jdunham3

Thought I would watch the first episode to see if I wanted to commit. Watched the whole seaon in one go...could not look away. Concept is so inventive and the execution was stellar. Cast was superb and I cannot wait to watch again to be able to catch more of the brilliant little Easter eggs and subtle humor.

I took my husband as a Valentine adventure to the IMAX in downtown Austin. My cynical nature had me prepared for unnecessary 3-D actions, but the naturalness the band used when interacting with the cameras was a testament to what consummate performers they are. I did find myself annoyed a few times with the waving arms and the people on the shoulders only because in my enraptured state I thought it was people in the theater.....duh. Glad I fought the urge to shout, "OY! Down in front!" The disclaimer from the theater staff at the beginning about the volume level they were required to play the film at made me nervous at first as I was afraid of having ringing ears the rest of the evening. It was concert loud but not too loud and it helped cover for the fact that I ended up singing along in my nasally off-key Midwestern tones and no one around me could hear it! I wished people in the theater had gotten the urge to jump up and dance and truly immerse themselves in the concert feel of it! I would have joined in, but was too scared to be the first and perhaps only one. I like to have fun, but loathe to be "that person" that gets discussed over dinner afterward. I had to laugh at the times I flinched when crowd action caught me off-guard. I was moved by the whole experience and it made me long for the days when I was young enough to brave festival seating. Only wish I had heard The Edge do "Numb"....maybe next 3-D Dfilm? In the meantime, going to play my Rattle and Hum and Zooropa DVDs to keep the buzz going....

Admittedly as a detester of beauty pageants and what I think they stand for, I tuned in hoping to see something interesting - plus I adore Michael Urie. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I came to like some of these girls and be moved by their stories. I was surprised at how bad I felt for the lack of self-esteem these beautiful and accomplished women had. It was very enjoyable to see them become not so perfect/plastic and be comfortable with being themselves. I have more respect for women who enter these contests, but it did not change my mind about allowing my daughter to watch the Miss America Pageant. She is only 7 and while Miss America and all that she does during her reign can be a role model to young girls, the process of judging them is distasteful to me and obviously has harmed some of these women emotionally. I do hope that the contestants never watch this show and hear the nasty remarks made by the advisers - being catty for a sound bite is petty and cheapened what I thought this show was supposed to be about.