Monday, November 06, 2006

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, November 6, 2006

Ah, another good episode of Heroes tonight. Now Micah is turning into one of them, too. The teaser for next week was about whether the Horn-Rimmed Glasses Guy was good or evil. I've been thinking evil, but since they mentioned it, I'll change my vote to good.

If I were to have a superpower, I'd go for flying. I have no need to be the Incredible Hulk or certainly not the Beast. But, flying? Well, that would beat NJ traffic and be a heck of a lot cheaper, too!

In other television news:

I watched How I Met Your Mother tonight, too. Oh, he's gay. He admits it. So what? It was a cute episode. I loved the name bit with Barney and I like the show more when Lily and Marshall are together. Are you watching?

Remember - 'The Bachelor' and 'Nip/Tuck' <-- join the discussion!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 8 -or- "Cow's Lips, They're Not Just For Breakfast Anymore"


Six teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?


In last week's non-elimination leg, David and Mary were once again saved, but marked for elimination. They must finish in first place tonight or suffer a 30-minute penalty which could very well cost them the game.

So, how did it all pan out?

The teams left Mauritius, the site of the seventh Pit Stop in the game, twelve hours after they arrived. Dustin and Kandice (Evil Beauty Queens) left first at 3:00 AM and the last team, David and Mary (Kentucky), departed at 4:08 AM. So, we're talking about a bit over an hour between first and last. That's not a huge time gap at all.

Having crashed their own car, the Evil Beauty Queens appropriated one of the cars belonging to another team. Their car was indeed drivable, but they apparently just didn't want to drive it. In the end, the ChoBros (Edwin and Godwin) ended up taking the damaged car.
Love the ChoBros!
The Six-Pack alliance between the ChoBros, Kentucky, and Alabama (Lyn and Karlyn) took an early hit when Alabama separated from the group heading for the airport. The ChoBros remained loyal to Kentucky, waiting for them and then leading the way. Of course, Kentucky is always loyal to their friends, but they're better for moral support than they are for leading the way.

The clue instructed them to drive to the airport where they would board a flight to Antanarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. Once there, they would have to find a statue entitled the Black Angel. Oh, there's a hitch. It was recently painted white. But the teams don't know that. All of the teams ended up on the same flight, so even the hour betwixt first and last no longer mattered.

Once on the ground, the teams all rushed about looking for a statue in a lake of a black angel. Too bad it's not black. I got a few smiles when Mary was so excited about being in Madagascar - "I've only seen the cartoon. I never thought I'd be here!" And, Lyn (Alabama) didn't know why they even had to look for a black angel - "I'm right here. Look no more!" On the other hand, Rob and Kimberly went on about exhaust fumes ruining the minds of the locals. Okay, if they say so. Have they never been to NYC or Los Angeles?

It took a while, but the teams finally figured out that the Black Angel was the white statue in a lake they kept passing by. Once there, we found out another new twist to the game. This is in addition to the surprise elimination of Bilal and Sa'eed and the changes for non-Philimination legs. It's an Intersection. What it means is that two teams must work together to perform the next clue's task. In the clue, there was also a Fast Forward.

Tyler/James (Rehabbed BoyToys) and Rob/Kimberly (Bickering Couple) were the first two teams at the clue and they jumped on the Fast Forward. If they successfully complete the FF quickly, they can go directly to the next Pit Stop, so I don't blame them. They also mentioned that they didn't really trust the Beauty Queens.

When the Evil Beauty Queens came along and realized that their "friends" had teamed up and left them behind they were miffed. They begged the ChoBros to team up with them as the Six-Pack Alliance arrived. And, so it was to be... Evil and the Shining Light of All that is Good and Kind, teamed together on a Detour.

Although Mary really wanted to give the Fast Forward a shot, no one knew how long ago the first team of four had been at the clue. It was a given that the first group would probably go for it as the numbers are dwindling and this would be the final Fast Forward in the race. So, the remaining teams headed to a Detour.

Dave and Mary use fannypacks to secure mattresses. A Detour is choice between two tasks relating to local culture or practices. This Detour had the teams choosing between Long Sleep or Short Letter. In Long Sleep, teams had to cover, then deliver eight mattresses on foot through the city streets. In Short Letter, they would have to produce and decorate 28 ornate sheets of paper following a particular design. No one chose the latter.

As the teams struggled with unwieldy mattresses on busy streets and through narrow alleys, what were the FF bunch doing? Well, they had to eat a local delicacy. Cow lips. You heard me. I'm talking cow's lips with some hair and teeth for even extra fiber and texture! At least they looked fried and they had plenty of water to wash them down. The task turned stomachs and turned it into one of the slowest Fast Forwards ever seen on the show.
All you can eat cowlips buffet.
As they gagged their way through their unexpected gastronomical goody, the mattress-haulers had two different approaches to the task. The ChoBros/Evil Beauty Queens broke down the load to four each team of two and helped each other. Kentucky and Alabama tied all eight mattresses together with the straps from their fanny packs and tried to lug them all at once.

Once the mattresses were delivered, the Intersected Teams could once again split up. Dustin/Kandice made quick work of snagging a cab and getting ahead of the ChoBros. Kentucky and Alabama were desperately trying to keep their stacked mattresses moving towards the delivery point, but neither the mattresses nor the local street traffic was cooperating.
Rob Finished His Cow Lips
Oh. And the cow lip eaters were still eating and gagging. But they were so cocky about getting that Fast Forward, boasting how far ahead of the other teams they were and how they could take their time. Little did they know, a few teams were really making time.

Dustin/Kandice hit the next clue first. It was a Roadblock, a task only one member of a team can complete. This one wasn't all that physical unless running around like madmen looking for rubber stamps of a boat, plane, train, and car qualifies as physical. In a crowded marketplace, it was more exasperating than anything else.

The non-participating team members in the Roadblock waited for their partners right at the Pit Stop with Phil. The Evil Beauty Queens finished the task first and even beat the Fast Forward crowd to the Pit Stop. Then the FF group finally made their way to sneak on in before my favorites, the ChoBros.

The Pit Stop arrival in Madagascar was:
  1. The Evil Beauty Queens, Dustin and Kandice - They also won a trip to Hawaii for placing first in the leg.
  2. Tyler and James
  3. Rob and Kimberly
  4. Erwin and Godwin Cho
  5. David and Mary - However, they had to wait out their 30-minute penalty as they were marked for elimination.
  6. Lyn and Karlyn - Knocked David and Mary out of the race ten minutes into the penalty.

So, David and Mary, saved twice, couldn't be saved thrice. They took it well and Alabama cried over their departure. I knew this team couldn't make it to the end, but it was refreshing to see a team approach strange lands with the joy and thrill they showed throughout the race. They argued and yelled at each other, but I could tell they're a perfect match for each other. They had the time of their life and did their family proud.

Okay, I've switched my least-favorite team. Instead of the previous Rob/Kimberly, I now want Dustin and Kandice gone next. They're sneaky and they're strong - this is the second week in a row they've placed first in a leg. It's time for them to stumble and fall. Oh, perhaps not literally, but fall from the ranks of the racers.

Make it happen.

'The Amazing Race 10' East Coast Update 11/05 - Pit Stop Arrival/Philimination

This was the order to the Pit Stop:
  1. Dustin/Kandice - Won a trip to Hawaii
  2. Tyler/James
  3. Rob/Kimberly
  4. Erwin/Godwin
  5. David/Mary - Had to wait 30 minutes as they were marked for elimination
  6. Lyn/Karlyn - Arrived ten minutes into Kentucky's penalty and knocked them out of the race.

David and Mary, marked for elimination twice, were eliminated.

A full review/recap will be posted later tonight.

Tonight's 'Amazing Race' Blogging Schedule

Due to a football delay, The Amazing Race is just starting now in the NYC area. Expect an East Coast Update about 9:30 PM ET and a full review/recap will be posted late tonight.

Stop on back and visit!

Sneak Peek: TBS's 'My Boys' to Premiere November 28

My Boys - TBSBaseball and sex have been tied together in the ways of adolescent boys since the dawn of time (well, perhaps not quite that long) as they attempted to make it to second base, or even to third base. We know they didn't mean in the ballpark!

And, who could forget the play-by-play in the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf? We know that wasn't really about baseball, either.

Taking that ball and running with it is the new original comedy show My Boys from TBS, the Very Funny cable television network. Set to premiere Tuesday night, November 28th at 10 PM ET/PT, I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at a handful of episodes and I'm here to report back on them.

The premise of the show is relatively simple to explain. PJ Franklin, played by Jordana Spiro, is a sportswriter in Chicago. She's in a male-dominated field and, not only that, has a male-dominated field of friends. Oh, yes, she does have one good female friend, Stephanie, played by Kellee Stewart. But her boys are near and dear to her heart. She works amongst the boys, plays cards with the boys, goes out with the boys, and often tends to be considered one of the boys by her boys. I've worked in a male-dominated field and know that feeling all too well. Sometimes you want to shout, "Hey! I'm woman! Roar!" but most of the time, it's great fun just to be friends with the guys.

Although it's easy to draw comparisons with Friends or Sex and the City, this show isn't really all that much like either. Urban settings, a focus on relationships and twenty-somethings are the common grounds between the shows. I think fans of both shows will enjoy My Boys.

I found it a fun little romp through the lives of the characters and their dating trials, tribulations, and the friendship shared by PJ and her boys. I particularly enjoy all the different ways the character of PJ ties in baseball with sex and relationships in the voiceovers which are featured in each episode. Just when I thought she'd have to run out of analogies, she'd spring a new one on me.

Certainly not sexually explicit, I feel My Boys will do well with the late-teens through thirty-something demographic. It's a delightful light-hearted comedic departure from the crime and drama shows in its late evening time slot. And, of course, I want to know just how many relationships/sex analogies there are to sports out there. That's a creative challenge all on its own!

The cast includes Jordana Spiro, Jim Gaffigan, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler, and Kellee Stewart. The Executive Producers are Jamie Tarses, Gavin Polone, and Betsy Thomas. The show will air Tuesday evenings at 10 PM ET/PT on TBS. For more information about the show, you can check out the official My Boys website.