I am kind of skewed on Rebus. I can't tell if I like Rankin's novels because they are good, or because I used to live right around the corner from where his fictional apartment was located (in Marchmont) and then a few blocks from the St. Leonard's police station (in Newington). Reading the Rebus books is a too much…

I submit that this is the most un-whedonesque of his creations. As well as missing the aforementioned family element, it doesn't have that originality or the sparkling wit. Maybe he is a little gun shy after the previous network fiasco. Even if you didn't like Firefly, there is no mistaking whose vision it was. …

I would argue that Troublemaker can alternatively be viewed as a "roots" music album. All but the title song are traditional hymns. If I remember correctly he actually used his mother's hymn book to record them between takes on another album.

I nearly choked when Topher and Adele climb over the railing, and for no apparent reason he wasn't wearing pants.

To, too, two, tutu

It is really difficult to recommend a particular album. Well divined 'Best of..' collections usually are good. The problem is, there is a lot of redundant material out there. You could easily find five or six versions of Me and Paul or Whiskey River. Each one different from the other. Each with their own merits.

I haven't listened to the Willie/Marsalis album yet. How does it rate?

@ ricin— I concur on the P&L covers. Harris' is too me is to lyrical (in sound) to stand up to the grit of it, and I will never get the Willie and Merle video out of my brain. Stupid Brain.

Willie is the upbeat friend, Johnny is the profoundly damaged man….

Correction on Hulu's unique hits. It went up 42% from Jan 2009 (24m) to Feb 2009 (35m).

Granted, 9 to 5 was hyperbole. However, I still maintain that we as a society are moving away from that— with flexible hours, shortened work weeks w/ longer hours, and perhaps two jobs to make the bills. Maybe I am skewed by personal experience, because it has been many years and many jobs ago that I worked strict…

This is what I love about this show (and others… ahem…BSG) as well. It is well written and contains enough real life type ambiguity that it sparks debate over character intentions. Truly adult material. Grand, epic, and lacking in 'splosions.

This is the problem with modern ratings systems. I don't own a TV and haven't since 2005. At first it was an economics issue (rural setting with poor reception, didn't want to pay for satellite), but now I really don't see a need for it.

Arguably, the *rape* aspect of this is hardly the point. The point is the removal of free will— as explained in this episode— slavery. When you have absolute control over a person, any exercise of that control, for self serving reasons or noble purposes, is a corruption of that person. It is a rape beyond the…

By the way, anybody else realize that the flower message is now on Mellie's machine? God help whoever is in the room the next time she decides to check her messages.

I got the feeling that what's his face (Hearne?) had some sort of history of sexual assault by the conversation about it being easier not better when they don't struggle. Definitely creepy. Comes back to the thing about Boyd's past.

be nice to your robots
Having sex with your roomba does not count.

mr. Rabin— that sounds like a whole 'nuther Q&A.

This is about things that have an emotional resonance to them that is by nature….. well… irrational. Some things just hit a nerve (pardon the pun) for some people. Maybe it is something with their emotional history or just the mood they were in at the time, but the point is, this is not something under one's control.

"For years I thought I spoke excellent French."
I loved the gibberish translation. Nothing says french gibberish like a random series of Ds and Js.