My 'Amazing Race 12' Season Premiere Review on TV Squad

My TAR 12 season premiere review is live on TV Squad at this link. I hope you enjoy it!

'The Amazing Race 12' - Season Premiere - East Coast Updates

The start of the season premiere - "Donkeys Have Souls, Too" - is delayed here in the NYC area due to football. Once it starts up, I'll update this post with the important happenings and quick thoughts as it airs. Graphic artist Zoetawny with her new 'puter made a graphic for the blog and I'm ready to watch the show even though I've already watched it not once, but twice! (Does that tell you what you're in for?) My full review is set to be posted on TV Squad at 10:05 PM ET.

Update 8:10 PM ET -- 60 Minutes is still on. I expect TAR to start in about 15 minutes, but will let you know.

UPDATE 8:25 PM ET -- 60 Minutes has ended, the show will be starting momentarily. Racers ready?

Yes! It's on! Cool classic convertibles to the Playboy Mansion. I'm not so keen about the Playboy Mansion part.

Hey ... against other news sources, the non-elim legs are still in! 8 of the 11 are elimination legs! That sounds like non-eliminations to me, doesn't it to you?

They're trying to get to LAX to board flights to Shannon, Ireland. Several are lost and there are two flights, one leaving earlier than the other. Five teams are on the first flight, six on the later one. Ronald and Christina an Azaria and Hendekea have bonded a bit. Hendekea borrowed a cell phone and set up two taxis for their teams.

The earlier flight is delayed and the second shall be first! I love that.

Ari and Staella stole one of the taxis. Good thing the driver let another non-stolen cab pass them.

An old person always falls, don't they?

I'm officially tired of Jennifer and Nathan. She whines very annoyingly. Lorena and Jason aren't too great in that department either. Love it that Kynt and Vyxsin didn't let the broken bike chain stop them.

I absolutely LOVE the high-wire bike Roadblock! That is so cool!

Love the donkeys, and how they cooperate with SOME teams ... teams who are nice to them do much better. Nathan and Jennifer are already screaming at each other. And Ari called one "stupid donk."

Ari threatened to eat his donkey!

Azaria and Hendekea came in to the Pit Stop first and won a trip to Alberta, Canada. Kynt and Vyxsin came in second and TK/Rachel third. Ari is still yelling at his donkey while Ron is singing Danny Boy as he pedals the high-wire bike.,

"Donkeys have souls, too" said Christina commenting about how Ari and Staella were treating their donkey. Jennifer and Nathan are still stranded with theirs.

Lorena and Jason made it to the Pit Stop -- 4th place. Nicolas and Donald are team number five. Shana and Jennifer are team 6. The other Jennifer (with Nathan) is still whining, but they finally got their donkey to move.

Ron and Christina are team seven. Who's your daddy? Kate and Pat are team 8. Now it gets all emotional...! Marianna and Julia are team nine and Jennifer and Nathan are on their heels at team 10.

Guess who karma bit on the butt? Yep, Ari and Staella are eliminated. They stole a cab and were mean to their donkey. Heh.

TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, November 4, 2007

This is a photo I took during a previous holiday season, but with the nip in the air mornings now, it seems right for today. Again, I used layers to make the background black and white while leaving the inflated turkey (run, turkey, run!) in color. The location is John's Meat Market in Scotch Plains, New Jersey -- a place I love to go to for old-fashioned butcher attention and really fine meats. If you click on the photo, you'll see a larger version.

In today's TV Newsy Bits:

• Don't forget -- The Amazing Race 12 premiere is tonight after 60 Minutes, with a possible football delay on the east coast. Thanks to the screener I received for the TV Squad gig, I've already seen it. Although I won't spoil anything for you -- I like most of the teams at first glance with two teams who annoy me. One of those two went! (Yay!) So you have no clue what team was eliminated, but it's already off to a good start with me because an annoying team is gone. Now if the other would go away next week!
• The New York Marathon is today. I won't be there. Even when I could run, I didn't run. I think the most I've ever run at one time was two miles, not 26. I will raise a cup of hot chocolate to them from the comfort of my living room.
• It's still uncertain but probable that the WGA's television and film writers will go on strike tomorrow. Although scripted television shows wouldn't be immediately impacted, my late night Letterman fix will probably head into reruns. I guess it would be good for me to go bed earlier, eh?
• Although my own writing isn't covered by the WGA, I can sympathize with its members. Outside of this blog, I write on a freelance contract which necessitates me keeping a day job. I found this Huffington Post article very informative about the writing industry for film and television. In an industry which pays its actors ridiculously high salaries, it offers the writers virtual peanuts in comparison. With my freelance work, I earn more than many of the WGA members and I'm not writing fiction which I know from personal experience is a lot tougher than blogging. And, when you think of it ... if not for writers, there would be no films and scripted television shows in the first place. Stephen King money isn't expected, but a living wage is and they should get their royalties on DVD and Internet sales increased. Is four cents too much to ask? I think not!
  
• Thinking of Stephen King -- I see The Mist is going to be released in theaters soon. That's one of my all-time Stephen King short story favorites. Although I probably won't go see it in a theater, I will definitely get it once it comes out on DVD. (The writer will get paid, I'm sure!) It stars Andre Braugher, one of my favorite actors from Homicide: Life on the Street.

Today's music non-sequitur:
She put de lime in de coconut, she drank 'em both up
She put de lime in de coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up,
And said, "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?
-- "Coconut" by Nilsson

'The Amazing Race 12' - The Teams - Part Three

Here it is! The last installment on the teams we'll be seeing starting this Sunday, November 4, 8 PM ET?/PT in most viewing areas -- or, seeing the time slot, possibly delayed for sports in many areas. Sigh.

I covered the other teams in this post and in this one, too.

Ari and Staella are one of the younger teams -- 21 and 24 respectively -- and they're best friends all about having fun. Okay.

He's a waiter and she's a restaurant manager. He lives with her family which seems to indicate that neither have been out on their own. Ari says he's catty, mean, rude, hilarious and is never afraid to speak his mind, loves to dance -- always great qualities for the race, right? Staella thinks she's honest, trustworthy, and caring. (I do like that more.)

They think they'll ruffle feathers of the other teams and have a great time. Me? I don't like their attitudes. Well, his attitude. She seems okay.

Marianna and Julia are sisters hailing from Miami. They describe themselves as feisty, best friends, and worst enemies. Julia is the problem-solver while Marianna is the athlete. Both consider themselves to be very competitive and think they're unbeatable. Good. It's always nice to have a strong all-woman team even if we're lacking the all-men teams this season.

Supposedly Julia is emotional while Marianna is as steady as a rock. Julia thinks Marianna doesn't self-censor and is often mean. They've traveled together before and say that their favorite team was BJ and Tyler due to their upbeat energy. Well, hopefully these two will have the same!

Like the blondes this season, they aren't afraid to flirt.

Speaking of BJ and Tyler, look! It's TK and Rachel! They're a dating couple -- she's a florist and store owner while he's a substitute teacher. Their mothers were friends for years, but they're only recently dating.

They say they're always laughing (good) and want to see how their relationship stands up to the race. Rachel believes she's bright and ambitious. She thinks the biggest difference between her and TK are the lives they've led. She started working and bought a business right out of high school while he was a collegiate athlete at UC Santa Barbara.

TK's sport was swimming. He thinks he's dedicated, witty, and intelligent. They hope to spend their lives together starting out with a million dollar nest egg.

Now, here's a team a bit different from many of the ones we've seen before. Kate and Pat are married lesbian ministers. They dated for seven years and married three years ago. They say not to worry -- they aren't afraid to play dirty. Pat is the second-oldest racer this season at 65. (Grandfather Donald is 68.)

Kate thinks she avoids conflict while Pat dives right in. Kate says she's passionate and sarcastic while Pat claims to be persistent and dependable. Pat thinks Kate often misjudges her time, something which might affect them as a team during the race. They're not afraid to compete against anyone and think their years of experience will beat out the physical prowess of other teams. I think others have thought along those lines before and it hasn't won the race yet. But I think they'll be an interesting team to watch.

Although technically California heavy, I like the mix of racers this season. I'm so glad we're not seeing a season full of model couples. What do you think?

'Survivor 15: China' - 11/01 Show - East Coast Updates

The show has started here on the East Coast. I'll be updating this post with important events as they air, so please return here for the news. As always, comments are welcome! My full review of tonight's episode will be on TV Squad later tonight.

UPDATE -- James found the second hidden idol. Alas, Jaime just peeked in his bag and found both hidden idols. Uh-oh.

UPDATE -- Merge is on, black buffs, will use Fei Long camp, feast and Chinese cultural performances

UPDATE -- Frosti won the first individual Immuniy.

UPDATE -- Bwahahaha! Jaime pulled out the blank plaque thinking it was the hidden Immunity Idol -- she got voted off.

My Survivor review for TV Squad should be up at this link around midnight. I apologize for the delay, but it was out of my hands.