'The Amazing Race 9' East Coast Update 4/12

Here's the order at the mat -

1. Jeremy and Eric used the Fast Forward. Won a trip to the Hollywood premiere of The DaVinci Code
2. Monica and Joe replacing Ray and Yolanda who received a 15 minute penalty
3. Ray and Yolanda
4. Fran/Barry
5. BJ/Tyler - who got lost and received a 15 minute penalty
6. Lake/Michelle, indeed Philiminated.

A full report will be posted later. I must watch Lost! I have American Idol taping in the background and will get the boot up when I know.

'Big Brother 7' News

From this article - Entertainment Weekly's EW.com Feature: All-star ''Big Brother'': It's on! - it appears that this summer's Big Brother 7 will indeed be the wanted-by-many-but-not-by-me All Stars show. I'm just personally not too keen on watching folks I've already watched before on reality shows. That said, I'll be watching because I'm a BB addict and I'm pretty sure I'll have the feeds once again. I don't think I could get into the show without the feeds accompanying it. I'm also pretty sure I'll be blogging about the show, whether on this blog or another or perhaps even a team set up with other bloggers. Unless I have knee surgery again this summer (which is unlikely, but there are knee issues) and have the summer off from work again, I won't be able to devote the kind of time I did with last year's blog. But, with the help of other fans, maybe we can get something fun going once again to while away the summer days while watching the House Hamsters!

Here's a quote from the article:

...for the first time ever fans will get to choose who participates in the game from a pool of 20 former houseguests (BB6's Kaysar Ridha, stay by your phone!). CBS has yet to announce how or when voting will occur.

So... who do you want to see return on the show?

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 8 -or- "P'eatzza Party'

All right, it's onto the second episode aired tonight. Or, last night by the time most will read this. (Grr.)

Trump had the candidates meet him at the fountain in Cherry Hill in Central Park. No, don't ask me. I know where a lot of things are in the park, but that's not one with which I'm familiar. It's a big park, y'know.

He came driving a fancy-schmancy souped up car with doors like the old Pantera or DeLorean cars. I'm thinking the term is gull-wing doors, but what do I know? Why they met there makes no sense to me other that he could drive up in the cool car. He made the offer for anyone from Synergy who thinks they can help Gold Rush win to make the switch. Michael was feeling very alienated by his team as they all told him that they won the last task in spite of his poor leadership. (Yes, I agree with them. He's a nice guy, but doesn't trust his own judgment.) So, he went over to Gold Rush.

The task this episode was to promote 7-11's new P'eatzza sandwich -- a combination of pizza and sandwich. Each team was assigned to a store and the goal was to increase sales through promotion of said sandwich. Eh. Andrea decided she wanted to be the Project Manager for Synergy and Leslie took the reins for Gold Rush. Andrea abruptly decided caps would be the promotional giveaway. "It is HATS." Um, okay, Ma'am.

The foreshadow quote was "Know Your Customer." Of course, Donald Trump gave a mini-lecture about it. So far this season, the phrase has indicated something wayward with the team which inevitably loses. This time, not so much. I think this time it referred to the final two in the Boardroom. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Synergy picked a decent price for their promo -- $4 for one or $6 for two. And, they had the caps. Over at Gold Rush, Lee kept saying he knew the area and he knew the customer as it was a college clientele. Leslie really didn't listen to him on the price. He kept saying it was too high. They were giving a rather neat six-pack cooler with the sandwich, but the price was $7.99 for one, $8.99 for two. Yikes! I know 7-11 prices. For eight bucks a sandwich, cooler or not, I want a table! Lee was right. Leslie also came up with odd trivia doings. I still don't see her reasoning on that one. She obviously doesn't know the 7-11 customer. Except for drunks in the wee hours, most people go to 7-11 planning to get in and out quickly with their purchase and trivia isn't going to attract them. Lee, meanwhile, asked the manager to pull all the sandwiches except the P'eatzza. That was a good move.

On the day of the event, the trivia failed and Lee vanished, irking Leslie even more at him. It turns out he was trying to make a deal to sell a thousand sandwiches to a corporate customer. He would be the hero or the goat. In the end, the deal fell through. But I was impressed with his actions with management and his deal attempt. He's not just political -- he tried to get it done.

When it came time for the Boardroom, both teams did better than I thought either would. Gold Rush increased sales by 608% at their location. Alas for them, Synergy increased by 997%. Unbelievable!

As a reward for Synergy, the team took a private jet plane to Washington, D.C. where they met New York Senator Chuck Schumer. After a nice time with him, it was off to the White House where Sean got all choked up. He only had his green card for six months and loves America. He thinks he's living the American Dream. Aw.

Back at the Boardroom, Michael feels that he fit in better on the losing team than the winning one, so he has no regrets. Leslie was intent on blaming Lee when the main mistake the team made was the high price point. That was her decision and he was very vocal more than a few times about it being too high. She chose to only bring Lee in the Boardroom with her. Of the two, in my opinion, Lee really tried harder and was innovative. Plus, he wanted the lower price.

"You're fired, Leslie. Oh. And, happy birthday!"

She really didn't give Trump much choice on this one. What was she thinking with that price? What do you think?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 7 -or- "Russian Through the Ice"

I hate when they do this. I really hate it. The Apprentice aired two episodes back to back and there will be no new show next Monday night. Oh, whatever happened to one new show a week at the same time (as in same Bat Channel and same Bat Time) each week for an entire season? The next new show will air two weeks from now on April 24.

This episode opened with Leslie crying over losing Bryce, someone she considered a friend. We all know she wants Lenny gone. Will she get her wish? Lenny decided since he was on thin ice, he'd be Project Manager to prove himself ... or not.

The candidates, wearing silly hardhats, met Donald Trump, wearing a silly hairdo (apparently it doubles as a hardhat) atop of the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street. There were two executives from Ace Hardware there, as well as an executive from the Boys and Girls Clubs. The task? Well, based on creativity, originality and judge's approval, teams had to renovate a Boys and Girls club with a theme in mind. Woohoo! Fingerpaints! Oh. Okay, no finger paints. Sigh...

Lenny started right off on a bad foot with the project. He decided music or dance, which were okay. But he didn't make a real decision although he finally focused on music. More than one time I heard him say "I don't care." What kind of attitude is that? Even if he was having problems dealing with Charmaine, that's not the phrase he should use. Eek! When they had the meeting with the executives, Lenny just went tongue-tied. If not for the rest of the team, no questions would be asked. That was their chance to find out what the execs wanted which, in the end, would win the task.

The commercial break return foreshadowing quote and lecture from Trump this episode was "Be Decisive." D'oh! Why didn't he say, "You're fired, Lenny" and get it done and over with right then and there?

Over at Synergy, Michael was the Project Manager and was pretty much the polar opposite of Lenny. He didn't stop asking questions of the executives to the point of repeating himself and becoming a bit annoying. But, at least he asked good questions for the most part. They decided on a variety of activities which would be interactive and children could gather in groups. They went for a big screen TV, video games, music, a comfy girls' gathering corner and board games.

In my opinion, both teams blew it with time management. It's a wonder either team got things done. Michael dawdled and was indecisive. Lenny was dismissive of others and indecisive. Everyone fussed at each other. Lenny and Lee like each other, but Charmaine and Tarek don't like either. Synergy on the whole was frustrated with Michael's lack of leadership. Both teams were a mess. Bill Rancic actually asked Andrea what she thought of Michael's leadership qualities in front of Michael! Ack! She fumbled through it rather politely for her.

However, when the execs arrived, both clubs were finished. They seemed more impressed with Synergy's multiple interactive activities than with Gold Rush's simply music. The children brought in actually seemed more excited by the music only one, but they weren't the ultimate judge. In the end, the judges went for a Synergy win. As their reward, they took a young girl with cancer to a Make a Wish Foundation sponsored toy buying spree at Toys 'R Us. It was touching.

Gold Rush got to visit the Boardroom once again. Lee, in a show of loyalty to his buddy Lenny, coached Lenny on what he should and shouldn't say to Trump. Now, of course, I'm wondering how even Loyal Lee could think that Lenny could indeed actually work for Trump if he won the show. Yes, Lenny has drive, but he has few people skills at all. Lenny asked Lee if he could bring him in the Boardroom and it was given that he'd bring Charmaine as those two are like oil and water.

Lenny pleaded conspiracy. Lenny tried his best to make Charmaine look bad, but it didn't work. She really did nothing wrong in the task. A "no-brainer" as Bill said.

"Lenny, you're fired."

Trump did think highly of Lee's loyalty. I personally think it was misplaced unless Lee planned to have a poor candidate against himself at the end. Friendship is one thing, but defending someone like Lenny ... I don't know.

Welp, there's another episode yet to be written up before I hit the sack. What did you think of the show?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'Survivor: Exile Island' - Ep. 8 -or- "Bonding Ain't What It Used To Be"

Nine are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Tonight's episode opened on Day 19 at the Gitanos camp. Ah, Austin explained his behavior at Tribal Council. He was so certain he was going to be voted out that he felt he had to explain how he tried to look weak. Of course, that backfired on him. Now he's got the biggest target in Panama plastered on his back. That target would be Terry's, but he keeps winning everything and we know he has the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island. If he keeps this up, he's going to make Tom Westman look like a wimp! Courtney and others feel they made the wrong choice in voting Nick off instead of Austin. Aw, too bad. Too late. Aras keeps pushing the Casaya Agenda and no one trusts Austin. It's not a happy place, not at all.

But the Rewards Challenge comes around and temporary happiness will be had by a few castaways while two others will be in for the most miserable two days of their lives. Jeff splits the tribe into three teams of three -- Shane, Austin, Terry; Bruce, Aras and Sally and Cirie, Courtney and Danielle. The teams had to run coconuts from up on the beach and put them in the boats of their opponents, the objective being to weigh the boats down and slow the other team(s) as they row out to retrieve their flag and a net. After arriving back at shore, they had to load the coconuts in the net and haul them up the beach loading them into a coconut corral. Aras kept pushing for the girls to target the mens' boat. It didn't really work too well. The Women Only team ended up having to put coconuts in their own boat after the other teams finished loading their nuts. Had the Men Only team not decided to take two trips with their coconuts, they might have won. Instead, it was Aras, Sally and Bruce winning Reward.

They won a bed and breakfast feast and the opportunity to name a person from each of the other teams to go to Exile Island. Aras took over and decided Austin and Danielle would go. The B&B initially started out bad. It was pouring rain and the canopied bed was on a sandbar, soaked clear through. But once the food arrived, all was peachy keen. According to Sally, "I can't believe I'm cold and wet and in a bed with two strange men." Well, it happens. Meanwhile, over on Exile Island, Austin and Danielle are really suffering. No fire, no shelter and they're cold miserable. A perfect situation for bonding. But will the bond be enough to break tribal ties?

While the Lucky Three chowed down in their damp bed and the Exiled Two shivered, back at camp Terry was once again campaigning. He was prying information out of Shane who admitted he wants the final four to be himself, Aras, Cirie and Courtney. Of course, that gave Terry the idea of who to pursue for a flip -- Danielle and Bruce. Will it work? Once Sally and the Breakfast Club returned, Terry told her he had the hidden Immunity Idol and was planning on using it to barter votes. Now, I'm not sure that was such a good move. I think Terry has got to be one of the strongest contestants ever on the show. He has the ace in the hole and it's not a game of tribal lines anymore. I personally think he should have kept things mum and remember it's his ticket to $1,000,000 if he plays it right.

The Immunity Challenge was a huge contrived affair. There was running, digging, crawling, jumping, brainteasers, a Lincoln Log type obstacle course and more. Eventually it was down to the three ex-La Mina members pitted against each other, then down to Sally and Terry. Terry won, not surprisingly. However, it was pretty surprising that Sally was only a smidgen behind him. She almost snagged Immunity. I'm suitably impressed, aren't you?

Then the scheming starts. Danielle claims she's bonded with Austin. She also is angry with Aras for sending her to Exile Island. All the women get ticked off at Aras. Shane, for once, stayed out of the fracas. Terry is going around telling Danielle and Bruce that they're the next targets of their own tribe. He offered Danielle the Immunity Idol to flip her vote. Bruce claimed he respects Terry more than members of his own tribe. So, what happens?

They voted along previous tribal lines at Tribal Council. Five votes for Austin and three for Aras. So much for bonding. So much for Terry's secret find.

"Austin, the tribe has spoken. You must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."

Argh. Terry should have kept his mouth shut about the Idol. Obviously, Bruce and Danielle didn't flip and now everyone will know he has it. What is going on with him? He's a great player and it's honorable that he doesn't lie or cheat. But he should know that's not Survivor.

I found this episode very frustrating. What did you think?