Category Archives: film

Jan12

January 11, 2017 – So that GH isn’t Lonely, a Coupla Quotes & Several Random Thoughts

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

General Hospital

Maxie and Nathan get to the cabin they’ve rented in Canada, and Maxie is disconcerted by the moose head on the wall. They’ve struck out with the local precinct, but Nathan thinks Claudette’s mom is their best bet. Maxie suggests that going through Claudette’s stuff to see if there’s anything significant. Nathan tells Maxie she can keep Claudette’s mother busy while he goes through everything.

Nina and Charlotte wait for Valentin at the MetroCourt. Nina compliments Charlotte on her skating. Valentin arrives. He tells Charlotte that he and Nina have something very important to tell her.

Franco goes home, surprised to find Kiki there. Kiki tells him that she hopes he had a happy new year, and says there are leftovers from her takeout feast. He keeps looking at his phone, and she asks what’s going on.

Alexis tells Julian he’s not calming her, and he’s the reason she’s in this mess in the first place. He thinks she’s really upset because she wants a drink.

Sam thinks the fire was a closer call than Jason is saying. Jason wishes that they’d come up with more, but  the place was tossed before they got there. He shows Sam the picture he found of a young, blonde boy, and she says there’s something familiar about the face.

Nell asks Sonny what he means by “a new understanding.” He says they agreed not to say anything about what happened between them. He asks if she changed her mind, and why she told Carly she was dating a married man. Nell says she didn’t; she just said he was unavailable, and Carly made the assumption. She says she was trying to stop Carly from matchmaking and meant nothing by it, but Sonny tells her that she made Carly curious. Nell says if he wants her to say something else, she will, and asks what he wants her to do.

Valentin tells Charlotte that Nina has been spending a lot of time with them, and Charlotte says she likes Nina a lot. Valentin says they’ll be able to spend even more time together now, because he and Nina got married.

Has Maxie been watching a Kardashian marathon? She needs to tone the contour down. Nathan tells her that if it was up to him, they would go to Niagara Falls right now and get married. He’s thinking they should move into a house when they get back.

Kiki asks why Franco is jumpy, and he says he wasn’t expecting her to be there. She says he obviously didn’t see her note that says she’s moving to LA. He wonders why she wouldn’t say good-by in person, but she says it doesn’t matter, she turned around in Detroit. When Franco asks why, she says Dillon, confusing him. He thought that’s why she left, and Kiki says he’s also the reason she came back. She explains that Dillon was on the bus to get away from her, but now they’re together. She’s decided to stop fighting her feelings for him. Franco says he’s happy for her, and she should do everything to keep herself happy.

Julian suggests that Alexis is going through withdrawal. She says if he wants to talk, let’s do it. He asks if there’s anyone else who can place her at the bar, but she doesn’t remember. He asks if she talked to anyone. She says Gene, the owner, who I assume is also the bartender.

Jason tells Sam that he thinks the picture looks familiar too. Sam says it’s possible it could be Julian. Jason assumes the boss lady has a relationship with him, but adds that the picture is decades old. Sam tells him that she doesn’t think Ava has anything to do with it.

Charlotte asks if Nina is going to live with them, and Valentin tells her that now they can play whenever they want. Nina says Charlotte can come to her about anything. She’s still going to be Nina, but she’ll just be there all the time. Charlotte looks sad at first, but then says it sounds wonderful.

Nathan tells Maxie that they should get a three-bedroom house. Maxie says he’s really been thinking about it. He tells her that he’s wanted to build a life with her forever, and she asks when they can move in. He has one condition though.

Franco chows down on Chinese leftovers. He says Kiki seems happy. She says she is, and he says then Dillon is okay in his book. She says she’ll never stop missing Morgan, but has to move on with her life. She thinks Morgan would approve, and she’s learned to hold on tight to those she loves, because everything can change in an instant. She asks what’s up with Franco, and he asks if she remembers Tom, and tells her that Tom was murdered.

Alexis tells Julian that Gene remembered the night for her. Julian says obviously he didn’t go to the police with anything. Alexis doesn’t think he cared, but covered for her as a customer. He saw Tom follow her out, and she assumes he caught up with her. Julian says she’s not thinking like a lawyer, and asks if anyone else saw. Alexis sees Tom standing behind Julian. I wonder if he’s buddies with Carrrlos now, although Carrrlos has more honor than this dude.

Sonny asks Nell if she understands what it’s like to feel happy for just a moment, and says that she’s not to say anything else. She says that she was just trying to protect him and shut the conversation down. She didn’t expect Carly to deduce her boyfriend was married. She tells Sonny that none of it is her fault, and Sonny says it never is. Sam and Jason come in, and Sam says she hopes they’re not interrupting.

Nell tells them Carly asked her to check in on Sonny while she’s gone, and Sonny explains that Carly is in Australia. Nell says her work is done and jets. After asking how Sam is, Sonny asks Jason if he’s found out anything else. Jason tells him about the pawn shop burning down, and says they don’t think Julian is involved, but they’re close to finding out who is. Sonny asks if there’s a man behind it, but Jason says no.

Tom talks to Alexis, saying she’s the one who killed him. He tells her she should have a drink.

Franco tells Kiki he had nothing to do with it, but the police think he did. Kiki asks if he has an alibi, but he says his alibi would make things even worse. He tells her that he knows who killed Tom, but can’t go to the police.

Charlotte says she wishes she could have been at the wedding, but Nina says it was past her bedtime. Valentin tells her that it was at the stroke of midnight. Charlotte wonders if it was like Cinderella, and Nina says it was magical, but no one turned into a pumpkin. She says the only thing missing was Charlotte, but Valentin says there was one more thing.

Nathan tells Maxie he wants a moose head in their house, and explains how he always wanted to be one with nature. She tells him if they take the moose head, they’ll also need throw pillows and throws some pillows at him. They get silly, and there’s a knock at the door. It’s a police officer who has information about Claudette.

Kiki asks why Franco is hesitating, and he says it’s complicated. He says he might be innocent of this, but he’s committed other crimes. He says that he’s hurt members of the person’s family who killed Tom. Kiki tells him that knowing what Tom has done, it was probably self-defense. Franco says all he knows is he can’t turn her in, even if it means losing Elizabeth.

Alexis says she’s not going to drink, and Julian says he’ll help her through this. Tom says he’s never going to leave her alone. Alexis says she didn’t kill him; she couldn’t have. Julian tells her that she’s hallucinating. She asks if he doesn’t see Tom. Alexis sees a bloody knife in her own hand, but looks again to find it empty.

Sonny asks Jason if he really thinks a woman planted the bomb. Jason says yes, but any evidence has been burned up. Sonny says he’s glad they got out, and asks if there are any theories. Jason says not yet, but she must have a personal tie to Julian.

Valentin tells Charlotte about how they improvised with ribbon wedding rings. Valentin says when they were skating, he went to the jewelers. He asks Charlotte to help them exchange rings. She opens the box and Valentin tells her to give each of them the other’s ring. Valentin and Nina exchange rings, saying a few things, and then kiss. Charlotte is like, Yay!

The officer tells Nathan sorry it’s late. They found the body of a woman in the river who was an apparent suicide, and reran the prints after speaking with him. They were a match for Claudette’s.

Kiki asks if Elizabeth believes that Franco didn’t kill Tom. He says he thinks she does, but he’s done so many other things, it’s hard for her to trust him. He wanted them to start with a clean slate, and was going to find the real killer, but it looks like he’s remaining the prime suspect. He tells Kiki not to tell anyone, and says maybe they won’t have enough evidence to charge him. She says fine, his secret is safe. She tells him that Elizabeth stopped by.

After the officer leaves, Nathan tells Maxie that he doesn’t believe Claudette would kill herself, even though the prints were a match. Maxie says Claudette is gone, and the important thing is that they know what happened. He says she was a horrible person, and Maxie adds, but he loved her. He says for a few years, he really did.

Valentin gets a call and excuses himself. The officer from Canada says he did what Valentin told him. Valentin thanks him for his assistance.

Sonny thinks the woman is a cover hired by Julian as a smokescreen, and judging by the picture, they have long standing ties. Sam has to excuse herself, and when she goes upstairs, Jason tells Sonny things looked tense between him and Nell. He asks if everything is okay.

Alexis says she didn’t mean to kill him, and Julian tells her to calm down. Alexis tells Julian that if it hadn’t been for him, she would have never been in that bar and killed Tom. She still thinks she’s holding a knife, but there’s nothing in her hand.

Nathan wants to tell Claudette’s mom in person. He also has to call Griff, and someone has to let Charlotte know. Maxie suggests they get some sleep for now.

Valentin, Nina and Charlotte leave the MetroCourt. Carly calls Nell from the plane, and Nell says she’ll take care of everything. She says she’ll make sure to take care of Sonny. I’ll bet.

Sonny tells Jason that everything is fine, but Jason says it didn’t look that way. He says if Sonny is in trouble, he can tell him. Sonny says he’s pretty sure Nell isn’t as innocent as she appears to be.

Kiki tells Franco that Elizabeth told her not to say she came by, but she thought better of it after what he said. Kiki says whatever doubts Elizabeth has, they obviously don’t outweigh her feelings for him. She asks if he’s still going to keep his mouth shut. He says all he knows for sure is that he can’t go to prison.

Alexis stares at the non-knife in her hand,and finally realizes it’s not there. She tells Julian that he’s going to send her to prison and he doesn’t love her. He promises her that he does. He says he knows she’s in pain, and she starts to cry, begging for a drink. He says they’ll get through this. She cries in his arms, saying she needs help.

Tomorrow, Jordan questions Franco, Alexis wants to turn herself in, and Anna talks to Valentin.

Hump Day Quotes

I love cauliflower and I would agree that it’s incredibly versatile, but I’m starting to think that maybe everyone wouldn’t have felt quite as tragically disappointed and jaded by how 2016 shaped up as a year if we hadn’t put so much of our faith in cauliflower to be everything we needed. – Darcy Lenz, 11 Food Trends That Need to Die in 2017

If you die when you’re fat, are you a fat ghost? – Carrie Fisher, while working out on the treadmill.

💫 Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, you’re missing out. I love documentaries, and this immediately became one of my favorites. I’ve already watched it twice. I’d intended on watching it even before they both passed away, but that definitely added another dimension. Part Grey Gardens, part [fill in the name of your favorite Broadway musical here], with the comedic slant of The Office, this was the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. The mother and daughter team are brilliant and witty, and have given us a totally honest portrayal of themselves. This is what the reality genre ought to be. It’s my understanding that when they first saw the completed film, both Carrie and Debbie were not happy with so intimate of a portrait, but finally allowing its release. I’m sure there are no regrets here. It’s one of the most wonderful legacies ever left.

🌟 Geez, Star took a chance tonight. One of the girls had an accidental overdose, and they did a fantasy video sequence in the psyche ward, using staff and patient characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if some special snowflakes protest that. Maybe by burning some scrubs or kneeling during the opening music of an NPR program.

I have to add that Queen Latifah‘s aqua hair was everything. If I could pull that off, I would wear mine like that every day. I tried to find a picture, but stuff from The Wiz just kept popping up.

🍻 Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce is also back. I forget how much I like it until there’s a new season again. (That’s when the network throws a dart at a two-year calendar to decide when a show is returning.) The characters in this show are much more realistic than the ones on Sex and the City. I also hadn’t known that Lisa Edelstein (Abby) was a Club Kid back in the day, until I saw her on Watch What Happens Live. As soon as they mentioned it, I was like, that’s where I know you from.

Bravo has done well so far with their scripted shows. I also love Odd Mom Out, which I assume will come around again after Girlfriends’ Guide is done. That one surprised me. Not being a mom (at least not to two-legged kids), I didn’t think I’d relate, but as someone who lived a lot of their life in NYC, I can totally relate. And it’s funny as hell. As if that wasn’t enough, both programs have fashion to die for. The soundtracks ain’t bad neither.

🗣 I heard the word “shenanigans” twice on TV tonight, from two completely unrelated and surprising sources. Let’s see if shenanigans ends up happening, or goes the route of “fetch.”

Jun11

June 10, 2016 – GH or Not to GH, No Shot at Hamilton & a Quote

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

General Hospital – Thursday

A prayer service for Nicholas is being held at Windemere. Lulu and Dante arrive. Laura says she felt they could support each other. Spencer escorts Emma to the kitchen for cookies. Elizabeth tells Hayden she wants a truce.

Alexis tells Julian he’s holding the proof he killed somene, so how can he ask if there’s a chance for them? He says he still loves her and doesn’t want to lose her. Bleh. She asks if he loved her when he ripped the shirt out of her hand and grabbed her arm. He tells her he’s trying to protect them. She tries to get the shirt back again, and when he pulls it away, she says he’s the only one he’s trying to protect. He tries to turn it around, intimating that she took vows and she’s not standing by him. Boo-hoo. She says he’s not the only one who could get in trouble.

Griff tells Lucas that if God was testing him by putting Carrrlos in his path, he’s not sure if he passed the test. He says he’s on a leave of absence from his diocese. Lucas wonders how Griff feels about his gayness. Griff tells Lucas that he and his church don’t always see eye to eye, along with some kumbaya stuff, but says that has nothing to do with him keeping his being a priest a secret.

Spinelli shows up at Maxie and Nathan’s. They’re still arguing and he suggests coming back after they’ve kissed and made up. Maxie says that won’t be happening. Spinelli says statistics say arguments like these usually lead to a night of passion. He goes to make some tea and Nathan tells Maxie he’ll always regret his actions with Claudette. Maxie tells Nathan she needs time to process everything. He leaves and Spinelli asks Maxie what’s going on.

Sam wants to look for evidence during the gathering at Windemere, but Jason says the others might be wise to her. He’s going to take a boat to the other side of the island and sneak in. He says the cops are only looking for the obvious, but he’ll know what he’s looking for when he finds it. He says Nicholas was desperate, and desperate men make mistakes. He tells her to stick with the group and he’ll text her when he’s done.

Elizabeth tells Hayden that for tonight, they’re here for Nicholas. When that’s over, they can go back to hating each other.

Spencer asks if Emma knows what kind of party she’s at. Emma says they’re getting together to pray for his father’s return. Spencer says he knows for a fact that Nicholas isn’t coming back. Hayden goes to the door and Naomi is there. Naomi says she’s there for moral support and Hayden says Naomi is there to look for the diamonds. She blames Hayden for losing them and goes in to the drawing room.

Laura and Lulu are concerned about Spencer, but Lulu says Dante is doing his best to get through to him. Dante tells Spencer there’s no evidence to prove his father isn’t coming back. Spencer says it’s better to accept the obvious. He doesn’t want to grieve for his father twice.

Alexis tells Julian since he has the shirt, he wins. All he has to do is destroy it. Without evidence, the only thing she has is hearsay. He says he loves her. She tells him he can have her or get away with murder, but not both. He leaves with the shirt and she dissolves into tears.

Alexis calls Diane and tells her something came up and she can’t explain right now. She says the evidence is gone and she can’t get it back, but she’s not letting Julian get away with murder. Julian barbecues the shirt.

Spinelli says when he received Maxie’s call about her engagement, little did he know things would deteriorate so quickly. She says something about Nathan’s first wife. When Spinelli looks surprised, she says yeah, he forgot to mention it to her too, and explains how the details came out.

Nathan sees Griff at the hospital. He says Griff managed to save his life and ruin it at the same time.

Hayden introduces her mother to Laura. Laura says her hope is that Nicholas will return to them. When Laura steps away, Naomi asks Hayden if she thinks Nicholas is coming back. She says no, but she wishes he would. Laura thanks everyone for coming. She says they’re all missing Nicholas and hoping for answers and wishing for the best. Spencer says Nicholas is gone and the drawing room doors open.

Jason skulks around Nicholas’s bedroom. He checks the trash, like no one would have done that.

Sam enters the drawing room. Dante asks where Jason is and she says she wishes she knew. Like he’d be showing up there in the first place. Lulu thanks Laura for arranging everything. She says she wants to be drawing on her love for Nicholas, but her fear is overpowering her feelings. She says seeing all of them makes her feel less alone. Spencer asks to be excused and leaves with Emma.

Jason goes through drawers and finds a notepad.

Spinelli says it didn’t sound like happiest of unions and the green card thing is illegal. He says maybe Nathan didn’t want to relive it. Maxie says they got past it and started planning the wedding, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. She wants to tell him the rest, but Nathan made her swear not to. He asks for a hint. She says she can’t talk about it to anyone and suddenly spaces out for a moment. She says she has to go and she’ll talk to him later.

Nathan tells Griff that he said to be honest and now Maxie doesn’t want to be with him any more. Geez, isn’t Nathan a little old to be blaming the people he takes advice from when it backfires? Griff says he’s sorry to hear that, but he can’t get any more involved than he is already. He suggests they see a therapist or talk to family members, but whatever they decide, leave him out of it.

Lucas goes to Julian and Alexis’s place, and Alexis let’s him in. He thanks her for volunteering the house for his and Brad’s wedding and she has no idea what he’s talking about. He says Julian told them they could have the wedding there – tonight. Lucas can see how surprised she is and says he’ll change the date, but she says no, they should go ahead. He tells her he’s glad Julian found her. When he leaves, Alexis relives finding out that Julian killed Carrrlos. She’s about to get out the dagger when Julian walks in. What have I said about his timing? He asks if he shouldn’t have come back and she says where else should he be an hour before his son’s wedding that he didn’t bother telling her about.

Spencer gives Emma a handmade heart to remember him by and I wonder if he used the diamonds on it. Jason watches unbeknownst to them. Emma asks where Spencer is going and he says nowhere, but she’ll be going back to California. When they leave, Jason comes back out of his hiding place.

Hayden says if Nicholas could see all of them there, nothing would stop him from coming back to them. Laura asks for a moment of silence to pray for his safe return. Naomi whisper asks to Hayden who else knows about the diamonds.

Dante asks if there’s anything Sam can tell him about where Jason is. She says the only thing he said was for her not to go anywhere. Dante says Jason saved his life and he’s grateful. She says if she hears from him, she’ll tell him to contact Dante. When Dante leaves, Elizabeth tells Sam to tell Jason to be careful because something is very wrong.

Maxie runs into the hospital and asks Griff to put on his priest hat because she has to talk to someone about her fiance. He says he’s the last person she should talk to.

Spinelli is trying to get information about Claudette when Nathan comes back.

Naomi asks Elizabeth how long she’s lived in Port Charles. Laura goes to check on Spencer and sees him with Emma. Spencer tells her again he knows Nicholas isn’t coming back.

Jason texts Sam that he’s out. Dante goes into the hallway to make a call and asks for a tail on Sam who just left.

Julian asks Alexis if they can move past it. She asks how he could throw their future away. He says he never thought they’d be in this position; he thought they were a team and were still together.

Tomorrow, Hayden tells Naomi they’re having her arrested, Ava skips town, and Spinelli uncovers some dirt.

General Hospital – Friday

Today, GH was pre-empted and ABC showed a repeat because of the Mohammed Ali funeral in some areas.

So, in lieu of that, I have a little tirade.

Hamilton

Normally, I don’t write about theatre, but at one time I was on Broadway – okay, it was 103rd Street and Broadway, but technically, it was still Broadway – so I feel compelled to air my grievances about the discouraging way the tickets for this are being handled.

I keep praying I either wake up rich so I could afford to see it, or wake up stupid so that I no longer want to. While it’s not bad enough tickets are already astronomically priced and the show is sold out until January, in order to combat scalping, ticket prices are rising even higher for this particular show. That’s right, instead of punishing the people breaking the law, the audience is being penalized.(While it’s not a crime to resell a ticket, it is if you’re going to rob someone blind, not to mention the problem of fake tickets),  I guess they figure fewer scalpers will shell out the original price and don’t care if the people wanting to see the show have to suffer for that. Supposedly, as a consolation prize, they will be adding more tickets to the daily lottery. Oh yay! My odds will be a percentage of a percentage of a percent better now.

Part of the charm of this show is that it’s about a nobody’s rise from poverty to being a key figure in forming a new nation, as well as the casting being all inclusive. However, the rest of us nobodies are being excluded by our bank balances. I’m disappointed that Lin-Manuel Miranda isn’t being vocal about this. Especially since he’s spoken out about other forms of audience rip-offs.

Lest you think an actor has no say in the matter, I don’t buy that. As a matter-of-fact, I personally blame Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane for the original exorbitant rise in ticket prices. It happened during their run in The Producers when they insisted on more money because they were now big stars, and apparently cared less about the work and those who would like to see it, than their wallets. There have certainly been musicians in the past who have stepped in and stopped such thievery of their fans, but Broadway actors seem to have ceased caring.

That’s sad, coming from a place where the work, and the enjoyment of the audience, should be first and foremost. And everyone should get a fair shot at tickets.

Quote of the Week

If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail. April (Kate Winslet) in Revolutionary Road.

Feb29

February 28, 2016 — The Dead & Nothing But the Dead

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

The only show with enough guts to air a new episode opposite The Who-Cares-What-Number-It-Is Academy Awards. AMC’s Walking Dead, we salute you!

The Walking Dead

Abe is telling camel stories to Sasha, while they check out the perimeter of Alexandria. They talk about Maggie having a baby. I’m thinking maybe Abe wants to have one with Sasha. When he says he’ll see her tomorrow, she says she’s taking a new shift. She says Eugene wants to help more, so he’s going to be walking with Abe. He changes it to see you around.

Abe is in bed with Rosita. I’m confused. Was he dreaming or was that a memory? Rosita tosses him a necklace that she made for him. He tells her she’s damn near perfection. Why not total perfection? Something in the necklace makes him think of giving the victory sign to Sasha.

Maggie and Glenn are doing something with the garden. Someone is sneaking around and they follow.

Paul is in Rick’s house and Carl draws a gun on him. Paul (introducing himself as Jesus, so I guess we’ll go with that now) says he’s waiting for Carl And Michonne. Two seconds later, everyone is there for a meeting. Jesus gives them a scorecard of Alexandria and what they’ve got going on as far as supplies and other assets. He says they got off to a bad start, but they’re on the same side. He says he’s from a place like Alexandria and he scouts for others. He admits he misjudged them, thinking they weren’t good people and he wants to make amends now. He talks about the settlement where he’s from, Hilltop, and says they’ve started breeding livestock.

Maggie asks if they’ve thrown in with other groups, and Jesus says their world is about to get a whole lot bigger. Cool! I’m excited to see new people.

Rick and the gang are going with Jesus to Hilltop. Denise gives Daryl an oatcake for the road. Carl wonders what’s up with Rick and Michonne. Rick says he was going to tell him, but it just happened. Carl says it’s cool. Carl is staying behind this time and says he’ll keep an eye on Baby Judith.

Abe asks Glenn something about Bisquick and pancakes. What he’s really asking about is Maggie’s pregnancy. Abe tells Glenn that if he sees rain coming, he wears galoshes. Can’t this guy speak English? Dr. Phil would probably understand him.

Rick sees a crashed RV. It’s some of Jesus’s group. There’s blood everywhere and the crash victims have turned into zombies. At first, Rick thinks Jesus set them up, but Jesus says they don’t have many fighters in their group and whoever else was in the RV is in trouble. Rick says he’ll look for them, but Jesus is staying behind with Maggie, who has orders to shoot him if he gets weird.

Rick and company go into a totally dark building where you can hear zombies lurking about. They tell the live people to hang tight. Abe nearly kills one of them because it’s really hard to tells who’s who in the dark.

Back in the RV, one of the rescued guys introduces himself as Harlan. It turns out he’s an obstetrician, which is good news for Maggie and Glenn. Jesus’s friend Freddy, the guy Abe almost killed, is still freaked out. His wife had been killed and she came back as a zombie.

Uh-oh, the RV is stuck in the mud. Jesus is like, it’s okay, we’re close enough. They get out and see the compound on the hilltop. Apparently, they’re not too original with names.

Jesus tells the lookout to open the gates. The lookout says to drop the weapons, but Jesus tells him the group saved them and he trusts them. He asks Rick to trust his group in return. Lookout guy opens the gates.

Harlan says see you on the flipside and takes Freddy for a look-see. Ha-ha! Jesus says a lot of people came from a FEMA camp. I’ll bet that was scarier than the zombie apocalypse. At the center of the settlement is a Colonial mansion. Jesus says it was a historical site that kids visited on field trips back in the day. It’s some house.

Ha-ha! again. When they go inside, a guy comes out and says “Jesus, you’re back,” a sentence you could take more then one way. His name is Gregory and he says he’s the boss. He suggests Rick and friends tidy up and they’ll meet after.

Abe asks Daryl how long Rick and Michonne have been together (5 minutes?) and if he’s thought of settling down.

Rick sends Maggie to Gregory’s office to negotiate. Gregory says he had visited the place when it was a museum and little did he know one day it would be his. Well, sort of. He thanks her for saving the doctor. She asks how they’ve survived at Hilltop. He says they’re good at it and they don’t sweat the details. They talk about gardens and Maggie brings up a trade. Gregory says he’s happy to help, but he can’t give things away for free. He says they can work there for their share.

Um…I think he’s making a pass at her. Yes he is. Maggie tells him to knock it off. She says hilltop is low on medication and their communities can help each other.

Jesus tells Rick and Daryl that Gregory is going to want the best deal possible. Rick says they need food and they didn’t come all this way not to get it. Jesus says he’ll talk to Gregory. He says right now Hilltop is going well, but tomorrow it could be Alexandria. He asks for a few days.

Some guy comes in and says “they’re back.” A negotiation with Negan has gone wrong with people getting killed and being held hostage. A hostage’s brother (who is wearing a man bun — no, just no) has been returned along with a message from Negan in the form of said brother stabbing Gregory in the stomach. Everything goes nuts, Abe is being strangled, Daryl breaks the guy’s arm, man bun holds a knife to Rick’s throat. Rick turns the tables on him though, slicing man bun’s jugular vein.

Some woman knocks Rick in the head and Michonee knocks her down. Jesus says Negan was their friend, but now he’s nothing except a coward attacking them. Gregory is still just lying there bleeding. Geez. Jesus tells Rick things aren’t as simple as they seem and to give him some time.

The doctor is able to patch Gregory up. Negan is head of a group called The Saviors. They made demands and threats to Hilltop, and beat one of the children to death in front of everyone because Negan wanted them to understand where he was coming from. Gregory isn’t the best at confrontation and agreed to give Negan half of everything in exchange for Hilltop not being slaughtered. Daryl asks how many people Negan has. Jesus says they don’t know, but they’ve seen groups with as many as twenty. Daryl says they can take him out, but he wants an exchange. Jesus says he’ll take it to Gregory.

Rick says Gregory’s people have food, they don’t, and they need to trade their services in exchange. Jesus says Gregory wants to talk to Maggie.

Maggie goes to Gregory’s room where he’s recuperating. She says he’s lucky they were there. She asks if Jesus told him about the deal and says in exchange for supplies, they’ll get rid of Negan and The Saviors. Will work for food. Gregory says Jesus will make the arrangements. He also says it’s fun and exciting because he doesn’t get out much. Maggie says if they continue with Negan, pretty soon they won’t have anything. She wants half of what he has right now or the deal is off.

Gregory tells her she has a deal. He asks if she wants anything else and she says yes. She wants some of the Hilltop people to go with them.

Rick loads the RV with supplies. He asks one of the Hilltoppers (Hilltopites?) to come with them because he needs someone who knows Negan’s layout. Jesus is coming along too, just for the hell of it.

Maggie gets an ultrasound.

The RV leaves the compound. Glenn passes around the sonogram photo.

Next week, Rick decides on a strategy to come for The Saviors before The Saviors come for them.

Feb6

February 5, 2016 — Double the GH & Triple the Quote

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

General Hospital — Thursday

A strange man comes up to Hayden, calling her Rachel. He says it’s been a while, but doesn’t she remember him? It’s Baxter Courtland. (Is he related to Palmer from All My Children?) Nicholas is back and says Baxter must be mistaken; his wife’s name isn’t Rachel.

At the bar, Dillon tells Valerie that when it comes to her and Lulu, he’s Switzerland. He says that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover though and wants a pool game rematch, since she trounced him the last time.

Morgan apologizes for kissing Kiki because he thinks he’s moving too fast. Kiki tells him to lighten up, it was no big deal, they got carried away in a romantic moment.

Jason tells Elizabeth that the doctors don’t anticipate any complications and that Jake is going to be fine. Elizabeth mentions that she knows what goes on behind the scenes. He says there’s no point in focusing on the things that can go wrong. Lucas tells them it looks good so far, but there’s still several hours to go, so they should go home to eat and rest. They say they’re not going anywhere.

Sam hears something and calls out that she’s in the basement. She goes back to sleep though and the cord to the heater is starting to smoke. And I don’t mean it decided to have a Marlboro.

Elizabeth tells Jason he doesn’t have to stay. He says they’re both Jake’s parents and he’s not leaving. She hasn’t eaten since yesterday, so Jason says he’ll go get some food.

Hayden says Baxter must have her confused with someone else. He says Vegas can be disconcerting and congratulates them on getting married. Nicholas wonders who the guy was, but Hayden distracts him with newlywed talk. She says he’s done so much for her, that she wants to do something for him.

Kiki and Morgan go back to Kiki’s place. He says they should go ice skating, but she says she’s a wrecking ball on skates. Me too. I spend more time on my butt than on the skates. She sees a note from Franco telling her he’s out with Nina and not to wait up.

Curtis interrupts Dillon and Valerie’s setting up the pool game. He says it’s his table, unless Valerie wants to play him. She says okay and Dillon goes to get drinks.

While Elizabeth peruses pictures on her phone, Cameron shows up at the hospital.

Curtis asks Valerie if he intimidates her. She breaks and Curtis can already tell she’s a pool shark.

Lulu comes into the bar and Dillon comes up to her. He asks if she wants to go somewhere else and she thinks he’s a nut, but he points out Valerie being there. Lulu says it’s a free world and they can both be there, and promises not to start a bar fight. Maxie comes in next and asks Lulu if she wants to go somewhere else. This is getting to be a habit.

Morgan and Kiki decide to just hang out. He asks if she wants to watch a movie, but she says she’s seen everything on cable. She says they’re home alone and what is there to do? They start to make out. That’s one way to pass the time. I guess Morgan is out of the friend zone.

Hayden wants to make it the most spectacular night Nicholas has ever known. Nicholas says they’ve set a high bar already. Hayden says she’s going to look for a special piece of lingerie to rock his world. I’ll bet she’s really going to hunt down Baxter. Yep.

She sees Baxter and tells him they need to talk.

Jason tells Sam to wake up. I think she’s dreaming unless he went all the way back to Elizabeth’s house to get food.

Kiki wants to take a break. She apologizes for making boundaries and then breaking them. Morgan says it might be a good time to renegotiate the boundaries. Kiki says she’s tempted, but doesn’t want to screw up what they have. Morgan agrees they should take it slow and asks if she wants to play a board game.

Hayden tells Baxter her name isn’t Rachel and they’ve never met. He says, see you around not Rachel. She says not likely and adds not to tell anyone he saw her there.

Dante and Nathan come into the bar, which is not the start of a joke. Curtis says he thinks he’s being hustled. Lulu tells Maxie they’re not going anywhere. Maxie says Valerie should have gone somewhere else. Lulu says they’re all grown-ups and they need to move forward. She says the only way to do that is to apologize to Valerie. Dillon suggests writing a letter, but she says she has to do it right now. She tells Valerie they need to talk.

Cameron gives Elizabeth something the kids at school made for Jake. She says it will be a while, but they can visit eventually. Jason is there, so I guess unless he has a doppelganger, Sam is hallucinating.

Dream Jason tells Sam she needs to get out of the basement. She says she can’t, and he says she can, just come to him.

Back with Nicholas, Hayden comes out in some lingerie he calls elegant. She says she wanted something outrageous, but realized they already did the most outrageous thing already, trusting each other enough to get married.

Morgan and Kiki play Scrabble. He asks if she wants to make it more interesting. He said it’s not what she’s thinking, strip Scrabble, but the loser has to tell the winner their most embarrassing moment. Kiki says it’s not that interesting since he’s been with her for her most embarrassing moments. He tells her he used to sleep with a stuffed rabbit when he was little and will tell her its name if she wins. She uses up her tiles with “exquisitely.” She asks what the bunny’s name was and he says he doesn’t like this game anymore. Hey, inquiring minds want to know now. She says she’ll make it up to thim and kisses him. So much for boundaries.

Maxie asks Nathan why he brought Dante to the bar. Because apparently there are no other watering holes in the world. She tries to get him to leave. He says it’s going to be awkward until it isn’t awkward. Very astute.

Valerie says they have nothing to talk about. Lulu says what she did was terrible and that she was thinking irrationally. She says she let everything get out of hand, and she’s extremely sorry. Valerie says it was brave of her to say and she sounds sincere, but Valerie doesn’t accept the apology. She says she carried a lot of guilt about Dante and told Lulu it was a mistake over and over, but it wasn’t enough. Lulu wanted to push Dante away and point fingers at Valerie. She says Lulu didn’t just almost cost her her job, but she almost lost her life. So family or no, she doesn’t forgive Lulu.

Cameron tells Jason that when Jake came back, he didn’t feel like his brother. Jason says it was hard for everyone to adjust, but Cameron did well. Cameron says he doesn’t feel that way any more, that he feels like Jake is his brother now, but what if he dies? Jason tells him everything will be fine.

Jason tells Sam to run to him and that he’s waiting for her. She manages to stand.
Nicholas and Hayden are honeymooning like nobody’s business. Does he really have all those tattoos?

Morgan says what about boundaries. Kiki says she changed her mind and wants to get down and get funky. I’m starting to think she’s bi-polar.

Maxie still wants to leave, but Dante says they’ll have to get used to it. She says they’re all crazy except Nathan, who is perfect.

Curtis tells Valerie she’s fantastic, being cool in the epicenter of drama. She says he deserves to hear the whole story.

Jason is about to call Sam, and Elizabeth comes back with some candy bars.

Dream Jason tells Sam to run to him. She says she does’t think she can, but does and then he disappears. She sees herself lying on the floor. Huh?

Lulu leaves and Dillon asks if she wants a ride home. She says she wants to be alone. He says he doesn’t think being alone is a good idea and she says she doesn’t want to talk. Dillon says he’ll be quiet on the walk then.

Curtis says that was a great story and I’m glad we didn’t have to sit through the whole thing again. Valerie says she wishes it wasn’t all true. He asks what’s up with her and Dante? She says they’re just friends and now she’s goig to beat Curtis at pool. Curtis says he feels badly that there’s no prize for Valerie to win, but he can take her to dinner. She says why not?

Maxie says Nina wants her to come in early, so she’s going to leave, but Dante gets the hint. He tells them to enjoy themselves and leaves.

Morgan stops the action between him and Kiki and says he can’t.

Nicholas and Harden are finished with the action. She says she loves him and he says, “I love you too, Rachel,” startling the crap out of me. He’s just fooling around and she says that Baxter was freaky. Nicholas calls her Princess Cassidine. Cool! And as much as I don’t like him, I want to marry him.

Baxter is calling someone and says they’ll never guess who he ran into in Vegas. I see he really adhered to “Rachel’s” request.

Jason tells Elizabeth that Jake woke up long enough to tell him that he loves his mom. Elizabeth says he deserves better since she’s in pity party mode. Elizabeth says if the positions were reversed, she could never forgive Sam. Lucas comes out and says there are complications with Jake’s surgery.

Tomorrow, Sam struggles to get up and Kiki calls Morgan an SOB.

In Between

I checked out the second half Bernie Madoff movie, as well as Bernie Madoff: After the Fall. I’m sure both are available On Demand and both are worth watching. The film contained eerily accurate portrayals of the real players in this sad-but-true drama. Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner are exceptional as Bernie and his wife, Ruth, but really, everyone is excellent. The documentary that followed the film is important, as it gives the real life victims their say. It was sad to see how many of the people involved have died since then, both those behind the ponzi scheme and those ruined by their greed.

General Hspital — Friday

Franco and Nina are out at the bar (sigh). Franco says all the drama with Elizabeth and Jake is getting to him. Nina is trying to eat healthy for her impending pregnancy.

Christina sees Molly where else? Molly says she’s owed an explanation after Christina’s hysterical phone call asking her to meet Christina there.

Morgan jumps up and says he has to get to work. Kiki says hold on there a minute. She asks how he can do this and he can’t leave until he tells her the real reason he has to go. Yeah, nobody’s that anxious to get to work.

Nathan tells Elizabeth and Jake there’s a complication with Jake’s surgery.

Real Sam is back down on the floor again and the room is getting pretty smoky.

Nathan says Jake is fine. They found a secondary source of internal bleeding, but they were able to take care of it. Nathan tells them that Jake may need another surgery down the road, but for now he’s fine and in stable condition.

Molly and Christina sit down. Molly says she can tell Christina has more problems than just her grades, but she should consider telling Alexis. She says Alexis would do anything for them and is more understanding than Christina thinks. Christina asks Molly if she brought what Christina asked her to bring. It’s her diary. Molly asks who “P” is?

Morgan says nothing is wrong, he just has to go. Kiki calls him an SOB, and says she thought she could trust him, and now he sees he can get anything from her. Morgan says — ohhh, he keeps saying “it’s not working,” and she thinks he’s talking about their relationship, but he means he’s having ED. Aw, I don’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him. It could be the meds.

Commercial break. I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy, but I wish I did. The ads always look really good, but I’ve never been able to squeeze it in. I did see an episode with Seth Green in it on a diner TV, but it was so depressing, it nearly put me off my Reuben sandwich.

Molly reads an excerpt from the diary. Christina says she can’t believe Molly invaded her privacy. She says it was a disaster and it’s over. Molly asks if that’s why she’s in trouble at school. Christina tells her yes, and Molly says it’s always some guy with her. Guess again.

Kiki wants to talk, but Morgan doesn’t. Kiki asks if it’s something she did and Morgan says no, she’s great. He doesn’t want to talk about it and Kiki says if he wants to make things work (this time meaning their relationship), they have to talk. Kiki says he’s probably putting too much pressure on himself, so they should just take a breather.

Nina wants to get the ball rolling with adopting a baby. She says the process takes a long time anyway. Franco says it’s going to take forever because no adoption agency will consider them.

Elizabeth talks to unconscious Jake, telling him she’s going to be a better mother from now on. Jason tells Sonny and Carly what’s going on. Sonny leaves and Carly and Jason talk about Jake’s surgery. Carly says he’ll be fine because he has Elizabeth and Jason to be strong for him. Jason looks skeptical about that.

Nina asks why. Franco says he wouldn’t make it past the door. Nina says she has good lawyers, but Franco says his misdeeds are well-documented. She says it’s also well-documented that he had a brain tumor. He says her background isn’t stellar, but she says that doesn’t mean she’ll be a bad mother. She says it’s obvious he’s making excuses, so she’ll do it on her own.

Molly says whoever “P” is, he’s got her messed up. She mentions how anxious Christina was to get the diary, when Molly could have mailed it. Christina says she doesn’t have an address and makes something up as to why.

Kiki tries to romance Morgan and he says it’s still not working. She says it happens and he says not to him, which is what men always say in a movie when this happens. He says it’s his meds.

Sonny is in the chapel lighting a candle. Another guy is in there, and starts talking to Sonny about how they’re there praying about things they can’t control.

Elizabeth sees Carly, and Carly tells her Sonny is praying in the chapel. Carly says she and Sonny are there for both of them. Jason is sitting next to Jake when he wakes up. Jake says he’s sorry. He says it was an accident and he didn’t mean to do it. When Jason says what, he says he didn’t mean to hurt her.

The smoke alarm goes off in the basement, but Sam doesn’t move.

Christina tells Molly it’s complicated and that there’s a wife in the background. Molly asks if he’s hot, and Christina talks about things like smoldering looks across the room. Molly says it’s too bad it didn’t work out. When Christina’s surprised she would support this kind of relationship, Molly says it’s easy to because it’s over. She tells Christina she can stay with her.

Dude asks if Sonny has always been in a wheelchair and Sonny says no, it’s new to him. Dude asks if Sonny is getting treatment at the hospital. Sonny says if dude is worried about it, that General Hospital is the best. He says that GH is the beating heart of this town and I almost tear up. Dude says thanks that was helpful. He drops a medal of St. Aloysius, the patron saint of youth and also plagues. Dude talks about the plague of AIDS.

Elizabeth blames herself and Carly tells her not to. Carly tells her she’s a great mother, a fantastic nurse and would sacrifice anything for her kids, and I almost get ill. Elizabeth says she’s got a lot to apologize for. Carly says they have a lifetime and she’s going to throw it in Elizabeth’s face every chance she gets, but not today. Nathan comes to get Elizabeth.

Jason is asking who got hurt, when Jake slips into unconsciousness again.

Sam comes to, but can only sit and look at the smoking outlet.

Nathan tells Jason and Elizabeth to go home and rest. He says Elizabeth would advise her patients the same and he needs them to have energy to deal with what’s to come. He says at least eat something. Jason says he’ll go find something and bring it back. I hope he’s going to Elizabeth’s house to find it.

Franco says Nina can’t adopt on her own because her career takes up so much time. Nina says if he won’t go along with it, she’ll set up a daycare at Crimson. He says oh yeah, for the baby she doesn’t have, and adds that her only chance of adopting is if she ditches him. She says she doesn’t want to do that, but she does want a baby. He asks what changed.

Morgan says the meds are ruining his life. Kiki says this is temporary and talk to the doctor about it. Morgan says why? So the doctor can give him more meds? He tells her it’s not the only side-effect and runs down a list. She says his mental health is important. He asks if he seems healthy. He says that his life has sucked since starting the pills and he just wants to get rid of them.

Nina says she’s always wanted a baby and something reawakened in her. Maybe she has more love to give. She says she thinks parenting is easier when not fighting extradition. Franco says he doesn’t want to do it. Nina says she has faith in the two of them, but she guesses he doesn’t.

Kiki says he’s not ditching his pills. Morgan asks if she likes him this way. She says their relationship is more than that and even if they had sex right now, the best part of the day would be cuddling at the skating rink. She tells him this is temporary. He says ah-ha! she does care about it. Kiki says that sex is a bonus, but she cares about all of him and she would be okay without it. He says he wouldn’t and that he can’t handle this right now and leaves.

Sonny tells Dude, whose name I just looked up on google and it’s Griffin, that he lost someone in 1995, before the medical advances. He tells Griffin he doesn’t want to keep him and Griffin says best of luck and leaves, almost running into Carly who’s coming in. She asks Sonny who that was. He says they didn’t exchange names, but he seemed like a friend.

Lucas recognizes Griffin from med school. He tells Nathan thanks for the heads up on the job opening. He’s going to be the new neurosurgeon.

Jason walks into the bar talking to Alice on his phone. Sam never picked up Danny. He sees Christina and Molly and asks if they’ve seen her. They says they haven’t seen her since yesterday, and it’s not like her not to show up. He asks where they saw her, and they tell him she was on her way to Elizabeth’s.

Sam is choking on the smoke now. She tries to reach the plug.

Kiki leaves Morgan a voicemail that she doesn’t like the way they left things. She wants to talk and she wants a second date.

Morgan’s phone alarm goes off to take his meds. He thows them away.

Nina and Franco come home. Franco asks Kiki how the date went. She says it’s complicated and she has to go. Franco says see what a great surrogate parent he is? He tells Nina since they’ve been together, they’ve either been on the run or had some other problem, and maybe they should take a break before responsible for a tiny human being. He says they’ll know it’s time when they know and should enjoy their alone time. They start to get romantic when her phone rings. Then his phone rings and he says rain-check.

Morgan goes to the bar and tells the bartender to set him up. He sees Christina and Molly. Christina says she thought he wasn’t supposed to drink. He says he thought Christina was supposed to be in school. Molly reminds him of the pact they made New Year’s Eve. Morgan says I won’t tell if you don’t.

Nathan tells Griffin that General Hospital is a great place. Nathan gives him some charts. Sonny’s is at the top.

Jake wakes up yelling that he’s sorry. Ekizabeth asks him for what. He says he told his dad, but he didn’t think Jason believed him. Elizabeth asks him again what he did and Jake says, “I killed her.”

Sam tries to pull the plug out. It sparks and she passes out again. Jason comes in the door, hears the smoke alarm.

Tomorrow, Paul is getting suspicious of Anna, Michael is headed for Puerto Rico since he can’t take a hint and Jason calls out to Sam.

Quotes from The People’s Couch

This is a recipe for disaster. Princella, referring to Stassi moving in with Kristen on Vanderpump Rules.

The person who left the dog alive didn’t think the dog was gonna snitch, but he did. Princella, referring to The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.

The fashion here is almost as big a crime. Emerson, referring to The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.

Jan21

January 20, 2016 — GH & Oscar Gripe Part Two

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Nina tells Franco that the magazine circulation is up, and people are even renewing their subscriptions. She thinks Julian is going to be thrilled. Guess again.

Julian and Nina have an interview with the Financial Times and Nina will pitch her new ideas. Julian is convinced the green issue of Crimson is a fluke. Olivia calls and tells Julian she has an emergency. Apparently so, since she’s handcuffed to a chair in the police station. Baby Leo is with her in a stroller, but it seems he’s not charged with anything, or they couldn’t find a pair of handcuffs that small.

Doc tells Elizabeth that with some time and treatment, Jake should be fine, but he’s worried about her.

Jason and Sam run into each other at the MetroCourt. Everyone not only eats there, but lives there now. Sam says Dr. Sheinberg is going to save the day with his statement.

Andre rings Anna’s doorbell. She tells him it’s not the best time. Robert comes downstairs and Anna realizes Andre is Robert’s contact regarding Carrrlos.

Sabrrrina answers the phone and it’s Felix. He tells her about Michael stopping by and saying he made a mistake in breaking up with her. She gets excited about this. Hmm… Hot, suave and exciting Carrrlos or boring, so-so looking and unsympathetic Michael.

Andre has a connection to the WSB and Anna asks if that’s how he knew so much about her. He says he never read her file, but knew her reputation. Robert is surprised they know one another. Andre says they’ve seen each other around, but Anna confesses he was her therapist.

Julian and Alexis come to the police station. Olivia tells them what happened, but not quite. Alexis asks if she was arrested for breastfeeding in public, but the mayor pops out and says Olivia has been arrested for assaulting her.

Jason says he wishes there was another witness. Sam says they don’t need one.  Jason says he isn’t thinking about his own assault charges, but the break-ins at Elizabeth’s. I guess he thinks there’s a connection there?

Doc asks Elizabeth about the whole wedding debacle, and he says on top of everything, she’s having problems with a stalker, so she’s bound to be seriously stressed. He also says he knows her history.

Nina is doubting herself and Franco says she single-handedly saved the magazine. Nina thinks she was a one hit wonder, and says she’d better come up with some decent ideas before the interview. Franco has to leave, but he tells her she can do it.

Olivia says she didn’t assault anyone. The mayor says she was verbally assaulted. Since when can you be arrested for that? We’d all be in jail. Olivia says she lost her temper a little. The mayor says it wasn’t a little, but Olivia says she’s Italian and it was. The mayor tells an officer to take Olivia to her cell. Alexis says she’s now Olivia’s lawyer and she’s not going anywhere.

Andre has created a profile for Carrrlos, and says it will help determine what he would do. He says Carrrlos is also traveling with Sabrrrina and his child, so he’s going to become increasingly desperate.

Carrrlos walks in while Sabrrrina is talking to Felix, so she gets off the phone. Carrrlos says talking to Felix is a bad idea.

Jason tells Sam about the break-in. She asks if he talked to Jake, and Jason says he’s a mixed up kid and said that she did it.

Doc tells Elizabeth that her level of stress could send her into another breakdown. He says high levels of stress often precipitate conditions someone has already. He tells her if she’s feeling overly stressed, to call for help. She says she will, but IMO that’s highly doubtful.

Jason says Jake is just confused and angry at the situation, and there’s no way to really explain things to him. He says Jake is seeing a therapist today, but he wishes he could figure out what’s going on. Sam says it sounds like a personal issue. Jason wonders who might have a vendetta against him. Oh come on. I know he remembers very little of his past, but does he really need to ask this question?

Elizabeth gives Jake some coloring stuff, and talks to the therapist. She says they have more trust building to do, and all he wanted to talk about was his father. She recommends art therapy in conjunction with talk therapy. Franco sees Jake coloring and asks how it’s going.

Sabrrrina says Felix called her, but Carrrlos says anytime the phone is used, it’s a risk. Sabrrrina says she’s having a hard time getting used to life on the run. She also tells him Anna is looking for her.

Andre and Anna discuss various particulars of Sabrrrina’s and Carrrlos’s personalities. Andre says Carrrlos will want to be in a place with adequate medical care, since Sabrrrina is close to her due date . Anna adds that at this point, Sabrrrina can’t fly.

Brady from the Financial Times comes to Nina’s office. She tells him Julian is tied up and they should reschedule. Brady says they don’t have to because Nina is the brains behind the operation. Nina wants Maxie in on the meeting, but Brady says he wants to know how she came up with the green issue and what she’s doing for an encore. While I don’t pretend to know anything about magazine publication, but I don’t think you’d be giving away future ideas in an interview.

Alexis asks the mayor what the subject was of the verbal assault. The mayor says it doesn’t matter because she’s extremely clueless. Alexis sets the scene and says the mayor did exactly what she’s accusing Olivia of and when Olivia tried to remove herself from the situation, she jostled the table. She tells the mayor that breastfeeding is legal and she’s the one who should have been arrested for harassing Olivia. She says if it goes to court, she’ll make sure this comes out.

Julian suggests that there must be a way to work things out. He says he doesn’t want a scandal that will bury the mayor. Leo starts whining and Olivia wants to feed him. The officer asks where the bottle is, and Olivia says in her bra and that if she was feeding him with a bottle, they wouldn’t be here in the first place. Alexis helps her finagle the baby, since she’s still handcuffed.

Nina tells Brady about her vision of the green issue. She says she wants the next issue to reflect the readership that made the green issue a success. Brady asks about the readers and Nina makes something up after looking at a soda ad, using words like “effervescent.” Brady says he knows exactly what she’s up to.

Sam brings up Franco and tells Jason about how Franco had a brain tumor removed and changed his life around. She says she still thinks he’s dangerous, but wouldn’t jeopardize his new life to get back at Jason.

Elizabeth balks at Jake having therapy with Franco. Both Doc and the therapist say Franco gets results and they would never put Jake in danger.

Andre, Anna and Robert come to the conclusion that Sabrrrina and Carrrlos are in Canada.

Sabrrrina says Anna was under the impression that Carrrlos was still alive. Carrrlos says she has no reason to, and they have to get used to their new life. If I was with Carrrlos, I’d get used to it really quick. He says he’s going to make sure Sabrrrina and the baby have everything they need, and doesn’t know what she sees in Port Charles anyway. Well, it does have the MetroCourt, all things to all people. He says she has to say good-by to everyone she knew there. I assume he means figuratively.

Brady says he knows Nina is going to reflect the glamour of real women, and gives her a whole bunch of new ideas. Nina says he’s read her mind. He thanks her for the interview and wishes her luck with the next issue.

The mayor says she doesn’t see any press at the station. Julian says since he publishes the paper, he’s going to tell the real story and it will be political suicide. The mayor asks if he’s threatening her. He says he actually voted for her and wouldn’t want to see her career go down the tubes. Did this mayor just drop in out of the sky? She should lose her position just for sheer stupidity.

Anna thinks Carrrlos would head for Toronto. Andre says Carrrlos would want to go somewhere more isolated, like Halifax.

Sabrrrina tells Carrrlos he’s right and throws her phone into the wilderness. Carrrlos says from now on it’s just the two of them and Sabrrrina says baby makes three. She says she’s curious as to how he’ll be as a father. He says they’ll find out soon.

Sam says Jason should hire an investigator. Jason asks if she’s volunteering. They decide to check out Elizabeth’s house.

Julian calls Nina and she says they did the interview without him. He tells her the short version of what happened with Olivia and says he’ll talk to her later. A light bulb comes on over Nina’s head.

Elizabeth asks Doc friend to friend if he thinks the art therapy is a good idea. Doc says he absolutely does. Elizabeth goes to get Jake, and Jake gives Franco the drawings he’s finished. They leave and Franco looks at the drawings.

The mayor gets a clue and says let’s pretend this never happened. Olivia, Leo and Julian leave. Alexis tells the mayor that she doesn’t think pretending is a good idea and she and Olivia are filing suit.

Andre is certain about Halifax and Anna says that’s where they’re going to go.

Franco shows Doc Jake’s pictures. He says he used to make drawing s like that as a kid and they’re not necessarily a good thing.

Jason and Sam are at Sam’s house and Jason goes through what happened the night of the break-in. He says the police didn’t find any unknown fingerprints and there was no evidence of forced entry. While they’re talking, Elizabeth and Jake come in. Ha-ha! Elizabeth’s face!

Tomorrow, Carly asks Ava for a favor, and Sam asks Elizabeth if she’s afraid of what Sam will find. She should be, since I’m certain it’s either her, Jake or both “breaking in” to their own home.

The Academy Awards – Controversy Part Two

Part one was the usual yearly gripe about who got “snubbed.” Like I said, there are tons of superb performances that don’t get recognized at all, so be grateful people are talking about you at all. Especially for what you get paid.

Part two involves Jada Pinkett Smith suggesting that African Americans boycott the Oscars because her husband didn’t get nominated for one because of the lack of diversity. While I can applaud the cause, I can’t applaud this as a means to achieve the goal.

I’m with Whoopi Goldberg in that this is a concern during other times of the year, not just prior to the Oscars, and with Wendy Williams, who found the timing somewhat suspicious. One wonders had Will Smith been nominated, would a boycott have been suggested. Highly doubtful. But most of all, I’m with Janet Huber. Although I’m pretty sure Aunt Viv still has an ax to grind from her Fresh Prince days, she’s right, “it ain’t that deep.” There are plenty of areas to focus on rather than something as shallow as the film industry.

Most of all, I feel sorry for Chris Rock, who has found himself in the middle of this stupidity. This innocent bystander is being shot from all sides, and he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. I hope he follows his own heart and mind, but I also hope he doesn’t bow out as host.

I also hope this woman is proud of herself. She did little to help any actual issues, but a lot to hurt the very people she claims to want to support. Wait. Maybe she should run for office.

I’m a quarter Native American and have always been proud of my heritage. If anyone has cause to gripe, it’s us, having been misrepresented both in story and with casting in film. While that has changed somewhat over the years, I’ve never felt bitter. As a matter-of-fact, I still think, as I did when I was a child, that Tom Nardini was the hottest “Indian” ever in Cat Ballou. When I was ten, I had no idea his last name was Italian. All I knew was that he was cute and funny.

It ain’t that deep.

Jan15

January 14, 2016 — Crimson Success & Oscar Snubs

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Nina keeps bugging Julian on his cell phone. He thinks the magazine is going to tank, but I think he has another think coming. Especially since everyone is walking around the MetroCourt with a copy and he’s like, wha…?

Robert and Mac are having drinks. Mac asks Robert to stick around for a while. Robert is hesitant.

Jordan and Anna check out Sabrrrina’s place. They don’t see anything disturbed. Anna thinks maybe Sabrrrina booked with Carrrlos. Now this makes total sense why she didn’t take a bag. The doorknob starts jiggling, and they draw their guns. Um…Felix lives there too, yo.

Maxie tells Nathan he’s right, that Johnny contacted her and she saw him.

Dante calls Olivia and tells her Rocco is sick, so he won’t be visiting.

Johnny gets into Valerie’s car. She tells him he can pay her back for the ride by helping her go through her exam questions. He texts his “friends” to tell them he’ll be late, but he’s really texting Lulu to say Operation V is a go and Valerie will be out of Lulu’s life tomorrow.

Michael comes into Sabrrrina’s apartment and he’s like, whoa, don’t shoot. Anna and Jordan explain why they’re there. Anna says Sabrrrina told her about the baby. Michael says he came there earlier to tell her he made a mistake, but she’s gone.

Robert says he has too much responsibility to the WSB to stay put, and now that Robin is gone, he has no ties to Port Charles. Mac says he should make it his home turf. He says Robert still has ties there, Anna being one. Robert scoffs at that, saying Anna would like to see him gone, but Mac says he’s not so sure about that.

Julian tells Alexis it looks like the magazine is going to make money. Told ya.

Nathan brings Dante into the conversation with Maxie. She says Johnny showed up at the apartment. Dante asks if Lulu was there and she says no, and she got rid of Johnny immediately.

Olivia shows up at Maxie’s where Lulu is staying. Olivia says Dante told her Rocco was sick and Lulu asks if she was checking to see if it’s the truth. Olivia says only a little bit. They talk about Valerie. Olivia tells Lulu about their conversation. She says Valerie isn’t the only one who’s made mistakes and maybe it’s time to stop putting all the blame there and start working on her and Dante.

Johnny gives Valerie directions to the restaurant he’s supposed to meet his friends at. Valerie says she loves to cook and Johnny gives her a million compliments. Her police scanner says something about a heist at a liquor store. Johnny says he thought she was just a cadet, and Valerie says she likes being prepared.

Maxie says she didn’t help Johnny or tell him anything. Dante asks if he knew Lulu was living there, and Maxie says she didn’t tell him. Nathan asks if Lulu would have said something if she’d seen him, since she was just there.

Valerie says she likes to keep up to speed with what’s going on and tells Johnny she’s totally focused on her career. She also tells him a little about the fling with Dante without naming names.

Lulu says she thought Olivia was on her side. She says everything was fine until Valerie came along. Olivia says Valerie just wanted to know her family. Lulu says Valerie skipped all the family members and just went straight for Dante and also became a police cadet to be close to him. Olivia says it’s Dante’s fault too and adds that Lulu shouldn’t have lied about being with Dillon. She says Valerie took advantage, but if there was nothing wrong to begin with, it wouldn’t have happened.

Michael says he checked with Sabrrrina’s family in Puerto Rico, but no one has heard from her. He says he came back to shake Felix down some more. With soap opera timing, Felix walks in. Jordan and Anna tell him why they came over. Felix says he knows where Sabrrrina is.

Anna says she isn’t in any trouble, but she wants to talk to Sabrrrina. Felix says that she’s at a cousin’s house in Puerto Rico. Anna says that might just be a cover story.

Mac tells Robert the world needs heroes who will drop everything at a moment’s notice to fight the bad guys, but that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. He says dads are heroes too. Robert asks if Mac wants him to stay as punishment for being a deadbeat dad. Mac tells him he’s being thick, and that there are other people who need him. He says Anna is struggling right now and needs his help.

Julian says that if the IRS sees that his legitimate business is making money, they’ll look closer at him. He says the government was never able to nail him for other reasons, and he might go the way of Al Capone.

Lulu tells Olivia she’s wrong. Olivia says if Valerie was gone, it wouldn’t make everything all right again. Lulu says it would give them a chance, especially since Valerie is related to half the town, which puts Lulu at a disadvantage. Olivia says their problems are bigger than just Valerie, and she and Dante need to sit down and talk. She says if Lulu could take the focus off of Valerie, they could work on the real problems.

Maxie says that Johnny told her he just needed a breather from running. Nathan and Dante seem to believe her, but they need an official statement. They also want to put out an APB on Johnny.

Valerie asks if Johnny is single. He says he’s flying solo, and she asks if their chance meetings were really coincidental. He says yes, and that after she drops him off, she’ll probably never see him again because Port Charles isn’t for him. With more soap opera timing, the scanner says the police are looking for Johnny.

Alexis says that as Julian’s attorney, she’s not going to let anyone put him away. He says he thought putting Nina in charge of Crimson would give him a huge write off, but she seems to be making it work. Alexis says it’s probably a fluke.

The scanner describes Johnny, who sounds like – yep, Valerie said it – half the population of Port Charles. She asks if Johnny is really leaving town. He says he’s also involved with someone who’s emotionally unavailable.

Maxie calls Lulu and tells her what happened. She says she didn’t tell them anything about Lulu’s involvement and that she told them Johnny showed up at her apartment when Lulu wasn’t there. She says she’s sorry, but Lulu tells her she’s not mad. There’s a knock at the door. Lulu thinks it must be Dante and Maxie asks her to please tell Dante the truth.

Sure enough, it’s Dante at the door. Lulu asks if he’s there to check out if Rocco is really sick. He tells her Johnny is back in town.

Jordan gets off the phone and tells Felix that Sabrrrina’s family hasn’t heard from her. Felix says if she’s not with her family, where is she? Michael says she shouldn’t be alone so close to her due date.

Mac tells Robert about the Carrrlos situation and how Paul is trying to manipulate Anna. Robert asks how much danger Mac thinks she’s in. Mac says as long as it stays as it is, not much, but he’s concerned that Anna isn’t thinking clearly.

Olivia brings a bottle of champagne to Julian and Alexis’s table at the MetroCourt. She says she wants to congratulate them properly. She says she appreciates that Alexis being gracious about her being part of the family and she wants to throw them an engagement party.

Johnny goes through the exam questions with Valerie. She asks where the restaurant is, since this seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. He says it’s not too much further and that it’s off the beaten path.

Dante asks Lulu if she’s seen or heard from Johnny, and to please tell the truth. Lulu asks if she should tell him the truth the way he told her the truth? Oh, snap! He says Johnny is a murderer, and Lulu counters with Johnny would never hurt her. Dante asks her to think about it and if she comes up with anything to let him know.

Mac has to leave. Robert is staying for another drink. Mac asks him to think about staying. And leaves him with the check.

Julian thanks Olivia. When Alexis says thanks, Olivia says she’s the only person who can make a thank you sound like a dismissal. Apparently she never met Helena. Olivia flounces off.

Anna sees Robert at the bar. She tells him she needs someone with international connections and says he should stick around. Robert says he’s all hers.

Michael tells Felix he should have realized that Sabrrrina was just scared and now it’s too late. Felix says not to worry, that Anna and Jordan will handle it.

Maxie tells Nathan she’s done giving her statement. Nathan says he appreciates her telling him the truth.

Dante says he doesn’t like that Lulu is there alone with Rocco, especially since Johnny stopped by. She says she appreciates that, but he shouldn’t worry and she’ll let him know if anything happens. After he leaves, Lulu texts Johnny to call off the plans and tells him to leave town immediately. Johnny tells Valerie to drop him off and he’ll walk the rest of the way. They wish each other good luck. Johnny says maybe they’ll run into each other sometime.

He gets out of the car, but suddenly appears at the driver’s side. He yanks open the door, telling Valerie she’s made a huge mistake. Then he howls at the moon.

Tomorrow, Tracy is the voice of doom, Johnny has Valerie all tied up (literally) and Sam tells someone they’re her only hope. Is it Obi Wan Kenobi?

Oscar Thoughts

I just heard there’s some big backlash over the Oscar nominations. Believe it or not, I rarely pay attention to the Academy Awards. I used to watch them every year, but now I rarely do. In 1985, both Bill Hickey (Prizzi’s Honor) and Bill Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman) were up for awards. I’d known Bill Hickey as a teacher for many years and had worked at a theatre where Bill Hurt was appearing in a play and was acquainted with him.

Bill Hickey lost out to Don Ameche in Cocoon, but Bill Hurt won. It was all downhill for me from there. I’m not likely to have even seen all the films nominated, much less know anyone in them. Face it; it’s like a wedding shower. It’s not that exciting if it’s not you. And that’s the closest I’ll ever get to it being me. Or to it actually being exciting.

BTW, Bill Hickey said he wasn’t going to the awards ceremony unless he could bring his dog. I didn’t see the dog in the audience, so I guess Bill relented. I’ll bet he wasn’t wearing socks though.

Anyway, the newspeople were saying something about Oscar snubs and I thought,  there are probably hundreds of performances that will never see the Oscar light of day and are a million times better than any of the nominations. So to those who were “snubbed,” just be grateful you made a movie that people saw.

** Important information: The People’s Couch begins this Friday, January 15 at 10 pm.

Jan8

January 8, 2016 — GH Wraps Up the New Year & 8 Who Are Hateful

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

While I don’t normally discuss movies here, I saw The Hateful Eight yesterday. If you love Quentin Tarantino films, you’ll love this one too. The casting is superb, the script and acting are great, and the cinematography is top-notch, although I didn’t see the special 70mm showing. Kurt Russell is bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth, taking his prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to Red Rock to hang. While en route, he meets Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson, whose turn it is to shine here) along with some other characters. They all end up being stranded at the remote Minnie’s Haberdashery during a blizzard, where much of the action takes place in one room. As with all of Tarantino’s efforts, this is a wonderful ensemble piece. This time, it’s also a bit of a mystery, figuring out which character is the bad guy – or is it all of them?

Since not much went on TV-wise this week, here’s some GH recaps and I’ll see you on Sunday.

General Hospital — Wednesday

Jason shows up at Sam’s apartment. She asks if he was looking for her, and he says he was looking for a place to live, but when he realized it was her place, he figured he’d say hello.

Jake is with Elizabeth at the hospital. She tells him not to talk to “that guy,” meaning Franco. Franco is on the phone with Nina, who is celebrating at Crimson. She says she can’t wait to see Julian’s face when he sees that they’ve saved the magazine. I can’t wait to see his face when he realizes he has no tax write off.

Alexis tells Julian that Sam should stay with them. Julian says one thing he’s learned from his own kids is to not give them help they haven’t asked for. Hear, hear.

Jordan makes plans to meet someone at Kelly’s. She’s there with Anna. Anna asks her if she has a date. Jordan says it’s a second date. Anna asks with whom, and she says she’s calling him “no expectations” for now. They talk about Robin, and Anna says she should have been savvier and realized Robin really needed her.

Patrick and Robin have taken Emma out of school early. She asks if she’s in trouble, and they tell her no, but they have some exciting news. They’re moving to California.

Franco asks Jake if he’d like to color. Jake says that his mom told him not to talk to Franco. A police officer approaches Elizabeth and wants to talk to her in private. Franco sits with Jake and tells him not to let any of the other patients see him using the good crayons.

Sam tells Jason that technically, it’s his apartment, and she wasn’t trying to sell it out from underneath him. He asks if there have been any good offers and Sam tells him about Paul (although she doesn’t know it was Paul who made the offer). Jason asks her to show him around.

Emma is worried about moving and Robin says it will be an adventure. Emma says she’ll miss her friends. Robin says she will too, but their friends will only be a plane ride away. That’s right, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump from New York to California. And so affordable.

Dr. Andre comes into Kelly’s and talks to Anna. He says he hasn’t seen her on his schedule. She says she might have something to report about Carrrlos soon, but since they keep running into each other, she’ll let him know when it happens. She starts to introduce him to Jordan, but she doesn’t have to, since he’s Jordan’s date.

The new magazines come in. Dillon opens the box and says, “Oh no!” Maxie looks in the box and makes a shocked face.

Olivia comes by Julian and Alexis’s place with a gift. It’s a portrait of Olivia, Leo & Julian. Not too awkward. Alexis is not looking too thrilled and understandably so. There’s some discussion of where to put it, but Julian gets a phone call and has to leave.

Dillon is on the phone saying it’s not an artistic choice, but a huge mistake. All the magazines have green dripping down every page. Dillon says the printer said that’s what they received and the file must have been corrupted. Nina wants them to reprint a million copies, but there’s no money for that. Nina says they’ll have to ask Julian to increase the budget.

Robin calls Anna and asks her to come over.

The cop tells Elizabeth they could have someone come by and check on them later, but she and “her husband” have nothing to worry about. I’m guessing they had nothing to worry about to begin with and not surprised that Elizabeth doesn’t correct the officer about her “husband.”

Sam trips and Jason catches her. This seems to be an ongoing thing. He gathers her into his arms and they look at each other longingly. It actually looks more awkward than that though. It’s like he almost lost his grip on her for a second and they had to regroup the shot.

Alexis says Julian won’t be back for a while and he needs to weigh in on where they put the portrait. Olivia says she gets the message, so she’ll take her picture and go. Alexis says no, she loves the picture and to leave it. When Alexis puts her hand on the frame, Olivia notices her engagement ring.

Julian gets to the office and says there’s nothing they can do about the magazine. They’ll have to just eat it. How much you want to bet that it will be a sensation as is?

Franco is having a good time with Jake, because Roger Howarth is great with kids. Elizabeth interrupts because she ruins every good time.

Sam says the falling and catching thing happened with them a lot. Jason says he might not remember the first time, but he’ll remember this one. Jason tells her about meeting Robin and that he recognized her almost immediately. Sam says maybe it’s from pictures, but Jake says he remembered her when he’d broken in to kill Sam. He says that’s what stopped him. Sam suggests Robin is his guardian angel. He says Robin made him rethink how he feels about his past, and that she told him she had faith in his future. Jason says after she left, he could see her on the bridge from long ago, saying the same thing to him.

He adds that he’s had a memory about Sam.

Anna arrives at Robin and Patrick’s place. Robin tells her about talking to Obrecht. She says the job is less appealing because of the salary cut. Anna says she can get a job elsewhere. Robin says she already has, but it’s in Berkley. She tells Anna they’re moving to California.

Jordan and Andre make maybe not small, but medium talk. They talk about their exes. Jordan says she’s a little rusty with the dating scene. They complement each other on their New Year’s Eve dance moves.

Robin says she practically grew up in the hospital and it’s hard for her to be objective there. Berkley will give her a fresh start and she’ll be going there as an adult. She says it’s a good way to start over and get away from the drama of the past few years. She says she and Emma will be able to do all the things she’s been dreaming about.

Sam asks if Jason wants to tell her about his memory of her. He tells her about the necklace she was wearing when they ran into each other in the park. He says he thinks he remembers putting it on her, but isn’t sure if it’s a real memory. Sam says it is. He says that makes two memories in a week. Sam says that’s good, but Jason says he doesn’t want to lose who he is now. Sam says he’s not that much different – honest, loyal and stubborn. She says he’s also a good cook, but no pressure. Sam says she wants him to be whole, whatever that means to him.

Franco tries talking to Elizabeth, but she’s not having any. He says he thought they’d had a breakthrough at the gala and he’d like them to be friends.

Alexis confirms her and Julian’s engagement. Olivia says she’s happy for them, but weirded out because Julian didn’t tell her. When has he had time?

Julian says one missed issue isn’t going to make or break him, and he’ll write it off. He tells them better luck next time. He leaves and Maxie says the end of Crimson means the end of her career in fashion. Dillon says Julian said there would be a next time. Maxie says the next time they see Julian, it will be when he fires them. Nina is like, hold on a minute, we’re going to be a success with green Crimson. What did I say? I ain’t been watching this 50 years for nothin’.

Maxie is aghast that Nina would want to put it on the newsstand. Nina says they will look innovative, calling attention to an overharvested and overpopulated world. Maxie is like, this will never work. She surprises me. I would have expected more creative thinking from her, and the green thing makes total sense.

Alexis says she and Julian just wanted a little privacy for a while. Olivia says since she’s the mother of Julian’s child, he should have told her. She says that Julian had said that she would always be a part of the family. So I guess that means he should sit around alone for the rest of his life?

Jason says that Sam should keep the apartment. She says it’s the one place she calls home. Jason asks if she’d like to go for coffee.

Elizabeth says that she and Franco aren’t friends now and they never will be. Franco quotes Star Wars because he’s such a nut. He says he’s sorry about kidnapping Jake, but that was another life and he’d never inflict harm on another person again. (Okay, at least now I’m up to speed. I missed all of that during a time period when I wasn’t watching.) She says they still have nothing in common. He says more than she thinks, and if she ever needs a friend, he’s there.

Anna says Robin is a grown woman and has to do what’s right for her family. Robin says Anna is her family too, and she knows Anna misses Duke. Anna says it’s part of life, and you eventually get to a point where you cherish the memories instead of just grieving. Robin says she doesn’t want to leave Anna alone. Anna says she’s not alone, she’ll be fine, and Robin needs to be the woman Anna knows she can be. Robin asks her to come with them.

Maxie says once they go through with the plan, it’s like pushing a nuclear button. Dillon and Nina are like, come on, roll with it, and she says she’s in.

Alexis says Olivia will always be part of the family, and she would never interfere with that. Julian comes in and says he likes the portrait above the fireplace. Olivia says congratulations and enjoy the engagement, and leaves. First of all, she really has no business being annoyed, and secondly, over the fireplace? Really? When you’re marrying someone else?

Franco looks at Jake’s drawings which are very dark, both in color and subject matter.

Jordan and Andre both say that lunch was fun, but not long enough. They agree to a third date and kiss. Dammit! I wanted him with Anna.

Robin tells Anna to think about it. Anna says there’s nothing she would love more than to live near them, but she has work in Port Charles to do now. Robin says there won’t always be work and Anna says of course, and she’ll think about relocating when it’s done, but in the meantime, she’ll visit.

Patrick says they have temporary housing set up and they’re leaving tomorrow. Anna says they can’t. She wants to throw them a going-away party, and there’s also the wedding. (Another light bulb for me. I guess they’d gotten a divorce at some point.) Patrick says they can do that in California, but Emma says no way, not as long as she’s Emma Scorpio Drake.

Tomorrow, it looks like we’re having a wedding.

General Hospital – Thursday

Robin, Emma and Anna are getting ready for the wedding. That was fast. Maxie comes in asking if her assistant wedding planner, meaning Emma, is ready to roll. Sonny is the next to arrive.

Laura sees Tracy at The MetroCourt. She wants to find Luke and asks Tracy if she has any information. Tracy says she has nothing. Laura says it’s nothing important, but she wants him to know Helena Cassadine has been vanquished.

Hayden tells Nicholas he was just served by Michael.

Elizabeth arrives and says she thought it was a going away party, and Emma tells her it’s a wedding too, and that it’s forever this time for her mommy and daddy. The doorbell rings and Elizabeth answers. It’s Jason.

Nicholas says Michael and Alexis are issuing a declaration of war, and that it includes a petition to freeze all of ELQ’s assets. Nicholas says everything hinges on Jason. He has 9% voting stock, which has been under Nicholas’s control. Hayden says that now that Nicholas is being released, the police are going to want a statement.

Tracy wonders if Luke would feel relief or regret. Laura says she knows talking about Luke isn’t Tracy’s favorite subject, but Tracy says she holds no ill will toward him. She says she has fondness for their time together. Laura says it sounds like Tracy has moved on. She says she noticed the chemistry between Tracy and Paul at the gala. Tracy says Paul is a smarmy opportunist who will never darken her door again. Alrighty then.

Elizabeth tells Jason she didn’t realize he would be there. Jason tells Sonny he didn’t realize it was a big event, and wants to leave, but Sonny says he should stay for Robin’s sake. Maxie comes running out to tell Robin she’s ruined everything. She forgot someone to marry them. Mac says he can do it. Maxie says he’s not a minister, but he says he went online in the morning and before his toast was done, he was ordained. That’s actually a little scary.

Robin tells Jason it’s important for him to be there, even though he keeps trying to get out of it. She says it’s the future he imagined for her on the bridge and she wants him to see it. Mac asks if Patrick and Robin are ready to get married.

Tracy says her recent involvement with Paul was a lapse in judgment. Laura says maybe she should follow Luke’s lead and take some time to be with herself and figure out why she keeps trusting people she shouldn’t. Laura says she understands how it is when someone you love disappoints you. Tracy says maybe she’ll take Laura up on her advice. Eat, pray, spend lots of money, I say.

Hayden says she’ll be glad to have Nicholas back home. She says it’s been lonely wandering around Windermere without him, and Spencer has a kick-ass welcome home party planned. Hayden’s phone rings and it’s Tracy. Tracy tells her to make an excuse and get over to the MetroCourt. Hayden tells Nicholas she has some ELQ business to deal with, but she’ll be back soon.

Emma is the flower girl and the only one wearing white. Song part as she, Anna and Robert, and Robin enter.  Zzzzzzz….  Carly comes in with a box. It’s probably not a bomb, but I can hope.

Laura visits Nicholas at the hospital. She says she can’t fathom how he’s involved with Hayden after he tried to have her killed. Laura says the lies and secrets he’s keeping are eating at his soul, and asks him to tell her this will be the end of it. Like I’d even believe him if he did.

Patrick says a bunch of mushy stuff about second and third chances and how much he loves Robin. Elizabeth makes stupid faces at Jason. Robin’s turn for mushy stuff.

Commercial break. I went out today, so I’m watching this online and it’s actually less painful because the breaks are only about 30 seconds.

Robin talks about how her memories started to slip away and now she’s here and how happy she is. Instead of regular vows, they decide to recite them to Emma. This is actually a very cool idea, since this poor kid has been through the ringer and needs some feeling of security. Lots of mushy kid stuff. This is a little sad too, since Kimberly McCullough just had a miscarriage.

Mac gets the rings from Felicia, who snuck in at some point. Patrick and Robin exchange rings in the standard way and Mac says by the power vested in him by the internet, he pronounces them man and wife. They kiss.

Carly says since they’ve had bad luck with wedding cakes at Kelly’s, she brought a going away cake.

Laura tells Nicholas he’s been given a second chance to live and not to blow it. She says he should move forward to being the man she knows he can be. He says he’s not giving up ELQ, and she says she’s not getting involved in that, but it’s time for a fresh start without Hayden.

Tracy meets with Hayden, who tells her that Nicholas got the lawsuit from Michael. Tracy wants to know what Hayden is doing and why it’s taking so long.

Robin thanks Carly for her help. Carly says she owes Robin big time and reminds her of a day when she gave Robin a hard time about leaving Patrick. She says Robin told her that if she knew what Robin was really doing, she would thank her. Carly says Robin saved Jason’s life and she’s grateful. Robin says Carly is good for both Jason and Sonny, and that she never gave Carly enough credit.

Jason congratulates Robin and she thanks him for staying. He tells her that he had a memory about her. He says he doesn’t know much about his past, but he knows she’s important to him. Robin says even if he doesn’t get his memories back, he’ll figure out who he is.  Lots of milling around and congratulations.

Patrick tells Sonny he wishes he could be there when Sonny walks again. Sonny says he’s glad he and Robin are back together and it means a lot to him.

Robin tells Elizabeth she’s made mistakes but it doesn’t mean her dreams can’t come true. She says she knows how much she loves Jason, but life has happiness in store for her no matter what.

Hayden tells Tracy that Nicholas isn’t the most trusting soul and she has to romance him to gain his trust.

Laura reminds Nicholas that Hayden was originally hired by Ric to pretend to be Jason’s wife. She says maybe Hayden has real feelings for him, but maybe it’s just an act, and she doesn’t want him to get his heart broken.

Everyone says their good-bys. Geez, Felicia only had half a line in this episode. She’s turned into an “under five.” Bye, Felicia. Literally.

Anna gives Emma a plane ticket so she can come visit. Elizabeth is dragging her feet leaving

Carly and Sonny tell Jason if he needs anything, to call them. Jason’s phone rings. It’s Nicholas, who asks him to come to the hospital to discuss something.

Elizabeth lies down on the couch and hears a noise outside.

Jason comes to the hospital. He tells Nicholas he figured the next time they saw each other, it would be in a courtroom. Nicholas says he thinks they can fix it so that won’t be necessary.

Tracy says she knows Hayden needs the job with her. She says she thinks she’s the only friend that Hayden has and she knows exactly who Hayden is.

Robin says her good-bys to Sonny and Carly. She tells Sonny he’s made tremendous progress and she knows he’ll continue to improve.

While the bags are being put into the car, Robin says good-by to Anna. She thanks Anna, and Anna says she loves Robin and would do anything for her, and she’s sure it will be the same with Robin and Emma.

Robert tells Robin he loves her and will always be there for her. Anna tells Patrick that she’s grateful he and Robin are back together. She wishes them luck in California. Robin and Patrick flashbacks. I forgot that I was ever they were so young.

Emma breaks into Robin’s reverie. It’s time to go. Patrick asks if they’re ready for a new adventure, and he, Emma and Robin link arms.

Tomorrow, Valerie is in trouble and Nicholas tries to strike a deal with Jason.

General Hospital – Friday

Johnny shows up at the Haunted Star. Lulu asks where he’s been.

Dante interrupts Maxie and Dillon while they’re working on the magazine. Dante says he needs to talk to Dillon immediately about what he and Lulu were up to on New Year’s Eve.

Elizabeth is startled by someone outside. Boo! It’s Laura bringing Jake home.

Tracy says that Hayden has been lying to everyone she knows.

Nicholas tells Jason that they can make an “official arrangement” and he’ll drop the charges.

Dante asks to talk to Dillon outside. Even though Maxie thinks it’s a bad idea, Dillon complies. Dante goes on and on about Dillon and Lulu sleeping together New Year’s Eve and that Dillon had better not hurt Lulu. Maxie comes out after Dante leaves and asks what on earth Dante is talking about.

Johnny gives Lulu flowers. I’d run off with him if I was her. Johnny says it was all he could do not to bust out of the closet and give Dante what for, and that Dante had no business acting like he did nothing wrong and assuming Lulu did.

Nicholas tells Jason about the suit Michael filed. Nicholas says that the case will be caught up in the courts forever, lots of money will be spent, and ELQ will suffer. He tells Jason if he doesn’t participate in the lawsuit, and leaves Nicholas in charge of ELQ, it will color what Nicholas says to the police. Don’t do it, Jason.

Hayden says Tracy has nothing on her. Tracy says she has nothing on Hayden Barnes, but she has something on the person Hayden was before. Tracy shows her something on her cell phone.

Laura says she’s there to drop Jake off. Elizabeth tells him to go upstairs to play and she’ll be up later. Elizabeth tells Laura that Jake has been affected by the change in her relationship with Jason. She says it’s only a matter of time until Jason is with Sam.  Jake listens on the stairs and Elizabeth tells him to beat it. Laura says she thinks Jake could benefit from talking to a psychiatrist. Elizabeth says not everything is in his head, that he saw someone outside on New Year’s Eve.

Hayden tries to take the phone and Tracy snatches it back. Tracy says Hayden has a real trail of scandal. She says it was obvious that Hayden was no garden variety con artist, and she happened up “certain information” to corroborate that. Hayden says Tracy needs her to get ELQ from Nicholas. Funny, Tracy says, since everything leads back to Nicholas.

Nicholas tells Jason that since Hayden was hysterical, it’s up to him what the police believe. Jason says he side-stepped Nicholas, who had started the fight, and that’s how he ended up falling. Nicholas asks who Jason thinks the police are going to believe? Jason doesn’t take the bait. Nicholas says he best reconsider before someone else he loves gets hurt.

Maxie says she was in a car crash once and the slow-motion feeling is the same way she’s felt since Dillon let fly with the DVD about Dante’s cheating. She says that Dante and Lulu aren’t used to screwing up, so they keep obsessing over it and doing stupid things. She says they’re running in circles and need to stand still and figure out what’s going on. She says she told Lulu this, but it would be understandable if things went too far with her and Dillon. Dillon says he wasn’t there on NYE. Maxie says Dante seemed certain, so who was Lulu with? While she takes a call, Dillon makes an exit.

Johnny tells Lulu that Valerie was caught “taking a payment” from a known felon, and he wants to establish a pattern. He’s going to run into her again and act like he’s really interested in her. Lulu says she’ll probably act flattered, but rebuff him. He says it doesn’t matter, by then he’ll have enough evidence. Lulu says the longer he stays there, the longer he risks getting caught. He says he’s all about risk, especially if it’s for a worthy cause. Lulu asks if it’s about helping her or does he have another agenda?

Dante sees Valerie at work. He says she seems upset and she says she’s in big trouble.

Tracy says their agreement was for Hayden to hand over ELQ to her, and she’s giving her 30 days to get the shares back. If not, she’ll give Nicholas proof of who Hayden really is. Hayden asks what satisfaction that will bring, and Tracy says Nicholas will look like an idiot and she’ll eventually end up with the stock anyway. Hayden balks. Tracy makes like she’s going to make a phone call to a Jay (?) Dover and Hayden says she’ll do it.

Jason says it’s good he has a good lawyer. Nicholas says he has a good eyewitness, and reminds Jason of The Floating Rib incident when Jason tossed him over a pool table. Nicholas goads Jason a little, saying Jason can either end up talking to his kids through Plexiglas, or he can take the offer.

Johnny flirts and Lulu says she thought he wasn’t going to do that anymore, adding that when he’s charming, he’s usually up to something. Dillon comes by and Johnny makes himself scarce. Dillon tells Lulu that Dante accused him of sleeping with her New Year’s Eve. He says he knows she wouldn’t pick up a stranger, so where is Johnny?

Laura suggests that maybe it was just a New Year’s Eve drunk looking through the window. She says Jake spent his formative years on Cassadine or Spoon Island or wherever the blip Helena had him, so he’s not exactly normal. She didn’t say it that way, I’m translating. Elizabeth says she should have listened to Laura, and that she continued to lie to Jason while Sam told him the truth. Laura says she’s sorry and hugs Elizabeth, who says she doesn’t deserve Laura’s concern. I agree. Laura says she promises that Elizabeth will come out the other side and things will be better. She tells Elizabeth to call her any time and leaves.

Nicholas asks if Jason wants to be a father to his sons or an embarrassment to his family. Jason asks Nicholas if he really wants to do this to everyone. Jason suddenly changes the subject, asking if he was close to his sister. He says he’s seen pictures of her, but he doesn’t remember everything. He says that Emily must have loved Nicholas, and how did he get from being someone so loved to the person he’s looking at now. Nicholas says this has nothing to do with it, but is clearly shaken. Jason says he’d rather look honestly through Plexiglas than give in to a lie. Nicholas says remember this day when you’re in prison, because that’s where you’re going. Jason gives him the finger (not really) and leaves.

Hayden says she’ll get it together in 30 days. Tracy says if Hayden tries to run away, she’ll hunt her down. Hayden says Tracy has no idea how hard it would be if the truth came out. Tracy says she does and that’s why she knows Hayden will succeed. Hayden leaves and has to catch her breath in the hallway. I’m really glad they’re giving Rebecca Buddig more of a big storyline. I love her in this role.

Maxie notices that Dillon is gone while in the middle of her call. She gathers her stuff up and jets out of Kelly’s, which is apparently her office now.

Dillon tells Lulu he should have called the cops. Lulu tells him Johnny left the morning after Dillon saw him. Dillon asks who Lulu was with New Year’s Eve. Lulu says a harmless drunk had grabbed her and she was fixing her hair and makeup in the stateroom. She says Dante, as usual, jumped to conclusions. Dillon tells her what Dante said, and that he feels the same if she should get hurt by Johnny. She keeps insisting nothing is going on, and he says he’s not so sure. He gets a call and leaves.

Johnny (who must be getting tired of hiding by now) comes out and says she did great.

Valerie says she blew the exam. Dante says that her score isn’t good, but it’s not enough to get her dropped. Valerie says she’ll never get her score high enough to make it a passing percentage. Dante says he’ll help her study and that doesn’t mean he’s coming on to her. She says it doesn’t matter, people will think so. She says it means a lot that he offered to help and she wishes they could be friends, but that’s not possible.

Nicholas tells the police that Jason threw him over the terrace railing. Hayden watches from the doorway looking pretty upset.  Afterward, Nicholas tells Hayden Jason was willing to go to prison rather than compromise. Hayden says it’s unfair to Jason’s family and he should put them before greed and vanity. Nicholas says it’s not greed, Jason just believes he’s right.  Hayden keeps going on about how can he do this to his family, and I’m thinking she’s hoping Nicholas gets a conscience and realizes he’s going to hurt his own family, but that doesn’t happen. She asks what happens now and Nicholas says he and the Quartermaines go to court and Jason goes to prison.

Jason walks into Elizabeth’s house and calls out to her. When she comes downstairs, he asks why she left the door open. She says she didn’t.

Valerie says if Nicholas helps her study, the next thing she knows, she’ll be cooking him dinner and things will escalate. Dante tells Valerie that every time he takes a step forward with Lulu they take two steps back. Valerie tells him he shouldn’t be telling her this and she can’t deal with the yo-yo stuff. I’m in agreement with her there. Whenever things go sour with Lulu, he’s back to Valerie. What a guy. They should both forget about him.

Lulu says Johnny is taking a huge risk staying there. Maxie comes in to prove the point.

Jason says maybe the door just didn’t latch properly. Jason sees a family picture with him in it, smashed on the ground. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Jake, the Bad Seed.

Dillon sees Tracy, who has decided to go on a trip. She says she’s going to indulge in spa treatments, eat good food, and reprioritize. She says by the time she gets back, she’ll have a whole new outlook.

Nicholas tells Hayden what to tell the police. Nicholas says he takes no pleasure in doing all this, and blah-blah-blah about how he has to do this for the greater good or some baloney. Hayden says there might be a way around it and asks Nicholas to marry her.

On Monday, Jason and Sam get closer, Jake disappears and Maxie threatens to turn Johnny in.

Dec7

December 6,2015 — No Dead, But an Eclectic Night

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

When we left the…um…ladies, a fight was brewing between Cynthia and Porsha. We now move to fingers in the face. Porsha makes a weird, aggressive move, putting her foot up on Cynthia’s lounge chair and straddling her. Cynthia responds by kicking Porsha In the stomach. Porsha lunges for Cynthia and is held back by the crew or security or whoever. Kandi, coming back from the bathroom, is just like, whaaat?

In her individual interview, Kim says that she has a low tolerance for foolishness. Her and me both. This might be the wrong show for her with this crowd.

Porsha is squeaky screaming and Kenya says that Porsha can’t control herself, the disagreement always has to escalate to violence. Kenya wants Porsha and her buddy off the boat. Bye, Felicia!

Cynthia calls Peter. She says he’s still her rock. Really? She tells him she needs for him to come home, and he says he will.

Kim is pretty appalled. In her individual interview, she says that the worst part is how disappointed they’re both going to be in themselves after they catch a breath. I doubt Porsha knows that emotion.

Porsha is tucked into her chaise lounge at home, with her court of yes men girlfriends around her. She shows some bruises, but it looks like she got them from the guy who had to tackle her. Maybe Cynthia shouldn’t have kicked her one, but she shouldn’t have come up on Cynthia so aggressively. Especially considering her past. She makes noises about being supportive of Cynthia and “dumbing [herself] down.” I’m quite sure she’s so dumb she doesn’t know what that means.

Porsha starts to get loud and squeaky again. She’s rambling about Peter and what she knows. Come on, she doesn’t know anything everyone else doesn’t already.  Including an audience of millions.

Kim and Phaedra meet at a juice bar. Kim is not too happy that the boat ride turned out the way it did. She says she should have opted out like Phaedra did. She said she was just looking forward to a nice ride with her book and her snack. Ha!

Kenya is telling her friends, as Kandi is telling her staff, about the altercation. Phaedra says she saw bruises and cuts, but again, I don’t think that was from Cynthia. Kim says it’s being analyzed like the JFK assassination.  Kenya’s aunt suggests she get the girls together to smooth things over. I think her aunt is crazy. Phaedra says she told Kim it was a wild bunch.

Peter arrives home. Bleh. I can’t stand him. Cynthia says she keeps thinking of how she could have changed the situation, and Peter keeps saying all the wrong things. Her rock. Peter says Cynthia needs to forget about Porsha and examine how she feels about herself. I’m sure what he really means is to think about him.He says he wants to work things out and they get lovey-dovey. How long this will last, who knows.

Kandi has a doctor’s appointment. She goes to Dr. Jackie from Married to Medicine. Kandi is nearly halfway through the pregnancy. Dr. Jackie listens for the baby’s heartbeat. Todd suddenly has to make a call and Kandi is like, really? It couldn’t wait until after the appointment? Dr. Jackie finds the baby’s heartbeat and they look on the sonogram screen. Todd comes back in and they try to fool him into thinking the umbilical cord is something else. Ha-ha! They can’t tell yet though, if it’s a boy or girl.

Phaedra says that her focus has been on the kids. They seem pretty well adjusted considering Apollo’s fall from grace and back into prison. Phaedra whines about being a single mother, but it doesn’t look like she’s hurting any.

Cynthia calls Kenya. Kenya jokes about Cynthia’s Kung Fu Panda moment. Cynthia says she feels awful. Kenya says she wants to give a brunch to get things back on track. Cynthia thinks maybe it’s too soon. Kenya says the problem with her and Porsha is that they waited too long to address things. She might have a point, but it’s empty-headed Porsha we’re talking about. Kenya says if she was able to get past things with Porsha, Cynthia should be able to. Cynthia says, in thinking about it, she may have overreacted.

Kenya wants to meet with Porsha privately before the brunch. They meet at a little coffee/dessert bar. Porsha asks what’s up. Like she doesn’t know. Oh, wait, it’s Porsha. Maybe she doesn’t. Kenya says they once had their own altercation and what happened on the boat didn’t sit well with anyone. Porsha tries to act like it’s somebody else’s fault and talks about Kenya throwing shade at her friend, Shemia.

Kenya  says Porsha never takes responsibility for her actions. She tries telling Porsha that, considering their history, she could see how Porsha looked like the aggressor. Porsha says she doesn’t trust Kenya and she doesn’t need to justify her actions to anyone. She says she’ll be glad to talk to Cynthia, but it was just one of those things that snowballed. She gets angry that Kenya is telling her the truth, because she’s stupid and vain. She’s about to run from the situation, when Kenya calls a time out and says she should just tell Cynthia they were both wrong. They clink smoothie take-out cups.

Kandi and Kim are first to arrive at the brunch. Everyone else is late. Kim is annoyed and I don’t blame her. Phaedra strolls in, calling it a “unity luncheon.”  Kandi still isn’t sure if Phaedra is being genuine with her. Cynthia is feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable. Kim is like, let’s just say it, and asks Cynthia how it’s going. Kenya and Porsha come in together.

Kenya says she wanted to bring them together because of what happened. Kim says, being new, she doesn’t have a side, but it’s important to have clarity to move forward. Porsha and Cynthia decide to talk privately. Kim says she hopes they come back in one piece. Ha-ha!

Cynthia asks Porsha if she’s okay. Porsha says yes, but emotionally, she’s hurt.

Kenya says her talk with Porsha didn’t go well, and Kandi says Kenya seems to be good at pointing out other people’s flaws, but her own, not so much. Phaedra suggest that Jesus take the wheel , and drive fast. Kenya says she was just trying to be a grown up and help make things right.

Porsha says she’s sincere in wanting to move forward and feels Cynthia is sincere too. They hug it out. When they come back, applause all around.

Next week, Atlanta is in the Miami house! Oh wow, it looks like there will be another strange-men-in-the-house situation. Like there was with the New York Wives, except this looks more serious. And speaking of Miami, are those Wives ever coming back? I noticed they snuck in a Real Housewives of Cheshire on Saturday afternoon. Trial run?

Once Upon a Time

Hook is flashing back to his childhood, where his father wasn’t such a nice guy and he got sold into slavery. Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin has Excalibur.

Dark Emma says the man she loved died in Camelot and all that’s left is the darkside. She and the others are splitting up to find Hook.

Zelena pops in poof! in front of Robin and Regina. She wants to discuss her daughter with her baby daddy, Robin. She says they’ll all be dead soon, so it won’t matter anyway. Two hooded figures come up behind Robin and Regina. At the same time, hooded figures surround the other groups. One walks through Henry.

Rumpel appears out of nowhere and tells them to look at their wrists. They have the mark of Charon, an old guy who runs a ferry to the underworld. Rumpel says the underworld is a worse place than even fire and brimstone. He tells them to use their time wisely, to say good-bye. DUN-DUN-DUNNN!

Regina finds Hook by the water. BTW, his first name is Killian. Regina says he might be the dark one now, but he’s not the same guy he was when they first met. He says she has no idea what kind of man he is. And he doesn’t mean that in a good way.

He flashes back to when Enchanted Forest Regina recruited him to kill her mother. In exchange, she promised to send him to a land with no magic so he could get his revenge on Rumpelstiltskin.

Henry looks through a spell book, hoping for something to counteract the curse they’re under. They decide to gather at Granny’s diner. They leave Dark Emma to continue searching. She tells Regina if she can destroy the dark ones, they’ll all be spared. Dark Emma reminds her of when she said they have to do whatever it takes to get rid of the darkness. Regina says it has to be put into someone, a sacrifice. Dark Emma says it will be herself.

Belle meets Rumpel at the shop. He tells her to go see the world and fulfill her dreams. He tells her to take the car, say good-bye to her father, and start living. She says she knew there was a hero inside him and they say good-bye.

Regina and Dark Emma enter the shop. He tells them to go away. Regina says no way, there are a lot of people in the underworld who would like to see the both of them. She tells Rumpel that Emma wants to take the darkness into herself, which will destroy the darkness – and her. Rumpel gives them Excalibur. For nothing, which is a surprise. Doesn’t magic always come with a price? He says it might not work because the blade chooses who it finds worthy. Regina says, later. She has to help Robin protect the baby from Zelena.

In the old days, Regina and Hook stop at a tavern. Someone yells pirates aren’t welcome. Hook turns to face them.

Robin and Regina come home to find Zelena looking at color swatches to redecorate their house. She says in an hour, they’ll be dead, and she’s moving in. Zelena says last time Regina tried to use the dagger it didn’t work. Regina says that’s because she didn’t believe in herself and says let’s take it outside. They go to the clock tower, and Regina uses the power of the dagger to blow Zelena back to Oz.

Dark Emma goes to the diner and silently says good-bye to her family. A dark figure tells Hook he knows what he needs to do.

Old days Hook reveals himself to his father at the tavern. His father is surprised he’s alive and he says they both cheated death. Hook wants to know why he was sold into servitude. His father says he met a woman who helped him see the error of his ways and wishes he’d known her back in the day. He says he’s sorry. Hook wants to know where she is.

Hook’s father says that she died. Hook says he came there to kill him, but they’ve both suffered enough already. He says he can arrange a letter of transit and transport for his father, but can’t come along. His father asks if he can arrange transport for two because he has another son.

Storybrooke Hook stops Dark Emma from leaving. He says he’s saving her because she made him the man he always wanted to be. She says she’s sorry, but she couldn’t watch another person she loved die. He says now she’ll watch everyone die. She brandishes Excalibur, but sees Henry who takes the sword from her. Poof! in a cloud of red smoke, he turns into Hook. She tells him please, don’t do this, but he says nope, he is, and poof! he disappears in another cloud of red smoke.

Snow finds a note from Dark Emma on the diner jukebox. Belle appears and says Hook has already stopped her and there’s no way to prevent their trip to the underworld.

Everyone appears in a forest, where there are a bunch of dark, hooded figures hanging around, along with Hook. Dark Emma runs out of the forest to join them. Regina says Hook can’t do this and he has to ask himself the same question he did on the night they don’t speak of: what kind of man do you want to be?

Hook’s stepbrother tells his father he doesn’t want to leave. Hook’s father says they’ll be fine and he’ll never leave him. Hook is outside and says that his father is telling his stepbrother the same lie he told him. He kills his father with his hook. The last thing his father says is that he can always change.

A hooded figure says it’s time. Dark Emma tries to stop things and suddenly chokes. The figure says maybe she can’t kill Dark Emma but she can stop her. Dark Emma keeps choking and Hook says enough. He pulls the Excalibur card and black snaky things come out and make the hooded people disappear.

He says the darkness won’t stay in Excalibur much longer and tells Dark Emma to take it from him and let him take on the darkness because her family needs her. She doesn’t want to do it, but he wants to die a hero. She takes the sword. She tells Hook she loves him and then – is she supposed to stab him with it or what? Yes, she is. And she does. Lots of tears. I’d cry too, but it’s all more confusing than anything else.

They all pop back to Storybrooke and voila! everything is cool again. Excalibur turns to dust. Wait, not so cool. Hook just keeled over.

The EMTs (God only knows what they must be thinking) cover Hook’s face over and put him in the ambulance.

Rumpel  is having a drink (what does he need one for?) in the shop. Belle comes in, says Henry told her everything, and gives him a big kiss. (I guess because he handed over Excalibur?) She says she wanted to see the world, but with him. While Belle is sleeping, he puts on his Mission Impossible clothes. He gets a text from Emma, who’s in the shop.

Rumpel is like, this isn’t the diner, you people have to stop just showing up. Emma says the dagger called to her and she knows he has it. She says he must be the dark one. When Hook thought he was destroying the darkness, he was only moving it. Rumpel says things are as they should be now.

Emma tries to throw some magic at him, but he says he has all the magic of all the dark ones who ever lived. Emma says she still has magic and he has to do something for her. Rumpel says why should he? And Emma says she’ll tell Belle who he really is if he doesn’t.

Rumpel opens the door to the underworld for Emma and the others. It’s pretty cool looking. Kind of like a pretty swamp with blue lighting. Here comes that guy in the boat. Don’t they have to answer three questions or something? Or was that just in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

They get ready to board the boat.

On March 6, the story of Storybrooke takes place in the underworld and the quest to find Hook is on.

No Walking Dead tonight. There’s a marathon of Into the Badlands instead. I definitely give it a thumbs up.

Work Out New York

Just a first impression. Hot trainers with egos the size of the state of Rhode Island, but who are also insecure. I’m in! But, hey, what ever happened to Jackie What’s-her-name and that other workout show? She was pretty interesting.

Bad Words

Another quickie. I had never heard of this film and caught it on HBO today. It was on the TV when I came back from the store (yes, I leave it on for the dogs), and I just didn’t bother changing the channel. I’m glad I didn’t, because this was a terrific film.

In a nutshell, Jason Bateman is a 40-year-old guy who finds a loophole in a national spelling bee contest. (He has his reasons for wanting to be in it.) He enters the contest, competing against children. He befriends one of the kids, and they both grow in the process. It was heartwarming without being obnoxious, was well-written, and the acting was great. It was a unique story as well. I’m really glad I stumbled across it.

Oct6

October 5, 2015 — GH, the OC, London & a Stink

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Franco and Nina are out to celebrate their conscious coupling, and see Kiki doing shots at the bar. Nina says it’s a funny place for an investment job. I might agree, but I worked in investments in the 80s.The dude she’s doing shots with apparently wants payment for those shots with some nookie, and Kiki fights off his advances until Franco steps in, saying she’s his daughter. After the guy backs off, half-in-the-bag Kiki tells Franco he’s not her father, that her father was killed by Nina’s lunatic of a mother (like that’s his fault), and to get lost. Instead, he drags her sorry ass out of the bar.

Anna and Emma are having an after school snack at a table outside a restaurat. Emma says she wants to write about her grandma for a school assignment because she’s the best person in the world. Ouch! Knife to Anna’s heart. Anna tries to talk Emma into writing about her dad, but Emma basically says he’s a real bore and she’d rather write about Anna, who’s a hero and can do no wrong. Another stab. Sabrrrina shows up  and tells Emma to go in and buy some cookies, which I already know must be a ploy to talk to Anna alone.

Laura’s back! I’ve been hoping against hope that she’ll be the one who reveal’s “Jake’s” true identity. Maybe I’ll get my wish. She shows up at Patrick’s house and has flashbacks of talking to Elizabeth before she left. She notices Sam’s engagement ring. DUN-DUN-DUNNN!

Hayden is looking up old news on the laptop to try and put the pieces of her life together. Nicholas tells her that she’s looking at tabloid crap and he’s already told her everything. Nicholas thinks Hayden is up to something, but she says she’s honestly just trying to figure her past out, while she’s rocking a great new haircut. Nicholas gets kind of pissed off and leaves. I still can’t decide whether I believe her or not.

Elizabeth is out with “Jake.” It must be date night or something. These two are so unexciting as a couple, I can’t wait until this is over. “Jake” is still unnerved about Sonny calling him “Jason.” Elizabeth gets a call from Hayden, who is wondering why she broke a vase in anger at Nicholas’s castle or mansion or fiefdom or whatever it is he lives in. It’s one of the few memories that she has and Elizabeth was there. Before Elizabeth can say anything, Nicholas takes the phone from Hayden.

Paul says blah-blah-blah to Michael about getting justice for Sonny, which Tracy isn’t too thrilled about, since Sonny shot AJ. She apologizes to Michael for her outburst, but when he leaves, she tells Paul that she’s not really sorry because Sonny is a lowlife.

No surprise, Sabrrrina wants to talk to Anna about Carrrlos. While she doesn’t know he’s dead, she’s not buying that he would have shot Sonny. She thinks she would have heard from him by now, and thinks she should tell the police, but Anna says that would be a bad idea because she would have to admit to aiding and abetting after Duke’s murder. Nice save.

Laura says the reason she came to Patrick’s first is that she has a condition that needs to be monitored and asks Patrick to be her neurologist. It’s highly doubtful that’s why it was her first stop, but when she saw how cozy Patrick and Sam were, I think she hesitated to tell them about “Jake.” Dammit!

Michael has boomeranged back, and Tracy gives him a mini lecture on how he’s never been a Corinthos and should behave like the Quartermaine he is.

Kiki tells Franco that she lied so he wouldn’t feel sorry for her, and that since Silas died, she has no direction. Franco says that when he thought she was his daughter, it was some of the best time of his life, and I wonder if he’s thinking about Todd and Starr and the good old One Life To Live days.

Uh-oh, Tracy just said she’s going off to pray for patience. Don’t do it. Your patience will only get tested as a result. Sabrrrina has shown up and tells Michael she doesn’t think it’s Carrrlos who shot Sonny.

When Anna and Emma get back to Patrick’s, he and Sam tell them about the engagement. Sam says she feels like the luckiest woman in the world. Just wait, Sam.

Hayden wants to know whose secret she’s keeping, hers or Nicholas’s. She says he’s trying to control her and that every time she’s making any headway, he either gets all control freakish or flirty, which she tells him is “enjoyable and effective,” but she’s not someone who can be controlled. To prove this point, she gives in to his amorous advances as Laura walks in.

It stinks that Dr. Phil is on at the same time. Today’s show said it was about a homeless guy who thinks he’s a famous songwriter, which sounds totally delusional, but interesting.

The Real Housewives of the OC

All right, here we go. I’m already hating on Meghan when they show scenes from the previous episodes. She said she thought all children were raised the same. That’s a huge part of her problem. She thinks everything should be the way it is/was for her.

Of course when the show starts, because I stupidly watched First Look again, I had that moment where I thought I saw it before and wonder how that can be.

Brianna starts off with saying idiotic things. Brooks is away, and she, Ryan and children are staying with Vicki. Brianna and Ryan are whispering in the kitchen about how the house feels weird and smells strange. WTF is wrong with these people? Brianna is a married woman with her own family and I just don’t get how she feels she can dictate what her mother does. I still say there’s a reason why they’ve been in Oklahoma a year and have no friends.

Tamra is getting baptized. Look out for lightning storms in the OC.

Shannon and David are seeing their counselor who makes house calls. I have to admit, I wasn’t that crazy about either one of them, especially him, when they first joined the cast, but Shannon has grown to be one of my favorite wives. I have to give David props too, for getting his act together and letting us in on it. And it makes sense now why he was such a creep last season. It’s good of them to air their counseling sessions as well.

Heather, Tamra and Shannon meet for lunch. Tamra wastes no time in pointing out that Heather’s new skin products “also cure cancer.” She says this because one of the ingredients is the same as what Brooks is using to combat his cancer. But aren’t antioxidants used for more than one thing? Again, continuing from last week, there’s a big whoop-de-do about why they chose Tamra to look at Brook’s medical report. Vicki was clear that her reason for doing it was because Tamra started this whole thing with the psychotic…I mean, psychic. I recently read that the so-called psychic is sorry he ever met them, and how much do you want a bet it was a set up by Andy Cohen anyway? Maybe not Andy personally, but he is the pitchfork that prods these shows. Shannon tells them about David’s affair and to her credit, Heather had already known, but has kept her mouth shut this whole time. In Orange County, there’s a 72% divorce rate. Holy! I honestly think these two are going to make it and I’m proud of them.

Brianna says that Vicki works to make something work that shouldn’t work, because she doesn’t want to be alone. Isn’t that her business? I’ve said this before. I don’t care for Brooks, but I never see him treat Vicki like anything but a queen, so who cares if he’s lying his ass off? Brianna has had it out for him ever since (a billion seasons ago) when he was drunk and told Brianna’s husband he should smack her one. Not so nice, but I’ve wanted to smack her one several times, so I get where he was coming from. To top it off, Brianna’s husband, Ryan, doesn’t seem like much of a prize to me. He seems to have calmed down some, but he was a nasty piece of work for a while. Geez, and I thought I could hold a grudge.

Tamra is now meeting Brianna for lunch. No good is going to come from this. Brianna needs to comb her hair. She says she likes Tamra because she’s so honest. Puh-leeze. She’s nasty and uses the word “honest” to justify it. I’m hoping to God (literally) that her finding Jesus changes her personality. In her individual interview segment, Brianna says there’s nothing Brooks can do to get her to like him. Of course Tamra has to tell her about the PET scan business. Because I have no life, I’d Googled he place myself and it said they do them, so….?

Brianna talks about how Vicki has suffered because of her relationship with Brooks. Well, yeah, but that’s not because of Brooks. It’s because of you. I’m heaving huge sighs through this whole episode so far. I don’t get why everyone just doesn’t drop it.

Oh ho! Tamra says Vicki is using her to do her dirty work and “spread the news.” No comment. No, I take that back. Why is it okay for her to spread all kinds of other news – Meghan’s “research” news, the psychic’s news, any nasty news that comes into her stupid head? There was a point where I’d thought she changed and I was starting to like her, but no. Apparently, she thinks being baptized is also a beauty contest and buys an expensive dress and has her makeup done. She’s an idiot.

Holy! Shannon was doing an at home colonic and got a piece of plastic stuck inside her. She’s going to use an enema to fix this? Damn, woman, go to the ER. It turns out that nothing was there and it must have…um…come out in another way.

Whenever I see Heather and Terry, I think it must be nice to be absolutely loaded.

Everyone keeps talking about how much Tamra has changed. Are we just skipping over the bad parts? Is it me? Both Vicki and Shannon are taking separate limos to the baptism, and something doesn’t seem right about that.

In the preview, Tamra says Vicki could be going to hell for lying. Apparently, she hasn’t been paying attention in Jesus class.

Ladies of London

I love the Baroness’s (otherwise known as Caroline #2) relationship with her two Dachshunds. Her decorating skills are awesome too. She’s got a new relationship going on and she’s pretty excited about it. Her counselor also makes house calls.

Juliet stops by to see Caroline #1 and explains that she told Julie about Caroline’s mini tirade against her, and Julie had to run to Annabelle with it. Caroline #1 says Juliet must be a moron if she thinks anything she says to any of them isn’t going to be broadcast. I agree.

Marissa, who hasn’t taken the gigantic stick out of her butt yet, is discussing her new business venture with her husband. She’s whining about how it’s taking her away from her family. It’s not like she has no concept of working outside the home; what did she think was going to happen?

Annabelle and Julie go to a juice bar. Julie says that Juliet had a “look of horror,” when she passed along the info to Annabelle about Caroline #1. I don’t know what Brits consider a look of horror (even though Julie is American), but that wasn’t it IMO. I think Julie is a little unhinged actually. Everything seems to make her nervous and she’s afraid of making Caroline #1 angry. Caroline #1 has her own set of problems right now with her business (Gift Library) and I highly doubt she gives a flying about any of this. Julie claims to have some gene that makes her extra sensitive. I think maybe she reads too much. I had to take the medical dictionary away from my husband once, since he thought he had every single issue he was reading about. Annabelle tells Julie that she needs to own her feelings and confront Caroline #1, but Julie is askard of her.

Caroline and her sister-in-law, Alexis Carrington Sophie, are having a confab about the New Year’s Eve party. If all this stuff is as unimportant as they say it is, why are they still talking about it?

Marissa is meeting with some brand expert. She’s all startled that things are more expensive than she thought they would be. Welcome to the world. Julie is also trying to get some funding for her JUG balls, which are similar to energy bars. She’s sweating bullets over it, which is no surprise, since she seems to get nervous over just about everything. She’s so nervous, she makes me nervous just watching her. She’s been distributing her Scweddy JUG balls herself, but it’s time to branch out. More ball jokes, but she gets the investors on board.

It’s Joan Collins’s Sophie’s birthday, so all the girls are paying tribute. Julie is “petrified” over seeing Caroline #1 for the first time since the New Year’s Eve debacle. What a shock. Where’s Ramona when you need her to scream, “Take a Xanax!”  What do they call not being able to leave high school in the UK? OMG. Julie looks like such a suck up. Annabelle isn’t impressed and says the only way to deal with Caroline #1 is to stand up to her, but instead, Julie gives her a present. And seriously, she looks like a panting puppy while waiting for Caroline #1’s approval.  It seems like more of a bachelorette party than a birthday. They stab at piñatas that have sex toys in them.  Because she’s really mad at Caroline #1, Julie picks a fight with Juliet. I’m starting not to like Julie. Why am I fighting with Juliet about fighting with Caroline when I’m not fighting about Caroline? says Juliet. Why indeed.

And I don’t think Caroline #1 is scary at all. I quite like her. She’s says after an issue with someone, she moves on and gets over it, because life is too short to do otherwise. She, Victoria Gotti Sophie and Juliet have a nice talk and hugs all around.

Next week looks interesting. They’re going bowling in wigs. And Caroline #1 is going to have to deal with New Yorkers. Ha-ha!

Reeker

Because Halloween is coming up and this is one of my favorite horror films and it’s on Showtime rotation.

The title of this film is somewhat off-putting and I almost didn’t watch it the first time because of that. When I saw Michael Ironside was in it though, I decided to give it a look. He’s a wonderful actor (loved him in V) and also a lovely human being.

I don’t want to say too much about this film, since it has a surprise ending. It’s actually one of those films you might want to watch more than once to catch the clues. It’s no The Usual Suspects, but it’s pretty clever.

A group of kids (not kid kids, but young people) are lost and stumble upon what looks like the Halfway Tourist Oasis, a deserted motel, diner and gas station. It looks like it was inhabited not long before, as all the lights are still on and it looks like everyone left in a hurry. It also stinks to high heaven, hence the film title. When one of them tries to go down the road to find help, he runs into Michael Ironside, who’s driving around in circles in an RV, looking for his missing wife.

Throughout the film, strange characters show up, like a dude whose bottom half is chopped off, along with a hooded figure that keeps making a periodic appearance. Bad things start happening and that’s all I’m going to say.

While this isn’t exactly a classic, it’s well worth taking the time to watch. The pace is good, the story is intelligent and a little different, the gore is nicely done, and the ending is satisfying.

Oct5

October 4, 2015 — King Arthur’s Court & the Dead

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

Once Upon a Time

I’ve always thought it was funny how, in fantasy or horror stories, they’ll believe in one thing, but not another. Like on Dark Shadows, they would be okay with witches, but a vampire is preposterous. Or vampires are totally plausible, but not a werewolf. In tonight’s episode, when King Arthur is thrown into present day Storybrook, he has a magician who’s been imprisoned, but scoffs that a curse could be involved. A magician who once turned him into a fish, so really?

In order to get Merlin released, dark magic will have to be used, so Regina (otherwise known as the Evil Queen) wants to take Emma’s place, even though Emma (otherwise known as The Savior) is supposed to be the one to save the day. Meanwhile, Emma’s counterpart has gone completely darkside and Captain Hook breaks up with her. Yes, I know, it sounds like the writers are on drugs; that’s not my fault. It’s actually easier to follow than it sounds, but you do have to pay attention or you’ll wonder where The Cat in the Hat suddenly came from.

In Storybrook, some weird ass dark fairy comes down from the sky and carries off Regina’s boyfriend, Robin Hood. It turns out it’s in some kind of payment for some magic where a life is required. Hmm…we’ve got seven dwarves, so I’d pick one of them. Who needs Grumpy anyway?

Back at Camelot, Regina gets an awesome necklace from King Arthur to wear at the ball. It’s really nice, but it doesn’t look like it was foraged during the Middle Ages. Not even close. No surprise, it’s really a hidden camera, or cauldron, or whatever it is they use for candid snaps there.

There’s a cutesy part with finding Regina the proper dress and teaching her to dance. I ignore the dialogue, but lust after the clothes.

Apparently it’s okay to bring your iPod to the parallel medieval world. Uh-oh, someone has realized that Regina is not so much savior as evil queen and pulls a sword on her. In the following melee, parallel world Robin Hood gets stabbed. Regina asks Emma to save Robin. As magic always comes with a price, Rumpelstiltskin pops in and tells her that he doesn’t make the rules and Regina will have to pay up. Emma says screw you, I can do it myself and does.

Rumpelstiltskin is another reason I watch this show. Robert Carlyle is a lot of fun to watch in this role. While most people know him from Trainspotting or The Full Monty, my favorite film of his is the lesser known Ravenous, where he plays cannibal Colonel Ives, a soldier during the Civil War. If you can take great acting, smart dialogue, and a bloody mess, put it on your Netflix list or however you view films.

The dark fairy, who is some kind of demon, is really cool. I’m surprised this show has never won an Emmy for special effects, although they’ve been nominated. The demon starts zapping Robin Hood, but the whole group steps in to take the zap, and shows us that we can succeed if we work together. This show is pretty corny, but the corn is tolerable because of the context.

Rumpel gives Dark Emma a huge cornball speech about love and friendship, but says she can fix all that with Excalibur. Of course she can’t take it out of the stone, so they’ll have to kidnap find someone who can.

Fear the Walking Dead

Travis and Madison start packing supplies and are going to find Nick and Griselda. Daniel wants to kill Andrew because they don’t need him anymore, but even I think that’s a bad idea. He seems to be on their side, they outnumber him anyway and if they’re going break into the hospital, or whatever it is, they’ll need him. Andrew makes sense in telling them he’s only been nice to them, even before Daniel skinned his arm. They leave him alive and behind because he’s an expendable character and the car is at capacity anyway.

They drive through the gate at the Army base. The troops in the watchtower tell Daniel to halt or they’ll shoot, but he tells them to save their ammunition. Right behind him is a Times Square on New Year’s Eve level hoard of zombies. This distracts them while they walk right in, although I’m not sure how Daniel avoided getting eaten between the gate and the watchtower.

Nick and the Allstate guy are still in confinement.  There’s a huge commotion outside and Nick shows Allstate that he has the key. It looks like the zombies are getting in, the troops are evacuating and they’re leaving the sick behind. Travis, Madison and Daniel have gone inside to look for Nick and Griselda while Alicia and Chris are left in the parking garage with the car. Do their parents really think this is safe???

Nick walks out with Allstate, leaving everyone behind who’s begging for them to let them out. I expect this from Allstate, who seems like a grifter, but would have thought better of Nick. Some Army guys want the car from Chris and Alicia. Even though she gives them the keys, they act like a-holes and punch Chris out when he protests their a-holeness. More disappointment. Mostly because why does a random group of men always end up being misogynistic and violent on these shows?

There’s a lot of chaos with the zombies and the soldiers and the helicopters. Some guy gets his head chopped off by some helicopter blades. Nice. Also reminiscent of both Dawn of the Dead and Planet Terror. I’m never sure if something is an homage or there are just so many ways you can kill someone.

Part of the zombie hoard is after Nick and Allstate. Travis and company have made it into the quarantine area. The people in confinement tell them that Nick is a bastard who left them there to die, but at least these guys have the decency to break them free. Nick and Allstate are stuck between a locked door and a zombie crowd (karma), with Travis and the rest (here, on Gilligan’s Isle!) on the other side of the door.This is a pretty good scene. Very exciting and intense. Liza comes along and is able to open the door with her keycard at the very last millisecond. After which they’re promptly attacked by zombies in the hospital kitchen. Lots of fun props like meat tenderizers to kill zombies with.

Did Nick just say Allstate’s name was Rand or…it’s Strand, but I think I’ll stick with Allstate. I kind of like it. Dr. Exner is staying behind with the sick, which is pretty noble. Especially since she seemed like a real tool. Allstate suggests they go West where he has some property. They come across a mass funeral pyre, no doubt composed (no pun intended) of whoever died at the infirmary. The soldiers took the SUV, but Chris and Alicia are okay. See? That was a gratuitous nasty moment with those guys. Andrew shows up and shoots Ofelia. WTF? I take back all the nice stuff I said about him. On the bright side, pacifist Travis finally waves his aggression flag and beats the ever-lovin’ crap out of Andrew.

They get a truck and a car somehow and head on down the highway, where they see the occasional straggler zombie. (How come it isn’t zomby anyway?) They get to Allstate’s house that looks more like a compound. Nice spread. Nick tries to be a philosopher and I go to sleep.

Commercial Break. Sometimes I wish I played video games. They’ll show a clip from what I think looks like a really awesome movie, and then I find out it’s a video game. This one was for HALO5. Just what I’d need though. Another electronic device that I’m attached to.

Allstate says they can’t stay and that “the only way to survive a mad world is to embrace the madness.” He has a yacht out back and methinks they will be boarding it. Uh-oh, Liza has a bite. Liza (who is also Travis’s ex and Chris’s mother) asks Madison to shoot her. Just when we think she will, Travis shows up. His optimism is back and he thinks she can just take something for it, but that’s a no. Madison gives Travis the gun and another expendable character bites the dust.

Oh no. Don’t let it end this way. With some poetic song playing loudly in the background as Travis goes through angst on the beach and Madison joins him while the waves crash over their knees. No, no, no, no. It was just getting good.

Only 6 episodes? They saved the best for last, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to save the show and get it another season.

BTW, Frank Dillane, the actor who plays Nick, is the son of Stephen Dillane, Stannis on Game of Thrones.