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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes

S02.E08: Valerie Gets What She Really Wants

Tara Ariano

By Tara Ariano
in The Comeback [V]

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Tara Ariano

Tara Ariano

It's the weekend of the Emmys in the second-season finale, and Valerie is riding high thanks to her success in "Seeing Red," and even gets noticed by a former "Room and Bored" costar at Juna's big bash, but she's still not sure if her husband, Mark, will be by her side on the most important night of her life.
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CofCinci

CofCinci

But ratings haven't been good 

Are ratings even an accurate measure anymore?  With HBO Go, DVRs and HBO on Demand (and let's not forget online piracy -- 8 million people illegally downloaded the Game of Thrones finale), millions watch the episode but fail to get counted in those overnight ratings.  Hopefully HBO recognizes this and gives The Comeback a third season --- one we don't have to wait a decade for, again.

  • Love 5
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Richard

Richard

The change in format for the final moments of the show was a brilliant and bold artistic choice. As soon as Valerie decided that the people in her lif was more important than everything else, we got to see her away from "Valerie Cherish," and get to see the real Valerie Cherish.

Such an amazing finale.

I'm glad they brought this show back and not only did it live up it the first season, it improved upon the overall story of Valerie.

I want a season three, but I'd totally understand if this was how they chose to end it.

  • Love 14
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CouchTater

CouchTater

I didn't realize how much I cared about these characters until I thought Mickey was dead, and then when I saw Val and Mark reconcile.  My emotions were all over the place in the last 10 minutes of the show!

 

Like Chattygal above, though, I don't know if I could take another season of Valerie Cherish.  She is annoying as hell.

  • Love 3
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Brn2bwild

Brn2bwild

(edited)

Really liked the Juna thing, and thought she had some really good points.  That said... Juna has never been where Val has been (yet).  It's easy to say you'd never take a role when potential roles are always flowing your way. 

Edited by Brn2bwild
  • Love 6
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PhilMarlowe2

PhilMarlowe2

I don't know what to make of this. On the one hand, I respect their choice to try something different and break with the format. On the other hand, it felt like it violated the world of the show. I also wasn't sure I believed Valerie would leave the Emmys. It was surreal. That said, it is a fitting end to the show. "The Comeback" feels over - I don't know where they could really go from here. But it's a fitting ending.

  • Love 2
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bobbyjoe

bobbyjoe

This ending seems perfect, and even if HBO gave them the go-ahead I'm not sure they really should just try and find something else for Valerie to do so there could be another season.  The theme of the show has been fulfilled-- Valerie had her literal tv-star comeback and is now really an even bigger star than she once was.  But the final scenes tell us that the real "comeback" for Valerie was coming back to a sense of what was truly important to her.  I feel like that is the appropriate end and that Lisa Kudrow and crew pulled it off absolutely perfectly. 

 

Now, will somebody please just hand Lisa Kudrow an Emmy?  Like, let's not wait.  Wake her up.  Have a special ceremony and give it to her now.  She was that good.

  • Love 13
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junemeatcleaver

junemeatcleaver

 

With HBO Go, DVRs and HBO on Demand (and let's not forget online piracy -- 8 million people illegally downloaded the Game of Thrones finale), millions watch the episode but fail to get counted in those overnight ratings.

 

The Comeback isn't being illegally downloaded 8 million times, and Game of Thrones is a "traditional" ratings hit on top of everything else.  HBO has a good idea how many people are watching the show, we'll see if they're happy with the numbers if the show gets picked up for next year.

 

I don't think The Comeback needs a season three anyway.  What format would it be?  Valerie inviting a camera crew to document her professional life would be a step backward after she finally put things into perspective and I don't think I want a straight, more conventional comedy-drama about Valerie Cherish and her life.  Val is successful and has her husband back, Mickey is most likely going to live and (presumably) Jane has been kicked to the curve.  I'm good.

  • Love 3
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CMH1981

CMH1981

Wow...just wow.

 

When they shifted from the type of filming as Val left the auditorium it was just beautiful camera work and showed how beautiful Lisa Kudrow is.  I mean they could have played it up differently considering it was raining and everything, but it was just shot beautifully showing how when she isn't playing for the cameras how beautiful Val is w/the hair and the dress.  Did I mention beautiful, lol.

 

I didn't buy the Kellan Lutz wanting to get w/Val scene, something was missing there, it just didn't work.  I get she is attractive and all, but I can't believe he was touched by something she said almost 10 years ago that he has carried a torch for her ever since.  I really think he was just horny and wanted to bang her, but then again it seems he can get anyone he wants so it left me confused, unless he likes a challenge.

 

The sewage scene was gross, and when the designer fell in it I was shrieking...

 

I was torn about the hospital scene b/c when Mickey broke down and told Val he was scared then she explained the doctor said he was going to be fine and his health was improving, it seemed like she was acting to give him hope and strength at this difficult time, but then again we saw the doctor say that the medicine was helping out.  I'm glad we know Mickey is getting better via the doctor, but then again if they hadn't shown that it would have still worked as a scene b/c it showed Val cared enough to lie to him.

 

I wanted more information on how Mark would know that Mickey was taken to the hospital.  I can't believe he would be an "in case of emergency" number, nor would he pick up the phone if someone called him on Mickey's cell b/c he still wasn't talking to Val and I doubt he would answer Mickey's calls as well.

 

I'm furious that Jane, who was all about hating the limelight and whatnot that she doesn't care about her Oscar, showed no care for Mickey's health when we have seen all season that she does care about his health.  Again, that was a scene that doesn't make sense unless there would be a payoff next season w/her documentary about Valerie.

 

I'm glad Val won her Emmy and that Juna and Jimmy Burrows were able to get through to her to varying degrees.  I am curious what her next step would be career wise b/c winning an award doesn't mean meatier roles will come in for Val especially considering her age and being a female in Hollywood.  Look at the actresses that have won best-supporting awards, whether Oscar or Emmy...it doesn't mean anything really which is what Jimmy was trying to get her to see.

 

When Paulie G tried to go on stage to accept, that was just weird...  I know some might think that wow he has award envy, but he has already won an Emmy for writing the Simpsons.  I would have really been curious what he would have said if they did let him accept.  It would have been awkward and hilarious if he thanked everyone but Val...who the award belonged to.

 

If they do come back for a season 3 it would have to be for the premier and/or aftermath of Jane's documentary "The Assassination of Valerie Cherish." 

  • Love 5
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sugarbaker design

sugarbaker design

(edited)
On the other hand, it felt like it violated the world of the show.

 

 

It sure did, I loved the show up until the last ten minutes.  I hope the writers had the courage to carry out their dark vision to series' end.

 

When Paulie G tried to go on stage to accept, that was just weird...  I know some might think that wow he has award envy, but he has already won an Emmy for writing the Simpsons.

 

 

I didn't think it was weird, but it sure was awkward.  Seeing Red was based on Paulie G's life and he was shut out of the Emmy's, this was the dope fiend's desperate grasp at attention.

 

Was the shot of Val running out into the lobby of the auditorium the first time she was off camera in the series?

Edited by sugarbaker design
  • Love 1
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

(edited)

Wow...just wow.

 

When they shifted from the type of filming as Val left the auditorium it was just beautiful camera work and showed how beautiful Lisa Kudrow is.

 

And how beautiful Valerie Cherish is.

 

An interesting (and wonderful) paradox is that in the 180-shift to a new kind of camerawork at the end--no more hand-held shakycam, no more frenetic camera-angle cutting, now just leisurely locked-down classical camera coverage--what came across was realer. For fifty years, hand-held has been the symbol in film grammar for "real, gritty, unfiltered." In this show, we discover at the end, it's the exact opposite. Hand-held now has the feeling of interposing a medium between the subject and the viewer, causing us to sense that everything we see is only happening because of the presence of the camera; while classical, lock-down shooting, and camera-angle changes motivated only by story-necessity, make us forget about the camera and accept what we're seeing as truth. Although common sense and fifty years of film grammar tell us it should be the opposite, that's how it worked in The Comeback.

Edited by Milburn Stone
  • Love 17
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DrivingSideways

DrivingSideways

(edited)

I was reading on E! Online last night an interview with Kudrow (http://www.eonline.com/news/608966/lisa-kudrow-on-the-comeback-s-highly-emotional-finale-why-she-got-sick-and-whether-we-ll-get-season-three) and Lisa sounded like a Season 3 might happen.  That felt very final but I'm in.  I wasn't fully convinced Season 2 was necessary until halfway in, and now I'm floored at how well they did it.

 

Really liked the Juna thing, and thought she had some really good points.  That said... Juna has never been where Val has been (yet).  It's easy to say you'd never take a role when potential roles are always flowing your way. 

This, so hard.  I thought Juna was actually kind of bitchy.  And she got treated like gold by Paulie G when the show was originally filming.  She got close to Val and knew how raw and ambitious she is.  She would have to have understood exactly why Val took Seeing Red.  And hey, it got her an Emmy!  In the end, it worked.  Juna's heart was in the right place but I thought she laid it on a little thick.

 

The Kellan Lutz scenes dragged too.  But Val should have banged him.  Hot!

 

Was Lisa really not eligible for the Emmies/Golden Globes?  She was amazing.  Maybe the voters were turned off because the whole point of the amazing finale was that the Emmies didn't mean shit... it was the people who love you.

Edited by DrivingSideways
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CofCinci

CofCinci

(edited)

I didn't buy the Kellan Lutz wanting to get w/Val scene, something was missing there, it just didn't work. I get she is attractive and all, but I can't believe he was touched by something she said almost 10 years ago that he has carried a torch for her ever since. I really think he was just horny and wanted to bang her, but then again it seems he can get anyone he wants so it left me confused, unless he likes a challenge.

I got the impression he was staging that scene for the motorcycle paparazzi and yelled at them for being late. Valerie was a clueless pawn in his fame game.

Edited by CofCinci
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DrivingSideways

DrivingSideways

I haven't had time to check and compare the credits but the cinematography of the final section (and the poofy Westwood gown) reminded me a lot of the work done in Sex and the City's "An American Girl in Paris" (Parts I & II). While I really liked it here and thought it was effective for the moment, it again does play into my distrust of MPK over the course of a long-run series. Anyone familiar with how SATC declined under his watch when he changed everything we knew about the characters and turned them into shells of themselves (climaxing in that two-part finale and then the movies) might understand my ambivalence. 

Wow... that final stretch reminded me so much of the last eps of SATC, and now I understand why... duh!  Do you think SATC declined because of MPK though?  I attributed it more to SJP's vanity.

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CMH1981

CMH1981

 

I got the impression he was staging that scene for the motorcycle paparazzi and yelled at them for being late.

 

I caught that line too and wondered if he had alerted them for some publicity thing w/Val's re-established popularity, but I think he was just shocked it took them so long to show up when he is used to being chased by them all the time.

 

So I guess in the show Seeing Red, the Juna character was shown to have blown the Paulie G character or more and that's what Juna had issues w/?  I found it strange that Juna defended that she didn't have sex w/Paulie G during her tenure on the show but alluded/didn't outright say she had sex for roles but it was b/c she wanted to do so/her choice.  That's how I read that scene and it throws shade on her character now to me.

 

I read articles reviewing the season finale last night and many had issues that Jane wouldn't follow Val out when she went to make the phone call regarding Mickey.  Granted the rest of the crew should of followed Val when she left since she was in the back of the auditorium leaving but w/o Jane's guidance they don't know what to do and when.

 

I read somewhere that when the cutoff for Golden Globe and SAG awards voting had cut-off the new season had just barely started which let's face it was shaky at best.  I really think Kudrow has a lock on the Emmy but I would have loved for her to win a SAG award, I think the GG are the lowest of the low of awards, like the People's Choice awards.  The GG always seemed like it was all political and you can buy the award basically.

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AuntiePam

AuntiePam

Well, this is how gullible I am -- I totally bought that Chris had a longstanding crush on Valerie, and that Val not picking up on it was another example of how disconnected she is.  I really need to stop taking things at face value, especially with shows like this.

 

I was okay with Jane not being able to follow Valerie.  Wasn't her camera crew shooed away?  If so, she wouldn't have been able to get around Ron in the wheelchair and gather the crew in time to catch up with her. 

 

I was also okay with Val leaving.  The encounter with Burrows opened her eyes, thank heaven. 

  • Love 4
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LotusFlower

LotusFlower

I got the impression he was staging that scene for the motorcycle paparazzi and yelled at them for being late. Valerie was a clueless pawn in his fame game.

Exactly. The whole show is a satire on all Hollywood bullshit. Speaking of which....

Juna's heart was in the right place but I thought she laid it on a little thick.

I love when Juna said to Val: "I'm here for you if you need me..." (Pause) "...for the next three days."

  • Love 6
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CMH1981

CMH1981

I also loved Val yelling at Esperanza during the great feces flood.  I like Esperanza but damn, her screeching about no water pressure, and the leak, the the sewage, then the call Mister Mark...I was right there w/Val yelling at her to shut up.

  • Love 2
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iMonrey

iMonrey

 

Well, this is how gullible I am -- I totally bought that Chris had a longstanding crush on Valerie, and that Val not picking up on it was another example of how disconnected she is.

 

I definitely think Chris was in love with her and had been for ten years. I think that was genuine. He had no idea he didn't mean anything to her and wouldn't even remember what she said to him that he found so meaningful. Because when he went to put his number in her phone and found out he wasn't in her contact list, you could see how crestfallen he was. And when she asked him why he hadn't called her, he said he was embarrassed. That was a genuine moment. I don't think he was just going for publicity, he's obviously a superstar in his own right.

 

The joke there was "the price of stardom" is something Valerie says all the time - she had just finished saying that in the car when they pulled up to Juna's house, and Jane asked how long Juna had lived there. 

 

There were so many emotional highs and lows of this finale and yet they still managed to throw in that hilarious scene where the raw sewage is spilling out of the garage. The dress designer falling in it might have been just a tad too over the top and slapstick, but I'll forgive it because it was so damn funny.

 

What's ironic about the ending isn't that they "broke the fourth wall" (as one reviewer put it), but rather, that they threw the fourth wall back up after not having one since the series began ten years ago. It was weird, but it was definitely effective.

 

And how heartwarming was it that everyone at the party started clapping for Valerie and she didn't even know it was for her until Jane told her?

 

What kills me is that all these people keep telling Valerie how "brave" she was for "putting herself out there" in Seeing Red, and I don't think she has any idea what she did that everyone is lauding. I think what people are responding to is that she was willing to play a very unflattering version of herself but she keeps telling herself it isn't her, it's just a character.

 

The part I didn't really get was when she started spilling her guts to James Burrows about Mark. That seemed so out of the blue when clearly he had no interest in her and couldn't have been more awkward.

  • Love 3
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CMH1981

CMH1981

 

The part I didn't really get was when she started spilling her guts to James Burrows about Mark. That seemed so out of the blue when clearly he had no interest in her and couldn't have been more awkward.

 

That is such a true to life moment though where you really have no one you can talk to in your life and you just accidentally start letting it all out to some stranger or friend you haven't talked w/in years.  As was broadcasted at the end there are only two people in Val's life that she can talk to, Mark and Mickey.  Obviously Mark was dodging her and she had all this bottled up inside her regarding the current state of their relationship but there was nobody she could talk to since Mickey was dealing w/his own issues and Val respected that to where she didn't want to pile more onto his plate.  She refused to discuss how bad their relationship had deteriorated on camera as we saw when anyone asked about Mark and their marriage, she was keeping the facade up.  Val really needs to get a regular therapist that she could have spoken w/, hell she could have continued seeing the couples counselor w/o Mark there.  It just so happened in this case that Jimmy Burrows got the brunt of everything that had built up inside her, but luckily he didn't just turn and run away, he helped her in his own way w/words.

 

 

 

And how heartwarming was it that everyone at the party started clapping for Valerie and she didn't even know it was for her until Jane told her?

 

I forgot about that scene, it was so great and made me smile.  It was sad that Val was so used to thinking it was always someone else more important and popular than she that she didn't realize it was for her.

  • Love 5
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JasminePhyllisia

JasminePhyllisia

(edited)

 

I haven't had time to check and compare the credits but the cinematography of the final section (and the poofy Westwood gown) reminded me a lot of the work done in Sex and the City's "An American Girl in Paris" (Parts I & II).

 

Good catch, I hadn't thought of that but I liked the filming of the scenes and was happy that she got to wear that beautiful dress and the designer who was crappy to her earlier in the season fell in crap while delivering it to her. 

 

Paulie G got his comeuppance in my eyes despite the fact that apparently, he had his character portrayed by the likeable Seth Rogen as a nice guy dealing with the "stress" of evil VC and using the drugs to cope, at least that's how he spun it in Seeing Red.  It wasn't really hammered home to me until last night's episode that's what he was doing. 

 

I would love to see more of these characters, but on the other hand, I like where it ended and we really don't need to see anymore-- kind of like the first SATC movie--we did not need that horrible sequel.  (Or as Valerie would say, "I don't need to see that!")

Edited by JasminePhyllisia
  • Love 2
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CMH1981

CMH1981

Have we ever been told as to when/why the footage of Val during the filming of "Seeing Red" switched from a behind the scenes look that would be aired concurrently w/the series on HBO's website then dvd release switched to a documentary called "the Assassination of Valerie Cherish."  I feel like I missed the reason as to why it was no longer going to be a mini-documentary on the HBO website to what we have now.

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NeenerNeener

NeenerNeener

 

So I guess in the show Seeing Red, the Juna character was shown to have blown the Paulie G character or more and that's what Juna had issues w/?  I found it strange that Juna defended that she didn't have sex w/Paulie G during her tenure on the show but alluded/didn't outright say she had sex for roles but it was b/c she wanted to do so/her choice.

 

Yeah, that was the impression I got...that Paulie G also trashed Juna's character in Seeing Red, and that Valerie actually playing herself implied that Juna was really like her Seeing Red character too.

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Neeners

Neeners

What a great ending.  I, too, think they should stop it there.  Now saying that, I'm sure I would watch a third season.  Lisa was fantastic and absolutely deserves an Emmy (that's the first thing I thought once the episode was over).

  • Love 2
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

(edited)

I was a little confused at Paulie G wandering toward the stage to accept Val's award.  Was he turned away by Sean Hayes, or did he think better of it halfway to the stage?

 

A little of both. He was humiliated by Sean Hayes into stepping away from the stage. (If memory serves, Hayes said something like, "Who is this person?" Making Paulie G the ultimate persona non grata in front of his own industry and millions of others. Delicious!)

Edited by Milburn Stone
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CMH1981

CMH1981

(edited)

 

I was a little confused at Paulie G wandering toward the stage to accept Val's award.  Was he turned away by Sean Hayes, or did he think better of it halfway to the stage?

 

Paulie G wasn't turned away from Sean Hayes, I think Paulie G just waited to long, hedging whether he should go up or not then finally decided not to when he realized how odd that would have been, of course he was half-way up the stairs at that point.  Paul G hedging on going up there was such a Val-type ting to do, he has slowly been becoming her...from the GG awards, to the throwing his fries into the garbage and missing the can and having to clean it up, to not being invited to Juna's party and seeking a way to piggyback in, to now sheepishly trying to accept Val's Emmy.

 

I thought it was said somewhere else that Val's performance was the only thing that was recognized/nominated from Seeing Red.  I can just imagine how furious Paulie G would have been to think that the woman he despises and blames for where his life ended up drug wise and a washed up writer was singled out as the best thing from his show.  He would have ended up taking credit for her win/performance if he went up there, probably doing what most fear when accepting an award for someone else, turning into all about them and not the person they are accepting for.  

Edited by CMH1981
  • Love 2
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iMonrey

iMonrey

Have we ever been told as to when/why the footage of Val during the filming of "Seeing Red" switched from a behind the scenes look that would be aired concurrently w/the series on HBO's website then dvd release switched to a documentary called "the Assassination of Valerie Cherish."  I feel like I missed the reason as to why it was no longer going to be a mini-documentary on the HBO website to what we have now.

 

They never made that clear. This was the weakest part of the show. Valerie was initially trying to sell Bravo on a reality show which is why a camera crew was following her around in the first place, but once she landed the part on Seeing Red I find it hard to believe she'd continue to pursue the reality show. Yet she brought the camera crew to her meeting with HBO and suggested they use the footage for behind-the-scenes stuff. They only seemed luke-warm to the idea and insisted she hire a union crew which is why she brought Jane back. 

 

Maybe Jane figured she'd make her own documentary using this footage she was shooting for HBO's website then try to sell or distribute her documentary elsewhere, I don't know. The whole thing was kind of a flimsy premise in order to maintain the mockumentary format of the series. In some ways it would have made more sense if Valerie decided she still wanted to try to sell a reality show to Bravo since Seeing Red was only going to be six episodes, but getting a role on an HBO series is such a major step up from a Bravo reality show it still would have been kind of a thin premise.

 

I wish we'd gotten to see more of Seeing Red besides those brief snippets. I wonder if there was an actor playing Mickey. He's a constant presence in Valerie's entourage and I could easily see Paulie G wanting to make fun of the fact that Valerie had this hairdresser with her everywhere she went, styling her hair the same way ever since the 80s.

  • Love 4
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

I wish we'd gotten to see more of Seeing Red besides those brief snippets. I wonder if there was an actor playing Mickey. He's a constant presence in Valerie's entourage and I could easily see Paulie G wanting to make fun of the fact that Valerie had this hairdresser with her everywhere she went, styling her hair the same way ever since the 80s.

 

A Seeing Red version of Mickey--no doubt he would have been called Rickey, thanks to Paulie G's staggering imagination--would have been awesome.

  • Love 3
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hoodooznoodooz

hoodooznoodooz

(ducking) Am I the only viewer who thought the dress was fugly?

I am probably also alone in thinking that this finale was a little disappointing and anti-climactic. Maybe because i thought the rest of this season was so fantastic. They raised the bar too high, my expectations were too high.

Loved the Tilda Swinton joke.

Loved, sniffing, then ". . . oh, it's an egg."

Agree that it was weird that someone called Mark when Mickey collapsed.

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JohnnyGilda

JohnnyGilda

Blonde?

Joanna Kerns?

No, not her.  I can see her, real cute family.

Mickey rocks, and so does Robert Michael Morris.  I hope we see him nominated right alongside Lisa Kudrow, who is a master of vocal inflection and, apparently, Hollywood insight.  Moments like Juna being there for Valerie...for the next three days don't seem to be intended just to skewer phony superstar Friends, but as a riff on what sincerity sounds like from someone who's contractually obligated to leave town from time to time.  If anybody really got skewered it's the Tylers, who are legion, and the Sashas (and other Sashas).  Great writing, acting and all-around production the last few episodes.

 

I like Westwood and I liked that dress, though perhaps it was a tad too short or too long.

 

So glad that Valerie got everything she wanted.  HBO should bring her back...in another eight or nine years.

  • Love 1
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CofCinci

CofCinci

Agree that it was weird that someone called Mark when Mickey collapsed.

I figure that Valerie's home number was listed as Mickey's emergency contact. When it rang, Esperanza answered. Her entire script this season has been "Call Mr. Mark!!" So, she did.

  • Love 4
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txhorns79

txhorns79

I figure that Valerie's home number was listed as Mickey's emergency contact. When it rang, Esperanza answered. Her entire script this season has been "Call Mr. Mark!!" So, she did.

 

I figured Mickey had both Mark and Valerie listed as emergency contacts.  Obviously, Valerie is the one who Mickey would want, but I would guess if Valerie could not be reached, he'd reach out to the person who might have a handle on where Valerie is and how to get her to Mickey. 

 

The only thing I didn't really like in the episode was Juna seeming to hold Val personally responsible for however Juna was portrayed in Seeing Red.  I thought that was somewhat unfair (it wasn't like Valerie has control over the writing), and while I got Juna's point, it seemed to be placing a lot on Valerie that wasn't her doing.

 

Also, the scene in the hospital with Mark, Mickey and Valerie was pure gold.  Seriously, that is Lisa Kudrow and Robert Michael Morris' Emmy reel right there.   

  • Love 3
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Milburn Stone

Milburn Stone

A rewatch on HBO GO reveals (in the scene where Chris escorts Valerie to her door and presses her to let him in) that Valerie and Mark have a mezuzah on their doorpost. So one or both of them is Jewish.

 

We know Lisa Kudrow is, but as far as I know we weren't told until this moment that Valerie Cherish probably is.

 

The glimpse occurs between 18:42 and 18:45. 

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Cherpumple

Cherpumple

I loved this episode, and would be up for watching season 3, but would also be happy if we only have two (great) seasons. A few thoughts on the finale:

 

- I loved the scenes with Chris (she really should have gone for it!) and definitely thought his affection for Valerie was genuine, partly because we had just seen that Juno also still likes and respects Valerie after all these years. Despite butting heads with Paulie G, Valerie was clearly shown to get along with her castmates on Room and Bored, so I believe that a young and inexperienced Chris would have been touched that a veteran performer like Valerie had made an effort to be kind to him and make him feel special and so he developed a crush on her. I interpreted the line to the paparazzi as a sarcastic/annoyed remark referring to them constantly following him, like "Hey guys, where have you been? You're too late to ruin my evening for once." And we did see him speeding to avoid Jane's crew, so it makes sense if they lost him en route to Valerie's house.

 

- It actually took me a few minutes to realize the format changed for the last few minutes, but when I did I was riveted, if only to see what the real Valerie was like. I was not disappointed!

 

- I was sad that Valerie missed her moment of professional glory. I'm glad that she was happy in the moment, with her two men, but I'm sure she'll soon feel sad about it, even if she doesn't actually regret it.

 

- I thought Mark was being an ass, and partly expected Valerie to ask for a divorce at the hospital. First, he doesn't have the decency to tell her that he will not attend the Emmy's and give her time to choose an alternate guest, and sends his dickhead nephew in his place, and then he texts her about Mickey, but doesn't answer any of her follow-up calls. Who does that? You do NOT leave someone that kind of message and then ignore all their calls!

 

- So glad Mickey was ok! I actually got a bit teary-eyed when Valerie was rushing to the hospital.

  • Love 1
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Aja

Aja

"You know, I asked you to get me a water and that was all so overwhelming but you managed to get in here." God I love Valerie and could easily and very happily watch a hundred seasons of her. 

 

I'll also add to the pile of final-ten-minutes love. That was just stunning. The split second she received the text about Mickey, for-the-cameras Valerie disappeared completely. She was whispering "What do I do?" to Billy, fumbling with the umbrella and mumbling "thank you" to the valet guy instead of screaming at him for not being able to find her limo...and when she held MIckey's hands and said, in her real-Valerie voice, "Don't be scared. I'm here.", I cried like a baby. It also showed the extreme difference between authentic Valerie and "for the cameras" Valerie--how that toxic environment affects her. It made me understand Mark a lot more, and why he was so furious about the cameras and Jane coming back, and about Valerie doing another show in the first place. He has to watch his kind, compassionate, loving wife turn into a Hollywood nightmare--and watch her get completely destroyed in the process.

  • Love 2
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Mu Shu

Mu Shu

A rewatch on HBO GO reveals (in the scene where Chris escorts Valerie to her door and presses her to let him in) that Valerie and Mark have a mezuzah on their doorpost. So one or both of them is Jewish.

 

We know Lisa Kudrow is, but as far as I know we weren't told until this moment that Valerie Cherish probably is.

 

The glimpse occurs between 18:42 and 18:45. 

Good catch.    I just read an interview with LK, who seems very surprised that the interviewer thought Val was Jewish.    "Why would you think THAT????"   Well lady, because there is a mezuzah over your character's door.    That's why.

 

I liked the show, but Lisa Kudrow only works in small does for me.    I've always thought every last character she has done has been a variation of a neurotic/loopy 75yo uptight prudish woman trapped in a young(er) woman's attractive body.     

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NutMeg

NutMeg

Just bingewatched the two seasons. Wow!

 

If there is a third season, I hope it gives us both real Valerie and public Valerie. The disconnect (or not) between the two could make for a great season. Now that we've seen the real Valerie, I don't want to lose her!

 

Not sure if anyone is still reading this thread, so won't enthuse in detail - for now! 

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