Bastet

I think Babylon is going to be a big ball of WTF. And My Struggle II will probably annoy me, between the convoluted conspiracy and lack of conclusion, but we'll see. I was looking at the cast/characters list, and got a nice smile out of the fact they named one of the characters Oscar Griffiths. Home Again looks good, though ... other than the offing of Mrs. Scully, more William blather, and "Fox." As for where they go from here, I know originally CC, DD, and GA would all have preferred to do a third movie. I haven't read any recent interviews, but I'd guess she still feels that way (actually, I think she'd have preferred Chris wrapped things up with these six), because she wants closure for the characters and fans and doesn't mind doing these things, but also doesn't have any burning desire to keep returning to Scully. The other two, I don't know. The ratings give CC the best leverage he's ever had, but I imagine the studio is going to push for more episodes rather than a movie, since both movies have done worse at the box office than expected -- they've got plenty of evidence in their corner to say audiences prefer you on TV.

While many in Los Angeles would claim our accent is a lack of an accent, obviously that's a myopic misrepresentation. If you go to accent guru Amy Walker's montage, you'll hear her take on Los Angeles at about 1:40. It's a decent typical L.A. accent, especially for those of us over 40; we certainly do not all, or even most, uptalk, vocal fry, Valley Girl, etc. our way through a sentence. With that said, Isaac's wife didn't bother me with her comment. It was dumb, but harmless, and the accents of people from her neck of the woods have been subject to much greater derision so I'm not going to get fired up about it.

Seriously! I think it started with one of the Kurt Crawfords ("... barren now, from the same procedure that caused their cancer ...") and in the midst of a terrific episode I was yelling at the TV, "What century is this?!" As time wore on, and the episodes got worse, it only got more infuriating.

Oh, bummer that Marjorie may not be in the finals. I kind of like everyone who's left at this point (well, I can't exactly say I like Philip, and I think he's the weak link at this point, but I don't hate him), but I'm pulling for Marjorie, Kwame, and Karen.

Thumbs up for the goofy songs of Roger Miller. A friend's dad looks so much like him we call him Roger Miller. I know this has been around for some time now, but I seem to be seeing it a lot lately -- the Eggo commercial where the whole family argues over whose Eggo it is by declaring their intentions to post a picture of their Eggo on social media. First of all, whoever put the damn thing in the toaster can lay claim to the Eggo, so why are they arguing over whose it is in the first place? Second, every one of these people has nothing better to do than take and post a photo of their breakfast? Who gives a shit what you're eating, period, but especially when you're eating a frozen waffle in your own kitchen?

I live for football season, so while some Super Bowls are definitely better than others depending on which teams are playing (none of my favorites are in it this year) and how competitive it is, I generally enjoy "the big game" and am bummed when the season is over. But the hoopla leading up to it drives me nuts and even when the Giants are playing I ignore sports media for the two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl. I also sympathize with those who don't want it in their backyard. A lot of people want the Olympics to return to Los Angeles, and I just ask (to those old enough), "Do you not remember 1984?" It's a mess. But, hypocritically, it's fun to be elsewhere when the games are being played there; I happened to be in Greece right before the '04 games, and extended my stay to attend a couple of events.

Ha - I actually said "terrine of beef" aloud in Jackie voice as soon as Carl mentioned it.

I think it was fine for lunch in L.A., given the atmosphere of their restaurant. Given Isaac's lack of reaction in real time or in talking heads, I got the impression the footage of Marjorie and the others ignoring everything he said was pretty spliced together.

Same here; I strongly suspect I'd agree with Padma's (or Gail's? I think Padma's) declaration she could eat it for lunch daily and be happy. And I'm generally not excited about steak salad. But Karen's just looked delicious, and when Tom described all the ingredients it really sounded good. I know it must sting to be picked last, but I'm not sure who Isaac thinks he should have been a slam-dunk pick over other than Philip. Kwame and Marjorie seem to be givens as the first two chosen, and then between Jeremy, Carl, and Isaac, I think anyone is a pretty even third choice. I suspect it was being picked over Philip that really tweaked him, but Amar's reasoning (which, of course, Isaac didn't know) was strategic ... and I laughed when he realized this season's twist on the rules meant he couldn't just shove plop Philip out in the front of the house and let him hang himself.

I was pulling for Marjorie, Karen, Carl, and Isaac's team, so I'm glad to see lunch went better for them (the judges liked the other team's appetizers better than theirs, but liked their entrees far more than the other team's, and they had fewer service issues, so I think they came out on top for lunch), but I fear they're the subject of the "it all went downhill at dinner" comment from next week's episode. Amar just stood there during the "I told you guys I needed bacon" kerfuffle and didn't say anything? Not "I didn't hear you," "My phone cut out," "I forgot," or anything? Seems odd. I would have been on Philip's side when he said he was going to be angry if Kwame significantly changed his dish to make it easier to put together were it not for the fact he wanted Kwame to go through about a dozen intricate steps. Do something like that on your own time. It was so ridiculous, I was completely with Amar and Kwame in their dismissal of him.

I hate restaurant wars. Stand there and say this is a process that normally plays out over the course of a year, but we're giving 24 hours, and I'm supposed to take this challenge as a valid means of assessing the cheftestants?

I cheated and looked it up, because it did not ring a single bell (it turns out it's from an episode I don't think I've ever seen in its entirety). How about a hint: It's from a shitty sequel to a great episode. But not Kitsunegari. The other shitty sequel to a great episode.

Testify. This is why I hate anyone who has ever uttered the phrase "Mommy Wars" with a straight face.

I know Sveta said they used to be a couple (implying they aren't one now), but we established that her mind-reading skills aren't all that finely honed. To me, they feel like a couple, one that just doesn't happen to be living together right now. And since I can't imagine living with Mulder day in and day out for decades under the best of circumstances, I don't have to tax my brain too much imagining isolated, depressed Mulder being too much for anyone to bear on a daily basis. I was worried that the characters wouldn't feel right, but they do -- circumstances have evolved, as they do, but fundamentally these feel like the people I spent so many years watching. So I'm perfectly content on the relationship front.

The smell of most vinegar makes me gag. I use diluted white vinegar to clean my windows (I wish I could use ammonia, but Pella says use vinegar) and I have to wear a mask. Making the Easter egg dye as a kid? Not fun.

I heard about the meat dress, but that's about it for Lady Gaga -- I just hear her songs and like her voice, so she seems like a good pick to sing the anthem.

Heh; I could watch the first two seasons of Moonlighting on a continuous loop and expire before I ever got sick of them, and one of the 1,872 things I love about this episode is how Mulder and Scully's role reversal scene early on reminds me of Maddie and David's "You're doing me" role reversal from Yours, Very Deadly.

Yep. I have the feeling I'm going to need to remind myself of this after episode six, but I feel the same way -- whatever happens, I'll consider it better than going through life without the pure delight that is this episode. Random subject change: Piper drew the sketch of the three-eyed version of Guy, right?

Pretty much anything Toby and C.J. have ever said to each other was elevated by the actors' wonderful delivery. Since a friend and I were just discussing our mutual dislike of Ainsley, and now I'm thinking about line delivery, I have to mention how much I love Allison's delivery of C.J.'s increasing agitation as Leo tells her and Sam - out where there are people, so they won't scream - that he's hired Ainsley. The repeated "Are you kidding?"s are great enough, but then: "Well, what the hell made you think I wouldn't scream if there were people?!"" "I took a shot." And then the two of them shouting his name. Hee.

Ha - you beat me to it. ("You're looking down. You stepped in a pie that's fallen to the floor. The killer comes up to you and ... coconut cream ... Or is it lemon meringue? It's hazy" "Whatever, please continue." "As you're looking down, he comes up with the knife and ... Banana cream! Definitely banana cream.")

"However, I must remind you this goes against the Bureau’s policy of male and female agents consorting in the same motel room while on assignment [yet we are in and out of each other's rooms on just about every case, and at the end of this one I will be casually packing up your suitcase for you]." -- Detour (with my supplementation) So, just like old times.

I remember just sort of sputtering afterward, because I found so much of it ignorant and offensive. The TWoP recap was really quite a balm to my nerves, because here it was all laid out, including things I hadn't noticed/didn't know (someone printed it out and we basically passed it around the office). I have no desire to ever re-watch that episode, it left such a bad taste in my mouth. NYPD Blue made direct reference to it, but just a few lines as I recall.

I guess that's where not watching much TV in the past ten years or so comes in handy; other than people who've made previous XF appearances, I haven't recognized anybody in a distracting way (I consider the actors I recognize from prior appearances a good kind of noticeable, like when I damn near squealed seeing the stoner "kids" still doing their thing all these years later).

Yes, we saw him gnawing on their necks. (It was sort of ... gnawed on. Sorry, Bad Blood moment.) Okay, love it even more after second viewing, which I wouldn’t have thought possible. The interaction between Mulder & Scully is pitch perfect. I love that she pulls her gun and he pulls his camera. (And instead of dropping his gun, he doesn't know how to use the new camera app.) And the way he shoves it in her face while she’s trying to do the autopsy. Digital version of the Big Blue photos. ("Could that be a tooth?”) The episode is just one shout out to prior episodes after another, and I love them all. Some are more blatant than others, but I don’t think there’s a single scene that doesn’t at least remind me of something that has come before. Classic XF. Just brilliant, really – right up there with Jose Chung's, Clyde Bruckman, Bad Blood, and Small Potatoes. I love every minute of Scully in this, from her uncontrolled amusement at the beginning to their role reversal in the field, to declaring she’s emptying her clip into whatever it is, to “Mulder, the internet is not good for you,” to every frame of Autopsy!Scully enjoying the hell out of herself, to her facial expressions during the fantastic hotel scene when she can’t get a word in edgewise (and, of course, “Yeah, this is how I like my Mulder” and “No, you’re bat crap crazy” when she can), to her sighing when Mulder keeps hanging up or running off when she tries to tell him about the lab results, to her solving the case, saving herself, apprehending the killer (“Hey, you missed all the fun”), and stealing a dog. Random note: It sounds like Gillian's accent slipped through on "investigative." I also love every minute of Mulder. And Guy. And everyone else. The modern-day Bates motel with the taxidermy and the creepy proprietor spying on guests. “Mulder, it’s me.” The social commentary, which is just fantastic, line for line (especially “The only way to be happy as a human is to spend all your time in the company of non-humans”). I hope everyone involved had as much fun making this – and they looked like they did – as I did watching it.

The only thing I didn't like was the adolescent cringing at discussion of MTF surgery, but it was definitely in character for Mulder at least and nowhere near as insensitive as I'd feared. He really was trying to explain in an understanding manner. Yay, it's starting! I'm positively giddy to watch this again. See y'all again in an hour.