I think you need a serial killer who kills celebrities. You can have celebrity cameos and the network would pimp the shit out of it and your numbers would be through the roof.

They should model it on AMERICAN IDOL and have the public vote on which celebrities get killed.

killer who kills DANCING celebrities

DB cameo! The spaz dance rides again!

Well, there was mention of the non-dancing dead in that poster.

cat named Angel. Hee.

And it had been locked in a box for some time!

Plus I still have strong memories of when I first saw "I've Got You Under My Skin". Which is why I was glad Tim didn't go to that well again.

Looks like you might want to skip next week then, Frank.

I think you need a serial killer who kills celebrities. You can have celebrity cameos and the network would pimp the shit out of it and your numbers would be through the roof.

Have the killer BE a celebrity too, like Merv Griffin in The Man with Two Brains. It could be the J. Peterman guy!

Huh. Why does she look so familiar?

She used to be a nun, Emily. Sort of.

Oh! Aha.

Wow. Ex-nun is knocking it out of the park.

Yeah, she was really good in that scene.

Nice comeback-look from the postal chief.

That was hilarious. Like, "WE'RE A FUCKING POST OFFICE."

So Tim, am I correct in my take that Rebecca's last line to Martin was not a sign of her deciding to do the right (or at least by the book) thing, but of coldly deciding that he deserved the option that would involve longer-term suffering and the poetic justice of being unable to punish his own urges the way he did others'?

I agree with that reading, especially since it reminded me (like it seems to remind Tim, as well) of the "You'll be stronger" line last week. I thought, "My, that Rebecca is vindictive, isn't she."

We didn't drop at all from last week and we grew on the half hour.

Hey, that's great news! Well, good news, at least.

First question: What song was playing when Marty broke into the VCU? That was a cool song.

I really liked this episode, both because of the fun concept and, as others have noted, the pacing and the fact that we got to know the killer up front. So it wasn't so much a whodunit as a whatsgonnahappen.

I think I expected some more discussion about the morality and ethics of what the pre-filer (which, while it sounded good the first time, started sounding siller the more they said it) was doing, but I also think that really came across in Rebecca's subtext. She seemed incredibly conflicted about whether what he was doing was truly wrong. It felt, to me, her gut was totally on his side, but her mind not so much.

As for Rebecca being captured all the time, it has happened a lot, but it seems to be when she's strongest. It's her element, almost. She gains a lot of power from being in that position, which is kind of fucked up, but that's what a Tim Minear show is all about, right?

Looks like you might want to skip next week then, Frank.

Nah, I don't mind the evil kid trope, it's just that if one of the kids had been the killer-to-be in this scenario it would have been a little to much of a repeat of IGYUMS.

As much as I began to suspect either the kids or the wife of being the target, it was established that Marty was targeting people in his own demographic. Roger was the only white male adult in the house.

As for Rebecca being captured all the time, it has happened a lot, but it seems to be when she's strongest. It's her element, almost. She gains a lot of power from being in that position, which is kind of fucked up, but that's what a Tim Minear show is all about, right?

I wouldn't even call the scene with Hart Bochner as her being "captured" or "kidnapped", personally. I got the feeling that, probably unconsciously, her instincts were telling her that he wasn't a killer, which is why she let herself get curious enough to do what she did. Granted, if the real killer had showed up while she was blacked out, and had wanted to take her, that might have happened because we have no idea when she got let go vs. when he showed up to grab HB.

I feel like you must have seen what I'm up to -- that's pretty much what all 13 put together add up to. And that was on purpose.

It took a couple episodes to see where you were going with it. Also, Allyson's writings about it clarified my impressions.

Hee. I mentioned this the other day, that she should be wearing a wee red hood.

See? I just followed Allyson's brain into the dark woods.

You learn something from each thing. And I think your First Impression Strategy theory is it.

I'll email our local TV critic Tim Goodman and see if I can't get him to take a second look. He's fairly responsive to thoughtful readers. Would the twofer night be a good night for him to look at?

One last thing. I will mention one person who does seem to get it... of course he's had a chance to see more than the critics, and that's Peter Liguori, the pres of the network.

Definitely the guy you want in your corner! As bon notes, his support of Arrested Development is encouraging.

As for Rebecca being captured all the time, it has happened a lot, but it seems to be when she's strongest. It's her element, almost. She gains a lot of power from being in that position, which is kind of fucked up

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Which is fascinating and twisted, but also a tough concept to get across in a few episodes. It's not something you can sell with a power shot. It's more subtle and complex. Again, Allyson lead me that way with her Brer Rabbit comparison.

cat named Angel. Hee.

And it had been locked in a box for some time!

If there's anything worse than child pornography, it's child pornography that has been marinating in cat pee.