Aethera

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't find Tea Leoni at all compelling. She only has the one volume and tone, and it's boring. I love BeBe Neuwirth, and I have to imagine they're going to give her more to do. I too tire or Zeljko Ivanek always being the bad guy - he really needs to find an against type role. And tropes and bad lines everywhere. But I didn't HATE it. And I'm a complete West Wing freak, so I kind of expected to. Perhaps I just had my expectations set very low. I don't think BeBe could play the role as written, but man I'd love to see her in it with different writers. Let's hope she gets a lot to do. Her as President in SOME show would be good, but not this one, paired with Tea. It would not work well. West Wing's COS also had a large amount of control, access, and influence on policy. And there was that whole storyline of CJ fighting to keep Hutchison in line. And a pile of White House advisors on the show. I don't think having the COS affect policy is out of line. I don't work there, so I don't know, but it doesn't bother me. I kind of want to go back and find the specials they aired about COSes earlier this year on...History Channel maybe? I wonder if that would shed some light. I'll probably watch a few episodes of this to see how the supporting cast develops.

Sorry, I totally missed that. This is what happens when I half-watch that show :)

I felt deeply meh about this episode, maybe because I don't have the hots for Matt C. Yes, he did look better scruffy, but it doesn't outweigh my dislike of this storyline. I don't like Finn, I don't want to see more of him. And there were so many big plot holes, to me. I will say the CarEy theory is my only hope for this story line. Great thoughts there. BUT only if it's resolved in 3 episodes, max. And I'd say Kalinda was ignoring Cary on purpose for reasons that will soon become clear in a Kalinda Knows Best sort of way. What I enjoyed about the episode was everything involving Eli, including his daughter. I'd watch a spinoff where the 2 of them started a firm and did their thing. Honestly, if Diane and Eli left the show, so would I. Also, I too missed Clarke. I'm glad Nathan Lane is busy for his sake, but disappointed for my sake! Also, poor Samantha Mathis, her career makes me sad, for some reason. Maybe because I love Little Women so much (don't judge me!) I didn't watch Gilmore Girls regularly, but I plan to rip through it on Netflix next month!

Finally caught this On Demand. That voting thing made no sense - who wouldn't vote for themselves with $5k on the line for the helpers? But otherwise, this was absolutely delightful. It was great to see their personalities and their work. Even MacKensie showed more personality than usual! My opinion of Glenn definitely improved, and I don't even care much for cats. My vote would have gone to Ve, but all the work was so good, it didn't really matter. I would definitely watch more episodes like this one. And I'm very glad Neville is around, because I think Patrick would have been much less fun, somehow.

I don't love Ioan Gruffudd, so I was deeply meh on this to begin with. I gave it a watch though. I hated the voiceover, and was glad when it vanished for a chunk of the episode. I thought Alana DG was fine on L&O, but didn't like her at all here. She's making weird faces. Chemistry felt zero. I always love Judd Hirsch, and I thought he was good, and I also enjoy Bones Squint, but overall, this pilot underwhelmed me. I think I'll let a few eps air and then see how it seems to be going from notes here, maybe catch up if I'm disappointed in other fall shows. I will say I enjoy me some Lorainne Toussaint, so that's exciting!

That outtake is hilarious :) Man I enjoyed the games they were able to do with Paul F. Thompkins, John Hodgman and Proops. Black & WTF was fantastic. I would watch Paul F. and his suits on that show all the time. He would be a great anchor panelist for a new Match Game, suits and all.

Maura is too smart to do that :)

I actually said "who is Jack" out loud, and then realized. Let's have more of him please. Angela's part was even sillier in this than last week, if that was possible. I recall Statler and Waldorf though. "It was dumb! It was obvious! It was...short. ...I loved it!" Also, Maura loves fashion. I do not believe she would not know about Lady Gaga. This episode was mostly very predictable, but I did assume the wife had taped him saying things and then faked the suicide, because the first play-through of the tape was so stilted. Also because I recognize her as a That Girl. I too was surprised he was on the bridge. What bugged me most was, why did Jane have to be so emotional on that suicide thing? It felt so awkward and overly Jane-Centric. Even though once he fell we all knew she was going in, I don't see why she had to talk to him like he was her best friend. They were overly connected in the elevator too. Don't date the cheater, Jane. (I need to take a moment aside here and note that the TNT site was playing KMart ads for the breaks today, and amazingly, they have a CHRISTMAS ad running already. It's cleverly handled, and I know it's because of layaway, but sheesh. They have non-Christmas-themed layaway commercials already. Are people really too dumb to realize that when they are emphasizing layaway in September, it's about Christmas? Earliest...Christmas Ad...Ever.)

Ha, whenever I hear anything about Michigan, I can't help hearing "You didn't say Michigan sucks? I thought you said Michigan sucks." Sorry Michigan, no offense!

"Did you trip over something?" and "Have you fallen on your head? Have you fallen down and hit your head on something hard?" are two lines I use a lot when someone says something stupid. Similarly themed there.

Well I'm glad we'll see Debbie and Adam but really, Tara again? Did she buy a share in this show somehow?

African Jazz - I liked both Ricky and Valerie in this. Broadway - They did ok. Not my favorite number. Contemporary 1: Tyce, shut up. I thought the choreo was bad, and I did not like Valerie in this at all. Terrible. Jazz: This was created to showcase them. I found myself watching Jessica, not Ricky. First time all season I've preferred her. I thought she really out-danced him. Bollywood: Cute. Jessica did better than Valerie with the arm movements, but they both did decently. Hip-Hop: This was great. Very 80s, but really well done by them both, especially Zach. Tap 1: Aaron! In that suit! Kicked Valerie's ass in tap and style. Just made me want the Aaron/Zach routine. Nigel, you are so creepy weird. I hear you Jesse, my crush on Aaron persists too. Contemporary 2: Who doesn't love Kathryn. But I didn't enjoy this. Just didn't seem special or interesting, and the lighting was bad too. Ricky is an ugly crier. Tap 2: Billy Joel! Aaron! Zach! Who called my mother and then made this number for me? The only routine I watched twice all season. Astounding. Contemporary 3: This was excellent. Jessica really does well at Contemporary, and she had Robert and Travis, so of course it was excellent. Solos: Ricky looked creepy. Ha Valerie tapped to Valerie. Smart girl. Jessica with the damned hat again. Zach really impresses me with his confidence, and his tapping is so much better than Valerie's. At this point I'm ranking it Zach, Ricky, Jessica, Valerie. Glad to see Jesse Tyler Ferguson again. He is the much less annoying, much funnier Christina Applegate of this show. Of all the non-professionals they have on the panel, he's my favorite. What the hell did Nigel say there when they cut to the audience? He is the worst. And the suicide blathering was just horrifying. HORRIFYING. They should get rid of Nigel, and have a choreographer rotate through his slot, while the celebs can rotate through the other. And seriously this is the worst season ever for costuming. Valerie's dress in the tap awful. Jessica Rabbit awful. Ricky in dark clothes on a dark stage. Jasmine's pants a few weeks ago, and so many other things.

"Making witches! Making witches!" was completely awesome. And yes, definitely Nightmare Before Christmas. George is still my favorite. Riding the broom too! I'm sorry their design didn't turn out better. The judges were right, it didn't reflect the Wonderland part. I'm glad there were worse designs this week. Sasha, please to shut up. I mean, I thought Jason was way off, but the ultra-whiny way she wanted to tell him about it absurd. Once Michael Westmore said what she was thinking, that was when she needed to step up, not just be all teary about it. Instead she's sulking visibly and forcing him to ask why, which is one of my pet peeves. "I like pretty things, ours isn't pretty." Really? But yes, Jason's idea was terrible. It looked the worst up there. Not anything like what the challenge wanted. The attempt to bring the Cheshire Cat in with the stripes came out of nowhere, and was the best idea I heard, though obviously it didn't work. If that guy had been purple and pink, it would have worked. Jason doesn't even get it when the judges are talking to him about it. Stella and Dina's was awesome. The Tin Man, I feel like it wasn't Wonderland enough, but it was a great looking makeup and definitely second place out of the looks. The Scarecrow was way too busy, but I did like the concept at least. The judges were spot on with most comments. Mackensie's dress...yeesh. Her dad totally designed that in 1987, didn't he. That was straight off the Fashion It So tumblr. ETA: "Nobody gets Dorothy because she is boring." - So true, Monty.

OK, I would officially watch a spinoff with Korsak and the Spanish-speaking dog. My "let's just make it about Korsak" feelings continue. As long as Angela isn't part of it. Yeesh that was weird. This case was more muddled than most. I'm basically learning to ignore the product placement. These shows have to bring in the advertisers, and on cable, there aren't as many eyeballs. I do think the AutoTrader thing wasn't as egregious as the Dr. Scholl's thing last year.

And yet, that's exactly how last chance kitchen and Star Salvation at Food Network Star worked. It would have more sense to have a loser's bracket - have Marcel cook against Brooke, and Mike against whoever lost next week, and then the winners of those, etc. That would be fair and far less confusing. And they could have brackets on the website!

I'm rooting for Zach. That Foxtrot really upset me - clearly they are engineering Ricky win, and i just haven't cared at all about him all season. I FF'd through at least half that episode. Honestly, I'm sick of everyone complaining about the tappers, and saying they don't belong. Don't paint Zach with the Valerie brush. He did well in all styles this season, and his solos are great, and Aaron was also great in a lot of styles last year. You can't give all the hip hoppers who are meh in other styles a pass and then say the tappers shouldn't get to be on the show at all.

I don't even know where to begin here. I've watched this show so many times, I think I have it memorized. It's the little moments that I tend to quote. Here is a small selection, ha. The other day a friend of mine got hopelessly turned around, and I said to myself "If Donna wasn't with them, they'd have to buy a house" in reference to 20 Hours in America when they get left behind by the motorcade. The entire Season 7 episode Bradley Whitford wrote (Internal Displacement) where Doug Westin is 'banging the nanny' has incredible exchanges in it, mostly with CJ. With Danny: "Is that a euphemism?" "No...well bangin' is I guess!" said with such glee on Danny's part. When CJ tells Kate about it and Kate just goes "GET. OUT." and then everything that follows that exchange. And then a couple of things with Will. "Did you take an awkward pill?". Brilliant comedy in that episode. Honestly, I don't know why Whitford doesn't write more. Maybe he does, and I just don't know, of course. I know, I'm the weird person who likes season 7. Regarding John Laroquette, my old roommate and I still yell "HOLDING IT IN MY HAND LEO" whenever someone loses something and one of us finds it. Also, my friends and I all absolutely love the entire Zoey Panic Button sequence from Mr Willis from Ohio in Season 1. "You guys don't realize this, but you're having a pretty bad night" and all of that. And then the aftermath. "There were no two guys that either one of you could have taken." Finally, the scene where they're throwing snowballs at Donna's window in Inauguration: Over There. Good Cop, Bad Cops. This is the only one I had to look up, which is sad: JOSH It's good cop/bad cop. I'm the good cop; the four of you are the bad cop. Will, what are you? WILL The bad cop. JOSH Danny what are you? DANNY The bad cop. JOSH Toby, what are you? TOBY Hurry up. JOSH Charlie, who are you? CHARLIE I love Zoey, and I must have her back. Ok, I'll stop now. And then go watch West Wing.

What's weird is that it was a known allergy, not a sudden thing or a surprise. You're right, he did say it was the best glue, and it might just have been for that material, though I assumed he was being more general.

Yeah, my vote is that Puck is a creep. I totally expect this kind of thing from him, but that comment was just especially blatant. I think this format needs tweaking. It's fine that they do the $10k things but the judging does seem extra made up, and the knife picking is soooo pointless. I liked both Shirley and Brooke, and I enjoyed this episode more than the last one because of them. I'm really looking forward to Antonia/Mike - I really liked Antonia on her season, and actually Mike bothered me far less on All-Stars (as did Stefan) than he did on his own season. I'll be rooting for Antonia though.

That model who is allergic to the glue - hasn't he been on for a while? How do they keep a model around who is allergic to the main glue? I wasn't impressed with any of these makeups, even the top looks. I thought it was a poor challenge. I totally agree with the Golden Girls reference - those tights looked absurd.

I don't get having Angela quit her job & break up with the captain. It makes it harder to shoehorn her into episodes, which is consequently making her more annoying to me. She never used to bother me, but the last few episodes, she does. I like the new computer tech, but I don't get Frankie at all. "I'll never be in homicide" as long as Jane is there, except he spends 100% of his time working...in homicide.

I'm just happy to see more Korsak & Isles. I'd be fine watching that show. Also I giggled at Maura's flight attendant impression. Can't help it.

I'll have to ask my sister if she's eaten at the Lucky Well yet. She liked his old Ambler place alright, but she's no BBQ expert :)

Damn it, the cost of dumping Rudy was losing Tanisha? Not cool, America. I'm mostly sad I won't get to watch Tanisha dance with Twitch - i think she's the only one left who'd actually be good with him. Liked Jessica tonight more than I ever have, but it's unfair she keeps getting contemporary (Ade next week). So sick of Ricky. Rooting for Zach, who had by far the best solo. Comfort totally blew Casey out of the water I thought, and was wearing a way better outfit than Jasmine did. Next week I expect we'll lose Jacque and Casey. Oh, and Alison was amazing. Glad Rudy went before her awesomeness catapulted him into the top 4.

I think George is my favorite at this moment as well, except I didn't remember his name until I read it now so I've been calling him 'Beard Guy'. The dancing was awesome, plus I like his work and his attitude. I agree that it was great to see something that wasn't monsters, and that no one's totally sucked, though I did not like the green makeup on the willow or the stump that lost. I was amused that the whole 'and they should be angry or twisted' seemed forgotten to me. I didn't think Stella was being a jerk, though it was weird when they argued about who wanted to keep the hands.