'Hell's Kitchen' - A Quick Take on Episode 6

Why did Ramsay keep Melissa last week? It's not like the men are so great on their own, but I knew she would surely make them worse.

The challenge saw a win for the Red Team, but I can't help but wonder if this one was just a tad tainted.

After all, the prize was a photo shoot with Ramsay. It seems that the women always seem to win that prize. I wonder if they could have gotten by with serving a walking live lobster. Rock didn't take too well to their rather suspicious win either. Ah, but he had to see the girls in their glory and had to go through their trash as punishment.

When it came to the dinner service, the guys crumbled while the girls got the job done. With the exception of Bonnie not knowing what to do with a kitchen fire in a pan -- don't walk around with the pan -- and Julie letting the pressure getting to her and crying, the Red Team did a fairly remarkable job throughout the service.

Then there was the Blue Team, the Men Plus Melissa. They were horrible. Everything Melissa touches, she curses. Josh and Brad had their worst services to date and Rock just watched it all happen. He didn't do poorly, but he couldn't save the sinking ship.

In the end, after six dinners from the Blue Team were sent back, Ramsay shut the kitchen down and ordered the Blue Team to come up with two nominees. Melissa knew she would be one on the block no matter what (deservedly so). Then it was between Josh and Brad. Brad said it was his personal worst night while Josh has continued to not perform well on the whole.

Ramsay didn't give them a chance to even tell who they nominated. He called Melissa up, took her jacket, then had her whisked away. Then, in a move to make us think he was getting rid of both Josh and Brad, he reamed them... and sent them back to line with Rock.

So this leaves us with Julia, Bonnie, and Jen on the Red Team. I still hold my grudge against Jen for trying to use pasta from the trash can, but she's most likely the most capable in the long run. While I think a lot of Julia, I'm not sure if she's ready for the responsibilities which come with the win. It's getting to the point where Waffle House might limit her. Bonnie is out of her league and I don't see her lasting much longer.

Of the men left -- Rock, Josh, and Brad -- only Rock has any possibilities. Josh and Brad could go before any of the remaining women and it wouldn't ruffle my feathers.

I think we'll see it down to Rock and Jen as the final two. But I could be wrong. I'm still not impressed with any of the chef wannabes this season.

'Big Brother 8' - Live Feeds Update - Monday Daytime - 7/09/07

These houseguests really have to kick things in gear. Perhaps I'm sadistic, but I like watching big time drama. I'm not talking about crying about your photo on the Memory Wall.

I'm talking like the Eric backyard scene with Kaysar in Season 6. Or even the Janelle/Beau brouhaha that very same season. While there are little tiffs here and there and no one seems to like Jen (except maybe Kail - at least on the surface), there aren't any huge showdowns. Not yet, anyway.

Here are the events of the daytime hours so far in the Big Brother House of Go Blue... like, 'cuz we're the Blue Team:

• Dick thinks that Nick will target him because it would make his romance (shomance?) with Daniele less awkward.
• Dick seems to be in this to win it. He told Amber that he studied Dr. Will's performance on the show and took notes.
• Dick also said that Eric was an "angry Jew rabbit." He then mentioned that his grandfather was a Russian Jew. (Hmmm... qualifiers don't always cover comments which focus on religion, culture, etc. My personal jury is out on that comment. Angry rabbit defines Eric.)
• While he was alone before heading to be, Dick stopped at the Memory Wall. He told us that he wants Jameka to go home and that Jen must go before sequester.
• Dick finally headed to bed when it was almost 6 AM their time. (A few folks asked if he ever sleeps -- he does, but definitely not enough and in small chunks of time.)
• Jen, Mike, and Kail studied for the next HOH in case it's a question-based comp.
• Jen wore her "Jenerous" shirt today. (I'm sure we'll see Jentastic, Jenlicious, and more as time goes on.)
• Jen and Zach clash. (Jen clashes with most of the folks.) She decided to paint her toenails red to annoy him because he hates red. Then she walked around asking how much he had to yell at her to get a penalty nomination. @@
• Still with Jen - she wants BB to contact her orthodontist because she lost retainer on, like, Day 2. It cost a fortune, y'know. (So, why has she waited until, like, Day 10 to bring it up?)
• I'm not sure if this is the result of the America's Player vote or not, but Eric went to Kail sniffling, fussing, mumbling, bringing up Daniele's possible eating disorder, and a personal friend of his with an eating disorder. This could be the big sad sob story and to whom he must tell it. I believe it is. Good acting, but it's annoying.
• Now I feel old. Carol and Jessica were 13 when Big Brother had its first season. Feh.
• Nick was on MTV Spring Break in 2002.
• That's the deal, Internet Fans! Dick is still out of the picture and must be sleeping, so he's had a good day's sleep. Maybe he's a vampire.

'Big Brother 8' - Live Feeds Overnight Right - Into Mon. 7/09

As I prepare to send this in Dick is still awake. This time he has Eric and Amber. Big Brother should enforce an earlier bedtime!

Here are the late Sunday night happenings from that Big Brother House of Pirates and Damsels in Distress:

• Jameka thinks others will throw the HOH challenge. No one really wants it due to the pressure.
• Joe held his storytelling time again. He needs a campfire and better stories.
• Dick and Dustin believe Carol is going home this week, Jen next week.
• Dick explained the concept of backdooring to Amber and they wonder if that's the best way to send Jen home. He likes everyone in the house except Jen -- he says she's an idiot.
• The others headed off to bed leaving Eric, Dick, and Amber talking in the yard.
• They discussed who would put up whom if they got HOH. They discussed past seasons and the year of the X-Factor (which they think is comparable to this season). It's surprising me that Dick is very aware of past seasons. I expected it from Eric. Amber is the least knowledgeable about the show.

Eric headed off to bed, so it's just Dick and Amber small talking in the yard as I post this.

'Big Brother 8' - Live Feeds Report - Into Sunday Evening - 07/08/07

Joe smokes like Greta Garbo. He poses with his cigarette as much as he smokes it.

Isn't it amazing the differences made between the live feeds and the show during the editing process? Things I've noted are:

The namedropping. I didn't see Dick do that prior to the tonight's show, so I must assume it's from the first five days before the feeds went live. Joe, on the other hand, has dropped plenty of names.

Carol took the nomination news fine on the show, yet we know she's been fussing, whining, snapping about the cameras. They're playing her up to be a keeper.

If you were only watching the show, you'd think Eric was just darn wonderful and you'd want your beloved daughter to marry him. On the feeds, he's an antsy pottymouth who goes quasi-berserk at times.

What the show captured right is the relationship between Daniele and Dick. Oh, they also nailed the bimbo-in-training qualities of Jessica. No, she still needs training to become a full-fledged bimbo, y'see. Instead of "Go, Blue!" because, after all, she's on the Blue team -- once she gets her Bimboship, there will be no end to the cheering. The show was right on with Jen and the way her houseguests feel about her.

Onto the latest events from that Big Brother House of Altered Editing:

• As mentioned in a prior report, the Power of Veto Ceremony was held and Daniele didn't change the nominations. Carol and Amber remain on the block.
• Amber must not be all that into the show. While talking to Jameka, she wondered if the Internet had audio or just video. @@ (Now, that would be really boring... more than these houseguests are now!)
• Jessica and Daniele think Jen will go home next week. (I wouldn't mind that.)
• Jen continues her streak of unpopularity with the other houseguests. Eric and Dick were laughing about her being a "fun nanny." Kail and Zach think she lies and she's untrustworthy.
• Joe is trying to campaign to keep Carol. He told Zach that she would owe them if they saved her while Amber just expects they will save her. Joe is worried that Amber's alliance will come after him if the vote is close but she stays. Zach told him he'd go with the crowd.
• Joe went to Jessica in his Save Carol campaign. She wasn't overly receptive. (I thought Allison Grodner said Joe was smart. Yeah, go to her enemy on the show to plea for a vote. @@)
• Zach thinks that Carol must go because of the possibility of the Alliance of Six -- the six with enemies in the house. He feels they must make a dent in it.
• When the houseguests were talking about how staged the Diary Room sessions are -- BB leading them into saying things -- we got BB trivia and theme music.
• Dustin, Amber, and Dick had an interesting conversation about our America's Player, Eric. Dustin asked if he was a Looney Toon. Dick said he was a bit better today and he likes him, so that's good. Amber said he could never be put on the block even as a pawn because he'd freak out too much. They all said he was funny.
• Carol and Jessica have been talking. Not strategy, no way an alliance, but getting along well enough.
• Amber and Daniele whispered a lot. Amber thinks Dick is great, but she doesn't trust Zach, Kail, or Mike. Neither girl trusts Eric. Amber told Daniele that she should talk to Dustin more because he's cool.
• Kail has applied to be on the show since 2005.
• Eric said that Jen was a finalist to be on Survivor but got the Big Brother slot through CBS connections. (Yeah, ChillTown ringer!)
• Eric and Dustin were trying to figure if they're on anyone's radar. They don't think they're targets... at least not in the next few weeks.
• Now, Dustin watches the show. When Amber told him that Dick never washes his hands, Dustin mentioned Season 3 (Gerry).
• Jessica said she had glitter all over her and didn't know where it came from. (Probably fell from that empty space between her ears. As a matter of fact, I can see that head filled with glitter. It's fitting, isn't it?)
• Okay, Dick namedropped in a conversation to Kail. So, he does do it. It was evident on his MySpace page, but I didn't see him do it before.
• Carol and Mike have a "date" tonight. It ended up being small talk about family and such. Pleasant, but boring.
• Jameka straightened Amber's hair.
• Nick and Zach talked more about Jen's documented lies.
• Zach said if he wins, he'll put up one of the Six again. But he and Nick think that if Dustin wins, Joe's an automatic on the block. They both would like to see Joe leave. (So would I. He brings nothing to the house.)
• Then Zach changed his tune to Nick. He said if he won, he'd put up Jameka and Joe with the hopes Jameka would go. He calls her a "sleeper." I think that means she's flying under the radar.
• Zach told Nick he'd give him money if he were to make it to the Final Two with him and win. Against all their rules, we ended up getting blocked.
• Nothing really exciting going on as I get this posted...

'Big Brother 8' - Live-Blogging Episode 2 - 7/08/07

This post will be updated throughout the show as it airs here on the East Coast. Forgive any typos or misspellings... please! Refresh this page to check in on the latest. And, as always, feel free to comment.

We've gone through the recap and they're still in the past with Daniele crying about her father's presence in the house.

Dick is talking to Daniele, she tells them of the age lie. He's concerned with her weight. He's being really sweet, but she's a bit resistant. He wants the Final Two with her. He won't betray her in the house.

Onto Joe and Dustin... Joe is being nasty. Joe thinks Dustin's presence keeps him from being "the Joe I want to be." He talks more of the STD. Dustin isn't too happy. Dustin and Daniele are talking. Dustin told her that her relationship with her father is different. Joe's just an ex-boyfriend, Dick's family to her.

Jessica and Carol aren't having as many problems as the other two enemy couples, but they don't trust each other.

HOH Room viewing going on. Golly gee, wowsers. She has pictures of her husband and children. Daniele thinks if she gets HOH her pictures will be of her dog and grandmother.

Now Jen is crying about her Memory Wall picture. She can't be consoled. Sheesh. Talk about overeacting! She's going on and on about it. Haven't they got any more fodder for the show? (Now I don't like her even more.)

Returning from commercial, we're getting sound and sight bites of houseguests. Dick likes Jerry Manthey (Survivor) and namedrops a lot. He hasn't met Jon Bon Jovi only because he's from New Jersey.

Dustin likes getting Amber's story, but he doesn't see her crying in the Diary Room like I'm seeing now. The rough life bit to the max.

Mike proposed an alliance to Kail. You can tell it's Mike because Zach wears a Z necklace. Mike doesn't trust Daniele because they see her on the spy screen talking to Dick. Now Zach is in the room and Kail presents the alliance idea. They want to try for Nick into the alliance. Kail is talking to him in the storage room, he says he's in.

It's the food comp we didn't see on the feeds. Blue and Red teams to play. Huge popcorn boxes and butter spouts. Jessica is a bit... um, simplistic when she talks. They have to pump as much butter from the pumps all over their bodies and transport it to their box. Most butter transported wins, losing team on slop for the week. For the sex angle, only their teammates can wipe the butter off their bodies. Jen doesn't want Dick touching her. @@

Mike thinks the butter-covered girls are sexy while Jameka said how unattractive butter-covered folks are. Amber is using her hair as a secret weapon to carry melted butter.

Blue team got 37 pounds, Red got 77 pounds! Jameka, Joe, Daniele, Eric, Joe, Jessica, Nick are slopeating.

Joe and Dustin are talking/arguing. Oh, the drama mamas arise. Enough already, move along. I don't see fences being mended here and they both remind me of someone I know. Make them stop!

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Back to the show. Dick is trying to talk to Daniele again. She's still giving him the cold shoulder. She told him that she thinks he's coming on too strong to people. She's actually talking to him.He's talking strategy. To us, he says, "I'd die for my daughter. I'd do anything for her." Daniele tells us in the game, she'll play with him.

Kail is contemplating the nominations. Mike advises her to go for the people who didn't perform well in the competitions.

They're pushing Eric as such good clean fun as America's Player. Now it's time... Eric is working for you... time for Eric to make up a sob story about his past, to whom should he tell it? Huh? That can't be all there is to it! He makes up a sad story and pours his heart out to someone? Of course, they haven't shown the noms yet and POV won't be shown until Tuesday. So maybe that's the only choice tonight.

"Nominations Today." Dick's concerned Daniele will be put on the block. Kail is taking the task seriously. Her Harum o' Boys is confident. It's time for the Nominations Ceremony. Dustin, Evel Dick, and Jessica given keys in the beginning and are safe.

Keys oulled in this order: Eric, Joe, Zach, Daniele, Jen, Mike, Jameka, Nick. "I nominated Amber and Carol for eviction." Based on work performance. First ones out of HOH comp, fairness.

Amber is crying in the DR still. She feels betrayed by another mother. In her own DR session, Kail tells us there are other reasons for the eviction in addition to what she said at the table. She says the other reasons are only for her to know. Carol took the news well, but we know from the feeds that changed.

Okay... who should Eric tell his sob story to? I'm thinking Dick...!