Aethera

I think we'd better move the Hardwick opinionating to its own thread - this one. Obviously he's part of the episodes, so feel free to mention him in here, but if your post is mostly about how much Chris sucks for hogging the show, or how much you love his ranting about social issues, or whatever, take it to his thread, please! I'll definitely be over there expressing one of those opinions :)

I really enjoyed Stephen Tobolowsky the other night. He was much better than a lot of 'an actor from a show they're promoting who isn't really a standup' guests they have.

I think that Kalinda/Alicia set of scenes was definitely a tweak at the complainers online...so absurd. Clearly, clearly not in the same room.

My first thought while watching this episode was: does Alex get a board seat now, please?! Agreed with a poster upthread who didn't understand how Neuro was suddenly shortstaffed. Amelia appeared, at that point, to be handling it, and Derek had been gone for ages, anyway. What is the problem? I completely get why the funeral was going to be tough logistics-wise without the other sisters, Addison and Cristina. It was weird, but I think the idea was that Mer was so disconnected - we did see the brief scene of her at what was clearly the after-funeral thing at her house, looking totally checked out. I think Meredith felt like it all passed in 10 seconds, so that's what we got, too. 1000th 'me too' on the carousel, Kate Burton's wig, and that GIANT baby. I really wish they'd relaxed on the Ellis stuff - some was expected, but it was way too much. I was also distracted by all the striped shirts; glad I'm not the only one. And I was hoping she'd just name the child some lovely random name. Ellis, no. I really liked Owen having that realization as he lectured Amelia that he was doing the same thing too - running away. The Ben/Bailey storyline was the worst one, for me. I thought they played terrible writing/storyline as best they could though. Every time they showed up again, I cringed for them both. The best Bailey moments were her touching Mer's arm in the elevator and then being there to watch over her as she started her first surgery back. Alex and Mer's scene in the hospital was good. Though, yes, floating Derek head was very creepy. I looked away and looked back just in time to see it fade, and had to rewind to make sure I hadn't imagined it! Ellen Pompeo has made me like her more this season than I ever did - I used to watch this show for everyone but her, but I think she's really done well. Perhaps it's that she does her best work with no lines. Amelia 'gliding' (that is the PERFECT word) in with the baby and that beatific expression made me laugh out loud. I'm not an Amelia hater but that was just ridiculous. Felt like the end of a bad movie. I didn't see the previews, but it does sound like they're going to move backward. I'm trying hard to like Amelia, but I am sick of her ranting as well. It would be nice to get a break from her for a few episodes. I thought Catherine's proposal was silly and not what Richard wanted, but I'm glad we're done going back and forth with these 2. Overall, I think it was disjointed, and felt like the production was rushed.

I have to say, Kevin Pollak was funnier on this show this week than he's been anywhere else in years. I was somewhat astounded by how much I enjoyed him on here, and by the fact that Eddie Izzard did the show.

Hey folks - we're getting a little intense with our arguments on this episode. I totally understand that these couples can be polarizing, but we'd appreciate it if we could keep it a little lighter here. Not saying anyone has to stop snarking or disagreeing, just dial down the intensity. I think sometimes, we see ourselves in the cast members we support or side with, and when someone attacks a cast member, it can feel like an attack on us. Please keep in mind that when someone is calling Ryan a jerk, they're talking about Ryan, not about you. For those doing the often-justified name calling, avoiding generalizing things onto an entire gender might be a good idea. Now back to your regularly scheduled snark on an oh-so-snarkable show!

Catching up on my EHG, I must say this: 1, I was so glad that Tara recognized Shining Time Station, and now the theme song is stuck in my head. 2, as soon as I heard the category "name the actor doing these PSA" I said "come onnnnn smother your kids!" Which is a weird thing to say out loud…to yourself. Also, I might have to watch Kimmy Schmidt now.

I've noticed that a lot of the contestants do that, even ones that I like. Pete Holmes and Nick Kroll definitely do it, and I enjoy them both. Like "eh, eh, come on that was great" or like, bowing to the applause. I think it's hard for them not to be looking at an audience when making jokes, maybe. I find that once I notice a contestant doing it, I find their jokes less funny WHEN they do it. This is why I'm often doing something else while I watch, so I focus less on that quirk.

I think John's Smooth Tina Turner was better than his Rough Tina Turner. So good…sometimes it's the understated that works so well. Anna did great with that J Lo choreo. It was adorable that J Lo drew attention to her own stutter-step as well. I don't care at all who 'wins', I'm just in it for the hilarious "oh…my…god" moments, so I'm happy with this episode :)

Just stumbled across the repeats on a bad day. I couldn't have asked for something better for my mood than The Rock doing Shake It Off, though I don't like Taylor Swift. He was the perfect first guest for this show, and he clearly enjoyed himself. And Jump In the Line is one of my favorite songs, though it wasn't right for this venue. I did laugh when an entire choir was lip syncing though. Does this need to be a show instead of a bit I enjoy on YouTube? No. And Chrissy Tiegen…what? But LL is doing well with such cheesy stuff. That MC Hammer move was called the Chinese Typewriter. I don't know why I know that. There are so many important things I could be remembering, but instead, that's in my brain.

I was just thinking I missed Paul F. Tompkins. That does look like a great panel. Tonight's does as well.

I think what would stop Kalinda from killing Bishop is knowing so much about Dylan. Perhaps she instead intends to make him disappear into a new life, the way she started a new identity for herself. However they handle her departure, it needs to be clean. I don't want to watch the DA's office hounding Cary and Diane about Kalinda next season. Alicia said again this episode, let's do the recount, and if I lose, I lose, which Eli waved off, but she seemed prepared to lose if that's what was right. I think what had her so upset was the lies being told by the voting machine guy, the injustice of the parties both cheating, and Randolph taking her apart at the end. This on top of the emails getting out and her daughter having her 'oh my mother is human' moment. I get why she was upset.

So confused. The voting machine guy said he rigged the machines for Prady, (though they didn't let the recording get that far which made no sense) and then the party says they rigged them for that state congressman. I really don't see Prady as having stolen an election, but I think the voting machine guy implied his *people* took the money, not him. Oh wait, I get it - the reason they hacked it for Prady and Prady lost anyway is that the democrats hacked it BETTER. Lovely. Who gets to be SA now, exactly? A special election because she withdrew? An appointment? Or do we get to have DHP back? I'm guessing DHP is not coming back, sadly. Peter is a smart politician, and understands Illinois. Yet he didn't think Randolph wouldn't be on her side anymore? And Eli didn't call that play either? Either Peter is a giant idiot, or he let her go down on purpose while pretending to support her, with or without Eli's support. With the writing on this show, I'm not even sure which scenario is more likely. Probably he's somehow an idiot. Eli knows the 2012 election was rigged, but didn't make any faces like he remembered that. Did he ever tell Peter? Why was he not more freaked out by all of this? Andrew Wiley is my least favorite recurring character. Yes yes, the children being there somehow makes him more menacing because you get disarmed a bit, blah blah don't care. Geneva, probably my 2nd least favorite. Bleh. When Grace was being weird with her hand in her pocket I was totally thinking "Grace sniffs glue! There's Elmers in her pocket!" I like when David Lee shows up and isn't a giant douchebag. Where's Michael Boatman though, I was so glad he was back for a second there!

I don't mind a backdoor pilot now and then, though I didn't find this team very compelling. I thought this was actually better handled that most backdoor pilots are - we didn't get a giant pile of introing in the first 5 minutes. In fact, I spent the first 15 minutes of the episode trying to figure out if Gary Sinise was still playing Mac Taylor, because his name on this is Jack and it was hard to tell what they were saying. He seems like the same guy if his wife had lived on CSI: NY. Good family man of course. And obviously some characters are going to take a back seat to the newcomers for a single episode, so I was fine with that. I was glad Hotch got some action chasing down that guy. While I don't generally pile onto the JJ hate, I was annoyed with her yelling at the girl to look at her during the final standoff. Anna Gunn looked pretty 70s-tastic with that hair and outfit. Otherwise I found her and the rest of the team a bit boring and one-dimensional. i'll probably give it a few episodes if it airs just the same. Half-watching CSI crime stuff seems like my job sometimes. I thought the unsub was kind of lame, and that some of his actions, like putting the son overboard, didn't make sense given story. All in all, eh. Could take it or leave it.

Finally mainlined the Jinx today while recovering from surgery, and as I read all this coverage, this line: almost made me bust my staples, perhaps because I can hear you saying it aloud. Man that was creepy as hell when he was talking to himself. And then again later, of course. Who does that?

This is exactly what I said this morning when I saw who the guest had been last night. I enjoy Chris Cubas on DLM, but I feel the #pointsme winner should not have been a professional comedian. I do think Hardwick should be hitting Doug up for suggestions though to use in place of HIS repeated appearances - Geoff Tate would be good on @midnight, for instance.

If you find Michael Crawford not a great actor but enjoyable, may I suggest my best friend's favorite childhood movie: Condorman. One of those So Terrible It's Great movies.

Wikipedia seems to think Hanson is Judy's maiden name, thus her father's name, and Jean's maiden name is Pargetter. It adds to this that Penny's maiden name would thus be Hanson, but I know that was never mentioned. I also always thought it was weird. I seem to recall Lionel not expecting her name to be Pargetter, though, or is that just me? Clearly, a good excuse for a rewatch!

Yep I spent 30 minutes goofing off on Google Feud, and had the same problem, Kromm. Best I could do usually about about 3 of the top 10. Fun though!

Hello all! We believe this conversation is veering away from the topic, which is discussion of this episode. We're going to review the thread and possibly move or delete some items. Meanwhile, let's get back to the topic, please!

Chris' Rants of the Day are on point sometimes, but they're happening way too often. I'm particularly not found of them when there is a really strong panel, as it cuts into the games. And I agree with you Kromm, that self-referential "look I said a thing that trended" thing was terrible.

As Time Goes By is one of my obsessions. I run through it all once every couple of years on Amazon Prime. The two of them are incredible together, and I really enjoy the supporting cast as well. Rocky is the best. It's so true the leave the good stuff for pledge drives. I tend to stumble into great stuff that way, like the 3 Mo' Tenors years ago and more recently some Broadway documentaries.

Man, Darby O'Gill scared the pants off me as a small child. I was just talking about it with my dad (a complete and total TCM addict; he watches it pretty much 24/7) just yesterday, and how I haven't seen it since I was about 12, but it's still seared in my brain all these years later. That banshee, the death carriage, so terrifying.

That was a unique spotlight challenge, and I liked it! I didn't think Stephanie's was the best of the bunch, but I think in person they probably all looked pretty awesome. It was nice to see some goofing around in this episode. I miss George. Oh McKensie, you are so goofy. I'm glad they gave her something fun to do and new words to say on the review stage, and I'm kind of hoping the models wrote those bits about the characters, because that would be awesome. Overall, I did not enjoy the final makeups though. Andromeda looked like an 80s cartoon villain action figure, in a bad way. My immediate thought based on the colors and look was "Meteora" but I'm assuming everyone doesn't watch the Christmas Toy every year like I do. I felt Cigar was klunky and messy, and I'm kind of surprised they liked it, but it sounds like others did too, so I guess that's just me. Sombrero was a total mess. For once, I was not a fan of Emily's either. Way too much going on, and time to give up the wigs for an episode or two. I didn't like the shape of the cowl on the Whirlpool one, though I liked the face. But my favorite was Sculptor for sure. A deserved win. Based on their comments, I expected Kelly to go home, since they at least though Ben tried to go somewhere interesting. I'm sorry for her, but it makes sense. Somehow, I knew Laura was going to have the most folks left at this point. I mean, more than half of them are on her team - it's crazy. And now poor Anthony is down to just Ben - he is not going to last.

I found this episode boring. I see what they were going for, but it was so contrived, and yes, I was SO distracted by that not being Josh Charles' nose in that outdoor scene! The fantasy scenes I found least annoying dealt directly with the lawsuit. The rest of it was just frustrating or eyeroll-inducing, especially her still being upset about Kalinda and the glue sniffing Grace. Alicia should lose gracefully, get over it quickly, and get on to letting us see everyone sparring charmingly with Prady. Chances of that seem nil at this point though.