The show has started here on the East Coast. As important events occur, I'll update this post. My full show review will be posted on TV Squad later tonight. Please feel free to leave comments -- I love to get your impressions as the show airs!
UPDATE -- Reward: Fei Long won and kidnapped James. They get to go to an island for a tea room visit.
UPDATE: James gave Todd the hidden Immunity Idol clue (after Todd approached him and offered to save him with it). It is in the bat etching on that frame which they keep showing. Amanda (who knows about it) and Todd were working to get it when Frosti jumped in to help. Now they have to trust Frosti. Todd gave James the idol and said they (ZH) must lose immunity and save himself. The plan is for him to vote off Jaime and get the second idol, too.
UPDATE: Immunity - gross food week - despite plans, Zhan Hu won Immunity.
UPDATE: Sherea is voted out (spoilers had it right).
My review of this episode should be published on TV Squad before midnight (ET).
Thursday, October 25, 2007
'The Amazing Race 12' - The Teams - Part One
Similar to how I've been doing Survivor this season, my actual show reviews of The Amazing Race 12 will be over on TV Squad. I asked to review the show a while ago not expecting it to air until January. But, thanks to the demise of Viva Laughlin, we have TAR12 heading our way in about a week and a half. The premiere date is Sunday, November 4, at 8 PM ET/PT. While I'll be writing the reviews for TVS, I'll have East Coast updates and other miscellaneous show-related posts here on this blog.
Let's start with the teams!
Oh, my! Why, they're a Goth couple! I believe this is indeed a first for TAR. Kynt and Vyxsin are what they call themselves although I sincerely doubt those were the names given to them at birth.
They're best friends (and possible doppelgangers) who have been dating on and off for three years and they're determined to keep Louisville (KY) weird. Hmm ... maybe they should move to Austin? Or they could go all the way and move to New Jersey. In Louisville they might be bucking up against the status quo.
They enjoy shopping, dancing, and doing each other's hair. Um, okay. Both are worried that their make-up routine might be impacted while on the race. They're both MySpace addicts, not a surprise to me at all. They follow SciFi conventions and have an "us against the world" stance. If nothing else, these two are going to differ a lot from any previous teams we've seen on the show. Kynt is the guy, Vyxsin the gal.
Jennifer and Nathan are a bit less unusual when it comes to dating couples. They're both athletic, couldn't stand each other when they first met (always a good start to a relationship, right?), and tend to break up a lot. I guess this will be our token bickering couple of the season? They both claim to have dominant personalities and both claim to be stubborn.
I may have nightmares of Jonathan and Victoria. Ew. Hopefully these two are a bit better as a couple. Physically, it looks like they could have it made in the shade in comparison to some of the other teams.
But, the big question is ... will they work together well as a team? Nathan describes himself as "one cool dude." I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much. Uh-oh. I might already not be liking him.
Ronald and Christina are a father/daughter team. You know, I'd like to see one of these teams win it all someday. It's something I would have loved to have done with my own father.
He's amongst the older racers this season, but at 58 he's nowhere near the oldest. I'm liking the age span for the teams -- I just wish a show like Big Brother would vary the ages in the same manner!
He's a self-proclaimed workaholic while his daughter wants him to stop and smell the roses. But I notice she has degrees from both Princeton and Duke, so she might do well to heed her own advice. I think I'm going to like this team.
I'll be adding installments to the team listing in the upcoming days prior to the season premiere. I also have an introductory post to the teams up over on TV Squad.
Are you ready for The Amazing Race?
[All TAR 12 images ©CBS and used here solely for review purposes.]
Let's start with the teams!
Oh, my! Why, they're a Goth couple! I believe this is indeed a first for TAR. Kynt and Vyxsin are what they call themselves although I sincerely doubt those were the names given to them at birth.They're best friends (and possible doppelgangers) who have been dating on and off for three years and they're determined to keep Louisville (KY) weird. Hmm ... maybe they should move to Austin? Or they could go all the way and move to New Jersey. In Louisville they might be bucking up against the status quo.
They enjoy shopping, dancing, and doing each other's hair. Um, okay. Both are worried that their make-up routine might be impacted while on the race. They're both MySpace addicts, not a surprise to me at all. They follow SciFi conventions and have an "us against the world" stance. If nothing else, these two are going to differ a lot from any previous teams we've seen on the show. Kynt is the guy, Vyxsin the gal.
Jennifer and Nathan are a bit less unusual when it comes to dating couples. They're both athletic, couldn't stand each other when they first met (always a good start to a relationship, right?), and tend to break up a lot. I guess this will be our token bickering couple of the season? They both claim to have dominant personalities and both claim to be stubborn.I may have nightmares of Jonathan and Victoria. Ew. Hopefully these two are a bit better as a couple. Physically, it looks like they could have it made in the shade in comparison to some of the other teams.
But, the big question is ... will they work together well as a team? Nathan describes himself as "one cool dude." I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much. Uh-oh. I might already not be liking him.
Ronald and Christina are a father/daughter team. You know, I'd like to see one of these teams win it all someday. It's something I would have loved to have done with my own father.He's amongst the older racers this season, but at 58 he's nowhere near the oldest. I'm liking the age span for the teams -- I just wish a show like Big Brother would vary the ages in the same manner!
He's a self-proclaimed workaholic while his daughter wants him to stop and smell the roses. But I notice she has degrees from both Princeton and Duke, so she might do well to heed her own advice. I think I'm going to like this team.
I'll be adding installments to the team listing in the upcoming days prior to the season premiere. I also have an introductory post to the teams up over on TV Squad.
Are you ready for The Amazing Race?
[All TAR 12 images ©CBS and used here solely for review purposes.]
Off Topic - Roofus the Cat
You can click on the image for a larger version. I hope it explains a bit more about Roofus the cat.
TV Newsy Bits - Thursday, October 25, 2007
This is the only actual phone booth I've seen in years, located outside an old Verizon building in Westfield, NJ. Yeah, I messed with my photo with photo editing software to make it look spookier. In its own way, it's spooky enough -- the door is missing, some of the plexiglass panes are gone, it's covered with graffiti, but the phone itself still has a dial tone.Could it be a phone to lives gone by? What kind of phone calls has the phone been witness to over the years? Mobsters talking about their rub-outs? (After all, it's New Jersey, y'know!) Bruce Springsteen lost after exiting the Turnpike? (Yeah, I doubt that!) Did Superman change his clothes there once? (Maybe, you never know!) People discussing their triumphs, their failures, and their grocery lists. Only the phone knows and it ain't talkin'.
In today's TV Newsy Bits (and a bit o' Bloggy Bits):
- Graphic artist and my blogging buddy Zoetawny is back online after her computer woes. Although she's in the area affected by the California fires, she's safe and well. Yay! (And welcome back, you've been missed!)
- My Kid Nation review is up over on TV Squad ... a teary episode last night, but I'm really getting into watching these kids.
- Speaking of Kid Nation, although I'll reply via email to a question posed, I'll bring it up here as well, because it's not the first time I've had the question asked. Yes, Guylan is a boy. If you notice, he's referred to as "he" by other kids on the show and on the CBS website page he has, it's very obvious. That long hair seems to be throwing lots of folks off -- but he's a boy, I tell you! His nickname is G-man.
- Scrubs returns tonight at 9:30 PM ET/PT in most areas and the network has a plethora of stuff going on for show fans -- there's the Widgets blog, the live-blogging on the official NBC show blog, and even a YouTube video from the executive producer of the show.
- When Survivor starts up tonight, I'll get an East Coast update post going updating the important events as the show airs here. My full review of the episode will be posted late in the evening over on TV Squad. As always, comments will be welcome on the update post -- I hope James squeaks through tonight!
- I'm not sure if it's a good marketing campaign as I can't remember what company the commercial is for (not a good thing, I don't think) -- but I'm loving the car commercial with the man singing "Rock me gentle, rock me slowly..." as first a squirrel drops in singing, then two birds, then a wolf. The look on the man's face when the wolf gulps a bird is priceless as is his initial reaction to the squirrel's appearance. Alas, though ... while entertaining as all get-out, it's probably not a good ad campaign as it doesn't reinforce the product recognition.
- I'm home today and on WGN, the Homicide: Life on the Street episode is the one with Lily Tomlin again "The Hat." No matter how many times I see it, I'm easily dragged in to watch again.
- TV is its own fantasy world and it's spawning virtual TV which seems a bit odd, but life itself is odd. So there. ABC Family has Rush'd -- with an online interactive series born of Greeks. Last night I noticed that C.S.I.: NY has its own interactive Internet "Second Life" show going on. Although my day job and writing gigs take up so much time, I know I won't be bored the next knee surgery. (Mind you, it's not scheduled at this time, but is indeed inevitable.)
Operator, oh let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Oh you've been so much more than kind
And you can keep the dime.
-- Jim Croce "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, October 24, 2007
A lone streetlight lights up one of the few trees with any color this autumn during early morning drizzle. I took this photo this morning in Plainfield, NJ. We had a record-breaking wet spring, but have been quite dry since with way above normal temperatures. As a result, this year's fall foliage is stunted (leaves still green) or leaves basically turning brown and dying early without the gorgeous colors I love so much.My thoughts and prayers go out to those blog readers and friends in southern California. When I was young, I lived for a few years there. One of my most vivid early childhood memories from that time was watching the mountains burn fueled by the Santa Ana winds. The latest is so much worse than anything I've ever seen. I hope everyone is safe.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- I have a brief introduction to the teams of The Amazing Race 12 set to be published shortly over on TV Squad. I'll be giving some more details here on the blog tomorrow. It sounds like an interesting cast.
- I'll also be writing my review of Kid Nation for posting on TV Squad later tonight.
- Oh, and not that it's all about me, but TV Squad writers got together and wrote about the scariest TV characters ever for a big Halloween post. My entry is here, but you can start here.
- I received a few new emails from Wireless -- they're inside sort of viral clues to Heroes. When I have some time tomorrow, I'll check them out and report my findings.
- I know that many of the Dancing With the Stars fans who hang out here weren't overly thrilled with Mark Cuban, but you might be interested in his blogging about being on the show -- it offers a neat insider kind of behind the scenes aspect. And, of course, I have to say that if it wasn't for Mark Cuban, I probably wouldn't be a blogger for TV Squad. He was the financial backing for the creation of Weblogs, Inc.
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