TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, December 3, 2006

It looks like The Amazing Race will be starting on time here in the Northeast. So, if you're in another time zone or just want to chat about the show, expect an update with the Pit Stop arrival order and the Philimination at around 9 PM ET. If you don't think you're seeing the most recent post on the blog, use the December 2006 Archive link on the right sidebar - that will usually snag the latest.

Despite this TV Squad entry, please don't get all excited and think that we'll be seeing a Celebrity Big Brother next month. From my research, it's the UK version that is in question, not the USA one.

I watched Sunday Morning on CBS this morning and it got me waxing nostalgic on my other blog.

You can expect an updated Holiday Television Programming for the week ahead in the early hours of Monday morning.

And, that's about it for now. I must snack before TAR and the race for the Final Three. It's hard to believe that the finale is next week!

Great Pants, Who's On 'The Late Show with David Letterman' This Week?

I must be too much of a Letterman fan. Last week, without looking at this week's schedule, I said he was due for a vacation week. And, I was right. This week is full of repeats, some definitely worth seeing if you missed them on the first run. To me, the shame of it all when it comes to Letterman reruns is that they're all recent shows. I realize they can't jump networks and show his old NBC shows, but I'd love to see some of the older CBS shows during his off weeks. There have certainly been some memorable ones!

Here's the skinny on the schedule this week:

• Monday, Dec. 4: From 11/02/06 - Rosie O'Donnell and musical guest Lady Sovereign
• Tuesday, Dec. 5: From 9/19/06 - Patrick Dempsey, Ventriloquist Jay Johnson and Darwin (part of the Infamous Ventriloquist Week), musical guest Kasabian.
• Wednesday, Dec. 6: The Late Show website lists this show as originally airing 12/06/06, but they're obviously wrong. It's a recent show from November and a very worthy of watching show. It's Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost) with the Top Ten, a hilarious segment with Teri Horton of Who the %#$ is Jackson Pollack fame (yes, I know who he is), Daniel Craig (Casino Royale), and musical guests Elvis Costello and Roseanne Cash.
• Thursday, Dec. 7: From 10/30/06, another interesting show albeit too recently aired for my liking - Jerry Springer (just off Dancing With The Stars) does the Top Ten, Borat from Borat, Tiki Barber (football - NY Giants), and musical guest Beck.
• Friday, Dec. 8: From 11/08/06, it's Dustin Hoffman, Jamie Oliver (author of Jamie's Italy), musical guests are the cast of the Metropolitan Opera's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia." A good show, but again... much too soon to see it again for me.

Once this week of reruns is out of the way, we should be looking at this season's Late Show Christmas tree complete with the meatball on top and other typical holiday doings. In the meantime, I may have to see who Jay has on his show this week, heaven forbid!

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, December 2, 2006

I hope everyone weathered the stormy weather which took a run through the country! Here, it wasn't so bad. We went from a balmy day to a temperature drop of 20 degrees within an hour and fast-moving thunderstorms with high winds. No snow, though. Today is more seasonable with crisp air and clear skies. But it would be a good day to cozy up to the fireplace... if I had one.

I see the Lexus commercials are back for the season. In what world do these people live? How do I get in on this? Is Santa giving these expensive cars? Am I on his naughty list and just not getting one as a gift or what?

In TV Newsy Bits for the day:

• Reality TV Calendar takes an extensive look at past all-women teams on The Amazing Race and boldly declares an all-women team will make the final three this season. Well, duh. Obviously, since there are two all-women teams left in the four, at least one will make the three! The question is which one? Or both? No spoilers are in the article, but it's an interesting trek back.
• Reality News Online interviewed Candice (The Survivor Exile Island Queen) and also transcribed her The Early Show appearance. Interesting, but I still won't really miss her on the island.
• TV News- NBC Tweaks Three Nights - AOL News - Oh, The Apprentice! Yay!
• AOL Gives a 24 Hour Gift of Free Movie Downloads - Today only - check it out!

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.