renatae

It seems to me that the elimination of everyone "in the know" is designed to show the insecurity and desire for omnipotence of the powers that be. Their actions in general make no sense, but one gets the feeling these people are so power hungry that they don't think things through. As soon as a character comes up with an "aha" moment, bam!, here come the authorities. It makes for an easy if frustrating story line. One feels Inspector Javert is on duty. Darius wants to take complete control, shifting away the rights of parents and transferring control of the child to the government, eliminating previous "folksy notions of motherhood and childhood." For me, there is a bit of plausibility there because I think we have the seeds of this sort of governmental control of children already extant. There is the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which is not so much directed toward children's rights, but instead directed at taking away parental freedoms, and even the freedoms of the signatory states to make their own laws regarding children. In the U.S., this would shift the power to make laws regarding children from states to the Federal Government, and further, any laws the Federal government would make in regard to children would have to line up with the UN treaty. Parental decisions would be subject to review, and children could object and bring lawsuits. That Chief of Staff seems to be a dual personality. Mostly bad, she likes to occasionally play the humanitarian, but she's as devious and manipulative as she can be if she's not getting her way.

I wanted to smack the smug face off Donna's boss. What a heel! "It's not personal." And you are a Class A cretin. At least he didn't sleep with her and add insult to injury. I was stunned when she charged him. Not used to seeing Donna lose her cool. I am glad, too, that she was able to give Gordon a piece of her mind. I don't feel his retorts that he had never given up on them made any sense at all, since I don't consider drifting along and hanging around to be taken care of like a child to be the equivalent of working on a marriage, especially since he so often fails to give Donna any real support or encouragement. Poor Cameron and her OS. Hopefully they will revive it later, if there is a later. Looks like in the meantime, Gordon came through again. I was waiting for him to drink himself into oblivion. I felt sorry for all of them, especially Donna, when it looked like her opprobrious boss had picked every idea they ever had directly from her brain. That deal made me momentarily forget how Joe deceived the poor printer dudes. That was a first class troll move as well. "I'm not looking to screw you guys over." Ugh. Really thought the mess Cameron threw together for the booth wouldn't have drawn anyone. Spray paint. Seriously? I also don't think the crowd would have been put off seeing the Giant in action for another day because Joe brought up porn stars. I didn't catch during the show that Up Helly Aa is the name of the festival Joe was talking about. Gordon's consternation was amusing. Did the Mac really talk? Poor Joe was ready to froth at the mouth. The guy chatting Cameron up about moving to CA looks so familiar, but I can't figure out who he is. It's beginning to look like Joe actually has real feelings for Cameron.

LOL - I identify with that feeling!

Yes! to this episode! Good on the scene in which Joe's dad confirmed the truth of his story about his injuries, and that his dad was acting in his best interests vis-a-vis Joe's mother. Finally getting some insight into what makes Joe tick, and he is finally opening up to others without all the b.s. first. Even Gordon partially redeems himself by treating Cameron like a person and buying Donna a special engagement ring, not to mention that he practically single-handedly saved the project. I love that Donna decided to become part of the team after such a close call with her boss. I think the boss went to her house just to tell her goodbye, but chickened out. I don't think he was stalking her. Cameron continues to develop as a character and I loved how Boz protected her and they shared the hug. Boz turning out to be such a "rootable" character continues to surprise me. I enjoyed the story rolling out the answers to many questions in a rather syncopated fashion. When the arrest of Boz occurred, I was sure I missed something until the explanation came out a few scenes later, and similarly, learned the significance of the ring. The team deciding to stick it out together in the end was inevitable, but still rewarding.

Wow. They should have called this, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!" Surprise: Cameron and Joe. Cameron is really serious about Joe. Joe was fairly honest with Cameron about his relationship with the designer, without her prodding him. Joe defends Cameron to Church, stating she's the future and better than him at her age, as well pretty much saying she IS the project. More surprise; he had a serious relationship with Church, and he was genuinely upset to learn Church was ill. Yet he went back to Cameron, and answered her question about whether he'd get bored with her honestly and then proceeded to put his arm around her, apparently to comfort her. I might learn to like him. No surprise: Cameron still acting childish. Surprise: Donna and her boss. SHE makes the move. He declines! Never saw that coming. Although, I have to say he seemed to be leading her on. What was she supposed to think? I was relieved nothing happened, and I hope her job isn't in jeopardy. While it's nice to know the boss isn't an opportunistic snake, I'm embarrassed for her. Surprise: Bosworth is very invested in the project for the project's sake. More surprise - I like him now. He decks the smartmouth on Joe's behalf! Never saw that coming! Maybe it wasn't him who had Joe beat up. No surprise: Gordon continues to be a jerk, even though he certainly has a point about "making the product fit the suit." Not so strange that he hit the roof on that, but once again a mess on the home front. He did surprise me when he was practicing his speech and still knew exactly what Donna was saying to him, as well as being able to make stew. He disses Donna's suggestion about Church's design itself being able to overcome the heat sink problem. Typical Gordon. However, it must be tough to have his wife constantly out-thinking him. Her MarySue perfection seems to be getting to him. "No one's going to tell us what to eat." I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when he went off the deep end, digging the hole, but I was. And, yes, it sure did look for all the world like a grave. Not so subtle. At least he has the decency to be bothered by leaving the electrocuted man in the street. Yes, I believe he does intend to complete it. He said, "I set it up before I even got on the plane."

I reran it and you're right, he did say two years. That does strain credulity because even serious burn victims needing grafting generally spent about a year or so at that point in time. And for grafting, you're generally in and out because you have to wait for grafts to reach a certain point in healing before doing more.

The latest version is that his mother was high and took him up to their roof, where he fell off, and I think he said he landed on a picket fence (ouch!) and was hospitalized for several months. This appeased Cameron, who felt he was telling the truth.

That's exactly what I thought of (Kim's horrid treatment of her aunt and mom) when all this was going down. MJ was just horrid, as always, and she's the one who deserved to be booted. Wouldn't acknowledge Kandi in the least, picked a fight with her, acted as though she'd done nothing to Todd's daughter, and had the nerve to say "I know how to treat a child" when she acted the witch throughout Kandi's wedding. Todd gave her a ten for her "effort" at a toast, but even Kandi had to just shake her head and give her no props at all for it. Regarding the ring, Kandi said they couldn't find a wedding band that could go on her finger with her original ring, which was what I wondered about as soon as I saw her original ring. I saw somewhere that Joyce and Todd's mom got into a fight on the wedding day, but I must have missed it on the show. Can anyone enlighten me? I'm one of the people who can't believe how patient Todd is and that he didn't decide to dump the whole thing when he learned that even if Kandi dies, she doesn't want him to have anything. Seriously? Joyce was horrendous to Kaela and it was even more inexcusable than everything else she has done. Then acts as though she hasn't done anything. Witch.

It's probably true that she wouldn't pull that with Bosworth, but I think it's more that she sees Joe as somewhat of an equal, and Bosworth as a father figure. I think her tantrums are part of her childishness, and her desire to see the project blossom. For some reason, although she has plenty of character flaws, I don't think deviousness is one of them. I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time!

Which is great to know! It does help to have a better concept of what it is they are trying to accomplish, especially with Joe changing the game so often and so impulsively.

I'm finding the music interesting, and I like it, but I am completely unfamiliar with most of it. Sure would like the music selections up in big letters during the credits!

Hmm. Maybe they dressed like that because YOU were there. :) I can't imagine messing up my work clothes with spaghetti sauce and such. Even though it's an extension of the work day, it's one which you can do in a lot more comfort.

I liked the further "character" development for Joe, even though it still seems he doesn't have much of one. I thought it was really interesting that after Cameron told him that he was like a thousand dollar suit with nothing inside, he modeled himself after the billboard model. Almost as if he's writing himself as we watch. That's probably why the show seems anchorless. Despite his drive, Joe seems to have little else going for him as a human. It was interesting to see that at first, he was nasty with Gordon's kids, and then seemed to warm up to idea of entertaining them. He certainly thrives on being the center of attention, and it seems to fire up his creativity. I think I like him a little better after he finally came clean with Cameron about his injuries, but I'm still not sure he told the truth. My only clue is that he didn't do anything with the explanation to embellish himself in any way. I always marvel at how Cameron can fight with Joe at night, yet in the morning, communicate her enthusiasm and ideas to him as if nothing happened. Despite the fact he is always trying to put her in her place at work, I think she is by far the more professional because I don't think it even occurs to her to use their relationship as a stepping stone; she's just enthusiastic about what she's doing and is all about furthering the project. I also like Cameron better now that she isn't just a smartmouth on legs. When she first mentioned the "personalized" OS, all I could think of was that "Bob" UI. Anyone remember that? He was supposed to be like a guide and I think the opening screen was a house or a neighborhood. I think he also asked "What would you like to do?" It was really lame, so I gave it a couple tries and got rid of it. However, I think Cameron's idea is very ahead of it's time, and if she's correct that Gordon's ideas would mostly impress programmers, then she definitely has a more marketable idea. Bosworth. I couldn't believe it when everyone wanted Bosworth to fire up the prototype. I never felt he was personable to anyone with the exception of Cameron, but maybe I missed it. He certainly was also more likeable in this episode and I, too, liked his interaction with Cameron. I think he will be the key to getting her idea off the ground. Gordon, for heaven's sake! I agree with yuggapukka, he was painful to watch! However, they had me so invested in his angst that it didn't occur to me at first to wonder how on earth he could just walk away from the dead guy, even though it was obvious he was dead. Not to mention, of course, his theft of the dolls. I am wondering the same. It does seem the scene was intended to be significant, although I'm wondering if only something else Gordon will live to regret.

Elsewhere they are thinking he came over to defend the house after hearing Cameron enter. Well, I didn't get that vibe at all, what with him expressing his anger at his neighbors, but that scenario would explain why there was no damage done by either of them.

That is what has always bugged me about this show - that Jackie, who throws cocktails of pills (and other things) down as often as every few hours, is supposedly functional. How ridiculous is that. At least her utter selfishness came out eventually. I never liked the portrayal of her as a superhero of sorts as if her addiction was not such a big deal in light of her medical awesomeness. I've worked with compromised nurses, and they are an absolute disaster. Their medical judgment goes out the window. It doesn't matter how smart or capable they are without the drugs. Drugs impair people. Period. /rant

Just about laughed out loud at Joe telling Cameron *she* had no people skills. Pot, meet kettle. Of course, Joe can turn on a little charm when necessary, but since it's mostly BS masquerading as goodwill, he has a long way to go. And "professionalism." No, she hasn't any. Where, Joe, did you get the idea that you possess it? Please. Just because you've figured out how to turn on the oil after you've skeeved over someone doesn't make you any sort of professional except a professional con. Gordon seemed like a nice if ineffectual guy to me until people started pointing out that he is a user. That's becoming more and more clear, especially when he couldn't be bothered about his FIL's birthday, but voila! He suddenly has time for golf. Loved it when the Japanese stole Joe's thunder by saying they would do anything for Gary's son-in-law. Then, once again, it was Gary to the rescue after Joe and Gordon messed it up. It was good to learn that Gordon had (I hope) apologized abjectly. It saved me from deciding his antics were running a close second to Joe's. Why is Donna's keyboard in the garage? Loved Cameron's litte homage - "I'm taking over Steve's job." Although, she threw out a couple of anachronisms by calling Steve a "tool" and saying, "What was I thinking." I'm liking her this week.

That was my life back in the 70's and early 80's - babysitter nightmares. Every good one you got would move away or her husband would decide he didn't want her doing that, or whatever. Having just one regular person to call on was hard enough. A backup? If you were lucky. A second backup? My mom worked as well. My parents did a lot of babysitting for us, but they just couldn't be available all the time. This was the most realistic moment of the show for me.

I figured he shocked her out of her wits and she decided to cool it. What I'm not sure about is what made him decide not to shoot up the joint. I surely thought he was about to! I thought as well that Donna rocked. The whole storyline about how she "rescued" the code and how she handled everyone was great, as was the fact that the code seemed in jeopardy in the first place. Joe is lower than pond scum and I dislike him more every episode. But they've finally got something going now that interests me.

Donna rocks. She is worth the other three altogether and then some. She's like the only sane and together person around. I like how she handled Cameron after Joe's selfish bid for publicity had them all just about going down the tubes. She acted like a mother to her and Cameron seems to have turned a corner.

A standing O to this! A man isn't your accessory, and your husband isn't your afterthought. Learn to cleave to him, trust him, and, as my husband says, "let him do something besides carry around your bowling ball," or there is no future for this marriage.

And in particular, he was saying he took money out of savings for the project, implying he is low on cash. Perhaps that was reimbursed to him via his 50% share, but he did seem to feel he would be starting from scratch without benefit of money he would otherwise have had. Kandi says, "I'm sorry if he didn't have his own house when we got married. I'm sorry, git your own house with your own money while we're married." Hmm. Especially since it seems he put a lot of money into the house already. She seemed very cold about what would happen to him if they divorced. As someone else mentioned, he's your husband, not some dork off the street. It seems like she'd cut him loose in a hot minute if he disappoints her in some way. Does not seem all that committed, which I did not feel earlier.

LOL, I ran right out into the kitchen and heated up some Schwan's Crispy Wings! That "crunch!" just did me in. Luckily, I had calories left for the day! And y'all did it again! We call that "Johnny Marzetti" where I'm from. It's dinnertime here, didn't know what to make, ran right out and fixed up a mess of that! Baking as we speak! In order to make this NOT an entire food post, MJ drives me nuts, and I agree with the consensus - Kandi needs to put a fence around it NOW.

Rewatching this, this time somewhat more awake. It seems they are going to try to float the idea that Cardiff has been working on a computer for some time now, and that Joe and Gordon were not at all part of that effort, therefore whatever technology is put forth was arrived at by independent research, not as a result of poaching by Joe. Enter Cameron.

I'm hoping Lee Pace's character becomes more likeable as well. I don't really like not liking him. :) I enjoyed him so much in Pushing Daisies and just about everything else I've seen him in. I find Geek Girl obnoxious, too. I'm always less than impressed by plot lines which rely heavily upon characters trying to one up each other with their cleverness. Ho hum. To me, it just seems like it's a vehicle for the writers to patently show themselves off, and falls flat.

Color me confused as well!! I'm enjoying posters' shares of their experiences with computing of the era. I had a big hole in my "education." In the mid 60's, I left school for a time and worked for a production company which had one of the old room-sized computers complete with deafening dot matrix printer and punch cards. Almost was sent to punch card school, but the day I was to begin, I had a terrific case of bronchitis in the dead of winter and my mom refused to let me go to work that day. The boss was hacked and my window of opportunity was gone. I later returned to school and became a health care professional. My sole experience during those years was greedily reading articles about how PC's would soon be affordable to all and everyone would have a home computer. In the meantime, my son graduated high school and earned the computing award for his class and went on into electrical engineering. Unfortunately, I did not get much second-hand from him as it was hard to translate what he was telling me into anything I could really grasp. Home computing didn't become a reality for me until 1995, when I enrolled in a distance-learning course about computers, which included our first PC. At last!