Ice, ice, baby... Happy Valentine's Day! Where I live, the blizzard itself never really showed, but we were pelted with ice and freezing rain in addition to a few inches of snow. So, it's treacherous out there. The roads all have a coating of ice and the NJ State Police reported over 1200 accidents today. That, of course, doesn't even take into consideration all of the cities and towns which have their own jurisdictions.
I am not going out there tonight. I'm staying in and plan to watch television. (Like I needed an excuse!) Whatever will I watch...?
In the 8 PM ET/PT hour, while the Jericho (CBS) episode is new, it's not really a new Jericho episode. It's one of those recap/catch up episodes. The actual new episodes start next week. NBC has a new episode of Friday Night Lights. I never understand why the show is on Wednesdays... just to confuse me, I guess. FOX is airing a new Bones (and that's my choice for the hour), while ABC has new George Lopez and Knights of Prosperity. I really wish they'd put Knights with something else. I don't care for George Lopez and won't sit through it to see Knights, a show I've liked the little I've seen of it. The CW has a new Beauty and the Geek scheduled.
At 9 PM ET/PT, I'll be glued to the American Idol show on FOX. They're cutting the field to 24 contestants and you know I have to watch! But if you're not an American Idol fan, not to worry -- there are some good shows on against it. Criminal Minds is new on CBS (I'll be taping it), Deal or No Deal is new and all Valentine's Day fluff on NBC (blech), ABC is repeating the um... winter season... premiere of Lost (last week's show), and CW has a new episode of One Tree Hill.
Then at 10 PM ET/PT, I'll be tuning in for the new Lost episode on ABC while taping the new C.S.I.: NY episode on CBS. NBC has a new Medium episode, not my cuppa tea, but I know folks seem to enjoy the show.
In the late night arena, I'm up for the continuation of Ventriloquist Week on The Late Show with David Letterman.
And, when I head off to work in the morning, all that ice better be gone. Work on it, New Jersey!
The Hollywood rounds are a bit too much of a whirlwind for my liking. Although folks said the two-hour shows were a bit too long, tonight's one-hour Hollywood run seemed to touch on a lot and focus on only a few contestants. 172 made the cut to Hollywood during the auditions, but I didn't even catch a glimpse of some I had enjoyed. For example, Jenry from New York. Where was he? Did I blink and miss him?
The show set forth a perfect example of the existence of foilers on the Internet. No, I'm not talking spoilers, I'm talk foilers. They're rumors, possibly set in motion by the show itself, and ultimately untrue.
- The Foiler: Jory Steinberg aced her way through the competition and is in the top 24. The Reality: She got ditched in Hollywood after Simon blasted her whole group for being unoriginal and an "absolutely horrible start to the day."
- The Foiler: Long-haired and long-bearded Sean Michel was kicked off the show for refusing to change his look. The Reality: Sean got the boot for poor performance, nothing at all to do with how he looks.
Since about twice as many girls made it through to Hollywood than guys, the individual performance round was at least twice as brutal. Rachel Jenkins, who didn't thrill me by wearing her Reservists uniform during her original audition, was booted as were Jory (mentioned above), Ashlyn Carr (the face-making gal), Porcelana Patina (the boxer-training gal - no great loss as far as I'm concerned), Sarah Burgess (from Ohio, skipped school and lied to her parents), and Nicole Turner. The last one's mother stood up to Simon over her dismissal. Give me a break. Melinda Doolittle (the shy back-up singer I like), Gina Glocksen (repeat offender... er, contestant with the crush on Simon), Jamie Lynn Ward (daddy shot stepma and then hisself gal), and others made the cut through to the group sing.
The show's focus on the individual performances of the guys was more on those who went through than the ones who failed miserably. Jarrod Fowler, the Navy guy who won his ship's Idol contest, got the boot. Nick Pedro (the one who forgot the lyrics last season and quit), Sundance Head, Blake Lewis (Seattle human beatbox dude), Chris Sligh, Matt Sato, and others made the cut... some only to be cut in the groups.
Now, what's the most important thing besides staying on key? The lyrics. If you forget the words to the song, you may as well just shred that Hollywood ticket. Well, unless your name is Sundance Head, that is. Somehow, despite the admonitions of the judges about remembering the words to the songs, he didn't and he was one of the few shown who screwed the words up yet made it through the group cut. Robyn Troupe, who recently won the honor of singing with Justin Timberlake at the Grammy Awards, was in Sundance's group and the rumors of her success are but another Internet foiler. She's history, but may make history outside the realm of American Idol.
For me, there was only one stand-out performance in the groups. The team of Chris Sligh (dang, I like that guy), Blake Lewis (his beatbox adds rhythm, for sure), Tom Lowe, and Rudy Cardenas rocked! With the exception of mismatched wardrobes, those guys did a tremendous job in a boy band kind of way. Not only did they bring the house down, but they even remembered the lyrics!
One thing in their favor besides the performance itself is that they seemed to get along well together. That wasn't the case for many of the groups. And, but of course, that's some of the drama of the night. Baylie Brown, beloved by Simon Cowell, was teamed up with the Jersey Girls. They didn't mesh well at all and, when it came to the performance, Baylie choked. I'm talking big time choking, go home choking. In the end, the Jersey Girls themselves were split up with Amanda getting cut, Antonella (the one I like better anyway) moving forward.
The Jersey Girls weren't the only pair split up in Hollywood. In a bit of a heartbreaker, Sunjaya Malakar made the cut while his sister was left behind. Instead of celebrating his success, he consoled his sister. I don't think she's as talented as he is, but they both seem like very nice kids. Their parents must be busting with pride.
Now, the show moved very quickly and, unless they focused on a contestant, it was a bit difficult to see exactly who made it through to the next round. There were so many like Jenry we didn't really see at all. Wednesday night's show should be a bit slower-paced as they decide who will be in the top 24. I think there are a few sure bets like Chris Sligh, but who knows?
It's Tuesday night. Of course, that means American Idol night - it's the start of the Hollywood rounds. I'll do a write-up about it later tonight. I also found that the episode of The Wire that BET didn't show in either of its Saturday night time slots is airing at 2 AM. Yes, I have tomorrow off. But, no... I don't want to stay up until 3:30 AM. I'll tape it. Thankfully, this week they have it on at 9 PM on Saturday once again.In other real TV Newsy Bits:- The good folks at the Buddy TV site have posted an exclusive interview with recently fired Apprentice candidate Aaron Altscher. If you're a Gilmore Girls fan, they also have an interview with Matt Czuchry (Logan Huntzberger on the show).
- TBS has given the greenlight a new sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show, based on the success of My Boys and 10 Items or Less. According to Michael Wright, senior vice-president of original programming at TBS: "It’s a multi-camera family comedy shot in front of a studio audience, and we are absolutely thrilled with it. Bill is such a funny and engaging guy. He and Nancy [Travis] have great chemistry. And together with the rest of the wonderful cast, they just make you want to invite their family into your home and have a good laugh with them." The basic premise is a family in which the father is a family counselor - and the family could use one themselves. It's due to premiere this summer.
- The Celebrity Spider website has mild spoilers for this week's Survivor 14: Fiji.
- If you're a Chill Town fan, Mike "Boogie" from Big Brother took part in a Jokers Updates chat last night.
Whoa! This was one action-packed episode. It's hard to remember who's on first or what's on second. It's a good thing I take notes, huh?
Here's the basic skinny on tonight's episode, although I tend to go by character storyline rather than the chronological order of appearance in the show at times. Tonight, some of the storylines really intermingled.- In the Matt Parkman (cop who can read thoughts) storyline: Matt, suspended from the police department, took on a private security guard job. He took his gun along as he had to escort and protect a man who was going
to the diamond district to buy diamonds. The man, Malsky, was carrying a large amount of cash. Little did Matt know... - In the Jessica/Nikki storyline: Nikki is still trapped in the mirror. Jessica, working for Mr. Linderman, received a photo of the man Matt is escorting and is set to be a hitman... er, hitwoman. She's going to kill the guy.
- In the Claire/Real Mom/Nathan storyline: The FireMom told Nathan that she saw their daughter, Claire. He automatically thought, since the election is coming soon, that she wanted money. He offered $100,000. Trailer FireMom took the offer.
- Regarding Mohinder: He was trying to contact folks with powers and only
one called him back - a panicky man named Zane Taylor. He agreed to go meet him. Little did Mohinder know... - In the Sylar storyline: Sylar visited Zane Taylor first, impersonating Mohinder. He took the brain as he tends to do. The power is the ability to melt metal objects.
- When Mohinder arrived, Sylar pretended to be Zane even to the point of using the dead man for a DNA swab so Mohinder can "help" him. Sylar (as Zane) then suggested to Mohinder that he accompany him to find (and help) others with powers. Stupid, naive, stupid Mohinder.
- In the Hiro/Ando storyline: They're back in Las Vegas looking for Linderman when Ando (stupid, naive Ando) comes across a crying blonde Amazon showgirl named Hope.
She gave them a sob story about her boyfriend beating her up and how she left her bag in his room, thus stranding her without money and such. The guys use the old room service trick to retrieve the bag. Hiro didn't want to do it all along, but Ando was smitten. It was a set up. They got separated; Hope punched Hiro and locked him in a closet, then tried to run off with Ando at last sight. It turns out that the "boyfriend" was an agent of the State Gaming Commission and that was evidence. He's the one who released Hiro from the closet. (Did I say stupid, naive Ando?) - Back to the Matt/Nikki storyline: Matt read the thoughts of the dealer at the diamond place and knew it was a set up. Malsky grabbed the diamonds and threw the cash. Jessica chased after them. Matt heard Nikki talk to Jessica a few times, so decided there were two of them. He heard the thoughts of Malsky as he hid the diamonds. Malsky admitted to Matt that he stole the money from... who else... Linderman. Jessica tossed Matt out a window, but he lived. She shot Malsky and he died. After reading the investigating cop mind, Matt pocketed the diamonds himself rather than turn them in.
- Back to the Nathan/Claire/FireMom storyline: FireMom got her money, but didn't know that Claire was waiting outside in hopes of meeting her real father. FireMom showed Nathan the cellphone photo she took of Claire. He seemed to recognize her, but said nothing. Claire threw a rock at his car as he left.
- Back at Claire's house: Mr. Bennet called Claire out for the skipping school and fake tickets printed up on her computer. He grounded her. Later, after she returned to home from her trip to her FireMom, her mother (Mrs. Bennet) was abusing Mr. Muggles. Mrs. Bennet doesn't remember Mr. Muggles, nor Claire. It looks like the Haitian made her forget too much.
- Jessica received another photo for someone she's to kill (presumably for Linderman)... it's Nathan.
Those are the basics. No Peter, no Isaac, no Simone this time 'round. My absolute favorite bit was when Hiro greeted the Gaming Commission guy with the traditional Vulcan hand greeting as the man greeted him at gunpoint. All in all, this was a fast-paced, sit on the edge of the seat episode. Next week, they claim "someone dies." And, they forewarn - "no one is safe." They better not off Mr. Muggles!
I've received more information on files from Primatech Paper. I'll write about them soon.
Live long and prosper.
There have been a few interesting developments since I posted about the "Not in Portland" episode. So, I thought I'd share them with you. (So you can be further Lost as am I!)Some folks with better technological skills than I possess ran a segment of the episode backwards. The scene in question is the one in which Karl was restrained in the room bombarded by brainwashing sounds, messages, and LSD-like images. Like the infamous Beatles album, when played backwards, there was indeed a message - "Only fools are enslaved by time and space." (I have to think of Hiro from Heroes... he ain't no fool; he can bend time and space!) The Lost Easter Eggs site has the YouTube backwards tape and discussion. It's a woman's voice. The plot thickens.The official ABC Lost website has the latest podcast with the producers available. Some commenters here may be spot on in their guess that Ben isn't Alex's biological father. (You guys rock!) There are other tidbits in the podcast including a segment with Josh Holloway talking about Sawyer's nicknames for folks. It also goes a bit into what we can expect this week (a mainly Desmond episode) and how many episodes remain on the island where Jack is held captive.
Ice, ice, baby... Happy Valentine's Day! Where I live, the blizzard itself never really showed, but we were pelted with ice and freezing rain in addition to a few inches of snow. So, it's treacherous out there. The roads all have a coating of ice and the NJ State Police reported over 1200 accidents today. That, of course, doesn't even take into consideration all of the cities and towns which have their own jurisdictions.
