'Survivor 15: China' - East Coast Update -11/29

I'll be updating this post with the major events of tonight's show as it airs on the east coast. My full review of the episode is posted on TV Squad.

Stop on back!

UPDATE -- They were held after at Tribal Council due to a Reward Challenge, not a second vote. Peih-Gee won reward and chose Erik and Denise to accompany her on a private jet trip to a temple.

Erik won individual immunity. Amanda wants to blindslide James.

And it worked. He thought Peih-Gee was the target and they blindsided him. He didn't use the idol because he didn't see it coming. Peih-Gee voted Todd, James voted Peih-Gee, all the rest voted for James.

Today's TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, November 28, 2007

This is my cat Scherzo (pronounced Skairt-so). It's an Italian word which translates to Jester. (Which went well with a Teaser.) It's also the light and bouncy part in classical music. She's not as good with cameras as Teaser was -- she tends to close her eyes and move her head as if sensing the shutter. I want to thank everyone for their comments.

On another cat note, I saw Roofus the roof cat yesterday morning but he wasn't at a good angle for a photo.

In today's TV Newsy Bits:

• I'll be writing my weekly review of Kid Nation for TV Squad and it should be posted there later tonight.
• I found an interesting website set up by the striking writers for The Late Show with David Letterman. I'm still on the side of the writers in this action even though I'm generally anti-union. Maybe it strikes more close to home than some of the other causes, I don't know.
• I'm not on strike, just a bit quiet.
• Erik Estrada has decided to really become a Muncie cop even though Armed and Famous was canceled. Odd.

Today's musical non-sequitur:
Long ago it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you
-- "Bookends" by Simon and Garfunkel

Tonight's 'Heroes'

It's a new episode tonight, but I want to take a pass on writing up the review. Due to circumstances I'm not up to undertaking it tonight. If you wish to comment on the show, please feel free to do so. I will be watching and might join in in the comments.

My apologies and thank you.

I'm updating this post and adding a recap from blog commenter Carla who was kind enough to write it up for us! Thank you so much, Carla -- you rock!

Here's Carla's take on the episode:

Peter and Adam

Peter and Adam are talking in the warehouse. Peter flashes to the streets of New York a year later. He sees the future Peter and Caitlyn and starts calling out her name. Next thing he’s back in the warehouse with Adam who is telling him that he never left the room. Adam tells Peter that the picture with his parents and the others are the people who created the virus he’s talking about.

Bob at the Bennett House

Mrs. Bennett is holding a gun up to him as he is trying to give (fake) ashes to them. After he’s gone Mrs. Bennett tells the kids to pack their bags because they are leaving tonight. Switches over to Bob sitting in his car talking to Elle, who has her arm in a sling. Bob talks about Elle regaining his trust by watching the cheerleader. She says she will.

Noah Bennett at the Company facility

It shows Noah’s eye fixing itself again. Noah calls for Mohinder who appears at his side. Mohinder tells him that Claire’s blood saved him and he gets very angry. Mohinder tries to tell Noah that the Company saves lives, but Noah tells him that he can’t trust the Company.

New Orleans

The cousins are talking about comic books, heroes, costumes, and secret identities. The boy cousin says he wants to sell the comics to make some money. Nikki comes back and tells Micah that she has a virus but that Jessica and all the rest are gone now. She tells Micah that Dr. Suresh is working on finding a cure and that she will get better. Micah talks about his father’s medal and goes to get it from his backpack but the backpack is missing.

Maya and Sylar

Maya and Sylar are sitting outside drinking wine together. Maya explains her power to Sylar and how her brother helps her when she has an episode. Sylar asks Maya what she would do if she was able to control her power without her brother. “You’ll never know unless you try” without him. Sylar kept talking to make her upset – she did her black crying thing. Sylar cries out “Help, you’re killing me” and Maya somehow controls her power.

Hiro and Ando

Hiro tells Ando he knows Takezo Kensei killed his father.

Peter and Adam in Searsmont, Maine

Peter and Adam are at Victoria’s house. Adam has a gun, but Peter insists on going in alone with no gun. Victoria is gardening when Peter comes and asks if she’s Victoria. She says she’s never heard of her but turns around with a shotgun pointed at him. Peter tells Victoria that the Shanti virus is going to be released in 24 hours and will kill billions of people in a year’s time. Victoria backs up, cocks her gun, and tells Peter to get inside the house, NOW.

Hiro and Ando, present day/Hiro, Kaito, Adam, and Victoria, 1977

Hiro finds a picture of Kensei/Adam with his father. Ando finds an order that Hiro’s father signed to lock Adam up in 1977. Hiro time travels back to that day at Primatech. In 1977 time, Kaito tells Adam he betrayed everything by releasing the virus. Adam says that he had to make a hard choice for the greater good. Victoria is there after Adam is taken away and is talking about Strain 138 and how it is good that Adam didn’t get a hold of it. Kaito takes it from her and says he is going to send it to Odessa. Victoria tells Kaito that it needs to be destroyed because Adam had to have help to break in and get a hold of anything at the Company. Victoria – “I can’t be a part of this anymore.”

Victoria and Peter, present day

Victoria has articles of Company members on her coffee table. Peter asks her to tell him where the virus is so he can save Caitlyn. Victoria tells him he’s looking for mutated strain 138 and that if it is released it would “kill us all.” Outside Peter tells Adam that it’s in a storage facility in New Mexico right before Victoria shoots Adam and then Peter. Victoria comes after Adam a second time to shoot him in the head/shoot his head off (the one thing he wouldn’t be able to recover from). Before she is able to shoot him in the head, Peter comes to and knocks Victoria out.

Maya and Alejandro

Maya tells Alejandro that Gabriel/Sylar helped her control her power. Alejandro tells her that he looked Gabriel Gray up and found out that he is wanted in the death of his mother. Sylar walks into the hotel room asking if Maya has told Alejandro the good news yet. Alejandro walks up to Sylar and confronts him in Spanish. Sylar shuts the door with a sinister look. Maya confronts him in English – this says you killed your mother? Sylar tells her it is true, that his mother didn’t understand when she learned of his powers and thought he was a monster. Her death occurred accidentally when they struggled. Maya tells him that she understands and that Sylar understands exactly what she’s going through and what she feels. She tells Alejandro that she’s staying with Gabriel/Sylar. Alejandro tells her that he’s not leaving her with him. Maya tells him that she knows he hates her because she killed his wife (Sylar put this idea in her head). Alejandro tells her he knows it was an accident but Maya says in her heart she wanted his wife dead. Alejandro rushes out of the hotel room and Sylar tells Maya that he’ll take care of her (with a creepy look on his face).

Victoria, Peter, and Adam

Peter wants to destroy the virus, but Victoria tells him that Adam wants to release the virus. Victoria accuses Adam of killing Kaito and the others. Peter reads Victoria’s mind to find out where the virus is being stored. Adam unties Victoria who grabs the gun and attempts to shoot Peter in the head. Adam beats her to the punch and shoots her, explaining to Peter that she was going to blow his head off and there’s no coming back from that.

New Orleans

Micah’s boy cousin has been beaten up and the backpack with comics and the medal are gone. Micah tells him that he hates him. He tells Nikki that they need to get it back and be heroes like his father. Micah’s power cousin (I can’t remember her name!) has a look on her face that she wants to do something.

Sylar, Maya, Alejandro

Alejandro goes to Sylar’s hotel room and attacks him. Sylar kills him. We hear Maya knocking on the door – Sylar opens the door drying his hair from the shower. Maya tells him that she has to do what she can to protect her brother and it’s better if he just goes back to Mexico. Maya tells Sylar that without him she would still be there. Sylar tells her that he just wants to help her. They kiss and the camera pans to Alejandro lying on the floor and Sylar slowly closing the door.

Bennett family

Claire is going through boxes and West is in the doorway behind her. Claire is sad about the death of her father. She talks about the things she’s done and overcome but says “this hurts more than any of that and it’s not getting better.” She also talks about the guy her father used to work with (the Haitian) who can take the hurt away by erasing her memories of her father. She pulls the wind chimes out of a box to summon him. She just wants to tell her father how sorry she is.

New Orleans

Micah’s power cousin wakes him up and she’s wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. She tells him that she knows where the kids who stole his back pack live and that he can come with her but he has to stay out of the way and out of trouble.

Mohinder and Bob at the Company

Mohinder tells Bob that Claire’s blood is going to work to cure Nikki. He talks about Strain 138 and how dangerous it is. Mohinder wants Bob to help him find it and destroy all strains of the virus. He then calls Nikki in New Orleans to tell her he’s found a cure and will bring it to her on the next flight.

New Orleans

Nikki goes to tell Micah the good news and finds that he’s not in his bed. Scene changes to Micah and the power cousin who is watching something to learn how to climb walls. She says something about it being too bright and she doesn’t want anyone to think she’ robbing the place. Micah touches the streetlight and it turns off. When she asks him how he did it he tells her that he told the light he needed it to be off for while. The power cousin does her climbing thing and gets tot the backpack which is now empty. As she’s looking at it, a car pulls up so she grabs all the comics that are close to her and hides up above the staircase. As the guys are walking up the stairs a comic drops. They look up, pull guns on her, then throw her in the back of their van. Micah runs off.

Bennett family

Claire is standing at the edge of the ocean with what she thinks are her father’s ashes. She says she is sorry and dumps them in the ocean waves with an “I love you, Dad.” Mrs. Bennett tells her to say goodbye to West so they can get going. Claire hugs West and tells him she’s losing everything she cares about. As she’s hugging him, she notices Elle sitting in a car watching her. Elle tries to start the car to leave but can’t get the keys in because her arm is in a sling. Claire confronts her and tells her that she’s going to tell everyone about her secret so that Elle and Bob will be the ones on the run.

Mohinder in a cab in New York

Mohinder is looking at a syringe when his cell phone rings. It’s Sylar! Sylar is with Molly! Sylar tells Mohinder that he is with someone else who can also use his help. Maya is there and she is smiling.

Hiro and Ando

Hiro tells Ando that he knows the virus is in Texas where they saved the cheerleader. Ando asks him how he can save the world with Adam around who can’t be killed. Hiro looks over at his sword and says that he has to try

Primatech Paper – Adam and Peter

Adam and Peter are walking through the factory when time freezes for everyone but Peter. Peter looks around and sees Hiro standing behind him. Hiro tells Peter that Adam killed his father and he must pay for that. Peter tells him that he can’t let him do that. Hiro tells Peter that he’s chosen the wrong side. Peter holds out his power hand then Hiro runs toward him with his sword.

To be continued…

Thank you again, Carla!

Tonight's 'Amazing Race 12' East Coast Updates 11/25

Football ran into overtime and 60 Minutes started nearly an hour late. When The Amazing Race finally gets here, this post will be updated with the major events. A full review of the show will be posted over on TV Squad later tonight.

UPDATE 8:54 PM ET -- 60 Minutes just ended, the show will start soon. Finally.

The U-Turn was introduced. How it works is that it's after a Detour. A team can U-Turn another team to send them back to do the other choice on the Detour. There are two if I caught it right and a team can only use it once during the race.

Shana and Jennifer U-Turned Lorena and Jason thinking they were right behind them. However, the team in back of them was Rachel and TK. Lorena and Jason were already behind everyone else.

Pit Stop --
1. Hendekea and Azaria -- each won a motor scooter
2. Jennifer and Nathan on their heels.
3. Christina and Ronald
4. Nicolas and Donald
5. Vyxsin and Kynt
6. Shana and Jennifer
7. TK and Rachel
8. Lorena and Jason -- Philiminated

Off Topic - The Death of a Good Friend

Those looking for a television-related entry might want to skip this one.

On Saturday, November 24th, my cat Teaser died. He was a constant companion and a great comfort in my life for fifteen years. He hasn't been in good health this past year, but took a sudden turn for the worse about a week ago. There have been issues with feline urinary tract disease, a hyperactive thyroid, and then kidney disease. Last week, he lost interest in food. I took this photo several months ago as he slept in "his" rocking chair.

Oh, but what a great friend he's been. In 1992, I lost my 19 year-old cat. After about a month, I knew needed to have a cat in my life and my veterinarian, an inner-city vet in CT, had a litter of kittens abandoned in front of his animal hospital. He found homes for all of them except one rather plain-looking little gray tabby. One look and I was hooked. He jumped right out of the cage and onto my shoulder. I took him home that day. He weighed less than a pound and a half.

Feeling guilty for leaving such a small kitten alone at home while I was off to work, I adopted another kitten the same age (give or take a week) about a week later. I chose her out of a litter abandoned at the same vet, the first cat I actually ever picked out -- others in my life, including Teaser, sort of came to me. She's a wonderful cat but he was so special.

Teaser and I would play "where's that cat" almost every day. I'd say "where's that cat," he would run and hide, and I'd have to look for him. I'd pretend to not know where he was and he'd leap out of hiding at me, run and hide once again. He was my lap cat, she doesn't like laps or being picked up (although she's very affectionate and a licker, too). He was the cat who could purr forever.

When I went to bed, he'd curl up in the crook of my arm after circling twice. Then he'd put one paw over my wrist, purr until he thought I was asleep, then get up. He never spent the entire night sleeping in the crook of my arm, but it was our 20 minute every night at bedtime routine. If I was sitting, I could snap my fingers and he would stand on his hind feet for a head rub. He was a head-butter and a kneader.

He was my best friend in so many ways. Yes, I know cats aren't people, but the bond is still one of the strongest one can have.

I still have my other cat and, unlike Teaser she hasn't really had health issues over the years other than being overweight. She's wandering around the apartment looking a bit lost, and so am I. She and I will eventually get used to being a one cat household, but I'll always treasure the memories of one of the best cats ever in the world.

Rest in peace, Tizzerfuzz.