Last Week's TV Hits and Misses (IMO, but of course)

This Week's Hits:

'Love Monkey' -- I like this show. I wrote about the premiere here. Once again this week, I'll be watching and I'm sure to jot at least a quick entry about it.

'American Idol' -- Hey, what can I say? It's a guilty pleasure and I think I like the bad auditions as much, if not more, than after the twelve finalists are selected. It'll always be a hit with me at this stage of the season. Let's see how much I like it after the auditions end! I blogged both nights this past week here and here.

'Everybody Hates Chris' -- Now, I didn't blog about this one. I usually don't watch the show and have only caught one other episode. The show is in a bad time slot for me as during 'Survivor' season I already watch one show and tape another at that time. However, for the moment, the 8 PM slot is free of 'Survivor' and 'The Apprentice', so there's Chris. I enjoyed the episode and it reminded me of saving my babysitting money for one of those suede fringed jackets circa 1969 or so.

'Law and Order: SVU' -- Again, not blogged about, but a good episode. This episode's "ripped from the headlines" story was based on a recent local Newark story, so I watched with a bit of insight into it. A horrible case, although a well-written episode.

'Ellen' -- I'm off from work one weekday a week and this is a never miss. Alas, for a while I was taping daily, but there were never enough hours in the day to catch up, so I stopped. I watched Wednesday's episode which included guest Matthew Fox. This show never disappoints me except when it's a rerun and I only see Wednesday eps!

'C.S.I.' and 'Without a Trace' both end up in the Hits of the Week category as does 'NUMB3RS.'

This Week's Misses:

'The Four Kings' -- I keep watching as there's nothing else I watch in the time slot and I have my big secret crush on Josh Cooke. Woefully lacking, for the most part. Sigh.

'LOST' -- Yikes! I so don't want this in my Misses category as I'm addicted to the show! Waah! But this week's episode didn't move enough forward for me. Okay, Michael ran off to look for Walt again. The only interesting forward movement for this week's episode was the appearance of the Others (who really seem to be pirates and the guy should have a parrot on his shoulder, a wooden leg and say "ARRRR" a lot). Improve next week, LOST!

What did you watch? I'd love to hear your Hits and Misses for the week!

New 'Survivor' Castaways: A Closer Look at Ruth Marie Milliman

This morning's "New 'Survivor' Castaways: Closer Look at..." is all about Ruth Marie Milliman. Y'know, the more I read about this cast, the more impressed I am at most, if not all, of this season's castaways. What I'm not seeing much of is those who just want to be on television and be a "star." That's very refreshing to me. Of course, down the road we'll probably see folks whining about the "old" people or such. Tough. I like the cast! Nyah.

Back to Ruth Marie -- she's a 48 year old director of retail leasing (according to the job listed) in Greenville, SC. Oh, but she's so much more than that! I mean, we're talking the 1978 South Carolina Watermelon Queen here! :::grin::: More seriously, she's a woman who's been successful in beauty pageants, holds a degree in Criminal Justice, was a head cheerleader in her college days, was a flight attendant and a narcotics agent (not at the same time) and is currently regarded as a top competitive long distance runner. She seems fit, photogenic and looks like another contender to me.

Let's take a quick look at her CBS Official Favorites for insight:
Ah, she likes honeysuckle... one of the finest scents on the planet in my opinion. Good. Um... board game is CandyLand? Huh. I believe that was Judd's game. Eep. Her magazines and books are geared to running and bicycling. She likes watermelon (no wonder) and champagne. Oh... and she likes Elvis.

My prediction for her? Well, just basing on her background, I believe she's going to be a strong competitor in the game. Perhaps not the Sole Survivor, but latter half towards the Final Four.

Your thoughts?

New 'Survivor' Castaways: A Closer Look at Bruce Kanegai

This 'Closer Look At' entry is all about new 'Survivor' castaway Bruce Kanegai. He's a 58 year old karate instructor/high school art teacher who grew up in Los Angeles and now calls Simi Valley his home. As a child he obtained both a black belt in karate and the rank of Eagle Scout. During his 34 years of teaching he's taught over 10,000 students and received many career awards for doing so. In karate, he's taught over 7,000 students. (I can bet this guy has a built in audience on 'Survivor'!)

His background is very impressive ranging from his work to being a backpacking instructor and working with police department training. Oh... he was bitten by a rattlesnake three years ago! Eek! He's married, has two children and one dog. On the web, a Google came up with several karate-related links like this one.

Okay, let's peek at his CBS favorites list:
Ah, a man after my own heart... his favorite scent has to do with food! Barbequed steak. (I would say cookies, but food is food.) He's another Scrabble player. I like to see all of them on the show -- to me, it exhibits a more cerebral edge. I could be wrong, though. He likes hiking and, for magazines, National Geographic (amongst others). His music tastes range from classical to heavy metal.

My prediction? Oh... I so want to like this guy! I so want him to do well! He's older, but it seems that he's very active, so that's a plus. Will he make Final Four? Hmmm... he's used to being an instructor. In a way, that could work against him on the show, especially once the ages mix. Tough prediction here. I'll say that he lasts a long, long time, but not the Sole Survivor (though I think I'd like to see him win it just by reading the bio and favorites).

What do you think about his chances of winning?

New 'Survivor' Castaways: A Closer Look at Sally Schumann

Who's next on the docket? Well, it's a closer look at 'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island' castaway Sally Schumann.

According to the occupation listed on her bio, she's a 27 year old social worker living in Chicago, IL. But, is she? Reading through her official CBS bio reveals "She currently lives in Chicago, where she works as a waitress and bartender." She was a social worker for four years in Minnesota, where was born and raised. While in Minnesota, she also coached high school girls soccer. She thinks she's compassionate, competitive and funny. Okay. We'll see.

She's a huge fan of both 'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race' and this is the fifth time she's tried to be on the show. Recently divorced, she is now dating her best friend.

Off to her favorites page:
Hmm, I like most of her board games (Scrabble, Cribbage, Yahtzee, UNO), but I haven't a clue what Settlers of Caton is. Anyone know? Most of her sports to play are with a ball, birdie or horseshoe. That's not too great for the show, although it may help with comps that include throwing or aiming. She enjoys fishing and running, both good activities for the show.Her books, music tastes are okay (with me). Oh! She sometimes feels like a nut! Almond Joy.

I'm not seeing anything on the web about her that's not related to the show, so I'll have to judge my prediction basing it on the CBS info alone. Y'know, I think she might do well. Both bartending and social work are jobs where you listen to folks more than talk. She's athletic enough, intelligent and just might make it to the Final Four.

Then again, I could be way off base.
What do you think?

Blogging 'American Idol' - Night Two, Denver

Tonight's 'American Idol' audition show came to us from Denver, CO. There still isn't a likable bad like a William Hung. Plenty of bad, though. Plenty.

There was Marlos who traveled so far -- from Denver. His line "I've come such a long way" reminded me of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. That wasn't going to be the only Oz reminder of the night.

A 16 year old Lisa Tucker made it through. She has a tremendous voice and really seems to have a lot on the ball. The auditions were looking up!

For a minute, anyway.

The Rocker Contingent was horrible. It makes me want to turn to gangsta rap which is so not me. So, so not me. One rocker named Chris Daughtry made it through. I wasn't all that impressed with his version of 'The Letter.' I personally doubt he'll be in the 12 Finalists.

The show did a musical reference to something I doubt a lot of their audience would even recognize. During a bit of a face-off between Simon and a contestant (Simon wanted him to go away), they played theme from the 1967 Clint Eastwood movie 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.' It was perfect!

I honestly liked the naive cowboy kid Garrett who made it through. Alas, while I think he has talent, his lack of training is going to hurt. But, at least, he'll get to ride an airplane.

There were two odd characters -- one claimed to be an entrepreneur (but couldn't say the word entrepreneur, nor even say his cleaning business slogan) and the other claimed to be an inventor. Both were bad. But the latter gave Simon one of his best lines of the night. "You're useless and I'm bored." Here's when the second Oz reference came into play. The "inventor" sang "If I Only Had a Brain." Fitting song, very fitting.

A very androgynous young er.. man... named Zachary raised some eyebrows with his audition. He sang totally flat, but was convinced that the judges were prejudiced against him because of his appearance. In the talk afterwards, he wasn't so androgynous after all. No underwear and to the right. @@ <--- I needed to roll my eyes!

Nineteen people made it through to Hollywood from Denver. Next week's Tuesday auditions show will be two hours and coming in from North Carolina.

Are you watching? Did anyone (except perhaps Lisa Tucker) impress you?