Tag Archives: The Real Housewives of New York City

Jul3

July 2, 2020 – When Michael Gave Back Avery, Character Reference, LuAnn’s Halloween Party, New Trek, Pride Pics, Drunk Rainbow, Academy Goals & Rhapsody

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

The deck was shuffled, and a GH Flashback from June 29th, 2015 was pulled out.

Nina went to Ric’s hotel room, and asked Ric if he was Madeline’s new lawyer, while Madeline hid in the other room. At the MetroCourt, Franco asked Denise (Ava’s presumed sister) if they were a couple in public, and she said it suited their ulterior motive. She suggested they practice their canoodling. Michael and Sabrina brought Avery to Sonny’s. Sonny asked if it was a visit, but Michael said he was bringing Avery home. Dante told Valerie he didn’t know how he was going to get through the night, and Valerie said she was there for him. Lulu was in a hotel room with Dillon, and wanted to call her parents with their room number, but Dillon stopped her. Luke and Laura busted into another hotel room, guns drawn. Luke said, freeze, and they saw it was Holly, also holding a gun. Laura told her to put the gun down. Someone had broken into their hotel room, and they’d gotten word their son had been kidnapped. She asked what Holly knew about Lucky, but Holly was legit surprised.

Lulu told Dillon that Dante had sounded distant and cold when she’d last spoken to him, and she needed to make sure they were okay. Dante started putting the moves on Valerie, and she asked what he was doing. He said, the same thing Lulu had done. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Lulu and Dillon together. He said Valerie had to admit, there was something between them. Ric told Nina that Madeline was a miserable excuse for a human being, and he would never do anything for that monster. He was Nina’s husband, and would never side with someone who had hurt her. Nina said she shouldn’t have listened to Franco. He got to her, and her imagination was running away. She thought it was strange that Madeline was walking around free, and told Ric that Franco had seen her in Port Charles. Ric said Franco could be lying, but Nina asked what the point would be for him to lie. She wondered, if her mother was out of prison, where was she? Why wasn’t she showing her devious head? Kiki asked Denise and Franco to join her and Morgan for dinner, and Morgan said he accepted that Kiki and her aunt were a package deal. Denise left to powder her nose, and Morgan followed her. Kiki told Franco that both she and Morgan were afraid he was going to hurt her aunt, but Franco insisted that he and Denise were the real thing, and told her to relax. Morgan told Denise that they needed to talk. He said Franco was dangerous, and wrong for her. Michael told Sonny that he was returning Avery to him. Even though Sonny’s life was still dangerous, Sonny was Avery’s father, and her family; he couldn’t pretend that didn’t mean anything. Carly asked if Morgan had talked Michael into it, but Michael said Sabrina had helped him to look past his anger, and see what was right. Sabrina said Michael already knew what he needed to do, and Michael said he was giving Sonny’s daughter back to him.

Nina told Ric that she thought Madeline was planning a sneak attack, but Ric said the thought she was trying to keep a low profile. Nina said Madeline didn’t know the meaning of a low profile, and thought she must be scheming with someone to get her hands on Nina’s money. Ric said Nina had to regain control of her finances before Madeline found a way to access them. Nina started to panic, and Ric suggested they meet in the restaurant. Nina said Franco was there, slobbering over his new girlfriend. Michael told Sonny that losing ELQ had a lot to do with why he was there. Lucy had been the deciding vote, and sided with Nikolas because of what Michael had done to Sonny. He didn’t want to take Avery out of spite, or to use as a weapon, and had talked with Sabrina. He told Avery this didn’t mean he didn’t love her. He didn’t want to trade one tragedy for another and tear the family apart. He’d thought giving in meant he was giving up, but his father would have been the first one to tell him to do what was best for Avery. The cycle had to stop. He told Sonny not to make him regret it, and Sonny promised to look out for Avery with everything in him. Michael handed Avery over.

Valerie told Dante he was a great guy, and had helped her with the death of her mother. He wasn’t a guy who cheats. He said he hadn’t thought Lulu was that way, but people surprise you. Valerie said if Lulu was hooking up with Dillon, she was the dumbest woman in the world, and he owed it to himself to confront her, and not be as wrong as she was. She also didn’t want to lose Dante’s friendship if he resented her later. Lulu decided if she called Dante, she’d have to lie, and she couldn’t; she was already sick over it. Dillon said she was doing the right thing, and he had a better idea. Holly told Luke and Laura that Ethan had also been kidnapped, and Luke suggested they all calm down and deal with it together. Holly said she and Ethan had been going after a mark in South America. When she went to pick him up, he wasn’t there, and the whole place was a disaster area. Luke asked if there had been signs of a struggle, and Holly said Ethan had put up quite a fight. He was gone, and she had no idea where or why. Their son had vanished. Laura said it was the same with Lucky. His room had been ransacked, and there was no sign of him. An anonymous person had called, and told her to find Luke, and they were led there. Luke said Holly was the last person he’d expected to see, and asked if she’d searched Ethan’s room for clues. She showed him a matchbook, saying there was no reason Ethan should have one from a hotel in British Columbia. She wondered how the matchbook had ended up there.

Carly told Michael that she’d never been more proud of him. She was sorry for times she’d hurt him when she seemed to be siding with Sonny. When AJ was killed, she didn’t want the family torn apart, so she lied, but he deserved better. She didn’t expect forgiveness,  but wanted him to know she loved him. Michael said he loved her too. He’d grown up believing Sonny was a man of honor, and wasn’t sure if their relationship would be the same again. He warned Sonny that if he felt Avery was ever unsafe, she’d be gone, but Sonny said he’d guard her with his life. Kiki wasn’t so sure if Franco was good for Denise, since he was on the rebound, and asked if Franco was sure he wasn’t using her. Franco promised that he and Denise were good for one another, and Kiki hoped it helped him get over Nina. Nina told Ric that she didn’t care what Franco did, she just didn’t want to watch it. Ric told her not to let Franco win, and suggested she flaunt her bliss with her new husband. He told her to show Franco that the best day of her life was when she kicked him to the curb. He told Nina to meet him downstairs, and when she left, he told Madeline to be gone by the time he got back. She said to be sure to get Nina’s signature giving him power of attorney, and let everyone know Nina had descended into madness again. He said it was touching how much she loved her daughter. Michael told Avery that she’d be living with her dad, but he loved her more than he thought possible. He’d always look out for her, even when she couldn’t see him. He told Sonny and Carly to take care of Avery, and left with Sabrina. Denise told Morgan that it was the only choice, and they went back to the table. Denise said she wanted to spend some time with her baby niece. Carly told Sonny, despite their faults, they’d raised a wonderful son, and had proof of that tonight. She knew Michael giving Avery up broke his heart, but she’d also known it would happen because of who Michael was. Sonny told Avery, welcome home, and Avery fed him a biscuit, which was super cute. Back at his apartment, Michael said he didn’t think out of sight was out of mind. He missed Avery already. His phone rang, but he ignored it. He thanked Sabrina for going with him, and giving them both space. She said he always knew it was the right thing to do. Dante told Valerie that he sucked at marriage, but Valerie said he was an exceptional father and husband. He said he was a lousy friend, and hoped he hadn’t ruined it. Valerie told him that he hadn’t. Dillon gave Lulu his script to read, and asked how he stacked up on a scale of one to ten. She said he practically held her at gunpoint to get her to read it, but wouldn’t shut up and let her. She had some notes.

Holly was surprised to find out that Jennifer Smith had lured Luke out, but Luke said she had nothing to do with Lucky’s kidnapping. Laura said Jennifer had used Luke’s desperation about his son to get close to him, and yes, she meant that way. Holly said, cow, and Laura said, idiot. Laura said whoever contacted Holly would be contacting them, but they hadn’t heard anything. In perfect soap timing, her phone rang with an unknown caller. Laura put it on speaker, and answered, asking where her son was. Holly said, and hers, and the caller said, good; Holly was there, and found his matchbook. Luke asked where their son was, and what the hell the guy wanted with them. He said he’d tell them everything they needed to know tomorrow.

Lulu told Dillon that she didn’t buy the relationship in his script at all, but he said it was true; those people were him and his first girlfriend after Georgie died. She’d stomped his heart into the dirt. Valerie suggested she and Dante forget the kiss, and Dante said, business as usual? She said, absolutely, and decided to go back to Windymere. She still had a room there until Nikolas said otherwise. Sonny fed Avery her bottle, and Carly said Avery looked more like him every day. She didn’t see Ava in Avery, but did see Ava in her crazy sister. At the MetroCourt, Denise said it was important for her to have Avery in her life. Morgan said there had been a truce with Sonny, but Franco stopped her from leaving by kissing her. Ric and Nina walked in, and Nina grabbed Ric, kissing him, while Madeline lurked around the corner. Sabrina asked Michael if he was okay, and he said he was trying to look on the bright side. He and Sabrina could spend more time together, now that he was out of a job. She said she was too, but things were starting to look up. He said he was trying not to think about Avery, and maybe they could help each other think about something else, so they got busy.

Ric told Nina that he wasn’t complaining, but why? She said she felt hot for him, and he suggested they table that, and get back to the issue at hand. Now that her mother was out of prison, they had to make sure Nina was protected by getting her funds released. He said he would have to act on her behalf, and needed her to sign something. He gave her some paperwork, and she signed it without even looking at it. Morgan said Franco and Denise might want to get a room, but Denise wanted to keep her panties on, at least until she talked to Michael. Carly told Sonny that Avery needed to sleep, and she would be there in the morning. Sonny said, and every morning after that. Basking in the afterglow, Michael said he’d wanted Sabrina for a long time, and she said she felt the same way. His phone rang, but he didn’t pick up, and Denise left a voicemail saying she’d like to come by and see the baby. She felt a connection to her sister’s baby, like she was Avery’s mother, which was fitting since Avery didn’t have one. Sonny told Avery that she was home with him, and never going anywhere again. Valerie told Dante that she thought it was best to give both of them space. Dante said he was sorry, and she said he was forgiven, if he’d stop apologizing. She left without looking back, and Dante looked at his and Lulu’s wedding photo. Dillon said now that Lulu knew the truth, what did she think? She said he seemed to think highly of himself; the character was perfect. He said he’d give him a flaw, and Lulu said, just one? Dillon said he chews with his mouth open, and only listens to Top 40, and she said maybe he was perfect. It was a good distraction for her from worrying about her brother for a while.

Holly told Laura to try *69, but Laura said she’d tried everything. They needed to get some rest, and pray the kidnapper followed through and contacted them. Luke told them, the contact said to wait, so they would wait. Laura and Holly agreed.

🏥 In Case You Don’t Know Them…

Meet Ava’s alter-ego sister Denise.

https://www.celebdirtylaundry.com/2015/general-hospital-spoilers-gh-avas-identity-revealed-who-figured-out-denises-dirty-secret/

And Valerie Spencer.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/general-hospital-valerie-spencer-brytni-sarpy-167403

And Jennifer Smith.

https://www.soapcentral.com/gh/whoswho/jennifer.php

The Real Housewives of New York City

With the first interview, I got a clue why they haven’t been showing new ones, even though they were filmed before the pandemic. The interviews were done remotely, so those must not have been edited in yet.

Leah goes to the Halloween store, and calls Rob, asking him if he wants to be a clown or a priest. In her interview, she says Rob isn’t typically her plus one, but he’s an important person in her life, and she wants to see what he thinks of the women, and more important, what they think of him. Dorinda and LuAnn join her. In LuAnn’s interview, she says her good friend Evan got her a fabulous venue for her Halloween party. She wants to enjoy it with the girls, and have a great time, so she’s not performing. Dorinda says she was Ramonasized again, and tells them, Ramona is planning a birthday party and invited her and Sonja along to see Larry Scott. We flash back to that, and I realize he reminds me of Michael Madsen in a size large. Dorinda swears Ramona barely spoke to them, and they were just there to take pictures for Larry’s social media. Three hours of her day. In her interview, Dorinda says it wasn’t bad enough that Ramona used them to swindle a free party, but she thought they were too stupid to notice. She tells LuAnn, since Ramona actively disinvited Sonja last year, she thought Ramona should do a joint birthday party, but she said no; it was only her and her coming out. She never even spoke to them again afterward. LuAnn asks if Ramona wanted their advice, and Dorinda says, not really. In Leah’s interview, she says she understands, but Dorinda has known Ramona for twenty years. She shouldn’t be surprised. And she needs to chill with the judging stuff. Dorinda is still skeptical about Tinsley getting engaged, and LuAnn says she and Ramona went out for drinks with Tinsley, and she’s 100% sure. In her interview, Dorinda says, everyone deserves to be happy. Tigers and rabbits don’t get along, but that doesn’t mean they can’t scamper away and be happy. They try on some costume armor, and Dorinda suggests they wear it to Ramona’s birthday party. LuAnn says they can show up as gladiators.

Ramona meets matchmaker Rori for drinks. In her interview, Ramona says Rori set her up with Brian, better known as Red Scarf Guy. She thought he was great in many ways, and fit everything in her box. Excuse me? We flash back to Brian, and to the dud date Ramona had with the guy who thought monogamy wasn’t natural. Rori asks if Ramona is looking for love or money, and Ramona says she wants a best friend who makes her laugh, and someone who travels. Rori says, that’s not cheap, and some women accept a little older and heavier for the lifestyle. Ramona says she wants both. In her interview, she says she wants someone who’s worth is the same as hers, or they get intimidated. She tells Rori that when she moved into her new place, it felt awkward. We flash back to Ramona wailing in the bar that she might never find a man. She says she had a renaissance. She feels more comfortable in her home, and loves herself. (That’s clear.) She wants someone in her life who adds to it, but it’s okay if she doesn’t find it. Rori says, happy finds happy, and Ramona is a great catch. Yeah. Until she opens her mouth. Ramona says, age is just a number. Wake me when she’s done promoting herself.

Sonja meets Elyse for drinks at Dakota. Sonja says Halloween isn’t her favorite holiday. She doesn’t like to get dressed up and be around people she doesn’t recognize. You could have fooled me with that one. She tells Elyse that Ramona bought a voodoo priestess costume and got her a matching one. Elyse wonders, why not her? and thinks Ramona is afraid of losing control. In Elyse’s interview, she says when Ramona need emotional support, she comes to her. She tells Sonja that Ramona called her, and said she was thinking of coming by. Meanwhile, her doorman was buzzing her that Ramona was on her way up. In her interview, she says she doesn’t have a house in Aspen and can’t do plastic surgery, so Ramona doesn’t need her now. Sonja says she tried to tell Ramona about becoming the Century 21 chief lifestyle officer (that’s a thing?), but Ramona eclipsed the conversation and made her feel like an upstart. Elyse says, Ramonaville is filled with one-way streets. In Sonja’s interview, she says she doesn’t recognize Ramona anymore. She has to one-up everyone with her fake friends and fake parties. Shut up, Ramona. Elyse tells Sonja to call Ramona out with her, and Sonja says she has a lot of dirt on Ramona, and she’s sure Elyse does too. Elyse says she’d never do that, but Sonja says Ramona doesn’t need to know that.

Dorinda meets daughter Hannah for lunch, and says she’s not dressed warm enough. Dorinda insists on giving Hannah her coat, and they go to Jimbo’s Hamburger Place, which looks like an old school diner. Dorinda asks for everything on her burger, and Hannah adds, and all the sauces. In Dorinda’s interview, she says if she was stranded on a desert island the one thing she’d bring is Hellman’s. Mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard are part of every meal, and Russian dressing is a holiday. Hannah says, no burger, just sauce, and I wonder why they’re calling condiments sauces. Dorinda shows Hannah a picture of Richard’s son Aidan that he sent to her. Hannah says Dorinda used to get sad, wondering who her person was. She’d always had an anchor that shaped her sense of self. Hannah looks up to her more now, and says Dorinda is a better role model than ever. She was given a bad hand, but didn’t turn it into a streak, which is worthy of pride. In her interview, Dorinda says everyone has seen her go through changes and grow. She’s a different Dorinda today. Hannah says it’s the first time she’s seen Dorinda be herself. She’s managing herself, and not desperate to be married. Hannah says she feels guilty that she hasn’t gotten it right yet. Dorinda tells her about Ramona’s party, and suggests she and Hannah have a birthday lunch. She confuses Riker’s Island – known for a prison – with Randall’s Island – a cute residential island that you can get to by an aerial tram. Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer had it out on the tram in Nighthawks.

Leah, Rob, and Kier go to Chinatown for dinner. In her interview, Leah says, when you’re from New York, you know all the spots to eat; it’s not all about the Upper East Side. She says this is normal for her and Rob. They’ve been co-parenting longer than they were a couple. She hadn’t wanted to be in a relationship; she wanted to spread her wings and fly. She specifies, not those wings, and we flash back to Dorinda discovering how Leah grooms downstairs. She says Rob has been her rock. She tells Rob that she went to lunch with Bunny and Brian (her parents), and we flash back to Bunny saying alcohol is a slippery slope for Leah. Leah says they talked about Rob. It’s weird. They’ve been broken up for eleven years, yet neither one of them has moved on. She feels like her parents wouldn’t accept another person; he’s like their son. Rob says he has no mother figure, so it’s definitely her mom. Leah says she should give Bunny more credit. In Leah’s interview, she says her sister likes to say she and her mother only communicate and show love through arguing. She tells Rob she still has resentment. Imagine telling Kier to live on the street at seventeen years old. Kier asks if Leah was really that young, and Leah says her mother claims she was nineteen, but whatever. Kier wonders if nineteen is a little old to be living with your parents, and Leah says, most people are in college then, and still being taken care of.  Kier asks why Leah didn’t go to college, and if she couldn’t get in. Leah is like, please, and in her interview, says she’s no saint, and she can be an a-hole. She tells Rob that she should be better to Bunny, and Rob says she knew that. She says, don’t be a d*ck. He’s so I-told-you-so, like her mother. She tells Kier, a lot of women marry men like their fathers, which Kier finds disgusting. Leah says she married someone like her mother, and Kier makes a face.

In Leah’s interview, she says she doesn’t normally dress up, but she found a see-through mesh jumpsuit, and she’s going as a voodoo slut. She goes to get her makeup done by LuAnn’s makeup artist, who says LuAnn is on her way. In her interview, Leah says, LuAnn has her own timeframe. LuAnn goes to the venue to check things out, and the décor is phenomenal. LuAnn tells Evan that it’s incredible. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, last year was sexy nurse, and this year, it’s voodoo. It has to be shocking. Evan shows her one room that’s like a cemetery, and tells her that it’s going to be filled with smoke, like a different world. LuAnn meets the chef, who says the menu is over-the-top. His seafood platter looks like it’s escaping. In her interview, LuAnn says, it’s not a Halloween party unless someone is grossed out. She says, the girls will love it, and moves on to makeup. Leah tells her about the jumpsuit, but says she’ll be covered in the strategic places. She doesn’t want to give anyone a heart attack. LuAnn says, it’s Halloween. You’re supposed to give people a heart attack.    

Ramona tells Missy, her plus one, that she hasn’t liked Sonja’s costumes, so she got one for her. They’re the first to arrive, and they check out the decorations. Ramona says her priest wouldn’t like it, and Missy says, don’t tell him. Ramona examines a goat head on the buffet table, and in her interview, she says, who would want to eat looking at that? Her friend Ron joins them, and we flash back to her meeting him at the bar when she was having drinks with LuAnn and Tinsley. She says he looks scary, and he says he takes Halloween seriously. Ramona calls LuAnn, asking where she is. LuAnn says dinner isn’t until 8:30, and Ramona tells her the room is gorgeous. Ramona tells Missy that she’d even sent a group text about starting early. A male friend of hers has a private table at Omar’s downtown, and she wants to go. Like this is her party. Sonja, Dorinda, and Elyse share a limo to get there. In her interview, Sonja says she got lit with her hair and makeup team. Halloween is a national holiday in their in group. If it’s not to you, stay home because you’re dead meat. She tells Dorinda and Elyse that Ramona doesn’t feel her pain or struggle. Dorinda says Ramona wants everyone orbit around her. Sonja gets animated with the voodoo doll she’s holding, and the driver looks nervous. At the party, Ramona tells Sonja’s friend Andrew that his paunch looks real. He tells her it is, and in her interview, she says, oops. Sonja, Dorinda, and Elyse arrive, and in her interview, Dorinda says, it’s a Dorinda set-up. She’s a little jealous. They took a page from her book.

Jill Zarin shows up to get her makeup done. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she’s been friends with Jill a long time. She’s been on tour, and Jill has a new love, Gary, so they don’t get to see each other often. When she has a chance to invite Jill to a party, she does. Jill asks the makeup artist if she can be pretty, or does it have to be weird? The artist says she’ll make Jill pretty. Sonja whacks at her voodoo doll, invoking Ramona’s name. Ramona says Sonja is scary looking, and Sonja says the doll’s name is Ramona. She’s mad because whenever she  talks to Ramona, Ramona brings the conversation back to herself. In Sonja’s interview, she says, the other three vodka sodas will be kicking in soon. She tells Ramona that she loves her, but she’s an a-hole. Ramona gives Sonja a kiss, and Dorinda says Ramona should apologize. Ramona thinks Dorinda should stay out of it, and in Dorinda’s interview, she says when she’s told to stay out of something, it just makes her more eager to jump in. Sonja tells Ramona that she’s mean to Elyse, and Elyse is always at the bottom of the totem pole. Elyse admits she does feel like that, and says Ramona might have a lot of friends, but they’re different kinds. There are the ones that knock you when you’re on top, and kick you when you’re down; and the ones who celebrate when you’re on the top, and catch you when you fall. Which one is she? Ramona asks which one she wants to be, and in her interview, says she thinks Elyse is jumping on the bandwagon. Elyse says she’s asking Ramona, and Ramona says she doesn’t give a sh*t at this point. She tells them that she has to use the restroom, and walks off. Sonja tells Elyse, Ramona wants her to do well, but not better than her. In Elyse’s interview, she says she’s watched Ramona being an a-hole to other people, but at the end of the day, what do a-holes give you? Ramona goes over to Dorinda, and tells her not to repeat this out of the group. Why do these women always assume any of them will keep a confidence? Ramona says Dorinda and Sonja are her most important friends. In her interview, Dorinda makes a face, and says she doesn’t buy it. I literally lol. Dorinda wonders why Ramona can’t have a joint birthday party with Sonja, and Ramona says she’ll throw another party. Dorinda says, that’s silly. In Ramona’s interview, she says Dorinda would have no one to invite, while she has 80 girlfriends because she’s a good friend. I see that number has gone up by 20 since the last count an episode ago. Dorinda says Ramona just wanted a free party, and Ramona insists that she’s paying for everything. Dorinda tells her to swear on her daughter’s life that Larry is charging her, but Ramona won’t do it, and tells Dorinda, she’s whacked. Dorinda says Ramona is out of her mind, and sounds ridiculous.

Leah and Rob arrive, and Leah introduces Rob to the women. He says he feels small, and wow, they are tall next to him. Dorinda wastes no time, and asks why it didn’t work out. In LuAnn’s interview, she says Rob seems easy-going, and she sees why Leah hooked up with him. Sonja slinks over, and LuAnn says Sonja started Halloween early. In her interview, LuAnn wonders who came with Sonja, and who was at the pre-game? Sonja probably should have gone to bed. Missy says maybe Ramona should talk to Dorinda, but in Ramona’s interview, she says, Dorinda can’t talk when she’s angry. She’s going to stick it out for a while, and go to Omar’s. She tells Leah that she looks absolutely stunning. Sonja says Leah is an effing weirdo, and Leah says Sonja looks hot as hell. Sonja says she likes Leah, but she’s a weirdo. Leah goes over to Sonja, and gets nose to nose with her, and Sonja says they’re artists. Can they keep it real? Leah doesn’t know. In her interview, Leah says she and Sonja are having a fresh new start, and she loves everything about it. Sonja tells her, don’t be divisive be inclusive. In Leah’s interview, she says she understands drunken Sonja language, now she needs to learn to speak sober Sonja. It’s agreed alligator does not taste like chicken. Ramona tells Missy that Sonja is like Jekyll and Hyde. She flips, and it’s scary. Dorinda tells LuAnn, Ramona is a selfish, self-serving person who’s always thinking about herself. LuAnn can’t believe Ramona brought Missy; a girlfriend of her ex-husband’s. Ramona says Dorinda doesn’t have Tinsley to attack, so she’s getting it. We flash back to the engagement party, where Tom told Missy that wearing a wedding ring was like being a dog with a collar. In her interview, LuAnn says, Ramona doesn’t give a sh*t; she’s insensitive. The problem with people is, they always disappoint you, but Ramona never ceases to disappoint. Dorinda remarks that Ramona changed seats quickly to be next to Rick. Is she happy Dorinda brought him? Ramona ignores her, but Dorinda repeats the question, and Rick looks pretty uncomfortable. In Ramona’s interview, she says, the best thing is to ignore someone who’s being mean to you. It makes them more angry, and more reflective. I dunno about the reflective part. It probably just makes them angrier and meaner.

Dorinda stands up, and clinks her spoon against her glass. She says she has a question. Is it nice if you have a good girlfriend who, when they don’t like something you said, asks if you’re drunk? Sonja yells, why did you say that, Ramona? and Dorinda says Ramona has been there an hour and a half, boozing it up. Ramona is sad and mean to her – schadenfreude. Dorinda says, she’s not nice, and Sonja says, Ramona is terrible to her. Dorinda tells Ramona, don’t do that, and Sonja repeats it. LuAnn gets up, lifts her glass, and says, how about them Mets? Happy Halloween. In her interview, LuAnn says she understands Dorinda has had it, but she’s taken it to a whole other level. LuAnn actually feels bad for Ramona at this point. Jill asks if this is how it always is; you walk in, and Dorinda attacks someone? Elyse asks if Ramona is okay, and says she still loves her. Ramona says she has a lot right now. In Ramona’s interview, she starts to talk, and daughter Avery tells her, stop wasting her energy talking about Elyse. She hears Ramona telling her friends; she can’t get enough of it, and it’s annoying. Ramona tells her, shut up. Elyse asks if Ramona is good, and Ramona says she is. Dorinda carves the pig, for which LuAnn is glad. In her interview, Ramona says, who in their right mind, after witnessing that speech, would give Dorinda a knife? Leah pulls an octopus out of the seafood tower, and LuAnn tells her, don’t f*** with the seafood tower, which I predict will be the next, don’t be all, like, uncool, along with, 1985 is over. Leah introduces Sonja to Rob while still holding the octopus. She plops it back on top, and pulls out something else, asking, what is this? I don’t know what it is either, but it looks gross. LuAnn says, this is where it goes wrong, and Leah throws whatever-it-is on the table. In Ramona’s interview, she says, someone put voodoo on this party, and she’s out of there. She’s going to Omar’s, which will be a lot more fun than this party.

The music starts, and everyone dances, except Sonja who looks sullen and clutches her voodoo doll. Leah asks Rob if he’s okay, and he says he’s fine, but he’s not sticking around. She tells him that she loves him so much, and he says he doesn’t know how life ended up like this, but here they are.

Next time, a return to the fish room, Ramona blocks Elyse, Dorinda finally corrects Ramona’s mispronunciation of narcissistic, and LuAnn tells Sonja that she doesn’t need her and to eff off.

🛸 For the Trekkers…

A new animated comedy series. It sounds kind of weird, but I dropped out after Deep Space Nine.

https://www.startrek.com/news/star-trek-lower-decks-sets-release-date

🌈 For Those With Pride…

Lots of fun pictures.

https://www.manrepeller.com/2020/06/brooklyn-bushwig-2020.html?mc_cid=c16f404248&mc_eid=3e76ab4a64

🤹 But Don’t Let This Happen To You…

GoHomeRainbow

🎭 A Diverse New World…

The Academy is moving forward.

https://www.instyle.com/news/oscars-diversity-goals-new-members

🗺 How’d We Get Here Again…?

We’re back at Friday, or day 103 if you’re going by the pandemic calendar. Just think, we have so much to look forward to when this is over. Like wishing for a seat on public transportation, traffic, and people invading your personal space. In the meantime, stay safe, stay civil, and stay not like Ramona.

Jun25

June 24, 2020 – Stalker Flashback, NYC Watches BH, Tops In TV, Important Awards, Finishing Thrones, More Tours, a Collab, a First, Doing Something & the Best

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Click, click, click… and the Wheel of GH Flashbacks lands on October 12th, 2005. Or as I’ve come to call it, unknown territory.

Maxie thought that Jesse (who?) was over-invested in a case. Old Brook asked Diego (who?) why he had a roofie in his pocket, and accused him of being the stalker lurking in Port Charles. He said there was a guy on campus who was a walking pharmacy, and if the dealer wasn’t the stalker, he’d been supplying the stalker. If the police could nail the dealer, he might give up who the stalker is. Diego claimed he was going to give the roofie to the police, to see if they could tie it to the stalker. Brook wondered how he’d known about the dealer in the first place, but he assured her that he just wanted to get to the bottom of things because she’d been the victim of a crime. He invited her back to his dorm to check out his cameras. When old-Mike-not-Max–Gail brought them some sodas, Diego slipped the roofie into Brook’s drink. Emily told Nikolas that she wanted to throw Lucky and Elizabeth a fairytale wedding; they deserved more than a tiny ceremony in Audrey’s living room. Nikolas said Lucky had asked him to be best man, and Emily thought Elizabeth would probably ask her to be maid of honor. Which is not too awkward since Nikolas and Emily are the middle of getting divorced. Nikolas was concerned that Lucky and Elizabeth might try to use the wedding to get him and Emily back together, since Lucky had told him not to bring Courtney.

Sam and Jason were relaxing on an island somewhere. Sam found a super soaker, and Jason threw her in the ocean when she went after him with it. Manny Ruiz (not to be confused with Father Ruiz, his non-evil twin) said trouble in paradise was a go, as he burned a photo of Jason and Sam. Sam said she was happy, and it was the most relaxed she’d ever seen Jason, so we knew trouble was right around the corner. At the hospital, Jax and Courtney talked about a program they wanted to develop for unwed mothers in the name of the baby they’d lost. Emily told Nikolas that she didn’t think it was fair to leave Courtney out, and Nikolas asked if she’d be okay with Courtney showing up, adding he didn’t think Courtney would do anything to upset the wedding. While Sam went out to do who-knows-what, Manny showed up with some thugs. He wanted to kill Jason, but since Jason had saved the padre’s life, family honor dictated he couldn’t – unless Jason tried to kill him. Jason wasn’t about to do that, and ended up being tied to a chair.

Maxie asked Jesse if his over-investment had to do with his brother, but he said, no; his sister. A pregnant Alexis assured Jax that although she’d misplaced his divorce papers temporarily, they’d been mailed out. Nikolas showed up, saying he received Jax’s divorce papers instead of his own, and wondered if Alexis had done it on purpose, so he’d reconsider. Alex said she didn’t care what went on, as long as it was mutually agreed upon, and she was an overworked attorney with a pain in the ass husband. She told both Jax and Nikolas to take the opportunity to appreciate the ones they loved. She said she was busy, tired, and hormonal, and told them to get out. Emily told Courtney that she’d heard Courtney tell Sonny that she was pregnant. Even though Emily and Nikolas were getting a divorce, she was still in shock. Courtney said Jax might be the father, and she wasn’t saying anything until she knew for sure, adding that it was none of Emily’s business anyway. Emily threatened to tell Nikolas, and Courtney said Emily had eavesdropped on a private conversation, and now Emily was blackmailing her. Emily said Nikolas deserved to know the truth, and Courtney told her that she had no idea what it was like to lose a baby. The new baby was a miracle, she’d decide what was best, and tell the father when she was ready. Emily said Nikolas was still her husband on paper, and she’d tell him whatever she wanted. She’d lost him by keeping secrets, and she wasn’t keeping anything from him again. Although why that mattered if she’d lost him already, I don’t know. She said if Courtney had half a brain, she wouldn’t keep anything from him either. Courtney said she was getting a paternity test in a few weeks, and Emily said maybe she’d give Courtney that long. I don’t really know Emily’s character very well, but everyone always acts like she was a saint. I’m not getting that from this episode.

Manny had his thugs beat up Jason, and suggested Jason not dishonor Sonny again, and shoot him. Jason refused, and got beat up some more, Manny saying, no wasn’t a word he settled for. Mac told Jesse that he blew the case, and the last thing he needed was a loose cannon on the force. Jesse asked if Alcazar owned the PCPD, and Mac said Jesse was off the case. The next time, he’d be out of a job. Diego took a woozy Brook to a walk-in freezer in the Quartermaine’s basement. He pulled out a diary that had belonged to his cousin Sage (dim memory of that one), and told Brook how much pain she’d caused Sage, saying he’d brought her back to the scene of the crime.

Jesse told Maxie about how his sister had gotten involved with a gang member who beat her. She’d make excuses about her trips to the ER, and laugh it off. She begged Jesse to stay out of it, but he didn’t listen, joined a rival gang, and started a war. He’d planned to take the gang member out, and set his sister free, but instead their brother ended up dead. Jesse then became a cop to set things right, but told Maxie, sometimes bad guys still get away with murder. Brook realized Diego was the stalker, and he’d taken pictures of her and harassed her with menacing calls. He said it was nothing compared to what she did to his cousin. All Sage wanted was to be part of the crowd, and even her boyfriend Dillon had used her before dumping her. Brook stood by while Maxie stuck Sage in the freezer, and Sage had been murdered, so he brought her there, where she’d left his cousin to die.

Jax brought the papers back to Alexis, who noticed they weren’t notarized, and Jax asked if she could misplace them for a while longer. Courtney saw Emily with Nikolas in Kelly’s, and he told her it might not be a good time. In France, a woman showed up at a hospital who had an R on her bracelet, but we didn’t see her face. One of the doctors asked if she wanted to join him for lunch, but she said she was waiting for a call. When she was in her room, she put a candle in a cupcake, and lit it. A call came in, and she thanked her Uncle Ric for sending the cupcake, promising she’d make a wish. When she blew out the candle, we saw that it was Robin. Sam came back, and saw Manny and his thugs surrounding Jason, but they didn’t know she was there.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?

LuAnn and Sonja (The Real Housewives of New York City) watched a throwback episode of RHOBH, where the women went to NYC to celebrate Dorit being on the cover of Bella magazine for Fashion Week. Giggy! This was somewhat better than Garcelle and Dorit watching for a couple of reasons. A friend and I had just been discussing how the commentary shows were falling flat, and agreed that besides the commentary being sparse and not very engaging, the POV wasn’t balanced. Both Pillow Talk and the defunct People’s Couch are huge favorites of mine, but both are focused more on the people talking about the show than the show itself. We’ve already seen the show, and don’t need to see so much of it again. We’re there to hear what these viewers have to say. From our mouths to Bravo’s ear, tonight was a definite improvement. Either the New Yorkers had more to say, or more was edited in. One stumbling block is that the observers can’t be together because of pandemic restrictions still being in place, but regardless, IMO there was still a little too much focus on the episode.

Sonja babbled incessantly, realizing halfway through that she was being extra loud because she was wearing an earpiece, and consistently checked herself out. We also got the scoop that she and Teddi sat next to each other at Josh Flagg’s (Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles) wedding. On RHOBH, Dorit had alluded to Kyle that LVP was jealous of their friendship, so she spilled the beans to LVP herself in Union Square Park, which LuAnn mistook for Central Park, and tried to make about herself. I wondered why LVP and Dorit had such cheap umbrellas, which I hadn’t noticed the first time around. Sonja thought Dorit should be put with Ramona, so they could dig a hole together. If that ever happened, I have no doubt they’d make it all the way to China. LuAnn and Sonja both praised Erika for the way she took a meeting with Simon & Schuster, and when LisaR talked about how the delivery guy was robbed before daughter Delilah got a delivery for her new place, LuAnn made a point of saying that didn’t always happen in NYC. As Sonja watched the women get their hair and makeup done, she started messing with her own hair. She wondered who hadn’t been on the cover of Bella, and said they’d asked her. She mentioned this twice; once saying she didn’t have time, and then saying she thought it was overrated and declined. When the BH women greeted designer Marc Bouwer, Sonja let us know he was one of her best friends. They went back a long way; they were the old bitches.

Both Sonja and LuAnn seemed a little lost, not knowing the background of any ongoing issues, and since I didn’t remember some of it, I was lost too. Kyle had been upset about Erika slipping away from Teddi’s beach house for the night, and LuAnn said at least she didn’t have to sleep in the basement. She also interjected that Teddi had a voice like a cabaret singer, just to get the word cabaret in there somewhere. There were probably another twenty-three references that were edited out. What was most amusing was how LuAnn and Sonja were acting like this nonsensical arguing was foreign territory to them. A lot of the episode revolved around Kyle having heard Dorit say that LVP was needy, and perhaps jealous of Kyle’s other relationships. Since Dorit knew someone else would end up telling LVP, she told LVP herself. LuAnn wondered why Kyle was more upset about the whole thing than LVP, and proclaimed that people had said worse about her. She figured there were only two options of how the night would end; getting sick or crying. Crying it was. Sonya said she’d been happy to share the limelight with Beverly Hills, but the women were emotional vampires, and she was going to have to light a candle and do some yoga to recover. LuAnn thought Kyle was more of a pot stirrer than Dorit, and when Sonja had to get up, she said she was walking like Ramona after a night in Palm Beach. I’m not sure what that meant, and don’t think I want to know.

📺 Perfect For a Pandemic…

There are a lot of good shows on the list, ideal for binge watching.

https://www.businessinsider.com/50-best-tv-show-seasons-all-time-critics-2016-9

🏆 And the Award Goes To…

And don’t call me Shirley… I mean, Karen…

https://www.tvguide.com/news/why-this-years-bet-awards-will-be-the-most-important-and-surprising-ever/

✍🏼 He’s Not Getting Any Younger…

Write faster, George.

https://www.denofgeek.com/books/the-winds-of-winter-george-r-r-martin-book-is-finished-by-2021/

https://news.avclub.com/george-r-r-martin-hopes-the-winds-of-winter-and-the-c-1844142139

🥃 Cheers…

See how liquor is made from your couch.

https://www.liquor.com/virtual-distillery-tours-5069138

🎶 What They’re Doing…

These literal buddies came together to make a joyful noise.

https://floodmagazine.com/78919/new-snoop-dogg-willie-nelson-song/

👑 What She’s Doing…

Vanessa Williams, then and now. I’ve always admired her for not only bucking the system, but for not letting anything get in her way.

https://extratv.com/2020/06/23/vanessa-williams-reflects-on-being-first-black-miss-america-plus-how-shes-taking-action-against-racism/

👣 What You Can Do…

Everybody knows how to do something. Or you can learn.

https://www.upworthy.com/10-practical-and-meaningful-ways-you-can-take-part-in-this-historic-moment

🎤 Bringing It On Home…

Here we are again, in the middle of a work week, if you’re working. If you’re not, just look at where the X’s on your calendar are. Except for Sunday night TV – which, between 90 Day Fiancé and sMothered, is like a John Waters movie – things are slowing down a bit, but there’s always something to fill in the gap until the party starts again. So for now, stay safe (Billy Eilish agrees!), stay enthusiastic, and stay using whatever privilege you have for the greater good.

Jun23

June 22, 2020 – Baby JaSam, Don’t Call Me Sweetie, Bad Deckhand, Snow Legend, Goodbye Snooki, Shelter In Pics, Past GoT & Bright Future

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today, when the GH Flashback wheel was spun, it settled at December 3rd, 2003.

Sam and Jason had both been arrested, and were put in the interrogation room. This episode is so old, they introduced themselves (no doubt, this is Jason and Sam week). They discovered they were both there for aiding and abetting Sonny, and Jason suggested the police wanted to get Sam’s testimony against him. On the pier, Faith told Zander that Sonny’s empire was going to be dust soon, and the territory would be hers, while Courtney listened in. Scotty gave a press conference, saying Sonny’s conviction for attempted murder and kidnapping would be a slam dunk. Sonny was in the hospital, and Scotty expected a speedy conviction. Behind the scenes, Scotty was worried if they didn’t get Sam’s testimony, Sonny would walk. At this point in time, Kim was Carly, and went to visit Sonny, who was in custody in the hospital. Elizabeth and Ric were at a cabin for five minutes, when a cop showed up saying Ric was wanted back to help with Sonny’s conviction. Sam told Jason she wouldn’t be manipulated, and He said he appreciated her standing up, and would foot the bill. Jax came to see Sam, and Emily (who was with Nikolas) showed up to bail out Jason. Sonny told Kim Carly that he’d done what they said. He’d tried to kill Alcazar, and when that didn’t work, took him hostage. She said there were extenuating circumstances. Sonny had been provoked, she was going to get him out of this, and they’d work things out. Scotty said he couldn’t wait to get Carly on the witness stand, so the jury could hear about how Sonny shot his own wife in the head. I don’t know what that was about.

Jason told Nikolas to have a meeting with Faith in public, and tell her that he wanted to make peace. He wanted Nikolas to listen hard, since Faith loved to hear herself talk, and he might pick something up. Jax told Sam that Jason wasn’t a nice man, and just wanted to buy her silence about being taken hostage by Sonny. Georgie went to the Quartermaine mansion to see Dillon, but Tracy walked in, and told Georgie to stay away from her son. Tracy thought military school was a good solution, but Dillon was sick of her holding that over his head. Dillon told Tracy, if he needed to leave to be with Georgie so be it. Sonny told Scotty he had nothing to say without his attorney. Scotty said Sonny was finished in Port Charles, but Sonny said he’d plead entrapment. It was obvious Scotty and Alcazar set him up.

Elizabeth told Emily that she wanted to tell Ric about being pregnant with Zander’s baby, but she was afraid of losing him. Courtney showed up to post Jason’s bail, but Brian (who I do not remember at all) told her she was too late, and he thought she should cut ties with Jason. She told him not to put himself in the middle of her marriage. Jax told Sam that she was being manipulated, and Scotty wanted Ric to rattle Sonny’s cage and get a confession. Sonny told Jason that what he’d done was a lesson on what not to do. Don’t lose your temper, don’t pick up a gun when you’re hurting, don’t act in the moment, and most important, think with your head not your heart. All he heard was Carly didn’t love him, and he took the wrong action. Jason blamed himself, but Sonny told him a man had to be responsible for his own actions. As long as Sam didn’t incriminate him, everything would good. Jason told him Scotty was punishing Sam, but to sit back and let him do his job. Alcazar told Carly that Sonny should pay for what he did, but Carly said Alcazar had kidnapped and stalked her and he hadn’t paid. Unless he admitted to setting Sonny up, he was never going to see her again.

Nikolas met Faith at Kelly’s. Zander was tagging along with Faith, and Elizabeth told him that he was in with the wrong crowd. She said they had a connection, but he told her they’d had some fun together, and not to try saving him from himself. Nikolas offered Faith some of his ships, and she told him to wait for her call, spilling no beans whatsoever. Jason went to see Courtney who told him she loved him. She wanted to go somewhere their differences didn’t matter. Alcazar said, if he did what Carly wanted, would she leave Sonny for him? She said he was nuts, and he said he’d do what she wanted. He’d drop the charges, and if he was called as a hostile witness, he’d admit to entrapment. He loved her that much. Ric paid Sonny a visit, but Sonny said he wouldn’t answer questions without his attorney present. Ric said Sonny would probably walk, but Sam would be prosecuted and probably convicted. The only way for Sonny to prove she did nothing wrong, was to admit to kidnapping.

Jax told Sam that Sonny acted like mobster with heart of gold, and people would sacrifice for him. He didn’t want her to be one of them. Scotty asked if Sam was going to file kidnapping charges, so they could all go home. Ric asked Sonny what the real story was, but Sonny said Sam was innocent and he wasn’t. Carly burst in, asking what he was doing, and Ric said he just confessed to kidnapping. Courtney told Jason, there was going to be no end to the fear and violence, and she didn’t want him to die in her arms, or have some horrible accident happen. Jason said you couldn’t count on anything except how you feel.  He’d love her forever (apparently not), but couldn’t leave. She let him know Faith was landing a shipment at the pier that would finance her takeover. There was Courtney and Jason music like there’s Sam and Jason music today, Courtney said there was nothing left to say, and Jason left.

Jason told Nikolas that he knew what Faith was planning, but would need his help. Ric bragged to Elizabeth that he got Sonny to confess, and the best part was revenge complete. It still didn’t take away the pain or make things right. Elizabeth said he was becoming the man she knew he could be, and it was a lesson in not giving up hope. Jax told Sam that Sonny wouldn’t give a damn about her helping him, but Sam said let Scotty try to convict her for something she didn’t do. Scotty popped in, and said she was free to go; Sonny confessed. Sonny told Carly that he had to pay for what did, and Carly wondered if Sonny was trying to punish her, but Sonny said he’d always love her. Courtney took her ring off, and there was a knock at the door. She hoped it was Jason, but it was Zander. Nikolas showed up as Faith was about to make her deal on the pier, and said he’d changed mind. The pier belonged to Sonny, and she was surrounded by Sonny’s men. Jason lurked in the shadows.

There was some stuff with Georgie, Dillon, and some girl I didn’t remember, so who cares?

Below Deck Mediterranean

Last week, when trying to make a comrade of Captain Sandy didn’t work, Lara realized she’d actually have to work, and left the Wellington in the lurch. Captain Sandy got pissed about Pete continuing to call Malia sweetie, and called a meeting of the deckhands.

The captain tells Malia, because she’s kind, they don’t know a definitive line. The deckhands come to the bridge, and Captain Sandy says she forgives everything for charter one, but charter two is another story. She knows it’s hard for them with a woman in seniority, but they have protocol. Malia is their boss, not their friend. No calling her sweetie, sweetheart, or dear. They wouldn’t call a guy any of those things. She wants them to be professional, and she’s not their friend either. Don’t call her sweetie; she’s their captain. Malia seconds all that, and the captain tells them to enjoy the rest of their day. Pete says they really like respect, don’t they? and in Rob’s interview, he says the meeting was mostly about Pete. He’s so narrow-minded. Calling Malia sweetie isn’t right. Malia joins the deckhands, and Pete says he’s trying to figure out who called the captain sweetie. Malia says he knows who was calling her sweetie, right? and Pete acts ignorant. She says he does it every day, and he excuses it by saying he’s an old country boy from Virginia, and that’s how he was raised. Wouldn’t that be darlin’ then? Malia says women don’t love it, especially when they’re your boss. Kiko asks Rob what the meeting was about, and Rob says the women are tired of being disrespected. He’s staying quiet, and letting Malia deal with Pete. When Malia leaves, Pete tells Alex that he thinks everyone should just do their job, and stop talking about everybody.

Hannah books a tour of the cathedral in Parma, and goes over the picnic with Malia. She tells Malia, if the weather turns to sh*t, they’ll get everyone back in the van. Hannah tells Jessica to set up, and she’ll come later. In Hannah’s interview, she says she was blinded during charter one because Jessica wasn’t spitting venom at her. Now she’s realizing Jessica’s not very good.

The guests go on the tour, and Malia tells the deckhands that they’ll have to hustle to get things set up. In Kiko’s interview, he says it’s his first picnic on a boat. No one ever asked for one on private charters, and in Brazil, they don’t do picnics; they just go to the bar. The guests go the cathedral, and in Malia’s interview, she says she’s hoping the weather holds up. A picnic is so much work, and she hopes it’s not all for nothing. The deckhands set up the table and chairs, and Hannah arrives with the food. Malia tells Pete to fix the table the way he had it the first time, and he says, there are too many chiefs. Malia tells Alex that Pete takes everything personally. The table falls, and takes the glasses along with it, and they shatter on the ground. Everyone helps clean up, and Pete puts the garbage bag behind a bush; a move that I’m sure is going to come back to haunt him later. Pete gets in the van and goes back to the boat, while the others stay.

Hannah sets up the food, and Malia wrangles the guests, leading them to the picnic. Quiche is served, and one of the children suggests Hannah take the green stuff out of it; he likes the one with meats. Alex tells Malia that Pete is a little odd, and she says, it’s alarming. The wind picks up, and the guests head back to the boat. The crew packs up everything, and Malia find the bag. Glass pokes through, cutting her leg, and she says, effing Pete. What did I say? In her interview, she says, it’s Deck 101. When it’s broken glass, you double stuff it, but it was just thrown in the bag.

Back on the boat, Rob tells Malia that she misunderstood, but she says, a lot of the meeting wasn’t directed at him. He says it triggered him about the pack mentality, and she says, it’s a process. She thinks he’s respectful, and he says he appreciates that. Roy III, who looks to be about four, sings Pretty Woman, and it’s very sweet. In Rob’s interview, he says he’s seeing someone, but it’s an open relationship. He’s been flirting with Jessica, but in the back of his mind is, don’t screw the crew; don’t sh*t where you live. A producer asks how far in the back of his mind it is, and Rob laughs. Pete tells Malia that they’re covering the deck furniture, but she tells him to wait. He relays the message to Alex, calling Malia his supreme commander. In Alex’s interview, he says Pete was his first friend on the boat, but he doesn’t like talking sh*t about people. Captain Sandy calls somewhere for a second stew, and asks if they can have someone there for the next charter. In Hannah’s interview, she says, having kids on board is mother training. She loves kids, and there are amazing moments, but they’re really dirty, and it’s sticky everywhere. Please wash your child.

Kiko feels like he’s getting better, and can’t wait to finish the charter perfect. I can’t watch while he kills some shellfish thing that’s probably a kind of lobster. Hannah tells Jessica that she’s been on break for an hour and ten minutes, and she’s late. In Jessica’s interview, she says she’s working two people’s jobs. Hannah says she gives Jessica breaks before she gives one to herself. Jessica complains that she had to change during that time too, and Hannah says she can’t have a break at all today, and she’s trying her best to give Jessica one, so please respect what time she’s supposed to come back. Jessica mutters she misses Lara.

Sandy asks the guests how their afternoon was, and tells them, if the weather is good, they’ll drop anchor. Pete plays with one of the kids, and in his interview, he says, when his son was born, he got meningitis and couldn’t hold him for quite a while because it’s so contagious. He’s not a guy who seems like a father, but when he’s with his son he’s a different Pete. Jessica can’t find her dress that has epaulets on it, and Hannah wonders how it went missing. Jessica sets the table for dinner, and Captain Sandy tells the deckhands that they’ll leave the dock at 8 am if the weather is okay. The guests are slow coming to dinner, and in his interview, Kiko says for once his timing is perfect, and the guests are making him wait. The guests are seated, and in Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, the first day, Kiko’s Brazilian cuisine was amazing, but he’s the chef on a super yacht, and needs to be good at all cuisine. He reminds her of Adam when he started. He was eager, but he hadn’t worked on a super yacht, and had a learning curve. Roy Jr. and company are impressed. One of the guests asks Ulf how he went from writing songs in the garage to being in a number one band (to refresh your memory, Ulf was in Ace of Base). Ulf talks about waves, and integral patterns, and some kind of esoteric nonsense. In Hannah’s interview, she says, his ego is pretty inflated for level of stardom he reached. Pete senses Hannah’s frustration, and asks if she’s understaffed. She says she can’t do the whole season like this. The guests retire, and everything is cleaned up. Pete hopes the new stew is fun, although what his definition of that is, I’m not sure.

The captain says the water was rough last night, but they can leave the dock. She tells Jessica that she doesn’t want the laundry to look like it is. When Lara left, it was organized. She points things out, saying, that can’t happen, and this can’t happen. She doesn’t want a slob in there. It’s a super yacht, and this pisses her off. In Jessica’s interview, she says she’s been avoiding laundry her whole career, under the guise of being eco-friendly. Her mom calls her lazy, but she thinks she’s smart. Captain Sandy wants to drop anchor, but she’s concerned about the swell. In her interview, she says it’s the last day of charter, and she wanted the guests to play on the toys. Since there’s no wind, anchor is dropped. Kiko makes breakfast, and the toys are put in the water. The captain radios the crew to make sure there are life jackets on the kids when they’re outside. Roy Jr. and wife Asa get on a jet ski. Pete asks if Malia is ready for kids, and she says, hell no. In her interview, she says she loves kids, but she’s not there. When she spends time with Tom, they like traveling; kids aren’t her thing now. The wind picks up, the waves begin to crash, and Captain Sandy tells Malia to start putting everything back. Malia clears the guests off the floating platform, and the toys are taken back out of the water. Hanna tells Jessica that she’s going to check Jessica’s cabin for the dress, so she can tell the captain that she looked everywhere. She finds it on the top bunk in a pile of clothes. In Jessica’s interview, she says her nickname as a kid was Messy Jessie. Pieces of that still live in her. She tells Hannah, mystery solved, and anchor is hauled.

Captain Sandy gets ready to dock, and Pete says the boat is rocking like crazy. Ulf can’t believe they’re going to get in that little space. It often amazes me how they get in there. It’s as bad as parallel parking in NYC. In Malia’s interview, she says the wind is blowing where they don’t want it to be. It makes it hard to maneuver when the wind pushing against everything they’re trying to do. She tells the deckhands, great job, and Alex says it was brutal. In the captain’s interview, she says, docking in swells is dangerous, but Malia is did an amazing job calling it. She’s a great leader already.

It’s time for the guests’ departure, and Captain Sandy tells Hanna that she’ll have a second stew for charter two. Roy Jr. tells them it was a wonderful vacation. The food and service were great, and the kids loved them. Asa says the kids played with all of them, and she was surprised. Roy Jr. says he hopes the tip reflects how much they loved it, and hands the captain an envelope.

Rob helps Jessica with stripping beds, and Captain Sandy calls the crew to the main salon for the tip meeting. She says, well done, and tells Hannah that she knows it hasn’t been easy. It was a challenge in a lot of ways. The weather was against them, and they had their first picnic, but the crew stepped in and killed it. Since they were down a crew member, they’ll each get more money. The tip is $21,000 (excellent!) or a little over 1700 euros ($1916) per person. She tells the, before the toast, she has news. She’s been working hard at getting a strong second stew, and it’s someone Hannah and Malia have worked with before – Bugsy. We flash back to Bugsy telling Hannah that she’s a lousy chief stew. Captain Sandy says Bugs is a chief stew, but she’s stepping in as second for them. She’s amazing. Hannah’s face isn’t saying she’s amazing though. The captain says they’ll toast to that. Alex asks Hannah, what’s with the face? and the captain tells her, it’s a good thing. They toast, and after a sip, Hannah jets, saying, f***. Malia tells the others that she’s good friends with Bugs, but Bugs and Hannah aren’t the best of friends. In Malia’s interview, she says she and Bugs got closer after their last charter together was over. She got to know Bugs’s family, and she’s excited. Captain Sandy tells Hannah that she should be excited; Bugs does great table settings, and Hannah won’t have to worry. Thankfully, Bugs was available. The captain tells the crew, there’s food in the crew mess, Jessica mumbles that she’s just invisible, and Captain Sandy wonders why nothing is easy. Hannah lies on the dock. The boat is cleaned, and the deck crew high-fives each other. Everyone gets ready to go out.

In Malia’s interview, she says, Rob has different layers. Jessica is probably deep in places… somewhere in her heart. She starts laughing. In the taxi, Hannah tells Malia that Jessica has a crush on Rob, and Malia tells Jessica, go for it. They go to a restaurant, and Jessica says tequila makes her act like an idiot. Rob tells her that he has a lot to give and say, but no one understands, and Jessica asks for a hug. In her interview, she says it’s nice to have a guy that wants to get in her mind, and not just stare at her boobs. Malia says, the guys are on the prowl. In Kiko’s interview, he says, Pete is trying to get with every girl; he’s a horny guy. In Alex’s interview, he says, they’re trying to find themselves a mamacita. All he knows how to say in Spanish is, I love you very much, mom. Malia tells Hannah things won’t change between them with Bugs coming, but Hannah thinks they will. They head back, and in the taxi, Hannah says, there was a lot going on tonight. She, Alex, and Malia wonder who will make the first move with Jessica and Rob. Alex says Jessica won’t. In his interview, he says he’s worked with her before, and never seen her hook up with a crew member. He also thinks Rob won’t cross the line, but time will tell. When they get back to the boat, everyone races to the bathrooms. Jessica asks to snuggle with Rob. Kiko peeks in, and sees them kissing. He says he guesses he lost his cabin. He and Pete giggle like elementary school children, and Kiko makes gestures outside of the cabin. Alex offers to tuck Kiko into Jessica’s bunk. Rob tells Jessica that he wants her to sleep with him, but not that way.

In the morning, Malia calls the deck crew. In his interview, Rob says he didn’t expect that happen. He’s never hooked up with someone on a vessel before, and he’s not sure what to do. Alex tells her that Kiko slept in Jessica’s room because Jessica was sleeping in Rob’s room. Malia asks if Rob doesn’t have a girlfriend, and Alex pretends he doesn’t know. Malia goes over what needs to be done with the deckhands, Kiko stabs a steak, and Hannah looks at a video on being an effective leader. In Malia’s interview, she says she can’t tell Hannah how she’s feeling about Bugs coming. She’s kidding. Things are going to change. The wind picks up again, and Rob tells Malia that he had a cuddle with Jessica. Malia says, everybody needs a cuddle. In Jessica’s interview, she says she’s trying not to have to too much expectation. She’s excited and nervous. She tells Hannah that she hopes it doesn’t get awkward, and Hannah says, it will when Bugs gets there. It starts to rain, and Captain Sandy says, they’re not leaving the dock. Jessica asks Hannah if there were issues with Bugs, or was she just annoying? Hannah says Bugs was pretty bad with her, but as long as she knows what she’s doing, Hannah doesn’t care.

Bugsy arrives, and Malia runs to meet her. Bugs says she’s bringing the thunder.

Next time, a group of pita guests, Hannah is apprehensive about Bugs, Sandy says the wrong groundline was released and it looks like it’s Pete’s fault, Hannah says there’s a difference between guests being demanding and being outright a-holes, there are twelve guests for dinner, and Kiko says he’s screwed. I like Kiko. He’s low key, and keeps smiling no matter what.

🛥 No Surprise On Deck…

While I do think some Bravolebrities were more ignorant than racist, I’m not sorry to see this guy go. It’s pretty obvious he’s sexist, so it’s not a shock that he would be posting something ignorant, racist, and sexist.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/06/17/peter-hunziker-bravo-fires-below-deck-mediterranean-star/3210747001/

🥊 He’s a Legend…

And I like him better than all of the Housewives put together.

https://pagesix.com/2020/06/18/meet-leah-mcsweeneys-boxing-trainer-martin-snow/

🏖 Down the Shore No More…

These people are just messy. Beloved reality show? I didn’t even know it was still on the air.

https://people.com/tv/jersey-shore-finale-snooki-quits-show-after-angelina-wedding/

https://people.com/tv/jersey-shore-angelina-threatens-expose-mean-texts-after-snooki-quits/

⚔️ My Kind Of Collab…

It beats a Twins remake.

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/peter-dinklage-jason-momoa-reunite-good-bad-undead-movie-47492528

📸 Something Productive…

This photographer took her time in quarantine taking pictures of others in quarantine. The photo with the senior Pug is the best. It will do your heart good.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shelter-in-place-family-portraits-photography_l_5ec6c0a2c5b660e1e43a20ee?ncid=newsltushpmglifestyle

🏇 The Race Goes On…

Whether you’ve lost track or not, another week has begun. New TV episodes are still up in the air, while some things have returned to sort of normal, and others are developing into a new normal. So stay safe, stay evolving, and stay looking toward the future. Even if the furthest you can look is tomorrow.

Jun18

June 17, 2020 – Charges Announced, Would-Be Flashback, Reliving S7, New Listing, NYC Update, the Girls Now, Tyler Talks, a Director’s Influence, Bye-Bye Wacha, Posha Reborn & Fight

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What I Watched Today

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

 

Today’s GH Flashback would have been from September 14th, 2015 (see below), but was preempted early on to inform us about charges being brought against the officers in the killing of Rayshard Brooks.

What happened:

https://heavy.com/news/2020/06/watch-garrett-rolfe-kicking-rayshard-brooks/

The charges:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/us/rayshard-brooks-atlanta-shooting-wednesday/index.html

📜  Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

General Hospital

What happened on September 14th, 2015 was… Sonny and Carly were about to get married (again), when one of Sonny’s enemies kidnapped TJ, who at the time was working for Sonny, and lured Sonny into an ambush. Jake Doe saved the day, but Sonny ended up with a bullet lodged near his spine, and Patrick was waiting for him to improve before doing surgery. Everything pointed to Julian having set Sonny up, and even though he was in county, Morgan vowed to kill him.

Elizabeth came close to telling Jake Doe that he was really Jason, even though he eventually ended up being Drew. She was interrupted by son Jake having a bad dream, but did tell Jake/Jason/Drew that she’d done something terrible to Sam. Ric had conspired with Madeline to get Nina’s money, and tricked old Nina into marrying him. She and Franco tricked Ric back, threatening to expose him, and made him sign annulment papers, giving up the rights to Nina’s money. Nina also ditched Madeline, which probably wasn’t hard, since she was in prison.

Sonny was unconscious, hooked up to machines, and a pre-PTSD Dante paid him a visit. Dante wondered if Sonny’s lifestyle was worth it, and suggested he try living and being a dad. The machines went kooky, and Dante ran out, interrupting an argument between Morgan and Michael in the hallway. Michael ran to get Carly, who was in the chapel, reminiscing about her life with Sonny, and reading Sonny’s wedding vows.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Seeing that tonight’s episode was going to be Dorit and Garcelle commentating on the Season 7 finale (Season 7 was also Dorit’s first season), I was immediately disappointed, but willing to give them another chance. We revisited Lisa’s Diamonds and Rosé party, where Dorit wore liquid gold on her head. Or as LisaR said, it looked like a big golden goose took a big golden sh*t on her head. Erika showed up with pink hair, and Garcelle wondered (as did LVP in the episode) if the carpet matched the drapes. PK showed up with Jagger in Dorit’s square, although why anyone would allow a child to watch this show is beyond me. Garcelle said, swans, ponies, no underwear, and champagne; that’s a perfect party. I wasn’t sure if she should get out more, or just reassess the parties she’s going to. I’d forgotten Eden Sassoon was on Season 7, so I refreshed my memory with this:

https://people.com/tv/real-housewives-beverly-hills-eden-sassoon-not-returning/

As Eden, got more wound up during the party, I was like, oh yeah… Kim Richards was also still on the fringes of the show, and seemed to be okay with everyone except LisaR.

Garcelle noted that PK loves being in the mix, and yes he does. He should be granted honorary Wife status, along with Peter from RHOA. There was some bad blood between Dorit and LisaR because of Dorit inferring to Eden that LisaR had a substance problem. Dorit and Eden had been discussing LisaR, when Dorit wondered if LisaR’s personality issues were induced. This led Eden to tell LisaR that Dorit had questioned whether she had a Xanax problem. LisaR got all in Dorit’s face, but my advice to her is, don’t make jokes about all the pills you carry around with you. There. Problem solved. PK told Erika that she was inherently cold, to which she coldly told him, she was not. Eileen Davidson was still on the show, and defended Erika. From her square, Dorit wondered why she subjected herself to this. Um… the publicity? Garcelle felt like she was on the playground, or middle school, which is what I say every week

This was before Puppygate, but the group was still feeling the aftereffects of Pantygate. In case you weren’t there for Pantygate, Erika went to a group dinner sans underwear, and PK caught a glimpse. Dorit said something to Erika, who couldn’t see what the big deal was. I might not either, unless it makes someone uncomfortable, which it obviously did. I’ve said it before. I’m no prude by any stretch of the imagination. I’m pretty broad-minded, but I still don’t say the f-word in front of my in-laws or in front of children. This is one of the things I don’t like about Erika. I’m all for expressing yourself and being who you are, but it’s common courtesy not to deliberately make people uncomfortable, and she just does not care. And if she finds out, she’ll do it on purpose. Talk about middle school. Okay, rant over. As a joke, sort of, Dorit had gotten Erika a pair of underwear. Erika was all kinds of offended for ages about this, which I found very hard to believe. From her square, Dorit said, in looking for a silver lining, she and LisaR had come a long way. Back at the party, LisaR told Eden that when she’d talked to LVP – I have no clue about what, and assume it’s the induced personality issue, but it really doesn’t matter – she shut herself off to Eden. Eden had it with LisaR, calling her a bitch, and saying she was sick of LisaR walking all over her and using her as a scapegoat. I barely remember the deal with those two, but I’ve grown to dislike LisaR with a passion, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. It’s a shame too, because I’d always liked her, but by her second season, I could tell she’d say and do just about anything for attention and camera time. But she owns it.

After Eden’s outburst, LisaR said she didn’t give two f***s what people thought about her, and when she said she wished Eden well, Garcelle commented that those words are the death knell. Dorit said it felt like a lifetime ago, but it was just four years. Garcelle said it was more fun than she thought it would be, and I’m sure had 100% more fun than I did. While the Eden thing was interesting, it’s hard jumping into an old season without prefacing it with some backstory. On top of it, Dorit and Garcelle either aren’t being compelling enough, or it’s being edited badly, because the commentary is boring as hell. Bravo can do better than this.

🌴 Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles began its new season this week. Joshes Altman and Flagg are back, along with Tracy Tutor, James Harris, and David Parnes. While my preference is for the New York branch of the franchise, I still love seeing the West Coast houses, which are always massive. The premiere episode focused on mountainside properties, and while I’m not so sure I could live in a place where vertigo is king, they were breathtaking. The Joshes joined forces again to co-list, even though they vowed never again the last time. My favorite house was the one Tracy looked at, with the most amazing vertical landscaping, but the house the Joshes checked out was also fabulous. As Josh Altman put it, hidden doors, the fake books, and underground lairs; I’m trying not to geek out right now. There was a lot of cracking up (dare I say joshing around?) during their dual interviews, leading me to believe what I’ve thought before. Much of the feuding between the brokers is for the camera.

🗽 New York Tease…

Tomorrow, Bravo has scrapped The Real Housewives of New York altogether to run a marathon of Top Chef, capping it with their finale. So in the meantime, here’s a mid-season teaser.

https://ew.com/tv/real-housewives-new-york-city-mid-season-12-teaser/

🐇 Not Next Door Anymore…

I actually watched this show. I think I was more fascinated with the house and clothes than anything else. They made Hef look like a benevolent, hapless father with a harem from who he required little but their company. But then I read Holly Madison’s book, Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny. Um… ew.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/31016/the-girls-next-door-then-and-now?source=email&medium=daily

💔 Tyler’s Heart…

The hardest working man in Hollywood preaches it.

https://people.com/movies/tyler-perry-speaks-from-the-heart-about-racial-injustice-and-the-world-he-wants-for-his-son/

🎥 Influencers…

I’m proud to say The Rocky Horror Picture Show made this list. Hey, it might be my only fifteen minutes.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lgbtq-first-queer-directors-movies_n_5ec826b6c5b6d29cf2d21d2e

🐶 Learning From Dorit’s Mistakes…

It looked like Andy talked to most of the world before deciding to rehome his dog. While he doesn’t give particulars, it sounds like it was the best decision. And I’m sure a hard one.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1159419/andy-cohen-gives-an-update-on-beloved-dog-wacha-following-rehoming

👊🏽 She’s Come a Long Way Baby…

From thinking the Underground Railroad was a real train to leading the call. My headband is off to Porsha. (I don’t wear hats.)

https://www.eonline.com/news/1159377/porsha-williams-calls-on-white-allies-to-quot-be-specific-for-real-change-quot-in-wwhl-sneak-peek

🏜 Before Sunrise…

In the past few months, we’ve certainly been given a lot to think about and the time to think it. We’re sliding into the world opening back up, and with it, hopefully, our hearts and minds. So stay safe, stay centered, and stay doing the right thing.

Jun13

June 12, 2020 – Ryan Gives Scotty a Hand, Emmy Reels, Tea For 90, The Tins Breaks Out, 80s Gems, Yacht Baby, Move It George, Entertaining Pride, Ten Solid Quotes & That’s Miss Ross To You

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

In today’s GH Flashback, the 2019 Nurse’s Ball kept going with an episode from May 22nd, 2019. Chase found out that Ryan had killed the owner of the cabin in Canada, and set a trap for Laura and Curtis. Ava said they all knew where he was headed next. Nina griped about Willow to Michael, while Shiloh accosted Willow in the hallway. Willow said she didn’t answer to him, but he got in her face, shaking his finger at her. She admitted that she was pregnant when she left Dawn of Day, but said she’d lost the baby. Olivia and Ned did a duet of Get Closer as themselves (no Eddie Maine this time). Sonny told Josslyn about Stone, and how Stone was still with him. He said when times get tough, Stone inspires him, and Oscar does the same for her. She just didn’t know it yet.

Backstage, Scotty told Ava that she deserved better, and asked her who was there when she came off the stage. (Hint: It was him, not Doc.) Ava called her Cedar Mountain house property managers, and asked that the property be opened, adding she’d pay generously for the inconvenience. Shiloh grabbed Willow, but Michael intervened, and said if Shiloh wanted to get to her, he’d have to go through Michael first. Michael decked Shiloh, and told him to get out of town, but Shiloh said he wasn’t going anywhere because he was a father. Back at the Ball, Lucy introduced Valentin, saying she didn’t know if he was the second, third, or fourth most infamous Cassadine, but she knew he was the most talented, and he sang Nothing Without You to his ladylove (old) Nina. Scotty confronted Ryan, who he thought was Doc, and when he grabbed Ryan’s arm, he ended up with Ryan’s fake hand in his. And I don’t mean they were holding hands; Ryan’s hand literally came off. Ryan knocked Scotty out with a wrench, saying, never let it be said he never had the upper hand. Freddy Krueger’s got nothing on Ryan. Shiloh told Sam about his child, but said he didn’t believe Willow had lost the baby, and he was going to find it. Sam pretended to be empathetic, saying she knew what it was like to have a child kept from you. Josslyn stalled, and thought she was letting everyone down, but Jax told her that she wasn’t, and the only opinion she should care about is her own. She didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, and if she followed her heart, she’d know what to do. She said doing the right thing is really hard, and Jax said he was in her corner, no matter what, and Oscar was too. Mac asked Lulu when she’d last talked to Laura, and Ryan watched as Ava slipped out.

Chase told Olivia and Ned that Ryan was presumed alive and on his way back to Port Charles. Epiphany found Scotty on deck, and thought he’d had too much fun. Sam used Shiloh’s own crap on him, telling him to breathe, and let peace flow through him. He thanked her for her commitment, and said he needed her to be in the Trust. Lucy was excited, happy, and proud that Josslyn decided to return, and Josslyn sang the song she and Oscar had written, A List of Things To Do. It kind of reminded me of Burn from Hamilton. Josslyn saw Oscar in the audience as she sang.

Ava went to her mountain cabin, and said, come and get me, Ryan. Lucy said Josslyn reminded her of why she’s honored to be part of the event. It makes you laugh, and makes you cry. It’s about great big feelings, and she hoped great big money. Shiloh told Sam there was a fight coming, and to give him her strength. Willow confessed to Michael that she told Shiloh that she’d lost the baby. Brad tried to get Lucas to leave, but Lucas had put two and  two together, and said Willow and Shiloh were Wiley’s birth parents. Chase put out an APB for Ava, and Scotty said he wasn’t liquored up; he’d been clubbed over the head by Ryan. When Lucy called for the crew to bring down the rigging, along with the rigging came Doc, hanging there in a straitjacket.

At the cabin, Ava ignored her phone, and got her gun ready, along with a martini. No surprise, Ryan showed up.

📽 Reeling You In…

You can watch all the reels submitted by the actors for the Daytime Emmys here:

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/category/abc

💍 For Those Who 90…

A retrospective and update on the couples of 90 Day Fiancé. According to his Instagram, Jesse is traveling as an actor, entrepreneur, and speaker. Translation: he doesn’t have a real job.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1159644/which-couples-are-still-together-after-90-day-fiance-before-the-90-days-season-4

How did it happen?

https://nypost.com/2020/06/11/how-90-day-fiance-become-a-tv-hit-and-pop-culture-phenomenon/

👒 Bye, Tinsley…

I’ll miss her, but I’m thrilled she got her happily ever after.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-tinsley-mortimer-moving-to-chicago-scott-kluth/

One of the perks will be putting distance between her and Dorinda.

https://tvdeets.com/dorinda-medley-tinsley-mortimer-rhony-exit

📼 If You’re Still Stuck At Home…

The best of the movies from the 80s, which birthed quite a few good ones.

https://parade.com/1047441/gwynnewatkins/best-80s-movies/

A short list of 80s classics.

https://parade.com/1014397/walterscott/classic-80s-movies/

🍼 Hannah Hannah Baby…

That was fast.

https://tvdeets.com/below-deck-mediterranean-hannah-ferrier-pregnant/

⚔️ Game Of Write Faster…

I swear George RR Martin better be inside writing away. If anything happens to him before the final books come out, I will be really pissed.

https://nerdist.com/article/the-winds-of-winter-george-rr-martin-announcement-august/

🌈 Taste the Rainbow…

Pride month has gotten somewhat lost amid more immediate issues, but it can still offer another opportunity to broaden your horizons. On the entertainment front, from true stories like Prick Up Your Ears, Boys Don’t Cry, and Milk, to the brilliantly written Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and TLC’s latest effort Dragnificent, there’s a whole host of colors in the rainbow. At present, I think we could all use a pick-me-up, and while conventional romcoms are not my thing, one of my favorite films is Trick. I actually saw it by accident, stumbling on it when it was on rotation on LOGO years ago. The title might lead you to believe it’s on the sleazy side, but not at all. It’s about a poor young dude, living in NYC, named Gabriel (Christian Campbell), who’s just trying to get alone time with his date Mark (J.P. Pitoc). Gabriel is also a playwright, working to get his musical off the ground with the help of his best friend Katherine (Tori Spelling). Katherine has one of the funniest monologues about sh*t I’ve ever heard, and Enter You from Gabriel’s musical will be stuck in your head for days, if not for life. You can check out the particulars here:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162710/

✒️ Quotes of the Week

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong. – Muhammad Ali

No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. – Elie Wiesel

Be genuine. The world is watching. – Tank Sinatra (aka George Resch)

Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then. – Diana Ross

If no one has ever heard of you, can you really be canceled? – Anonymous poster regarding MTV’s cancellation of Taylor Selfridge’s special. I have no clue who she is either, so this resonated.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. – Alice Walker

What I don’t understand is why they had to dress like extras from Coming to America 2. – Trevor Noah regarding Nancy Pelosi, et al, wearing African kente cloths to a memorial for George Floyd.

You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen. – Michelle Obama

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. – Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it. – Toni Morrison

🛴 Rolling Into the Weekend…

Yes. We still call it that. With things not back to normal – or whatever that’s going to be now – everyone is still figuring it out as they go. So don’t feel bad if you’re feeling bad, but if you’re feeling accomplished, roll with it. Regardless, if you’ve got the time, use it wisely. Stay safe, stay supporting one another, and stay finding the humor in things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvJH3oUkFrg

Jun12

June 11, 2020 – Finn Proposes Again, Tinsley Gets Her Wish, the Chefs Go To Parma, a Michelin Star, Funkey Pasta, Gone Not Forgotten, Conning Online & All Yours

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH Flashback, from May 21st, 2019, continued with the 2019 Nurse’s Ball. After Finn’s ring went rolling out from the wings to Anna’s feet, Robert told Finn, don’t just stand there; go pick it up. Finn got the ring, then got down on one knee. He told Anna it wasn’t how he wanted to do this, and asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the crowd cheered. Cameron told Josslyn that Oscar had him record a message for her that he wanted her see tonight. He left the recording there, saying it had been Oscar’s last chance to talk to Josslyn. Since he’d recorded it, he already knew what it said, and thought Oscar would want her to hear it alone. My bad, Doc was Doc, and they were on to Ryan by this time, who had blown up a house in Canada, sending Laura and Curtis flying. (It’s all coming back now. Ava and Doc got together to try and draw Ryan out of hiding after he was discovered to be alive and well and killing again.) Doc agreed with Ava to stick to the plan. Kristina told Sam not to get too close to Shiloh, telling Sam that he was a cult leader, and more than a liar.

Josslyn watched Oscar’s recording, and he said he knew if she was watching this, he was gone. He wanted her to live life to the fullest, starting with tonight, and wanted her to sing their song for both of them. Obrecht sang Guilty, and Franco joined her on stage. Every time I hear this song, it makes me want to work out. It’s used in the background on one of my workout videos, and I’m like a trained pony. Josslyn got dressed, and went to the Ball, saying she was doing it for Oscar. Shiloh tried to smooth talk Kristina, and told her to come home, holding out his hand. In perfect timing, Sonny showed up at just that moment, and told Shiloh to stay away from his daughter. Shiloh told Kristina that she couldn’t let her father control her forever, and his door was always open. Sonny said Shiloh’s door was going to be permanently closed. He’d messed with the wrong family, and it was going to cost him everything. Alexis took Kristina away, and Kristina wondered why no one was doing anything about Sam falling under Shiloh’s spell. Without missing a beat, Shiloh moved on to Lucas, and tried to talk him into taking classes at Dawn of Day like Brad was.

Willow literally ran into Nina, spilling her drink, and Nina got pissed off. Willow said the one good thing about losing her job was that she didn’t have to take Nina’s crap anymore. Shiloh kept an eye on Willow, while Cameron practiced backstage, and thought about all the people not there tonight. Josslyn arrived, and told Jax and Carly about the message she’d gotten from Oscar. She said she didn’t know if she was there yet, but one step at a time. Cameron sang a song that may or may not have been called You’re My Star. Afterwards, Josslyn thanked him for bringing her Oscar’s message and being someone Oscar could trust. Kristina wouldn’t leave without talking to Sam, but Neil said that wouldn’t be wise. Since Kristina was still vulnerable, she couldn’t help Sam. She said she’d leave on the condition that Sonny stay and keep an eye on Shiloh, but Sonny said she didn’t even have to ask.

Lucy told Doc that two dozen roses had arrived, and he needed to sign for them. He said he’d gotten them as a tribute for Ava, but Lucy thought the only tribute Ava deserved was poison ivy. In Canada, Laura requested a helicopter, and told the Canadian cops to alert the New York state police about Ryan. Curtis called Chase, and let him know Ryan was on his way back to Port Charles. Finn and Anna celebrated with sparkling cider, and Finn told Anna the ring was a rare Monaco blue sapphire, He’d chosen it because Monaco was where Anna first blackmailed him, and changed his life. He said it wasn’t his perfect moment, but she didn’t care, and they got busy.

Nina eavesdropped on Willow’s conversation about the child she gave up for adoption. Willow said Nina had been making her life miserable since the day they met, and no wonder Charlotte was the way she is. Nina didn’t appreciate Willow’s judgement of her parenting, and said Willow couldn’t even take care of her own child. Nina left, and Willow discovered Shiloh had eavesdropped on her and Nina. Chase alerted the PCPD and the Canadian authorities about Ryan, and Laura tried to alert Doc, but he was already knocked out in the dressing room, as Ryan took a single rose from the bouquet. The episode ended with Ava singing You’re Just Too Good To Be True.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Dorinda visits a Halloween store, and tells the clerk that her Halloween theme is voodoo. The clerk helps her get into a corset. Ben and assistant Roger meet with meet with LuAnn. In her interview, LuAnn says they’re looking for comedians. Her act is a variety show, and variety shows need comedy. They’re waiting for Sonja, and LuAnn says, she probably lost her dress on the way over. Sonja comes in wearing jumpsuit, so she probably had to go to the bathroom. In her interview, Sonja says, LuAnn is so high on life, everything is funny. She wonders if she’s getting paid, and LuAnn says she was paid the last time. In Sonja’s interview, she says LuAnn paid for half of her hair and makeup, so she did her hair herself. The comics audition, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says they’re all good, but for Marry-Eff-Kill, they have to be specific about sex and relationships. Sonja says she’s glad LuAnn included her, and in her interview, she says she’s proud of what LuAnn has built, and excited to be involved, even if she’s not getting paid. Sonja and LuAnn go over their material for the show.

Tinsley calls Leah, who asks, what the hell is going on with her and Scott? Tinsley says, it was so good. In Tinsley’s interview, she says, even though everyone was saying, just get on a plane, she wanted to be cool. But when Scott said, get on a plane with Strawberry and Shortcake, she was all in. It sounds cheesy, but felt like home; like it was real. Leah says Dorinda is putting together an evening of going to a haunted house – Blood Manor – and then out to dinner. She said Tinsley can come if she wants, and Leah wants her to come. Tinsley says she wants to go. She loves stuff like that.

Tinsley and Leah arrive at Blood Manor first, where they’re accosted outside by a zombie and a clown. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she was expecting to be attacked by Dorinda at dinner, not by a zombie on the sidewalk. Elyse shows up next, followed by Dorinda. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she’s been trying to get the group to go to Blood Manor for two years. It’s an institution. It’s scary, and she doesn’t scare easy. She’s the scarer [sic]. She puts her arm around the zombie, and says she’s finally found the man of her dreams. Elyse says, the blondes always die in the horror films. If you’re blonde, and show your boobs, you’re dead. Speaking of which, when met by the zombie and clown, Ramona freaks out, and drops her shopping bag. In her interview, she says, if that’s what it’s like outside, what is it like inside? LuAnn joins them, dressed as a cougar. In her interview, Leah says she’s aspiring to be a cougar. Sonja gets there last. No surprise. In her interview, she says this isn’t for her. She’s already high anxiety, and they’ve had nothing to drink. They go inside, and Leah doesn’t think the clown is an actor. She thinks that’s really how he is.

They inch down a darkened hallway, and the clown opens a door. It’s a typical, albeit well done, haunted house – horror film type sets, lightening flashing, loud noises, and various horror characters jumping out at them. In Tinsley’s interview, she thinks the cackling twins are Sonja and Ramona. We flash back to the two of them at the banya massage, and Tinsley might be right. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, they drop from the ceiling, and come through the walls. They’re everywhere. Outside, Ramona says she’s exhausted and almost peed her pants. They head to dinner. In Sonja’s interview, she says she could use some tequila. Something she’s familiar with; not a haunted house.

The women sit down to dinner, and Ramona says Tinsley posted on Instagram about Scott. In Sonja’s interview, she says Tinsley posted to the world, then they find out. Leah suggests they toast to Tinsley and Scott, and Tinsley says they’re back together; wooo! Leah said Tinsley told her that she and Scott were getting married. We see a clip of Tinsley and Leah in the limo, and Tinsley saying, there’s no ring yet, but she just knows it. For whatever reason, Dorinda decides they should all ignore Tinsley, and in Tinsley’s interview, she says she expected Dorinda not to ask questions, but she’s disappointed that Sonja, Ramona, and LuAnn fell under Dorinda’s spell. Elyse thinks they’ve been hard on Tinsley, and it’s unwarranted. LuAnn asks Dorinda if the conversation is registering, but Dorinda says Tinsley is running game. She’s making asses of them. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she’s not judgmental (I choke on my coffee), but don’t pull the wool over their eyes. She tells LuAnn, don’t bring life to it. In Ramona’s interview, she says Dorinda is telling her not to listen to Tinsley, and she’s in a good place with Dorinda, so she’s sticking with her. What a tool. LuAnn asks where the ring is, and Dorinda says Tinsley will love Chicago. Since she’s living in a hotel, she can pack up and go tomorrow. Tinsley says she’s happy for herself and her dogs, and Dorinda says she’s got a turkey baster. Maybe Tinsley can have a baby. Honest to God, I don’t know how this woman hasn’t been punched in the face by now. Tinsley says Dorinda is mean, and in LuAnn’s interview, she justifies Dorinda’s remarks by saying it’s been overkill about Tinsley and Scott. Wait a second. Tinsley is the one who didn’t want to talk about it, and Dorinda kept hammering at her. W… T… F…?  Elyse says she believes this is it for Tinsley, and she’s going to live happily ever after. In Leah’s interview, she says, the behavior is de classé. They should give Tinsley this one moment, but they can’t. I can tell Tinsley has had it.

Sonja goes with intern Lulu to meet with Michael and Heather from Century 21. In Sonja’s interview, she says, it’s only been phone calls up until now, but the last show blew them away. Now they want to sell her collection. She sent the pieces ahead, and Heather tells her, the quality is incredible. I’ve looked at her site, and the clothes are not only beautiful, they’re reasonably priced. In her interview, Sonja says she wants to pinch herself. Century 21 is known for luxury for less, and designers at a discount, which is what she’s all about. She says she’s so excited, and Michael says their flagship store downtown is going to make a space front and center for her collection. They also want to sell it at their Herald Square store. (For those unfamiliar with NYC, that’s where the big Macy’s is you see on the Thanksgiving parade.) In Sonja’s interview, she says she’s trying to be serious, but inside, she’s dying. This struck a chord with her, and has made her feel confident. Michael says, in the long term, they want to roll her collection out all their stores. It’s a huge opportunity for both of them. In her interview, Sonja says she needs to stay calm. Michael says they’re moving fast, and their buying team has been in touch with her people. They’ll be placing an order in the next couple of weeks. Sonja says she’s ready to start the next chapter.

Dorinda, Sonja, and Ramona share a limo. Ramona tells them that they’re looking at a warehouse, and meeting event planner Larry Scott. In her interview, Ramona says she’s having a birthday party to celebrate herself, and inviting all her girlfriends. Dorinda and Sonja realize they’re going to Long Island, when they thought they were staying in Manhattan. They go to the warehouse of Lawrence Scott Events, and in Ramona’s interview, she says he’s the premier party planner in NYC, Long Island, and the Hamptons. She tells Larry, last year, a friend made the invite list and excluded some of her girlfriends. We flash back to Ramona telling the list maker not to include Sonja. She tells him that she has 60 girlfriends to invite, and he’s shocked she has that many at her age. I’m surprised when she doesn’t react. In Sonja’s interview, she says, if Ramona mentions that she has 60 girlfriends one more time, she’s going to vomit. Larry asks what Ramona’s vision is, and she says, sophisticated jungle, or tropical. It’s her coming out party; she’s single. I guess three people in the world don’t already know that. Sonja says it’s her birthday, as well as Dorinda’s, and suggests they have a joint party, but Ramona immediately shoots that down. In Dorinda’s interview, she wonders why not a joint party? Sonja is Ramona’s real friend, and Sonja needs this. It’s an opportunity to be kind. (I choke on my coffee a second time, since that’s rich coming from Dorinda.) Ramona says she loves them, but it’s her party. In Sonja’s interview, she says, for the last couple of years, Ramona has  wanted the whole spotlight to herself. How hard is it to share a party? Ramona says she’s giving back to the girlfriends she’s known for thirty years, and it’s costing a lot of money, but Larry is giving her a good price. In her interview, Dorinda says, Ramona likes to do let’s make a deal. Dorinda doesn’t do that. She just gives them a credit card. Dorinda says, it’s Ramona’s coming out party? The next thing she’ll be having is an I-got-my-first-period party. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s chalking it up to jealousy, because they don’t have as many girlfriends as she does. Yeah. That must be it. They sit and go over ideas while stuffing their faces with cookies, and Dorinda suggests a woman covered in sushi. Both Ramona and Larry are like, eww! Ramona says there’s no formal theme, and she wants everyone to sit where they want, and mingle. Larry says people can sometimes get cliquey, and they want to make sure the attention is on Ramona. Like this would ever be a problem. He draws a diagram, and shows her where she’ll hold court. Ramona will be the chandelier. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, it’s always the Ramona show. Dorinda barely celebrates Jesus that much. She feels like she’s been kidnapped. How did this happen? They’re in a warehouse in Long Island, being ignored, and overdosing on sugar. Larry asks them to pose for a social media picture, and in her interview, Dorinda says, and now, they have to do a promo piece for Larry’s business. This has taken up a full day, and now they have to do a promo piece. Save the bullsh*t for your Hamptons friends. You’ve got the wrong audience here.

Rob brings Kier to Leah’s apartment. Leah says she’s testing recipes, and Kier makes a face. In Leah’s interview, she says, being the mom of a teen means you’re reminded every day of how you’re not cool. That’s basically what it’s like. She makes a green juice, and tries it. She says, it’s really healthy, and Rob takes a sip. He says it’s the first time he’s ever had one, and it’s not bad. In her interview, Leah says, it’s hard for a lot of people to understand their relationship. They’re like an amazing married couple, but they don’t live at the same address, and they don’t have sex. Leah asks Rob to throw out a giant plant that’s on its last legs, and Kier says she’s a waster. In Leah’s interview, she says Rob is good to have around to co-parent, but also do the man thing she doesn’t want to do. Except that one man thing. She has batteries for that. He leaves with the plant.

Ramona meets Tinsley for drinks, and says she wants Tinsley to be happy. In Ramona’s interview, she says she felt badly ignoring Tinsley at the restaurant. She suggested they meet for drinks at T Bar, and toast to her being back with Scott. Tinsley says, a lot happened really fast. She’s loved Scott for a long time, and they’ve been on this road before. LuAnn joins them, and in her interview, Tinsley says, it means a lot that Ramona and LuAnn reached out to her after their mean girls episode. If they want to talk about her happiness, she’s more than willing. Ramona’s friend Ron shows up, and in Tinsley’s interview, she says, typical Ramona, but at least she cares this much. Ramona says she’s happy for Tinsley, but it happened fast. Now she’s leaving New York. LuAnn asks if Tinsley is coming to her Halloween party, but Tinsley thinks she’ll be in Chicago; she’s moving tomorrow. In her interview, LuAnn says, it feels like it’s moving fast. She’s happy for Tinsley, but wishes she’d stay for a few days. The Halloween party she’s planning is over the top, and they could include celebrating Tinsley and Scott. Ha-ha-ha! Like that would happen. Nice of LuAnn to make it about her. Tinsley says Scott is building her a closet, and also a glam room, and Ramona says, that’s commitment. They clink glasses, and in Ramona’s interview, she says, when a man builds you a closet, that says a lot. She knows a woman who’s been dating a guy for seven years, and she still doesn’t have closet space in his house. This is real now. She hugs Tinsley, and LuAnn says she couldn’t be happier. They all want the best for Tinsley, and will miss her. They have a three-way hug, and LuAnn says they’ll want to see the ring. They toast, and Ramona says, to Tinsley’s happiness. May all your wishes and rainbows come true.

Tinsley packs, and Dale helps. She tells Dale that some things are going to Palm Beach, some to Newport storage, and some are going to Chicago. Dale looks at Tinsley’s baby cup, and starts to cry. She says Tinsley has always been on the east coast, and Tinsley says, it’s happy. She loves Chicago, and she loves Scott. Dale says, everything is changing. In Tinsley’s interview, she says, so much happened so fast. We flash back to her meeting Scott (and immediately making out with him), Scott bringing her a giant heart of flowers, break-ups, and make-ups. Tinsley says she knows if she doesn’t take this moment, she’ll regret it for the rest of her life. She’s going to listen to herself and what she wants, and nobody else. Leah come by, and says, oh my God, when she sees the dogs in tiny ruffled dresses. She opens some champagne. In Leah’s interview, she says, as sad as she is, she’s happy for Tinsley. She thought Tinsley was crazy for wanting to be the fairytale, and not the legend, but now she wishes she had ten percent of Tinsley’s optimism and belief in love. Sonja arrives, and Dale says, her favorite girl in the world. She hugs Sonja, who almost knocks over a lamp. In her interview, Sonja says she’s had her doubts in the past, but Tinsley is happy, and she only wants the best for her. Get ready, Chi-town. The Tins is on her way. Dale says Sonja took in her girl. She didn’t want Tinsley being by herself when she moved back to NYC, and Sonja said come and stay. We flash back to Tinsley living with Sonja, and Dale says she’s thankful. Sonja is generous and kind, and Dale loves her. Sonja says she loves Dale too. She only wanted Tinsley to be safe, get her own dog, and develop her brand again. Now she’s doing her charities and been in fashion shows, and a man has been thrown in the mix. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she’s glad for the pat on the back. Sonja says she loves that Tinsley’s fairytale is coming true. Leah toasts to Tinsley. In her interview, Tinsley says she’s changed so much since moving back to New York. She thought moving there would trigger her back to the old Tinsley from when she lived there before. It took time, but she feels like herself again, and she’s confident. We flash back to Tinsley performing in the Big Apple Circus, Tinsley dancing on a table, and the fashion show. She says she doesn’t think it would have happened without all the bumps in the way. Thank you, mug shot; thank you, Sonja’s townhouse; thank you, everyone she’s met along the way. It’s been a great ride, and she’s happy where she is. We read that Tinsley got her dream ring when Scott romantically proposed in front of Christmas carolers – with Dale’s approval. She’s in the process of planning her closet.

Coming up this season, Ramona terrorizes Sonja with a lobster, a tropical vacation, Ramona plunges a toilet, LuAnn gets back on a camel, LuAnn and Dorinda have it out, Ramona tells Dorinda to look in the mirror, Sonja tells Ramona STFU, Sonja tells Leah that she cheapens the group of friends, and Ramona tells the cameraman, we’re done.

🍽 We’re down to four on Top Chef, and tonight, Padma said they had one last journey. They were going to Parma, home of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham. Tom – who should be on Jeopardy, he’s so full of facts – said that the town is protected by the Italian government, who make sure those products are legit and only come from Parma. Their tour guide was going to be Lorenzo Cogo, the youngest Michelin star chef in Italy. The challenge was to create two dishes – a primi and secondi course – featuring the two ingredients, and they would be serving them to sixteen of the most esteemed chefs in Italy.

The chefs went to the home of a billion cheese wheels, where we learned that with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, age is the most important factor, and only salt is added by immersion. The cheese is tapped with a hammer to see if it’s good. In her interview, Melissa said she grew up with that nasty grated parmesan cheese. Yep. You know the one. It tastes like childhood. Moving on to where prosciutto is born, we learned to never cook it. Lorenzo seemed like a super cool guy, and the grocery store was phenomenal, with an abundance of fresh produce. Stephanie said Parma was very meat forward, but she wanted her dish to be vegetable forward, so the judges would have nothing else to compare it to. Their last stop was a cured ham place that was like something out of Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Afterwards, the chefs reminisced about the season. In Melissa’s interview, she talked about mending her relationship with her father, and said she thought it affected her cooking; her confidence is better. He’d finally said he was proud of her. They stayed overnight at a farm, where Stephanie said she never felt more happy, and when you’re happy, your food tastes better. She was ready to crush it.

Raft: a combination of ingredients that are added to clarify broth by trapping the impurities and then rising to the surface in a floating mass (from RecipeTips.com). I looked this up because Melissa said she broke her raft, and would have to go through the process again. At first, I thought she was talking about a piece of kitchen equipment, but then when I read that, it made sense. She said it was a total rookie move, and she didn’t have time for that.

Padma told introduced guest judge, author and chef Evan Funke. Apparently, he has a huge hand in how pasta is made in the US. Evan thought the challenge was incredibly difficult, because both ingredients have strong flavors and are salty. Tom said he thought the chefs all did well, and Padma told them that Melissa and Stephanie stood out. Stephanie seemed totally shocked, and said earning her place there was humbling and a proud moment. Evan said they were all extraordinary chefs, but the shining star was Melissa. Padma pointed out it was Melissa’s third win in a row. In her interview, Melissa said she couldn’t explain what it felt like, but she had one more big challenge to conquer. Kevin and Bryan looked pretty sad.

Evan said Bryan’s pasta was cooked the best, but he screwed up with the cheese (my words – Evan was much more eloquent). Padma said there was no heart soul in the dish, which seemed to offend Bryan, who said he tried to push the envelope and try something new. Gail said Kevin was too heavy-handed with the cheese, it was agreed the pork in his pork and apple dish was too tough. (During the tasting, one chef had said the pork didn’t welcome you.) Kevin said it was the most soulful of all the food he’d made, and that’s all he cared about at this point in his life. Gail said both of them didn’t execute the challenge when it came to the ingredients.

Tom said he had a lot of empathy for them. Coming back showed what they were made of – as chefs, but more important, as people. Kevin had to pack his knives, which sounded like it was painful for Padma to say. In his interview, said he’d learned to be a fighter, and fight for what he wanted in life. He told Bryan to have a good time, and everyone applauded as he bid farewell. In his exit interview, he said he’d had a lot of hard times, but fought back and won. He wanted people who were struggling to have hope that there were great things on the other side. Bravo, Kevin!

Next time – the finale – the chefs are challenged to make the best four-course meal of their lives, get help from former contestants, and the judges take a turn at cooking.

👨🏽‍🍳 The Young One…

Read more about Chef Lorenzo. He’s quite impressive.

https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/chefs/lorenzo-cogo#:~:text=At%20just%20thirty%2Done%20years,figures%20in%20modern%20Italian%20cuisine.

🍜 Bring In Da Funke…

Learn what rules Evan goes by.

https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/evan-funke-pasta-rules

💃🏽 Beyond the Franchise…

What happens when a Housewife is put out to pasture.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x4q9z/divorcing-reality-tv-what-happens-after-you-leave-the-real-housewives

🧙🏽 An Unconventional Convention…

At least you don’t have to stand in line for autographs.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/san-diego-comic-con-2020-announces-virtual-convention-dates/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

🚶🏽‍♀️ Limping Along…

It’s been another one of them there long weeks. My dog Trinket (somewhat misnamed, since she’s kind of tank shaped) came through surgery fine, but is still out of it. I’ll have what she’s having. I don’t think she’s thrilled with the fashionable leopard neck pillow she now has to wear either. I got 99 problems, and at least that one is crossed off the list. Go forth and stay safe, stay moving forward, and stay curiouser and curiouser.

Jun11

June 10, 2020 – GH Continues With 2018, Real Boredom of Beverly Hills, Ramona’s Prize, My Year & Tomorrow

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH flashback episode was from May 20th (according to the digital guide), at the 2019 Nurse’s Ball. The nurses opened with The Best of My Love. Mike had given Yvonne the engagement ring Finn had intended to give Anna, that Robert was supposed to be holding. Backstage, Cameron made friends Budgie the llama, until Felix came to fetch him (the llama, not Cameron). Shiloh was Sam’s date, while Spinelli and Jason set up surveillance at the Dawn of Day house. Lucy was supposed to get Doc (who was really Ryan) in a compromising position, so she and Scotty could uncouple Doc/Ryan and Ava, but it didn’t work out. Josslyn and Kristina stayed home watching movies, until they looked at photos from the Ball, and Kristina saw Sam with Shiloh. At the Ball with Maxie, Peter suggested Lulu mentor Molly, and questioned Shiloh about leading DoD. Maxie pointed out that Shiloh’s self-given name meant he who has been sent, and thought it was the perfect name for the leader of a cult. Kristina called Jason about Sam, and he told her it would all work out, but she wasn’t having it, and headed for the Ball.

Chase told Willow not to let Shiloh and Nina get to her. Still pretending to be Nina’s daughter, Sasha attended with Michael, and Willow told them that she’d been fired. Confused as to why Robert was toting an engagement ring, Anna confronted him in the dressing room, saying she’d always love him, but she was in love with Finn. What they had was in the past. Sonny told Mike that the ring he’d given Yvonne was a fake, so he could get it back, and Finn gave Mike a replacement that Yvonne ended up liking even more. Chase performed Something Just Like This, and brought Willow up on stage. She miraculously became part of the performance even though she hadn’t rehearsed with them. Although now that I think about it, none of them really rehearse. Finn said despite Robert’s best efforts, he was still proposing to Anna. Robert wanted the replacement ring back, but Finn said that was a no. Robert figured Finn had lost it out of spite, but Finn said it had gone to a good cause. Mike reminisced about Summer Wind with Sonny, which pissed me off, since they skipped right over that episode. Willow told Chase groupies would be coming out of the woodwork, but he said she was the only fangirl he was interested in.

Lucy thanked Cameron for saving her llama, and Cameron left the Ball to see Josslyn. He told Josslyn that he had an Uber waiting if she wanted to go, but she said she couldn’t sing without Oscar. Cameron told her that he’d brought her a message from Oscar. Kristina showed up at the Ball, and told Shiloh to get the hell away from Sam, and Jason told Spinelli, this ends tonight. Anna made a speech about the importance of the event, and said passion, fight, and healing was what the Ball was about. She said when Robin had been diagnosed in 1995, it was considered a death sentence, but where there is life, there is hope, which was the true meaning of the night. Standing in the wings, Robert jostled Finn’s arm, and the ring rolled out to Anna’s feet.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

While I love watching people watch TV even more than watching TV, this was incredibly boring. I get that the networks want to stretch the seasons out because of the pandemic causing delays, but I would have rather seen a rerun of a show from Bravo’s infancy, or how about rerunning Odd Mom Out or Girlfriends Guide to Divorce? Or Real Housewives of Wherever-the-hell-it-was in England that I never saw? During the day, Bravo has been airing early Housewives and Below Deck episodes, an enjoyable trip down Reality Memory Lane. Tonight, it was mostly just Garcelle and Dorit literally staring at the show (they were not physically together, and I don’t think could hear one another). Bravo had the right vibe when Kate did commentary on Below Deck a while back. Between her acerbic wit, and being in quarantine at her parents’ house, where mom made guest appearances, it totally worked. This was mostly a nothing. Garcelle and Dorit watched episode six (with the astrologer; not that long ago), which Garcelle said she hadn’t seen yet. While I’d been looking forward to Garcelle entertaining me with droll bon mots, there was little commentary. I’m not sure why Dorit was chosen, since she’s not all that charismatic, so I didn’t expect much from her. Her comments were fluctuated between the generic, and talking to the TV itself. You know. Like how you tell that girl in the slasher film to look behind her. Or how I rail at the cast members of 90 Day Fiancé for the entire two hours. I don’t know if Garcelle was holding back, or just genuinely more interested in watching, but it wasn’t what I’d expected from her. She did immediately say nothing good was going to come out of this when she saw herself gathered with her girlfriends, and said she talks way too much when she heard herself mention she’d dated Will Smith, but after that, it was a let-down. Garcelle said she had Denise’s back as far as adult talk in front of the kids, but that wasn’t new information, and Dorit said she saw both sides. No surprise there, since she’s often a non-committal fence rider because she wants to be liked.

Erika’s Chicago dance rehearsal was revisited; LisaR and Harry discussed the kids; and Dorit and PK talked restaurant business with PK’s buddy. At Erika’s astrology get together, I once again had to suffer through LisaR’s screeching about her and Erika wearing the same thing. Although Tom’s bravery at sitting with this group for even an hour was commendable. As LisaR said in her interview, the night could be fun or an epic disaster, but I found it to be neither the first time around. The letters zzzz come to mind. Garcelle laughed at her own reactions, which was funny, and Dorit agreed that Kyle had to be the center of attention, saying, Kyle is a one-way street, which surprised me. They both overreacted when Kyle asked if Erika didn’t have any good friends, gasping as though she’d said Erika had ax murderers as friends. It wasn’t a nice thing to say, but I didn’t think it was that awful. I’ve certainly heard a lot worse on this show. At the end, Garcelle said she wouldn’t call it fun, but didn’t say what she would call it, and Dorit said she needed a drink. It might have been a lot more fun if she’d had one beforehand.

🗽 Remember Him…?

You should. He was hard to miss, and it was only last week. He’s the dude who Ramona targeted flirted with at the bar in Newport. The one with the fiancé. Or as Leah called him, the prize.

https://tvdeets.com/courtland-sykes-real-housewives-of-new-york-city

Read all about him.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/27/politics/missouri-gop-candidate-feminists-she-devils/index.html

🎸 This Is the Year I Win…

I’m always entering contests for a free trip to Lallapalooza (with VIP passes), so this clinches it. 2020 will be the year I win.

https://news.avclub.com/lollapaloozas-canceled-too-1843968520?utm_source=AV_Club_Daily_RSS&utm_medium=email

🏵 A Better Tomorrow…

I have a lot to say about the recent heads on the Bravo chopping block, but I want to be thoughtful, so I’m taking a little time with that. My sweet pup Trinket also has surgery scheduled for today, so it’s been a little hectic. Please send her your good thoughts and prayers. And in the meantime, stay safe, stay fair, and stay looking for teachable moments.

Jun5

June 4, 2020 – Memorial Preempt, GH Gets Involved, Jake’s History, Newport Cougars, Chefs In Tuscany, BH Special, Heather’s Wise Words, Secret Wives, a Dad’s Review & Roar

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH flashback would have been from May 25th, 2017, a continuation of the 2017 Nurse’s Ball. However, GH was preempted for the George Floyd’s Memorial Service, which even I have to admit, is important for everyone to see. You can easily find it on YouTube, but here are some highlights:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/04/us/gallery/george-floyd-memorial-services/index.html

🙌🏽 Soap Rep…

How some GH cast members got involved.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/stars-join-peaceful-protests

🚴🏾‍♂️ Catching You Up…

If you missed it, or like me, just plain forgot, find out how Jake got involved with Helena in the first place.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/jake-general-hospital-history-131708

The Real Housewives of New York City

Leah asks if anyone is freaking out over her behavior, and LuAnn says they didn’t like the Tasmanian Devil. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, they’re not perfect. They all do crazy things, but this is a new crazy. They need to get used to it. Elyse says she wasn’t freaking out, but to be honest, she’s never seen someone so off the rails. Leah says she needed to get it out. She’s been with her kid, holding it together. Tinsley hugs Leah, who adds, it was totally cathartic. In Leah’s interview, she says she’s not in the best place mentally. She had a huge falling out with the guy she was dating. She drank to forget, and drank too much. Elyse says she’s never been with a woman, but if she did, it would be Leah. We flash back to Elyse saying she wanted to sleep with Ramona, after Ramona bragged about a three-condom night. Elyse says after seeing Leah so crazy, she wants that experience in bed. Sarah arrives, and Leah introduces her around. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s glad Leah’s sister is there to keep her company. They’ll see how it goes. Sarah says it’s her first 24-hours away from the baby. Sarah misses her, but she doesn’t have to wake up suddenly, and do something for someone. Dorinda says she and Leah look like each other (they do), and asks where Sarah lives. Sarah says, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Dorinda tells her about seeing a special about Williamsburg, and how they have the best macaroons. She was ready to pack her bags and go there.

They go back to where they’re staying, and Tinsley, Leah, and Sarah take a selfie on the terrace. The women get ready for dinner. Sonja tells Ramona that she’s not doing her hair and makeup; she’s just changing her clothes and underwear. Dorinda goes to LuAnn’s room, and says she started without them. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she loves Dorinda, but when she says she’s been drinking all day, and they’re going out to dinner, it’s all kinds of red flags. Dorinda says she talked to John, and LuAnn asks if she’s okay. Dorinda tears up, and LuAnn says, talk to her. Dorinda says she just wants to be left alone for a little while, and LuAnn says just tell John that she needs time. He’ll  understand. She feels like Dorinda is feeling bad for John, and that’s not the way to make a decision. Dorinda says she doesn’t want to be a downer, but she’s sad. LuAnn says, of course; they were together a long time. In Dorinda’s interview, she says when she’s not talking to John, she can get through it, but when she talks to him, she realizes they’ve broken up, and he’s not part of her life anymore. She’s sad and emotional. She’s alone again. LuAnn says, let him go, and see what happens. Dorinda says, let the birdcage free, which doesn’t seem quite right, but okay. LuAnn tells her not to worry. She always lands on her feet. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she’s been there, and it’s not easy. Dorinda and John have been together a long time. If you don’t deal with your emotions, it creates negative energy. Dorinda thinks she’s not in a good place, and they drink some wine. LuAnn says now they have to go out with these crazy chicks.

The women meet at restaurant. I wonder what the hell Sonja is wearing; sparkly silver leggings with sneakers or some kind of flats. It’s not a good look. For anyone. Ramona, Sonja, and LuAnn immediately gravitate to the bar, even though their table is ready. In Tinsley’s interview, when the table isn’t ready, you go to the bar, but if it’s ready, you sit at the table. Ramona flirts with some guys, while Elyse sits alone, waiting. In her interview, Tinsley says Ramona is always getting up to talk to men to show she can get attention. She acts like she’s a goddess, but she’s not. She blows off one on one personal time with friends just to prove she’s still got it. It’s not right. In Elyse’s interview, she says, hi, I’m Ramona. Can I feel your muscles? Ramona finds out that the guy she’s been chatting up is engaged, and in Tinsley’s interview, she says, he’s spoken for. Can we now get to the table? She sits, and says, she’s embarrassed. Ramona, Sonja, and LuAnn are still at the bar, when waiter Sean comes by, and Dorinda tells him to come back. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Leah is out of sight, out of mind. The seat at the bar is better than the seat at the table. Tinsley says, they’re cougaring out, and it’s rude. Leah suggests she tell them that their behavior is embarrassing. In her interview, she says she loves Tinsley, but doesn’t think her delivery and communication skills with these women is productive. They need to be communicated with in a special way. She says this like she’s been a real winner in that department. Tinsley goes to the bar, and tells Sonja there’s a nice spot at the table, but Sonja ignores her and talks to another guy. Tinsley tries to get the women to sit, and engaged guy looks annoyed, although I’m not sure who he’s annoyed with, Tinsley, the others, or both. In Sonja’s interview, she says she can’t believe Tinsley is trying to drag them back to the table. She thinks checking the hot guys out is a great alternative. I might think so too, if there were any hot guys there. Tinsley tells the engaged guy to quit talking to them, then decides she’d rather have dinner without them. Sonja and LuAnn eat something Lady and the Tramp spaghetti style. Bleh. Tinsley tells Ramona that she’s rude; Ramona isn’t even looking at her. She asks them to please come to the table. LuAnn goes to the table, and tells Dorinda that Ramona isn’t a good wingwoman. Tinsley sits down, and says they’re rude; they look like cougars. Dorinda babbles to Elyse, and in Leah’s interview, she says she’s thinking the guy will take one look at her and her sister and forget the others. She and Sarah go to the bar, and she tells the guy that they’re trying to get their friends over to the table. He says they’re talking, and Sarah says she doesn’t think his fiancé would like it. Not-so-hot guy says the situation is their effing problem, and walks away. In her interview, Leah says, this is the prize. That tells her everything she needs to know, but mission accomplished. He’s gone. In Ramona’s interview, she says the last thing Tinsley should do is take her away from the man she’s talking to. Man, is this woman some kind of insecure.

Dorinda babbles about having a Black Card to Elyse. In Elyse’s interview, she says Dorinda is over-the-top drunk. Tinsley is escalating, and the ones at the bar are a geriatric version of Girls Gone Wild. Ramona and Sonja join them, and LuAnn suggests bringing it down a notch. Tinsley tells Ramona that if she’d set up the dinner, she’d want them to be respectful. Dorinda wonders what’s going on, and LuAnn says they need to find kindness. Sonja starts yelling, and in Leah’s interview, she says she’s flabbergasted. She knows she was acting like a maniac yesterday, but at least she’s a fun maniac. LuAnn thinks it’s nasty, and Ramona says talk to Leah’s sister, who’s guilty by association. Dorinda gets up, and Leah says Ramona should take a note from her sister, and learn how to behave. Dorinda says she’s going home, and in her interview, she says she should have stayed home. She had Ghost Hunters geared up, and room service, and was going to sleep at 6:30. Sonja burps, Ramona acts like she’s being choked by the decorative flint corn on the table, and Sonja trumps that with using some squash from the same centerpiece to block her ears. LuAnn asks if anybody would like a shrimp, and Leah says she can’t. Ramona and Sonja trash Leah’s sister; Ramona calling her a demon, and Sonja saying she’s a weirdo. LuAnn says she’s made an executive decision; they’re going back to the hotel. In Leah’s interview, she says, go ahead and f*** with her, but not with her family. She sits across from Ramona, throws a ravioli at Ramona’s face, and leaves. In Elyse’s interview, she says Ramona didn’t even flinch. She tells Ramona that it’s all over her face. Outside, Leah tells Tinsley what she did, and Tinsley says, sometimes you just have to throw a ravioli. Truth! Ramona says she doesn’t need people like this in her life. They’re not invited to her birthday party. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s disappointed in Leah. Disappointment is worse than anger because… it just is. LuAnn comes back in, and says this was upsetting. Tinsley, Sarah, and Leah head back, and Leah says she’s done. She’s over it. LuAnn sets the stalk end of the corn on fire, for the energy. In her interview, Leah says she feels bad, but not bad enough to change who she is. She kisses Tinsley, and they both fall on the ground.

What’s sad is, I’m wondering if I’ll end up hating this show as much as Beverly Hills just because of Ramona. NYC was always my jam, but she’s become an embarrassing snake, who will toss aside her friends for any man or friends higher on the social ladder. She’s always been an embarrassment of some sort, and occasionally the voice of reason, but she’s so worried about dying alone, she’s become the worst kind of friend ever. Some of the others, like Leah, exhibit bad behavior, but Ramona is beyond self-centered.

Dorinda goes to LuAnn’s room, and LuAnn asks if she had breakfast. Dorinda says she had a hamburger from room service; she likes lunch for breakfast. Sarah tells Leah that she’s annoyed. She came so far to have a relaxing 24-hours, but it’s not relaxing; it’s upsetting. Leah says the women treating Sarah like that because of her. It’s not okay, and she feels bad that she invited Sarah and this sh*t happened. In Leah’s interview, she says she doesn’t feel happy. She’s not proud losing her temper to the point where she threw food. She’s also feeling bad that her sister had a sh*tty time. She’s not sure how to move forward with this group, and doesn’t even know if that can happen.

Dorinda tells LuAnn that she likes Leah. She thinks Leah is young and lost. LuAnn says, it’s sad, but it’s one thing to upset someone, and another to be all out aggressive. She threw ravioli at Ramona. (It’s not about the pasta.) Dorinda wishes she’d stayed for that one. LuAnn says, when you push that far, it’s hard to go back. In Ramona’s interview, she says it’s not that Leah can’t be who she is, but if that’s who she is, it’s unacceptable. She needs to act nutty around her other girlfriends. Elyse says, not that it’s justified, but she’s known Ramona a long time, and when they’re in a group, even she finds it hard to break in sometimes. Leah takes things to heart, like what Sonja said about people with tattoos being dirty and diseased. Sonja says Leah is a loose cannon (which is rich, coming from the biggest cannon there). She was arrested, and thrown out of school. Sonja adds that she’s trying to be sensitive.

Sarah tells Leah, all of these women have had a night where they threw ravioli in someone’s face. They’re passive, and it’s hard to get an apology from someone who’s passive/aggressive. They’ll just say they didn’t mean it. Leah says her problem isn’t being passive/aggressive; she’s just in your face. It makes her crazy when she’s told to act in a different way. Sarah says Leah doesn’t understand the game of dealing with people. LuAnn asks Dorinda how they’re going to fix this. Dorinda says they can’t, and LuAnn says, no, the girls have to fix it, but how can they help facilitate it? They can’t let this continue; it’s a nightmare. She thinks, if it can swing that far to the right, it can swing back that far to the left. Elyse asks Ramona and Sonja how can they move forward from this. She promises if they give Leah a chance… Sonja says they don’t know when she’s going to go off; she’s like a timebomb. Ramona says there’s a certain demeanor and caliber; a way of acting with the group. Would that be selfishly? Egotistically? She’s not being specific. In Ramona’s interview, she says, it puts a damper in their dynamic. If Leah can’t act properly, no way Jose. Sarah tells Leah, it’s a pit in the ocean. Dorinda tells LuAnn, they’ll hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

Back in the city, LuAnn meets with cabaret producer Ben for lunch. He thinks it would be a good idea for her to open with Life is a Cabaret, by which I assume he means Cabaret. He tells her that she put cabaret on the map, and made it popular. I nearly choke on my coffee. Ben is a real ass kisser, and the Countess is just lapping it up. In her interview, LuAnn says, it’s an all new Lu. She wants to do an expansion on Marry-Eff-Kill. Who doesn’t love sex, and who doesn’t want to see her being naughty? Ben says she should include the audience, build on the theme, but include traditional songs. Barbara Streisand always has to sing People. I have no words. LuAnn says they need to include Sonja. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, Sonja loves to be on stage, and was in her original shows. We flash back to when Sonja had a wardrobe malfunction, and her dress pretty much came off of her. LuAnn says Sonja needs to get on stage with her – now. She suggests Sonja sing Jovani with her. Ben wonders if they could get a breakaway outfit for Sonja, and LuAnn says, Sonja loves to lose her skirt. They could reveal one fabulous dress after another.

Leah’s meets her parents, Bryan and Bunny, for lunch. These two could pass for Billy Crystal and Carol Kane in The Princess Bride, albeit better looking. I kid you not. In Leah’s interview, she says things are not resolved with her mother since she’s been trying moderate drinking. Wow. If that’s moderate, I’d hate to see her on a real bender. She wants to get to the point where her mom accepts things, and wants Leah to be happy with the decisions she makes, but she’ll never get that. Bryan orders an old fashioned, and tells Leah that he needs to stay away from anything acidic. The lining between his esophagus and stomach is wearing out. In her interview, Leah says she has the qualities of both of her parents, but she’s more her father’s daughter. Leah asks if Sarah said anything about Newport, and Bully says Leah spills her guts, but Sarah is quieter. Leah says she thought she could blow off some steam with the women. She didn’t do anything different from them – they’re not the ladies who lunch; they’re wild – but then they turned it around, saying they were scared of her. Bunny asks if she got nasty, and Leah says not until the next day, when she was pushed. Bunny thinks alcohol is a slippery slope. In her interview, Leah says she can agree, but she thinks when her mom hears about her drinking, it’s a trigger. It’s like she has PTSD from Leah’s early years. Leah tells Bunny, she likes an escape once in a while, but Bunny says if she has the addiction genes, it’s a slippery slope. Bryan makes a joke about genes/jeans, and Bunny says Leah shouldn’t trade her health and sobriety for stupid reasons.

In the swank space on the rooftop of Dorinda’s building, she wonders where her co-host LuAnn is. We see a clip of LuAnn asking what they’re going to do about the situation. Dorinda suggests a tea party where they can relax and relate, and says the rooftop of her building is perfect. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she came out of the Newport weekend feeling exhausted. They’re gathering, but not connecting. They can have tea, but no alcohol will be involved, which is always a good thing with this group. Dorinda tells Leah to think before she speaks, and Leah says she’ll feel it out. In Leah’s interview, she says she knows if she doesn’t take the high road, there will be no reconciliation, and she was wrong to throw ravioli at Ramona. Everyone is dressed up, with hats or fascinators. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, she doesn’t know what co-host means to LuAnn. Dorinda seats everyone, and in Ramona’s interview, she says, it’s ironic that Dorinda and LuAnn are throwing a tea party with crumpets and scones. Maybe they’re trying to teach Leah a few things. Maybe someone should teach Ramona the meaning of the word ironic. Sonja and Tinsley are (no surprise) late, and LuAnn asks if they should start without them. Ramona says, if you have three or more, it’s allowed. I immediately make a mental note of this, just in case I need to know. Leah says she owes Ramona an apology. She didn’t want it to get to that point. Ramona says Leah disrupted the weekend, but she’s sorry, so it’s okay. She walked away from the weekend emotionally upset, but if Leah is willing, they can put it behind them and reset. Leah says she’s not apologizing for who she is, but for what she did. Ramona says if that’s Leah’s normal behavior, it scares her. Leah asks if Ramona has ever seen her act like that before, and LuAnn says, at Ramona’s house in the Hamptons. Leah says she won’t turn up any more. Ramona says she was exhausted, and Dorinda tells her, don’t get carried away. They’ve all had moments. We flash back to Dorinda in loud drunk mode, Sonja falling on the floor after saying she’d knock Bethenny out, LuAnn in custody, and Ramona throwing a glass at Kristen’s face. I met Kristen once. She was a very nice person, which explains why she’s no longer on the show. Ramona and Leah hug, and Leah says she feels bad, and Ramona says she’s a good girl. They’ve had some great moments, and they can have more. In Ramona’s interview, she says the apology isn’t what she wanted, but has a soft spot for Leah. She doesn’t know why. They both get weepy, and Leah says she’s a cry baby. Dorinda says Ramona is a big softie. In her interview, Leah says she doesn’t know why she’s so emotional. She’s projecting her mommy issues onto this relationship. It’s really weird. Ramona says they’ll get through this; it will be okay. Sonja comes in, with Tinsley not far behind. Dorinda wishes they had clotted cream, and Ramona says they don’t need potted cream. Leah says Tinsley literally looks like Barbie. In Tinsley’s interview, she says, going to a tea party, dressed up, in puffy sleeves. It’s the most exciting thing ever. She loves it. Dorinda has everyone change seats, and Ramona hugs Leah again. She says Leah touches a special place in her. I sit on any and all jokes. Dorinda says she wants to talk to Tinsley privately.

Dorinda tells Tinsley that she doesn’t want to be aggressive in her approach. She knows for a fact that Tinsley was in Niagara Falls with Scott, and Tinsley needs to tell them that she’s seeing him. I just don’t get why this is such a huge issue for Dorinda, especially since no one else seems to care. Tinsley says she’s not seeing him. She ran into him in Toronto, and they flew to Niagara Falls. It was a two day thing. Dorinda says she doesn’t care; it’s deceptive. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she knows someone who knows someone who sent her a picture, and said Tinsley and Scott were spending the weekend together. Why is Tinsley lying about it? Tinsley asks if Dorinda wants every detail of her life, and Dorinda says she’s not after details, but Tinsley claims they’re not together. Tinsley says, they’re not, but she’s hopeful it will turn into something. Dorinda says Tinsley needs to tell them. She tells Tinsley, she’ll leave it to her, and goes back to the table. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she’s a person, and has a life. She doesn’t share every detail; neither does Dorinda. Don’t put her on blast for not being open. She’s very open and honest. She doesn’t think she needs to say it.

Tinsley goes back to the table, and says she didn’t think she needed to tell anybody if she happened to see her ex on the weekend. Ramona asks if she’s back with Scott. It’s a huge move, and Tinsley needs to share it. Elyse says she understands why Tinsley didn’t want to say anything. She doesn’t need their comments. In Ramona’s interview, she says, she understands it’s Tinsley’s private business. She saw Scott for the first time in a long time, and she didn’t want to share it. She doesn’t want to hear their opinions, especially Dorinda. Dorinda acts like she’s a detective, finding out things about Tinsley. Is she really so concerned about what Tinsley does? LuAnn asks if they can know how it went, and Tinsley says, it went well. Dorinda asks why she’s crying then, and Tinsley says she thinks it won’t end up well. Like always. In her interview, Tinsley says she and Scott always break up, but you need to do what you need to do to get what you want. And she wants to be with Scott. She tells the women that she loves him. She tried being away from him, but she can’t. Leah says, just be with him, and Sonja – who wakes up for a second – agrees. LuAnn says Tinsley needs to call the shots, and Leah says, tell him, put a ring on it, impregnate me right TF now, or it’s a wrap. Ramona says Dorinda and LuAnn know how to throw a tea party.

Next time, Ramona whines about her birthday, Dale tells Tinsley that everything is changing, a Haunted House, Dorinda finds the man of her dreams, and Leah makes a toast.

🍜 Top Chef began with Tom talking about Italy, and how Covid-19 had affected things since they’d been there. He sent his good wishes, and hoped things would be back to normal soon, and they could return.

The Quickfire challenge had the chefs making an aperitivo for 30 locals from the town of Lucca; something that paired with Peroni beer. The station they picked would determine the region their ingredients came from, and the winner would receive $10K courtesy of Peroni.

The chefs flew business class to Italy, and it looked beyond fabulous. I would love to be able to fly first class before I die. It just looks like the epitome of luxury. Business class would be okay too. In his interview, Kevin said learned to fight every day like it’s his last, and he was ready. Bryan said he’d studied the Russian language, which was not going to help him here. Padma introduced guest chef Filippo Saporito, who tasted the dishes along with the locals. He told Padma that Melissa’s mussel offering opened your heart and your stomach, which I assume is fairly high praise. Melissa was close, but Kevin won with his polenta.

For the elimination challenge, the chefs would be hunting white truffles for use in a dish for a Tuscan food festival. In Stephanie’s interview, she said it was a chef’s dream to go truffle hunting in Tuscany. They would be guided by employees of the Savini family, who are apparently top-of-the-line procurers of truffles. The only requirement of the dish was that it showcase the truffle. The chefs would have three hours to prep and cook, and be serving 100 diners, including million Michelin star chef Cristiano Tomei. The chefs got together with two guys and two dogs, and the hunt was on. They were surprised to find tons of truffles, and it reminded me of the day it seemed like a truckload of beach glass was dumped on our nearby beach. One of food’s most precious treasures, the white truffle goes for nearly $3K per pound, so I won’t be cooking with that any time soon. The chefs had 45 minutes and 400 euros to shop in Italy’s version of Whole Foods. Gregory was having back problems, and it was seriously interfering with his concentration. I felt badly for him, and totally identified.

Stephanie, whose first anniversary fell on the day of the challenge, was surprised to find Italian radicchio had a stronger flavor than that in the U.S., and thought it was too much for her dish. Rather than take it off the menu, which she’d already established, she did her best to tone it down. When it came time for the judging, Tom said, for the most part, the dishes were good, but not every dish was good with truffles. Melissa had wanted to do some Asian/Italian fusion, and her congee was a unanimous hit. Gail said she might start a congee revolution, and Chef Tomei said she had the courage to do the necessary thing. Whatever that meant. She was the winner, with her dish being declared intelligent, fresh, and harmonious. Bryan was in as well, Gail saying his veal and potato dish was a beautiful way to use a truffle. It was simple and let the truffle do its job.

On the downside, Gregory’s wild boar hid the truffle flavor. Tom said Gregory made a great stew, but it wasn’t good for truffles. Chef Tomei said black truffles would have made a difference, but the white truffles had too delicate a flavor. Kevin also had too much going on with his meatball effort, and the truffles were overwhelmed. Padma said it was courageous of Stephanie to make pasta, but the radicchio obliterated the taste of the truffle filling. Stephanie admitted she had been afraid to take it off the menu when she’d already chosen to include it. Padma said they might have thought the radicchio should have been included, but would have respected her decision.

In the end, Padma said they bottom three had good dishes, but didn’t use the truffle properly, and Gail said they all essentially made the same mistake. Tom said that chefs understand traditions so they can break them, but one dish went to far. Gregory had to pack his knives and go. In his exit interview, he said he’d really wanted to win, but the life lesson he learned was that he can’t always control what happens. It was the wrong dish to serve with truffles. He gave the competition 110%, and had a few regrets, but knew he’d done everything physically and mentally that he could. It was a great start for his next chapter.

Next time, the chefs go to Parma, the home of Parmesan cheese. The chefs will be making their own interpretation of traditional dishes for sixteen Michelin star chefs.

⏰ On Wednesday, June 10th, at 9 pm, Bravo will be airing a special episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills where Garcelle and Dorit will be giving commentary on one of the recent episodes. While I might have picked someone other than Dorit, count me in. The only thing better than watching TV, is watching other people watch TV.

🐱 Lord Tubbington’s Mom Speaks Out…

Fondue For Two was my favorite thing on Glee, and it sounds like Heather Morris has the same good heart that her character did.

https://pagesix.com/2020/06/03/heather-morris-agrees-glee-co-star-lea-michele-was-unpleasant-on-set/

👠 Real Housewives Of What…?

Apparently, like the cat of the same name, they’re invisible.

https://tvdeets.com/itvbe-real-housewives-of-cheshire-virtual-reunion/

👩🏾‍🍳 Sweet Review…

We could all use some positive news, and it doesn’t get much better than this.

https://people.com/food/dads-review-of-daughters-play-restaurant-provides-candid-message-about-advocating-for-black-businesses/

🪂 Sliding Into the Weekend Like…

You made it to another Friday, which hopefully is gaining more meaning again. See you for tea and words of wisdom tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay current, and stay open to learning something new, while respecting the old.

May30

May 29, 2020 – The 2015 Ball Continues, GH Family, Special 90, Dodd Again, Talley Speaks, Real Ring, Scheana’s World, Getting Help, Baby Time, Doodle This, 10½ Quotes & You

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

To round out the week of Nurse’s Ball flashbacks, today’s GH was from May 5th, 2015. Elizabeth had an announcement, and while we all thought she was going to tell everyone Jake Doe was really Jason (although he was ultimately Jason’s twin), when she took the mic, she talked about Robin and Stone, and Robin’s courage. She said she wished she could be that brave. After playing Phantom of the Nurse’s Ball, tiny terrorizing the event, and not impressing Emma (a scene I’d missed yesterday), Spencer’s late mother Courtney paid him an otherworldly visit. Courtney told him that making people feel badly reflected badly on him, and maybe he really felt badly about himself. She encouraged him to go to the Ball, and stop pretending that he had a hideous deformity. She got him to remove his make, and he really didn’t have much of anything.

At the Ball, Elizabeth told Nikolas she wanted the chance with Jake that she never had with Jason, and that she deserved happiness. Jake did a lot of talking to who-the-hell-is-that-guy? and Spinelli sang Stephen Bishop’s It Might Be You, which was my wedding song. Mixed emotions there – ha-ha. Who-the-hell-is-that-guy? #2 talked to Duke about taking Jordan out, and I don’t mean on a date. Felix presented Lucy with flowers, and the show ended with Sabrina and Epiphany singing You’re Not Alone, and everyone joining hands on stage.

I have no clue what the deal is for next week, or whether they’re going to continue the 2015 Ball, which has another episode. The digital guide isn’t showing any episodes as new, so we’ll see.

🏡 It All Comes Down To Family…

There’s a new GH promo in town.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/watch-general-hospitals-powerful-new-promo

🍼 90 Day Fiancé: What Now? Lauran and Alexi’s Baby Special airs Monday, June 1st at 10 pm. I think these two are going to make fabulous parents.

🤷🏻‍♂️ She’s Just Misunderstood…

When you have to explain what you meant every time you say something, maybe you should learn new words.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/26/kelly-dodd-says-no-one-is-dying-of-coronavirus-in-orange-county/

👠 He Saw, He Vogued, He Conquered…

I’m feeling so bad about my dog, I actually paid full price for the Nook version of The Chiffon Trenches. It’s okay, but not as good as the Bette Davis bio I just finished. Still, both of them had their heartaches.

https://guestofaguest.com/new-york/fashion/andre-leon-talley-is-spilling-major-tea-about-his-friendship-with-anna-wintour

https://guestofaguest.com/new-york/fashion/graydon-carter-interview-with-andre-leon-talley-after-that-anna-wintour-drama

👘 The Story Behind the Story…

The Japanese version is almost always better.

https://www.ihorror.com/the-real-japanese-story-that-helped-inspire-the-ring/

👙 Oh Scheana, My Scheana…

If she thinks she’s not being promoted, I’d like to know what the endless flashbacks of Good As Gold, and having to watch her new crappy music video (aka, the closest she’s ever going to get to Brett again) was about. And besides, she should know LVP can do no wrong.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/28/scheana-shay-says-she-begged-lisa-vanderpump-for-help-over-vanderpump-rules-edit/

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/27/scheana-shay-felt-vindicated-and-frustrated-after-editor-revealed-vendetta-against-vanderpump-rules-star/

🥼 Hopefully It Sticks…

I like Dorinda, and being a bully doesn’t suit her, or serve the show well.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/28/meet-the-doctor-who-changed-dorinda-medleys-life/

🤰🏾 The Right To Choose…

Miss Quad (Married To Medicine) has adopted.

https://www.essence.com/love/married-to-medicine-star-quad-webb-adopts-daughter/

And you can find Kandi’s advice on surrogacy here.

https://shows.cadence13.com/podcast/yes-girl

🎨 I’ll Show You Mine…

See my Google Doodle and make one of your own.

https://g.co/doodle/fmd7mxqndjkzlxsm8

🗣 Quotes of the Week

Life is problems. Living is solving problems. – Raymond E. Feist

Expectations make people miserable, so whatever yours are, lower them. You’ll definitely be happier. – Simone Elkeles (Or as Kevin James as Doug on King of Queens would say, the lower you go, the happier you’ll be.)

You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. – Epicurus

Thank God for wine. – a girl on Blind Date

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. – Albert Einstein

There comes a point when you either embrace who and what you are, or condemn yourself to be miserable all your days. – Laurell K. Hamilton

Pain is a pesky part of being human, I’ve learned it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all do without, in our lives here. – C. JoyBell C.

Wow. That seems a little late. – an 11-year-old after her mother told her she’s the first Black lead in The Nutcracker

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back. – Maya Angelou

In every age, the good old days were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them. – Brooks Atkinson

🤸🏽‍♀️ Wherever You Go, There You Are…

Not my greatest week, but we made it to another end of one, and get to do it all over again. Now that there’s been a bit of a tide turn, get out and do something different if you can. Start reclaiming your weekend. Be kind, and don’t be stupid. See you on the Deck side, and meanwhile, stay safe, stay keeping your distance socially, and please, stay rational.

May29

May 28, 2020 – Nurse’s Ball 2015, Look Out Newport, New Interpretations, a Hiatus, a Break-Up, Gordon Speaks & Keep Going

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Today’s GH Nurse’s Ball flashback was from May 1st, 2015. Britt and Brad watched the red carpet from home while eating ice cream out of the container. Patrick was with Sam, Hayden showed up with Drew (at the time, Jake Doe), and Michael was with Sabrina. Duke was back from the dead, and Anna showed up with who-the-hell-is-that-guy? Felix arrived with Lucas, but told the interviewer that it wasn’t a love match; he was still single and Lucas was very much in love with someone else. Spinelli accompanied Maxie, and Nathan came with adorkable Ellie. Spinelli accidently tripped Maxie, causing a near nip slip, which Brad and Britt put on heavy replay. Old Nikolas, old Jordan with Shawn, and Dante were there, Nikolas bringing Valerie.

Burned in a fire accidentally started by Cameron, Spencer also spent the night at home, wearing a Phantom mask. Seeing Emma with Cameron on the red carpet, Spencer said, what the fudge? but Britt showed up like a fairy godmother to take him to the Ball to claim his ladylove. Carly had a plan to get Ric run out of town, but told Ric she wanted to put their differences aside, wishing him all the happiness he deserved. This time Aveeno got the plugs, and Obrecht crashed the end of the opening number with 99 Luftballons. After Carly outed Ric and Elizabeth for lying to Jake Doe about who he really was, Brad bailed out the ball with, I Want to Marry You, and a proposal to Lucas. Ending the episode, Elizabeth finally told Jake Doe that he was really Jason. Which he ended up not being, but we didn’t know that then.

The Real Housewives of New York City

We ended last week with a three-way hug between Ramona, Dorinda, and Sonja. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Everyone packs for Newport, Rhode Island. Sonja packs her hormones, telling assistant Matthew that they keep her nice and friendly. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Newport is a chichi place with a lot of atmosphere; like South Hampton, but tinier. Dorinda supervises the work on Bluestone Manor, as they’ve starting doing external stuff like painting.

The women – minus Dorinda who’s going separately – meet at the limo, and LuAnn calls Tinsley a child for bringing her own pillow. I think a lot of people bring their own pillows on trips. In Tinsley’s interview, she says the Newport she knows is Palm Beach as well. Whatever that means. Her mom has a place there, and the people from Palm Beach go to Newport in the summer. Leah tells Ramona that she looks twenty-five, and LuAnn tells her, compliments will get her everywhere. Ramona says they’ll have lunch when they get there, and tonight she’s having a lobster clambake. Wouldn’t that be a lobsterbake? She says, Dorinda has been edgy, and LuAnn says it was the anniversary of Richard’s death, and then it was his birthday. She’s been bitchy to everyone. Ramona says they have to show they care for her. She’s probably there already.

Yes she is. Dorinda checks into the Castle Hill Inn, telling the woman at the desk, she used to stay there with her late husband. In the limo, Leah whines, are we there yet? but it’s another two hours. Elyse says she had a humbling moment. She was passing some construction workers, who started yelling that she was beautiful. She turned around, and realized they weren’t talking to her. There was a six-foot tall blond walking behind her. Leah talks about Pita Guy, and says they had their first intimate moment. There was heavy petting, clothed, and the next day he didn’t even text. She told him she didn’t appreciate his aloof and irreverent attitude toward her time. In her interview, she says, even after seven years of therapy, and trying to hide it, the psycho bitch came out, and he saw it. She tells the women that her sister is a new mom with a seven-month old baby, and she’d like to invite Sarah along. Ramona is like, no, and Leah suggests she relax and think about it. In Ramona’s interview, she says she knows who works off who, and it’s a tenuous rope. Bringing a new personality into an already turbulent group might be a mistake.

They reach the inn, receiving welcome drinks at the desk. Dorinda is waiting for them in what looks like an empty restaurant, and they all go out onto the terrace. The waitstaff brings out trays of food, and Ramona asks for two dozen oysters. In her interview, Tinsley says she doesn’t like fighting. She’ll be happy to get a hello, but Dorinda seems approachable. Leah insists she’s not hungry, and I’m guessing she’s in what I call drinking mode, where the last thing you want is people shoving food at you. In Leah’s interview, she says she doesn’t feel good about herself, but here we go. She says she thinks Ramona would love her sister, and Ramona agrees to including Sarah in their dinner tomorrow. Ramona tells Sonja that she doesn’t want Sarah to come, but Leah talked her into it. Ramona decides they should take a vote, but Leah tells her, she already said yes. Plus, Ramona invited Elyse. Elyse says, don’t even talk to her, and in her interview, says she’s known the women for twenty years. Sonja says, guests can’t invite guests, reminding me of Jessie from NYC Prep giving one of the best quotes ever – guests of guests don’t bring guests. Leah says she’d already asked. In Sonja’s interview, she says the trip was meant for their clique of girls, and it should have been discussed among them. Ramona says she doesn’t want Sarah to come, and Leah says she’s being rude. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she thinks it’s important. Leah is in a new group, and she’s a single mom. Maybe she wants to hang around with her sister. Who cares? Leah tells Ramona, Dorinda and Tinsley said yes. What about LuAnn? LuAnn asks what do they care? and Leah says, it’s agreed. She appreciates it. Ramona says she looks forward to meeting Sarah.

They go to where they’ll be staying; cottage type rooms with terraces and gorgeous views. Dorinda tells the attendant unless he wants to be privy to something scary, she suggests he leave. He wisely takes her advice. Sonja says, the sea air feels good, and tells LuAnn, maybe they’ll get their mojo back. Leah calls Sarah, and tells her that she can come. Ramona tells Sonja, if she likes Sarah, she’ll be happy to have her.

Ramona wonders how Leah got her to say okay, and Sonja says she felt pressured. No one gets a plus-one. In Sonja’s interview, she says Ramona should have thought first. This is what she does; she says yes, then rescinds the invite. Ramona says she’s going to tell Leah tonight that her sister can’t come. In her interview, Ramona grumbles that Leah pressured her like a little girl. The dynamic won’t be good. Drinking like a fish already, Leah goes to Tinsley’s room. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she thinks she’s in for a fun time with Leah, but hopes Leah doesn’t get her naked like in the Hamptons. Leah tells Tinsley, in Newport, they don’t burp, or even pee. They head out to meet the other women for dinner.

In her interview, Tinsley says she hopes Leah doesn’t go off the deep end. Dorinda asks what Leah’s been doing while she was taking a nap all afternoon, and Leah says she started early. Ramona directs them to her clambake, down a path lit with white lights, to a table flanked with sheer drapes. Lagging behind, Leah tells Tinsley, it’s a judgement free zone, and Ramona passes out crowns, saying, they’re all princesses. LuAnn says that reminds her of Feeling Jovani, where she sings about a crown, and everyone is like, all right already. LuAnn tells Ramona, she doesn’t understand. She’d thought the more the merrier, but after reflection, Leah should have asked beforehand. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, when she thought about it, it was kind of rude asking at the last minute. Leah should have given more of a heads up. Ramona tells her, she should have said she’d love to meet Sarah another time. Tinsley and Leah finally catch up, and Tinsley screeches over the crown.

There’s a bar and a small outdoor seating area where the women have a cocktail before dinner. Dorinda and Leah want more vodka in theirs, and Ramona tries to stop Leah. In Leah’s interview, she says Ramona barely knows her, and wants to monitor her in a way she doesn’t monitor herself. Dorinda tells Ramona to leave Leah alone, and Leah says it’s her vacation; she’ll do what she wants. Leah asks the bartender for two shots, while Ramona frets, and mumbles something about Leah being a recovering alcoholic. Tinsley says Leah chose not to drink, and there’s a difference. Leah’s not a recovering alcoholic. Dorinda says they’re in a safe environment, like anywhere around this bunch is a safe environment. She tells Ramona, don’t be quick to judge. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Leah is overconsuming too quickly. What? Leah asks what Ramona is saying behind her back, and Tinsley says she told Ramona that Leah isn’t an alcoholic. Ramona says Leah stopped drinking for seven years. Leah says, it was nine, and while Ramona is her surrogate mother, and she respects that, Ramona doesn’t have to worry. In her interview, Leah says she’s feeling suffocated, and she’s worried if she’s not in Ramona’s good graces, Ramona will blow up.

They sit at a beautiful table, white everything, with white flowers down the middle. Tinsley and Sonja talk on the side. Ramona tells Sonja that she doesn’t want to say anything about Leah’s sister. In Sonja’s interview, she says she understands that Leah’s drinking makes her feel more confident. She’s an unconventional girl in a conventional town. But the strategy isn’t working. Leah sits on Sonja’s lap, and asks Tinsley if she’s going to get thrown out of Rhode Island. She’s having more fun than she’s had in an effing month and a half. In Ramona’s interview, she says she thought Sonja would have her back, but now Sonja is frolicking around, playing with Leah, and encouraging her to act this way. Ramona tells Leah to sit in her seat, and Leah says she’s rude. Leah finally sits, and says, sorry. She didn’t mean to make Ramona uncomfortable. In LuAnn’s interview, she says Leah wants to hang with the girls, but it’s been a while, and she can’t drink as much as she used to. Leah apologizes, calling Ramona mom. LuAnn says, stop freaking her out. While this is going on, Tinsley apologizes to Dorinda. Then Sonja chases Leah around the table. Ramona decides she’s going to tell Leah, because now is definitely the time. Dorinda tells Tinsley that she has so much to give. Dorinda is tough, so she was just trying to toughen Tinsley up.

This is the weirdest scene ever. While Dorinda and Tinsley talk quietly, chaos goes on next to the table. Sonja has now grabbed Leah, who falls to the ground, yelling that she doesn’t want to go on the Morgan yacht. Leah rolls around, and has lost one shoe somewhere. Sonja says Ramona has something to tell her, and Leah says she doesn’t want to go on the yacht. Ramona says she’d love to meet Leah’s sister, but at another time. Leah says, don’t go there, and Ramona says, she’s not coming. I swear, I’d just walk off this show. The paycheck can’t possibly be worth it. Dorinda tells Tinsley, maybe she was wrong. It’s Tinsley’s life, not hers. Ramona says they’ll have a cocktails and conversations party and invite Sarah, and Leah says Sarah is already on her way. Tinsley hugs Dorinda, who suggests they have a reset. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she feels like she’s in Groundhog Day, and she just wants to watch Leah destroy the place. In LuAnn’s interview, she says, bad timing on Ramona’s part. Leah is already bonkers. In Ramona’s interview, she says she didn’t expect a reaction like this. No one was murdered. Leah says she wants to talk to Ramona, but Ramona won’t talk. She says Leah is a little out of control, and Leah says, like no one in the group has been before. Elyse tries hug Leah, but Leah says, get off me. She walks over to the drapes, and pulls at them, and I fully expect the whole thing to come down, but it’s barely disturbed. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she was known as the gangster with blue eyes, but Leah is out of control.

Ramona takes Leah, who has moved on to the crying phase, away from the group. Ramona tells her to pretend like it’s yoga. Breathe in and out. LuAnn thinks Leah was rude to ask if she could invite her sister, and Sonja says Ramona was put on the spot. In Elyse’s interview, she says Leah is taking it personally instead of taking the opportunity to get to know the girls on a deeper level. Asking to bring her sister was a bad idea. Tinsley says, Leah can handle herself, but LuAnn says, clearly she can’t. Dorinda says, Leah’s not used to drinking, and LuAnn says, neither is she. Have they ever seen her behave that way? Yes. We have, and we do again, flashing back to LuAnn falling in that bush, and another clip of her just falling. In her interview, Leah says she’s done crazy in the past. She’s new to the group, and they’re not used to her kind of crazy. Ramona tells Leah that she doesn’t want to change the dynamic. Leah says she’s not staying if her sister isn’t allowed to come. Sonja says she can’t invite someone at the last minute, and Leah says, too late. Ramona can’t say yes, then no. Sonja says, they’ve got her. Sonja joins Tinsley and Dorinda in a hug, and Leah cries some more. LuAnn tells her, these bitches aren’t worth crying for. Sonja tells Ramona, it’s making her upset to see Leah upset. Let her bring her sister. They’re going to push her over the brink. Ramona tells Leah, her sister is welcome, and she’s sorry. In her interview, Ramona says Leah is new to the group, and loves her sister; maybe she’s being ridiculous. She apologizes to Leah again, and hugs her, telling her to stop crying. Ramona says she can be a control freak, but realized it mean a lot to Leah. She had to overlook her own feelings and change her mind.

In the morning, LuAnn does stretches on the terrace. Dorinda goes down to the beach, saying, waves, speak to me. She calls Leah, and asks how it’s going. Leah says she’s alive. In Dorinda’s interview, she says she knows how Leah woke up; the guilt, fear, and embarrassment. All those wonderful things that happen after a night of drinking and losing your sh*t. She’s been there. The Inn hasn’t been burned down; she’s good. Leah says she feels great, and Dorinda says Leah is her kind of girl. She asks if Leah got clarity, and Leah says she found her own clarity; her sister is coming. In her interview, Leah says she didn’t come on the trip in the best state of mind. She doesn’t remember what happened, but she feels like she released a lot of energy. Whatever happened was therapeutic. I like Leah, but it’s pretty selfish to intrude on everyone else’s time with your therapeutic insanity. She really shouldn’t drink. It’s not a good look for her.

Sonja tells Ramona, she feels great. Ramona marvels at Sonja being able to drink up a storm, and wake up fresh as a daisy. Elyse comes by, and says, they’re not dressed yet. Ramona says they like to lounge in the morning. Elyse asks how Ramona is feeling, and Ramona says she knows Leah was a little out of control. Elyse says Leah needed an exorcism. She thought Leah was wrong to ask her sister to come; however, once Ramona said yes, she shouldn’t have rescinded it. In her interview, Ramona says, she likes Leah, but Leah has two sides. The crazy side, and the regular side. She likes the regular side. Save the crazy side for your other young friends. She says, maybe Leah’s sister will be a good influence on her. She tells Elyse that they’re going shopping in town. They can work off what they ate.

The women reconvene, and Elyse asks how Leah is feeling. Leah says, good, and Elyse asks if she’s not hungover. Leah says she’s not, and Elyse says, that’s weird; she’s assuming Leah was wasted. Leah says, that’s the way she is, although alcohol fueled it. That’s how she wants to be all the time. Elyse says, and she wonders why guys think she’s a crazy chick. Ouch. In her interview, Dorinda says, who cares? No one should be judged by one night. Look at the whole group. Ramona asks how Leah is feeling, and Leah says, great. That’s actually a theory I have. Many alcoholics don’t seem to get hangovers. Ramona asks if Leah remembers what happened, and Leah says, of course she does. Bring it on. In Leah’s interview, she says, she doesn’t really want to be like that all the time, but she saw how the women were at the orchard – we flash back to the lunacy at lunch and in the corn maze – and the Hamptons. She thought she was allowed to chug ten martinis and lose her mind.

Leah, Dorinda, and Tinsley take one limo; while Ramona, Elyse, and LuAnn take another. Leah asks if they can believe what Elyse said, and Dorinda says, Elyse isn’t the one who should be giving out relationship advice. Ramona wonders why Dorinda is defending Leah, and Elyse says, Dorinda will give out advice, but everyone else better not. She does an impression of Dorinda calling Tinsley a superficial slut, and then yelling at Ramona not to judge Tinsley. I have to admit, it’s pretty spot-on.

Leah says Elyse was hard on her, but Elyse says she’s Leah’s biggest fan when Leah does normal. Leah says she’d never do that in front of her child, and Elyse asks what if she ends up with a mini me? What kind of message is she sending her daughter? Leah says she can do and say whatever she wants, and effity-eff-eff-effs her way out the door. Outside, she tells Dorinda that she and Elyse haven’t had enough interaction to make it appropriate for Elyse to be in her business. Elyse comes out, and Leah says, her daughter is twelve, and Elyse is asking how she’d feel if her daughter gets wasted? Don’t bring up her kid. Elyse promises not to go there, and Leah says, don’t talk about her daughter. Elyse says, that’s fair, and Dorinda asks why Elyse is in Leah’s business so much.

Dorinda says Elyse thinks she’s some great psychiatrist, prowling around, waiting for someone to make a mistake. In Sonja’s interview, she says she knows Elyse was just trying to be helpful. She suggests instead of breaking bread, they all break Bloody Marys. Dorinda toasts to being judgement free. Ramona says she won’t be embarrassed in Newport, and Dorinda asks what about the rest of the states? In Dorinda’s interview, she says, Leah is twenty years younger; give her a break. They should be guiding, not chastising her. Dorinda says, be inclusive, and Ramona says Dorinda is enabling Leah. Sonja thinks Leah should apologize, and Leah says she’s the first person to say she’s sorry, and take accountability. She got drunk, and enjoyed herself, but she’s sorry. Ramona says it was atrocious behavior, and upsetting to her. In her interview, Leah says, going into Newport, she was angry at herself, but instead of getting support, she got jerked around about her sister coming. Anything she does is wrong to these women. Leah says she thinks she triggered something in Ramona about her past, and it kills her. She tears up. Ramona says she’s blocked it out, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says, that’s a crock of sh*t. Ramona has been coming down hard on Leah, when Ramona is no angel. LuAnn tells Ramon that she’s making Leah feel bad for no reason. Ramona says they don’t know how she feels. In her interview, she says Dorinda and LuAnn grew up in loving homes, while hers was a war zone. She read books, and blanked out her dad and brother’s alcoholic rages. She tells Leah that her intention isn’t to make Leah feel bad. She really likes Leah, and doesn’t want to not like her. Leah says she is who she is, but Ramona says she doesn’t like that behavior. Maybe Leah can curb it; they’ll see. To be continued…

Next time, Dorinda wants to be left alone, Leah throws ravioli at Ramona, and Dorinda and Tinsley are back to arguing.

👩🏼‍🍳 On Top Chef, Karen unpacked her knives to go against Kevin in Last Chance Kitchen. Winner Kevin picked three chefs to go head to head with, and won against Brian full of Malarkey, the other white Bryan, and Gregory. This put Kevin back into the game. Award winning chef, and pioneer of California cuisine, Jonathan Waxman was the guest judge, and for the Quickfire challenge, the chefs were to create a two-course business class dish for an airline. They had to use ingredients found year round, and make the meal to airline tray specifications. Everyone made fabulous meals, but Brian full of Malarkey forgot you don’t get a steak knife on an airplane, making his entrée difficult to eat. Melissa was the winner, for which she’d get an advantage in the elimination challenge. I don’t know if these advantages are some kind of secret or I keep missing them somehow, but I have no clue what it was. Five chefs would be continuing on to the finale in Tuscany, courtesy American Airlines. For the final elimination challenge, they were to produce a dish inspired by Michael’s in Santa Monica, a restaurant owned by another California cuisine pioneer, Michael McCarty. Jonathan was his first chef, and the restaurant was celebrating its 40th anniversary. The chefs were to meet with Michael, and taste his signature dishes, which would serve as an inspiration. They would literally be serving Mike, Jonathan, and alumni from the restaurant.

Melissa was allowed first choice, and picked quail. For Kevin, it was duck; Stephanie, scallops with angel hair pasta; Bryan, lamb; Gregory, monkfish; and Brian full of Malarkey, veal. The idea was to take the dish, modernize it, and give it their own spin, yet keep an homage to the original. The highlight was when half of Brian full of Malarkey’s dishes went to another table, totally throwing him off his game. He stumbled through the long, stupid story that went with his creation, and was annoyed because he’d wanted the food to be eaten in a certain order. When everything had been tasted, Mike said they all took his dishes up to the next level, and Padma thanked them for glorious meal.

Melissa had her best night ever, winning immunity as well. Gail said there was nothing any of them would have changed, which was high praise. Mike told Stephanie that she was right there, and the race was close. Bryan and Kevin were also in, leaving Gregory and Brian full of Malarkey on the bottom. Malarkey said he’d had a great ride, and Padma asked if he was quitting. In his interview, Gregory said, Top Chef messes with you, and thought it was getting to Malarkey. He wanted to win because he deserved it, not because the other chef quit. Gail assured Malarkey that their judgement had nothing to do with the screw-up of his food going to another table. Malarkey said he was upset with the process, since his dishes hadn’t been eaten right. Everyone was like, what? and Gail said he can’t control the food once it leaves his hands. Tom told him that the duo on the plate didn’t talk to each other; there was a distinct clash. Which basically meant the two things he made didn’t go together. Jonathan said it didn’t evoke what Malarkey had babbled talked about. He told Gregory he’d been expecting more, and Padma said there wasn’t enough richness in Gregory’s risotto. I told you that risotto is always trouble.

Tom said, in the end, it comes down to what’s on the plate, and Brian full of Malarkey was told to pack his knives and go. Yay! In his interview, he said he didn’t want go out that way. He had every intention of winning, but his mind melted. He was still proud of what accomplished.

Next time, Italy, a truffle hunt, and making pasta for Italians

📺 Since Andy Cohen is on another one of his numerous vacations, Watch What Happens Live will return on Monday, June 8th. Although after suffering through much of the RHOA Reunion myself – three parts of it, no less – I can’t say he doesn’t deserve this break.

💃🏼 She’s Movin’ On…

Dorinda dishes on getting rid of the old John and chain.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-dorinda-medley-opens-up-about-split-from-john-mahdessian/

🔥 Missed Hell…

While the 24 Hours to Hell and Back ship sailed without me, you can still watch Gordon discuss it, along with his life in quarantine.

https://extratv.com/videos/wms5ccziane/?adid=extra_eme_27501_2020-05-13_features2

🌥 Lifting the Fog…

We seem to be moving closer to a new yet old normalcy, and I’m moving closer to the end of what might possibly be the longest week of my life. See you tomorrow for tea and words of wisdom. Not from me. From other people. Until then, stay safe, stay out of fights (unless it’s the good fight), and stay mostly on the straight and narrow.