may flowers

x1000. I do wonder what happened to Kasie. She used to be good. Anyway, I had to turn the channel.

The storytelling lacks an emotional payoff. Maybe that’s the point - it wasn’t anything big but just “ a million little things” that made Jon commit suicide. But as a drama, it hasn’t connected for me, maybe because I haven’t become invested in the central characters. Jon is still an enigma. Delilah is unlikeable as is Eddie and I haven’t seen anything to redeem them. Gary is overbearing. Rome is the most interesting but is treated as ancillary, as is his wife and Katherine. Maggie seems to be a plot device. The show lacks depth and emotional resonance and, given the subject matter, that’s damning.

If he got his Wall money in December, it would have been from Ryan. Republicans were in control of all branches. They never gave it to him. They could have passed it - the Senate did. But neither Ryan nor Trump could control House Rs. That’s why the government shut down. So what is Podhoretz talking about?

Mika would do better if she read books instead of helping guests to sell them. She is regularly shown on camera skimming pages - or frantically flipping through them like when Christie was on. I can’t remember a time she added anything more than odd noises to a discussion with an author. She added nothing today.

So much this! I’d add no more Eric and Nell either. I’m tired of all this couple focus. I miss Hetty and miss the fun this team seemed to have. The focus on the couples had made the show so angsty.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/29/mika-brzezinski-presses-ex-trump-aide-details-trumps-face-lift-tweet/ The Washington Post detailed their interview with Sims from the Trump White House, pointing out that the two focused on the one anecdote about them ( the Mika facelift tweet). The reporter also mentions that ‘oks laughed through the whole segment.

Brought over from the episode forum to ask...when has Joe shown any grace toward anyone? Have I missed the grace he’s extended to the Clintons? Please.

Additionally birtherism, which Trump championed, is racist and was regularly used to attack Obama in the open. Mika needs to think before speaking.

So they are having what I thought was a pretty engrossing discussion on the Russia conspiracy with Natasha Bertrand, Glenn Kirschner and another attorney - all smart people making good points - when Mika halts the discussion because they are going to move on to a reminiscence of her father’s diplomatic efforts in the 70s. This show is so frustrating!

So for Mika showing up at work is incidental? Joe is riding the Trump Train today. I have no idea why he thinks Nancy Pelosi needs to change her approach to Trump. And although that’s his thesis, no one on the panel agrees except Ignatius - including Mika!

The question I have is which sympathetic reporter will Joe and Mika give the “why we moved to Florida” story to and how will their hero’s journey be framed? Maybe Emily Jane Fox at Vanity Fair? Because you know Joe will want to take control of the narrative.

I thought the fact that they were together made the show smoother - very little talking over each other and strong questioning. I found the show really interesting today. I haven’t thought that in ages.

Paul Farhi of The Washington Post has a long tweet addressing the hosts disappearance. Says MSNBC won’t address where they are though sources say they’re in FL sitting feet from each other (not separate bunkers) and that they get away with it because of ratings. https://twitter.com/farhip/status/1088437577110163456?s=21

And also, Rachel looks like she wants to - she’s happy to - be there. Mika hasn’t for a very long time. Her dourness accentuates the severity of the clothing she wears.

Well, Mika is partial to men who go on ego-driven rants.

They didn’t even stay in the NE long enough to host the show. They’re back in bunkers and Mika is back to making strange sounds or saying stray words when not on camera.

Replying to Teddysmom in the Episode thread : NBC probably would have provided a jet to get them to Teterboro had they asked. It’s a clear sign of how they prioritize the show that (1) keeps them relevant, (2) pays them an enormous sum of money, and (3) brought them together. If they don’t care - and they demonstrate daily they don’t-why should anyone?

Took my reply to the hosts thread.

I find the show unwatchable lately, although I try from time to time. The Brady Bunch boxes clearly have impacted Mika badly - she says things or makes weird sounds when the camera isn’t on her and it’s incredibly distracting. Panelists who are sitting together are not sure whether to look at each other or the camera. It’s a mess. Add that to Joe wasting time talking about college football with Joe Manchin. I did smile though when someone said “Roll Tide” and Mika, offscreen, said “Oh, yeah. Roll damn Tide.”

Joe constantly makes false equivalences between Clinton and Trump. He tweeted today that no Dem ever took a stand against Clinton like Romney has against Trump. Isn’t Clinton more like Joe, though? Didn’t both cheat on their wives with subordinates? Egregious in both cases; neither has anything to do with how Trump is governing.

Lately the last half hour has Ben pretaped, following the 30 minute rerun. I wonder if that’s a precursor to what will be offered next year? Between that and the Brady Bunch boxes, could Mika and Joe make it any more clear that they are bored with the show?

Joe actually just said “...when Morning Joe Brady Bunch style returns.” I appreciate the awareness - not that anything will change. ETA - Stormy saw it too!

Aymin and Yasmin have taken over. Better, of course, but unsure why.

Watched because two of my favorite legal analysts were on - Chuck Rosenberg and Joyce Vance. No bunkers today! Energy is better when everyone is on set. Mika should really just sit in Joe’s lap already though. She’s becoming the Kate McKinnon parody of her - she completely turns her body toward Joe, staring at him and moving her whole body in agreement with his drivel. I wonder if that happens in their bunker?

The worst part - for me - of the Brady Bunch Boxes is that they do a lot of two box shots of Mika and Joe while Joe is doing his monologues. When they are together at a table you get the others reacting to Joe. Now you get Mika gazing into the camera sighing, muttering and agreeing with Joe. For the first 25 minutes today, at least 20 were two boxes of them. Boring, not engaging and just hard to watch.