'American Idol 6' - The Final Three Sing to Win

It's hard to believe the season is almost over, isn't it?

It's down to three contestants -- Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis, and Melinda Doolittle. Weeks ago it seemed like the finals would be all-female, but Blake's been hanging in. Will it be his last week?

Tonight the contestants took rounds, each singing a song. The songs were a judge's choice, the producers' choice, and the singer's own personal choice. They also visited their hometowns but, if memory serves, we saw a bit less of that this year than in previous ones. So, it was three contestants, three songs, even three phone numbers. However, there will only be one American Idol in the end. Who will it be?

Although they took turns singing their songs, I'm grouping them by singer here. Why? Um... well, because I can. Yeah, that's it! (Actually, it's easier for me, plus I think it focuses on each singer a bit better.)

Jordin Sparks started each round. Her first song was the judge's choice and the judge who chose was Simon Cowell. He selected a song with which I'm not too familiar -- "Wishing on a Star" by Rose Royce. I thought she was in good voice and it was a fine performance, but the song itself didn't thrill me too much. It did show off the quality of her voice.

Randy was wowed. He said it's time to be in it to win it and that it was a very good vocal. Paula thought Simon chose a good song. Simon said she sang brilliantly although he didn't care for the arrangement. It wasn't the version he wanted.

For the producers' choice, Jordin sang "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer. Again, good. She rocked it, but I don't know... something seemed a bit off with her tonight. Her voice was in good form, but perhaps it was the song choice.

Randy thought it was nicely done. Paula said it was fantastic. Simon said it was a very good performance, then commented on the arrangement again.

For her own choice round, Jordin did something I thought was a bit odd. She chose a song she has already performed in the competition -- "I Who Have Nothing." I think, in comparison, she's upped her game. But I don't think repeating songs is a great idea in the final three. She sang it beautifully, mind you. I'm just wondering about the second time bit.

Randy thought it was her best performance of the night (it was). Paula thought it sat well with her voice. Simon said there was no disputing that she sang it very well, but it was old-fashioned for her age. It seems to me that he said the same thing the first time she sang it.

Blake Lewis had the second slot in the rounds of three. In the judge's choice, Paula Abdul chose "Roxanne" by The Police. That, to me, is a good choice in one way - Blake can be a bit Sting-ish vocally. But, I also thought it was almost too safe, something I didn't hear from the judges. He did it very well, I thought. With Blake, I think a lot of what has got him to where he is, is that he's an entertainer and performer more than a vocalist. A Sting vocal, he can do just fine.

Randy thought it was a great performance, hot. Maybe that's hott with two t's. Paula said he did her proud. Simon said it was good, not great.

For the producers' choice, Blake sang "This Love" by Maroon 5. Now, in my opinion, this is the kind of song Blake can shine while performing. I thought it much better than "Roxanne" not only in fitting his talents, but in the performance itself. And, to me, Blake is about performance.

Randy thought it was cool, the kind of song he should have on an album, nicely done. Paula said he was in his element. Simon preferred it over the first song, said it was good and "not copycat."

For his own song choice, Blake chose Robin Thicke's "When Will I Get You Alone?" I probably like Blake's performance better than Thicke's because I at least enjoy Blake while Thicke just does nothing for me.

Randy said it was alright. Paula thought it was a great performance and a great song. Simon really liked it. Simon also likes that Blake takes risks and is having fun.

Melinda Doolittle was the last to sing in each round. Randy Jackson chose her first song -- Whitney Houston's "I Believe In You and Me." Okay, I think I've mentioned before that I'm not into Whitney Houston, not at all. But Melinda carried this song off so that even I liked a Whitney song. Yikes! The judges always frown upon contestants trying Whitney Houston songs, but this seems to be a test of some sort.

Randy said it had a high level of difficulty, but she blew it out of the box. Paula thought it was amazing, fantastic, and the her best performance all season. Simon said it was her best performance and difficult. He declared her the winner of Round One - the judges' choice round.

Again, I think the producers made a perfect song choice -- "Nutbush City Limits" by Ike and Tina Turner. Wow! She rocked! I hope Tina was watching. (Now, there's a star they should have on the show. She can still kick it unlike many of the older-generation singers they use as mentors.) Not a note missed, perfect vocals.

Randy called it a great, stellar performance. Paula just sat there repeatedly babbling "we love you." Simon said he loves that side of her and another brilliant performance. But when asked who won the second round, he declared it a tie.

For her own song choice, Melinda chose "I'm a Woman." Again, perfect vocals and great stage presence. She also sang the song earlier in the season. What's up with that, girls? She was my favorite from the beginning and she remains my personal favorite. And, it's also most likely that she would be the only one whose music I would buy. Jordin maybe someday, but Melinda a definite.

Randy loved her range and said she could sing the phone book well. Paula said something off-kilter about how she's celebrating her dream. Simon said that if he could give an award into the finals for consistency each week, it would be hers.

At the end of the show Ryan did something I thought a bit unfair. He asked the judges who should be in the finals. Randy said it would be the two girls (which could backfire on him if Blake voters work extra hard to save him), Paula refused to say, and Simon wants "my girl Melinder."

Me? I want Melinda, too. And I don't put an "r" on the end of her name! But, in looking at this group, they each bring something a bit different to the table. I think all three will make it in the business no matter who is chosen to be the first place winner.

Your thoughts?

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Oh, such a dilemma! Well, tonight's not the big dilemma it has been on previous weeks, I'll admit.

At 8 PM ET/PT, there's this week's American Idol 6 with the top three contestants (Melinda, Blake, Jordin) singing three songs each. I'll be watching that, taking notes and photos, then getting an entry posted later on this evening.

Not into American Idol? There's more!

At 8 PM ET/PT, American Idol not withstanding, there is a repeat of Dancing With the Stars on ABC. The CW has a new Gilmore Girls. NBC has a new Dateline airing. The entire CBS prime-time block is taken by The 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

9 PM ET/PT brings us a repeat Law and Order: Criminal Intent on CBS, a new House episode on FOX, the (new) Dancing With the Stars results show on ABC, a new Veronica Mars episode on CW, and a new Deadliest Catch on Discovery.

Then, at 10 PM ET/PT, there's a new episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC, a new Boston Legal on ABC, two new back-to-back Real World episodes on MTV, and The Shield on FX is new, too.

My personal line-up is American Idol, still undecided for the next hour, L&O: SVU at ten o'clock. I haven't been watching Dancing With the Stars, but many of the blog readers do. If you want to join in on the show discussion and (probably) get East Coast Spoiler information on tonight's boot, head to the comments area of the blog discussion post for the show during or after the show airs on the East Coast.

I also received some screeners from TBS (Tyler Perry's House of Payne) and TNT (The Closer)... so I have to watch them and report back to you in addition to my regular television addiction. Both shows will air this summer, but I'm anxious to check out the screener from The Closer! (Yay.)

What will you be watching tonight?

'Heroes' - "Landslide" - A BulletPoint Report

Yikes, the season finale is next week! I think you can guess where I'll be on Monday night. I'm so addicted to this show. Is there a 12-Step Program for Heroes withdrawal?

As I've grown to expect, tonight's show was yet another nailbiter.

Anything less and it wouldn't be Heroes, right?

Here's the skinny on the happenings, not necessarily in the order in which they happened for the sake of clarity:

• The show opened with Sylar saying, "Boom." Apparently he's now liking the idea of blowing up millions... or .07% of the world's population.
• At Kirby Plaza, Peter Petrelli learned to control the absorption of Ted (Radioactive Hands Dude) Sprague's powers. A good thing because he had just given Claire the go-ahead to kill him.
• HRG (Mr. Bennet) didn't realize that Peter was Claire's uncle.
• The FBI is after Bennet, Parkman (mind-reading ex-cop), and Sprague. They've labeled Sprague a terrorist.
• HRG wants to destroy the Walker Tracking System (Molly the Kid!) with Parkman.
• He instructed Peter, Claire, and Sprague to go to a small town.
• "I'm in!" said Sprague.
  

• "Me, too," said lurking eavesdropping nearby SYLAR.
• Meanwhile, Hiro believes he's failed his mission. His destiny was a mistake. Sylar's too powerful.
• Ando found a sword repair shop in the Yellow Pages.
• Hiro called them. "You have the fate of the world in your hands."
• In Nathan news, Linderman was giving him another pep talk.
  
• Nathan seems torn. He doesn't want to make the city into a nuclear wasteland, nor let his brother explode.
• Linderman told Nathan that his (Nathan's) father had great power. He did all he could do to heal the world, but he had to give up.
• Nathan's wife arrived in the room. He told her he would give her the greatest gift, then held her hand.
• Voila! It's a miracle! She finds out after Linderman left that she can walk once again. (Can I get a hallelujah?) Of course, she realized it just as she told Nathan he didn't have to sell his soul to Linderman. It looks like her soul is in question now.
• Back to Peter, Claire, and Sprague... as Claire dreams of being a caped superhero, Peter picks up on Sylar being around with his own powers.
• They run, but get surrounded by the FBI who capture Sprague.
  
• Peter and Claire run some more.
• Agent Hanson of the FBI talks to Sylar (who identified himself as Isaac Mendez). He called in the tip on Sprague.
• "Thank you. Most people don't get involved," she told him.
• "I'm not most people," he replied. Understatement, I say!
  
• Let's go back to Ando and Hiro again. They found the sword-fixing shop.
• They also found Hiro's father once again.
• Ando wanted to leave as he was sure Hiro's father would stop their mission.
• And, of course, he'd die.
• It turns out that Hiro's father (played by George Takei, Lt. Sulu on Star Trek), knew about Hiro's powers all along.
• Hiro's father is on his side, just didn't think he was ready.
• Ninja training in action as Hiro and his Dad practice.
• Hiro's father told him that he will kill Sylar the next attempt. The sword isn't important, the journey is. He will save the world.
  
• Alas, Ando bought a sword and took off to continue the mission thinking that Hiro was going to be sent back to Japan.
• Switching characters again -- I think Candice (the illusionist) might really be an obese woman. She hinted at it and ate tons of junk food while with Micah.
• Micah told her she could use her powers for good.
• "You could be a hero."
• Micah told her Linderman was bad. "He's going to heal the world," she replied. "I didn't know it was sick," said Micah.
• Linderman arrived and told Micah he needed to do one little thing which would save many lives, then he could go home to his parents. He'd give them lots of money and they could all live happily ever after.
• Candice turned into a chubby black woman and took Micah to the polling station.
• She told the woman at the booths she was teaching him about democracy and was allowed to bring him into the voting booth.
• She then told him to use his power to tell all the computers to give Nathan Petrelli a landslide victory.
• He did it. "Can I go home now?"
• Ah, but D.L. and Jessica are in NY looking for Micah!
• They talked to Nathan who seemed to be wavering a bit about Linderman, but felt powerless to do anything about him.
• "You were going to kill him. Let us finish it!"
• Then the news came in -- Nathan Petrelli won the election by a landslide.
• All the action headed to the Kirby Plaza. Micah was held by Candice there.
  
• Mohinder Suresh was curing Molly Walker so she could use her people/hero tracking powers once again.
• The trouble is, Thompson, Bennet's ex-boss at Primatech Paper is in charge of the operation.
• The other trouble is, Parkman and Bennet are in the building to destroy the Walker Tracking System (Molly!).
• Molly was previously saved from the boogeyman (Sylar) by Parkman.
• Parkman had no clue it was Molly that was the tracking system.
• Bennet knew it was a person, but didn't know it was a child.
• Ah, but before that, DL and Jessica met up with Parkman and Bennet in the building. Jessica to Parkman, "Didn't I once throw you out a window?"
  
• They split when Bennet told them where to find Linderman.
• Thompson tried to catch Parkman and Bennet, but Bennet set up Parkman.
  
• "What am I thinking now?" Thompson asked Parkman as he sneaked up in back of him and put a gun to his head.
• "Your last thought," Bennet said as he shot Thompson.
• Then it became a standoff in Molly's room with Mohinder pointing his gun at Bennet and Bennet aiming at Molly.

• No shots fired, standoff unsolved in this chapter.
• Back to Ted secured in the FBI truck...
• Sylar caused the truck to crash with a flick of his hand.
• It overturned and Ted was hanging upside down as Sylar did his brain-taking thing to get his nuclear-hands power.
• Peter and Claire came upon the truck afterwards and knew it was the work of Sylar.
• Back at the Kirby Plaza, DL and Jessica found Linderman and demanded their son, Micah, be returned.
• Jessica sent Linderman flying across the room into a wall.
• Linderman had a trick up his sleeve.
• He gave Jessica money, 20 million dollars, to kill DL.
• Jessica would do it, but Nikki wouldn't. Jessica turned back into Nikki.
• "You should have taken the money," said Linderman as he shot DL.
• Then DL phased his hand into Linderman's brain.
• Now, both Linderman and DL are dead. I think.
• As Nathan gave his acceptance speech, it hinted once again that he might be at least thinking of the right thing.
• He mentioned Peter and making a difference for the greater good, world is sick, it can heal.
• As he gives the speech, Sylar is atop the DeVeaux Building with the Empire State Building in the distance.
• He's practicing his radioactive hands.
• "Boom," he says, smiling at the thought.

Sylar quietly saying "boom" creeps me out.

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, May 14, 2007

Tonight's season finale of How I Met Your Mother has a touching real-life bit within it. The show is a must-see for a Brookyn (NYC) couple. Well, the man worked to get his fiancee-to-be a part as an extra on the show and planned to propose to her while in California. When he told the folks at the show his plans, they set it up so that the proposal would be a scene in the finale. Everyone on the staff knew about it, but the young woman didn't. It was a huge surprise for her.

It's a good thing she said yes to the proposal, eh?

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Due to last night's finale, there's a cyber-ton of Survivor: Fiji links out there! Reality News Online interviewed Yau-Man Chan and Earl Cole. Oh, they also interviewed Cassandra, Boo, and Dreamz. They also have a transcript of the five castaways' appearance on The Early Show. Oh... and they also have a write-up of the reunion show!
• If you're a Dancing With the Stars fan, please stop by the blog discussion post and chat with a great group!
• We saw Survivor castaway Alex's nasty side a bit the other day, but did we forget about this news story I linked a while back?

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Season Finale - Liveblogged From the East Coast

So far, we've gone through the recap of the season. Return or refresh this page throughout the evening as it will constantly be updated as the show progresses here on the East Coast.

Now, there seems to be a bit of doubt about how faithful Earl might be to Yau-Man if he needs the hidden Idol to survive.

Immunity is up for grabs. Five section maze challenge. They have to cross five drawbridges blindfolded and collect five keys. Long maze - the length of a football field. Yau-Man just took the lead, but there's a long way to go. Cassandra is woefully behind. She may as well just sit down. Earl is just about out of it, too. Yau-Man still leading, Dreamz on his heels followed by Boo.

YAU-MAN has won Immunity!

Yau-Man is happy - both he and Earl are secured a place in the Final Four. Boo believes he'll be voted out and that's the plan. Dreamz is worried about his own place.

Boo thinks that he would be better in the Final Two for Earl than Yau-Man would be. He told him he can't win against Yau-Man.

Earl thinks he can beat Boo or Cassandra in the Final Two, but not Yau-Man or Dreamz. He thinks Yau-Man has the underdog vote and Dreamz has the sympathy vote. Boo is campaigning both Earl and Yau-Man.

Tribal Council: Jury is brought in. Dreamz is more concerned about folks not keeping their word over physical threats. Earl hints there might be concern about who they're against at the end. Boo thinks he's a better candidate to take to the F2 over Dreamz or Yau-Man. Dreamz thinks Yau-Man should keep him in for the F4 due to their pact. Boo just gave a tip-off that Earl picked up -- he said he told Yau-Man and Dreamz he would take them to the finals.

Boo voted for Dreamz and vice versa. Jeff is tallying the votes.

Earl's playing the Idol!

Votes: Boo, Dreamz, Boo, Boo. Boo is voted out.

In his closing words, he praised Yau-Man and said he deserved to win it. He also wondered if Dreamz would keep his word. He thinks he will, but "it would be interesting if he didn't."

Dreamz said he's going to keep his word. Earl and Yau-Man are good friends. Dreamz plans to win Immunity and give Yau-Man the necklace. The Final Four - Dreamz, Cassandra, Earl, Yau-Man - are now going through their rites of passage or memory tour, remembering those who got voted off as the show went along.

Lisi thinks all she lacked was the ability to "stick it out" and last. Yeah, right.

There was an ad for Big Brother 8 to start in July during the commercial break.

Final Immunity Challenge - Threshold for pain, each lay on a plank with the angles increased in time increments, water will stream on plank making it slippery. Last one hanging on wins. Dreamz told Yau-Man not to worry, he'll get the necklace back. Three will be going to finals as they did last year. So, it's Final Three in the running for the million.

They're now at a 45-degree angle, all still in. Cassandra having lots of problems. The others all hanging in... literally speaking.

Cassandra is now OUT.

Now up there 20 minutes, angle is increased to 55-degrees. Earl is OUT. It's between Yau-Man and Dreamz. Yau-Man is OUT. Dreamz has won the final Individual Immunity. Cut to commercial and we won't know if Dreamz keeps his word to Yau-Man until after the break.

Back at camp, Yau-Man told Cassandra he intends to vote Dreamz out. Earl thinks Dreamz could save himself since it's three not two in the finals. (Why are Earl and Yau-Man loyal to Cassandra? Other than the fact that either of them would win against her.)

Yau-Man is worried that Dreamz will vote him out. Dreamz just told Earl and Cassandra that he will do the right thing. "I'm good with four," he said. He wants to be known as honorable, a truth-teller, he's Dreamz.

They're heading to Tribal Council. Jeff tells the jury that three will be in the final Tribal Council. Jeff is questioning Dreamz about his promise to Yau-Man. Dreamz thinks if he gives up Immunity, he'll go home.

ACK. Dreamz is keeping the Immunity Necklace! He's crying as he should be. Yau-Man is stoic.

The votes: Cassandra, Yau-Man, Yau-Man, Yau-Man.

ARGH - Yau-Man is voted out - done in by Dreamz and stabbed in the back by Earl.

I can only think that Earl didn't think he'd have a chance to win against Yau-Man. With Dreamz breaking his word and Cassandra being useless, he should win with the jury. I think. I'll be ticked if Cassandra wins.

Earl hopes he still has Yau-Man's vote to win. Dreamz says he has no regrets. He seems very defensive about his decision (for some odd reason).

Day 39 - the last day. The three are smiling. Gifts are going to fall from the sky according to a note in a picnic basket. Earl has to swim out to go and get it because Cassandra can't swim. How do you even get on the show without being able to swim?

They're gathering all the camp stuff to light afire. The fire has started.

It's off to the final Tribal Council where they'll be questioned by the jury.

Opening Statements:
Earl -- I played an honest and clean game. Make the right moves and put myself in the right position. Name never written down, intelligent game. Want the respect vote.
Cassandra -- Thanks jury. Started slow, someone to come talk to, got with an alliance, never wavered.
Dreamz -- My life story, help me, help my life... and help other people.

The Questions/Statements:
Michelle: What do you think biggest obstacle? Dreamz - Not the starving, the thirst. Cassandra - Overcoming inability to swim. M: Does your fear of water win you a million? Earl - Only original Ravu member, no water, no food, Exile Island.

Edgardo to Earl: How did you find out who had Idol? E: Dreamz

Alex to Dreamz: Did you tell about the Idol? Wasn't that betrayal? Dreamz - Just deceit.

Mookie: Tonight isn't the time to lie.

Alex: to Cassandra: Integrity? Cass: Overheard. Alex says she discarded Stacy. A: Arguing... stop talking! To Dreamz: Your goals to help kids... you cheat, lie, backstab to succeed. Why? D: Game based on lies and deceit. A: Can't hide from karma forever.

Lisi: Catch a liar by the toe... Cassandra. Water shoes? Unprepared to play game. Greed kept you in the game. To Dreamz: How many zeroes in a million? Six, do you think I'm stupid? To Earl: Yesterday, Yau vote - whole show for the jury. Why you looked so shocked after voting him off? E: The shock was Dreamz not keeping word. Smart choice. L: Smart, lying manipulating.

Stacy: To Earl: The difference between you and Dreamz is you're more sophisticated. You'll land on your feet. Earl: A million dollars would change us all. I had troubles. Shouldn't be based on need.

Rocky: One question. How did you manipulate the best? "I am the biggest kicker because of..." Cass: Listened to a person at the right time. Dreamz: I manipulated my way to the top. I manipulated Yau. Earl: I manipulated everyone up there because no one even thought I was playing the game.

Boo: Tips hat to Yau - by far the best player. Dreamz deal with Yau... as a Christian, were you playing him at the time of acceptance of truck? Or later? I was playing the game. Boo - You're an immature Christian. The Devil dangle money in front of you.

Yau-Man: Personal statement - no testosterone overload. Can admit to a mistake. Enjoy the truck, don't feel guilty. Have the gonads to tell why you changed your mind. "I didn't change my mind. I played the game." Dreamz - I came here knowing what I was going to do. To Earl - Why didn't you take me to the next level. E: I wouldn't win against you. You played the best game by far.

They're voting now... and we should switch to NYC soon.

No cheesy entrance. They just made it look like Jeff carried the votes directly to the reunion show. I miss the cheese!

The votes: Earl, Earl,Earl, Earl, Earl...

The winner of Survivor 14: Fiji is EARL.

For the first time in Survivor history, the vote was unanimous -- all voted for Earl, as it should be.

Earl knew the second that Dreamz kept Immunity that he'd win.

Next season, the show will Survivor 15: China, the first American television show to be filmed there.

Earl wished his mother a happy Mother's Day and gave her half of his winnings.

Thank you, blog readers! You've made it a great season!

It's an East Coast Live-Blogging 'Survivor 14: Fiji' Event

Come one, come all! Peek in during the show or commercials! Or, if you're in another time zone, see what's happening on tonight's Survivor 14: Fiji season finale before watching the show! Well, read what's happening more than see it, I suppose.

When the show starts at 8 PM EDT, I'll be posting a live-blogging finale entry to this blog. I'll update the entry throughout the show and invite you all to join in with comments. From the challenges to scheming to the sole Survivor, it will all be here in East Coast time.

Oh. You can bring snacks if you wish.

Where is that darn beverage cart? You can find the ongoing East Coast spoiler liveblogging post here.

It's Prom Pants! - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - May 14-18, 2007

Have you got your prom pants? After all, 'tis the season.

Um... if you're in school, that is. If you're not, then it's just a bit odd that you have prom pants. But, who am I to tell you how to live your life?

However, if you are in school, I see on the official show website, they're looking for interns! Gee, where was that opportunity back when I was in college? I would have loved to work with the writers! Okay, back when I was in school, Letterman was barely out of school himself, but that's beside the point. Too bad they don't allow "students of life" to take part in the internships. But, of course, they'd have to pay enough to live on. They do make it clear - "Please note once again that YOU MUST BE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE to be eligible to participate in our program." Once again, I'll note it. Hey, wait... they didn't say "currently" enrolled, did they? It's a loophole!

Here's the guest list (along with a bit of my opinion on said guests) for the show this week:

• Monday, May 14: Mike Meyers promoting Shrek the Third and America Ferrara of Ugly Betty. Eh. All in all, it doesn't sound like a bad show, but it ain't no Jack Hanna!
• Tuesday, May 15: Don Rickles promoting his book Rickles' Book: A Memoir and Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos. The musical guest is Wilco (latest CD is Sky Blue Sky). Masi Oka (Hiro from Heroes) will do the Top Ten List. Well, Masi Oka is a must for me to watch, but I'm not so keen on Rickles. I find him a bit mean-spirited and way out of step with today's world.
• Wednesday, May 16: Ricky Gervais, Mary Lynn Rajskub (24), Mavis Staples (CD is We'll Never Turn Back) and the Top Ten List with Bob Barker. It's Bob Barker's 50th TV Anniversary this week. Has television been around that long? Heh.
• Thursday, May 17: Kid Scientists, Luke Wilson promoting The Wendell Baker Story, Rufus Wainwright (CD is Release the Stars) and a Top Ten List with Homer Simpson. Now, this sounds fun. I always get a kick out of the kids and the way Dave interacts with them. He's a nut! I wonder if I stand out in the street on 53rd, perhaps I can watch Homer Simpson arrive? Maybe get his autograph?
• Friday, May 18: Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), Jonah Hill (Knocked Up - although I don't think he himself is in that state) and musical guest Elvis Costello promoting not one, but two CDs - The Best of Elvis Costello: The First Ten Years and Rock and Roll Music. Elvis Costello usually puts on a good show. I love the new Lexus commercials featuring him. Beethoven's music has the same effect on him as it does on me. Alas, I don't listen to Beethoven in my Lexus, though.

So, there's your week of Pants!

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, May 12, 2007

It's Saturday, the day before the Survivor 14: Fiji finale and reunion show! That will start at 8 PM EDT with the reunion show starting at 10 PM EDT.

Due to the length of the finale and the hour that everything wraps up (plus the fact I have to get up early for work on Monday morning), I'm thinking of doing a live-blogging report as the show airs here. Chances are I won't have time to snag, crop, and get images in the entry, but it would be up at a reasonable hour. Heck, live on East Coast time.

I still have a day to decide, eh?

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• The most recent episode of Lost has fans buzzing about Jacob. In the scene at Jacob's abode, things went so quickly that it was hard to see if Jacob exists or not. But, the Lost Easter Eggs blog has some of the frames of Jacob.
• Reality News Online has both a transcript of Stacy (recent Survivor boot) on The Early Show and an interview of their very own with her. In the interview, she gives us a different look at Alex, but really seems to admire Yau-Man. She said she doesn't think she deliberately tipped him off to use the Idol.
• Reality TV World has an interview with LaKisha Jones, ousted this week on American Idol. She claims she knew on Tuesday that she would be voted off because she lost her voice. Now, I was a supporter of hers early on, but I think it was her time lost voice or not. I don't think she'll ever have to be a bank teller again and has a lot of doors open now.
• Whoa! Spoilers are out and about regarding The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman. Check them out here and here, but only if you really want the spoilers. Eep. Someone has a big mouth!
• In more Lost news, there will be a special next Thursday, May 17. "Lost: The Answers" will be hosted by the executive directors of the series and will explain some of the... well, the answers! Celebrity Spider has the skinny on it.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - Ep. 13 -or- "Go, Yau, go, Yau!"

Here's your big excitement in the reality television genre. Yup, right here with Survivor! The alliance of six is at the point where they have to start picking off their own to outwit, outplay, and outlast.

Six are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

The show opened (after the inevitable recap of last week's events) on Day 34 at the Bula Bula camp.

Boo thinks he's going to be a target, rightfully thought. So, he's setting up an eavesdropping spot by the water well. Perfect! He can hide in there and see if anyone's talking about voting him out.

Well, it's too bad that while he was setting up his hiding spot, the other castaways were all back at camp talking about... you got it... voting Boo out next. They know he's strong in challenges and he's a bit of a wild card, too.

Tree mail came with hints of the Reward Challenge and the tribe automatically knew it was the yearly car prize. Of course, with the car prize comes the Survivor car winner curse -- in the history of the show, the winner of the car has never won the million dollar prize at the end. Dreamz went on and on about how much he wanted the car. He doesn't have one and he believes it would truly change his life.

It turned out that the prize wasn't a car, per se. It was a 2008 Ford truck. The tribe was split into two teams of three and tied together. Then they had to go over a series of see-saws, climb a cargo net crawl doohickey, find their buried hatchet and cut their rope. The winning three would take part in delivering needed school supplies to a local school, using the new truck of course. The winning three then had to compete against each other for the truck win.

The teams were Orange - Yau-Man, Boo, Stacy and Green - Dreamz, Earl, Cassandra. Yau-Man held his team back as he kept falling on the see-saw. Balance while walking just isn't his thing, I guess. But his team made up time in the cargo net crawl, then dug up their hatchet first. So, Orange won the first round for taking the supplies to the school.

In the second round, a hatchet toss, the first round winners had to throw a hatchet at a target. The first one to cut through the two ropes on the target won the car. And, it was Yau-Man!

In a surprise move, he decided to make a public deal with Dreamz. Dreamz wanted that truck so bad and Yau-Man, thinking on his feet better than he can balance on them, offered to give Dreamz the truck.

The hitch was that if they made it to the final four, Dreamz would have to give him Immunity if he won it. Dreamz jumped on the chance for the truck without even thinking it through. Had he thought it through, I think he probably would have taken the truck and his chances anyway. He wants that truck!

Then, continuing the surprises, Yau-Man sent himself to Exile Island. Later, on the island, he gave his reasons behind that to us. He thought Earl had been sent there too much and Cassandra wouldn't be able to handle it. He also explained to us that while a bit of giving the truck to Dreamz was because he thought it was a good deed, it was more strategy. He also mentioned his trust in Earl again and planned to share the latest clue with him. The clue indicated pine tree this time.

The reward shared by Boo, Stacy, and Dreamz seemed to really touch them. The children needed the supplies. The teachers even got a fully-loaded mobile office. It was one of those heart-warming do-good warm fuzzies all around rewards.

It took him a while, but Dreamz realized he was tricked by Yau-Man. He still thinks it was great for him to give him the car and he gave his word he'd give him the Immunity at that point if he won it. How to get out of it? Get Yau-Man out before that point. That way, he'd keep his word and the truck that went with it.

Earl poked around looking for the Idol based on the clues he and Boo got during their Exile Island stays. Dreamz worked on trying to get Cassandra to understand Yau-Man has to go first, then Boo. Cassandra is more worried about Boo.

At the Immunity Challenge, we got to see something different once again. Yay for no puzzles each and every week! It's Rounds which seems to be the keyword as of late. This was another challenge with rounds. In the first round, the castaways had to stand on a platform where there was a ball on a rope. They had to throw the ball into a hoop to bring down a balance beam. The next round had them on a perch using a grappling hook to get a buoy.

Dreamz, Yau-Man, Earl, and Boo made it through the first round. The final round was between Yau-Man and Boo. Boo, knowing he pretty much has to win Immunity to stay in the game, gave it his all and won Immunity.

Boo noticed that his win seemed to stir up the others and he thought they'd have to go to Plan B. Earl and Yau-Man didn't have time to think about Plan B. They had an Idol to find. Yau-Man stayed at the camp while Earl searched. Sure enough, Earl found it in a pine tree!

The scheming went on in camp with Dreamz trying to get everyone to vote Yau-Man while Earl and Yau-Man thought Stacy was the target. Stacy, without a doubt, bought the plan easily. She knew she would be the target as they couldn't vote for Boo to go.

Cassandra was a harder sell. She tried to think the situation through. If it backfired, she would make enemies of both Earl and Yau-Man. Was it a chance she was willing to take?

Yau-Man, smart dude that he is, was getting bad vibes. He told Earl, but Earl didn't think anything was going on. After all, he had talked to Dreamz, Cassandra and Boo. The plan was for a Stacy vote. No need to worry, right?

Then came Tribal Council. As Jeff asked questions, Loose Lips Sink Ships and Stacys, Stacy said she thought it would be a split vote and the game would get harder. Both Yau-Man and Earl jumped a bit to hear that.

After Jeff tallied the votes, but before he read them, he once again said that if someone had the hidden Idol and wanted to use it, now was the time. Although it may have been editing, it seemed like forever before Yau-Man pulled out the Idol to save himself.

Sure enough, Yau-Man and Earl were the only ones to vote for Stacy. Everyone else voted for Yau-Man thinking he'd be confident that he was safe and not use the Idol. Had Stacy not mentioned the split vote, he wouldn't have used it. Stacy sent herself home.

The finale and reunion should be really interesting Sunday, huh?

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - May 10 - East Coast Update - Voted Out

Yau-Man saved his butt with the hidden Immunity Idol and Stacy was voted out.

Stop back later for a full review/recap!

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - May 10 - East Coast Update - Immunity

Boo won Immunity.

'Survivor 14: Fiji' - May 10 - East Coast Update - Reward and Exile

Yau-Man won Reward - a 2008 Ford truck. (Oh, no... car winner curse!) He made a public deal with Dreamz (who's desperate to have a car) that if they make it to the Final Four and he (Dreamz) wins Immunity, he gives it to Yau-Man. Dreamz agreed and now has a truck.

Yau-Man sent himself to Exile Island.

Yes, he did.

Stay tuned for Immunity and the boot, as well as a full review/recap posted here later tonight!

'Lost' - "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Yet another dynamite episode!

Now, we all remember that Ben was originally introduced to us as Henry Gale. And, of course, Henry Gale was the Dorothy's uncle in The Wizard of Oz. The "Wizard" himself arrived in Oz via a hot air balloon (as was Ben/Henry's original story, but landing on the island). We all know that the Wizard of Oz was a sham; he was the "man behind the curtain' working all the controls and manipulating the good folks of Oz.

So, what does that make Ben? Or... could it be Jacob? Or, is there a Jacob?

Tonight's episode was Ben-centric and very powerful. Ben has been a real mystery and it's time we got some goods on his background!

In the Flashbacks
A man and his pregnant wife were hiking in the woods. Although she was only seven months pregnant, she gave birth to a baby boy... Ben. Emily Linus died shortly after giving birth as her husband, Roger, carried her and the baby to the roadside. A sign had mileage to Portland listed on it.

A young couple stopped to help Roger, his dying wife, and the newborn Ben. They were Horace Goodspeed and Olivia. Fast forward to when Ben is perhaps ten years old or so... Roger and Ben arrived on the island where Horace had promised Roger a job, Ben good schooling, and a better life. They would be a part of the DHARMA Initiative. Namaste! (That seems to be a welcome greeting.)

Roger Linus was upset as he was given his work uniform. He's a Work Man, the Roger "Workman" from the microbus Hurley found a few weeks back. He thought he would have a much better job. I think Roger was a very bitter and broken man, most likely due to the death of his wife.

In the orientation, Horace told them that they had to remain in the Barracks area and not pass through the pylon fences due to "hostiles" and wildlife on the island.

Young Ben seemed to fit in okay with the other DHARMA kids, and with one little girl in particular -- Annie. She was the only one to ever remember his birthday. She made him a doll and told him that she'd always be with him as long as he had the doll.

While at school studying volcanoes, the teacher told the class that there had been one on the island. All of a sudden, the intruder alert alarms went off. Hostiles! The skirmish with them caused Roger to get angrier and demand another thirty-thousand for hazard pay.

As his father argued about the conditions, Ben saw his mother at the window. Then she vanished, but a photo confirmed it was her. She seemed to be dressed in the same dress as the doll given to him by Annie.

His father saw the box with the doll from Annie and mentioned that he had forgotten Ben's birthday again. He had been drinking and got nasty with Ben. :How could I forget the day you killed your mother?"

Ben ran to the pylon fence where he saw his mother again. But she sent him back, telling him it wasn't time yet.

Now, I'm not sure how I missed how he got it, but Ben later returned to the fence with a note which held the code to turn off the power -- 54439. He sent his pet rabbit through first to make sure he had deactivated the fence. Then he went through, wandering in the woods and frightened at every sound.

Whom does he encounter? Why, I believe it's Richard Alpert with longer hair. Ben is a child, but Richard is a grown man. What's up with that? Richard asked him if he saw his mother here after Ben told him he was searching for her and that she was dead. Ben insisted that he wanted to go with Richard because "I hate it here." "Be patient, be very patient," Richard told him.

Ben did go back to the Barracks, because the next time we see him, he's an adult working for DHARMA. His shirt reads "Ben Work Man." So, he's a janitor like his father. Ben and his father were loading a DHARMA VW bus with beer to deliver to the Pearl Station.

As they went through a meadow with "Shabala" blaring, they stopped to open a beer to "celebrate" Ben's birthday. Roger promised him he'd remember the next year. At exactly 4 PM, Ben popped a beer top, handed it to his father, then put on a gas mask. He set off a cannister of gas in the vehicle and sat emotionless as his father bled from the nose and died.

Ben went back to the Barracks where all the other members of the DHARMA Initiative had also been gassed. Richard Alpert, looking like the Richard Alpert of the present, and a group of armed "hostiles" were at the Barracks, also wearing gas masks. Ben had been patient well into his adult years.

On the Island
Sawyer brought the recorder that Locke gave him to Sayid, telling Sayid that Locke went back with the others. Sayid and Sawyer were looking for Juliet, but neither Juliet or Jack are anywhere around. When Kate arrived, she told them that Juliet had left with Jack. "Play her the tape." What they're hearing on the tape is Juliet's message to Ben about testing Sun.

Juliet and Jack came back to find the camp talking about them. Jack told them that he knew of Sun's trip to the medical station with Juliet. She had told him. They were shocked that the world thinks there are no survivors of the plane crash. Juliet told them to turn the tape over. On the other side there were the plans to raid the camp, take Sun as well as mention of "Austin's sample." They must think that Kate could be pregnant. Jack again told them that he knew because Juliet had told them. When questioned why he didn't say anything, he told them he hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

Huh? What's with Jack? You don't know what to do about an upcoming raid and kidnapping? You don't tell anyone until you're cornered?

At the Others Camp, Ben has the doll. It's his birthday, y'see. Richard arrived to take the recorder back for Juliet when they discovered the recorder had gone missing. Their search was interrupted by John Locke's arrival, dead body of his father over his shoulder. Ben was shocked!

Locke reminded Ben that he promised to tell him everything about the island if he brought his father's body there. Ben told him he (Ben) wasn't the leader -- he had to answer to Jacob. Locke was persistent. He wanted to know about Jacob. In questioning Ben, he found out that no one but Ben had ever seen Jacob. Locke called him a liar, the man behind the curtain.

That's when a not-dead Mikhail arrived. He told them that the pylons weren't set at a lethal level -- that's how he lived. He was stunned to see Locke there questioning Ben. "What are you doing? We don't answer to him!" Ben told him that Locke was with them now. Mikhail told them of Naomi, the crashed "helo" and the freighter ship offshore.

When Ben told Locke that he had to attend to those issues, Locke demanded he take him to Jacob. He told Mikhail, "Ben's not going with you. He and I are going to see Jacob." Then Locke beat Mikhail to a pulp. (Mikhail really gets hurt a lot, eh?) Ben cried for the others watching to stop Locke, but they all stood and watched. It was like a battle of power between Ben and Locke even though it was Mikhail being beaten.

After Locke stopped beating Mikhail, Alex gave him a gun to take with them to go see Jacob. "Happy birthday, Dad."

As Ben and Locke hiked through the woods, Ben told him that Jacob would be angry. After all, he wasn't the kind of man you go to see. He was the kind of man who summoned you to see him. Ben glanced at dirt in passing, then Locke paused and examined it. Volcano ash? I'm not sure.

They arrived at a wooden shack and Ben told Locke he'd have to turn off the flashlight because "Jacob doesn't like technology." "Are you sure you want to go in there?" Ben asked Locke. "So be it."

Inside the shack was a table, a rocking chair, a picture of a dog, and four jars of something on a shelf. Ben started talking to the chair reminding me so much of Norman Bates in Psycho. Apparently the chair was talking back to him, but neither John nor we heard him.

Locke started yelling that Ben was a fraud, crazy! "You made it all up!: Ben told him he must be too limited to see and insisted that Jacob was in the empty chair. Locke went to leave when he heard an unearthly voice say, "Help me." He quickly turned on the flashlight when all went wild in the room. The chair moved, items whizzed through the air, and Ben looked terrified. When a fire started from the lantern, Locke ran out followed by Ben.

"What did he say to you? What did Jacob say to you?" Locke yelled at him that he put on a show and that he was a fraud. He was going to tell his people the truth. They headed back to the Barracks, but not the way they had taken to get there.

Instead, Ben led Locke to a burial ditch containing the skeletons of the members of the DHARMA Initiative. He shot John in the left chest and let him fall in with the bones. "What did Jacob say to you?" "Help me." "What did he say?" "He said 'help me.'" "I hope he helps you, John."

LOST [thunk]

So... Ben wasn't born on the island. The aging thing is odd, too. We know Richard was in Portland, but yet his work is separate from DHARMA. And, the Others are the hostiles, not DHARMA. Has anyone other than Aaron been really born on the island?

Great episode!

'American Idol 6' - Final Four Results Show - May 9 - East Coast Update

The show is starting here on the East Coast. Barry Gibb and Pink will perform. Ryan is unshaven.

As the show airs, I'll be updating this post with the happenings. So, please return here throughout the hour to talk about what's going on or to sneak a peek from the other time zones. You can get here easily by using the American Idol 6 category on the blog sidebar or just refreshing this entry.

The judges have been introduced, now they're recapping last night's performances.

The Farmers Market segment has a lot of LaKisha supporters. Ryan mentioned an hour to fill... they really should cut down the results show to a half-hour in my opinion.

They did a promo for the Idols tour this summer. Now Pink is singing "Who Knew?" Eh. I'm not a big Pink fan. I want to know who's going home, don't you?

The Ford video was to "You Really Got Me." It wasn't the most flattering look for LaKisha or Jordin. The Idol Challenge - Who went to Africa to support the Idol Gives Back cause -- Reuben, Carrie or Bo. Give me a break!

Ack. The audio screwed up as they started the four singing the BeeGee tribute medley. Not so hot so far.

Ryan is talking to the four finalists on the couch now. No announcements yet.

The top three will be returning to their hometowns for a publicity bit this week. The four saw a sneak peek of The Fantastic Four: The Silver Surfer. As a result, we're getting a sneak peek of the movie, too.

The four are talking about their families and childhood. It's odd... three of them are only children. Jordin is the only one with a sibling. The results (supposedly) will be...

... after the break.

RESULTS UPDATE: They refuse to line up. Ryan recapped the judges' comments on all of them. Jordin is safe.

Now they're looking for the "best undiscovered group" in America... The Band Show hopes to do for musician and groups what American Idol has done for individuals. Do you have the chops? (No, but if they're looking for an undiscovered blogger, I'm their woman.) It reeks a bit of Rock Star to me.

Barry Gibb is singing "To Love Somebody." Oh, he's so not the Barry Gibb I adored so many years back. But I like him better than Pink!

RESULTS UPDATE: Melinda Doolittle is safe. It's down to Blake or LaKisha going home. Simon thinks it will be LaKisha. And it is... Blake Lewis is safe.

LaKisha Jones is going home. (And I called that one last night!)

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, May 9, 2007

I'll be live-blogging the American Idol results show as it airs tonight on the East Coast. So, if you want to dish on the happenings or you're in another time zone and just can't wait... stop on by anytime after 9 PM EDT. The blog entry I'll be creating at that time will be updated continuously throughout the show up to and including who leaves tonight.

After that, you know I have to watch Lost although my recap/review on that show won't be posted until tomorrow evening.

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:

• I guess I'm not the only live-blogger out there. Even though I'll be tied up with Survivor tomorrow evening, if you're a My Name Is Earl fan, there's a blog event for you! Tomorrow night is the show's finale and NBC is hosting a live-blogging event which you can peek in on today. If you have questions about the show or want to take part in the goings-on, the blog is here. You can also check out a video preview for the show.
• AOL Television's American Idol poll has Jordin leading, Melinda second place, then Blake, and LaKisha coming in last. I think they have that right.
• Billy Ray Cyrus got the boot from Dancing With the Stars. Should he have been on the show?
• I peeked in on the official CBS Big Brother 8 website. The deadline for applications was a few weeks ago, so they're hopefully working hard to get us some summer eye-candy guys... er, entertaining and intelligent houseguests. Of course, that's what I meant to say.
• What? Say it ain't so! Sanjaya Malakar in I Love New York 2? Eep. TMZ has the skinny on that. That will surely bring down the property values.

'American Idol 6' - The Final Four Sing to the Brothers Gibb

Don't get me wrong. I like the BeeGees. While I only have their pre-disco "Best of the BeeGees" ballad days vinyl in my music collection, their disco stuff was good. I was just a bit anti-disco at the time. The BeeGees knew what to do when and how to change their style to fit the current music scene. I admire them.

But I felt tonight's show was um... not good. The songs all seemed a bit off even though songs like "Stayin' Alive" can stand the test of time. They just couldn't stand the test of the American Idol final four contestants, I guess. I wasn't really moved by any of the performances tonight. However, if I had to name the winner of the night, I'd go for Jordin followed by Melinda.

Each contestant sang one song in rotation, then sang a second one in the same order. While I'm going to write about both songs for each contestant, keep in mind these weren't sang consecutively. The order was: Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, LaKisha Jones, and Jordin Sparks. (Second verse, same as the first!)

Barry Gibb surely isn't the same guy I had a crush on decades ago. He talks like his jaws are wired shut, but can still hit that falsetto. He seemed to really work with the contestants, though. Not that all listened to his advice, of course.

The first song Melinda Doolittle chose was "Love You Inside and Out." Barry noted it was a group song with falsetto, but thought she worked it out well. That she did. Technically, her vocals flawless. But for me, even though Melinda ranks best in my personal opinion, I wasn't excited.

Randy thought it was solid, good. Paula said her vocals were spot on, always are spot on. Simon wasn't all that impressed. He said it was "not incredible" and more of a backing singer's performance. Oy!

Her second song was "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." I got a kick out of how she didn't want to sing the line "Can a loser ever win?" Barry Gibb thought it probably best to leave that line out, too. Again, I thought she did perfect on a technical level. I enjoyed it more than the first song, but it definitely wasn't my favorite Melinda Doolittle performance.

Randy called her the "resident pro" again and said it was much better than the first song. Paula said it was a beautiful vocal, but she needed to "surprise us." Simon said the second half of the song would get her in the semi-finals.

For his first song, Blake Lewis chose "You Should Be Dancing." And, yes, he danced. Barry thought beat-boxing fit the song. But when he was on stage performing, I thought his beat-boxing detracted from it. Usually, with more contemporary songs, it adds. Not so much for this song. This may have been my least favorite Blake Lewis performance ever.

Randy said it was like going to a weird disco in a foreign country. Paula said it wasn't his best performance, but he's unique. Simon said it was terrible. I have to agree with Simon on this one.

His next song choice was a song with which I'm not familiar - "This Is Where I Came In." While, again, I didn't think the beat-boxing worked well with the song, I thought the performance and his actual singing of the song a world better than his first round.

Randy said it was better and there's no need to beat-box every song. Paula called him a "contemporary rebel." She also said it was on key and she enjoyed it. Simon called it a bizarre song choice and tuneless. I disagree with Simon. I heard a tune and thought the lyrics actually suited Blake well. I just don't think he delivered.

LaKisha Jones chose "Stayin' Alive" as her first song choice. Um, okay. Barry thought it would be a challenge for her, especially with the falsetto. I didn't think she did horribly, but it wasn't her proudest moment on the show. It's a fast song, and she just didn't keep up... or something.

Randy said the performance was weird, not working, and that she tried to change the song too much. Paula said she took the tempo down. Simon said, "No kiss tonight, baby." He said she was shouting and verging on "scary."

Her second song was more suited to her, I think. "Run to Me" is a ballad, not disco. Barry thought she'd have a challenge with changing the key of the song and that she would rise to the challenge. I thought she did well enough, but nothing earthshaking.

Randy thought it was better than her first song. Paula said she's still a champ. Simon said, "You and Blake are both vulnerable." I agree with Simon. I think we'll say goodbye to LaKisha this week.

Jordin Sparks blew Barry Gibb away as she was working on what would be her first song - "To Love Somebody." He said many have recorded the song, but her version is the best so far. Wow, powerful praise there, eh? I think she lived up to it while she sang. It was definitely the best performance of the night even though Melinda sang perfectly.

Randy deemed it "the best vocal of the night so far." Paula said she was beautiful and agreed with Randy. Simon said it was the best song choice and the best performance of the night. (Remember, she was the last one to sing the first round.)

The second song Jordin chose was "Woman in Love" popularized by Barbra Streisand. Barry Gibb was agog over Jordin. He thinks that she's "going there" and will one day be one of the great recording artists. I thought she did well, but I preferred her first song. Even so, this would be my second favorite performance of the night... both coming from Jordin. I have to admit that's not saying all that much as I think tonight's show was a bit of a dud.

Randy gave the performance two "check it outs" and said it wasn't her best, a bit pitchy. Paula seemed to agree, called her beautiful again and said she loves her anyway. Simon called the performance old-fashioned and "pageanty."

All in all, while I like the BeeGees singing their songs, American Idol shouldn't go there again. What did you think?

"It's only words
and words are all I have..." - "Words" by the BeeGees

'Heroes' - "The Hard Part" - A BulletPoint Report

Yes, graphics artist Zoetawny made me a Heroes tag for the blog. (She rocks, y'know.)

Blog reader Sydney asked me in comments if the show location in NYC and bomb bit bother me due to my proximity to the events of 9/11. Although I truly love this show, I must admit that the NYC bomb/nuclear explosion bit does bother me some. I lost some friends, neighbors, and a relative when the planes crashed in the World Trade Center, and it changed life around here. So, yes, it touches a nerve at times, but I enjoy this show anyway.

And tonight was no exception. Here's the skinny to keep things up to snuff (or something to that effect):

• Hiro and Ando teleported back to the present. "Don't worry, New York! We will save you!"
• At the Petrelli house, Claire is still supposed to go to Paris, but Peter tells her she can't leave.
• Peter told her she's needed to save the world.
• "I explode," said Peter. "Like Ted," Claire replied. Peter didn't know about Ted Sprague's ability.
• Ted Sprague, Matt Parkman (mind reading ex-cop, future creep), and Mr. Bennet decide to head to NYC. The Walker Tracking System which tracks the heroes is there.

• Sylar, after killing Isaac, painted Ted Sprague.
• It dawns on Sylar that if he absorbs Ted's powers, he will explode.
• "Is that what Isaac saw?" - Sylar has a conscience?
  
• Sylar called Suresh Mohinder telling him that taking the powers is natural selection, but he didn't want to kill the innocent. He didn't want to be responsible for the apocalypse.
• Nikki in the mirror again convinces Jessica to go with DL to rescue Micah from Linderman.
• Meanwhile, Micah is with Candice (the illusionist morphing woman) in New York.
• Micah doesn't like Linderman. "He smells funny."
• At the Kirby Plaza, Suresh met up with Bennet's ex-boss (Thompson?), refused to work for him.
• Thompson told Suresh he had the only one who could stop Sylar - Molly Walker.
• "She's on the list." Sylar attacked her family. She has a virus and her powers are currently blocked.
• Sylar, still at Isaac's, made a phone call, then was prettying himself up to go visit someone.
• Hiro and Ando arrived at Isaac's, saw Isaac dead on the floor Sylarized (as Hiro saw once before).
• They hid behind Sylar Ted painting when Sylar emerged from the bathroom.
• Sylar heard their heartbeats (super hearing from the woman in that garage).
• As Sylar whisked the portrait away, Ando and Hiro teleported out and escaped.
• Back in Las Vegas, Jessica and DL went through the wall into Linderman's place. He wasn't there.
• They found files on their lives (Nikki, Jessica, DL, and Micah).

• There was a painting of Micah in a burning high-rise building there.
• Suresh met up with Molly Walker, a young child.
• He determined that she was like his deceased sister, Shanti.
• Her (blocked) ability is finding people wherever they may hide.
• Molly told Suresh of the Boogeyman who sees into your soul and steals your brain.
• Suresh eventually gave Molly a cure - his own blood.
  
• Back at the Petrelli's house, Claire told Nathan that Ted Sprague blew up her house.
• Nathan called Linderman. "Mr. Linderman, we have a problem."
• The election is tomorrow.
• Who was Sylar going to visit? Why, it's his mother! He brought her a snow globe for her collection.
  
• She fusses about him, tells him he could be anything, even the President.
• He was upset that she neglected a clock of his father's and set about fixing it.
• He hedged around and seemed to be trying to get her permission to no longer be "special."
• He just wants to be a normal watchmaker.
• "You could be so much more!," she told him.
• Back where Micah's being held, he tried to escape. But Candice's illusions had him returning to the same room each door he tried.
• Candice appeared to him as Candice instead of his mother and told him to behave.
• Oh, back to Sylar's mother's place in Queens -- Hiro and Ando followed him there and eavesdrop outside of the window.
• Sylar's mother continues to do what she wants, makes him a sandwich when he really wanted to talk about being normal again.
• Uh-oh. When she insisted how special he was, he told her "I can do a lot more you don't know about." He then made it snow.
• Everything whirled and he lost control. A snow globe hit her in the head, causing a cut.
• She locked herself in her bedroom.
  
• As he begged for forgiveness, Ando said it was the perfect time for Hiro to kill him with the sword.
• Hiro said he couldn't kill someone while he was asking for forgiveness.
• Sylar told his mother he was going to do something horrible, he was going to kill a lot of people.
• His mother told him he wasn't her son. He wasn't Gabriel. She told him to leave.
• Sylar and his mother started fighting and he (seemingly accidentally) stabbed her with a pair of scissors.
• At that moment, Hiro froze time and tried to kill Sylar with his sword.
• Sylar unfroze, grabbed the sword and broke it while his mother was still frozen in time.
• Hiro and Ando blinked away. Sylar's mother fell to the floor, dead.
• Back to Peter and Claire -- Peter gave Claire a gun, said she had to go to Kirby Plaza with him. If he started to explode, he wants her to shoot him in the back of the head where the glass shard had "killed" him before she took it out.
• Claire saw a picture of Ted that Peter drew. He told her he could draw the future. "You're a part of this, Claire."
• Mom Petrelli, called by Linderman, went to Nathan to convince him he had to follow through on the plans. It's his destiny to set the course of history after the catastrophe.
• Cut back to Sylar - he's using his dead mother's blood to draw Kirby Plaza on the apartment floor. Creepy!
• Claire and Peter went to Kirby Plaza only to see Mr. Bennet, Ted Sprague, and Matt Parkman approaching.
• Claire ran to her Dad.
• Peter started absorbing Ted's abilities and his hands went radioactive.

Wow. It sounds like Sylar has issues, eh?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, May 7, 2007

Another season of The Amazing Race has ended, Survivor 14: Fiji is down to one show and then the big finale and reunion night (Sunday, May 13 starting at 8 PM). But we're getting closer to Big Brother 8! That should be starting the first week of July.

Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman are still going strong, as is American Idol. And, but of course, tonight is How I Met Your Mother and Heroes night for me!

Here are the TV Newsy Bits for today:

• If you're in the New York City area and, especially if you were around in the 1970s, tonight's 11 PM WCBS2 news (Channel 2) has an interview with Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz thirty years after the killing spree. I know it's a macabre thought, but I won't be able to not watch it. That was such a horrendous and plain old odd case.
• BuddyTV has their interview with Eric and Danielle, winners of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars, online for your perusal.
• Celebrity Spider has mild promotional spoilers (nothing big) for this week's Survivor 14: Fiji episode.
• Heh. Celebrity Spider also reports that the host of Pimp My Ride has lost his license to drive. Hmmm... could he get a new show called Pimp My City Bus?
• After sources said a few days ago that Lost will end after two more seasons, new sources are now saying three seasons.
• TVGuide.com has an interview with Missy Peregrym, the actress who plays Candace (the "illusionist" Primatech Paper morphing woman) on Heroes.
• This article casts doubt on the return of Jericho or The Class next fall, but I haven't seen any official announcements.

An added note: Some of the regular blog readers want to get a real-life meet-up arranged sometime over the summer. Most likely it would be in either New York City or perhaps Philadelphia. If you're a regular commenter here and want to get involved in the planning, send me an email (the contact info is in the sidebar). I'm putting together a mailing list to work on the details. Since this blog doesn't show email addresses, we're doing this off blog. If you want to get involved, yet don't want to use your regular email, send me an email telling me who you are in comments and I'll send you a free gmail invite.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Season Finale

Well, the season is over and I have mixed feelings. I've never been too keen on "all star" seasons of reality shows and this season of The Amazing Race did nothing to change my opinion.

When the team announcements were originally released, I was a bit disappointed -- too many teams from the most recent season, one team which wasn't a team at all. After all, Danielle and Eric were originally on competing teams during their season. Oh, I know why they included them -- a TAR love story or whatnot. But there were enough other teams I enjoyed and, as always, I love the concept of the show.

I thought this season was a bit tamed-down in the challenges, too. There didn't seem to be as many risky challenges, although they certainly had more than the Family Edition (Season 8) year. Nonetheless, it was a great glimpse into countries I may never see and into other cultures. I can't call the season time wasted, not at all.

Tonight's finale was only an hour long which always seems too short for a big show event. And, tonight it also seemed they whipped through a couple of challenges, then it was time for the last Pit Stop. I found it to be a bit of a letdown in one of the more lackluster seasons of the show. Mind you, I enjoyed it overall. It's only lackluster when compared to the excitement and thrills of past seasons. Your mileage may vary.

Here's what happened on the finale leg:

The teams left from Guam with the Beauty Queens, Dustin and Kandice, starting at 11:53, Eric and Danielle leaving at 12:55, and Charla and Mirna last to leave at 1:29. It didn't really matter who left when, though, not in the long run.

They had to take a flight to Honolulu where they'd take a helicopter from Kamaka Air to Lanai to get their next clue. All three teams tried for the same flight, but Charla and Mirna found an earlier connecting flight putting them ahead of the other teams by about forty minutes.

The helicopters each could carry one team, first come first served. They left ten minutes apart. So, once again, lead time was narrowed down so no team was at a huge advantage. Once they received their clues, they drove to a harbor where they got the clue to the Detour.

Teams could go Under or Over. In Under, they would have to dive into an underwater cave fighting the currents to get a clue tied to a rock. In Over, they had to "surf" on a paddleboard out to a buoy to get the next clue. Smartly, Charla and Mirna chose Over. This is the short of challenge where Charla's lower center of gravity is a huge bonus. Oh, not such a great challenge for Mirna, though. Eric/Danielle and Dustin/Kandice chose Under, with the girls having a rough time with it and falling behind.

From there, teams had to hike a mile to Shipwreck Beach to find their next clue. Eric and Danielle arrived there first and Charla and Mirna were last even though they originally were in the lead. Running across rocks, unlike the paddleboarding, isn't easy for Charla. After they made it to the beach, each team had to take an inflatable kayak and row (against currents) out to a shipwreck. Nearby the shipwreck was a buoy which contained their next clue.

None of the teams are ever going to be Olympic-class rowers. But Eric and Danielle did the best, followed by Dustin and Kandice and then Charla and Mirna. All finally made it through, even though the Beauty Queens had a brief spat, then made up.

And, once again, all teams ended up on the same flight... this one to the final destination, San Francisco, California. Charla used her heelies in the airport once again -- too bad they don't work over rocks and on beaches!

Then it was a slow cab race to the final clue leading them to the Old Mint. Now, I found the challenge faced there interesting and different, even though it wasn't daring and exciting. One member of each team had to answer questions about the previous teams while in a vault. They would enter the answers and ended up with a code. Then the other team member would come in and try to figure the answers their partner gave. When the answers matched, the code given would open a safe which contained the location of the finish line. It seems that Uchenna and Joyce seem to have attracted the most friends. Danielle, after several attempts, lined up the same answers as Eric. But Charla and Kandice (or was it Dustin?) both took the time limit and ended up being given the clue as they couldn't make all the matches.

The finish line was at the Botanical Gardens, with Phil and all of the previous teams, as we have grown to expect. Eric and Danielle made it there first, with the Beauty Queens not all that far behind. Then came Charla and Mirna.

Oh, well. I'm ready for a real show next season with all new teams for us to cheer on or boo! What did you think of this season? I don't think anyone I've seen commenting ever named Eric and Danielle as a favored team from the start, but maybe someone out there wanted them to win it all along. I only recently began to admire their determination after the two Yields. Although I don't care for Eric's personality, they seemed to work more like an actual team from that point on once the pressure really hit.