Another night of Idol, another night of cheesy dedications. Seriously – who thought that this was a good idea?

Gina started the night out with a good performance. She started out iffy, but the second half was really good. Of course, I’m a little disturbed that I had the same thought as Simon about her outfit. It just didn’t fit her or the song. Creepy, I know. Alaina was next, stating that she was singing a well known song, as if that was somehow a positive. It’s not. You can’t possibly sing it as well as the Dixie Chicks (or whatever well known artist you are choosing), and you know that Simon will talk about how unoriginal your performance was. And sure enough, it wasn’t a very good performance. It started out ok, then went rapidly downhill. It’s going to be tough for her to stay in the competition.

The real bummer of the night is that Lakisha and Melinda sang so early in the show. They are both phenomenal, and sang amazingly again tonight. But I so look forward to hearing them both sing – you have to figure that the rest of the show is simply going to be a let down. I simply don’t understand how these two girls have gone so long without anyone offering them a recording contract. And regardless of which of them wins (because you have to assume at this point it will be one of them…maybe even both of them in the finale), they will both have huge careers.

Another bummer of the night – no mention of the controversy swirling around Antonella. In case you are living under a rock, there are naked pictures out on the net. Some say they’re not actually her, some think that some of them are her, some think they’re all her. And no one said a word. It doesn’t much matter – her performance was enough to get her voted off this week anyways. I’m not so musical, but even I could recognize how out of tune it was. Jordin followed it up with a really good performance. I forget that she’s a power player in this show as well.

Stephanie was good as well. I don’t know why I’m not so gung ho about her, since she really is a good singer. Hmmm. Leslie made a very poor song choice – it was the same song that one of the guys sang last night (and sang much better). She was ok, but not great. She’ll probably make it through one more week, but not to the top 12.

Haley was better tonight than last week. That’s the good news. The bad news was that she still wasn’t very good. She has to be a front-runner for a plane ticket home tomorrow night. Sabrina closed the show on a high note. I really like her too. I guess we can add her name to the list of favorites. And I guess I was wrong about there not being anyone to look forward to later in the show. She rocked.

I'm still not ready to invest the time in voting, and that may just be a good thing - there were a bunch of girls who deserved my vote tonight...Gina, Lakisha, Melinda, Jordin, and Sabrina. And who will be voted off? It should be Alaina and Antonella. But the pictures controversy (and the fact that she is the female choice on votefortheworst.com) may help her to stay and send Haley home instead.

The Guys Come Back With a Vengence on Idol

I was really hoping that Idol would open tonight with the judges congratulating Jennifer Hudson, and maybe even an apology from Simon…gosh, that would have been great. But not so much – Seacrest extended a congrats from everyone, and still it was all about them (something about how it shows the caliber of talent on the show). What a shame.

For some reason, everyone tonight had to dedicate their performances to someone that inspires them. Aside from it being annoying, I just don’t see why we needed to hear so many of them explain why they would dedicate their song to their parents. We get it. Really.

Phil started the show off really strong. I’m not sure what Simon’s deal was – I’m so sick of him telling people that they don’t sound unique. This early in the show, I think the better strategy is just to come out and sing well, rather than focusing on trying to be different. Jared sounded good too. I didn’t get the whole hand thing though – so corny!

In the name of all things holy, AJ, please don’t dance. EVER. Wow. The singing was good, but I was so distracted by the strange attempt at dancing. You kind of knew where he gets it from when the showed a shot of his parents clapping on the wrong beat. Sanjaya embraced the fact that a lot of people have called him an “Indian Michael Jackson.” I’m glad that the judges commented on how strange he looked. His performance wasn’t just bad, it was boring. It didn’t look like the crowd cared at all. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t go home this week.

I continue to love Chris Sligh. I loved his song choice, and he sounded amazing. I do wonder, though, about the exchange between him and Simon at the very end. Did you hear it? Chris said “I’ve been saved by a woman,” and just as the music came back on, Simon added “so have I.” Odd. I didn’t like the song choice that Nick made, but he sang it really well. I think he’ll stick around another week.

What is the deal with Seacrest tonight? First, he tells Chris Sligh that his performance will keep him out of the doghouse for a month. Then, after they show Nick’s super-cute girlfriend, he turned to Nick and said “nice work buddy!”. Very very strange.

Blake continues to amaze me. He was so good again tonight, and I loved the middle of his song. I also completely disagree with Simon – it was so good and so original. Simon just needs to get with the program tonight. Brandon sang a really different arrangement of “Time After Time.” It wasn’t a great performance; I think the song really hurt him. It’s great that he was feeling the song, but he needs to make sure that he sings it well.

Choosing “Geek in the Pink” was a risky choice, but it paid off for Chris Richardson. Wow. Such a good performance – I actually agree with Simon that Chris is the one to beat. Sundance closed out the show with a performance that was much better than last week (“less crappy” as he put it). I’m guessing that he caught wind of the fact that his picture was on the front page of votefortheworst.com all weekend. Much better job.

Overall, the guys were about a million percent better this week than last. The best performances of the night were definitely the Chrises (still don’t think that looks right, by the way) and Blake. It’s still too early for me to be motivated enough to pick up the phone, but they’re the three I would vote for if I were. And I think that Sanjaya and Brandon will be the two going home on Thursday. At least, I hope so.

TAR All-Stars

A great great episode last night of Amazing Race: All Stars. And even though one of my favorites was eliminated, this is shaping up to be one of the best seasons yet.

I think this is as good a time as any to be upfront about something. I love Rob & Amber. Actually, I love Rob. He was my favorite both seasons of Survivor he was on, and I love how he and Amber played (and are playing) TAR. One of the greatest things about Rob is that even though he comes off as a dumb guy from Boston he's actually quite smart. He's right - the other teams are so concerned about beating them that they're losing sight of winning the race. Love it.

I'm also falling more and more in love with Danny & Oswald. They were funny on their season, but they're hilarious on All Stars. They're also pretty fierce competitors - I'll take that combination any day. (I also like that between them and the guidos the producers are painting two very different pictures of what a gay couple looks like. It's about time - we see lots of versions of what a guy-girl couple should look like, but very little else.)

The tasks this leg were much harder than last week, which I liked. It's all stars - things should be harder. That roadblock was really tough (though how great was it that Mary came in and solved it so quickly?). And multiple flights in one leg is tough too, since the roadblock ended up having no impact on the standings, but did a lot for the dynamics of the teams. (I wish we could have heard the conversation on the flight between Uchenna & Joyce...)

Speaking of team dynamics, what was the deal with Mirna & Charla? It didn't seem like the Beauty Queens did anything to them other than be pretty, but their pettiness almost cost them the race. If they had just been content to work together they would have come in much sooner than when they did.

In the end, my favorites Drew & Kevin came in last. They did manage to provide some really fabulous television before they left. I loved that when they got their truck stuck, they hooked it to Kevin to pull it out. And the confrontation on the plan about David & Mary's luggage was good too. I wish they had realized they could drive faster, since then perhaps Mirna & Charla would have been eliminated (and we still need a better nickname for them then Mirna & Shmirna...after their talk about how they have inner beauty and don't need plastic surgery, maybe they could be the petty....). Maybe next week.

Two More Gone on Grease

Before you judge me for continuing to watch Grease: You're the One That I Want, trust me - I know that I am a giant reality tv nerd. I'm ok with that. Really.

I'm still convinced that even though Billy Bush lets us know every few minutes that they're live that the show isn't actually live (or at least not all live). First there was last week with the fact that the two eliminated contestants just happened to be partners (as were the two who were "saved"). This week you could tell that all five guys were dancing and doing background vocals for the girls, even though they showed the bottom four sitting patiently in their "D?" and "S?" attire. If you're not going to actually do the whole thing live, you could at least work on making it look more realistic.

The performances were just ok. They finally showed them doing some acting, but only showed about 30 seconds of each pair. I would have loved to see them do the scenes live instead of the over-produced songs. The only girl who actually sounded good in her song was Laura, who all three judges rightfully picked as the best Sandy of the night. The rest were just ok (and Kathleen sounded off key and out of breath).

I was kind of surprised about the eliminations. Kevin didn't surprise me at all (especially since I really like Chad), but I think that Kate is a lot better than Kathleen. The difference between Kathleen's song and Kate's song (singing goodbye) was stunning. She can't possibly be THAT bad of an actress to make it worth the chance of having Kathleen win the lead role.

3 Out in a Row for Ravu

After my tivo got a workout (seriously networks, why must you put my three favorite shows on at the same time? It's just not nice) last night, I finally saw a really entertaining episode of Survivor: Fiji. Things are starting to get interesting, even as we continue to see the self-destruction of a tribe.

I think why I like last night's episode was because of the challenges. Both challenges were REALLY good. I always like the gross food challenges (that is, I like watching them - I would never ever be able to stomach the mildest of the things they have to eat), but the reward challenge was especially fantastic. Watching them try to maneuver through the giant oiled-up slip and slide was some of the best tv ever. Then to have to go and shoot baskets on top of it...hee hee! Watching Silvia attempt to swim through the oil was hilarious; I also loved the match-up between Yau Man and "Dreamz" (and thank you Jeff Probst for calling him Dre - I feel like such a dweeb typing that nickname)...you just know that Dre's friends are giving him quite the ribbing for almost losing that race. And who knew that Gary ("Papa Smurf") was such an athlete?

Speaking of Gary, I don't really understand what happened to him. I also don't understand why he was allowed to take the medication that the medical team gave him (sounded like he was given tylenol). I thought that the rules didn't allow you to take medication without being disqualified. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that's what previous castaways had said (that was why Bruce two seasons ago didn't want the medics to come...if he had taken something, he risked being disqualified). I think that he's going to be out next week - they spent a lot of time on the storyline this week for nothing to come of it.

Ravu finally started to get some strength, all because of Michelle. I believe that she is the first castaway to ever start fire on her own (without anything provided by Survivor). On a couple of seasons they were able to start a fire with a magnifying glass from their first aid kit, but the first aid kit was provided to them. They just need to start drinking lots and lots and lots of water. Having fire could make all the difference in the world for them. I remember seeing an interview with Colby (Survivor: Outback and Survivor: All Stars) - he said that the secret to his success was how much water he drank. It kept him strong, and tricked his body into thinking it was getting more food than it was.

It seemed like being dehydrated played a huge part in Ravu losing their fourth straight challenge. Several of them claimed that they couldn't swallow the gross food because they didn't have enough saliva. What I really don't understand is why the rest of the tribe didn't start chugging water (they usually bring their canteens everywhere) once they saw the first person have problems because of lack of spit. I also didn't understand at first why the tribe was so upset with Anthony. But it turns out that the challenge lasted a lot longer than we saw on the show. The pig snout battle lasted somewhere in the 20-30 minute range; Anthony chewed that tiny bit of snout the entire time. So I guess I can see where the tribe would be upset that he's not giving it his all.

In the end, they voted out Silvia, who really should have gone home last week. You have to wonder what would have happened if they had had Erica in the challenges instead of Silvia. I also had to laugh about Silvia's last minute digging for the idol. She said today that there was ginger that she was digging up, so they may not have suspected anything. But there's the distinct possibility that someone who is not sent to exile will find the hidden immunity idol.

I think that we'll see a tribal mix-up soon. At least, I hope so - I can only take so much more of the disparity between the tribes.

First Four Voted Out on Idol

I know I’m not alone in loving results night on American Idol. There’s something captivating about how cruel it is. Like a train wreck, you just can’t tear your eyes away.

After what was actually not such a bad group number (I really hate them, but somehow they have to stretch this out for an hour. That’s right, an hour), we got right down to it. Say what you will about Seacrest, but he is the master of the results show. And it’s always a little different. He started tonight with the back row of guys. After reviewing each guy’s night and sending them back “to safety” (ha!), the only one left was Paul – no surprise that he’s the first one voted out. Of course, we have the added cruelty of making them sing the very song that got them voted out. Did I mention I how much I love this?

After the requisite commercial break, Seacrest gets the back line of girls up. And just like with the guys, one by one he sends them all back to their seats until we’re just left with Antonella. So, she’s pretty sure she’s toast. Except that she’s not – Ryan sends her back, calls up Amy, and tells her she’s out. Really fantastic television.

Side note – what happened to Fantasia? She still sounds good, but she doesn’t look so good. Maybe it’s the outfit…something just seems wrong. It’s also a good time to point out how glad I am that no one this season has decided that they are such a big star that they can use just their first name.

The second girl to get cut is Nicole – not really a surprise. There was such a division between the good and the not-so good girls. I almost felt like the bottom girls were interchangeable – we could have lost any of them and it would have been just fine. I was shocked though with the second guy cut. Not because Rudy is going home – he wasn’t that good. But because when it was down to Sanjaya and Rudy, Seacrest said that one was in the top four and one is going home. How on Earth is Sanjaya in the top four? Are there really that many young girls that vote? I also don’t understand why Simon felt the need to say that Rudy isn’t a good singer at all – then why did he get a spot over some of the other fabulous singers we saw in the audition rounds?

Anyways, I’m glad that they’ve changed the sappy song to play over the “we’re going to miss you” clip show of the ousted contestants. I don’t know who sings it, but it’s a beautiful song (and you just know that it will be on every radio in America tomorrow). I can't wait for more next week.

Top 12 Girls Perform

After last night's show (and mock fight between Ryan & Simon) I wasn't so sure about the top 12 girls performing tonight. But it turns out that the girls are actually pretty good.

Stephanie started out the show tonight for the girls with a totally different feel than last night. She sang well – better than her audition actually (and she sang well in her auditions). Of course, just as I was thinking that we could have an all-female final four, Amy continued last night’s trend of so-so performances. She wasn’t very good; I think that Simon is right that she won’t go far because people won’t remember her long enough to vote for her.

Leslie was up next; something about her just doesn’t seem quite right. I can’t put my finger on it…I don’t think she’ll be around long enough for me to figure it out. She just wasn’t very good. Thank goodness Sabrina was next – she was actually really good. She also has the tragically unhip parents going for her as well. (love that!) I also loved the juxtaposition of Sabrina saying she wasn’t going to choose a ballad (because they don’t work well in this round) and Antonella coming out and singing a ballad. It was not good – song selection song selection song selection. I also think that Antonella is this season’s Ayla Brown – a girl who is going to taste not getting what she wants for the first time.

I really liked Jordin. I was worried when Randy started talking that the judges weren’t going to be too kind, but I was glad to see that they recognized how good she really is. I agreed with the judges about Nicole as well. It just wasn’t that good – she’s way better than that song. I really do wonder about the song selection. Why would you choose a song that doesn’t make you sound incredible? That’s what Hayley did as well.

Thank goodness for girls like Melinda. She sounded incredible. She has to be a favorite to win it all at this point. Wow. It’s a shame that Alaina had to follow Melinda. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t horrible either. If they had been reversed in the order, I think the reviews would have been a little bit kinder. I also think that Simon might be right…Ryan may just be a bit smitten with her.

I was surprised as well at Gina’s song choice. But like Randy, I thought that she rocked it out in the end. Tonight’s show ended on a high note with an incredible performance by Lakisha. I still contend that it was a poor song choice (she was amazing, but not as good as Jennifer Hudson, who so many have seen sing it recently), but she ROCKS. You just have to wonder how someone with such an amazing voice has gone undiscovered for so long. Regardless of whether or not she wins, she’ll get a recording contract for sure. And I loved seeing the faces of some of the girls afterwards – they clearly know that they’re not nearly as good as her.

No question about the best performances of the night – Lakisha, Sabrina, & Melinda. Wow. And who is probably going home? For me, it’s a toss-up between Amy, Leslie, Antonella. They’ll likely be the bottom three tomorrow night.

Top 12 Guys Perform on Idol

We're finally at the point of Idol where we get to vote. Hooray. But tonight's theme seemed to be "guys who didn't sing nearly as well as their original audition." Very strange.

Rudy started it off for the guys relatively well. He sounded good, but I agree with Randy – the performance was really corny. Next up was Brandon, the former backup singer. I really like him, even though tonight’s song wasn’t his best. I really wonder what he was thinking with his song choice. A different song would have made all the difference. He’ll be fine though – I would be shocked to see him voted off this week.

Sundance had been one of my favorites during the audition round, but he’s rapidly falling lower and lower on my list. Nothing he’s sung has sounded as good as that original audition. He has a big fan base, so he’ll probably be around another week, but not really based on tonight’s performance. Paul wasn’t much better after him – he’s another one who is just not living up to his original audition, and he probably won't be around next week.

I really like both Chrises (is that the plural of Chris?). Chris Richardson was up first, continuing the trend of guys not sounding nearly as good as their auditions. I just pray that he stays on the show so we can see more shots of his dad dancing. Oh my. Nick was next; he was someone who I was really glad made it to the top 24. I didn’t think his song tonight was as bad as Randy & Paula said. He played it safe, but he sang it well.

I have been very curious about Blake – bottom line is that the beat boxing doesn’t translate into an Idol win. But he can really sing. The judges got it right putting him through. Sanjaya was hurt by his song choice. You’ve got to wonder if his sister (who he said gave him the song, and was cut in Hollywood) did that on purpose.

Chris Sligh, my favorite of the two Chrises (seriously, that does not look right) finally lived up to the expectations. He was good, regardless of what the forever bickering judges thought. And the fact that he gave it back to Simon just made me love him even more. I generally don’t call in and vote this early, but I may just break my rule to send a vote Chris’s way. Jared was ok, though it seems like we’re back to singers who aren’t singing nearly as well as their original audition. He’s lucky that he’s so good looking – he won’t be going home any time soon.

A.J. was pretty good. I agree with Paula that the tone of his voice is really enjoyable. And I really liked the final performance of the night from Phil. I agree wholeheartedly with Randy - it started a little shaky, but when he got to the chorus it was amazing. Definitely the best of the night.

In the end, it wasn't the best night for the guys; I actually agree with Simon (and after watching the judges on Grease) I really appreciated the honesty. If I were going to vote tonight, it would be for Chris Sligh & Phil. I also really liked Nick & Blake. And which guys will be going home? Paul & Sanjaya would be my guess. Hopefully the girls will do better tomorrow.

Amazing Race All Stars!

I have been so excited for the premiere of TAR. I love the idea of an all-star version of the show, and even though I'm not a huge fan of some of the selections (see yesterday's post...), TAR shows season after season why it always wins the Emmy.

No real surprises at first - they all should have known from the flight times that the flight that landed first was probably not the flight that departed first (have these people not watched the show before?). And no shock that the game play from some of the teams is the same as before. Especially Mary & David - they seem so nice, and are probably the most deserving of the money, but they have to be the weakest team on the race. Terri & Ian also continued to showcase their "ugly American" stereotype. They just so rub me the wrong way. Rob & Amber also continued their dominance - there is a reason they were so good the first time around. I was pleasantly surprised by Danny & Oswald. It seems like they've grown up a bit since their season - I'm hoping they do well.

The leg itself was good, though I wish there were more things to do, rather than just drive from route marker to route marker. Although the driving was clearly difficult for some teams. And you knew as soon as Phil said that the teams were advised to go to the north entrance of the park that at least a few of the teams would go a different way. I also loved the moment with Kevin & Drew (who I still can't believe drove that far on a flat tire)...one of them commented on how beautiful Peru was; the other replied that Peru probably was beautiful, but that they were in Ecuador. I hope they can pull it together and have a better leg next week.

After a strange detour (and no roadblock...what's that all about?), Rob & Amber came in first (yay!) and John Vito & Jill were eliminated. I was surprised that such a strong team went out first, but it just goes to show how one mistake can make or break the race.

An Apprentice Love Story

We learned something very important on last night's episode of The Apprentice: LA - you should be able to look around the food court, and see that there are lots of people who don't speak English. Oh boy...

I don't usually like tasks like this - tasks whose only real point is for the advertising for a sponsor. But I liked a very important twist in this task. The folks from Priceline were Trump's "eyes and ears", rather than one of his kids. I don't know - this just seems like a better idea. We were also back to the editing showing us exactly who would lose, and who would likely get fired. We saw Derek & Jenn being told that 50% of the mall's customers were Hispanic, saw them never do anything about it (and the backup it caused at their booth), and Aimee "take charge" of Jenn's inflatable octopus. If you didn't see it coming, maybe you should try another show.

I was really surprised that Derek & Jenn didn't make signs in Spanish, or hire someone to translate. It really did seem like they were trying to throw Aimee under the bus (which Derek tried to do last week too...I'm liking him less and less each week). I also didn't understand how Surya was running the team - they really did win in spite of Surya, rather than because of him. And somehow, Surya thought he did a great job. Watching the episode back last night must have been an adventure. At least Nicole & Tim finally kissed...how long have they been teasing that for?

In the boardroom, I wish that Jenn had been fired. Aimee was right - the team didn't do it's best work for her. I wish she had spoken up a bit about the whole "noticing that there are a lot of Hispanics" thing as well. Seeing that there is a lot of diversity in the mall, and knowing that a lot of the patrons don't speak English are two very different things. It was Jenn's responsibility, and Aimee should have fought more for that. I wish, too, that Surya wasn't in the boardroom. He has friends on Kinetic, and he was clearly making sure that they didn't get fired.

Grease...(I think I have a problem...)

Sigh...I'm still watching Grease: You're the One That I Want. And for some reason, I find myself caring about it. I don't know why; I may have sunk to a new reality show low (that, coupled with the fact that I logged about 6 hours watching re-runs of Paradise Hotel last week. This is what happens when you get iced in...).

The show started off with the worst group number of the show so far. The producers have got to be getting worried - the contestants just don't sing as well when they're dancing. That was the problem with Chad & Allie as well - they sounded about a million times better when they were singing standing still as they did when they tried to sing and dance. They all need some serious time on the treadmill this week.

The eliminations were early in the episode, and no real surprise that the judges eliminated Jason. He wasn't very good the past two weeks. I was a little surprised at Julianna, but I am curious about the judge's comments about the fact that Kathleen was the better actress. I wonder if that's why they are so big on some of the weaker singers - they are good actors, but we're not seeing that part. (Come on, I have to have some explanation for why they are so in love with Max.) I also question the whole idea of them singing one last song before the judges eliminate a couple. Because they sang in pairs this week, the judges clearly made their choice to eliminate after the votes were tallied, and paired those two contestants together. Otherwise, how would the two who lost their partners perform?

So most of the performances were just ok, even though the judges continued the love-fest. It really makes you miss Simon. Laura was really good...maybe the only one of the bunch to sing well. Chad, Allie, Derek, & Kate were pretty good too. I can't believe I care this much.

Amazing Race All Stars Starts Tonight!

That's right, tonight is the premiere of The Amazing Race: All Stars. And aside from the fact that my tivo might explode this week (seriously, why are so many good shows on at the same time on Sunday and Thursday nights, when you can't find a single thing to watch on other nights?), I couldn't be more excited.

It's hard to handicap the field on TAR, since there's no voting off, and social skills don't play nearly as big of a role as on other shows. I certainly have my favorites that I will be rooting for. I LOVE Kevin & Drew - they were my favorites on their season, and I am so hoping to see them win this time around. I also really like Rob & Amber (yes, I know I am in the tiny minority on this one) and Dustin & Kandice (the beauty queens from last season). And I think that the new team of Eric & Danielle is one to root for as well.

Who don't I like? Well, they certainly brought back a few of my least favorite teams as well. I know that most people loved Teri & Ian on season 3, but I didn't. There was something about Ian that really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm also hoping for an early demise (though I doubt it will happen) for Uchenna & Joyce. I actually really liked them before, and they seem like good people, but they're the only previous winners on this race, and it just doesn't seem fair (especially since there were previous winners excluded who were far more likable). And I was never much a fan of Charla & Mirna, though they did provide us with some great tv.

I'm still bummed out by the selection of the All-Stars. I don't understand why only one team of winners were brought back, especially when so many previous winners wanted to do it again. (in some of the other all-star versions of shows, previous winners declined to do the show again...after all, why starve yourself on an island again when you already have the million). And while I understand that you need to have a few of the teams that everyone loves to hate, it seems like you could have done that with teams that were in the top three or four of their seasons. It would be a much better show with all extremely strong teams. It also is interesting that there are no "all-male-power-teams" this season. Hmmm...

I know, I just really danced around the question of who I think will win. Ok...I think that the Eric & Danielle would be my pre-race favorite to win, along with Rob & Amber and Dustin & Kandice. My "favorites" to go out early? Mary & David (who I love, but relied very heavily on their alliance last season), Oswald & Danny, and Charla & Mirna. Now watch, Rob & Amber will be eliminated tonight while Mary & David win it all.

Erica Stunned at Tribal Council

A tip for everyone thinking of trying out for Survivor - if you're the type who panics at challenges, this may not be the game for you.

I'm still not sure how I feel about Survivor: Fiji yet. I know that I hate the "have vs. have-nots" concept with the camps. It's not really Survivor if you have a couch and so much food that you're full. Sure, it provided "Dreamz" a mushy television moment to comment that they had more food at their camp than a lot of Americans have in their fridges (which, sadly, is true...it's also sad how few of his tribemates believed him). But it's not Survivor. And there seems to be no end to the camp divisions. Many had speculated that the nice camp would be a reward (and there would be lots of camp switching. But at least for now, that isn't the case. Probst did NOT say that the winners of the challenge would get the nice camp. And this is why I hate it. It's one thing for a tribe to flounder, and lose challenge after challenge. As we saw on Palau, that actually makes for good television. But for a tribe to get weaker and weaker, while the other gets stronger and stronger, simply because of how the producers set up the game; it isn't fair (and it really isn't good tv either). I've read that a good twist on the camp would be that the losers of the immunity challenge would get the camp, but also have to go to tribal council. That would at least make things interesting. I'm hoping that Mark Burnett realizes this and changes it - soon.

A twist that I do like, at least how I understand it, is how the hidden immunity idol works this season. They can only use it through the final five, and it must be played after the votes are cast, but before the votes are read. It takes a lot of power away from the idol, and it means that the person who finds it can't just coast through the game as they could before (not that Terry or Yul coasted through the game, but had a weaker player found it, they certainly could have). It's interesting, too, that Probst said final five. Not sure if this means there will be a final three up against the jury again this season or not. Apparently Probst has said that if it were up to him, it would always be a final three. That eliminates the strategy of taking the weaker player with you to the final two - hypothetically, at least two of the final three would be strong players. I see his point. If the vote had been with the final three, instead of the final two, I think that a different player would have won in Marquesas (Kathy would have won over Vecepia), Amazon (though it would have been close between Rob C. & Jenna), and Exile Island (Terry would have won over Aras and Danielle for sure). It also would have changed the votes in Africa (some votes would have gone to Lex instead of Ethan), All Stars (Jenna would have gotten a few votes, which may have shifted the vote from Amber to Boston Rob), Palau (Ian would have gotten some votes), and Guatemala (Rafe would definitely have gotten some votes), though the end result would probably have been the same. That's more than half the seasons where the weaker player was brought to the final two as a strategy move. Maybe Probst is on to something.

Back to Thursday night's episode. We're seeing very little of Moto - probably because nothing exciting is happening, other than Boo getting hurt (and please, someone, give the cameraman who caught him falling out of the hammock a bonus). I don't really know the players over there, though Dreamz and Lisi continue to rub me the wrong way. At Ravu, dehydration is setting in, and it showed at the challenge. They had the strength to lead after the physical part of the challenge, but they weren't there enough mentally to solve the puzzle. Not a real surprise.

What was surprising was that they voted out Erica. She is such a strong player, even though she admittedly lost it during the challenge. Some of the guys are playing an individual game far too early; it's likely that that will come back to bite them in the end. And I'm not sure why Earl was sent to Exile Island. It seems like a really poor choice, unless they were trying to keep him safe from the vote. Moto knew that Ravu still doesn't have fire (and thus, no water) - sending someone to exile at this point only makes them stronger, since they will be able to drink. Anyways, in the end, Erica was voted off, which should make for a very interesting return for Earl. Can't wait.

It's Time for Naked Cruelty!

That's right, it's the final cut night. And they made it even worse this year, as Simon told many of the finalists that they had made it in the most twisted ways possible. (seriously, how mean is it to tell someone "we're sorry to tell you that you won't be excluded"? Huh?)

Not too many surprises about who made it. Almost half of the final 24 were contestants that I had picked out before. But there's a few who I really liked in the audition round who we never heard from again. I don't understand that - why they wouldn't follow up with them is beyond me. (especially Akron & Jenry) I'm also still a little miffed that they condensed Hollywood week down to one hour.

It's hard to choose a favorite at this point. Idol is notoriously hard to predict. Even the best singers have bad weeks, and there is ALWAYS a week where a favorite goes home in a big shocker. I really like Chris Sligh (he's the white guy with the 'fro) - he's hilarious, and has a fantastic voice. I also like Sanjaya, Phil, and Nicholas for the guys. The girls don't seem as strong this year, but it's still early. Gina rocks, as does Melinda. And Lakeisha is a powerful force as well. Next week are the live shows...if they use the same format as last year (guys one night, girls another) we'll get three nights of Idol for a few weeks...thank you.

Hollywood Week is a Let Down

For some reason that I've yet to figure out, I love Hollywood week on Idol. There's something about the naked cruelty that makes for really great television. But they let me down tonight. Big time.

See, someone at Idol decided that they could condense Hollywood week down to a one hour show. So we saw very few singers, very few groups, and NONE of the final songs. Why did they do that? I just don't see the wisdom in it. They showed only a few of the guys singing; we got lots of news that the contestants that they had focused on during the audition rounds had been cut. And the contestants that they highlighted tonight - a lot of them got cut too (like Baylie & Jory, both who sounded amazing). I don't have any idea who is on to the "naked cruelty" round tomorrow...it was nearly impossible to tell. And the fact that the Hollywood round took place so long ago (thus, they had tons of time to edit the episode) makes it even worse. I hope this doesn't continue the rest of the season.

A Sweet Task on the Apprentice

Kudos to the producers and editing team on The Apprentice: LA. Really. This was maybe the first time ever where it seemed so clear through the entire episode which team would win, and that team actually lost. I was shocked; it was fantastic.

The task was back to a marketing/sales task with an advertiser tie-in. I liked the twist of them harvesting their own honey, but really that was just an extra step in the process (it's not like the task hinged on it). And this is where the fantastic editing came in. At Arrow, they kept showing them working well together (with the exception of Surya showing that book smarts don't really mean anything in business). And at Kinetic they showed the chaos of Aimee's "leadership". It seemed like Arrow was selling much more (and their price point was higher); it didn't seem like Kinetic was selling anything until they pulled out the "meet an Olympic gold medalist" card at the end. They even showed members of Kinetic talking about how there was no way they would win.

Of course, in the end, Kinetic ended up winning. And in a move that he can't possibly be proud of, Surya climbed up to the fence to ask Derek to ask Aimee to make sure he won't get fired. (it reminded me a lot of Arrow ganging up on Melissa last week) This is why I hate the twist of the winning PM being in the boardroom. Without Aimee there, Surya probably would have been fired. But instead it was Aaron. It's too bad - he seemed like a nice guy, and his laid-back leadership style was a nice change of pace. At least Kinetic is stuck with Aimee as PM for another week.

Grease...Really...

Yes, I'm still watching Grease: You're the One That I Want. And no, I don't know why. I think I want to figure out how they are going to end up with the "stars" they want regardless of how America votes. It's like a puzzle...sort of...

At the beginning of the show they announce that the bottom vote getters will have to "sing for their lives" (which would make my husband's dreams come true if it were true...his wish for all these shows is that everyone gets "launched into the sun"). That's right - right away we learn that the contestants with the lowest vote totals won't necessarily be cut. Does anyone else think that they added this twist when they realized that "America" doesn't have a clue? Especially when they revealed later on in the episode who did get the lowest vote totals, and they weren't actually eliminated. Hmmm...

I also don't understand the judging. There were some contestants that were pretty good, but the judges were really tough on them. There were others that weren't good at all that the judges just said "good job" to. And there were a few that were horrible that the judges loved. Can they really sound that different in-studio as they do on tv? (they talk about that a lot on Idol - that it sounds different to the judges in the studio) I just think that they are trying to manipulate the votes somehow. Trust me, I'll figure this out.

On to the actual performances. Somehow, Andrew Lloyd Webber is there, and they are all singing broadway songs (which is what they should be singing, really). There were a few that were really good - I liked Derek, Ashley S., Chad, and Laura. I thought that Juliana sounded a LOT better than the judges gave her credit for. And I thought that Kate and Max weren't nearly as good as the judges thought. In fact, I thought that Kate & Max were two of the worst performances; I guess that for whatever reason the judges just really love them.

And no surprise that even though they got more votes than Allie & Jason, Matt & Ashley A. were eliminated. Does anyone else think that they brought the two of them back just so they could extend the series an extra week? It's too bad - there is so much potential in the show, and it's just not even close to living up to it.

Survivor Fiji Gets Off To An Exciting Start

There's so much to talk about about last night's premiere of Survivor: Fiji I barely know where to start. So I apologize in advance if my thoughts seem a bit scattered. I'm just too excited to sort them all out. That, and I am still on a significant amount of cold medicine. Go figure.

There was lots of talk before the season started about the strange-ness of starting with 19 castaways. Turns out that they were supposed to start with 20 - one dropped out right before filming started. Melissa McNulty was supposed to be the 20th castaway; after having 3 panic attacks in one day, she met with the producers, and decided to pull out. I'm not sure how I feel about this. The week or two leading up to production is really tough - the castaways are sequestered, put through lots of activities (some media, some educational, some actual challenges), and aren't allowed to speak or have eye contact with each other. They are told to bring an ipod, so that they have the ear buds in all the time. There's no question that it's hard. So I'm glad that if Melissa couldn't handle that, that she was able to back out before the show started (and probably saved us the "fun" of watching her quit later on). Melissa said today that she didn't know that she had one day left of sequester, and that the producers were well aware beforehand that she suffers from panic attacks. I'm curious why they cast her in the first place. I'm also a little annoyed - because it was so close to the start of the game (probably about 18 hours), chances are (and this part I'm guessing on) that her departure drastically changed the first few days of the show. Jessica said today in interviews that most of them were looking around, realizing that there were 5 of each ethnic group, and assumed they would be split by race. When Melissa backed out (she is a white woman), that would have forced the producers to change how they divided the tribes. I think that the shelter twist was probably planned in advance, but how they divided the tribes I'm sure was changed. I hope we see an interview soon with Probst or Mark Burnett to know for sure.

Ok, so on to first impressions. Mine? That nearly everyone in the cast looks like a previous castaway. Seriously. "Dreamz" (and we'll get to that bit of ridiculousness in a second) looks so much like Osten from Pearl Islands that I thought it was him for a few minutes. There's too many of them like that for it to be a coincidence. I just hope that it's part of some sort of huge twist later in the game. That would ROCK.

Most of the castaways seem really likable so far. I LOVE Yau Man - I hope he does really well in the game. I also like Rocky, though I admittedly have an affection for anyone with a Boston accent. And I like Earl. Ok, I like most of them. What I didn't like? The fact that so many of them have nicknames. It's not ok to make up a nickname for yourself for the show. It's never ok. But to come up with "Dreamz" as your nickname? I can't think of anything worse. I was wrong about him (see my previous blog...his real name is Dre) - he'll be the first one voted out of his tribe. I'm also not too sure about Mookie. Did you see him sit down in the challenge? NOT cool.

I hate the twist of the two camps. Yes, I know that they'll probably be doing a lot of camp switching (the nice camp may be the reward for the reward challenges), and I hate it. Rewards that give a tribe an advantage at the next immunity challenge are fine. Rewards that give a tribe an advantage that is so large and so hard to overcome...well...blech. This is Survivor - they should have to work for it. Otherwise I'm just watching Big Brother on a beach.

Exile Island this year SUCKS. "Crawling with sea snakes"?? How is that safe? Do they have somewhere to go away from the snakes? Did CBS really let them do this? Yikes. And the fact that it looks like the immunity idol is actually hidden back at camp sucks even more (which is probably why they keep saying that there are two idols this season...one at each beach). I am also moving over to the side of the argument that hates that hidden idol. At least how it's done now. Maybe if there is a shorter time limit on it (like only being able to use it at the next 2 tribal councils) it would be better. But now finding the idol pretty much guarantees you final four. I hate that.

What I didn't hate was the challenge. LOVE when there are lots of parts to a challenge, and this one was tough. 14 seasons, and the challenge production team still rocks.

So after that great challenge, Ravu loses, and has to go to tribal council. I wish they had shown a little more of tribal last night - there are actually 200 steps to get up to tribal council this season...hopefully they'll show that climb in future episodes. And sadly, Jessica joins the "elite" club of those first voted out of Survivor. Someday maybe they'll take my idea and have a season of just those people. (of course, how much would it suck to be the first one voted out of THAT season!) Jessica seemed really nice, but someone had to go. It's too bad for her, but the people who seemed to rub others the wrong way were really all on the other tribe. It's the first season in awhile where it seemed like they pretty much just flipped a coin to choose who to vote off.

14 seasons in, and still by far my favorite show.

Survivor: Fiji Starts Tomorrow!

I am so excited for tomorrow night's premiere of Survivor: Fiji. With so many good reality shows out there, Survivor is still my all-time favorite. Last season, my prediction made it to the final three (Becky), and I also managed to predict two of the three first voted off (Sekou & Billy) weeks before the first episode premiered. Really. You can check it out here: http://marasusan.blogspot.com/2006/08/more-on-survivor.html

So who do I like this season? I'll admit that I had an advantage last season since I knew that the survivors would be divided by race. And while I suspect that they may be divided by race again, I'm not sure. (for those who don't know, this season's castaways did NOT see Cook Islands before they filmed this season...this means that a lot of times they can do the same "twists" without the survivors seeing it coming) Without seeing any of the show yet, I like Anthony, Edgardo, Michelle. Something about their profiles jumps out at me. Dre is also one to watch. It's strange to list "cheerleading coach" as your occupation (though not nearly as strange as fire dancer or roller girl), but I think that a coach will do well on the show. Rita, a single mom, also has a good chance - moms traditionally do very well on the show. As for ones who might be quick out, this was tougher. Lisi, Erica, & Gary might be quickly out.

Can't wait for tomorrow night...

Idol in Texas...

A few thoughts from my cold medicine addled brain about last night's Idol auditions...

Did anyone else notice Simon playing with himself during one of the auditions? Seriously. I know I'm pretty loopy, but my husband and I both saw him rubbing his chest.

The "other door" gag is clearly on purpose (I've heard lots of theories about it, mostly about how they would need to have one door locked so that the family has a place to stand on the other side). The montage of the door mishaps was worth a second watch on tivo.

I loved the two cousins, William and Akron. At first I joked about how they were real "winners" - didn't they both say that they were unemployed and living with one of their moms? But it turned out that they were great. William clearly knew he wasn't a good singer, and that he was only there to support his cousin. His act leaving the audition room was hilarious. If you didn't see it, he was totally fine with being rejected, but told the judges he would need to keep up his reputation. They nodded, and William burst out of the doors, swearing and yelling about the judges. Even Simon cracked up afterwards. And William's cousin Akron? Actually a really really good singer...look for him to go pretty far in the competition.

I also really liked Baylie (the small town country girl who sang Faith Hill) and Jimmy (who sang "Cupid" towards the end of the show). One more night of auditions, and we're off to Hollywood!