#Do you guys think they hold this divorce for S3 or does it end in the last episode? Because these two are getting further and further apart

[readerconfused]

"Louis forgave me"

of course Armand, my love, this is the face of forgiveness

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S03E08 - Sleeping Beauty

Okay episode which gets good with character interactions. In fact, I don't really get bored with S3 up until the end where they put some lackluster episodes.

You see one kid being mean to the other, then a minute later you cut to an interaction between parents and you realize why.

These parents are awful.

Charlie: "You have never seen a fairytale before?" Sarah: "I have, except I find them all insufferably sexist". Charlie: "Well, they offer historical context". Do they? Because I don't remember dragons in my history books. Anyway, I'm with Sarah on this one and luckily I didn't grow up with them.

It is interesting, however, that Charlie seems to know quite a bit about these things. I distinctly remember no boy would ever be convinced to sit down and watch these movies.

Sweet potato jerky? Why does that sound so tasty? It's a dog treat.

This is just an excuse to get Sarah home.

"Your new place, which I see for the first time ever, is really incredible!"

Have I mentioned yet on this rewatch that Charlie must be taking kickbacks to be able to afford a house like that? No?

"Kids are loud". Water is wet.

Too cute.

"I guess they're alright". Make up your mind. More importantly, isn't there ample space on the couch next to Charlie for Sarah to sit? What's she doing over there?

Jesse calls from work, Joe is also over there, NO ONE is surprised that Sarah is at home with Charlie and Rex.

See? Instead of reacting to Jesse's antics, react to the fact that your detective and your head of forensics (your? I have no clue) are playing house instead of being anywhere near the precinct.

"Rex is a detection dog. His alerts establish reasonable suspicion to search". Well, thank you, Sarah. Charlie never actually explained it. I wonder if this actually holds up.

I can actually imagine the writers at the start of the season trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for those searches based on Rex's nose. At some point, they might have even opened a law book. I don't think that it would hold up in court to say that a police dog smelled illegal substances and rule based on that but it might give probably cause for a search. All this changes depending on where one lives, though. And if they find something, well, then you have your proof right there. The whole gist of it is to make sure the search is legal so you don't jeopardize the entire case.

"The dog ruined my favorite pants". Maybe you shouldn't have run?

"He's trying to hypnotize me. You're all witnesses."

"So Rick is not the owner of our... glass slipper". I think Sarah is about to whack you with the case file.

Sarah: "Where do you think of starting?" *Rex barks* Charlie: "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, too, partner". Guys...

Why do I think this was taken from when they're looking for the stepmom in the end of the episode? He looks too serious and very much in a hurry, which is not something that he is supposed to be in the current drive.

"I can assure you there are no drugs in this house". Charlie literally has a drug sniffing dog with him, how do you think he's not going to find anything?

I think the lady's excuse that she's going through a brutal divorce actually did get a bit of a reaction from Charlie. Not that he'd give her the drugs back, of course.

Dad-influencer. I hate this age.

"What was your babysitter doing in the back of your truck?" I can't believe there was a logical explanation for this other than "We were having sex".

"You don't think it's possible to have a platonic relationship with an attractive woman?" Wise move not to answer that.

I'd definitely like to ask the Hudson and Rex production where they get their car brand covers because in greek tv productions their look like shit.

"Everyone I know drives this car". This is a 50K Mercedes. Where are we?

I did not have sexual relations with Stacey Nielsen". Okay, who put that in there? I can't listen to it without laughing.

Sad that it wasn't some kind of threesome. She was just carrying their child.

The production getting their money's worth out of the new house.

"She made this for me. It's some sort of woman with... one, two, three, four... seven kids?" "These are dwarfs" lmao

Snow White was in witness protection? Maybe in the next Disney installment.

Sarah: "You don't need a prince for a happily ever after". Get that man, Sarah. Do you have any idea how many men would protest that statement?

Joe: "Nice of you to join us this morning". Don't do this, Joe, we keep trying to extricate him out of the office, let him be late for once!

Charlie: "Rex took forever to get out of the house this morning. Rex: "Don't you dare sully my good reputation!" Charlie: "Okay. I took forever to get out of the house this morning". I love their suspicious looks and also, I WANT TO KNOW! What happened? What are they hiding from us? WHAT??? What did you cut out?

"Need I remind you, Charlie, that warrant-less collection of DNA is not admissible in court?" Maybe. I mean, we sometimes base an entire case off of it.

Seriously, why is he so chipper?

Sarah: "Stacey's not the mother". Joe: "I'm sorry, what the what?" Charlie: "Yeah, what Joe said". You can tell Sarah loves delivering such news.

Again with the looks.

I believe that a person having a perfectly good womb should be able to use that womb however they see fit, including getting paid to carry the baby of a couple that for whatever reason can't or won't do that. The law's intent should not be to police people's wombs but to make sure that children shouldn't be born and grown to be taken advantage of. So it should be legal in cases of parents who want to have a child, and illegal if for example one was to gather fifty women and grow children through surrogacy to take advantage of them (not the only example, just one I thought of). Taking advantage of your body's ability to carry children for monetary gain so that they can be ultimately raised in a proper family that wants them is not the same as taking advantage of children.

"I had a glass of wine at lunch." "Was it served in a salad bowl?" Burn!

Why would you bring the kid to the place her stepmom might commit suicide?

Rex to the rescue once again. I think I've seen this on Kommissar Rex too.

Big damn hero.

"What a needless tragedy this all was". I've seen so many certifiably stupid deaths on crime shows, this doesn't even rank at the top 20.

Suspiciously big enough space for Rex to jump onto. But looks weird before that. Also, thanks for squashing by beer/wine theory like a couple episodes later. I am now thinking that the wine goes with the couch lol

"I think you'd make a great mom." "You're a great dad. To your fur baby over here." "What do you think, pal, you like being my fur baby?" Rex's growl sounds like he wants to bite anyone who says the word fur baby again. Maybe that's just me, though.

It's a good thing Sarah has an alternative plan to motherhood because I can see the future and I suspect it will take a long time.

Again, the case didn't grab me. But they spent sufficient time outside of the office and mostly in Charlie's new house that we just saw for the first time that I didn't mind.

[phoebehalliwell]

on the subject of crackships.

in a prue lives, phoebeleo piperkyle pruecole paigeandy au (in which paige meets them in s1) how do u see it playing out and ALSO. do u see them all having kids still. this is so random i am so sorry (also i don't mean they have to be set from the get go and never get w anyone else but these would hypothetically be endgame)

i mean with phoebeleo like hard yes like in s2 when they're watching the baby at the end everyone's like phoebe ik you're gonna be a great mom you're gonna have like a million and one kids like mark my words and phoebe's real smitten about it like wow u really think you : ) i'd like to. guess i should probably find a guy first tho huh. but if that guy's already there bc it's leo and he's been here since season one i think they are easily first to have kids and first to get a full power of three the other three is definitely like another can of worms bc like.

okay so for paigeandy obvi we're starting andy's an old childhood friend of the halliwell's for the sake of cleanliness did not date any of them (if we're going messy tho dated prue hooked up once or twice with phoebe (not while dating prue, but neither of them ever mentioned it around prue bc well. yikes.) And piper had a major crush on andy for like. a decade. from ages 13 to 23) and he's a cop and does. stuff idk helps people and this lands him frequently in bed with social services which is. consistently. a pain in the ass. and he doesn't try to hold it against them bc they're clearly understaffed underpaid there's a lot to do but um jesus. and everyone in the precinct Hates having to go over there to do stuff bc you're just standing in the lobby drinking bad coffee for fifty minutes before you can even get a word in with the work and unlucky andy he drew the short straw ends up at social services and who should he meet there if not this gorgeous but really scatterbrained berkeley grad with a mouth like a sailor and a heart of gold and now um there's no need to draw straws at the station because andy straight up volunteers to go to social services just to see paige which she notices of course because like. were you jinxed or something? cursed? i've never known someone to draw the short straw so many times. and andy's like no i just um. like being hands on with my work i don't like leaving up to some dumb rookie with bad luck and paige is like oh don't worry i promise it is still being left to some dumb rookie with bad luck i mean i am right here blah blah blah banter conversation hint at a tragic backstory give it half a season and then it's official bf/gf shit and as far as charmed goes it's a prophecy about four sisters and the halliwells are like phew. dodged a bullet there lmao. until they do something only charmed ones could do and they're like Wait. Fuck. Is There A Fourth Sister Out There? so they find paige within the first hmm ten episodes or so.

so since we have both s1 phoebeleo and paigeandy i'd say they'd be on the fastest track but i feel like paige does have a lot more issues when it comes to getting married and having kids than phoebe does regardless i think by s4 they're married on track to have kids with pruecole we're doing the s3 introduction and the enemies to lovers arc we seal that with either a wedding at the very end of s4 or at the very beginning of s5 however kids is like. like they both want kids but prue has daddy issues and cole has mommy issues not to mention the charmed one/demon hybrid so they need to do some soul searching on that one. prue's probably pregnant by the end of s5 and has her baby halfway thru s6. paige may or may not have had kids at this point if they did they were kind of a whoopsies baby but she and andy r embracing it with open arms.

piperkyle imo is peak in a divorce/widower era it's been pitched like piperkyle au where he's not fucking insane piperkyle au where she's not brokenhearted piperkyle au where they're both normal happy people who then meet but like. nah. the appeal of them to me really is being the broken fucked up human being and feeling like you're kinda just gonna stay broken and fucked up bc you had your shot and you blew it so now you're here get used to it and then to have someone to meet someone who sees you so genuinely as you are that at first it's disgusting leave me alone i hate you but out of that just honest sight grows familiarity and comfort and before you even realized it happened love and jfc i'm in love with them???? but you realize that you're always happier when they're around you want to stay by their side and you don't even have to wonder if they feel the same because you just know they do because you Know each other and you don't have to wait for them to turn and run once they see who you really are because they know who you are they've known from the start saw the ugly the broken and vile and looked past that and saw the beauty and genuine love underneath like 🗣‼🗣‼🗣‼🗣‼. piperkyle consistently makes me insane. So. in order to hit this. we're bringing in dan. that's right, from season two to six (maybe just five but i'd like to have the pruecole arc wrapped up in a nice bow by the time we open up the next enemies to lovers) piper and dan give a relationship the old college try going from the honeymoon phase to the cringe failmarriage stage until it's eventually just time to call it quits like you literally can't move forward. so because of the delayed start piperkyle would def be the last to have kids but because this is a long slowburn full of character development and just like. vulnerable bonding moments i think that once they go official as a couple wedding and kids are not far off on the horizon i think if we close out a season (a hypothetical 9 or 10) with them getting together for the first time then we gotta burn some miles on the freak out denial stage because i always think that's funny that'll last half a season? maybe a third. and then by the end of the season we're looking at a wedding. by the end of the following season they def have a kid

superlatives!

most fashionable couple: pruecole

most likely to name their kids after dead relatives: piperkyle

most likely to break p tradition: paigeandy

most chill about dating a charmed one: phoebeleo (andy kyle & cole would all be way too willing to throw themselves into danger, leo trusts phoebe's foresight and knows when he needs to sit on the sidelines. it is a lesson all the other men still struggle with)

bonus round!

best bromance: 1st place: leoandy 2nd place: leocole 3rd place: colekyle

[alcalavicci]

So there’s a really interesting interview with Deborah Pratt here. If you don’t want to pay for it, I’ll paste what I can below, but a few points first. 

Deborah says she doesn’t know where Dean is, and says she misses him. I guess she hasn’t had contact with him since he left for NZ? And with Russ Tamblyn saying Dean’s hanging in there in answer to a recent Twitter question, that brings up more questions about his condition.

Deborah claims she came up with the idea of Quantum Leap, which I’ve never seen come up before. Also Don wanted to send Sam home?? I feel like she’s misremembering a lot of details/making herself seem better than she is.

“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished… He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time tht his next leap will be the leap home…”

The premise of Quantum Leap succinctly and empathetically explained by a voice that spoke to viewers week to week, setting the scene at the opening of the episode. It is a voice that left an indelible print on the show, from its inception to its finale. This is the voice of its Head Writer. No, not Donald P. Bellisario, but a woman of color who was leaps ahead of her time – co-executive producer and uncredited co-creator, Deborah M. Pratt.

Deborah wrote or co-wrote 40 episodes of this sci-fi gem and her authorship of the show runs deep through its five seasons. Aside from the opening narration, Deborah is audible as the voice of Admiral Al Calavicci’s pocket computer, Ziggy. She also guest stars in the episode ‘A Portrait for Troian’ (S2, Ep11) as a grieving widow who hears the voice of her husband calling her.

Deeper still, Quantum Leap was a family affair. It was co-created with her husband at the time, Bellisario, and their daughter, also named Troian, appears as a little girl in ‘Another Mother’ (S2, Ep13, who can not only see Al, but also sees Sam as he really is, rather than as her recently divorced mom.

Prior to helming Quantum Leap, Deborah rose through the ranks as an actress, racing the screen in Happy Days, CHiPS, The Dean Martin Show and many more, and was also a writer on shows such as Airwolf and Magnum P.I. She is a five-time Emmy nominee, Golden Globe nominee and winner of countless other awards. She went on to produce CBS comedy cop show, Tequila and Bonetti, and then to co-create and produce the TV series adaptation of Sandra Bullock tech thriller, The Net. But Quantum Leap was Deborah’s brainchild – one which is emblazoned on the hearts of its faithful fans.

Deborah has since moved into directing, including on hit show Grey’s Anatomy (2020), but was generous with her time when spoke in late 2020 to leap back into the past.

It does seem that you were really ahead of your time as a female head writer and a showrunner in the ’90s, especially in science fiction TV. Was it hard for you to progress and to get Quantum Leap made?

“Usually women were relegated to comedy, very rarely was it drama or heavy drama. It’s changed, finally, with people like Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton, Scandal). But yes, I was a true pioneer, even though I don’t have a ‘created by’ credit, it was a ‘co-created by’ show – with Don. I brought him the original concept, and we were married, and he said ‘Let me just run with this. I can get it made.’ And to his credit, he understands how to tell a story to the audience. He simplified it in a way that you could welcome Quantum Leap into the world. But it was still a tough show to sell.

“I think we went back three times to pitch it to the network. It was complicated to explain. Brandon Tartikoff [the executive] said ‘It’s a great idea – It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen on TV. Let me think about it.’ Then he asked us to come back, ‘I want you to pitch it to me like I’m six years old, then pitch it to me like I’m 80 years old’ and finally he took it. Then even after the show first aired, they decided to introduce that opening where I tell the story. That was created to explain every week to a new viewer what was going on and it worked really well.”

On rewatch now, the best part of three decades later, the show feels groundbreaking in terms of the subjects you cover. Did you feel like you were pushing the envelope?

“I feel we got to do so much on that show. I remember when I did ‘Black on White on Fire’ [S3, Ep7], the networks in the South in the United States wouldn’t air it because it was a black/white relationship. Even though there is no scene where you see a black person and a white person being intimate.

You saw Sam, who was white, and the girl who was white, but because he was playing someone who was black, it was an issue. They wouldn’t air the show in the South. This was around 1992.

“It was challenging for sure. I think we pushed the limits.

“The beauty of the show too, was that it was about hope, which I see so little of on television today. Everything’s so dark, so mean, so vicious, bloody – how many people can you kill? How mean can you make your lead characters and antiheroes. I think it’s why I didn’t work as much afterwards. A) I was a woman, and B) a black woman. There weren’t any black female executive producers that I knew of in drama. I got to do <em>The Net</em> because it had a female lead, but that was almost ten years after <em>Quantum Leap</em> was created. Any show I brought in that had a black lead was never bought, or a female lead, was never bought. 

“I remember I wrote a big action piece – like an Indiana Jones, but female-driven, feature film – and pitched it and the studio executive said, ‘Yeah, yeah, but when did the guy come and rescue her?’ And I said, ‘She doesn’t – she rescues him.’ The look on his face. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

The show darted around TV schedules, but the fans remained with it, and still to this day hold it dear to their hearts. Was that palpable at the time, or has that grown since?

“I think near the end of the first season, Harriet Margulies [Production Assistant on the show] found a chat room after an episode where people from across the country talked about it and it became the ‘watercooler.’ We were the first television show that had a chat room as a watercooler. Before that, it was literally you going into your office and standing around the watercooler and talking about movies or TV shows you were watching. Suddenly, it was online. So we started to go into the chat room and talk to people about what they liked and what they didn’t. Not necessarily telling them who we were, but that fan base is what kept us on the air because the network didn’t know what to do with us. There was no show like it, so they couldn’t like pair us with anybody.

“In the five years we were on, I think they moved the show six times and the fans still found it, they followed it, they watched it. That’s how we knew we had something unique and special. To this day, I’ll go into a meeting with a young executive who’ll go, ‘I have to tell you, I loved Quantum Leap. I used to watch it with my mom and dad’.”

Scott Bakula was such a great hero and heartthrob as Dr. Sam. What was he like to work with?

“He was so approachable, you know, in the sense that he had this great, easy acting style. He took chances and he was likeable – in a way that he could be a man’s man and a woman’s man at the same time. He’s really a brilliant actor. I am saddened by the fact that he has not had the opportunity to do movies in the way that could really have lifted his career. He’s had an incredibly successful television career. He’s a good actor. He’s a kind man. I’ve always admired him and felt like when we were working together, I had a friend that I loved to write for because he was always so giving and willing and wanting to take chances as an actor. So it was fun to go down to the trailer and say, ‘Guess what? You’re going to be pregnant this week’.

He does everything in the show from sing and dance to baseball, football, hopping over car bonnets to fights and martial arts. Did you know he had such a wide skill set from the outset, or did you write the challenges for him to rise to?

“I think we had conversations with him about that. I also knew that he had been on Broadway doing musicals. I knew he could sing and dance. When I wrote ‘Sea Bride’ [S2, Ep20], I wrote a tango number – that was unique for him. When Don knew that he could play the guitar… We asked Scott, ‘What do you want to do?’ And he said he wanted to do a musical and I think that’s how the ‘Catch a Falling Star’ episode [S2, Ep10] came about, which involves a performance of ‘Man of LaMancha’.”

Admiral Al Calavicci – he’s so much more than wisecracking and surface jokes or flirtation. There’s so much depth to his character. Was that fleshed out early on with an end to end journey for him in mind, or did his character evolve through the seasons?

“It was a little bit of both. Dean Stockwell had been on Broadway at five-years-old and had been a major child movie star. I remember when we wrote the show where Sam had the chance to save Al – ‘The Leap B4, Ep1] – he was so good in that. I’ll never forget how beautiful that was. And then in the very, very end, I love the fact that Sam did change history and Al ended up wih his beautiful wife with five kids.

“I remember once asking Dean, ‘Do you want us to write more drama for you? Big dramatic moments?’ And he said, ‘I want you to look at me right now. I want you to tell me what you see.’ And I said, ‘Well, your performance, the pain, fear and loss and all that, because you’re such an incredible actor.’ And he said ‘For me to perform that, I have to be it and live it. So don’t do too many.’ 

“He had that depth of acting talent. He is so good – Dean,  wherever you are, I love you. I miss you.”

The episodes that follow later in the seasons involving celebrities – Sam as Elvis, Dr. Ruth, or Lee Harvey Oswald, was that kind of a direction that you always foresaw? It feels like a sea change as the show progressed.

“The stories were designed, for the most part, to be so, so simple in that they were everyday stories. They weren’t change-the-world stories. I think the biggest one was Lee Harvey Oswald, and maybe the one involving Marilyn Monroe – those were with people that could have had a ripple effect.

“But there were other little kisses with history in the show, but they were very hard to do. They ran into a child version of Donald Trump in a taxi cab, [‘It’s A Wonderful Leap’ – S4, Ep18], then they ran into a little boy who is supposed to be Michael Jackson – Sam teaches him to moonwalk [‘Camikazi Kid’ – S1, Ep8]. The first time I did a kiss with history was ‘Star-Crossed’ [S1, Ep3] – Sam meets up with the woman that left him at the altar and they’re at the Watergate Hotel. That was fun stuff.”

Sam managed to awkwardly kiss lots of ladies in that sense of ‘Oh God, they’re going to kiss me and I’ve got to be this person, what am I supposed to do.’

“We never, ever really discussed what happened to Sam. We didn’t want him to be encumbered by a relationship. But I didn’t get to kiss him. My husband wouldn’t leave the set on the episode I was in!”

Your move into directing – from your TV drama Cora Unashamed back in 2000, to Grey’s Anatomy just last year. Is that something you wanted to do sooner? Were there barriers prohibiting you?

“I was supposed to direct on Quantum Leap four times. Every time it was coming up, something would happen. The only women who directed on the show were two black women – Debi Allen [Fame, Everybody Hate Chris, Jane the Virgin] and the other was a woman named Anita Addison. They each did two shows.

I said, ‘If I’m not doing this, I want black women.’ There were no other black women. And it was a fight. I tried to get black women directors on the show, but I could never get them past.

Then when I went to do The Net, the studio blocked it. I give huge amounts of credit for executive producing to Shonda Rhimes and what she has been able to do. She did what I thought I was going to be able to do. She’s so talented and I’m such a fan of her and her shows. I’m looking forward to what she’s going to do on Netflix. And it was an honour to do Grey’s Anatomy because I’m a fan of the show and I’m really grateful to have that opportunity.”

Has there been progress in terms of female directors and filmmakers being given opportunities?

“It’s very hard for women because there aren’t a lot of women executives at the studios. There are more now. And so there is an evolution that’s happening, but it still feels slow. There were shows run by people I gave opportunities to back in the day, but when I said, “hey, I want to direct on your show,” the response was, “oh, there’s too much machismo. There’s too many male hormones around here. They’ll eat you alive.” And I went, “no, they won’t, you’ll protect me. How about if I do my job?” And that was only last year. But there are more opportunities. There are more women making decisions, but we have to do more because women’s stories and women’s voices are more than half the population – we need to hear those stories. The historic ones as well as the contemporary ones.”

Is there a leap that was your favourite overall? That you feel made you made your mark with?

“’The Color of Truth’ [S1, Ep7] touched so many people and it opened a dialogue. I remember we got a letter from a teacher who said she brought the VHS in and she played it to her class, up until Jesse [Sam as an ageing black chauffeur in ’50s Deep South] goes and sits down at the counter in the restaurant. Then she stopped it and asked the students what they thought happened next. They thought that he just ordered lunch. And then she played the rest and that hostility and the animosity he endures and the fact that he had to get up and leave really incensed these children. They had never heard of or experienced racism. They didn’t want to believe that it really happened. This is how history gets buried and why television is so powerful and important. It opened a conversation that she could not have necessarily had in her classroom, according to her, had she not brought that show in to share with her students.

“We had another letter that was very moving, and I want to say it might’ve been ‘The Leap Home’ [S2, Ep1-2]. There was a couple who wrote and said they had a child that was on a cancer ward and every Thursday the whole ward would watch Quantum Leap. Their child was dying and they had kind of given up and it was just time to help that child transition out of this world. They watched the show and she said, ‘We realized we gave up hope. When we watched the show, we realized we didn’t have to give up hope and we wanted to write to you. It’s now six months later and the crisis has passed. The cancer is in remission. Our child is up and going back to school. And we just want to thank you for reminding us that hope has its own power’.”

Its power and poignancy has never diminished. Though the final episode, ‘Mirror Image’ (S5, Ep22), with the caption saying Sam doesn’t get to go home, does leave a sucker punch.

“That was our last fight. Don was going to send him home. And I said, ‘You can’t, you can’t send him home. If you ever, ever, which we’ve not ever been able to get Universal to let us do it, want to do a movie… If you want to keep the story going, you have to leave Sam out there in the hearts of people, leaving people thinking he could leap into their lives’. And at first Don said, ‘No, no, we need to bring him home’. And I said, ‘Do not bring him home. Or you will end the show. If you leave the hope out there, that Sam is out there and he could leap into your life and make a difference’. You keep the show alive in the hearts and the minds of the fans. And I think I was right.”

The ending was poetic for me as a viewer, but your point about Sam still being out there – Is there a leap back to the future for Quantum Leap?

“I started writing a project called <em>Time Child</em> about Sammy Jo Fuller. I actually wrote a trilogy in Season 5 where Sam leapt back three times into the same family and the second time he leapt he ended up in bed with this character and conceived a child. Then the third time he leapt in, he met her at 10 years old – a girl named Sammy Jo Fuller. So in my vision, Sammy Jo Fuller grows up. I actually have Al say, ‘Sammy is in the future with me. We’re trying to bring you home.’ That was my set-up way back in 1993, in Season 5, to say someday, Sammy Jo being his daughter might take over…. 

“This was the ’90s. Women heroes didn’t exist really – other than comic books – Wonder Woman was there, Super Girl was there. But I set it up in the show that Sammy Jo was going to bring him home. Sadly, I have not been able to get Don and the studio to give me the green light for Time Child. It might happen someday.”

Right now, it feels like we need more shows that offer hope. Is there a place for a reboot on streaming platforms?

“Universal keep saying they want to bring it back. They’re not going to give it up to Netflix because they have [US streaming service] Peacock now and still have NBC. I personally think it should be on a full blown network. The hard part would be that it would have to be recast if there was a female version using my character Sammy Jo Fuller. Or if they just redid the show, it would be interesting in the sense that there was such an innocence about the show. I still believe that there is an audience out there that wants it, that longs for looking at the past through the eyes of somebody in the present. But who would that person be if you did the show now, what are those eyes like? 

“We’re living in the time of COVID and suddenly you go back in time. How do you warn people that this is going to happen? How do you warn people about 9/11? How do you warn people about things in the future?

“I mean, one of the beauties of that innocence too, and I thought that was a great gift from Don to the concept, was that Sam’s memory as Swiss cheese – he didn’t remember things and that made it a lot easier, and Al was not allowed to tell him what was happening in the present. There’s a lot of detail woven into the mythology that allowed it to be innocent and in the moment of time travel. You didn’t have to drag the future back with you.”

Do you have an actress in mind to play Sammy Jo in a reboot?

“Oh my gosh, Jennifer Garner. I always felt she would be a great female Sam. She’s an ‘every woman.’ She’s funny. She does great drama. When I think of a female Sam or even Sammy Jo, I think Jennifer – in a heartbeat. She’s so great in Alias. That show just never stopped. You couldn’t take a breath. If I had to go younger, somebody that would have that kind of believable humour that you think could actually rescue you – maybe Jennifer Lawrence. She’s pretty formidable in that sense.”

“To bring Quantum Leap back. If they’re thinking about it, now’s the time to happen. Tell people to write to Universal! Write for the attention of Pearlena Igbokwe – if anyone can bring it back, she can do it. Write! Write to Pearlena – she’s the one that’ll make it happen. That’s how we stayed on the air for five and a half years. Fans unite and write!”

[sleepingfancies]

I’m mad and it’s about my son so you already KNOW I have a lot to say here.

The thing that is so infuriating about Chris Manawa’s situation and subsequent death is the timing and literal execution of his story line. Get ready, because there’s a hell of an essay below.

Chris Manawa got scratched out of FTWD in S2 after his fan support plummeted when he started down a rocky, arguably sketchy path. But here’s the question of the day: how would that storyline have ended if the writers hadn’t gotten cold feet about it? Too bad we’ll never know, but let’s dissect what’s so goddamn frustrating about this. In stages, broken down, so y’all can follow.

*****************

1. Inherent Good vs. Inherent Evil vs. That Little Grey Area

 Let’s talk about Rick Grimes for a second. Our guy Rick went completely off the rails in S3 after Lori’s death, and still had moments in S4 and S5 where his actions were pretty “yikes” (i.e. leaving desperate, likely harmless hitch hikers to walkers, slaughtering people in a church, ripping a guy’s throat out with his teeth, etc).

“But Clara,” you say, “those acts were justified.”

Well, partially, sure. But on the other hand - that’s what the writers have lulled us into thinking. We know that Rick has seen some shit, been through some shit, and had to make some shit decisions. We know he’d do anything to protect Carl and Judith. He’d do anything to protect The Group. He doles out justice like he’s a walking gavel. We automatically give him a pass for this. He’s a damaged man and those are his family members; we can understand him going a little cuckoo sometimes. And besides, Rick would never go “dark side.” No matter how ruthless Rick can get, there is never any real, honest to god danger that Rick might completely snap. And if it ever seems like Rick is going down a bad road and losing fan support, well, the writers just throw in someone worse - like Shane, the Governor, the Terminus cannibals, or Negan. So long as there’s someone inherently bad, no one will start to wonder if Rick is still a capable leader.

The lack of anyone inherently bad in FTWD immediately handed Chris an extreme disadvantage when it came to his arc. We, as viewers, were simply not allowed to see his actions compared to the actions of someone who had solely poor intentions. We were not allowed to see the actions of a traumatized teenage boy in comparison to a grown ass man holding a barbed wire baseball bat who simply doesn’t care who lives or dies, so long as he’s alpha male (you know who we did get to see that comparison with? Carl fucking Grimes).

Let’s talk about why that is, shall we?

***********************

2. Before (The Good), During (The Bad & the Ugly), and After (The Good)

With most major/minor characters (or even antagonists) in stories of all kinds (but especially televised stories), we see their “before and after” to trauma and challenge. Daryl and Carol had abusive family backgrounds that explain how they can behave and think sometimes. Shane genuinely thought Rick was dead and grew attached to Lori and Carl in the chaos, began to feel responsible for them, even love them. Even at his worst, he continually brings this up, and to a point it does explain how he can think and behave sometimes. Even the Governor had a tragic backstory, both initially and after he lost Woodbury.

Chris Manawa’s storyline is not a “before and after” story, it’s a “right here, right now” story. 

When the apocalypse really kicks in, we as an audience find ourselves right smack in the mid-beginning of Chris’ development. Think about it; he watches his mom get shot in the head, he’s thrust into a world where he isn’t safe anymore, and he’s surrounded by people who make him feel like an outcast. Add the cherry on top that he’s literally just a 16 year old kid, well shit, now you have a traumatized, isolated character who is neither mentally nor emotionally prepared to handle the situation.

What does this result in? Fucked up shit. Bad decisions. Anger - deep-seated, simmering anger that is not being dealt with, but just continually building. Look, I love my mom. Love my mom. She’s the best person I know. I look up to her, and if my parents got divorced and my dad kept telling me to give my “new family” a try, I wouldn’t want to either. I’d stay with my mom. I’d trust my mom. I’d know that she was the one constant in my life who would never voluntarily leave me or force me to hang out with my step-siblings. And then, she gets infected. No one understands by what. My mom is going to die, and then she dies because my dad shoots her in the head in front of me. In that scenario, personally, I would be beyond distraught. I would be beyond angry. I would withdraw and cut myself off and mourn and smash shit and yeah, I’d probably dissociate so fucking hard. Especially after finally trying to reach out to my step-family and getting shut the fuck out.

We don’t get to see the resolve of Chris’ backstory, because his backstory is his present in FTWD. Think. About. It. This is the kinda shit you’d expect to hear 5 minutes of over sad piano music as the narrator looks off into the mid-distance on TWD. This is the kind of backstory you’d expect to hear from someone like Daryl, or Beth. Hell, this almost is Beth’s arc.

And, sadly enough, Chris’ arc being shown presently rather than presented as backstory is almost precisely what killed him. My poor traumatized son. My third and final point is to finally settle this bullshit comparison once and for all, bc y’all see fit to do my son dirty.

***************

3. Carl vs. Shane vs. Negan

You know what made Shane so despicable? The fact that despite the many chances Rick gave him, he continually fought only for himself and his best interests, he continually wanted what Shane thought Shane deserved. He was selfish, arrogant, close-minded, obsessive, and downright untrustworthy.

Does literally any of that sound like Chris? Chris, the boy who tried to help Alicia over a fence and got punched in the face for it? Chris who tried so many fucking times to alert Travis and Madison that he was NOT FUCKING OKAY and needed help but they ignored him at every turn? The boy who kept making steps to leave the group because he thought they were better off without him there? The poor thing might’ve turned suicidal if he had been forced to stay with them.

“But Clara,” you cry, “remember that time Chris shot an innocent man?”

Yes, I do. I remember when my sneaky son tackled Travis pretending he just wanted a hug. I remember my angry garbage boy taking so much satisfaction in axing walkers between a fence.

You know who else shot an innocent man? Carl Grimes.

You know who else repeatedly takes pleasure in killing zombies? Carl Grimes.

You know who acts condescending, dangerous to their own families, and remark on the fuckability of every woman they meet? Shane and Negan.

You know who DOESN’T act condescending, dangerous to their own families, and remark on the fuckability of every woman they meet? Carl Grimes and Chris Manawa.

Huh. It’s almost like... Chris would’ve been another Carl Grimes, if he had had a competent parent who’d recognized his trauma and helped him through it. If the writers hadn’t chickened out by the fandom backlash and decided they were going to see Chris’ arc through rather than cut it short while they felt like they were ahead.

***************

BONUS ROUND: Trauma, Dissociating, and Cries for Help

Let’s just peep at some things Chris said while he was alive, mainly in his almost-final moments.

---

(when Travis is skeptical about joining James, Derek, and Brandon because  the Clarks are a perfectly nice group) “[Derek and Brandon] look at me different [from the Clarks].”

(When Travis says Chris is making a mistake by trusting Derek and Brandon) “I would hide at recess every day because the football guys used to make fun of me. What’d you tell me? ... The lesson was to fit in. I’m fitting in.”

(when Travis protests at Chris’ attachment to Derek and Brandon, saying he’s only known them for two days) “They’re my friends. James is my friend.”

(when Travis says they don’t need Derek and Brandon) “I do.”

(when Travis asks for the date) “No, dad, I lost track. What does it matter?”

(when Travis remarks he should’ve helped Chris) “I’m no good. Look at me. I’m no good!”

(when Travis asks what Chris is doing killing walkers behind a fence) “Making myself useful.”

---

Like. Holy shit, how does this not SCREAM to y’all that this is a kid who has a history of feeling like an unwanted outcast and he needs help my fuckignfw GOD this boy just needed HELP

He’s depressed and dissociating and angry and JESUS. He latched on to Derek and crew in two days because he’s that fucking desperate to be wanted and included and in on the joke for once

TL;DR don’t come for my son because I am upset and moody about this and he will always be more of a parallel to Carl than to Negan or Shane and I’m so goddamn FRUSTRATED that the writers didn’t have the guts to just fucking finish his fucking arc and let him be at peace god fucking damn I just

FUCK

[gleefail]

Glee Memories: 1x14 Hell-O

A long, long time ago, as Glee was approaching graduation in Season 3, I found myself nostalgic with some rare free time on my hands. So I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning and jot down some memories, discrepancies that have arisen since, fave quotes, tally solos - all that good stuff, strictly for shits and giggles.

8 years later (eek!) and once more I find myself with an unexpected abundance of free time. With so many revisiting or being newly introduced to the show between binge watching during Quarantine and all the tragedy that has surrounded the show since it went off the air, I figured I’d finish what I started. And by finish, I mean go through the end of S3. Cause I truly cannot acknowledge what happened after that. Except for 5B.

Kicking this off by reposting the first 15 episodes I already went through. Enjoy!

1x14 Hell-O Let the record show: the “So here’s what you missed on Glee” guy is now the guy we have come to know and love (Ian Brennan, right?)

“We’re glitterati. I feel like Lady Gaga.”

Add Mercedes to the list of Glee clubbers who’ve been slushied!! So it’s Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Kurt, Puck, Mr. Schue, and Mercedes. Leaving…Santana, Britany (has she EVER been slushied?), Artie, Matt and Mike. Right?

Will: Now you’re saying we have to place at Regionals or the Glee club’s gone? Me: That’s what he said in the first place!! What is going on?! Figgins; Schue, that was the deal from the beginning. Me: *satisfied* Hooray for continuity!

“Those spotlights in the auditorium don’t run on dreams.”

Sue’s back!

haha. Sue blowing on Figgins’ ear ‘romantically’

“Would’ve gotten you one, Will, but…I don’t like you.”

So…Finn sucks at basketball and is depressed.

Yeah, Puck just told Quinn he’s not break ing up with her but she needs to stop supersizing cause he doesn’t dig on fat chicks. A couple things: 1. Last episode didn’t she turn him down saying she was doing this on her own? In the words of my one true love Trouty Mouth, “that’s what I thought.” 2. Puck doesn’t dig on ‘fat chicks’? #oops Glee.

“I’m pregnant!” “And that’s MY fault?” …Puck might be as simple-minded as Finn.

So Finn and Rachel are dating now. When did that start? Who decided that? Might’ve been nice to see…

Oh yeah. Sue drugged Figgins and blackmailed him to get reinstated. Damn, I miss when this show had balls to do stuff like this and not apologize for laughing hysterically at it.

Damn, Figgins is hairy as hell.

“What do you guys say when you answer the phone?” “Waddup?” “Who dis be?” “No, she’s dead. This is her son.” HA!

Did Alexander Graham Bell really answer his phone “Ahoy ahoy!”? Can I start answering my phone like that? I CAN AND I WILL!

haha. Rachel wears training bras.

“Only this time I can just lean over and kiss you if I want to…and I want to.” Still makes my ovaries tingle. Lalalerr.

“We were seduced by the glitz and glamour of showbiz”

I’ve just pinpointed my problem (if you can call it that) with the Will/Finn relationship: I feel like we never really saw it start. It just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s always felt forced and like “look at how close and father/son they are” but…when did that start or develop into that so we could fall in love with it along the way? Answer: it didn’t. They just started saying it was already to that point rather than showing us how they got there, if that makes sense. Compare that to the Sue/Becky relationship and how we’ve watched it progress and how invested I am in that and there’s a clear difference. I wonder why they did this this way. And how much more I might care if they hadn’t. Hmm.

“Oh you mean like, meeting other girls? Cause I think I’m dating Rachel. At least she sure thinks I am.” #BlessFinnsHeart Also, why does Glee leave this unclear? :(

Mr. Schue just told Finn he wants him to sing. Finn’s response “so that’s why the band’s here” and a dopey grin. #BlessFinnsHeart

Ok. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Finn. I think he’s funny when they let him be humorous. But he’s never been my dreamboat on this show. HOWEVER…Finn in pursuit of a lady is Finn at his hottest in my opinion. I pay attention when that’s happening, lol.

Apparantly Kurt agrees. He is like a cat in heat over there. Lordy!

Aw, Brittana walk with linked pinkies. Forgot about that being their thing. I love that Quinn sees that and immediately knows they’re up to something, lol.

So…Finn thinks he’s dating Rachel…and agrees to go on a threesome date with Brittana…and when Rachel kinda catches him, he lies. Oh boy. Why did they make this unhealthy from the start if we were supposed to be rooting for this as the power couple on the show?

Rachel’s speech to Finn when he says he doesn’t wanna be her boyfriend is effing spot on.

God. I’ve been in Rachel’s position where her andFinn just ended things and he’s immediately flirting very openly with other girls right in front of her like he could give a shit. I feel your pain, girl.

Aw. Puck and Quinn are being supercute during this song.

“I’m sorry. I was just focusing on the first syllable.”

“Your rendition of Don’t Rain On My Parade was flawed. You totally lack Barbara’s emotional depth.” PREACH!

Haha. Jesse reads celebrity biographies for lifestyle tips.

I love Jonathon Groff on this show. LOVED him in Spring Awakening and was so stoked to hear he’d be on this show. I gotta say, his chemistry with Lea Michele is flawless.

Haha. Confession: I love Lionel Ritchie. And this song makes me giggle cause of the video he did for it.Heeee!

Aw. Finn was a dipshit and dumped her and now the star of Vocal Adrenaline, who is just as crazy driven as she is, asked her out. Even rewatching it I’m happy for Rachel Berry.

“There was a mouse in mine.”

I love Brittana talking about the hottest guys in school right in front of Finn like he’s not even there.

Is it just me, or is it gross that they put a lemon slice on your spaghetti at Breadstix? Yuck.

“You buy us dinner, and we make out in front of you.” Oh Brittana. :)

“Those sweaters make her look homeschooled.”

“Don’t make fun of Rachel. She’s kinda cool….” “Finn. That’s mean.”

“Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?”

Ugh. I still hate this Wemma scene to Hello Again. So boring.

“I dunno why but…I’ve always had a soft spot for this song” Oh ouch. Knowing now why…ouch.

Emma’s a virgin. I remember thinking “well damn. This’ll drag out forever…”

What. The hell. Is that picture Rachel has in her locker of Jesse? It looks like she drew it herself in crayon. Omg. How’d I never notice that before. Ha!

Ok, WORST way to get a girl back EVER: repeat Finn’s words to Rachel right now. “I realized I don’t wanna date other girls. Only you. You do talk too much and usually you just talk about yourself but…at least I don’t feel alone when I’m with you.” – EFF YOU, FINN! Also, remember when Mr. Schue told Rachel she’d find a boy whose favorite parts about Rachel would be the bad stuff? Yeah, so far that’s not Finn.

Atta girl, Rachel!

I’m sorry, but it’s douchey that Finn ran to Mr. Schue to tattle on Rachel dating the competition. Like…so what? My God. My students date kids in other showchoirs all the time. In real life, kids make great friendships with kids in other choirs. …but it’s Glee.

“I didn’t wear a bra and I had them turn on the air-conditioning.”

“I am engorged with venom and triumph.”

Vocal Adrenaline are inhumanly good dancers. My. God.

Yaaaaay, Idina Menzel!

“You wanna look so talented it’s literally hurting you. I want a look so optimistic it could cure Cancer.”

Will is concerned with the ‘fraternizing with the enemy’ aspect of the Rachel/Jesse relationship. Oh my God. Get over yourself or you’re in for a lot of trouble over the years,Will. How can he do this and then preach that he wants to blur the lines between Football/Cheerios and Glee Club? Double-standard hypocrite. I’m annoyed with him.

And now Will and Shelby are makin’ out. While he’s still pursuing Emma. Oh boy. You jerk. Also, as hot as Matthew Morrison is, I still watch this and think this couldn’t be fun for Idina. Cause she’s married to Taye Diggs and I imagine nothing compares to the kisses of Chocolate Lovin’ (as I call him).

“Are you gay? Cause most of the showchoir directors I make out with are gay.”

“Cut the butter, Benedict Arnold.”

Okay, I will say, as much as it annoys me, the way Tina, Artie, Kurt and Mercedes are presenting their concerns over Rachel being with Jesse makes perfect sense and kinda won me over. They’re only asking her to hold off until after Regionals so they don’t risk a repeat of what happened at Sectionals. Mercedes said they’re all happy that she’s happy but they’re worried he might be playing her. This sounds like genuine concern for her and hesitancy to trust the competition. Very different than the game Schue and Finn are playing.

“Look, we not saying that dude is playing you-“ “He’s playing you.” Kurtcedes love.

It is sad to watch them threaten to quit or kick her out if she doesn’t break up with him and she’s being vulnerable and asking how they could do that to her.

Aw. Poor Rachel. :( Jesse’s so good for her!

“Everyone is replaceable. Even you.” I love that someone (Kurt) said this to Rachel. And meant it. I hate that the show has since forgotten that nugget of truth though.

The McKinley High Old Maids Club.

Another Lauren Zizes sighting! Yay!

This Emma and Terri scene makes me so uncomfortable.

“I carry a rape whistle!”

Rachel is talking crazy and Jesse just laughed at how cute she is and how much more of a drama queen she is than him. Listen, I didn’t LOVE this pairing the first time around, but right now…perfection.

Hello was Terri and Will’s junior prom song. Ouch.

This is very smart and mature that Emma and Will are not pursuing their relationship yet because he needs to be alone for awhile. It made me sad at the time but…it’s ridiculous to think for a second that he doesn’t need a break between divorcing the woman he’s been with since he was 15 and heading into another relationship. Well done, Glee.

Rachel tells Finn to spread the word she ended things with Jesse. He tells her he wants to be with her and that he circled some dates on her ‘crazy calendar’ (eff you, Finn). Um, wtf? She just broke up with someone else that she didn’t want to break up with (well, not really but, as far as Finn is concerned) and he’s assuming she’ll want to get back together with him? Ugh. Douche Finn.

haha, Finn seems extremely confused that Rachel is rejecting HIM for a change. I actually really like this dynamic.

I hate to admit it, but…Finn is super hot in Goodbye/Hello. I’m tellin’ ya, the only dreamboat Finn in my world is a Finn in pursuit of a lady…

SOLOS: Finn (2), Rachel (3), Jesse (2)

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Pining John Pt. 2

Please if you have any pining!John fics (like Sherlock accidentally hurts him like he did molly with the Christmas gift) I would absolutely love that!! Thank you so much😊(submitted by @thediamondwoman)

Anonymous said to inevitably-johnlocked: hi! New Johnlocker here, this is a fic rec ask, but do you have any fics where John is pining/suppressing/ignoring his feelings for Sherlock? Preferably after TRF, and without Mary in the way, and a slow burn one (sorry for all the preferences just one with pining John would be fine) and thank you for being a blog currently reading all your metas and they are amazing <3333

@i-love-books-and-so-do-you asked: hullo!! *waves* i’m in the mood for some pining john, so i was wondering if you have any good ones? preferably with a happy ending

and may i just say your blog is GORGEOUS like all your fic recs *chef’s kiss* thank you for the literal best johnlock content <33

——-

Hi Lovelies!!!

First of all, thank you for your love for my lists! LOL! These asks just keep coming in, so it looks like I’m overdue for another pining John list!!

That said I do actually have pining John fics, and enough to start a second list! As I re-read fics, I’m able to keep adding all the old ones I didn’t tag ages ago to lists, so that’s fun, hahah. Hope you guys don’t mind me just combining all the pining into one list, hahaah. I get more fics that way LOL!

Enjoy, and feel free to add your own, friends!

See also:

Pining John

Pining Sherlock || [MOBILE FRIENDLY VERSION]

Mutual Pining

Mutual Pining Pt 2

John’s Away (and Sherlock’s Not Okay)

Caffeine and Adaptive Programming by DemonicSymphony (E, 5,540 w., 1 Ch. || Androids AU / Bond Fusion || Android Sherlock, Coffee Shop AU, Pining John Hinted Bond / Q, Toplock) – Sherlock is a coffee shop android slowly falling for a regular customer. But he's not supposed to be able to feel emotions.

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalized Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

There's So Much Labour Just in Breathing Lately by Susan (E, 12,708 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF / Mentions of S3 Events, Romance, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Grieving John, Mutual Pining, Meddling Mycroft, Therapy, Ambiguous Hopeful Ending, Infidelity) – The dreams he hated most – the ones that left him a sweating, shaking mess when he woke – were the ones in which Sherlock was just Sherlock. Laughing or drinking tea. Sitting across the table from him at Angelo’s eating pasta. Trailing his open hand behind him on the way to the bedroom. “C’mon, John. I’m about to have my way with you.”

On The Fence by BeautifulFiction (T, 13,770 w., 1 Ch. || Fencing, Case Fic, First Kiss, Insecure John, Pining John, Hug, Greg Finds Out) – The murder of the King's College fencing champion leads to revelations about Sherlock's past. Will it be the point that tips them from friends to lovers, or will they remain on the fence?

The Invocation of Saint Margaret by Ewebie (E, 15,831 w., 1 Ch. || POV John,  Crossing Timelines, Light Angst, Fluff, Series 3 John / Series 1 Sherlock, The Matchbox, Mushy Romance, First Time, Bisexual John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Sensuality, Emotional Love Making, Snippets of Time) – When Sherlock Holmes opens the matchbox from The Sign of Three and John finds himself years in the past, back to that first dinner at Angelo's with a much younger Sherlock Holmes. Is he dreaming?

Division by MrsNoggin (E, 19,542 w., 11 Ch. || Coffee Shop AU || First Kiss/Time, Fluff, Barista Sherlock, Clingy Sherlock, POV John, John’s Limp, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, Sensuality, Touching, Virgin Sherlock, Insecure John) – John likes mysteries. And every morning he dips into the local independent coffee bar with his newspaper and ponders another... one Sherlock Holmes.

Insanity in the Middle by DotyTakeThisDown (E, 28,010 w., 8 Ch. || Equestrian Sports AU || Alternate First Meeting, POV John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Clueless Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Passionate Kisses, Hand Holding, Caught Making Out, Bed Sharing, Spooning, Blow Job) – John is a world-class eventing rider with a gold medal and several four-star wins to his credit, but he's never won at Rolex. Sherlock is an up-and-coming rider taking the sport by storm.

Deck the Halls by itsalwaysyou_jw (T, 31,018 w., 24 Ch. || Advent Fic / Multiple One-Shots, Assorted Tags) – One Johnlock ficlet for every day leading up to Christmas. Who is ready for pining, first kisses, established Johnlock, and everything in between? This collection of stand-alone ficlets will have it all.

The Case of the Vanishing Pants by SwissMiss (E, 44,025 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Post-TRF, Case Fic, UST, Homophobia, Friends to Lovers, Pining John, Showering Together, Couple for a Case, Sherlock’s Bum, Fantasies, Jealous Sherlock) – Five times John and Sherlock lost their pants in the course of a case.

Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

Inscrutable to the Last by DiscordantWords (M, 48,842 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Alternate S3, John’s Blog/S3 is a Story By John, Divorce, Marital Difficulties, John is a Mess, Emotional Reunion, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grief / Mourning, Pining John, First Kiss, Adorably Clueless Sherlock, Nostalgia, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – He wasn't Sherlock, he couldn't work miracles. All he'd ever been able to do was write about them.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

Isosceles by SilentAuror (E, 56,609 w., 7 Ch. || Post-S4, POV John, Original Male Character / Sherlock Dates Another Man, Love Triangle, Jealous John, Virgin Sherlock, Sexual Coaching, Angst, Romance, Domesticity, Unrequited Feelings, Miscommunication, First Kiss/Time, For a Case, Friends With Benefits, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Spooning) – After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

White Knight by DiscordantWords (M, 69,840 w., 13 Ch. || S4 Compliant/Post S4, Marriage For a Case, Jealous John, Pining John, Janine / Sherlock Fake Relationship, Serial Killers, Case Fic, Undercover as a Couple, Weddings, John is a Mess, Misunderstandings, Wedding Planning, Jealousy, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending) – Green. The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience. Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it. Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

Thermocline by J_Baillier (M, 83,557 w., 14 Ch. || Scuba Diving AU || Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Marine Archaeology, Asexual Sherlock, Horny John, Relationship Drama, Technical/Scuba/Wreck Diving, Slow Burn, Underwater /  Medical Peril, Doctor John, Hurt Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, John POV, Protective John, Body Appreciation) – John "Five Oceans" Watson — technical dive instructor, dive accident analyst and weapon of mass seduction — meets recluse professor of maritime archaeology Holmes. As they head out to a remote archipelago off the coast of Guatemala to study and film its shipwrecks for a documentary, will sparks fly or fizzle out?

The Bang and the Clatter by earlgreytea68 (M, 137,049 w., 37 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Baseball AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings™) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. Part 1 of Baseball

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.