I don't know if I can properly call myself a Wes Anderson fan anymore. I have this feeling that THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS represented the logical endpoint of his stylistic journey. In that film he reached the saturation point of all his quirks and curious expressions of his familiar themes. THE LIFE AQUATIC deeply,…

GRACE AFTER MIDNIGHT (Snoop's book) is a pretty good read. It's definitely stamped with "non-writer writes a memoir with some help" style, but Snoop's story is a compelling one. She also connects important periods of her life with the music everyone in the neighborhood was listening to at the time, which may not be…

I like symmetry, too, Noel. That's why my Top 10 Movies of the Decade list begins and ends with Pixar.

The Dutton interjections are such a small, small portion of THE CORNER mini-series. I didn't like them much either, but is it so hard to look past them?

I, too, watched it without any previous Doctor Who experience. You'll get along fine.

From a filmmaking perspective, I'm not a huge fan of the ANGELS IN AMERICA mini-series, but the script and the actors are so good that it still earns its place on a best-of-decade list.

Kind of a shock, right?
I think we all thought at some point there would be an episode to deal seriously with Robin and Barney's relationship, but who would've thought the first one would also be the last one (for now, that is - I'm sure the writers are reserving the right to get those two back together, and maybe…

I am terribly concerned about Betty's role in next season. I don't think I can stand to watch any more scenes of her and Henry Francis. I'm also mad as hell that she's getting the kids, because Sally and Don is my favorite combo on the show, followed closely by Pete and anyone. Do you think Weiner & Co. have…

I agree. Really tough, uncomfortable scene. Tightly written and unsparing for the viewer, in the sense that we can viscerally hop on board with either character, but we know both are fighting from deeply compromised positions, and, in the end, neither they nor we are going to get any kind of positive resolution.

Watching Don finally level with Peggy almost makes up for the endless repetition of "Don insensitively beats on Peggy" scenes. I still believe they could have cut a few of those, or at least avoided the generic "Peggy walks in at a bad time" construction. Anyway, the writing when Don visited her at her apartment was…

There's a stage-version of Cannibal: The Musical?

Getting warmer
Don't think this would have been a standout in a good season (like last year), but, since we've been subjected to, what, like three weeks of miserable HIMYM, this felt like a nice return to form.

Saw them in August. They put on a fantastic show. Basically all the crazy energy, fist-pumping, and hand-clapping you'd expect.

Agreed, Anonasaurus. Especially nice in this case because MAD MEN so often seems completely arbitrary in its cuts to commercial.

I, too, worried about Suzanne bursting in on the scene in an attempt to add drama where no more was needed. The writers deserve credit for not taking that path. As to the frustration you felt, Jeremy Daniels, I experienced a similar tension that bordered dangerously on divided attention.

The Don/Betty scenes that took over the episode about 30 minutes in did feel like the raison d'etre for so much of what we've been through on MAD MEN. Betty told Milton the Lawyer earlier that she felt like she had been in a dream ever since looking in the drawer, and that speaking about it for the first time…

Season Three has been disappointing for me, as well. That's partly why I am so excited about Betty's sleuth work. We've known since early in Season One that Don is not Don and that Betty does not know that. Since that time, it's been clear that Betty would either discover the truth, or Don would have to tell her. …

I, too, am worried something like that could happen. Actually, I'm just worried they're going to use the brother - in any way - to detonate the teacher affair plot. It seems to me that Don's fling with Ms. Farrell hasn't been interesting enough yet - in terms of watchability or what it tells us about the characters…

It's funny you're back for this one, Noel. In preparation for tonight's episode, I just shot through the last three episodes of Season Two and followed that by re-reading your write-ups. I almost expected your voice in the conversation tonight, rather than Keith's (not a knock on the fine job he does).

They are a blast to do. My friends and I did some by e-mail over the summer. In addition to being a lot of fun to brainstorm individually, they were great to discuss afterwards. Lots of interesting thoughts about the art that meant the most to us over the past nine and a half years.