Friday, September 29, 2006

TV Newsy Bits and Bloggy Bits, Too

I'm in the midst of updating my blog sidebar and I should have all the links I want in there by the end of the weekend. For those of you following the AOL/Gold Rush Game, there is now a nifty handy dandy link right in the main blog sidebar.

I've also added the main network site links for Lost, Survivor, and The Amazing Race. When I get all of it done, I will also include various websites about the shows so readers can easily access them.

I also will be making entries for a few shows I don't watch and those "meet up" entries will be listed there for folks to discuss the shows. So far on my list I have Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and I'm thinking ER. Any other discussion forum posts you want?

In other TV-related news (hence TV Newsy Bits):

Thursday, September 28, 2006

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 3 -or- "Drop Your Buffs"


18 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Well, I was right. I had predicted the merge would come about three weeks in and, here we are at the third episode and it's a done deal.

So much for segregation, eh?

In my opinion, the diverse cast working together on tribes not separated by race or culture will be more interesting to watch. It's more how we have to work things in the world - thrown into a mix of folks. At least, around here, that is!

Onto the show...

Billy's ex-tribemates still can't get over his "love at first sight" with Candice of the Raro tribe. They're befuddled and confused. Obviously, so was he. On Puka, Brad is becoming increasingly annoyed by Cao-Boi's incessant talking, whether telling jokes or just droning on... and on. "This guy just doesn't shut up! I don't think he's all there!" I personally think that Cao-Boi's definitely a bit "out there." I enjoy watching him, but I might feel the same as Brad if I had to spend days and nights with him.

Tree mail made the tribes think there was going to be a morning challenge, but Jeff Probst had a different surprise in store for them. Merge time! "Drop your buffs." Cao-Boi wasn't sure what a buff is. I snickered. "It's time to integrate!" Well, yeah, the social experiment lasted two weeks. Too bad history made it stretch out so long, huh?

The men and women were lined up separately and tiles were passed to each castaway. When they revealed the tiles, four (two men, two women) had tiles with an X on them. They were deemed the captains. The captains (Cecilia, Jonathan, Brad, and Parvati) were instructed to choose the same gender, but not from their own tribe. Then the chosen chose the same gender, but of a tribe not represented. So, then there were four tribes still, this time segregated by gender. A big improvement.

But, wait! Then each of the captains were given an egg. At Jeff's direction, they squished the eggs to reveal either red or blue paint. And, the skies parted and new tribes emerged from the dust of racial separation. Or, something to that effect.

The new tribes were named Aitu and Raro; they'd be taking over those camps. Aitu's new color is red and the tribe has Jonathan, Yul, Ozzy, Cao-Boi, JessFlicka, Cecilia, Sundra, Becky, and Candice. Raro wears blue buffs and includes Parvati, Jenny, Cristina, Rebecca, Stephannie, Brad, JP, Nathan, and Adam.

Happy, happy, joy, joy was the sentiment of the tribes, for the most part. JessFlicka thinks she may finally fit in somewhere, Parvati has a new flirting target (Nathan), although she seems to want to flirt with almost all the men except for Cao-Boi and perhaps Jonathan. Cecilia asked Candice about Billy's "love at first sight" with her. Candice was, without a doubt, not in love. It took her a moment to recall that she even said "we love you" to try to make him feel better.

Over on Raro, Yul and Jonathan were instantly drawn together. They wanted to create an alliance to the final four consisting of themselves, Becky, and Candice. They want to bring in at least a fifth, possibly a sixth, as they figure numbers will be strength. Jonathan thinks he can bring JessFlicka about to their side. JessFlicka has other plans, though. Hey, girls just want to have fun! She came to have a good time, make new friends, and all this alliance talk is confusing her. [@@ - I must roll my eyes at roller-girl.] She's bonding with Cao-Boi and doesn't like Becky. After all, she can't be fake, y'know. Yul let Becky, his true ally, know that he had the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island. They won't tell anyone else.

Nathan is struttin' his stuff and caught a huge octopus with a spear. He's the hero of Raro and a very happy man indeed. Wait until Parvati gets her tentacles around him; he'll think the octopus was a playtoy.

The Immunity Challenge was similar to one they had last season. The tribes were tied together by tribe and each given a fifteen-pound sack of sand. They had to race an roughly rectangular course starting at opposite ends, trying to catch the other tribe. If a person dropped out, he or she had to pass their weight to another. The goal was to tackle a member of the opposing tribe. Oh. Did I mention this was about thigh-deep in water? Why, yes, it was.

The course set-up, and the tornado watch warning on CBS Channel 2, New York City in the screen cap on the right.

The women dropped out first and no man was a true Terry. Remember how much weight he lugged in the similar challenge last season? Rebecca was the last woman staggering. Once it was down to all men, Raro put the push on and, despite a heroic effort from Yul to block, they brought Cao-Boi down. Raro won Immunity.

This time, the winning tribe chose someone from the losing tribe to send to Exile Island. That person would be safe from Tribal Council. Raro unanimously chose Candice.

Once back at camp, Ozzy again wanted to run the show. Unbeknownst to him, he's going up against Yul and Jonathan when he decided Becky would be the target. Things looked iffy for a long time on this one, at least the way they edited the show. JessFlicka didn't want to commit to Jonathan as she didn't click with Becky. Becky gives her bad vibes. [@@] Cao-Boi said Becky was a "weak link" and a "princess" as Yul and Jonathan worked on him for the vote. They wanted Cecilia, Ozzy's buddy out.

And, so it went down.

At Tribal Council, despite the editing, the vote ended up being 5-3 (remember, Candice was still on Exile Island) to cast off Cecila. The votes to off Becky were Ozzy, Cecilia, and Sundra.

Ozzy isn't happy. Although he was an early favorite of mine, this week I chortled at his unhappiness. I know, I'm cruel. Too many Alpha Males on that tribe and Ozzy is probably the weakest Alpha Male link. He'd be a better Cao-Boi at this point.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - 9/28 - East Coast Update - Tribal Council

5 votes for Cecilia, 3 votes for Becky.

Cecilia is voted off.

Ozzy not happy. Heh.

A full review/recap will be posted later tonight... weather permitting. They're still saying tornado watch until midnight (ET).

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - 9/28 - East Coast Update - Immunity

The new Raro won Immunity.

Winning team chooses to send someone from Aitu to go to Exile Island. That person will be safe from Tribal Council vote tonight. They chose Candice.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - 9/28 - East Coast Update - Merge

Two new tribes:

Blue - Raro: Brad, JP, Nathan, Adam, Parvati, Jenny, Cristina, Rebecca, Stephannie

Red - Aitu: Jonathan, Yul, Ozzy, Cao-Boi, Cecilia, JessFlicka, Sundra, Becky, Candice

TV Newsy Bits and Tonight's 'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' Blogging Schedule


Tonight, as usual, I'll be posting important Survivor 13: Cook Island events as they air here in the East Coast. It's going to be a really big show tonight - don't miss it! To get the newest post on the blog, try refreshing the main page or using the archive link for this month's posts which you'll find in the right sidebar of the main page.


In comments, some folks wondered what shows are in ratings troubles and what can be done. You can usually find a feedback or contact us link at the main network websites. That would be the quickest way to contact them.

On "hiatus" -
Happy Hour - FOX

In ratings troubles:
Justice - FOX
Kidnapped - NBC
Men In Trees - ABC

New shows doing well:
Heroes - NBC

Most, but not all, CBS shows can be watched on Innertube which you can find linked at the CBS website. ABC does have some shows available online and you can check on their site, then through the link for the show which you want to watch. I'm not sure how many are online, but noticed that a few are available.

And, yes, I know my sidebar links are still overwhelmingly Big Brother. When I have a moment, I'll change them.

Additional note added at 7:45 ET -- They're scrolling that we're under a tornado watch until midnight here. Grr - I'm in NJ near NYC. Sheesh. Right now it's not even storming at all, but if I vanish it will be weather-related.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Blech... Pronounce it Phonetically

I've had a bit of a stomach bug since yesterday afternoon. I'm sure it's nothing serious, but it waylaid me for last night and for most of today. Sigh.

I just wanted to remind people that Lost has a new recap (if such a thing can exist) which brings us through last season. It should prep us all for next week's season debut. Yay! That's on at 9 PM ET/PT in most areas.

At 8 PM I have a dilemma. I want to watch both Bones and Jericho. Which to watch live and which to tape? And then I have my 10 PM dilemma. C.S.I.: NY or Kidnapped? Which to watch, which to tape. And when will I have the time to watch the stuff I've taped? Woe is me! Too much television and not enough time! I watched Kidnapped last week and found it intriguing, but I don't know how it'll work as a longterm show concept. What if it goes on for years? What if the kid is 42 when he's released by his captors?

I don't know.

At least I found the time to watch my David Letterman tape from last night to see the 10-year old girl "Lizard Whisperer" who hypnotizes lizards, then dresses them in doll clothes and poses them.

It's an interesting world.

Monday, September 25, 2006

TV Newsy Bits and Schtuff!

Yep, it's time for TV Newsy Bits! And, but of course, schtuff. Can't forget the schtuff!

For those of you interested in Survivor spoilers for the upcoming episode, check out this article which goes into the major shake-up as we're seeing in the TV ads.

I previously linked one Janelle chat, but came across this chat with both Will and Janelle, too.

Don't forget that folks are still talking about the clues in the 'AOL/Gold Rush' Clues Meet Up entry. I want one (or more) of the blog readers to win!

Celebrity Spider has some interesting articles up:

Tonight I watched How I Met Your Mother. I liked it better when Lilly and Marshall were a couple, but Neil Patrick Harris is always a good Barney. I also watched Heroes. Now, I found that one intriguing. I may have to write about it tomorrow. Now I have on the episode I missed of Men In Trees after giving up on Studio 60 (whatever). I can't watch C.S.I.: Miami because David Caruso bugs the heck out of me. Later on I'll watch Letterman - he's going to have Billy Garcia (Survivor) standing over in the Hello Deli for the interview.

What did you watch tonight? Are there any series about which you'd like me to start an entry for commenters? For example, I don't watch Desperate Housewives, but I know some of you do. I could create a Desperate Housewives Meet Up post for you if you wish. Let me know!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 2 -or- "Knot a problem? Go for the ox!"


Ten teams are left. Who will be eliminated next?

We last left the teams atop the Great Wall of China, and two teams were Philiminated in the season premiere. Both Bilal and Sa'eed and Vipul and Arti bit the dust, but the race goes on.

Since Tyler and James had been the first to arrive at the Pit Stop, they were the first to leave. The clue they received directed them to travel 963 miles by bus and train to Outer Mongolia. Now, that sounds cool, eh?

We encountered the first quasi-bunching-point of the season as the teams arrived to the bus station. They were split up in two buses, one departing two hours earlier than the other. Five teams on each bus, the first held the teams of Tyler/James, Duke/Lauren, Sarah/Peter, Dustin/Kandice, and Rob/Kimberly. The second group bonded while awaiting for their 2 AM departure. Then it was off for the Erlian Train Station in Inner Mongolia. The train will take them to their destination.

How are the teams getting on with each other? Well, while the "slower" group is bonding some and generally having fun on the race, Tyler and James spied on "the blondies" - Dustin and Kandice. They don't trust them. Hey, guys, it's a race. Everyone is trying to win. They're allowed to make a cell phone call and try to get information for themselves. Sheesh.

Now, this week, Peter did it again. Last week I was a bit miffed with his claim that they were "going to play the Disability Card" and now this week he said, "It's good to have a physical disability. We're going to use that to our advantage." Keep in mind, it's Peter... not Sarah, the one with the disability. I'm not liking what I see here. While Sarah is an incredible athlete, disability or not, I don't like this relationship. The more I see of Peter, the more I think he's using her for his own purposes. He's starting to creep me out. Yeah, she's whiney at times, but he's devious. Dump him, Sarah!

And, if I have to hear the rehab, life is so hard, it's a new life, we're sober, blah-blah-blah from James and Tyler again so much during a one-hour show, I'll...I'll... um... I'll say bad things about their hair! So there.
Colorful Mongolia
The taxi rides that the teams took once they hit Ulaanbaater were wild! It makes the slow cabs of past experiences horses of a different color. They collected their clues in a temple which grouped them a bit as they could only go in every ten minutes.

The clue directed them to some deathtrap Russian Jeeps which they had to drive to Terlej. Then they had to ride horses (while wearing spiffy Mongolian hats) two and a half miles to receive the next clue.

Surprisingly, David andRussian Jeep Mary (of all folks) picked up a local to help guide them in their Jeep. He guided them well until he guided him through mud and they got stuck. Bad, bad guide. They ended up getting a replacement car, but TAR's rules state they get no credit for the wasted time. They weren't the only team with car woes. Tyler and James got lost and then had a flat tire. Not only that, but they had a broken jack. Maybe their Russian Jeep needs rehab? Rob and Kimberly tried to give them their jack, but they couldn't get it out of the car. When other teams approached, all left the Pretty Boys in their dust. Finally a local helped them.

Off to the horses! Sarah changed for a prosthesis with an actual foot in case she had to use stirrups. Peter barely waited for her to do it. (Picture a sneer as I typed that. Did I mention the guy is creeping me out?) Kimberly is afraid of horses and asked, "Do you think they can smell fear?" Apparently, they can. She promptly got dumped while another racer (either Dustin or Kandice?) got dragged. A horse is a horse, of course. And, horses in Mongolia must smell fear. Leave it to the ChoBros to actually call out, "Rawhide!" I can't help but like those two. I hope their racing seriously improves, though.

After the horse ride, the teams were faced with a Detour. Their choices were Take It Down or Fill It Up. In Take It Down, the teams had to dismantle a traditional Mongolian nomadic camp, tie it according to specifications, and load it on a waiting camel. In Fill It Up, the teams had to guide an ox cart to the river, fill up buckets of water, bring them back and fill up a larger container to the specification of a Mongolian guide.

ChoBros wonder what Dustin and Kandice lost
The knots involved in the Take It Down task presented problems for the teams choosing that one, while some of the oxen had minds of their own for the other task. Peter and Sarah first chose the Take It Down task, then flipped to the Fill It Up, got an ox with "fire in its eyes" (according to Peter) and flipped back. Sarah fussed that she didn't want to quit the first attempt and Peter did pretty much what he wanted to do. (Dump him, Sarah!) Kimberly and Rob bickered and he too barked out instructions. Dump him, Kimberly.

This ox is not broken
Although Team Barbie (Dustin and Kandice) finished their ox task first, they lost one of the Mongolian hats and had to go back to search for it. The teams had to ride the horses back to their Jeeps and had to have the spiffy hats. Mary and David gave Karlyn and Lyn their excess water they hauled in a nice gesture. They may be backwoods, but they seem genuinely nice folks.

As the teams took off for the next clue once they hit the Jeeps, a few wouldn't start. Both Lyn/Karlyn and Jamie/Kellie were stranded with dead batteries. (Others had issues, too. The ChoBros got stuck on the road and pushed to start theirs). The situation with the girls led to one of the most suggestive, yet totally innocent lines of the night - "He's got a long rod." Hey! It was a crank! The Russian Jeeps can be crank-started like a wind-up toy. Yes, I confess to a gutter-mind. But it was funny.

Once they hit the road, the next stop was a Roadblock. It was a tough one, too. One member oif each team had to shoot a flaming arrow 160 feet to light a target which was flat on the ground. Some teams did very well, but the last team to arrive worked into the darkness of night making the attempt, then finally gave up. They couldn't even see the target.

Here's the arrival order at the Hotel Mongolia, the Pit Stop for this leg of the race:
1. Peter/Sarah - Also won a trip for two to Mexico for first place.
2. Tyler/James
3. Duke/Lauren
4. Tom/Terry
5. Dustin/Kandice
6. Rob/Kimberly
7. David/Mary
8. Erwin/Godwin
9. Lyn/Karlyn
10. Kellie/Jamie - Philiminated.

At a confessional not on the mat, Sarah said she's noted some problems with Peter. Dump him, girl! He's using you!

And, that was the show. I sort of liked Kellie and Jamie and, though I hate to admit it, I'm liking Kandice and Dustin more. I'm usually the anti-beauty queen/model show watcher. Don't fear I've totally changed my ways. I still don't like James and Tyler. I wish they weren't such strong competitors.

I'd like to see Rob and Kimberly and Peter gone. Sarah can stay, maybe hook up with the ChoBros... or something.

'The Amazing Race 10' - Pit Stop Order and Philimination

Arrival to the Pit Stop:

1. Peter/Sarah - Also won a trip to Mexico
2. Tyler/James
3. Duke/Lauren
4. Tom/Terry
5. Dustin/Kandice
6. Rob/Kimberly
7. David/Mary
8. Erwin/Godwin
9. Lyn/Karlyn
10. Kellie/Jamie... Philiminated, but didn't even finish the Roadblock leading to the Pit Stop.

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

Tonight's 'The Amazing Race 10' Blogging Schedule


While I thought that the commercial with David and Mary was funny, graphic artist Zoetawny must have thought otherwise! Heehee. I don't know, 'round these parts, gay folks are everywhere.

As usual, I'll post important events of the show - any unusual happenings and the Philimination (or non-Philimination) news as it airs here on the East Coast because I know some West Coast folks love to peek ahead. Sometime late tonight (ET), I'll post a full show review/recap and I'd love to hear what everyone thought of the show.

'Lost' - What We Know

Lost begins its eagerly anticipated third season Wednesday, October 4, at 9 PM ET/PT in most viewing areas. Will we find out more answers to questions posed? Are The Others really a force for good? And, where did that dang huge polar bear go?

It's hard for a mere fan of the show to digest all the clues put forth and I know I miss some every show I watch. If you haven't watched the show, it may be hard to jump aboard the Lost island, but it's not impossible. As a prelude to the new season, I'll go into some of what we know and some of the riddles posed. For every mystery, a new mystery seems to arrive. Are they making it all up as they go along? Well, yeah... it's fiction, you know! But, hopefully, the writers do have resolutions for mysteries posed. Either way, I'm hooked.

Here are the basics:
  • Oceanic Flight 815, which could seat over 360 passengers, on a flight from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, California, crashed somewhere over the Pacific Ocean possibly near the Fiji Islands. The crash was due to instrument failure. Although it's not known how many passengers were aboard, we know that at least 70 survived the crash.
  • The plane broke into three parts as it went down - the central fuselage contained 48 survivors (believed to be 49 at first, but one was not from the flight), the front section contained only the pilot, and the tail section had 23 more surviving passengers. The three sections landed in various parts of the island.
  • In the Season 2 finale, it was revealed that the failure to push a mysterious button on schedule caused an electromagnetic field disturbance which affected the plane's instruments, resulting in its crash.
  • Each character, or plane crash survivor, has his own story and some interweave with the lives of others on the plane. The show uses flashbacks to show life events of each leading up to the crash.
  • In Season 1, there was a huge polar bear. He has not been seen since and his importance (or lack thereof) is not known.
  • The first season focused on the passengers from the fuselage and they were unaware that others from the tail section survived.
  • The fuselage survivors determined "Others" were on the island and that the "Others" were an evil lot, kidnapping children and just plain ol' evil nefarious stuff going on. There are also monsters or some unseen force which sounds as large as dinosaurs crashing trees in a dark wisp of smoke.
  • There's a mysterious French woman on the island (not a crash survivor) who tells tales of the Others and evil stuff.
  • A hatch (one of more than a few on the island) was found on Season 2. In it, Desmond (on the island previous to the plane crash), had been entering numbers and pushing a button every time a timer hit the number 108, supposedly to save the world. The failure to push the button one time is what has been indicated to cause the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Desmond ran away, leaving new crash survivors the task of saving the world on a scheduled basis.
  • In exploring the hatch, the survivors found out about the DHARMA Initiative, a research project, from an orientation video. DHARMA stands for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications Initiative. Okay. The definition of "heuristic" (hey, I didn't know) is: A replicable method or approach for directing one's attention in learning, discovery, or problem-solving. Hmmm.
  • The DHARMA Iniative was sponsored by the Hanso Foundation.

Are you confused enough yet? Wait! There's more!

  • Mysterious numbers keep recurring on the island and in the backstory of one of the focal characters, Hurley. Hurley believes that his winning lottery numbers brought him bad luck (along with several million dollars). His lottery numbers - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 - have played a prominent role throughout the show as the numbers needed to input before pushing the button to "save the world" and more.
  • Last season marked the discovery of Others who survived the plane crash in the tail section.
  • But they're not the only Others, and they're not the true Others about whom the French woman feared.
  • The real Others, in pirate-like appearance, kidnapped Walt (a young boy from the fuselage). His father, Michael, will do whatever he has to do to get Walt back.
  • It's possible that a real Other has been captured with the find of one Henry Gale who supposedly crashed his air balloon on the island. (Reference back to The Wizard of Oz.)
  • In regard to the numbers game of Lost, when they showed Henry's address, he lived at 815 Walnut Ridge - the same number as the flight. Once again, numbers play a huge role in the plot and its clues. And, the 108 timer flip (to save the world) is the sum of the lottery numbers.
  • There isn't space, nor the time in the day, to go into each character on the Island, but you can read up on them on the episode recaps on the ABC Official Lost website. There are murderers, thieves, a man who couldn't walk but now can, and a dog named Vincent (as opposed to a dog named Boo).

Are you still with me? Today, Sunday, September 24, there will be an Internet radio show at 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) in which DJ Dan is supposed to "blow the roof off of the Hanso Foundation" exposing new clues as we go into the third season.

LOST. It's more than just a television show. It's a never-ending mind game of clues, adventure, and odd bed-fellows. But, I'm going to be watching.

Friday, September 22, 2006

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Billy Garcia Interviews


Well, well... for someone who conserved energy instead of using it on the island, Billy Garcia (the second castoff from Cook Islands) sure has been busy on the media front.

Reality News Online had an interview <--- to read the whole interview, click on that link. A few points brought up in the interview:

Billy thought that the idea of separating the tribes by race didn't work for him although it seems to work for the show on the whole. He believes it gave a lot of folks from various minorities a shot on the show. He felt that because his music is heavy metal, a type more popular with Caucasians, that his tribemates feared he would eventually flip to side with the Raro tribe. He also claimed his strategy was indeed to conserve energy and then come to save the day when the rest of the tribe tired (I'm paraphrasing).

Billy mentioned that there was indeed a lot of food in the six days he was there -- more than all previous seasons combined. Okay, he exaggerates a bit, but it's not just the viewers thinking they have a lot of food so far. He said that Cristina thinks Ozzy is a "pompous-know-it-all-jerk." Heh. I think he got that one spot on. I think Ozzy really does know a lot, but he certainly has a chip on his shoulder.

He claims that he was "starving for attention" when Candice gave her the "We love you" bit and when he was watching the show, he saw there was really nothing to it. He said he had to laugh at himself when he saw the show.

If he had his choice, Billy would have wanted to be on a tribe composed of all of the "outsider" types - Cao-Boi, Flicka, Sekou. He called them "alternatives."

He knew before the Tribal Council that the vote would go against him. Cristina had indicated it would go down that way. That's why he went ahead and called out Ozzy and JP.

Media Fiends has a rather poorly written transcript of Billy's The Early Show appearance. But, it's better than my own as I was already on my work commute when he appeared on the show.

Billy Garcia's band (Forsakken) has its own website if you want to check that out or you're into heavy metal music.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 2 -or- "A Challenge Thrown, But Chickens Caught"

Yes, the tribe has once again spoken and Zoetawny has given me yet another graphic. They didn't seem to smile so much at Tribal Council tonight, though.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here's the skinny on tonight's second episode of Survivor 13: Cook Islands and some of my thoughts regarding the events --

Oh, let's skip the inevitable recap. In this day and age, do producers really think it's all that necessary to waste up to five minutes a week going on about what we saw last week? What's up with that? Heck, anyone following the show has either seen it or read about it. Stop it, television shows. No need to do that each week. Viewers want fresh chickens.

It looks like the Hiki Tribe sans Sekou is getting its act together to an extent. They received flint in the last Tribal Council, yet still had problems making fire. Yikes. On a personal level, they're meshing better without a perceived leader. But I wonder how one cannot start a fire for a long time when they have flint, rocks, a machete, dry wood, and nice tinder materials.

Over at Aitu, they're just rocking in the food department. They're spearing fish, digging clams, snagging crabs and all is cool in their little Cook Islands world. Or, is it? When they see chickens running around, Cristina wants to build a trap. Yet, Ozzy has even better ideas for a chicken trap. For someone who said last week that he didn't want to appear as a leader, Ozzy's not being shy. He and Cristina clash, but Ozzy's trap idea worked out. Cristina told her tribemates about being shot in her work as a policewoman. Cecilia and JP seemed suitably impressed; Ozzy seemed to be not too keen on cops.

The Puka Tribe also devised a chicken trap, an old-style crate with bait propped with a stick. Wham! Two chickens at once! Is there anything this tribe can't do? Becky and Yul developed a trust or, on this island, it's an alliance. They're both Korean and they both have the same values, work ethic, and will do well working together.

Jonathan returned to the Raro camp to find that his tribe had done nothing since he left. They still have no real shelter. He tried to get them in gear. Now, last week I didn't care for Jonathan, but in my eyes he's redeemed himself a bit this week. At least, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Adam wants to sit around and conserve energy; both Adam and Candice are busy flirting and doing nothing together. Jonathan could have really freaked, but he didn't. Candice advised Adam not to make an enemy out of Jonathan. Whether Adam will heed the advice, we'll see down the road. Meanwhile, JessFlicka set out "pimpin' out our palace."

The show cut back to the Aitu Tribe where Billy's conserving energy. Perhaps he and Adam should join up together? We find out later on that they might share another interest, too. Heh. Billy has a friend in Cristina who could be protecting him just to spite Ozzy for her own plans. Billy told her that "metal (heavy metal music) is his culture, not Hispanic." Okay, if he says so.

Each tribe seems to have one member who is getting on the nerves of the others. On Puka, it's fan-favorite-to-watch, Cao-Boi. He snores, he tells ethnic jokes about Asians, and he's alienating the others with no care for their opinions. While he cured yet another Bad Wind Headache, he's not making real friends here, not at all. His fellow tribemates are very concerned that his jokes perpetuate stereotypes and most of them want to disprove stereotypes. Oh, Cao-Boi, shhh!

The night before the Immunity/Rewards Challenge, Billy was snoring as Ozzy planned to oust him by throwing the challenge. He insisted that Billy was nothing but deadwood and was bringing an otherwise strong tribe down. He got JP on the bandwagon, although Cristina wasn't happy with the thought at all. She referred to Ozzy by his given name of "Oscar" as she spoke of her distrust of him in confessionals.

I'm not sure if the entire season will combine the Immunity and Reward Challenges, but this one followed last week's example. It was an obstacle course, tied together, retrieve puzzle pieces and solve the puzzle genre challenge. Jeff told a story about Captain Cook and the puzzle was based on the story. Hoo-hah. Since the other three tribes had one more member than Hiki, one from each tribe had to sit out. Jenny and Adam sat out. Billy tried to sit out on Aitu, but instead JP was determined he would and practically left them mid-sentence. The plan was in motion. Or, more precisely, the lack of motion. Ozzy was dragging his heels so much that it was clear what was going on. Billy and Cristina both picked up on it, but when you're tied together, there's not too much you can do at that point.

In the photo on the right, Billy looks on from below as Ozzy oh-so-slowly unties a clue.

Jeff first announced that Puka had won, but then decided it was a tie between Puka and Raro - both won Immunity and two tarps per tribe. Hiki didn't fare all that well, but because Ozzy threw the challenge, Hiki won Immunity.

Aitu chose to send Yul to Exile Island. A big mistake on their part as he made rather quick work of the clues and found the hidden Immunity Idol. I think we have a Korean Terry on our hands. This guy is good and he doesn't seem to alienate others. He could very well make it to the end, I think.

Billy figured Ozzy was trying to vote him off and turned to Cristina who, in turn, turned to Cecilia. It looked like Ozzy's plan just might backfire and the OzMan may find the tables turned. Cecilia thinks a lot of Cristina, they're amigas. Can she be trusted when she gives her word?

In Tribal Council, tempers flared as Billy exposed Ozzy's plan. JP backed up Ozzy saying that Billy was just trying to act like a victim when it's all his own actions which put him in the boat. (Not the Survivor boat, although they all put themselves in that one.) Cristina defended Billy until Billy made an odd announcement which silenced everybody. Um... he declared his love at first sight for Candice. Yes, Candice of Raro. Yes, Candice, the apple of Adam's eye. No, they haven't talked, but Billy knew it was love.

Well, just what could anyone say? Jeff, practically speechless for the first time in years, declared that it was time for them to vote. Of course, Billy voted for Ozzy and Ozzy voted for Billy. We knew that JP would also vote for Billy. While Jeff read four votes - one Billy, one Ozzy, one Billy, one Billy... the real shocker at the end when they showed all of the tribemates casting the vote was that Cristina also voted out Billy. It was 4-1.

So, did the trust thing work between Cecilia and Cristina? I don't know. I'm assuming that they must have talked about changing the vote. But I had it almost figured for a 3-2 Ozzy ouster. When it turned out it was really Billy, I was confused. The plot thickens.

But they have chickens!

Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Update 9/21 - Tribal Council

The votes:
Billy
Ozzy
Billy
Billy

Billy is the second person voted out of Cook Islands.

A full review/recap will be posted later tonight.

Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Update 9/21 - Exile Island

Yul found the hidden Immunity Idol.

Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Update 9/21 - Immunity/Reward/Exile

Puka and Raro tied. Hiki came in third. Puka and Raro won two tarps each in addition to Immunity. Hiki only won Immunity.

Aitu threw the challenge to rid themselves of Billy.

Aitu chose to send Yul to Exile Island.

Tonight's 'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' Blogging


Look! Now Gail made me a tag for the blog, too! Woohoo! Thanks, Gail. It's cool.

And, tonight, I'll continue to Outwit, Outwrite and Out-East Coast Show Night Spoil the show.

Yes, if you're interested in East Coast show night spoilers, I'll be quickly posting the important events as they air here. Later on in the evening (after I watch the C.S.I. season premiere), I'll post a more full recap/review of tonight's Survivor.

To get to the most recent entries tonight on the blog, it may help to either refresh the page or from the main blog page, hit the link for the current month's archives. Why that brings up the most recent posts when other methods don't work, I don't know. But it works for me when I want to make sure I haven't posted any horrible typos in my latest articles.

Not that that stops some typos from making it through, but...!

Survivors ready?

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

TV Newsy Bits - September 20, 2006


Tomorrow will be a bigger blogging day for me as I'll have more time and it's Survivor night!


But, I poked around and found a few items of interest out there on the Wild Web:

Short and sweet today!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Reality TV Newsy Bits - 'Survivor' - 'Amazing Race' - 'BB7'

Get your bits here! Newsy bits! Fresh bits! Reality bits!

Some folks have asked for Survivor 13: Cook Islands spoilers and, to be honest, there isn't a heck of a lot of information out there. The odds-makers this season are more into betting about the tribes as a whole rather than specific castoffs. Some more in depth information regarding this week's upcoming episode can be found here. Web promo images are posted by the Survivor Fever site and you can find them here. Some of the "spoilers" talk about a romance. Well, duh... we saw last week's show. That's no spoiler!

One quasi-spoiler for next season (S14) is the proposed location. I found that information through a few different sources, so it could be it.

In Amazing Race 10 news, an early map image of the route traveled in May as they filmed can be found at this link. Celebrity Spider has an in depth article about the upcoming episode here.

For those who may have missed it, TVGuide.com had an interview with Big Brother 7: All Stars - Will and Janelle, about shomance.

And, but of course... if you're playing the AOL/Gold Rush game, meet up with fellow blog readers to share clues at this entry --> 'AOL/Gold Rush' Clues Meet Up