August? Huh. I can forgive it, since the producers have said that they film in the winter because it gives the show more of that special '80s feel. Sunshine and green grass would screw up the vibe.

A friend and I were just discussing that scene. While I watched, I was convinced that Elizabeth had discovered a bug in the closet. Then she went downstairs and looked at the television and kitchen with a mixture of alarm and suspicion on her face. That, along with Paige's walk to the car and Renee's shadiness and the…

"So. Central Rain" is one of my all-time favorite songs (I was obsessed with R.E.M. back in the day), and I am horrified that I was so caught up in the characters that I didn't even notice it in that scene.

Get diabetes! I didn't take care of myself (along with a genetic predisposition) and was diagnosed a year ago. I've lost twenty-five pounds since then, just from the medication. Of course, the downside is, well, diabetes. (Fortunately, the doctor says if I lose a bit more, my H1C could drop below the threshold. Yay!)

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the "brother" weren't his brother at all, but was tasked with keeping an eye on Mischa and bringing him back into the Soviet fold. I can't imagine that Mischa was able to go to the U.S. and back unnoticed. Or perhaps the guy is affiliated with Gabriel and was asked to help the…

I read somewhere recently (alas, can't remember the source) that the KGB also held tightly to an image of being morally upright and incorruptible…. unlike pretty much every other segment of late-Soviet society. That actually played a part in Putin's rise to power. When the corruption became so public and…

From a meta standpoint, I'm leaning toward Oleg surviving the series. Several critics have mentioned that a weakness of this season is that so many of the characters we've cared about (Martha, Nina, Arkady, Gaad) are gone, and the show can't afford to lose Oleg as well. Plus, they've already told multiple stories of…

I was listening to a podcast last night about another suspicious suicide. Turns out that only about 35% of suicide victims actually leave notes.
That said, this morning Cornell's wife is apparently pushing the "accidental overdose" angle. Possible, I suppose, if it were really AEA, but the hanging does take away a lot…

Netflix does want to control our lives, but the current glut of premieres is mainly to get the shows out there within the Emmys eligibility window.

I still don't have closure for season three. I was out of town when the finale aired, but all the Twitter reactions made me spoil myself. Still haven't watched the episode, nor did I watch any of S4.

THANK YOU. A few years ago, I watched an excellent documentary in which they talked about how the case has become a tort reform rallying cry even though it is a clear case of corporate malfeasance. The whole movie doesn't seem to be available online, but you can watch a trailer and read more about it at http://www.hotc…

Yeah, and I think it's also an issue of Rob being very clearly drunk, even though Sharon was (willfully?) blinded to it.

I'll admit that I downloaded it when it aired in the UK because I'm impatient, though I did rewatch it last weekend on Amazon Prime (and will probably watch another few times.) And I STILL burst into fits of laughter whenever I remember Carrie Fisher saying, "Riverdance."

That would be because the studios think that April and May releases give shows the best Emmys advantage (whether or not that's actually correct.)

And you can also see him on Parks & Rec, playing bass in Mouse Rat.

Oh, I agree with you. Fixing errors should be a standard practice - though, of course, they shouldn't be made in the first place. Hell, I'm the type of person who will reread comments twice before posting, and I've been known to delete my tweets because of typos. My point was that even august publications like the NYT…

It's all part of the "Gotta be the first!" "news" cycle these days.

I'm really curious where Amy is heading. I can see her being so desperate to WIN a campaign that she'll stand-by-her-man with Buddy until the bitter end. But I suspect the other shoe will drop in the next week or two so that she can join the rest of the characters in D.C.

Back during S1, commenters used to complain that the characters were totally overreacting to The Departure. "It was only 2% of the population! What's the big deal!?" I tried (and apparently failed) to explain that when you put it in real-world numbers, it's a pretty darn HUGE deal. For example, I teach in a high…

Oh, I meant that the listings were not updated for last night. I actually recorded the local news a week ago, thinking that CBS would show it after Madam Secretary. Last night, though, it didn't show up at all on my listings, so my DVR didn't record it.