Cat

I remember this from back in the day. NB dined out on this story for a long time -- he made people try and guess who it was for days. Not sure what set DD off in the end (if indeed he did assault Branco), but there was some implication that DD interpreted NB asking if CLB should have won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy instead of him. This was back when the Baldwin Fishers were the big thing on Y&R and CLB was popular and somewhat pushed by TPTB.

Erika did a TED Talk? Do they give those out to anybody who wants one? She really thought the audience was dumb AF. "I was nailing it." "It's the greatest bamboozlement I've ever accomplished." Uhhhh. From her very first season, people on this thread already had her number. I don't think anyone had trouble differentiating between EJ and EG. It wasn't that deep. EJ was clearly the campy, lash-out persona she and Bravo preferred using, because she couldn't stand playing submissive wifey EG anymore.

AC is losing his supposed touch if he thinks BH viewers are in any way ambivalent about Erika. Even before TH&TH, all of social media and even this thread has been one voice. That she must have known something (especially after TG transfered $20mn to her, a detail which came out 6 months ago), that the scale of the fraud was staggering and disgusting, and that her position on the show is untenable as a result. Andy tried to distract by harping on about Danielle Staub and Dana Wilkey (the disgust he has for those two women literally dripping from his voice) but that caller said it loud and clear. She feels icky watching Erika on the show luxuriating in the opulence stolen from those victims. There is no getting away from that.

For sure mainland China is a bigger threat to HK, because it is already there, encircling the city-state with its 'National Security' Law which now allows China to detain any HK resident for as long as it wants, with no recourse to legal representation. It also allows the country to spirit detainees across the border to be 'tried' under mainland law. Which is a very different legal system than what HK has been used to until recently. Having visited HK in 2014, it breaks my heart to see this thriving, dynamic place have its identity and spirit broken like this -- handed over lock, stock and barrel by the British, and with the blessing of the local HK establishment. To see so many unarmed, young kids protest, despite the threat to their lives, and be arrested by masses of militarized police as 'terrorists' is laughable -- obscene actually. Taiwan's preference for independence has only grown after seeing what is going on in Hong Kong. Maybe, as you say, China will hesitate before invading Taiwan (as well it should). However, as the Tweet I was responding to suggests, Xi is surrounded by military advisers -- who, I imagine, are keen to tell Xi what he wants to hear, and not what he needs to hear to make informed decisions. The guy is so paranoid, he is practically micro-chipping the few Uighurs he hasn't forced into slave labor.

IA that BH was a more entertaining watch than NY this week. It helped that Sutton, Crystal, Dorit and (god help me) Rinna all came across better this week. Sutton was a joy, not just with Garcelle, but in the gracious way she welcomed everybody (including Crystal) into her home. Did you notice, Garcelle didn't even knock, she just let herself in like she'd been there before? LOL. Kyle gave props to Sutton for the ways she decorated the old Sherman Oaks home -- it really does look fabulous. Crystal talking about her eating disorder made her more relatable. I also thought her husband was ok. He's not checked out when it comes to the family. Crystal is very reserved and cautious, and that's very different from fellow Asian HW Tiffany who reveals many of her vulnerabilities. Rinna. Obviously still Da Devil. But slightly less evil this episode. I like Harry Hamlin. I think he really does want to make a positive difference in life and is interested in learning new things. See, when Rinna isn't trying super hard to be another HW (the LVP-Kris Jenner replicant in Erika's wigs), we glimpse SoapTalk Rinna again. Also, I am fascinated by Rinna's crazy facial reactions in the previews with Erika! It was like the Muppets Take Manhattan! Garcelle. We were all thinking it. Erika herself said "I was going to hold that man's will hand until he died." Dorit. You hit the nail on the head. Now with Terri Cougar Avocado gone (waiting in the wings), Dorit is lower down the totem pole. Like the Avocados, the Kemsleys are dependent on Umansky largesse for exposure and income. Dorit needs Kyle to stay on this show. I understand Dorit taking a stand, though. As she showed with LVP, she is not a complete pushover and will switch alliances for self-preservation. She has chosen the Fox News Five (or whatever the call themselves) for now, but let's be real, that 'friendship group' is a nice little performance meant to emulate Taylor Swift's Girl Squad. Only Terri and Dorit have to hang with Kyle during the off-season, too. Kyle. Like Luann when she gets a piece of good news, Kyle lets it all go to her head. Having Kathy around has been a major boost to her standing on the show. So now she's confident enough to dish out orders. Only problem is, I'm not sure these women are as afraid of her as she thinks they are. They're more afraid of Erika's rage, actually. Rinna certainly would not put up with what Dorit got this episode. I'm still waiting for a Rinna-Kyle face-off one day. Erika. So, unpopular opinion. Part of me feels a teeny bit bad for Erika (though not as bad as for the burns victims and Indonesian orphans and widows who don't have a penny). Because she literally has nobody left in her life. Never have I seen a more isolated, lonely figure. And it's going to be even more isolated as fairweather friends dump her in droves. She is back to where she started, when she grew up estranged from her father, her mother (to an extent) and actual friends her own age. Erika's coldness and mistrust has prevented her from building up truly loyal, longtime confidants. Right now, she's trying to act all Alexis Colby/Too Kool for Skool because she thinks that her fans will be all finger-snaps and YASS KWEEN. The problem is, not all her fans are Mikey. Acting the part of this 80s-esque character she's created is not going to be enough damage control given the scale of the fraud. Erika missed her calling as a Daytime soap actress. She always wanted to be that kind of star, and she lived for playing this persona so much more than embracing herself as a person. No-one really knows how much she knew, but I'm betting she knew just about enough to tell herself that the victims would get paid back eventually; that Tom was just moving funds around because isn't that what all corporations do? Basically, she didn't want to know how gross it was.

This is indeed very worrying, and IMO the US should defend Taiwan in any invasion attempt. It is a democratic nation and ally, and strategically hugely important. Not only does it produce the world's semiconductors (as the Twitter thread pointed out, US industries rely heavily on those), but its very existence resists China's encroaching dominance of the Asia Pacific region as a whole. Just look what is happening to Hong Kong. Taiwan will get that treatment tenfold -- China has no problem implementing the death penalty on its enemies. Letting China ride roughshod over US bases in Taiwan (!) also sends the message that the US is weak, and will no longer support its allies. The message will resonate bigtime in Europe, Japan and South Korea, also home to US military bases. I know the US doesn't like to play Empire Police, but it is what it is. That is its role in the wider world, whether the NIMBYs like it or not. There needs to be balance between the world's major superpowers, and US-supported allies in the AP represent an important part of that balance.

Because nobody saw her nasty Tweets, right? Including the one where she sneered that Covid was 'God's way of thinning the herd.' Rage Monster is shameless in her lack of accountability. It's always somebody else's fault! Well, I guess this is Bravo's way of thinning the herd, Kelly!

She is seriously going to try and Alexis Colby her way out of this mess. My eyes were already rolling to the back of my head when I saw this clip, and I haven't even watched the episode in full yet. Did you see the preview with Mikey pretending he loves the little studio rental she's going to be living in? 😬 @Taoboi BH preview for next week: IN RHOC news, Rage Monster and The Narcissist are already turning on each other. Kelly is vile, honestly. And In further Kelly Dodd's Worst Week Ever news...

Bravo -- pay it. Tamra is worth the money in terms of the sh*t stirring she does! She is basically a producer at this point, that's how well she knows the game and the show. The network threw millions at Nene and Bethenny and look where that got them. That money is now freed up! Tamra is a company girl -- she's not running off to another network anytime soon. I want OC to bounce back too. Seeing the news that Heather is back and Tamra might return shows what potential RHOC still has. It has electrified fans. Not sure this is a popular opinion, but I loved S14. It felt like a return to form. Braunwyn was just the right amount of thirsty. Gina and Emily stepped up. Rage Monster didn't suck the oxygen out of the room. Shannon was a game manipulator. Vicki had serious FOMO (which worked to energise her). And Tamra was as villainous and messy as she's ever been. I really enjoyed that season and have no idea why TPTB tried to dismantle it.

Which is rather illogical as he's actually turned out to have somewhat more progressive policies than they (and I, in fact) had initially anticipated. Sigh.

Back in October, when the Reps hastily swore in Amy Coney Barrett in the dead of night and held a big ole WH Covid party, Mitch McConnell made a triumphant speech to the Senate where he crowed "Losing elections has consequences." The Reps are in the business of winning and holding onto power -- by any means necessary. Even if it means sanctioning some kind of 'undemocratic' coup. I wish The Dems would realise this and start to play the game as ruthlessly as the Reps do because the Reps are riding roughshod over them and us as a country.

LONG overdue. I almost wish Kelly and Braunwyn would be around for a couple of episodes just to feel Heather's broadside! Heather would effortlessly destroy Braunwyn's house of cards (seriously, where is the money coming from to pay for 17 children and an overpriced rental? Her husband doesn't work and simply caters to The Narcissist and her latest girltoy). And then there is Heather vs the Rage Monster -- a reckoning that's been pending for 6 years. The real question is WHERE IS TAMRA. Tamra is the tentpole of this group and has relationships with all the women. She needs to be a fulltime housewife, PERIOD. Heather will be going in having not spoken to Shannon in years and not knowing Gina or Emily. Tamra & Heather are also the tag-team OC needs (hello, season 9). Poor Elizabeth was collateral damage, in the wrong season, at the wrong time. With a different group dynamic, she could have been a solid addition. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but perhaps a change of EP is due. Chris Cullen (the one who screamed "DENISE!!!!" on BH when she went all Bravo, Bravo, Bravo) has been running the OC ship and its not been the same since S12 / S13. He turfed out Vicki (alongside Andy and Bravo who were itching to get rid of her), and last season's rush decision-making in favor of a busted younger demo almost dealt this franchise the death-blow. Time to go back to basics.

Dana Wilkey is someone the audience was too quick to dislike. She appeared on BH's best season (S2) and, frankly, her Twenny Five Thouzind moment is iconic. Back when the show was about the rich & the wannabes, Dana/Pam was a perfect wannabe, desperately kissing Kyle & Kim's ass. She left me with a favorable impression at reunion when she explained her background and copped to the ass-kissing. She also had this epic moment in S3 where she told Taylor (drunkenly but sagely) "These women can never love you, because they are too busy loving themselves." Truth! Bravo missed a trick not giving her a chance in S3 and beyond. Her rich banker fiancé dumped her, she moved to London briefly to become a child-rearing expert featured on Daily Mail Online (!!), moved back to the US, got charged on Federal fraud counts and cut a deal with prosecutors. I mean, she really went through a gamut of life experience that would make any RH proud. She has succeeded in reinventing herself again and again. I don't follow her closely, but I'm sure she's kept tabs on the BH cast and knows what she's talking about. ------ As for Erika, I initially predicted that Erika would carry this season. For that reason, I was willing to watch and wait. It's also rare for someone on BH to actively want to be the villain, but Erika enjoys acting like she's too cool for school. However, I'm starting to wonder if these next few episodes are going to be a whole lot of 'I knew nothing and I was betrayed too.' The Coven will back her because they idolize and are a little afraid of her. I've given Erika a pass before because I felt she would bring something interesting to the show. However, her influence on the direction of RHOBH has not been great. No more Dana/Pam wannabes (unless we count Dorit) -- instead we got pretend wealth, glam squads and dull surface. I'm wondering if the authorities will pull a Teresa and want to make an example of her by sending her to jail for a year.

I liked Sam & John McBain and thought KM & ME did a good job of channelling their old chemistry. I also liked Carly & Todd. I thought they did a decent job of tying some of the OLTLers into the Port Charles fold back when they first came on, and they brought a fresh dynamic to the show. The problem was when they had to abandon any mention of OLTL and turned ME into New Character #1 and of course RoHo as Franco. I just couldn't see the chemistry they'd had before once they became these rando characters. And yes Herbst is an afterthought for GH. They don't dare write her out because of her loyal fanbase, but they pair her up with leftovers and think that they are throwing a bone to her fans and that they will lap it up. I'm not saying we need RH hogging all the screen time, but she stands out every time she appears on screen and carries a lot of SLs which in lesser hands would be DOA. I wish GH recognized that a little more. She also hasn't aged in over a decade (which is by the by). I don't know what Carly expects from Jason. Just let him get some already. She wants him embalmed in the monastery dedicated to the worship of CarSon and that's not a life, lol.

Apparently The Fall of the House of Girardi went out on Hulu last night, with talking head contributions from Danielle Staub and Dana/Pam. And apparently this rumor about RHOC Braunwyn and Fernanda (both thirsty AF IMO) is pervading Twitter. Not just Kameron and Kary but also Cary Deuber was named by a blogger, and she went straight on her Instagram to deny it and ask them to show receipts. I know the Deubers are kind of a$$holey but I'm hoping My Cary wouldn't quite stoop to this. As she pointed it, she's still busy working full-time in her husband's practice (something I always appreciated about her). I can't with Kam's podcast. I mean, can Chair Chart Westcott come on there and give a full apology to Tiffany?

She was a one-of-a-kind powerhouse and its about time they did a doc! Thanks for letting us know, @DaytimeFan !

Oooo S2 was so good, wasn't it? It had the right amount of humor and darkness IMO. Season 3 was great too (although I hated Holtz). I forgot about David Greenwalt being showrunner and HW. He also did great things on Buffy S1-3 and his episodes were often standouts.

RHOC: So contract letters are apparently being sent out today. And Tamra said a few days ago that she had not heard anything regarding whether she and Heather Dubrow rejoin OC. If that is true, I am absolutely dying. Surely Bravo wouldn't pass up the opportunity to bring back these two heavy-hitters! Meanwhile in Bizarro Land: Lizzie Vargas might have got her contract renewed...? More being released from this RHOP x Telfar x UGGs x InStyle photoshoot where More is More!

Ohhhhh there is? Time to hop on Google! He had a great ass back in the day. Yes, David Boreanaz specifically requested that Nicholas Brendon not sit in with the main cast at the EW reunion. This was just after Brendon's arrest or conviction (can't remember which) for beating up his girlfriend. Wow, Charisma unfollowed Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof? That's meaningful. Amy Acker did eventually post some kind of "I didn't see any of that going on but I support Charisma, of course" Tweet after fans pressed her on it. I believe it was Alyson Hannigan (Willow) and Denisof (her husband) who stayed conspicuously silent. Yes, AA, AD and AH were always being invited to Whedon's Improv Dinners at his house, but I noticed that Carpenter and Gellar were conspicuously not invited. I imagine those sessions must have been very 'Suck Up to Teacher.' Some years after Buffy/Angel, Whedon directed As You Like It and cast Acker and Denisof in the two main roles. I actually enjoyed the movie, but I remember thinking 'Oh, he's trying to make these two happen' when I watched it. It always surprised me that Acker and Denisof never made it bigger. Denisof in particular would be a talented character actor.

Absolutely. Cordelia was the heart IMO and losing that (making her essentially a groomer of a teenager) and conflating her actual pregnancy with the birth of some kind of monstrous entity -- wooo. Joss Whedon has got ISSUES. As @te. just said, everything he did was to fire her for falling pregnant -- but without actually risking a lawsuit for wrongful termination. He kept her there until she had her baby, then fired her. It was so horrific, and the press who were completely enthralled by JW played it very lowkey and like it wasn't a big deal. And in trying to ruin the character of Cordy, Whedon very nearly risked the cancellation of the show itself. Season 5 was basically its 'one last chance' season. Honestly, I was so glad when Boreanaz spoke up in support of Charisma, and she tweeted back to him "I know you do, David." It was a nice direct acknowledgement because you could tell that CC and DB got along and had a good working relationship. When Entertainment Weekly did their Angel special, even though she had been ingloriously fired, I noticed Carpenter sat in the chair next to Boreanaz throughout, and it made me wonder if DB had requested it that way (just as her requested Nicholas Brendon not join the main cast for EW's Buffy special. You know, I even (totally irrationally) felt slightly aggrieved at the time at Amy Acker (Fred) about CC's firing. Whedon thought Amy was the bee's knees and mentioned how fantastic she was constantly. She was clearly, physically, his dream girl. Re-watching Angel recently, I realise that I like Fred because Amy brings a soulful quality to the character. The fact is, Fred and Cordy could and DID co-exist beautifully in the Angelverse -- it was only Whedon who subliminally couldn't have more than one female in the main team. Lilah -- such an underrated character. Ruthless born of sheer will to survive. She ate rats in a sewer just to stay alive. And she loved Wesley, not for the man she wanted him to be, but for the man he was. A strong, conflicted villainess, and I have no idea why they killed her off when they knew W&H would be coming back big the following season. Re: Xander. After S3, he really turned into a dope. I also (this is unpopular) wasn't all that crazy about RoboticAnya. Yeah, you cold tell everybody was deeply unhappy. They should have ended it S5 as was the original plan. It would have been leaving on a relative high, with no loose ends.

IA that S1-3 were glorious and established an emotional connection that I have rarely felt for any TV show since. S4 was underrated IMO because I enjoyed that too. It felt like a goodbye to the precedents set in S1-3, though, and for that reason, was somewhat bittersweet. What I found hard in S5 (apart from The Body, which is one of the best episodes of TV I ever saw) was the feeling of pessimism and depression. Obviously Buffy was not going to bounce back from what happened with Joyce. It was just this feeling of joylessness that permeated in S6-7. Losing Giles IMO was a big mistake. Also I found Glory a poor Big Bad and for that reason S5 always felt a little overrated for me.

Finally got his comeuppance, and it was her Twitter post (and her testimony in the Ray Fisher situation) that exposed him to the fandom. He got pissed that she was pregnant (when every soap known to man at that time would be able to accommodate), destroyed her character, and killed her off. We never got to see an Angel-Cordy romance really take off and I'm still bummed about that! Nevertheless, I am watching Angel S5 (for the first time in its entirety) because Spike, because W&H, and because I want to see what happens with Wes-Fred-Gunn. I also want to say that the show really missed a trick by not keeping Stephanie Romanov as Lilah around. This limp Eve character is not cutting it.

Last year doing lockdown, I re-watched Buffy Seasons 1-5, and it was so great coming back to the show and remembering how much it meant to me. Currently on the final season of Angel and trying to push past how badly Joss Whedon treated Charisma Carpenter.