YRBB

I've been incredibly remiss with this thread.... but it's Monday, December 25, 2017, it's Christmas, and I think we need to get back on it... right? Merry Christmas, lovelies!

EPISODE 9: PERFECT COUPLES What a doozy of an episode. Once more, Paige is left feeling angry over something Tom did and pining after him. The fact that she’s this involved in such a short amount of time says a lot about just how much she actually likes him. Nevertheless, Tom ends things and pines away for Paige by looking at a lingerie shop window. Weird. The Sumner Group fun continues. On the one hand, you have Polly. Dating- every-guy-in-the-company Polly. I like her. There’s a really funny scene where she brings Paige chocolate to help her get over Tom. Typically, Paige chews her out but takes the chocolate – and then we see her trash bin is full of empty candy bar wrappings. On the other hand, you have the ever-douchey Mort making it his life’s purpose to date ‘Teresa’ aka Thing. Michael eventually snaps and tells Mort that only he will be sampling his brother’s wife’s giftbox. Somewhere in all of this, Mort meets Harold and Olivia (you guessed it, they’re having money problems) and lets the cat out of the bag: Michael is ‘dating’ Thing! Bob, ever so sweet and touching, actually defends Mort: "He’s really not such a bad guy. He’s just insensitive and crude." And you know… yes. Mort is just clueless. Eternal loser Mark Baylor gets sentenced to three years and begs Karen to get Mack to stop investigating. Karen is being flattered by the bailiff (who speaks not at all like real people would when he praises Karen's talk-show skills), so I hope she does get the message. Karen's funniest moment of the episode comes when Mack announces he’ll invite Tom and Paige to dinner, without them knowing the other is coming, and she deadpans: "You don’t want to meddle, do you?" Well, I don’t know what else he’s supposed to do. Pat finally makes an appearance but most of the scene is handled by Frank. Nevertheless, it’s a stand-out: Mack suggests Pat and Frank talk to Mark about what it’s like being in the witness protection program. Frank’s ensuing monologue is great, and gave the Williams’ season 9 introductory storyline some very nice resonance. The music on the show has gone crazy. There’s setting the mood and then there’s clubbing you over the head with it. Still, it’s charming. The focus of the episode is Danny's descent into madness. Despite an unconvincingly acted first scene (where Danny casually calls Val and then breaks down crying by himself over receiving divorce papers), his increasing desperation is must-see TV. There’s nasty Danny sex. Ridiculously on-the-nose live singing that makes Cathy seem subtle. Dog-napping. And then the harrowing, unexpected, devastating final scene: Several minutes of Amanda being slammed against the wall, threatened, choked, dragged across the floor, hair-pulled, raped. A stunning, heartbreaking end, wonderfully played by two actors I’m still on the fence about. PS. Hard to believe, but in 11 seasons, I think this is only the second rape?

EPISODE 8: THE GOOD GUYS My God, this season doesn’t even give you a second to breathe, does it? Tom calls Paige to apologize for hitting it and running. Before long, we (and Mack) learn that Tom is a cop. It’s all Mack needed to hear. You think the story will be about Mack trying to push Tom onto Paige, but you soon realize that he’s somehow involved with the Shady Corporation and probably been intimidating and hurting people right and left. Karen fills in for the talk show again. Is this the beginning of some Karen-becomes-a-talk-show host story or something? Everything else is pretty much put on hold while the episode majorly focuses on Tom and Paige. Olivia and Harold are still arguing about money. Michael and Thing are still attracted to each other. Karen still worries about Michael's spending. Gary, Amanda, and Danny take the week off. All this, and the cliffhanger is that Tom stood Paige up.

I'm so scared they'll succeed.

God bless the black men and women who overwhelmingly voted against Moore. F*ck the massive amount of white men and women who did vote for Moore.

I just saw the announcement for this. Apparently, it was a rights/money issue. So glad they'll continue. I have the entire series but will definitely be buying the DVDs as they are released!

Stannis Baratheon was apparently confused and didn't know what he was doing.

Finally saw this and thoroughly enjoyed it! In fact, I'm thinking of going back for seconds. Certainly better than Suicide Squad and B vs S. I thought Flash was charming, Cyborg worked great too. Baffleck is Baffleck. Gal Gadot fantastic as always. Aquaman GREAT on the eyes but meh on execution. He needs more to do/more work. They FINALLY gave my Superman the treatment he deserves. None of that Batman v Superman BS. As if he can't beat the sh!t out of all of them with little to no effort! And that's exactly what he did (while shirtless, bless the Gods). His resurrection was probably the best scene in the movie. Good stuff with Lois Lane and Martha Kent. Wasn't crazy about the Bugs design and I still hate Snyder's vision of Krypton with a passion. The climax was slightly underwhelming but good overall. But Cavill's CGI upper lip area? Oh my God, the horror! It's like Superman was brought back to life but the space between his lip and nose remained dead. Couldn't they make it more natural? Maybe make it move along with the rest of his face? Did Superman come back from the dead with a massive amount of Botox on his upper lip? So many questions. And apparently, this cost them millions! The only interesting thing is it helps spot the reshoots easily. And it seems there was a tooooon of them (and I'm sure there's more that didn't involve Cavill directly). I didn't notice Whedon being credited. Only Snyder was credited as director. Overall, a lighter tone, more fun, some good moments. Hope they keep going this direction but Snyder needs to be gone. He can't bring humanity to these characters. The first post-credit scene was a lot of fun. I groaned at the second one when I realized it involved Lex and hoped he'd been recast. No luck but he seemed toned down and it was awesome to see Manganiello. The idea of an evil Justice League has promise.

Thanks. Yeah, I loved it and thought it was fun and entertaining. Cooper certainly seemed to be having a ball. I just became curious when someone on YouTube said it was "unpopular" with viewers and had to be wrapped up sooner than planned. I took it with a heavy dose of salt, but figured I'd check. Maybe it'd be different if we watched it unfold day by day. I do like the occasional outlandish story though, and late 80s, early 90s Y&R served it nicely with Brad in the Cage and Katherine's kooky doppelganger. I feel they always found ways to ground the crazy stories like those, or Matt Clark's face-change and deliver them as realistically as possible.

Does anyone know/remember: Was the Marge plotline unpopular with the audience? Did it go pretty much as planned?

The nerve! I hope he doesn't get it.

Yes! And the completely straight, casual, serious way in which he says it... not even pretending to be joking or something. My God, he must have done this all the time. Veira's silence said so much.

EPISODE 7: MIXED MESSAGES In a charming opening scene, Paula acts smitten with Greg after realizing they’re only there to make Paige, who’s dining with Christopher at a nearby table, jealous. Their scenes remain charming throughout – what a departure from the previous episode! Greg invites Paula to the Sumner office party – there’s a great shot of Greg seen in the distance, with Paula's legs in the forefront – and he begins to see her as something more than a tool to annoy Paige with. Still, during a talk at a restaurant later, one can’t help but get the feeling Paula recoiled just a little when Greg kissed her cheek (neck?). If she’s interested, she doesn’t seem to be there yet. Meanwhile, Paige meets a new luvah in a way that would only happen on a Lechowick show: She’s showing a client to her car, when she overhears a couple arguing and breaking up. The man, who is tall, muscular, and sexy, of course, hands her a bag of fancy pantyhose, that clearly his ex won’t be using, and walks away. Paige wears them. How kinky. Of course, she runs into the man again and he shows how heartbroken he is by hitting on Paige. It doesn’t work but, guess what? He’s a guest at the Sumner party! Before long, there’s elevator sex. "These elevators really get a workout," Greg hilariously comments. "I can’t believe this is all a coincidence" Paige says as she’s getting ready to sleep with Tom Ryan in her apartment… uh oh. Tom Ryan literally rides her. When she wakes up, he’s no longer there. The Sumner office hijinks continue. Let’s see if I can get this right: Mort kicks up his [!@#$%^&*]-meter a notch by making sure Michael knows Bob is bringing his cousin to the party as his date. Michael asks Polly out. Polly tells him she has a date but he later overhears her asking Harvey out. Thing offers to go with Michael to the party. Polly is without a date because Mort arranged for Harvey to have to work. Mort is stunned to see gorgeous Thing on Michael's arm. Mort asks Paige to dance and gets shot down. Mort hits on Polly but Harvey returns on time. Mort decides Bob’s cousin is next but Bob’s cousin is only his third cousin, so she kisses him and they realize their love for each other, while Mort seethes. Fun! Following their evening of kinky role-playing, Michael and Thing come to realize they’re attracted to each other. Is Michael going to sleep with every woman that comes to stay at that house?! Despite Val taking him back, Danny is at Amanda's, upset that their one-night stand was just that. Meanwhile, Gary is upset that Danny is always around, whether he’s visiting Val or Amanda, and wants to go away with her. He tells her not to tell Danny, which is of course exactly what she’ll do. Danny continues to romance Val and the show plays cutesy, romantic music while they kiss – um, he’s cheating on her and is a douchebag. Are we confused here, Show? Ginny is exonerated when the money Jeri stole is found in Baylor’s home. Wow, that’s a great twist. Baylor sees Mack and Frank and asks them to represent him, assuring them he’s innocent. "I love the law," Mack tells Karen, who squeezes in an appearance a few minutes before episode’s end, and he can’t stand knowing that Baylor is guilty. But Ginny, while creepily going through her dead friend’s jewelry, finds the $17,000 that supposedly was taken by Baylor in the jewelry can! Oh, this is great. Loser of the episode: Mort because, well, he’s Mort and rightly nothing goes right for him. Winner of the episode: Bob, who finds love, even if she’s his third cousin. That was actually kinda sweet.

Yucky yucky yucky Lauer: Keep bending over like that, nice view. There's yucky video.

I think their presence was paramount in keeping things going. Eventually, you will notice who the Lechowicks liked and who they didn't. It pretty easy to imagine how things would have gone from there without the Executive Producers overseeing it. Season 9 will do some of the best stories/moment you've seen in the entire show... and some of the worst. It's an incredibly frustrating season. The highs are very high and the lows are in the depths of hell. STILL, like Soaplovers said, the worst of KNOTS LANDING still remains pretty damn good (I cannot comment for after Season 11) and, when I say 'lows' I mean in the show's context, compared to other stories and seasons.

Russell Simmons is up next:

What is disgusting here is several posters' decision to defend Lansbury's comments simply because you like her so much and refuse to accept she's wrong. There is no taking out of context comments that basically amount to "rape is wrong, but don't wear that skirt!" If you add a "but" after stating that women should not be assaulted or raped, it nullifies the entire previous statement. If a man made those comments, you'd be calling for his head. And at her shaming the internet. Do people overreact, swiftly and often? Yes. But welcome to 2017, Angela! Don't bother quoting me. Shame. God. And I have the feeling we're not even hearing the half of it.

Karma came quick and swiftly for Lauer. I'll echo what others said: Not surprising. He gave off that vibe very, very strongly.

That is, without a doubt, the case. She's coming at this with an outdated, ancient mentality. I can understand why she's saying these things. What the journalist said is not the problem here. Unfortunately, the problem is that this kind of opinion is what many have been fighting against and, once more, it is validated. Just because it's Lansbury and she's old doesn't mean it should be shrugged off. It shows, once more, how much work needs to be done.

Nooooo, Angela Lansbury, nooooooooo! She says women must sometimes take blame for sexual harassment.

EPISODE 6: WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE So much great stuff! Such a good season so far. Aunt Virginia is put to some good comedic use following Jeri’s murder. Can you imagine how difficult she would be as a witness? Well, she’s worse! It all clearly is heading towards Ginny being accused of Jeri’s murder, but it barrels on with such conviction and such fun that you don’t care. Greg takes Paige's games and uses them against her by piling on so much work, she doesn’t have time for anything else. Consummate professional that she is, Paige responds by doing her job. Meanwhile, surprisingly, Greg and Paula (who’s still arguing with Karen over wanting Karen's husband’s penis) run into each other. Holy randomness! The two begin to spar in a way that’s obviously meant to be sexy, only we’ve never really seen Paula behave like this before, have we? Greg would never give her a second look, unless she suddenly develops a Paige-like acerbic tongue that catches his attention and matches his wit – and so she does. Yet, I can’t deny, this could be fun. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, they do with it. Karen and Paula make up, only for Karen to find out Paula's going out with Greg. It’s not the only Greg-surprise Karen gets this week. She learns that Michael's bought himself a fancy smancy watch and, in a way that recalls the Karen of seasons 1 or 2, mercilessly makes fun of Michael for the extravagance. A few million dollars have not changed Karen for-the-people McKenzie. It’s not all fun and games, though, when she realizes Michael was inspired to get the watch by Greg. I loved that little realization. Val and Amanda officially meet or re-meet or whatever, after which Danny goes crying to Amanda and spends the night with her. The next day, he finds Val waiting for him outside his apartment. She forgives him. Val is given a big speech to explain this but, honestly, it all screams plot point. How did she reach this point? How and why did she make this decision? I didn’t get a good enough answer, BUT… I’ll reserve judgment as long as the plot that results from this is good. Mack ends up with the theory that Mark Baylor killed Jeri and warns that he will put him away. Instead, you guessed it, aunt Ginny is arrested! Mack gives good shock-face freezeframe. Winner of the episode: Mack, for getting his drive back. Loser of the episode: Paige, for not seeing this coming.

I KNEW Sophia Bush's exit "because she wanted to" was leaving a lot unsaid. It just didn't make much sense -- until now. How horrible. She's been a part of 2 hit series and BOTH came with highly abusive, harassing men. Ugh. Oh, man. I love Dream. What a horrifying experience. I guess the BSB are canceled. EDIT: Nick Carter denies rape with the type of "this was 20 years ago!" bullsh!t you'd expect.

She did a video for Beautiful Trauma and it's just as awesome as I thought it would be! With a special, sexy guest star!

Ask (?) and you shall receive! Amazon orders MULTI-season pick-up of the series... but it will be set BEFORE Fellowship of the Ring! This is a lot to process. It all depends on what, and how, they do it. I'm thinking they could do young(er) Aragorn, if they can find a great actor for the part. We can see Sauron's exploits after his fight with Gandalf and during the building of his army/amassing power in Mordor. There are so many options.