Soul Patrol!

We’re finally at the end of American Idol…did time fly or what? Anyways, since they’re going to drag this out for two hours, well…who knows what they’ll do until the results at 9:55…

Of course, we’ll have a bunch of group songs. I guess this is why I shouldn’t go sing the AI tour…I can barely sit through these while on my couch. The first one wasn’t too bad (although what were they thinking dressing Mandisa like that?) But the guys all dressed in black singing? Thank goodness for the fast forward button on my tivo. The girls weren’t much better…this is exactly the type of “you can see it on any cruise ship” entertainment that Simon always complains about. The Burt Bacharach medley was even more cruise ship-esque. Ugh.

Apparently we’ll also have some awkward duets as well. Paris singing with Al Jarreau was actually pretty good, but then again, we always knew she was a good singer. And Chris singing with Live was excellent – I would so buy that CD! (yeah, it might just work out best for Chris that he didn’t end up winning after all…) But Katharine and Meatloaf? I just can’t believe that when Katharine sat down with the producers to decide who she wanted to sing with, her first response was “oooh! How about Meatloaf?!?”.(and how sad is it that she sounded better…actually a LOT better…than Meatloaf?) It picked back up with Elliott & Mary J. Blige (another single I would actually buy), but did Toni Braxton not understand the words of “In the Ghetto”? Her performance certainly was inappropriate at best. And what was the point of the Prince performance?

How about some running bits? “Puck ‘n’ Pickler!”How can you go wrong! (seriously, can you imagine the guy pitching this one in the production meeting?) Kellie eats snails! Kellie faces live lobster! Comedy genius!

And some Golden Idol awards! Sure, it’s a different way to show all those hideous audition tapes again. But what would make these people show back up on stage when they know that they are being made fun of? Of course the moment with the Clay Aiken wannabe was worth watching…I guess he really didn’t know that Clay would be there. And aside from the fact that I don’t like his new look, he sounded really good (and I loved that it seemed like the producers really dropped the wannabe’s mic out so we could only hear Clay…thank you…)

And who can forget some airtime for Carrie Underwood? She sounded good, but just pointed out the fact that I really don’t like country music.

Finally, a duet with Katharine and Taylor, which they really should have done more of. They sound really good together. But, alas, still no results. This is the point I’m actually starting to panic. I watched the finale on tivo (thanks to the Red Sox…go Sox!), and they didn’t start the duet until 9:55. 9:55! Oh, how I feel for those of you who were sitting through this live! With one minute to spare, Ryan actually share the results (but not before sharing how many votes were cast and introducing the accountant…oh, I’m really checking my watch…). And no surprise, Taylor is the winner. Soul Patrol!

So, overall, this was a really good season. The show got crazy ratings each week, and somehow there is still a sizeable pool of undiscovered talent out there. And I think that a few of this season’s contestants have an actual shot of being successful in the music industry (Taylor, Katharine, Chris, Paris, Elliott…). And don’t forget that Ace is rumored to be mulling over an offer to pose in Playgirl. Yikes.

This also is the end of this season’s run of reality shows. Of course, any day now the “summer replacement” shows will start. And while they usually aren’t as good as the “regular” shows, let’s not forget that the very first season of Survivor was shown the summer of 2000. So I’ll still be around for the summer, but definitely waiting for the fall!

The Final Two Sing on American Idol

It’s the last night of singing on American Idol, and we have one of the better showdowns in the show’s history. I mean, did anyone really think that Justin, Diana, or Bo would win? Do you even remember who Justin and Diana were? That’s what I thought. So tonight’s contest between Katharine and Taylor will be one of the best – two really good singers with very different styles. This should be good…

Katharine started off with “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” which was a great choice. It’s upbeat, and she sounded great. I was also glad to see that she didn’t do that ridiculous dancing on her knees this time. The judges weren’t blown away, but I don’t think they’re ever blown away by Katharine.

I’m not really sure how Taylor’s first song, “Living for the City,” went. I was so focused on that purple velvet jacket. I just couldn’t stop staring at it. The judges loved it – clearly the hypnotic jacket wasn’t such a problem for them. (ok, so Simon noticed it…)

Katharine’s second song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” was beautiful. I just wish that she had done something a little different with it. She did the same sitting down thing, the same basic performance. Of course, the fact that her monitor didn’t work makes her performance a bit more impressive

Taylor’s second performance, “Levon,” was good, but not nearly as good as Katharine’s. Randy even thought it was “pitchy.” I’ve been watching the show for years, and I still don’t know what pitchy means. But I agree with Simon – it’s a tie game.

Finally, they each sang what would be their first singles. In the past, each one sang the same original song, which was great in that you could actually compare the two performances. And haven’t they usually sung more than one original song? (rather than choosing their favorites from the season ) Katharine’s song started out really good. But it sounded like in the middle she oversang it a bit. I agree with Randy that the song wasn’t great, but that’s not her fault – those songs are chosen for them. Taylor’s original song wasn’t great either. He had the same problem as Katharine – the singer was much better than the song. The judges seemed to like his better than Katharine's...I'm not sure why. To me it still seems like a dead heat.

So, tomorrow night we’ll have results…which, of course, will be dragged out over an excruciating two hours. (and, of course, will compete with Red Sox-Yankees for my attention…oh how I love my tivo…) I think that this will be close, like Clay-Ruben in season two. And I think that they might do the same thing they did that season, and release the two singles the same time (essentially saying that the show was a tie). In the end, I think it will be Taylor who wins, but in the long run Katharine who will be more successful. (what a prediction!!)

A Week of Recaps...

So, I know that I am way behind on my blogging. No real reason other than the fact that there have been lots of Red Sox games on tv the past week, so I watched nearly all of the reality shows later on tivo. Come on – the Sox are in first place and just pounded the Yankees last night. It really doesn’t get better than that. So a few thoughts from the last week…

American Idol was rather anti-climatic as Elliott was finally voted off. It’s a shame really, since he has such an amazing voice. They really dragged out the results show, with all the footage of the top three’s visits home. In all that though, I felt really bad for Katharine. I know she lives in LA, but it seemed like no one really did anything for her. (especially compared to the hoopla surrounding Elliott & Taylor) And Ryan tried something new to drag out the results, giving the percentage of votes that each of the three contestants got. It was close, but no one should really be surprised that it was Elliott that went home. And even though I think that Chris should be in the finals, a Katharine-Taylor showdown will be pretty darn good.

The finale of The Amazing Race was fantastic. The hippies started with a definite advantage with the leg in Japan (who knew that they spoke Japanese?), and it really helped as they did the amusement park task (which, by the way, was amazing…I love coasters, but I don’t think I could have done that!). Even though Ray and Yolanda caught up at the airport, they had no money. I also loved that the race ended where it started – who saw that coming? Oh – just in case you were wondering where they all got the snow gear (because all of a sudden, the two teams who had no clothes or money were wearing parkas and snow pants), the teams are provided with snow gear from the producers (thank you Brennan for the info…Brennan, of course, won AR1). And the final roadblock was fantastic…it can’t always come down to luck! I was rooting for the frats, but I’m glad that the hippies won. They always had such a positive attitude, and really seemed to soak up the cultures of each place they went. It was a really fantastic season.

Finally, there was yesterday’s episode of The Apprentice. It’s been a good season, but the editing lately has been disappointing. It was clear early on that the girls were going to lose, and I was even thinking before they went to the boardroom that Trump might fire them both. Even though both teams asked the employees what they wanted, the guys actually listened to what the employees had to say. It seemed like Allie knew what she wanted to design, and was going to use that regardless of what the employees wanted. Culottes? Puffy sleeves? Does Allie live in the 80s? And Roxanne was right – she was unprofessional towards their designer…she didn’t even call him by the right name! So, no surprise that the boys won (although I was kind of surprised by how bad the girls’ designs were), and I wasn’t surprised to see Trump fire them both. It sets up a really good final next week – Lee and Sean are so different, it will be interesting to see how they both handle the final task (and what will happen if Sean is able to put Tammy on his team). There’s also some sort of element of audience voting this season…this might just be the sign that The Apprentice has jumped the shark. Back to baseball…

Top Three Sing on American Idol

After the controversy of last week on American Idol, I would have thought that this week’s show would have started with some sort of mention of the mayhem. Even just an acknowledgment that everyone has been talking about it, or a statement that the voting system worked fine – that they checked it out and everything. But there was nothing, which was kind of strange.

Speaking of last week, did anyone but me catch Chris Daughtry on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this morning? Oh my goodness. It was phenomenal. If you live somewhere that re-runs the show, make sure you see it. He played the guitar (and, by the way, he’s an amazing guitar player) and sang “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” I would pay to see that performance live. Really. Just that one song. Wow.

Tonight’s show featured three songs for each contestant – one chosen by legendary producer Clive Davis, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by the contestant. With all these songs, there won’t be any time for banter…thank goodness.

Elliott kicked off the show with his Clive Davis song choice, “Open Arms.” Davis said he wanted Elliott to try a rock song, but that’s not really a rock song. It sounded pretty good…I think that the fact that this was the first song of three will really help him.

Paula chose “What You Won’t Do For Love” for Elliott’s second song. It was a good choice...definitely an “Elliott” kind of song. His final song, “I Believe to My Soul” was an odd choice. He sang it really well though, and I think his performances built through the night.

Katharine’s Clive Davis song was “I Believe I Can Fly,” which sounded like it was a tough choice…the song is so overplayed. She did put her own twist on it, and I’m sure that singing the song in that dress (hello cleavage!) didn’t hurt either. I didn’t understand Randy’s criticism of her song choice, and I was glad that Katharine talked back a bit about it. Even Simon recognized that she couldn’t do anything about the song choice, and she did a good job with what she had to sing. Simon chose Katharine’s second song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It was a beautiful version, especially the a capella part in the beginning. That might win her the competition. Katharine’s final song was an older song, “I Aint Got Nothing But the Blues.” I don’t think anything will top her last song, but it was still really good. I just get so annoyed with the judges – it seems like Katharine can’t win with them. But I think that she’ll make it through on the strength of her second song.

Clive Davis’s final song choice was for Taylor – “Dancing in the Dark.” (and can I interject an important question – what was Davis drinking when he chose these songs?)

It was a decent rendition, made rather strange by him doing the Courtney Cox – Bruce Springsteen dance with Paula. Randy chose “You Are So Beautiful” for Taylor’s second song, which was really a fantastic choice. He did a great job with it – he might have just stamped his ticket to the final. His final song was classic Taylor, “Try a Little Tenderness.” It was a great performance – he was really in the zone.

After last week, I’m done trying to vote (I did try to vote for Chris for a couple of hours and never got through…go figure). But I think that it will be Taylor and Katharine in the final next week. And you just know that Simon is sweating it out realizing that he quite possibly will have to market a Taylor Hicks album.

Down to the Final Four on The Apprentice

This was a confusing episode of The Apprentice. With only five contestants left, we’re getting down the nitty gritty. So you would think that the remaining five would be fighting tooth and nail to get to the final four.

The task itself was practically the same task as all the others – a sales and marketing task. I understand that it’s all about sponsors and product placement. But every task is the same. I can’t believe that sales ability is the only thing that Trump really wants in his apprentice.

Over on the boys team (Gold Rush? Who cares…) they were really smart about the signage, or so it seemed. For some reason, the guy they hired couldn’t deliver the signs when he said he would. I hope that they didn’t pay the guy – it almost ended up costing them in the end. But you just knew that they would pull out the win in the end when they started talking about the Walmart price tags everywhere. Because everyone loves a good Walmart ad.

So what were the girls doing? Well, poor Tammy was trying to pull together the task, and Roxanne and Allie wanted nothing to do with it. This is where I got confused. When they all got into the boardroom, why did Trump accept the constant eye rolling (or, as they called it, eyebrow raising) from Roxanne and Allie? Bill saw it, and Allie seems to do it all the time – you always see her giving those looks to Trump. I think Trump should have fired them both. And I really thought that he would, considering his piece of “business advice” at the beginning of the show was about traitors. But Tammy took the fall, and Allie and Roxanne survived another week.

So next week is the final four, and some sort of promise of audience voting this season. Oh boy…

Aras Wins Survivor: Exile Island

What a great season of Survivor. And what a fitting ending – a member of each of the original four tribes in the final four, and someone who was really deserving winning it all. Definitely the best show on television.

We started the finale with Danielle and Cirie’s battle to make fire. First, when did they implement the rule that a tie would go to an individual challenge? In early seasons, a tie was decided by votes cast in previous tribal councils. There was also the “pull a rock” tie breaker on several seasons. I hated the rock pulling thing, but I like going to previous votes cast before an individual challenge. It would have meant that Danielle was gone – she had several votes cast against her, while I don’t think Cirie did. Anyways, it was a good challenge – for a few moments I really thought that Cirie had it. But in the end Danielle won, and Cirie was the next one out of the tribe. Cirie leaving the game was huge for everyone – I think that she was the one person who could have beat each and every member of the tribe in the final vote.

I’m not sure if I liked the twist of having a final reward challenge that would potentially give the winner an edge in the final immunity challenge. It was a great challenge though – I love the challenges that combine mental and physical like that. Of course, it’s true what Aras said afterwards – yes, it’s a physical advantage to have that food and cot, but it can be a psychological disadvantage because now everyone expects you to win.

Oh – can I just say how much I hated Terry coming back from tribal council and showing off his hidden immunity idol? I don’t think that was a very classy move. Not that Terry has been classy through the whole thing. So many times he was a sore loser – I don’t know why that has been glossed over in the Terry-love-fest that happened on the reunion show and the talk shows this morning.

Anyways, after the requisite rite of passage tribute to their “fallen comrades,” we get to the final immunity challenge. And it was hard. The final challenge is always about endurance, and this one added the element of balance. I really thought that they would make it farther than they did, but I guess it was a LOT harder than it looked! I also thought that Aras would do better than he did with his yoga background. And what was up with Jeff counting down the minute between platforms? At the second change, Jeff kept giving time updates that seemed to give Terry way more time than he really had. Aras commented on that today on Survivor Live…it seemed that those last 10 seconds were a lot longer than 10! Aras also confirmed that even if Danielle hadn’t given him the nod to jump off, there was no way he would have won. Danielle was in the zone, and made Red Sox fans proud!

I wonder how close Danielle really was to taking Terry to the final two? I think she may be the first Survivor to ever actually sit down with pen and paper and write out the voting scenarios for each choice. She made the right choice…she had to know that she didn’t have the votes to beat Terry. It would be much closer if she chose Aras. I don’t even know how Terry could be surprised. Those Casaya members stuck together throughout.

How can I not mention Aras on the rocks? What was he thinking walking on the wet rocks after having champagne? And Danielle seemed so helpless. It looked like she just stood there for a minute or two before she fully realized what had happened. But I did love when she asked the medical team to drug him up!

It was a good final tribal council – just enough people who were still angry to make it interesting. I laughed out loud when Shane started talking. I understand that he was still angry, but the best part was when he talked about his alliance with Aras. Did he say that he swore on his son while Aras swore on his yoga? Really? Can you swear on a hobby? Who knew? It was clear why Cirie knew to get rid of Courtney – she would have been a dream to sit next to in the final two. And I liked Terry’s comment as he voted for Aras – “I’m just so used to writing your name down…”

In the end, I was glad to see Aras win. He played the game hard and he was kind and honest throughout. Yes, he had to lie when he voted out Shane, but that might have been the only time. He was strategic throughout, and really deserved to win. I think he’ll do good things with the money (outside of those goofy hats he’s selling…of course, if you made me one for the Red Sox…). Anxiously awaiting the fall and Survivor: Cook Island...

Somebody Call a Whambulence!

Another phenomenal episode tonight of Survivor: Exile Island. Of course, that is until the whole “to be continued” thing. I feel so used…

Regardless of what happens, I truly believe that Terry will be in the final two. I also believe that there is no way he can win. After watching his behavior tonight, there’s no way he can beat Cirie, Danielle, or Aras in the final. So either he’ll win the final immunity challenge outright, or whoever does will take him because they know that they can beat him. And why am I so sure of this? Well, first was his reaction when they returned from tribal council. Cirie dropped her torch in his way and he lost it. Sure, they are all tired and hungry, but there’s no excuse for treating her like that. Then there’s the reward challenge. Oh the reward challenge. It was a tough challenge – did you see the sweat pouring off of them? But the best part was Aras, uttering one of the best lines in Survivor history – “somebody call a whambulence, Terry’s crying on the course!” Perfection. And Terry was really whining about it – way to be a good loser.

This was one of the first episodes I can remember where the editing of the show was so telling. When Cirie was excited to make fire, you just knew that that was going to come into play later in the show. I was just hoping that it would come into play at the immunity challenge. It was a good challenge though – I was screaming on my couch for Aras to get it in gear! I’m just so sick of Terry and his attitude. Thank goodness Aras finally pulled it out in the end!

Speaking of Terry, no shocker that he didn’t actually give Danielle the idol. He didn’t give it to Nick, or Austin, or Sally – why would he give it to Danielle? And I he had given it to Nick at that first tribal council, the entire game would have changed. But while Terry is very strong physically, his mental game play is horrendous.

So we’re stuck with a stupid “to be continued” to find out whether Danielle or Cirie can make fire first. And only one episode left…oh Survivor, why do you taunt me?

It's Finally Over on Unan1mous

For the last time I wasted another chunk of my time on Unan1mous. Thank goodness that it’s finally over.

So, a few thoughts…first, someone in editing should get an award for “best stretching of time in a reality show.” They stretched very little footage into weeks worth of television. Kudos to you.

Second, did anyone else do the math on the whole “lose a dollar a second” thing? At $1 per second, they lost $86,400 a day. Which, by the way, makes no sense that they were told that it would be their last vote since by morning the money would be gone. Anyways, at $86,400 a day, they were down there for less than 10 days. The way that they were acting you would have thought that they had been there for months.

Finally, the contestants kept giving advice for the next people to play the game. Are they really going to make another season of this show? Please…no…

So Tarah walked away with some money and they all got to leave the bunker. And now get 30 minutes a week of my life back.

A Real Shocker on American Idol

You know how last night I said I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the final four on American Idol went home tonight? Well, I was wrong. I am shocked at tonight’s results. I did not see that one coming.

First, there’s a lot of filler about the Idols’ trip to Graceland. And the most interesting part of it was how Priscilla Presley looks. I couldn’t tell if she’s had work done or naturally looks really young (or both) but I was shocked at how good she looked. Of course we have a Ford commercial. Which, by the way, may have been the worst so far – they didn’t even pretend to sing on this one. (although I do love anything with Kermit in it…) And the cheesy group song was especially cheesy tonight as they each got to play “lead singer” and “backup singer” for each other. Ugh.

This is where it got really weird. Idol producers love to show celebrities who are there because they are fans. Most of them have their kids with them, but not Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell. Not only are they huge fans, Rebecca somehow got to make a request…and Taylor actually sang for her. Very very strange.

So we finally get some results – Ryan groups Elliott & Taylor and Chris & Katharine. And even though most people predicted Chris & Katharine to be the final two, it’s Elliott & Taylor that are safe. At this point you can just read it all over Katharine’s face that she knows she’s going home. Add to that Simon’s prediction that it was it for her, and, well, she didn’t look to good. So it was genuine shock on her face when Ryan announced that Chris was going home. I just don’t get it. And no, I didn’t vote, but not for lack of trying – I couldn’t get through as long as I tried. The only upside is that of the four, Chris can probably best have a hit CD on his own; the others really need the show to launch their careers.

So no Chris next week, but the final three…only two episodes of this left…what will I do with my time after that?

Elvis Lives on American Idol

As promised last week, the American Idol contestants were whisked away to Graceland to prepare for, that’s right, Elvis night. You heard me, Elvis night. Oh dear.

Taylor’s first choice, “Jailhouse Rock,” may have been his best song choice of the competition. It was perfect for him, and he did a great job singing it. He was back to being crazy (but not too crazy…no lying down on the stage tonight…), and he was really entertaining. He set the bar for tonight’s show very high – good for him. I didn’t understand Simon’s criticism. Of course it was a bad Elvis impersonation – that’s what they’ve asked all of the contestants to do tonight. I’m not sure I totally agree with the judges about his second song. It was good, but I don’t think it was the best.

Chris isn’t the only one who loves “Suspicious Minds.” And it was a great choice for him. I loved it. (I know, I know, I always love him…what do you want from me?) Even Simon liked it – that’s fantastic. His second performance wasn’t quite as good. And he did the whole “Bo-Bice-carry-the-mic-stand-around” thing, which bugs me. But it was definitely good enough to get him through to the next round. Well, at least I hope so…

Elliott’s first song was a really obscure choice. So his song just sounded good – not like he was doing Elvis. I think that how good Elliott is sometimes gets lost in the shuffle – he is really really good. His second performance was even better than the first. And I agree with Simon – he came into tonight as the underdog, and showed tonight why he deserves to continue on.

Oh Katharine. She may be the best overall singer left in the competition. But tonight’s theme was really rough for her. Her first song was, well, strange. People are always talking about her personality (or lack thereof), so it was odd to see her dancing around. It was ok vocally; I agree with Simon that she is lucky that she has two songs tonight. Of course, that’s what he said last week, and she ended up in the top two, so we know she can handle this position. Of course, that was when she got to choose that second song. (which, by the way, is getting all sorts of radio play since Katharine covered it last week…). Tonight it was just more Elvis. And while it was a good performance, it certainly wasn’t her best.

This may be the first top four where there’s no clear winner and loser. They’re all so good…it’s almost a shame that they’re up against each other. Any one of them could have beaten Fantasia or Carrie (sorry Fantasia and Carrie…but have you heard these four??). I have no prediction for the top three, and I wouldn’t be surprised with any combination at the top. And since I haven’t been able to get through for the past few weeks, guess it’s all up to you America. Vote well.

No Rules, Just One More "You're Fired"

Another selling task on tonight’s episode of The Apprentice…does anyone else wish that they would bring back the tasks from season 1? Ok, maybe it’s just me…but the thing is that this is supposedly a “15 week job interview.” All Trump knows about these candidates is whether or not they are good salespeople. And while I’m sure that being a good salesperson also shows good business sense, they’re certainly not one in the same. I know, it’s all about the advertisers, but I already like Outback, so…well…you get the idea.

No surprise that when someone had to switch teams, Sean gladly volunteered. And also no surprise that the guys lost. (oh…I guess it also wasn’t surprising that Trump wanted to “check out the cheerleaders”…looking for his next wife maybe?) Whenever they show a team that is ridiculously confident about a task, they always lose. Especially when it’s a male-female thing. As I watched the buzz that the guys were generating I thought that maybe they would be the exception. But they priced their food too cheap (a blooming onion is nearly $10…selling it for $5 is a deal, selling it for $2 is absurd) and they had events that involved overhead. They had to pay for the money machine, the money that they paid out, the food for the eating contest, and the prize for that contest. I don’t think the girls spent any non-advertising money on their event.

Now, the strategy itself for the guys was good – Lee knew the types of things that attract college kids to an event. But they couldn’t follow through with sales.

The girls’ event wasn’t as spectacular (although I’m not sure the cheerleaders would have helped their strategy), but it was effective. First, they priced everything at $5 – cheap enough to appeal to college kids, but high enough to make a profit. Their prices also made the cash flow easy for everyone. The best part, though, was the concept of delivery. Not having to move made their sales pitch very inviting. Minimal effort, low prices, and great food, all delivered by cute girls who took the time to learn the Rutgers cheer? How could they lose?

I loved Sean’s take on the pre-boardroom scrambling. He’s right – there’s only 3 of them, so if you ask “who do you think should be fired?” there’s a 50% chance that it’ll be you. And how could Michael be surprised that he was fired? He knew that he spent too much time on the microphone. And his explanation about giving the girls a few cheerleaders as a gesture of good will was, well, lame. Carolyn was really upset about that – it’s simply a horrible business move. So Michael goes home…and Lee manages to stay alive another week.

Shane Never Saw it Coming...

I know, every week I say that this episode is the reason I love Survivor. And I’m sure it’s getting old. But I don’t care…get your own blog. Last night’s episode of Survivor: Exile Island rocked. THIS is why I love Survivor!

First was a phenomenal reward challenge. That was a beast. That, and the fact that the reward was not really clear made it interesting. They knew it was something with family (a HUGE motivation), but also knew that they would have the power to allocate time with family members. You could kind of see it in Cirie’s eyes that maybe she didn’t want to have that power again. Captain America won (of course), and I think he did an excellent job with the allocating of rewards. There was no question that he had to give Shane overnight time with his son. I might have switched Cirie and Shane (since maybe Boston would enjoy spending time at camp), but they are the two who needed the time. How could you NOT give Shane that time? I loved when Boston talked about how he and his dad were more like brothers since his dad acts like a kid. Really? I would have never guessed.

Terry’s wife clearly understood that even though her husband could win every physical challenge out there, he has no clue how to play the mental part of the game. Why would he go back to camp and announce that he didn’t do much sleeping (ugh…)? And did he need to explain to Aras that he chose Danielle to be exiled because it was “just her mom”? No one would have argued those choices – you just needed to say it was hard, say there was no question about Shane (I think everyone would have chosen Shane), and that he knew how much he missed his wife and wanted to give Cirie the same. I think we’re seeing the start of a Colby-like run…he’ll win all the challenges, yet won’t win the million. His attitude is just getting old. The only person he might be able to beat is Danielle…hmmm….

The immunity challenge was great too. Of course, my favorite part was Shane. Shane never shows up for the challenges…I don’t know if it’s because he thinks he’s safe or because he might just be the least physical person out there. But I laughed so hard as he continued to pour the water into the wrong tube. I truly thought that this was the challenge Terry would lose. Aras should have won…with all that yoga/balance ability, he should have rocked. But, of course, Captain America prevailed. Oh well, at least we got to see them all get off their poles…some dives, a strange bit of belly flop by Shane, then Cirie carefully climbing down with a “no diving for me” comment.

Cirie might be one of the greatest players ever. First of all, she’s in the Final Four after being told in the first week of being out there that she was next. But more importantly, she is running the show without anyone realizing it. The last two votes have been completely engineered by Cirie, and no one seems to be the wiser. Fantastic. (the look on Shane's face as he saw one vote for him was great...as the others were read was even better...he really is a cartoon character...and why was Courtney so upset too?) And if she makes it to the final two (which might actually happen…) she’s sure to win. How could the jury NOT give it to her? (and the more I watch the jury, the more I think that Sally & Austin aren’t locked in to voting for Terry if he’s in the final…) What a great game.

Another Episode of Unan1mous...

I don’t know what annoys me most about last night’s episode of Unan1mous. Ryan Seacrest promising at the end of Idol that this would be the final episode. The ridiculous voice-overs that promise so much more than we saw. Or the fact that I’ve sunk this much time into what may be one of the worst shows on television. Either way, you might as well just stamp “IDIOT” on my forehead now.

An Amazing Play on the Amazing Race

I think I just saw one of the dirtiest, craftiest, most brilliant plays ever on The Amazing Race. And I think I liked it.

After bunching up at the first clue box of the leg, the teams were all pretty smart – they called for taxis to be waiting for them after they finally got in to get their clues. Pretty good use of your time as you’re sitting and waiting for the site to open. But Eric & Jeremy took it one step further. They actually called the cab company and cancelled the cabs for the hippies and Ray & Yolanda. As I was watching it, I couldn’t tell if I thought it was the dirtiest play ever, or the smartest. What’s to stop a team from doing that? (clearly nothing!) And if it had worked (I’m telling you, karma always comes back to get you in the end…) or caused a team to miss that flight, it would have been brilliant. I know, it was really mean. But there have been so many teams before that do little things to hold up their competitors…I guess I kind of liked it.

Ray and Yolanda might be my new favorites. I loved hearing them talk about the fact that a black person would never just jump into a pit of crocs. And the fact that they have been keeping to themselves really worked out for them this leg. They surged ahead (and they picked the clearly easier detour) and beat out the three bickering teams. Good for them.

Speaking of bickering, what is the deal with the hippies? I though that everyone loved them. Perhaps something happened that we didn’t get to see (at a pit stop maybe?), but I don’t think so (it’s not like CBS to show us something like that!). If MoJo should be mad at anyone, it’s the frat boys (nice work, by the way, pinning the cab fiasco on MoJo and hitting on Monica…nice…). And Monica – stop being so dramatic. We get it. You’re upset you got yielded.

The finish was probably the best finish ever. Three of the four teams hitting the mat at virtually the same time. I always wonder if the “non-elimination” rounds really are determined ahead of time, since they always seem to fall when teams are really close or have faced something that was out of their control. How much would that have sucked to be eliminated by a fraction of a second? And will they let the hippies (or BJ at least) get their shoes? That would seem like something that they would just have to let them go get. Either way, this may be the best final four on the show ever.

Another cut on American Idol

This might be the most talented top 5 ever. I don’t think I would be surprised about any of the contestants going home. (even my favorite, Chris, isn’t safe any more) I've also read that it's better to go out this round than the next...something about track record of the contestants voted out this round. Are people actually studying this sort of thing? Yikes.

Oh, Idol group songs…how I have missed you! (although did we really need that many backup singers?...this must be one of the songs going on the Idol CD…)

So, we’re at the 20 minute mark, and we’re finally going to get to some results. Oooh…the final four are going to Graceland! (wait, does this make them want to win?...) Taylor is first, and he’s safe. So is Chris (thank goodness!). Paris is next, and she’s in the bottom two. So we get to see a very strange shoe choice (white heels??) as Ryan asks her to sing. And I think she just spit her gum out into his hand so she could regale us with Prince. Very bizarre. After yet another commercial break we find out that Elliott is the other contestant in the bottom two. And while he didn’t spit anything into Ryan’s hands, he also got to sing once more.

After all that, it’s Paris that’s going home. I can’t say that I’m even a little bit surprised. The good news for Paris is that she’s extremely talented…as soon as her contract with Idol is done, the record producers will be knocking down her door to sign her.

Down to Five on American Idol

Two songs for everyone on American Idol tonight…oh boy! One from the year they were born, one from this week’s Billboard chart. I guess they couldn’t find a singer who wanted to sell more CDs this week. Well, I guess they’re trying to sell the American Idol CD. Does that really count?

Elliott was born in 1978, so we get to hear some George Benson. It was a good rendition – I think that if his voice was coupled with Chris’s looks, there wouldn’t be a contest. But Elliott is so darn goofy looking, who knows. His second song, a Michael Buble song that I’ve never heard before sounded good too. It was especially good following the franticness of Taylor’s performance.

Ok, I can’t believe that Paris was born in 1988. My husband was a senior in high school. Wow. So I know that there were so many great songs that came out in 1988…why oh why did she choose Prince? What, you don’t want to sing “Pour Some Sugar on Me?” or “Bad Medicine” (a.k.a. my favorite songs from 7^th grade…)? It wasn’t that good, but not as annoying as Simon thought. Her second song, by Mary J. Blige, wasn’t a great choice either. It needed to be bleeped – not a good sign. She sang it well…but still, not one of her best performances.

Who knew that Chris is younger than Elliott? His birth year song was a great choice. He’s back to his rocker roots, and gosh darn it he sounds sexy. (yes, that’s right, I said it…sexy) Simon was right – that was a million times better than the two performances before him. His second song wasn’t as good, but it was still so much better than the others. I agree with Simon – his first song was so good that he’ll hopefully sail through.

Paula doesn’t seem as drunk tonight. Of course, the night is still early. And Simon is definitely cranky, so not everything is topsy turvey.

Apparently Katharine had a “wardrobe malfunction” last week…I guess that would explain how she finished in the top 2 even though Simon hated her performance. All you horny guys out there, we know you’re voting for Idol. Stop denying it. Tonight she started out ok – I wasn’t a fan of her song choice, but she has such a strong voice that it sounded pretty good. There was some confusion though with the judges…Simon said “it was by far one of your best performances” (thank you tivo), then corrected himself as she talked to Ryan to make sure we knew that he meant that it wasn’t one of her best performances. Whatever. Her second song sounded a lot better. But it was a strange performance done almost entirely on her knees (insert your own joke here). Hopefully people remember that vocal instead of her first.

Taylor’s first song choice was interesting for one reason, and one reason only. I’ve recently become addicted to “Karaoke Revolution Party” on my husband’s PS2. I’m a horrible singer, but I love it. “Play That Funky Music” is one of the songs on the game, and when you play the “random song” mode, it comes up all the time. And I, one of the world’s worst singers, can do a pretty decent version of it. It was way too safe for him, and his attempts at being funky were, well, scary. His second song wasn’t much better. I agree with Simon – how he was able to sing a Beetles song for the “hits of this week” portion is a mystery. It was good…just nowhere near as good as the original.

I think the bottom two will be Paris and Taylor…who knows which will actually go home. The only person who I really think is safe this week is Chris…maybe Katharine, but who knows. Off to vote…

Hair Raising Episode of The Apprentice

I guess that Trump has heard the chatter about his hair. So to kick off tonight’s episode of The Apprentice, he let Charmaine feel his hair. Wow.

The hair but was because the task for tonight involved the teams running the grand opening of two Hair Cuttery salons. So much for the non-advertisting motivated tasks. Oh well. On the surface, this seems like an easy task. Advertise, set up shelves, sell products. But of course, the teams always make it harder than it is.

Gold Rush decided that they really weren’t going to listen to Charmaine, and the boys just didn’t want to work for her. And while Lee had a point about advertising versus setting up shelves, that’s no reason to not work hard. They never seemed to have a plan (and why was Tarek so concerned about a theme when they never incorporated that theme??), and that disorganization made it clear that they were going to lose. Although I did appreciate watching Charmaine get her hair done while Bill was there, and Lee and Tarek drive around and talk about what they were going to wear into the boardroom.

Over at Synergy, there was a lot more organization, even though Sean was clearly on the outs with Allie and Roxanne. And some sort of strange romantic tension between him and Tammy. Did Sean actually talk about making beautiful babies after the show was over? Wow.

No surprises when Synergy won. And no real surprise that the boardroom was brutal. I hope I’m not the only one who loved Lee running around the suite beforehand, then saying that he was done with the “political” part of the boardroom. There was no question that Charmaine was going to be fired – she just didn’t do a good job at all leading. And then Trump somehow heard me saying “oh please, fire Tarek too…” and did, in fact, fire Tarek too. Trump had it out for Tarek all along, and this week Tarek did poorly enough he could finally get rid of him. And what a cab ride for the two of them.