'American Idol 6' - The Top 12 Guys - Part 1

If they didn't run all the commercials, tonight's two-hour show could have finished in an hour or so. American Idol is always saturated with commercials, but tonight seemed worse than usual. Feh.

Tonight was the Guys Night Up. Tomorrow is the top twelve girls and then on Thursday two from each group will be eliminated. The pressure is on! Now, although I credit the male group chosen for being better on the whole than last season's group, I'm not feeling the passion in the performances. True, I think there's only one very young guy (Sanjaya) and no Kevin Covais types. But other than Chris Sligh, I'm just not seeing a stand-out talent.

Rudy Cardenas took the stage first with a version of "Free Ride" which I know as done by the Edgar Winter Group. Um. Okay. He performed the song with a lot of energy.

Was I thrilled? Nope. He wasn't bad, but it just didn't seem the right sort of song for him, I don't think. Randy said it was corny. Paula enjoyed it. Simon said it wasn't anything unique. I agree with both Randy and Simon. I'd say he might have a shot at being one of the two leaving on Thursday.

Brandon Rogers was up next singing Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." I thought, for what it was, he did fine. I think that Brandon has commercial appeal and he can sing. Again, nothing which really struck me as super-fantastic, but decent.

Paula thought he should do less runs in the song, as did Randy. Simon said it was safe and predictable. They're all right.

For an excellent initial audition, it's been nothing but downhill for the Sundance Kid. The song he chose was popular circa 1967 or so - "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues. Except for memories of the times, it drags way too much for a show like American Idol. I don't think he was as off key as the judges claimed, but I think he sealed his fate. Simon said it reminded him of a Dad singing at a wedding. It just reminded me of the slow-dancing theme of my school days and smoke-filled rooms.

I like Paul Kim, barefooted and all. I don't think he'll make it to the end without shoes, but I enjoy his singing. He sang George Michael's "Careless Whisper." I thought he did okay.

The judges thought along the same lines as me. Okay. Of course, that may not be good enough at this stage of the game. But I think he's probably safe on Thursday.

Next to take the stage was Justin Timberlake's doppelganger, Chris Richardson. The voice, the haircut, the dance moves... I swear he's Timberlake's stand-in. That could be good for him in view of much of the audience, but doesn't do much for me. He sang "I Don't Want To Be" by Gavin DeGraw and did it well in a Timberlake kind of way.

I do enjoy watching his parents in the audience, though. Randy and Paula were positive, Simon was glad the show returned to the current century. But he also said that the song made his voice "sound small." I'm sure he's a shoe-in to make the cut on Thursday.

Nick Pedro, the one who choked on the lyrics and quit last year in the Hollywood Rounds, sang "Now and Forever" by Richard Marx. This is another sort of draggy-slow song. I think he can sing well and he can exhibit personality. Where was it?

Simon, Paula, and Randy were bored.

So was I.

Due to the length and graphics in this entry, I'm splitting the show's coverage into two entries. Please check back for the next one!

Sneaking a Peek at 'The Black Donnellys'

Starting next Monday night (Feb. 26) after Heroes, it's The Black Donnellys. No, I'm not sure of the status of Studio 60 as I never got into that show. I'll try to find out if it's canceled or just on a hiatus. But I'm intrigued by the premise and writers behind Donnellys.

The show is written and produced by Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis, the award-winning team who brought us Million Dollar Baby and Crash in the movie studios. I thought Crash was an exceptionally well-done movie. The story follows four brothers from an Irish family and has drawn comparisons to a younger Sopranos with the fun of Entourage.

I received a link from NBC with video sneak peek of the show and invite you all to check it out! The official website for the show is here. Despite my reality television addiction, I love good crime-related dramas. I'll be there.

Are you planning on watching this one?

'Heroes' - "Unexpected" - A BulletPoint Report

Now, this is edge-of-your-seat excitement in a television show. Tonight's episode flew by as if Peter was flying over the Empire State Building carrying Claude (Invisible Man). Oh, wait. That happened.

Here's the lowdown and dirty on the latest:

• Lionel Sprague (Radioactive Dude) met up with the newest hero, Hannah. She's called "Wireless." She can send transmissions such as emails, phone calls and such through her mind. She told him that "they" got to her, too. They decide she could wire them, he can nuke 'em and they team up together to save themselves and save the world.
  
• Mrs. Bennet recognizes Claire again.
  
• Isaac Mendez (Future Painter) called Mr. Bennet. Bennet arrives in NYC and sees Isaac's paintings of Peter Petrelli's footprints. "He's invisible!" Isaac, whether driven by jealousy or under Bennet's influence, believes that Peter will indeed blow up the city (by blowing up himself).
• Matt Parkman (Mind Reading Suspended Cop) gave his wife one of the rings from last week's Malsky incident. As she called him on the fact that it's worth 40 grand, he got a call to meet Sprague and Wireless. He teams up with them to save themselves and, of course, save the world.
  
• Sylar is still pretending to be Zane Taylor with Mohinder Suresh. They travel to meet a new hero, a woman named Dale who has super-hearing. She became uneasy around Sylar/Zane because of something she heard in his heartbeat. He did the metal-melting bit to show others have powers. Mohinder himself seemed a bit uneasy with Sylar as he talked about his father being killed by um... Sylar. Yes, of course, Sylar sneaked back to Dale in the evening and stole her brain and, thus stole her power. "What's that I hear in your heart?" "Murder." The power didn't set well with him. She had mentioned headaches and he had severe ones after stealing the brain.
• Meanwhile, back in Las Vegas, Hiro's Vulcan hand greeting was re-shown and I snagged a shot. Yay.
• Hiro teamed up with a reluctant Gaming Commission man to go find Ando and what's-her-name who roughly kidnapped Ando. The man lectured Hiro about how partners will always bring you down - if something happens, their blood is on your hands. They find them and a shootout ensues between the woman (Hope, was she?) and the Gaming Commission man. The pink bag was full of casino chips. Ando got grazed by a bullet and Hiro managed to stop a bullet. So his power is back.
• Alas, Hiro decides he has to be a hero on his own. Ando wasn't happy. He had gotten into thinking it was his destiny as well as Hiro's. (And I'd like it to be - I love the team of Hiro and Ando!)
  
• Ando takes the Versa and Hiro boards a bus all alone.
  
• The kicker to that scene was that the bus driver was none other than Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and many Marvel Comics. I love it! I saw his name in the beginning credits and was watching for him. Perfect!
• Back at the Bennet's home, Claire's "mother" (Mrs. Bennet, not her real one) collapsed in the kitchen.
  
• Back in NYC, Peter and Claude (Invisible Dude) were wrassling on the roof of the DeVeaux Building (where the pigeons are). Okay, Claude claimed he wanted Peter to call on his powers. He's trying to make him use them to save himself and... the world. All of a sudden, Bennet and his henchmen are there with some special vision guns which can see invisible people. Who woulda thunk it? When they started to shoot, Peter grabbed Claude and flew away to safety. Oh, wait... Peter also showed that he has telekinesis and remembered that may have came from Sylar (he said the man who killed the cheerleader). Claude got ticked that Peter brought attention to him and vanished again.
• Claire called Bennet before he could go after Peter and Claude. She told him that her mother was in the hospital. The nurse told her that her mother had a subdural hemorrhage or bruise on the brain. Claire was sure the Haitian did it to her. She told the nurse, who probably thought she was whacked. When Mr. Bennet arrived, Claire went off on him. She doesn't trust him and thinks that he's going to be the ruin of the family. She must protect the family. She thinks he's evil.
• When the Bennet family arrives home, who's there? It's a confrontation by Sprague, Wireless, and Matt Parkman! With weapons and powers.
• Back in NYC, Peter confronted Isaac and they got into a bit of a battle. Bennet had given Isaac a gun to protect himself from Peter. But Peter turned invisible, used other powers and dodged the bullets. Remember, though, the promos for the show kept saying, "Someone dies." They didn't mean Dale.

• As Isaac tried to shoot the Invisible Peter, Simone came through the door. Twice to the chest, someone dies. Rest in peace, Simone. You can join your father.

Oh, I'm so loving this show!

'The Apprentice 6: L.A.' - Ep. 6 -or- "The Corporate Octopus"

Yes, it sure is the corporate world, although some of these candidates (and often Trump himself) exhibit behavior not fitting of the arena.

Oh, but tonight's show certainly contained some of the elements I've experienced as folks try to crawl to the top of the corporate ladder over the dead bodies of their co-workers. Cat fights, office romances, backstabbing, and eye-rolling. I know I sound cynical, perhaps a bit jaded. But I am. I'm better behind a computer than playing office politics.

The show opened with Arrow awaiting the return of those not fired in the boardroom from last week's show. Frank and company went on and on that if Surya wasn't fired (they thought he should be), then he must be made Project Manager and "step up." Meanwhile Surya (who wasn't fired) was telling Trump he wanted to step up his game and, when he returned to Tent City, he insisted on being Project Manager. So, around it goes. Aimee was still the PM for Kinetics as her team won its last task, no thanks to her leadership from what I saw.

Donald Trump once again was off jetting around and left the teams to be observed by bigwigs from the company involved in the task. This time around, the task itself looked like it could be fun and challenging at the same time. The teams had to promote a Priceline.com sweepstakes in a shopping mall. Whichever team had the most sign-ups wins. It sounds pretty easy to me!

At Arrow, Surya, who really gets way into the analytics of things, did his thing while Frank and James passed around a caricature of him. Yes, I do agree with them that he can be a bit too intense. But I also think Frank can be too much of a clown and, while he hasn't said "at the end of the day" in the past two episodes, he's now referring to himself in the third person. "Frankie likes that!" He's beginning to remind me of the annoying character Bob in the Becker series.

At Kinetic, Aimee was boasting how she had learned from her errors in the past. She started delegating away not even realizing that some of her delegation had one person in two places. [Insert a lot of eye-rolling from her team here.] She's not a good leader. I see it. They see it. She doesn't see it -- she thinks she's driven, passionate, enthusiastic... but where is her leadership?

At the mall, Kinetic belated realized that most of the customers didn't speak English and suffered for it in their sales. They had two team members, Derek and Muna, who spoke Spanish. But had they noticed before it was too late, they had plenty of money to hire translators. Instead of focusing on anything important, it looked like Aimee's only corporate decision was the fact she didn't like a little pink inflated octopus on the counter. [Insert my own eye-rolling here.]

Surya wasn't a heck of a lot better as he wandered the mall not getting results when he should have been manning his counter. His team members noticed his absence and it certainly did nothing to endear him with them.

Before the initial boardroom, the two Priceline Bigwigs told Trump that the ones they noticed in a good light were Derek, Muna, and Frank. To Frank's credit, he did sell well. Arrow won the right to move back into the mansion with 359 sign-ups against Kinetic's 326. Did Arrow credit Surya for the win? Nope. Did Surya credit himself for the win? Yes, but he also mentioned teamwork.

Arrow's prize was surfing lessons (oh, wow) and brunch at Gladstone's in Malibu. Alas, poor Nicole got stung by a jellyfish and her knight in shining armor, Tim, accompanied her to the doctor's office. So, both of them missed the brunch. Later they would smooch in the pool. Yes, it all sounds like an office romance to me!

Don Junior (The Trumpling) sat in the boardroom with Surya and the Big Donald. So much for Sean Yazbeck or someone un-Trump. The big boardroom turned out to be a bit of a cat fight as Aimee's whole team (rightfully) turned on her lack of leadership in the task. She chose to bring Jenn and Derek into the boardroom blaming them for her not realizing that most of the customers in the mall didn't speak English. Oh, geez. How could she not tell? Oh, wait... she was too wrapped up in wondering if they should have a committee to decide if the inflated octopus should be banished.

With little other choice, "Aimee, you're fired."

I still say, "Trump, step up. Your show is sinking. New York, no candidates living in tents, no need for candidates to be in bathing suits for a serious corporate job, bring back the business lessons."

Do you think he'll listen to me?

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' Season Premiere -or- "Don't let your Frat Boys grow up to be cowboys"

It seems like it was a long time in coming once the news got out that this season would be an "All Stars" season. For the most part, I think the team choices were good. I don't care for a few of them and I'm ambivalent about others, but I generally understand the reason they're on the show.

Unlike other seasons of the show, tonight's season premiere was only an hour. That, in a way, was a good thing as golf (of all things) delayed its start here. (Don't get me going on that!) But, even with two hours, I often feel the first team out really doesn't get remembered. At least with the "All Star" format, we know the team. And, it's one of the ones about which I was ambivalent. Phew!

Tonight's premiere, whether due to the abbreviated hour-long version or not, didn't seem to cover as much ground as did previous premieres. The teams raced on boats to Miami, bringing about a comment from Ian (an ex-narcotics officer) about Miami Vice. They got into their nifty TAR-Mercedes cars and headed off to the airport. Since a few of the teams, especially Oswald and Danny, were familiar with the area, there was a lot of following without hesitation from the other teams.

There were two flights available, an American airlines flight which left twenty minutes after a Copa flight but arrived almost two hours earlier to their destination - Ecuador. The more quick-thinking teams thought to ask, but David and Mary just jumped on the tickets for the flight which left the earliest. This, of course, is after Mary said in the show's introduction, "I can win first place without anyone giving it to me."

I will give them credit for trying to be sneaky lying to the Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) by telling them that's the quickest flight after they found out it wasn't. But Dustin and Kandice didn't fall for it and only ended up on the same flight as they were later to the airport. In the end, it didn't matter which flight folks were on as both the first place and Philiminated teams were on the American Airlines flight. It was what went on in between the airport and the Pit Stop which made the difference.

There was no Roadblock in this leg. If there had been one, I have my doubts that one of my favorite teams could have made it through it. Oh, my... the Frat Boys, in particular Drew, are not in shape. Drew was falling; Charla beat him in a footrace at one point. Ack! Sort of like Boo on Survivor 14: Fiji, Drew stands a chance to "hurt himself out of the race." I'd hate to see that happen as I really like Kevin and Drew.

Once the teams landed in Ecuador, they had to find Pim's Restaurant where they collected tags for their departure times. Those times were 7:00am, 7:15am, and 7:30am. Romber was the first team there and most used locals to get to their destination. Ah, they remember their lessons learned, eh?

In the morning, the teams left at their fifteen-minute intervals. But once again, sometimes it doesn't matter when you leave. It's how you screw up in between which makes the difference. They had to go to the north entrance of the Cotopaxi National Park. Some went to the south entrance. Some couldn't find the park.

Once there, the teams were given directions for a Detour -- a choice between two tasks having to do with the local culture. They had a choice between Wrangle It or Recover It. In Wrangle It, teams had to lasso a wild horse, trim its hooves, and cut its mane and tail. The horses were in a corralled area, so it wasn't like they had to go hunting for one.

But in Recover It, hunting was involved. One team member had to dress in a historical military uniform and search a field for three missing items from the uniform - a sword, an epaulet, and a button. Romber, in a rather unusually not-bright move for them, first chose Recover It, then switched over to Wrangle It once they realized they had to find a button in a huge field. That didn't hurt them any as they made quick work of the task despite their hesitance to go for an animals challenge.

After the completion of the Detour, teams had to walk (run) to the Pit Stop. Alas, while some teams were hitting the Pit Stop, still others were almost hopelessly behind. Charla/Mirna, David/Mary, Jill/John Vito were just plain old lost or misguided trying to find the right spot in the park. Drew and Kevin were lost with bad luck in the form of a flat tire.

In the end, the finishing order to the Pit Stop was:

1. Rob and Amber - They also won a skiing vacation at Whistler for coming in first.
2. Oswald and Danny (You go, Cha Chas!)
3. Teri and Ian (He wears funny hats.)
4. Eric and Danielle
5. Joe and Bill (Team Guido after their dog)
6. Dustin and Kandice (Evil Beauty Queens not so evil tonight)
7. Uchenna and Joyce
8. Charla and Mirna
9. David and Mary
10. Kevin and Drew
11. John Vito and Jill -- Philiminated

Hmmm... I was so hyped to watch the show tonight that I ended up feeling a bit letdown. My adrenalin didn't pump as much as it should during a TAR episode. Don't get me wrong. It kept me entertained enough, I guess. It was good to see teams I enjoyed so much from their own seasons, like Kevin and Drew, the ChaChas and Team Guido (they set the standard for teams you love to hate on the show). I wasn't so upset that John and Jill went even though I always thought them to be nice folks. I would have preferred a Teri/Ian or Eric/Danielle boot, but at least it wasn't Kevin and Drew.

To me, something was off tonight. Perhaps it was the one-hour format or the fact they didn't travel a lot. Perhaps it was because you just can't go home again. I don't know. But I do know I'll be watching again next week.

Your thoughts?

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - Fired 2/18/07

Aimee was fired on tonight's show... which I haven't really seen yet due to the delayed start of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars. Once I view my tape tomorrow early evening, a full recap/review will be posted.

Sorry, Trump... you're delayed.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Finish Order and Philimination - East Coast Update 2/18

Here's the finish order at the Pit Stop:

1. Rob and Amber (Romber)
2. Oswald and Danny (ChaChas)
3. Teri and Ian
4. Eric and Danielle
5. Joe and Bill (Team Guido)
6. Dustin and Kandice
7. Uchenna and Joyce
8. Charla and Mirna
9. David and Mary
10. Kevin and Drew
11. John Vito and Jill -- Philiminated

A full recap/review will be posted later tonight. Please stop back and let me know your thoughts on the show!

TAR Will Begin Shortly Here in the NYC Area

They must have abbreviated 60 Minutes to a mere portion of an hour. It just ended here, so The Amazing Race 11: All Stars season premiere will start momentarily. Expect an East Coast Update on the boot in about an hour and a full review/recap will be posted later tonight. You can get to all of my TAR 11 blog entries by hitting the label you see at the bottom of this entry.

I Hate Golf -or- Stupid Evil CBS

In its infinite wisdom, CBS was airing some golf thing which ran overtime. Although 60 Minutes is on now as I type this, I flipped to the network at about 7:40 and it hadn't started yet at that time.

So, I expect the season premiere of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars just might start sometime before 9 PM here on the East Coast. What the heck is wrong with them? Do they (CBS) consider The Amazing Race, the winner of more than a few Emmy awards, less important than golf? Stupid, stupid CBS. Or, maybe stupid me as I thought since football was over, I'd actually be able to watch TAR at its regularly scheduled time.

Grr.

Bloggy Bits

As I'm sure many of the readers here know, The Amazing Race 11: All Stars begins tonight at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS. I'm planning on posting an East Coast Update for the first boot as the show airs here in the New York City Area. Of course, a full recap/review of the show will be posted by late tonight. I hope you all will join me and share your thoughts on the show!

Ah, but what does that do to my The Apprentice: L.A. review/recaps? Well, since that show itself will be knocked into a 10 PM slot within a few weeks, I'd say now is the time I start writing it up Mondays after I return home from work (but before primetime shows air). I'll post the fired in an East Coast Update as the show airs, but the long article will have to be delayed. I apologize to any fans of the show, but I'm so much more of a TAR fan at heart. Yet, I must get up early on Monday mornings, so something has to go or be delayed. "Trump, you're delayed!"

I have another new show timing conflict I'll be facing later in the week when American Idol goes to three days. Yes, the third day will be on Thursday up against Survivor 14: Fiji. Eep. Since the third night of AI is basically the boot show, I don't plan on writing a full review of that night. But I will watch for the AI contestants voted off while watching Survivor (yes, I can multi-task) and get the news out in a quick American Idol East Coast Update. I plan on continuing full coverage of the Tuesday and Wednesday night American Idol shows and, for sure, full coverage of Survivor.

If I didn't have to do that pesky thing called "working for a living," I could write everything up in the middle of the night, but alas...

Thankfully, there is no Big Brother running right now.

Make Mine Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - Feb. 19-23, 2007

Happy New Year! Yes, today is the start of the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year and it's the year of Worldwide Pants!

Um... okay, it's the Year of the Pig. Babies born during this year are said to be lucky, but it's not all that lucky for those of us who are already around. David Letterman, born in 1947, was born in the Year of the Pig as were Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was not born in the Year of the Pig (Ram here like Mark Twain and Michelangelo), but I'm lucky anyway... I have another week of fresh shows this week on The Late Show with David Letterman!

Here are the guests we can expect this week:

• Monday, Feb. 19: Jim Carrey promoting his latest movie (which sounds very creepy-interesting), The Number 23. The Daytona 500 winner will also be on the show.
• Tuesday, Feb. 20: Barbara Walters promoting her Oscars special and musical guest K-os whose latest CD is Hymns for Disco. Shark attack survivor Eric Nerhus is also on the plate. Maybe I should phrase that differently?
• Wednesday, Feb. 21: Stupid Human Tricks, John Travolta (Wild Hogs), and Broadway's Spring Awakening.
• Thursday, Feb. 22: Billy Bob Thornton (The Astronaut Farmer), Rashida Jones (The Office), and Barenaked Ladies finally admitting Barenaked Ladies Are Men.
• Friday, Feb. 23: Samuel L. Jackson (Black Snake Moan) and comedian Jim Gaffigan (My Boys).

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, February 17, 2007

Not really television news, but it's expected to finally get over the freezing point here in the NYC Greater Metropolitan Area. Yes! Okay, only three degrees over freezing, but it's a start. Sunny and 35... it's kind of like a tropical heat wave!

Again, it's a Saturday night full of mostly repeats, but I see that BET has The Wire on at 9 PM (unlike last week when I had to tape it at 2 AM Wednesday to catch it). Oh, I'm so into the show! It's like Homicide: Life on the Street done narcotics (and a bit rough) and is written by the same person who's responsible for Homicide.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Sad news for the NYC news buffs... longtime reporter and news anchor from WNBC, Ralph Penza has died. For decades, he was the "hard-hitting" reporter exposing stories and he even had a creative edge about how he did stories from a sort of film-making angle.
• The good people at Buddy TV have an interview with ousted castaway Erica, the latest to be voted off Survivor 14: Fiji. She credits her MySpace page for getting her on the show. Huh. The whole interview is an interesting read.
• Remember Amy Crews from Big Brother? You know, the one who was smitten (so to say) with Marcellas Reynolds. She recently visited a chat at Jokers Updates and they have the transcript up.
• Celebrity Spider has mild promotional spoilers for this week's Lost episode while the New York Post has an article about the show's declining ratings.
• Anna Nicole Smith is still dead.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Ep. 2 -or- "Pineapple Power Goes Against Well-Fed and Well-Rested"

No, tonight wasn't a thrill a minute, but I think I'm going to really enjoy this season. I've already picked a few favorites to cheer on - Earl and Yau-Man. And, one I thought might be tough, but may talk her way into an early boot... did so. The attitude will get you every time.

It's easy for me to say that. But I know I couldn't mesh well out there with the others. I'd be better off stranded all alone on an island.

18 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

As the show opened, they spent a lot of time focusing on how well Moto was doing living in the lap of luxury while Ravu members were licking leaves hoping for a few drops of water. Moto is comfy with their couch, pillows, silverware, dinnerware, and an abundance of food to the point where their tummies are full. Over at Ravu, they're hacking open coconuts to gather water and spent a very long and fruitless session trying to make fire.

Boo turns out to be accident-prone. He somehow managed to jab himself in the eye with a stick or something. Then he hit his hand with an axe which continued on to strike his leg. Then, as Dreamz (Dre) was saying, "Boo will hurt himself out of the game" - the hammock in which Boo was resting broke loose and slammed him to the ground. I'm sure the bits were edited to be sequenced that way, but it was funny.

When Sylvia (sent off to Exile Island and doomed to join last week's losing tribe, Ravu) arrived, Yau-Man hugged her with ulterior motives. Sure enough, he sneaked a peek in her shoulder bag looking to see if she had the hidden Immunity Idol. Of course, we know her clue was that it's hidden at the camp.

Once again, she rubbed some folks wrong. I said last week that she came across as bossy to me. Perhaps not "dictating" as James/Boston/Rocky calls it, but definitely bossy. She's treading thin ice here. She already is an outsider, best not to be a bossy outsider. Some of the tribe members talked and it was decided that if they lose the next challenge, Sylvia would be voted off.

Although Ravu had explored several places looking for fruit or anything edible, Erica found a pineapple patch (perhaps not the proper terminology, but you understand) right near the camp. I thought Earl's reaction was priceless - "I have to marry her now. She saved my life." Pumped up on pineapple power, they thought they were invincible.

The Immunity and Reward Challenge were combined into one. The tribes had to row out to their tribe's flag, turn around, gather four crates and clasp them to their boats, then return to shore. Once there, they had to assemble a flagpole puzzle (what's with all the puzzles?) and raise their flag. Not only was Immunity up for grabs, but Reward for Moto would be fishing gear. Since Ravu still didn't have fire, their Reward would be flint. The winning tribe also would choose a member from the other tribe to send to Exile Island.

For the longest time, it looked like Ravu had their act together and would win. Although it hasn't been specifically mentioned (that I caught), they're under the belief that if they win, they would get the good camp. I believe that could be the case.

But we didn't find out tonight. They had been leading all through the water, but when it came to assembling the puzzle pole, all their teamwork fell to the wayside. Erica freaked out and started yelling while Sylvia was the target of her dagger-eyes. The team ended up focusing on Erica as much as the task at hand. Moto won it and chose to send Earl to Exile Island.

Then, back at the Ravu camp, it became a funky Bizarro world, as Anthony put it. Oh, I kind of like him, too. James/Rocky (whatever) had declared an alliance with Erica last week, but now that he was angry with her... under the bus! He and Mookie decided that Sylvia can go next, but Erica must go now. I love how those who believe they have power make these decisions. They went all around the camp seeking support for their plan.

Anthony balked a bit, but then seemed to go along with the plan. Or, at least to their faces, he did. Sylvia, who considered herself toast, loved the plan. I personally thought she got a bit too eager and should have played it a bit more laid-back, but that may just be me.

Over on Exile Island, Earl read the first clue to the hidden Immunity Idol and then his own. His clue indicated that the Idol is in a high spot. Oh... and he killed one of the poisonous sea snakes which slithered near him. He said that he doesn't like to kill animals and that snakes are misunderstood creatures. But then he mentioned that by leaving it be, that could be the one which kills him. So he killed it with a machete. "We now have come to an understanding."

In the end, the Ravu members all betrayed their buddy Erica except for Anthony and Earl because he wasn't there. Anthony and Erica voted for Sylvia to go.

Now, I foresee problems the longer Ravu stays in the deprived camp. They still don't have fire. James/Rocky seems to call the shots while I think Earl's call would be much better thought out. In the promo blurb for next week, they mention a Moto member in serious trouble. Could it be Boo hurting himself off the show? I don't know.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 02/15 - Boot

Erica was voted off.

A full review/recap will be posted late tonight. Please stop back and share your thoughts on the show!

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - East Coast Update - 02/15 - Immunity, Reward, Exile

Moto won Immunity and Reward (combined challenge) again. They got fishing gear and sent Earl off to Exile Island. Ravu will lose a member at Tribal Council.

Tonight's 'Survivor 14: Fiji' Blogging Schedule

As the show airs on the East Coast, I'll post East Coast updates on the important happenings (Reward, Exile, Immunity, and the Boot) as they happen here. The show will start in a little more than a half-hour from the time I post this.

You can always pull up all of the Survivor 14: Fiji blog entries with the most recent showing first by hitting the Survivor: Fiji label you see at the bottom of this (or any Survivor Fiji-related) entries. Or you can also pull them up by hitting the show title under Categories in the main sidebar of the blog. That should get you to the most recent entry rather easily.

A full review/recap of the show will be posted late tonight.

Survivors ready?

'Lost' - "Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Okay... Lost is back! Yeah, I know it technically came back last week from its hiatus. What I mean is that the good Lost is back after a period of waning. At least, that's how I've been feeling about most of the autumn "season" episodes.

This episode, "Flashes Before Your Eyes," was a Desmond-centric one and we've really only previously seen bits and pieces of this guy. The show utilized flashbacks, sort of. They weren't the regular flashbacks we're used to seeing which tell us about a character's history.

Tying in with the hidden message in the "Not in Portland" episode - "Only fools are enslaved by time and space" - as well as comments made by Desmond, the flashbacks were more along the line of time traveling. I don't think he's a fool.

The show opened with Desmond discovering Hurley and Charlie going through the missing Sawyer's belongings. He led them out in the woods where they met up with Locke and Sayid who were returning to camp after burying Mr. Eko. Locke claimed that he wanted Charlie and Hurley to present a calm front over the death so the others wouldn't panic. "The island killed him."

As Desmond talked to Charlie and Hurley by the beach, he all of a sudden took off for the water, pulling a drowning Claire from a certain death. Or, was it? Hurley and Charlie, determined to find out why or if Desmond could see the future, decided to get him drunk. (Okay, that was a bit weak, but we're talking Hurley and Charlie here, not Rhodes scholars.)

Desmond balked at first, but upon seeing an expensive bottle of whiskey, he imbibed with them. Charlie went from nice drunk to nasty as he pushed Desmond for answers, then called him a coward. Desmond passed out... only to awaken in the past, but with knowledge of the future. Are you following me on that? It was a present deja vu. In the transition, it all flashed before our eyes - the hatch, the countdown numbers (to save the world), and more.

His intended bride had just moved in with him and he planned to ask her father for her hand in marriage. The clock in the room read 1:08 and the very familiar beep-beep of the microwave mimicked the countdown beep-beep in the hatch. When he went to the father's office, a deliveryman had a package "for (4?) 815." Island numbers and memories were all around him, from a ship replica to a polar bear painting.

Instead of allowing him to marry his daughter Penny, the father insulted him and told him he's not worthy of drinking his expensive whiskey (the same type as on the island), could never do the race around the world and was a... coward. Desmond decided he was going to marry Penny anyway. It was off to a jewelers to buy a ring! On his way there, he came across Charlie playing music for tips in the street. His sign listed his middle name as Hieronymus, perhaps like Hieronymus Bosch? Desmond knew Charlie and called him by name, but Charlie didn't recognize him at all.

Ah, but who was behind the counter at the jewelry counter? Why, it was none other than the woman who played in the movie The Others. She started to show Desmond rings, but then refused to sell him one. She knew all about him, from his name to his special ability. She took him on a walk, pointing out a man with red Converse sneakers. After they turned away, a scaffold fell killing Mr. Red Sneaks.

Desmond questioned why she didn't save the man if she knew that would happen. She told him she didn't because it was meant to be. If she saved him from that instance of death, another would take place and it would keep happening as the death was meant to take place. She called it "course-correcting." She was insistent that Desmond not marry Penny and let the course go as it should - to the island, to push the button to save the world, etc.

Desmond left her and went to a local pub where he tried to convince a friend that he knew the future by telling the outcome of a soccer game. Alas, he was wrong. But how could that be? He was so sure of the game. Well, perhaps it was just the wrong night. And, it was. The next night, his predictions went down as they should. He wasn't so much telling the future as he was reliving his past.

He didn't marry Penny. He knew that he had to take the correct course, the course which was meant to be. She called him a coward for backing out. That's when he returned to the bar and found out he had the wrong day's game in mind. He also got conked in the head with a bat.

And we're back at the island. Charlie asked Desmond what he felt when he turned the safe-key after the code hadn't been entered and the explosion occurred. Desmond told him he saw his life flash before his eyes. When Charlie asked him about saving Claire from drowning and the earlier deflecting lightning from striking her to save her life. Desmond somberly told him, "I wasn't saving Claire. I was saving you. You drowned this morning saving Claire. You were electrocuted when lightning struck the tent. I saved you both times.

Uh-oh. The lady at the jewelry shop told him you can't course-correct. It's going to keep happening in other fashions as it's meant to be.

[Insert the Lost clunk here.]

Wow... this was the best episode in quite some time. What did you think?

'American Idol 6' - The Top 24 Finalists

Tonight was the big night even though we didn't see too much in the way of performances. The show was basically the chair in front of the judges and either a yes or a no. Still missing is dear Jenry. (Sniffle)

But here's who made it through to the next stage:

For the girls:

1. Melinda Doolittle (yes!)
2. Gina Glocksen
3. Haley Scarnato
4. Jordin Sparks
5. Stephanie Edwards
6. Leslie Hunt
7. Alaina Alexander
8. Sabrina Sloan
9. Lakisha Jones
10. Nicole Tranquillo
11. Amy Krebs
12. Antonella Barba

The guys who moved on:

1. Sanjaya Malakar
2. Brandon Rogers
3. Phil Stacy
4. Chris Sligh (yes!)
5. Blake Lewis
6. Rudy Cardenas
7. Paul Kim
8. Nick Pedro
9. Chris Richardson
10. Jerome Chism
11. Jared Cotter
12. Sundance Head

Hmmm... I'm not remembering some of these folks at all. Me? I personally want a season of being entertained and serenaded by Chris Sligh. He's a hoot!

I've very pleased with Lakisha and Melinda being chosen, too. I think Lakisha is a powerful singer and it's time for Melinda to prove she's not just a back-up singer.

But, darn... Chris Sligh is such a fun goofy guy. He's like a John Popper with a zany sense of humor.

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Ice, ice, baby... Happy Valentine's Day! Where I live, the blizzard itself never really showed, but we were pelted with ice and freezing rain in addition to a few inches of snow. So, it's treacherous out there. The roads all have a coating of ice and the NJ State Police reported over 1200 accidents today. That, of course, doesn't even take into consideration all of the cities and towns which have their own jurisdictions.

I am not going out there tonight. I'm staying in and plan to watch television. (Like I needed an excuse!) Whatever will I watch...?

In the 8 PM ET/PT hour, while the Jericho (CBS) episode is new, it's not really a new Jericho episode. It's one of those recap/catch up episodes. The actual new episodes start next week. NBC has a new episode of Friday Night Lights. I never understand why the show is on Wednesdays... just to confuse me, I guess. FOX is airing a new Bones (and that's my choice for the hour), while ABC has new George Lopez and Knights of Prosperity. I really wish they'd put Knights with something else. I don't care for George Lopez and won't sit through it to see Knights, a show I've liked the little I've seen of it. The CW has a new Beauty and the Geek scheduled.

At 9 PM ET/PT, I'll be glued to the American Idol show on FOX. They're cutting the field to 24 contestants and you know I have to watch! But if you're not an American Idol fan, not to worry -- there are some good shows on against it. Criminal Minds is new on CBS (I'll be taping it), Deal or No Deal is new and all Valentine's Day fluff on NBC (blech), ABC is repeating the um... winter season... premiere of Lost (last week's show), and CW has a new episode of One Tree Hill.

Then at 10 PM ET/PT, I'll be tuning in for the new Lost episode on ABC while taping the new C.S.I.: NY episode on CBS. NBC has a new Medium episode, not my cuppa tea, but I know folks seem to enjoy the show.

In the late night arena, I'm up for the continuation of Ventriloquist Week on The Late Show with David Letterman.

And, when I head off to work in the morning, all that ice better be gone. Work on it, New Jersey!

'American Idol 6' - Onto Hollywood

The Hollywood rounds are a bit too much of a whirlwind for my liking. Although folks said the two-hour shows were a bit too long, tonight's one-hour Hollywood run seemed to touch on a lot and focus on only a few contestants. 172 made the cut to Hollywood during the auditions, but I didn't even catch a glimpse of some I had enjoyed. For example, Jenry from New York. Where was he? Did I blink and miss him?

The show set forth a perfect example of the existence of foilers on the Internet. No, I'm not talking spoilers, I'm talk foilers. They're rumors, possibly set in motion by the show itself, and ultimately untrue.

• The Foiler: Jory Steinberg aced her way through the competition and is in the top 24. The Reality: She got ditched in Hollywood after Simon blasted her whole group for being unoriginal and an "absolutely horrible start to the day."
• The Foiler: Long-haired and long-bearded Sean Michel was kicked off the show for refusing to change his look. The Reality: Sean got the boot for poor performance, nothing at all to do with how he looks.

Since about twice as many girls made it through to Hollywood than guys, the individual performance round was at least twice as brutal. Rachel Jenkins, who didn't thrill me by wearing her Reservists uniform during her original audition, was booted as were Jory (mentioned above), Ashlyn Carr (the face-making gal), Porcelana Patina (the boxer-training gal - no great loss as far as I'm concerned), Sarah Burgess (from Ohio, skipped school and lied to her parents), and Nicole Turner. The last one's mother stood up to Simon over her dismissal. Give me a break. Melinda Doolittle (the shy back-up singer I like), Gina Glocksen (repeat offender... er, contestant with the crush on Simon), Jamie Lynn Ward (daddy shot stepma and then hisself gal), and others made the cut through to the group sing.

The show's focus on the individual performances of the guys was more on those who went through than the ones who failed miserably. Jarrod Fowler, the Navy guy who won his ship's Idol contest, got the boot. Nick Pedro (the one who forgot the lyrics last season and quit), Sundance Head, Blake Lewis (Seattle human beatbox dude), Chris Sligh, Matt Sato, and others made the cut... some only to be cut in the groups.

Now, what's the most important thing besides staying on key? The lyrics. If you forget the words to the song, you may as well just shred that Hollywood ticket. Well, unless your name is Sundance Head, that is. Somehow, despite the admonitions of the judges about remembering the words to the songs, he didn't and he was one of the few shown who screwed the words up yet made it through the group cut. Robyn Troupe, who recently won the honor of singing with Justin Timberlake at the Grammy Awards, was in Sundance's group and the rumors of her success are but another Internet foiler. She's history, but may make history outside the realm of American Idol.

For me, there was only one stand-out performance in the groups. The team of Chris Sligh (dang, I like that guy), Blake Lewis (his beatbox adds rhythm, for sure), Tom Lowe, and Rudy Cardenas rocked! With the exception of mismatched wardrobes, those guys did a tremendous job in a boy band kind of way. Not only did they bring the house down, but they even remembered the lyrics!

One thing in their favor besides the performance itself is that they seemed to get along well together. That wasn't the case for many of the groups. And, but of course, that's some of the drama of the night. Baylie Brown, beloved by Simon Cowell, was teamed up with the Jersey Girls. They didn't mesh well at all and, when it came to the performance, Baylie choked. I'm talking big time choking, go home choking. In the end, the Jersey Girls themselves were split up with Amanda getting cut, Antonella (the one I like better anyway) moving forward.

The Jersey Girls weren't the only pair split up in Hollywood. In a bit of a heartbreaker, Sunjaya Malakar made the cut while his sister was left behind. Instead of celebrating his success, he consoled his sister. I don't think she's as talented as he is, but they both seem like very nice kids. Their parents must be busting with pride.

Now, the show moved very quickly and, unless they focused on a contestant, it was a bit difficult to see exactly who made it through to the next round. There were so many like Jenry we didn't really see at all. Wednesday night's show should be a bit slower-paced as they decide who will be in the top 24. I think there are a few sure bets like Chris Sligh, but who knows?

TV Newsy Bits - Tuesday, February 13, 2006

It's Tuesday night. Of course, that means American Idol night - it's the start of the Hollywood rounds. I'll do a write-up about it later tonight. I also found that the episode of The Wire that BET didn't show in either of its Saturday night time slots is airing at 2 AM. Yes, I have tomorrow off. But, no... I don't want to stay up until 3:30 AM. I'll tape it. Thankfully, this week they have it on at 9 PM on Saturday once again.

In other real TV Newsy Bits:

• The good folks at the Buddy TV site have posted an exclusive interview with recently fired Apprentice candidate Aaron Altscher. If you're a Gilmore Girls fan, they also have an interview with Matt Czuchry (Logan Huntzberger on the show).
• TBS has given the greenlight a new sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show, based on the success of My Boys and 10 Items or Less. According to Michael Wright, senior vice-president of original programming at TBS: "It’s a multi-camera family comedy shot in front of a studio audience, and we are absolutely thrilled with it. Bill is such a funny and engaging guy. He and Nancy [Travis] have great chemistry. And together with the rest of the wonderful cast, they just make you want to invite their family into your home and have a good laugh with them." The basic premise is a family in which the father is a family counselor - and the family could use one themselves. It's due to premiere this summer.
• The Celebrity Spider website has mild spoilers for this week's Survivor 14: Fiji.
• If you're a Chill Town fan, Mike "Boogie" from Big Brother took part in a Jokers Updates chat last night.

'Heroes' - "Run" - A BulletPoint Report

Whoa! This was one action-packed episode. It's hard to remember who's on first or what's on second. It's a good thing I take notes, huh?

Here's the basic skinny on tonight's episode, although I tend to go by character storyline rather than the chronological order of appearance in the show at times. Tonight, some of the storylines really intermingled.

• In the Matt Parkman (cop who can read thoughts) storyline: Matt, suspended from the police department, took on a private security guard job. He took his gun along as he had to escort and protect a man who was going to the diamond district to buy diamonds. The man, Malsky, was carrying a large amount of cash. Little did Matt know...
• In the Jessica/Nikki storyline: Nikki is still trapped in the mirror. Jessica, working for Mr. Linderman, received a photo of the man Matt is escorting and is set to be a hitman... er, hitwoman. She's going to kill the guy.
• In the Claire/Real Mom/Nathan storyline: The FireMom told Nathan that she saw their daughter, Claire. He automatically thought, since the election is coming soon, that she wanted money. He offered $100,000. Trailer FireMom took the offer.
• Regarding Mohinder: He was trying to contact folks with powers and only one called him back - a panicky man named Zane Taylor. He agreed to go meet him. Little did Mohinder know...
• In the Sylar storyline: Sylar visited Zane Taylor first, impersonating Mohinder. He took the brain as he tends to do. The power is the ability to melt metal objects.
• When Mohinder arrived, Sylar pretended to be Zane even to the point of using the dead man for a DNA swab so Mohinder can "help" him. Sylar (as Zane) then suggested to Mohinder that he accompany him to find (and help) others with powers. Stupid, naive, stupid Mohinder.
  
• In the Hiro/Ando storyline: They're back in Las Vegas looking for Linderman when Ando (stupid, naive Ando) comes across a crying blonde Amazon showgirl named Hope.
  She gave them a sob story about her boyfriend beating her up and how she left her bag in his room, thus stranding her without money and such. The guys use the old room service trick to retrieve the bag. Hiro didn't want to do it all along, but Ando was smitten. It was a set up. They got separated; Hope punched Hiro and locked him in a closet, then tried to run off with Ando at last sight. It turns out that the "boyfriend" was an agent of the State Gaming Commission and that was evidence. He's the one who released Hiro from the closet. (Did I say stupid, naive Ando?)
• Back to the Matt/Nikki storyline: Matt read the thoughts of the dealer at the diamond place and knew it was a set up. Malsky grabbed the diamonds and threw the cash. Jessica chased after them. Matt heard Nikki talk to Jessica a few times, so decided there were two of them. He heard the thoughts of Malsky as he hid the diamonds. Malsky admitted to Matt that he stole the money from... who else... Linderman. Jessica tossed Matt out a window, but he lived. She shot Malsky and he died. After reading the investigating cop mind, Matt pocketed the diamonds himself rather than turn them in.
• Back to the Nathan/Claire/FireMom storyline: FireMom got her money, but didn't know that Claire was waiting outside in hopes of meeting her real father. FireMom showed Nathan the cellphone photo she took of Claire. He seemed to recognize her, but said nothing. Claire threw a rock at his car as he left.
• Back at Claire's house: Mr. Bennet called Claire out for the skipping school and fake tickets printed up on her computer. He grounded her. Later, after she returned to home from her trip to her FireMom, her mother (Mrs. Bennet) was abusing Mr. Muggles. Mrs. Bennet doesn't remember Mr. Muggles, nor Claire. It looks like the Haitian made her forget too much.
• Jessica received another photo for someone she's to kill (presumably for Linderman)... it's Nathan.
  

Those are the basics. No Peter, no Isaac, no Simone this time 'round. My absolute favorite bit was when Hiro greeted the Gaming Commission guy with the traditional Vulcan hand greeting as the man greeted him at gunpoint. All in all, this was a fast-paced, sit on the edge of the seat episode. Next week, they claim "someone dies." And, they forewarn - "no one is safe." They better not off Mr. Muggles!

I've received more information on files from Primatech Paper. I'll write about them soon.

Live long and prosper.

'Lost' TV Newsy Bits - Monday, February 12, 2007

There have been a few interesting developments since I posted about the "Not in Portland" episode. So, I thought I'd share them with you. (So you can be further Lost as am I!)

Some folks with better technological skills than I possess ran a segment of the episode backwards. The scene in question is the one in which Karl was restrained in the room bombarded by brainwashing sounds, messages, and LSD-like images. Like the infamous Beatles album, when played backwards, there was indeed a message - "Only fools are enslaved by time and space." (I have to think of Hiro from Heroes... he ain't no fool; he can bend time and space!) The Lost Easter Eggs site has the YouTube backwards tape and discussion. It's a woman's voice. The plot thickens.

The official ABC Lost website has the latest podcast with the producers available. Some commenters here may be spot on in their guess that Ben isn't Alex's biological father. (You guys rock!) There are other tidbits in the podcast including a segment with Josh Holloway talking about Sawyer's nicknames for folks. It also goes a bit into what we can expect this week (a mainly Desmond episode) and how many episodes remain on the island where Jack is held captive.

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - Ep. 5 -or- "Marketing and Money, Honey"

After disappearing last week for some football game... okay, the Superbowl, The Apprentice returned tonight. I've noticed that this season is a week shorter than previous ones as Trump calls it the fourteen-week interview instead of fifteen. That's fine by me. While I'm watching, I'm still not thrilled this season with the location and the have/have not theme.

This week Donald Trump had to give one of his overly-expensive motivational speeches in Minnesota. So he left Sean Yazbeck, last season's winner, in charge. There were no signs of Trumpette Ivanka or Trumpling, her adoring brother Donald, Jr. I prefer it that way. I'd rather look at Sean all season than see them. If I can't have Carolyn and George, let it ride with Sean.

I'm a bit ambivalent about the task this week although at least it wasn't surfing or climbing palm trees to prove they're in Los Angeles. The teams had to work with Sue Bee Honey to create and sell honey. They had to harvest the honey, bottle it, then sell their product at two separate Ralph's locations.

I have to give credit to both Kinetic and Arrow for being good sports in the harvesting aspect. Although they wore the big beekeeper white space suits, it still had to be a bit intimidating. I'm allergic to bees and probably would have stood there frozen in place. Stefani was quite outspoken about it and Derek was stung through the suit.

Sean sat in during Arrow's marketing meeting which was dominated by Surya. While his fellow workers rolled their eyes and such, no one really stopped him and tried to take things in a different direction. I agree with them that the time needn't be wasted -- get the product done and sell it. It wasn't a huge corporate decision.
At Kinetic, there were issues in the same vein. Aimee had stepped up as Project Manager and decided that she and Jenn would create the marketing campaign while the rest of the team did the bee harvesting. What did they accomplish? Absolutely nothing in four hours time! By this time I usually have a handle on which team will win the task despite not having the Business Tips as we did in past seasons. But, both teams seemed to do fine with the harvesting, then fall apart from that point forward.

Aimee was useless as PM, at least from the editing we saw. There were lots of shots of her looking lost, getting coffee and other oh-so-important endeavors. But then, Aaron wasn't leading his team much better. At least Arrow had lots of fun on the assembly line. How long will the good times last? Well, at least until the boardroom.

Both teams had a decent price for the product. I actually think that Arrow had an edge on promotions until Derek took matters into his own hands and donned a beekeeper's suit going around the store. That seems to be where the tides turned in the favor of Kinetic.

The initial boardroom was led by Sean with Trump via a conference call from his Minnesota Trump Groupies Cult Meeting. Um. His motivational speech. Yeah, that's it.

I don't know. The crowd looked brainwashed to me. After all, if they think he should be President, something must be in the water.

Both teams had weak leaders, so either could have lost. In the end, Arrow sold 217 jars for a total of $775 while Kinetic sold 345 jars for a total of $836. Kinetic trumped Arrow. For their reward, Kinetic attended a training camp given by the Los Angeles Lakers. Until I saw them there, I wasn't thinking it much of a reward. But the focus was on teamwork and I think it would have been better than a Trump Motivational Brainwashing.

Back at Arrow, two things were obvious. One was that Aaron didn't do well as the Project Manager of the task. He offered little to no direction at all. The second obvious thing was that Surya would be a target as he had just joined the team recently from Kinetic. They liked him when they were winning, but losing is something entirely different. Surya realized immediately that he was in danger and talked over the hedge to Derek from Kinetic. Yep, Aimee (who sits in on the firing as PM of the winning team) would make sure Surya wasn't thrown under the proverbial bus.

Sure enough, in the boardroom, Aaron went for the Surya kill blaming all the marketing ills on him. He chose Surya and Nicole to go with him, but said that Nicole shouldn't be fired. I think he probably thought that the firing field would be down to him and Surya, with the latter the obvious choice to fire.

But his plan backfired. Even Nicole admitted that Aaron hadn't performed well as PM. Trump was still a bit ticked at Aaron for not speaking up when he sat in on the Kinetic firing during the last boardroom. While being overbearing (unless your name is Trump) is a bad thing, sitting meekly is just as bad.

"Aaron, you're fired."

I think both Project Managers should have been fired. I know that would have been impossible, but Aimee's team only won due to last minute luck and Derek's beekeeper suit. At least she went to bat for her previous team member Surya, although I think his days may be numbered. He's got to lighten up and listen now and then. There are hints of a heavy romance next week continuing the Tim/Nicole flirtation. Arrow is back in Tent City and hopefully now that they've tasted the "good life" inside the mansion, they'll work together to get back there.

I'm still not thrilled with this season. Have I mentioned that lately?

Oh? My own caption for the Trump shot? I think he's saying, "Drrrrrr..." Have you anything better?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - Fired 2/11/07

Arrow lost the task and project manager Aaron was fired. A full report will be posted later tonight.

Oh... on an unrelated note, Carrie Underwood (American Idol) just won the Grammy for Best New Artist. At least she beat out that overdone "You're Beautiful" song.

'American Idol' TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007

It seems like we just can't get enough of American Idol, doesn't it? From the eager and sometimes talentless contestants to the "is Paula on something" controversy to Simonisms to Grammy and Oscar buzz, American Idol is taking the country by storm once again.

Peeking around the Internet, I saw so much Idol news out there that I decided to write up a show-specific Newsy Bits just to catch up on it all. I believe this is the first time I've ever done that, but I like to live dangerously... or something like that.

Here are some of the more interesting American Idol Newsy Bits out there:

• The New York Post has an article about the latest guessing game - who are the finalists? I've seen more than a few websites out there with predictions of the Top Twelve. I've noticed most have the same names in common and I think they could very well be right.
• Reality TV World is reporting that the show's producers would like to try for an All Stars version of American Idol. I personally think that if they have one, the bigger stars created by the show probably will back out. It's an interesting concept, though.
• The Fans of Reality TV website has a two-part interview with executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. You can check it out here ("Are People Going to Think She's Drunk?") and here ("He Called Me a Monkey"). Both are interesting reads.
• Stretching out his fifteen minutes of fame for as long as he can, Idol reject Ian Bernardo was interviewed by New York Magazine. He claims The Bronx made him talk back to Simon. He also thinks he's an "international, intergalactic Idol." Oh, my.
• Much ado is being made of the Justin Timberlake/newcomer bit expected on tonight's 49th Annual Grammy Awards just reeking of American Idol. Of course, previous AI winner Carrie Underwood is up for four awards this year. Perhaps they should mimic American Idol to put some zest back into a stuttering music industry - create a buzz and excitement, let the people take a hand in things!
• AOL Television has a nifty "Before They Were Stars" photo essay highlighting the history of some of the American Idols we know and love... or don't love dependent on the person involved.

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Sunday, February 11, 2007

Next Sunday (mark those calendars now) will be the season premiere of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars. You know I'll be there! Or, more precisely, here... as I watch and write about the show's happenings!

That's not to say there isn't some interesting television going on tonight. No-sir-ree, Bob -- tonight looks like a pretty good TV kind of night!

The big show for the night is The 49th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS, starting at 8 PM ET/PT. I'm sure to at least watch the opening of the show with the much talked-about reunion of The Police. Heck, I still love my Synchronicity. NBC is airing a new Grease: You're the One I Want starting at 7 PM ET/PT running for two hours. That's not one I want; I haven't seen an episode yet. ABC has a new Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in the 8 PM slot. The CW Network has a new episode of 7th Heaven. FOX has new Simpsons and King of the Hill.

In the 9 PM ET/PT time slot, the Grammy Awards will still be ongoing, of course. On NBC, I'll be tuning into The Apprentice: L.A., posting the boot in an East Coast Update, then posting the review/recap of the episode later in the night. ABC has a new episode of Desperate Housewives (please feel free to use the DH Blog Meet Up Discussion post to chat about the show). CW has a repeat of Beauty and the Geek. FOX is airing new episodes of Family Guy and American Dad.

Come 10 PM ET/PT, NBC has a new Crossing Jordan, ABC has a new Brothers & Sisters, CW and FOX have local news, and that big awards show should still be going strong. I'll probably either have the Grammy Awards or Crossing Jordan on in the background as I write up my Apprentice for the week.

What are your television plans for the evening?

Pants for Dummies - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - Feb. 12-16, 2007

It was such a hit in the fall that he's doing it all over again. Yep, you got it! It's Ventriloquist Week once again on The Late Show with David Letterman. Yes, it's those lovable dummies and those who breathe life into them. Well, er... that sounds like an old episode of The Twilight Zone. Hey, maybe it is. You never know. I'd kind of like to see Tap Dancers Week, myself.

Here are the guests we can expect to see this week on the Big Show:

• Monday, Feb. 12: Ventriloquist Kevin Johnson with Clyde and Matilda, Drew Barrymore promoting the movie Music & Lyrics, Rickie Lee Jones whose latest CD is The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard. Ah, this show sounds like a winner. You can't go wrong with Clyde and Matilda! Plus, there's that whole history-thing going on between Drew and David.
• Tuesday, Feb. 13: Stand-Up Ventriloquist Dan Horn, football player Peyton Manning, and musical guest The Cat Empire.
• Wednesday, Feb. 14: Ventriloquist Otto Peterson with George, Martha Stewart, and Norah Jones (CD is Not Too Late). Another good line-up. I'm sure Dave is so happy that I approve, eh?
• Thursday, Feb. 15: Ventriloquist Jim Barber with Seville (is that like the Barbers of Seville?), Siena Miller promoting Factory Girl, and NAS whose CD is Hip Hop is Dead. Is it? Probably not.
• Friday, Feb. 16: Ventriloquist Brad Cummings and Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock. Comedian Jake Johannsen is also on the docket.

Okay, now that I have the listing finished, I have a gripe. While I really like the overhaul of the new Late Show website, it's missing Tuesday and some of the guests. What's up with that?