In that one, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was surprising as a TS, especially with Emily Dickinson ruled out. I’m not necessarily surprised only one of them got FJ, but I am surprised only one of them read the clue properly to understand the leader was returning from Russia, not a Russian himself.

Ugh, I hate that movie. Well, I like some little side moments and characters, but I hate the main storyline. She and Jake were teenagers, she got pregnant, they got married, she miscarried, they split up, the end. She has this great life in NY (and Jake has a great life in Alabama), so why in all hell would she suddenly decide to ditch her fiancé - at the altar, no less - to get back with this jerk? (Even if he was a great guy, he's still someone she barely knows as an adult.) It's stupid, like all those Hallmark movies where the big city gal decides what she really wants is a quiet life with the small-town handyman or whatever. They weren't some great love back then - it's like she said, she was just the first girl to crawl into the back of his truck - and they aren't anything now. Getting married (to Andrew) there in her hometown instead of NY was the nice way of coming to terms with where she came from, and blending that with who she is now. It's a sweet scene when she introduces Andrew to her parents, saying with pride that her mom makes the best jam in the state (or something like that). He accepts that she hasn't been honest about her life, because he understands why. That wedding would have been the happy ending.

Same here, and that surprises me, because I usually find romantic relationships the worst part of a show, and find most boyfriend characters annoying distractions I can't wait to see go. But Adam doesn't detract from the group; he plays well with Bonnie and Christy, so I don't mind having him around at home, and I loved him with Marjorie (in one of Victor's track suits) last week, so I don't even mind him occasionally being with the group.

Exactly. By the time she was finally able to start her career, he was established in his. He had the perfect job for him, but was blind to the fact this clerkship was what she needed to do to wind up in the perfect job for her and she was damn well due the right to establish herself. By the time he saw the light, they'd just grown too much apart and it was inevitably going to be over, no matter what anyone did. It was a grounded story - got married and had a kid younger than they should have, resentment built up because one party had to put her interests on hold for too long, job circumstances instigated a temporary living apart situation - until they decided to prop Mark up by giving Jen a secret boyfriend on the side rather than letting it play naturally, where the "temporary" situation turns out to be the best way to go, permanently, especially because she's developed feelings for someone new. But, no, it gets reduced to Big Bad Lying Cheater Jen and Poor Mark, Who Gets Blindsided By Secret Boyfriend.

Can you imagine the shit Emma gets in daily life for her voice, yet she still decided, "Fuck it. I just qualified to compete on the gold standard of quiz shows, so yes, I am putting myself on national television for all of social media to mock, because I am smart and prepared and I could win this thing." Good for Emma. I hope her score winds up qualifying her, because, like I said, she was beaten to the buzzer on a lot of clues; if she indeed had the right answer on most of those, she's got the kind of knowledge to just kill it at this game. I'd be curious to see how she performed a second time, with some buzzer practice under her belt.

I don’t particularly like the Teen Tournament, but unlike something with young kids, I’ll watch it, and I find it interesting how the clues need to be at their level, but that doesn’t mean we adults are going to automatically know all of them – the fact they learned this stuff far more recently than we did sometimes gives them the edge. It’s like that show, Are You Smarter Than a Whatever-Grader? – of course you are, but one of them may still answer a particular question when you can’t, because it’s fresh in their mind and one of a relative handful of things they know, while it’s just one of the numerous things you’ve learned and forgotten over the years. Eagle should have prompted a BMS, not just filling it in for him (I'm sure he'd have promptly said "bald eagle," but still). Maxim was my surprise TS for the night, but I think when I adjust that for teens, it shouldn’t be. I was truly stunned for the moment it looked like suggestion was going to be a TS, though. I got all the stamp clues without ever actually having heard about any of those gaffes. The illiteracy one had me laughing out loud. I've never even heard of the FJ play, so I could have sat here until I decomposed and not come up with that one. If Emma knew the correct answer for the majority of clues she tried to ring in on but was beaten to the buzzer, she’d have won; she at least tried to ring in on a majority of the clues and was noticeably out-buzzed. Good performances all around, especially the girls (yay), and while I'm eager to get back to regular play, it is nice seeing young people celebrated for their intellect - and to have a diverse slate of contestants. I hope that continues throughout the tournament.

Oh my - this made me go check my County Clerk's website to see that, yes, they work the entire day, from set up before the polls open to clean up after the polls close, about 15 hours on average, all for a very small check. I thought there would be two shifts! Thank you for bringing this to my attention; I always thank the poll workers, but in future I will also bring goodies.

I agree completely, especially about Mark and Jen. Her cheating winds up overshadowing the myriad ways he was a bad husband, and I think the writers very much did that on purpose to make him look like the sympathetic victim in that divorce. Which pisses me off. I know he's the main character and Jen is an appendage to him, but they did her - and all the women this has happened to in real life - wrong by glossing over the complete lack of thought he gave to her professional desires and ambitions.

It would feel even more "done" with Darlene and David -- an "oops" pregnancy is why they got married in the first place, and another one being the reason they don't get divorced would be ridiculous, IMO. Although Becky could get great mileage out of them having apparently learned nothing. Geena is the only woman on this show I don't think it would be a terrible thing for her to have a baby (since, again, I think pregnancy is going to equal baby), so I'm hoping for her. Becky is just taking the first tiny steps to get her life on a better track, and a baby would derail that and she'd be stuck forever. Darlene is having to settle for jobs instead of the career she used to have, living with her dad, and on the brink of finally divorcing her long-estranged husband. Harris is a teenager, and the father wouldn't even be a boyfriend, but a random hook-up, plus it's just an awful message to show a girl doing everything right (using a condom, and then using emergency contraception in a timely fashion as extra protection because, never having done this before, she's not sure if they used the condom right) and getting knocked up anyway. The timing would suck for Geena, because she'd lose her assignment, but she's got benefits, will get a decent maternity leave, and can go back after that if she wants, so if she and D.J. wanted another child at some point, at least it wouldn't be a disaster if it happened now. So I'm hoping for Geena, because it's the least sucky for her. Also because they don't live at Dan's, so we wouldn't have to have the baby around all the time.

Yes, according to the archive, Mary Ann said Jersey Boys and Chloe said The History Boys. (The third contestant didn't ring in, so it was a TS. Stumped me, too. Jersey Boys jumped to mind, and I knew that wasn't it, but I couldn't come up with the right boys.)

There are several sites that give the FJ clue, but since you've missed the whole thing, you can see all the clues at the J! Archive; here's a direct link to this game.