#especially the bloopers like wow the quality sucks out there!!

[borgialucrezia]

A rare promo shoot from The Borgias - Unholy Collection DVD box

[casual-eumetazoa]

season 3

oh wow this is more difficult than I thought!

my favourite episode:

either “Smith and Jones” or “Gridlock”

“Smith and Jones” is probably the best companion introduction episode in New Who. It’s funny, it’s fast, it’s exciting, it’s smart... it has two great monsters, one of which (the Judoon) is fucking ridiculous (along with the premise of the episode) and that’s wonderful. Also the Doctor walking barefoot on the Moon is great.

And “Gridlock” is just a really great story? I can’t quite put my finger on why it is great... it is very human. Like it shows a world that is so far removed from ours in time, location, setting, circumstance, everything - yet the characters in it are unmistakably human and relatable. It has a particularly interesting twist of people being incapacitated and subdued by hope rather than made stronger by it. It is heartbreaking but also positive. And say what you will about them but I think cat people are awesome. 

So yeah probably “Gridlock” actually lmao

my least favorite episode:

“Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks”

Nothing particularly bad about it, but I’m not a huge fan either. Its one redeeming quality is Tallulah and “you put the devil in me” cause that song is great, actually.

a moment that made me cry:

The Master’s death (or rather the Doctor’s reaction) in “The Last of the Time Lords”. Always.

a moment that made me laugh:

Does “Runaway Bride” count as a part of Season Three? It must count. If it does then uhhh almost everything that happened in it, but especially “pockets!”. If it doesn’t for some reason or another, then... I’ll cheat a little bit cause I have to mention this - the bloopers/behind the scenes stuff, specifically when David Tennant has to talk nonsense for a few minutes for that video message that Martha plays in the TARDIS. Nothing beats Bingle Bongle Dingle Dangle.

my opinion on the finale:

I both love and hate it? Like I think that the writing was not particularly strong, and the choices RTD made about the Master’s characterization are... questionable, but the problem is that I’m thoschei trash and I am incapable of disliking anything that has the Master in it. I feel like even if the actual story was fifty times worse I would still love it. And the end of “The Last of the Time Lords” absolutely murders me every time that I watch it anyway. Making Koschei like that might have been a mistake (though it is certainly amusing) but Koschei dying out of sheer pettiness (trapped in the TARDIS my ass, I’m 100% sure he could have escaped the next day - I bet he knew he’d be brought back and just wanted to make Theta suffer) is extremely on brand. And the Doctor’s reaction really broke my heart. 

my favourite character arc:

Martha’s, no competition.

She was smart and strong and amazing from minute one, and Ten still spent the entire season treating her like shit, even though she saved his ass so many times like it is not even funny. I get it, he’s uber autistic and he just doesn’t see this stuff, and also he was in pain, but that’s not enough for an excuse lmao. And what did Martha do? Spends an entire year saving the planet (btw if you haven’t read “The Story of Martha”, do yourself a favor and read it already) then just fucking dumps him. Just straight up tells him “hey so this is really unhealthy for me so imma head out”. Best companion exit ever. 

The Doctor, on the other hand? The only thing he learned the entire season is “life really sucks sometimes, but then it might give you just the slightest glimmer of hope before crushing you completely and leaving you even more broken than you were before”. Does that even count as a character arc? Cause I feel this was made to emotionally torture me and specifically me.

[kbaldwin0609]

‘The Bachelor: Women Tell All’ Recap: ‘Get Over It’

Photo: ABC

Warning: This recap contains spoilers for the Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor.

What a night, eh rose lovers? First we had to witness Rachel’s tearful goodbye with Nick — if only she could hear us shouting “But you’re gonna be the Bachelorette!” through our TVs — and then we endured two hours of sparkly “ladies” crying, sniping, and otherwise betraying the sisterhood. (Read my recap of the first hour of tonight’sThe Bachelor “event” here.)

But first, it’s that “tradition” everyone (read: Chris Harrison, producers) loves: Crashing Bachelor viewing parties!

Champagne bongs, rose petals, a “Fantasy Suite Table” filled with “Double-D Cupcakes,” the Backstreet Boys — I think Nick sums it up best when he says, “Oh wow. This seems normal.”

Yeah, yeah, Bachelor Nation is the best. Can we please just get to the part we’re all dying to see: Picture-in-picture side-eye!

Harrison naturally kicks off the discussion by asking the “ladies” when they started hating Corinne. Sarah says it was when she skipped the rose ceremony to take a nap. Lacey says it was when she took her top off on the group date. Whitney (who?) says it was when Corinne told everyone she has a nanny. Platinum Vagine’s one defender, Josephine, is not having any of it. “Who are we to judge what she does with [Nick] during her time?” she bellows. And honestly, “ladies,” do you really want to argue with a woman who looks like she moonlights with Morticia Addams’ glam squad?

Then someone named Elizabeth chimes in (I had to look her up, and boy does she look different) to giggle about how Corinne was sometimes a “slob kebab” in the house — but that doesn’t excuse Taylor’s behavior in her opinion. “A good psychologist can tell when people are emotionally unintelligent,” notes Elizabeth, “but a great psychologist helps them with their issues and doesn’t judge them and put them down.” (And Lizzie should know, because she was a psychology major, guys.) Throughout this speech, Taylor is quite literally biting her tongue to keep from tearing Elizabeth a new one.

Hold that thought, honey. Your time in the Hot Seat™ is coming.

Related: ‘The Bachelor: The Women Tell All’ Deleted Scene: Liz is Totally Not Bitter

First up, though, is Liz, a.k.a. the Nick’s One-Night-Stand. Just as she finishes explaining to Harrison why she decided to come on the show — to get a “clean, fresh start” with Nick, sans excessive alcohol —Whitney (who?) interrupts. “Why didn’t you reach out to him before the show, when you had like six to nine months?” Liz insists she had tried to “cross paths” with Nick before the show, but he was too “busy.” But just when you think the other “ladies” are going to start piling on with their questions and judgments, Liz climbs up on her metaphorical soapbox and starts speechifying about, like, female empowerment.

The women nod their heads vigorously. “We love you, Liz!” cries one. “You should never be ashamed about what you do with your sexuality,” insists Hailey. “That is your choice.” Liz is overwhelmed by their support, and I’ll admit it’s quite heartening to watch. Another woman’s life changed for the better by The Bachelor. When will this show receive the Peabody Award it deserves??

After the commercial break, it’s time for Taylor to take her place on the couch. “Where did things go awry for you?” Harrison asks her, and naturally her answer was essentially, When Corinne happened. “I never spoke one word about you, Taylor! Never one time,” whines Corinne. “Until you started acting hor-i-ble to me.” And you know what? The other “ladies” agree with Corinne. “Smells like s*** in here!” notes one woman (Josephine?), while Jasmine adds, “You walked around the house with your nose in the air.” Corinne, never one to relinquish the spotlight, storms out of the studio… and returns with a glass of champagne, as the audience hoots with delight.

It’s all too much for Taylor to take. Tearfully, she begins to lament how all the “shaming” the women — specifically Corinne — have heaped upon her for being a counselor has had a “direct impact” on her life and career. “It really sucks!” As someone in the “helping profession,” Taylor feels she should be encouraged, not attacked by her fellow contestants. Indeed, she’d really like “some sort of apology” for all Corinne has done. What she gets, though, is this:

And with that, Taylor is shunted to the side once again for Corinne, who seems a lot more comfortable explaining her actions than her rival did. “I was just trying to be sexy, flirty and fun,” explains Corinne, adding, “I did come off a little bit more promiscuous than I had planned coming off.” As for the naps? “Everybody naps!” she insists. “Just like everybody poops.” Fair enough. Though a few of the women on Team Taylor try to take Corinne to task for calling the counselor a “swamp monster” and a “bitch,” Jasmine is all about keeping it real: “We all call each other bitches!”

Overall, the Corinne segment is marred by a lot of crosstalk and arguing about who napped when and when is a nap really a nap, etc… and it’s all just making Taylor “feel feelings.” As for Corinne?

All hail the ice queen! “Why can we not bury the hatchet?” wonders Harrison. “Neither one of you are actually speaking to each other.” Finally, Taylor apologizes for saying she wouldn’t have chosen to be Corinne’s friend outside of the show, and Corinne apologizes for… oh wait, no. She doesn’t apologize for anything. Great.

So let’s talk about Raquel, and how she was Corinne’s “rock” during her mom’s ovarian cancer scare. “Raquel is a godsend to me, and I’ll never disrespect her,” notes Corinne. “There’s no way in hell I’d ever call her a cleaning lady.” Not that there’s anything wrong with being a cleaning lady, right Corinne? Right? Oh, never mind. Cheese pasta for everyone!

From the ridiculous to the sublime: Kristina, you’re up! Oh crap, we haven’t even gotten through the “Kristina’s journey” montage and I’m already getting teary-eyed. But we shouldn’t cry for Miss Kristina, because darn it if she isn’t keeping this whole ridiculous experience in perspective.

The other women are overwhelmed by Kristina’s story, and in Liz’s case, a little ashamed that they’ve all been so petty. “We are born into such privilege,” she declares tearfully. “And the fact that we’re up here arguing?… As women especially in these times, we should be building each other up, not tearing each other down.”

Oh my Lord, when did the Women Tell All become such a healing experience? Kristina says she’s even heard from some of the kids she grew up with at the orphanage, and she hopes to use her voice to help forgotten children, like the one she used to be. Crap, now I’m crying again! Nick, can get out here so we can get back to talking about frivolous things?

Thanks. “It’s actually my first Tell All,” Nick, the two-time runner-up, reminds us. “Good to be here.” Highlights from his time in the Hot Seat™:

*Nick put Lacey in the Friend Zone by spending his time with her talking about Josephine.

*He can’t really explain to Kristina why he let her go, other than “something in my heart just said something wasn’t there” when compared to the other relationships.

*Danielle L. is still pretty broken up about getting dumped by Nick, on a two-on-one date no less.

“I just wish you would have sent me home, and not sent me on a two-on-one date,” she tells him with a sniffle.

*Katherine Heigl has decided to embrace her image as a “difficult” “bitch” and play a stalker on the big screen.

*Dominique (had to look her up too) thinks Nick’s kind of a hypocrite for rejecting the qualities he claimed to be looking for. “I expected a little bit more empathy from you,” she says, scolding him. Nick’s all, “Welp, I tried my best!” — because really, what else is he supposed to say?

*As a franchise veteran, Nick knows better than to answer Christen’s question about whether he found the deep love he was looking for. “I think maybe we’ll have to tune in?” he responds weakly. Here’s what we have to say to that, pal:

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: BLOOPERS. A little underwhelming, to be honest — falling trees, farts, flying insects — but leave it to Corinne and Raven to create a new kind of fetish video: Two girls, one mouthful of cheese.

Our final interviewee of the evening is Ms. Rachel Lindsay, she of the gorgeous smile and glamorous hair extensions.

Our future Bachelorette would like a guy with a great smile who can make her laugh. A guy who’s “secure and confident” and “who is ready to get married and start a family.” (Hey producers, we’ve got a few casting ideas.) Rachel’s fellow contestants seem genuinely happy for her, and Astrid just has one request: “We’ll take your leftovers!”

Harrison dutifully brings up the obvious: “You are our first black Bachelor or Bachelorette.” [pause for audience cheers] “Is that a big deal to you?” Short answer: Yes. “I don’t want that to be the focus of my journey,” says Rachel, “but I’m happy to acknowledge it.”

If only Team Bachelor had left things there! Instead, they bring Nick out to worm his way into Rachel’s big moment. “I think it’s going to be an amazing season,” he says. Great, thanks pal. Now get out of the way so Rachel can hug her girls.

After a preview of “one of the most dramatic and emotional finales ever” — featuring puppies, horses, pensive gazes into a roaring fire, and more tears from Nick’s long-suffering mom — our three-hour “journey” is over. Until next week.

So, rose lovers, what did you think of the Women Tell All? Whose makeover was your favorite? Who do you want to see on Paradise? And which woman do you think will “win” next week? Post your thoughts now! And be sure to check out Chris Harrison’s exclusive blog right here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to shop for Josephine’s goth lipstick.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of The Bachelor for free on Yahoo View.

[thisislizheather]

September Shenanigans

The leaves are fucking changing. DO YOU REALIZE THIS?! The fact that it feels like fall and actually IS fall is incredible. I’ve already unpacked my colder season attire and bed sheets and pumpkin table runners and you can’t fucking stop this train, BABY. Here’s all that went down in September.

I ate the (insanely good) heirloom tomato panzanella salad with anchovies at Cherry Point in Greenpoint in Brooklyn and it was my first panzanella salad and I was right to assume that I’d be in love with such a dish. Definitely will always order this in the future if I see it on any menu ever.

I bought the Sun Of A Beach Ombré Spray from OUAI a few months ago (it’s supposed to add highlights to your hair through exposure to the sun), and even though I only used it once… this is a hard pass. It does state that you should use it more than once to see results, but I just expected to be more wowed after one time. Any time I use Sun-In, even after one try, you can see a difference. So for $24, I’d expect something upon first use. Definite disappointment.

This is the second time I’ve bought this NARS concealer so I guess I’m now a forever consumer of it. It lasts a lot longer than the one I used to get from MAC and it goes on a lot smoother, too.

I was pretty excited to see that Charlotte Tilbury is now available at Sephora since that means that I was finally able to try out their Bar Of Gold Highlighting Palette, which turned out to be a huge disappointment. It’s such beautiful packaging, don’t be deceived. It’s just as sparkly and low quality as pretty much every other highlighter on the planet with the exception of maaaaybe Benefit’s Watt’s Up Soft Focus Highlighter, which is the only one I tend to gravitate towards.

I didn’t even know there was an Ulta store in NYC until recently, so I finally went the other day and whoa. Their Colourpop section was bigger than I anticipated - and it also has their brow pencils that I use exclusively, so that’s amazing. I did try their “coveted” highlighters as well and yeah they’re not even close to great. But that’s fine since their liquid lipsticks and brow pencils are amazing. You can’t have it all, deal with it.

I know it’s been years since The Office ended, but I tend to live in the past so obviously I’ve been watching a lot of bloopers from the show that I hadn’t seen before.

I saw The Corpse Bride for the first time and… meh? Maybe I just missed the time frame when I could’ve enjoyed this one, I think.

Loving this Cat Power version of the Rihanna song Stay.

I finally watched and finished all of Disenchantment and… I wish it were funnier. I don’t even say that with an attitude - I really, really wish it were funnier. Of the whole first season, only the final two episodes were actually interesting, which sucks and I wish it weren’t this way, but that’s just the reality of it.

So earlier this year I accidentally got on the Herbalife program and then realized what was going on, so I got out. It’s such an awful company and I can’t believe it took me this long to even hear about it. Definitely watch the documentary that I just saw Betting on Zero if you’d never heard about it or if you know anyone who’s ever tried Herbalife.

I’m not trying to say that I have a problem or anything, but sometimes when I can’t sleep I’ll take NyQuil only because I really need to sleep that night, no interruptions. So when I saw ZzzQuil at the store, obviously I thought I should try that since its main purpose is to put you to sleep. What’s insane is that it didn’t work AT ALL. Makes zero sense. Don’t be fooled, stick to NyQuil.

Ate at Prince Tea House in Astoria and it’s a really sweet little place. The crepe cake actually wasn’t that far off from how good the Lady M crepe cakes taste.

I watched the second season of The Good Place, mostly because there wasn’t much else on, but still. Best parts? Easily a tie between the appearances of Jason Mantzoukas and Maya Rudolph. I love that man more than any other actor on TV these days. Every time he’s on screen, he’s perfect. Man is amazing and constantly the funniest person in every scene. Other than that, the show’s still just okay. Also, Manny Jacinto is such a fox it’s maddening. Also also, Ted Danson being so great in this scene.

I attempted to read Judd Apatow’s Sick in the Head, but snoooooooooze. I really did try to read as much as I could, but it was a lot. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that man does not know how to condense. I’ve always hated his interview style and find that he takes hours upon hours to get to a main point. I mean, in a book about interviewing comedians, in what world is asking the question “So were you a class clown in high school?” in any way groundbreaking? I really don’t know why I’m so hard on this man (especially because of how much I loved Freaks and Geeks as well as Undeclared), but it’s just one of those things I can’t budge on. The ONLY thing I took away from the book was the fact that I learned that Martin Short went to university to become a social worker. Neat. THAT’S IT.

In other book news, Chrissy Teigen’s second cookbook came out! Already picked out two things from it that I’m gonna make for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. ALSO! Lindy West just announced that her next book (The Witches Are Coming) will come out next spring!

Finally went to the Met rooftop to see this year’s installation and look, I don’t really think I’m a hard person to impress. I’m not. But look at this.

…that’s all there was. On an entire rooftop. Why is it so hard to get installation art that makes good use of its space? I’ll never shut up about this, but years ago there were numerous, gorgeous, playful structures created by Jeff Koons on that roof and you felt like you were in another world. I don’t need art to be pretty, but I do need it to make sense in its space. Not asking a lot here.

Candle season is upon us: Nathan’s pick? Leaves. My pick? Hot cocoa & cream. Two for $16 at Bath & Body Works at the moment, it you’re in the market. Also, the vanilla pumpkin one from Trader Joe’s was a lot cheaper and smells pretty nuts.

My dear friend Paul was visiting and invited me to go to the Color Factory in NYC with him. It’s pretty much just an Instagram museum meaning that people mainly go to take photos of themselves, so we did! Duh. I don’t know that I’d ever go to one again since it felt a little… hollow? I’m not trying to be negative about the experience, it just seemed very calculated and void of any real meaning with an added air of superficiality. Yeah, that definitely sounds negative. It really just felt like something that would and should be fun for a child, not an adult. I came across a really great piece talking about these types of places that really sums up how I feel about the whole experience.

Can’t even believe I’ve never eaten anything at Grom before, but I now regret every time I’ve walked by and not went in. I mean, look at this beauty.

Above photo: Tiramisu

All right. So I started Riverdale. And listen, shut up, I know it maybe seems like a bad show. You have to get over that thought though because it’s so, so good that I can barely deal with it. Who knew that I had such a yearning inside to see a half naked Jughead Jones in a human, real-life scenario about to have sex for the first time? Not me, apparently, because I REWOUND IT THREE TIMES*. The only way that I can describe why this show is so good? I think it’s mainly because I loved and collected these comics as a kid and I never got to see these characters develop beyond their prudishly chaste lives. And maybe it’s kind of amazing to finally see some shit happen. Major pros: Dylan McKay! Skeet Ulrich (whom, I’m sorry, will forever be the sexiest killer in any movie, of all time). Any and all Bughead scenes (ie. Betty & Jughead scenes). Major cons: pleeease no more musical episodes, they’re awful and if I wanted any musical interlude in a television show I’d watch fucking Glee. Also the fact that the actor who plays Archie has to dye his hair red for the role. If that isn’t sacrilegious then I don’t know what is. It’s insanity. So many hot men with red hair could’ve played that part and I promise you I’m not biased in that opinion, shut your mouth. Also, this is the greatest description of the show I’ve ever heard.

Nathan and I watched Hellraiser on Netflix because I’d never seen it and we wanted to choose “something light” since it’s not October yet. ‘Light’ my bag! WAY too gory and not FUN-gory, just gory-gory. Only thing I liked about it was hearing that when trying to decide on a title, the writers opened it up for discussion to the production team to offer up their own suggestions, prompting a 60-year-old female crew member to offer up "What a Woman Will do for a Good Fuck."

I tried to give Van Leeuwan another shot and man, it just blows. How can you fuck up ICE CREAM? Even the fucking sprinkles hurt my teeth. Never, never again. Grom for life.

I haven’t watched the new SNL that premiered last night, but I did watch the cold open and man, it’s really really good

Excited to see what’s in store for October!

*It was nine times. I rewound it nine times.