...for the first time ever fans will get to choose who participates in the game from a pool of 20 former houseguests (BB6's Kaysar Ridha, stay by your phone!). CBS has yet to announce how or when voting will occur.
So... who do you want to see return on the show?
All right, it's onto the second episode aired tonight. Or, last night by the time most will read this. (Grr.) 
Nine are left. Who will be voted out tonight?
Tonight's episode opened on Day 19 at the Gitanos camp. Ah, Austin explained his behavior at Tribal Council. He was so certain he was going to be voted out that he felt he had to explain how he tried to look weak. Of course, that backfired on him. Now he's got the biggest target in Panama plastered on his back. That target would be Terry's, but he keeps winning everything and we know he has the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island. If he keeps this up, he's going to make Tom Westman look like a wimp! Courtney and others feel they made the wrong choice in voting Nick off instead of Austin. Aw, too bad. Too late. Aras keeps pushing the Casaya Agenda and no one trusts Austin. It's not a happy place, not at all.
But the Rewards Challenge comes around and temporary happiness will be had by a few castaways while two others will be in for the most miserable two days of their lives. Jeff splits the tribe into three teams of three -- Shane, Austin, Terry; Bruce, Aras and Sally and Cirie, Courtney and Danielle. The teams had to run coconuts from up on the beach and put them in the boats of their opponents, the objective being to weigh the boats down and slow the other team(s) as they row out to retrieve their flag and a net. After arriving back at shore, they had to load the coconuts in the net and haul them up the beach loading them into a coconut corral. Aras kept pushing for the girls to target the mens' boat. It didn't really work too well. The Women Only team ended up having to put coconuts in their own boat after the other teams finished loading their nuts. Had the Men Only team not decided to take two trips with their coconuts, they might have won. Instead, it was Aras, Sally and Bruce winning Reward.
They won a bed and breakfast feast and the opportunity to name a person from each of the other teams to go to Exile Island. Aras took over and decided Austin and Danielle would go. The B&B initially started out bad. It was pouring rain and the canopied bed was on a sandbar, soaked clear through. But once the food arrived, all was peachy keen. According to Sally, "I can't believe I'm cold and wet and in a bed with two strange men." Well, it happens. Meanwhile, over on Exile Island, Austin and Danielle are really suffering. No fire, no shelter and they're cold miserable. A perfect situation for bonding. But will the bond be enough to break tribal ties?
While the Lucky Three chowed down in their damp bed and the Exiled Two shivered, back at camp Terry was once again campaigning. He was prying information out of Shane who admitted he wants the final four to be himself, Aras, Cirie and Courtney. Of course, that gave Terry the idea of who to pursue for a flip -- Danielle and Bruce. Will it work? Once Sally and the Breakfast Club returned, Terry told her he had the hidden Immunity Idol and was planning on using it to barter votes. Now, I'm not sure that was such a good move. I think Terry has got to be one of the strongest contestants ever on the show. He has the ace in the hole and it's not a game of tribal lines anymore. I personally think he should have kept things mum and remember it's his ticket to $1,000,000 if he plays it right.
The Immunity Challenge was a huge contrived affair. There was running, digging, crawling, jumping, brainteasers, a Lincoln Log type obstacle course and more. Eventually it was down to the three ex-La Mina members pitted against each other, then down to Sally and Terry. Terry won, not surprisingly. However, it was pretty surprising that Sally was only a smidgen behind him. She almost snagged Immunity. I'm suitably impressed, aren't you?
Then the scheming starts. Danielle claims she's bonded with Austin. She also is angry with Aras for sending her to Exile Island. All the women get ticked off at Aras. Shane, for once, stayed out of the fracas. Terry is going around telling Danielle and Bruce that they're the next targets of their own tribe. He offered Danielle the Immunity Idol to flip her vote. Bruce claimed he respects Terry more than members of his own tribe. So, what happens?
They voted along previous tribal lines at Tribal Council. Five votes for Austin and three for Aras. So much for bonding. So much for Terry's secret find.
"Austin, the tribe has spoken. You must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."
Argh. Terry should have kept his mouth shut about the Idol. Obviously, Bruce and Danielle didn't flip and now everyone will know he has it. What is going on with him? He's a great player and it's honorable that he doesn't lie or cheat. But he should know that's not Survivor.
I found this episode very frustrating. What did you think?
Well, here we are at the sixth week of the fifteen week interview. Gee, that's longer than some people I know have ever held a job! No, I'm not referring to me. I've been gainfully employed for a number of years. Um ... decades. Okay, more than a score. Eek. At least Donald Trump is older than I am!
Oh, I admit it's a fantasy. It's one that I suppose could happen although I tend to take the subway more than taxicabs in Manhattan. But, I do take cabs now and then. Sometimes I even get a cabbie who can speak English or one doesn't drive like a maniac. Yep, it happens!
Ah, finally! A new episode of Survivor: Panama - Exile Island! I had fear I'd forget their names in the three week forced Mad Marchness hiatus. Yeah, I know they had the recap show on one off night at the beginning, but that doesn't count. I went through Survivor withdrawal. I almost went as far as to tattoo "Boston" on my chest, but decided against it.
10 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?
At the Casaya camp, it doesn't look like Shane's apologies at the barbeque meant much to Danielle and Courtney. They still want him out. I respect them for that. Even Aras is still worried about being able to trust Shane. Bruce just wants to make the merge. I don't think he cares much about any of them.
Meanwhile, Sally is happy off at Exile Island. She's digging for the hidden Immunity Idol and pleased to be off the chopping block. Peace and tranquility are hers ... for the time being, at least. At the La Mina (sans Sally) tribe camp, the boys' club gets tree mail. And, it's actual tree mail, unlike the ceramic pot mail we kept seeing on Guatemala. The rhyming letter indicated that a treasure could be found on the back beach and they'd be more comfortable tonight. Nick and Austin automatically thought food and beverage. Terry was more reserved. While technically, in the end, they were right -- it was a boat with some firewood and wooden crates. There was a map to the Casaya camp and an admonition not to open the boxes until they arrived there. The merge is on! The La Mina men vowed to stick together with Sally as an alliance knowing the numbers are right for Casaya to pick them off one by one. All they need is a flip of one from the other tribe for a tie, two for a majority vote. Terry knows he has the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island, but he's not sharing the news.
Over at Casaya, they're enjoying a lazy day eating rice when they spot the La Mina tribe coming in on the boat. They quickly vow they'll be the final six and pick off La Mina one by one. Then they chow down eating all the rice they can so they don't have to share their food. Oh, but then they go greet La Mina like they're childhood sweethearts. No sooner are the La Mina men ashore than Sally gets dropped off to join them. One big happy family ... of schemers and would be wheeler dealers. Inside the crates were the paint supplies and new buffs for the newly merged tribe. Also in the crates was food. Glorious food. The new tribe named themselves Gitanos (saying it means gypsies) and enjoyed chocolate, fruit, pickled stuff, wine, crackers and cheese.
Terry, in my opinion, was a bit too blatant as he campaigned for a flip from Casaya. I could understand him approaching Bruce as they were on the Older Men tribe together and have a bond. But, he approached Cirie and Shane! Cirie (dang, I get a kick out of her) said in confessional that she had an encyclopedia and there he was trying to sell her a dictionary. What the heck is wrong with him? I thought Bruce would flip, but when Casaya saw Terry talking to him, they started buttering him up with how valuable he is and what a great leader he is for them. @@ <-- I need to roll my eyes at that one! Will he flip? He seems to know the score. He knows he's sitting pretty with both tribes wanting him in their numbers game. Shane doesn't think Terry has the Immunity Idol and vows he'll be voted off first chance they get.
Of course, it didn't help matters for La Mina that Nick hit Bruce in the face with a machete. Nope, that wouldn't help their cause at all, accident or not. There have been spoiler rumors since before the season aired that Bruce got hurt and had to be taken away. The promos before the hiatus showed a helicopter. But if that happened with this injury, it wasn't shown on tonight's show. Maybe he'll get hurt again! Actually, for a machete blow to the face, it wasn't all that serious. He may have needed a stitch or two on the inside of the lip from how it looked.
Tonight, with the merge, it was the first individual immunity up for grabs. The contest was a physical one. On horizontal wooden poles the castaways had to hang upside down holding onto the pole with their arms and legs. One by one they fell leaving Terry last man hanging. So, he has the hidden Immunity Idol and won the first Immunity Necklace. He's safer than safe at the upcoming Tribal Council.
Terry campaigned again with Casaya folks, but no one outright committed. Nick just wants to make the jury. Austin said in confessional he pretended to be weak and drop because he knows either Nick or he will be voted out. Nick knows it's between those two, too. Terry keeps on campaigning. Then, Creep Me Out Shane loudly calls a meeting of the ex-Casaya tribe and they all agree to vote out Nick. Shane actually wanted Austin out, but the rest wanted Nick.
And, so it went. The voting went strictly according to previous tribal lines - four votes for Shane from the four La Mina and six votes for Nick from the Casaya.
"Nick, you must leave the tribal council area immediately."
He didn't make the jury. He tossed something to Cirie on his way out, but I'm not sure what it was. His goodbye speech was odd, not mentioning the show at all. It was something about young hungry people working on their dreams and changing the world. Maybe he had too much wine; I don't know.
I hope that we're not going to see La Mina decimated one by one for the next four weeks. I'd rather see a flip or even a mutiny with Shane being voted out. Did I mention he creeps me out? What did you think of tonight's show?
Do you know what "good television" would be? I personally think good television would be seeing Lake's head explode like in a cartoon! If I were more talented with digital imaging or knew someone with a cool digital imaging center, I could create it myself. Oh, what I'd have come out of his head! Bananas, cat excrement, boxes of Fiddle-Faddle ... the possibilities are endless. After all, what the heck is in his mind?
It's Week 5 of the 15 week "interview." I'm finally getting to know some of the names of the quieter folks or those not really highlighted by the show's editors. After tonight, I got to know who Leslie is. And, um ... Dan.The show opened with the candidates wondering who would be fired. The Synergy folks really wanted to no longer see Brent while many of Gold Rush were hoping for Brent's return because of his detrimental inflluence on the team. All were shocked that Brent was gone. Some relieved; others wondering if they need to worry about Synergy now. Andrea went at Roxanne for saying that Tammy did a better job as a Project Manager. Ohhh! Catfight! Well, not quite. I personally don't think Roxanne's a really strong candidate for winning, but at least she's personable. Andrea irks me. Be gone, witch!
Ahem.
This week's task for the teams was a bit more along the lines we've seen before. They were brought on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Norwegian Jewel, and instructed they must make a 30 second television commercial touting the cruise line's new "freestyle" cruises. They're cruises without any organized events time schedules. (Okay, that's a cruise I'd like!) The hitch was that the teams only had 3 hours to complete the filming with a crew and equipment provided. If they didn't finish by then -- the ship leaves port. And, but of course, they're stuck on a cruise. Hey ... that doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Dan decided he wanted to be the Project Manager for Gold Rush and the team instantly liked an idea Lenny had with a storyline of a castaway coming aboard and showing all the fun activities. They set about with the film crew. Over at Synergy, Roxanne went for the Project Manager position much to the dismay of Andrea. They came up with the idea to contrast traditional cruises with the more fun and exciting freestyle ones. Now, Roxanne did look a bit bewildered and overwhelmed at times, but Andrea irked me more. Please, please get her off my television set!
The foreshadowing of the error a team would make came after a commercial. This time it was the quote "Listen to your people" along with a little lecture by Trump. Okay. So, we know one Project Manager wouldn't listen to his people. It was so easy from that point on to see who would lose the task. While Roxanne didn't particularly listen to Andrea (can't blame her), she listened to the others on her team. Ah, but Dan tried to do everything by himself, didn't delegate tasks and, more importantly, didn't listen to Lenny when he said that text alone wasn't good, the commercial needed a voiceover, too. When Bill Rancik peeked in on the team, all was chaos. Dan was more worried about Lee shmoozing with Carolyn and Bill than he was about actually assigning Lee a task.
The results were pretty clear. I knew the castaway part of the Gold Rush ad and the first thing that struck me was you didn't know he was a castaway! Synergy easily won and with no help from Brent! They won big time, too. They got to go to a secret (yeah, right) Brinks diamond vault where they played with diamonds and got to select $30,000 worth of them to take home.
Gold Rush was in turmoil. Lenny came up with the castaway idea which, even beyond the confusion, didn't fly well with the thought of a cruise. Tarek shouted down Lenny's balking at the text only on the ad and pushed that as it's something he can do well. Dan wasn't a good leader at all. He didn't delegate tasks and he didn't listen to his people. Tarek told Dan he would back him up in the boardroom, but then went on to say he (Dan) didn't have any friends in the boardroom. The plot thickens!
Once the whole team got together in the boardroom with Donald, Bill and Carolyn, all heck broke loose. They argued like little kids. Here's the corporate future, eh? Dan decided to take Lee into the boardroom mainly because he doesn't like him. Lee really didn't do anything wrong on the task. He didn't do much, but he wasn't asked to do much. Again, no delegation. Dan didn't want both Lee and Lenny in there and Leslie actually spoke up for herself, so he chose Tarek. I thought Tarek was going to be a goner, but Donald fired Dan because he didn't bring Lenny in and the whole concept was his idea.
"Tell Lenny he hasn't long to go!"
The best line of the night was Trump to Tarek: "Mensa should change their test." I'm sure that Mensa is rescinding Tarek's membership right now.
Next week's show will be on at 10 PM instead of 9 (ET). Until then ...
Dollar bills, y'all...
Last night was 50s night on American Idol and I think it redeemed last week's rather poor showing with the Stevie Wonder songs. Not anything against Stevie Wonder, of course. I would have loved to see Kevin Covais singing, "When I was a nappy-headed boy, hangin' out with those hoodlum friends of mine..." ;-) And, though I have the utmost respect for Stevie's music on the whole, his own performance on the boot night show came across to me as a Boz Scaggs imitation. The song didn't hold to the high level of his works from the 70s. Sigh.Bucky Covington sang "Oh Boy." Oh, boy ... get him gone this week. He should have never made it this far. He's not horrible or anything, but when they talk about having "it" he thought they said something else and told them he already went. What the heck is going on with his hair? Someone put on net on that!
Paris Bennett sang "Fever." I thought she sang the song very well; she had the notes, the moves, the act down pat. She looked cute, she sang cute. Ho-hum. I like her and I think she'll keep on going, but in the long run she (like many previous and present AI contestants) isn't going to be anyone whose music I'd run out and buy or whose performance I'd feel I have to watch. Sweet kid and talented, but...!
Chris Daughtry sang "I Walk the Line." Now, here's where AI is growing on a musical level. While it was the song Johnny Cash sang, it wasn't that song at all. Chris changed it around and interpreted it on an entirely different level. No, it wasn't his own personal best vocal, but it was one of the most intriguing things ever done with a song on the show. If this guy wins it all, he's someone who I'd be interested in watching perform or perhaps even buying his music. This is what happens when AI goes beyond the teenybopper kiddie show contestants.
Katharine McPhee sang Ella Fitzgerald's hit "Come Rain or Come Shine" and it was a striking performance. Like Mandisa, she's a natural talent. No schoolgirl cutesy ways about her, although she's very attractive. Watching her perform is like watching a seasoned pro. Kudos to her!
Taylor Hicks sang "Not Fade Away." Knock his dancing all you want, Simon Cowell! With Taylor, his personality and showmanship are as much a part of it all as his singing. I liked Barry Manilow's description of his voice -- a whiskey tenor. Even more than Chris, Taylor's the guy I have to stop and watch. He looked so handsome and dapper and he's got IT (that Bucky hasn't a clue about). I liked the dancing. I liked the show. I liked the singing. I can't get enough of Taylor's performances! He's a joy to watch!
Lisa Tucker sang "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" next. I think she's talented, but all in all it reminded me of a scene out of Grease or something. She looked adorable in the little outfit and played the cameras/crowd well. But, the whole thing came across as out of a show called American Idol: The Musical. Yes, I think she's probably a lot more talented than lots of pop stars currently on the charts, but I don't buy their music either.
Kevin Covais sang "When I Fall In Love." Yes, he has a nice voice and he looked like such a lovable innocent little twerp singing the song. But he's against actual men in the contest. Unless that site which promotes voting for the worst singers keeps him in, his days are numbered. And, yes ... they're pushing him these days. That site is responsible for John Stevens staying in the show as long as he did last year. Or was that the year before?
Elliott Yamin was up next singing "Teach Me Tonight." You can tell the AI people are working on his looks -- he's sporting a goatee now and other changes seem to be being made each week. His voice is stunning. I personally think he has one of the best voices week after week for the guys on the show. Alas, he looks more like someone who'd play a mobster in a Mafia movie. I think we'll see this guy go on to having a career in music. He's got the talent. Will he be the American Idol? Probably not.
Kellie Pickler sang Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight." I'm not a Kellie fan, per se. The ditzy country bumpkin persona makes me laugh, but usually her singing just isn't my cuppa. That said, I think she performed magnificently last night with the song. If she keeps that up each week, I may just have to start liking her. ;-)
Ace Young sang "In the Still of the Night." Okay, he does the falsetto well, but so did Frankie Valle and a Beach Boy or two. Yeah, he has those cute boy band looks and tries to put girls (and perhaps guys) in his Ace Trance. But I'm growing a bit weary of him in the long run. In my opinion, he's a One Trick Pony. He should outlast Kevin, but he shouldn't win.
My predictions for the bottom three tonight?
Bucky, Kevin and Lisa. Buh-bye, Bucky.
Hmmm... I don't know. Perhaps it's only episode 3B, but we'll call it 4. I certainly hope this is it for the "to be continued" legs of the show. I'm easily confused!Nine teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?
We last left the teams in Moscow, Russia, where they were all starting to meet up with Phil Keoghan on the Red Square. Last week we saw Jeremy and Eric arrive first thinking they won the leg only to be handed a clue envelope from Phil and be told the leg wasn't over. They looked exhausted. It's still not over! Will Jericmy retain their lead? Will BJ and Tyler take over the race once again? (I hate calling them the Hippies. Long hair doesn't a hippie make, but I guess I'm just a 60s purist, eh?) It's kind of interesting to compare the teams' arrival order at this time to the actual end of the leg. Well, at least interesting to me! So, here's the placing at the Red Square: Jeremy/Eric, Lake/Michelle, Ray/Yolanda, BJ/Tyler, Fran/Barry, Dani/Danielle, Desiree/Wanda, Monica/Joe and placing last was Dave/Lori.
The clue received in Moscow directed teams to fly to Frankfurt, Germany. Once there, they had to take a train to Stuttgart to the flagship Mercedes-Benz factory. Jeremy and Eric really lucked out -- they were the only team on an early flight, thus increasing their lead. Once in Germany, they managed to catch a train just before it left. How lucky can these guys get? The second flight leaving Moscow only took two teams -- Lake/Michelle and BJ/Tyler narrowly squeaking in. The rest of the teams all made the last flight, leaving in the morning. Once again, in typical TAR fashion, the time difference didn't mean a heck of a lot as the Mercedes-Benz place didn't open until the moming. So, instead of a 12 hour or more difference between teams, it was pared down to just a couple of hours.
Now, I would have found the challenge at the Mercedes-Benz factory a bit more um ... challenging if they had to drive it themselves, but the teams each had a driver racing them through the oldest test track in the world affectionately called "The Wall of Death." Oh, this one looked cool as the cars went horizontal on the curve! I want to try it! Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz, my friends all have Porsches, I must make amends! While it indeed looked cool, all the teams did was go along for the ride. Sigh. Nothing more to see here; let's move along.
Teams then had to drive 200 miles on the Autobahn to a field where they'd face a Roadblock. Here's where Wanda/Desiree screwed up royally by going in the wrong direction for over twenty miles ... twice! So did Dani/Danielle as they were fool enough to be following W/D! Sheesh. First Dani and Danielle clung to Jeremy/Eric until they loused that up by forgetting their bag. Now they're clinging to Wanda and Desiree? Don't these girls think for themselves? The Roadblock (a task which can only be completed by one member of the team) wasn't anything scary, but it was the epitome of product placement. The team member had to find the Travelocity Roaming Gnome hidden in a large field. There were ten gnomes hidden under cones, gnome half sculptures, etc. Of course, this task got tougher with each one found and later teams really depended as much on luck as strategic methodical searching tactics.
Oh, no ... it's onto a Roadblock! Teams finding the gnomes had to bring their gnome along to the Bavarian Film where they had a choice of Break It or Slap It. This is the kind of event that makes me smile at the show. In Break It, teams were faced with a table that held hundreds of prop bottles and had to smash a bottle over their teamate's head hoping to find one with a label which had PROST (German for Cheers!) inside. Oh. They also had to wear lederhosen and only break a bottle each time the cuckoo came out from its cuckoo clock roost. All depended on luck and eventually the maddening native musicians and dancers made for a rather surreal bad comedy act task. In Slap It, teams had to learn the dance steps to a native German dance and perform to the approval of the dancers while also wearing lederhosen. Nothing was funnier than Fran/Barry and Ray/Yolanda in lederhosen! (Well, I'd be funnier, but thankfully I'm not on the show.)
From there, the teams headed to the Pit Stop with Jeremy/Eric retaining their lead. They came in first winning a trip for two to Africa which includes whitewater rafting, a safari and a trip to Victoria Falls. The arrival order of the other teams was: BJ/Tyler (running backwards for their own odd reasons), Lake/Michelle (boo), Fran/Barry, Dave/Lori, MoJo, Ray/Yolanda, Dani/Danielle and ... last and Philiminated -- Wanda and Desiree.
So, that's what happened on the show. Now it's time for me to go into a bit of what I think of the season. It's so much better than the family-safe family edition last season! I'm really liking the teams and their interaction with each other this season. I don't think we've ever had a TAR season where the teams got on so well together. Even the Evil Lake will work with other teams. Teams are sharing taxis, following each other (sometimes almost to ruin) and honestly seem to like one another. I love how BJ and Tyler are rooting for Fran and Barry! Call me a dork, but I still like Dave and Lori -- I'm thrilled they're making a comeback and getting a bit strategic. I want to be offended at Jeremy and Eric's shallow sexist ways, but I have to laugh at the Horndogs. Will all this togetherness between the teams end as the race goes on? I mean, they can't be so congenial forever, can they?
My personal favorites for the win are BJ and Tyler. No, I won't call them hippies. But, these guys have a great sense of adventure, are funny and smart. I couldn't help but notice they knew enough German to get by. They seem to have a high frustration level and I think they're perhaps one of the strongest teams ever on the show. They may overdo their schtick a bit, but they're the team to watch.
I would love to see a Final Four team list like this -- BJ/Tyler, Fran/Barry, Ray/Yolanda and Dave/Lori. Will it happen? Who are your favorites?
Oh ... and I'm not all that sad to see Wanda and Desiree go. While I think Desiree was a good race candidate, Wanda was really getting on my nerves. If you go on a show like The Amazing Race, whining at every task isn't the way to win. You defeat yourself and you tick off the viewers. Next, Lake can go. He's on my nerves, too. After that, Dani and Danielle can go bye-bye. They're followers, not leaders. Get 'em gone. Then I predict that Jeremy and Eric will have a secret rendezvous with two Swedish milkmaids and miss a plane. After that, out with MoJo! I still don't know these two much at all so they'd be no great loss. I know. I'm horrible, aren't I?
No. I'm not running for office. If nominated, I won't run. If elected, I won't serve.
Here are the television and entertainment related newsy bits links I found on the web today...
