Aha, last night, in addition to American Idol, it was the long awaited return of Lost! Now we're in for sixteen new episodes and no repeats until it vanishes for a while once again.
There was an hour-long review and informative Lost Guide which aired before the show. Alas, I taped that and won't have time to watch the tape until over the weekend. So, I'll have to go guide-less as I did watch the new episode last night.
Remember, when we last left the show, Jack had nicked an artery during Ben's spinal tumor operation. He did that to blackmail the Others so they would let Sawyer and Kate escape.
So they we were... (I remember it as if it was only three darn months ago)...
Juliet was actually the focus of this episode for the most part. Her flashback sequences showed that she was stealing some sort of drug from the hospital (clinic?) run by her ex-husband, Edmond. She was experimenting with her sister, trying to allow a pregnancy (or create one, I'm a bit fuzzy on that).
Her ex caught her, a research facility in Portland tried to hire her, but she turned them down as her ex-husband would "never allow it." In her interview, she broke down and told them that she wished Edmond would get "hit by a bus." And, guess what? He sure 'nuff was! And, it seems that the Portland lab isn't exactly in Portland. Whether it's tied in with DHARMA, I don't know, but it's definitely tied to the Island. Oh... and Ethan was there.
Back to the Island stuff --
Juliet, who once asked Jack to let Ben die on the operating table, told him she'd help Kate and Sawyer escape if he'd fix the nick. Jack accidentally nicked another artery and Ben unexpectedly awakened. Jack told Ben that Juliet had asked that he let him die. Ben talked to Juliet alone for minute, then she was off. When Jack asked Tom (the Other) what was going on, Tom told him that Juliet and Ben "had history."
Meanwhile, Alex (Ben's daughter) had saved Kate and Sawyer from the Others and offered a boat for the escape. Now, all three hostages - Jack, Kate, Sawyer - know they are on a smaller island two miles from their own island.
There was a hitch to her rescue and boat offer, though. She wanted them to go with her to save her boyfriend who was being held captive in the only place she hadn't been able to enter. The boyfriend, Karl, was the kid who escaped from the bear cage when Sawyer was first tossed in one.
He was being held captive and Kate showed she doesn't mess around. She was ready to shoot the guard's knee if he didn't tell them where Karl was. Once they found him (in Room 23), he was in a brainwashing sensory-explosion kind of room which reminded me of the scene in A Clockwork Orange where they propped the main's eyes open and played Beethoven's 9th Symphony over and over again. Messages were going over a screen amidst images and things you'd liken to an LSD trip while Karl was strapped to a chair with bizarre goggles on and forced to watch. The "Everything Changes" image here was one of the ones on the screen as were messages like, "We are the cause of our own suffering."
Sawyer, Alex, and Kate dragged Karl out to the boat where they were met by Danny (Other) with a gun. Just when it looked like they were goners, Juliet showed up and shot him to save them. She told them that Alex had to stay because Karl would die if Alex wasn't on the island when her father's surgery was done. So, Kate and Sawyer took off for their island with Karl slowly coming to his senses. Jack had told Kate not to return to try to save him.
Jack asked Juliet what had changed her mind and what Ben had said to her. She told him that Ben agreed to release her and let her go home if she saved him. She's been on the island(s) for 3 years, 2 months and 28 days.
And, there it was. We have some new numbers to play with and more background on Juliet, too. I have to say, although I enjoyed the show, now that I've gotten hooked on Heroes, I prefer the pace of that show.
What did you think of the episode?
See the look on Simon's face? I believe that's how I felt by show end tonight. If that was the best of the best, this season may be in trouble. With the exception of one singer, Lakeesha Jones, once again I wasn't blown away by the talent.
The show itself had some amusing moments. Instead of the typical audition format, we really didn't see too many actual auditions, per se. We saw a lot of bits and pieces of auditions and other shenanigans. (Ah, that word is right up there with brouhaha in respect to words I love to use.)
They divided the show into "lessons" for those who might want to be the next American Idol. Some lessons used examples of what not to do, others showed folks who learned the lesson.
Lesson One was "The Look." Obviously, the young lady pictured on the right was going for a look. Perhaps she was going for a stare. Oh, wait... maybe she was from the dancing lesson.
One person featured who didn't go for a look other than being herself was Denver pedicab operator, Tami Gosnell. Her look didn't thrill me, but her voice was decent and she went on through to Hollywood.
Lesson Two was to look for inspiration, then follow it. Alas, many of the blurb-ditions may have had great inspiration, but no way could their talents live up to the task at hand.
William Hung was the inspiration for Paul Kim. Ah, but it's a reverse-inspiration! Paul wants to represent Asian-Americans and their talent possibilities. Is he going to be the new Asian hunk of reality TV? Internet scuttlebutt has him going far. And, unlike Hung, he's an actual singer.
In the "Never Give Up" lesson, previous contestant (with a Simon crush) Gina Glocksen went through to Hollywood. Why, I don't know. I didn't think she sang "Black Velvet" well at all. Unlike the contestant last night with the song, I could understand the words, but... feh. Her audition and crush set off a huge Simon Love segment. Okay, that was funny. I like Simon, but there are some things I just would not do in public.
In the "Never Audition in a Group" segment, there were three rollerskating carhops, all young kids. Two made it through to Hollywood with one getting lots of praise. I didn't quite feel the love, but maybe it was just me. I felt bad for the one who didn't make it.
The next lesson was "Don't Sing Odd Songs." One contestant, William Emil Samland (prefers to be called by his initials - WES), touted himself as a singer/songwriter. He didn't mention an Odd Clogger. His song was odd; he was odd. If I were doing my "Most Notable of the Odd" format tonight, he'd be right up there.
There was an extended "Shake Your Moneymaker" dance segment which may or may not have been a lesson. It most certainly wasn't a dance lesson.
The final lesson was "Clarity." They ran through several blurb-ditions in which the hopefuls were singing familiar songs, but no way on earth would anyone recognize them. Even when they flashed the song name across the screen, I still didn't recognize them. Oh, I know the songs, but I don't think those were the songs they were singing. Then came Lakeesha, my new bet for the women. She has the Frenchie Davis build and amazing old-Motown kind of talent. Aretha must be smiling if she saw that one.
I can't do it. I can't write up the last article on the audition phase without a Most Notable of the Odd. I tried because of the format change in the show itself tonight.
But, I'm weak. I have to do it. Tonight's Most Notable of the Odd award goes to Paula Abdul for being quasi-reminiscent of Michael Jackson at times. Am I going crazy or do you see it, too?
Next week, 172 dreamers will meet in Hollywood. I'll be there. Well, to be honest, I'll be here watching them.
American Idol news is topping the TV Newsy Bits today. I had on the local FOX 5 News (NYC area) and caught mention that two of last night's through-to-Hollywood contestants have arrest records and one was booted before the Hollywood round even took place.Both were contestants I mentioned in last night's article about the San Antonio auditions. It seems that the first-ever second chance audition candidate Ashlyn Carr was arrested for putting sugar in the tank of either her ex-boyfriend or his new girlfriend's car (I can't recall which, but the act is right). She seems to be remaining in the running.The more disturbing news concerns Akron Watson, the cousin who sang well. The local FOX News show said he's off the show due to a marijuana bust. I'm personally surprised that something like that would get him booted, but I'm only reporting what I heard. Rats. I liked him. I found this article out there as I searched to verify the story. Uninvited two days before he was to go on to Hollywood, why bother showing his segment on last night's show at all?On their Idol Chatter section of the MyFox website, I saw an article about Queens Idol Wannabe Porcelana Portino's father being hit by a hit-and-run driver. I recall hearing about the accident on the news the other day, but didn't know the AI connection.
Tonight's one of those nights during which I like TV more than my bed. I always like TV more than my job even on the most boring of programming days, so that's not an apt comparison.Oh, but, tonight...! The 8 PM ET/PT hour doesn't hold a lot of competition for me as Bones on FOX wins the slot without a second thought. CBS is airing a Criminal Minds repeat while NBC has a new Friday Night Lights on. ABC is running with new episodes of George Lopez and The Knights of Prosperity. CW has a new Beauty and the Geek. I didn't realize how much I missed Bones until I saw the new episode last week, so I'm there. None of the others hold enough interest for me to bother recording them as I probably won't watch the tapes.It's the 9 PM ET/PT time slot which throws me into a minor quandary. Oh, I'll handle it, Analog Gal that I am. I'll crank up both working VCRs (no, I don't have a DVR or Tivo). I'll "live watch" American Idol on FOX while taping the Lost recap special on ABC and Criminal Minds on CBS. NBC has a new Deal or No Deal (blech for me) and CW has a new One Tree Hill. I have to watch Criminal Minds as I saw the cliffhanger leading into it this past Sunday after the Superbowl. As for Lost, I have to watch anything Lost. I just must. Sometime after the fact, I'll post my review/recap on the American Idol show. That may be way late tonight because...Lost (ABC) returns at 10 PM ET/PT! Woohoo! Even though I'm not as enamored with the series as I once was, it's a must-see on my calendar. In the hour, CBS has a new C.S.I.: NY which I may or may not tape dependent on mood. ABC has a new episode of Medium. It's a Lost win for me.What wins in your TV time slots?
If you had to make a snap judgment about the San Antonio auditions based on this photo alone, you'd think it was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
You'd be wrong.
Although we saw some decent talent and they finally addressed the ongoing "wrong door" issue we've seen at all the audition locations, this installment came off as just so-so for me. I enjoyed the door segment. I just don't know why they've locked all of the left doors of the double doors instead of just leaving both unlocked. It has added a bit of entertainment value, I'll admit. I'll know which door to use when I audition. As if! (No, I'm never going to audition. I know I can't sing.)
Once again, we saw some tears. We saw some outright "what the hell are you doing here" folks, some folks who seriously seemed to think they could sing but can't, and some shining stars. As for the Odd, not as Odd as some weeks.
The show started off with the Rawhide theme song. Now, I remember it, but I would lay odds that the whole stadium full of hopefuls had no idea what they were singing. "Rollin', rollin', rollin', keep those doggies movin'... Rawhide!" It fit the scene, though. There's also a bit of Oddness about it all. The series ran from 1959 to 1966 and the person who sang the theme song, Frankie Laine, died today at the age of 93.
Tonight's Most Notable of the Odd
No, he's not giving the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Faux Terror gesture. Brian thinks he's comparable to Billy Idol and sang "Rebel Yell."
With a rebel yell, he sunk, sunk, sunk.
He started off the show and probably had the judges a bit leery of what the day would bring. I personally found him sort of scary. I liked Billy Idol with his patented sneer. I have the record on vinyl. Now if I chance to throw it on the turntable, I'll have flashbacks to Brian Kyrish.
William Green, unemployed, sings baritone... not all that well. He arrived with his cousin and I get the feeling he was more moral support for his cousin Akron Watson than a serious contender. Although he sang "Amazing Grace" in an off-key baritone, William didn't frighten me as did Brian (above).
William was funny. Humor is a good thing. When turned down, he warned the judges that he was going to ham it up and he surely did. "You don't know nuthin'!" He told them that Akron sang much better than he did and that was definitely the case. More about Akron later.
When I see a singer messing with her ear, I know it's not going to be a good performance. Plus, it looks so unprofessional! This woman claimed she sang for the Mayor of Houston and he enjoyed it. I think he must just be a good politician.
She sang "Black Velvet" and, like the Simon said, I couldn't understand not a word and I know the lyrics to the song. Eep. The sad part is that she seriously thinks she can sing.
We had a panther last week. This week we got Jake "The Snake" Tutor. I'll take the Eccentric Panther any day over this Snake. He was just bad. At least Martik (Panther) was quasi-entertaining in his oddness.
There was one other Odd which should be mentioned. There was a young lady who really sang poorly (but her family thinks she sings well), Jasmine Holland. At first, I felt sorry for her as the judges were laughing and she thought she was a serious singer. But when she acted like a nasty jerk upon leaving, she blew all pity I may have held. Her mother wants Simon to move back to British. Um, okay. Normally I don't put those who seem to think they can sing and have their dreams crushed in with my Odd. But I made an exception in this case.
There Was Some Talent Tonight
Now, how scared and serious does Akron look? He's William's cousin and did an acceptable take on Sam Cooke's "Change Gonna Come." Simon and the others thought he didn't shine with enough personality, so he sang "Let's Get It On."
I think I like this guy. I don't think he'll win, but I loved the pre-audition clips of him and William. Both came across as "nice" people and both have a sense of humor. And, he can sing.
No, Ashlyn's not one of the Most Notable of the Odd. She just tends towards odd expressions and affectations.
The faces she made when she sang brought to mind an exaggerated Lena Horne. She had the facial thing going to a lesser extent. But her mugging to the cameras certainly didn't come off as blatant as Ashlyn's actions.
I thought that, facial expressions aside, Ashlyn did very well with her first song. The judges dismissed her. But then in an unprecedented move, they called her back. I actually thought her second song didn't really hit the mark, but she's on to Hollywood. She's actually a cute girl with a good voice. I hope she can work out the kinks.
Many others made it through, 22 in all from what I believe was a one-day audition. Hayley Scarnato, Baylie Brown, and Jimmy McNeil are headed to Hollywood. It's a mix of talent, but no one really blew me away. Of course, they didn't show all of the contestants who made it through. Hopefully, there's some Texas tea in there.
Tomorrow's show is a round-up (Rawhide!) of the auditions. It's called "The Best of the Rest." It's supposed to have the Worst of the Worst and the Best of the Best. We'll see. I'll be on the lookout for new Notable Odds. Remember, we're laughing with you, not at you. Or not.
