'Survivor: Exile island' East Coast Update 5/11 - Reward

Aras won Reward - an overnight cruise of of the Panama Canal on a luxury yacht, feast. He chose Cirie to accompany him. Both Danielle and Terry went to Exile Island.

'The Amazing Race 9' - Ep. 11 -or- "No Money, No Pants, No Mo' MoJo!"

Like deja vu all over again, due to last week's non-elimination leg...

Four teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

We last left our teams in the Australian Outback with Ray and Yolanda arriving first at the Pit Stop and mandatory rest period. Teams depart twelve hours after their arrival time and I noticed that they're down to mere minutes betwixt first and last. Ray and Yolanda left at 1:13 AM while the last team (BJ/Tyler) left the Pit Stop at 1:22 AM. We're talking 9 minutes difference in a whirlwind race around the globe as we head into the next to last show of the season. At this time, any of the remaining teams could win the million dollars. The teams are toughening up and trying not to make errors. Ah, but we know some errors will be made. I just hope it's not on the part of my personal favorites, Tyler and BJ!

Speaking of BJ and Tyler, they lost all their clothes, money and possessions while being saved by the last leg's non-Philimination. BJ had no shoes, a t-shirt and boxer shorts. Yolanda left her purple running pants on their car and one of the Frats (Jeremy and Eric) left a pair of sandals. Oh, my...BJ looked very silly in Yolanda's pants! The clue the teams received upon leaving the Pit Stops directed them to drive to the airport and catch a plane to Bangkok, Thailand. Once there they had to take a taxi to a bus terminal, then a bus to the Three Spires Pagoda in Lopburi -- the sacred home of tons o' monkeys. The clue told the teams how much money they had for the leg and ended with "one team has no money...and no pants." Heh, poor BJ!

The BJ/Tyler and Monica/Joe rift is still going strong in the leg. As BJ says, "They have a date with not being in the race anymore." Was he right? Just wishful thinking?

At the Darwin Airport, three of the teams got on a flight expected to arrive in Bangkok at 11 PM. BJ and Tyler headed to downtown Darwin to hit up folks for money. Of course, they were successful. These guys have so much spirit and friendliness that I think it's hard to resist giving them something. BJ even flashed his chest at a couple. He finangled new shorts in addition to the money. When they hit the airport, although the other three teams hadn't left yet, the flight was full. They managed to find a flight expected to arrive fifteen minutes earlier than the other and all looked up for the hippies until...

Argh. The flight carrying the three teams arrived forty-five minutes early! Huh? What? How can that happen? Sigh. So, BJ and Tyler were behind once again. Team MoJo got into a taxi that Joe thought was "shady." He was right -- the driver wasn't the best, not at all. Ray/Yolanda and Eric/Jeremy were lucky to get on a midnight bus to Lopburi. Monica and Joe arrived before BJ and Tyler, but didn't get the right information about the next departing bus. It ended up that BJ/Tyler caught a bus leaving an hour before the one they took. Too bad, so sad for MoJo. Heehee!

The Three Spires Pagoda was a hoot with monkeys all over the place! The clue the teams received before the task was directing them to a Fast Forward -- the last of the two in the race. Eric and Jeremy couldn't do it as they already took the first one a few legs back. Both Ray/Yolanda and BJ/Tyler jumped on it. When it turned out to be eating a school's favorite dish of fried crickets and grasshoppers, Yolanda backed out even though she claimed people from the South can eat anything fried. They headed back to the sacred monkeys while BJ and Tyler struggled with huge bowls of crispy critters. Where was MoJo? Way behind, hooray!

After making an intricate feast table for the sacred (and not so well-behaved monkeys) in a Roadblock, the teams' next clue led them to a Detour. Unlike a Roadblock, a Detour is completed by both members of the team. In this one, teams had a choice between two Thai tasks -- Move It or Altar It. In Move It, teams had to carry 72 pots on their shoulders (supposedly) using a board. Once they delivered the pots to the marketplace, they'd receive the next clue. In Altar It, teams had to make a shrine to Buddha complete with gold paint and gold-leafing. Burnt on the last physical task, Jeremy and Eric chose Altar It, as did Yolanda and Ray. For some foolish reason, Monica and Joe went for Move It -- prompting Monica to fuss and whine that it was "the worst thing I ever had to do." Now, she said that about carrying the swordfish a few legs back. She said that about having to catch a crayfish. What's with that girl?

As the teams worked on the Detour, BJ and Tyler finally finished eating their bowls of ick. Er, crickets and grasshoppers. They got their clue directing them to the Pit Stop at the Marble Temple in Bangkok. Briefly changing their "TTOW" chant to "TTHAI," they were first on the mat. Now, they've been lucky in that both times they came in last, they were in non-elimination legs. However, they've both been unlucky in that both times they came in first, there was no really cool prize. No cruises for them! The last time, they won a digital imaging center or something to that effect. This time the prize was dependent on a clue to be brought with them from earlier in the leg. One clue would have a Golden Gnome (Travelocity), the others would have "gnormal" gnomes. Theirs wasn't the Golden Gnome. Ah, well...at least they're in first place. TTOW!

The arrival order of the other teams:
2. Jeremy and Eric
3. Ray and Yolanda - Golden Gnome clue in hand. They won a cruise around the Sidney (Australia) Harbor, a trip to the Barrier Reef and a hotel stay for the evening.
4. Monica and Joe - Philiminated!

I'm so not sorry to see those two go. I'm tired of her crying and fussing. If she thinks everything she's had to do is "the worst thing I've ever done," I'd hate to see her face a real crisis. Joe has his own bad points, but he didn't irk me as much as Monica. So long, MoJo, not sorry to see you go!

Next week is the two-hour finale show. My "hippies" are still in the race! Yay! At this time, I think any of the teams are deserving. All three left are very competive and it should be an exciting finish to the season. That said, this season has certainly redeemed the show from last season's family-safe version. That is a good thing indeed.

'American Idol' East Coast Update - SHOCKER!

The top two were Elliott and Taylor, not shocking.

The bottom two were Katharine and Chris.

Going home is CHRIS...shocking!

'Amazing Race 9' East Coast Update 5/10 - Finish Order and Philimination

The teams arrived to the Pit Stop in this order:

1. BJ and Tyler! Alas, they won nothing as this time around a clue brought to the Pit Stop must contain a Golden Gnome.
2. Eric and Jeremy
3. Ray and Yolanda - Had the Golden Gnome clue, won a cruise around Sidney, Australia, a trip to the Barrier Reef and a hotel stay.
4. Monica and Joe - My least favorite of the remaining teams...Philiminated! Too bad, so sad. Heh.

A full recap/review will be posted late tonight. Also, at approximately 9:30 PM EDT I'll be posting the American Idol boot. Now, I must watch Lost!

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 11 -or- "Don't Give Up the Cheerleaders, You Bloomin' Onion!"

Once again this week, Deal or No Deal ran over its finish time. What's up with that, NBC? It's annoying to get all settled to take notes for blogging The Apprentice and then sit through 3 minutes of a show about people choosing briefcases. I don't understand the show; I don't watch it. I want it to end on time so I can watch "my" show. Is it too much to ask? What's Trump's opinion on this? Is he going to let a bald Howie Mandel stomp all over him? I think not! Okay, now that I have that out of my system, it's onto the show...

In the hotel, Sean has worked his way up from repeating "awkward" situation by adding a syllable. Now it's "awkwardness." Remember, he spoke against Allie in the Boardroom two weeks ago and she wasn't the one fired. She's as thick as thieves with the other two members on Synergy, Roxanne and Tammy. He said, in his British accent, "I'm adrift in a sea of eastergene." In came Lee and Michael from the Boardroom with the news that the most recent event was a double firing -- both Tarek and Charmaine gone. Right then and there I figured Sean has his way out. The teams can't run two against four. Trump will flip one Synergy member to Gold Rush and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that would be Sean.

They got the call to meet Trump at Rutgers University Stadium in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Not far from where I'm writing this article.) He took his TrumpCopter and they hitchhiked. Well, perhaps they didn't hitchhike. I suppose they drove there. Once there, Trump explained the upcoming task. At the Navy versus Rutgers football game, the teams were to each put on a tailgating party feast selling Outback Steakhouse food. Synergy was assigned the Yellow Lot while Gold Rush had the Blue Lot. Naturally, the team earning the most money would win the task. And, as I had thought, he evened the teams out. Sean volunteered to join Gold Rush, so the show's back to a gender war once again. Tammy, Allie and Roxanne were so happy that they danced. I personally thought that a bit much, but that may just be me.

This week's ominous foreshadowing quote and Trump lecture after a commercial break was "Deliver the Goods." It was a dead giveaway as to which team would win once the task was on. "You can talk a good game, but it's no good unless you deliver the goods," said Trump.

Lee stepped up to be the Project Manager for Gold Rush saying that he's a recent college graduate, a football fan and blah-blah-blah. I think he thought it was a sure thing, didn't you? He delved right into things, planning and scheming with Sean and Michael. He arranged an exclusive on having the cheerleaders join them, got a "money pit" (an enclosure with dollar bills blowing around - people pay to go in and grab as much money as they can in an allotted time span), planned an eating contest and generally went to town with plans run amok. They decided on low prices and went for the crowd scene.

Meanwhile at Synergy, it looked like the women were doomed. Roxanne was the Project Manager and, to me, it looked like they didn't have much of a plan. They decided to visit Outback to sample the food. (Now, I wouldn't have to do that...give me a bloomin' onion any day, mate!) They decided that each dish would be $5, no matter what. They lagged in the actual doing of things to prepare, though. While they were planning, the men were already hyping their tent at the pep rally with flyers. The women's flyers weren't even ready at the time! The more they showed of the team, the more sunk they seemed to be. It looked like the men had this one in the bag. Synergy tried to get cheerleaders, but Gold Rush's exclusive deal with the cheerleader team's coach nixed that. Actually, the coach tried to give them some and silly Michael almost agreed, but Lee and Sean made him insist on all the cheerleaders.

So, Synergy themselves donned little cheerleading outfits. I think all of them were cheerleaders in past lives, or at college. Then it happened. The Trump Quote came to play. Gold Rush had so much going on that it was a cool party, but the focus was on partying, not selling the food. Synergy had almost nothing but themselves and their $5 an item food plan when they hit upon delivering the food through the lots. The baseball team bought $200 worth, taught them the Rutgers football cheer and they were on the run from that point on. They were delivering the goods.

In the Boardroom with both teams present, it was obvious that the delivery (thought of on the spot at the event) won for Synergy. Their proceeds for the Outback Steakhouse were $2750 and Gold Rush only brought in $1750. Synergy won a trip to Raphael Vineyards on Long Island where they made and private-labeled their own wine while Gold Rush won a trip back to the Boardroom where someone would be fired. I would like to mention now that everytime I see people stomping on grapes with their barefeet, I promise I'll never drink wine again. They had a grand old time and each left with a bottle named after themselves.

As Gold Rush prepared their bags in the hotel, it was clear that both Lee and Sean would go against Michael in the Boardroom. They thought he spent too much time on the microphone being the emcee of the tailgate party and not enough time selling. Plus, they still were shocked that he almost gave some of the cheerleaders to Synergy. Once in the Boardroom, the latter is what did him in. Somehow Lee's performance as Project Manager skated through, but Trump and Company focused on Michael almost giving up the cheerleaders. "You don't give away your assets to rivals."

"Michael, you're fired."

All right, even though I still think Lee's days are numbered, I don't think Michael was the best candidate for the win anyway. I'm not sure that if I were Trump I'd fire him over Lee, but he did have to get gone. Michael seems like a very nice man, but he's wishy-washy. In corporate life, unfortunately, nice doesn't often make the grade. A politician-type such as Lee would do better. Sean is still a bit of a non-entity even this late in the game. I'm thinking it may be a Tammy or Roxanne win at the end.

Mark your calendars -- next week's The Apprentice will air at 10 pm ET/PT in most viewing areas. Be there or be square.

Dollar bills, y'all...