'Survivor 14: Fiji' - May 10 - East Coast Update - Reward and Exile

Yau-Man won Reward - a 2008 Ford truck. (Oh, no... car winner curse!) He made a public deal with Dreamz (who's desperate to have a car) that if they make it to the Final Four and he (Dreamz) wins Immunity, he gives it to Yau-Man. Dreamz agreed and now has a truck.

Yau-Man sent himself to Exile Island.

Yes, he did.

Stay tuned for Immunity and the boot, as well as a full review/recap posted here later tonight!

'Lost' - "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Yet another dynamite episode!

Now, we all remember that Ben was originally introduced to us as Henry Gale. And, of course, Henry Gale was the Dorothy's uncle in The Wizard of Oz. The "Wizard" himself arrived in Oz via a hot air balloon (as was Ben/Henry's original story, but landing on the island). We all know that the Wizard of Oz was a sham; he was the "man behind the curtain' working all the controls and manipulating the good folks of Oz.

So, what does that make Ben? Or... could it be Jacob? Or, is there a Jacob?

Tonight's episode was Ben-centric and very powerful. Ben has been a real mystery and it's time we got some goods on his background!

In the Flashbacks
A man and his pregnant wife were hiking in the woods. Although she was only seven months pregnant, she gave birth to a baby boy... Ben. Emily Linus died shortly after giving birth as her husband, Roger, carried her and the baby to the roadside. A sign had mileage to Portland listed on it.

A young couple stopped to help Roger, his dying wife, and the newborn Ben. They were Horace Goodspeed and Olivia. Fast forward to when Ben is perhaps ten years old or so... Roger and Ben arrived on the island where Horace had promised Roger a job, Ben good schooling, and a better life. They would be a part of the DHARMA Initiative. Namaste! (That seems to be a welcome greeting.)

Roger Linus was upset as he was given his work uniform. He's a Work Man, the Roger "Workman" from the microbus Hurley found a few weeks back. He thought he would have a much better job. I think Roger was a very bitter and broken man, most likely due to the death of his wife.

In the orientation, Horace told them that they had to remain in the Barracks area and not pass through the pylon fences due to "hostiles" and wildlife on the island.

Young Ben seemed to fit in okay with the other DHARMA kids, and with one little girl in particular -- Annie. She was the only one to ever remember his birthday. She made him a doll and told him that she'd always be with him as long as he had the doll.

While at school studying volcanoes, the teacher told the class that there had been one on the island. All of a sudden, the intruder alert alarms went off. Hostiles! The skirmish with them caused Roger to get angrier and demand another thirty-thousand for hazard pay.

As his father argued about the conditions, Ben saw his mother at the window. Then she vanished, but a photo confirmed it was her. She seemed to be dressed in the same dress as the doll given to him by Annie.

His father saw the box with the doll from Annie and mentioned that he had forgotten Ben's birthday again. He had been drinking and got nasty with Ben. :How could I forget the day you killed your mother?"

Ben ran to the pylon fence where he saw his mother again. But she sent him back, telling him it wasn't time yet.

Now, I'm not sure how I missed how he got it, but Ben later returned to the fence with a note which held the code to turn off the power -- 54439. He sent his pet rabbit through first to make sure he had deactivated the fence. Then he went through, wandering in the woods and frightened at every sound.

Whom does he encounter? Why, I believe it's Richard Alpert with longer hair. Ben is a child, but Richard is a grown man. What's up with that? Richard asked him if he saw his mother here after Ben told him he was searching for her and that she was dead. Ben insisted that he wanted to go with Richard because "I hate it here." "Be patient, be very patient," Richard told him.

Ben did go back to the Barracks, because the next time we see him, he's an adult working for DHARMA. His shirt reads "Ben Work Man." So, he's a janitor like his father. Ben and his father were loading a DHARMA VW bus with beer to deliver to the Pearl Station.

As they went through a meadow with "Shabala" blaring, they stopped to open a beer to "celebrate" Ben's birthday. Roger promised him he'd remember the next year. At exactly 4 PM, Ben popped a beer top, handed it to his father, then put on a gas mask. He set off a cannister of gas in the vehicle and sat emotionless as his father bled from the nose and died.

Ben went back to the Barracks where all the other members of the DHARMA Initiative had also been gassed. Richard Alpert, looking like the Richard Alpert of the present, and a group of armed "hostiles" were at the Barracks, also wearing gas masks. Ben had been patient well into his adult years.

On the Island
Sawyer brought the recorder that Locke gave him to Sayid, telling Sayid that Locke went back with the others. Sayid and Sawyer were looking for Juliet, but neither Juliet or Jack are anywhere around. When Kate arrived, she told them that Juliet had left with Jack. "Play her the tape." What they're hearing on the tape is Juliet's message to Ben about testing Sun.

Juliet and Jack came back to find the camp talking about them. Jack told them that he knew of Sun's trip to the medical station with Juliet. She had told him. They were shocked that the world thinks there are no survivors of the plane crash. Juliet told them to turn the tape over. On the other side there were the plans to raid the camp, take Sun as well as mention of "Austin's sample." They must think that Kate could be pregnant. Jack again told them that he knew because Juliet had told them. When questioned why he didn't say anything, he told them he hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

Huh? What's with Jack? You don't know what to do about an upcoming raid and kidnapping? You don't tell anyone until you're cornered?

At the Others Camp, Ben has the doll. It's his birthday, y'see. Richard arrived to take the recorder back for Juliet when they discovered the recorder had gone missing. Their search was interrupted by John Locke's arrival, dead body of his father over his shoulder. Ben was shocked!

Locke reminded Ben that he promised to tell him everything about the island if he brought his father's body there. Ben told him he (Ben) wasn't the leader -- he had to answer to Jacob. Locke was persistent. He wanted to know about Jacob. In questioning Ben, he found out that no one but Ben had ever seen Jacob. Locke called him a liar, the man behind the curtain.

That's when a not-dead Mikhail arrived. He told them that the pylons weren't set at a lethal level -- that's how he lived. He was stunned to see Locke there questioning Ben. "What are you doing? We don't answer to him!" Ben told him that Locke was with them now. Mikhail told them of Naomi, the crashed "helo" and the freighter ship offshore.

When Ben told Locke that he had to attend to those issues, Locke demanded he take him to Jacob. He told Mikhail, "Ben's not going with you. He and I are going to see Jacob." Then Locke beat Mikhail to a pulp. (Mikhail really gets hurt a lot, eh?) Ben cried for the others watching to stop Locke, but they all stood and watched. It was like a battle of power between Ben and Locke even though it was Mikhail being beaten.

After Locke stopped beating Mikhail, Alex gave him a gun to take with them to go see Jacob. "Happy birthday, Dad."

As Ben and Locke hiked through the woods, Ben told him that Jacob would be angry. After all, he wasn't the kind of man you go to see. He was the kind of man who summoned you to see him. Ben glanced at dirt in passing, then Locke paused and examined it. Volcano ash? I'm not sure.

They arrived at a wooden shack and Ben told Locke he'd have to turn off the flashlight because "Jacob doesn't like technology." "Are you sure you want to go in there?" Ben asked Locke. "So be it."

Inside the shack was a table, a rocking chair, a picture of a dog, and four jars of something on a shelf. Ben started talking to the chair reminding me so much of Norman Bates in Psycho. Apparently the chair was talking back to him, but neither John nor we heard him.

Locke started yelling that Ben was a fraud, crazy! "You made it all up!: Ben told him he must be too limited to see and insisted that Jacob was in the empty chair. Locke went to leave when he heard an unearthly voice say, "Help me." He quickly turned on the flashlight when all went wild in the room. The chair moved, items whizzed through the air, and Ben looked terrified. When a fire started from the lantern, Locke ran out followed by Ben.

"What did he say to you? What did Jacob say to you?" Locke yelled at him that he put on a show and that he was a fraud. He was going to tell his people the truth. They headed back to the Barracks, but not the way they had taken to get there.

Instead, Ben led Locke to a burial ditch containing the skeletons of the members of the DHARMA Initiative. He shot John in the left chest and let him fall in with the bones. "What did Jacob say to you?" "Help me." "What did he say?" "He said 'help me.'" "I hope he helps you, John."

LOST [thunk]

So... Ben wasn't born on the island. The aging thing is odd, too. We know Richard was in Portland, but yet his work is separate from DHARMA. And, the Others are the hostiles, not DHARMA. Has anyone other than Aaron been really born on the island?

Great episode!

'American Idol 6' - Final Four Results Show - May 9 - East Coast Update

The show is starting here on the East Coast. Barry Gibb and Pink will perform. Ryan is unshaven.

As the show airs, I'll be updating this post with the happenings. So, please return here throughout the hour to talk about what's going on or to sneak a peek from the other time zones. You can get here easily by using the American Idol 6 category on the blog sidebar or just refreshing this entry.

The judges have been introduced, now they're recapping last night's performances.

The Farmers Market segment has a lot of LaKisha supporters. Ryan mentioned an hour to fill... they really should cut down the results show to a half-hour in my opinion.

They did a promo for the Idols tour this summer. Now Pink is singing "Who Knew?" Eh. I'm not a big Pink fan. I want to know who's going home, don't you?

The Ford video was to "You Really Got Me." It wasn't the most flattering look for LaKisha or Jordin. The Idol Challenge - Who went to Africa to support the Idol Gives Back cause -- Reuben, Carrie or Bo. Give me a break!

Ack. The audio screwed up as they started the four singing the BeeGee tribute medley. Not so hot so far.

Ryan is talking to the four finalists on the couch now. No announcements yet.

The top three will be returning to their hometowns for a publicity bit this week. The four saw a sneak peek of The Fantastic Four: The Silver Surfer. As a result, we're getting a sneak peek of the movie, too.

The four are talking about their families and childhood. It's odd... three of them are only children. Jordin is the only one with a sibling. The results (supposedly) will be...

... after the break.

RESULTS UPDATE: They refuse to line up. Ryan recapped the judges' comments on all of them. Jordin is safe.

Now they're looking for the "best undiscovered group" in America... The Band Show hopes to do for musician and groups what American Idol has done for individuals. Do you have the chops? (No, but if they're looking for an undiscovered blogger, I'm their woman.) It reeks a bit of Rock Star to me.

Barry Gibb is singing "To Love Somebody." Oh, he's so not the Barry Gibb I adored so many years back. But I like him better than Pink!

RESULTS UPDATE: Melinda Doolittle is safe. It's down to Blake or LaKisha going home. Simon thinks it will be LaKisha. And it is... Blake Lewis is safe.

LaKisha Jones is going home. (And I called that one last night!)

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, May 9, 2007

I'll be live-blogging the American Idol results show as it airs tonight on the East Coast. So, if you want to dish on the happenings or you're in another time zone and just can't wait... stop on by anytime after 9 PM EDT. The blog entry I'll be creating at that time will be updated continuously throughout the show up to and including who leaves tonight.

After that, you know I have to watch Lost although my recap/review on that show won't be posted until tomorrow evening.

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:

• I guess I'm not the only live-blogger out there. Even though I'll be tied up with Survivor tomorrow evening, if you're a My Name Is Earl fan, there's a blog event for you! Tomorrow night is the show's finale and NBC is hosting a live-blogging event which you can peek in on today. If you have questions about the show or want to take part in the goings-on, the blog is here. You can also check out a video preview for the show.
• AOL Television's American Idol poll has Jordin leading, Melinda second place, then Blake, and LaKisha coming in last. I think they have that right.
• Billy Ray Cyrus got the boot from Dancing With the Stars. Should he have been on the show?
• I peeked in on the official CBS Big Brother 8 website. The deadline for applications was a few weeks ago, so they're hopefully working hard to get us some summer eye-candy guys... er, entertaining and intelligent houseguests. Of course, that's what I meant to say.
• What? Say it ain't so! Sanjaya Malakar in I Love New York 2? Eep. TMZ has the skinny on that. That will surely bring down the property values.

'American Idol 6' - The Final Four Sing to the Brothers Gibb

Don't get me wrong. I like the BeeGees. While I only have their pre-disco "Best of the BeeGees" ballad days vinyl in my music collection, their disco stuff was good. I was just a bit anti-disco at the time. The BeeGees knew what to do when and how to change their style to fit the current music scene. I admire them.

But I felt tonight's show was um... not good. The songs all seemed a bit off even though songs like "Stayin' Alive" can stand the test of time. They just couldn't stand the test of the American Idol final four contestants, I guess. I wasn't really moved by any of the performances tonight. However, if I had to name the winner of the night, I'd go for Jordin followed by Melinda.

Each contestant sang one song in rotation, then sang a second one in the same order. While I'm going to write about both songs for each contestant, keep in mind these weren't sang consecutively. The order was: Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, LaKisha Jones, and Jordin Sparks. (Second verse, same as the first!)

Barry Gibb surely isn't the same guy I had a crush on decades ago. He talks like his jaws are wired shut, but can still hit that falsetto. He seemed to really work with the contestants, though. Not that all listened to his advice, of course.

The first song Melinda Doolittle chose was "Love You Inside and Out." Barry noted it was a group song with falsetto, but thought she worked it out well. That she did. Technically, her vocals flawless. But for me, even though Melinda ranks best in my personal opinion, I wasn't excited.

Randy thought it was solid, good. Paula said her vocals were spot on, always are spot on. Simon wasn't all that impressed. He said it was "not incredible" and more of a backing singer's performance. Oy!

Her second song was "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." I got a kick out of how she didn't want to sing the line "Can a loser ever win?" Barry Gibb thought it probably best to leave that line out, too. Again, I thought she did perfect on a technical level. I enjoyed it more than the first song, but it definitely wasn't my favorite Melinda Doolittle performance.

Randy called her the "resident pro" again and said it was much better than the first song. Paula said it was a beautiful vocal, but she needed to "surprise us." Simon said the second half of the song would get her in the semi-finals.

For his first song, Blake Lewis chose "You Should Be Dancing." And, yes, he danced. Barry thought beat-boxing fit the song. But when he was on stage performing, I thought his beat-boxing detracted from it. Usually, with more contemporary songs, it adds. Not so much for this song. This may have been my least favorite Blake Lewis performance ever.

Randy said it was like going to a weird disco in a foreign country. Paula said it wasn't his best performance, but he's unique. Simon said it was terrible. I have to agree with Simon on this one.

His next song choice was a song with which I'm not familiar - "This Is Where I Came In." While, again, I didn't think the beat-boxing worked well with the song, I thought the performance and his actual singing of the song a world better than his first round.

Randy said it was better and there's no need to beat-box every song. Paula called him a "contemporary rebel." She also said it was on key and she enjoyed it. Simon called it a bizarre song choice and tuneless. I disagree with Simon. I heard a tune and thought the lyrics actually suited Blake well. I just don't think he delivered.

LaKisha Jones chose "Stayin' Alive" as her first song choice. Um, okay. Barry thought it would be a challenge for her, especially with the falsetto. I didn't think she did horribly, but it wasn't her proudest moment on the show. It's a fast song, and she just didn't keep up... or something.

Randy said the performance was weird, not working, and that she tried to change the song too much. Paula said she took the tempo down. Simon said, "No kiss tonight, baby." He said she was shouting and verging on "scary."

Her second song was more suited to her, I think. "Run to Me" is a ballad, not disco. Barry thought she'd have a challenge with changing the key of the song and that she would rise to the challenge. I thought she did well enough, but nothing earthshaking.

Randy thought it was better than her first song. Paula said she's still a champ. Simon said, "You and Blake are both vulnerable." I agree with Simon. I think we'll say goodbye to LaKisha this week.

Jordin Sparks blew Barry Gibb away as she was working on what would be her first song - "To Love Somebody." He said many have recorded the song, but her version is the best so far. Wow, powerful praise there, eh? I think she lived up to it while she sang. It was definitely the best performance of the night even though Melinda sang perfectly.

Randy deemed it "the best vocal of the night so far." Paula said she was beautiful and agreed with Randy. Simon said it was the best song choice and the best performance of the night. (Remember, she was the last one to sing the first round.)

The second song Jordin chose was "Woman in Love" popularized by Barbra Streisand. Barry Gibb was agog over Jordin. He thinks that she's "going there" and will one day be one of the great recording artists. I thought she did well, but I preferred her first song. Even so, this would be my second favorite performance of the night... both coming from Jordin. I have to admit that's not saying all that much as I think tonight's show was a bit of a dud.

Randy gave the performance two "check it outs" and said it wasn't her best, a bit pitchy. Paula seemed to agree, called her beautiful again and said she loves her anyway. Simon called the performance old-fashioned and "pageanty."

All in all, while I like the BeeGees singing their songs, American Idol shouldn't go there again. What did you think?

"It's only words
and words are all I have..." - "Words" by the BeeGees