Sun-Bun

I read "Widow's Guide" too and found it just "meh"---and I say that as a huge Carole fan who adored every beautiful page of "What Remains". I *will* say that for "chick lit" that it's got an interesting tone and has very intelligent, black humor and an excellent overall style---no doubt that much like her blogs, Carole has proven her writing talents and smart wit yet again, it just wasn't a very compelling or interesting story itself. Which in itself is rather disappointing because this is a topic most of the books in that genre haven't explored, and it felt like she could've made the story/heroine a bit more engaging, but it was overall a bit of a formulaic bore. But I do applaud her for at least trying to go for this light novel format---she's mentioned since then that it's much harder to write fiction than she ever realized, and I believe it. And it did feel a bit rushed by the end, so I'm willing to bet that she was as bored and over this story as we the readers are by the end. Also, I think this book is far more autobiographical than she's willing to coyly admit! I do wonder if the show comes back another season if she'll come back too. I'm sure she's gotten far more writing exposure/opportunities otherwise and she freely admits she's a girl with bills who has to hustle, so I'm betting she'd return if invited, if only because Andy obviously loves her still too.

I so wanted to *be* Kelly Kopowski back when these shows aired: she was so gorgeous, sweet, popular, captain of the cheerleading squad, wanted by every hot guy in town, PT model/singer, cool bedroom, cute clothes, etc.... Then she got all grungey when she went to college with Zach and AC and then married Zach and I no longer wanted to be Kelly. But she was a fun part of my wistfully awkward tween years, as was this entire goofy show. I think this show is an example of how the charisma of a cast, a'la "Friends" can totally make a lame show far more watchable.

What about the kooky blonde party girl from Rhode Island? I miss her already!! I dunno if I can warm up to the new cast because they seem way too pretty and aware of the cameras and having to create drama/wacky scenes---one of the refreshing aspects of the first season was the fact that everyone seemed so real and like your typical crew. I am glad that at least the captain and the cook are back---I loved their snarky no-nonsense attitudes and the fact that they were still so professional and capable even amidst all the drunken silliness and kooky hijinks of the ship's crew/guests.

Having watched the first S&tC movie on television for the trillionth time((and what's up with the lame sequel never getting shown? Are networks really that repulsed by it??)), I couldn't help but get struck by how inherently different the vibe of those are compared to the television series. Granted, I get it: everything is grander and more exaggerated on the big screen. Plus, the women are all older, and far more secure and well-off than they ever were in the series. But still---any of you SatC fans still consider the movies almost like a fantasy extension of the actual stories? The women/men themselves even seem...different. For instance, did the ladies always scream upon seeing each other *that* much? It seemed like in the movies they're always screaming like Oprah audience members about something. Especially Charlotte---she's squealing throughout both movies. She seemed terribly dumbed down and one-dimensional in the movies, even while crying in her kitchen pantry about being overwhelmed by mothering in the second flick. They made her into a cartoon character almost, a caricature of a sickeningly happy Upper East Side wife with the "perfect" life. They all are suddenly way more fashion-conscious, spend-happy consumers. Carrie seems more bitter, less flighty in the movies, yet more smug. Maybe that's her character's natural trajectory, but she still seems so different. And her first wedding dress/look seemed way too severe and high fashion even for her. Miranda and Samantha more or less seem the same as their television personas, although I really hated that Steve actually cheated on Miranda---it seemed so out of character and random even for a goofy bartender like him. Aidan appearing in the second flick just seemed so cheap and pointless. Why couldn't he have just remained a happy husband/dad like we all knew he was meant to be? I felt like that was tossed in as a "conflict" for all those Aidan fans. And Mr. Big is my largest gripe with the flicks---I know Chris Noth is older and a lot of his youthful charm and suave ways from the series has gone by, but still...he just seems like such a lame old bore in the first flick. And then the way he went from supposedly smooching Carrie regularly(even though he was never into PDA much on the TV series), to suddenly being unable to marry her in that first wedding ceremony? Made NO sense to me....what a jerk, either way. He utterly humiliated Carrie, but she sure didn't help with the very public bouquet-beating she gave him in the street. Anyways, I was just curious what everyone here loved/hated about the movies?

Oh God, I could quote RoL quotes all damned day---my favorite ones being: "Don't threaten me with a good time." "People who eat basil are lame!" ((Blondetourage 4eva!)) "Your daughter is a slut!" "Oh my Hell!" "I may be a Southern lady, but I manhandled that bitch!" "If we put our boobs together, we can think better." Yes, if you ask me, television has sincerely suffered since "Rock of Love" went off the air. No offense to "Ladies of London," but I'd take those skanks over these social-climbing prudes any day of the week.

I absolutely adore Carole's apartment, so I was practically drooling during that entire segment---total highlight of the show for me, even over the ridiculous leg-tossing moment. Then again, I'm an interior design geek/HGTV-hyperviewer, so I live for gawking at posh home porn. Actually, what a lovely scene between her and Heather and Kristen overall---it's nice to see how much Carole also appreciates her "sanctuary" and how much fun she always seems to have just entertaining friends there. That said, WOW, what a gorgeous loft-style home she's whipped up for herself! I just love how it's the perfect mixture of masculine elegance with quirky doses of whimsy within an upscale palace of understated feminine allure. I live in a similarly-structured loft myself, so I was taking mental notes for a potential revamp of my own around here. I do believe it was a partial renovation, since she turned that former upstairs office into a huge walk-in closet with shelves/hanging space and had her older counters knocked out to add a desk/drawers/shelves and things for her new office area in the kitchen. She also added window jams and new AC unit along with all the different paint/wall treatments. (she detailed all this progress on her Instagram) There's an article about her pad featured on this site, but she's obviously added some key elements in there even since this was posted: http://thedesigndaredevil.com/2014/04/carole-radziwills-nyc-apartment/

Awwww, I just Googled Quincy Morgan and saw some recent red carpet images of her and Sonja---pretty girl indeed! Let's hope her natural Morgan connections will allow her to stay in good social standing and that her mom's skanky famewhorish behavior doesn't haunt her as she grows up. Best idea John Morgan ever had so far has been to make sure Quincy stays off the show, I think. Much like Brandi from RHoBH and Tamara from RHoOC, these women act trashy enough on their own without them dragging their poor kids into the televised mess---interesting and very telling that ALL these equally embarrassing housewives have ex'es not allowing their children on television, isn't it?

You know, I wish she'd go into more detail about her wig-wearing and exactly how/why she started to regularly rocked them. In her older photos, you can tell she had gorgeous, long and thick hair like her daughters, so I wonder what really happened? I remember the first season reunion of RHoA, when she got all teary and alluded to having a cancer scare and losing her hair? But then it turned out to be a really sketchy story that may or may not have even happened, and I remember Nene even saying to her, "I thought you wore a wig for style." So who really knows the actual how/why of her wig-addiction? I do think it's oddly endearing in a way that she openly wears and appreciates wigs. I honestly applaud her for that, because wearing a wig every day is farrrrr less damaging to one's natural hair than wearing ridiculously long extensions. Plus, you can switch up your hairstyles a lot more easily! Although admittedly, I do find the wigs with black roots a little laughable...

Caprice was beyond annoying this episode!!! I cannot stand it when women play the whole victim routine when they're being outwitted in a disagreement---after hearing her constant whining about how Caroline is "so mean" and such a "bully" to her for the nth time, I was ready to punch all the collagen right out of those sluggy lips of hers! The thing is, she seemed really sweet, smart and savvy on "The Surreal Life", which I believe was on maybe 10 or more years ago?? She was still pretty then and most of the men were lusting over her, but she was already starting with the obvious facial work even back then because she still had a subtle bit of a plastic sheen to her "look." I think even back then it was obvious she was destined to become a PS addict. And she already had the faux Brit accent too. I wish they'd do a spin-off of this show just featuring Caroline and her fabulous life. If that horrendous creature Courtney Kerr from the abysmal flop "Most Eligible Dallas" could somehow snag her own spin-off show, why can't Caroline??

Seriously!! I'm in shock over how poorly this show did, especially considering it'd gathered quite a little fanbase and some of the "Ladies" even appeared on WWHL afterwards. But then again, I remain baffled over the success of newer shows like "Below Deck" and "Blood, Sweat & Heels" while I'm *still* bemoaning the failure of "Gallery Girls", so obviously I'm just not the best judge of how these shows catch on. Still, one would've thought the idea of a light and lively version of the Housewives set in London would've gone over better, you dig?

According to Dlisted today, the ratings for this show were beyond shitty, just wayyyy below projected numbers---so we'll see if this shitfest even manages to survive an entire season.

Yep, time for Kroy to step up and properly discipline that one, because Kim apparently hasn't set the best example for her. Teenage drivers shouldn't be given another car after their first wreck, let alone their fourth!!!

Awwww, I think her teen girls have grown into lovely young ladies! They just happen to be typically obnoxious, phone-obsessed teenage girls, that's all. The oldest one is like a Kim clone though who seems to worship her mama, so I just hope she doesn't follow the same golddigging, wallet-chasing, slutty gameplan as her mama.

Arghhh!!! Why does she keep chasing her sad dreams of being a singer?! Homegirl can't sing!!! She had one fluke dance hit that happened to be very catchy and wasn't a flop. Why can't she just accept being a one hit blunder and move on? What garbage...

I felt really sad for them. And bored by them. You'd think they'd have an ounce of charm to spare between them both to make them either likable or interesting enough to watch further, but nope, they're known for three things: he's a good-looking D-list actor, she's a talented, award-winning country singer, and they both had messy affairs that got them in the tabloids. That's about it. Why do they have a tv show again? Because we're all curious enough to tune in and see what the hell they're going to do. Not me though---I'm out because not only are they both lame, but they're both every bit as exceptionally boring as I suspected.

Agreed!! Even though I wasn't a huge Aiden fan, I just thought he and Carrie were such a horrible fit. He was just a mellow, low-maintenance, homebody sorta dude who wanted to share his life and settle down with a similar type of woman---I think he saw Carrie as something different, an interesting but fun challenge, and vise-versa for her. They were polar opposites who were drawn to each other soley based on sheer chemistry. The thing is, he tried so hard to make Carrie into something she wasn't, which is when I knew their relationship was doomed: he tried to get her to quit smoking, tried to turn her "bonified city girl" self into an outdoorsy gal, and hoped that one day she'd settle down into quiet domesticity as a wife and mother with him. That's when he really got on my nerves because he couldn't see how insanely incompatible he and Carrie truly were, but he kept pushing things so hard to the point where he pushed her away! In a way, it reminded me of how she acted the exact same way with Big, only the roles were reversed. Very interesting how she ended up cheating on him with Big. Anyway, he deserved someone completely different than Carrie, and I'm glad that eventually happened. Although his appearance in the second movie really bugged me and didn't seem to fit with his character at all---but did *anything* from that lousy movie fit with their original characters?? Who was that guy who Samantha went so ga-ga for? Richard?? Yeah, I liked those two together---he was her ultimate challenge and I think she loved their constant drama and sexual warfare. Even though he was a "dirty bastard."

That wife burned me up, the way she acted all huffy with Carrie about her husband's creepy behavior, when HE is the one being completely inappropriate and dropping trou in front of her friends?! Wives like that are just the worst, like it's their single girlfriends' faults that their husbands act like sick pervs when left unattended. Ugh.

I'm actually glad Lilly is gone, even though I did enjoy her random gaudy glamour and plastic soul in very small doses---to be a former lawyer and a successful entrepreneur, she came across as one of the most vapid, materialistic bimbos to ever star on a Bravo series. And don't even get me started on that awful California-chickie voice of hers, with the constant squeaky-voiced upspeak she'd use, ugh! But yeah, she was quite boring, in all her non-partying, no-real-storyline, not-liked-by-the-others glory. Still love me some Reza, even though his schtick has worn thin in the last season or more. MJ is apparently still a sloppy mean drunk, and let's hope that psycho GG is finally benefitting from anger management. I always have loved Mike and the hippie-dippie artsy vibe of Asa. I think this spoof perfectly captures the basic vibe of this show at its tacky best: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X8xeFkjOWY0

Okay, you got me: Carrie, why'd you have to go make Natasha trip on that stairwell and break her tooth?! But, it was pretty stupid of Natasha to just take off after her like that---why the rush? What the Hell was she going to do if she caught up with Carrie anyway?? Just yell at her about what a skanky hobag she was?!

I'll never forget the episode where Donna Martin was cheesing out chasing Color Me Badd around a hotel like a creepy groupie---it was so awesomely 90's trashtastic!!! I didn't mind the episode at the time because I was a taste devoid pre-teen with an equally obnoxious Color Me Badd fetish, but looking back now, I can't believe how dated it made the series look. Maybe Tori Spelling was a real-life fan and begged Daddy Spelling to put them on the show??

Maybe I'm the minority here, but I was always a huge Carrie apologist who didn't mind her crazy, self-absorbed antics and rants. It helped that an actress as charming as Sarah Jessica Parker somehow made this mess of a character oddly kooky and likable to me. Sure, she seemed like a terribly needy significant other, but she did have some sweet moments of kindness throughout the series that proved she could at least be a caring friend and a thoughtful mate. The time when she joined a weeping and alone Miranda in her mother's(or was it her father?) funeral procession was a lovely moment. She was always there for the other gals when they were sick or in emotional turmoil. And I'm always reminded of how she acted when Natasha had her accident after she caught Carrie in her and Big's apartment. Yes, she had an affair and was hanging out in there like a creepy tramp, and yes, she was a hideous mess throughout that whole dark period of playing the mistress role. But when Natasha fell down on the stairwell and was obviously hurt, Carrie had the decency to go back and check on her, comfort her, and stay in the waiting room for her after rushing her to the hospital. How many other women would've done all that in the same situation? Most mistresses would've kept right on running! That scene alone convinced me that Carrie wasn't such a godawful excuse of a human being and that she did indeed have some compassion for others. Well, even if it *was* somewhat her fault that Natasha even fell down those stairs...

I hate all medical, political and legal dramas---never could find one single fuck to give about *any* of them out there in all my over 35 years worth of television-watching. (although I did enjoy "Miami Vice" back in the day, but mostly due to its stylish, fast-paced vibe, 80's music and my mad former crush on Don Johnson) I actually enjoyed "Models Inc", the trashy spin-off to the equally trashy-but-fun "Melrose Place." Someone recently uploaded its entire 1st(and only) season on YouTube, and I had such a blast revisiting all those bad 90's fashion trends and ridiculous plotlines. I adored "Punky Brewster", but it always bothered me that she was not portrayed as being remotely bothered or emotionally-scarred by the fact that her mother officially dumped her in a parking lot. And how did her mom just mysteriously go missing without a trace? You mean old dude Henry is allowed to just adopt this abandoned kid without authorities ever even bothering to find this missing woman who dumped her 7-year-old child in the streets?! Similarly, those girls from "Full House" never seemed very bummed out about the fact that their mom suddenly DIED and left them all to the mercy of their bumbling father and his equally daft best buddy and brother-in-law, did they? No wonder Michelle Tanner was such a self-centered little bitch. Steve Urkel was actually some sweet and quietly pessimistic geek when he first appeared on "Family Matters"---then he mysteriously turned into the annoying, snorting caricature he became after his third or fourth appearance on the series. I loved "The Golden Girls", but I actually loathed Sophia Petrillo---she had a few funny lines here and there, but overall, she was such a nasty and cruel little hag. She was verbally abusive to her daughter and everyone else in that house, she was always bossily butting into everyone else's business, and her endless "Picture this..." stories made me groan with annoyance. I'd take 12 of Rose's goofy "Back in St. Olaf.." stories for one of windbag Sophia's "Picture this..." borefests. I worshipped JR Ewing and thought Bobby was the biggest pussy who ever pussied around in "Dallas." Speaking of "Dallas", did anyone else find it weird and oddly creepy that Patrick Duffy and Sasha Mitchell both went from leading men co-starring on "Dallas" to bumbling boymen co-starring in that crappy ABC sitcom, "Step by Step" together, only Sasha played this ridiculous caricature of a stoner dude? Finally: I thought Captain Kirk was hot...when I was 5-years-old.

I hear ya on that front! Maybe some parts of their lives just aren't film-worthy due to some of their friends being camera-shy or certain events/public spaces not allowing filming? We did get a glimpse of Carol hanging out in her rental cottage in LA with her close girlfriends(and her dog!!) there, and that was cool to see. I'd love to similarly see Heather doing more work-related functions/professional gatherings for Yummy-Tummy, LuAnn hanging out with her so-called "European Friends" and Ramona actually being filmed at all those fahhhh-bulous Hamptons shindigs she frequents on the DL.

Same here, ladies!! I love her and am so inspired by her as well, even as a married late-30's Southern gal. She makes the 50's seem so fun. It actually annoyed me when Ramona said during "Bookgate" something to the effect of, "Her career is all she has." All she has?! I'm looking at a successful, best-selling author and journalist with an amazing career/late husband, great home and a fabulous bicoastal life as a stylish Manhattan/LA single gal about town who travels the world and has a rich social life to boot, so that summary was totally lost on me. No, she's far from perfect, but that's what I like about her: she's just real, hair extensions and plastic surgery and all.

Seriously!!! I was really disappointed by that rude old cowboy jerk who had the audacity to randomly grumble at them, "Get real, girls." WTF?? They were dressed in fun, festive outfits and were light-heartedly checking out their surroundings and musing about VIP sections. Given the way the rest of those fat old local hags looked at the rodeo in their gross T-shirts and jeans/jorts, that idiot should've been grateful that some out-of-town ladies with class and style showed up there for once! Way to be a welcoming and non-judgemental local there, asshole---true cowboys are gentlemanly and courteous, especially towards women.