Dowel Jones December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 On the bright side, at least the cases back in bond court are proceeding at a proper pace. 6 Link to comment
TimWil December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Also on the bright side Grace was absent in this episode. I'm sort of hoping she cashed in her 35k check and is living it up in Antigua with Kalinda. And she'll stay there. 1 Link to comment
ChocButterfly December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Maybe it was Canning who ordered Jason to investigate Alicia. Kinda of makes sense, although I have never understood Canning's fascination with Alicia. But I'd rather have Jason taken the job with such little payment in spite of being offered a lot more from L&A, because he's investigating Alicia and not because he was smitten with her like the show made us think before. So maybe he's kind of falling for her, which I could buy, because now they have a working relationship and such. That would be more believable. Or maybe it was Bishop or that creepy dude who murdered his wife. Bishop could want to keep tabs on Alicia, since she knows so much about him and she's married to the Governor. Creepy dude was also obsessed with Alicia, don't know why. Everyone is obsessed with her on this show. 1 Link to comment
racked December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 The show covered that. The ads, like the map data and the photo data, all came from user input, beginning in beta testing. So if the user base was overwhelmingly white, it would essentially build their biases into the programs. But it wasn't a smoking gun like the photo. Wait, how would that work for ads? I thought what the show said was that advertisers want to market their ads to specific demographics, based on gender, ethnicity, age, etc. and that the ads are geared to do so. If the ads were based soley on "user base" and the user base is overwhelmingly white, then wouldn't everyone have ads geared towards white people? I know in reality, ads are based on your browser history, but the show seemed to be saying ChumHum does that differently. I really enjoy the tech COW on this show. I don't need an overarching plot very much, I find the characters interesting enough and I really don't want to see Alicia run for anything again. That's what made me stop watching last season. 2 Link to comment
wendyg December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I had to laugh at that last shot of Margulies: she looked just like Morticia. 9 Link to comment
Tetraneutron December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Wait, how would that work for ads? I thought what the show said was that advertisers want to market their ads to specific demographics, based on gender, ethnicity, age, etc. and that the ads are geared to do so. If the ads were based soley on "user base" and the user base is overwhelmingly white, then wouldn't everyone have ads geared towards white people? The point they made was ChumHum is an integrated service. So if advertisers, using their own personal biases, decided to markets "black" products to people with " black" user histories, and the same for white people, the algorithm would incorporate that data into its other programs, even though it comes from people who likely have particular prejudices or agendas. It's not some omniscient objective third party, like the ChumHum COO claimed. Link to comment
Kerri Okie December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Wait, how would that work for ads? I thought what the show said was that advertisers want to market their ads to specific demographics, based on gender, ethnicity, age, etc. and that the ads are geared to do so. If the ads were based soley on "user base" and the user base is overwhelmingly white, then wouldn't everyone have ads geared towards white people? I know in reality, ads are based on your browser history, but the show seemed to be saying ChumHum does that differently. I may be dreaming this, but wasn't there a case earlier this season in which a key piece of evidence hinged on ChumHum using an individual's browser history for targeted advertising? If so, isn't this contradictory to what the show has already established as ChumHum's standard practice? Link to comment
Tara Ariano December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode! Big Data, Big DiscoveryAllegations of racist business practices against ChumHum pit Alicia against her old firm. Who will win -- or, given the subject matter, 'win'? Link to comment
ChuckWagon December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I have not, however, figured out the purpose of Vanessa Williams. Yeah, she has to be serving some other function other that Eli's love interest, right? Please? But clueless what her role could possibly be. I have a really hard time accepting that someone of Courtney's achievements is there to support a womanizer for president. Not that we don't have those IRL. So what's the alternative....Alicia? And maybe she's the one having her investigated? She handed that 50k over to Eli awfully fast. Link to comment
Kathyk1024 December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I think this year's whole storyboard is nonsensical. :Logically no one would hire Jason to investigate Alicia. Maybe Colin Sweeney or Canning because they seem nuts but for no non-soapy purpose. There are probably billions of ways to sabotage Peter without playing Alicia's less than good wife-ness. 0.9 rating this week, Next week they are doing a Sinatra special, The following week we are supposed to have the exciting episode picking up on something unresolved from years gone by, I thought maybe something involving Will's killer Jeffrey Grant. Who knows!!!!! 3 Link to comment
riverheightsnancy December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I had to laugh at that last shot of Margulies: she looked just like Morticia. And not in a good way! ;) Well, since JDM is going to be a big baddie on the Walking Dead when we return in 6 months, maybe he is practicing his zombie killing techniques on Alicia, because I have seen zombies that looked better than that stink face at the end. Link to comment
racked December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 The point they made was ChumHum is an integrated service. So if advertisers, using their own personal biases, decided to markets "black" products to people with " black" user histories, and the same for white people, the algorithm would incorporate that data into its other programs, even though it comes from people who likely have particular prejudices or agendas. It's not some omniscient objective third party, like the ChumHum COO claimed. So ChumHum gives their advertiser the user history and the advertiser decides which users get which ads after the advertiser makes an assessment of their race? That sounds so bizarre. I'm probably overthinking this. Link to comment
Kel Varnsen December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 The whole chumhum case bugged me since the whole thing (based on the COO's testimony at the start of the episode) seemed to hinge on the fact that the Chumhum operating system was somehow racist because only 10% of users are black. But some quick searching tells me that black people in the US make up about 13% of the population so that 10% of users being black seems pretty reasonable. So ChumHum gives their advertiser the user history and the advertiser decides which users get which ads after the advertiser makes an assessment of their race? That sounds so bizarre. I'm probably overthinking this. Is it race related or is it just based on search history. Chrome bases the ads I see on my search history and things I have shopped for in the past. The ad I am seeing at the top of this page is for an online homebrewing store, because I regularly look at online homebrewing stores. I thought when they did that, we would zoom in through the peephole and find Alicia walking up to Jason and start kissing him. I was totally expecting him to walk into the shot wearing a towel around his waste or something. 2 Link to comment
whatsatool December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 (edited) At least I never sleep through the GW. Perhaps Jason could get together with Peters old ethics advisor,who may or may not have had Peters baby. Edited December 2, 2015 by whatsatool Link to comment
lidarose9 December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 I have been rolling my eyes at these storylines featuring racism and charges of racism, and I suspect at least *some* of the cast have to feel the same: it's totally out of character! It would be different if any of these characters had a history of latent racism. What really is the point? I feel like the show is capitalizing on hot button topics by pushing more buttons. I realize the showrunners could not have known that people would be murdered as they have been in recent weeks, but I am sick to death of these problems of racism and abortion being portrayed as unnavigable and unsolvable. Link to comment
Readalot December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 Was it only me, or was Alan Cummings totally channelling evil Sean Walsh from Circle of Friends when he was flirting with Vanessa Williams in the office? Those facial expressions! (CoF was my first time watching AC and he was just perfect, he was just as I imagined he would be when I read the book years before. I've been a fan of his every since, even Spy Kids lol). Just me..........ok! 1 Link to comment
wendyg December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 racked: one way it works is that your search engine company - aka ChumHum - collects user data - searches, scanned email, social graph, map searches, browsing history on mobile phones, tastes in music, what videos you watch on their site, etc. Advertisers pay for targeting. So advertiser says something like, "I have a chain of soul food restaurants. I want my ads shown to black people aged 30-49 who are in >xx< income bracket and live within >xx< miles of >>list of cities where chain has restaurants<<. Or whatever. And then the ad agency - aka ChumHum - springs into action to churn the gigantic piles of what's known about users from their many uses of the many aspects of the service and makes guesses about who fits that profile. They get paid per click, so the incentives are for them to get it right. This is the system Harry Crane was pushing for on MAD MEN. Don Draper was the opposite: find the emotional sweet spot and hit that. If Draper had won, we'd have much less privacy-invasive advertising practices. Link to comment
rubyred December 2, 2015 Share December 2, 2015 I thought I hated Jon Benjamin Hickey and his hoodie as ChumHum CEO until confronted with that charisma-free dude as the new CEO. Bring back the hoodie! Canning better foot the bill for that Contempt citation Alicia got. Alicia is so obviously checked out of Peter's campaign -- those web spots she was shooting were painful, with her stilted delivery and mask-like face -- why do they continue to pretend she's into this? And how can she continue to pretend that being the wife of a political figure won't compromise her privacy? So bizarre. I like that Nora is getting some lines but jeez the crap they have her doing... I don't get the greater point of Vanessa Williams' character either but I love seeing the little hearts in Eli's eyes when he looks at her so I'll take it. Any scene with AC in it elevates it, IMO. 1 Link to comment
needschocolate December 4, 2015 Share December 4, 2015 Well, I guess in this every changing world in which we live in, it is nice to have some things you can count on - like a case on GW going back and forth and back again until, right before the end of the show, someone comes up with something we have never heard a hint about, which magically ends the case in favor of whatever side Alicia is on. This time -"Oh look, the plaintiff was having trouble for two months before ChumHum started their Chummy Maps!" Nobody checked that out ahead of time? The focus group lady, who looked to be in her mid thirties, admires Alicia for staying with her husband after he slept with a bunch of prostitutes? In what universe? I can understand someone who is anti-divorce under all circumstances (how many people are like that?) thinking Alicia staying with Peter was a sign of character in Alicia, but I think the vast majority of people would see Alicia staying with him as a sign that Alicia did it for her own political or financial gain. Of course, they had to have the focus group think Alicia is wonderful so that it will support the Alicia running for Senate storyline they apparently want to have. I turned to my husband and said, "Nobody would support Alicia running after the her last election. And there is no way Peter could run for President with his background. Real candidates have had to drop out for much less." And he looked at me and said, "Donald Trump is leading in the polls." Maybe GW politics aren't so ridiculous after all. Alicia was much more patient with Eli than I would have been. He sent his assistant to make sure Alicia didn't hook up with Jason? What was Eli's grand plan? Have his assistant stay with Alicia 24 hours a day? Or did he plan to hire 2-3 more people to read in the corner of Alicia's apartment? I love the assistant character, but Eli's schemes are usually a little more well thought out. Once again Florrick/Quinn, Lockhart/Aggos, and Canning are the only law firms in town, AND they are all on the same case. With all the talk of racism this episode, I realized that not only are there only three law firms in Chicago, but there are only 2 races/ethnicities, now that Kalinda is gone. Thinking about it...if Jason is investigating Alicia, who is it for? Wasn't it Cary who originally gave Alicia his name as a potential investigator? Could someone at Lockhart, Agos Lee be poking at her? (Not Diane or Cary, but maybe David Lee). Or the never-seen Oliver Platt? He doesn't seem like he'd be NSA (unless he's deep undercover). I don't think it would be Peter (he doesn't want a divorce, he just wants her to play ball). And that weird "I work for other people" conversation now makes a little more sense. Originally, I wondered why it should be a big deal that Jason had a file on Alicia. After all, she and Lucca checked out Jason's background too. But, now that you mention it, "I work for other people" probably means something other than "I also work for L/A." How did Eli know Jason has a file on Alicia? Whoever found that out is the investigator that everyone should be hiring. 2 Link to comment
kwnyc December 5, 2015 Share December 5, 2015 (edited) How did Eli know Jason has a file on Alicia? Whoever found that out is the investigator that everyone should be hiring. It seems to be Ruth who uncovered that. She really is good at her job. Eli was all "she doesn't scare" then saw the information (presumably that Jason is investigating Alicia), and went running to her. And then we got that sort of "Greta Garbo as Queen Christina sailing away" shot of Julianna. Edited December 5, 2015 by kwnyc 2 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo December 8, 2015 Author Share December 8, 2015 Wasn't it just last week that Nora told Eli she wasn't going to take part in any I Love Lucy type shenanigans? And yet this week she's okay with sitting in Alicia's apartment babysitting her? the chip on her shoulder is huge enough to make Geneva Pine seem sane Ha! Link to comment
poppytheastronaut December 9, 2015 Share December 9, 2015 Why doesn't Alicia divorce Peter ASAP, and jump Jason? If I had the chance, I would climb all over that man. (non-immediate) Consequences be damned. Just saying. Link to comment
albaniantv December 10, 2015 Share December 10, 2015 I do not get this show anymore at all. It's making me very whiny. Every damn time I think they have noticed it's getting too nasty, too lawyerly and are bringing in a character for some comic relief, some humanity, the individual disappears or turns mean: Eli (lost his sense of humor, now he's just a killer like the rest); Eli's daughter (where did she go, she was funny); Grace in the office (not politically correct for the bosses' daughter to be a dimwit, so in a NY flash she teaches herself lucrative cold calling!); Oliver Platt ( maybe I just imagined he was there?). Even Diane's husband, who used to be able to make her smile and contemplate taking 3 day vacations, has evaporated. Kalinda's exit we have noted. Now, all that's left are people who used to like each other or never did (all the growly guys). And no I don't think the small office, banging door shtick is funny Link to comment
AudienceofOne December 30, 2015 Share December 30, 2015 If I had the chance, I would climb all over that man. (non-immediate) Consequences be damned. Just saying. I liked Matthew Goode. But I suspect I'm the only one in the entire universe and that's why he's been replaced. But for an in-show reason, I just don't think Jason's Alicia's type. I don't buy that she has a thing for him Link to comment
quaintirene December 31, 2015 Share December 31, 2015 I'm tripping on over from the Real Housewives threads to whine about what's happened to my favorite network drama. Actually the only network drama I watch. What happened to the smart writing and the clever stories? I just binge-watched the first half-season and it's just another hackneyed tv show about the wonderful lawyer who never loses. Eli's character has changed. And not for the better. And for God's sake send Grace off to college and find her a nice boyfriend to take her mind off Jesus! I don't know why the writers have gone off-piste this season. But it's even worse than the Kalinda's Nasty Husband season... 1 Link to comment
needschocolate January 3, 2016 Share January 3, 2016 According to TV by the Numbers, TGW has a good chance of being cancelled. I don't think that would be much of a surprise to most of it (former) fans. The show has lost its magic. I liked Matthew Goode. But I suspect I'm the only one in the entire universe and that's why he's been replaced. But for an in-show reason, I just don't think Jason's Alicia's type. I don't buy that she has a thing for him You are not alone. At least with regards to your first point - I also liked Finn Polmer. As for your second point - I think Jason is Alicia's type, in a way - she seems attracted to white collar "bad boys" or "men of mystery." Her husband is a politician and one with some scandal (and not just the prostitute thing), and Will had some secrets in his past. And she seems to enjoy risky business - like sleeping with her boss or having an affair with a guy who is not her husband while her husband is running for president - or at least she likes acting like she can't be told what to do or how to act. Link to comment
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