Hybiscus

Uh-oh. I don't even know who Maurice is. Should i be ashamed? ;) Ii too think that Bright was stunned. I don't think he's part of the conspiracy, though. When Deare called him "Reg" and walked away, he responded "Reginald." He's definitely the bureaucrat and plays the politics to get ahead, but I don't think he's a mean man, per se. Bright doesn't hate Morse, it's Morse is an annoyance to Bright. Morse doesn't play by the rules Bright has been used to. Yep, this episode was a watershed moment for Jakes. I always had the impression that by the end of last season, Jakes had begun to accept Morse, and I think it played out that way this season. But giving Jakes such an intriguing background deepens his character. In a way, it was also a watershed moment for Strange, who is now becoming a part of the establishment. (I've not seen many of the Inspector Morse shows, so i don't know what the Morse/Strange dynamic comes to be. I have seen The Remorseful Day, and by that time, Strange was quite fond of Morse.) I know it's not an official announcement or anything, but IMDB shows a third season is in store for Endeavour -- but not until 2016. Arggh!

Dammit! Why do screenwriters think they have to end the season on a cliffhanger to keep us interested in a show? If it's good, we'll return regardless! And Endeavour is not just good, it's GREAT! Well, I didn't know who James Wilby is, but I definitely thought something was off about Deare. I was spoiled for the episode so I knew about the ventriloquist and Jakes. I do wish the Jakes breakdown would have been covered more, but the ventriloquist and his dummy were amazingly moving and fabulous. I'm sure I have a lot more thoughts, and will collect them upon rewatch. I'm going to miss this show so much! WETA UK (in the Washington DC area) will be showing season 1 Endeavour episodes starting this week. On Wed, I think. At least it will give me a little sustenance until next season. And they better not kill Thursday off!

Gosh, I'm loving this show! I actually said it out loud early into this episode. I actually liked this episode better than last weeks, but I agree with Endeavour (the poster, not the policeman). The show does such a wonderful job of giving us compelling characters and making us truly care about. I'd never seen any of the Morse or Lewis episodes before catching Endeavour, but the very few I've seen, I actually prefer Endeavour. There's a melancholy tone to it I haven't yet seen in the other shows. I'm so sad next week will be the last for a year. By the way, IMDB does indicate there'll be a third season. As far as I'm concerned at this point, it could go on forever.

That's because the nerdy guy always gets the cool girl. The nerdy girl never gets the cool guy unless she has a makeover. Would Richard go for an average-looking woman? Probably. But television audiences wouldn't stand for it. Even in real life, the standards for what's attractive in a man has less to do with his appearance than with his brain and personality. To wit (also from the above post) Ok, getting off my soapbox now.

I did the exact same thing!! And I've rewatched the finale numerous times. The low tech, the stumbling-mumbling, the way he pointed out Hooli stole his technology but also gave them credit, and his own belief that the file didn't completely compress. As the compression was going on, I actually got goosebumps! That's how pulled into the moment I was. Was there a dick joke in the show? ;-D hincandenza: I thought the same thing about Supernatural. The first season was so good, I wondered how they could top it. But they did. There's plenty of "hero's journey" to explore. Richard is going to struggle mightily. It's not about the money for him, but he's a techie, not a manager. All the characters re nicely defined now (well, except Monica) and that's what makes the show entertaining. I'm sure there will plenty of fodder for laughs and groans.

Wow, this episode had so many twists and turns, I got whiplash! A veritable smorgasbord of how to fuck up a plan... any plan. Let's see, there's Chief of Staff getting caught in his forgery, CIA station chief unable to deflect gung-ho geek, reverse knock-out drug, sister & kid not "cooperating," and best of all, MI5 botching everything. What fun!

Yes, nowadays, new shows have to be a hit right away. With results instantly available tv execs know immediately how the show is doing. And they're so money-motivated, they're not willing to stick with a show that isn't producing a great profit. Seinfeld began 25 years ago (I know!), before the age of the internet and the web, let alone instant gratifications like Twitter and such. It was a simpler, slower, and quieter time.

Since Charlie didn't get a montage when he was eliminated, a fan created one. I'm not a member on Vimeo, but here it is. I wish they'd used "Happy" for the background song. Not only does it describe him to a T, he danced to it. Marvelously, I might add.

*No, he got 9s from CAI and Bruno, a 10 from Ricky and an 8 from Len. Yeah, it averaged out to "straight 9s," but it wasn't. And if Len hadn't punished Charlie for his desire for a perfect score, both in his verbal debasing and his score, it wouldn't have felt so awful. I realize it wouldn't have made a lot of difference in the end, but I just hated the way the judges underscored several of Charlie's dances, not just his paso. Interestingly, Maks & Meryl are in the background when Charlie and Sharna received their paso scores. I loved Maks's reactions. When CAI gave Charlie a 9, Maks was visibly was annoyed. He did the ol' fist pump with Ricky's 10. Then, with Len's 8, he was visibly upset, and covered his face with his hands in horror. That endeared me to Maks. *Edited to add: Oops, that might have sounded a little harsh. I didn't mean for it to sound argumentative, more informative. Too bad there aren't fonts that convey the tone we're trying to use.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so wonderful seeing Charlie tonight, but I had a little hole in my heart that he wasn't in the finals, too. I know he was super thrilled for Meryl, but I wish we could have seen more from him. Hey , Len. What was that you said when Charlie was eliminated? "It's bloody ridiculous." Well, maybe if you hadn't given him such a shit time and not knocked him down two points for breaking hold and another two for the "not special" paso (which was special!) he would have made more of an impression with the voting public. But... OMG, the umbrella! The guy cannot catch a break, but he played it so damn well, I initially thought it was part of the dance. Only in slo-mo did I see the umbrella slip out of its handle and Sharna's shocked face. And then her delight when he saved it with his adorable charm. I do also feel a bit cheated that we didn't get to see the entire Meryl/Charlie on wood dance.

Actually, she didn't giggle at all, at least in the sections I didn't fast-forward through or have on mute. What did me in was the shots of Charlie... and Danice and NeNe. (Chug fr one, drink for the other 2.) Wow, James is out. Did not call that at all. Candace is a lovely person, but it's a travesty she's in the final finals. Maybe God really does want her to win.

I'm still nursing my broken heart from last week, so to watch tonight's episode 10, here is how I plan to get through it. You may join me if you wish. If you are alcohol-free, you can use a non-alcoholic drink or food. The DWTS Drinking Game! Take a sip every time: Meryl scores a 10 Amy cries in the pre-dance package A male dancer appears shirtless Candace gets "into her head" in a dance Bruno jumps out of his seat Take a drink every time: Contemporary shows up in the freestyle Derek is praised for his choreography A former contestant is spotted in the crowd (except for Charlie, see below) Carrie Ann giggles Take a gulp when There's a Charlie sighting. (If you're not a fan, you can put him with all the other celebs above) Candace says she's "dancing for One" Len criticizes someone Feel free to add your own. ^_^

Henry was the first that popped into my head, too. He seems to have a pleasant personality that would mesh well with Candace. I think Val would be too intense/demanding for her. But your conspiracy theory is pretty good. ;) That's it! Have Charlie be Candace's partner for the night! I'd watch that!

whatsatool, he might be in the audience, like Danica was last week, if you're willing to settle for non-dancing Charlie.

Heh. I usually just copy (ctrl-c)and paste (ctrl-v) the stuff I want to reply to and add the quotes around the text manually. Downside is the name of the person you're replying doesn't show up. I do like the "reply to" option but this is my first time using it. I can easily go into the quoted section and delete extraneous verbiage if it's not germane to my reply.

My boyband was the Beates :-D

HA! Actually,Joystickenvy, now that I've read some of your other posts (had read some before, obviously) but hadn't put name to post), I now recognize your enjoyable sense of humor. :-)

Whaaaat? Do you mean he has hair on his lip? This is meant to be funny/silly, yes? I've not noticed a "cleft lip" (the clinical term), and I'm somewhat trained, having been a speech pathology major. The comment just startled me, and I want to make sure I interpret it correctly.

Sorry, maybe I didn't make myself clear. This is the only season I've watched DWTS and will likely ever watch, so I have absolutely nothing invested in the pros. I didn't mean that "everything is about Derek." It's more that the judges comment and compliment his choreography when the focus should be on Amy. Yes, they do complement Amy, and deservedly (to a degree). But no other pro has been consistently praised for choreography. Tony was once, Maks maybe a couple times. Was Sharna ever? (I don't remember.) But it seems to have become a weekly thing with Derek, and in a way, it takes away from Amy's accomplishments. (I still stand by my statement that the MSOD is egotistical beyond words.) I'm curious, have other seasons been as contentious as this one? It's almost like I'm reading Supernatural thread on "that other board." :0

Yeah! We oldsters have a lot of buying power! But then, who wants to watch commercials for prune juice and Depends? (I'm joking, ok?) :-D

There's an interesting post on another board that talks about not really knowing who Amy is, that her dances have been more about Derek and his "glorious" choreography. The poster wished Amy had been paired with someone other than Derek, since there is so much talk of him and how he's been able to "manage" Amy. I hadn't really figured out why I hadn't warmed up to Amy, but this made perfect since. Especially since I just watch the MSOD last night and wondered why Derek's dances always feature Derek. I had to laugh because Scott Hamilton came through the same gate into the same courtyard for his talk with Charlie that Charlies did with Meryl. Yeah, that's not staged at all. [/sarcasm] I've posted elsewhere (other forums, my blog) about what went wrong with Charlie and Sharna. As with other SNAFUs, in probably wasn't just one thing. Low-balling his scores (I've written about this ad nauseum), lack of chemistry (I finally acknowledged it), Charlie's short-changed pre-dance packages which might have given us a glimpse Charlie/Sharna chemistry), the emphasis on his quest for perfect 10s instead of his delightful personality, humor, humility, and positivity, Sharna not knowing how to play the game. I doubt she had any say over the packages, but she could have been better aware of how things were going and what she might not be doing right. Hopefully she's learned a HUGE lesson this season. I think Charlie has enormous "sparkle" himself, maybe not "star-quality" sparkle, but All American sparkle. Sharna remains somewhat of an enigma.

With all the talk of the lack of chemistry between Sharna and Charlie, I thought her "little brother" comment was very telling. So I definitely like the thread name. :)

I just saw this on Twitter! Does this mean Charlie will be on the show next week? Dammit! I was all set to not watch. Now I'll have to tune in because, you know, you can never have too much Charlie!

I don't doubt Charlie's talks with Meryl and his mom were staged. I'm sure he talked to Meryl every day, and his mom was in LA for at least some of the shows. The problem wasn't so much that he did or didn't "play the game," for whatever reason, he just didn't get the attention other contestants got, either in the media or the pre-dance videos. Would we have seen more chemistry with Sharna if they'd lengthened his videos to show their playful side? Would that have endeared him more to the voters? I don't know.