If I am visiting Cali this summer, is it worth it to do a tour of a film studio? Which studio do you think is best to see if I only have time for one?

As a lover of film lots, yes I think it's worth seeing one while you're in town! I've gone on the tours for each studio that offers them, so I'll break it down a bit (actually I haven't done Sony's tour, but a friend has and I've been on the lot so I'll paraphrase). Continued below the cut...

1. NBC Universal: part of the theme park! You have to buy tickets to Universal Studios to access their studio tram tour. It gives a peek at the studio and some of the backlots, but it's a theme park attraction first and foremost. The trams seat hundreds of guests and the guides have heavily scripted material. Don't get me wrong, it's fun- but not the most genuine look at the workings of a film lot, if that's what you're after. If you want robotics and visual affects and water canons, this is for you.

Paramount: whatever Universal is, Paramount is almost the exact opposite. It's conducted on long, eight-person golf carts with one tour guide to a small group. They having talking points but no script, so they will talk to you and want you to talk back. It's much more history based than the others, but it is a much closer look at how a film lot actually operates. The tour doesn't follow a set route, and unless something is blocked off, those tour golf carts go pretty much anywhere. I think it's a much more realistic look at how the film industry operates than Universal's is, but it can therefore be a lot less exciting if it's a slow day on the lot or you're not into history.

Warner Bros: kind of a happy medium between the two! There are definitely some historical bits, but they also do a good job of showcasing their backlots (they have more than Paramount and you see more than Universal if they're open), as well as experiences from their bigger franchises i.e. the Friends couch or batmobiles. I think they strike the best balance of a real look at a film studio mixed with fan-oriented stops for their productions. It's held on a bigger trolley thing, so I think it seats about 20-25 guests to one tour guide. It's more personal than Universal but not as personal as Paramount. If you take this one, watch your head getting in and out of the trolley. The TV screens hang low. You don't want to be the guest who splits their brow in front of everyone... who would do that? 😬

Sony: this one is walking. It's a smaller studio lot than the others, so therefore less to see in terms of backlots or production spaces that are open to visit. I believe tours stop into some game show stages and a scoring stage, plus seeing some Breaking Bad props and set pieces. Okay, I actually don't have much to say about this one.

Overall, it depends on what you're into! Also take into account productions. If you loved Gilmore Girls, Warner Bros is fun. If you're a big Godfather fan, that's Paramount. It's all variable. If I'm recommending one at face value, I think Warner Bros does a good job of building a well-rounded tour.

Have fun in LA!

Im not sure if this is a question or an observation but what do you think they think of people who post invasive comments under pictures they share? Do they care?

Honestly? I don't think they care. Some, they might even laugh at. We know they read comments to an extent and when the same account(s) have been posting the same nonsensical stuff under their pictures for years, it's a safe bet they've seen it. I know there's a mentality in fandoms that we need to protect the actors, but they're grown adults. They know how to block people, limit comments, or delete comments if they wanted to. The fact that they haven't and don't probably means they don't really care. They likely see it and just ignore (and maybe laugh). It's smart.

Were you more into fire during the early seasons?

Absolutely. It's the first One Chicago show I watched and a (casual) friend of mine was working for them. I'd say my favor shifted to PD in season 5 (6 of Fire) when Monica left the franchise and Tracy came in.

i honestly feel like upstead and stellaride are the most popular chicago ships ever. maybe stellaride slightly more popular but they are both really popular

I'm not sure there's a way to calculate and measure this so exactly 😂

I said Dawsey because, back in the day, they were everywhere. Parts of Chicago Fire were built around Jesse and Monica, they did almost all the press, there were articles and featurettes, they had their own theme music written because their scenes were so integral to the show. I'm not saying Stellaride and Upstead aren't popular now, because they are. It's hard to compare since they never existed at the same time as the early season couples. Dawsey just feels like such a cornerstone of the franchise to me, so maybe that's why I gave them the edge.

I didn't begin pd until season 7 during lock downs. I am not very active in the fandom because ship wars ruined it. Were ship wars this bad when it was Linstead vs Burzek?

Uhhhh, I wasn't super active in online fandoms back then. Minimally so and only when things found me, not the other way around. I remember Linstead was pretty popular. Truthfully, I don't remember seeing much posted about Burzek. That's not to say there weren't people posting about them. That's just me saying I had limited exposure so I wasn't seeing it, and I can't really speak to your question. Sorry!

(if you're really curious, you can always deep dive comments on the old social media accounts 😂)

Who do you say is the most popular one chicago couple?

Ever? Dawsey.

CPD 9.03 || The One Next To Me

You watch women’s football loveee that

I try! I'll admit I've been really bad at keeping up with it lately. Angel City is my team so I check in and out, but I'm always in with the national team once the big tournaments come around.

I used to think I would play professionally when I was about 11 years old. That idea died quickly. I was on a good team in a good club for seven years of my adolescence but yeah... not that good 😂

What is your roman empire?

So, so much my friend.

Okay, I was on a jury for a murder trial when I was in my early 20s. The selection process took a while and (as expected) many people were coming up with any reason they could to be dismissed because it was clear it was going to take about a month to get through this trial. Some people had legit reasons. Sole caregiver of young children. Conflict of interests. That kind of stuff. On the third selection day, one lady stood up and pleaded with the judge, "I can't do this, it all makes me nervous and I have had explosive diarrhea for days over this". The word explosive was used. Anyway, the judge didn't deem that a good reason and she was selected, so she had to look us all in the eyes for weeks after that. I think about her a lot.

Either that or the guy I sat next to in a class during my senior year of high school who met a girl online. She flew out to meet him in person for the first time one weekend and he came back to school on Monday married.

I was wondering if there has been another TV show that has disappointed you as much (or more) than PD has? For me nothing even comes remotely close to the level of PD disappointment. There’s been shows I loved that I lost interest in the storyline or characters and stopped watching in later seasons (the flash and marvelous mrs maisel for example) but it’s totally different from why i stopped watching PD. Chicago PD was my favorite show and I got to a point of such hatred and frustration from the out of character writing (not disinterest like the other cases) that I had to stop watching. Never before have I watched a show where they completely rewrote/destroyed an entire character like that, very insulting to loyal viewers.

Ohhh, I don't think so. It's not that I'm more attached to PD per say because most of the show I could take or leave at this point, but it's that I'm more attached to Hailey and (in a less personal way) Jay. If they weren't there, I wouldn't still be watching to be disappointed like this.

I know I really didn't like the HIMYM finale, but that's something I laugh at more than anything. I used to be really into The Walking Dead, but I was able to drop it once it started disappointing me (not long after Glenn's death). Most shows go that way. When they start frustrating me, I just stop watching. PD is the standout because I care about my favorite characters more than those on other shows, which is why the writing decisions sting more in this case too.

To update: something spawned but it's an entirely new story. I like it so far but I wouldn't be able to post until after the finale so that's how things are going 😭

Hi! I'm currently rereading "All of my what ifs" for the umpteenth time, I love that fic so much 🥺🤍

If I remember correctly you said you're writing something new, how's that going? 🥰

Thank you!

You're correct in that I am working on one, but I'm kind of... stuck with it? I'd say it's about 70% written but I can't figure out what I want it to be. I can't decide if I want to stick with a one shot or make it two, where to really take the story, or if it's interesting at all. I've kind of stepped back to let it rest a bit, but that hasn't spawned any new ideas like it typically might. At this point, I'm not sure what will come of that one.

Hi! I'm currently rereading "All of my what ifs" for the umpteenth time, I love that fic so much 🥺🤍

If I remember correctly you said you're writing something new, how's that going? 🥰

Thank you!

You're correct in that I am working on one, but I'm kind of... stuck with it? I'd say it's about 70% written but I can't figure out what I want it to be. I can't decide if I want to stick with a one shot or make it two, where to really take the story, or if it's interesting at all. I've kind of stepped back to let it rest a bit, but that hasn't spawned any new ideas like it typically might. At this point, I'm not sure what will come of that one.

Genuine question for those who have watched all of season 11: was the shadowing/training thing Hailey did with the crisis response team in the premiere something that has carried on for the whole unit this season, or was that a plot device for the episode?

I might agree that bringing Antonio the character back seems like a dead end. He hasn't been a cop for five years and I don't know if he would be allowed back on the job. People say he could have stories about gaining Adam's trust back, being Kim's partner, or mentoring Torres but those aren't really stories about Antonio. He would just be used for other characters. He helped build the franchise, he deserves better than that.

I'll start by clarifying that just because I don't see stories left for Antonio doesn't mean they aren't there. I just don't see them, and truthfully I don't care enough to try to theorize.

As for his badge, would he get it back in the real world? Likely not. In a show? All they have to do is write it.

But I'll agree with you in that all of those scenarios with Adam, Kim, and Torres are about how he fits into their world. Maybe they could craft them in a way that's about Antonio too, but that's not taking into account centric episodes and the fact that this team doesn't really interact much. When I said what I did, I was looking at Antonio as an individual. What more is there to explore with him, his established family, etc? Not too much. They could explore an addiction storyline, but it's been years and they seemed to have introduced that with Petrovic (if she sticks around). They could revive his role as Voight's foil, but that's been played to death with him and Jay and they're clearly not looking to change Voight, so it has no resolution. Also they need to have Adam, Kim, and Kevin playing against Voight more. It doesn't work to have one "designated" person do that (be it Antonio, Jay, or later Hailey) and have everyone else just along for the ride. Okay, this got long.

If they bring Antonio back, I hope they're able to craft some good stories for him. My hope in this show is shot but that's fine because I won't be watching so it won't be my business 😂

Jon Seda is in Chicago doing ADR for a movie. The ADR stage is at Cinespace Studios. Most likely he ran into his old coworkers there and got invited to the party, that's all.

A very plausible explanation, indeed.

Does he not live in Chicago full time? I thought his family was pretty settled there. Regardless, yeah it's definitely possible he was just checking in and hanging out with the cast and crew.

I’m more concerned that Gwen’s one last laugh at us will be her bringing Antonio back while not bringing back Jay for Hailey’s exit.

I don't know, a similar thing crossed my mind but maybe in a different way?

If the show wants Antonio back and Jon is on board, great. I hope it works out for them. My initial concern is that Hailey's final episode would be about Antonio coming back more than it would be about her departure. We already don't have much of an exit storyline for her. My main concern is that Hailey's final episode is about her. About Jay too, if they want to make an effort to actually close off his story. I'm all for Antonio coming back if the pieces fall into place for season 12 (and maybe a quick scene in the finale to introduce the idea), but not at the expense of Hailey's (and for the love of God, Jay's) finale story.

X in a tizzy over Jon Seda being at the wrap party speculating he’s back, but can’t he just be there visiting his old coworkers, especially knowing a few are moving on? He helped start the franchise!

My take is 1) it's not really my concern. I'm seeing Hailey out and then I'm done. 2) it makes sense from a viewership standpoint to try and keep people watching. 3) I have no idea what else there is to write for Antonio. I liked his character and he deserved a better ending, but it did feel like they had pulled everything from his character that they could.

Either way, I believe Jon lives in Chicago so he could easily just be saying hi (or bye), but it really wouldn't surprise me to see him return.