Nebraska
Alexander Payne's movies have some Nebraska landmarks. There's a pivotal scene in About Schmidt where Nicholson rides the escalator up into the covered wagon at the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. And my family doesn't work there anymore so this isn't nepotism!

My culture nerd response is about the stereotype of a complete gender divide in the game—none of the girls were playing the game with them, and Priya seemed completely oblivious to anything that might be going on with the game. Sure, there are more male WoW players than female, but it's a smaller gap than you might…

I think Russell's lack of social game is obvious. When he and his alliance were trying to think of who to flip, I wondered, "Does Russell even know the other players' names?" Then he answered that question by offering "the old lady." I think Julie could rightly tell that she was "the old lady" in his potential…

At least in this episode, Mallory's Jesus-talk seemed to me a lot more like a figure of speech—it's what comes out of her mouth when she's under pressure, as opposed to a statement that Jesus will help her win. It's a little like the Arabic expressions mashallah and inshallah; that's just what people habitually say…

Sure, we've had a "Sheldon can't lie" plot line before, but isn't that plot consistency? I'd rather have more plots involving that aspect of his character than more taking him in a "bazinga" direction. That previous episode had that at the center of the plot, and this one had it more as a complication to Leonard's…

I've wanted to like the show more than I do, but I'd fall on the side of "not that bad." I realize there's a limitation to the half-hour sitcom format that makes it nearly impossible to succeed at creating a foreign environment. I don't get the sense that Todd's in India 24 hours a day, though. He seems like a…

The pilot was filmed in Atlanta, but subsequent episodes have all been filmed in Detroit and the suburbs. It's been all over the local media, and the UM-Dearborn campus was used for one episode.

Right, without the ground beef it's just an appetizer. Them's the Midwestern rules.

After reading the recap and not watching the show, I was looking forward to hearing Crystal's version, because I do like Kelly's version as well, and think it's a good song for the overlap between the bohemian aesthetic and the Idol aesthetic. But I couldn't watch the whole thing when Crystal did it. Shrieky,…

I think Sandra's hat-burning was as much—if not more—part of the game than Russell's antagonizing. The difference is this: Russell's acts seemed focused on upsetting the people who could help him win at the final Tribal council. Sandra's act was focused on upsetting the person she wanted to beat at the final TC. …

It's a play on the saying "Close your eyes and think of England." That's (allegedly) the advice that prudish Victorian mothers would give their daughters for their wedding nights. It doesn't really mean that Bart fantasizes about Milhouse, just that he should try to think of something pleasant.

Oh, funny. I was writing my response to Roneesh, using Rome as an example off the top of my head of a show where, like Caprica, we knew where it was going to end up historically, and since Rome was satisfying, Caprica could be too. Alurin's post was posted while I was writing mine.

I don't quite get that complaint. I watched Rome knowing where it was going to all end up—though as I watched the show I did think how much more spoiled I'd be if I'd paid more attention in History class. On Caprica, we know in broad strokes where the human race is going to end up, but we don't know where Graystone…

I'd say almost but not quite. In Caprica, the V-Club is supposed to be a den of iniquity, full of people virtually living out illicit fantasies, so it makes sense that there would be public sex, and it adds a little (but not much) to the effect to see it. Whereas in The Plan, it was a co-ed shower, which yes, you'd…

Katee didn't look particularly Starbuckish in the scene—it seemed she was made up to look more like Tricia Helfer. It made me wonder if either (a) their first choice for the scene was Number Six, and they adjusted to who they could get or (b) the writers or producers had some kind of mixed message when they said,…

Not just you, Chairman Dog—I've always thought it was noticeable that Bamber's "real" accent was surprisingly close to Callis's. Both British, both with a little bit of a pinched tone. Always seemed a little ironic.

Not Clamoring for Recaps
The Mentalist quickly showed itself to be the best crime drama on TV, in my opinion—sometimes the USA shows get too jokey, and the CSI shows get too repetitive and cynical, but this one manages to hit the right note. It's definitely a weekly DVR slot for me… and yet, I don't see myself coming…

Depends on if you like a little junk in the…

I don't think it's any kind of litmus test for the viewer's psychology, as so many people on both sides seem to sometimes. I just thought it was dreadfully boring.