'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 5 -or- "Is that a homeless cow?"

Seven teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Finally, the teams go to another country. While I found Vietnam a wonderfully exotic and interesting place, this is supposed to be a race around the world. More than one leg in one country feels sort of like they're stagnating. At least, it does to me.

Unlike last week's rather close departure times from the Pit Stop, I noticed there was a three-hour gap between first and last place. That would be Rob/Kimberly and Dustin/Kandice, respectively. Will it matter or will the teams encounter another infamous TAR bunching point waiting for something to open or a flight or somesuch? Only time will tell.

It's off to Chennai, India! For some reason, Vietnam doesn't allow the sale of tickets at airlines and all plane tickets must be purchased from travel agents. It doesn't seem to be a show rule, but a restriction placed by the government. That's odd.
Sarah told us more about her feelings for Peter in a confessional segment. She doesn't put him on the pedestal she once did. Yes, Sarah! Dump him. He's a pompous so-and-so who treats you poorly. He's using you and he really seems like he's not a nice guy, not at all.

Tyler and James saw an addict shooting up drugs near the railroad tracks, so we heard another "so happy to be recovered" bit. The ChoBros have really hooked up with Lyn and Karlyn to develop an alliance which seems to help Lyn and Karlyn more than themselves. Peter seems to be getting creepier in each leg of the race. In addition to treating Sarah poorly and being a pompous you-know-what, he's taken to spying on the other teams to get a step ahead and mocking other teams.

So, what do the ChoBros do? They borrow a cellphone and make a totally fake phone call to make reservations so he could eavesdrop and freak out. And, that he did. Ultimately, it didn't really help the brothers out much, but it was worth it to make a fool of Peter. Even the Barbies (Dustin/Kandice), Peter's supposed allies, were turned off by his spying and no longer trust him.

The teams ended up split between three flights to Chennai. Some had to buy tickets for a connection and poor David and Mary were alone on a later flight. Again, it really didn't make a huge difference in the overall race.

Once in Chennai, the teams had to take a bus to Mallapuram. While David and Marry and the ChoBros tend to look at everything as wondrous and exciting, Rob mumbled, "From one polluted city to another." And, his lovely Kimberly declared she wanted to go to Europe. Tyler and James got lost with a lost cab driver, but most of the teams made it to the arts and crafts store where they received their next clue -- a Detour.

The Detour, a choice between two tasks which are relevant to the region or its culture, was between Wild Things or Wild Rice. In Wild Things, the teams had go tie a crocodile's snout shut, tie the crocodile to a stretcher, then transport it to a man who would give them their next clue. In Wild Rice, teams had to take colored rice powder to make designs according to speculation. Believe it or not, the crocodile choice seemed to be the easier of the two tasks. Most of the teams picked Wild Things, but David/Mary and James/Tyler struggled through Rice.

In personal bits, Mary declared she would not fight a crocodile no way, no how. Sarah told Peter she's not having fun when he told her he has to either win or just not care and that she should just have fun. She's tired of him giving up or pushing her so hard. All she really wants is a middle road and he's not giving her one. (Dump him, Sarah!) Peter and Sarah passed by their "allies" Dustin and Kandice who were stuck with a flat tire. And, tonight's Dumb Line of the Week came from Kimberly. Now, they're in India. Anyone who knows anything about India knows that the folks there often think the cow is a sacred being. They wander the streets, no one bothers them. So, Kimberly sees one and says, "Oh. Is that a homeless cow?" Even Rob thunked his head over that one. Duh.

Next up was a Roadblock -- a task which can only be completed by one member of each team. This one was a hoot! They had to go to the Karthik Driving School, take a lesson, do a road test and receive a driver's license in India. Of course, if this were happening in the USA, it would take the whole season, but we're talking India. Hand signals and a Harpo Marx horn to honk at children and animals (and only children and animals, please) were the rules of the road. Other than those, the only rule was to make it out of there alive without hitting anything, it seemed. All on the left side of the road, as per their laws.

License in hand and driving school car on the road, it was off to the Pit Stop. Here was the order of arrival:
1. Peter/Sarah - Each won a home gym for placing first in the leg.
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was the first of probably three non-elimination legs this season. Unlike the last few years which had the money and possessions stripped from the teams in last place, Phil Keoghan (the Philiminator) told David and Mary that they're "marked for elimination." In the next leg, they must arrive in first place or suffer a 30-minute penalty. That time penalty could very well knock them out, so first or the closest they can get to it is a must. Next week should be interesting. They're not the fastest or strongest team, but I'd like to see them hang in there.

Rob and Kimberly weren't as annoying with bickering this week, but I still wouldn't miss them if they were out of the running. I like Peter less each time I see him. The ChoBros, Erwin and Godwin, are still my favorites for the win. Of course, I'm horrible at picking the winning team so that might be bad luck for them. This week they wore LOST shirts with a picture of Phil on them and a lookout notice for a missing Kiwi. Phil is from New Zealand, thus the Kiwi. He laughed at the shirts when they got to the Pit Stop. I think Phil likes these guys, too!

'The Amazing Race 10' Pit Stop Arrival East Coast Update

Arrival order -

1. Sarah/Peter - Each won a home gym
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was a non-elimination leg. David and Mary are still in the race. The rules have changed - they keep their money and possessions. But, if they don't come in first at the Pit Stop in the next leg, they will receive a 30 minute penalty as they're "marked for elimination."

A full report will be posted later tonight.

Tonight's 'The Amazing Race 10' Blogging Schedule

Tonight's TAR is running about 20-25 minutes behind schedule here in the NYC area due to football. (Sigh.)

Once the show finally airs here, I'll post an East Coast Update with the Pit Stop arrival order and the Philimination or non-Philimination if it's time for one of those.

Late tonight, I'll post a recap/review of the show.

In the meantime, I watched a show about hot dogs on WNET, Channel 13, public television. They didn't even mention Jimmy Buff's (local cool Newark-style dogs with potatoes!) or Hot Dog Charlie's (my early childhood hot dogs). Sheesh!

Um. I'm kind of hungry now.

'The Bachelor' and 'Nip/Tuck' - Blog Meet Up Discussion Post

You asked for it, you got it!

Here's a place for you to talk about The Bachelor and Nip/Tuck with friends. Share links to websites, share this post link with friends, discuss the latest episode!

The link to this entry will be posted on the sidebar of the main page along with other discussion posts. Please feel free to have fun.

:-)


The official websites for these shows are at:
The Bachelor
Nip/Tuck



I don't watch the shows, but who knows? After reading your discussions, I just might have to check them out!

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 5 -or- "Ankle Octopi, the Newest Fad"

16 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

After the inevitable recap of last week, the show opened with the Raro Dudes hustling. Since JP was voted off last week, they're worried the women will come gunning for them. They're outnumbered and they're worried. And, more importantly, they're working. While they want to show how much they can actually do, the women are just taking it all in.

Over on Aitu, the gender war sort of continues. At least Cao Boi is irked about the women on his tribe doing less than the manly men. With the way he irks others, he may not be in a position to cast stones.

Treemail with its hints of challenges to come sent the castaways to meet up with Jeff. This was a rather new one for a change, not a recycled past challenge with new casting. Each tribe had to pick three pairs from their ranks. The pairs had to stand tied together as the remaining folks placed weights on the pairs of their choosing in five pound increments.

When I saw Adam and Nathan were a pair, I figured them for both the target of others and for the win. Sure enough, they were loaded up with the most weight and struggled to hold each other in the competition. The idea of wine kept Nathan going and they persevered. Since JessFlicka decided to taunt others, I chortled when she and her partner, Ozzy, went down. As Nathan would say, "Karma is a bizzle."

So, Raro won Reward - a bottle of wine, spices, and more fishing gear. They also won the opportunity to choose someone from Aitu to go to Exile Island. Now, we know it's a waste, but only Becky and Yul know for sure that the hidden Immunity Idol has already been found (by Yul). They chose to send Jonathan. He will return before the Immunity Challenge and will not be safe from Tribal Council voting should Aitu lose immunity.

After the challenge, back at the Raro camp, the guys are still hustling. Adam hustled so mightily that he somehow caught an octopus who must have thought he was a constricting snake. The octopus wrapped itself right around Adam's ankle. I can see it being the next utilitarian fashion trend -- ankle weights and, after exercise, it's dinner!

You would think that since they won something, they'd be happier. Nuh-uh! Jenny complained that Cristina is the "new JP." And, Cristina didn't help matters any when she accidentally spilled the pot of octopus (yes, ankle-octopus), then tried to blame Jenny. Actually, she just claimed that she thought Jenny was watching it, but blame enough. The girls want Cristina to be the next out.

Over at the Aitu camp, Yul wants to try to catch a chicken and the tribe is lamenting about the lack of resources there. Some want to row to a nearby island to see if they can collect coconuts and other needed supplies. Cao Boi, Ozzy, and Jessica tried to convince Sundra to join them in their quest, but she turned them down, preferring to stay behind with Yul, Becky, and Candice.

With most of the Alliance of Four (who wants to be of five), and just Jonathan missing on Exile Island, Yul tried to sway Sundra to join them. Sundra seemed a bit reluctant to commit, but said she feels more comfortable with them than with Ozzy and Cao Boi. Yul told her he didn't trust Ozzy.

Oh... the island that decided to explore? Well, it was none other than the Raro camp island! Oy! That did not go over well at all with Raro, and Adam, in particular was not a happy neighbor. Cao Boi went into a bizarre Cao Boi long tale of rats, snakes, and other animals being friends, being feared, and on and on. And, on and on some more. Perhaps it was his attempt to hypnotize the tribe to steal their spices. I don't know. He did have the nerve to ask them for just a bit and the answer was laughter, followed by an empatic no.

On Exile Island, Jonathan dug a huge trench following the clues. He decided the hidden Idol has already been found or that he's the biggest moron in the world. You're not a moron, Jonathan.

Not only did we have a fresh new Reward Challenge, the Immunity Challenge was also new fodder! The tribes had to put together three "stepping poles" each, two tribe members had to use the poles to cross to a platform with the other tribemates supporting them and moving them forward. Then, they all had to swim to a tiered platform and all had to gather at the top of a small platform.

Aitu kept up their mini-streak and was declared the winner. Raro almost won it, but every single tribe member fell off their platform, so they had to all get up there again.
So, it's the "who are we voting for" routine as Raro returned to their camp. Remember, earlier they wanted to vote Cristina off because she's bossy. It was all going that way once again until -- almost like last week -- Stephannie said something a bit dumb, this time to Nathan. They were talking about the plan to vote Cristina off when Stephannie said, "I wouldn't mind eating some mashed pototoes tonight."

That was all Nathan needed even though she's his Hiki-hood Love. He went to Adam and Brad, told them that he felt her spirit was broken and she wanted to go home. It spread. Parvati asked Stephannie and she denied she wanted to go home. She also said she wouldn't beg to stay.

Perhaps she should have begged.

At Tribal Council, the vote was unanimous with the exception of her own vote for Cristina. Stephannie is history. The other rather interesting event other than the vote was that Nathan spoke up and said how bossy Cristina was to others. That may come back to bite him or it could warn her. I guess we'll see.

At the end of the show, in the promos for next week, it appears we'll get the double-castoff I predicted due to too many on the show. Jeff said something about one from each tribe would be evicted. Of course, that doesn't leave much incentive to win Immunity, does it? Unless they don't know -- it's certainly too early to break down for individual immunity.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Show Update 10/12 - Tribal Council Boot

6 votes were read. One was for Cristina, the other five were for Stephannie.

Bye-bye, Stephannie. I liked ya!

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Show Update 10/12 - Immunity

Aitu won Immunity.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Show Update 10/12 - Reward/Exile Choice

Raro won the Reward Challenge - more fishing equipment and a bottle of wine.

They also chose a person from Aitu to send to Exile Island (not immune) - Jonathan.

Tonight's 'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' Blogging Schedule

The show will be starting here in a few minutes. As usual, any important events will be posted in East Coast Updates - Immunity, Boot, and any other critical happenings - will be posted as aired here in the East.

If you don't see a new post, try refreshing the page or hitting the Archive link (right sidebar) for this month.

Sometime tomorrow I'll be adding discussion posts for both Nip/Tuck and The Bachelor. If you're interested in various discussion posts, check out the right sidebar of the main page!

Late tonight, I'll post a full review/recap of tonight's Survivor.

'Lost' - "The Glass Ballerina"

Graphic artist Zoetawny made me a Lost maze mug. It's great, but I have to keep entering the code to save the world. Now, how am I going to get some sleep tonight? Maybe I can take in a stranger and convince him to enter the code while I flee!

Tonight's episode of Lost was called "The Glass Ballerina" and it won't rank in my favorites. Not that it was horrible, mind you. Not at all. It was entertaining enough, but I feel a bit stuck in place after watching it.

The show opened with a flashback sequence of Sun as a child. She broke a glass ballerina figurine in her house, then lied to her very authoritative father, telling him the maid broke it. Even after he told her the maid would be fired and he obviously thought Sun broke it, she lied.

As usual, the show cut back and forth from flashbacks to vignettes on the island interweaving them throughout the episode. Sometimes it can make you dizzy, but that's Lost for you. I'm going to split this into the main threads of tonight's show. We have the Sun/Jin backstory in flashbacks, the Sayid/Jin/Sun mission on the island, and then the Kate/Sawyer/Jack/Others events.


The Sun and Jin Backstory
After the initial flashback with the busted ballerina, the next one also focused on Sun's lies or, to be more precise, her infidelity. A motel room, Sun in bed with her lover, Jae. He told her that her English is good enough to leave. "You could go to America!" He showed her a pearl necklace and vowed his love for her. She teared up and doesn't commit. Or, she didn't really have a chance to as her father arrived into the room. Eep!

Then it was Jin meeting up with his father-in-law, Sun's very authoritative Dad. Her father, his boss, wants him to take care of a man who's been "stealing" from him. Although the father never comes out point-blank and said it, he used phrases like "my shame is your shame." Jin knew it was basically a contract hit and refused, even tried to quit. Quitting wasn't allowed - he must restore their honor. Jin told Sun he had to deliver a message for her father and she knew. She begged him not to, claimed they could run away. But, he couldn't.

So, Jin confronted Jae, beat him and held a gun to his head. Well, there was a pillow in between the gun and the head, but I don't believe that's great cover. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill Jae. Jae cried, he apologized. Jin told him to vanish. But, he didn't. Instead, as Jin sat in his car still shaking from the encounter, Jae's body thumped down. A suicide? He held the pearls he had planned to give to Sun.

The last flashback was Jae's funeral. Sun and dear rather evil Dad met up by surprise. Sun asked him if he was going to tell Jin. He told her that's not his place and commented on the suicide as well as the shame.

The Sayid, Sun, and Jin Island Mission
Sayid has hatched a rescue mission to save Jack, Sawyer, and Kate. He wants to sail to where the others are and save the world. Wait, that's Locke pushing the button. No, Sayid wants to save the captives. Or, perhaps, he just wants to confront the others?

Jin was reluctant to go with Sayid's plan and there doesn't seem to be a lot of trust there. Sun told Jin she wanted to go because she didn't want to be without him. (She sure was without him with Jae!)

They set sail and found a dock which seemed very out of place. Sayid suggested they camp for the night and make a fire. Supposedly the plan was to build a fire so Jack could see the smoke. But Sun saw through it and questioned Sayid. He admitted his plan was to build the fire to attract the Others. When they came, he'd kill all but two hostages. Why two? So they could be used against each other. "Just lie to Jin for twenty minutes more," he pleaded as they built the fire. Lie to Jin? Say it ain't so!

There was no need to lie to Jin, though. He figured it all out and said he also understands English more than people think he does. He and Sayid took guns and waited by the fire for the Others, sending Sun to the "safety" of the boat.

Oh, no! The Others want the boat, not the people! Several boarded in the dark of night. Down below deck, Sun retrieved a gun and tried to convince a blonde female Other (not Juliet) to let her escape. The female Other knew Sun's name and didn't think she'd shoot. No go with that and Sun shot her. She barely escaped with her own life as the men on deck shot at her.

Ah, but she fell overboard and swam to Jin, who was already frantically swimming to her. All lovey-dovey and even Sayid showed remorse for his wayward mission.

Jack, Sawyer, and Kate Still Held Captive
Juliet made soup for Jack who's still being held in the dry dolphin tank. He seems to have lost his appetite and wasn't overly cooperative. When Juliet met up with Benry (Henry/Ben), he flirted just a bit... a bit bitter, it seems. "You never made soup for me." They were interrupted by the blonde Not Juliet (possibly Colleen) who told them that the "Iraqi found the decoy village and had a boat."

"I want that boat," said Benry in an absolutely chilling tone. It was like he didn't care if the people lived or died - he wanted the boat.

Sawyer and Kate were awakened by loud parade music, then carted off to a workfarm just a bit short of being on the chain gang. Kate had to chop up rocks while Sawyer had to haul the chopped rocks in a wheelbarrow. There were several other prisoners doing the same work. They were warned not to talk or try to escape; the punishment would be electrical shocks from a handheld shock doohickey.

A woman in the bushes (not one of the prisoners) whispered to Kate, said the dress she was wearing was hers, and asked if they were living in the bear cages. She asked about Carl, someone she seems to think may be in one of the cages. She disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Was this Alex, Rousseau's daughter? I believe it was.


Then there was The Kiss, the one featured in promos. And, just as the spoilers predicted, the kiss wasn't what it seemed. Oh, yes, it was a kiss and indeed a kiss between Sawyer and Kate. But, it was a scheme on Sawyer's part to either escape or, failing that, size up the enemy. It ended up being the latter as he reported back to Kate after their return to the cages. He thinks most of the men have never had to fight anyone, but the blonde woman would kill in a minute. As Kate and Sawyer talked, Benry monitored every bit of their conversation on several monitors much like the hatch with the monitors of the other hatches.

Back to Jack, Benry tried to start over by explaining that he couldn't say anything when he was held captive. He introduced himself to Jack, which got the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil" running through my mind -- "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and fame... what's puzzling you is the nature of my game." He said his full name is Benjamin Linus and he extended his hand, a hand Jack refused to shake.

He told Jack that he's lived on the island all of his life and that Jack needs to change his perspective. When Jack questioned if home was where he had sent Walt and Michael, he affirmed it. Then he proved to Jack that he has contact with the world at large. His proof? The Boston Red Sox winning the world series. He showed him a videotape of the win.

"I will take you home. But you must listen and do what I tell you..."

And that was that; the episode is done. Very few answers, if any. Not even too many new questions. What I'm left with are nagging issues:

• The Others claim to be Good, not Evil. Jack, Sawyer, and Kate were handpicked to be captives. Sawyer and Kate have outlaw backgrounds, Jack has issues. Are they Evil?
• How did the Blonde Other know Sawyer's name is James? How did the Other on the boat know Sun's name? Where did they get that file on Jack last week?
• Last week there was a reference that DHARMA was long ago, but there has to be some sort of organization behind the flow of information.
• Where are the children?
• Each backstory exposes weaknesses of the stranded. What are the weaknesses of the Others?
• Why was Benry so intent on getting ahold of the boat? After all, if he has contact with the world, he wouldn't need it. Or, is it just that he doesn't want them to have it?
• What's the reason behind a decoy village? How many others have fallen into the island's grip?
• Are all of the Others like Benry, lifelong island residents?

Oh, I just don't know. I'm as Lost as all get-out!

What's On TV Tonight? Wednesday - Oct. 11, 2006

I guess it's a good thing that I won't be watching all of the shows which catch my eye as I peruse tonight's listings. It's a rainy night here and the perfect sort of evening to be curled up with a throw over my shoulders, a mug of hot chocolate, and a warm television. Or two, and don't forget the VCR!

Here are the shows on the schedule which have my attention, some enough to note here, others enough to watch, and one I'll be watching and blogging.

• CBS at 8 PM ET/PT has a new episode of Jericho. This week should see the arrival of strangers, or at least one stranger, to the town - the first to come from outside Jericho since the nuclear explosion. The episode is entitled "Wall of Jericho" and I'll watch.
• Also at 8 PM, but on NBC and for only a half-hour is the debut of 30 Rock. I like Tina Fey, but I'm a bit ambivalent about the rest of the cast. Due to my old love of SNL back in the days, I'll tape this one and give it a shot.
• At 8:30 on NBC, the debut of Twenty Good Years with John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor. Two "older" guys decide to live every day like it's their last. Okay. Maybe, maybe not. It's not something that's striking me as a must-watch, but since I'll be taping 30 Rock, I'll tape the hour.
• On ABC at 8 PM, it's Dancing With The Stars. I've watched about ten minutes of this so far this season and just a bit more last season. It's popular, though. I just don't think I want to see Jerry Springer waltzing. I just don't.
• On the CW Network at 8 PM, there's America's Next Top Model, another show with its fans. But, not my cuppa tea.
• At 9 PM, I'm going to be Lost! According to the listings: "The Glass Ballerina" Sun's and Jin's lives are in danger; Kate and Sawyer must work in harsh conditions; Henry makes Jack a tempting offer that will be difficult to refuse." I'll be watching, probably taping, and blogging later on tonight about the episode.
• While I'm all about Lost, CBS has Criminal Minds and NBC has The Biggest Loser. I keep wanting to watch CM, but its timeslot is bad. And, the one time I caught it in a rerun, it didn't catch me. I've no desire to watch The Biggest Loser.
• At 10 PM, it's a toss-up which I'll watch and which I'll tape... C.S.I.: NY or The Nine. Both will eventually be seen by me.

What are your TV plans for tonight? Is anyone watching those odd soap opera type shows on stations like My9 in NYC? I'm talking Desire and Fashion House. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone mention them and, as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather watch old syndicated reruns. But that could be me.

TV Newsy Bits and Other Stuff - Oct. 10, 2006

Well, well, well. What's been happening with the boob tube and me last night and today?

Last night, I once again watched Heroes. I'm not sure where the story is going, but I'm sticking with this one. I've been a comic book fan for eons, although I've fallen away some over the years. I love the character of Hiro more each time I see him. I'm not sure how the show can work longterm as there's supposedly some sort of nuclear disaster appearing within weeks, but I'll go for the ride with them. And... if I were to have some sort of superpower of my choice, I'd choose flight. After all, I could skip all the New Jersey traffic congestion.

I also caught JP, recently cast out on Survivor, on Late Night with David Letterman. He seemed very different than he did on the island. He definitely wants a job and sure sounds like he wants show biz.

Tonight, it was the Law and Order block for me. The second one (SVU) had Jerry Lewis appearing as Munch's uncle. He's suffering from a depression-related disease which at times mimics Alzheimer's. I think he did very well in the role, but in the end, the episode was more tragic than most. But, sometimes it's good to think.

What did you watch?

In TV Newsy Bits, here's some of the scoop I found out there:

• For American Idol fans, Bo Bice Hospitalized
• William Shatner to Host New ABC Reality Game Show "Show Me the Money"
• Big Brother 7 Contestant Will Kirby to Appear on "The Young and the Restless"
• Suresh Tracks Down a Genetically Advanced "Superman" Next Week on Heroes
• Laying odds on this season's ‘Amazing Race’ - REALITY TV - MSNBC.com
• 'Amazing Race' Upcoming Episode In-Depth
• IGN: Exclusive Survivor: Cook Islands Interview: J.P.
• TV Cocktail: A TV Blog at iVillage.com
• Boogie Has Had A Good Year - Something I'm sure we're happy to hear!

'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 4 -or- "Up, Over, Under and Around in Circles"

Eight teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Once again, they switched the introduction to the show. They should be due for a non-elimination leg soon - I'm thinking next week. When the show started off with the word "next" in lieu of "tonight," I thought it may be this show, but it was indeed a Philimination leg.

And, I have the lowdown.

Health concerns continue to plague some of the teams as we head into the fourth leg. Mary's sprained ankle is still a problem and we learned that Rob collapsed due to heat dehydration. He was treated and deemed fit to continue racing. Since he's one of my own personal least favorites, I wouldn't have minded if they told him, "No! Stop racing! Rest for three days!" Ah, but that wasn't the case.

As the teams took off from the last Pit Stop, a rice paddy in Vietnam, I noticed that the gap betwixt first and last place had narrowed in comparison to last week's start. The first team (ChoBros) left at 10:55 PM and the last team (TnT) left at 11:48 - not even an hour apart.

The teams had to take a taxi to Hanoi, then collect 588 Vietnamese Dong. That's the currency in Vietnam; 1 Vietnamese Dong = 0.00006458 US Dollar, so it's not a heck of a lot of money, eh? They then had to travel to a park where an auditory clue, in addition to crickets, started a fiasco of mixed-up directions and a Kimberly/Robert rude cab blow-out. The clue itself was hard to understand in either language - English or Vietnamese. Some teams wrote it phonetically; other teams asked their cabbies to listen.

Some just disrespected their cabbies. Yes, I'm talking about Rob. I don't know why someone would expect a cab driver in Vietnam to understand English and, even when the cabbie doesn't speak the language, he sure can understand tone. Give me Mary and David, with Mary hugging the taxi driver and telling him she loved him instead.

After all the clue confusion and cab-clamoring, all the teams ended up on the same bus headed to Ha Long Bay. There they faced a Roadblock, a task only one member of the team must perform. This particular Roadblock had them using mechanical ascenders to scale the side of a cliff. It was a 90' ascension directly up and used both arm and leg strength.

And, this is where I get surly. Peter, of Peter/Sarah fame, takes the easy Roadblocks and lets Sarah, who has a prosthetic leg, perform the hard ones. (Dump him, Sarah!) Yes, I know editing plays a part, but if Peter hadn't made yet another remark in the line of his "disability card" utterances and then sat smugly drinking a cold beverage as Sarah struggled...! His line this time was "Pull the handicapped placard out and get in the front of the line" as only three ascenders were available at a time. This guy needs some serious dumping by Sarah, seriously. Watching Sarah climb the cliff, I think I had more concern than he did.

As Godwin Cho prepared to go up, he declared he was leaving all of his possessions to his brother. And, it was neat to watch Karlyn go up the cliff struggling, yet busting with pride at her accomplishment. It could have been editing, but it looked like every other team member remaining at the bottom cheered their mates on while Peter relaxed.

The teams had to find their next clue in an absolutely stunning cave - Sung Cot Cave. It reminded me of visiting Carlsbad Caverns. There wasn't too much excitement at hand in the cave as the teams basically just had to find their clues to their next destination, which happened to be a Detour. A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with a local touch, performed by both members of the team.

The choices this leg were Over or Under. In Over, the teams had to take a boat called a junk, then row a smaller boat called a sandpan - sort of a wide and flat rowboat to pick up and deliver goods to two destinations in a floating village. In Under, teams took a junk, then rowed a sandpan to a location where oyster baskets were marked by buoys. They had to harvest and deliver 30 baskets of oysters.

All of the teams had trouble manuevering their sandpans and I don't think I've heard that much fussing and fretting on one task in ages. Tears, whining, arguing, and then some more tears. Peter fussed that he wanted to give up and I thought I saw contempt in Sarah's eyes. (Dump him, Sarah!) Mary and David snapped at each other and she gave him a "you're not the boss of me" comeback. Remember, at the beginning of the season, she claimed that where they're from, the man is the boss. I don't think so! Most of the teams went for Under, but Lyn and Karlyn succeeded at Over. All of the teams found out that rowing a sandpan in high winds isn't like rowing a canoe.
Much to my dismay, Rob and Kimberly finished the task first and hit the mat at the Pit Stop at Soi Sim Island first. I don't like their bickering. Phil commented on it, too. "Are you being nice to each other?" Yeah, sure they are! As the first place winners of the leg, they each won a jet ski. That's better than the one home entertainment center that Godwin and Erwin won last week, but it's no trip for two... which may be a good thing in the light of their relationship or lack thereof.



This is the order at the Pit Stop:

1. Rob/Kimberly
2. Peter/Sarah
3. Tyler/James
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. David/Mary
6. Lyn/Karlyn
7. Dustin/Kandice
8. Tom/Terry (TnT) - last and Philiminated.

In a bit towards the end of the show, Sarah told Peter she didn't appreciate him saying he was going to give up when she had worked so hard to climb the cliff. He sat there and said nothing. In a confessional she held without him, she seems to realize he's not the dream love she thought he was. Dump him, Sarah!

Supposedly, this race is one of the most extensive ever. Why are they still in Vietnam? I'm finding it a beautiful and exotic country, but they've traveled hardly at all the last two legs.

Mary is proving to be my must-watch racer each week. Between her funny lines and her reaction to wondrous places and peoples, she's fun to watch. Yes, she fussed some about her sprained ankle, but I could see her forging on with a cast if she had to do so. She may be one of the more "country bumpkin" types than we've seen on the show before, but she's definitely an ambassador of good will with the natives.

I'm still cheering on the ChoBros for the win, but David and Mary would certainly make for a very different finale. I like Sarah, but not Peter. I'm not too thrilled with either Kimberly or Rob, and the pretty teams (Dustin/Kandice, Tyler/James) aren't striking me much at all, nor did TnT. I wouldn't mind seeing Karlyn and Lyn hang in there. I think they're pretty amazed at what they've done and I bet their children are thrilled, too.

Just get out of Vietnam and stop all the crying, teams!

Oh.

And, dump him, Sarah!

'The Amazing Race 10' - 10/08 East Coast Update - Arrival Order and Philimination

The arrival to the Pit Stop:

1. Rob/Kimberly - Won a jet ski each
2. Peter/Sarah
3. Tyler/James
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. David/Mary
6. Lyn/Karlyn
7. Dustin/Kandice
8. Tom/Terry - Eliminated

Tonight's 'Amazing Race 10' Blogging Schedule

Once again, here on the East Coast (at least in the NYC viewing area), TAR is a bit delayed due to the football game running over.

I know football has its fans, but I'm not one of them.

I'm not quite sure when 60 Minutes started as I started watching America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC. Once it's over, I'll switch to the tail end of 60 Minutes to await TAR. I believe it's less than 10 or 15 minutes behind schedule, but I'm not sure. But, as a result, East Coast Update posts on the show will be running as late as the show is. As usual, an entire review/recap will be posted later in the evening. But I will post East Coast Updates as far as the Pit Stop Arrival Order and Philimination as they appear.

Darn football.

TV Newsy Bits - October 7, 2006

I'll be addressing some of the comments later on this evening - I thank you all for commenting! I just have to catch up after a few busy workdays.

As I'll be gone most of the day, I wanted to leave you with a few tidbits o' stuff that I thought you'd like to check out...

• A Surgical Intern Has a Medical Emergency Next Week on "Grey's Anatomy"
• Reality Dish: Murtzcellanious: Murtz Jaffer Interviews Bilal Abdul-Mani From The Amazing Race 10 - Don't ask me what's with all the exclamation points. It's very interesting, but I read it utilizing them and he sounds very um... excitable. "So I've been fasting for the past 23 years!!!!" Eep. (I hope they left some for someone else on the Internet to use.)
• Reality Dish: [SPOILER] Details Revealed About Next Week's Survivor Episode
• RNO: Transcript of JP, Survivor's latest castoff, on The Early Show.
• Heroes Given Full Season Order from NBC

See y'all later! (See, I snagged an exclamation point out of that interview. I had to. There were no more in the punctuation stockroom.)

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 4 -or- "That's no nut, it's a crab!"

17 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Dang. There are still a lot of them there! I bet we'll see a double cast-off sometime soon.

The show opened to a pouting Ozzy on Aitu. "If you're going to vote me out, do it soon. Waah, waah. I don't want to keep catching food for you if you're just going to vote me out. Waah." Of course, the opening scenes to tonight's show are from just after Tribal Council on the last show. While we tend to think it's a week, it's only been a few hours for Ozzy. There. I did my best to defend his pouting. He's irking me, so I can't defend him any more for personal reasons.

It's Day 9 and a boat brought Candice back from her Exile Island jaunt. Immediately JessFlicka and Sundra were at her questioning why Raro chose her to go to Exile Island. In confessional, she said she tried to play dumb, but I doubt she'll ever be Thespian of the Year. "Oh, really? They tried to save me from Tribal Council, y'think? I didn't even think of that!"

The seeds of gender wars are brewing (I like to mix my metaphors) in Raro as the men laze about and the women are doing most of the work. The guys just don't see this. Well, they see it, but since they're all-powerful men and they're needed so darned much on the tribe, they have no fear. They form an alliance of testosterone or four, you figure which. They know the women will keep them.


Yeah, right.

The Reward Challenge this week was physical and mental. And, it looked like it hurt for some. Two tribe members were attached together by a rope while the others pushed and pulled them through an obstacle course. Then there was diving to retrieve a wheel, swimming, running, deciphering a phrase using the wheel to get the clues - enough to make your head spin. On Raro, Stephannie sat out as they have one more member.

The winners received three blankets, two pillows, and a hammock. They also got to choose a person from the losing tribe to send to Exile Island. Unlike last week, the Exile will return in time for Tribal Council and will not be safe. That is, if that tribe goes to Tribal Council. Aitu won and sent Adam off to the island.

After the challenge, Ozzy was fishing again despite his fussing. They're doing well with the fishing. Ozzy caught nine of the eleven fish caught by the men. In a confessional, he bragged about how they wouldn't vote him out because he catches all the food. Not so fast there, OzMan. Food seems like the least of the worries this season. You irk them like you irk me and, trust me, they don't need you to get them food. They can do it themselves. When you think you're the sole provider, you probably aren't going to make it to be the Sole Survivor.


Over at the Raro campsite, they're bummed. And, not only that, JP is lazing about while expecting others to wait on him hand and foot. This really, really irks me. My two favorites the first show were JP and Ozzy, and neither is the man he appeared to be in the premiere. Ms. Flirt, otherwise known as Parvati, is even ticked off at him.

Parvati's main flirt-target is still Nathan, who's pretty loyal to JP. But she went to him with her complaints anyway. He hinted that JP's time will come and they should just let it happen. He also said he had her back. As they talked, he was trying to break open a nut with his hands. All of a sudden he yelled that the nut pinched him. "That's not nut, it's a crab! Ow!" In a confessional, he admitted to being interested in Parvati, but said he had to keep his mind on the game.

Cao Boi is wearing thin on me now. Sigh. He did the stupidest thing in the workd tonight. He was poking a stick at a large bird in a nest. They had been looking at boobies, but this seemed a lot larger. He knocked the nest to the ground in search of eggs. No eggs, but there's a baby bird that may have lost its life in the fiasco. Jonathan picked up the fallen nestling and had tears in his eyes. Cao Boi replaced the bird's nest and nestling back in the tree. The mother sat on the nest, but the nest wasn't left too secure and there's human scent on the baby bird. Stupid, stupid Cao Boi. He feeds bad and said sometimes the kid in him takes over. But, he's not a kid. That was incredibly stupid for him to do. I hope he stops and thinks from now on.

The Immunity Challenge had tribe members assembling a puzzle-stretcher, running across the island, one swimming out to rescue yet another tied to a mast, returning carrying the rescued member, starting a fire to burn a rope and raise the tribe's flag. A typical Survivor challenge, y'know. It came down to the fire and Cao Boi shined for Aitu. He danced, he smoked, and he got it going while Stephannie is the one who took the heat for a Raro loss.


"Cao Boi's the Zen Firemaster, " said one of the guys. Stephannie felt horrible and blurted out that it was all her fault. Yikes, Steph! Hush! Everyone automatically assumed that what she said in the heat of the moment meant they should vote her out because she wants to go home. Say what? Nathan feels bad because she's his "Hiki-hood love," but he'll do what she wants.

Heh. But then Cristina and Jenny noticed JP laying about once again. Him! They had to get the women to vote out him instead of Stephannie. Steph admitted to them that she didn't want to go home. They know they can get Rebecca in on the plan, try for Parvati and were unsure of the results. They hit up Brad for their Womens Alliance. Will it work?

Sure enough, it will!

At the Tribal Council, Jeff read off seven votes, when it hit five for JP and two for Stephannie, JP was banished. Or, more precisely, bamboozled. Or, even blindsided. Whatever it was, he just stood there and said, "Damn. You guys outwitted me big time. That was pretty good.."

Hey, the logo reads "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast."

In the end, it was only JP and Nathan voting for Stephannie, all the other votes were for JP. Interesting, eh? I'm not sure how they got Adam. Nathan's facial expressions showed he didn't have a clue what was going on as Jeff read the votes.

Buh-bye, JP.

Outwit, Outplay, Outblog

"Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast 10/05 Show Update - Tribal Council

7 votes read, 5 for JP and 2 for Stephannie - Nathan and JP were the only votes for Stephannie. Bamboozled!

JP is voted off.

UPDATE: A full review/recap will be posted late tonight.

"Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast 10/05 Show Update - Immunity

Aitu won Immunity.

"Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast 10/05 Show Update - Reward/Exile

Aitu won Reward (3 blankets, 2 pillows and a hammock) and sent one Raro to Exile Island. They chose Adam. He will return before Tribal Council and isn't exempt.