Checking Out the Survivor Gabon Castaways: Part 1

Okay, now that we have Big Brother out of the way, it's time to think about Survivor! I'm going to give my own first glance opinion of the castaways based on what CBS is telling us about them right now along with a few other sources. Definitely jump in with your thoughts! Survivors ready?


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Jessica "Sugar" Kiper, age 29, Brooklyn, NY
Well, I'm not so sure about the crying. This isn't BB after all -- no Wahmbers welcome on Survivor! She's a pin-up model/actress/waitress currently living in Brooklyn, but has lived in both the South and the West, too. I just don't know. She seems a bit not cut out for living in the jungles of Africa for me. I do like her thoughts about using the show as a weight loss plan -- that's something with which I can identify!



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Ace Gordon, age 27, Naples, FL
He seems quite the character. The English accent comes from being raised in London although he was born in New York. He does definitely come across as arrogant. It's interesting that he mentions he might be portrayed as "evil" when this season is going to be a battle between good and evil, doesn't it? I have a strong feeling that I won't like him as a person, but he stands a chance to do very well in the game if he doesn't offend others too much.



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Corinne Kaplan, age 29, Los Angeles, CA
Okay, she's from New York, not California and she's yet another pharmaceutical sales rep. Why are so many of them on reality television shows? Don't they have to work for a living? But, besides that ... I like her views on showmances. However, something tells me we may see her in one if for no other reason than to get closer to the prize. After all, she seems in it to win it. She might be a strong competitor. I'm getting better surviving vibes from her than I did from Sugar.



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Ken Hoang, age 22, Westminster, CA
While I think he's young and a bit cocky, I think I'm going to like this kid. He's a professional gamer who will hopefully do a lot better than the last professional poker player. He seems intelligent and he is looking at the show as a game. He's probably going to try to think moves ahead and he just better be good at the puzzles, too! He also seems to be physically fit. Of the ones I've looked at so far, he's my favorite. Mind you, I have over a dozen more to look at.



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Susie Smith, age 47, Charles City, Iowa
You know, she might end up being my sentimental favorite. How well she'll do in the game, I don't know. I get the feeling that she might have to rely on others too much and could be weak in challenges. But then again, she grew up working as a crop field worker as a child with her Miexican immigrant parents. She's been through some rather tough things. I'm not all that positive she's going to see too many horses in Aftica, though. I predict no further than mid-season but I hope I'm wrong.



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Robert "Bob" Crowley, age 58, Portland, Maine
Oh my, he looks like Richard Belzer's older brother. You know, John Munch on L&O:SVU and Homicide: Life on the Streets. The shame of it is that I believe they're probably around the same age. A physics teacher, eh? My Survivor-sense is telling me he might be a competitor. But I think that he thinks the others will underestimate him. I think they're going to realize he's a threat. I'd say past mid-game for him.

Stay tuned for the next bunch!

Talking Bonnie Hunt

If I were in charge of programming and I had to come up with the absolutely perfect laidback talk show for folks to just sit back and enjoy the rapport ... I'd have an hour a day with Bonnie Hunt and David Letterman just chatting. But I'm not in charge of programming and I can't do that. Oh well, I now have the next best thing. I have my Dave (not really "my" Dave, but you know what I mean) and now I have Bonnie Hunt on her own show every weekday.

I've adored Bonnie's sense of humor, quick wit, and just a spiffy neat-o kind of personality on talk shows for years. I enjoyed her rather short-lived sitcoms, too. But I think Bonnie's real strength lies in her personality and that's not always easily conveyed in scripted shows. Now, I have my chance! Yay, I say.

If you're old enough to remember, and alas ... I am, the old Dean Martin show, she's built an homage to that set for her show. Yes, she has the pictures on the walls, the pole (not for pole dancing! I don't think so, anyway), and the door through which guests arrive. She doesn't have the martinis, the cigarettes, or Dean. Of course, if she had Dean, we'd be talking a totally different kind of show here. That would just be rather eerie, don't you think? But everybody loves somebody sometime, just not from the grave.

Teaming up with her long-time business writing and comedy partner Don Lake (Second City comedy troupe), Bonnie makes her new show a delightful and entertaining respite amongst the afternoon judge shows. Hey, I'm not knocking the judge shows per se, but the plethora of new ones this season is judicial overload! Instead, I'd rather watch Bonnie chat with her staff, the audience, her guests, and the occasional kid or two. Her guest list isn't quite the norm -- she gives two young guys, one of whom gave his kidney to save the other, as much time as the "name" guest star of the day. She talks about tidbits from her own life and makes me chuckle.

Now, I need a chuckle or two each day in my life. I've got my Bonnie and I hope the show sticks around for a long time to come. You can check out bits and pieces of the show at her website.

I'm going to leave this off with a YouTube video of Bonnie Hunt when she was one of the last guests on Tom Snyder's show. He was another person I admired in the talk show circuit and in this clip, he thinks she would be perfect for a talk show. Hey Tom, you're right!

Dan and Memphis on The Early Show Video

And here it is ...


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Jerry's interview with Gretchen is here -- they've disabled embedding. Ah, the kindness from Dan was saying goodnight every night.

Memphis interview.

Keesha interview.

April interview.

Libra interview.

Renny interview.

Michelle interview.

Steven interview.

And Good Dumplings Abound

I took this photo on Monday in the Little Italy/Chinatown border area on Grand Street in Manhattan. Of course I'd go for the good dumplings rather than the Just OK Dumpling House or the Bad Bad Dumpling Depot, wouldn't you?

My review of last night's Big Brother finale is up over on TV Squad. I saw Dan and Memphis on The Early Show and hope I can post some video of that. It was SO short on the actual show that you didn't miss much if you missed it. But CBS is supposed to have more video which isn't up as I get this posted. The article about the interview is online there.

I want to thank everyone for a fun BB season here on the blog. We had health issues, hurricanes, and more trying to thwart our good times, but it was good times we had. (They go well with good dumplings.) You all rock and I'm glad you hang out here -- the blog wouldn't be anything without the community it has grown. Merci!

My knee and hip (from all the stairs) are both a bit sore from all the walking and the stairs on Monday. But I'm fearless. I'm going with a friend to the outdoor cafes, shopping, and roaming about Westfield, NJ later today. Ah, but there will be no stairs!

Big Brother 10 Season Finale Live-Blogged From the East Coast

Well, this is it. The feeds have been blocked all day since the wake-up call at the BB10 house. And here we are at the season finale. As the show airs this post will be constantly updated -- typos and all. You know you're welcome in comments and I know how much you love a party! I hope you don't mind the spoiler in the Zoetawny graphic. Yes, Ted the spider won the season, but let's watch the show anyway!

71 days and we're ready to crown a winner. And we recap it all -- including Dan as the AP for the week. Alliance changes. The beginning of the Renegades. All of the evicted and how the alliances worked -- ho-hum. We're almost up to Jerry getting gone. I want new stuff!

Finally, we're down to Memphis and Dan. So, let's recap the action in clips again!

Ohhh, Julie has a slinky black dress on. And Dan and Memphis have sport coats on.

Jerry goes to jury -- it got heated when they realized they all got played. Keesha wants arrogant Memphis. Ollie wants Dan because he mocked them. Libra would like to see Jerry because he wasn't the gingerly old man we thought. They talk about Jerry floating his way through. Everyone is just quite. Michelle says the two evil people are in the house. She thinks Memphis and Dan allied. Jerry said they played them all. Jerry tells them he put Keesha up instead of Memphis because he had a deal. Renny lit into Jerry.

Renny thinks Memphis is insensitive and conniving. Keesha thinks Dan's best move was getting everyone to like him. Michelle is still mad about the roulette. April thinks it was embarrassing and mocking. Keesha really isn't mad at Dan and Renny said that you have to get into Dan's head. Libra has it down -- both are culpable, but this isn't a game of trust. They're now talking about who played the best game deserves to win.

Michelle's trip -- Jerry finds out. He's stunned. Keesha is really pushing for a Dan win. Jerry thinks Memphis let Dan do all the dirty work. Jerry definitely thinks Memphis had a better strategy. Keesha thinks Memphis used her. April thinks Memphis played better than Dan. Renny cannot give someone a half million for not winning anything. Michelle is tossing between going with someone who did have blood on their hands or someone who didn't.

Jury questioning -- could they handle the truth?

Libra - Father Dan - most strategic move and why -- backdooring Michelle.

April to Memphis - Why should I vote for you? We got separated in the start, straight shooter.

Michelle to Dan - Jury House Roulette - why chose Michelle to go on trip, me backdoored alliance's idea? Dan - Make amends with the trip. Original backdoor plan was mine, had to get alliance support. To Memphis - We were in an alliance that only benefited you -- you didn't win any HOH, etc. -- Memphis - you were a hard competitor, backdoor not first to jump aboard, was hard.

Ollie to Dan -- the deal, why did you put Monica's name in -- Dan: Knew you were an emotional player, had to do it whether shameful or not.

Renny to Memphis -- One thing you did for me in the game. Memphis is lost for an answer, gave you the least of myself, didn't connive you.

Keesha to Memphis - Why me? Why Jerry over me? Remorse? - The hardest move I had to make in the house, from game standpoint, I had to do it, only way I could get to this point.

Jerry -- Arrogance when winning comp, respect any jurors? Dan - The moves I made weren't meant to be disrespectful. To Memphis, alliance with me to end, who would you have picked -- me or Dan? Memphis avoids an answer again, never had to pull the trigger. Dan throws him under the bus about throwing the final HOH.

Memphis tells them all he tried to make a business plan to the end, asset to YOUR game, only threw two HOHs, played straight-forward, if I'm better player, vote for me.

Dan the Orator -- reminisces, how am I going to win, sounding like Coach Dan, everything I did, I did for a reason. Wanted Ollie and April to dislike him, vote for the better player.

Now the jury has food for thought.

Jury comes to live show stage. Keesha looks like a slob with jeans while Renny is all gussied up. Even Jerry has business casual on.

Checking in on the F2 - Dan? It was tough, heck of an experience, intense. Memphis? Kind of like being on a firing squad.

Keys for the winner, can make one final statement to both.

1. Libra - Contrary to popular belifef, not easy, just go crazy, best man win.

2. April - Congrats, thank you for all the experiences we shared, appreciated it.

3. Michelle - Crazy ride, congrats

4. Ollie - Wassup? Unforgetable summer, congrats and good luck.

5. Renny - Hello, as a business woman, decision was easy to make, important people don't take little things for granted, in this game it's good to get in touch with the human spiritand THAT IS WHY I'M VOTING FOR THIS PERSON.

6. Kessha - Love you both like little brothers

7. Jerry - I do have a lot of respect for both of you, decision on kindness, will explain later.


The first four evictees will join in after commercial and share info now that the votes are locked in.

Brian, Angie, Steven, and Jessie. Brian predicted Memphis would go far, what does he have to say to jury? Both never attacked a person, it was a game. Ollie -- temper tantrum - personal reaction, surprised. Michelle first reaction to losing Hawaii, personal reaction to Libra, you guys attacking Keesha's physical appearance, the two played right.

To Steven - Whose behavior surprised you the most? Jerry. The way he treated Dan was disappointing, Judas comment. The treatment, horrible things said. Jerry brings up the bringing religion in it. A little off color, but had effect,

Julie, the conspiracy, no plant, one week AP -- The nominations Jessie. The hug. Michelle is going on with I knew it, I said it.

Jessie to Dan -- Moreso to America, thank you for keeping me on your mind, obviously entertaining, I got back to be a gorilla.

Julie tells them America has been voting for favorite juror, later on.

The winners -- Keys --
Libra - Dan
April - Dan
Michelle - Dan
Ollie - Dan

DAN WINS! The votes were unanimous for Dan.

The favorite juror - close between top two. Second place, Jerry. Keesha got it.