The theme song for Psych was different tonight--was the change tied to Nestor Carbonell, or was it just to annoy me?

Okay, that's actually kind of cool.

I've definitely eaten more than $400/head. But I wasn't paying. God, the more time passes, the more those kids look like pikers.

That's definitely a new Shawn. How disconcerting.

Okay, the actual Curt Smith part was really funny. But his interpretation of the theme song did suck donkey sac.

Three eps into Rubicon and I'm still waiting for something to happen. This show needs a case-of-the-week like nobody's business.

Okay, the actual Curt Smith part was really funny. But his interpretation of the theme song did suck donkey sac.

Exactly.

Agreed.

The "Psych Out" might have been my favorite bit. Again.

I really enjoyed the use of "so's your face" tonight, but I'm getting tired of the Juliet business. Getting more tired. It's tiresome.

ION, I think the only thing I still like about Rescue Me is the theme music. Two episodes to redeem yourselves, firemen.

I'm with -t. I was terribly disappointed in the last couple of Rescue Me eps. The Damian thing, while not unexpected, really blows. As did the entire 'pavilion' storyline. What a waste.

I was so hoping that the series would go out on a high note. Seems like nsm.

I didn't watch the Shield until the end and thought it tied itself up right.

Okay, the actual Curt Smith part was really funny. But his interpretation of the theme song did suck donkey sac.

Oh, good, I thought that would be blasphemous to say. It really didn't work.

Mad Men:

Sorry to keep hopping back and forth to this topic, but I need to be able to quote and type longer stuff, which I can't do on my phone, which is where I am coming from mostly these days.

Liese, I found the whole thing quite jarring and moved me out of being amused by Roger to rooting for his inevitable self-destruction.

Yeah, quester, I think this is where I ended up, too. Which makes me sad, because I'd like to like Roger. I'd like to feel wistful about how he would have been so much better off with Joan and how she could have successfully bullied him into being a better man. But at this point, I think I don't care.

Are we really supposed to like any of the Mad Men characters?

I suppose not, -t. I think it's admirable that all the characters have enough depth that we can feel this way about them. But I have a tough time when there isn't some way to alleviate the lack of sympathetic players in the scene.

Ah. Of course. Thank you for putting it like that.

Glad that was helpful. Like I said, I'm still processing, so it's something of a self-revelatory journey for me too.

Liese, I guess knowing that people like Roger felt that way about people like me is offset (for me) by the many people of Roger's generation that could have felt that way but instead were welcoming and open-minded

Sumi, I'm glad you chimed in. I agree. I suppose I just wish I could see some of that too, in the context of the show. I know that the idea is to present the ideas that were prevalent in the era. And I guess it would be difficult to give a contrast without it being a tip of the hat to modernity. But I know there were people fighting for civil rights in the era. I know there were people, normal everyday people, who were just neighbors to Japanese folks in ways that were extraordinary to the times. But I wish we could see those people.

I know there are stories about how some of the folks that lived next door to the Japanese-American families being interned moved in and helped them keep their farms and businesses. Lots more lost theirs, so those actions were extraordinary. Those stories were happening in the context of actual wartime, let alone by the time of Mad Men.

Yes, this is all time appropriate, but given the public political discussions in the US at this time, I am ill-humored about it.

Yeah, le nubian, I think this is kind of why it's pinging me so badly at the moment. I know we're supposed to be uncomfortable with the depiction. It's supposed to make us think about the contrast with today's society. But sadly it also makes me think about the similarities. My ire wouldn't be so raised, I don't think, if I hadn't just been staring at pixels that exhibited current racism against the Japanese in an attempt to justify current racism against Muslims.

Anyway, that's probably enough of the thinky, but I had to get it out. And what better place than here? I appreciate the discourse.