Cat

Tee hee 😄

"I may be FASHIONABLY late to the party.... but I'm ALWAYS quick on the draw."

Hope they have the content. I think NJ does better with slightly shorter seasons, which has been a feature of of the show since the Siggy Implodes season. Fast, breezy, and drama occurs almost immediately. RHOA going full Dynasty for its opening event:

It is evident on the show how much Gizelle cherishes and flat-out enjoys the company of her daughters, even when they are trolling her. She seems super proud of them and like they are her priority. On the show, Gizelle -- to her credit -- has not tried to hide the messier parts of her personality. As @Chris B said, she is envious of anyone who tries to overshadow her (like Monique, Karen). And she is in it to win it, and if that means pot-stirring, gossiping and rumor-mongering, then so be it. She also doesn't seem worried (at least publicly) about popularity and being liked by the viewers, and that takes a certain strength. There are viewers (like me, perhaps) who love to get riled up by 'RHOP Gizelle', but most of us acknowledge that Gizelle is an integral component of RHOP. She keeps the drama moving, and that is invaluable. Honestly, the chemistry between cast members built up over the past 5-6 seasons on RHOP has been kismet, and Gizelle is a part of that. She and Karen knew each other 13 years prior to the show. Given how dramatic Porsha's spin-off look, I'm almost sorry that footage wasn't saved for RHOA and folded into the show! RHOA has a long tradition of bringing in additional FOHs and not deciding until the end of shooting which ones should stick around or even get a peach. LOL, I will always remember during Kim Fields' season (underrated and great, IMO) when whacked-out Tammy went with the ladies to Miami. She provided a good two episodes of crazy drama at least!

I don't quite know what Sheree and Drew are doing in that line-up either. Sounds to me like ATL was at loose ends and was like 'Hey, ok, jump on the bandwagon because we are down a couple of girls.' Potomac Another filler episode, it felt like, as we head into the finale, but Potomac always manages to make it easy breezy. I see Ashley is gearing up for reunion and earning her place on the show. So we get a half-hearted attempt to go after low hanging fruit, namely Mia and G, and then that utterly unwarranted sexy-times moment with Gollum. But really, Ashley is gearing us up for Michael to make sad heart-eyes at Juan and piss off the Bassett Hounds! That is true work ethic. I see you, Ashley.

A friend suggested we go see this and, honestly, I had no expectations beyond the trailer. I don't know the book or anything like that. I thought it was enthralling. The story-setting and story-telling kind of washes over you at length and it feels almost like one of Paul's fever dreams at times. Timothee Chalamet is compelling and intense despite having a cipher role with not that much dialogue -- I thought he did well in truly centering the movie. Special mention to Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Jessica -- what a mystery she is: is she a cult-member/religious zealot? A loving mother? An opportunist? An evil villain? I still don't know. The work Villeneuve and his team did in creating these worlds/societies with their own languages, cultures, sciences, environments, and phenomena must have been insane. This literally transports you to another galaxy which is somewhat recognizable to our own. And House Ariedes getting bogged down in a desert quagmire as it seeks to exploit the local energy source has shades of the US invasion of Iraq. Hope there is a Part Two!

@Taoboi if you are bowing out of the BH reunion, then the Real Housewives franxhoses must be in rough shape! (FYI, I skipped the finale episode because everyone said it was boring, lol). Will let you know if they go Shady Phae Phae (THE LIES!! THE LIES!!!!) on Erika. Judging by the trailer, probably not. But Andy will catch Erika mid-lie. Lord. This 4 parter better be worth it! I giggled out loud at your "SERIAL MOM'S court scenes made flesh' remark. And @j swift called her a Mae West impersonator 💀 So does that mean you are going to focus on Potomac? 🙂 i still have to catch up on last week's episode. With SLC, I am way behind. Like 'stuck on episode 2' behind. In some old school ATL news... Peter hosted a 'Freedom' party for Apollo Nida at Nene's Linnethia Lounge last night. I thought Apollo had already been out for years!

Nicole Kidman face-on was nowhere in that trailer! Did we even spy her face for longer than 2 secs? We saw her back, her hair, her hand... very, very odd promo. And not a good sign. She does try to get Lucille Ball's vocal cadence, but it's not as raspy as Ball's voice was, and I can still hear a touch of Nicole's Australian. And it's not just NK. Javier Bardem in this trailer is basically Bardem in spectacles.

It is a terrible story, and if it is being told by Heather in a bitchy, snarky tone, I would be horrified. Because the story itself sounds like assault/abuse, and is not something you should use to score points against Sonja. This particular piece of salacious gossip is starting to feel like Andy Cohen's/budget Truman Capote's Answered Prayers moment.

And this morning there is more with this damn book! Looks like the RHONY women really went to town in the book, revealing extra-salacious gossip and being bitchy (and that includes Heather Thomson!). Anyway, now Leah is mad at Sonja for some stuff she said in the book about Tinsley and Leah's morose sister. I wont go into the details of what Leah is referring to with the cigarettes, but it is pretty sordid, and I'm starting to wish they didn't open the Pandora's box on that one. It also strikes me that RHONY right now is at Def Con 4. This book has come out a few months after all the crazy Daily Mail briefs the women did against each other so everyone is in Kill Or Be Killed mode. I kind of wish RHONY would send a film crew around and start filming everybody being so messy! And maybe that's the point. Maybe this is the story for the upcoming season (whenever that may be) -- the fallout from this tell-all book. Nice tie-in, Andy. But it also reminds me that back in S4, RHONY went Full Toxic and nearly touched the void. I sure hope this latest mess doesn't boomerang back onto the show in a bad way.

@DaytimeFan I'm leaning more towards Brooks. No particular reason, except that he seems to be loving the limelight an awful lot. A woman desperate for affection and attention, who is not ridiculously bright, and has a big TV show. His golden ticket. BH I enjoyed Part 2 of the reunion, mainly because it wasn't cruel and toxic. The women gave each other grace and actually listened and empathised. I'm stunned at how well Erika cane across, considering. Was she well rehearsed? Probably. But this is the Erika I have longed to see ever since she first appeared. She confirmed a lot of stuff we already suspected, and she gave up the info in a matter-of-fact and non-aggressive way. Not sure i believe all the guff about handing over all her paychecks, but I did appreciate some of her directness in expressing herself.

I totally agree. I think she risked her job to do it, but she still said it, and unapologetically, too.

Looks like two are already coming for Andy Cohen. One is Carole, the other is... Candiace?! The thing I appreciate about Carole, especially lately, is how little she cares about currying favor. Not with Andy Cohen (see above), and not with the viewers. She always had a streak of 'I'm going to stay true to myself,' even if it meant exhibiting a not-so-nice-side to her character. She held a grudge against Luann for what felt like YEARS, and she cheerfully sat back while the Bethenny attack dog went after others. She didn't even defend her BFFs Heather and Kristen when Bethenny annihilated them! So she definitely profited from hopping on Bethenny's back and being her best friend for a while. On the other hand, I will never forget her and Dorinda's trip to London to retrieve her husband's ashes -- one of the most moving episodes which treated the viewers as thinking, feeling grown-ups. Also, yes, she may have sour grapes and people think she should get over it by now. But honestly, if I had a friend who did what Bethenny did to her, I would be heartbroken and angry and I'm not sure how long it would take me to get over that feeling of being used and discarded. Bethenny humiliated her on TV at that reunion. I think I need to read Carole's book !

No, I think you make a good point. Sometimes you have to dig deep with anger to truly uncover what is actually making you angry, because it isn't always the most recent incident. It can be an accumulation of things. When filming started on S10, it was clear that Carole was furious about something, trying to keep it tamped down, but for all intents and purposes she was distancing herself. I imagine Bethenny wanting an intro to CG probably worked Carole's last nerve, but the straw that broke the camel's back was when Bethenny told everybody that Adam wouldn't photograph the crisis relief effort in Puerto Rico unless he was paid. Carole felt Bethenny targeted somebody she really cared about, and that's when it became VERY personal.

I knew Bravo would target Nene next! The network is using this book as payback. It is so short-sighted -- Bravo wants immediate buzz, but no consideration for the longer term. RH is a brand, and you have to maintain the brand. These books lifting the curtain on BTS shenanigans take away some of the mystery. I mean, I'm not a complete fool when it comes to 'scripted reality,' but... And of course, Bravo faves get preferential treatment -- until they fall out of favor. This kind of BTS gossip is one of the selling points of the shows, but when it becomes the only juice? Then the show risks swerving out of control and crashing as it burns through HW after HW. As far as LVP is concerned, she should cop to it. I find it a bit gross that everyone is so pressed about (gasp) feeding a story to the tabloids, which they all do. Versus Dorit adopting and then quickly dumping two puppies. Bethenny will put her receipts online. LVP is massively retweeting her fan support. Nene is not going to take this one lying down either. As usually with the RHs, everyone is obsessed with controlling the narrative, and with this book, we know that was Bravo. So HWs are going to want to claw some of that back.

This tidbit is obviously no shock to anybody! (Interesting that this Bravo-sanctioned book has so far promoted two stories involving departed HWs-- LVP and Bethenny. Yes, I know LVP has VPR, but Bravo no longer seems invested in that show or her. But that's a discussion for another day. In any case, Bravo has some lingering beef with these two. Could we be getting a leak about Nene soon? lol). Back to "It's about Tom." Yes, it was juicy, yes, it encompassed three great seasons of RHONY. But when it initially happened, it left me a little . Because Bethenny wasn't doing anyone a favor, not Luann whom she absolutely despised and was trying to ice off the show. Clearly, the blame falls squarely on Tom for being a skeevy cheating rat. But Bethenny used the cheating as a stick with which to beat Luann. It didn't sit well with me because it was done to humiliate. And Bethenny's performance at reunion that year -- oof. However, this really isn't the bombshell Carole and Ramona think it is. They were egging Bethenny on and ki-ki-ing the whole time. They loved seeing Luann brought down a peg. They need to stop acting shocked, because they 100% rubber-stamped this. Today, Ramona is obviously threatened by Bethenny, and Carole will never forgive her (or Andy) for what went down S10. Carole holds onto her grudges. As for what really went down between the two, you may have seen on this thread last year a Tweet about Carole, Bethenny and Brad Grey's widow. Brad Grey was a major producer, and Carole was BFFs with Cassandra Grey. Anyway, while Cassandra was grieving and Carole was spending time with her, Bethenny badgered her to get an introduction so she could pitch a production deal. According to Carole, when Carole refused, Bethenny got revenge by villainizing C on RHONY and playing victim.

IA with you. I haven't watched Sunday's episode yet (so may rue my words). But this season, Candiace is carrying the drama -- even if it leaves me riled up. The fact that we are seeing these patterns emerge across a few seasons is interesting to me. That psychological aspect keeps me watching RHs (Hello, BH -- people can't believe Erika agreed to do the show, but we watch to see how she is going to come across, if she is going to give herself away. It's kind of like a Columbo, lol). With Candiace, it is evident that her mother is central to the way she is and lashes out. And maybe Chris's coddling -- he feels like her dad sometimes with the way he had to carry her out of the restaurant and talk her down. It may also be youngest/smallest syndrome where she feels the need to show the other women how 'big' she really is. There is an insecurity with regards to her perceived status within the group. Something has got to give, though, and I hope reunion might have been an opportunity for break-through. Because on the show she continues to stubbornly double down on her attacks.

Oh, Dorit was THE WORST this first part. The shouting was ridiculous, OTT, utterly performative. For an always-super-calm, controlled, contrived woman to suddenly shout like that? Over nothing? But when faced with, say, Erika, Rinna, Eileen in Hong Kong she keeps her cool?.... You wanted to pretend Garcelle was some kind of aggressor who pushed you to your limit? OK, Karen. As you say, she was looking for her moment in a SL she conjured out of nothing. And then the shamelessness of accusing Garcelle of needing her for relevancy -- I had to laugh at the projection of it all! Without PK, Thirstit might have been fired years ago. Garcelle is more than just the Coven's most articulate and thoughtful target to date. She is the breakout star of BH. She is for all intents and purpose, the audience fave that fans have embraced and defend. The actual Queen crowned by the audience, not Bravo. And Rinna knows it, which is why she hastily made fake-amends with her Judas kisses, and has since been going after Sutton alone on social media for the last month. Because she views Sutton as the weak link, and no longer Garcelle. It is also the reason why Kyle is sitting next to Garcelle and not saying a peep against her. For now.

Here's another RHOP reunion shot: So it looks like seating might be: Mia Karen Wendy --ANDY-- NICKI MINAJ -- Gizelle Candiace Robyn Ashley. First things first... I am Karen biased, so if Gizelle gets the spot next to Andy/NM, why doesn't Karen also?? However, Wendy and Gizelle had beef so I get why they are seated up front. Not sure Wendy is quite ready for First Seat Status, though. I would have swapped Gizelle with Candiace, even though it would be rewarding bad behavior. Candiace has done the most this season for drama, for better or for worse. I would have moved Ashley over between Mia and Karen, so as to better shout at Candiace, lol. She should not be on the same couch as Candiace and she should not be seated after Robyn!

Oh, Ashley looks phenomenal! Like an old school movie star. Does yoga really produce these results?? lol I don't know what to make of the side bustle-train on Karen's short short dress. That's like... an extra hip! Candiace is wearing the square-toed shoes that Buffy Summers wore to her high-school prom, lol. Someone in the comments said Askale looked like a member of Jem and the Holograms. I feel like Robyn wore this very outfit at a past reunion -- I want to say season 3? Nevertheless, it is still miles better than Gizelle's fluorescent sack. How is it that G didn't say to herself 'OK, they make fun of my style? I'm going to wow them tonight!'

More Vicki deets regarding her most recent love rat.

Vicki is spilling the tea about her breakup with Steve Lodge. I can actually hear her voice in these posts! Is Gizelle auditioning for Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked? Everybody else looks like they are auditioning for Cirque du Soleil! IN any case, I wouldn't have it any other way when it comes to Potomac! These women remain true to who they are when it comes to their fashions. 'Donn Gunvalson' needs to spill all.

RHOP reunion looks! Wendy's pose makes me laugh.

Thank you for posting that. I did not know his YT baking videos at all and love that cooking stuff!