Bastet

We talked recently in the Episodes thread about how Paul McCrane branched out into directing on ER, and parlayed that into quite a respectable career directing episodes of numerous TV shows. So did Laura Innes; shortly after her ER directorial debut, she was tapped to direct an episode of The West Wing, and she went on to direct half a dozen episodes for that show, a dozen for ER, and has directed episodes of shows like Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, and House. McCrane also directed an episode of The West Wing, House, and Grey's Anatomy, along with episodes of shows such as Major Crimes, CSI, Glee, and Scandal. (He directed nine episodes of ER.)

Ugh, this season. It's like season four, in that it has episodes I love, but then a whole lot I don't care about. The Beginning pisses me off because Mulder pretty much reverses his attitude from the movie, which makes it sound like he only said those things in his hallway to manipulate her to stay. Which would be a dick move even for Mulder, and I think he was 100% genuine in that FTF scene. So fuck the nonsense in this episode. I didn't remember Drive at all, but that was a good episode - surprisingly good for something that has them working separately the whole time. But I loathe the line at the end, when Scully is talking to Kersh, about how Mulder's work led to the DoD disbanding its program. Um, no. Mulder's work was to cart Bryan Cranston around; Scully is the one who was out in the field doing all sorts of cool things and who put together what was happening. So typical of the writing for this show. My kingdom for some estrogen in the writers room. Shooting Dreamland so that we see the real person, rather than what everyone else is seeing, gives us the mirror dance scene (something I actually find distractingly hokey, although I love what Mulder does when Morris's wife walks in on him), the lovely scene between Scully and Mulder when she's telling him the infinitesimal odds of putting things back to normal, and the amusement of Mulder navigating Morris's family life. But it also denies us seeing "Mulder" (Morris in Mulder's body) as Scully sees him, when she doesn't yet know what's going on. To have seen Mulder (meaning DD rather than Michael McKean) behave so oddly would have been great, and it would have made Scully's confusion so much more profound. Sitting there watching a different guy lessens the impact of Scully watching her partner act so out of character. Apparently, the reason Only Happy When It Rains was the sole thing I remembered from Terms of Endearment is that I'd repressed the many things I dislike about it. Forget Home, ToE is the gross episode for me. What Wayne does to his wives is gross, the bullshit abortion law they arrest the latest wife under is gross, Mulder leaving Scully to clean up his mess is gross, and "I'm not a psychologist" is such a stupid line, it's gross, too. Shit episode - that Scully is barely in - but the demon wife driving away with her demon baby in the end is a high point. Every time I watch Rain King, I'm surprised anew by how much I like it in spite of Victoria Jackson. I can't stand her, and Sheila is a total drip, so it's not like she's redeemed by the character she plays. But everything around her is so great, she doesn't ruin it for me. I love so much about this episode. "I brought you a leg." Every single one of Scully's reactions to Kroner and its inhabitants (not to mention her crazy partner); GA is on fire in this one. "He's my partner, and we prefer separate rooms." Swaying to the music at the reunion. "The blind leading the blind." Sheila and Scully's conversation in the bathroom. "I do not gaze at Scully." There's a whiff of nice guy entitlement to it, that Sheila has to return Holman's feelings, but the fact Holman isn't among the people who acts that way salvages things somewhat. HTGSC is so good I always forget it was written by CC. I fucking love that episode, and need to watch it more often. Triangle, on the other hand, fairly screams "written by CC." Jessica's TWoP recap skewering the hell out of it was gold, Jerry, gold. CC did a beautiful job directing it, but the writing is just bad. It's a typical gimmick episode; all hat and no horse. When you write to a location, and to all the cool shots you can use, rather than writing a story and then matching those things to it, it shows. I kept falling asleep, and finally gave up trying to rewind and start over, lest I never get past the first disc. I did wake up for the dimly lit kiss and punch, and heard but was too tired to open my eyes to see the scene in Mulder's hospital room. "Oh, brother." Thank goodness for Tithonus on the next disc, because S.R. Whatever and Two Fathers/One Son are not exactly calling my name.

Wyle was doing other projects, yes, but I recall this time period also being when his contract was coming up for renewal, he'd had a kid, and he was just all around feeling like, "I signed up thinking months, maybe years, but not decades," and thus they were trying to give him a break during his final contract season to entice him to re-sign. Ultimately, they got him to sign on for reduced appearances in a couple of seasons afterward, and then come back for a limited run as the series concluded.

We saw him, bearded and brooding, with Kem, who has astoundingly sleek hair for someone in a humid refugee camp, in a brief shot in Freefall, so he'll be back on screen in tomorrow's first episode and back at County in the next one.

I don't exchange presents with many people anymore -- my parents and a couple of close friends -- but I'm gobsmacked by the idea of not even acknowledging that someone has given you a gift! We're talking not just the lack of a proper thank-you card/note, but not so much as an email or text message? That's so crazy. If I had tried that as a kid, I'd have been told I wasn't playing with/wearing/whatever said gifts until I got my thank-you notes done. I can't even imagine doing it as an adult.

Yeah, he did; he directed nine altogether. He's pretty good behind the camera; he's directed about half a dozen episodes of Major Crimes (quite a few other shows, too, that's just the one I watch).

Sam's son is creepy! I'm glad they stayed realistic, and didn't have the characters suddenly talking nice about Romano, but I think Susan would have wanted to attend the memorial. They got along in an odd way, so while I completely buy that she wouldn't want to speak, or be upset in the way Corday is, I think she'd feel obliged to go. It's really cute that Corday put that picture of her and Romano in the memorial display in the ambulance bay. Now I have to worry about Romano's dog; I hope she has a good home.

Oh, @ABay, I'm so sorry to read that. You gave more love and care to a cat you couldn't even pet than some owners do to sweet cats pleading for attention. I know the first day is rather surreal, as you struggle to wrap your mind around the fact he's gone. You will be in my thoughts as you slog through this beginning part of the grief process. I hope girl cat gives you a good snuggle.

Quoting myself to say: Yes. Yes, it is. From the moment the Free Falling elevator music starts to the one where Romano yells rather than runs, and all the bad special effects in between, it's awful. And doesn't the episode end without anyone knowing he's under the wreckage? This has got to be in the top ten of horrible episodes of good shows.

I dread what's coming, but in a sense I can't wait to see if the Helicopter of Doom really is every bit as horrible as it is in my memory. Susan has always been a good teacher. In the early days, she was the one who made sure Carter was included and got practice. And now she's really good with the way she teaches Abby. She's also very good with patients. I think she's one of the best overall doctors the ER has had.

Shooting and its aftermath

Chewy has incredible customer service. It was bought out by Petco recently, so a) now buying from Chewy means lining Petco pockets, and b) the legendary customer service may very well change. But the prices are good (as long as you order enough to qualify for free shipping) and they seem to have a good selection. (I buy cat food at a local pet supply store, but I've heard many posters on a pet forum say Chewy stocks what they can't find locally.) I have a terrific independent hardware store near me that's been in the area since well before I was born, and I will cry if it ever goes out of business. It's impressive how much they manage to stock in the space they have, and it's staffed by people who actually know what the products they're selling are and how to use them (and where on the shelves they're located).

I only listen to the radio in my car, which I'm not in every day since I work out of my home office most of the time, so it's not as if the Christmas music is stalking me, but playing one Christmas song before Thanksgiving would be bad enough, and switching to 24/7 Christmas music is utterly ridiculous at any time -- making the saturation switch in early November is thus all kinds of wrong.

That's my kind of place!

Ha! The reason I went from "Yeah, she's fine" to "Oh my gods, please stop shoving her down my throat" was due to the show's - via the characters' - reactions to her. I hated the idea of (I'd quit watching by the time it happened) the Josh/Donna relationship because they were somehow simultaneously both too good for and not good enough for the other; his treatment of her, given the power differential, was obviously the more problematic, but they just sucked on every level beyond boss/assistant. The idea she wasn't afforded snowflake status, especially as compared to the other assistants, but just in general, gives me a good guffaw.

I forgot to complain about this Sunday, when it first happened, but now that it has happened again ... The radio station that had already long existed on my shit list for playing Christmas music non-stop between Thanksgiving and Christmas is getting an early start this year, and has already switched. Christmas programming (on TV or radio) is a peeve in general, but I'm better able to just change channels/stations without getting riled up in December; in November - especially early- to mid-November - forget it.

From the Cats Are Creatures of Habit files: Every evening when Riley emerges from her daytime nap, she spends some time on the cardboard cat scratcher in the study before heading on to meal time. Also, every night when she gets good and riled up for play time, she climbs and attacks the ever-loving hell out of the scratching post in the study (she has others of both items, but she really likes the study at night). That's the only room in the house that's carpeted (I hate carpet, but whomever built this house back in the '30s inexplicably put tile in that room rather than hardwood as in the rest of the house, and I can't match the wood, so I went with the whole cozy room/carpet theme), and while I normally bust out the Bissell and shampoo it annually, today was the first time since adopting Riley that I'd given it the deep-cleaning treatment. So, the room is empty of everything, including her scratcher and post, and the carpet is damp and cool (it's still 70 degrees in there, so it will dry tomorrow). But she was not deterred from her routine. First, I came in to find her sitting in the spot where her scratcher would be, and then later she and her Manson Eyes ran over to where her post would normally be to attack, and hesitated for only a moment or two before deciding to climb/attack the fireplace brick (up against which the post normally rests) instead.

I've always liked Mission style furniture, and have come to really like it in recent years; when I redecorate my living room, I think I'm going to do it in that style. Mid-century modern is not something I'd have in my house (my house predates it, and its '30s architecture doesn't readily lend itself to the style, but fundamentally it's just not what I want to live in), but there's a lot of it here (in Los Angeles) and I like it a lot in other people's homes when it all comes together.

That's another one: I think the percentage of people on TV who buy a single roll of paper towels is significantly higher than those who do so in real life.

I've been meaning to mention this for a while, and Susan's "You're right, she's bugging me too; let's hate her together" reminded me: I have really enjoyed the evolution of Susan and Abby's friendship. I like Susan and Chen together, too.

That's a good idea; magnesium is very good for muscles and nerves.

Ha - I like Sam's introduction, especially Romano's "Please tell me you work here." I don't remember Morris or Coop at all from the original run, but I remember I liked Sam and Neela. No specifics, just a general memory that I liked them.

I've never changed a diaper, either. There's just nothing about my life that would have ever made that situation arise: I'm an only child, so I never had to help take care of a sibling, and I hate kids, so I never offer/get asked to babysit.

I hated that bit of sexist stereotyping, too, as well as Corday having sex with the obnoxious doctor. Because, of course, when women object to a man's blatant arrogance and patronizing, they're secretly turned on by it. Chen springing her rude parents on Pratt, and then getting mad because he only wanted a casual relationship (when he'd done nothing to lead her on that he wanted more), was another low point in the writing.

Eliminate: Leo's addiction and the investigation Ranking the rest: 1. Shooting and aftermath 2. Re-election campaign