YRBB

Nobody can blame KNOTS LANDING for writing them out, of course. They tried. They really tried. They gave them four years and it never worked. Even after the kind of reboot and the soapier direction the show took in Season 4, Dunne kept them around and artfully got them involved as much as possible. But it was clear that neither the characters or actors were ever going to work (and they sure did try to make it happen) from the very beginning. After all, how can you have Gary, Sid/Mack, Richard and... Kenny? The dichotomy is stupendous. Same with Val, Karen, Abby, Laura and Ginger. You compare the first four with the last and its laughable.

It was FANTASTIC. Just absolutely thrilling from beginning to end. Great script from George R.R. Martin. Every character involved was poignant and interesting. LOVED the sequence where Tyrion sends in the one boat and creates disaster. The effects were TREMENDOUS. Fire can be notoriously difficult to do well (and, on series, usually looks horrible) but they did a large scale explosion that looked like a big budget movie. Major kudos to them for that. The soldiers burning, the ships sinking, it was more than I would have ever hoped they could achieve. Just unbelievable. And fantastic editing. Top of the notch stuff. They deserve an Emmy, for production values at the very least. The Hound's journey in this episode was great as well. Surprisingly, his fear of fire seemed to humanize him. I like the relationship he's developed with Sansa. It looks like she turned his offer down but it probably would have been smarter for her to just take him up on his offer to take her back to Winterfell. I'm pretty sure he would really stop any harm from happening to her. Tyrion really proved himself here. I hope against all hope that that final shot of him did not mean he's dead. Cersei's scenes were phenomenal. She keeps ricocheting between total evil/bitchiness and a softer side and it's fascinating to watch. I really thought she was going to kill both herself and her son. Tywin's entrance was great. And I have to say that the ending shot was gorgeous; just a beautiful image to end the episode on. Total success.

Season 4 was... I don't know what the word is for it. Definitely boring. Frank South does not do the type of soap that Darren Star did so brilliantly in Seasons 2 and 3 and it showed. The show became almost a caricature of itself. He tried but it just didn't work. He also had no idea how to write for a lot of the vet characters. Jo was his worst. He REALLY did a horrible number on her and her exit was actually very insulting. She deserved better. He just had no idea what to do for her (and I suspect that's why Zuniga left). Plus, the whole Richard thing really dragged the show down. Muldoon was horrible. Amanda was also quite unrecognizable during her ex husband storyline (until she got her balls back) and he did what I thought was impossible: He made Crazy Kimberly boring! Things get MUCH better in Season 5. I'm 2/3 into it and I am very excited with it--I feel I can care about the characters again, although he still has a bit of a problem with some vet characters. Alison and Jake's airtime diminishes a lot and their story doesn't kick off for a LONG time. But the show also changes. The pace becomes a bit slower and he starts doing way bigger story arcs than usual. He brings in some new characters that work (one of them REALLY works). But, thinking about it, he gives the newer characters MUCH more airtime than some of the vets. I'm very divided about him; I can't just call him a hack because he's done some great work but he CANNOT do the crazy, fast-paced MELROSE that I would have liked to kept seeing. And it's so weird, since he wrote some of the best episodes of Season 3. Btw, totally unrelated, but I HATE the music in Season 5. It's this weird rock thingy going on that, again, feels like it's trying to emulate previous seasons' rock cliffhanger music, completely omitting all the often touching bm that they had. I'm rewatching Season 3 and it's shocking how good the music often was, elevating a lot of the scenes. Now, it's the same generic rock music over and over again.

Watching "Spring Training" from Season 1. Is this show serious? The whole episode is about Brandon and Steve coaching baseball and Brenda adopting a dog which found her on the street and refuses to leave her. There's also a comedy subplot about Jim throwing his back. I'm sure they'll all be learning valuable life lessons and such but I won't be finishing this crap. On to the last two episodes of Season 1!

I hate Theon although I do find his journey fascinating. His desperate attempt to gain respect and power just digs him deeper and deeper. I am still amazed at how great the Arya/Tywin scenes are. I love how he keeps thinking he's figured her out and she keeps evading him--unless he knows and is just playing with her. The scene with the creepy corpsy guy was completely shocking and riveting. I have no idea how Dany will get out of this. Sansa continues to evoke a lot of sympathy. It's great how she was a total, hateful bitch in Season 1 and how you really feel for her now.

SKINS has been on my list foreeeever. I really gotta get to it. OMG yes it is! I thought she looked familiar!

That must be my favorite episode of the season. Great action, horrifying violence. My heart was pounding throughout. The scene were Theon kills Rodrick; Littlefinger, Tywin and Arya (I'm sure Littlefinger must at least suspect); the riot and, especially the threat of Sansa's rape (I was SURE it would happen!); the great ending. I love the twist that Jon's story took. It will be interesting to see how it develops now that he's lost with a wildling. I was surprised that Osha was planning to help the Starks all along. Is it only me or does it seem like Robb's romcom Lady Whatever was bluffing and that she IS actually a spy? Loving everything with Tywin and Arya. The fact that that little girl can more than hold her own against an actor of Charles Dance's caliber is just shocking. Dany seemed a bit nutso the way she was going on and on and on at the Spice King but I guess she's right.

What a delicious surprise! Thank you

That was great! I think my favorite moment was that chilling look that Tywin and Aria exchanged during their scene. It was lethal. I am very intrigued to see what happens with Jaqen... who else will she ask to be killed? And, YES at Gendry without a shirt. More, please. I did NOT expect Renly to be killed, especially not by that shadow-demon thingy. The alliance that it brought between Cat and Soldier Woman is great. Tyrion continues to fascinate. He is all types of WIN. I agree... It's time that they move the stories along, especially with only 10 episodes in a season. But this marriage for Dany seems promising.

This was a wonderfully tense episode. Joffrey becomes more and more surprising with the levels of evilness he exhibits. Just when you think he's done... Absolutely LOVE Tyrion's continuous efforts for dominance in the court. It's so much watching him manipulate and cajole people to his will. I am fascinated by the twist in which Aria becomes Tywin's servant. Quite soapy. Can't wait to see where that goes! Dany is wonderful; her story has been VERY slow-paced this season but it nevertheless continues to be fascinating. Melisandre giving birth was... absolutely stunning and shocking. Such a great ending.

I'm surprised because I find the actor fascinating! Granted, I haven't watched in the past couple of months, but I liked him very much when I did see him.

He's what?

This show never disappoints!

Early Season 5 is the apotheosis of Jane... I just loved every single moment of her spiraling out of control.

I just watched the episode where Jane is held at gunpoint and decides to leave L.A.. Flimsy and hastily devised reason for leaving the show and I kinda disliked how they wrapped up everything in a nice little bow (Sherry and her man get engaged! Mom 1 and Mom 2 hold hands and thank each other!) but the character-based stuff worked wonderfully: Sydney being there for Jane, calling their parents over, evoking the very complicated sibling relationship they have. The last scene unexpectedly got to me, not because it was well-written but because, damn it, I've been watching this bitch for nearly five years. Her goodbye with Syd and her walk down the corridor was heartbreaking.

I liked Light Years... I might work my way back to her first album, since I love the singles I've heard. You were right Chris, Disco Down and Lights Years are great and Bittersweet Goodbye was a surprise. It's sad to see she's only had mediocre (at best) success in the US. I always thought Can't Get You Out Of My Head was her biggest success here but I guess not lol

Is there one for her? I figured we needed an official place for all things Kylie. What do you guys think of Light Years? I've had the singles for years but I just bought the album and looking forward to listening to it. Spinning Around was the first Kylie song I ever heard and I was instantly hooked. I still remember how often they played that video in summer of 2000.

I like the pictures but I dislike how they keep doing men and women covers yet still stick Blake on both.

LOL Not even SATC ever went there. I guess the prostitute has to get her revenge/blood back in some way! It was? How come they changed it?

I was gonna make a joke about Theon having the goods to back it up, but nevermind! Was that sperm that Littlefinger wiped off the prostitute?! And I loved that pirate joking about being convincing enough to get a man to sleep with him lol

More brilliance by GAME OF THRONES! Loving all the stuff we get with Tyrion and Cersei. Brilliant actors and characters. What Cersei told Tyrion about their mother must be one of the cruelest things she's done--and that says a lot! Excuse me for saying this, but Theon's ship scene was so incredibly hot--God that man is sexy! I was hoping for another full frontal scene! The stuff with his sister was gross... so what else is new? LOL Loving everything with Aria and the bastard (what's his name again?). What Littlefinger threatened to do to the whore was absolutely shocking. And the stuff with Jon and the baby was . I wanna see more of Melisandre. She is very intriguing.

Hung Up never got to #1? I was in Europe when it came out and it felt like it was everywhere...

I can't believe I'd never seen Criminal until now! That was a great video. Too bad it didn't do too well on the charts, because I really do like it.

The timing of seeing this is funny because I was just reading the part of the book that says: "We dismissed the two winning adolescent actors who played Rachel and Iris's sons, and hired other five years older, without aging the actresses who played their mothers. The humorous comradership which had endeared Jamie and Dennis to older audiences was no longer appropriate to the earnest young men who would attract older viewers." Not definitive but it seems their close bond was somewhat dissolved. It is truly a fascinating read; part of it is his total, clearly stated hatred for soap opera and his disdain for anything melodramatic. He repeatedly says how much he hated writing for a soap but acknowledges his determination to do something good with the format and his eventual absolute immersion in the process of the writing. He describes a lot of his stories and characters and, even the more melodramatic ones he wrote towards year six or so, sound better than anything today. I would kill to be able to see his runs on the show.

I am currently reading Lemay's Eight Years in Another World and it is immensely intriguing and satisfying. It has only made me want to see his material even more desperately than before.