I don't think COUGARTOWN (or, as we call it in this house, "Coogatow!") is as good as this show, but I think it's pretty darn good about 2/3's of the time. But then, I'm a fan of the Bill Lawrence style, which is pretty polarizing. And that kid from ALIENS IN AMERICA is absolutely awesome. Courtney Cox is also…

Precisely. There's no qualitative difference between adults and children … we're just older children, a lot of the time … but our authority depends on pretending that there is such a difference.

That was hilarious. Maybe Phil has been saying "don't talk black" to him all this time!

I was completely won over by Baranski when she said, "God, I hope so, otherwise why did we stop at Del Taco?" Perfect delivery, a joke that would have been predictable coming from other characters but was out of left field for her.

Agree, their unison was breathtaking in the couple of moments where they broke it out. More props hereby given.

Having the ep be about condition rather than character is a weakness. But this show can get away with it every once in a while because it can situate that condition in a very specific past and future context.

Actually, classic Noel! I was the Claire in this situation.

OK, maybe I'm being unfair to Ryan on the crying. But the lingering closeup of his tear-tracked cheeks unduly influenced me. Alligator camerawork, maybe.

Thanks for the correction; fixed. Obviously I was thinking about the founder of Vice Magazine.

You may be right, and you certainly have technical terms up your sleeve that I don't. I think it's a matter of attitude; Ryan just seems to be trying to make something out of nothing with some serious smarm.

There might not be admiration for the old man, but there's a recognition that he knows something about birds that Muldrow does not. When he sees the bird comes to the old man's arm, "I knew that the bird was never going to be an 'it' again, but a 'he.'" And under the influence of that way of life, he regrets killing…

Aha, p. 271 in my paperback copy: "The next day I would bury him then take over."

Yes — Robinson Crusoe, exactly. Pretty much my ideal book.

If he doesn't get around to burying the old man, he at least mentions that he intends to, I think.

I hear you there. But I suppose we could turn it around. We are all animals, too. Why shouldn't a spiritual journey into animal nature be just as relevant to us?

I thought the music as the castle deflated was just right — an epic disaster and epic rescue deserves it. But This Guy, I didn't even register the clown-shoe reveals as breaks in the style. Good catch. I guess it didn't bother me because I was having too much fun.

Really? Were they even spelled that way stateside? I speak as someone who saw them open for the Thompson Twins.

You are correct, sir. I should have been able to see the iconic black Marshall cabinet in my head when I wrote that, yet somehow I did not.

That actually slipped my mind due to the extended period of judges' eliminations. Now I'm reminded of how much I hate the couples-in-the-bottom process, dragging down good dancers with their partners. I suppose it's the only way to make it so America can vote, but it's going to be distressing week after week.

I BET YOU is one of the best things put on television in the oughts, at least according to the top 10 list that I submitted to this very Best-of-the-Decade compendium. Due to the fact that almost nobody's seen it (although a DVD set is available: http://tinyurl.com/yg2lorp), I didn't expect it to make the top 30. …