The creators seem to be a using a combination of Japanese Kabuki and English pantomime theatrical conventions. You can tell they love the stagecraft too.

I think the whole romance with Katara thing would have worked better if his voice had matured a bit. Zach Tyler Eisen matured as an actor and he gave a great performance that worked for the rest of the story but he still sounded like a twelve-year-old at the end which made all of the love scenes unconvincing.

I agree about the ending. The kids wear Aang and Zuko costumes in public, and there are many Sokka fans so it's not like it's an underground movement. There is just a basic inconsistency, I can live with that, it's funny and it works and it grounds an episode of self-parody.

The Southern Raiders has one of the most beautiful scenes in the series, when Yon Rho goes shopping and it starts to rain. The sound, the lighting, the backgrounds, the animation of the rain and the character movements, beautifully done. The stalking and the attack are wonderfully staged, you really feel the power of…

I've always wondered how the kids got away without applauding (not to mention repeatedly saying who they are very, very loudly). I'm sure some of the people would be sincerely moved, but it didn't seem like the standing ovation was optional.

Don't listen to the snotty boys.

Apparently you've never seen Executioner's Song. He's always been a a bit complex and raw to be a sex symbol for the masses, even with youthful good looks and a truly impressive physique that he didn't mind showing off. Sexiness without vanity can be very attractive in a man.

I'm so glad you asked about The River Rat. I've wanted to see it again for years but it's not on DVD/BD. She and Tommy Lee Jones are two actors I would watch in anything and they were just wonderful together.

Well, she acted sympathetic because it was appropriate, but later when she found out Betty wasn't ill, she said it was just an excuse to call Don. This would seem to indicate that her concern wasn't genuine, it was a nasty, petty thing to say about someone's health scare and it seemed like she had been waiting to say…

During the last scene I kept thinking of Betty saying those awful things about Sally's weight when she was little (the second season?) because her mother had tortured her about it when she was a kid. 

What I found interesting is that Betty is only 7 or 8 years older than Megan and the doctor called her middle-aged, at 33 or 34. Women had a short shelf-life back then, I guess. When they were in Rome just a few years earlier she was so chic wearing the very latest, she only started wearing the granny clothes and…

So it was a deliberate homage? I've always wondered about that. I always imagined that the Walking Dead guy was unaware of  Day of the Triffids and was copying 28 Days later.

The 60s move is fine but the BBC series is surprisingly compelling. The monsters are hilarious (BBC, early 80s) but the lack of gloss makes it feel more everyday and shocking. It used to be on Netflix streaming, I'm not sure if it's available anywhere.

Paula Abdul, "Straight Up". She was one of the most generic pop stars of her time, but whenever I hear that song, it's in my head for days, and I really don't mind.

Matt Damon's performance in Saving Private Ryan is a complete blur, all I remember is being fixated on how white his teeth were in the middle of a war zone.

Dr. Brown,
Looks like I was wrong all around! Guess I don't have my finger on the pulse of popular culture, even though I read the AV Club almost daily.

OOO, my first testy reply on TV Club. CantStandYa doesn't have a reply button, so I guess I'll reply to myself.

SPOILERS It's all coming back to me. I agree about Sophie and her child. As I remember, Justin was trying to be a good man, but his sister was the evil one and lead him to do evil things. I loved that, this prim, ladylike woman turns out to be an evil succubus.

The cat who knows almost everything! Hah!

1) Flight of the Conchords
2) Oz
3) Six feet Under
4) Carnivale
5) Bored to Death/Boardwalk Empire/Big Love