ladyofgondolin

laredhead, you thought you were watching an episode of Beachfront Bargain Hunt because that's what it actually was, according to this page on HGTV's website: http://www.hgtv.com/shows/beachfront-bargain-hunt/episodes/finding-a-home-in-winthrop-before-the-wedding I could tell within just a few minutes that it wasn't an actual House Hunters episode. As you mentioned, the realtor didn't tour the house with them, and, at the end, they weren't shown actually moving into the house (the "before/after" segment). I hope HGTV isn't going to make a habit of recycling shows like this. :/

The Strain: sponsored by Apple. Yay, Stereotype Friend is dead!! Christmas came early for me this year. XD I do like Kelly better as a vamp, although I'd rather see more Nazi flashbacks than Annoying Wife flashbacks. I was impressed that she actually put up a pretty good fight against her infected boyfriend. I wonder if she's going to marry Bat Boy, then show up at the pawn shop to eat them all... I mean get custody of little Zack? Maybe Kelly is transforming more slowly in order for us to continue to recognize her in the sea of balding, genital-less vamps. :) (Aside: I didn't know that she'd played a vamp before, until I read her FX profile, so she should definitely know what she's doing from here on in.) Eph made me laugh w/his macho "the CDC put me in charge, beyotch!" XD At least he seems totally down w/killing vampires now, even when they're kids. Count me among those who were annoyed that Eph didn't tell his son that mommy was a vamp. Zack already saw mom's boyfriend turned and he was even killed right in front of him, so how hard would it be for him to make peace w/the fact that she had been turned as well? It's happening all over the place and she clearly had some kind of confrontation w/the bf in the home before they arrived. The kid is probably already thinking it, even if he doesn't know for sure (that may have been another reason why he was watching the video on the phone, remembering the "old" her). I'm guessing the only reason this was done was for the "put the kid in danger" gag to come later. :P I always have a problem w/people on shows not talking to each other about important things, as they would in real life, in order to provide those "gotcha" moments later. That's not the first time I've noticed this on the show and that is clearly where they're going w/this setup as well. If you have to do this to move your plot along, you need better writers. </rant> But, hey, Eph, Nora and Zack make a perfect little family unit now, don't they? :P Now, he'll have two parents he never sees because of their jobs! Dutch is the worst hacker ever. Why would she need to be inside of the building to do anything? I didn't know that Palmer controlled the entire intarwebs! lol Consequently, it seemed that Vasiliy and Dutch went to Palmer's place mostly to show that Fitzwilliam is actually a good guy. (It was pretty obvious they were getting out of there alive, so the whole trip had zero suspense for me.) I was disappointed that Fitz didn't leave the old man and join the fight, but he seemed kind of like Vader to Luke: "It's too late for me." Maybe he'll join the team later (crossing fingers). I did like how Vasiliy charmed the gatekeeper at Palmer's. I didn't know he had it in him! :) I am not pleased that they're clearly trying to hook up Dutch w/Vasiliy. :( I don't want his emotions clouded. He's my bad-ass exterminator, dammit! Definitely not enough Abe in this ep. I hope he has a backdoor in that place, btw. I'm also beginning to wonder where the heck Gabriel and the other surviving early infectees are. And I guess Gus has been running for days in that orange jumpsuit, now?? Need I say it? Moar SWAT vamps, plz!!

I've sort of been enjoying the concentration camp flashbacks more than the rest of the show. I would watch the hell out of that by itself. Does that make me a bad person? :) Oh, well, I guess those are over now. :( Apocalypse sex always bugs me because that's the very last thing I'd be thinking of in that kind of situation. D: The kid was a little too ok w/the whole thing, especially after seeing his potential new dad get decapitated. I would have been pissing myself. D: Btw, I got a "Grimm" vibe when Abe gave the kid that ancient-looking book to pour over. ;) So, Eph couldn't dispatch Samwise but had zero problems decapitating wifey's b-f?? I hope this means he's learning (but I doubt it). I continue to adore Vasiliy! He gets the best lines in the show, like Pam on "True Blood." He has feelings, dammit! XD Also, in my head, I keep comparing Vasiliy to the exterminator named Roman who appeared on the show "Verminators." He liked to "get his kill on." They would be an unstoppable vampocalypse team! Still missing the SWAT vamps. :( I didn't like Gus until this episode. Eph and Nora could learn a thing or two from him about doing the right thing for someone you care about when they're infected. He clearly has what it takes to make it in the vampocalypse. I envision impending bff status between him and Vasiliy. :) Eph's wife's walking-stereotype-of-a-friend needs to get infected and die already. The Master did not impress. I actually started laughing when I saw him. XD Better to have left that goofy mess under the hood, son. Oh, and, btw, you're welcome:

I'm glad I stuck w/this show after initially thinking it wasn't worth my time (the first two eps almost did me in w/their slow pace). Now that the Scooby Gang is getting together and the vampocalypse is underway, things are a bit more interesting. ;) I don't watch Walking Dead, so I got a vibe of Stephen King's "The Mist" from this ep. Vasiliy is an exterminator and vamps are kind of like really big rats, so he's just doing his job. :) Killing is his business and business is good. lol Sean Astin/Jim has been my least favorite thing about the show, so I'm glad Vasiliy popped him while everyone else was arguing about what to do. I do understand that Eph and Nora's jobs revolved around trying to save lives, so I'm not shocked that they had so much trouble dealing w/Jim's infection/death. I hope that Eph's act of mercy w/the bread truck dude means that he finally understands that saving the world is more important than saving the infected at this point in time. Count me among those who were pleasantly surprised to see the hacker chick's friend leave unscathed and Jim killed before he could sacrifice himself as a diversion to allow the others to get away. I hope the show continues to avoid obvious choices like that. OTOH, I couldn't care less about the hacker chick and thought it was too coincidental for them to meet up in that store, but maybe she'll get a chance to redeem herself in some way for what she's done. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who recognized Rick Baker! :) Naturally, he got attacked; fx guys love to bite it (literally) dramatically on screen. XD Where was SWAT vamp (Quinlan) this week? I was looking forward to more of him and his vigilante group. *pout* These guys need to raid a Ren faire and get some more swords. :D

Hey, y'all are welcome! :) It's fun to have insider info on a show for once. Nothing new to report, but I've got my ear to the ground. :) Thanks for fixing my post, Rhondinella!

Another (mostly lurking) refugee from TWOP here. *waves* I have some scoop on HHR from my SO who works w/someone whose sibling (w/spouse) participated on the show. tee hee :) (I'll keep them anonymous in case they signed a confidentiality agreement.) HGTV paid them a $25,000 renovation allowance, plus appliances, to appear on the show. They opted out of the appliances that HGTV offered and were instead paid a $5,000 additional allowance. HGTV supplied the designer and contractor (on the show, they make it look as though the couples hire them, of course). The contractor suggested additional work not covered by HGTV's allowance, which they declined. This couple gets along very well... a little too well for HGTV, apparently. ;) Producers tried repeatedly to get them to disagree on various issues to make the show more entertaining. (No surprise there; that's a running theme on the HH shows.) If I hear any additional tidbits, I'll post here. :)