DRW50

That opening is very...of its time. I wonder who lasted the longest.

I've always thought Hoyer and Pelosi were a bad mix, and I have never known what exactly Hoyer's strength even is. Pelosi is good for scraping votes together to keep a unified caucus, and I don't think she's ever been the bogeywoman she's made out to be, but I do think it's time for her to move on. Anyway, our latest, and far from our last, case of far right double standards. A (now former) staffer for a far right Congressman trashed Malia and Sasha Obama for having no class. As it turns out, she was arrested as a teenager. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lauten-sasha-malia-class-arrested-teen

Poor Emily Kinney seems devastated. http://tvline.com/2014/11/30/the-walking-dead-beth-dies-season-5-midseason-finale-emily-kinney-interview/

Noah went with them.

I think the episode worked in the sense of building tension and dread. The rest was a mixed bag. Best part - Morgan at the end. Really effective material, wonderful performance from Lennie James. And just as before, Morgan was dancing on the edge of madness, yet everything about his demeanor changed when he saw Rick's name. I can't wait to see Rick and Morgan together again. The stuff with Michonne/Gabriel/Carl and the DC returnees clashed with the hospital material, and I wish the church part had all been in last week's episode, but it was worth it to see Michonne kicking ass again. I loved the way the screen almost seemed to shimmer when she got out her katana. I love that the katana killed a walker all on its own. It's just THAT awesome. And I'm glad that Gabriel's stupidity didn't get anyone killed. I think he's finally learning. I get that they had to do all this to make sure the church wasn't a safe haven, and they had to have the shot of Gabriel begging to be let in. It was heavy-handed, but I get it. As soon as Maggie learned about Beth I knew Beth was dead. It's TV cliche #43, probably. I thought Lauren Cohan did a great job with the reactions. Now if only they'd had her mention Beth before instead of trashing the character by omission. This is another case where the show assumed viewers knew something they did not (that Maggie wasn't going to mention Beth because she assumed Beth had to be dead), and it took a big toll. I feel sorry for Daryl, but if we see more of his manpain (yet again) than Maggie's reaction, I'm going to be ticked. I'm sure it makes me a bad person, but Rick was hot as hell in this episode. Crazy eyes and all. So-bad-it's-good hot. Pure skeevy sex godliness. And he was truly unhinged for most of this, all while doing his best to be under control. He's never been more dangerous than he was here. He was right all along - the plan ended terribly. Yet I can't help wondering if he hadn't killed Bad Bob, would they have accepted him as a trade for Noah? Or would it never have worked out? I feel like they spent too much time trying to make us sympathize with Dawn or understand Dawn, when, just like with The Governor, I didn't care. I never cared. On paper, her dynamics with Beth interested me, and the fact that they became each other and killed each other interested me, but I just felt like it was all very talky and draggy. I will give some points to the actors, choreographers, and/or stunt people, because Dawn's fight with Generic Rapey Cop #6 was one of the most intense fight scenes I can remember on the show. I was very upset when Beth died. I keep wondering how upset I would have been if I hadn't been spoiled. If I would have been even more devastated. Yet there was also something niggling at me, in that I almost felt like Beth had a death wish. Like the place had truly destroyed her psychologically and she wasn't able to survive. Otherwise it just sort of feels like she just did something so she'd have to die, because they needed a death. The Sasha and Tyreese scene felt out of place. I'm glad we finally got the explanation about Gareth, but it just makes Tyreese seem more like a liability. I really like Tyreese, but he's very lucky that key people in the group keep quiet about his weaknesses. And I'm not sure how we're supposed to feel about Sasha saying the Sasha he knew is gone. Happy? Sad? Both? Maybe we're supposed to make our own minds up. That's not a bad thing, but too much ambiguity eventually drains a show of meaning. The show continues to struggle to articulate a message about whether or not we're supposed to hope. They suggest that we should be concerned about Rick's darkness, Carl's darkness, the group going too far...yet anyone who ever espouses a positive outlook tends to die. So which is it? I'm going to miss Beth, and I'll miss Emily's performance. I know the character got a lot of [!@#$%^&*], and as long as people didn't go after the actress, that's fine - everyone has a right to their opinion. But I always liked Beth, even when she was just the girl who sat on the prison steps singing Tom Waits songs. I'm just going to miss her, and I hope she's remembered for who she was, not because of Daryl or because of a shock value death. Thank you, Emily.

I'm sorry about that. I was sure I posted something When I see some of her stuff in my scans I'll post it.

I think she inherited them because she screwed around with their father when she was his student, or something.

Dour may not be the right word, but Glenn, understandably, lost a lot of his humor after the second season. Tara sort of reconnects to that side of him. One of the problems for me is that I've adapted so much to having the characters split in different groups that it's difficult to focus on how they'd all be together. For instance, I didn't care for Rosita with the larger group, but she's been one of my favorite parts of this DC roadtrip. I would like to see more of Tara with Rick though. Do you get the feeling they're going to pair Michonne with Gabriel? I get that vibe. Tyler James Williams talks about GoT and Star Wars. http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/28/tyler-james-williams-walking-dead-pop-culture-personality-test/

I agree, but I don't know if Tyreese's fate on the show rests with those three. I do think he and Abraham probably fit that "popular comic character who struggles to fit in on the show" role. I think there's more potential with Tyreese. I don't know what one could do with Abraham. I'm glad they have moved on from him being an alpha male, but I just can't see him being around Rick or Daryl or Michonne. It seems like Abraham may just stay around because he's popular with comic fans, or because of the actor, but I just don't know where they can go with him. I like Rosita mostly because I enjoy her relationships with some of the supporting players like Tara (or even Glenn), and she makes me see Abraham and Eugene as less cartoonish, but I'm not sure how I'll feel if or when she's back with the group. What I like most about Tara is how she makes Glenn and Glenn/Maggie less dour. Silly little things like GREATM. I know it could become cloying, but in small doses it works. I also like that she is from such a different origin than most of the group. I keep meaning to write a story where Sasha ends up seeing BOB from Twin Peaks (she isn't assaulted or anything). She has bad luck with Bobs.

I think there were rumors that she and Irene Dailey won in part because the panels did not like Beverlee McKinsey and Victoria Wyndham personally so they showed it via voting. Not sure if it's true or not, as they did get nominated. I have a scan somewhere of Laurie from about 15 years ago, talking about the whole thing. She had to buy two reels from the network, as she was long off the show by this point - I think it was a therapy session, and Sharlene saying goodbye to Emma. I think she borrowed her dress from wardrobe maybe. Didn't she become a therapist?

Those rumors are still going around about Jenna Coleman agreeing to stay for the first half of season 9. They also claim that I don't agree with all of this, but I do think Jenna was very, very good this past season. http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/28/clara-oswald-jenna-coleman-doctor-who-stay-leaving

To me the only real mistake was adding Rosita/Eugene/Abraham. They don't fit into the show and that stuck out when they were with the group for a few episodes. I like Rosita the best of the three and I wouldn't mind seeing them find a way to keep her around. The problem is there are already several women similar to her. The show is blessed with a lot of interesting female characters in that age group and they struggle to write for them. I think Tara's great - she is like no one else on the show and allows for dynamics they can't explore with anyone else. She also adds a lot of dorky humor which is needed on a very self-serious program. I care deeply about Sasha. Her relationship with Bob was short and fairly obviously telegraphed to where someone was going to die, but it was an interesting gender flip - usually on TV the woman dies suddenly and the man struggles to cope. I'm not crazy about her idiot plotting moment with the cop Bob, but I can forgive it as long as they don't keep doing it. I think Sasha adds to the show, as she's (usually) no-nonsense and dependable. She's a good soldier, and she doesn't have the emotional baggage or history of some of the others. That means they could play around with the idea of the group, where it's going, what it's supposed to be. For instance, she was never around during the time when Rick was leader, she doesn't especially need or want to be led. Do something with that. I don't think they've ever known what to do with Tyreese. I think they only brought him in because they were criticized for racist treatment of black men, and he was a big comics character. Unfortunately, his role from the comics had already been taken by others on the show, namely Daryl. So far they've mostly written stories about his humanity. This worked with The Grove, but not so much with the group. His plan made no real sense, and even as much of a care bear as Daryl has become, I'm not sure he would have agreed to it.

That's a terrific scene. That whole sequence is wonderful, especially when the wrench (?) breaks the window and there's a sick sense of silence and dread. That episode (18 Miles Out) is probably my favorite, especially the bookending device of the walker in the field Rick sees as they drive to the school and back. A sick harbinger for many things, IMO. Jon really was great in the role. He was supposed to die very early on but they extended the role for that reason. I think the Shane/Rick relationship was so complex. The scene where Shane wipes his bloodied face is so moving. A big part of Rick died with Shane, and Rick knew it.

Shane going mad and becoming the true danger produced some of the best material the show's ever had - his last few episodes are chilling, even with all that blather about Randall. His murder is probably my favorite scene on the show. I had no real use for the fanon ideas that he was a kick-ass leader (he never was, never would be) or that he was the father Carl should have had (not even close), but Jon Bernthal did a wonderful job, and I did feel for Shane in the end. The Shane/Rick relationship was the real one. Lori was just a plot device. I like Andrea but the show really fails in season 2 to know the difference between saying someone is strong and actually making them strong. Having her shoot Daryl was one of the dumbest writing choices the show ever made.

Didn't it have a game show?

Nene and Frankie Grande meet to terrorize the world with whatever is on their head. Frankie always looks like he has TB.

Oh, Emmett will be a movie star at some point, don't you worry. These same deluded people are the ones who believe Kieron Richardson must quit immediately so he can become a star, even though he would be lucky to get Tweaker #1 or Sassy Gay Friend in most projects, which he likely knows. Let them go win the lottery and hire Emmett and Kieron to play out a more romantic version of What's Love Got To Do With It?

I remember that about Glenda (the original actress found the filming schedule too difficult) but didn't know that about Peggy. So are you enjoying the show?

The baby was born on the show in February 1984. Laura was fired in July. Fabiani was dull as hell - I can't imagine him being all that accepted as Roger either. They just should have never recast the role.

Was this one of the Kevins?

I think Dennis Parlato was initially a temp recast for Clay on Loving and Roger Thorpe on GL, then took over the roles.