Guilty Bob's test was either not done by the book or he's not remembering it correctly. There are THREE kinds of questions that are asked. Supposed baseline questions like "Is your name…", then general honesty questions like "Have you ever taken office supplies home?", then questions specific to the thing under…

You should have seen Moss in the infamous Piven-quits production of Speed the Plow. Way better than I expected given from what I'd seen so far on MM and The West Wing. She killed this episode (as did Hamm).

Dudes, you're misreading Pierce's point. He argues that Ricky's influence waned as Strickland/Schneider's waxed. This was occurring before Ricky became sick and is a matter of record.

Cosmic Thing definitely has quality, but Leonard's premise is correct. Once the slinky menace of Ricky's guitar was gone the B-52s lost a lot of what made them great. I love love love the frantic party jams, lyrical subject matter, etc. but the creepy paranoia (of a family, though distinct from the same era Talking…

Emmy win
As a series-long fan of Amazing Race, I firmly believe that the show's Emmy-dominance is due to it's compelling visual storytelling (remember, the voters only get certain eps, not whole series) but also it's high quality in contrast to other reality fare. Top Chef winning for last season though was completely…

From the tasting on, it was clear Tiffany was getting the sent-home edit but man was I holding out hope for a "you're all going to Singapore!" decision. At least Top Chef is consistent in that season-long performance counts for almost nothing, what are you serving tonight is the bottom line. Well, she did win lots of…

Yay for thoughtful posting about a developing-into-a-great show.

StrongSad, shows like this (from what I was told by a knowledgeable fellow) don't wait until the end of taping to start editing. Though you are correct that they have plenty of time to tweak before airing.

I don't understand this "nothing happens" view. Lots of stuff has happened and it's just the fourth episode. TV shows fail badly when they burn through plot too quickly. But then I have no problem with an ambling pace when the mood and look are this engaging.

I'm sort of surprised that I care enough to post this, but the God-started-evolution position is not really a cop-out at all. It's the official position of the Catholic and Episcopalian Church (sure about those, maybe also the Lutherans and Methodists). I'm an atheist myself, but I feel it should be pointed out that…

They've been steadily getting better at illustrating judges points with footage throughout the season. I'll buy that it's live. It's one of the reasons the dancers I think the dancers were rather more shaky than they have been.

Where with other such shows I think season-long performance counts, here I was so taken with Peregrine's final exhibit that I wanted her to win. It was coherent, viscerally engaging, and thought-provoking. The guys left me cold.

Low-key finale
Maybe it was just me, but this was the least compelling final competition ep I've seen of the show. Aside from Mandy Moore, nothing was flat out bad, but neither did any routine wow me in the way that say, Kayla & Jeanine dancing to Steve Reich did. This is partly because the dancers were rather more…

Crafting a season out of editing
So the masterful, confident Kenny narrative was created so that he'd have a hubristic fall that "shakes up" the show. Sad that's what they had to work with this season. Cause it sure isn't interesting enough with just the food. Is it terrible that I'm looking fwd to Top Pastry Chef…

And was that a cardboard sign? Best throwaway gag in a very odd episode.

With you on separating them. I already watch everything at least 15 min later on my Tivo. Rubicon I save for around 2 AM (when conspiracies and the pace work best for me), where Mad Men gets almost immediate viewing.

Including Harrison was just an inside, throwaway joke (though they did explain it). At first I thought the writers might be daring enough to include Bush, but then they stayed nice and safe. Not saying he wasn't right about the other ones, just thought it was the start of another digressive argument.

The Anna-Don scenes are just so fantastically layered. The paternalistic "it's better that she not know" stance (as a med professional that attitude drives me crazy), the denial/avoidance, the grass, the not-lovers-but-something-more-than-friends relationship - all can be viewed through contemporary and modern…

When some very awesome person makes the Mad Men soundboard, "I've got a big Texas belt buckle!" should be in an easily accessible corner spot.

Yes everyone should see Umbrellas of Cherbourg. And Gamera. Zorba the Greek and It's a Mad, etc. are inessential.