Renee Falconetti from "The Passion of Joan of Arc"
Irene Jacob in "The Double Life of Veronique"
Jessica Brown-Findlay from "Downton Abbey"

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if they just cast Australians to play every part…

I should've been clearer.  I meant Breaking Bad in terms of plotting that genuinely leaves you wondering who could die next, and believing that no one is safe. 

Okay, this is the final, final casting choice:  Sharukh Khan to play Dodi, and Amitab Bachchan to play his father Mohammed.

Aziz Ansari for the role of Dodi Al Fayed.  Who's with me?

Yeah, if it's not him, or if it IS him and he's not actually dead, the show for me will have slipped off the fence into bad soap opera land.  If he IS dead, then potentially no one is safe, and we might have the makings of something in the same realm as Breaking Bad.

So leading up to next week's episode:

This should say a lot about how pervasive post-modernism and hipster-irony is in our culture…I still can't quite tell if the AV Club actually likes Dawes, or is just mocking Dawes.

Not to mention egg-shaped and without lips. 

Yeah, it's definitely the most hackneyed way to establish someone is a soulful musical talent…right up there with playing Moonlight Sonata on piano…Which Parenthood ALSO did this season!!!!

Because appearing in enough movies makes you a good director.  If I watch enough heart operations, can I start cracking chests and inserting stints?

Amber does have a way of fucking things up (literally).

Sucker Bet: if a character on a TV show plays the cello, they will inevitably play Bach's prelude to Suite 1.

I still say there is something REALLY OFF about Candidate Bob. Maybe it was the combination of the dark lighting, and the actor's serial killer good looks, but I was expecting any moment for the candidate to throw a plastic bag over her head or something.

And I just don't trust what AMC promise, after they said "The Killing" was going to give us a great Birthday gift, and instead it wound up being socks, and then made us visit "Walking Dead" in the nursing home and the stories it told were SO BORING…

Yes, team Sybil, running guns for Michael Collins.  Seriously, Downton Abbey could be about paint drying, as long as they have a few scenes with Jessica Brown-Findlay.  It's a tie between her and Annie Clark for which one I have the biggest crush on.

Although, it will be pretty killer to see Mad Men's take on key parties and fondue.

Yeah, that HAS bothered me.  They never set it up, or followed through. I would've been interested in some explanation, but they kept it UTTERLY ambivalent as to his true identity.

In the UK perhaps, but in the U.S., I got the distinct impression Masterpiece theatre was selling it as a mini-series.  And I think that's all that matters in the eyes of the Emmys, since original venue/intent falls outside of their purview, i.e. the UK.

And Mary and Edith are living like the Beale sisters of Grey Gardens.