'The Apprentice: L.A.' - Ep. 7 - East Coast Update

I'm not going to be writing up a full review/recap on the show due to its new later hour and the fact it's not making me love it much this season.

But here's a quick lowdown:

• Jennifer was named Project Manager for Kinetic
• The task was to promote a new Lexus
• Arrow won
• The reward was to write a song with Snoop Dogg
• Randal sat in for Ivanka in the Boardroom. He kept interrupting Trump and got snapped at.
• Derek got fired in the main Boardroom for calling himself "white trash." Trump took issue with the phrase and fired him on the spot. For once I agree with Trump.
• Jennifer got fired
  

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 3 -or- "Fish Whisperers and Mirna Drama"

Ah, now it's beginning to feel like The Amazing Race! Even though they didn't cover a ton of territory, the challenges were more adventurous and my edge-of-my-seat adrenalin rush came back towards the end of the episode.

Yeah, I know it's purely editing which made the ending so intense, but it could have been either team racing for that Pit Stop eliminated. For all I know, they could have been an hour apart. But that's the magic of TV, right?

"Nine teams remain. Who will be eliminated tonight?" I noted that Phil said "tonight," not "next." To me, that indicated it wasn't quite time for a non-elimination leg. Next week we'll have to see how he phrases it.

The teams left the Valley of the Dead (the last Pit Stop) in the order in which they had arrived. Rob and Amber, the first in last week's leg, left at 11:39pm. David and Mary, the last in the leg, left at 12:55am. So, the lead time has been cut some, but it's still rather substantial. They had to drive four miles to San Pedro, then board flights for Puerto Montt, a port town in Chile.

Once again, we had the inevitable all-too-familiar airport scramble for tickets segment. Didn't I just say last week that these are getting way too tired? I think I did. A few things to note about this segment, though -- Rob and Amber thought to go online to secure tickets for the earliest flight before the counter opened. While David and Mary declared "no more friends" after being burnt by Mirna and Shmirna... er, Charla, Teri and Ian and the Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) decided they'd work together. Other teams also worked together, manning the empty counters and planning to buy tickets for others.

At the airport, Charla eavesdropped on other teams finding out they were on an earlier flight. She pulled the "I can't see over the counter, excuuuuse me" bit and tried to horn in on Teri and Ian's counter transaction. Teri bristled and I loved it! "Do not talk to my person!" Mirna called Ian "the King of Rude" and said she learned her rudeness from him when he called her on her behavior. Aha, a brouhaha!

The teams were soon on their way, with Rob and Amber in the lead. Rob took an unexpected turn which brought out a good Team Guido line (one of a couple tonight) -- "Rob is not Jesus." Well, he may as well be for the purpose of this race. Is Romber unbeatable? It turned out they took a wrong turn, but soon corrected and were back on track unlike so many who roam so lost for so long.

The Roadblock had one member of each team collecting flounder from a pool and loading them into a holding tank. Danielle freaked out, as did Mirna when she later arrived. Amber, on the other hand, didn't hesitate much although she wasn't a happy fisher. Rob brought up a good point about the "encouragement" Eric was giving Danielle. I found it insulting, too. Yay for Rob for noticing and commenting on it!

Uchenna worked like a machine loading the fish, putting his team out of there first. When David and Mary arrived, David was first very timid, then put Uchenna's work to shame. But the best to watch (although not best team at the task) was Team Guido. Joe was in the pool and he became The Fish Whisperer. "Meditate them into submission."

From there, the scenery in Chile was gorgeous as the teams drove on to their next clue, a Detour. They had a choice between two adventures found in the local area. The first choice was Vertical Limit -- both team members had to rock climb a 40-foot mountain-face, retrieve the clue, then descend. In River Wild, teams had to whitewater raft a 2½-mile route down the river. Not one team chose Vertical Limit. There was a pretty large split between the groups of teams with some really trailing behind.

Teaming up with Team Guido not realizing Guido didn't read the whole clue at the fish Detour, were Mirna and Charla. Once they realized that Guido had missed the town name, Petrohue, they almost kicked themselves for helping them. They were amongst the trailing teams as were David and Mary.

Worse than Rob's wrong turn, Dustin and Kandice totally missed the clue which told them of the Detour. They saw the cars from other teams parked, joined them and automatically headed to do the whitewater rafting. Supposedly the rafting was in Class 3 and 4 level waters, but it didn't look it to me. That's something I loved to do back in the day and it looked a 3 tops.

There was more Mirna/Charla drama. Can't they just go away? Please, I beg of you! But, in the end, the finish order was:

1. Rob and Amber - Each won a home gym (remember, they're married)
2. Uchenna and Joyce
3. Eric and Danielle
4. Dustin and Kandice (sent back because they missed the Detour clue, yet they placed the same upon their return)
5. Oswald and Danny
6. Teri and Ian
7. Joe and Bill
8. Charla and Mirna (argh)
9. David and Mary - Philiminated

I didn't think that David and Mary would last long in this race, but I wish that Charla and Mirna were out instead of them this week. I am so sick of Mirna's drama! At least David and Mary threw themselves into the challenges and don't get nasty with others.

And, hey... what about Romber coming in first three times in a row? Not bad, Boston Rob, not bad at all. What did you think of the show?

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - East Coast Update 03/04 - Pit Stop Arrival Order and Philimination

The arrival at the Pit Stop was:

1. Rob and Amber - each won a home gym
2. Uchenna and Joyce
3. Eric and Danielle
4. Dustin and Kandice (Twice at number 4, I'll explain later)
5. Oswald and Danny
6. Teri and Ian
7. Joe and Bill
8. Charla and Mirna
9. David and Mary - Philiminated

A full review/recap will be posted late tonight. Please stop back!

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Sunday, March 4, 2007

Since the big ratings month is over, a lot of the networks have turned to repeats later this week although tonight's programming is all new episodes.

In the 8 PM ET/PT hour, it should go without saying that I'll be watching The Amazing Race 11: All Stars. I'll be posting the finish order at the Pit Stop and eliminated team (if any - I'd say either this week or next week, we're due for a non-elimination leg) in an East Coast Update when the show nears its end at 9 PM ET.

Of course, that's all contingent on the show actually starting on time here. I'll let you know. Late tonight, a full review/recap of the show will be posted. Oh - in regard to some of the comments - I saw Kevin and Drew on The Early Show last week, but it was a fluke that I was home. I don't know if any of the booted have been on besides them.

Also in the 8 PM ET/PT hour, FOX has a new Simpsons followed by a new The Winner. NBC has a new Grease: You're the One That I Want while ABC is airing a new episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. CW is running a repeat America's Next Top Model from 8 to 10 PM.

Come 9 PM ET/PT, CBS has a new episode of Cold Case, FOX has new episodes of Family Guy and The Winner, NBC has a new Deal or No Deal (I still don't understand that show's appeal), and ABC has a new Desperate Housewives.

At 10 PM, The Apprentice: L.A. is at its new time slot with a new episode. I'll post an East Coast Update around 10 PM with the fired information. I'm considering dropping coverage of the show on the blog. Although I'm watching, it's my least favorite season so far and now with the late time slot on the same night as TAR, covering it has to wait until Monday after I get home from work... or not at all. I'll see how I feel about tonight's episode. I don't believe I've ever dropped review/recap coverage of a show mid-season, but maybe it's time.

Also new in that time slot this week are: Without a Trace on CBS and Brothers & Sisters on ABC.

Oh, No! It's Previous Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - Mar. 5-9, 2007

Last night was the lunar eclipse (which was way cool, I must say) and we're into the first week out of the February Sweeps period.

What does that mean? Well, in regard to my buddy Dave Letterman, it means a week of repeats. Here's the line-up for this week:

• Monday, Mar. 5: Jack Hanna (always worth the second watching), Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy), music guest Patty Griffin.
• Tuesday, Mar. 6: Tina Fey (30 Rock), Teri and Bindi Irwin. This was a good one. If you've never seen little Bindi Irwin in action, she'll amaze you.
• Wednesday, Mar. 7: Dr. Phil and music guest Fall Out Boy. Again, Dr. Phil and Dave are always entertaining to watch as they mock-battle each other.
• Thursday, Mar. 8: Jim Carrey (The Number 23) and Daytona 500 Winner Kevin Harvick. Eh, an okay show. Carrey was quasi-entertaining.
• Friday, Mar. 9: Ricky Gervais (Extras), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) and music guests The Shins. Another "eh" for me. I have no real desire to watch this one again, but if you didn't see it, it's okay.

Again, I'll make my usual fuss about Dave's reruns. They're much too recent. Some of these were just shown a few weeks back. Please, please, hear my plea, the CBS Powers That Be... go back more. Get some shows we didn't just see. It doesn't matter if they're dated. Dated is better than redundant, it surely is.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, March 2, 2007

Big bits, little bits, it's time for those TV Newsy Bits!

Every time I channel surf by CNN it's coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith funeral. Why? I'm scared that it may be the 24/7 news for the entire weekend. Gee, I guess nothing really newsworthy must be happening, eh?

But, this is TV Newsy Bits. I don't claim to be a news source for world news or politics. Here are the bits I found out and about on the Interet today:

• Anna Nicole Smith was finally buried in the Bahamas. I wasn't invited.
• Liliana Gomez, the latest Survivor 14: Fiji cast-off, was interviewed by both Buddy TV and Reality News Online. I still think I would have preferred a Lisi leave scenario.
• Celebrity Spider has the links to the preview clips for this week's 24 epsiode.
• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader has been extended on Thursday evenings into April. Since I decided I am indeed smarter than a 5th grader, I probably won't be watching.
• A preview clip of this week's The Black Donnellys is now available on the official NBC website.
• So easy a caveman can do it? Those wacky Geico cavemen are getting their own ABC sitcom. Variety has the skinny on the project in progress. And, if you haven't toured the caveman's apartment that I mentioned some time back, maybe it's time to take a look-see at the crib.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Ep. 4 -or- "Pretty in Pink"

Is Ravu going to ever win anything? Ever?

Sixteen are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

After the inevitable recap, the show opened with Ravu returning from the last Tribal Council after voting out Sylvia. James/Boston/Rocky was being a drama queen about it all (especially in light of what happened later in the show). He wanted to straighten everyone out, darn it all!

Most of his venom was taken out on Anthony who seems to have some issues of his own and doesn't need the Wrath of Rocky upon him. Apparently Rocky thinks that Anthony whines too much and irritates him. Anthony, in a confessional, started crying while saying he was always picked on in school and has low self-esteem issues. Oh, geez. At least he's determined not to give up.

The Moto tribe, even though they're living the life of luxury and have won every challenge so far, has its own issues. Gary is getting increasingly more ill as time goes on. Although she had a point, Lisi was unduly harsh in confessionals, saying she didn't want to babysit him -- if he's sick, he should leave. Cassandra was more worried about his health than how his sickness would affect the tribe.

The Reward Challenge had the tribes each line up on balance beams over water. One by one from the far end, the tribe members had to cross the beam to the other side going around their tribemates. The traveling member could only touch one tribemate at a time, no using two to balance. They could change their order by jumping in. They were playing for rice, lots of fish, spices, pillows, blankets, and a king-sized bed. The winning tribe would also choose to send a losing tribe member to Exile Island.

Once again, Moto won. They sent Yau-Man off to Exile Island where he found the latest clue to one of the two hidden Immunity Idols we're to see this season. With the first three clues and the latest, he determined that the idol is hidden right at the entrance to the cave at the camp. He feels he really needs it, but is worried about how to be there alone to dig for it.

Moto loves their new bed, filled their already full tummies, and declared the world "Motolicious!"

Oh, but over at Ravu, it was a totally different scene. Rocky was throwing a temper tantrum which would put a 2-year-old child to shame, throwing things, fussing and cussing. Again, he blamed Anthony. Earl spoke with Anthony telling him not to worry -- while Rocky was quick to lay the blame, he doesn't do much of anything around the camp but fuss. Anthony decided he'd ignore Rocky and it would end up Rocky being the one who looked bad.

Then the Gary situation grew to crisis at the Moto camp. He ended up being flown away and dropping out of the show. I'm not really surprised. He's older than most and wasn't in good shape at all. His tribemates really seem to like him, but at least now Lisi won't have to worry about babysitting him. The more I see her, the more catty she comes across to me.

As the tree mail telling of the upcoming Immunity Challenge arrives, James decided to try a different approach... a naked one. Oh, geez. (I think I'll say that every time I get annoyed by James/Rocky/Boston/Whatever.) He's way too skinny to even think he looked anything but pitiful! He then dons a pink bikini top which belonged to one of the girls and put coconuts in it for a full figure. (Can you hear me rolling my eyes?) He claims he wants to get people fired-up to win. Yeah, right.

The Immunity Challenge was indeed challenging... and no puzzles! Oh, there were boats. lily pads, tribe members in locked cages, and more. They had to retrieve keys, release each tribe member from the cages jumping or slithering across lily pads, get back to shore, make a human pyramid, and release the last member of the tribe. Woohoo! Before it all started, Jeff held up a sealed bottle and said the winning tribe would read the letter within after the competition.

Although they fell behind early, Ravu made an astonishing comeback, almost catching up to Moto. Is this it? Is this their time to actually win something for the first time this season? Nope. Moto pulled it off and won.

Ah, but did they really win? Within the bottle was a new twist to the game. They had the choice to keep Immunity, but move to the Ravu camp. (Ravu got perky over that one!) If they want to remain in the luxury camp, they have to give Ravu Immunity and vote one of their own off at Tribal Council. They just couldn't bear to give up their camp, so thought they'd lose a second member (remember, Gary went) rather than their beloved home. So, Ravu finally got Immunity, but didn't break their losing streak.

The claws came out at Moto upon their return to camp. Dreamz brazenly announced that everyone should agree either Cassandra or Lisi should go home as they're the weakest members of the tribe. Cassandra was shocked; Lisi was ticked. Dreamz said, "I'm not pointing fingers, but it obvious that Cassandra or Lisi should go." Say what? He said that in front of them, too.

The other members talked sans Dreamz and most thought it should be either Cassandra or Liliana. Now, Liliana is the strongest woman there. I don't think that makes much sense. I personally thought if they wanted to vote off a physically strong member, go for Dreamz. He rubs a lot of folks the wrong way.

At Tribal Council, Lisi spoke up against Dreamz's power play at camp. Cassandra told Liliana how strong she is and how much she loved her. Liliana said she thought highly of Cassandra, too... then became the sole vote to oust Cassandra. Cassandra voted for Lisi to leave (yes!), but all of the rest voted out Liliana.

"Liliana, the tribe has spoken."

In a bit of a sidenote -- my photo turned out fuzzy and unusable, but wasn't the snake creepy? I'm assuming it couldn't giving birth to a new snake in that manner. Maybe it was regurgitating a snake. It definitely wasn't just shedding its skin, not with eyes and jaws on the old skin. I guess I'm going to have to research snakes now.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update 03/01 - Voted Off

Liliana was voted off. A full review/recap of Survivor will be posted late tonight.

If you're looking for the American Idol voted off update, it's here.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update 03/01 - Immunity

Moto won Immunity. But now Ravu has it.

In a new twist Moto could stay comfortable in their digs and lose Immunity and vote someone out. Or, they could switch to the poor Ravu camp and keep Immunity. They gave it to Ravu, will stay in the rich digs and vote someone out tonight. Gary is already gone due to medical issues.

For the American Idol voted off East Coast Update, this post is being updated as they get the boot.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update 03/01 - Reward

Moto won reward, Yau-Man sent to Exile Island. Watch for more East Coast Updates and a full report will be posted late this evening.

The American Idol 6 East Coast Update post on the ones voted off is here.

'American Idol 6' - East Coast Update - Booted 3/01

This post will be updated as they go, so check back.

First voted off, Nick Pedro.
Alaina Alexander gone.
A.J. Tabaldo is now gone.
Bye, bye Leslie Hunt.

Then there were 16.

'Lost' - "Tricia Tanaka is Dead"

And, she certainly is... dead, that is.

While I enjoyed watching this episode, I'd have to label it as "fluff." Fun fluff, but fluff nonetheless. It didn't answer any questions, but at least it didn't bring up any new major mysteries.

The episode was Hurley-centric, something we really haven't seen in a while. It was a bit shmaltzy and contrived, I thought.

In Flashback:

A young and cute Hurley likes to work on cars. One won't start and he insisted to his father that it needed a new carburetor. His father, played once again by Cheech Marin (of Cheech and Chong fame), relied on hope to start it. "Having hope is never stupid. You make your own luck." Then he vanished from his family for seventeen years.

The flashbacks fast-forwarded to after Hurley won the lottery as the show went on, going more into how he felt cursed and folks died around him. He bought a Mr. Cluck Chicken Shack and became the boss of his ex-boss. While a television news reporter, Tricia Tanaka, was doing a news story about the grand opening, a meteor crashed through the restaurant killing her and burning Mr. Cluck to the ground. So, yes. She is dead.

His father returned after his extended absence as Hurley was packing to go to Australia. Since he believes the lottery numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are cursed and he got them there while in rehab, he feels he must return. It turns out his mother had called his father and the "dad" was supposedly worried about him. He took Hurley to a gypsy who admitted for $10,000 that the father had set up the whole "get rid of the curse" act at the request of his father. His father told him he should give away the money (to him, I think he hopes). And, once again, he told Hurley that you make your own luck. Oh, and Hurley actually still had the car featured in the first flashback.

On the Island:
Hurley told Libby's grave the story of the big kidnapping. He thinks he can only talk to her and misses her. Charlie told Hurley that Desmond told him he was going to die (had actually died twice, but was saved). Hurley, but of course, is sure it's all his fault as he's cursed.

Vincent (the dog) came up to them with an almost mummified human arm, hand intact, in his mouth. Dangling from the wrist of the arm was a lucky rabbit's foot and a key on a chain. Hurley, who we now know is a car fanatic, recognized the key as a car key and got all excited, wanting to find the car on the island.

At the camp, Sun told Jin that she was only going to speak to him in English apparently trying to increase his skills in the language. Jin was the only one willing to go with Hurley to find the car.

There it was, overturned in the woods, with a skeleton (whose arm was gone missing) behind the wheel. The skeleton had a DHARMA uniform with "Roger Work Man" embroidered on its chest. So, Hurley decided his name must be Roger Workman. The vehicle itself was a late 60s VW Microbus with a DHARMA insignia in place of the VW one on its front. As they tried to remove Roger so they could get the vehicle upright, his head fell off and rolled to the floor.

Roger apparently had been on a beer run as the van had several cases of DHARMA beer within.

As they worked on the van, Kate and Sawyer returned to the camp and a happy reunion was had by all. Well, that was until Sawyer saw his belongings had all went missing... including his expensive Scotch. Charlie and Desmond 'fessed up and implicated Hurley. Sawyer went to confront him so he could yell at him, too. Charlie tried to get Desmond to tell him when he'd die, but Desmond told him it doesn't work that way.

Instead, he got a bear hug and Hurley told him he could have the beer from the microbus. Of course, as Sawyer reached in, he came across the skull of Roger first. Sawyer told Hurley that Roger had to be a janitor as it was "Work Man" and not "Workman" on the uniform. They righted the van and Sawyer imbibed beers with his new bud, Roger. He also gave Jin English lessons telling him the only things he needs to talk to a woman:

1. I was wrong.
2. I'm sorry.
3. No, that doesn't make you look fat.

Hurley convinced Charlie, Sawyer, and Jin to push the microbus hoping he could pop the clutch to jump-start it as the battery was shot. They pushed it to the edge of a very steep valley which had huge boulders, trees, and stuff about midway down. Sawyer told him it was too dangerous, but Hurley decided "you make your own luck" and there was no curse. Charlie jumped in for the ride.

Sure enough, just before a certain death by boulder, Hurley popped the clutch and it started up. When the engine started up, the radio was blaring "Shambala" by Three Dog Night (also playing in the first flashback scene of the show). All four went for a joy-ride with some beer-imbibing happening, too.

Heading back to camp with a case or two of beer, Sawyer took a moment to note that everyone had a sort of a partner (or more) except himself. Aw, that's what he gets for being surly most of the time.

Meanwhile, Kate decided that she had to save Jack despite her promise to him. She sought out out the French woman, but instead ran into Sayid and Locke who were tracking her. They wanted to help her, but... bang! A shot rang out! The maid screamed! Wait, there's no maid. It was Rousseau, the French woman. Kate told her that her daughter Alex is with them and she needed her help.

Lost [clunk]

So, that's that. It didn't really move the story forward much, as I mentioned. Now, mind you, I thought it was an enjoyable enough episode, but...!

Tonight's Blogging Schedule - Thursday, March 1, 2007

My review/recap of last night's Lost episode will be posted before the primetime block.

Stay tuned here for East Coast Updates on both American Idol boots and Survivor major events and boot come primetime. As they happen here in the East, I'll get them up on the blog.

Late tonight a full review/recap of Survivor 14: Fiji will be posted. Due to the time conflict with the shows and the time element, I don't do a full recap of American Idol's Thursday night show, although I cover Tuesday and Wednesday. But, I will post the news on who gets voted off in this time zone!

'American Idol 6' - 10 Gals to Stage

I don't know. Perhaps the remaining 18 singers should pack their bags and let Lakisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle battle it out for the next few months.

The guys stepped up their game, the girls seemed to maintain. But I think the girls still have the edge.

I think I actually liked the songs last night better than the ones this evening. Don't holler at me, but I'm not a huge fan of Whitney Houston, Celine Dion or Beyonce. And, it seems that the girls tend towards songs by those singers. I think the artists are all talented, but when a song isn't my cup of tea when done by voices such as theirs, no American Idol contestant will blow me away with it.

Gina Glocksen was up first, all prettied-up, huge tattoos on her arms covered with make-up, and wearing a gown. Are we sure it was really her? She sang Heart's "Alone." I thought she did well enough to probably stay this week, but she's so out of the league of the top female singers. The judges were mostly favorable. Randy thought it was a good song choice. Paula thought it was "excellent." Simon said it seemed forced at the end and wondered if she was losing her "edginess."

Alaina Alexander sang "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. It did absolutely nothing for me. I thought it wasn't the best of song choices even if it's a dedication week. I'd go for something more memorable, more powerful. Well, I would if I could sing, that is. Randy thought she started out well, but then became pitchy and all over the place. Paula said it wasn't as bad as what Randy said and that she was adorable and beautiful. (Gag me now, please.) Simon said she ran out of steam halfway through the song.

Then it was home run hitter Lakisha Jones up to bat. And, she knocked it out of the park once again. She sang "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips (can't ever forget the Pips!). I don't think her performance was as exciting last week, but this is a song I enjoy and I think she may have even had the edge on Gladys. Woo-woo! I think she's going to live in our world for a long time. The judges thought she was great although Simon didn't care for her outfit. Well, neither did I. But she could wear anything with that voice.

Melinda Doolittle was the star of the night for me with Mitzi Greene's "My Funny Valentine." Wow. I think I'm awestruck. She seems like such a great person with this unbelievable voice...! Randy yo-yo'd and said she came to win it. Paula thought it was outstanding and the best ever throughout the competition. Simon called it incredible and said that she's a breath of fresh air. Perfect, flawless performance. Gosh, I like this girl!

Oh, I should stop writing now. The two top contenders are done. What? I have to go on? But, is there a point? Oh. Okay.

Antonella Barba sang next, for what it's worth. She sang Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." I didn't care for it, but I'm not too keen on the song in the first place. This time it was Randy commenting on how gorgeous she is instead of Paula. Paula thought she did better than last week while Simon thought she did worse. I live in New Jersey and by territorial thinking I should cheer her on. No way. If she squeaks through the cut tomorrow, it will be because of the Internet photos and her looks.

Jordin Sparks sang Christina Aguilera's "Reflection." Now, I don't think she's ready for a win and she sure does tower over Ryan Seacrest, but she did very well. I think she's head and shoulders over a few of the others (not just Ryan) at the tender age of seventeen. She's not my favorite, but I want to see her go further than Antonella. I think she's more talented. The judges were favorable, but I didn't see any wow factor in their comments.

Stephanie Edwards is another superb entry for the girls this season. She sang "Dangerously in Love" by Beyonce. I was impressed. If not for Lakisha and Melinda being in the ranks, I think Stephanie could stand a chance to win it all. Randy thought she "sang her face off" but copied Beyonce a bit too much. Paula thought it was fantastic and brilliant. Simon agreed with Paula and added in terrific.

Next was Leslie Hunt singing "Feelin' Good" - the same song A.J. Tabaldo sang last night. I liked A.J. singing it better. Simon nailed it saying her performance wouldn't be remembered. I've watched Lost since the show aired. I can't really recall it. I just know my notes say I liked A.J.'s a lot more.

Haley Scarnato tried Whitney Houston's "Queen of the Night." So not my favorite song, nor did I think she did all that well with it putting aside my feelings about the song. She jumped around and tried to create excitement around her performance, but I don't think she made the grade. Paula thought she did better this week. Randy mentioned the song was more backgrounds than lead vocals causing Simon to snark "that's why she chose it." He also called her one of two or three "droppable" girls. He's right.

Sabrina Sloan sang another Whitney Houston song (remember, I don't care for Whitney Houston songs - don't throw stuff at me), "He Fills Me Up." I thought she sang it well even in view of my own quirks. Randy thought it was very nice. Paula loves her. Simon said it was very good but "don't confuse power with shouting." A good point indeed.

So, there were the girls. I think the go home choices fall between Antonella Barba, Haley Scarnato, and Leslie Hunt. What say you?

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Tonight I'm hoping that Lakisha Jones will make her own TV Newsy Bits on American Idol. After last week's tremendous performance, I'm eagerly anticipating how she's going to step up even more. If I were a wagering woman, I'd wager she's going to win it all.

Here are the TV Newsy Bits I found out there today as I peeked around the 'net:

• Reality News Online (RNO) has posted an interview with Kevin and Drew, recently eliminated on The Amazing Race 11: All Stars. Now, if I were tot title such an article, I'd call it "When Good Frat Boys Go Bad." I was so disappointed in them this time around after loving them in their own season. I just don't think Drew's heart or health was in it this time. He probably shouldn't have gone on the show.
• Despite Antonella Barba's revealing Internet photos being revealed to the world, she seems to still be on American Idol 6 according to Celebrity Spider. Heck, is Frenchie Davis too old to try again? She had more talent and a lot less scandal.
• Celebrity Spider also has the skinny on next week's Heroes episode. Hey, don't blame me if Simone comes back. Stephen King once said sometimes they return. Me? I'm just a paper salesman.
• Buddy TV has the goods (as opposed to the skinny) on a press conference with The Black Donnellys stars Olivia Wilde and Jonathan Tucker. I have mentioned how much I enjoyed the premiere, haven't I?
• And, for Friday Night Lights fans, Buddy TV has posted an exclusive interview with Connie Britton, Tami Taylor on the show. I'm a Law and Order: Criminal Intent fan, so their interview with Julianne Nicholson is of interest to me.

'American Idol 6' - Ten Men Sing to Stay

After last week's lackluster performances, I faced a bit of trepidation about watching tonight's show. Do any of these guys have what it takes to be in the top two? (I personally think we'll see a female winner this season, so the best a guy can do is runner-up.)

I feel overall that the men redeemed themselves a bit tonight, but my "wow" factor wasn't as strong for those I enjoyed as it was for either Melinda Doolittle or Lakisha Jones last week.

"This show is dedicated to the one I love." Yep, it was a dedication show, all a bit touching, but none more surprising than seeing Chris Sligh with his wife. They look incongruous, but it's love.

Here's the song lowdown for the guys:

Phil Stacey was up first. I know that folks think he has such a great voice, but he just doesn't do it for me. He sang "Missing You" by Brooks and Dunn. I ain't missing him. I'm just not getting him at all. Randy and Paula liked the performance, Simon said he wasn't jumping out of his chair. Neither was I. I predict he'll make it through, but I'll take no part in that!

Jared Cotter said he was channeling Marvin Gaye. He looked good. He did a fine Marvin Gaye impersonation. I want to like this guy. I think he can indeed sing, but I feel he's too cocky or something in front of cameras. Yes, he has to have confidence, but he's trying to be too sexy for his shirt. Randy loved it, Paula thinks he's good-looking. Simon thought it looked like a cabaret performance on the Love Boat. Bingo, Simon. I think Jared's chances of being in the top six men grew more slim.

A.J. Tabaldo sang "Feelin' Good" as sung by Sophie B. Hawkins. I think he did great, but he's not my choice for the win. I like the song and I enjoyed his performance, but I'm just not seeing "star" for A.J. Paula and Randy thought he did well. Simon said, "That was nearly very good. You did something right. You did something different. And, you were strangely comfortable with it."

If Jared was channeling Marvin, perhaps Sanjaya Malakar was channeling a hybrid between Sinatra and Michael Jackson. I like the look of his fedora and slacks, but not necessarily on him. He sang an Irving Berlin song, "Stepping Out With My Baby." I thought it was a pleasant performance. Not earth-shattering, merely pleasant. Randy thought it was weird. Paula said on pitch and that he was an "old soul." Simon reamed him... again. He said it was like when parents dressed their small children up, was very weak, and a little weird. This is the second week that Simon kept at him. He must either want sympathy votes for him or to get him booted. I say he should leave in view of the other performances tonight, but I bet he'll stay.

Chris Sligh sang "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne. Oh, and he sang it well. I so enjoy his voice! The judges liked him, I hope the voters do, too.

Nick Pedro sang "Fever" - a song I'm so much more used to women singing. He sang it well enough, but I have no real fever for him. The judges on the whole liked him. I liked the drummer who kept getting the good photo opportunities. I don't think he's all that long for the competition, but I could be wrong. I liked Nick's nod to Napolean Dynamite with a quick "Vote for Pedro."

Then came Blake Lewis. Although my heart is for Chris Sligh, this guy is very entertaining. He performed (didn't just sing) Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity." He threw in a tad of scratch and scat, he performed. Excellent job! Paula and Randy had their virtual insanity moment giving him praise while Simon wasn't as excited. He'll go a long way, I know he will.

Brandon Rogers sang another song best known for a female vocalist. He sang "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. He did it well enough, I guess. It just didn't excite me, not at all. The judges, for the most part, thought along the same lines. I think he might be buying his ticket home although I also think he's very talented.

Not to be outdone by a human beatbox, Chris Richardson, turned up the heat performance-wise with "Geek in the Pink" by Jason Mraz. Wow. He can perform. I still think he's a Justin Timberlake doppelganger, but what can I say? Randy said he's in it to win. Simon declared it the best of the night.

Then, the surprise of the night, Sundance Head returned with a rocking-bluesy version of "Mustang Sally." No, he didn't quite do the Wilson Pickett version, nor the Rascals version. He did the Sundance Head version and made me remember why I liked him in the audition. The judges were thrilled to have him back. Hopefully it will redeem himself from his horrible performance last week and get him back on track.

All in all, I think we'll lose Brandon this week. We should lose Sanjaya, but I don't think we will. Who will be the other one?

'The Black Donnellys'

If you missed the premiere of The Black Donnellys, you can watch it online at the official NBC website or tune in Thursday at 10 PM.

Pictured here is Jonathan Tucker who plays Tommy Donelly in the show. Since so many folks might have missed the premiere, I won't give away the kicker ending, but I guarantee it's a kicker.

This show focuses on the four Donnelly brothers. The "black" part of it has to do with the Black Irish. They grew up in a rather hardscrabble street life in Lower Manhattan. Tommy, the "good" brother, is a talented artist who tends to be more on the straight and narrow than his brothers. But, as events occur, he gets dragged into the life on the streets.

Mob-related, this isn't a pretty tale. I'm not even all that sure how relevant it is to what's going on today with the mob scene. To me, it's a bit more like the Irish gangs some decades ago were brought into today's world. The locale is a bit awry. The brothers own a bar which I know is on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (see other photos below), but there's an elevated subway track, too. That doesn't mesh, but it also doesn't ruin the story.

I feel this story works despite those quirks. The acting is top-rate, the writing is believable, the streets are mean. I want to get to know these characters. I also take a personal delight in looking at the scenery of some of my own stomping grounds up close and personal.


This is a photo I took from within the same bar featured as the one a Donnelly won in a bet. If you click to get the larger shot, you'll see the piano keys on the walls, the deer head (in Manhattan, for gosh sake), and various Shamrock designs on lamps and such. Ignore the people. They aren't dangerous. They're just the NYC Fotologgers group as the Parkside Lounge was our meeting place for a long time.

I like gritty New York and so much of it isn't these days. The Black Donnellys roam the very same streets I roam when my knee is up to it. True, it's good the city has improved, but I always find the sort of neighborhoods in which the show was filmed intriguing.

Because the neighborhood I'm seeing in the show is so much a part of the show, I figured I'd throw a bit more local scenery into this entry. If you click on the shot, you should be able to get the full-sized image.

The first is a photo I took standing outside the bar and looking across the street as a friend of mine locked up his bike.

The next is a photo of a man walking in front of the bar.
And, last but not least, a shot no one could ignore. Between the subway stop and the bar, there's Essex Street. But that's not quite what the sign reads if you look from a certain angle. And, there's a $350 fine for honking.

This is the 'hood of the Black Donnellys and I'll be watching the show. I've been lacking a show for the 10 PM ET time slot on Mondays as there isn't anything which has caught my interest.

That is... until now. Did you watch the show? What did you think?

'Heroes' - "Company Man" - A BulletPoint Report

I don't think we've had a bad episode of this show yet and tonight's "Company Man" surely threw fuel on that fire. Lassie who? Now, Mr. Muggles, there's a professional doggy-actor!

Here's what happened tonight, hopefully I caught all the action:

• Ted Sprague and Matt Parkman searched for clues in the Bennet's house when said Bennets returned home.
• Sprague (Radioactive Hands) is sure that Bennet actually made them (the ones with powers) the way they are and convinced Matt (Mindreading Ex-Cop) the same.
• "I'm just a paper salesman," said Bennet. Oh, but no one believes him except his wife and son. I think even Mr. Muggles knows that's not the truth.
• The show utilized black and white flashbacks to tell HRG's backstory. 15 years ago he was hired as the regional manager of Primatech Paper as a front. The "real" job was "morally grey." Supposedly they wanted to keep the people with powers safe until it became necessary to kill them.
• HRG's (Bennet's) first partner was Claude, the Invisible Man.
• Since Matt can read minds, he could read Sprague's mind as he became more irritated at HRG. He also knows that Claire regenerates. When Sprague becomes determined to shoot Mrs. Bennet, Matt shoots Claire knowing she will live.
• Claire played dead after coming to and Bennet and Matt went off to Primatech to get the files Sprague wanted. Sprague insisted he be the one to stay with Lyle (Claire's brother) and Mrs. Bennet.
• The Haitian certainly was mute in the flashback sequences, but can definitely talk now. How? Why? Did I miss something? When he was discovered by Them as a teen, he couldn't talk but drew a picture of his power akin to "pulling memories like grubworms." In the teen shots, he had the same symbol on his clothes that we've seen on tattoos and Hiro's sword.
  
• In flashback, Bennet and his boss were at the fire scene where Baby Claire supposedly died. Later, he met up with Hiro's father (and a young child Hiro) on the DeVeaux Building roof where Hiro's father handed him young Claire to take care of until they want her back. "This is not a request. She belongs to us."
• Bennet tried thinking in Japanese so Matt couldn't read his thoughts at the house.
• Matt and Bennet know that Sprague is too volatile and could cause a nuclear explosion, so they sort of team up. Bennet wants to get a tranquilizer to shoot Sprague.
• In flashback, it looked like Bennet betrayed Claude (Invisible) to his boss saying he was "hiding one" - a powers person. The boss ordered Bennet to kill him. He drove him to a bridge where he shot him twice. It looked like a clean kill at the end, but Claude went invisible, so...
• Claire tried to rescue Lyle and her mother, but only Lyle escaped.
• Sprague realized that Parkman probably knew that Claire regenerates.
• Upon returning to the house, Bennet showed Sprague his file insisting although they abducted him three months ago, they didn't cause his affliction.
• Mr. Bennet's boss arrives, tipped off by him, shoots Sprague. Sprague totally freaked and nuked out. Everyone gets out of the house except for Bennet who tried to shoot Sprague with the tranquilizer. Claire ended up doing it because he couldn't get close enough.
• In flashbacks, it was three years ago Bennet needed glasses and told Claire she was adopted. She's the one who chose HRG - Hornrimmed Glasses.
• Bennet's boss told him it was time to kill another partner as the Haitian "stole" Claire after the scene at the house calmed down.
• Bennet followed them to the same bridge as the Claude scene and they all got out of their cars. It turns out that Bennet set it up to look like the Haitian shot him and escaped with Claire. The Haitian shot him in a non-vital abdomen area. Then HRG told him to go deep and erase any thoughts he might have.
• So Claire is now on the road with the Haitian and Bennet's memory is wiped.
  
• Both Sprague and Matt are recaptured and held at Primatech.

Wow. I don't know how efficient Primatech is, though. At about 10:30 PM ET I received an email from them saying it was urgent I read it before 9 PM. I haven't gone all through it yet, but think it probably tells a bit about the woman at Primatech who might have powers. Or, maybe it's about Mr. Muggles' powers!

Regarding 'The Black Donnellys'

I'll be writing a bit more about this show sometime tomorrow evening before American Idol starts, but this is odd... and worth mentioning...

As I was watching the show, I was thinking how much I enjoyed the Washington Square Park area scenes because I'm so familiar with the area.

But it got better. The bar scenes. Oh. My. God. I know the bar. I have plenty of photos of friends and me in and around it. It's the Parkside Lounge on East Houston on the Lower East Side. I really don't know all that many dive bars, but that's one I know fairly well. The piano keys on the walls, the windows, the pool table, the set-up, it's the Parkside!

Very weird.

The show is good. More on it tomorrow. My Heroes post will be up a bit later tonight, so stop on back.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 2 --or- "I Think I Was a Man in a Previous Life"

First, I want to apologize for not getting this posted earlier. I ran into some unforeseen technical difficulties. But, I'm back and ready to race! Er, to write about the show, anyway.

Was the first season all that long ago? I realize that it's season 11, but the show is often on twice a year. If memory serves, the first season was in 2000, but I didn't look it up. So I could be wrong.

What's my point? Well, I look at Team Guido and they look a bit older, but they're really quite the same as they were in the first season. The ChaChas (Oswald and Danny)? They haven't aged a heck of a lot. The Frat Boys? Well, one hasn't changed much (Kevin) while the other aged about 25 years since the first season. I adored them in their first run of the race, but this season it wasn't enjoyable to watch death-warmed-over Drew. Sigh. On the other hand, the ChaChas are a hoot! I think Oswaldo is cute, too.

Onto the show...
After a recap, Drew talked about having altitude sickness. That didn't seem to happen to anyone else. As an ex-skier who's been up there where the air is thin, I'd say it might have struck him so hard because he wasn't in good shape. I'm no doctor; I don't even play one on television. But I have seen altitude sickness hitting the very thin, the very heavy, and the not healthy. He also seemed to be an accident in motion for the whole first leg.

Led by Romber (Rob and Amber), the winners of the first leg, at 7:42am, teams left the Pit Stop to head for Santiago, Chile. The last team, Kevin and Drew, left at 9:44am, making for a two-hour gap betwixt first and last. That's more than we generally see, especially this early in the race. Dave and Mary were the team to leave before the Frats and they had almost an hour on them. David and Mary lost some time helping tow a stuck-in-the-mud Charla and Mirna. The Frats also got stuck in the mud, but Kevin was a human tow for them. (See, he hasn't changed.)

Okay, I have to say it. I never want to see Rob and Amber on Survivor again. I didn't care for her on the show and he's just been on it too much. But during their run of Amazing Race 7, I thought they were a strong and good team. They don't bicker a lot, don't belittle each other, and Rob usually has a trick or two up his sleeve to get ahead of the pack. He has creative thinking and although I still could take or leave Amber, I enjoy watching Rob on The Amazing Race.

I'm getting a bit tired of watching the inevitable airport scenes. Romber and the ChaChas managed to find a flight which should hit the connection to Santiago about 40 minutes before the most obvious flight. Of course, we all know that the best-laid plans of mice and Robs doesn't always make it to fruition. Due to a delay, the other teams all caught up.

Before I leave the airplane, I feel I should mention that Drew started throwing around David and Mary's bags as they put them in the first-class section and they weren't traveling first class. What's up with that? I thought it unduly harsh and it certainly turned Kentucky against the Frats. The other teams aboard seemed shocked, too. What has gone wrong with Drew, I ask? Yikes!

Once in Santiago, the teams had to drive to Codelco, a huge copper-mining company. Bingo, a Roadblock! That, of course, is a task only one member of each team can complete. This one called for attention to detail. The racers had to enter a boardroom which made me have Trump-shivers, but thankfully was different. There were alphabet letter clues all over the place and the racer had to find them, then unscramble them to spell out the clue. It was Dustin (or Kandice) who first tied in the letters with the pictures on the wall.

One such picture was labeled Chuquicamata Mine. One by one, teams got out of there, leaving Joyce and Ian getting more frustrated by the moment, not to even mention how Uchenna was twitching and Teri trembling. Surprisingly, the first thing Mary did when she entered was to memorize the pictures on the wall as she thought they held a clue. Finally Joyce got it, tipped off Ian, then ran to try to catch up with the other teams. Ian thought he must be losing his cop-touch.

The clue led the teams to the town of Calama to the location of the driest desert in the world. Rob acted out when Eric went to a newly opened counter from the end of the first line. Although Rob said he considered it a "plan to stir the pot," Amber was not too thrilled with his behavior. She thought his scene to create problems just made him look silly. Even though they had words, they weren't outright nasty to each other. For my sake, I'd prefer they stop the "babe" bit, though. It's a pet peeve of mine with couples on the show.

The teams were faced with a Detour, this one having to do with the local economy. They could go for By Hand or By Machine. In By Hand, they had to put on and tighten a zillion lug nuts on a huge piece of construction equipment. Okay, maybe not a zillion, but certainly not four! In By Machine, they had to use a front loader to scoop and dump sand. Rob, with a background in construction, eased his way through Machine It. I noticed that the By Hand task which the majority of teams chose seemed to be the most time-consuming.

Upon completing the Detour, teams then had to drive 71 miles to and through the Valley of the Moon - a very sandy terrain with a speed limit of 40 KPH. After they finished that, they had to head to the Pit Stop which was located in the Valley of Death. (Eep.) It all sounds simple enough, right? Some teams sure had problems with it.

For "all stars" who have raced this race before, you'd think they'd not freak out like Mirna did when a local let them down. She was throwing money and jumping up and down. She reminded me of one of those rubber dolls you squeeze and the eyes and ears pop out. Although Mirna and Charla had a point about Dustin and Kandice helping pay for the "tour guide," the Beauty Queens called the drama surrounding Mirna (and Charla to a lesser extent), perfectly spot on.

Drew totally screwed up, taking a wrong turn and then keeping to the 40 KPH even when the speed limit increased. He fussed and whined. Poor Kevin was all I could think. Most of the teams seemed to take that same wrong turn, but in the end the arrival order to the Pit Stop was:

1. Amber and Rob - They each won an off-road motorcycle.
2. Oswald and Danny
3. Joe and Bill
4. Eric and Danielle
5. Uchenna and Joyce
6. Dustin and Kandice
7. Teri and Ian
8. Charla and Mirna
9. David and Mary
10. Kevin and Drew -- Eliminated

I so wanted to love the Frat Boys again, but it's as if Drew's mind and body were in some other place other than in the race. That and the fact that his health seems shot in the past seven years (or so). As much as I hate to say it, I'm glad they were eliminated. I couldn't keep cheering them on when Drew obviously couldn't run the race.

Once again, the ChaChas provided fun lines for the night. "Who says gay men can't drive?" "I think I was a man in a previous life." You have to remember these are the two guys who went shopping in the middle of a leg because they just "had to shop." Yet, both stand up to the plate and try their hardest at the tasks.

Also, during this leg, hopefully David and Mary learned that this isn't a game of alliances. It never was. You help Charla and Mirna or the Beauty Queens, don't think they'll return the favor. Actually, I think the one most likely to return a favor to Kentucky at this point would be Rob. And, that's only because he knows he could blow away and leave them gasping in his dust.

They still haven't traveled much for two legs, but I enjoy seeing how the teams are interacting. How about you?