The 'Big Brother 7 All-Stars' Hit the Campaign Trail!

As Monica would say, "It's AWN!"

The candidates for the Big Brother 7: All Stars hit the streets, the airwaves, the chatrooms, and more trying to get themselves back into the House of Horrors. Er, the Big Brother House, that is.

This week's campaign trail includes:

Today, June 25: Erika at Venice Beach, CA, 12:00 noon. George Boswell will be hitting the streets in his chicken costume in Chicago and Rockford, IL. Howie will be doing a chat at Jokers, 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Marcellas is appearing on Reality Remix (FOX Reality Channel) -- check your local listings. He's also going to be on KIFR radio (San Francisco - 106.9 Free FM) doing the Gretchen Massey Show from 9-11 PM PT.

Monday, June 26: Grr, if I didn't have to go to work, I'd be at the Plaza for The Early Show -- James, Janelle, Mike "Boogie" and Monica begin their campaigns on the show itself, some will be on the Plaza. Monica will also be appearing at the Applebee's located at 102 N. End Ave., between Murray and Vesey Street. Marcellas will be on Reality Remix again and also on Sirius Satellite radio, the "Out Q" station at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Lisa will be on 98 PXY Radio "Spezzano and Sandy" morning show, 8 AM ET. Kaysar will be doing a Jokers chat at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. George will be seen on the streets of Las Vegas in his chicken costume (of course). Diane will be doing a chat at Big Brother Extra at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. Dana will be at the Madonna concert in Hartford, CT (bet Madonna is thrilled, eh?). Alison will be at the Sugar Bar, 525 Park Street, Columbus, OH, 11:00 PM local time

Tuesday, June 27: The Early Show Plaza appearances and campaign pleas by Ivette, Alison, Jase and Kaysar will be happening...once again, I won't be at the Plaza due to work (waah!). Lisa will be doing a Jokers chat at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. George will be running the streets of Los Angeles in his chicken suit.

Wednesday, June 28: The Early Show Plaza appearances and campaign pleas include Dana, Danielle, Cowboy and Dr. Will. I think Dana will be the only one on the Plaza (sure, that's my day off!). George will be still running amok in his chicken costume in Los Angeles.

Remember, vote early - vote often! The voting is open at the official CBS BB7 website! Let's NOT have another summer of Alison, I beg of you!

Another interesting bit -- there seems to be 14 slots on the CBS site, not 12. Hmmm...

'Big Brother 7: All-Stars' -- Our Choices

Tonight's show with Julie Chen announcing the Top Twenty houseguests up for the running to be in the house this season just ended a few minutes ago.

In addition to announcing the twenty, she gave us a few hints about the upcoming season. Apparently, the punishment food won't be peanut butter and jelly and there's also something going on with the HOH penthouse/room...something secret. (Cue suspense music here.)

The Top Twenty were broken down by season and here's the eligible houseguests:

Season 1: Chicken George (woohoo, says I!)
Season 2: Bunky, Dr. Will, Mike "Boogie" Malin, Monica
Season 3: Marcellas, Lisa, Danielle
Season 4: Erika, Dana, Alison
Season 5: Jase, Michael "Cowboy", Nakomis, Diane
Season 6: Howie, Kaysar, Ivette, James, Janelle

I found it interesting that some of the websites posting spoilers on this were wrong. It was reported in more than a few places that Marcellas wasn't available and that both Nakomis and Ivette had "bad experiences" and weren't interested in returning.

My own choices? I definitely do not want Cowboy, Ivette, Diane, Dana or Alison in the house. I can take or leave Bunky, Lisa, Mike Malin, Danielle, James or Erika. I'd like to see Chicken George, Dr. Will, Monica, Marcellas, Jase, Howie, Nakomis, Kaysar and Janelle in there. But that's just me!

Another thing I noticed tonight which hadn't dawned on me before -- Ivette and Dana are so similar that it's freaky. Oh... and I actually liked Jase tonight on the show. Just keep Holly out of it. The other big "news" is that Ivette has turned her back on the Nerd Herd Friendship. A little late for that, methinks.

Voting opens tonight on the CBS website and runs through June 28. Julie said that the aspiring houseguests will be campaigning across the country and on The Early Show. This could be fun!

Tonight, Tonight! It's BACK -- 'Big Brother 7: All Stars' - America Votes!

Is everyone ready? I know I am! Tonight So You Think You Can Dance has been delegated to the taping venue while I'm watching the pre-season start of Big Brother 7: All Stars! Zoetawny has made me some nifty new artwork for the season and I've decided that I'll be doing the live feeds reports right here! Unfortunately (or fortunately health-wise), I don't have the summer off from work due to knee surgery and it's best I confine all my television addiction to a single blog. My intentions? Well, I plan on blogging live feed reports and other show news here -- you can sign up through feedblitz or RSS or Atom to get the skinny on what's happening or just keep checking in!


Remember! The show starts at 8 PM ET/PT in most viewing areas tonight!

And, of course, please (I beg of you), let's not suffer another season with either Holly or Alison if they're up for the vote. Listening to either of them on the live feeds makes my ears bleed. Both are shriekers and much too annoying to deal with for another season.

So... who do you want back in the house? Are you psyched?

'Hell's Kitchen' Well-Burnt

Last night FOX TV aired the third episode of this season’s Hell’s Kitchen. Well, they aired the second episode first and then, of course, we had to sit through the recap of the episode that just aired. It’s enough to make you dizzy! I don’t know if they’ll be doing that all season, but speaking for myself, I find it a waste. I’d rather see something new!

Ah, but…onto the show…

Although it’s hard to believe, it seems Chef Gordon Ramsay is having an even tougher time with this season’s contestants than he did with the last season’s. Or, he’s just working himself up to a lather for the camera.

The contestants themselves for the most part really don’t seem like world-class chefs ready to take on a luxurious Las Vegas restaurant. Some of them seem more inclined to work the greasy roadside stops than a “real” restaurant. But, what do I know? I’m just an eater.

As we started the third episode, most of the contestants are at odds with each other as much as they are with Ramsay. Garrett doesn’t like Tom; Sara hates Heather, and no one seems to like anyone very much. I’m just embarrassed by the two from the state where I reside. Folks, New Jersey isn’t being properly represented by Tom and Keith. I don’t think I’d want to eat a greaseburger prepared by either of them.

In a three entrée competition, the Red Team (women) won once again even though they only prepared two of the entrées. Mirabel is absolutely out of her league. She missed the relay of one of the dishes resulting in only two entrees. But, the men did even worse. Yeah, they had three entrées…none of them palatable. As reward, the women went off on a yacht while the men had to do all of Hell’s Kitchen laundry — by hand with a washboard.

The men were full of sexist comments both during the laundry and again after the women returned. I wanted Garrett and Heather to get in a knockdown-drag-out brouhaha, but it was only verbal. Rats.

When the service started the next day, the women started out well and Sara (ick) actually shined for their team. The men were buffoons in the kitchen for the most part. Tom burnt his hand, not a bad burn like Heather’s the week before — you couldn’t even see it! I know when I burn myself and fuss a bit, the burn shows. Ramsay declared him a Drama Queen and I think that was a spot on observation. Then Giacomo really blew it for the team. Um…the oven should be on. It helps. It really does. It was one disaster after another for the men as the potatoes were burnt by Tom (whose oven must have been on) and they choked.

The service was still in no way on a professional level, even with the women getting entrees out to the customers. It was still too long a wait — no one waits an hour (or two or three) to be served!

In the end, the men did worse than the women and lost once again. This time Ramsay told them each to pick someone for elimination as they all made mistakes. Now, Garrett really wants Tom gone, as does Keith. Tom and Giacomo were the worst of the worst. Of course, Giacomo wants Tom gone and himself to stay and Tom vice versa. So, it ended up being three to oust Tom and one to oust Giacomo.

So, what does Ramsay do? He eliminated Giacomo! Argh! I know Giacomo was basically lost in the kitchen, but he doesn’t creep me out like Tom does with the sweating in the food, nastiness, attitude, and just his all-out um…Tom-ness. I think the only actual contender on the Blue Team (men) is Garrett, the ex-prison chef. I’m still liking Heather for the win, though.

Sigh, there is no longer a Moppet (or Muppet!) in the kitchen. G’bye, Giacomo!

"Shut the kitchen down!"

'Treasure Hunters' Season Premiere

NBC has been touting its new reality television series Treasure Hunters as a “thinking man’s” show. Well, not only can I think, but I like reality television, too. So, I was sure it would be a fine fit for me. Now, after spending two hours of my Sunday evening watching it, I’m not as sure. But, I think the good outweighs the bad in this Amazing Race/Da Vinci Code hybrid and I’ll most likely keep watching it.

The Good
The locales and clue-finding bits were very interesting. For the contestants, it looked almost impossible, but for the viewer all was fine. But, hey, we’re just watching! I liked the educational and historical bits throughout the show. The scenery in Alaska and Hawaii, in particular, was breathtaking.

Viewers can answer a show-related clue/question by text or on the NBC website and one person each week wins $10,000. I should have entered. Without going to Ask.com as advised on the show, I figured out that Thomas Edison nicknamed his son and daughter Dash and Dot due to the Morse Code in a show segment.

The Bad
There’s product placement to the point of taking over the show. The contestants use their Motorola Razr phones to keep in touch with the show host for clues; they were issued laptops to visit Ask.com and Orbitz sites to figure out clues and make travel arrangements. Not only were the sites mentioned, but half of the teams wore Ask.com shirts. (May I roll my eyes now? Please?)

There are ten teams of three, each saddled with nicknames like The Geniuses, The Ex-CIA, The Southies (Boston), etc. While I might get to know the teams, I know I won’t learn the individuals by name until they get booted or the season ends.

Although very attractive-looking, the host (Laird Macintosh) just didn’t have the spark that I see in Amazing Race’s Phil Keoghan or Survivor’s Jeff Probst. Maybe he’s too young, I don’t know. But he seems very replaceable at this point. (Well, at least in my opinion.)

The Ugly
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no Skinny Minnie myself. However, one team on the show (The Browns) has two overweight brothers, one of whom is probably to the point of what’s considered morbid obesity by doctors. The show is full of extreme physical tasks. This guy can’t even hike up a hill or stairs without getting winded. How safe is this? Plus, I’m not too keen on looking at very obese people in bathing suits. If I want to do that, I can go down the shore (as they say here in New Jersey).

The In Between and Quick Observations

• What’s with repeating “cliffhangers” after the return from commercials? We saw the situation before commercial, just finish it.
• I have no longitude and latitude skills. If I didn’t laugh, I’d just go insane. (A nod of the head to Jimmy Buffet.)
• I found it amusing that the “Geniuses” along with their matched team the “Young Professionals” were the only group who went to Mt. Theodore Roosevelt instead of Mt. Rushmore. Even I had guessed Mt. Rushmore as the clues unfolded -- the names of all four presidents made it obvious.
• There’s a sneaky preacher who stole a clue from another team. Tsk, tsk.
• One team member has the most mullet I think I’ve seen in twenty years. It fits him well.
• The show started with five teams in Hawaii and five teams in Alaska, each gathering clues. They met in Nebraska and all seemed shocked. Um. Okay.

If you missed the premiere, encores will be shown on Friday and Saturday nights in most viewing areas, so you might want to check your local listings. Starting next Monday (June 26), the show will air at 9 PM ET/PT. And, one last thing, the official website has lots of nifty stuff including a video of the episode(s).