DRW50

Just one poll, but I wonder if the basic GOP support is starting to come home, especially if people have reached fatigue point and are tuning out his lunacy. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gains-on-clinton-despite-furor-over-women-election-comments-reuters-ipsos-poll/ar-AAjflec?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=wispr

He was there, glowering beside Moira's ample cleavage.

Immigrants think back when they hear Trump's election rigging comments. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/us/politics/donald-trump-immigrants.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2FPresidential Election 2016

Two April 1995 episodes, AKA the last time the show was good.

Stone is a vile man. I read somewhere that Clinton loathes him. I wonder if he'll be legging it to Russia on November 9.

What hurts Bayh is the drip-drip of stories about how out of touch he is or was (the latest being that he barely spent time in his IN apartment in his last year in the Senate). With Murphy, the DSCC pretty much cut him off. But there's still a slim chance in FL and I'd guess IN is still lean Bayh for the moment.

I think Indiana and NH will be close - Bayh is rusty and IN will likely go for Trump, and Ayotte is another media darling (unfortunately for her she's also a colossal dumbass). I could see Democrats either picking up 1 or 2 seats (as WI seems to have tightened I can't guess who will win) or getting 4-5. I hope it's the latter because otherwise Hillary won't get any of her judges through. Meanwhile, a disturbing account (if I were you I wouldn't click on the link itself as National Review is just a pseudo-intellectual far right mouthpiece) of the sustained hate campaign against a conservative and his family because of opposition to Trump. A part of me thinks, "This is what they set up for years and now it's coming home to roost," but I feel like that's giving a free pass to this stuff. The attacks against his child are especially disgusting. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/david-french-abuse-as-a-never-trumper

Lots of behind the scenes videos and interviews here. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2eG-6hBo9VNb5_6K9DAqUg

Ashley’s material in these episodes, especially the first one, blew me away. (kudos once again to Owen Lloyd Fox) It’s what the format of focusing on one story per episode was best used for. The slow drip of just how much Ashley was struggling to even get through the day, had no idea where he was or what he was supposed to be doing, was brilliantly done. The scenes of Arthur confused and upset over Ashley - slowly realizing for the first time just what is going to keep happening - were heartbreaking. The scene in the church where Ashley wept as he realized he no longer recognized his own child was pure agony. I really wish this had been one of the episodes that was solo, because it was just incredible. Ashley’s involvement in this crash could have been incredibly tacky, exploitive beyond belief. I’m pleased it didn’t turn out that way (at least up to now). It was instead extremely effective, disturbing, and added so much fear and poignancy. The scene at the end where he sat down in the woods like a child just hurt me, it really did. I’m glad that this week being so intertwined gives viewers who mostly watch for one or two stories (and that’s their choice - no shame on them whatsoever) a chance to see what a superb actor John Middleton is and how much the show will be losing when Ashley is gone. So, the first episode...The Ashley material was stronger and I would have preferred a full episode of it. I was worried they would say he caused the crash. I'm glad they made it clear that he didn't - even the best driver wouldn't be likely to react well to a huge pile of wood crashing onto their windshield. John Middleton gave his absolute best, and the effects that indicated his time lapses and confusion were, unlike many occasions on soaps, used perfectly, not feeling showy or pretentious. If any of the increased budget went for that then I'm glad they did it. Budget isn't anything if the acting isn't there and the heart isn't there and that's where the Thomases will be such a loss to Emmerdale. The fear and concern and hurt from Laurel, Sandy, poor little Arthur. I guess the girl who plays Gabby must have had schooling or something, I don't know? Anyway, the scene where Ashley weeps in the church is, for me, up there with the best soap scene this year. I don't know if I'm going to forget it anytime soon. And the last moment where he sees the message Laurel left on his arm. Haunting.The chopping in of other stories wasn't as good, although it was alright. I don't know how to feel about Emma. Obviously she's going to get worse and worse, but I'm still not getting the "evil crazy lady" vibe I had half-expected. James was playing silly head games with her all the way to the end and you could see how it destroyed them both. I liked that they had her trying to warn people not to keep driving - not that it did any good. Emmerdale hasn't had a moral compass in the last few years and you can see that in how hesitant they are about where to completely take Emma and Pierce. Gillian Kearney just about makes it work all the time - I kept thinking she was going to be too OTT, and maybe she was a little, but I thought it made sense for the character and situation and meant the lunacy of a Misery knockoff leading to a Final Destination knockoff wasn't as ludicrous as it could have been. The last bit in the first episode of her trembling like a leaf was a superbly acted moment. I didn't mind the stunt in the first part. I thought it looked OK - amusing at times and frightening at others. I did burst out laughing when Pierce was hit about 3 times and seemed fine (being half-crazed on Emmerdale makes you indestructible) and the "Lachrobron" car went sailing over the cliff, as it reminded me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywQEcv22Mdk Second episode: I know it wasn't intended that way but I loved that the first thing Finn (with a new haircut no less) did was to find and save a really hot guy. Surely that's in the Gay Agenda Guidebook for what to do at an accident scene. Charlotte Bellamy giving the horror movie scream that "horror week" needs.Some of that also reminded me of when Daniel died - probably the most harrowing soap episode I've ever watched. It wasn't mentioned in the episode, but I felt like there was sort of an acknowledgment (in Victoria's fear at the water's edge) of her myriad issues with nearly drowning twice. I had mixed feelings about the Aaron and Robert material. I kind of liked that they had Aaron terrified and mewling, rather than the cliche of bravery (Danny Miller was apparently terrified so I guess it wasn't all acting). I also liked that they realized it should be Adam, not Robert, in the ambulance with him, given their long history. Lachlan's involvement felt shoehorned and jarring with the rest of the material. I guess it must have a purpose down the line. Ryan Hawley is hit and miss for me with emotional acting but I liked him a lot more than I thought I would here - the wet shirt didn't hurt either. Joe Gill is another who can be a bit all over the place with dramatic work, but he absolutely nailed the last scenes on the phone with Emma. I hope this episode is the start of him becoming a more prominent character, but I can't say I'm going to expect it. We are, presumably, heading for Emma killing James, which is trite, but also a fitting bookend given that she was going to leave him for dead not long after she first came on the show. Gillian Kearney was just great in that last scene. What an actress. Paddy/Rhona/Pierce - weak stuff, aside from Dominic Brunt, who was very believable as being in shock and bleeding out. It felt very disconnected from everything else, and while Jonathan Wrather is hot as hell and is good at the controlling and charming part of the role, he was not good with what he had in a lot of the accident. I'm glad they didn't have him actually leave Paddy for dead, as it means the character is not a complete cartoon, and could still go in various directions. I'd probably give the first one an A and the second a B or B-. Last year we seemed to be getting a lot of setup for aftermath, but beyond Eric's breakdown, most of it never actually arrived. This year, I didn't get the sense there was a lot of aftermath, beyond the point where they find out about Emma, but I think the show has improved re: aftermath so I will wait and see.

I thought this one would be the strongest of the self-contained episodes, and generally I think it was. Gillian Kearney was great, and Bill Ward gave by far his best performance as James, especially in that dinner scene, which was chillingly good. Little things like the I DO NOT note he wrote in a fit of anger became a major part of the episode in interesting ways. I also liked that it wasn't as much of the camp crazy lady as I thought it would be. And that scene when he was trying to escape where he tried to chide her for not being happy that he had settled for her - it really showed just why she snapped and just how cavalier he was toward her, because he's so blinded by Moira. I'm glad they didn't try to whitewash him.

Oh he's Chelsea Peretti's brother? She tweeted "It's not a lie, Jase!" to some guy who claimed it must be, and I read the tweet in her Gina voice.

Thanks. That was a good article. It does feel like debates were more important this year than in many recent elections. Probably the most importance since about 1980. In some ways this is probably when she is most in her element (like with Rick Lazio). It lays bare the basic repulsiveness of the Republican male, that some (like Rubio or scary robot Pence) hide under the surface. I imagine she really does loathe him, and just channeled that into a razor blade performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB4jk_Z5iqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB4jk_Z5iqA

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/vigo-county-indiana-trump-women-214368

That's hilarious. The last few years I've become more and more convinced we've never actually left the '80s. And I guess they need to make it certain.

Irving Allen Lee ad.

Karen Morris Gowdy ad.

The "drug lords" stuff makes me wonder if he's going to channel that Duterte guy too. Maybe Paul Manafort can help out again...