Ugh.  I just got done listening to the Risk! episode.  Can't say you didn't warn me, but man was that a waste of time.  The stories weren't just boring, they were *bad*.  The storytellers weren't charming or funny and the stories were just aimless and seemed to go on an on.  A very disappointing outing for a podcast…

The judges got it right that one week when they said it reminded them of Toddlers in Tiaras.  It's exactly that; the expression of a dazed, slightly confused but trying to hide it 6-year-old beauty queen in one of those pageants.  It's disturbing enough to see it on the kids, but on Willam it's downright eerie.

To your first point:  It sounded to me like a response to a producer-prompted question.  I can imagine them trying to push a button by asking him something along the lines of "Do you feel extra pressure to win this challenge because you're Asian?" etc.

It was nice during those first few challenges when after they announced the winner and loser, they would cut back to the judges' table and have one of them summarize why they'd made their decision, just so it was clear.  They seem to have gotten away from that in later episodes though.

Goddamn, this episode broke my heart.  Our reviewer is right; the door isn't closed and it's not over, no matter what they say.  But what I find heartbreaking about this is that in my experience, it *never will be* over.  It just… won't happen.  And it just will still hurt.  Maybe just a little bit, maybe just deep…

I hope you're right, @avclub-832f64b04453d8697cd600b74b14a1ad:disqus , I really do.

I thought that was weird, too.  If they weren't going to do any follow-up on the Amber and Kristina storyline, then they shouldn't have shown us Kristina again for the rest of the episode.

I take our reviewer's and Mr. McNutt's about the level of talent of these characters being dictated to us, rather than us being allowed to judge it on our own.  However, I think that this is the only way to do it without theatre insiders objecting to the pace of the show.  A musical would just never, ever get created…

What I want to know is: why the hell cast Brian D'Arcy James in a musical as a character who *doesn't* sing?

I saw Mauritius last year and ended up coming away thinking: sure, it was very put together, but what was the point?  No one I was with agreed with me, they all thought it was quite clever and hard-hitting.  I really like your description of it being both slick and hollow; those are exactly the words I was looking for.

I agree as well.  It was the first moment of its kind that The Office has been able to pull of in a long while.  Which is too bad, because those were one of my favorite things about the show.

@avclub-654292ad24f79ffcc2791c205cd85e7f:disqus : Yes, and it was all so out-of-nowhere, wasn't it?  The writers have really dropped the ball with her.  To do absolutely nothing with her and then immediately cut to her suddenly be EEEEVIL seemed really forced and a little desperate on their part to add some drama.

Yes, I was thinking about this too.  The show made it seem as if we should just perceive the whole thing as sweet and a triumph for Darryl.  But if you actually think about it for a minute, it does bring up the question of what exactly has happened to this boyfriend?  And I also can't think of a solution where Val…

I know!  And then to hear the other chefs acting like if they were in Sarah's shoes, they would've taken the car and competed in the elimination challenge so that they'd actually "win" their spot.  I don't believe that shit for a second.  They would have done no such thing.

Oh, I'm so disappointed about Ed.  It's not even like I can be mad at some of the chefs I don't like as much for "stealing" the win from him; no, this one he lost for himself.  Canned oysters!  What were you thinking, Ed?  Factor in the history of chefs getting sent home for buying pre-made foods, as mentioned in the…

Crosby needs to nut up about this Dawes thing.  Dude, no one's even asking you to slam your friend at the other recording studio.  All he had to do was reach out to one of them and say, "Hey, remember me?  Well, I heard you're in town looking for a recording studio and I have one.  How'd you like to come check it…

In some situations, yes.  But I think it would be harder for her to do considering that she actually signed the adoption papers.  If she had just left the baby with them, then she'd have better standing in court to pull that shit.

I don't know if they'll go that far, but I am hoping that they'll make an arrangement like a lot of open adoptions have, which is to keep the birth parent(s) in the child's life, albeit it in a limited way.  Oftentimes aggreements are made so that they get a certain number of visits or phone calls per year and maybe a…

Ooh, this is fun!  I'm totally joining in:

Maybe you guys can help me out here, because my head's still spinning on this one.  I do not understand why Alisha getting her throat slit is Simon's cue to go back in time and become Superhoodie.  How does that make any sense?  You see her die in your arms from getting her throat slit, so now you're going to go back…