Cat

SLC If Jen Shah hadn't been nearly arrested at Beauty Lab, what would this season have given us? Lisa and her catchphrases? Meredith having a meltdown over Brooks/her marriage? Without Mary to point out just how ridiculous Little Girl is, this episode would have been a bust. The racist one ran around looking for her moment of relevancy and threw a damn glass, and now I understand why Mary didn't deign to show up at reunion. That was some bullshit. And we all saw Heather point at Jennie and encourage her to make a scene, right? Then Heather and Little Girl stepped back and put on their best Kyle Richards faces of fake shock. It reminded me of BH riding Puppygate to death while purposely avoiding talking about Mo, Tom and Dorit getting sued. How Jen Shah ducked that one all season, we will probably never know. And to top it all off, we got to see two bulls covered in mud rutting. My eyes! This made Tamra & Eddie's infamous love scene look tasteful. That was a long season. My weave is exhausted.

So Putin has started the invasion of the Ukraine. Or at least Donetsk and Lubansk -- for now. No idea ATM if the Russian army will stop there or continue onto Kyiv.

Lol this flop. What an awful daughter. May she never return to RHONY! Can you imagine the intervention? "You guys are, like, so cancelled. I'm live-streaming this, by the way."

I don't think we are going to know for a while because probably even Bravo doesn't know yet. As @DaytimeFan said, Ramona still stirs up a LOT of negative reaction, and the Jennie disaster reminded people of all Ramona's transgressions. A lot of the rumors of pre-filming also stem from a photo a few days ago of Ramona and Harry Dubin sitting in a hotel lounge in Florida somewhere. The last time we saw a photo of Ramona and Harry, they were tonguing each others tonsils three years ago, and it seemed to be a Ramona-generated marketing ploy for the show. I think Bravo is nervous about cutting the RHONY OGs too hastily and then having to deal with an OC rebuilding situation (and speaking of OC, Tamra was on WWHL last night, and all of Bravo's official social media went crazy trying to canvas fans about a 'possible' Tamra return -- which imo is already a done deal. As it should be). I'd also be sad, if Sonja is indeed out, if we didn't have some goodbye episodes from her or Lu. I have a tremendous soft spot for them after all these years. I'm not sure I miss Dorinda on RHONY, and I'm skeptical if we will get a new, renewed Dorinda. I guess we will see how RHUGT 2 performs with her and Jill. As usual, I wish Heather, Carole and possibly even Aviva would return. They anchored the show amid all the crazy. But I know I'm an outlier -- most of the fans want to see Bethenny, Jill, Dorinda, Sonja, Luann + newbies or some similar combination.

RHOM: I really really like Julia, especially talking about raising her kids as a single mom. I think she is one of the most kind-hearted HWs on Bravo and it makes a nice change. Her scene with Adriana also allowed Adriana to open up about her loneliness after her divorce. It was one of the few times Adriana showed her vulnerable side. A bachelorette party at the Versace mansion? Where Gianni Versace was gunned down by a serial killer? Ok. Only in Miami. The house is like a spooky jewel of a doll house. Looks like Adriana vs Larsa, and Alexia's dramatic wedding coming up next week. It seemed to be a harbinger of bad tidings when Alexia announced that her infirm mother was hospitalized with Covid.

@Khan Moonves systematically smothered ANY show headed/produced by a females. It must have enraged him no end that MSW was still so popular, headlined by an older lady, no less. As Linda Bloodworth-Thomason described so perfectly, Les preferred 'girls' looking like a young Britney Spears and playing Dead Hooker of the Week on his innumerable CSI shows. Watching a couple of Superbowl ads from last weekend targeted at an aging Gen X demo, makes ne wonder if network TV might shift towards those older demographics it used to malign...

Haha, please! Lisa's not that mad. Bravo has made her into a meme queen! The trailer is a slow burn. but (Jennie's pointless interjections aside) I think it's going to be a decent one. Hope Andy peppers Jen Shah with more questions about the case against her.

It really is timeless. I was visiting my parents' place a few weeks ago, and my mom was in the kitchen, finishing up cooking, when Murder She Wrote came on the TV. Literally she, my dad and I sat down to eat watching the show. At the second commercial break, my dad leaned over and asked: "So, who do you think did it??" Having grown up in the 80s watching Miss Marple and Poirot on PBS, MSW seemed the natural evolution for the Agatha Christie murder mysteries -- a real-life American Agatha Christie (of course, the real Agatha Christie was half-American!) investigating murders, because her writing has given her the know-how. Angela Lansbury exudes a very warm, empathetic aura on MSW, and she is also smart. She has the audience's heart, but she also earns their respect. My mom especially found Angela Lansbury aspirational. She bought the AL stretching/exercise video for older ladies way back in the day. And she dug Angela's MSW style (80s good-quality Talbots with some Aquascutum raincoats/scarves thrown in). ETA: I will also never forget, in the mid-to-late 90s, when Moonves moved MSW from Sunday nights to Thursdays at 8pm opposite Friends, Angela Lansbury went on all the early morning talk shows and called "Mr. Moonves" out by name for wanting to kill MSW. She was 100% right, of course, and even then I thought she was brave standing up to a boss who clearly didn't give a sh!t about her or what she had done for CBS. From that moment on, I associated Moonves' name with assholery, and boy, were we all sadly proved right on that score.

I am telling you!! She has been leaning into the Downtrodden Friend role in seasons 1 and 2, while also reveling in her newfound popularity (on full display at S1 reunion). I knew this would be her next chess move. As the nasty details of Jen Shah's scam emerge, Lint is going to go full Shocked and Betrayed. She was there for her! Through thick and thin! How could Jen Shah let her down like this? etc.

SLC Reunion trailer

ITA with all this. Like you, I am also wondering: where do we go from here after Reunion? It's crazy but Mary the Cult Leader anchors the show. She's cutting through a lot of the BS, and I rarely feel like she is acting. Without that, the show would become completely untethered. It would be a game of changing alliances on a dime. And Lisa Barlow acting out the imaginary soap opera in her head. I cannot buy a thing that comes out of her mouth! I'm going to miss Mary after the finale, and I'm not sure I love Lint, Little Girl, Utah Lydia, Scammer or The Racist One enough for the both of us! So yeah, I'm worried that S3 will be a lot of scripted crazy but without Mary putting people in their place.... honestly, I worry the Bobbsey twins are going to run amok. I like Meredith a lot, but Meredith cannot always read a room, and she also cannot reeeeeaaad a person [(c) Nene]. She grandstands, trips up, and the next thing you know, no-one is filming at your event but they are all filming at Scammer's event. Even Brooks will be over there at Scammer's party wearing a mesh face mask for anonymity. I'm ready for Little Girl to have a comeuppance season. Heather's comeuppance may come later, when people finally figure out she's a lowkey Sniper from the Side.

The despair in Trusova is something else. Working so hard for years and years and years, with a program you know is technically the most difficult. She obviously feels that Scherbakova was not up to her standard (and IA there is something odd about the way Scherbakova lands her jumps. But I guess the judges felt she was the sweeter, more acceptable face of the Russian skating team?). Added to which you have intense pressure from that coach Eteri Tutberidze to win at all costs, otherwise you will be replaced by any number of young figure skaters. Given that most of Tutberidze's charges retire at 19 or 20 (somewhat broken either physically or emotionally), Trusova at 17 probably felt this was her last chance at an Olympic gold medal, because she is unlikely to be part of the team at 21. Given the tough, cruel skating world, I'm not sure how I feel about having such young kids whose lives are placed in the hands of abusive doping coaches like Tutberidze. Not that the West is much better -- look at our gymnastics team and the years of abuse Simone Biles and others experienced. How to improve conditions for these young athletes working to compete at the highest level? How to avoid exploitation and abuse? (That's not a question for you to answer, BTW! I'm just asking rhetorically).

You put it perfectly. There should not be one rule for other competitors regarding zero-tolerance doping and a special dispensation for the ROC team. It renders the whole thing ridiculous and completely tarnishes the sport. Valieva should have been sent home and could have come back to the world championships. The Russians are so good at this, they don't need the doping, I don't believe. Their talent and technique are on another level all on their own. I will go find the Trusova clip but I'll take your word for it. She had +5 quads in her program, the most difficult ever conceived. However, fron a performance standpoint, I thought Scherbakova did better. It was the full package of art and technique, whereas I felt Trusova was just ticking off the technical elements. JMO of course.

Trusova had a meltdown before the awards? How did i miss this? Scherbakova skated beautifully. I've always been in awe of Russian ice dancing (hell, Russian dancing in general), but the doping cloud takes away from all these girls' immense talent as ice dancers. The fact that Russians scored gold and silver anyway, will have other teams look at that and think 'What is the point of competing if you're not on performance enhancing drugs and don't have Russian clout to bribe the Olympic Committee?' I have no idea where figure skating goes from here. I have no idea where the ROC goes from here either.

It was pretty hard to watch. You could see her misery, and I had tears too, not going to lie. She's only 15, and she's literally taking the fall for a state doping system. I would be surprised if we see her ice dance again, sadly. She will be banned for doping, but her coaches won't be. Even though they are the ones who have designed this system and impose it on these young children. Because they are obsessed with quad jumps and the high technical marks the quads bring with them. It is now a jumping competition. And the Russian coaches have figured out that young, tiny, thin teens can jump quads the best. It gets more difficult as you get older. That's why most of these Russian skaters retire at 19 or 20, because they can't jump the quads as well. And because of the injuries they sustain with their intensive training. The angina medication found in Valieva's bloodstream is not to aid a dance performance, it is actually to push endurance, so they can train longer and through pain.

Yep, Candiace's words regarding his son were: "You are making money off of our backs and feeding your son with it, and you just don’t give a f**k about us and you can’t tell me that you do."

I love the Winter Olympics generally, and so far have caught up on a number of events. Even though the fact that it is being held in Beijing at all is hugely controversial, and explains why many viewers have actively boycotted it. I especially loved the snowboard cross this year (men's and women's) -- the competitors of these adrenaline sports like cross, half-pipe and free-ski have a joyfulness to their performances, and a mutual respect across teams. The sport is not about subtracting points if you make mistakes as much as adding points if you do extra-well. Nor is it about nationalism and beating a hated enemy nation. Seeing legend Shaun White embracing Scotty James who ended up taking the gold was moving, as was watching the Australian team cheer on the Norwegian free-ski competitor, just because he was so good. But the ice-skating -- which is like a cult in Russia and probably the number one reason why Putin will do anything to remain part of the Winter Olympics -- hurts my heart. The competition is riven with geopolitical fault-lines and is so tough and cruel. As you say, @DRW50 the sacrifice asked of some of these athletes seems way to high for one moment of glory. And for what? To satisfy a nation's low self-esteem, and to reinforce the low value placed on an individual's life. She is but a cog in the wheel of the state apparatus. The fact that a 15 year old has been on powdered protein drinks for two years straight and a regular regimen of (at least) three different heart medications is abuse, pure and simple. Once that body starts breaking down, and the heart problems appear, Valieva will be quickly discarded by her awful coach Eteri Tutberidze and the state-sponsored doping machine, like so many before her. It breaks my heart because I doubt she had any say in the matter of doping. The supreme irony is that the Russian skaters like Valieva do not even need 'performance-enhancing' drugs. The event rests largely on her tiny body weight and incredible balletic and technical skills learned from years of never-ending training. Like I said, I love the Winter sports, but I understand people's disgust with the corruption and dictatorships involved. I think at some point very soon, the skating will just be to much to bear for a viewer/fan like me.

Maura West needs to hunt down whoever OKed that pic of her looking like a dude. Just awful! She's a knockout! And Roger Howarth looks like he is legit growling.

RHONJ preview: Dolores and Jackie in each other's faces. Marge's mini-me assistant gets a reaction shot.

Rich people draw ranks around each other and protect their own! Not shocked. I imagine Kathy has hobnobbed with the Trumps since the 80s Ivana days when she and Rick lived at the Waldorf-Astoria. I don't know what to say about her support of Trump... except, sigh. This is where where we are now as a country. I wasn't expecting anything from Kathy Hilton or any other reality-show star TBH. People tend to idolize stars beyond belief -- this is how we got into our current political mess -- but honestly, Kathy was just a FOH. I'm not losing any sleep if she stays or goes on BH. I have a problem with Rinna harping on this obsessively. None of this is because of her political convictions or support of the gay community. It is about having a SL and riding it to death, though. Also let's not forget NBCU's role, under Jeff Zucker especially, in reinforcing the Trump 'brand,' allowing him to launch a bid for the presidency. Hamlin is still boohooing about this role? Lord. The movie, with its TV stars of the day (Kate Jackson), is like a nostalgic hark-back to the early 80s! It is now part of pop culture lore -- he should thank it for giving him visibility and a loyal gay fanbase. Nobody cares if he is/was straight, gay or whatever IRL. It didn't stop him from getting with plenty of beautiful women back in the day, either. He needs to get over himself.

Is Kenya the other HW?? I remember her decimating Michael Rapaport on WWHL -- the greatest WWHL clip of all time -- and Andy was LIVING for it! I thought it was Ramona at first, too, until I saw the title of the blind -- Dragged. So here is what Candiace said in Diamonds and Rosé: And honestly, where is the lie? He is making money off the RHs and it has given him "a great life -- and I love living it" [(c) Kelly Killoren Bensimon]. And as much as Andy/Bravo pretends to be 'appalled' by the physical altercation, they milked it for all it was worth. This quote is what I mean about Candiace being her own worst enemy. She literally snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. In the very same book, Potomac's EP is quoted as saying that Monique is delusional and manipulative, she was asked to go, her position was untenable with most of the HWs refusing to film with her, etc. The show sided with Candiace over the altercation -- she basically won AND got Monique off the show. So Candiace, having won this round, with the full support of production and most of the cast... decides to go scorched earth. I don't understand this strategy. Candiace definitely sees Andy for what he is -- but she is playing with fire going after him directly on her own. She isn't wrong in what she is saying, but her delivery is guaranteed to make the Bravo suits forget that you were on the 'victim' side of that fight. All they see is: 'Imperious black woman was in a fight and is now making further demands.' As a selfish viewer, and given how reunion went down (with Candiace on the outs with everyone), I want a Make Or Break season with Candiace. I'm not her fan, but I also think she makes things happen on the show. Plus, it's how these women evolve (or not) which interests me. Where is Candiace going from here? Because the aggressive verbal and physical intimidation is a dead end -- the rest of the cast is over it.

This is about Candiace, I think. One of the two HWs that Andy allegedly hates. I'm not sure im ready for her to go, even though she is all those things they say in the blind. I am ready for her 'make or break' season. She's at an interesting, tense place with the rest of the cast (and her own worst enemy, unfortunately). I also think she is being pushed out, not because of her behaviour on the show, but what she said about Andy in the Diamonds and Rose book.

If anything, it was due to the shows side-lining both actresses (SMG to an extent in the later Buffy seasons -- SD literally being fired from both her gigs) that caused me to tune out. God bless Holy Marie Combs who did her best to keep Charmed ticking over with the cast changes -- but her SLs featuring her character, the angel husband and their numerous offspring weren't enough to keep me hooked. 😬

And... it's Brooke & Ridge, who have been off-and-on since 1989! Both characters have an "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" approach to their love lives. (Deacon's approach is "If you can't be with the one you love, f*ck her worst enemy and then send her the sex tape"). Rich people in SoCal, man. They should be talking this out over a soy latte after everyone has had a chance to process their feelings.

I am of the same mind as @Khan. Shannen Doherty and SMG had the 'It' factor, kept me glued to their respective shows (even Charmed which, like Vee said, was underwhelming considering the talented cast and producers). I was invested in their characters, full stop, and glued to their shows as a result. Not every actor out there can well and truly carry a show like they did. BTW, I'm sure it's already been mentioned here, but both women are close friends IRL and have been for a couple of decades.