Monday, October 16, 2006

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, October 16, 2006

It's Monday! That means I watched How I Met Your Mother and Heroes. Yes, I watched The Class, but I'm writing that one off a bit. Well, maybe not. I don't know. The jury is still out on that one for me. (And I also got a summons to do actual jury duty today. Hopefully it's a television show jury! Yeah, right.) I tried once again with Studio 60 and it's just not keeping my interest. I ended up turning to the earlier news and plan to hit the sack a bit early. After all, Letterman is a rerun tonight.

In Blog TV News, don't forget there are show discussion posts for people following AOL GoldRush, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and the odd bedfellows of Nip/Tuck and The Bachelor. If you're following the AOL contest and want to talk clues, or if you're a fan of any of those shows - drop on in! There are some great folks talking about 'em! The links are also located in the right sidebar of my main blog page.

In other TV news, here's the Link o' Interest I've found:
  • Janelle and Will from Big Brother 7: All Stars will be doing a Jokers Update chat next Thursday, Oct. 26.
  • In-depth info on next week's Amazing Race episode. Minor spoilers, beware.
  • What? You haven't had enough of Boston Rob (Survivor, TAR, etc.)? Check out his latest TV adventure.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 5 -or- "Is that a homeless cow?"

Seven teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Finally, the teams go to another country. While I found Vietnam a wonderfully exotic and interesting place, this is supposed to be a race around the world. More than one leg in one country feels sort of like they're stagnating. At least, it does to me.

Unlike last week's rather close departure times from the Pit Stop, I noticed there was a three-hour gap between first and last place. That would be Rob/Kimberly and Dustin/Kandice, respectively. Will it matter or will the teams encounter another infamous TAR bunching point waiting for something to open or a flight or somesuch? Only time will tell.

It's off to Chennai, India! For some reason, Vietnam doesn't allow the sale of tickets at airlines and all plane tickets must be purchased from travel agents. It doesn't seem to be a show rule, but a restriction placed by the government. That's odd.
Sarah told us more about her feelings for Peter in a confessional segment. She doesn't put him on the pedestal she once did. Yes, Sarah! Dump him. He's a pompous so-and-so who treats you poorly. He's using you and he really seems like he's not a nice guy, not at all.

Tyler and James saw an addict shooting up drugs near the railroad tracks, so we heard another "so happy to be recovered" bit. The ChoBros have really hooked up with Lyn and KarlynTyler and James to develop an alliance which seems to help Lyn and Karlyn more than themselves. Peter seems to be getting creepier in each leg of the race. In addition to treating Sarah poorly and being a pompous you-know-what, he's taken to spying on the other teams to get a step ahead and mocking other teams.

So, what do the ChoBros do? They borrow a cellphone and make a totally fake phone call to make reservations so he could eavesdrop and freak out. And, that he did. Ultimately, it didn't really help the brothers out much, but it was worth it to make a fool of Peter. Even the Barbies (Dustin/Kandice), Peter's supposed allies, were turned off by his spying and no longer trust him.

The teams ended up split between three flights to Chennai. Some had to buy tickets for a connection and poor David and Mary were alone on a later flight. Again, it really didn't make a huge difference in the overall race.

Once in Chennai, the teams had to take a bus to Mallapuram. While David and Marry and the ChoBros tend to look at everything as wondrous and exciting, Rob mumbled, "From one polluted city to another." And, his lovely Kimberly declared she wanted to go to Europe. Tyler and James got lost with a lost cab driver, but most of the teams made it to the arts and crafts store where they received their next clue -- a Detour.

David and Mary The Detour, a choice between two tasks which are relevant to the region or its culture, was between Wild Things or Wild Rice. In Wild Things, the teams had go tie a crocodile's snout shut, tie the crocodile to a stretcher, then transport it to a man who would give them their next clue. In Wild Rice, teams had to take colored rice powder to make designs according to speculation. Believe it or not, the crocodile choice seemed to be the easier of the two tasks. Most of the teams picked Wild Things, but David/Mary and James/Tyler struggled through Rice.

In personal bits, Mary declared she would not fight a crocodile no way, no how. Sarah told Peter she's Crocodile transportingnot having fun when he told her he has to either win or just not care and that she should just have fun. She's tired of him giving up or pushing her so hard. All she really wants is a middle road and he's not giving her one. (Dump him, Sarah!) Peter and Sarah passed by their "allies" Dustin and Kandice who were stuck with a flat tire. And, tonight's Dumb Line of the Week came from Kimberly. Now, they're in India. Anyone who knows anything about India knows that the folks there often think the cow is a sacred being. They wander the streets, no one bothers them. So, Kimberly sees one and says, "Oh. Is that a homeless cow?" Even Rob thunked his head over that one. Duh.

Next up was a Roadblock -- a task which can only be completed by one member of each team. This one was a hoot! They had to go to the Karthik Driving School, take a lesson, do a road test and receive a driver's license in India. Of course, if this were happening in the USA, it would take the whole season, but we're talking India. Hand signals and a Harpo Marx horn to honk at children and animals (and only children and animals, please) were the rules of the road. Other than those, the only rule was to make it out of there alive without hitting anything, it Learn to drive in Indiaseemed. All on the left side of the road, as per their laws.

License in hand and driving school car on the road, it was off to the Pit Stop. Here was the order of arrival:
1. Peter/Sarah - Each won a home gym for placing first in the leg.
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was the first of probably three non-elimination legs this season. Unlike the last few years which had the money and possessions stripped from the teams in last place, Phil Keoghan (the Philiminator) told David and Mary that they're "marked for elimination." In the next leg, they must arrive in first place or suffer a 30-minute penalty. That time penalty could very well knock them out, so first or the closest they can get to it is a must. Next week should be interesting. They're not the fastest or strongest team, but I'd like to see them hang in there.

The ChoBrosRob and Kimberly weren't as annoying with bickering this week, but I still wouldn't miss them if they were out of the running. I like Peter less each time I see him. The ChoBros, Erwin and Godwin, are still my favorites for the win. Of course, I'm horrible at picking the winning team so that might be bad luck for them. This week they wore LOST shirts with a picture of Phil on them and a lookout notice for a missing Kiwi. Phil is from New Zealand, thus the Kiwi. He laughed at the shirts when they got to the Pit Stop. I think Phil likes these guys, too!

'The Amazing Race 10' Pit Stop Arrival East Coast Update

Arrival order -

1. Sarah/Peter - Each won a home gym
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was a non-elimination leg. David and Mary are still in the race. The rules have changed - they keep their money and possessions. But, if they don't come in first at the Pit Stop in the next leg, they will receive a 30 minute penalty as they're "marked for elimination."

A full report will be posted later tonight.

Tonight's 'The Amazing Race 10' Blogging Schedule


Tonight's TAR is running about 20-25 minutes behind schedule here in the NYC area due to football. (Sigh.)

Once the show finally airs here, I'll post an East Coast Update with the Pit Stop arrival order and the Philimination or non-Philimination if it's time for one of those.

Late tonight, I'll post a recap/review of the show.

In the meantime, I watched a show about hot dogs on WNET, Channel 13, public television. They didn't even mention Jimmy Buff's (local cool Newark-style dogs with potatoes!) or Hot Dog Charlie's (my early childhood hot dogs). Sheesh!

Um. I'm kind of hungry now.

Friday, October 13, 2006

'The Bachelor' and 'Nip/Tuck' - Blog Meet Up Discussion Post


You asked for it, you got it!

Here's a place for you to talk about The Bachelor and Nip/Tuck with friends. Share links to websites, share this post link with friends, discuss the latest episode!

The link to this entry will be posted on the sidebar of the main page along with other discussion posts. Please feel free to have fun.

:-)


The official websites for these shows are at:
The Bachelor
Nip/Tuck



I don't watch the shows, but who knows? After reading your discussions, I just might have to check them out!