TV Newsy Bits, Bloggy Stuff, and Tonight's 'Survivor' Blogging Plans

Sometimes I just take photos of odd things. I liked the symmetry of the windows and mismatched gravel piles at this urban warehouse.

Once again this week, I'll be putting up a Survivor 15: China East Coast Update post for tonight's episode. That post will be updated as important events air here in the NYC area and comments are surely welcome! Later this evening my full review of the episode will be posted at TV Squad.

I'd like to extend belated birthday greetings to blog reader and commenter ORKMommy! I hope it was a great day full of family, love, calories, and gifts!

Also -- welcome back from Vegas, Nana in the NW. No, you better not tell us. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. ;-)

On a sadder note, my condolences go out to blog reader and commenter MEB on the loss of her best friend. Hang in there.

In TV Newsy Bits:

• A personal reminder to me and any fans of the show -- Law and Order: Criminal Intent is now on USA at 10 PM on Thursdays.
• In NYC News -- Although Chuck Scarborough isn't my favorite anchorman, I'm kind of getting into watching the local news at 7 PM on WNBC. I don't care all that much for all of the celebrity gossip shows at that hour and if I work late, the timing is good.
• The My Name is Earl folks have a new video online called Respect the Meat. It doesn't want to embed properly here, but you can check it out there.
• Don't forget to stop by the Grey's Anatomy blog discussion post if you watch that one!
  

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007

True, it's another not-TV photo, but when I see a cat four stories off the ground, I have to do it. How he gets up there, I don't know. This cat and his feline friend sleep on the fire escape of one building during the colder weather -- taking in the morning sun. They seem to be local feral cats who come and go at will. I think they must get up there from the back of the buildings somehow. Maybe they fly up there -- Cats in Capes!

On another note, heavy thunderstorms kept me offline most of yesterday evening. We needed the rain and the cooler temps, but I'd rather these storms happen in the overnight hours, please.

In the real TV Newsy Bits --

• My Kid Nation review for TV Squad should be up soon.
• I don't watch the show, but ... Wayne Newton got the boot on Dancing With the Stars? I thought his fans would keep him in until much closer to the end of the show. I must also mention that these folks who should be aging normally are frightening me these days.
• Another show I don't watch, but I know many of you do, is Project Runway. I found this NY Post article about it and thought there might be some interest here.
• TVGuide.com has yet another interview with Leslie Nease, recently ousted from China on Survivor.
• And... yikes! Did you hear about all of the doctors, nurses and other personnel fired or suspended in the George Clooney motorcycle accident brouhaha? Although Clooney has gone on record saying that he thinks the punishment is a bit severe, I think the hospital is right in their actions. I know I wouldn't want people releasing my private health information out and about to the press. Okay, I know the press wouldn't care about me. But it's the principle of the thing!
  

'Heroes' - "Kindred"

Oh, my. Sylar is back. Kinda sorta back, that is. Here's the skinny on tonight's show ... please fill in any blanks I might have missed!

Peter Petrelli (Cork, Ireland)

Peter's still at the devices of the iPod thugs. In order to receive the silver box with his personal belongings (including his identity), he has to help the thugs and the beautiful sister Kaitlyn (which I might be spelling wrong) rob the proceeds of soccer betting from Pinky's Sportsbook. He doesn't want to help them, but doesn't really have much choice in the matter. As they were talking about the theft, Peter used Parkman's mind-reading powers and found out one thug planned on stealing all the money from the rest. They didn't believe him, silly thugs.

Kaitlyn promised to have his back and pointed out that she had told the others nothing about his powers. So, the robbery went down. It would have been messy, but Peter's powers saved the gig for the thieves. Oh, but when they returned with the proceeds, sure enough ... the one thug tried to rob the rest. Peter went all Sylar on his butt, had him up on the wall and was virtually choking him when Kaitlyn stopped him with a look.

Then it got corny as the brother gave Peter the box, but now he's happy with who he is and where he is (seeds planted by Kaitlyn) and kisses her. Aw, right. He doesn't open the box. She gave him a tattoo, but it vanished.

Claire and West (California)

In class, West again brought up regeneration in the guise of talking about a lizard girl who regenerates. This, of course, is due to his Peeping Tom at her cutting off her toe and it regrowing almost immediately. She ran out of the classroom, he followed.

As he kept at her about being herself, she finally broke down and yelled that she was special and he can go ahead and tell the world ... and ruin her life.

In a case of show me yours and I'll show you mine, he took her flying. And then they kissed. That was a bit schmaltzy until she noticed the two marks on his shoulder. He told her that he lost a day a few years back when he lived in St. Louis. He remembers a man staring at him like he was an animal, then woke up the next day.

Although he doesn't know what happened to him, he'll never forget the man with the horn-rimmed glasses. (Cue organ music here.)

Maya and Alejandro (Mexico)

I guess we're just going to see these two keep getting in trouble or captured, her using her bleeding-eyes power to kill the captors, Alejandro curing her by holding her hands and shaking a lot. This time Alejandro got put in jail after being caught trying to break in a car, then it happened as expected. A prisoner Maya-eyed and brought back went with them offering his car. There was a brief close-up of a sticker on the bumper, but the only part I caught was "coil" -- did anyone get the whole thing?

Hiro and Kensei (1671 Japan) and Ando (present day Japan)

Poor Ando. He's really lost without Hiro, playing video games at work instead of working. He goes to the sword in the drawer as he thinks of his friend. Lo and behold ... since Hiro is in the past, he can send Ando updates about what he's doing in the form of little scrolls hidden inside the Kensei sword.

But, what is Hiro doing? He's still working on Takezo Kensei trying to shape him up into the legend he's supposed to be.

Hiro tired to convince Kensei that he has powers, too. Kensei decided he was the devil. When Hiro showed him a brief smattering of his own time and space continuum powers, Kensei wanted to use his powers for gaining wealth for himself. No, no, no!

Hiro swooped up Kensei, forcing him to use his powers by facing 90 angry Ronin to retrieve the fire scroll from some sort of temple. He abandoned him there figuring he'd do what he had to.

As Hiro and the beautiful swordsmith's daugher talked, she mentioned how Kensei seemed to be two different people ... and how the cherry blossoms bit was so gentle and special. Then Kensei returned, scroll in hand.
Poor Hiro. He thought his work there was done and he also fleetingly felt love, but the swordsmith's daughter was meant to be with Kensei, not Hiro.

Kensei seems to have gone all nicey-nice, and worthy of legend. As he and the swordsmith's daughter walked through the cherry trees, the blossoms floated through the air. All of a sudden, Hiro decided he must stay longer in that time.

Micah, Niki, and D.L.

They're back! Well, D.L. is but a gravestone, but Micah and Niki were in this episode. She's leaving him with an older woman relative in New Orleans (why does that woman look so familiar?). He can't show his powers and Niki said she would return for him after she was cured.

Then she turned up at The Company's new office turning herself into Mohinder's new boss for treatment. Cure, huh? The new boss told her he would only need one thing from her in return for curing her. He didn't say what the one thing was. Run, Micah, run!

Sylar and Candace/Michelle

Candace, the illusionist, is calling herself Michelle now. She's been assigned to help Sylar heal from his Kirby Plaza sword impalement. She's made the illusion that they're in Maui, but it's all just an illusion. She also made the illusion that his wounds look healed, but they're not.

He demands reality and finds himself in a bunker triage kind of place alone with Candace... er, Michelle. He's hooked up to IVs and really in bad shape.

Nonetheless, he decides to do his Sylar bit on her, stealing her powers. It doesn't really work. She's dead (maybe) and fat, he seems to be in agony with no powers in the middle of nowhere.

Mohinder's New NYC Office and Mr. Bennet (CA)

Mohinder's returned to NYC, visiting Parkman and Molly. He told them his new office was going to be in town which didn't thrill Parkman too much, but hey. Where the new Company office is turned out to be the kicker -- Isaac Mendez ex-studio!

So now Mohinder is going to be under the watchful eye of The Company. The Haitian could have been a mistake, but it seems like it cast suspicion upon him. When Mohinder was left alone for the boss to meet Niki, he looked at stored canvases. He found the one marked 8/8 -- the last of the set. Uh-oh. He called Mr. Bennet to report his findings. A dead man wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

Run, Noah Bennet, run!

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, Oct. 8, 2007

Oh, I know this isn't a television image. It's a gas station I walk by on the way to the train each morning. They have a brand new spiffy lighted sign. Unfortunately, they offer break service (on both sides of the sign) as well as wheel alingment. If your wheels need to be alinged, it may be a symptom of a more serious problem. Tomorrow I may have to go in and set myself down in a chair in their office to have my break service.

I'll be watching and reporting on Heroes later tonight -- so, if you're a show fan, stop back!

Here are some other TV Newsy Bits of interest:

• Buddy TV has an exclusive interview with Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski. I personally watched one Chuck, but like the hour of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory better.
• I found a very lengthy interview with recent Survivor castoff Leslie on the Fans of Reality TV website. Interesting read, but l-o-n-g.
  
• The DIY network has Burt Reynolds and car contest a'going on. According the the information I received -- "Celebrity Rides: Burt Builds a Bandit features the star and a top team of experts who lovingly restore the vehicles. Five great episodes of Celebrity Rides: Burt Builds a Bandit will air on Friday nights at 10 pm Eastern/ 9 Central, starting October 19.
  
  You don’t have to sit on the sidelines watching this amazing machine, you can win a Limited Edition Burt Reynolds Trans Am! Submit a video to Heavy.com telling Burt and his co-judges why you deserve the car. That’s right – you have to impress the man himself with your video.
  The deadline for submissions is November 30, so get a move on it.
  The winner will be announced on the series finale (December 14) and the winning video may be aired then too!"
  
  The video below will clue you in on the rules.
  

• Blog reader Sydney found an interesting interview with Jessica from Big Brother 8. Yay, Sydney!

TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, October 7, 2007

I want autumn. I want crisp cool nights, low humidity, and warm (not hot) days.

Make it happen before the snow is upon us, please. I've been resisting the urge to turn on the air conditioner here because it just seems so incongruous to even think of using it during what I consider the best weather times of the year. But I'll admit to running my fan.

In TV Newsy Bits:

TV Land is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Leave it to Beaver with a huge marathon all weekend. Now, of course I don't remember the show from when I was a toddler, but it was one of the earliest shows I can remember watching by the time I was five or so. Beaver, The Mickey Mouse Club (I had a child crush on Cubby and loved Spin and Marty), The Twilight Zone, Ed Sullivan, and the Lone Ranger were the TV mainstays of my really early childhood days. Alas, my mother never wore pearls around the house and my father, though he always sported a Ward Cleaver haircut, only wore a tie for social occasions. The Cleavers we were not.

Although I don't watch The Bachelor, a local contestant was ousted by the show this past week. So, of course, the local news is full of her. This Reality TV World interview shows she really wanted to win. I just don't get it. Perhaps because I'm an avowed spoiled single person, I just can't think people actually go on a show like The Bachelor for love. For money, for fame, but love?

I was looking over Evel Dick's (BB8) MySpace page. I'm not on the list of people he wants to meet. I'm so crushed.

Not.

Memories of a Meerkat - 'Meerkat Manor' - RIP Flower

I love Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet, but I hate it sometimes, too. I realize that they film the meerkats as they live out their lives and they won't interfere, but it's still hard when something happens to one of these critters.

We've lost Shakespeare and many others, but this was the toughest loss of all.

Flower, the matriarch of the meerkat family, was bitten by a cobra and died this past February although the news was just released this week. As a regular viewer of the show I became quite attached to this leader of the Whiskers -- I can only think that she was truly exceptional when it comes to meerkats and I'm very saddened by her passing.

Animal Planet has set up a website as a memoriam. It's amazing how many people have been touched by a single meerkat in the Kalahari Desert. If you have a chance to visit, the videos are definitely worth your time.

Goodbye, Flower. Rest in peace.

TV Squad: Survivor Review, Kid Nation and More!

My review of tonight's Survivor China episode is up over at TV Squad. You can also check out my review of last night's Kid Nation, plus I wrote an article about foreign actors and actresses getting work on shows here using American accents.

Hey ... wasn't tonight Grey's Anatomy? It seems quiet!

'Survivor 15: China' - East Coast Update - 10/04 Show

Keep tuned here (and join in with your comments!) as this post will be updated as events occur on the East Coast!

Rewards Challenge -- Thanks to the women, Zhan Hu won their first challenge. Reward was comforts including a kerosene lantern, kerosene, blankets, and a tarp. They kidnapped Leslie.

Immunity Challenge -- Zhan Hu won, despite spoilers to the contrary! It will be Fei Long going to its first Tribal Council.

Leslie was voted out. Courtney and Leslie voted for Jean-Robert to go, the rest voted for Leslie -- 6-2. Todd and Courtney seemed very reluctant to vote for her to leave, but did.

Tonight's 'Survivor 15: China' Blogging

I'll be putting up an East Coast Update post which will be updated with important events (Immunity, the boot) as the show airs here in the NYC area. Later on this evening, a full review will be posted over on TV Squad. I'll post that link when I have it.

Please feel free to stop by the updates post and share your thoughts on the show!

TV Newsy Bits - Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Well, this is interesting as I'm both a Law and Order: SVU watcher as well as a Lost fan ...

I just finished watching tonight's new SVU and the guest star creepy dude was played by actor Keven Tighe. Now, Kevin Tighe also played John Locke's father in Lost. Guess what? Both characters on both shows used the name Cooper and it wasn't the real name of the character in both instances. Weird, I say!

I think I might watch too much television. I thought of Amber from Big Brother 8 yesterday. Scary. Here's what happened ... I got off my train and took the elevator up to the ground level from the tunnel. I shared the elevator with both a black man and a Latino man. When we got up to the ground level, there was a group of Orthodox Jewish men with flowers and candles. They let the black and Latino men pass by, then stopped me.

"Are you Jewish?" they asked.

Huh? I immediately thought of Amber -- my nose! My name! I wondered why they didn't stop the black man to ask him! Although I wondered if I would get a free candle or flower if I said I was, I told them no. Then I saw the Sukkah-Mobile in the parking lot. It had the canvas walls, but the times they are a'changing. It was kind of cool, though. I've seen sukkot on streets, but never one built on the back of a pick-up truck. Happy Sukkot!

In television viewing, I watched Cavemen tonight. Never again. I actually enjoyed the show following it -- Carpooling. But I don't think it's worth sitting through Cavemen to get there. I'll stick with Bones, thank you.

An article I wrote yesterday for TV Squad was published today. It's about bizarre reality television shows including Celebrity Shark Bait out of the UK.

'Heroes' - "Lizards"

Yes! I'm so glad this show is back on! I need me my Heroes fix each week! The only bad thing about the show is that there's so much going on during each episode and so many intertwining storylines that it's hard to keep up with every bit.

HIRO

My favorite hero, Hiro, once again had the most giggles from me tonight. He's still in 1671 Japan trying to make the legend of Takezo Kensei come true.

When the "real" impostor of a hero swordsman got too drunk, Hiro donned his armor and used his powers to fight off the attackers and to save the fair maiden -- the swordsmith's beautiful daughter.

In the end, he returned to Kensei and apparently taught him the error of his ways as he could have said fair maiden. Hiro tried to secure the promise that he wouldn't drink anymore, but Kensei wouldn't quite go that far. But when Kensei decided to do right, he ended up getting shot by arrows ... and miraculously recovered. Hmmm...

MAYA AND ALEJANDRO

These new characters are still trying to get to America and we saw more of Maya's powers.

They stopped over at a home where a woman named Nidia was going to send others with them to make it from Guatemala to Mexico. While there, the woman saw something "black" and evil inside of Maya and called her the devil.

As they went through a tunnel, Maya panicked when separated from Alejandro. Her eyes began dripping blood and she seemingly killed the woman who was escorting her. Yikes! But then we found out that Alejandro can make it stop and also seems to be able to reverse the effect if he gets there soon enough. The "dead" woman recovered, called Maya the devil and ran away. Um, okay.

THE BENNETS (BUTLERS) IN CALIFORNIA

Claire is still having trouble assimilating in school. Her class is studying lizards and regeneration which perks her interest. She asks a few too many questions making her teacher think she's just a very interested student, but definitely catching the attention of West -- a fellow student with special powers.

When her car gets stolen, she stops by the Copy Kingdom, her father's new workplace. While there, she kept pushing him because she wants to know her limits. "Perhaps I can help people with my powers!" Noah told her that the folks after them would push her limits until she had no limits left and they must keep it all a secret.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bennet insists they have no secrets. So, Noah shows her Isaac's work that he has. He told her that Isaac painted the future and that it was a set of eight -- he needed seven more.

By the end of the episode, she cuts off her toe to see if it will regenerate. And, it does. Oh, but who's peeking in the window at her? West! She ran outside with Mr. Muggles who kept looking and jumping up -- West must be hovering overhead, I think.

MOHINDER SURESH, THE NEW JOB, AND THE HAITIAN IS BACK

Mohinder's new boss at the Hartsdale (NY) office (hey, I used to work in Hartsdale, NY!) sent him to Haiti to cure a "special" person who seemed to have caught the virus. Mohinder's own blood seems to be the only cure.

Once there, the patient turned out to be the Haitian. I always liked the Haitian. Although he resisted at first, he took the cure. Now, the boss thinks that the Haitian, once cured, used his powers to eliminate Mohinder's memory and escaped. In reality, the Haitian showed up at Copy Kingdom to join Noah Bennet and Mohinder knows all about it.

THE DEVEAUX BUILDING ROOF, DET. PARKMAN, MRS. PETRELLI, AND THE INVESTIGATION INTO HIRO'S FATHER'S DEATH

Hiro's father (Lt. Sulu - er - George Takei) did indeed die in the fall from the roof with his assailant. But the assailant's body vanished.

Ando identified Mrs. Petrelli as having a fight with Kito before the assailant arrived. So, good ol' new Detective Parkman and his partner pulled her in for questioning. He eavesdropped her thoughts, but she caught him -- "Get out of my mind!"

When left alone in the interrogation room, she freaked out. They busted in to save her, finding her cowering against the wall. Upon seeing the picture she had, they asked the symbol. She said it was her husband's law firm logo. Ando said the symbol meant "great ability, godsend."

She asked for Nathan, making Parkman think that they weren't estranged. Nathan told him that he was the only one she could ask for help now. They all think Peter is dead.

PETER PETRELLI

... is alive and kind of sort of well in Cork, Ireland. The thugs still think he stole the shipment of iPods and try to beat him for information.

The sister of the chief thug, Kaitlyn, tried to help attend to his wounds only to find they healed perfectly as if they had never happened. So we know he retains his Sylar spark throw people power, as well as Claire's powers of healing.

He has no memory of anything prior to being found in the trailer, though. At least he no longer has that silly haircut. When Kaitlyn asked him about the necklace with the symbol, he didn't know what it was.

The iPod theft was supposed to go to someone named McSorley. Well, his brother tried to assault Kaitlyn and Peter used his powers to save her. That didn't make her brother forgive him, though. He taunted Peter with a box which he said was everything he had with him when they found him, but only let Peter know his first name. If Peter wants the box, he has to make up the theft by working with them on a new caper.

Oh, I have so many questions! What's in the box? Mr. Muggles knows West is up high, why doesn't Claire yell at him? How did Kensei live after the arrow attack? How will Hiro get back to his own time? Exactly what company is Mohinder working for -- could it be the same one who employed Bennet?

Bloggy Stuff! - Sunday, Sept. 30

It's New Jersey, what can I say? I encountered this rat on my walk to the train station Friday morning. I'll probably encounter him again tomorrow. I should carry a big stick, eh? (It's actually some kind of union protest at a construction site.)

I'd like to wish a belated happy birthday to blog readers Sharon and Gayle (as well as the other September birthdays in the crowd). I always kind of wonder about the plethora of September birthdays. Hmmm... was it really cold nine months before or what?

But the weather is gorgeous here this weekend! I heard the local weatherman say it's like San Diego. He has a point. I've spent some time there and it's the cool evenings, highs in the mid-seventies in the daytime. Perfect!

In the television-watching department, I just haven't been too thrilled over the weekend. I watched the hour-long COPS 20th anniversary show last night. (It's a guilty pleasure, remember.) I tried to watch the repeat of Cane, a show I missed when it premiered earlier this week. Nuh-uh, just didn't do anything for me. Sorry, Jimmy Smits or not, it's not my thing. I watched the 48 Hours Mystery after Cane and found that interesting as it's a local crime case. No one in my social circles, mind you.

Today I ran through my recorded The Wire (third season from BET) which I hadn't really watched the past few weeks as I was writing my Survivor review while it aired. Omar and Brother Mouzone killed Stringer Bell?!?! Yikes! That's the final straw, ya Baltimore and imported NYC thugs! I went and ordered seasons two and three to go with my season one boxed set. And I pre-ordered season four (release date early December). I just can't get enough of the show and BET's commercials go beyond the point of annoying. I'm glad they aired the series so far and got me hooked, but it's the DVD sets for me on this show, much like I did for Homicide: Life on the Street.

And, as I ramble on here, I should mention that I've met and chatted with the series creator of both Homicide and The Wire -- I have the books The Corner and Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets signed by him. I found David Simon to be a very personable fellow who, if you didn't know who he was, you would never guess he could ever portray the gritty tales of Baltimore so well.

But that leads me to another tangent -- where I met Simon, and where I even got to talk one-on-one for a while with Stephen King (my all-time favorite novelist) no longer exists. For over twenty years I faithfully attended the New York is Book Country street fair in Manhattan. It was there I got meet authors whose works have been such a part of my life. It was there I bought signed first editions and even antiquarian books. It was there I collected the festival's yearly posters.

They stopped having the book fair. I don't know why -- it was certainly a well-attended and enjoyable event. It was usually mid-September and ended up being downtown and first weekend of October the last time they had it two years back. Then it vanished from the city. The end of a literary event although I see they still have their literary tea. But paying over $100 to attend a tea isn't the same as spending $100 on books while being able to actually talk to the authors.

Sigh.

I'm biding my time until Cold Case. How was your weekend?

'Survivor 15: China' - Spoilers Post Link!

I have a post up on TV Squad with major show spoilers for Survivor 15: China. ONLY go there if you want to know

I also ask that the spoilers aren't brought up in the comments on any of the show posts I may make here because I realize a lot of people don't want to know!

'Survivor 15 China' - Ashley Hits the Interview Rounds

The most recent Survivor castaway hit the interview circuit ... well, online, anyway. They're no longer on Letterman, not even standing over in the Hello Deli. Of course, if you've ever seen the Hello Deli, you might not want to stand inside there, either!

Reality News Online (RNO) has an interview titled They Were Scared Sheep Out There - An Interview with Survivor: China's Ashley Massaro.

In that one, i thought it most interesting how much she talked about how the tribe made a mistake in eliminating Chicken. She seems to take her own ouster as the logical decision for the tribe while Chicken's she can't rationalize at all.

In the Buddy TV Exclusive Interview with Ashley Massaro, I picked up a few more intriguing bits. Hmmm ... she thought Jonny Fairplay was a "funny character." If memory serves, wasn't he a wrestler, too? She once again went on about how Chicken shouldn't have flown the coop -- er, got booted from the coop, that is.

The Reality TV World interview with her finally asked a few different questions. They asked how she got cast on the show and got a rather roundabout answer -- "It was basically a joint decision because I work for WWE. I needed to do some arm-wrenching to go because that meant I was going to be off the air with them for a long time. But it all worked out great and they let me go." Huh? Joint decision between whom? Was she recruited? Did she apply? That's certainly confusing, isn't it? It didn't answer the question "how did you end up being casted on the show" for me.

When asked if she thought she was on the weaker tribe, she defended Zhan Hu saying that she liked the tribe. But she also would have liked to have James on it (probably instead of Dave, I bet). She also said that Jaime told her and Sherea about the clue (existing, not the clue itself) for the hidden Immunity Idol. She says she has a feeling that Fei Long's Todd Herzog is going to do well on the show.

Tonight's 'Survivor 15: China' Review Up!

My review of the show tonight is up and running over at TV Squad! I hope you enjoy it!

'Survivor 15: China' - East Coast Update Post - 9/27

Keep returning here - I'll update this post as important events happen.

Reward challenge -- for fishing gear and a trip on a fishing boat. Fei Long wins.

Twist -- Fei Long kidnaps one member of the Zhan Hu tribe, they go for Jaime. Jaime received a note to read in private once she's at their camp.

The note contained a clue to the location of the hidden immunity idol -- Jaime isn't privy to its contents, but gets to choose who on Fei Long she wants to give it to. She chose Leslie because Leslie didn't seem to be in with the others on the tribe and might be more secretive (and appreciative).

Fei Long wins Immunity! At one point Zhan Hu was leading, but the puzzle threw them off.

Asley is voted out. Dave received one vote from Ashley, all the rest voted for her to leave.

TV Newsy Bits and Bloggy Stuff

The link to my TV Squad review of last night's Kid Nation is right here -- it hadn't posted yet when I mentioned it in my last entry.

As for tonight's Survivor 15: China blogging -- I'll be doing East Coast Updates on important events in the show (immunity and the boot), then my review will be posted over on TV Squad later in the evening. If you wish to discuss the show while it's airing, of course you can feel free to jump in the comments of the East Coast updates! I'll be listening ... er ... reading.

Don't forget, fans of Grey's Anatomy, there is a discussion post for you to talk about tonight's episode with your friends right here.

Someone asked in comments if I'll be deleting the build-up of comments in the DWTS discussion post. I don't like to delete comments because once gone, they can't be retrieved, plus some folks get upset when I do. Plus, it's very time-consuming on this end for me to delete tons of comments one by one. We'll see how things go. If it looks like things are getting unwieldy, I might post a new discussion post weekly or something.

Now to the real TV Newsy Bits!

I'm sure there are some folks out there who watch the NBC Thursday primetime block -- My Name is Earl, The Office, and E.R., right? If you're a fan of those shows, NBC has some big doings going on tonight online for them.

For My Name is Earl, after the special one hour episode 8-9 ET, there will be a 30 minute live blog chat with executive producer Greg Garcia. For The Office, after the special one hour episode 9-10 ET, there will be a 30 minute live blog chat with executive producer Greg Daniels starting at 10 PM ET.

ER airs from 10-11 ET, then is followed by a 30 minute live blog chat with star Parminder Nagra and writer/co-executive producer Dr. Joe Sachs starting at 11 PM ET.

Bloggy Stuff - September 26

Oh, my ... after my writing binge on Monday night (Heroes, setting up new discussion posts), I didn't write not a thing yesterday. Nope, not for here or TV Squad. Although I had to work my day job, I think that's the first day off from writing I've taken in about eight months.

I better not do it often or I'll forget how to type!

Although it looks like I haven't written anything today, I have a review of the latest Kid Nation awaiting publishing on TV Squad.

And, uh ... other than that, there's this! :-)

I think I'm still recovering from BB live feeds, but I'll get over it. I'm glad you're enjoying the show discussion posts -- I've been reading the comments!

'Grey's Anatomy' - Fall 2007 - Blog Meet-Up Discussion Post

Are you a fan of Grey's Anatomy? Do you want to talk about the show or its characters with blog friends?

Well, here's the spot!

The show's official website is located at ABC.com Grey's Anatomy and your show talk can certainly be located right here.

'Heroes' - "Four Months Later' - 2007 Season Premiere

Yes! It's here! The new season of Heroes! Will it live up to my expectations from watching last season? Well, it's off to a good start, I think.

In Hiro's storyline, he traveled back in time to 1671 and landed outside of Kyoto, Japan. Several mounted soldiers were about to run him through with their swords and arrows when another rider appeared. So, they wanted to get both Hiro and the newcomer. Instead, an eclipse of the sun occurred, so they shot the arrows at the sun.

Ah, but the laws of gravity dictate that what goes up must come down. Thanks to Hiro's powers, he stopped the arrows just before they hit him, then teleported the stranger away from danger.

The stranger turned out to be the Hiro's Kensei idol, but not all was what it appeared to be.
The man is a sham! He's a Brit who's pillaging villages and more of a villain than any sort of hero! Tekezo Kensei is nothing but a fraud, and a nasty man to boot.


All of the legends are either untrue or Hiro must change them into a reality for history to run the course he's known all of his life. According to legend, Kensei married the swordsmith's beautiful daughter. Yeah, she's beautiful. But he burned her home. She slapped him and took his sword. Poor Hiro, we last saw him on the field after being punched, a goat licking his face.

The Bennets have assumed the identity of the Butlers. The family has moved to Coste Verde where the children attend a new school and Noah Bennet has a new job in a copy shop. Mr. Muggles, much to the dismay of Mrs. Bennet/Butler must lead a life of obscurity and not take part in any dog shows. Poor Mr. Muggles.

After being told not to raise any suspicions and not do anything extraordinary, Claire still attracted the attentions of a new young man -- West. She first walked in front of his moving car. In class he asked her if she was a robot or an alien, claiming everybody is one or the other. She asked the difference. A robot does everything he's told while an alien does what he feels like doing.


By the end of the episode, we see that West (or is he Weston?) is one of them. The last scene shows him hovering in the air while looking through the window at Claire's house, then he flies away.

Mr. Bennet/Butler has his own issues. His boss is a young punk jerk bloated with the power of being a retail manager. Oh, that doesn't suit Noah too well. He eventually just flipped the dude by the fingers and told him to get off his case. Now, if anyone knows the paper business, it would be Bennet. Copy Kingdom ain't got nuthin' on PrimaTech, right?

Two new characters, Alejandro and Maya, who claim to be brother and sister (but do we really know that) were introduced. They're running to America through the woods, paying some hustlers to give them a ride towards the border. At one point, as they hid from the cops, we saw a wanted poster for them. The charges? Homicide, of course.

The Latino "Deliverance" type guys who picked them up dumped Alejandro and apparently wanted their way with Maya. Well, she's the killer, not Alejandro. He caught up to her -- all of her captors were dead with blood dripping down their faces. Oh, my!

They continued on in the truck of the dead men, heading to see "the doctor in New York."

And, that doctor in New York? Mohinder was approached after giving a lecture about a virus or plague which could possibly kill off those with special powers. The man who approached him offered him a job -- said that his company tried to get those with powers to use their powers for good, some must be eliminated, though.

When Mohinder told him it would cost too much money, the man turned a spoon to gold. So, he has his own power -- the Midas touch, even! The man knew about Molly and Parkman, as well as Sylar. Mohinder said Sylar was dead. After seeing his golden touch, Mohninder accepeted the job, but quickly called Bennet to let him know he's "in." Bennet says they'll bring the whole company down. The plot thickens.

Meanwhile, Parkman is raising Molly, the girl who can find people. He recovered from his bullet wounds and managed to get himself on the police force. But Molly is having dreams -- she's drawing pictures of eyes at school, along with the symbol we've seen on the sword and tattoos. She had a bad dream -- and it zapped Parkman as he tried to awaken her and used his power to read minds. Why, it zapped him and what we heard sounds like ... Sylar!

Ando is with Hiro's father when the father finds a ripped photo of himself with the mysterious symbol scrawled across it in red. "I will be dead in 24 hours." They go atop the Deveaux Building. Hiro's father (who i want to call Sulu for some bizarre reason) decided he should fight his foe for Hiro's honor. Ando goes off to get him a sword.

But then a man with a hoodie sweatshirt arrives. Ando got back just in time to
see both go off the roof to their deaths (yeah, right).

Oh, but then there's the Petrellis! Nathan has grown a beard and drinks a lot now. He no longer looks Presidential. Mrs. Petrelli blames him for Peter's death. He thinks Peter is alive.

It turns out that she also has found a ripped picture of herself with the symbol scrawled across it in red. And, guess what? The picture is the other half of Hiro's fathers ripped photo!

While Ando was gone and the Hoodie Man hadn't arrived as of yet, she met Hiro's father on the roof. He told her he was going back to Japan and she should vanish, too. "All of them dead, now there are nine." He said he sought redemption by trying to help Hiro, how did she help her son?

Claire knows how to get ahold of Nathan despite the fact he doesn't want to talk to her.

But is Peter dead? Of course not! Over in Cork, Ireland, some burglars were after a shipment of iPods in a trailer. No iPods, but there's Peter chained in the corner. He seems very dazed, says he doesn't know his name ... but knocks one of the thieves across the room with a Sylar kind of touch.

Oh ... I'm hooked all over again!

'The Bachelor' - Fall 2007 - Blog Discussion Post

Since I don't watch the show, here's your own forum in which to discuss the new fall 2007 The Bachelor! The official ABC site for the show is located here.

Dancing With the Stars New Season! - Blog Discussion Post

UPDATE 11/01 -- A new discussion post for this show can be found right here (due to requests because of the amount of comments).


The new season has started and, although I still only watch the show now and then, I figured I'd get a new discussion post up for those who want to talk about it!

The official show website is here.

I realize a few have started discussing the show in the older post -- it sneaked up on me. I'll copy those replies here for you since I don't have the time to remove each old comment one by one and some folks don't want them removed.

The original blog discussion post is located here.
AOL's feature page for Dancing With the Stars is right here.
The TV Squad reviews for the show can be found here.
The SirLinksAlot page for the show is here (lots of great links).

Today, Tonight...!

Heroes returns at 9 PM ET tonight! Yay! Although I certainly can't live-blog it because I'd miss too much, I will surely be posting about it afterwards!

Well before then, a post I wrote for TV Squad should be published. As I post this, I'm expecting that one up before noon ET. I'm hoping it sparks some interesting discussion and will remain mum about the topic right now.

But, go read it! :-)

TV Newsy Bits - 'Survivor' Interviews Online

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm looking forward to watching a new Cold Case tonight after roughly goofing off all day. I always give a sigh of relief, although I also miss 'em, when the live feeds for Big Brother end.

Today, I watched some of the rerun recently completed So You Think You Can Dance episodes on cable -- I still adore Hok! And, I watched the finish of the entire first season of The Wire on DVD. It makes me want to get out my Homicide: Life on the Street DVD set and go through that, too. Too bad there just aren't more hours in a day off, eh?

Oh, thinking of work, I completed the work project I had been putting off. Woowoo, I made a DVD. I'm not overly thrilled with it, but it's done and no longer a monkey on my back.

I did a bit of digging around online today and found some interesting Survivor interviews to share with you.

The first one is from Jokers with Yau-Man, perhaps my favorite castaway ever. No, scratch that. He IS my favorite castaway ever, no perhaps about it! While the whole article is worth reading, here are some key points:

• Yau-Man was recruited for the show. He said they were looking for older Asians because they have so few applying.
• The castaways are given a very brief safety course on what they can eat or not on the island (or other locales, too, I would think). I always wondered how Sue Hawk knew about tapioca!
• He hasn't talked to Dreamz since the NYC reunion show. He doesn't want the decision about the truck to ruin his life.
• He says Jeff Probst is only about his height -- he looks taller on the show.
• He said the pre-jury booted were kept in "Losers Lodge" - tents on the island until the last one came in, then they received a vacation.
• The jurors had to stay in Losers Lodge as they had to go back every three days for tribal council. The only entertainment they had were books.
• They can't talk about the show at Losers Lodge.

I also found some Chicken interviews (the first boot on China) --

• Fans of Reality TV
• Reality TV World

The most interesting thing in those for me was the fact that Jaime, Sherea, and Peih-Gee had approached him to set up an alliance, then called it off fifteen minutes before the tribal council saying it was too early for alliances. They didn't show that on the show. Hmmm... he also says Ashley (the wrestler) was not only sick, but she's a physically weak person despite her profession. Hmmm...

TV Squad Article - Amber's Defense

I wrote an article over on TV Squad about Amber's interview with Buddy TV and my thoughts on her answers.

Check it out!

What a delusional gal she is ...

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Friday, Sept. 21, 2007

Now that the Big Brother feeds are over, it's time to get back to normal on the blog! Well, as normal as I get, anyway.

While it's relaxing not to have Big Brother constantly taking over my blog, it does put me in a quandary as to what I should watch tonight. Unless I want to watch repeated live feeds, I have no live feeds! Yeah, I know I could read -- I have plenty of novels in my To Read pile. And, I really should spend some time on a work project I've been putting off.

But I wanna watch my TV! Here are some of the slim pickings at hand this evening:

• CBS has an entire block of reruns for its primetime hours -- Ghost Whisperer, The Unit, and Numb3rs. Bleh.
• NBC has a rerun block, too -- 1 vs. 100, Las Vegas, Law and Order: SVU. Feh. The only show I watch out of those is the L&O one and that episode's much too recent for me to watch again. Feh.
• FOX actually has a new Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader on at 8 PM ET/PT, but I just don't like that show. I know I'm smarter than when I was in fifth grade and that's all that matters. At 9 PM ET/PT, they have a new Nashville on. Never saw it, don't want to. Meh.
• ABC has a repeat America's Funniest Home Videos on at 8 PM ET/PT, then two new back-to-back 20/20 episodes to fill out the evening. Eh.

The cable listings aren't much better (in my opinion) with the only thing catching my interest being a new Meerkat Manor on at 8:30 PM ET/PT on Animal Planet. I don't have premium channels, so I couldn't tell you what's on HBO or Showtime.

So, with Letterman in repeats, I have a whole half-hour of TV I want to watch tonight.

Or, do I?

My birthday was recently and, amongst other things, my brother gave me a gift certificate for Amazon. com. My order arrived today. And, guess what? It's TV on DVD! Yay!

Since I don't have HBO yet got hooked on The Wire (after missing the first episode) on BET, I wanted the real thing without all the horrible BET ads -- so, I bought the first season of The Wire. Woohoo!

The other thing I bought is something I want to see whether it lives up to my childhood memories or not. Y'see, I was a rather strange young child and my parents really didn't monitor my television watching habits (nor my reading ones, nor my movie-watching) much at all. When I was five, my favorite show was The Twilight Zone even though it gave me nightmares. By the time I was nine, I was hooked on The Fugitive -- the original with David Janssen. I had watched it on and off since I was eight or so, often from the top of the stairs as my parents watched and I was supposed to be in bed. The Twilight Zone has been rerun for decades, but I've never seen the original The Fugitive in reruns anywhere. Now I have the first season of the show on DVD! Super YAY!

So, it's a good thing there isn't anything on TV which interests me tonight. I think I have to start a search for a one-armed man.

The TV Squad 'Survivor 15: China' Post is Up

My TV Squad review of the show is up! I haven't read all of the comments yet, but wanted to mention one I saw -- I never did actually live-blog Survivor. I would do East Coast updates, then around this time of night there would be a review posted. I will continue to do the East Coast updates. I only did one on the boot tonight because I figured we didn't really know the tribes yet. Next week, I'll add Immunity and such.

Looks like NO ONE likes Courtney! Her eyerolls in the temple were as bad as Leslie leaving the ceremony! @@!

'Survivor 15: China' East Coast Update - Booted

Chicken is the first voted out.

Tonight's Survivor China Blogging

I have a spoilers post on the show up over on TV Squad -- beware of boot spoilers for this week and next! Please don't discuss the spoilers in the comments here.

For the season premiere tonight, I'll do an East Coast update on the boot, so check back for that post if you want to know or to talk about it. That should be up around 9 PM ET.

I'm reviewing the show for TV Squad, so my review won't be here. I'll zap a link to you once it's up.

Survivors ready?

More TV Squad Stuff!

Gee, I almost posted that title as TV Squid -- that would surely be a new take on things, huh?

My Kid Nation review is up over there. TVS isn't sure if they want it covered all season, but I'm hoping the traffic and response to the reviews will keep it going. I found the show almost on the refreshing side despite the obvious adult involvement in setting up things.

I also posted commentary on TV Tattler interviews with Dick and Daniele as well as Jeff Probst.

Please check them out and I'd love to hear your thoughts there! If you have problems posting comments on TV Squad, check the email address you're using -- one little typo and you won't get the confirmation mail. When you do get the confirmation mail, make sure you go to the link to activate the comment.

If you're having problems, let me know.

'Big Brother 8' - Thinking Back Over the Season

Thinking back over the recently completed season, I find it hard to call it the worst one ever. After all, I was entertained for the most part, weren't you? Technically, that's all we can really ask, I guess.

Since the overall season ratings were very good, I think we can probably expect the show to be renewed.

I want to share some of my thoughts on the season and wonder what's on your mind, too!

Okay, the first thing -- Allison Grodner's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland theme for the show and house. It never really came to fruition, did it? Yeah, the house was in a bizarre decor and there was one comp related to the theme. But I think it fell apart in the long run and have to ask what's up with that? They knew they were going to use the theme, why didn't they develop it more thoroughly? I give the theme an F this season.

The twists ... with the exception of Dick and Daniele, the other two "rivals" fell apart on short order. Unlike the X-Factor season, this just didn't last too well. And, of the rivals, I can't help but think if Joe hadn't ranted on about the STD he claims Dustin passed onto him, would Joe have been more amusing to watch in the long run?

The casting ... I keep going back and forth on this. Although I never condoned a lot of Dick's behavior, his presence kept the show atop the Neilsons perhaps more than in past seasons. I don't think this cast really hit me on a "I like these people" basis all season. In the past, I enjoyed watching folks like Will, Nakomis, even Roddy. I really think a better mix of ages and walks of life is needed for them to bring back my passion for the houseguests. Although I ended up wanting Dick to win this year, had there been a smart player who treated others not as crassly I would have supported them.

The lack of things for the houseguests to do ... what the hell is up with that? This season gave the houseguests almost absolutely nothing to do. In other years there were fun comps with decorating gnomes, something, anything! It's a wonder this group didn't just jump the wall and escape out of sheer boredom.

Your thoughts?

TV Squad STUFF

I have two new posts over on TV Squad --

One includes a nod to one of the commenters here (and there, too, but mainly here).
The other is my season introductory post to Survivor: China.

Head on over -- be loud, be proud ... be a Donato!
Er, wait ... let me take that back. Please don't be a Donato over there!

'Survivor 15: China' - My First Impressions on the Cast - Part Five

Welcome to the last installment of my Survivor 15: China cast introduction and my take on the new castaways! I've had to split this into several parts due to length. You can find the rest of the castaways in Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four. These will remain listed in my sidebar here for easy reference throughout the season. While I'll be doing the show episode reviews themselves over at TV Squad this season, I'll be talking about the show here, too. And, of course, I always welcome your comments both at TVS and here!

Continuing my alphabetical order by first name, it's Peih-Gee next to the plate. I was pretty impressed with her in her video on the CBS site although she seems to be being portrayed as a bit of a wild card in the promos for the show.

Looking at her CBS bio, I can't help but mention she has one of the longest, if not the longest, bios of anyone on the show this season. She has an extensive dancing background appearing in videos from many popular stars and MTV doings. She's well-traveled, too. Plus, she has a roughing it in foreign lands for extended periods of time experience. Not only that, but her educational background is impressive, too. Oh, my.

She says she's free-spirited, witty, spunky, assertive, optimistic, open-minded, outspoken, strong-willed and she thinks like a guy. She thinks her biggest strengths are having a good attitude, seeing the brighter side of things, and having the ability to focus all of attention to the task at hand. Oh, my.

It's off to her favorites! She lists Survivor amongst her favorite shows, good. WHAT? She lists NO cereal. She left the cereal section blank. I don't know what to make of that. This is a first. How can I judge her psychological game without knowing her cereal?

Her chances? I think she just could be the strongest all around player for the women. If she isn't too assertive and doesn't alienate the others, I can see her hanging in towards the end. Plus, she has two cats. I think I like her!

I see this season's show is back down to only a few persons of color. I kind of liked the more diversity in casting, but we'll see how this season goes down.

Sherea focused on her people-skills and herself on a whole in her video. She does seem to be a nice person and her background as a teacher will probably help her cope with the various personalities in the game. Her plan is to get along with everyone and keep focused throughout. She will play thinking of her mother who's a breast cancer survivor.

Her bio is only about half as long as Peih-Gee's. She looks very normal, perhaps too normal to be on a reality show! Her educational background includes a Masters degree. She claims to be sassy, outspoken, and caring. I didn't think she seemed either sassy or outspoken in her video. She just came across as nice to me. What do I know, eh? She also considers herself to be competitive, outgoing, and a leader.

Going to her favorites, I see she lists Big Brother on her shows, but not Survivor! Ack, two very different shows! For cereals, she likes Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms. That tells me that, not only does she have a fun-loving side, she's seeking the luck of the Irish to be on her side throughout the season! (Trust me, I've studied Cereal Psychology for years.)

Her chances? I think I'm going to like her as a person on the show, but I'm not so sure how well she'll do swimming with the sharks. If she indeed befriends people, works those people skills ... she might do well. I'd like to be wrong, but I don't see her making it to the final four.

Todd has the dubious honor of being the last castaway on my list. In his video, he was a bit ... off ... or something. At one point he stopped for an extended period of time looking confused, then repeated himself. He thinks he will do well and everyone will like him. Um, okay.

In his bio on the CBS site, he starts off with the fact that he's an openly gay Mormon. Holy Osmonds, Batman! He's allergic to cats, rabbits, and shrimp. He describes himself as fantastic, amazing, awesome, and super-original.

Give me a break, kid. Keep this up and I'll want you not only booted but forced to jump from the Great Wall head first.

He goes on to say he'll do well because he's very positive, great at social skills and strategizing, and will gather wood and er, stuff. He thinks the Spice Girls are the most significant historical event of the past 100 years.

Is this guy a joke? Onto his favorites ... he does list Survivor in his favorite shows, but that's no surprise. For cereals he lists granola and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. Aha, he's living a contradictory kind of life! He doesn't know if he wants to go the healthy route or eat the least popular Cap'n Crunch in a childlike fantasy land! Very telling, indeed.

His chances? I think an early boot, but he might hang in for a while because I don't think the others will see him as a threat. I know if he pulls the "I make everyone happy" bit at the wrong time, he could certainly alienate the others.

'Big Brother 8' - Season Finale - Live-Blogged from the East Coast

I screen-capped this image from the blocked feeds and kind of took it over! I received a note from Zoetawny (posting from an Internet cafe) -- she's sorry to miss the end of the season.

Here on the East Coast, the show is starting. As it airs, I'll constantly (well, very frequently) be updating this entry. Please feel free to comment and have a good time! Please forgive any typos as I'm watching the show, too!

We're into a brief season recap now. Dick just re-won the final HOH. And the show should really begin soon.

Look! The blocked feeds are on the plasma screen!

Zach arrives at sequester after Dustin least wants to see Zach. Jen wants to see Dick walk through the door ... and it's ZACH! Eric tells him he would have won six to one.

America's Player -- Who should Eric campaign and vote for to win? Dick. Eric thinks we chose wisely. The jury doesn't seem to like Eric's idea. He goes into car salesman mode, talking up Dick and down Daniele. Amber looks like she's going to cry. Jen is very against Dick, but all of a sudden Amber is defending Dick and telling Jen whe flipflopped.

They start looking at the game the two played. Zach brings up the competition winning. Eric brings up Dick's victories. Amber says Dick played for two people. She said Dick played "awesome." Jessica is pro-Dick win, too. Daniele is the pimp, E.D. is the ho according to Jameka. Evel or Evel Spawn will win comes from Dustin.

The jury questioning -- help me in comments if I don't type fast enough, guys.

Dustin -- Dick, knowing that your daughter said I'll carry my daad with me because he's a terrible person and I'll win. Dick is hppy, strongest team.

Amber for Daniele -- Why give the vote, you're a pathetic person for doing what you did to your BF with Nick. D -- I don't want your vvote if based on personal life.

Jessica -- Who other than Daniele to sit with (to Dick) -- Pnly Daniele. Tough decision.

Eric -- Dick -> each jury member deserve to be in the final two? Dustin, Jen, Amber.. do not deserve, mentions Amber and good people. Jessica didn't bloody hands, Eric played best, Jameka was given chance, Zach almost made it.

Zach - What have you learned from each jury member -- Daniele will take Eric's humor, Amber heart and Mom of the house. Dick learned from Dustin to be careful with power, says Jen has a real person down in there, Jameka best hearted person, Zach run for the money don't underestimate will and heart.

Jameka - Not using your father to advance in the game, biggest move. Eric thing, backdooring Jen

Jen -- Hello, it's me, don't respect you as people. Dick did you build relationship with Daniele? Dick shocked w/question beginning to build normalcy, ends with if you don't know you're an idiot. Daniele thinks they made a lot out of it and there's no one esle she wants to sit next to. Dick played the game hard, strategy to work with Jessica and Eric. He feels the worse about turning on Jessica and Eric. He did a lot of the dirty work. We won.

Speech session over, D&D alone -- she accuses him of campaigning against her.

Jury coming in. Amber looks HORRIBLE! Jessica and Jen look nice. Eric looks Eric-y, Jameka very pretty. Zach looks Zach-like. He should have worn a bunny suit.

D&D are in the house, Julie is out with the crowd and the jury. Daniele says it was nice to spend time with her Dad and she's happy. Time for the jury to cast their votes.

Jurors put each key in the box, one statement.

Eric -- 1 - Clearcut choice good luck
Jameka - 2 - Vote for one whose game she respects
Dustin - 3 - Based on strategic action, not just words
Jen - 4 - I'd rather not, but must
Zach - 5 - Longest, blah-blah
Amber -6 - Congrats, close to both, based on game strategic purpose, whoops
Jessica - 7 - Voting for the person I enjoyed more in the house, may the best Donato win

The first five evicted will be coming in next.

Julie is with Dick's Mom and his son Vincent -- Daniele's grandmother who raised her and her brother. Charlotte is happy that they made strides in rebuilding the relationship. Vincent says he's always like that but it got him where he is in the game.

Nick's hair has grown in. He gets to talk to Daniele. Awkward says Daniele in a high voice.

Carol is asked about Jessica -- kind of proud, but there were some personal words. Joe said he liked watching Dustin fall apart, but congrats ... you got far. Dustin doesn't reply. Mike was rooting for Zach. Kail not surprised that Dick made it that far.

Time to reveal the big twist -- America's Player. Tells jury and Donatos. "One of you has a secret, one has not played alone, one is not who you appear to be."

This is HILARIOUS! I couldn't type through it.

Jessica is speechless. Not mad at him.

Dick benefited from the AP -- Julie talks to Dick. He thought he made a great power play and it was all Eric. Awesome, wow!

Daniele -- Knew mustard and votes, hilarious.

Dustin -- Eric can sell anything, enjoyed paradise. Jameka says it makes sense to her, she never could trust him. Jen now understands America mustarded her shirt. Eric tells Dustin and Amber he's sorry. Eric tells Jessica that he wanted to tell her for so long, but everything he said to her about them was true.

Julie tells them Eric cast the vote for America tonight.

The reveal of the votes...

1. AmERICa -Dick
2. Jameka - Daniele
3. Dustin - Dick
4. Jen - Daniele
5. Zach - Dick
6. Amber - Dick

Dick wins BB8!!!

Last vote not read yet as only four needed to win. Daniele taking it well.

Last vote was Jessica voting for Dick to win. Dick's going on a trip. Daniele is in the WE WON mode and is ecstatic.

Nick looks fat for Nick. Daniele asksed Julie if she'll be at the wrap party. I think she's starstruck ... over Julie Chen? Puh-leeze!

Y'all happy with this outcome? I think this was actually one of the better season finales. The America's Player reveal was better than the twist itself.

'Big Brother 8' - Live Feeds ... or lack thereof

The live feeds have been blocked all day since I posted my TV Squad update. Since we're about an hour before showtime, I don't expect them to unblock.

At about 9 PM ET I'll put up the start of a live-blogging post which I'll update throughout the finale as it airs here in the NYC area.

The weather is clear but a bit cool ... please bring a sweater or light jacket to the comments party.

And snacks, don't forget snacks!

May the best Donato win! And, I hope to see you there ... at the post, that is.

BB8 Live Feeds Screen Cap - TV Squad Stuff

Although both Daniele and Dick are now asleep as I post this -- the screen cap is from a few hours ago as Dick packed some more of his things.

I have the latest Big Brother 8 update with the overnight happenings up over on TV Squad.

I also have a post about Amazing Race season two winner Alex Boylan and his latest television/world travel adventure up over on TVS.