Grandma Betty's Pumpkin Pie

Grandma Betty's Pumpkin Pie

1 C. pumpkin

1 1/4 C. white sugar

1 TBS. flour

2 eggs

1 teas. cinnamon

1/4 teas. ginger

1/4 teas. cloves

1/8 teas. salt

1 1/2 C. milk

Pre-heat oven at 425 Fahrenheit.

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat eggs slightly; add milk, the sifted dry ingredients and the pumpkin. Beat until smooth. Pour into pastry-lined 9 inch pie pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes at 425 F. or until a knife inserted into the filling about 1 1/2 inches from the edge comes out clean. Center may still look soft but it will continue to cook after removal from the oven.

Criminal Minds: The Longest Night -- Season 6

We want to be able to look at people like Billy Flynn and see only the monster. And maybe there are some people in whom only the monster exists. But right at the beginning of "The Longest Night" we're given a glimpse of the desire at the heart of this killer, and it isn't some sick fantasy. Instead, it's a cry for a life that never was and never would be.

Tim Curry adeptly portrayed a very creepy Billy Flynn. Unfortunately, the girl playing Ellie Spicer upstaged him in creepiness though I suspect that wasn't the intent of the role. Also, it felt like the show spent way too much time trying to highlight the UnSub's creepiness rather than moving the story along.

The young actress playing Ellie Spicer? Well, she can cry on cue; other than that, I didn't find her even a little bit believable unless she was supposed to come across like an UnSub in the making.


I did enjoy the team moments of the show despite Morgan's atrocious behavior towards several of them, especially towards Garcia and Hotch. And watching JJ work her way through the bureaucratic nightmare to access the Emergency Broadcast System was bittersweet; they highlighted the importance and essential nature of her job several seasons too late. Yes, various members of the team would mention this from time to time. But we rarely actually saw it portrayed in the shows.


Which brings us to JJ's big moment in this episode--her broadcast to Flynn. I'm human. I thoroughly enjoyed the verbal ass-kicking she gave to Flynn. But at the same time I cringed at her blatant and highly public dismissal of the instructions Hotch gave her. Hotch told her what to say for a reason. To ignore it willfully like that put Ellie's life in danger. Yes, Flynn let Ellie go, but it could easily have ended differently. Hotch should have at the very least reprimanded her for her actions.

JJ's tirade brings up an important point, though; the very real consequences of our treatment of others.The "Prince of Darkness" only existed because of the abuse Billy Flynn sustained at the hands of his mother and her clients. That others have sustained the same level of abuse and not become sociopaths does not lessen the culpability of the abusers. If anything, it highlights the extraordinary strength and courage of those who manage not to continue the cycle of brutality and degradation.

The Unusuals & Southland: A Tale of Two Shows

Like many others, I was hooked from the first few minutes of The Unusuals. But at the same time I had this nagging feeling that my joy wouldn't last; not because the show was bound to disappoint, but rather that its network, ABC, would not have the patience to let its fandom grow. I had the strong sense that ABC had gotten spoiled with several instant mega-hits. Any new show that didn't immediately draw a following in the millions didn't stand a chance. And sure enough, just like the show it had replaced, The Unusuals never made it past its tenth show.

Now in the realm of entertainment, this is old news. So why am I bringing it up now? I am faced with the bizarre synchronicity of reveling in my recently acquired DVD of The Unusuals at the same time as I take my first plunge into the show, Southland. While completely different in most respects beyond the commonality of being cop shows, there is yet, at least for me, a similarity in feel between the two shows. I cannot pinpoint what this is, other than they hook me in the same way. But beyond this I am struck by the similarities in the shows' histories, and the glaring critical difference. Both are cop shows that aired on a broadcast network (The Unusuals--ABC; Southland--NBC) in April, 2009, both had a loyal following that was insufficient in numbers to keep their respective networks happy, and both shows wound up canceled. The vital difference? Southland was picked up by TNT. Its third season will be starting in January, 2011.

And now, as I am watching the first season of one show and the only season of the other, I can't help but wonder what might have been if The Unusuals had been picked up by a cable channel like TNT. Would I be enjoying or looking forward to its third season? It seems to me that TNT has greater patience for a growing show, greater willingness to let a show find its feet so that it might one day fly. Whether or not The Unusuals' quirkiness might have found a better fit on a cable network, we will now never know. Like many shows before and since, it exists only in the few episodes created before cancellation. And in our what might have beens.