TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, April 14, 2007

It's April 14th. Do you know where your taxes are? Mine are already done, but it seems we actually have until the 17th this year for procrastination fans. Monday is a holiday in D.C. and the 15th is a Sunday, thus the change in deadline.

Here on the East Coast, we'll have a nice day, albeit a bit chilly. But a nor'easter will arrive a bit out of season tomorrow bringing us torrential rain, high winds, and perhaps even a bit of snow. I'm about ten miles inland and not directly near small rivers (closest one is two blocks away), and I live in an upper floor of an apartment building. I'll run errands which need running today and plan for one of those days that I look out the window from my cozy apartment and say, "looks nasty out there."

Here are the TV Newsy Bits of the day:

• Celebrity Spider has a promotional peek at this week's Survivor 14: Fiji while Inside Pulse has an interview with castoff Lisi.
• The Globe and Mail has an interesting interview with Jeff Probst.
• An interview with the most recent castoff, Michelle, can be found here. A rather poorly-written transcription of her Early Show appearance is here.
• American Idol reject Haley Scarnato doesn't want to be remembered just for her skimpy clothing.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Ep, 9 -or- "Start anew, all target Boo."

Oh, the game is getting good. People are doing stupid things. People are in alliances, yet not. Lots of sneaky stuff and mistrust. I love it!

Ten are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

At the Ravu camp, Alex and Edgardo are mighty worried about the hidden Immunity Idol that Mookie is holding. They should be as Mookie's main interest is Mookie, not Edgardo and Alex. He told us in a confessional segment that he plans to use it to further himself. If it works out that it helps Edgardo and Alex, that's fine.

Although they hid the Idol find from Dreamz, the boys have a pact -- "the Four Horsemen." (Where have I heard that before? Yikes... Jase, Scott, Cowboy, and Drew on Big Brother 5!) They think the merge is coming soon and quickly decide that Boo has to be a target. I guess they think Earl isn't a threat? Silly boys.

We got a neat relaxing musical intro to the luxury Moto camp. Uh-oh. Tree mail brings news that they have to gather only their personal belongings -- no tools, no rewards, no flints -- and head to Exile Island. Over at Ravu, they got the same mail. Is the merge on or is it another trick up the Survivor sleeve?

Both tribes get to Exile and there's no Jeff, no sign of anything. They immediately head to about the only real "place" on the island, the tower. Sure enough, there's a chest with new purple buffs. The castaways have varying thoughts on the merge. Earl welcomes it, but he's leery. He wants to watch who's watching whom.

The newly-formed tribe was sent to the Moto camp. Mookie was thrilled as he's never seen the camp at all. Oh, but it wasn't the lap of luxury. The camp had been stripped of its worldly goods. All they found was the cave, a bit of fishing gear, one pot, one machete, and one flint. Earl got pretty excited. He had been at Ravu before, so he felt like he was "back home."

Mail told them that they would start anew, with a new name and new camp flag. They decided the name of the new tribe would be Bula Bula. Bula means "hello" in Fiji.

Not knowing the twist which would come their way, Stacy and Michelle were pretty confident that since it's now a game of individual immunity, the women would be safe. After all, the guys would pick each other off trying to eliminate the strongest targets.

Then the alliances and the not-so-alliances came to play. Earl thinks his group is good -- himself, Yau-Man, Cassandra, and Michelle. Can Cassandra flip Dreamz (even though Earl doesn't trust him)? Mookie and Dreamz know that although they're a part of the Four Horsemen, they're a bit on the outside of Alex and Edgardo's circle. But, as directed by the others, they talk and listen to the buzz from the other folks. Boo feels extremely targeted. He should as both of the larger groups seem to want him out first. Yau-Man trusts Earl, but no one else. No one seems to be targeting Yau-Man even though he was a powerhouse in the last challenge. He played it up well with Dreamz, though.

Alex truly believes the Four Horsemen are controlling the game. (With the way things turned out a bit later, maybe they are.) Then Mookie told Dreamz about the Idol. What's going through his mind? I think that he feels that, with the exception of the Idol find, he actually has more of a link to Dreamz than he does to Edgardo and Alex. Dreamz was ticked that he wasn't told before. Alex and Mookie told him it was the Cassandra connection and they were worried. But Dreamz rightfully thought it was that they didn't trust him. They don't.

When the other three "Horsemen" gathered without Dreamz, they lit into Mookie for telling him. Alex and Edgardo want to pull Stacy into their group to make it five strong, but Mookie is leery of her. He later spoke to Dreamz. Both know that Alex and Edgardo would choose her to be with them over Mookie and Dreamz when the numbers got low. The plan that Dreamz and Mookie wanted was Boo out first, then Stacy as she was a threat to them. Dreamz went on about how much he wanted her gone. Yeah, right.

The Immunity and Reward Challenge turned things about once again with a new twist. Jeff told the tribe that the merge did indeed go down, but... for this challenge teams had to pick colored stones from out of two bags (one for the men, one for the women). Then, with a reveal of stones, the tribe was split into two teams. The Orange Team had Boo, Earl, Yau-Man, Cassandra, and Edgardo. The Green Team had Alex, Michelle, Mookie, Stacy, and Dreamz.

Jeff told the teams that the winning team would win Immunity and Reward. The latter would be a feast of steak, vegetables, and wine. The losing team would face Tribal Council. There was a note he'd read after the challenge was finished.

The teams had to row out first to memorize the symbols and placement of designs on a turtle-puzzle, then to platforms with suspended bags of... you got it... puzzle pieces! They had to collect three bags, then row back to the shore. Once there two team members de-bagged the pieces and put the puzzle together.

The Orange Team (yay, Earl and Yau-Man!) won. That, of course, saved Boo's butt in the game. No one was more happy than was he. But there was another bit of a twist. The note Jeff had indicated that the losing team had to head immediately to Tribal Council. There would be no time for scheming, strategizing, or anything.

Sigh, but there sort of was. Jeff asked very leading questions which pretty much laid out the cards on who may vote for whom. He asked various folks what reason they'd have to vote out others by name. For example, he asked Alex what reason he'd have to vote off Stacy. "None." Michelle? "I don't know her." Mookie? "No reason to vote him out." Dreamz? "No reason to vote him out." Jeff asked everyone in turn about everyone else.

And, here's where the stupidity of Dreamz came to play. When Mookie voted, he voted for Stacy because she was on their list (no Boo to vote for). Now, Dreamz knows that he wants Stacy out, so what does he do? He votes to oust Michelle! Argh! Combined with Alex and Stacy's votes for Michelle, Michelle was voted out.

Where is this guy's mind?

A Few Quick Newsy Notes

These aren't necessarily television-related, per se. But I thought it important to mention them if folks wanted to discuss them.

• Writer Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday. I've always admired his work and feel I should give my regards on his passing. Although I had his brother, Bernard Vonnegut, as a professor for an atmospheric sciences course back in my college days, he certainly wasn't Kurt! A fantastic talent, rest in peace Mr. Vonnegut. Hi-ho.
• Don Imus was fired by both CBS radio and and CNBC, as he should be. I've never been an Imus fan and thought his comments not only racist and sexist, but just incredibly mean, too. Here they're a team of young women who should have been thrilled that they made Rutgers sports history and he had to say what he did. What would even make a thought like that come to mind in a situation when the girls did something so great? Good. He's fired.

Your thoughts?

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update 4/12 - Voted Off

Michelle was voted out. Stacy, Alex, and Dreamz voted for her to go while Mookie and Michelle voted for Stacy.

A full review/recap will be posted later tonight. Stop on back!

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update 4/12 - Merge/Immunity/Reward

The merge happened, but all ended up sent to the Moto camp where the campsite had been emptied.

In Immunity/Reward, the tribe was split into two teams. One team would win Immunity and Reward, the other would go to Tribal Council. The teams were picked with colored rocks in two bags - one for women, one for men.

The team of Earl, Yau-Man, Edgardo, Cassandra and Boo won Immunity and Reward (feast).

The team of Dreamz, Stacy, Alex, Mookie and Michelle will be heading immediately to Tribal Council with no time to strategize.

I'll post another update with the boot and a full review/recap later tonight.

"Lost' - "One of Us"

I knew it! I knew it! Once an Other, always an Other! And, most certainly, you definitely can never trust an Other. Not that I'm the sort of person who'd say, "I told you so."

But...

I told you so.

This episode was great for advancing the story. It was Juliet-centric and clued us in on at least some of the "experiments" on the island and why she was there.

In Flashbacks:
Juliet's story began where her last flashbacks ended in a previous episode. Juliet and her sister Rachel, the one whose pregnancy despite her cancer was due to Juliet's efforts, were headed to Mittelos BioScience where Juliet agreed to a six-month work contract. Of course, it was all mysterious and no sane person would go for it, but Juliet did. I find it interesting if you play with "Mittelos" you can get "lost time" or "time lost." A clue? Who knows?

After being told that she would be "there" for six months, Juliet asked where "there" was to no avail. They gave her a glass of orange juice and tranquilizers so she would sleep for the trip and all they'd tell her is that she was going to a special place unlike she's ever imagined.

She awoke in the submarine, bound because "the last leg is a bit rough." She went up the hatch, met Ben who told her that he'd be working with her.

What sort of work? Well, there's a problem on the island. Every woman who becomes pregnant dies. Since Juliet's expertise is in that area, we now know why they recruited her.

But Juliet wanted to give up. She couldn't save the lives of the pregnant women and, after so long (when she had been told six months), she wanted to go home. She was worried about her sister. Ben (remember, he likes mind games) told her that Rachel's cancer had returned. But if she stayed, Jacob could cure her. If she goes home, her sister would surely die.

After three years on the island, she was awakening with her boyfriend Goodwin. (Goodwin was a boyfriend, too? I thought Ben was!) Then she saw the x-ray of Ben's tumor and freaked. She went to Ben with it and he freaked, too. She referred to it as cancer. She confronted Ben with the fact that he said Jacob could cure Rachel's cancer. She accused him of lying to her. If they had the cure for cancer, why would Ben have or worry about cancer? She wanted to go home, but Ben told her Rachel was fine. No, she can't go home.

Then the flashbacks became like deja vu all over again. Juliet was once again playing Petula Clark's "Downtown" with the book club gathered in her living room. The plane crashed. Ethan was dispatched to play a crash survivor, etc.

Ben took Juliet to the Flame Station where Mikhail showed her images on the screen of a very live Rachel with her toddler, Julian. A newspaper was shown to reflect the date of September 22, 2004 -- thus proving it was current. Mikhail was studying the plane crash and Ben was hoping there would be a pregnant woman on the plane to further their experiments. "I'm not a liar," Ben said.

The last part of the flashback sequences was almost current news. Ben and Juliet planned it all. Well, more specifically, they planned that they would leave Juliet behind, the handcuffed to Kate bit, and Juliet would infiltrate the crash survivors. See! I told you! I don't trust them! Although the ending of the flashback won't make sense without what's happening on the island in this episode... she activated the implant in Claire. Evil, I say! Ben also told her he'd see her in a week.

On the Island:
Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Juliet were still heading to the beach camp after they left the Barracks. When they made camp, Kate went with Jack to get wood. He told her he trusts Juliet. He also told her of his deal with Ben. Meanwhile, that left Sayid and Juliet together. Sayid told her he wants to know everything. "Who are you?" Juliet told him that if she told him, he'd kill her. Then Jack interrupted their talk claiming that Juliet was under his protection.

Back at the beach camp, Claire wasn't feeling well. She even slept through Aaron's crying, so Charlie volunteered to take the baby so she could rest. Then, as if by magic, the three (Sayid, Jack, and Kate) arrived at the camp. All was hunky-dory with Kate and Sawyer hugging like there was no tomorrow and folks tickled pink to see Jack again.

Until, that is, Juliet arrived. Sawyer flipped out. Juliet pretty much exiled herself away from the crowd. When Hurley sat to talk to her, he mentioned that she was one of "them" but wasn't on the dock when he and others were accosted. She told him that happened to be her day off.

Sayid, Sawyer, and most of the camp held a meeting because of their concern about Juliet. Unlike gullible (and very annoying) Jack, they don't trust her at all. They don't think it's enough that Jack trusts her. Good thinking, folks! They also talked about Locke going with the Others. They have no idea what he's doing or why.

At the meeting, Claire took a turn for the worse, vomiting blood. Jack tried to help her, but Juliet asked Kate to bring him over to her. When questioned why, she said, "I think I did it to her." She wanted to retrieve some serum placed by Ethan.

As she got it, Sayid and Sawyer snagged her. She told them a convoluted story about Ethan getting blood samples, the pregnancy bit, Claire was a "control case" and more. She also claimed that Ethan kidnapped Claire on his own -- nothing to do with her. But, without the injections of serum, she would die. "I can fix this."

She also told them that she doesn't understand how they became the "moral police." She brought up that Sayid never told the other crash victims the extent of his torture days, nor did James (Sawyer) tell about killing a man before getting on the plane. They looked stunned. She told them to skip the righteousness -- she needed to get the serum to Claire or there would be more blood on their hands. Wow, Juliet. I've gotta say, she is good!

After returning to the camp, Jack told Juliet that if the serum didn't work he couldn't protect her anymore. Oh, but of course it worked. Heck, we know it was a plan and Jack's a doofus to believe Juliet. Jack gave her supplies and pointed out an area for her to set up camp a bit away from the others.

"You want to get off the island as much as we do. You're one of us," Jack told Juliet.

LOST [clunk]

Now, I think the plan to save Claire is definitely a ploy to gain trust for Juliet. But I wonder about Sun's pregnancy. She obviously hasn't died. Juliet had told Ben that she thought whatever was killing the women happened at conception. Does this mean that Sun's baby is her dead lover's from previous to the flight?

And, what is that darn Locke up to?

Oh... and why the hell is Jack so gullible and trusting?

What is going to happen in a week when Ben sees Juliet again?

'American Idol 6' - 4/11 Results Show - East Coast Update

At this point (9:25 PM EDT), there have been performances and lots of stuff, but no results.

Stop on back as I'll be posting the news as it airs here on the East Coast.

Update:
Three with the lowest number of votes:
Phil Stacey
Haley Scarnato
Chris Richardson

Safe:
LaKisha Jones
Jordin Sparks
Melinda Doolittle
Blake Lewis
Sanjaya Malakar

UPDATE:
Chris is now safe. Bottom two, Haley and Phil.

FINAL RESULTS UPDATE:
Over 35 million votes, Haley Scarnato is history and Phil is safe.

'The Bachelor' Blog Discussion Entry Updated

As per the request of blog readers/commenters, I've updated The Bachelor blog discussion meet-up entry to reflect the current season. I'm still not watching the show, but blog readers sure are! If you wish to discuss the current happenings, stop on by the entry -- it's a good group of folks in there.

Yes, I still have it tied in with Nip/Tuck, but now the image and link reflect the latest. And, as readers asked me to do, I've removed about 70 older comments about The Bachelor: Rome so that folks need not wade through them to get to the latest.

Enjoy!

'American Idol 6' - The Final Eight Go Latino... Kind Of, Sort Of

Oh, my gosh. Put a bunch of young non-Latinos singing to a Latin beat and Sanjaya comes up smelling like a rose out of Spanish Harlem?

Yikes.

Coached by Jennifer Lopez, the contestants had the chance to turn the beat around this week. And, for the most part, they reminded me of Billy Crystal doing the "white man's overbite" in When Harry Met Sally.

Melinda Doolittle was first up on the stage. In my opinion, her voice itself is impeccable, even incredible. She sang "Sway" by Pablo Beltran Ruiz. On key, professional, but it just didn't grasp me the way I know she can. The judges seemed to feel the same was as I did to some extent. Technically, it was very well done. Randy said it was a solid performance. Paula called it "smooth, subtle, and sexy." Simon didn't care for it much. He said it was lounge, cabaret, lazy, and wooden.

LaKisha Jones sang Gloria Estefan's "Conga." Again, she did fine. She hit the notes, she even danced to the beat. But, it wasn't a LaKisha bring-down-the-house kind of performance. Randy thought it was hot and she had a good time. Paula thought it was a safe performance. Simon agreed with Paula. I agree with the both of them.

Chris Richardson sang a song I actually own and enjoy -- "Smooth" by Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas. I wasn't impressed at all. I think he was a bit less nasal-sounding this week and it was a good performance for him. But if I heard his version of the song first, I never would have bought it. But the judges disagreed with me. Randy thought he did a good job, very cool. Paula thought it was a hot performance and sexy. Simon preferred it to the first two as it wasn't
"cabaret."

Then it was Haley Scarnato's turn. Yipes. Can her skirt get any shorter? And what's with that little sexy kick she keeps doing? She sang "Turn the Beat Around" by Gloria Estefan. I think she flirted more than sang it, but that may just be me. She's bugging me more each week. If her sex appeal to the guys doesn't rock the vote this week, she's a goner tomorrow night. Randy said the performance was karaoke. Paula said it was a fun song. (Say what?) Simon said her tactic is to wear the least amount of clothes. (Spot on!) Haley gave Simon the evil eye, but I agree with him.

Next up was Phil Stacey, wearing a hat this week. He doesn't creep me out as much when he wears a hat, but I wasn't in love with the performance, either. He sang "Maria, Maria" by Carlos Santana and The Product G&B. I think he, for the most part, sang it okay -- his voice cracked a bit twice. But I also think it's a boring song for a show like this. I personally would rate his performance better than Chris Richardson as he shows he can have a real voice where as Chris seems to be a nasal "package" of a pop singer. Randy said it lacked passion and he didn't quite connect with the song. Paula said it was a good vocal. Simon said it was a good song choice, but lifeless and his voice cracked. I say we'll see Phil in the bottom rankings again this week and he may go home.

Jordin "Can't Go Wrong" Sparks sang Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You." Are we sure she's only seventeen? Really? She has such a professional stage presence that belies her years. She also looked very pretty tonight -- I think I prefer the straighter hair look for her. Oh? Did she sing well? Why, yes she did! Although I'd be more likely to actually buy something like a Melinda Doolittle CD of old classics, I'm leaning more towards Jordin winning this each week. Randy said she had the "yo factor." Paula said she was adorable and had a great time. Simon wasn't stunned. He mentioned the lack of progression tonight (and I think he may have meant overall, not just Jordin).

Blake Lewis sang "I Need to Know" by Marc Anthony. That's a song I sort of enjoy, but Blake didn't rock my world with it this week. He did okay and I certainly think he's still the best of the remaining guys. If any of the guys make it in the final four, it should be him. But it wasn't my favorite performance of his this week. Randy said it was a good song choice and hot. Paula said it was an excellent choice. Simon called it the best song choice and best performance of the evening. Okay, they liked it more than I did. He's safe, anyway.

Then there was Sanjaya Malakar, the kid who couldn't get words in English straight actually sang in Spanish. Now, my Spanish isn't good enough to know if he screwed up lyrics. But if he did, he recovered without skipping a beat. He sang "Besame Mucho" by Consuelo Velazquez. I think it was his personal best so far this season and may have been one of the more believable and better performances of the night. Shoot me now. Randy called him the smartest contestant and said it was really good. Paula said it was nice. Simon said it wasn't horrible.

Tomorrow night's results show has been expanded to an hour. As usual, I'll be posting East Coast Spoilers on this blog as the show airs here in the NYC area.

Was it just me not moved tonight? Can I get a witness?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, April 9, 2007

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday weekend although it certainly feels more like a winter holiday in many areas! It was cold and snow squalls here, but the snow just came down fast and furious without sticking to the ground.

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:

• Buddy TV has an interview with Uchenna and Joyce, the latest team eliminated from The Amazing Race 11: All Stars. What I found interesting is that they did have to do the Detour and Roadblock -- it just wasn't shown. They ended up 10 hours behind the last team and spoke highly of Dustin and Kandice.
• Finale dates have been announced for The Amazing Race 11: All Stars (Sunday, May 6) - an hour-long show and Survivor 14: Fiji (Sunday, May 13) - a two-hour finale followed by the reunion show. Crunching the numbers, it looks like Survivor will go for three finalists once again this season.
• The current ratings for American Idol are down 10%, Could it be the Sanjaya Universe?
• It seems that The Black Donnellys has been canceled. There are still five or six (dependent on what articles you read) un-aired episodes and rumors have it that they may end up being available on the NBC website. According to the article I linked here, other shows in danger include: Jericho and Friday Night Lights. The article provides addresses to write to in support of those shows. Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, and Brothers & Sisters have been renewed for another season.

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - 4/08

The candidates were split into teams of two. Two were fired -- Heidi and Christine.

I can't believe Frank is still in the running.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 9 -or- "Those dirty, dirty hookers..."

Although some interesting events happened during this leg of the race, I found my attention wandering a bit. Perhaps it's because there were no thrilling challenges. Perhaps it's because I so want Mirna gone.

Oh, yeah, Charla can stay, but Mirna has to go. I'll admit that it looked like Mirna either behaved better or was edited to seem like she wasn't as rude this week.

Five teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

The teams were still in Krakow, Poland, where we last left them. That's probably a good thing. After all, we don't want them sneaking off to Tahiti when we're not looking, right? Because of the Fast Forward intermingled with the Intersection, Oswald/Danny and Joyce/Uchenna shared the first place early start time of 9:48 PM. The last team, Danielle and Eric, left at 3:22 AM. So we no longer have the sixteen-hour gap between first and last.

The lead time didn't make a huge difference as the teams had to arrange for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There were no flights until morning, so the teams tried different approaches to obtaining tickets from online to at the airport. Mirna and Charla hogged the two computers at the hotel thus irking Danielle and Eric. Oh, well.

Uchenna and Joyce took a huge chance on the flight which would arrive the earliest if (and it's a big if) they could make a tight connection in Frankfurt, Germany. Charla and Mirna managed to get tickets on a flight before that one while the other three teams ended up on a flight which stopped in Paris.

Well, Uchenna and Joyce's flight was indeed delayed and they missed their connection in Frankfort. Then we didn't see them again until near the end of the show. So, it became a race of four teams for the most part of the show, two teams I especially don't care much for -- Charla/Mirna and Eric/Danielle. I don't like the former mainly due to Mirna and the fake accents both go into when talking to folks from other countries. As for Eric and Danielle, I think he's a jerk and treats her very poorly. He's a misogynist, too. Blech.

At least I have Oswald and Danny and the Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) whom I'm finding more tolerable this season. Thankfully, they haven't crashed a car and saddled another team with it.

Once in Malaysia, the teams had to take a combination of buses and trains to get to the Batu Caves. The hitch was that they had to figure the best and quickest combination of the specified transport to get there. Yawn. However, once there, the Batu Caves were really an interesting place. I only wish they had gone up inside of them instead of just up the stairs to one.

The clue at the caves had teams taking a taxi to the Kampung Baru Jamek Mosque where they faced a Detour. They could choose between Artistic Expression or Cookie Confessional. In Artistic Expression, teams would have to use hand-iron sized stamps to stamp designs on a long banner of cloth, then dye it to match specifications. In Cookie Confessional, somewhere within 600 boxes of cookies, there was a cookie with a black licorice filled center. The key was finding it.

The clue for the Detour also contained a Yield, one of two this season. While Charla and Mirna chose not to use it, the second team through -- Dustin and Kandice -- did. They tossed around the idea of Yielding Danny and Oswald, but decided to Yield Eric and Danielle. Uh-oh... how to make friends and influence people, eh?

Charla and Mirna were leading the race when they decided to do the cookies. Not a good choice, I must say. It cost them time as Dustin and Kandice chose to do the Artistic Expression, not an easy task but those needle-in-a-haystack challenges have sunk many a team during the history of the show. (Who was it with the actual hay in rolls some seasons ago way past dark?)

Oswald and Danny chose to eat the cookies, then chose not to eat the cookies, then ate more cookies, then went off to be Artistic. And they had a spat, too. But their tempers were tame compared to when Eric and Danielle saw they had been Yielded!

"Those dirty, dirty hookers!," said Eric pre-commercial and repeated post-commercial for effect.

The Artistic Expression challenge was tricky. Charla couldn't reach high enough to do the stamping. Oswald and Danny didn't get the number of stamped prints right and they had to do it all over again.

Meanwhile, Eric and Danielle waited out their 30-minute Yield time like sand through the hourglass. They fussed, they vowed revenge on the Evil Beauty Queens. Actually, I think that it may have been a wiser choice to Yield Oswald and Danny although I'm glad they went for Eric and Danielle instead.

Once freed from the hourglass, Eric and Danielle chose the cookie task. Of course, with all the boxes that Charla/Mirna and the ChaChas had gone through, there weren't 600 boxes left. But it was still a formidable task. Danielle actually found the cookie! Now, that was sheer luck and it kept them in the game.

Oh, but it was pretty obvious that all four teams were still in the game because the fifth team had gone missing long ago and would remain missing through the next clue -- the Roadblock.

This Roadblock was as un-thrilling as a Roadblock could ever get. What happened to skydiving? Bungee-jumping? Wrasslin' alligators? One member of each team had to ride a bicycle with an attached platform to collect a stack of newspapers from the nearby neighborhood. The stack had to be eight hands high. (Stifle those yawns.) About the only interesting bits during this challenge were that Mirna actually had to do a challenge and Danielle pointed out that Eric's a woman. She did, too! She said it because she always ends up with the physical tasks.

The arrival order at the Pit Stop was:

1. Dustin and Kandice - Each won a retro-scooter (moped).
   
2. Charla and Mirna
3. Eric and Danielle, despite the Yield.
4. Oswald and Danny.

Hey, weren't there five teams at the start of the show? Why, yes, there were five teams. Uchenna and Joyce arrived late into the night. They followed the clue to the Batu Caves. But then, instead of the clue the others followed, their clue directed them right to the Pit Stop. Once there, they got the bad news from Phil.

Their elimination will make a lot of Rob/Amber fans happy. But there are folks like me out here, too. While I didn't care much for Rob or Amber on Survivor, I enjoyed them as a team on The Amazing Race. And, I liked Uchenna and Joyce, as well.

Mirna and Schmirna must go away!

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' East Coast Update 4/08 - Pit Stop and Philimination

The Pit Stop arrival order:

1. Dustin and Kandice - Each won a retro-scooter
2. Charla and Mirna
3. Eric and Danielle (although Yielded by Dustin and Kandice)
4. Oswald and Danny
5. Uchenna and Joyce - Philiminated

A full review/recap will be posted later. Stop on back!

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' About to Start

The show is about to start here in the NYC area. By 9 PM EDT, I'll have an East Coast Update with the Pit Stop arrival order and philimination. Later this evening, I'll post a full review/recap.

Pretty Kitty Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - April 9-13, 2007

It's Dave's birthday this week. If memory serves, it's the 12th. Happy birthday, Mr. Letterman!

And, we have a week of new shows... yay!

The guests scheduled for this week include:

• Monday, April 9: Senator Barack Obama and actress Halle Barry. Um. Okay.
• Tuesday, April 10: Actor David Duchovny, baseball player Ryan Howard and a performance by Andrew Bird.
• Wednesday, April 11: Actor Alec Baldwin and the woman whose dog performed the Heimlich Maneuver on her, Debbie Parkhurst. Musical guest is LCD Soundsystem.
• Thursday, April 12: Actor Bruce Willis (always fun on the show) and magician Jason Randal.
• Friday, April 13: Odd... the show's website says that Bill Cosby and Angela Kinsey (The Office) will be the guests, nothing about a repeat. AOL TV Listings has a generic entry about the show with no guests listed and no "new" logo. I'm thinking it's a repeat, but I'm not sure.

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, April 7, 2007

Is anyone out there watching Raines? I caught the show last night and even though I'm not really all that into the "ghost genre" in TV shows as of late, I found it quirky and fun. I'll be checking it out again.

On Thursday night I watched the second season opener of The Wire on BET (10 PM). I'm a bit disappointed that the network went from 90 minutes to 60 minutes with the show. I know they had added airing time to air more (annoying) commercials, but now I can't help but wonder what bits of the show may be cut. Sigh... one of these days when it's in my budget, I guess I'll have to spring for the DVD of the show.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Celebrity Spider has mild spoilers for the next episode of Survivor 14: Fiji. No boot news, but it sounds like it's going to be interesting!
• RNO (Reality News Online) has transcribed recent Survivor castaway Lisi's appearance on The Early Show. What's interesting is that she contradicts some of what she said in an interview with RNO. Dang, she's still fickle, eh? I'm so glad she got the boot.
• It will be a Latin-themed week this week on American Idol as Jennifer Lopez coaches the contestants. Maybe Sanjaya will do the macarena? Eek.
• Celebrity Spider (great site that it is) has a blurb about the next Lost episode. Who comes down with a life-threatening disease?
• Reality TV World has an interview with Blakeney Rowe about her brief experience on The Bachelor.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Ep. 8 -or- "You're all losers! Why are you sending me home?"

Oh, there were some cool happenings in tonight's episode!

Let's see... last week we got rid of Rocky, someone who annoyed me to no end. The only other ones on the show who really irk me are Lisi and Dreamz. Will my own dreamz come true tonight?

Eleven are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

The show opened at the Ravu Camp on Day 20. As Dreamz and Lisi slept in the daytime sun, Edgardo, Alex, and Mookie were following the Exile Island hidden Immunity Idol clues that Lisi had given Edgardo and Alex. They were digging quietly, but Mookie could barely stifle his whoop when he found the matching turtle to the one Yau-Man found at the Moto Camp.

With lots of shushing, the three tribe-mates checked out the Idol nearby the camp. They decided they wouldn't tell Lisi they found it as Edgardo thought she was "unstable." Similar to the Earl/Yau-Man agreement, they decide that it will be used if any one of the three needs it.

But, in confessional, Mookie tells us he found it and it's in his pocket. He may not be as willing to share as his buddies think he is. He knows that coming from the original Ravu, he's outnumbered. Actually, I think he's wise to think he has first rights to its use.

Mookie returned to the area where he found the Idol and was trying to hide the evidence of digging. Lisi awakened and asked him if he was digging for the Idol and he admitted he was. "You have to wake up pretty early to fool an old cat like me," Lisi told us. Mookie offered to help her dig around for the Idol. Oh, I'd call that fooled, wouldn't you?

When tree mail (wicker basket mail) was checked at the Moto Camp, it told them they were to be coached on a traditional Fijian dance. One member would have to sit out. Yau-Man said he has no rhythm and I believe him, so he sat out.

At the Reward Challenge, both tribes were dressed in native garb, make-up and all. I guess maybe it's more war paint than make-up. The tribes had to dance the dance taught to them being judged by three Fijians on three separate criteria -- appearance, authenticity, and spirit.

Lisi seemed to take the whole thing as a joke when her tribe practiced, but it looked like Moto was really pulling together and getting in the spirit of things. And, that effort showed in the performance.

I'm no Fijian war dance judge and I could see a clear difference between the performances. Earl was magnificent and all of Moto danced in unison as if they had been doing the dance for years. Meanwhile, Ravu was out of step and just didn't have the It Factor. (Oh, wait... wrong show.) The judges thought both tribes did well in appearance and spirit, but Moto was a clear winner for authenticity.

Moto won a Fijian feast with chicken, pork, and fish as well as the company of locals. They sang, danced and had a good time all around. Poor Lisi (heh) was chosen by Moto to go to Exile Island once again. She moped, fussed, whined, and cried. Oh, no... she wants to quit again!

Day 21 brought about an early morning meeting with Earl and Michelle. They're close and Earl tends to think of her as his spy. Michelle has her own agenda, though. She wants to push for Stacy to leave as she thinks that she and Stacy are pretty much carbon copies of each other. She feels she would be stronger on her own. Earl was thinking Boo would be more of a problem than Stacy, but Michelle convinced him otherwise.

I liked the Immunity Challenge... perhaps because Yau-Man strutted his stuff. The challenge was in three rounds -- a blow dart, then spear, then bow and arrow. Each tribe member went in turn trying to make the closest mark to the bulls-eye on their target.

The first round was worth one point for the winner, the second two points, and the third three points. If there was a tie, there would be a sudden-death round.

Now, here's where Yau-Man proved his worth. While Edgardo had told us in confessional that he was proficient at archery, Yau-Man just studied the the scene. He found the straightest arrow. He thought of the trajectory of the arrow and placed himself accordingly. He was the only one who thought to get a running start for more power for the spear-throw. He's the Man!

Once again, Moto wins Immunity! Before the tribes split up, I hated when Moto won all the time. But now that my two favorite players are on the tribe (Yau-Man and Earl), winning is a good thing. Gee, too bad there's no Rocky to have a fit about the loss.

Wait! There's Lisi to have a fit. She told us in a confessional that her tribe-mates are all losers. She told them she wanted to quit. She told them they were losers. She's surrounded by losers, y'know. Well, guess what? I think she's the losiest loser on the tribe. Yeah, I know that losiest isn't a word, but I'm coining it just for Lisi.

Dreamz thinks all is perfect as Lisi asked to be voted off. But then Lisi changed her mind once again while talking to Alex. I can't believe how this woman flip-flops. She thought she could get Alex and Edgardo to vote out Dreamz, but she was too fickle too much. As Edgardo said, she's unstable.

At Tribal Council, they all voted for her to go. They had enough. Dreamz had one vote for him to leave, coming from Lisi. You just can't cry wolf, let them know you're weak, Lisi. And, Lisi... you're a loser. Your tribe-mates have the Idol you should have found because you blabbed the clues. It's your own darn fault you got the boot. And you have the nerve to be bitter about them?

There. Now I feel better. Sweet Dreamz, Lisi.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 04/05 - Voted Off

Lisi is the 8th person voted out and the second member of the jury.

A full review/recap will be posted later tonight. Stop on back -- I'd love to read your take on the show!

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 04/05 - Immunity

Yau-Man, Moto won Immunity again!

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 04/05 - Reward Challenge

Moto won Reward - a Fijian feast with singing. They sent Lisi to Exile Island. She will return in time for the Immunity Challenge.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 04/05 - 2nd Hidden Idol Found

Mookie, Alex and Edgardo, using Lisi's clues dug for the Ravu camp hidden Idol while Dreamz and Lisi slept. Mookie found it and all three are keeping it a secret.

Stay tuned for more East Coast Updates and a full review/recap will be posted late tonight!

'Lost' - "Left Behind"

We seem to be in a fluff/not fluff episode pattern as this winter/spring season goes on. Last week's episode, while a bit disturbing at the end, really didn't advance the actual story much at all. This week the story advanced, we learned a few more things, and a few new questions arose.

That's Lost for you.

Last night's episode was Kate-centric and we learned a bit more about her background.

In Flashbacks:
Kate's in Iowa where her car has broken down. She introduced herself to the tow truck driver as Lucy. Once they arrived at the service station, the owner was about to call the police on a woman selling jewelry as he suspected a scam. Lo and behold, that woman was none other than Cassidy. You remember her, right? She's the woman who fell for Sawyer, became pregnant, and he took off with all her money.

Kate saved Cassidy from the cops being called when she claimed to know jewelry, then quickly bought a necklace and declared the goods the real thing. As the two women were left along, Kate told Cassidy she wanted her money back. Cassidy knew from instinct that Kate didn't just do her a good deed for nothing; Kate did herself a good deed. Kate didn't want the police to see her.

Kate admitted to Cassidy that she had killed her stepfather and was in Iowa to talk to her mother. She wanted to know why her mother turned her in to the police and knew the feds were watching. Cassidy told Kate her story -- how she was pregnant by a man she loved who stole her life savings.

Sure enough, when Cassidy dressed as Kate, U.S. Marshals immediately surrounded her. Kate told Cassidy that her stepfather beat her mother and that she (Kate) blew up the house with him inside after taking an insurance policy on the dwelling. She just had to know why her mother betrayed her. After all, she's her daughter and did it all for her.

In the diner where Kate's mother worked, Cassidy accidentally spilled a dish on the mom so that she would go into the ladies room where Kate was waiting. Kate asked her why and her mother would only say, "I loved him. You burned him alive. You did it for you. You did it for yourself." She told Kate she wouldn't tell the two men who are in the diner watching for her, but she never wanted to see her again.

As Cassidy and Kate split up, Kate wanted to know the name of the man who did Cassidy wrong. Cassidy didn't tell her even though Kate offered to go after him. Of course, it would have been interesting if Kate had learned exactly who Cassidy's man was, eh?

On the Island:
Kate's still handcuffed in the billiards room of the Others. Locke came it to say goodbye to her. He told her he was leaving with the Others and Jack would stay behind. When Kate asked if he was going home, he told her he didn't want to go home. And, he added that she could never come with them. They told him all about her, who she is and what she had done. There was no forgiveness. He left and Juliet arrived to deliver a sandwich. Kate tried to attack her, but Juliet's one tough cookie... she knocked her to the floor.

After getting up Kate saw the Others, including John Locke, rapidly packing and then putting on gas masks. Gas masks? Wham! A cannister of gas is thrown into her room.

She awoke outside in a field handcuffed to Juliet. Yes, you heard me right. As she tried to get a knife from Juliet's pocket, Juliet awoke. Neither knew what had happened and Juliet was unaware that the Others went away (and left her behind) until Kate told her.

As they discussed heading back, Juliet told Kate that Ben plays mind games with people -- it's his thing. A violent thunderstorm approached, so they took cover. Juliet told Kate that Jack had told her not to come back for him and, by doing so, she had ruined his chance to get off the island.

The somewhat mechanical stomping noises started as the monster, perhaps not exactly the smoke monster, went after them. So they ran and hid some more.

Juliet told Kate she wasn't aware of that monster. She also dislocated her shoulder for the fourth time. Since Kate was still going on about Jack, Juliet told her that Jack saw her with Sawyer on the monitors. It broke his heart. Juliet went on to say that Kate doesn't even know Jack, but she knows everything about him.

Then it was time for the smoke monster to chase them. They headed to the Barracks, but Kate stopped at the barrier fence. Juliet told her the fence had been deactivated, but Kate was leery

All of a sudden, Juliet magically had handcuff keys, unlocked her cuff, and headed to a power box on the fencepost. She got Kate through, then activated the fence. She said the smoke monster couldn't go through it, and she was indeed right.

When Kate questioned her about having the key all along, Juliet told her that she handcuffed herself to her because she had been left behind. She thought if they were stuck together, they may possibly overcome the past and she wouldn't be left behind by them, too.

They went on to rescue Sayid and Jack, also left behind by the Others. Kate went for Jack and cried about him not needing her help and how she screwed up things for him. She told him the Others had left without him. "Even Juliet?" "No, they left her behind, too."

"Now what?" "Now we go back."

Island Fluff Stuff:
Hurley, the devious rotund fellow he is, came up with a scheme to encourage Sawyer to be a nicer person. He told him that the folks on the island were planning to hold a vote to banish him (Sawyer) as he created so many problems. Sawyer fell for it and ran around being nice to Claire and Aaron, apologized to Hurley for calling him rotund, tried to gut a fish he caught on his own, went hunting with Desmond, killed a wild boar, threw a picnic... and so forth.

He found out it was all a hoax thanks to Charlie. "You tricked me into being decent!," he shouted at Hurley. Hurley told him that he was the best choice for the next leader as Jack, Locke, and Sayid were all gone. Sawyer said he didn't want to be a leader. Hurley pointed out Jack never wanted to be a leader, either.

And that was what happened. Now, it seems that the two monsters are definitely different. The first sounded mechanical and sort of stomped. The second was the actual smoke monster. Juliet knew the barrier fence would repel the smoke monster. What else does she know?

Will the survivors of Flight 815 believe that Juliet was really abandoned by her comrades? Where did they all go? And, what's Locke's position with them? All in all, a good episode! What did you think?

'American Idol 6' East Coast Update - April 4, 2007

Three groups of three.

Sanjaya, Chris, Blake - Middle Three
Phil, Haley, Gina - Bottom Three
Melinda, LaKisha, Jordin - Top Three

Return to this post as I'll update as the show unfolds.

UPDATE: Tony Bennett has the flu, so Michael Buble is performing in his place.

UPDATE AGAIN: Phil is safe.

GOING HOME TONIGHT: Gina Glocksen

Yes, I'm Still Watching 'The Black Donnellys'

Blog reader TBC asked if I was still doing The Black Donnellys.

Although I haven't taken on the show as a full blogging endeavor, I am still watching it each week. I'm hooked, but it's more of a time element (another 10 PM show which is fine to watch, but would keep me up too late to write up as I have to get up early for work) thing than anything else which keeps me from writing about it on a regular basis.

I'm intrigued by the main storyline of the show, but a few things are bugging me about it. How can either the bar or Jenny's diner make any money when they never have customers? Now, remember, I know the real bar used for the show. It has a solid business and its upstairs rocks with live bands. The show bar may or may not get a jukebox. Skip that, just get some customers! And, the deposits that Jenny's ill father made in the mailbox instead of the night deposit couldn't add up to $13,000 in a year because... there never are any customers in the diner!

Also, I found an article on Jonathan Tucker, Tommy Donnelly on the show, in his hometown (Boston) news. His overacting on the show is beginning to bug me a bit and, according to the article, he seems to have this thing about acting in movies rather than television. So, he thinks he's all that, eh? Well, I'm kind of tired of his facial expressions. He's beginning to remind me of David Caruso -- posing for effect. I did find it interesting that he's a ballet dancer. (Tucker, not Caruso.) And, that scar on his chin? A motorcycle accident a couple of years ago and 62 stitches. Yikes.

But, yeah. I'm watching.

Welcome to the Sanjaya Universe... As If!

Tonight I'll post East Coast Updates on the results of the voting on American Idol as it airs here in the NYC area. We all seem resigned that the Reign of Sanjaya Malakar will continue on for at least a few more weeks.

Just what is it that he's got? Well, he certainly has attention. He has the Fanjayas, the support of shock jock Howard Stern and Vote for the Worst. He's got rhythm. Oh, wait... he has no rhythm. I've seen him dance. Last night when Simon tried a different tactic and just said, "Incredible!" -- Sanjaya's comment to him was "Welcome to the Sanjaya Universe." Whoa, a bit cocky for a kid who was so shy and polite at his audition, huh?

I believe we've created a monster.

According to the AOL American Idol Poll, which called the Chris Sligh boot last week (as did I when I feared we'd lose him), Sanjaya is Number Two in the polls this week. What? Only Number Two? Oh, don't tell us that means he'll try harder (to annoy us) next week! Their latest is a bottom three of Phil, Gina, and LaKisha this week. Hmmm... I think that Haley is going to be in there. At least, she should be. Oh, d'oh! If Sanjaya is Number Two, then Haley's legs and cleavage probably are getting big voting numbers, too. Silly me! At least the Number One is spot on with my own tastes -- Melinda Doolittle.

AOL also has a rather tongue-in-cheek tribute to Sanjaya with their photo page Top Reasons We Love Sanjaya. You can tell they don't have me editing the photos!

Fan sites have sprung up all over the place and girls have gone wild. Some men, too, I would think. I'd say we live in scary times, but then I think back to Leif Garrett and "Greg Brady" singing as "Johnny Bravo" on The Brady Bunch. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Remember, the results show airs here tonight starting at 9 PM EDT. As they make vital announcements, I'll be posting them here on the blog and updating the entry as the show goes on. It's only a half-hour show, so the boot will be posted by 9:30 PM EDT. Who are your bottom three?

'American Idol 6' - The Top Nine Sing the Classics

Tony Bennett likes all of the contestants. Tony Bennett even admires Sanjaya.

Uh-oh.

While some of the contestants I perceive as the weaker amongst powerhouses performed well tonight, I feel this is still a powerhouse race. It's also a girl-fueled powerhouse race, I think. The girls out in the lead would be Melinda, Jordin, and LaKisha. I think the only guy at this point with any chance of getting near the finals at all would be Blake. That is if the voters actually stop voting for Sanjaya!

Blake Lewis chose "Mack the Knife," a song which really hit for Bobby Darin. For me, no one will ever be able to out-do his version. But I thought it was a good choice for Blake. Tony gave him some advice I don't think he heeded too much -- it's a song about killing and such. I found Blake's version interesting, but he seemed to come across a bit too soft.

The judges were wowed, though. Randy thinks he's funky jazzy cool. Paula called him a hepcat. Simon thought the song choice was good and that he sang well, but judged the band better than Blake. So did I. The band was hot!

Phil Stacey was up next with a Frank Sinatra hit, "Night and Day." It didn't move me. Phil doesn't move me even though Tony Bennett thinks his voice is so fantastic. It was a dull rendition and he ain't no young Sinatra. Randy thought there was no connection, no passion, and he came across as disconnected. Paula thought he was reminiscent of a young Frank Sinatra which got a look of shock from Simon. Simon called it "reminiscent of a funeral parlor, gloomy, dark, no life." Simon called it right.

Melinda Doolittle sang "I've Got Rhythm." Once again, I'm awed by her. An excellent performance and tremendous vocals. Randy said she could give the other contestants a lesson in singing. Paula said she was "master class" and flawless. Simon said the problem is they can't criticize her (because there's nothing to criticize). Of course, he's crestfallen at the missed opportunities.

Chris Richardson chose Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." I still think his voice is too nasal-sounding and he doesn't thrill me at all. But, that said, I think this may have been a personal best for his run on the show. I wasn't as impressed with his performance as the judges, but he did well for him.

Looking at this photo I took, he's reminding me of Lee Harvey Oswald. Oh, my. That's not a good thing. It was better when he reminded me of Justin Timberlake. Hopefully it's just the hat of the era and that particular facial expression. Randy thought it was his personal best of the season. Paula said he has artistic integrity. Simon thought it was very good and one of the strongest performances so far of the evening. Say what?

Then Jordin Sparks hit the stage. Like Melinda and LaKisha, she's one who wows me. At seventeen, she has the performance skills of someone who's been singing to audiences for years. She sang "On a Clear Day." She was once again, simply delightful. Randy thought she was hot. Paula called her a "magnet of joy" -- whatever that may mean.

Gina Glocksen chose Charlie Chaplin's song, "Smile." I'm not a big Gina fan, but I thought she really looked pretty tonight and performed very well. I think the song choice showed she can sing songs besides hard rock. I don't think she's up there with my top three women, but I was pleasantly surprised by her this evening.

Randy thought she nicely-controlled her voice. Paula said "flawless" once again. Simon told her that Melinda and Jordin out-sang her. Well, they always will. They're better at singing and performing. But Gina did well tonight.

And, then there's Sanjaya Malakar. I'm just sort of speechless. Tony Bennett thinks he's interesting, terrific, dares to be different, and can sing. Um, okay. He's different and he's certainly a lot more brave each performance. He chose to sing "Cheek to Cheek." He played all the girls in the audience and whirled around Paula (who I noticed was shoved to dance by Simon and Randy).

Oh, I just had to edit his photo a smidgen. I don't know what came over me. Randy said he was an entertainer. Paula thought he was charming. Simon said he was going to go for a different tactic this week... "incredible!"

Haley Scarnato, dressed in an extremely revealing low-cut skin-tight green dress (can't wow them with the singing talent, go for the sex appeal), sang "Ain't Misbehavin'." Okay, she can go away. It was like she vamped the whole song. The judges commented on her looks rather than her singing. And, as we all know, this is a singing contest.

LaKisha Jones was the last performer, singing "Stormy Weather." With her voice and that particular song, she couldn't go wrong. And, once again, she didn't. I haven't cared too much for her song choices the past few weeks, so I totally understood when Simon said she was back on form. Randy loved it and said it was "the bomb." Paula said she looked gorgeous and Simon also said she was sassy and delivered a great performance. She did.

I think Haley and Phil are in deep doo-doo this week and one of them will go home. We all know Sanjaya should go, but probably won't. Who do you think will be voted out tomorrow night?

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Well, you know me. Of course, at 8 PM ET I'll be watching American Idol. This week's pro/mentor is Tony Bennett. Whenever I think about that, I wonder if the kids on the show or following it even have a clue why Tony Bennett is "anyone." I could burst into song... "I left my heart in San Francisco..." After the show, I'll post an entry with the lowdown of the events.

I know many folks are into Dancing With the Stars. The results show airs at 9 PM ET tonight. You're all invited to head to the blog discussion post for DWTS, post the results and talk it up with fellow show fans. It's a real good bunch of fans there and the posting is friendly!

At 8 PM ET/PT: CBS has a new NCIS episode. There's a new Dateline NBC (guess what network). American Idol is the new live show for an hour on FOX. ABC has a repeat episode of George Lopez followed by a repeat According to Jim. CW has a repeat Gilmore Girls.

At 9 PM ET/PT: CBS has a new episode of The Unit. I'll be watching a new episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC. FOX is airing a new episode of House. The Dancing With the Stars results show is on ABC. The CW has a new Pussycat Dolls episode.

At 10 PM ET/PT: There's a repeat C.S.I.: Miami on CBS, a new Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (my viewing choice) on NBC, and a new Boston Legal on ABC.

What will you be watching tonight?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, April 2, 2007

Just a reminder - if you wish to talk about Dancing With the Stars with a cordial group of folks, there is a blog discussion entry for the show.


In other TV News Bits:

• Buddy TV has an exclusive interview with Joe and Bill, Team Guido, eliminated on last night's The Amazing Race 11: All Stars.
• Reality News Online has an interview with America's Next Top Model's Diana.
• TVGuide.com has an interesting interview with ousted American Idol finalist, Chris Sligh.

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - 04/01

Arrow lost and Tim got fired.
That's all I have to say. ;-)

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Legs 7 and 8 -or- "One Really Long Show"

Now, this should be Episode 7, but I think it's both Episode 7 and 8. Yes, it was two, two, two episodes in one. It wasn't a to-be-continued bit; it was actually two separate legs of the race. If memory serves, it was the first time I've seen them do this with the exception of season premieres or finales.

We last left the teams in Zanzibar with a sixteen-hour difference between the first place (Charla and Mirna) and last place team (Joe and Bill).

For their own probably nefarious reasons, Charla and Mirna waited for Danny and Oswald, then shared a cab with them. Poor Danny and Oswald, eh? The teams had to fly to Warsaw, Poland. This time, so unlike the last leg, the show had back-up flight tickets set for the teams although they could buy other tickets if they found earlier flights.

The teams had plenty of time to try to get tickets through a travel agent and we once again saw how rude and off-putting Charla and Mirna can be under stress. I have no clue why, but Danny and Oswald just let them speak for them. Yikes! The travel agent looked very offended and it certainly didn't help them win friends and influence people. Mirna went as far as saying she was having a heart attack. And, of course, this was with the silly fake accents all along! Argh!

Dustin and Kandice (Beauty Queens) got on the first flight out while Uchenna and Joyce lucked out on a second flight. Charla/Mirna and the ChaChas were on a flight together. Eric and Danielle and Team Guido were together and missed their connection, so the last got further behind. Danielle fussed she wanted to quit and go home and a Guido exploded in fury. Oh, not at Danielle -- at watching the flight they just missed leave the tarmac. Eric thinks that Joe and Bill are just Nervous Nellies. There's an expression I haven't heard in years!

Once in Warsaw, teams had to find the Czapski Palace where a musician would be playing Chopin on a grand piano. The clue received there led to a Detour -- Perfect Pitch or Perfect Angle. (No, not Perfect Angel as Joyce called it.) In Perfect Pitch, a nod to Frederic Chopin, teams had to tune an off-key string on a grand piano to the satisfaction of a pianist. In Perfect Angle, a nod to Marie Curie, teams had to select a mannequin, lug it to an x-ray lab place, then find a clue within it by placing it at the "perfect angle." Most of the teams went for Perfect Pitch and it seemed that Uchenna and Joyce may have been the best at the task.

The best part of this part of the Poland leg for me was the fact that, for some reason, no locals would talk to or help Mirna and Charla! Yes, they were obnoxious. I know that. But it was as if the folks on the street were psychic or something! Their fake accents and desperate actions must have turned them off, I guess. Seeing as the locals were willing to speak to other teams, it had to be their behavior. Heh. I loved it! At one point it looked like Mirna was giving up. Oh, I so wish she did. But, alas.

The clue after the Detour directed teams to the Pit Stop where the last team may be eliminated. Teams were still arriving to the country as the lead teams arrived at the Pit Stop and embarked on the next leg. Here's the order of arrival at the first Pit Stop on tonight's show:

1. Dustin and Kandice - Won a trip to Puerto Rico
2. Danny and Oswald
3. Uchenna and Joyce
4. Charla and Mirna
5. Eric and Danielle
6. Joe and Bill - Non-elimination leg, but they are "marked for elimination." If they don't arrive in first place on the next leg, they will have a 30-minute penalty.

The next leg jumped right into motion as teams took charter buses set by arrival times to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. As I watched the reactions of the teams passing through, my own eyes welled up with tears. It put things in perspective.

I saw each team relate to the horror of mans' inhumanity to man each in their own way. Both of the gay men teams were thankful they live in a time when they can be themselves. Oswald, born in communist Cuba, is grateful to be where he can be free. Uchenna and Joyce drew parallels to slavery. Mirna thought of the slaughter of Armenians by the Turks. Heck, even Eric and Danielle were somber. I thought this was one of the most touching moments I've ever seen on the show.

Ah, but there was still a race to be run. Teams had to take a taxi to the Slowacki Theater in Krakow. And, what was there? Why, it's an Intersection! I forgot they were introduced last season and wasn't expecting one. In an Intersection, two teams have to team up together to go for the next clue.

The first two teams at the Intersection were Uchenna and Joyce and the ChaChas. They really lucked out. Not only did they team up together first -- no one seemed to want to be with Charla and Mirna although I think the ChaChas would have endured them -- but they had the chance to go for the Fast Forward. If they completed the Fast Forward, they could skip the remaining clues and head directly to the Pit Stop. So, they did.

The FF had them climbing two separate towers, counting stairs as they went. They decided since they knew the Beauty Queens were stuck for hours at the Intersection awaiting the lagging teams, they'd do the whole thing together instead of splitting up and sharing results. They did just fine and the teams shared first place.

Back at the Intersection, Dustin and Kandice had wanted to team up with Joe and Bill, but it was Mirna and Charla who arrived first. They hid from them for a while, but decided they had to get on with the race and teamed up with them. That left Joe/Bill and Eric/Danielle teaming up.

Those teams had to be together for the Detour -- Eat It Up or Roll It Out. In Eat It Up, teams had to make a 3-inch sausage link, then each eat a 2-foot kielbasa sausage. An odd note about that is that I had kielbasa, cabbage, and onions tonight prior to the show. No, I didn't have two feet of kielbasa, though! In Roll It Up, teams had to make 20 bagels and deliver them.

The girls automatically headed to Eat It Up with Charla hesitating. She didn't think she could do it. The other group actually went for the Roll It Out, but got incredibly lost and finally went for the kielbasa after the girls were well into the task. Although I don't care for sickening food challenges, it was a hoot when Eric said, "May I introduce Miss California?" right as Dustin vomited.

Once the Detour was done, the teams were on their own once again. And, next up was a Roadblock. "Who wants to be a knight in shining armor?" One member of each team had to don a full suit of armor and lead a horse for a distance. Oh, poor Charla! She looked very unusual in her armor, kept going in circles with her horse, kept falling over...! It was funny, but it was sort of sad, too.

In the end at the second Pit Stop in Poland, here was the order of arrival:

1. Uchenna/Joyce and Oswald/Danny - Only one trip for two to St. Lucia was given and the ChaChas insisted Uchenna and Joyce get it.
2. No second place due to the first place FF Intersection tie.
3. Dustin and Kandice
4. Charla and Mirna
5. Joe and Bill, but their 30-minute penalty allowed Eric and Danielle to arrive and take 5th.
6. Joe and Bill -- Philiminated.

All in all, I really liked this episode. Although they were actually in Poland for two legs, a lot went on. I'm still cheering on my boys Oswald and Danny. Of the teams remaining, Uchenna/Joyce or Dustin/Kandice would be my second or third choices. My least favorite is still Mirna and Charla. I'm glad folks were rude to them. I know. I'm mean, aren't I? But, they could team up with Sanjaya on American Idol and Rocky on Survivor 14: Fiji in my book.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - East Coast Update # 2 - 4/01

In the second leg of tonight's show, the Pit Stop arrival was:

1. Uchenna/Joyce AND Oswald/Danny due to an Intersection and Fast Forward. Only one trip for two was given to St. Lucia. Oswald and Danny said Uchenna and Joyce get it.
2. No one
3. Dustin and Kandice
4. Charla and Mirna
5. Joe and Bill, but replaced by Eric and Danielle due to their arrival within the 30-minute marked for elimination penalty.
6. Joe and Bill - Philiminated

A full report should be posted later, check on back!

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - East Coast Update - 4/01

The teams have made it through one Pit Stop in Warsaw in this order:

1. Dustin and Kandice
2. Oswald and Danny
3. Uchenna and Joyce
4. Charla and Mirna
5. Eric and Danielle
6. Joe and Bill - Non-elimination leg, still in the race but marked for elimination.

Dustin and Kandice had already started leg 8 before the last two teams arrived. The show continues...

TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, April 1, 2007

In huge television news, I'm talking huge news here... tonight's Amazing Race 11: All Stars will be airing on time here in the NYC viewing area! For the first time in weeks, there aren't any sports and all is running as per the schedule. It's a two-hour episode slated to start at 8 PM EDT. I'll blog East Coast Updates as events air here and a full review/recap should be posted late tonight.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Former WCBS 2 news anchor then reporter Reid Lamberty can now be seen anchoring FOX 5 Weekend News. I guess that's the cornfield for many. There have still been no Roz Abrams sightings. The Gothamist found a source which hints that Maurice DuBois might be wished to the cornfield and replaced with Chris Wragge on the early news show. And, long time a-coming... Sue Simmons has finally left the WNBC 5 PM broadcast. Now if she would leave the 6 and 11! I like her as much as as I do Roz Abrams. That's not saying much. Hey, who needs local news when you have such great drama?
• Is American Idol's Sanjaya being supported only by the Fanjayas? Or, is there a more evil plot in the works? Check out the skinny on the Howard Stern angle and VoteForTheWorst.com in this AOL article. Thanks, DLA for the heads up!
• AOL's American Idol feature page also has some very cool things like exit interviews with those voted off and, if you check under the recaps tab... you'll even see this blog listed under Best of the Web (scroll all the way down on the left). You don't need to be an AOL Member to access any of the content there.
• The lone woman on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, Shauntay Henderson, was caught last night just prior to America's Most Wanted's featured segment on her. The show still has a good record. I never know any of the people, though. That, of course, can be looked upon as a good thing indeed.

What? Prior Pants Again? - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - April 2-6, 2007

Yep, it's a week of repeats ahead of us on the Late Show with David Letterman. Now, I don't know why he didn't just take his vacation during the March Madness time when he was preempted more than a few nights of the week.

My normal gripe about the repeats still stands -- the shows chosen are much too recent. But, does Dave ever listen to me? Does he care that I'd love to see shows a few years old during repeats? Um, for some reason I doubt I'm high on his list of advisors.

Here's the skinny on the week ahead:

• Monday, April 2: Stupid Human Tricks, Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac), Brand New (CD is The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me).
• Tuesday, April 3: Ventriloquist Jim Barber & Seville, Sienna Miller (Factory Girl), NAS (CD is Hip Hop is Dead).
• Wednesday, April 4: Paula Abdul (American Idol), Bernie Mac promoting Pride, Joss Stone (new CD is Introducing Joss Stone).
• Thursday, April 5: John Travolta (Wild Hogs), shark attack survivor Eric Nerhus, a performance by Broadway's Spring Awakening cast.
• Friday, April 6: Richard Gere promoting The Hoax, an odd and creepy food segment with Gene Rurka, the Explorers Club Chef. Music guest is Aqualung (CD is Memory Man).

Dang, I swear a few of these just showed a couple of weeks ago! Older stuff; I want old repeats if I get repeats! Do you hear me, Mr. Letterman?

Probably not. At least I know I'll get more rest this week by going to bed a bit earlier.