East Coast Update - 'The Amazing Race 10' - Finish and Philimination

Sigh.

The Pit Stop arrival order:

1. Tyler/James - won a trip to Mexico
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Lyn/Karlyn
5. Erwin/Godwin - Philiminated

Sniffle.

A full recap/review will be posted late tonight.

Tonight's 'The Amazing Race' Blogging - 11/19

As usual with the Sunday night programming, The Amazing Race was delayed due to football coverage in this area. I'll be posting the Pit Stop arrival and Philimination in about an hour as the show just started. Late tonight, a full review/recap will be posted.

Get Yer Pants Here - Coming This Week On Letterman (Nov. 20-24)

Although it's a somber time - Impressionists Week is done and over - this week's guest list for Letterman is winning me over. Plus, it's Thanksgiving week with all new shows throughout the week, including the holiday. Dave's holiday show usually features bits from the staff and I have to see what they're up to this year!

Here are this week's expected guests on The Late Show with David Letterman:

• Monday, Nov. 20 - Jerry Seinfeld (what's he up to these days?), DJ Shadow and Q-Tip. (Um, okay to the latter. One thing I love about the show is he often exposes me to music acts with whom I may not be familiar.)
• Tuesday, Nov. 21 - Chris Elliott, Hugh Jackman and the Nextel Cup Winner. Chris Elliott is old-school Letterman and I always get a kick out of seeing him on the show. As for the Nextel Cup Winner? I haven't a clue. Maybe it's the Annoying Walkie-Talkie King or the Most Obnoxious Cell Phone User In Public Places Queen. We'll see.
• Wednesday, Nov. 22 - Matthew Broderick, Lupe Fiasco & Jill Scott. Matthew, of course, is starring with Danny DiVito in the new holiday movie Deck the Halls, but I'm once again clueless on the latter two guests. It makes things more interesting that way, don't you think? I enjoy seeing Matthew Broderick on the show... he's always an entertaining guest.
• Thursday, Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Day) - Eugene Levy (For Your Consideration) and John Mayer. Eugene Levy is usually a hoot! And, though John Mayer isn't always my musical cuppa tea, he is very popular. As I previously mentioned, I think we can expect some staff bits on this show, too.
• Friday, Nov. 24 - Oh, the only guest listed is Helen Hunt (Bobby and Mad About You fame). I like seeing her, but I would also guess there's more to the show than solely Helen Hunt. I love surprises.

There, that's the week ahead for The Late Show. Did I ever tell you about the time I stood outside the filming of the show with the masses by the Roseland and excitement ensued?

TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, November 18, 2006

It's Sunday! Of course, you know that I'll be watching tonight's Amazing Race. Did you see the promos? They have the teams in armored tanks. Now, that looks interesting. May the ChoBros rule!

In comments, blog reader Sydney mentioned seeing a TV show promo while watching the most excellent new James Bond movie. The advertised show intrigued her and yes, I can help. I wrote a brief preview of the upcoming My Boys show which will premiere November 28 on TBS (the very funny station). It's one of two new original sitcoms I previewed thanks to screeners from the good folks at Turner Broadcasting. The other show is 10 Items or Less - both innovative and funny. That one will premiere Monday, November 27.

In other TV-related news:

• I'm tired of hearing about Tomkat's wedding. Make them stop! I'll admit it's a cool castle, though.
• Sarah Ferguson Begs For Spot on Dancing With the Stars - Do you think Fergie has a chance?
• FOX Orders Additional Episodes of "Standoff" - I haven't watched this show as of yet, but the premise sounds interesting. Are you watching? Should I check it out?
• Gordon Ramsey, the ill-tempered chef of Hell's Kitchen, has opened a new restaurant in Manhattan. I'm tempted to make a reservation, but I'm sure it's a bit out of my budget.
• Can't get enough Amazing Race? Reality News Online has transcribed the latest "Insider" video from the CBS website. Find out what we didn't see on last week's show before we see what we will see on tonight's show!
• It seems that The Bachelor has been renewed for another season.
• Save the cheerleader, save the world. (Yeah, that's my new favorite TV tag line.) Not only is tomorrow night's Heroes episode a crucial one, but some new cast announcements are out and about. Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston and George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek) will be added to the cast. Takei will be playing Hiro's father. Perfect! Dang, I love this show.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 9 -or- "Time (to go) in a bottle."

Eleven are left and the jury has its first member. Who will be voted out next?

And, my own added question, aren't we due for a numbers crunch? Remember, the season started with 20 castaways. Normally there are 16, some seasons 18. The finale is scheduled for December 17. We have four weeks and eleven castaways. You do the math. (I'll just go on writing...!)

The show opened on Day 22 looking in on the Raro tribe. Jonathan, recently mutinied from Aitu, was still working, fishing, and making fire in an effort to prove his worth to the new tribe. He now realizes that he made a very bad move by mutinying. "I'm a wandering Jew without a tribe," he said. The other Aitu mutineer, Candice, is fitting in better thanks to her relationship with Adam. Their thing for each other is hitting fling phase now that she's teamed up with him once again.

Over at Aitu, the small Can Do Tribe, Ozzy's attitude has definitely changed. Without Jonathan (in particular) around, he's meshing with the others well. Aitu has become a tribe to be reckoned with, for sure. "We're the underdogs and I'm happy," Ozzy said. Yul also spoke about what a solid bond the tribe has since the mutiny of Candice and Jonathan.

Treemail brought the tribes nautical flags which signify letters of the alphabet, so both tribes went to work studying. The Rewards Challenge itself had the tribes using given coordinates to a huge compass in the sand and two tribe members digging up four treasure chests per tribe (one at a time). After all the chests were collected, they opened them to find nautical flags which they had to use to spell the word "victory."

Raro did horribly at the challenge. I don't know who was worse - Jenny and Jonathan almost refusing to work together or Adam and Candice just not working well together at all. Nate, Parvati, and Rebecca just kept cringing on the bench as they watched Aitu work well together and claim victory.

Aitu won a plane ride to a nearby island where they would partake in a local feast called an umu. There would be pork and an alcohol-laden homebrew beverage. They announced they were sending Candice to Exile Island with a "1, 2, 3... Candice" cheer. I know why they're targeting her, but I thought they might have gone for Jonathan this week. I guess they were closer to her all along and still feel betrayed. I realize they have a reason, but my own personal feelings say it's kind of mean.

While Candice fussed on Exile Island - "it's horrible when people you like want you to suffer" - Raro was all bummed out (once again) at their camp. The talk turned to ousting Rebecca if they lose Immunity. Rebecca hasn't proved strong in any challenges, nor mental or physical ones. Jonathan has been busting his butt being Mr. Provider and his plan seems to be working. For now it's working, anyway.

The hit of the show was the umu. No, not the emu, but there was a hog! Aitu was greeted by native islanders wearing grass skirts and men in tribal sort of gear. It looked a bit frightening, but soon became reminiscent of the Munchkins leading Dorothy down the yellow brick road. I was just waiting for three of the men to step forward and start singing about the Lollipop Guild.

Two rather large women took a liking to Yul and both bumped and grinded against him, much to his embarrassment. One jumped on him as he fell (see photo). The reward seemed to be the most fun I've ever seen them have and it was a hoot to watch, too. Poor Yul. But, hey, he seemed to have a good time!

The next treemail had a map of the Cook Islands. Again, the tribes studied. The Immunity Challenge had the tribes swimming out to a floating platform, diving for a bundle of island names and swimming them back. They had four members competing as there are only four Aitu members and each retrieved one bag.

Once again, Raro fell apart while Aitu rocketed. They retrieved their island name bundles quickly and placed them right in the puzzle within a minute or two while Raro was just bringing in their last bundle. In a new twist, Raro was given a bottle with a scroll inside. They were directed to bring it to Tribal Council, but warned not to open it - it would be read after the vote was cast.

When I heard the instructions and knew that we had to double an eviction soon, I guessed what it was. Raro tried to guess and I think they knew the possibility of a double castoff, but were afraid to think in that direction. The talk at camp was mainly for a Rebecca eviction, but Adam mentioned that Jenny was getting very untrustworthy and out for herself. Plus, he figured she would target Candice. So, she should be next - more dangerous than Jonathan.

At Tribal Council, Jonathan should learn to shut his mouth. He bragged about catching 22 fish since the day before. I understand he's proud, but I think it would be better to quietly serve up the fish. The votes were cast and Rebecca (the one who's the make-up artist for The View) was voted off unanimously with the exception of her own vote for Jonathan.

Then came the twist. The bottle was opened after Rebecca left. "You've just voted out one member of your tribe, you'll now vote out another." That was it. No time to plot, scheme, or even think much about things. In the second vote, Jenny was voted out. She and Nathan voted for Jonathan, the rest voted for her.

She wasn't a happy camper. In the ending shot as the credits rolled, she just about spit venom. They didn't show Rebecca's parting shot, but I would think she'd be polite.

So now the tribes are a lot more even, five to four. While Jeff hinted there might not be a merge at Tribal Council, I think he may have been saying that just to throw off the contestants.

Another very entertaining episode. Hey, that's two in a row! Let's try again next week!