[S06.E04: Holla in the Hamptons]

 

All the screeching over each other at LuAnn's was overwhelming.  They're going to need to use a talking stick or something.

They would probably just use it as a weapon and bash each other over the head with it.

 

First of all, I find it abhorrent that she nicknamed the only African-American person in her gaggle of interns even though they were all eating only pickles.

Oh, God, that was so problematic. Sonja made me want to squirm so many times this episode. It's not fun to watch. I think we need to start a campaign to save Pickles.

Even though it was filled with drama, this episode wasn't a lot of fun. I think it's partially because it was the gross kind of drama that just makes you feel uncomfortable and partially because it just wasn't paced very well. They kept talking about each other but everything really only came to a head at the end. I still don't like Carole. I think the way she was hanging over those younger guys this episode was kind of sad and pathetic. I think maybe the editors might think so too since they also included Sonja's flirting with that guy from Argentina. 

I'm waiting for Heather to cut ties with Carole or for Kristen to step up so I can actually like someone in this cast.

[Favorite DAs, EADAs, ADAs & Other Initials I Have Known And Loved]

Quote

 

I know my girlfriends have always given me the side-eye when I told them I preferred this show when it was all men, and threatened to take away my feminist card.

It's OK. Maybe chalk it up to the fact that this show, in spite of everything there is to recommend it, doesn't always do the best job writing female characters. Though, I do think they generally did a pretty good job with my favorite ADA's. Of course, for the most part I haven't been watching these episodes in order so I don't have a good sense of the continuity, which is kind of the way I like it. I don't need to know too much about the lives of the detectives and lawyers outside of work. I think that's been the downfall of a lot of police procedurals post-L&O.

[S05.E14: New New York]

Higgs, I really want to see your version of Rachel's Smash adventures in NY. I'm OK with the show ending and I'm not interested in trying to save it. I think it's time to let the show and these actors go and see what they can make of their careers post-Glee. However, I would like to see them do their best to make the best possible last season they can. They passed 100 episodes. They know they're not getting renewed. I want to see them use that freedom to go crazy. I know RIB and the cast are up for it.

Oh, and I agree with everyone who said the show was really guy-heavy until Mercedes showed up. When they were standing by Washington Square Park (which, really guys, are Washington Square Park and Times Square the only places you can think of?) I thought, why is the new cast 4 guys and Rachel?

[S05.E14: New New York]

So, I wasn't thrilled by the episode. I feel like they should have really ushered in New York with a bang and this was just... OK. As a Rachel fan, I was happy with Downtown at the beginning and I loved People at the end but all the content in the middle was just... fine. I think we're stuck with this new Rachel now and even though mean Rachel makes me roll my eyes because she keeps learning the same lessons and regressing when the plot demands it, I do think her delivery is funny. The lemon water and the elderly woman on the subway who'd probably had some work done around her eyes... that's the Glee I love. I thought the Kurt/Blaine drama was very realistic and mature in a horribly boring way. It needed another plot line to back it up but Artie being afraid to ride the subway and Sam's modeling adventures couldn't cut it. I thought the songs in the middle of the show were just way too repetitive and pointless. They slowed things down in an episode that was already lacking in content and emotional drama.

Mercedes showing up at the end was a very pleasant surprise. Maybe her win on DWTS is making the writers value Amber more. They never really knew what to do with her. I hope it's not Rachel vs. Santana 2.0. 

[S13.E26: Close To Me]

The opener with Zig and Maya was very cute. They were never meant to be an epic couple but they were sweet before the show tried to make them edgy. For the record, they're both hilarious when they're "edgy". I laughed so hard at Zig drinking the orange juice from the container. I laughed even harder at the

Maya/Miles breakup at the dance

. And oh, God, that dramatic scene at the end with Zig and Maya... I can't. This is all I need from Degrassi. Unintentionally hilarious acting and writing. Other than the fact that they have some of the weakest actors on the show in this love triangle, the other issue is that they're writing them like they're adults. Which does not work at all. But I love it. For all the wrong reasons. Also, I felt bad for the actress playing Maya. Did they really just make her dance around by herself so Zig and Miles could talk about her? That looked so awkward.

When Jenna was jealous of the niners with their "perfect faces and perfect bodies" I was thinking it was just the show overplaying the age difference between the characters who can't be more than 6 years apart at the most. Then I remembered that Jenna had a baby. Then I wondered if Jenna remembers she had a baby. This show... And didn't we just have an episode on the dress code?

Whoa, when did Becky asking Imogen to the dance to have a girls night out become Becky leading Imogen on? Last episode, it seemed like an innocent misunderstanding. How the heck did this happen? Did I miss something? I thought it would come to a head at the dance where they both realized the mistake but as soon as Jack brought it up, I feel like that should have been the end to it and Becky should have explained things to Imogen. I'm glad they diffused it pretty quickly.

Tristan and Zoe were really cute as snarkers. I still think we have a cast that's mainly made up of actors/characters who work better on the sidelines.

Apropos of nothing, I still can't stand Clare or her new haircut. I'll readily admit that she's not as annoyingly self-righteous and weirdly overreactive as she used to be, and thank god they stopped having the actress over-emote in every freaking episode, but now I just find her really, really dull.

I have had moments over the years when I have liked Clare. Original nerdy Clare was cute with Casey. Clare's strongest period was when she was with Eli. I think Clare is just always going to be that annoyingly self-righteous and weirdly overreactive character. The thing is that they're just using her a bit less at the moment.

[S13.E25: What It's Like]

I was kind of hoping that Tristan would have a "You go, Glen Coco moment" with the roses.

In spite of the growth spurt, I still think Zig is more attractive than Miles. And I still think Miles gives off weird vibes. He's a bit too dependent on Maya, a bit too protective, a bit too jealous.

Even though I think it was meant to be the light story line of the week, I think the Imogen/Becky/new girl story ended up being the strongest while the Zig/Maya didn't feel as weighty because of the actors involved. I do think it could be setting up something fun though with them living together.

[S13.E23: Unbelievable Parts 1 & 2]

This was one of the better Degrassi episodes in a while. I thought they handled the more serious part of the episode well with the high of the sing off. I think they might have some talent in the new cast. I wonder if we'll be seeing a new band form soon. I almost wish

Luke

hadn't been involved. We haven't seen much of him before now and while he didn't have much heavy lifting to do, he seemed like a pretty competent actor in this episode. Even though this should have been Zoe's episode, I think Becky really ended up shining. I didn't think much of her when she first showed up but they've been steadily making her a better character. 

I think I've missed a handful of episodes before the summer but since when has "The Watcher" been a thing?

I feel like the Maya/Miles thing might be going somewhere weird soon. He's getting a little too dependent on her. Like, Eli

crashing his car

dependent. 

Oh, and Brave was totally the wrong song to play at the end. But I think the episode managed to have a lot of different perspectives and eventually have a good message about perpetrators and bystanders.

[Scarlett O'Connor: Sad Chipmunk]

I don't think she came to Nashville looking for fame, to be like Rayna or Juliette. I thought she moved to Nashville to accompany her boyfriend, and didn't dream of being a star. Even now it seems she is ambivalent.

 

This is the version of Scarlett I see but I think the biggest problem with her is that you could argue any of the readings in this thread because the writers have been so inconsistent with her character. She is all of the things. She came to Nashville just to be with Avery. But wait, she does enjoy poetry and now she's a songwriter. But wait, now she's performing so we have to say she wanted to perform the whole time. She loved being on the stage at the Opry. But she hates being on the stage on tour with Luke Wheeler. But she was nervous to be at the Bluebird even though she's performed there a ton of times already. I don't know if it's an issue with multiple writers or the same writers not knowing what to do with her character but the fact of the matter is that she's just inconsistent. This isn't how a normal person (even someone confused and complicated) thinks and behaves. This is how a character who keeps getting rewritten thinks and behaves and while Juliette has a bit of this as well, I think Hayden has been able to ground the character in a much better way than Clare Bowen has.

[S24.E06: Down And Dirty]

I've been feeling pretty positive about the challenges in the last two episodes after a lackluster beginning to the season. I think this was a more middle of the road episode. There wasn't much to the gas challenge and with the way the teams bunched up at the train, it didn't seem that difficult and didn't seem to separate the pack. I guess maybe they thought it might provoke some drama, but no one really seemed to get into it.

The elephant challenge was a little better. It was nice to see the elephants even if there wasn't much to that challenge. The paper-making challenge was the better one of the two to watch as the log-carrying challenge was pretty repetitive. 

The wise man was a pretty pointless stop. 

I found myself rooting for the Afghanimals at the end which I never would have imagined myself doing at the beginning of this season. They have gotten a little better (though they still pick people up and make way too much noise) but I think it's also that they seem to deserve a win for the way they've been racing. Also, they seem to almost always learn how to say "thank you" in that language spoken in the country where they're racing which is nice.

I really like the Globetrotters. I was nervous for them and upset, especially with Dave and Connor sending them off in the wrong direction. What are the rules on that?

[S05.E13: New Directions]

If the writers were smart, they would go to the drawing bored on this one. Sam is wrong for a lot of reasons. My big one is I fear since they change Sam at every instance they feel like it-remember he wasn't always silly/stupid, he was kind of raising his kid brother and sister when he lived in a hotel so his parents could save money/work- I fear they will start writing him like Finn. And that makes me sad.

 

Remember when he had dyslexia and was an impressive athlete? I swear they forgot Sam had dyslexia when they announced Ryder also had dyslexia. 

[S05.E13: New Directions]

Heh.  I saw Aradia22's post and thought, "Aw!  A friend for SNeaker!"  ;)

 

I'm new here. I would love to have a friend. :)

I won't say that I'm optimistic about New York but I'm not sure it'll be a trainwreck either. I still have a little kernel of hope left for the writers. They still know how to write jokes that make me laugh. I just need them to turn their energy towards plot lines I care about (and not just ones that infuriate me like Rachel vs. Santana for Funny Girl). I don't mind bringing Artie to NY because I like Kevin's voice. I don't think Sam really needed to go but he's basically a blank slate for the writers to do anything with (is there anyone on the cast he hasn't been paired with yet?) so I understand moving him over but if they're going to push Samchel... again, it's going to be a rough last season. I would prefer to see Rachel with a new guy or just on her own (and I think this focus on her career has been a good way to keep her plot line moving forward without having her constantly mourning Finn's death) but I know this show and unless Lea Michele is pushing back against it behind the scenes I feel like a new love interest is a comin'. Count me among the people who never really "got" Heather Morris. I think she's had some nice little jokes and Fondue for Two is cute and there have been a few emotionally affecting Brittana moments but she's not a strong enough actress to really carry too much of the plot. And I did like Dani and Santana even though they've been phasing out Dani for a while now. 

[Juliette Barnes: That Girl Worth Choosing]

No doubt. Even though the writers put Juliette through the ringer, she is still one of the more compelling characters and a lot of that is down to Hayden. She is doing a fantastic job. She had me crying so much in the first season finale.

I don't want to call myself a country fan because I feel like "real" country fans wouldn't consider me a country fan. I'm a city girl and I don't mind a bit of folk, pop, or rock getting into my country... though I hate all that beer, Nascar, and traditional gender roles stuff in a certain segment of country music. For me, country music is all about the divas... Loretta, Reba, Trisha, Dolly, etc. though I do like some of the newer groups like Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, and Eden's Edge. I'm not saying that I would watch every show that featured singing but I did watch Glee and Smash so... it's definitely a factor in my decision making process. 

Regardless of why I started watching, I kept watching because of Hayden. When every other storyline is going off the rails, she somehow keeps things together. Even when Juliette's world is falling apart, Hayden is still right there, fully committed to her part. I never watched Friday Night Lights so I don't really get the adoration of Connie Britton (who seems rather flat in Nashville) but thankfully Hayden is there to carry the show. 

[S05.E13: New Directions]

There were some good jokes but all in all it wasn't a great episode. I think season 5 has been kind of weak and the latter half of the season has really been making the push towards moving the show to New York. The graduation and the very quick send off of the 2.0's shows how much the show cared about Tina, Marley, Jake, Ryder, Kitty, and Wade/Unique. I did think it was funny how they kept teasing Tina maybe making the transfer to New York. I kind of wish Jake and Unique could somehow make the transfer to New York because they are talented performers but I think this is the last we'll see of them. They might manage to drag Kitty in for a cameo or two if she keeps dating Artie long distance.

I'm a little disappointed about how the Puck/Quinn relationship worked out. I think it makes a lot of sense but there's still a little corner of my heart reserved for Puckleberry and if they were going to pair Rachel with anyone but Finn (or Jesse St. James before they made him ridiculous) it would have been Puck. If they're serious about pushing Rachel and Sam in New York, season 6 is going to be rough.

I'm glad they squashed the Rachel/Santana conflict for so many reasons. Santana was never believable to me as a Broadway star, at least in Funny Girl. It prevented me from enjoying both characters when they were on screen because I had to choose sides. It was just unpleasant to watch characters I like fighting.

I know April and Holly were a little crazy when they were first introduced but they actually seemed insane and unstable when they came back for these two episodes.

[Teddy Conrad: Mr. Mayor]

I am disappointed that he wasn't the one to take the bullet. He's Rayna's ex-husband and Daphne's father so he's never going to get written off the show as much as they really need to kill his plotlines. They are weighing things down and I really don't care about this new development with him and lawyer lady. I would much rather have the lawyer lady be the supportive cipher for Deacon that she had been up until the writers thought it would be fun to pair her with Teddy.

[Scarlett O'Connor: Sad Chipmunk]

My vote is for early season 1 Scarlett who sang fantastic duets with Gunnar. I need more duets for my Spotify playlist, Nashville. Make it happen. 

But seriously, I think they went off the rails with her character. She's been accused of being a Mary Sue but I think the problem is that they keep rewriting her. One day she's this weak, naive poet who stirs Gunnar's protective instincts. The next day she's all sassy and full of quips. Then she's overwhelmed by being on tour. Then she's a drug addict who falls in love with Liam at the drop of a hat. Her personality is not consistent. Her motivations are not consistent. Even her music isn't consistent. 

[Rayna Jaymes: The Reigning Queen of Country]

I really hate Rayna. I know a lot of people like her character but for me, Connie Britton and Callie Khouri failed with her. I find her incredibly unlikable and self-righteous. In their attempt to write this strong female character they've made the mistake of writing this judgmental hypocrite who doesn't behave like a normal person. In season 1 she made all these sassy demands and then stormed out of rooms. That is not what a mature businesswoman does. I thought she was alright at the beginning of season 2

as she was recovering from the car crash

but the Rayna I hate has been slowly creeping back in and now she's back to infuriating me more often than not. 

[Kristen Taekman: At Least She's Pretty]

I mean, yes, she's insulting herself but I wouldn't even call it the worst tagline this season. I think that would have to go to Sonja's commando line which is gross and not even mildly clever. It lands with a dull thud every time it starts the episode. 

So far I like Kristen. Granted, it's only been two episodes, but she seems pretty nice if a little kooky. I haven't decided how I feel about her relationship with her husband yet. Either he's this awful jerk who can't be bothered to text her when he'll be late, drags her out to do crazy mud races and then leaves her behind after promising to stay, and is generally neglectful and uncaring. ...Or she likes to complain a lot and after years of being married he's used to it and doesn't want to really engage with her anymore.

[Approach The Bench: Law & Order General Discussion Thread]

...then they put on the wigs and I couldn't take it seriously.

 

No, I didn't watch any British spin-off. But I did get that same feeling watching a few episodes of Accused when it was on Netflix. 

[Drop Dead Diva - General Discussion]

I miss the show that I started watching in season 1 but I'm doing my best to get through the rest of this season because I'm a completionist and I want to put this series to rest. Then after a sufficient amount of time has passed, I'll rewatch it but stop maybe in the second or third season and pretend it never got renewed for another season after that. 

[Approach The Bench: Law & Order General Discussion Thread]

Oh, no question. Original recipe is the best of the Law and Orders. Criminal Intent was good when I was younger and thought it was gritty television. Also, they had Stephen Colbert on an episode so they get bonus points. SVU is horrible. It's depressing and it used to be the same case all the time until fairly recently when they decided to just make things crazy. 

But yes, good, old-fashioned Law & Order is still the gold standard for police procedurals. It is the bar against which everything else is measured. Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, and Benjamin Bratt years were the best years for me. Dennis Farina was never as good as Orbach and the less said about Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson, and Milena Govich, the better. Obviously Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy made the show. As for all the ADA's, I would go 1. Abbie Carmichael 2. Claire Kincaid 3. Alexandria Borgia 4. Serena Southerlyn 5. Jamie Ross 6. Connie Rubirosa.

[Annie: She's Right On Top Of It]

Actually in the moments when the show has hinted at an Annie/Jeff pairing, I've been all for it. I know in the universe of the show there's a weird age difference but I think the actors have a lot of chemistry and those scenes have really worked for me. Annie has kind of been on the sidelines this season. The biggest thing that has happened for her character in my mind was the introduction of her brother Anthony played amazingly by Spencer Crittenden. 

[16th Century Fashion Police: Thou Art Under Arrest!]

I'm torn when it comes to the fashion on Reign. On one hand, I feel like this show is really becoming the spiritual successor to Gossip Girl so I understand the desire to just have things that look pretty or that reflect some modern trends to sell things to the teenage audience a la Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. On the other hand, the level of historical inaccuracy can sometimes be painful and the fact that a lot of the costumes are accurate to "a" time period, if not the right one for this show, has to mean that they're referencing specific time periods. I do think things have improved since the pilot where the costumes were generally not just historically inaccurate but quite cheap looking. I don't mind the historical inaccuracy as much when I get to stare at lush fabrics and beautiful embroidery. Though it did really bug me in one scene where I think Kenna either had on feather earrings or a dreamcatcher necklace.

[Evil Anne of Green Gables: Queen Catherine]

I love the title of this thread. I used to watch Megan Follows in that Anne of Green Gables movie all the time. I had the box set but the sequels when she got older were not as entertaining. I've only watched the first few episodes of Reign but I wish she was a little more deliciously evil. Catherine de Medici should be such a compelling female character or at the very least a deliciously camp role and at least in the first four episodes, I don't feel like she's really been going for it. 

[Carole Radziwill: She's a Real Princess!]

I feel like I was a little neutral on her last season but this season I'm really starting to dislike her. Not that I'm siding with Aviva. I'm Team No One because they're both awful and wrong. But I don't think enough people on the show are picking apart how terrible Carole's arguments are. She is really condescending. I can't take her seriously as a writer when she claims she purposefully sacrifices grammar to create more beautiful sounding, lyric prose. She keeps perpetuating this idea that we should feel bad for her because without her career she has "nothing" because she doesn't have a significant other or a child which is ridiculous and insulting to women. Somehow she's trained Heather to be her attack dog which makes me dislike Heather more. Her refusal to acknowledge her own privilege because it doesn't gel with her image of herself as this cool, downtown chick is irritating. And she just doesn't seem like a very nice person. She and Heather are a little too willing to jump to making jokes about Aviva's leg now that they're not friendly anymore.

[Enlisted - General Discussion]

I know I'm a little late to the conversation but I've been holding off on Enlisted because it seemed like that show that I could catch whenever. I'm biased because I fell for Parker Young's version of this same kind of dumb but lovable character on Suburgatory. Also, Keith David. Come on now. But the show won me over on its own. I thought it was funny and charming while not stretching too far out of the typical sitcom mode. It made me laugh but I could definitely see the way the dog thing would work out as soon as they introduced it. Then again, I feel like Brooklyn Nine-Nine does something very similar and I've stuck with that show.