Tonight's (2/16) 'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island' Blogging Schedule

Once again, as important events on the show occur (deaths, who goes to Exile Island, any hidden Idol finding, reward challenge, immunity challenge and the boot)... I'll be slapping up quick details here. If you're on the West Coast and like East Coast airing show night spoilers, this is the place for you.

Within moments after an entry here, blog entry links will be added to my Jackie's Survivor Blog/Web Links Reference

There isn't an immediate way to get notice of an entry, but you can check here or there during the time the show airs in the east. A hint -- sometimes the new entries don't show immediately on the main blog page, but if you hit the February archive in the sidebar, it will show.

Sometime after the show (hopefully before 11 PM ET), I'll be posting a full recap and would love to know your thoughts about the episode!

Survivor fans ready?

Bloggin' About Last Night's 'LOST' - Feb. 15 Episode

Ohhh, 'LOST' is back in synch with me with the latest episode. After a few lackluster eps, now I'm intrigued once again. Of course, no answers -- something they really have to get on sometime or another. I do truly wonder if the writers even know where they're going with this show. Yeah, I'm addicted to it, but I have a feeling that all mysteries will never be solved. But, onto last night's episode, titled by ABC as "One of Them." Here's my impressions, not necessarily in the order of occurrence...

The show focused on Sayid more than any of the other regulars. In flashbacks to the Gulf War, we see him being used by a government type (Kate's father?) to glean information from his fellow Iraqi Tariq. The flashbacks continued throughout the show, eventually showing how Sayid became a "torturer" for information as well as how he swore he would never do it again.

A frog's ribitting was driving Sawyer batty. He enlisted Hurley's help in searching for the frog, mainly by blackmailing Hurley as he discovered him with a food stash which included about a 5 pound jar of ranch dressing. Unlike the previous Sawyer hunt the baby boar incident where Kate set the boar free, Sawyer dramatically squished the frog as Hurley pleaded for its life. Possible significance? Hmmm... well, it shows the Heartless Sawyer once again. I was thinking the frog could be poisonous, too. Maybe. We may see. Or we may not.

Danielle Rousseau sought out Sayid and led him to where a man was suspended in a tree trap. She insisted he was one of the Others. Sayid cut him down anyway. The man went to flee and Rousseau shot an arrow through and through his shoulder. "If I wanted to kill him, I would have." She supposedly wants Sayid to use his torture/interrogation skills to get the man to talk.

Sayid takes the man back to the hatch for Jack to doctor him up... and so he can torture information out of him. Locke plays along with Sayid's request to change the combination to the gun locker so Sayid can do his "stuff" with the man and Jack won't be able to interrupt.

The man's name is Henry Gale and he says he was rich (past tense), crashed a hot air balloon into the island four months ago, his wife died after suffering a fever for a few days. Now, Sayid thinks he's lying, that he is indeed an Other. I think something's up with the guy, here's why: his name. His name, Henry Gale, is a character from 'The Wizard of Oz' -- Dorothy's Uncle Henry, the one who flew the hot air balloon. Wasn't that how the Wizard of Oz got stranded in Oz? I may be misremembering. But something's up behind the naming of the character and how he got 'Lost.'

In his um... rather intense questioning, Sayid touches on the fact that Henry didn't remember details about where and how he buried his wife, yet had all the numerical (too many for me to do number trails) details for his balloon. When Henry turned to ask if Sayid lost someone he loved, Sayid went berserk and beat Henry mercilessily.

Jack, meanwhile, is trying desperately to get into the gun locker to save Henry. He finally forces Locke to open the combo as the computer needs its button pushed to save the world as they know it. Locke does it, Jack saves Henry and Locke rushes to the computer to enter the code to reset the timer. He screws up the code (which I found odd -- he knows that code backwards and forwards) and odd glyphs show for a second before it resets upon the right code entered. Hmm... I couldn't make any sense of them. Glyphs aren't quite my area of expertise. Anyone out there have any inkling into these?



Wrapping up the episode was a scene with Charlie and Sayid. Sayid said he knew the man (Henry) was an Other and Charlie would know it, too. The others (not to be confused with the Others) may not see it because they weren't scared enough, but Charlie, Claire and those who were hurt/captured by the Others would know.

Hmmm... your thoughts on the episode?

Today's TV Newsy Bits - Feb. 15, 2006

Two bits, four bits, anyone want some bits? I mean those television/entertainment newsy bits links I found today out on the web. Of course. Really.

• CBS Dismisses Van Halen Rumors
• 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS, 9 PEOPLE, 1 BUNKER, 1 WAY OUT: "UNAN1MOUS"
• TMZ.com: News - EXCLUSIVE: Secret Terms of 'A.I.' Contracts
• This Week A Castaway Spends One of the Worst Nights in "Survivor" History
• NBC Announces Extension of "The Office" Season to May 11
• OrlandoSentinel.com: 'Idol' tops Olympics
• Goldblum set to ink for "Red" - Yahoo! News
• AOL News: entertainment tv articles - MTV Preps Three Docu-Reality Series

Blogging 'American Idol' - And Then There Were 24

These notes are blogged while the show airs in on the east coast and posted immediately to the blog at the end of the show. Please forgive typos, misspellings and whatnot. Especially the whatnot. Thank you!

Pasadena Civic Center is the stage for the one on three (three on one?) meeting where the judges tell each contestant yes or no. Lots of no. No(s) galore. Most so far haven't really been featured in past shows. Brooke Barretsmith was a no.

Katherine McPhee is the first one through to the 24 that they've shown.

Ace Young is through to the next round.

Not through - Antonio Bridges, (someone) Littlejohn is crushed -- she thinks her life is over. Robert Bennett, Jr. made it through. Mandisa commented that they may not have had a bigger stage, but could have gotten a bigger chair -- aimed at Simon. She told Simon that she forgave him even though he hurt her feelings. Aw, she and Simon hug and he's even humbled. Simon tells her she's on through the next round. He also apologized.

Melissa McGhee is through to the next round. Mark Adam Locklear didn't make it. Lisa Tucker (age 16) made it through. David Radford, the cutie lil crooner, makes it through. Jose Sway Penala's birthday is the day this was filmed. He makes it through. Elliott Yamin made it, too! Brenna (whose personality I don't care for) Gethers -- Simon seems to think the same as me "a nightmare to work with" -- but she makes it through.

We're up to 10 if I didn't miss any. Fourteen more will get in. The commercial is on now. I want ginger ale. Where's the beverage cart? Oh, wait. I don't have a waitstaff here. Sigh.

Marcy Smith, who doesn't like Brenna, is up next. She didn't make it. A parade of no-go. Gedeon McKeney is going through to the next round. Stephanie "Stevie" Scott makes it through. The basketball girl - Ayla Brown -- goes to the next round. Chris Daughtrey is stuck in the elevator. He makes it through to the 24. We're up to 14. And a commercial, of course.

Paris Bennett is jotting notes on who's made it. Rebecca O'Donohue, split decision, but she makes it through to the next round. Heather Cox and April Walsh -- no on April, yes on Heather. Bucky Covington makes it through. Patrick Hall made it (even though he's not as pretty as Ace). Kevin Covais makes it though! Now Paris is heading up. I know she will make it. So... she does.

Commercial break. Four places left, eight contestants to go. And, heh, there's shocking news about the Brittenum twins coming up. Well, we're not so shocked, are we? (Note originally posted about their arrests and that they were "uninvited" by the show.) I wasn't worried, but their personalities were really bugging me. Yeah, they can sing, but if I had to sit through watching them a season... well, I'd watch Animal Planet instead!

Now the twins. Bars graphics. They go into the court case. No longer in the competition. Yay, even though I knew it already.

Kellie Pickler is going to the 24. Taylor Hicks goes to the judges playing a harmonica. He makes it through to the finals. And sings! I like that guy! Kinnik Sky/Megan Bobo -- Megan doesn't make it, Kinnik does. William Makar and Syd Harcourt -- William makes it through. I'm surprised. I like them both. But I thought the judges would go for Syd.

That's it.

Today's TV Newsy Bits - Feb. 14, 2006

No buts about it; here's your bits! Here are the television/entertainment related newsy bit links I found while poking about the web today:

• TMZ.com: News - Shannen Doherty in Car Wreck
• TV Land Boldly Goes Where No Network Has Gone Before ... -- William Shatner in Concert...eek!
• Van Halen to be Next Reality Rock Stars?
• MTV.com - Movies - News - Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes Deny Split
• Travis Faces the Rejected Women on The Bachelor Special February 20th
• Cheney hunting accident triggers humor volley