Aethera

I don't think I can top Connect the Dots. Of course I immediately pictured that flashback episode where they found an actress who was SUCH a perfect young Bea.

Dang, Save it For the Car Ride Home was my guess too! I was so happy at the end there. Diff'rent Strokes!

I liked this episode, overall. Which surprised me, but I did. Inappropriate of Stephanie to tell Hunt and Meredith what April's problem. And April is straight-up right to be pissed at her, too. Obviously the case of the week is hitting them over head, but I thought the story developed more naturally than it could have, with both her and Jackson's emotions, recovering from shock, etc. I know people find them melodramatic, but the April/Jackson storyline here fails to annoy me, for once. I too am interested to see where this goes. Oh god shut UP Maggie. How often is she going to do the "oops I didn't know" moment? At least she wasn't in the episode too much. I'm generally a fan of Amelia, but everytime she brags about how great she is, I do want to smack her. I know hubris is necessary to be a surgeon, but shut up. I like when Bailey deals with kids. That was good Bailey this week. Nice moment she and Alex had there too. That Geena Davis cry reminded me of how horrrrible her crying was in A League of Their Own. Worst movie cry ever. That was actually better, despite her frozen face, which makes me think with non-frozen face it would have been fine. Way to learn a bit about how to cry in the last 20 years, Geena Davis. Always odd when Meredith lets her guard down for a sec, like she did with the Nanny. I thought it was ok though. Mostly I'm glad we get a break from Derek being such a giant jerk for 5 minutes. Notes on the Rankled: Yes, James Pickens Jr. could totally be the Cosby in the SVU episode, although I bet they change the race and job of the celebrity when they do it. That's an SVU thing to do. I love you. That's exactly what I thought of.

Add my votes to hating the foil challenge, which I agree was such a waste of materials, and the nonsense gondola episode. I like when they get unprepped materials like an entire fish, and have to work with that. Show their complete skill set. I do wish they drew knives more often to determine things like protein. I don't mind one challenge a season of "cook in a moving train" or whatever as long as it's just once. I feel like lately they've been hitting City Theme more than Creative Challenges, and I miss some of the odd challenges.

I certainly prefer this explanation! I guess it didn't occur to me initially because we never saw the Hotch talk. Which we should have :)

Padma's comment about the aphrodisiac gets added to the Padma's Flirtation Tour 2014 season tally. I know she always does some, but this season it seems much more pronounced, like she's actually trying to score with the guests. I mean, you go girl, but maybe backstage? Gregory is so irritating at this point. I'm rooting for Mei or Doug. I've liked them both from the start. I don't think Mei is a bitch. I think she's just tough, in a good way. I'd also like to know what happened to the guy who didn't appear in the March of the Dead Chefs, but I don't care enough to Google it, apparently.

So hard to choose. I can think of 3 from just this season: 1st, Madam Secretary. I lasted 3 episodes, and they were wasting BeBe Neuwirth and Tim Daly and so many other good people. 2nd, Forever. So disappointing, despite a few people I really enjoy from other shows I watched (Numb3rs, L&O Mothership, Bones). 3rd, State of Affairs - I dislike Heigl, but it's a shame to see Alfre Woodard trapped on that show. Should be canceled though, so let's give her something better! But finally, Waster (Wasted Waster?) of the Decade goes to Aaron Sorkin, for torpedoing the brilliant cast of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and then trapping all those good folks on The Newsroom.

I wasn't so clear on why JJ was supposed to stay behind with Garcia. Was it to keep her company, because they for some reason sat in a house that was also the crime scene where their friend had just died long enough to be starving, and that would freak Garcia out? Or was it because of the PTSD? Until you said something, @JustMyOpinion, I didn't think it was the PTSD, because it didn't get mentioned at all last week. So I don't know. Regarding the staying in Gideon's house thing, I guess the point was this was a personal case, so they didn't have a police station to work out of, but they couldn't have been in a hotel? I know, I know, then we wouldn't have had the ice cream scene and stuff, but odd.

Ha I was also amused that Josh got to sit by Ve. He's her little pet Peta. And I thought he was a good guest judge. That was quite the dress McKenzie had on there. Yikes. I've told FashionItSo that they need to start covering just her costumes in these eps, as they remind me quite a bit of some of the bonkers fashion that showed up on Star Trek over the 80s and 90s. As for actual substance: I didn't love any of the makeups this week, but I did think the Hyena was striking, and professional looking compared to some of the others. I liked Alan, so I'm sorry he went home. I'm also glad that they didn't feel they had to stick to the Champions Teams thing week to week. I honestly feel like the Champions thing is making for some awkwardness - people on one champion's team can be in top and bottom, people working with people on other teams. But we'll see how it continues to shake out. So far I'm not seeing anyone with a George-style personality (the guy from last season who was so amusing) to enjoy just for enjoyment's sake, and I don't yet have a favorite. Few people are really standing out, and so far, when they do the get eliminated. Hopefully as the herd thins, people will start to interest me as individuals.

Man, Ben Savage knocked that out of the park. Right from the start I was shocked at how well he was doing not just Mandy, but actually Gideon. The mouth movements were especially great. I texted a friend who gave up on the show years ago about it, and when I said "he's got really good Gideon Mouth" she said "oddly I know exactly what you mean!" This was a cut above recent eps, and I did like the balance of characters. I do feel like Morgan should have been more emotional, and Hotch a bit too. I started out feeling disconnected from it because of their reactions, and how long it's been since Gideon left. I didn't remember stuff about Sarah and other things. But as it went, especially with how good the flashbacks were, I got sucked in. There were definitely logic problems with the episode, and I too didn't like the Rossi shooting him thing, but I feel like they did a nice job overall. Perhaps it's about lesser evils in terms of recent episodes, but I'll take it! I wonder what Mandy will think of this episode.

What struck me with this episode following on the last is how isolated all of the episodes are, which to me says Fractured Writing Team, not just Bad Writing Team. I've learned most of what I know about the showrunner and etc from reading these forums, but it seems to me like she must be parceling people out. "You work on JJ, you work on Rossi, you work on Reid" and so things don't come together well. The lack of follow-through and consistency of character development is obviously a huge issue, and might explain why i feel (as I said in the last ep thread) like Blake and now Kate are poorly integrated - it's because we get things in such weird random chunks. I loved Designing Women, and thus Meschach Taylor, and was happy he showed up on CM. It didn't occur to me that they'd do a tribute once I heard he'd died - it's a bit out of place I think considering the importance he had to the show overall, but still nice that Joe M. wanted to do it. I thought the single flashback moment was odd - I think they tried to do too much in this ep with all the Rossi stuff and the case stuff together and probably left quite a few scenes on the editing room floor. I don't think the Joy actress is really bad, though her "hang up the phone and look conflicted like we're supposed to think she doesn't want to see her dad when really it's that she's deciding to go to support him" thing was terrrrrible.

I've never felt as passionately about this show as others, which I think has insulated me a bit with the JJ overload - I'm always doing something else while I watch, and I've always liked all of the characters without feeling hate or love for any of them (well except Garcia, who is probably my favorite, because she reminds me of my sister). But when I watched this episode, I was extremely frustrated, like many above, by the out-of-nowhereness of it, the lack of Hotch reaction, and this feeling of dread in my stomach that we're going to have to keep hearing about it for the rest of the season. I enjoyed the Gideon years, and I thought Rossi was a good addition. I didn't like Elle much, but loved Emily. I hated when they dumped JJ and Emily, and was happy they came back. The casting in the last few seasons though has been frustrating. I miss Emily now. I didn't enjoy Blake, and felt she was poorly integrated, and now I'm not enjoying Kate, and feel like her inclusion is quite awkward. I can't help but think this show perhaps needs to ride off into the sunset, but I'll keep watching it while something else is on unless it goes further off the rails.

There really were way too many storylines this week. Lord Merton = Adorable. I definitely think she should say yes. Barrow's mystery cure - I like seeing him be the one with the secret rather than super evil Barrow all the time. Now she can show him kindness or whatever and he can feel like he's actually nice for 30 seconds. Rose & Shrimpy - I actually thought his scenes were good. I don't mind Shrimpy. I can't recall much about Susan but I do remember she was a bitch. And I think Rose is far better this season than last. Obviously her dad isn't going to just let her do what she wants though, so that was a bit of an immature ask. I thought Sarah Bunting was totally in the wrong by the end of all that. She is right about facts, but wrong about the way she tries to convince people of anything. I don't care what decade it is, you don't act like that. Especially when Robert complimented the teaching and tried to end it. I will give the actress credit though, for clearly showing that she just can't freaking help herself. Stridency is never a good tool when trying to get people to agree with you though, jesus. And I agree, it's really weird that the girls keep dragging her to Downton when Tom doesn't even seem to really be interested. Endlessly tired of Edith. Pull yourself together girl. This is your own fault. Also, Drewe should just tell his wife already. It's not any more dangerous really. Women can keep secrets. Anna, man you're stupid. You're not Ms. Marple. (Side note: Isobel in a spin-off where she's all Marpleish - would watch.) Eventually it's alllll going to come out but of course we'll have to wait at least another full season. Robert, stop being a dick to your wife. Cora, recruit Mary openly to your side - 'you get to participate and I want to too!' Tony - I get the outrage. But man, that was weird. And then we never saw how Mary felt about it after? I still prefer Blake. Mrs. Patmore - nice work this week. Repeatedly sticking it to Carson was really interesting. Mosely - Ok actually I like Mosely and don't like that Mrs. H and Carson got together to torture him. It wasn't funny. But at least he's getting fleshed out as a character, and is less yelpy. Generally Carson has become more of a caricature than the full character he used to be. He needs better stuff to do. Dowager - her pivot at the dinner table to Edith's column cracked me up. But overall it's really, really nice that she has stuff to do instead of just getting the one hilariously arch line. I highly doubt she runs off with the Russian, but it's at least something interesting and different. Is that all of them? Yeesh. Oh right, building McMansions - that was just silly I don't even have an opinion. Overall, I'm enjoying the season though. I kind of wish I'd just waited for it all to be available and watched it all at once - I really enjoyed Season 1 that way, and I think it would make some of these storylines feel less drawn out.

Speaking of hair color - didn't Adam have pink or red in the top of his hair? I think it was Adam. Too many of them at this point! I actually didn't mind lavender girl - she had a personality that could grate depending on the edit, but for now she just amused me. Rick Baker is awesome. And I'll add my voice to the "bring Lois back too!" chorus. I like all of the judges, but Ve and Lois are my favorites. I'm fine with the mentoring, because I happen to like these 3 winners - I'm most interested to see exactly how involved they get. In this first ep, they all showed up dressed to work but then just did Michael Westmore style stuff, where sometimes they'll pick up to the tool and do a tiny bit and say "see?" I wonder if they'll be allowed to really get involved and be actively sculpting and stuff. I really hope Mr. Westmore's presence isn't limited this season - his visits are some of my favorite moments on the show.

Here's an idea: Diane is married now. So let's make her the Good Wife! Because she's a wife, and she's good...that works right? Give us more Gary Cole, no more Alicia, and we're all happier.

Romano for certain. My Nonac version would be Quinn being in a wheelchair for 17 minutes on Glee. So terrible. So irrelevant.

I too dearly miss Clarke. Also, where did Taye Diggs go? Not that I miss him. Also didn't miss Finn tonight. David Lee is better as a guest star opponent than as part of this joke of a firm. I used to love David Lee, but now he's just a reminder of how stale it's all gotten. It was absurd for ChumHum ever to stay with such a firm. Really, he'd be off at some super-high-powered firm, not a random collection of disorganized partners. Although I have to say, that last turn-about made no sense. She went to the board to say he didn't do enough to stop the nude-leaking? How what who now? That was a stupid end to things. I thought Peter actually loved Ramona, or something? And how have these people not learned how to be less obvious with stuff by now? I still love Eli's daughter. And I'm in favor of Grace With No Lines. And Nora was funny. 'You'd never say this if I was a man' said to DIANE just immediately reminded me of 'is this because I'm a lesbian?' too! She's been totally checked out for months, and now she's mad? I do agree with others that it helped her clarify her thoughts but she's so damned santimonious for no good reason that I wanted to slap her. I'd love to see Cary and Diane be competent and kick some ass together for a while. As others have said, I'm watching this show for everyone except Alicia.

Glee was my first thought. Then heroes, then Lost.

I wore out the original DVDs and bought that weird box set, but Netflix has made things so much easier! The Supremes is not worth the rest of Season 5, though I do enjoy it. Shut Down has its gimmicky moments but otherwise meh. No Exit I actually don't enjoy. I just read the plot points of the entire season, and I think all the worst episodes & people of the show are in there. Access is by far my least favorite, but also An Khe, Slow News Day, Han, Ryan, Angela, Rina, bleeeeeh.

Ooh, I'm down for a rewatch, though season 5 will be painful. 2014 was actually the first year I didn't do one on my own, so I'm about ready for another.

She was definitely mouthing off with the "Bye boys" thing. And she was staying behind to give the briefing, which (it was said) the President likes to hear alone. But the President was right to mention it. And the boss was a jerk to not graciously accept the apology. They're trying to hard to make him seem like a moron, between that reaction and the "with/for" thing. He did let her do her thing on the operation, though. The operation she shouldn't have been running, but whatever. Flattest CIA organization ever, I guess.

Much continues to not make sense. And I'm not pleased they introduced Nestor Carbonell as what looks to be a cardboard villain she has to go around all the time. That's not going to go any better than Ivanek on Madam Secretary. Questions I have right now: 1. Why wasn't Courtney B. Vance at the memorial service last episode? 2. What if Anatoly hadn't managed to shoot his way through the entire sub? That was so overdramatic. 3. Did they really need to bring her dad into this? Now I guess Sid must be Dad's old best friend. 4. Is any non-Charlie character going to get fleshed out at all? 5. She wanted to point a gun at Nick but now he's in her office? DL fail. 6. Has the CIA had some kind of massive budget cut? 6 people do everything?

I have a Favorite Episodes list on my computer, and every time I rewatch the list gets tweaked as I do. It's tiered, but the eps within the tiers aren't in any particular order, and I did just rejigger the tiers just opening it now to look at it. The numbers next to each are their seasons. A lot of these are in here because of a particular moment or scene I enjoy. Internal Displacement, for instance, is about the humor, and Doug Westin bangin' the nanny. Mr. Willis of Ohio is due to the bar scene and its aftermath. Mr. Willis of Ohio – 1 In the Shadow of 2 Gunmen: Part 1 – 2 And It’s Surely to Their Credit – 1 Life on Mars – 4 Bartlet for America – 3 Stirred – 3 The State Dinner – 1 He Shall From Time to Time – 1 Internal Displacement – 7 17 People – 2 A Proportional Response – 1 Inauguration: Over There – 4 Two Cathedrals – 2 Pilot – 1 Debate Camp – 4 Requiem - 7 A Good Day – 6 Shibboleth - 2 Third Day Story - 6 Celestial Navigation – 1 In Excelsis Deo – 1 Holy Night – 4 20 Hours in America – 4 The Stackhouse Filibuster – 2 18th & Potomac – 2 The US Poet Laureate – 3 Night 5 – 3 Dead Irish Writers – 3 I do feel a lot better about being obsessed after seeing that 17 People site. Good thing I'm not into graphic arts.

When I Googled it one of the top results was an article from the WSJ saying something like "remember Lotus Notes? It makes over a billion dollars still!"

Man this was uneven. That "Good doesn't have to come, I do" line was all over the place before I watched but it didn't prepare me to resist the eyeroll. My notes as I watched: What exactly is her job title? She's a little overinvolved here. She gets to make a choice on getting a top 10 terrorist? She's the BRIEFER, no? Ooh she understands Arabic look how amazing she is I'm so impressed. The making of the book seems like trumped up time pressure. What, she only gets one chance a day to say things? It only goes into the book if they're certain, but if that guy gets certain past the print deadline, she can't just drop by and let them know? Was happy to see a veteran L&O defense attorney as the CIA director, though I guess he's just interim. And was that Mathew St. Patrick there giving her the initial Fatah information? I was half-watching but it sounded like him. He's not on IMDB for it though. Her friend being 'Mo' just made me think of Nickelodeon's GUTS. "Let's go to Mo for the scores: Mo!" Re: LOTUS - They were referring to Lotus Notes, the old-school-but-still-used email software. Which hilariously is now called IBM Notes, though I only found that out when googling to see if the federal government is actually using it - it's mostly big contracts with IBM, so it would make sense for them to be using it. Kind of like how the federal government is still hardcore using Blackberries. I giggled as they said it soooo many times. I've never known anyone personally whose company used Lotus Notes, but when I mention getting an email, I say "I got an email" not "I got an Outlook" or "I got a Gmail". Anyone here use Lotus Notes? Do you refer to them as "a Lotus Note"? Why would the doctor not be shot by the terrorists when they heard the first gunshot outside? She wears white at funerals! She calls the President by her first name! The President who is walking around a cemetary with no Secret Service in sight! Drinks scotch! Has guns in her cereal! I don't really care about Fatah being her asset. Nick is who or what now? Overall, I'll probably give it the same 3 episodes I gave Madam Secretary, but I'm not excited right now.