Small Talk: The Quiver

[dcinmb]

Yes, I meant written less in the plot, I was trying not to spoil the season ;) . I think I remember reading that it was very hard for him to be on set and playing romantically off JG after their break, which I completely understand. But I was always impressed by their professionalism & how the chemistry never faltered onscreen. But my heart broke for MV, I can't imagine how hard it is to pretend to be your ex's lover & parent to their child, when said child was written in to accomodate a resl life pregnancy that oxcured with the person they moved on with.

Amy Irving is a friend of a friend and we had dinner with her in NYC in late 2001 after a screening of Thirteen Conversations About One Thing. AI is quite the chatterbox. That's when I learned that VG is gay and she spoke at length about MV and JG. Apparently, he'd been head-over-heels for her since day one and the entire cast and crew, including JG, knew it. According to AI, JG loved the attention and was always very flirtatious and touchy-feely with MV BTS, yet she refused to acknowledge that she was aware of his feelings for her. I hadn't watched Alias at that point but I knew who JG and MV were from Felicity and Never Been Kissed.

I've always suspected that JG and BA actually fell for each other on Daredevil but didn't want their relationship tainted by cheating rumors so they agreed to wait until they each got their affairs in order before making their relationship official.

BA broke up with JL. JG divorced SF and took up with MV who was easy pickings and an itch she'd been wanting to scratch for a long time. MV bore the brunt of the cheating rumors. And when JG and BA finally made it official, they were both "free agents" and got off scot-free except for a few pesky she-cheated-on-MV rumors which never gained much traction.

Sounds farfetched, I know, but I actually mentioned my theory to Elaine Lui (Lainey Gossip) when I had a chance to chat with her at Sundance years ago and she agreed with me, saying that JG is a master manipulator when it comes to PR and maintaining her girl-next-door image.

I watched the first three seasons of Alias and the last few eps of the final season and I loved JG and MV together. I've always liked MV and wish he'd work more.

And I share in everyone's hatred of Melissa George. Why does she keep getting work? If you thought she was bad on Alias, you should have seen her on The Slap. And now she's the lead on NBC's new series Heartbreaker (delayed until mid-season because she got pregnant)!? The mind boggles.

[BkWurm1]

Yeah, the behind the scenes stuff in season four and five really messed with my enjoyment of the show.  I'm not sure if I believe she was so calculated as to use MV as a smokescreen but I do believe he got the short end of the stick.  It's actually comforting to hear that MV might have wanted to be written out for a bit while JG was pregnant.  The rumor I'd heard was that either Garner or Affleck was the one that insisted Vartan go since he having to pretend it was his child on the show bothered too much and that made me ragey.

 

Yeah, real life shipping can be such a mess.  I loved it when they were together but the ongoing drama hurt my affection for her character and the fourth wall got to fuzzy for a long time.  I agree though that the chemistry was always there on screen. 

[kismet]

I tend to avoid Real Life Shipping because it has so much potential for both bad and good. Plus it can cross so many lines. And when it doesn't work out in shows like ALIAS, I will always wonder what could have been for the show and the couple had they made it.

 

On another note ~~~ 9 minutes until the US premiere of Downton Abbey!!!! I'm beyond excited!!! It's also really bittersweet considering it's the last season. But any moment with the series is magical so I'll appreciate what I have been given :)

[wonderwall]

*sigh* I quit after Matthew 

died

...... It just wasn't a good show after that. And to be honest, I only tolerated Mary when he was around because he always somehow made her softer. She was always so cold and terrible especially to Edith (who never really deserved her coldness)... I never really understood why people fawned over Mary. 

 

And I never really liked all of the Anna/Bates stuff especially when he went to

jail

. 

 

I did really love Cora, Violet, and Isobel though... OH and Branson :)

[NumberCruncher]

*sigh* I quit after Matthew 

died

...... It just wasn't a good show after that. And to be honest, I only tolerated Mary when he was around because he always somehow made her softer. She was always so cold and terrible especially to Edith (who never really deserved her coldness)... I never really understood why people fawned over Mary.

I'm not really an Edith hater, but she was certainly no angel towards Mary. She gave just as good as she got, IMO. Edith also outright tried to ruin Mary's reputation in a very public way back in S1 over the Pamuk affair which rose to a level of cruelty that even Mary hadn't managed to reach yet people always seem to forget that. Edith may not be have been as verbally sharp as Mary, but she was just as underhanded (if not more).

[wonderwall]

I'm not really an Edith hater, but she was certainly no angel towards Mary. She gave just as good as she got, IMO. Edith also outright tried to ruin Mary's reputation in a very public way back in S1 over the Pamuk affair which rose to a level of cruelty that even Mary hadn't managed to reach yet people always seem to forget that. Edith may not be have been as verbally sharp as Mary, but she was just as underhanded (if not more).

 

Honestly I wasn't a fan of Edith either. But you could always sense that Mary was always cruel towards Edith while growing up (there's a reason why Edith wanted to mess with Mary in S1 with the whole Pamuk thing. And I doubt that if Mary was nicer to Edith she would've done what she did). Then in later seasons with her off handed comments and such. Idk...

[NumberCruncher]

Honestly I wasn't a fan of Edith either. But you could always sense that Mary was always cruel towards Edith while growing up (there's a reason why Edith wanted to mess with Mary in S1 with the whole Pamuk thing. And I doubt that if Mary was nicer to Edith she would've done what she did). Then in later seasons with her off handed comments and such. Idk...

Which Edith also very much engaged in herself. Quite frankly, I find the whole Mary vs. Edith war amongst the fanbase to be a rather curious one because from a personal standpoint, I saw two sisters in a sibling rivalry who both behaved rather terribly. I think the criticism tends to come down harder on Mary because of the privilege she had in both birthright and beauty whereas Edith was, for whatever reason, thought of as rather homely and therefore naturally at a disadvantage in that day and age. Also, Mary wasn't shy about telling people she knew she wasn't a nice, cuddly person. Mary owned her bitchiness. There wasn't the same level of self awareness in Edith who was IMO just as capable of cruelty and the giver of plenty of nasty commentary both to Mary and to others. I suspect that Edith's horrible luck coupled with her sometimes victim mentality probably led to her being viewed as an underdog when the Crawley sisters started sniping at each other.

[wonderwall]

Which Edith also very much engaged in herself. Quite frankly, I find the whole Mary vs. Edith war amongst the fanbase to be a rather curious one because from a personal standpoint, I saw two sisters in a sibling rivalry who both behaved rather terribly. I think the criticism tends to come down harder on Mary because of the privilege she had in both birthright and beauty whereas Edith was, for whatever reason, thought of as rather homely and therefore naturally at a disadvantage in that day and age. Also, Mary wasn't shy about telling people she knew she wasn't a nice, cuddly person. Mary owned her bitchiness. There wasn't the same level of self awareness in Edith who was IMO just as capable of cruelty and the giver of plenty of nasty commentary both to Mary and to others. I suspect that Edith's horrible luck coupled with her sometimes victim mentality probably led to her being viewed as an underdog when the Crawley sisters started sniping at each other.

 

That's definitely a really compelling argument. I did tend to sympathize more with Edith when it came to her tiffs with Mary. Maybe because I never really saw Edith as a person who could take it. IDK I always saw Edith as one of the weaker sisters (both mentally and emotionally). She tends to let things affect her unlike Sybil or Mary. Maybe that's why? 

 

In the end though, tbh I never really liked either of the sisters. I was too busy being charmed by Sybil and honestly was gutted when she died. 

[kismet]

Well, I've always been a fan of Mary. She is one of my favs of the show. I love her bitchiness and how she owns every part of her personality. That being said, she is rather mean to Edith and that started before the Pamuck incident. Edith deserves some of Mary's retribution but I think it's well past time that Mary let up on her sister. It might only be 6 seasons, but there was a time jump in the show, so it's been many years since the Pamuck incident.

 

That being said, I've begun to feel bad for Edith because it seems like the writers can't cut her a break. They have had something bad happen to her in every season. I mean really can't they let her be happy for a whole episode?

 

Sybill was the best of the sisters, but the actress wanted out ~ so the audience lost out. :( Still kudos to her in one way because that seizure she had was one of the best fake seizures I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of fake & real seizures.

 

IDK, the show has had it's ups and downs but I really can't get over how a show that essentially is all dialogue and acting can hold my attention riveted for an uninterrupted hour. I laughed, smiled and cried throughout an entire episode. I enjoyed the Bates mystery when it was just Bates & his first wife drama. But the most recent Bates drama was a little too contrived, which was the first disappoint I have had in the DA writers. Not everything they write is splendid or perfect, but it's generally not that contrived despite the fact that it revels in melodrama.

[BkWurm1]

I still enjoy Downton Abbey. I pretty much enjoy all the characters at this point so even when some storylines are weak, there's something else I love. 

 

 I only loved Matthew's Mary but otherwise find her interesting to watch.  I guess I am an Edith sympathizer and am at this point watching to see her get some semblance of a happy ending and while she crossed a line with the Paduk thing, I can understand why she resorted to her only weapon after Mary had ever so casually and cruelly crossed a line as well.  And for so petty of reasons.   

 

Of course as pointed out, that happened ages ago when both sisters were both very young before the war and life changed them.  The show started in 1912 and it's now 1925.  The show let Edith mature and gain confidence during the war years and at this point Edith has much bigger concerns than Mary, but hilariously Mary still takes constant potshots making Mary seem the immature one. 

 

Slightly changing the topic but for one of those random internet rabbit hole reasons I was looking at Maggie Smith's filmography today and I don't think I've ever seen any actor keep that busy for that many years.  It's crazy the number of movies and plays and programs she's been in. 

[kismet]

As much as I love DA.... I have to say that I love the dowager & Dame Maggie Smith a MILLION TIMES more squared!! Seriously, that actress is a tour de force from DA to Potter, Exotic Marigold Hotel to Sister Act. She has done very memorable work. She truly is a phenomenal talent that is a master of her art & trade.

[bijoux]

*sigh* I quit after Matthew 

died

...... It just wasn't a good show after that. And to be honest, I only tolerated Mary when he was around because he always somehow made her softer. She was always so cold and terrible especially to Edith (who never really deserved her coldness)... I never really understood why people fawned over Mary. 

 

And I never really liked all of the Anna/Bates stuff especially when he went to

jail

. 

 

I did really love Cora, Violet, and Isobel though... OH and Branson :)

 

I adore seasons 1 and 2. Adore them. But I have to admit my enthusiasm was already down in season 3 and I trudged along with season 4. I even forgot that Christmas special. Or was it season 5? Which one had the servants go to the beach? That was the clue that the show and I were done. I do read about it now and again, but haven't really seen anything that would make me want to watch the remaining seasons.  

I feel like it became too popular, leading to them prolonging it and Fellowes not having a set end date which would have allowed him to have a tighter command of the story.

I'm not really an Edith hater, but she was certainly no angel towards Mary. She gave just as good as she got, IMO. Edith also outright tried to ruin Mary's reputation in a very public way back in S1 over the Pamuk affair which rose to a level of cruelty that even Mary hadn't managed to reach yet people always seem to forget that. Edith may not be have been as verbally sharp as Mary, but she was just as underhanded (if not more).

I got both sisters in the first two seasons, even though the thing with Pamuk was the dumbest thing I've seen Edith do. By involving your family in a scandal, you're ruining your own chances to wed, you fool, and that's your biggest goal at the time. I get the snipiness. For that first season, they seemed to lead very claustrophobic lives, practically being stuck at the Abbey. And they were only a year or two apart. It made sense. I also loved how they both evolved during the war, once they got that the world was bigger than them. Then after it, there was practically a reset. Not so much with Edith, who was branching out to London, but definitely with Mary. Although Edith was just as frustrating in how much she let get Mary get to her. She wasn't the "ugly" sister anymore, she had her own things going on. Just ignore it FFS. My favorite of their scenes was them going after Sybil and Branson. They weren't suddenlyy BFFs, but they had a common goal they were working for. That's what I wanted more of, really. Their off screen journey to and from Ireland will forever live in my mind. If it were up to me, I would have had them (very slowly) transitioning into a mirror image of Violet and Isobel's relationship.

I'm just sad that Fellowes left them in this rut because I actually didn't find Sybil that interesting. I wanted nice things for her because she was nice and her ideologies certainly were the ones most aligned with mine, I just didn't feel compelled watching her getting or having those things. And the 73 same conversations with Branson in S2. My. God.

[NumberCruncher]

I'm just sad that Fellowes left them in this rut because I actually didn't find Sybil that interesting. I wanted nice things for her because she was nice and her ideologies certainly were the ones most aligned with mine, I just didn't feel compelled watching her getting or having those things. And the 73 same conversations with Branson in S2. My. God.

I get what you're saying about Sybil and agree with it. I found her S2 interactions with Tom rather repetitive as well. I liked her well enough, but I didn't idolize her as being so above her sisters like many do. She was definitely nicer than Mary and Edith, but she still continued to benefit from the privilege her family's affluence provided so her shouts for social justice (most often at her own family) always rang a bit hollow to me. To her credit, she finally didn't seem so hypocritical once she cut the cord and set out on her own with Tom. Like I said, I liked her just fine, but hers was the story I found the least compelling TBH. Her death scene was horrifying though.

[BunsenBurner]

i didn't know where to put this but thought you all might enjoy this.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/skateboarding-canadian-embassy-washington-dc-ollie-jump-1.3374393?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link

 

This is a skateboarder who jumps the 21 steps at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC. He's doing an Ollie.  The only person to ever accomplish this.

Only putting this in here because it is called Ollie.

[AyChihuahua]

The whole Happy Endings run is on Hulu now. 

[Coop33]

The whole Happy Endings run is on Hulu now. 

 

2016 is totally the Year of Penny. Of all the shows I've watched that have ended, I think I miss Happy Endings the most.

[AyChihuahua]

Finished watching as much as I care to of Alias. It definitely got boring in S3, and really weird in S4. Zombies and like a big moon thing above some city? And she sure had a lot of previously-unknown relatives on her mother's side. "Hello previously-unknown aunt! Hello previously-unknown other aunt! Hello previously-unknown sister!"  No cousins, though, unless I skipped those episodes.

 

The final episode was fine, though. I've seen that idea "Villain: Ha, I AM IMMORTAL! Hero: Ha, you are immortal and trapped in concrete/a bottomless pit/the depths of the ocean FOREVER" a few times, but it always works for me. Sloan got his just desserts, Spy Daddy went out a hero, Irina I guess really was bad (no idea what her motivation was, though), and Vaugh and Sydney ended up married in a beach house with a couple adorbs kids. 

 

Also, I liked Professor Stein already, but now like him even more. If only Ray Palmer weren't in LoT and I could watch it.

[BkWurm1]

I'm both impressed and worried for your mental health after binging that many episodes, that quickly, lol.

 

Now go watch Gilmore Girls.  I enjoyed the way the whole thread blew up talking about one of my favorite shows.  ;)

[looptab]

What they did with Irina was the biggest WTF? I adored the dynamic in S2 with the whole spy family, and I wished they spent entire episodes just having someone on the other side of the glass talking with Irina :)

[statsgirl]

I think Downton Abbey suffered from being opened ended. I was impressed with the first episode of the last season because the writing was so much better now that Fellowes has only a few episodes to wrap everything up. No more endless suffering for the Bateses.  No more parade of suitors for Mary,  Like the last seasons on Lost, the show got better when it was on a limited schedule.

 

I was in and out of Downton Abbey because I just couldn't with Fellowes love of Robert and especially Mary.  She is just a non-stop bitch to most people but especially to Edith and I don't enjoy watching people behave like that, or they do, I want to see them get their just rewards. But Fellowes just kept giving Mary everything (Matthew, a baby, multiple suitors, all the money and everyone treating her like a queen no matter what she did) while Edith just kept losing at everything, left at the altar by Strathallen (I think Robert and Violet were stupid to talk him out of it because at least she would have been married), falling in love with a man who had a wife he couldn't be with and when he finally decided to divorce her, he got killed, getting pregnant and desperately wanting to keep her child but unable to because of society.

 

I don't like it when things are so stacked in one person's favour while the other keeps getting shafted.  Fellowes based Mary on his wife (glad I've never met her) and I'm sure he thought all the things that happened to Edith were good drama but it wasn't fun for me to watch.

[bijoux]

Oh, the multiple suitors thing. I hate it because it doesn't make sense. It certainly made sense in the first season, but not in the fourth and on. What was it with the fixation to get Mary re-married? Matthew left her the money as far as I recall and she was set for life. Plus she had the goal of working on the Abbey to leave it viable and prosperous for George, someting I think really appealed to her. So really, what was the point of it? The best thing about the whole thing was Mary trying out one of the guys and deciding they weren't sexually compatible, so no ring there, buddy. It would have made more sense to me if she chose to have a discreet affair or two and for the marriage campaign to start when a scandal threatened to get out.

Robert and Violet going to Strathen was actually a weird and pretty unique instance of them expecting better for Edith. Thouh it was pretty stupid, since the guy only had an issue with one arm. And you know, a bevy of people working for him, making it even more insignificant. If the problem was psychological and he was seen losing it at some function, then their action would have been understandable. In the end, I'm not cut up about it because the dude just went with it and left Edith high and dry. She deserved better, only not for the reason Violet and Robert used.

Edited January 6, 2016 by bijoux

[Genki]

Mary's my favourite, I like the contradiction in her being so in-line with the established way of things, but then not really when you look at many of her actions. She is bitchy but she really owns it, as for Mary getting everything and Edith getting nothing I don't see it that way at all. Especially as the seasons progress.

 

Edith started of as such a wet blanket for me, but I'm glad that she came into her own, even if she still has a touch of martyr about her at times. I still enjoy DA but I think it is ready to end.

[tv echo]

Here's a good read from Lexi Alexander's blog...

 

Of Fear and Fake Diversity
Jan. 3, 2016
http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/lexi-alexander/blog-2

 

Reason for her EEOC appointment:
Feds investigate lack of female directors in Hollywood
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-investigate-lack-of-female-directors-in-hollywood/

[AyChihuahua]

I'm both impressed and worried for your mental health after binging that many episodes, that quickly, lol.

 

Now go watch Gilmore Girls.  I enjoyed the way the whole thread blew up talking about one of my favorite shows.  ;)

I watched the first few seasons of Gilmore Girls more or less live back in the day. Rory is one of my least-favorite characters ever. Love Lorelai, hate Rory with a passion. Everyone was always telling her how beautiful and brilliant and amazing she was, but I found her to be a total wet blanket. And seriously, what was with her reading really serious/un-fun books in the middle of the damn town square all the time? So obviously a "Look at me, look how deep and philosophically-bent I am! Adore me and my beautiful brilliant quirkiness!" Then when things got a little difficult, when her douche boyfriend's dad told her she didn't have what it takes to be a journalist, so basically the first time in her WHOLE LIFE people failed to bow down to her amazingness, she had a total breakdown and stole a boat.

 

So yeah, fucking hate Rory. Also thought her best friend's mom was borderline abusive with her controllingness. And hate the secret kid thing with a passion. I mean, everyone hated that storyline, which is part of why I do not comprehend Guggie thinking it would be a good idea for Arrow. Loved most of the other characters, except for Douchetopher, and some of the townspeople were way over the top.

 

Re Alias, I skipped a ton of episodes. Pretty much all of S3 except for the end, all of S4 except for the end (thus all I know is zombies and a big red ball above some city), and only the season finale of S5. Oh, and I watched a couple S3/S4 episodes in which Will appears. I quite liked Will, and I am not typically a fan of that actor.

Edited January 6, 2016 by AyChihuahua

[Starfish35]

I still find it funny that, out of all the actors on that show, Bradley Cooper is the one who ended up becoming the biggest star. I still find myself thinking of him as the guy from Alias, even though I just watched the first season.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Starfish35

[SonofaBiscuit]

I liked Gilmore Girls well enough when I watched the original run...but years later, I binge-watched it, and I CAN'T STAND Lorelai or Rory.  Oh man, they are so damn obnoxious.  Lauren Graham was annoying on Parenthood as well, so I'm left wondering if maybe too much of her actual personality is bleeding through in these roles?

 

I received the first season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries for Christmas, but I don't know when I'll ever have time to watch it.  I said screw it! and deleted a bunch of shows I just didn't care about off of the DVR (I'll never see how you end, Defiance.  Oh well), and I still have a LOT of stuff sitting on there.  

 

If anyone is looking for something completely charming to watch, I recommend The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.  It's only one season, it's absolutely delightful, and it has some great cast members (like Jill Scott, David Oyelowo, Colin Salmon, Idris Elba, etc).  It's fantastic and you won't regret it.

Edited January 6, 2016 by SonofaBiscuit

[AyChihuahua]

I'd recommend making time for Miss Fisher's. It's an easy watch (although the murders get really gory later in the show, but they're typically very quick scenes at the beginning of the episodes), the characters are very entertaining, it's totally feminist, and the plots kind of don't matter a whole lot, so if you get distracted, it's fine. It's not like Agatha Christie, with very well-constructed mysteries. It's really just about the characters, who are, by and large, terrific fun.

Edited January 6, 2016 by AyChihuahua

[SonofaBiscuit]

I'll definitely try to watch Miss Fischer's very soon. Do the leads have great chemistry?  

 

Emily Owens RUINED Justin Hartley for me.  He was such a douche on that show, only interested in Emily when she was showing interest in other guys.  Ugh, I was so mad about that show getting cancelled because the season finale was completely unsatisfying.  Also, Justin Hartley was a plastic surgeon with a shoe fetish on Mistresses, yuck!  (Why do I watch that terrible show?  I don't know!??).  I know that I shouldn't let fictional roles affect how I view actors/actresses, but I just can't help it  :(

Edited January 6, 2016 by SonofaBiscuit

[AyChihuahua]

I'll definitely try to watch Miss Fischer's very soon. Do the leads have great chemistry?  

The leads are awesome together. She's this incredibly modern, brilliant woman. He's a serious and staid police detective. At first he's annoyed by her interference, then just exasperated, then intrigued, then reliant. It's total slow burn, though...she gets around a decent amount, but those two don't even kiss for ages.

 

There's no one I hate on the show, except for the villains you're supposed to hate. It's really refreshing. All the supporting characters are entertaining. I especially love her butler, Mr. Butler, and the Communist roustabouts she keeps around in case fisticuffs become necessary. (I'm not calling them Communists as an insult...they are card-carrying Communist Party members, which they mention quite often.) In the pilot she takes in a companion who starts out as this incredibly sheltered naïve little mouse, who by the third season is blackmailing her priest into telling her soon-to-be husband that Catholic wives don't have to be subservient...by implying to her priest she will convert to Protestantism, taking her soul, her future husband's soul, and all her future kids' souls with her, away from the Catholic Church. It's AWESOME. Miss Fisher is an excellent influence on her.

Edited January 6, 2016 by AyChihuahua

[dtissagirl]

I'll definitely try to watch Miss Fischer's very soon. Do the leads have great chemistry? 

 

YESsssss[sssss]ssssss.

 

...

 

Haha, JHarts and his terribad career choices. It's the curse of being too pretty: getting typecast as the one note shirtless beefcake. He got cast in a pilot recently that sounds better than the average crap he gets, but no idea if it's gonna get picked up.

Edited January 6, 2016 by dtissagirl

[Morrigan2575]

Oh, that's good. Hopefully, it'll get picked up.  I felt really sad for him that he had to go back to Soaps

[NumberCruncher]

Mary's my favourite, I like the contradiction in her being so in-line with the established way of things, but then not really when you look at many of her actions. She is bitchy but she really owns it, as for Mary getting everything and Edith getting nothing I don't see it that way at all. Especially as the seasons progress.

Right. Contrary to popular belief Mary didn't have everything handed to her on a silver platter if you factor that she spent the entirety of S1 being told that her livelihood would be to find a suitable husband, even if it meant marrying someone she didn't love, all because she had a vagina. She then spent S2 with the threat of public scandal and in order to protect the family name, she wound up in an abusive relationship, engaged to a man who was essentially blackmailing her. After finally getting happiness in S3 with the man she loved and married, she ends up widowed less than a year later.

Mary is bitchy and makes dumb decisions that get her into trouble so she's not a special snowflake. I also don't buy that Mary gets everything she wants without recourse. Everyone jokes about the parade of suitors, but most of those relationships haven't exactly worked to her benefit...death with Patrick Crawley, scandal with Pamuk, blackmail with Carlisle, death (again) with Matthew, scandal (again) with Gillingham. I agree that Mary has had an easier time with men than Edith, but Edith's misfortunes are hardly Mary's fault so I'm not sure why she is so often the lightning rod for criticism when Edith's relationships fall apart. Again, I chalk it up to the audience's underdog syndrome. By all means sympathize with poor Edith, but leave Mary out of it.

 

Edith started of as such a wet blanket for me, but I'm glad that she came into her own, even if she still has a touch of martyr about her at times. I still enjoy DA but I think it is ready to end.

Edith really has matured over the course of the show (though she still frustrates me at times with the decisions she makes). I love that she took her bad luck in love and channeled it into something productive through her news work--even in defiance of Robert's and Violet's conservative views. The independent, progressive vibe really works for her.

Edited January 6, 2016 by NumberCruncher

[dtissagirl]

Oh, that's good. Hopefully, it'll get picked up.  I felt really sad for him that he had to go back to Soaps

 

I was told he went back to soaps because a steady gig in LA helped him keep shared custody of his kid in the divorce.

Edited January 6, 2016 by dtissagirl

[Morrigan2575]

I was told he went back to soaps because a steady gig in LA helped him keep shared custody of his kid in the divorce.

Aww, I had no idea he had kids. I just felt bad that he seemed to go backwards but you have to do whatever you can when kids are involved.

[Menrva]

There's so many shows I meant to start watching and never did, like Downton Abbey. And other shows that I gave up on fairly early -like Supernatural. It looked like it had all the things I liked: magic, ghosts, demons, cute guys…but then I saw a woman burning on the ceiling and said, Nope! And shut it off, with no regrets. I still can't believe it's still on after all these years. 

 

These days, I barely have time for the shows I do like (thank goodness for DVRs!) and I find myself watching a lot of animated programs with my kids, like Star Wars Rebels and Gravity Falls.

[dcinmb]

I still find it funny that, out of all the actors on that show, Bradley Cooper is the one who ended up becoming the biggest star. I still find myself thinking of him as the guy from Alias, even though I just watched the first season.

 

Same with Chris Pratt from Everwood and Melissa McCarthy from Gilmore Girls. They will always be Bright and Sookie to me.

[Sakura12]

I always think that the least likely one to be famous after tv are the ones that get famous. 

[kismet]

Right. Contrary to popular belief Mary didn't have everything handed to her on a silver platter if you factor that she spent the entirety of S1 being told that her livelihood would be to find a suitable husband, even if it meant marrying someone she didn't love, all because she had a vagina. She then spent S2 with the threat of public scandal and in order to protect the family name, she wound up in an abusive relationship, engaged to a man who was essentially blackmailing her. After finally getting happiness in S3 with the man she loved and married, she ends up widowed less than a year later.

Mary is bitchy and makes dumb decisions that get her into trouble so she's not a special snowflake. I also don't buy that Mary gets everything she wants without recourse. Everyone jokes about the parade of suitors, but most of those relationships haven't exactly worked to her benefit...death with Patrick Crawley, scandal with Pamuk, blackmail with Carlisle, death (again) with Matthew, scandal (again) with Gillingham. I agree that Mary has had an easier time with men than Edith, but Edith's misfortunes are hardly Mary's fault so I'm not sure why she is so often the lightning rod for criticism when Edith's relationships fall apart. Again, I chalk it up to the audience's underdog syndrome. By all means sympathize with poor Edith, but leave Mary out of it.

 

Edith really has matured over the course of the show (though she still frustrates me at times with the decisions she makes). I love that she took her bad luck in love and channeled it into something productive through her news work--even in defiance of Robert's and Violet's conservative views. The independent, progressive vibe really works for her.

I do not see it as Mary being given everything either. She has had to work for just about everything she's ever wanted just like Edith. Being the first born did have some advantages, but its not like Edith was not without her own advantages. Both had pros & cons of their birth order and respective personalities. The only season I really saw them in direct competition with each other for love interests was in s1 when it made sense considering they were both actively trying to find a suitor amongst the same pool, including Matthew. Every other season after that, Mary & Edith had the usual sibling rivalry, but Edith's failures were not the result of Mary's interference or Mary's success.

 

I think that perhaps is why I am disappointed that they started writing Mary & Edith at odds with each other again. I believe that both characters have matured and overcome some pretty tragic things that it seems a little petty and back stumbling for the characters when they have them being so snippy and catty with each other.

 

I have loved DA, but I have to agree with @Genki that it does feel like it is time for the show to wrap up. It's had an amazing run, but you could tell last season that it's engine was starting to sputter. The Bates's plot was repetitive. And the other plots lacked the gusto of previous seasons. I hope they give it the FINAL season it deserves. So far it has gotten off to a really good start.

[AyChihuahua]

I always think that the least likely one to be famous after tv are the ones that get famous. 

To be fair, Bright got SUPER hot. Who knew that would happen.

 

(He was also so incredibly dumb and lovable on Parks.)

 

The 2nd GI Joe movie is on USA. It's bad. The first is a guilty pleasure of mine (SO BAD, but I love it anyway), and I adore The Rock. But yeah, this is bad. I think Snake Eyes and whatshisname ninja in white are about to battle, though. 

Edited January 7, 2016 by AyChihuahua

[BkWurm1]

I'll definitely try to watch Miss Fischer's very soon. Do the leads have great chemistry?  

 

Emily Owens RUINED Justin Hartley for me.  He was such a douche on that show, only interested in Emily when she was showing interest in other guys.  Ugh, I was so mad about that show getting cancelled because the season finale was completely unsatisfying.  Also, Justin Hartley was a plastic surgeon with a shoe fetish on Mistresses, yuck!  (Why do I watch that terrible show?  I don't know!??).  I know that I shouldn't let fictional roles affect how I view actors/actresses, but I just can't help it  :(

I loved Emily Owens!  Well, right up to the point when stupid face Justin Hartley dude suddenly started paying her attention because she's falling for someone else.  It's all fiction and cancelled fiction at that, so I just assume that last scene was a nightmare sequence Emily woke up from totally relived that didn't happen and thus gets her old crush once and for all out of her system and happily goes ahead and falls in love with the other doctor rather than self sabotaging her life. 

Re Alias, I skipped a ton of episodes. Pretty much all of S3 except for the end, all of S4 except for the end (thus all I know is zombies and a big red ball above some city), and only the season finale of S5. Oh, and I watched a couple S3/S4 episodes in which Will appears. I quite liked Will, and I am not typically a fan of that actor.

 Edited by AyChihuahua, Today. 8:58 am.

 

I adored Will but I can barely tolerate Bradley Cooper in any of his recent roles.   The raccoon was good. 

These days, I barely have time for the shows I do like (thank goodness for DVRs!) and I find myself watching a lot of animated programs with my kids, like Star Wars Rebels and Gravity Falls.

 

Well, Gravity Falls is awesome.  No shame there. 

deleted a bunch of shows I just didn't care about off of the DVR (I'll never see how you end, Defiance.  Oh well),

 

One thing I'll say about the end of Defiance is there is no way I would have ever predicted that would have happened. Never. 

Edited January 7, 2016 by BkWurm1

[Jediknight]

The 2nd GI Joe movie is on USA. It's bad. The first is a guilty pleasure of mine (SO BAD, but I love it anyway), and I adore The Rock. But yeah, this is bad. I think Snake Eyes and whatshisname ninja in white are about to battle, though. 

I liked it more than the 1st live action one.  And the ninja in white is Storm Shadow.

[tv echo]

In advance of Saturday's opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in China, Disney recruited Chinese pop star LuHan ("China's answer to Justin Bieber") to do a music video...

 

LuHan鹿晗_Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Promotion Song_The Inner Force MV

Article: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6835394/chinese-pop-star-luhan-releases-official-star-wars-the-force-awakens-music

Edited January 7, 2016 by tv echo

[SonofaBiscuit]

I don't know if anyone has seen ads for Fox's new show, Second Chance.  It's about this older guy (he's like 75+, I think) who dies and is brought back to life as a "younger, better version of himself."  Please tell me they are not going to have a 75-year-old man trapped in a 35-year-old's body, and this guy is going to be lusting after some young woman?  Eh, I'm not watching, and it sounds like this is just the sort of show that Fox loves to cancel, so goodbye, Second Chance.

 

I watched The Shannara Chronicles, and I thought that the visuals were pretty impressive for an MTV show.  They film in New Zealand, so the scenery is really lovely.  But some of the acting is really bad.  The girl that plays Eretria is...not so great, and Austin Butler was a complete miscast.  Hmm.  I'll probably keep watching, but the "this season on Shannara" clip made me wonder if I'm going to enjoy the direction that this show is gonna take.  I don't know how MTV can afford this show, especially with not-so-stellar ratings.

[statsgirl]

It took me a while to get into the Miss Fisher Mysteries but I quite like it now.  And I adore the decor and clothes (Art Deco is a favourite of mine).  If you like Miss Fisher with the detective, don't read the books because

he's happily married and she's sleeping with various men but mostly the married Chinese guy.

I liked Gilmore Girls well enough when I watched the original run...but years later, I binge-watched it, and I CAN'T STAND Lorelai or Rory.  Oh man, they are so damn obnoxious.  Lauren Graham was annoying on Parenthood as well, so I'm left wondering if maybe too much of her actual personality is bleeding through in these roles?

I didn't like Lorelei or Rory after the first season, and I especially disliked how they gave Rory love interests based on who the actress was dating.  They should have put Lorelei together with Luke long, long before they did.  So many shows have killed themselves over keeping the love interests apart for far too long.  (And then there's Castle who is currently killing itself over doing what Moonlighting did, which is putting the couple together and then keeping them apart.)

 

I liked Emily Owens a lot (really rooting for her to be with the nice guy) and I was sad when it was cancelled.  The EP/creator knew that it was going to be cancelled and she had an episode or two to wrap it up but instead of Emily getting together with Micah, the nice resident, she continued with her midseason plan to keep them apart by having Emily sleep with Justin Hartley's douche.  It left a bad taste in my mouth for her as someone whose future shows I might want to watch.

 

It's interesting that both Aja Naomi King and Kelly McCreary, who played Emily's fellow interns, ended up on Shonda Rhimes Thursday night (How to Get Away With Murder and Grey's Anatomy respectively).

[Starfish35]

Apparently Rizzoli & Isles will be ending after its upcoming seventh season.

http://tvline.com/2016/01/07/rizzoli-isles-cancelled-season-7-tnt-final-episodes/

I don't know if there's anyone here other than me that watches it. I never thought it was a great show, but female friendship is so rare in the type of shows I watch that I was really just watching it for that. Seven seasons is a good run though, and I'm glad they have the time to make it a good final season (hopefully).

Also, apparently Michael Weatherly has announced he's leaving NCIS after this season. It's interesting....there was a time I would have rejoiced over getting rid of Tony (around season eight-ish) but now I'm wondering what the show will look like without him. I've especially enjoyed Tony and McGee's friendship the last couple of seasons. It's lost some of the viciousness of earlier seasons and now just settled into the friendship of two guys that have worked together for so long that they know each other very very well.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Starfish35

[Happy Harpy]

Also, apparently Michael Weatherly has announced he's leaving NCIS after this season.

I'm sorry for the fans, but selfishly, I hope that he will be on a new show I watch, playing a character I like. I loved his character and I found him so hot on Dark Angel and his character was a complete meh when I tried to watch NCIS. I could barely believe it was the same guy, LOL. I guess it's a testimony to his acting skills.

[Starfish35]

I'm wondering a little if he's been offered CBS's new Star Trek series.

[Chaser]

I'm wondering a little if he's been offered CBS's new Star Trek series.

Oh please no.

[Happy Harpy]

Oh please no.

I suppose it isn't because you don't like Star Trek and won't be able to watch his next show if he's on it ?

[dtissagirl]

Hah. I've always thought Chris Pine looks a little, and sounds A LOT like Michael Weatherly, so that would be hilarious to me.