Lonesome Rhodes

Fargo has relied on the mystical a great deal. See Malvo, raining fish in Winter, and other physical impossibilities in the known universe. Add Munch. I about fell out of my chair as the police chief explained that a state trooper was murdered and the suspect was still at large. Way too much real world stuff intruding in this ep. Roy insisted that he believed in Gator. Has a bigger lie ever been told in this series?

I'm trying to get past the fact that Dot was allowed to marry Senor Kia. Lorraine would have been all over Dot's background and come to realize Dot had created a personal history that had nothing whatever to do with reality. Now, if it turns out that Lorraine has a past with Roy, we are in for a helluva ride. Another Bisquick note - a scene that bugged was when Dot was preparing a big breakfast for Scotty and going on and on about pancakes and how breakfast is super important. That part was fine. But then, in a matter of seconds, in comes Senor Kia and demands (nicely) to take her to school without having touched the feast Dot had all but finished creating. Not a hint of a whisper of objection or resistance was heard.

Well, I don't owe anyone that I must accept the unending physical impossibilities. Why didn't Madame Lyon finish the job on the remaining kidnapper? This was worse than the Bond villains talking about killing 007 and not getting it done as a result of the delay. Why didn't the kidnappers beat the stew out of Dot and then tie her up so tightly that she would be in pain for the trip back to hell? After what she did to them?! One touch I really did like is that this mess all started because of a school board meeting. Was Hawley going for a John Dutton/Yellowstone-esque character for Hamm? At least the train station was on his own property. Using the Yes anthem to open was great. Thereafter, most all was not.

I had fun contemplating what Tommy Lascelles would have done to the Balmoral staff for "losing" William. It was a big miss that we saw no reprisals nor heard any recriminations from the BRF. Showing Diana's awareness/awakening to the realities of the media feigning commiseration and understanding was pure calculation by jackals was well done and significant. In all such scenes, I thought it was a brilliant touch that the staff who were present in moments of expressed grief by the BRF were steadfast in not crying nor whimpering/moaning. This was the best of British tradition manifested. Way too much of Dodi and his father. I can accept that Dodi put forward a super tolerant front. But, the show went much too far in portraying him as a near-perfect guy. I thought his step mother was fascinating. Give Debicki all the things. Sensational. I also thought Imelda crushed it. The very soul of "The Crown" was being tested and examined. My take is she knew Philip was correct, but her love for the boys, and her being sick to death of being necessarily cold for decades, overcame her best judgment. YMMV.

Series creator fleshes out some of the changes for next season. Seems like some budgetary reductions - not removals - for several characters, including Damon. The cut I most dislike is Nathaniel becoming a lesser regular. No mention of Simone's presence. I'd bet that may even increase. https://screenrant.com/all-american-homecoming-season-3-damon-exit-explained/

Shock city. Ameriker got it wrong. Another shock to me was just how genuinely funny the Ahren bit using Simon's voice was. He seemed to be having an absolute blast doing it. Good for him. The Randy Jackson cameo was great. Dog! Hmmm....did he know something? Not a shock was how inventively Avantgardey was employed in their vignettes. Very, very, well done by all concerned. Interesting edit of Anna's Finale performance in the pre-show, show. They took out the Howie licking envelopes remark, which was a cute moment Anna created and they pretty much eliminated Sofia's messing around at the end. It's surprising to me that she was runner-up, but it was certainly deserved. I've seen estimates that Sofia makes about $400K per episode (25 or so eps/season). Must be nice to be able to take it or leave it as has been speculated. Well, yeah, Howie was sooooo mean to her. Ugh. The dog act pretty much has to at least appear in the first fortnight or so of the Vegas performances. I wonder if Anna will choose to be a part of it, and for how long. Or, will she move to disassociate from AGT. Mostly, I hope Avantgardey becomes really well established in the USA.

Placement of performance on the rundown is not quite as important as it is on a typical show as voting is available from minute one. Still, it would be the shock of shocks if Murmuration has not taken this by a wide margin. They are certainly worthy. So, too, were several other acts - more than I can remember in an AGT Finale. Loved the dog. The two physically impaired singers each sang great. The muscle guys brought it. The magician's tricks were fantastic and her delivery was much improved. Friggin' Sophia did her best once again to mess with her, though. Grrrr. But, my vote would have gone for Osaka's own, Avantgardey. They have got to be a professional troupe. It seems they are. They are also delightful and talented in their movements. I would actually pay to watch the "Vegas" show just to see them. Murmuration was not perfect, but they did enough. Aside from the occasional mistimed movement by a given individual (very few) I did not like the uneven rows they sat in. When they did a stunt, or move, that involved an climax at an end, it just looked messy when only half of the rows had a performer on the end. The empty seats stood out. So, too, did the comedian for being sub-par in this line-up. He really stuck out as the weakest link in the show. What is the point of a LIVE act if it's, "Just push play."? While there was absolutely a lot to praise highly, Simon made a foolish spectacle of himself by insisting that at least 4 of the acts were gonna, and shoulda, won. The thing about hype is it fails utterly when events actually prove out to be great. If that is happening, stop hyping. If one does not, one cheapens the event and performers. Given what a mess so much of this season was, AGT got a Finale it did not deserve. Fine by me. My guess is that muscle guys will be second and one of the individual singers, third.

In Real Estate, it is Location, Location, and Location. On AGT it's all about Placement, Placement, Placement. Airborne? Really? Against the others this week who didn't make the Final Two? That's the way the SYCO cookie crumbles. I like Reba, but boy, has her voice diminished. I wonder if AGT intentionally put the most worthy acts on the last audition ep in order to give them a max chance in the Wild Card. I'm very glad Howie nommed Avantgardy, but it is difficult for me to believe he would have done so if given a completely free vote. I wanted the Warriors tumbling/dance act from India to get the nod tonight, but the choice made was excellent, as well. I wanted to add to my comments about last night's ep...Major kudos to Russell Norman, the Director. I have never seen a better capture of such a complicated act as Avantgardy. His Assistants who helped map out the shots did a fantastic job, too. The Art Direction/Stage Set was tops, as well. The pacing of the announcements tonight was great. Amazing what can happen when you have to carve out room for something else - in this case the Wild Card. Prince Poppycock for the win! Oh. Hmmm...It really will come down to the choices made by the acts and their execution. I hope for a bare minimum, if not full absence, of production shenanigans.

Not cool, AGT. Not cool at all. There were two weeks with barely one, if any, acts worth a darn, and this week there was at least three, if not four who would be legit. Eduardo blew it by making it all about the ending note. I most enjoy Mariachi when they are playing festive/upbeat tunes. This one took way too long to pick up the tempo and the young lad is not yet built to handle such. The end was even underwhelming for me as it did not appear to me that he was belting it out, but moderating/limiting the volume in order to serve the crucial need to hit the correct tonality (which he did). I'd love for them to advance, but this presentation probably doomed them. Avantgardy was fabulous. To me, their act took me back to DEVO. The same style music (techno-pop) with a quirky appearance and sudden and sharp movement. Basically, fun. I think I detected one false move out of the hundreds (thousands?) presented. In most any other week, their advancing would be a slam dunk. I have a bad feeling they will not get the votes. Oh...Simon can go mess himself for refusing to stand with applause as the other jidges did. That visual probably killed them. The muscle guys did a great job. I just don't much care for that genre. I think they are getting through and are certainly worthy. Sangsoon's brand of magic is refreshing and fun. He needed a mentor to help him identify to the audience what he was doing. The signage was really bad. I want him to go through, but he ain't. Lachune murdered that song. She deserves, and is gonna get, the AGT death penalty. Gabriel did what he do and I believe he is going to the final. Oh well. The Airborne choir was in no way musically special. But, the pimp spot just might put them through. Wild card reveal is gonna be quite a thing.

I love tots. So tasty. The bit was funny and I am glad they will be repeating it. Once again, we see the power of the pimp spot. I'm glad it didn't quite put the dude into the Final. Seeing the highlight replay of Anna's act got me fired up again about how the jidges torpedoed the act. I believe it says a lot that she made it through despite their toolishness. Chibi is gonna miss having one of their principals out with the busted knee. I wish them the best. By any chance, did they bring back another Country artist to entertain us? Asking for a friend.

The act overall fell short, but the muppets were again very witty. I enjoyed it, but can't give them a vote. Chibi was the most complete for me. The art/set design was gorgeous with the white costuming. The big red flag is typically a red flag for me. I wanted to make sure it did not have the emblem of the PRC (China). It did not. No politics = better act. I particularly loved the two movements where one of them walked on top of the "stairway" and later, a "footbridge." Inventive and very well executed. The background projection - especially the blue field with the white wisps, was stunning. They get one of my votes. Simon got caught in a big lie as he applauded Kylie upon completion of her act, and then took his cue from the others and announced (rightly) that the act was a mess. Bad Simon was back. The magician is the clear second vote for me. Sofia damned near sabotaged the whole thing with her BS in not being able to name her card. What the hell was Anna supposed to do in that moment? Fine by me if she said a not-nice word to Sofia. She deserved it. You keep on affecting the Wonder Woman pose while sitting, dear. I can not remember being more surprised of the choice SYCO made in giving the pimp spot to the hand figure artist. Then the jidges fell all over him as if he were Streisand, or something. Very odd. Likely shenanigans.

Chapel Hart was stunningly awful. Rotsa ruck selling that song. They had one of the greatest introductions to Ameriker I've seen (Dolly Partonesque song). A shame they've never come close to matching it. No shock with the named top 5 and the later reveals. Once again, they took any sliver of suspense away by not first naming Putri as a finalist. I believe Simon in his reaction gave away his intentions to make Warriors the Wild Card. I would endorse such.

This semi was much more loaded with legit finalists than last week. I was thinking in real time that they could have just stopped the show after the 2nd act. Simon's bemoaning overproducing is as rich a thing as he has ever uttered. He took that art to new heights, for gosh sakes. He does, however, know from such interference. Thanks for the guffaw, Senor Cowell. For whatever reason, I was struck by the Mzansi Choir's fusion of the African sound with that song. It really, really, worked for me. I believe this is an act that could do well on tour with the right marketing. Howie was having a no good, dirty, rotten day. He wasn't wrong with his criticisms, but that was his best Piers imitation evah. Simon was not having fun with how far Mandel was taking it. Sure, the tumbling act was derivative. However, the move when one of them got launched and flipped into a hand hold by someone standing on another's shoulder was breathtaking. The grip was almost lost, but it was saved. Astounding. Techno "magic" is a major turnoff for me. It's the equivalent of autotune for me. The nerd partner onscreen was a massive turnoff - almost to the point of revulsion for me. For the life of me, I could not figure out which, if any, of the glitches were built in as part of the act, or actual screw-ups. The patter messaging was just gross. It was about as sincere as Ryan Seacrest hosting anything. I very, very much wanted MOS to crush it. The musical execution was fine. It was not inspired. The choreo was fine. But, who cares? If they miraculously survive this gauntlet of worthy acts, fine. If they do not, fine. Putri is winning this whole thing. Ugh. She certainly is worthy. I'm really sick to death, though, of the hype and the cloying marketing of her. Giving her the pimp slot was not right - bordering on unfair. My guess is that the second act going through will be the Warriors or Mzansi. Either is fine by me. The wild card pick may just come from this ep, too.

I was very happily surprised that the drum line did not make final two. It was a Murmuration night, anyway. We all knew that. Speaking of...it was a mistake to not name them first as Top 5 and then 3 and then 2. It took away several minutes of whatever suspense there was as it was a certainty that they would win the night, imo. Someone(s) were asleep at the switch.

Another really bad week. Not one of the acts was special. 3G, Murmuration, and Steel Panther did what they do just fine. The very great problem for them, and for us, is that it has all been done. The metal song was a horrible choice. There are any number of hardcore songs that are rather melodic and definitely more known. Maybe they can do a cool jazz number if they somehow advance. That would be an improvement. This ep brought out the "overdoing" or "trying too hard" in spades. The family singers trying to be "cool" was cringe-worthy. Simon's constant warnings to the acts that they need to go beyond their initial audition most often leads to silliness, and worse. The drum line evoked genuine anger in me. Drum lines do NOT rely upon verbal noise. Having the younger ones shouting and screaming as though they were in war training told me all I need to know: They are not good enough to make it as a drum line and they must rely on gimmicks. Simon strikes again. Poor Sofia has spent the last two weeks trying like crazy to hide her weight gain. The best move was holding bent arms (like a football official signaling Offside) while sitting in the chair. Anytime she decides to stand in applause, she very quickly sits and is always the first to do so. Is she under contract for any more seasons?

I know several of us have commented through the years as to how very lame Results shows can be, and in particular, how weak the guest performances are. Well, this one is most certainly a low point. What drek! The best moment for me was the joke at Sofia's expense (Big Bird). For sure, a series low was the "Superstars" presentation. Goodness, how the show has fallen with those folks representing. No arguing the acts which got through. OK. I'm off to the apothecary to lay in a supply of NoDoz.

The last shall be first. That happens to be the Gospel today in Catholic Churches throughout the world. It is also AGT Gospel de facto. In this ep, the act was certainly worthy of advancing. It would be an alltime stunner if she does not. This dog act is the best I have ever seen. I would not vote them through, but kudos to those two-and four-legged actors on that stage. Everything else was inherently bad, or made poor presentation choices. Senor Wines, I'd bet anything, was screwed by SYCO production. Turrible concept and also flat stoopid to have him play with a group. The Hendrix open was a great choice, but it was not all that as he performed. Yet and still, with all the others vying for the second invite, I most hope he somehow gets it. Comedian was deathly dull. I noticed, though, she was given full time to show us what she had. She has the poise of a veteran and appears rather more polished (compliment) than a lot of AGT wannabe comics. The material was thin gruel, unfortunately. I loved having traditional Simon back. He made some quite deft remarks. There was not a one that appeared to be out of line. He was, however, on his best behavior, showing mercy and giving respect to all. More, please. There were no writer credits. There was an unusual amount of clunky transitions. It's been awhile since I've heard so many jidges being cutoff by the outro music. Poor Terry was seriously struggling. His Tyra self emerged. Simon was genuinely concerned for him at the top. I was, too. The man was just not right. My guess is the pressure of LIVE got him.

AGT outdid themselves, which I thought near-impossible, by saving the final GB for the very last act to be auditioned, for this season. What if they had spit the bit? A retro GB for a previous "unworthy" act? I can't imagine AGT would let the Group GB go to waste. In any event, this was a stunning and gutsy ploy. Here we have a perfect example of an act that was going to get voted through - no matter what. The audition mattered not. Do more than a very few actually matter? It's one script for SYCO, many giant leaps (of faith) for us. Speaking of scripts.....Will AGT be able to function without benefit of striking folks?

Karate kids. Where's Miyagi when you need him? Dev was too horny and into it. Bun was a nothing burger. GB was whatevs. Orange you glad the Israelis had a plate-onic relationship? What, exactly, is rope artist gonna do for an encore? Good on him for his resilience. Impressive as it gets. By all means, send him to Luxor...and off my tv. Same goes for the pole people with the cute kid. So played out. Two shows in a row we get a puffed-up female Country artist who underwhelms. I really don't get it. Surely, there are any number of folks scratching out an existence in Nashville who can actually bring it. Doggie did a nice version of 18. Alice, of course, retired that trophy decades ago and we liked it. OK. I love, love, love when a good Rock act appears. They typically bring genuine energy to everything and I can recognize the song. I like when SYCO uses Kiss and Queen typically as music beds for post-performance reactions. I did not like these fellas. They are a tight group, for sure. But, of all the songs they could have brought, they chose this one? Very bland. The one part I liked a lot was the extended instrumental portion. That was the energy I look for. Which brings me to genuine anger as to two things: First, Simon instantly expressing excitement and anticipation that a Rock band was taking the stage. Then, he repeated the name of each performer as they were introduced like he and they were all on some type of professional session crammed with veteran and wise hands. Rarely, have I seen Simon give that kind/type of respect in the interview for any act. They were NOBODIES. Second...the 180-degree turn Simon made on that last mess. To be fair, that was a superior Gong Show act. For what it was, very well done. However, it was the embodiment of annoying. Maybe the best (as in worst) in AGT histoire, and that is saying something. Then comes the reveal. In what universe does Cowell reverse himself into a near-rapture for being tricked in that manner? In this plane of existence, he would have lost his s*** for having been played and made to sit through that torture. Some producer(s) would pay dearly for this. Instead, it were as if his son had auditioned. AGT can pull however many "gotcha" stunts as it wishes. What it can't do is fundamentally reverse a bedrock narrative decades (See Idol) in the making. If nothing is real, the show falls. I forgive much of the shenanigans on AGT. This, however, was a betrayal.

Two things stuck out for me. First, Simon said he was seriously considering putting the amputee dancer at #1. He later tells Terry that Boyle was the unquestioned #1. Oops. The second was that multiple times in the segment about the amputee dancer, different jidges commented that there were no more GBs available to them. Then, magically, when they collectively hit the button, we got a massive amount of shiny golden paper showering the stage. If there were no more GBs, why was there any such paper pre-staged? Well, because BGT is every bit scripted as AGT. (I want to be clear that I have no objection to the inspirational lad receiving such recognition. He certainly merited such.)

The three I most wanted to return were Keisha, Nathaniel, and Thea. I got two out of three and a maybe on Thea. I'll take it. I'm happy that Amara was significantly reduced. Not sure how Marcus recurs, but hopefully (for his own good) this all means Amara kicked him to the curb. It appears that Simone and Damon will be long distance, at best. Run, Damon, RUN! Of course, all of this is subject to who and what survives the strike. I wouldn't be shocked if the show as a whole gets canned. Here's another blurb on the announced changes: https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/all-american-homecoming-season-three-several-cw-series-regulars-to-have-reduced-roles-for-2023-24/

They must've run out of decent auditions last week. Lord, this was awful - with one major exception - Cakra, aka David Clayton Thomas. Thomas was the lead singer for the legendary Blood, Sweat, and Tears group. This guy's voice is incredibly similar. If he does not choose a BS&T standard like "Spinning Wheel" in his next performance, he is nuts. Yeah, I know, production often dictates. He is the first singer in ages I would actually vote for. Magic Mike's concept was brilliant. Not sure about the flow of the presentation, though. I want to see more. Maybe Simon should hire face yoga lady to sit in the audience and literally make faces they could edit in for future acts. Face mask guy maybe should learn to be a goalie in hockey. The mom's with the transplant lads is arguably the single most treacly moment evah on TV. I was horrified to think a GB was a comin' since they were the last act. Thankfully, there were none in this loathsome presentation. Cakra would have been worthy, though. I must admit I like the symmetry of a Simon "best of" going up against Shark Week. Someone at SYCO definitely has a sense of humor.

Legit ep. Some truly unique takes and outside of finger dancer, no obvious Gong Show material. Simon was right about the Mexican girl - she absolutely shines on stage. Didn't care for her emoting, but the hybrid contortioning was worth seeing. Simon was also correct about MOS. There were a few awkward transitions, but overall, I loved the concept and I love brass. The Portland divorcee was incredibly weak. I give him points for conjuring up the scheme, though. The puppeteers had to be professionals. Their singing voices were high quality. The Simon voice was brilliant, talking or singing. Assuming they bring more excellent material, they should go a long way. The rope couple may be good for the Luxor, but they do very little for me. A favorite moment was when one of the female jidges remarked how much she loved the pre-performance interview for one of the montaged acts. I can't decide if that destroyed continuity was on purpose, or just a horribly bad edit. The other remarkable bit of sleight of editing/story was the country gals. They got a standard hero intro montage and they were certainly competent. No question they perform professionally. Yet, the song just didn't hit. Here is where Simon can shine, and he did. His concise criticism about needing to "pop" in the first few seconds was evocative of Idol, and it was spot on. it also may have been the best misdirection of the season by the editors/producers. More, please.

Whaddya know...another cheeky/ironic message in an "innocent" act. Is there a better term of art to describe this entire enterprise than the one the lad from England conjured? SCAM! I found the dog act to be extraordinary in that the human was almost as frenetic as the animal throughout. No GB, but they are ticketed to the Semis. So much blah in this one. Arguably the weakest of the early season. No GB was the right call. Of course, it was all decided in Post which acts they would piece together for this week (and every pre-taped week) and they chose more of the quirky and odd. SYCO didn't need no stinkin' GB this week! Neither did we, Simon. Neither did we.

Miss Nathanielle is clearly the most important and impactful character. It sure as heck ain't J.R. But, it's difficult to see how the show goes on without our favorite baseball prospect. Amara is the glue and allows for some very interesting looks at the abuse of power. I think she is a "gotta stay." The whole Greek thing ought to go away, but it is too easy/obviously a mechanism for draaaaaama. Since the chances of continuing beyond season 3 are not all that great, TPTB have an opportunity to eschew the standard ratings precepts, eg the dreadful Simone/J.R. fiasco of a relationship. I sincerely hope they use this license to bring in new blood who will come with/create very specific HBCU issues. In a perfect world, there would also be an arc with outside privileged students who would show how difficult it can be to foster unity and friendship when there are so many pressures related to man's natural tribalism. Even the very best intentions can be co-opted and this show has a rare opportunity to teach this. /gets down from soap box