Traveller519

I really enjoyed Mixed-ish, but the originality felt like it was running dry recently, so I understand. Hopefully Tika Sumpter has a bunch of opportunities coming out of this. She was a breakout star.

Those were some amazing teams. That defensive line also had Kenny Holmes, another first rounder who started in a Super Bowl and Kenard Lang...also a future first rounder. That was a dominant era of Miami football. I'm a little bummed we had to burn so quickly through the remainder of his college career so quickly, but I guess there isn't as much to the story there. Still it would have been great to show him actually graduating, making good on what his high school coach pitched him on. Also I feel like they could have gone a bit more into the discussion with Carlos Jones about middle management being an okay path for a lot of people. I know Dwayne's whole thing is about striving to be the best, but in an episode about coming to terms with your limitations, understanding the other routes many people take would have been great. As a Calgarian, I'm hoping we get to see his brief stint in the CFL with the Stampeders. He's quoted coach Wally Buono as the final person who sat him down to tell him his future wasn't in football, which lead to the back in Florida, "7 Bucks in my pocket" moment.

RIP, George. He was such a great figure on the show. Definitely feel for the entire cast as well as all of his family.

Pretty nice of CBS to lend them the "2 Broke Girls" audience I guess. Drunk Bachelorette energy in the audience aside, this was one of the best episodes of recent years for me. I knew nothing about the host but enjoyed him, and the whole show. Similar to how I felt about Josh Hutcherson when he hosted. In both cases they embraced the weird and I appreciated it. Normally each week, there's a sketch and the cold open I see get shared around in the coming days. This week I've seen at least 5 sketches get shared, which is pretty remarkable.

I was amazed this was Krasinski's first time hosting. I thought he surely would have done so in the middle office years (I know Rainn did, and obviously Carrell). At any rate you could tell he wanted to be there and was enjoying it. I'd love to have him back in a more traditional format, post COVID. I know MGK is Pete's friend, so I wanted to give him an honest shot, but hoo, he is not my cup of tea. Maybe it's an elder millenial elder Gen Z divide, but I can't imagine this guy not bowing out from a beef battle with Eminem. The Subway sketch disappointed me. They addressed Jared, but to not address the Irish bread ruling or recent Tuna lawsuit on what amounts to current events satire blatantly displays the paid promotion.

Yes, being perpetually on Camera is tough enough to be self conscious about for women, but then any bit of notoriety and you're being micro analyzed in magazines as well. There's some VERY good work that holds up well, but so much bad work as well. Of course the good work is never talked about. Those women who choose to ride out the first round time deals them do seem to come out better on the back end, because they still look like a real person. Of course that first round is usually accompanied by the unrelenting tiredness with being a parent to young kids, so maybe that's not even fair. Anyway, I'm way off point. Oh goody, a completely unnecessary Giulianni impression. That sucked the life out of what had actually been a decent cold open despite being focused on Pence. I agree it was good to have the showcase that they'll be having a cast member play Biden. Hopefully Maya's contract with the show is up too, and Ego can take a stab at Harris if it's required. Speaking of Ego, between the Dionne Warwick show last week and Teacher this week she's on a hot streak. I'm really glad to see her getting run in the main cast. The new cast members all showed out tonight too, which was good to see. Chloe and Bowen continue to be a force too. Chloe is so versatile and Bowen gives everything he can to his spots. No doubt that they'll be elevated after the season. I thought the skits where Kristen was part of the cast were quite good. But her old character call-backs just have no life left to them anymore for me. It reinforces what has long been my belief that Kristen is an excellent ensemble member but struggles when she becomes the lead.

This was one of the best "reunions" I've seen, which I'm sure is no small part due to wanting to have control of the discussion, and giving it a proper run time, rather than outsourcing it to Entertainment Weekly or a network producer. Will doubling as a panelist and moderator helped keep the focus on the cast, but I felt like it also meant we were without a conduit. It would have been fun to have Rashida Jones or Benny Medina moderate the discussion and provide some more insight into the production. I thought the part where they talked about how white the writing room was in trying to convey black experience was incredibly intriguing, but they didn't get that deep into it. Joseph Marcell breaking the silence after the James Avery tribute was touching, almost acknowledging just how much of the heart and glue of the series James was, while also saying... "I know I'm not him, but I'm here if you need me" I'm glad they broke the unwritten reunion rule of "Don't talk about the elephants in the room." I think the Janet Hubert stuff was incredibly touching given everything that's gone on. I can't believe what they filmed was truly their first time speaking (though it may have been the first time without representation for all parties... 🙂), but it felt authentic, and that matters. Janet has been shit-talked by more of the cast than just Will, so I'm sure everyone was treading lightly. While I won't pretend to know the whole story, NPR has a nice write-up on how if you break down some of her concerns they were typical of women in the workplace, no matter the workplace, and especially black women. Well done everyone, now I'm really looking forward to Bel-Air (god....I really hope they don't get Jaden to play Will)

The girlfriend and I put this on as our start to the Christmas season last night. We picked it since we knew it was a "new" Christmas movies that neither of us had seen before, and we're both fond of the leads. We didn't know there was going to be a twist. Let's just say we had no problem pausing halfway through to tackle the dishes and other Sunday night chores for the week before picking it up and when that was done. I tackled some painting in the living room while watching. Clarke and Golding are as charming as ever and it's fun to watch each of them do their thing. I think Clarke's best interactions were with her pregnant friend and her husband. I was disappointed they were limited to the first act and fourth act call back. I also have no idea why they decided to add relatively well known actors to the theatre and ice shoe audition panels for their 30 seconds of screen time. The twist was, meh, whatever. We didn't call it, but suspected he may have been her doctor. Also the timeline didn't seem to line up. I think the first title card said Yugoslavia, 1999 but Yugoslavia officially ceased as a state in 1992? If it was supposed to be 1992 (or maybe 1989), that wouldn't add up with Katarina being 26 in 2017 and also old enough (or potentially even alive) to be singing in that children's choir in Yugoslavia. Maybe that Cobain/Winehouse joke wasn't necessary for Clarke who is, into her 30s. Needless to say, I don't think this is getting added to the Holiday rotation.

As enjoyable as it was to see the departure to 2020, the fact that John chose to do so while incinerating thousands of gallons of gasoline (along with whatever materials the sign were made from) in the middle of an open pit mine was rather disappointing. I always saw John as pro concise effort when it came to the environment and carbon emission. It's going to be hard to take him seriously on things issues related to resource extraction and climate change when he's so obviously in favor of a wasteful stunt like this.

This year is a decade of Mulaney fandom for me. My first exposure to him was at The Melbourne comedy Festival in 2010. I'm always happy to see him but this felt like your favorite band making a "nothing but the classics tour" Not a lot new, but with how heavy the news cycle is lately, a little balm wasn't bad.

I'll miss Julia Butters. She was a great actress and portrayed Anna Kat so well. I'm sure we'll settle into the new actor as well. This episode felt a little stiff but it was obviously done to set up the show in light of having to end abruptly last year. I do wish we would have had some fall out from Oliver's Prom Date though.

This one felt a bit like the first "at home" a bit of trying to figure things out. Weekend Update was definitely the strongest part. Pete should have played Adam Silver. There's only so many supremely gangly folks out there and Silver and Pete are two of them. Was Melissa there? I feel like her impression skills would have been worthwhile in the Drew Barrymore sketch

Oh I love this gloriously dumb show. Enough time has passed that Charles had enough time to get divorced, separate assets, presumably make alternate living arrangements, get a full scale wedding planned and get his ex-wife back in his good graces. And yet, so little time has passed that the Mase Cap/Axe Cap employee feud is still in the juvenile prank stages with all employees still on board, including the PR/IR specialist who works for exclusively for the Sub-Fund with only one source of capital. And, of course, Axe's most comparative rival (similar age, similar worth, both investors) who has never been mentioned before is now front of mine. Will Young Buffet here get a ceremonial flight back to Indiana. Seems like slightly smaller stakes than Gregori. All that said, I do enjoy the wider themes. Chuck's continuing neglect of anything approaching responsibility in his immediate family life continues to amaze him when things go off the rails, both small and large. Mafee's genuine excitement at Becky Lynch getting tossed around the office, though he likely would have been up at reception a nano-second after she started raising a fuss. Wag's gentle guiding hand, and complete overreaction to the most inconsequential of blights. Throw in Taylor taking a pot shot at Chuck's training regimen and it was enough to give me a smile in the midst of a rainy night in isolation.

What the hell was Alicia's advice to Denise? She was in a relationship with someone who ticked most of her boxes and she found interesting and captivating and who was very invested in her. He just dominated the conversation. That's not a cut bait and throw in the towel scenario, it's an opportunity for Denise to assert herself in the relationship. Alicia is constantly pushing her Children to stand up for themselves on the face of challenging circumstances, but her advice to her sister is to quit on a relationship because the very nice, polite partner she has talks about his work a lot. That seems completely incongruous!

Pitt is famously incredibly protective of his public persona. It's why he a oids do live interviews, why he hired writers for his award show speeches, and tends to do limited things where his team can ultimately veto them if it doesn't turn out well, like his Jim Jefferies weatherman bit. I guess that's a reason he's never hosted SNL. If things go bad. There's nothing he can do to combat it. But I guess this revised format works to that with only one pre-recorded bit to do and introducing Miley. I really enjoyed this episode. I wanted to say the show was telling on itself but I realise things like "more/shorter sketches and fewer sketches written around a host" won't translate as well to the normal format. I laughed the hardest at Chloe, Kyle, and Melissa's sketches. I also actually enjoyed Kate's two sketches. Her character work has always been great, her impressions just wear on me. Kenan obviously had a bunch of ideas to get out after focusing on TMNT last week. I'm really enjoying the "cast members as themselves at home bits," whether it's Pete's songs, Aidy's look inside her life, or Mikey's family

Luke getting accepted to Oregon was a nice little Easter egg for Ty Burrell. Ty grew up in Oregon and spent some time at the University. Despite Phil attending that unnamed University (Bulldogs/frogs), there was an early season episode where Phil mentioned "we lost to Penn State" at the bowl game. Oregon lost the Rose Bowl to Penn State while Ty was there. Sorry, I know that's a lot. Just a Duck fan here!

Based on the Weekend Update "audience" it sounds like Heidi either really loves WU or is one of the most supportive friends you can have. Chloe is a star in waiting. Obviously a lot of her impression work is well done (she has more of a Dana Carvey approach to impressions, which is to find a hook and lean into it, compared to Melissa who goes for the spot-on impression) but I also get the sense she has some of the best sense for sketch comedy the show has seen since Taran. We heard in her earlier days that Cecily was one of the best writer/performers on the show. I wonder if she lenses her talents more toward writing this week, especially with Update, with her having experience on that front and Che likely being down a bit. I get the sense Pete is a great comedian that just hasn't adapted to the demands of SNL production. Good Neighbor was perfectly Good Neighbor. It's always jarring to me how much more serious "real" Kenan is than "performer" Kenan

Lots of good jokes, but I didn't feel invested in the outcome of the games, which felt odd for a B99 plot. Strange, I can't totally out my finger on what it was. I did enjoy the more involved Hitchcock subplot. I thought he carried the load well.

Regarding the Wave Metaphor. Looks like Chidi may have studied death and what comes next with Professor Det. Fearless Seriously though, that's how great that metaphor is that I can recall it from the Pilot Episode of a 17-year-old single season (and change) NBC Friday Night Drama. I knew this was going to be a blubbery episode for me to watch as soon as Janet clued into what Jason was saying, they hit when Dance Dance Resolution performed in front of an adoring crowd in the afterlife. Well done show, well done indeed

I can't really comment on anything else.because of that painting. Oh my god... The way the camera would just.zoomminnandmlinger.on the face. Jeff's reaction tonite sitting in the kitchen. Everything. What a piece of gold!

This episode made me really laugh a few times. But I think my favorite was: "Throwing away sunglasses, that jacket! What kinda budget is this guy working with?" Also, "Oh great! Actual feuding with your family!" Glad to see this show can still pull deep when it needs to, even if the "life lessons" get pretty repetitive after a while!

"You did go into the family business, son. Spreading joy and positivity" Damn, what a line in what was a beautiful exchange between the two actors. I had seen Fred in something else recently and he was looking frail too. As they say, "Time is the undefeated champion," but it's so nice to see that he can still perform, if not as physically in the past. I'd always assumed John Michael Higgins would assume those Fred Willard roles, going forward, but it looks like Ty Burrell should have the inside track. The casting if them as father and son has been absolutely perfect. Sentimental Phil always hits hard. I hope we get another episode of him and his Children.

It's quite a common analogy that Sisyphus' rock represents a grand purpose. It's annoying and it never goes away and it's easy to hate in the moment, but when it's no longer there, life feels empty. A common thing for people who made work their whole life and then can't figure out what to do in life. Jake in Everybody Wants Some!! talks about how Baseball is his rock in a Sisyphean struggle as part of his college application essay that required him make an analogy for his life to Greek Philosophy. While I was very happy watching Vicky get turned into a pile of goo earlier this year, it was even better having her back. She'll be great in that role. And at the risk of costing myself some Good Place points, she looked fantastic! That Acid snake knows how to pick a skin suit! I appreciated the relative lack of drama, or twists and surprises. I still think we'll get some as we close out (the committee is obviously wholly incapable of running anything in the Good Place) but this was a nice set up to the finale

I'm pretty sure it was the Horse Chidi tried to draw during pictonary earlier this season, struggling to survive as it ever has.

And their motto: "Fragile Trinkets for the Happiest Days" I don't know if Megan Amram is still the primary writer for these, but she's going to need a creative outlet when the show ends! Even I'm all hot and bothered by this Chidi. /Eleanor makes a good point /Chidi swoops in to kiss her passionately, "Do you want to get out of here?"