And Just Like That in the Media

[Alice Mudgarden]

Quote

Every time someone calls Miranda “Rambo,” an angel loses their wings.

That made me laugh out loud in the Che article. I heard Miranda all giddy, shouting over the intercom "IT'S RAMBO" ringing in my head and died a little inside.

[CeeBeeGee]

4 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Every moment Che Diaz is on screen, however, is absolutely mortifying.

 

I was just about to post this! The tweets in the middle of the article are the best!

 

And this line: 

Quote

They’re at least as annoying as Ani from 13 Reasons Why.

 

So effing true! I feel seen.

[Snazzy Daisy]

21 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I was just about to post this! The tweets in the middle of the article are the best!

Now I wonder… if Che Diaz is played by another actor, would that make any difference? Due to different interpretations etc. 🤔

[b2H]

Maybe it's because I'm unhip, but I read this article earlier today in its entirety and wondered what the problem was.

Che's character is a bit over the top, but I don't understand all the hue and cry about the story line.  Can someone explain to this 65 year old just what the problem really is?  I have more of a problem with Miranda in this storyline than I do Che.  I found myself yelling at Miranda for cheating on her family.

[Hanahope]

And yet, AJLT is probably happy that the conversation is not about Chris Noth.

 

[monagatuna]

On 1/7/2022 at 7:15 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

Now I wonder… if Che Diaz is played by another actor, would that make any difference? Due to different interpretations etc. 🤔

I reeeaally don't think so. I think Sara Ramirez is doing the best she can with Che. It's the writing. If Che had a different storyline, no one would have a problem with them and we'd probably all like them a lot more.

[LemonSoda]

On 1/6/2022 at 4:20 PM, Lethallyfab said:

From The Cut: Steve Deserves Better.

And he really does!

I liked Original Steve who was intelligent, discussed books before the writers turned him in to a cartoon watching man child. 

[Baltimore Betty]

50 minutes ago, LemonSoda said:

I liked Original Steve who was intelligent, discussed books before the writers turned him in to a cartoon watching man child. 

He discussed books?  I have vivid memories of him watching cartoons and eating cereal while Miranda was trying to work but discuss books, I do not remember that at all.

[Ms Blue Jay]

It's Steve's very first episode.  He was reading a book while tending bar.   He seemed intelligent and snarky and cool.  Then the writers made him into the beast I hate today.

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, LemonSoda said:

I liked Original Steve who was intelligent, discussed books before the writers turned him in to a cartoon watching man child. 

In that SATC companion book from years ago (pink cover), even David Eigenberg said Steve's IQ went down. So the actor, at least, was aware. I like old and new Steve, but they were definitely different. Eigenberg didn't seem to know the reason for the change, either.

But, as we speculated in the SATC thread, maybe it was to make it easy to dump Steve the first time, which...okay. But the writers could have rebounded with him and didn't.

Full disclosure, this is my YT account, but I am not shilling/selling anything. LOL! I liked this early Steve/Miranda scene, too, which I have already said:

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

27 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

In that SATC companion book from years ago (pink cover),

If you find the title can you let me know?

[WendyCR72]

4 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

If you find the title can you let me know?

It's been YEARS since I had it, but if I can remember, I'll let you know!

ETA: I just remembered: I no longer have the physical book, but I have the Kindle version, still! It's called "Sex and The City: Kiss and Tell" by Amy Sohn.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

It's been YEARS since I had it, but if I can remember, I'll let you know!

ETA: I just remembered: I no longer have the physical book, but I have the Kindle version, still! It's called "Sex and The City: Kiss and Tell" by Amy Sohn.

Thank you I really appreciate that!  I read "Sex and the City and Us" and I loved it.  I recommend it.

[WendyCR72]

4 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Thank you I really appreciate that!  I read "Sex and the City and Us" and I loved it.  I recommend it.

Never heard of this one. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Ms Blue Jay]

Who are these critics who like the show?  LOL.  People who never saw SATC?  The audience is right!

[RealHousewife]

28 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Who are these critics who like the show?  LOL.  People who never saw SATC?  The audience is right!

Wow! Don't critics normally give lower scores than us?

[Yeah No]

On 1/5/2022 at 12:43 PM, Maysie said:

The New York Times has a piece that echos the many criticisms on the board. 
Middle Age Doesn’t Happen Just Like That

“It’s as if its characters must have been asleep for 20 years and awakened utterly gob-smacked to find themselves encountering such things as Black professors, nonbinary children and queer longings,” said Joy Castro, 54, a writer and professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

I'll say it echoes it!  Joy Castro must be reading this board or else great minds must think alike because I used that same sleep analogy a couple of weeks back.

[Yeah No]

49 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Wow! Don't critics normally give lower scores than us?

I know!  I took a look at the critic reviews and most of the ones considered "positive" sounded more negative to me than positive, as if they were giving it a tomato for old time's sake but not really loving it.  Very strange.

[LemonSoda]

14 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

 

 

I loved this scene. Such a beautiful moment. SATC had a habit of producing magical moments like this and glances (example: the eye contact between Miranda & Carrie when Brady is born) that always hit me hard. It baffles me how they could create so many magical moments and center it around mush. 
 

14 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

It's been YEARS since I had it, but if I can remember, I'll let you know!

ETA: I just remembered: I no longer have the physical book, but I have the Kindle version, still! It's called "Sex and The City: Kiss and Tell" by Amy Sohn.

I loved Kiss and Tell! It also made me want to see a lot of the sitting somewhere in a vault footage like Samantha and Richard on the rooftop. The pain will never go away but THAT skyline shouldn’t be hidden anymore. I miss it. 
The companion books for the movies were interesting. 

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I know!  I took a look at the critic reviews and most of the ones considered "positive" sounded more negative to me than positive, as if they were giving it a tomato for old time's sake but not really loving it.  Very strange.

Yeah, there’s a lot of old times sake emotion for many with this series but there’s just no substance to it. I’m curious who is giving it good scores. 

[ifionlyknew]

11 minutes ago, LemonSoda said:

Yeah, there’s a lot of old times sake emotion for many with this series but there’s just no substance to it. I’m curious who is giving it good scores. 

It is because I loved SATC so much that I have no problem criticizing AJLT if it isn't doing right by the original characters.  I also wonder who is giving it good reviews.  Are they people who watched SATC or are they just judging what they see onscreen as it is and not in relation to the history that is there?  Gotta be honest though if I was unaware of SATC I will still have a  huge problem with AJLT.

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Wow! Don't critics normally give lower scores than us?

I would say that's the more conventional thing to happen, but there's these odd "critics choice" type of projects that critics likes and audiences don't respond to whatsoever.  Think about movies that win Best Picture that normal audiences just ignore or don't make that much money.

AJLT is not like that though...... I would never say that...... LOL.  I don't know!  Whenever critics don't know the source material the project is taking from, their opinions are always wildly different than mine.  So that's my GUESS as to what's happening here.

[Cementhead]

I take most online critic reviews like I take book reviews & product reviews on Amazon ... with a huge grain of salt. 

[ifionlyknew]

27 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Whenever critics don't know the source material the project is taking from, their opinions are always wildly different than mine.  So that's my GUESS as to what's happening here.

Yes. I think fans see things differently than someone who is reviewing something because it's their job.  

I also think AJLT is getting some good reviews for being "brave" for showing certain things.  My response to that is should you get points for addressing something if the storyline is handled poorly? Is representation good if the representation is handled badly?

[WendyCR72]

Patricia Field chose wisely: Emily In Paris has been renewed for two more seasons.

[Alice Mudgarden]

2 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Patricia Field chose wisely: Emily In Paris has been renewed for two more seasons.

From what I hear, that isn't exactly a step up in terms of quality haha

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Patricia Field chose wisely: Emily In Paris has been renewed for two more seasons.

I really enjoyed the first season of EiP even though so many people online said the show was terrible.  But I'm trying sooooooo hard with Season 2 and I just feel nothing!  But there's no doubting the popularity of the show if they're willing to renew it for that far into the future. 

I wish PF and KC would both come back.  Kim has obviously made the best decision of her life but they both got their big break with SATC and they were both such CRUCIAL parts to the quality.  The fashion was a major character of SATC........ why did PF leave? 😭😭😭😭😭. Why can't every situation be like "Friends" where nobody left and everybody came back and everything stays the same!  For goodness sakes even Janet Hubert came back to the Fresh Price of Bel Air after being unceremoniously fired and replaced!

Edited January 11, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[RealHousewife]

4 hours ago, Alice Mudgarden said:

From what I hear, that isn't exactly a step up in terms of quality haha

It looks super cute, but that's what I've heard too. 

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I wish PF and KC would both come back.  Kim has obviously made the best decision of her life but they both got their big break with SATC and they were both such CRUCIAL parts to the quality.  The fashion was a major character of SATC........ why did PF leave? 😭😭😭😭😭. Why can't every situation be like "Friends" where nobody left and everybody came back and everything stays the same!  For goodness sakes even Janet Hubert came back to the Fresh Price of Bel Air after being unceremoniously fired and replaced!

Agree! The fashion was a huge part of the SATC appeal for me. Kim is very talented with comedy, maybe the most out of the four women.  AJLT doesn't have the same fun, girly appeal that SATC did. I get that the show needs drama, and it was about time there was some diversity on the show. But destroying characters and going overboard trying to be woke are just not the way they should have gone about this revival. As a huge fan, I'll continue to watch. I still look forward to each new episode. But I don't think they'll be the shows I enjoy rewatching. I normally enjoy any old SATC rerun I catch because they were so good. 

[T Summer]

30 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

 Kim is very talented with comedy, maybe the most out of the four women.  AJLT doesn't have the same fun, girly appeal that SATC did. I get that the show needs drama, and it was about time there was some diversity on the show. But destroying characters and going overboard trying to be woke are just not the way they should have gone about this revival. As a huge fan, I'll continue to watch. I still look forward to each new episode. But I don't think they'll be the shows I enjoy rewatching. I normally enjoy any old SATC rerun I catch because they were so good. 

Same here.

Ever since episode 1 I've been bugged by remembering Carrie saying "I thought I was more than an ATM to her." in the discussion with Miranda about why Samantha wasn't responding to any attempts at mending the existing rift.

Then I remembered when Samantha offered to help Carrie by giving her professional opinion and guidance with her first book cover. Carrie said No, you know I can't afford you and Samantha said That's true, followed by something like it will cost you 2 cocktails. Something like that.

Samantha never seemed to have any money problems or problems keeping clients. She had an office and a couple of secretaries we saw over the years.  Richard was a hotel magnate she started off doing P.R. for. And she had Jenny the brat who's parents threw her a million dollar sweet 16 b'day party. That was all before Smith hooked her up with the Abu Dhabi movie guys in awful movie#2. So how did it get to the point where one  author of relationship books was keeping such a publicist afloat?

Do they even think of how this unimaginative BS will come across to viewers familiar with the original series?

Edited January 11, 2022 by T Summer
typo

[RealHousewife]

^ T Summer, responding in spoilers because I forget if we're allowed to discuss storyline in this thread. If we are with older episodes, please let me know. :)

Spoiler

It's ridiculous. I have my criticisms of Samantha, but she adored her friends and was an intelligent, hardworking, independent successful woman who did not need anyone for $ (though she was generous with her own, like when she offered to help Carrie). The way they wrote her out is utter bullshit. She wasn't petty like that, and if anyone ended up needing a friend for money, it would have been Carrie. She's only rich because of Big. 

 

[T Summer]

1 minute ago, RealHousewife said:

^ T Summer, responding in spoilers because I forget if we're allowed to discuss storyline in this thread. If we are with older episodes, please let me know. :)

  Hide contents

It's ridiculous. I have my criticisms of Samantha, but she adored her friends and was an intelligent, hardworking, independent successful woman who did not need anyone for $ (though she was generous with her own, like when she offered to help Carrie). The way they wrote her out is utter bullshit. She wasn't petty like that, and if anyone ended up needing a friend for money, it would have been Carrie. She's only rich because of Big. 

 

Oh dam, I didn't  mean to break the rules. I just finished reading this thread and saw a Samantha related comment and responded. Mod(s) my apologies. Feel free to move or omit if you see fit.

[ifionlyknew]

8 hours ago, T Summer said:

Do they even think of how this unimaginative BS will come across to viewers familiar with the original series?

It seems like we are supposed to see it as a separate entity from SATC. Even though they are using SATC characters and sometimes referencing events that happened on SATC. In other words the writers are going to write what they want to write and I don't think they care about viewer complaints.  

 

12 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I really enjoyed the first season of EiP even though so many people online said the show was terrible.  But I'm trying sooooooo hard with Season 2 and I just feel nothing!  But there's no doubting the popularity of the show if they're willing to renew it for that far into the future. 

I watched the first season a couple months ago and then binge watched the second season the day after it came out last month.  I enjoy it.  Is it as good as SATC? No. But it's not trying to be.

12 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Why can't every situation be like "Friends" where nobody left and everybody came back and everything stays the same! 

In all fairness to Patricia Field when she signed onto Emily in Paris AJLT wasn't a thing yet. And I can understand her wanting to do something different anyways.  It's funny because I used to hate Carrie's outrageous outfits but I don't mind Emily's outrageous outfits.

9 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

As a huge fan, I'll continue to watch. I still look forward to each new episode. But I don't think they'll be the shows I enjoy rewatching. I normally enjoy any old SATC rerun I catch because they were so good. 

This is me.  If I really like a show I will do a re watch usually before the next season airs. But with this one I have my doubts I will revisit it.  Contrast that to SATC which I have done complete re watches multiple times.

Edited January 11, 2022 by ifionlyknew

[Yeah No]

23 hours ago, ifionlyknew said:

Yes. I think fans see things differently than someone who is reviewing something because it's their job.  

I also think AJLT is getting some good reviews for being "brave" for showing certain things.  My response to that is should you get points for addressing something if the storyline is handled poorly? Is representation good if the representation is handled badly?

That's what I find wrong with those reviewers.  It's like they want to be on board with the show addressing certain issues so they compliment it for that but then want to play down or forget how poorly it's being done. You can't reinvent overnight characters that have over 20 years of history in the memories of a large part of the audience.  Expecting us to forget who these women were and think there's something so wrong with them that they need to be shown as lacking and slapped into shape so rudely is doing a disservice to the fans.  And that's not good entertainment either.  There were so many ways they could have achieved their goal without being so heavy handed that they offend people who loved the original show.

One of the critics said the reboot was both "painful and pleasurable" depending on how you looked at it and that it was like there were two shows going on simultaneously, one good and one bad.  Another one said it was like the Beatles with no Ringo and called it an "awkward reboot".  And those were considered positive reviews by Rotten Tomatoes because in the end both reviewers gave it 3 out of 5 stars!  So I'm questioning the interpretation here of just what exactly constitutes a positive review.

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 hours ago, ifionlyknew said:

In all fairness to Patricia Field when she signed onto Emily in Paris AJLT wasn't a thing yet. And I can understand her wanting to do something different anyways.  It's funny because I used to hate Carrie's outrageous outfits but I don't mind Emily's outrageous outfits.

I feel like Patricia's learned a lot in the interim.  I think she kind of went crazy (or the more PC way to say this) in season 3 of SATC and thankfully nothing has been crazier than that.

6 hours ago, ifionlyknew said:

This is me.  If I really like a show I will do a re watch usually before the next season airs. But with this one I have my doubts I will revisit it.  Contrast that to SATC which I have done complete re watches multiple times.

I'm pretty sure this is 90% of SATC fans.  Every time I see a positive word about AJLT I'm shocked.  LOL

[buttersister]

Samantha was too good for them.

A dozen reminders why I’m not bothering with the three stooges or the producers. 

[PRgal]

Most of us who are still watching are hate-watching anyway.  I hope MPK and his people know this.  We should make it a point that he does.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear he's on Twitter, so it's not like we can tag him!

[Ms Blue Jay]

The 3 main cast members certainly are 😉

[RedHawk]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

Most of us who are still watching are hate-watching anyway.  I hope MPK and his people know this.  We should make it a point that he does.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear he's on Twitter, so it's not like we can tag him!

I am totally enjoying hate-watching. There's no other way I'd sit through this.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, RedHawk said:

I am totally enjoying hate-watching. There's no other way I'd sit through this.

I do too, it's kind of sick.  I'm addicted. Badly

[RedHawk]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I do too, it's kind of sick.  I'm addicted. Badly

In Covid-world we take what entertainment we can get.

[SailorGirl]

16 hours ago, RedHawk said:

In Covid-world we take what entertainment we can get.

To a degree -- Tiger King 2 comes to mind -- everyone couldn't get enough of the first season and at least from what I've seen and heard, or more accurately, NOT seen and heard, no one is the least bit interested in season 2. We're all desperate but not THAT desperate! 🤣    Perfect example of what should have been a one-and-done.

Hopefully AJLT/HBOMax will get the clue and just let the dumpster fire finish burning out and leave it as an ash heap. 

Edited January 14, 2022 by SailorGirl

[RedHawk]

1 hour ago, SailorGirl said:

To a degree -- Tiger King 2 comes to mind -- everyone couldn't get enough of the first season and at least from what I've seen and heard, or more accurately, NOT seen and heard, no one is the least bit interested in season 2. We're all desperate but not THAT desperate! 🤣    Perfect example of what should have been a one-and-done.

Hopefully AJLT/HBOMax will get the clue and just let the dumpster fire finish burning out and leave it as an ash heap. 

I got the impression in the first notices that this show was coming that it would be a one and done. But it's clear with the newly introduced characters getting their own story lines that a second season was planned/expected. I feel like they'll go for it, and they'll get an audience, but a smaller one and I wonder how many non-subscribers will again pay for HBO Max. I'm not a regular subscriber and will drop it when my next month is up. Plus, I mostly am watching this (and some movies not available on other platforms) on HBO because it's winter and pandemic and I'm kinda stuck inside. 

If they do give up on it, they'll use the Chris Noth situation as the reason even though Big is DEAD. They're already trying that.

Edited January 14, 2022 by RedHawk

[ifionlyknew]

1 hour ago, RedHawk said:

But it's clear with the newly introduced characters getting their own story lines that a second season was planned/expected.

Before the disaster known as AJLT aired I thought this season would have the original characters and we would see what was going on with them and through them we would be introduced to new characters that would be the focus of a season two if there was a season two.  It seems like maybe they were going to do that but then switched gears and now we have this mishmash of something that isn't working on any level.  

 

[Toodleoo]

On 1/9/2022 at 5:38 PM, Baltimore Betty said:

He discussed books?  I have vivid memories of him watching cartoons and eating cereal while Miranda was trying to work but discuss books, I do not remember that at all.

 

I remember the book reading, and it was not silly stuff either. My googlefu is failing me in trying to find what book he was reading during his first few times on the show though.

OG Steve was no dummy and a very equal match for Miranda. No idea why they dumbed him down.

[luna1122]

It's my memory, though I can't find proof, that Steve was reading Proust, but I don’t have any recollection of what it was, exactly. 

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by luna1122

[WendyCR72]

4 minutes ago, luna1122 said:

It's my memory, though I can't find proof, that Steve was reading Proust, but I don’t have any recollection of what it was, exactly. 

 

The first time Miranda met Steve, Steve was reading Hemingway.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

The first time Miranda met Steve, Steve was reading Hemingway.

 

Are you sure?

Miranda:  What are you reading?

Steve:  The Joy of Bartending.  Hemingway.

Miranda:  So what, you're funny?

Think he was kidding.  LOL.

[WendyCR72]

11 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Are you sure?

Miranda:  What are you reading?

Steve:  The Joy of Bartending.  Hemingway.

Miranda:  So what, you're funny?

Think he was kidding.  LOL.

I think the "Joy of Bartending" part was the joke, then...Hemingway.

Meh, who knows?

Either way, Steve was shown actually reading and was obviously regressed for whatever reason later on.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Love this! Jimmy is killing it… 😂😂😂

 

[Lethallyfab]

They’ve been extremely clickbaity in covering AJLT but I thought today’s article in Slate covering the Rock storyline was really great, noting how it prioritized the reactions of the adults over the actual feelings of trans teens and concluding with the author saying the piece is their coming out to their parents.

[TaurusRose]

On 12/21/2021 at 1:11 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm kind of shocked that they released this!  I thought that Kristin and SJP especially are so close to Chris.  I wonder if they know certain things.

 

It's a rather anemic statement. 

On 12/22/2021 at 6:25 PM, ChitChat said:

In today's world, it's best to stay mum if one doesn't know anything about a given situation.  Maybe they've seen that behavior with him and that's why they spoke out.  If they haven't seen it though, I think it's best to say what Bridget said.   It's like being on a jury.  You need to wait to hear all of the evidence before commenting on it.   I don't think their careers would suffer for it.   

I support people who speak their truth, but if I don't know what the actual truth is, then I need to keep my yap shut.  :)  

I agree with you.  We don't know anything about the situation, but we sure are quick to run to judgement, make assumptions about people and project one person's bad behavior on others.   The reason I have a problem with this is because it's all so one-sided.  I'm particularly sensitive to people being hung out to dry on the strength of someone's word with nothing to support it.  This man is being destroyed.  Maybe he's guilty, maybe he's not.  But we don't know.  Meanwhile, these women are hiding behind anonymity and pseudonyms as they tell their stories.  Not exactly fair and it doesn't sit right with me.   I understand that rape is traumatic and life altering, but so is having your life ruined by the court of public opinion based on an accusation.  I'm skeptical by nature.  I've seen too many liars, people who jump on bandwagons, and people looking for easy paydays to check my suspicious nature and critical thinking at the door.  There has been ample opportunity for these claims to come to light before now.  Noth has worked a lot before AJLT.  Why haven't these "painful feelings" (an accuser's words) been triggered before now?  Sorry, I'm questioning motive and timing.  I'm afraid that the MeToo movement is spawning a dangerous environment that is going to create a nasty backlash.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by TaurusRose