Goddamn, I loved Passions so much.

The larger point, I think, is that Cuse had reason to deceive on Lost, but really doesn't on this show. Like, what about this show is the audience trying to "figure out"?

Everything I've heard indicates that Lost had a fairly general sense of its mythology, how events fit together, how the Island operated, etc., but they improvised a lot of the smaller stuff, and it was that stuff people mostly got upset about.

Saying a show is not as good as Twin Peaks isn't really that big of a deal, though? The vast majority of TV series in history aren't as good as Twin Peaks, which is one of the best shows ever made.

Or if it was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, you can just say it was Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

I actually think she's a fairly bland, uninteresting actress! At a certain point, though, it just seems like the universe has it out for her.

I think that's all correct, but I'm not completely sure. Amazon is really bad at promoting their stuff.

Passions has given us so many wonderful things.

This is really true. When I started writing, I said, "I might be shitty, but I'm better than THAT guy." And then THAT guy kept getting jobs and winning awards and shit. Oh, how I hated him! But now he might be homeless? I genuinely don't know. I sure showed him!

Which doesn't once use the word pretentious.

The producers have explicitly said that Twin Peaks is their primary inspiration. Is this show as good? No. But you can see where that earlier show is in its DNA.

Just the pilot. And, just be aware, it was hugely divisive when it was screened at TCA. Definitely love it or hate it.

I was actually on your side when the show began, but after seeing how Norma handled Norman killing his father, I've come around to the show's view of things. It just makes Norma's role so INTERESTING.

I actually completely reversed my opinion on this in the last few weeks. After episode six, I was firmly on the side that no matter the intention, the show had grossly misused its female characters, to the point of incompetence. But I found Willa Paskin's writing on the subject to be highly persuasive and changed my…

The last time I maniacally cackled and shouted "Television!" at my wife, she drew up divorce papers.

My relationship to True Detective, expressed through actions contained in asterisks and one-word phrases:

This is just to inform y'all that Mom is NOT new tonight. I know. You're sad. It's the episode where Baxter sets up shop in the driveway, though!

I suspect we'll try and find someone to cover the series finale.

I thought that was weird, too, but apparently, dentists used to do all manner of oral surgeries.

The Sparrow is one of my favorite novels. If we were still doing Wrapped Up In Books, I would insist we did that one eventually.