Holiday Television Programming - This Weekend Dec. 2 - 3

As the weather turns wintry in most of the country, it's the perfect time to wrap yourself in a cozy throw, sip hot chocolate, and think of the holidays ahead. And, but of course... watch holiday, seasonal, and special programs on television! It's like comfort food for the soul.

This list isn't all inclusive, but is a pretty good representation of what's on this weekend. For local holiday programming, please check your local listings. I may touch on some of the NYC area shows, but I have no idea what may be happening in Oshkosh!

Saturday, December 2:

• Midnight (ET/PT), the FOOD Network is airing Christmas in America.
• QVC and HSN are almost all holiday gifts all the time.
• 9:30 AM ET/PT, ABC Family Network is airing To Grandmother's House We Go (movie)
• 11 AM ET/PT, TBS is airing Snow Day (movie)
• 11 AM ET/PT, USA is airing Elf (movie)
• 11 AM ET/PT, Lifetime is airing The Man Who Saved Christmas (movie).
• 11:30 AM ET/PT, ABC Family, Santa Claus: The Movie
• 1 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, Holiday in Your Heart (movie)
• 1:30 PM ET/PT, ABC Family is airing Home Alone 3 (movie)
• 3 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, A Song For The Season (movie)
• 3:30 ET/PT, ABC Family, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (movie)
• 4 PM ET/PT, USA is airing The Great American Christmas (movie)
• 5 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, If You Believe (movie)
• 6 PM ET/PT, USA, Elf again
• 7 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, A Town Without Christmas (movie)
• 7 PM ET/PT, ABC Family, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (movie)
• 9 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, Comfort and Joy (movie)
• 11 PM ET/PT, ABC Family, Santa Claus: The Movie

Sunday, December 3:

• 9 AM ET/PT, USA, The Great American Christmas (movie)
• 9 AM ET/PT, ABC Family, Home Alone 3 (movie)
• 11 AM ET/PT, Lifetime, The Christmas Gift (movie)
• 11 AM ET/PT, ABC Family, Home Alone 4 (movie)
• 1 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, Like Father, Like Santa (movie)
• 1 PM ET/PT, ABC Family, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (movie)
• 3 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, Deck the Halls (movie)
• 5 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, Stolen Miracle (movie)
• 5 PM and 8 PM ET/PT, ABC Family, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (movie)
• 7 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, A Different Kind of Christmas (movie)
• 8 PM and 10 PM ET/PT, AMC, Miracle on 34th Street (movie)
• 8 PM and 10 PM ET/PT, TNT, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines (movie)
• 9 PM ET/PT, Lifetime, A Dad For Christmas (movie)

And, it's all just starting!

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 11 -or- "No One Likes You, Nyah Nyah"

Eight are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Hey, I thought they chose to stay at the campsite with no rats - Raro's original camp. Why did Night 27 open with rat shots? Unless, of course, they were symbolic rats. I've noticed that either rats or snake shots happen before Jonathan is shown.

In my own opinion (mainly because I find her annoying), they could have been symbolic Parvati rats, too. She was lighting right into Jonathan about his flipping at Tribal Council. And, Jonathan couldn't hold it in any longer. He told the ex-Raro group (Parvati, Adam, and Candice) that Yul indeed had the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island. They were too busy calling him a filthy miserable rat to pay much attention to that important news.

Now, to me, Jonathan is as bad about Parvati as she is about him. In the morning, he went on and on about how she's been on the island for 28 days and she hasn't cleaned a fish, nor does she have a clue how to go about it. Jonathan mentioned how lazy Parvati is as he tried to keep in good graces with the ex-Aitu bunch (Yul, Ozzy, Becky, and Sundra).

This week's episode marked the just about mandatory Survivor auction for reward-type items. There are usually a few duds under covers mixed in with the good stuff. Each castaway was issued $500. They could lend and borrow money amongst themselves, but they couldn't share any of the winnings. Jonathan went to town winning a hot dog meal with beer (that he spilled) and pizza (which he licked). Parvati won the bid for a bubble bath and a piece of chocolate cake. Ozzy won ice cream. Sundra got a booby prize of a sea cucumber.

Ah, but it was Becky who won the best prize of all. It was a mystery note which Jeff said would hold power in the game. Borrowing money, Becky bid $640 for it. Inside the envelope? A chance to send a player to Exile Island. She decided to send Candice there for a fourth time. Talk about crumbling someone!

Yul, for some reason all of his own, decided it was time to announce that he had the hidden Immunity Idol. I'm not sure of his thinking process there. Well, he could have figured that most of the people knew it and he already used it for a power play in flipping Jonathan. Also, just knowing he has it will keep others from voting him off and make them leery of who has the second highest number of votes.

Back at camp, while Candice was whining, crying, and fussing over on Exile Island, Jonathan made another faux-pas in the game of getting along with others. He was the one who didn't want Cao Boi bringing the Immunity Idol to Reward Challenges and such, right? If I recall correctly, he said it was like "rubbing the win in their faces." So, what does he do? He goes on and on about all the food he won at the auction.

Yul and Becky, as well as Ozzy, noticed the bad behavior and seriously considered dumping Jonathan. But, you must remember, Jonathan's not the greatest competitor in challenges, plus he's a great person to be with in the Final Two - he's the least popular player of them all. The ex-Aitu see his "true character" but need to decide if they can use him or take their chances with ex-Raro.

The Immunity Challenge was done in two rounds. The castaways had to correctly answer questions about the past 30 days on the island, use numbers derived from the answers, do some physical tasks in the second round, and raise their individual flags. The first three to finish the first round went onto the second. Adam, in a confessional, said he knows he's a target and he must win. Oh, my. He actually did win! Scary, huh?

Back again at camp, Candice figures she's a goner. (And she figures Jonathan is a snake.) Instead of focusing on the game, Adam and his harem cuddle in the shelter. Not too bright of a move, eh? Meanwhile, Jonathan knows he's skating on thin ice with all and returns with fish. Ozzy, Becky, Sundra, and Yul join him in cleaning and cooking the catch, then chowing down. Oh, the cuddlers realized that the ex-Aitu (and Jonathan) are eating without them!

A verbal brouhaha broke out as Candice confronted them, calling out comments Yul made about Jonathan, calling Jonathan names, and more. Ozzy claimed "no one gets a free lunch." Candice called Yul the "ringleader" and blamed him for Jonathan while trying to alienate the group from Jonathan. I like brouhahas. They should have them more often.
Of course, that made the very rational and smart-playing Yul question again whether keeping Jonathan would hurt his chances with the jury. The editing tried to make us viewers think it was Jonathan's turn to go, so we (or, at least, I) knew that wouldn't be the case.

At Tribal Council, the brouhaha went on all over again while Nate hammed for the camera from the jury box. "No one likes you, Jonathan!" "Yul is a puppetmaster!" Even Ozzy called out the laziness of the three cuddlers. And, in the end, ex-Aitu (and Jonathan) all voted for Candice to go, while ex-Raro voted for Jonathan to go. 5 to 3, Candice was asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. Or, in this case, after an extended smooch from Adam. Gag me now.

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Update - 11/30 - The Boot

Candice was voted off with all of Aitu (and Jonathan) voting for her. Candice, Parvati, and Adam voted for Jonathan.

A full review/recap will be posted late this evening. Stop back!

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - East Coast Update - 11/30 - Immunity

Adam won Immunity.

TV Newsy Bits (and Stuff) - Thursday, November 30, 2006

Yes, last night was the infamous Return of Richard Simmons to the Late Show with David Letterman. Other than being sort of mean to him and almost setting him on fire, Dave controlled himself rather well. I wonder if he'll use the little matching "Harry" shirt - I can bet he won't wear the "David" shirt after Richard wore it. Huh... a $300 tie? Yikes!

Tonight is Survivor 13: Cook Islands night and, as usual, I'll post East Coast Updates of important events (Immunity, Boot) as they air here in the NYC area. Late tonight, a full recap/review will be posted. If you're not seeing what you think is the most recent post, use the November 2006 Archive link you see in the right sidebar of the main page.

Although I must watch C.S.I. tonight (the miniature crime scene killer returns) and I'm not a huge Scrubs fan, I'll be setting the VCR for the Scrubs season premiere (I think... I'm so confused by fall finales). It's on at the same time as C.S.I. (9 PM ET/PT) and, the kicker is... The Blue Man Group! Yes!

UPDATE: Although CBS has been running a promo for next week's new C.S.I. episode all week (in which the miniature crime scene killer returns), tonight's episode is a repeat. Why do they do that? Grr. Thanks to a commenter for the heads up!

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• The Jericho Mystery Continues Online
• TV News- 'View' Bleeps Bush-Bashing DeVito - AOL News - Oh, my!