Comments by Sue Ann (Page 14)

326. Dancing With the Stars: Who Was Perfect? Who's In the Lead?

     11/22/2011 6:36 PM
     
     So far as who is the best dancer of the three celebrities, I do believe it is J.R., by a bit. He dances so beautifully I am continually moved to tears or laughter, just as they intend. But Rikki Lake has been a big surprise, and Rob Kardashian is indeed peaking at the right moment. It is the first time I have watched (did not watch all seasons) when I would not be angry if my favorite did not win. They are all very, very good, in a short period of time. Talent and effort. This has been a good season.

327. Bones Review: Just Toying With Us

     11/19/2011 9:20 PM
     
     I totally forgot that this show was on. I happened upon it channel switching at 8:21 (Mountain time), and jumped. "Oh, yeah, Bones is on tonight."
     
     It seems to me that once the shark has been jumped, it swims away, and cannot be unjumped. I have seen most of this season's episodes, as in, all or part of each of them, but I remain disgusted and unimpressed. The relationship between Brennan and Booth is ridiculous and not believeable. There are moments when each actor seems to come alive, and insert some of the spark which we saw in the earlier seasons, but most of the time, the actors seem as dead to each other as they seemed last year.
     
     The relationship felt different after Emily Deschanel married in her real life. What gives?

328. The Mentalist Review: Who Can Make Kimball Cho Smile?

     11/18/2011 3:43 AM
     
     Kimball Cho is the principal character I watch this show to see, and I really enjoyed the interaction with the pink-topped hooker. She seems to be the only one to have noticed that he has on-going back problems since being hit by that car. I think that he offered her the job as a confidential informant for several reasons, one being to give her a source of income so that she will not have to work so hard at her first job, one so that he has a legitimate reason to keep a protective eye on her, one because he actually liked her, and one because she proved that she can deliver the information goods.
     
     It has been a long time since any mention was made of the lady friend of his who got beaten up in the attempt to get him off the murder case of his friend. They may no longer be together. I gather that it is unprofessional and perhaps forbidden to have a relationship with a CI, but possibly a friendship is allowed. I believe he can use a friend.
     
     Cho has never seemed too close to Van Pelt. He seems mostly professional with Lisbon. Rigsby really aggravated him by telling the lie which Cho was forced to back up against his better judgment, and I don't see him forgetting that any time soon. They appear to be team members more than friends. The only time he seems particularly happy is when Jane pairs up with him -- they are hilarious together. But easy. It is hard to tell. The pink-topped hooker is right that Cho likes to put on the "Iron Man" face.
     
     Jane did indeed literally back-pedal when Lisbon brought up Red John. How handy for him that the victim's husband showed up at just that moment! Had he not, I expect Jane could have talked his way out of discussing that which he is not ready to discuss. I backed out of a discussion on the phone recently which I did not wish to have then, and steered the conversation elsewhere; Jane (or his writers) is (are) way better at manipulation than I am.

329. The Big Bang Theory Review: Sheldon Gets a Girlfriend!

     11/18/2011 12:36 AM
     
     @Carla, You're right, it would be hilarious to see Leonard use the roommate agreement against Sheldon. That had not occurred to me.
     
     I like Amy, and I would like to see Sheldon become a more socialized individual. If one pretends for the sake of argument that these people are real, not TV characters, it is not sensible to assume that things will always remain the same. Bernadette and Howard will be marrying, and presumably, reproducing. Howard will have other interests besides being a fourth at whatever game the guys are playing.
     
     Leonard is already capable of a sustained relationship. He sent the doctor away, not vice versa, a few seasons back. Whether it is with Penny or with someone else, Leonard will also pair up and move out.
     
     Raj is cute, educated, intelligent, rich, and Indian. He even can be charming, when he is not drunk. Eventually, he will solve the "selective mutism" problem and pair up, or he will return to India. Sheldon is unlikely to acquire another such set of friends, and as much as he continually comments upon how little he needs people, he needs them.
     
     Moving on to the "next step" in the relationship, as they put it, is logical. Jim Parsons was on a talk show the other day, and he said that he is going to be 39. He holds his age well, but this is not going to work forever. Sheldon needs to mature, within the limits of his theoretical ability, if he indeed has Asperger's Syndrome. So, as the episode involves moving on, I liked it.
     
     I am somewhat concerned about the level of drinking the writers are having Penny do lately, though. I don't see very many story lines where a drunk girl is very funny. Cheers used to have a lot of characters who drank to excess, but seldom or never became drunk. Penny is getting drunk, and drunk females are vulnerable. I am not sure I want to see where this is going ...

330. NCIS Spoilers: A Surprising Return By ...

     11/18/2011 12:17 AM
     
     @Janet No, Michael never shuts up.
     
     I, too, was hoping never to see EJ again. I never liked her character, and I did not care for the way she got her team killed, either. I'm hoping that Kat is correct, and her reappearance is just to wind up that story line and perhaps fill in more info on the box of mysteries Gibbs has in his basement. Tony can do a lot better (although I am not a fan of him getting together with Ziva.) EJ is a cowboy, and she does not listen to those who know more than she does. She's dangerous.

331. Can Dexter Save Its Season?

     11/16/2011 12:08 AM
     
     You all make me sorrier than I already was that I do not get to see this series until it comes out on DVD the following Autumn. I am very curious.
     
     John, have you read the series of books on which this show was based? Deb does know in the books. She does not like it, but she understands, and sometimes, she uses Dexter and his skills for her own purposes.
     
     I ask because your comment made me think about other directions the TV series could go if she finds out about Dexter. The same way as the books would be one way. She could arrest him and send him to prison, but that would kind of end the series. What else?
     
     Carissa, what do you like about Deb? I find her more annoying every season. I learned to have a foul mouth to survive in a work environment once, but Deb does not HAVE to do that -- the rest of the police seem to manage nicely without being obscene. I have other issues with Deb Morgan, but that is the one which irritated me the most last month when I got the DVD's for season 5.
     
     I am curious which season individuals found the best? I preferred season 1, although my favorite episode, which is the most often re-watched, is the one where Sgt. Doakes got blown to smithereens. Didn't care for him, either.

332. Dancing With the Stars: The Ricki and Rob Show

     11/15/2011 6:43 AM
     
     Hope and Maks deserve to be eliminated Tuesday. They clearly are not as good as the other three pairs. I do hope that J.R. Martinez has not seriously injured his ankle; the look of serious pain after he completed his second dance was very concerning. He is usually so upbeat, and a tough soldier is not one to show pain that way. It worries me -- I have permanently sprung my own ankles, and I know both the pain, and the difficulty it can cause in some of those moves. Until this injury, I really had thought that he would win. Now, maybe not. Rob Kardashian is indeed a surprise.

333. How I Met Your Mother Review: The Almost Story Of Us

     11/15/2011 12:13 AM
     
     Barring insanity on the part of the writers and several characters, part of the question about whom it is that Barney marries has been answered. It will not be Nora....

334. The Big Bang Theory Review: Sheldon's Going to be a Mommy!

     11/11/2011 3:11 PM
     
     If Sheldon does indeed suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, which has been posited by many (including health care professionals) but never confirmed by the show's creators, then no matter how many steps he takes towards normalcy, he is never going to get all the way there. The early seasons were very funny; I have the DVD's, and re-watch them often. I also watch the reruns now that they are syndicated in the USA. But to watch a bunch of characters stuck in a time bubble while the actors who portray them age is unsatisfying, eventually.
     
     Change happens. I think that the writers on this show are doing a good job of exploring the ramifications engendered by the relationship of these characters to Penny, and thence to their other girls, by extrapolation. Sheldon has been changed by his interactions with Penny, as have all of the guys, a little or a lot. These folks are heading into their thirties, and as funny as a group of science fiction fan/science geeks are, such folks do get into relationships, and they do get married. I know quite a few of them personally. Where do you think the next crop of science fiction fan/science geeks is going to come from, anyway? They breed just like everyone else does.
     
     I do not mean to sound argumentative. I just believe that the writers of this show are striving to make their story lines and their characters open to a lot of possibilities, which should increase the longevity of the show. Because while characters in a time bubble are funny, when it is explored, there is nowhere else to go. And the show dies.
     
     I do disagree that Mayim Bialik cannot act. I have been watching her since she played the young Bette Midler character in Beaches. I think she is very good. She is not Elizabeth Taylor; that is not her skill. I believe her as a frustrated female scientist, and counterpart to Sheldon Cooper. They go well together. I think casting her was an inspired choice. The whole show is well-cast.

335. Bones Review: The Ultrasound and the Gluttony

     11/11/2011 2:19 PM
     
     I nearly married a fellow from Arkansas over forty years ago, and even then, he was far more sophisticated in his speech and mannerisms than this new squintern. I agree with Indiana. Gomer Pyle, at best. It was insulting to the viewers, and it would insult the bejeebers out of me, if I had been from the South myself. Did one of the writers get this characterization of a southern juvenile delinquent out of a time machine? By the way, writers, Gomer Pyle was a joke even back when it was on. And it was on a LONG time ago.
     
     I don't know where the magic went, but this show still does not feel right. I guess once the shark has been jumped, it can't be unjumped. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 were terrific. Too bad. I don't believe any of the interactions between the two leads any more. I still enjoy Caroline, and I do believe that she had a very valid point. I see by the preview that the appalling Daisy will be back next week. Sorry it was Vincent who was killed, and not Daisy. Man, she is repellant!
     
     Oh, well ... at least there is Castle.

336. The Big Bang Theory Review: Sheldon's Going to be a Mommy!

     11/11/2011 1:40 PM
     
     @ spinder I disagree that it should have been Raj and Howard helping Sheldon with the bird. They would not have done it. Howard would have sat back, watched, made snide comments, and enjoyed Sheldon's pain. Raj would have made nasty remarks. Sheldon is obedient towards women, most particularly his mother, but in the past, he has taken direct orders like a child from both Penny and Bernadette, and he respects Amy, and considers her advice seriously.
     
     I think that the writers set this one up perfectly. This is a season of growth for Sheldon. Last season he let Amy kiss him. This season, he has consented to cuddle with her. Now he has allowed Bernadette and Amy to chivvy him into overcoming one of his lifelong fears, and they did it gently.
     
     In typical Sheldon fashion, he overdid it, but he has taken another step towards normalcy, in a way which did not traumatize him and which will not likely lend itself to backsliding. I would like to see that egg return, but he is going to need more than a towel to hatch it. He is going to need an incubator. As a scientist, he is apt to know that. And he is apt to force Howard to build him one.
     
     I do hope that eventually Leonard and Penny get back together permanently, because they really are perfect together. I never liked Priya; she did not like Leonard the way he is, and was continually trying to improve him to meet her expectations. Contact lenses, expensive clothing, deciding whom he could have as friends ... The lady doctor he dated a few seasons back was also not right for him; she was too needy. If Leonard can continue to be himself with Penny, and if she continues her emotional honesty, as she does every time one of the guys scores a hit on her and she concedes the point, then I think they will make a go of it. Eventually.

337. Criminal Minds Review: Forecast Murder

     11/10/2011 4:07 AM
     
     I thought the story line was ridiculous. Frankenstein is right, Art. However, a tornado shelter is a common thing on Kansas farms, and Nebraska, and Oklahoma. And that place they were at seems to have been an abandoned farm? So it makes sense that there was a shelter.
     
     The little boy who played JJ's son, her real son, is very cute indeed. And the actor who plays her boy friend is also very cute indeed. I still do not believe they are married, unless I missed something, and I check all the DVD's out of the library and watch them twice.
     
     The principal thing I was thinking about during this episode was how much I prefer Garcia's hair when it is screaming red, to platinum blonde. That is not a good thing for the writers .... I do not know if these are the same writers, off their game, or if it is new, cheaper ones, as Art suggests. But I'm not too impressed. And yep, I am one of the ones who does not give a fig about the back stories of these characters, mostly.
     
     A few decades back, there were two shows, Hardcastle and McCormick, and The A Team. Both shows used to come in under time fairly often, and the final credits and theme song went on and on and on and on and on. Sometimes for five minutes! They listed credits for the grade school teacher of the Best Boy, practically! (Only a slight exaggeration.) This show has come u[p with a different approach. They stick in those seven mnutes of fluff at the end of the episodes. The outcome is the same. Less story.

338. Dancing With the Stars Results Show: Grace Period

     11/9/2011 7:25 AM
     
     J.R. Martinez is a "he", not a "her". He and his partner danced so beautifully Monday that I am fairly convinced that they will win. Ricki Lake is likely to come in second, and Rob Kardashian third. Hope Solio still does not look like a dancer. She appears to have no more chemistry with sexy Maks than Nancy Grace had with Tristan, and that does take a fair amount away from the performance. It has been a more interesting season than I expected, but I was not moved to vote for anyone this season. I really don't care which one wins, but J.R. would make a sweet story.

339. NCIS: Los Angeles Review: What's In the Box?

     11/9/2011 2:02 AM
     
     Nell and Eric can get together with no problem from NCIS. It is Gibbs, not the agency, with the rule against it. It was made clear on one of the early NCIS seasonal DVD's that fraternization and marriage between agents is legal at this agency. Gibbs forbids it, but he is not on this show, nor in this office, and these folks do not answer to him.
     
     I have no idea what Hetty's reaction would be, but if I had to guess, I think she might give them her blessing. She is a kind woman.

340. NCIS Review: Can Diane Be All Bad?

     11/7/2011 3:55 AM
     
     @ Sheree I have a list of all of the rules so far revealed, what the number is, which episode(s) the rule appeared in, and who made it. (There are also rules by Tony, Abby, Mike Franks, Jimmy Palmer, and the Coast Guard lady.) There are gaps, which they occasionally fill in, but they just made a huge gap with rule 69. I think they did it to take advantage of the number 69. There are also two so-far-unnumbered, unspoken further rules regarding lawyers.

341. The Big Bang Theory Review: Get Your Women In Line!

     11/7/2011 3:14 AM
     
     @ Jennifer I KNEW someone would ignore everything else that I said, and jump on that. I have a nephew with severe autism. There are widespread speculative articles on the internet about both Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Brennan. They are not limited to fans; some are by scientists in the field. The writers on this show have specifically said that they do not want to limit Sheldon's issues to those of that syndrome, so they are not specific. I could not say about the writers of the other show.
     
     There are other members of my family with this problem, although none so severe as my nephew. I sympathize with your son and with you, but please do not try to smother me with political correctness and modern-speak. Sheldon and Bones want to do things which their brains will not let them do. That is a problem, then. In the decade I come from, that was called handicapped, at best. Watching them, I admire the efforts to improve. They would not need to make those efforts unless something was wrong.

342. The Mentalist Review: Obsession Meets Obsession

     11/7/2011 1:10 AM
     
     @ rationalgal The last time we saw Kristina Frye, she was still lost in her own mind, under the delusion that she was a ghost. Do you think that the level of damage she endured, perhaps with drug involvement (wasn't there intravenous equipment found there?) can be cured in only a year? She seemed pretty destroyed to me.

343. The Big Bang Theory Review: Get Your Women In Line!

     11/4/2011 9:07 PM
     
     @Patrick J Murphy You posted, "While I won't say this ep was at the level of Gift Basket Hypothesis or Justice League Recombination, it was a very solid ep and did show Sheldon attempting to grow a bit...although he reverted back by the end of the commercial break. Ah, well."
     
     I don't agree that Sheldon was quite back at his starting point by the end of this episode. I feel he moved a few centimeters off center of 'asexual reproduction only' territory. He told the guys to get over it, that yes, he cuddled. I kind of doubt that it is possible for anyone with Sheldon's particular mental disability (probably Asperger's Syndrome) to ever become normal, but he can become better at interacting with people. He does try, as is shown by the way he keeps statistics on how often he recognizes sarcasm or various other emotions or situations around him. He wants to be able to do these things. It just seemed to me that a tiny bit of progress was made. A few episodes back, Amy got him to kiss her, which I never thought he would do, unless ambushed as by Leonard's mother. So, he progresses. Baby steps ...
     
     It was not in this episode, but my all-time favorite Sheldonism is, "I'm not crazy! My mother had me tested." His reaction to Amy's original proposition was to bargain down from her (to him) untenable offer, to something he could tolerate. In season one, I don't think he would have bargained. I think he would have run screaming from the room at the very idea. Baby steps ... He really is NOT crazy. In a sad way, like Termperance Brennan, he is mentally crippled. They both try to overcome it.

344. Bones Season Premiere Review: A Hormonal Hit!

     11/4/2011 12:04 AM
     
     moonchild -- that is done by writers forced into a corner by Emily Deschanel's pregnancy, and bereft of actual good ideas.

345. Criminal Minds Review: The Other Side?

     11/3/2011 3:55 AM
     
     I also had rather hoped to see more of the story line of Rossi's ex-wife. I missed that actress after she left J*A*G; there is just something so very watchable and believable about her. I know, it is inconsistent with my previous statements that I don't care about the back stories of most of these characters. That lady is different. She paints pictures it's a pleasure to watch. Too bad.

346. Castle Round Table: "Cops & Robbers"

     11/2/2011 4:55 PM
     
     I've never seen anyone comment upon it anywhere, but I do think that Castle leaping and shoving Beckett at the funeral saved her life, because that bullet hit her in the right side of her chest, and it would have hit her in the heart, had he not been shoving her to the side at the time that it reached her. I watched that part seven times, and that's the way it appears to me.
     
     I do think that Alexis resents Beckett, as much as her rational side would want her father to be happy, and the snarling at Beckett seemed to me to be directed at Beckett, not at the situation.
     
     I think the best save is a toss-up between (1) figuring out that Beckett's attacker was still after her (apartment-blowing-up episode), hence calling in time to warn her so that she got in the cast iron tub which saved her life, and (2) when he carried her out of that airport. That was heart-breaking, and it is still hard to watch, as many times as I have viewed that episode on the DVD.
     
     I agree with Courtney that Castle was both telling the absolute truth, that Beckett is not his girl friend, and that he was devaluing himself in the eyes of the hostage-takers.
     
     I did not see Beckett telling Trapper John that she would kill him if he hurt Castle so much as a declaration of love for Castle, as I saw it as a taking-charge play to make the robbers know that she would not tolerate ANY of the hostages being hurt. I particularly appreciated her line that she does not "look", she "hunts". That is scary.
     
     So far this season, I'd say this has been the best episode.

347. NCIS Review: Can Diane Be All Bad?

     11/2/2011 4:01 PM
     
     In the (2006) season 4, episode 2 (Escaped), Hal Holbrook played the villain. In that episode, the daughter of Fornell and Diane was at a birthday party, and the "escapee" character came over and talked to her, scaring the bejeebers out of Fornell. The daughter appeared to be about five at that time. So that should make her just at the point of pre-teen now.
     
     Michael Gilden portrayed the little person in whom Abby was interested. He died in real life, but not on the show. On the show, his character broke up with her, telling her that she "was too much woman" for him. (They had to resolve it like that because he died.) I really liked that actor -- he played a leprechaun on Charmed, and he was a charmer himself. It is a shame.
     
     Meredith Eaton-Gilden, his widow, first appeared in the season 7, episode 10 (Faith) where McGee managed to get an M-TACH call through to a ship at sea so that a little boy could talk to his mother on Christmas. Seeing her just show up with no foofarah in this episode last night is one of the greatest things about NCIS -- they portray a "real" world, where peripheral characters return, just the way that casual acquaintances recur in our own lives. When I was working, I had a list of "go-to" people for various kinds of problems. Abby does, too. That is real.
     
     I had always been bothered that Diane had been vicious enough to keep Gibbs's grandfather's watch (that was mentioned in a previous episode, too). It was nice to see her give it back to him. Her character started out playing the same kind of termagant that his other ex-wife Stephanie portrayed when she appeared, but Stephanie also mellowed out at the very end of her episode. That makes it a little more reasonable that Gibbs would see enough in these women beyond the red hair to actually marry them. I look forward to eventually seeing his third ex-wife appear. The way the show is going, they probably have at least several more years to create her.

348. NCIS: Los Angeles Review: Modern Day Ninjas

     11/2/2011 5:32 AM
     
     They mentioned one time in the first year, I think it was, that Sam has two children.

349. Body of Proof Review: Nothing to Rave About

     11/2/2011 5:08 AM
     
     I find that Derek to be an arrogant pain. I didn't like him on his first appearance, and I still do not. He is too slick.
     
     Considering Tod, and Derek, I am beginning to think that Megan's taste in men is as bad as my late cousin's was. She was married six times, and those were just the formal relationships. And they were all losers. Some women do not choose well.
     
     Some writers have off weeks. I think you are right; this was an off week.

350. Castle Review: A Hostage Situation

     11/1/2011 2:42 AM
     
     You're right -- this is the kind of episode fans can live off of and dream on for weeks.
     
     And Carissa, that's very clever -- can't change from Caskett on Halloween! Good one.
     
     The ending, Castle taking Beckett home to dinner with his family, reminded me of a phrase from the season opener of NCIS last year. "Will you come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." Castle is drawing her in, in slow, easy increments. The look on his face in the vault when Martha interrupted was reminiscent of many interruptions the two have suffered the last couple of years; we are going to get very accustomed to that look, unless the show runners decide to speed up their schedule of not getting them together until mid-season next year.
     
     Courtney, it is Morse Code, named after Samuel Morse. It was used for early telegraph messages, and is still used today in some circles. The US Navy, for instance. My father taught it to me when I was in third grade, studying for a Ham Radio license. It is, or was then, required to get one of those. With Castle's passion for research, it is very logical that he would know it.
     
     I appreciate the mentions of past episodes, also. From what I have read, and from the comments made in the "extras" and commentaries on the NCIS DVD's, the fans there have made it quite clear that one of the most important ingredients in the success and continuing growth in viewership of NCIS is that the characters live in a consistent, continuing world, where people come back, and events have repercussions. The show mines its own history all the time, and is deep for it.
     
     Castle is written in that style, and I hope that the richness of characterization and the attention to maintaining a consistent past pay off for this show in the same way -- many years of broadcasting and a continually-growing fan base. This program deserves it.