Idol Gives Back - Night 1

It’s an interesting dilemma with tonight’s episode of Idol. I love what they are doing for charity. Turning their hold on the viewing public (seriously, everyone watches their show…the other networks won’t even program against it) into something positive is highly commendable. That is, if it ended there. But let’s be real – they’re also using it to draw in even more viewers and advertising. I wish they would just give the money without all the hoopla. But that being said, thank you to the producers of Idol for bringing both funds and attention to where it is so desperately needed.

While the way that Chris wobbles his head back and forth is driving me nuts, he sounded great tonight. I wasn’t sure of the song choice at first, but it turned out to be perfect. It’s the best he’s sounded in weeks, and I’m glad the judges saw that too.

I think that tonight is the first week that Melinda has sung a current song, and she did it phenomenally well. I don’t see how she won’t win this thing.

Of course, she’ll have to contend with Blake. Right before he started signing I said to my husband “I hope he doesn’t mess this up.” “Imagine” is truly one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and I really liked his performance. I don’t know about the judges – it was a lot better than they gave him credit for. Hopefully he’ll be safe again this week.

I can’t believe that Lakisha made the same mistake two weeks in a row – singing a song from a former Idol. I agree with the judges. She has a very different sound than Fantasia, and her version paled by comparison to the original. She very well could be going home tomorrow night.

Phil sounded great again this week. He’s really found his niche, and he’s probably saved himself for another week on the show.

Jordin finished off the night giving Melinda a run for her money. She is simply amazing.

So I’m going to actually vote tonight since apparently some money will go to charity for my vote. Won’t say who I’ll be voting for, but you can bet that Blake (my pick to win it all) will get at least a few of them. And who will be going home? It’ll be a shocker, but I think it’s the end of the road for Lakisha.

Dancing With the Stars...

Still watching, loved the group number, and thinking that Billy Ray and John will be the bottom two.

Stefani is Hired!

I don't have a whole lot to say about the finale of The Apprentice: LA. It was a really good season, and the finale was just one big disappointment. Don't get me wrong - I really thought that Stefani deserved to win. But I hated the final task, and there was very little substance to the finale. I'm also disappointed that Stefani (or anyone else) never defended her lack of being PM by pointing out the structure of the show this year. In past seasons, everyone took their turn being PM. This season, the teams either won (and kept the same PM) or lost, and the person who was under fire in the boardroom felt like they had to "step up." Because Stefani was never in that "under fire" position, she never had the opportunity to be PM. I'm guessing that Trump watched how Stefani really did lead the team on each episode, which is why she was hired, but who knows.

There's also some rumblings on the web that there might be more to Stefani getting hired than we saw on the show. Something to do with Trump and James. I'm looking into it...I'll post when I figure out more.

Anothe Non-Elimination Leg Saves Cha Cha Chas

We're down to the final four on The Amazing Race: All Stars, and it's finally getting good. We're seeing some tougher tasks, and some truly all-star caliber game play. Finally.

The big story of the episode was the game play of the beauty queens. After Danny & Oswald offered to yield a team for them in exchange for some much needed cash, Dustin & Kandice paid $45 for Eric & Danielle to be yielded. Some may think this is a horrible move (for both teams); I loved it. It's not like they were backstabbing or cheating - they made a smart move in the game. The girls had saved a lot of money (a smart move), had already used their yield (also a smart move), and were presented with an opportunity to slow down a very fast team. Why is that wrong?

The girls also showed why they deserve to be a top team. They did each task very deliberately, taking the time to make sure they did it right. Remember, not paying attention cost them the race last season - they have clearly learned from their mistake, and are going to be tough to beat. I also liked the game play of Eric & Danielle. They made up HOURS of time on this leg, with minimal swearing (though Eric had plenty of choice words for Danny & Oswald, even after the beauty queens sort of came clean to them). They are going to be very tough to beat as well.

I continue to love Danny & Oswald and hate Charla & Mirna. I can't handle Mirna's constant yelling. And I was also glad to see Mirna's poor driving finally cost them some time on the race (both this leg and how much time they clearly lost on the last one). Hopefully Danny & Oswald can make up some time and knock Charla & Mirna right out of the race.

Best Reality Show of the Weekend

That's right, back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs to cap off a sweep of the Yankees. Between that (that's right, four home runs in a row) and Mariano Rivera blowing the save on Friday night I'm very very happy.

Best Survivor of the Season

That's right. Last night's episode of Survivor was by far the best of the season.

The reward challenge was one that is done on almost every season, and is almost always my favorite. The combination of finding out what others think of you and finding out where you fall in the order of the tribe is sometimes the beginning of the end for castaways. And, of course, there's the added layer of choosing people to come with you on the reward. Fantastic. Cassandra was really smart, taking the people who she knew that she needed to firm up an alliance with. It was a big move - maybe she's a better player than we thought she was.

The immunity challenge was great too. Endurance challenges are always good at this point of the show, and those pegs they were standing on looked horrible. I don't know how they stayed on as long as they did.

So after the challenge was when the fun began. The scrambling that took place on the beach made for incredible television. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. This is the first season where the idols are playing out like this, and it's huge. Then there's Dreamz. I can't tell if he is just a young kid without much of a filter (whatever he thinks he says), an amazing Survivor strategy player, or a little of both. There's also the element of just plain dumb luck. How he has survived this long playing both sides is a mystery. And I'm starting to like him more and more. Rumor has it that something big happens with him - there's only four more episodes, so it sure needs to happen soon.

So after all the scrambling, tribal council was fantastic. Every single one of them was sitting there, looking smug in the knowledge that their alliance had pulled off an amazing vote. And the cameramen did a phenomenal job of capturing their faces as Probst read the first vote for Edgardo. Wow. I'm sad to see Edgardo go - he was one of my favorites. I'm also a little confused about the hidden idol - I'm surprised to hear that they're going to re-hide it. That's a huge twist that they probably never saw coming. I can't wait to see how it will play out.

Bye Bye Sanjaya

Oh thank goodness. Ding dong Sanjaya is gone.

I thought that the bigger story of the night, though, was how Simon dealt with the fall out from his apparent reaction to Chris wishing the families at Virginia Tech well. If you didn't see it, Chris and Simon were arguing about singing nasaly, when Chris threw out a wish to those at Tech. When they shot back to Simon he was rolling his eyes. Apparently, Simon was actually reacting to what Paula said, and the producers did an amazing job of showing both Simon and Chris at the same time, split screen. They turned up the mics on the judges, and there's no question that Simon was right. Wow. I'm amazed at how quickly Idol was able to fix this, and the revelation that the judges aren't always hearing everything that goes on on stage. Very interesting.

So during the ridiculously drawn-out results show, we saw what was probably the best group number of the season, and that they did the same thing they did last year when they were down to seven - split them into two groups of three and make the last person choose which group to go with. This year's victim was Melinda, who wisely sat down in the center of the stage. Turns out that the bottom three was Blake, Lakisha, and Sanjaya, with Blake being sent back to safety. Not surprising at all. And finally, after so many long weeks, Sanjaya's going home.

Country Week on Idol

When we were talking about the fact that this was country week on Idol today at work, everyone had the same reaction - "Oh." It's usually a train wreck, except for the lucky ew who actually want to be country singers. And with no Carrie Underwood or Kellie Pickler this year, it should be an interesting night.

Phil started the show off really strong - I think that was probably his best performance this season. It was a great song choice for his voice, and a great way to start the show. I loved, too, how he interacted with the crowd. (didn't you just love seeing producer Nigel rocking out?)

I wish I could change my pick to win in my Idol pool (yes, that's right, I picked Blake in an Idol pool). If I could, I would totally choose Jordin. Wow. She was amazing again tonight, showing how a really great singer can sing in any genre.

What else is there to say about Sanjaya? I'm glad that the judges are back to being honest about it. I wonder if they had some sort of meeting with the judges and producers about Sanjaya. Something about an agreement to go back to being brutally honest and letting the "vote for the worst" people continue to do their thing. I also have to wonder if at some point the producers won't somehow make him come in last (I don't know how...maybe pay people to vote thousands and thousands of times for the rest?).

For the first time in the competition, I really didn't like Lakisha's performance. She made a really poor song choice for her voice (in addition to making the mistake of choosing a song from a former-Idol - a real no-no). She is an amazing singer, but her voice isn't suited at all to a song like that. I know she has a big fan base, but she might actually be in trouble this week.

Chris wasn't great this week. And I don't understand his banter with Simon about him singing "nasaly" on purpose. It doesn't make any sense. My only thought is that he was more affected by the VA Tech shootings than he let on to. Chris is from Virginia, where a huge chunk of kids go to Tech and we are all rather shaken up.

My favorite part of Melinda's performance was her taped piece before she sang where she made a comment about singing a "current" song. I looked it up (since I hadn't heard it before either); it came out in 1999. I suppose by Melinda standards that makes it current. I was also glad that Simon finally asked her to lose the "gee whiz you really like me?" act. Thank goodness. It really was a good performance - another example of how good singers can sing any genre.

I didn't love Blake tonight. I don't know why - he's been my favorite this season. It was ok - hopefully it was enough to keep him around another week.

Overall, it was a much better night than I expected. And other than the fact that I can kiss my money in the Idol pool goodbye, I have no clue who will go tomorrow night. I'm hoping we'll finally see Sanjaya in the bottom three, though it's not likely. What's more likely is that this will be one of those shocker weeks when a favorite gets elminated and we'll sadly say goodbye to Lakisha.

Drama on the Bachelor

Oh the drama! The girls get woken up by a drill sergeant! The girls have to run in place! The girls have to appear on television without makeup!

Of course, we all saw the previews, so we knew that someone was going to go down during the boot camp. And right there in the middle of the tire run, Bevin sprained her ankle. Now, don't get me wrong - I have sprained my ankle. In fact, I've worn that same brace and used those same crutches before. It hurts like holy hell. But it's certainly not "ambulance worthy." I also turned to my husband (who was dying because he promised to not make any snarky comments as I watched...he made it about 10 minutes in...) and said "I bet that some of these girls are going to complain about the extra "alone time" Bevin gets now. And sure enough, they did. Come on girls - aren't we better than this?

The group dates were fairly predictable. Andy seems to be all about any date where the girls will have to wear bikinis. I love to think about the planning of these dates (imagine the conversation..."Andy, do you think you would like to take a mud bath with 5 gorgeous mostly naked women?" "well..."). And we got to see plenty of footage of Stephanie South Caroline realize that Andy is kissing more than just her. Ha! The second group date was surprising only in that the girls were so covered up. And I was really bummed that the two girls going on the 2-on-1 date were two that I actually liked. Well, I really just liked how Andy pronounced Peyton's name. (I wonder how he chooses who goes on dates like that...do you think that he probably was ready to get rid of Peyton anyways? Do the producers choose? Do you think I think about this way too much?)

We're still at the point of the season where the girls are all still blending together, but Amber seems to be a front-runner. I like Tessa as well. And yes, I can't believe I care.

Dancing with the Stars...

The good news is that I'm still into this season. Much to my husband's chagrin, I think I'm in for good.

There's such a division between the contestants. Joey, Apollo, & Ian are so good; Clyde, John, & Billy Ray are so bad. Heather & Laila have been pretty good as well (though I hated Heather's dress this week - what happened to dressing her so that we didn't focus on her fake leg? That's all I could look at the entire time...).

Not a lot else to say...I think that this is the end of the road for Clyde this week - I just don't see how he can recover from getting a 13 from the judges.

Final Task on The Apprentice: LA

In a new twist for The Apprentice, we are down to the final four, and we're also down to our final task. Instead of having one big event for the final two to manage, the final four teamed up to make 60 second mini-movies to advertise yet another product. I know - I don't understand it either.

I hate that because of the way the PMs worked this season James was the only one of the final four who got to lead a team. It could end up getting him hired - not because he's the best choice, but because he's the only one who can say that they've been a true leader. I think that Stefani is probably the most qualified of the finalists, but I worry about her lack of leadership on the show.

I'm also not a fan of the final task. It's just like any other task on the show - where's the big final event where they each show how they can manage a team on a big project? After a really good season, the episode really felt like a let-down.

Trump does get to see all the episodes before he makes his final hiring decision, so there is hope for Frank or Stefani yet. I think that bringing back Tim was the beginning of the end for Nicole. And, of course, there's the fact that I picked James at the beginning of the season, so I'm rooting for him a bit too.

An Amazing Leg in Hong Kong

FINALLY, we're getting some tasks that fit the fact that this is an all-stars season of TAR. Hallelujah.

In case you couldn't guess, I LOVED the ninja task on this week's episode of The Amazing Race. I would have loved it more if there was more fighting with the ninjas, but still - it was great to see an actual physical task. They haven't had to do much of that this season, and I don't know why.

The other thing I don't understand is why Danny & Oswald were able to do the fast forward. They did the fast forward in Poland with Uchenna & Joyce. I thought that you were able to only do one fast forward on the race. I don't remember Phil saying that the rules were different this season; what gives?

The leg also made me love the beauty queens even more and like Mirna & Charla even less. I do feel for Charla - she sometimes seems like she disagrees with how Mirna treats others, but doesn't really know what to do about it. It's a shame - this is how so many of us get labeled "ugly Americans" when we travel abroad.

A Merge and a Twist

Sorry for the delay in blogging about Survivor. I usually like to wait until after watching Survivor Live to blog, but I had to work Friday, and for whatever reason, CBS hasn't put the episode in the online archives yet. (come on CBS!!)

The tribes finally merged this week, and really, not a moment too soon. Of course, they made them work for it a little; they had to row out to Exile, just to row back to a cleaned out Moto beach. Ha! It makes you really understand how far out Exile is...it had to take the crew awhile to completely clear out Moto beach - there wasn't a trace of them when the newly merged tribe got back. And I loved that they came back to nothing. Welcome to Survivor Boo, Stacy, & Cassandra.

I also loved the twist at the challenge. Competing for individual immunity as two teams is nothing new. But to have to go to tribal right away was fantastic. It definitely made the difference between getting rid of Michelle instead of Stacy. I could see why they each voted the way they did (though if Dreamz had just had a little more time to think it through, I think he would have booted Stacy), but I hated to see her go first.

Twice the show, same number of results

Results for a full hour! How could it get any better? Oh, wait...

First, it just has to be said - that was the worst group number perhaps in the entire history of Idol. It really rivals the bit a few years ago with Barry Manilow (which was made even worse by being played at least once a week on the news program at the elementary school where I teach). It's very clear that not everyone's voices are cut out for Latin music (and just how hard it is to sing).

After what felt like a lot of filler (tell me again why this show has been expanded to an hour?), we finally find out that the bottom three is Haley, Chris, & Phil. For the life of me, I can't figure out what the fascination is with Sanjaya. And Haley and her legs finally head home. Not really too surprised. More excited to see how country week plays out.

Idol with a Latin Flair

It's Latin night on Idol, and J-Lo is helping out the contestants. She may just be the best celeb mentor yet - she's such an amazing singer, and it seemed like she was actually helping them. Hmmm.

Melinda sounded good, but I don’t think she has sung a single song in the competition that was written in her lifetime. When on earth is she going to sing something contemporary? I agreed with Simon that while she sang well, there was no personality to her performance at all.

Lakisha did better than Melinda, but still just sang the song. Neither girl really embraced the whole flair of the Latin theme. It's a shame, but I'm glad that we're starting to see that both of the supposed front-runners do have their limits.

I love the song "Smooth" that Chris sang tonight, and Chris did a really good job. I'm glad that Simon pointed out that it was far more contemporary than the two girls (someone should force them to sing something from this decade).

Haley continued her strategy of wearing less and less clothing (I swear, I typed that before Simon said it). It seems to be working.

Phil wasn't great, but had the problem of being compared to the original (which is amazing). It's hard to sing Santana, though good for him for trying. And I love that his daughter named her stuffed animal "Simon Cow-ell".

I feel really old after Jordin said she was born in December 1989 (oh my goodness, my husband was already in college!). I'm blown away by how good she is at such a young age. She was really good again tonight - way better than Simon gave her credit for.

Blake rocked again tonight. Does anyone else think that he's J-Lo's favorite? Best performance of the night by far.

We finished up the night with Sanjaya, "the embodiment of Latin passion" (way to go Ryan Seacrest). Even though I was so hoping for a Shakira number (come on, how much would you have loved to hear him do "Hips Don't Lie"?), he sang a ballad mostly in Spanish. Somehow, the judges claimed to have liked it, which may just be strategy; it was horrible.

With any luck, this will be the last week for Sanjaya. But I'm starting to learn...the bottom three will probably be Phil, Haley, and Chris. Sigh...

The Bachelor...

...yeah, I love it. It's such a guilty pleasure. For those of you who are new to my blogs, I'll repeat myself about this show. Yes, it's horribly degrading to women. Heck, it's degrading to people in general. And the show isn't very well produced. But it's great television. I don't know why.

The bachelor this season is, as always, the greatest bachelor yet. I just picture Bob Guiney at home shedding a tear each time they say that. Andy seems nice enough, though I'm not sure why he needs to go on the show. (somehow, it doesn't seem to fit that such a perfect guy would still be single at 30) Anyways, he's totally enthralled with the girls, and makes funny comments about "Operation Soulmate."

We're still early on in the show, but there are a few girls I like - Amber, Tessa, Stephanie Kansas (which cracks me up that he calls her that), and Nicole. And I'm so not a fan of Bevin and Stephanie South Caroline. Not sure why, they just rub me the wrong way.

I Love The Apprentice

That's right, I said it. In fact, it is slowly working it's way into my heart as one of my favorites. I don't know why this season has been so good (especially with its slow start), but I am totally on board. Way to go Mr. Trump.

First, last week, I was totally bummed to see Tim go. It should have been James, but they had the ability to pin the loss on Tim's relationship with Nicole. Boo hiss.

So on to this week. First, the teams - six left, and they had to pair up for the task. And I was shocked to see how they paired. I would never have come up with those pairs. I wish they had shown us more of when they picked - especially how Frank and Heidi ended up together.

The task itself was a great task, but didn't even matter much - what mattered this time was the board room. It was incredible. There was no question that James and Stefani won the task (though did you notice that Trump never really declared a winner or gave a team a reward?). They were so polished and prepared. I think that Stefani may actually win the whole thing. Nicole and Kristine was miserable. Nicole totally punted the presentation, and if Kristine had just kept her mouth shut, Nicole would have been fired. Instead, when Nicole went out with James to check the phone numbers, Kristine couldn't bad mouth Nicole fast enough. Aside from it being a bad move to throw someone under the bus like that, how could she do that knowing that there was the distinct possibility that she was claiming responsibility for the wrong phone number? She pretty much asked for the "you're fired."

Then there was Frank & Heidi. Their presentation was worse than Nicole & Kristine's, and it looked like they didn't even try on the brochure. What was more shocking was how Heidi handled it. She contradicted herself over and over, and Frank showed some real skills in pointing it out to Trump. I loved the moment when she's trying to say that she hadn't contradicted herself, and Don Jr. said "well...you've done it a few times." Hee hee! Good bye Heidi!

Now we're down to the final four - all original members of Arrow. Very interesting.

Amazing Race...not as amazing as before

There's a lot to be said about the last few episodes of The Amazing Race: All Stars. But the thing that has been most interesting is the airport. The challenges have been rather disappointing (Joyce in an interview today said that the challenges weren't as physical to accommodate Charla, which I don't buy at all...they had tough challenges on their season, and poor Sara had to climb and run with her artificial leg last season). Making a fabric print or tuning a piano isn't very difficult - certainly not all-star difficult.

What has been difficult is the traveling. I don't think that there's ever been a race where so many legs have been decided because of airport issues. One factor certainly is when the race was filmed - they started right before Thanksgiving, and traveled all through the holiday season where flights are harder to come by. But it's not great television to have teams be essentially eliminated before the leg even starts.

I continue to love Danny & Oswald and the Beauty Queens (and how much did you love Eric saying "Ladies & Gentlemen, Miss California!" when Dustin threw up?). They are both running good races, and seem to be nice, decent people. Here's hoping for the first all female team to win. And here's also hoping it's not Mirna & Charla. I can't handle how horrible Mirna is. (though I do feel for Charla...it's got to be tough enough to put up with Mirna's shouting, then to have to watch it again on tv...yikes). Every team I've seen in interviews talk about how they like Charla...most leave it at that.

back from break with a few things on my mind

So, I'm back from Spring Break, and I really hadn't planned on blogging about the episodes I missed (I know, you're all crushed). I really just watched lots and lots of baseball (go Red Sox!), and caught most of my reality shows on tivo the next day. But I have a few things that I just have to get out of my brain and on to the internet.

First, there's Survivor. I have never hated a contestant before. I've hated how some play the game, or the character they choose to be on the show. But they all seem like nice enough, decent people in real life (see Jerri Manthey...hated her on the show, seems nice enough in the real world). But I think I actually hate Lisi. Did she not understand that the things she was saying in her confessionals would be aired on national television? I have a real problem with how mean she was. And I think I could have even forgiven her as it being in the "heat of the moment" if i hadn't seen her on "Survivor Live" the day after she was eliminated. The hosts asked a few times about things she said in the confessionals, clearly giving her the opportunity to use the "I hadn't eaten and I really didn't mean it" line. And each time, Lisi affirmed what she had said on the island. She affirmed that she was on a team of losers (hello! You SUCKED at challenges!), and that she didn't like Dreamz. She also still doesn't understand that Ed's name is Edgardo, NOT Eduardo, and said that Boo is the reason that Moto keeps winning. I can't stand her.

Speaking of people I can't stand, there's Sanjaya. Sure, it was funny at first. But now it seems like he's decided he's going to win, and it's just not so funny. I understand that the judges have realized that by slamming him they're only giving him more votes (hence the "I'll take a different approach" approach last week), but they need to accept that Sanjaya's in it for the long haul, and go back to being honest. Either that, or come up with some sort of reason that he needs to drop out. Whatever works.

Still watching Dancing With the Stars, and excited that The Bachelor is back. And last night's episodes of Apprentice and Amazing Race deserve their own blogs. More to come later tonight.