TV Newsy Bits - Thursday, November 9, 2006

It's Survivor night! As usual, I'll post East Coast Updates for the big happenings as they air here in the NYC area. Those events usually include Reward, Immunity and the boot. Judging from the promos they've been showing, there is another event happening on the show tonight, too. If that isn't in conjunction with the events mentioned above, I'll let the West Coast folks know that East Coast spoiler in a separate update. Late tonight a full review/recap will be posted.

It's also C.S.I. night for me. Another minature crime scene has been featured in their promos. I hope that the case involved threads through the season and we see even more.

In other television happenings:

• My friends over at BuddyTV.com have an Exclusive Interview: Hank Steinberg, Creator of The Nine up and posted.
• K-Fed's Money Ploy - TMZ.com - What? He wants her money? I'm so shocked, aren't you?
• Residents to Plan to Secure The Borders Next Week on "Jericho" - Well, duh. They should have done it long ago.
• "Heroes" Star Jack Coleman Discusses His Role on the Show - It's the Horn-Rimmed Eyeglasses Guy! No real spoilers, he doesn't admit to being either good or bad, but says he can be creepy. I knew that.

'Lost' - "I Do"

This was it, the last Lost until February 7. I know I'll appreciate the lack of reruns through the spring, but it feels like we barely got a taste of the series this fall. Six episodes ain't nuthin', Freckles.

Tonight's episode, "I Do," had its interesting points and moved a few things forward, but there were no grand surprises overall. Well, there was the Jack Finally Wised Up bit, but that wasn't until near the end of the show.


The flashback sequences were all about Kate this week, Kate and her husband. Or, Monica and her husband, as she had an alias. Who knows? Maybe she's not Kate, either. The island scenes mainly featured those captured by the Others - Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. We saw a bit of Eko's funeral, but mostly the captives.

The Kate Flashback Sequences
The opening had Kate in a hotel room as her soon-to-be groom, a Miami-Dade cop named Kevin, visited. Oh, there was the wedding, kiss scenes, and all was rosy-keen with the bride and groom. Until Kate's background caught up with her. Well, perhaps it was more the fear of her background being exposed and caring about her love.

She panicked. She called the U.S. Marshals to see if they would leave her be, but the vibes weren't right, not at all. What to do? What to do? Hey, let's drug the cop-husband and confess once he wants her to get a passport for an Oceanic flight to Costa Rica! So, she did it. She told him that she wouldn't want his career ruined, that she was being sought after for blowing up her father and she hit the rowdy road. And, she told him her name wasn't Monica.

See. That's what happens when you marry too soon. You marry a fugitive, silly cop boy. I rank this backstory flashback an "eh." Big deal, what's happening on the island?

On the Island, Requiem for Eko
Locke, Sayid, Paulo (who still just mysteriously appeared and doesn't do or say much for all the hooplah about him joining the cast), and Desmond were still with the very dead Mr. Eko. Locke, claiming that the survivors have seen enough death, decided they should bury him without bringing him back to the campsite.

When asked, Locke said Eko died for a reason, but he doesn't know what that reason is. But, heck, there's a reason. He also claimed that the monster killed Eko, but didn't know what or whom the monster is. Okay, that's perhaps too much knowledge to take in all at once, eh?

The most vital incident during the funeral was as Locke was giving his eulogy. He started talking about Eko's Jesus Stick, then saw words carved into it: "Locke, lift your eyes and look north." (Insert Lost thump noise here.)

On the Island of the Others
Okay, I'm warming to the thought that there may be two islands. I'm not totally convinced, but there was another clue pointing to that tonight.

In the dolphin tank, Jack told Ben and Juliet how critical Ben's need for surgery really is. After giving him the terror talk that indicated not long to live at all, he refused to do the surgery which could save Ben's life. He said he wanted him to understand how he's going to die, but he wouldn't help save him. Ben told him he was disappointed in his decision. Jack told him he wouldn't have to be disappointed long.

Over at the bear cages where Sawyer and Kate were being held captive, Danny and his Thugs were about to take Kate off to work breaking rocks (saying that Sawyer had the day off) when alarms sounded. "Compound Breached!" It was Alex (Rousseau's daughter) with a trusty slingshot. She warned Kate that they would kill her boyfriend just as her own was killed.

Alex was easily captured as a slingshot is never a great match for guns. Danny threw a hood over Kate's head and, next we knew, she was in the dolphin tank talking to Jack through the plexiglass. The Others told her to tell him they'd kill Sawyer if she couldn't convince Jack to perform Ben's spinal surgery. No go, Jack refuses Kate's pleading. "We're done here." Uh-oh, Sawyer!

Ben was monitoring it all in the room with all the closed-circuit monitors.


Back at the bear cages, Danny and Thugs were pushing around Sawyer, furious that Jack had refused to do the surgery. Once they departed, Kate told Sawyer about seeing Jack and Ben's need for surgery. She crawled out of her cage and broke the lock to his, telling him to escape. But he refused to go. He told her they were on a separate island and there was no escape. Then they had hot giant polar bear sex... or perhaps a human equivalent of such.

In the dolphin cage, a sleeping Jack was awakened by the mysterious intercom. It told him (Juliet's voice?) to check the door. Oh, by gosh and golly, it was unlocked. Set up alert! He found the monitor room and, gee willikers, there was a feed to Kate and Sawyer snuggling in the bear cage. Jack also found guns. And he held one to Ben when Ben entered the room.

He told Ben he'd do the surgery tomorrow, but Ben had to keep his promise - he'd get off the island. He had to leave the island. Ben, of course, assured him he'd keep the promise. Yeah, right. Trust Ben? I think not!

Pre-surgery, Ben asked Juliet if Alex asked about him. She told him that he had taken her home. Ben told Jack, "Whatever happens, things will be very different." And, they certainly were as Jack finally had a trick up his sleeve.

He purposely nicked Ben's kidney sac and then created sort of a medical hostage. Over at the bear cages where Danny and Thugs were about to off Sawyer in front of Kate in retaliation for Danny's girl Colleen's death, the walkie-talkies burst to life. They had an hour to make their escape as Jack had an hour to fix the damage he did to Ben.

Jack told Kate that in an hour, she'd have to call him on the walkie-talkie and relate the first story he told her as she stitched him up on the beach. If not, Ben would die.

Here are the points to ponder for this week:

• Why I'm thinking there could very well be two islands: I think the clue on the Jesus stick telling Locke to look north may lead to the sighting of an island. Plus, Danny wondered how Alex got "over here." Something about the way he said it indicated two islands. The same sort of indication when Juliet mentioned taking Alex home.
• I have a "much ado about nothing" feeling from the Kate flashbacks. Only if that cop emerges on the island in some capacity or the necklace she wore comes into play somehow will this bit be critical at all.
• Whether Juliet will sabotage the surgery or Jack will on the down-low is moot now. I have a feeling Jack won't kill Ben, but that's only my guess.
• My memory of the story Jack's seeking from Kate is a bit fuzzy. I recall it was something about fear. "Do you know what real fear is?" He then told her of botching an operation on a teenaged girl, sort of similar to his nicking of Ben's kidney sac. The significance? I'm not sure.
• No smoke monsters this week, but a focus on both Eko's cross necklace and the one Kate (as Monica) wore.

I guess we wait until February. I don't know if I'll be interested enough in the new show they'll be airing in the time slot to watch for sneak peeks.

What Do The 'Amazing Race' Contestants Win?

In a recent comment, someone (you know who you are, Anon!) asked if the contestants on The Amazing Race who aren't the final team win anything.

Well, it's obvious that David and Mary won a lot from their appearance on The View, but that's not the norm for contestants. They seemed to just strike a chord with the folks on that show and reaped the benefits.

Of course, the true reward for being on The Amazing Race may be just the whole amazing whirlwind adrenalin trip. Contestants receive prizes for placing first, but do the others receive money?

Yes, but it's certainly not a get rich quick scheme. Not at all. The winners do welll with the million, but it goes drastically downhill from that point. I can't vouch that these figures are truly accurate, but here's the breakdown I found at answers.com:

1. $1,000,000
2. $25,000
3. $10,000
4. $7,000
5. $6,000
6. $5,000
7. $4,000
8. $3,500
9. $3,000

The lowest figure is probably more than a few would make at their day jobs for thirty days time. But, of course, the experience of being a contestant on the show is indeed priceless.

Tonight On The Box

Tonight, tonight, isn't like any other night...!

For starters, tonight is the last new Lost episode for the "fall season." Ah, yes, that seems to be something new out there in Television Land. A short taste of the series for the fall, then the rest starting in the winter running through into late spring. From what I've read, it seems to be formatted that way this season due to complaints about all the blocks of repeats during the actual season last year. I'm not sure which format bugs me more. With Lost, there's so much going on that a two or three month hiatus and my increasingly lost memory may make me forget what has happened before on the show. It will return February 7. I guess we'll see, and I most certainly will be watching tonight's episode and blogging it, too! ABC - 9 PM ET/PT

Before Lost, I'll be in Jericho. I've grown a bit iffy on this one, but continue to follow it. No, I haven't been blogging so much about it, but there are only so many shows I can cover in-depth before my head explodes. Or something. As we learn more about the background of some of the characters, I have to know what role they'll take on as the world of an isolated nuclear survivor town goes on. CBS - 8 PM ET/PT

Competing in that 8 PM time slot are Bones (FOX) - a show I enjoy but will really have to pick up in the reruns this season; The Biggest Loser (NBC) - a show I've never watched yet know a lot of folks really love it, and Dancing With The Stars (ABC) - a show I've caught now and then, but all I can really say is that I was relieved when Jerry Springer finally was voted off. I should note that The Biggest Loser is a two-hour episode tonight. (Thus noted!)

Up against Lost (though I'm a hands-down Lost watcher) is Criminal Minds on CBS. That's another one I really have to try to get into during reruns. I know I should like it, but I've only seen it once and it didn't jump out and grab me. The new season of The O.C. (FOX) also starts. Now, I don't watch that one at all.

At 10 PM ET/PT, the major networks have C.S.I.: NY (CBS), Dateline NBC, and The Nine (ABC). The Nine has lost me as I've become lackadaisical about watching it the past few weeks. I was excited when it first started, but the series took a nose-dive for me by the second episode. I actually enjoy many of the Dateline segments (I can be a newsy-hound at times), but I'll probably go with C.S.I.: NY for my hour.

In late night viewing, tonight is a new Letterman complete with Dustin Hoffman. Woohoo! I'll be watching while wearing my fuzzy bunny slippers and robe.

Um.

Maybe that was too much information.

What will you be watching tonight? Remember when Wednesdays didn't offer us such a great array of shows?

TV Newsy Bits - Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Well, tonight's a good night for the more political-leaning readers of the blog. But, not so much for me. Letterman is scheduled way late here and it's a rerun. Nothing really struck me tonight. I watched Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but kept getting distracted, so don't ask me what happened. Right now I have an rerun on Law and Order: SVU on the USA network on in the background.

Several blog readers mentioned today's The View with the appearance of David and Mary, the most recent team to be Philiminated on The Amazing Race. I was at work, so I missed it. But, thank you for filling me in! I found the show's official recap mention of it on the official website. I'm happy for the couple - if anyone could use a hand up, they can. I think the show has probably really changed their lives for the better.

The other day I wrote an article exclusive to Blogcritics about AOL's Gold Rush and its final rounds this week on Entertainment Tonight. I really had high hopes that one of the blog readers would have made it. It's not the same as if I were to win a chunk of money, I'd still get warm fuzzies. Maybe next time, eh?

Another article I wrote for there and didn't post here (because I really had no interest in the show - it was against Lost and Criminal Minds and one of those would snag me before yet another quiz show) was about The Rich List. Oops! Yanked from the schedule and even the FOX website after one episode as if it never existed!

By the way, the reason the articles were written for there was because they asked for them. I'm not really hiding stuff. If I write something specifically for them, I can post it here a few days later or link it, as I just did.

Welp, that's about it for tonight.

Did you watch anything interesting besides election coverage?