So the last of the big shows wrapped up this week in a flurry of excitement. No big surprises, but a few good shows to end the season.
First was the final rose on The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman. Andy took both girls home to meet his parents in Pennsylvania. You just knew that Tessa would get the final rose after Bevin told his grandparents that she does research on the sexual dysfunction of menopausal women. She also let his conservative family that she was raised in the Bahai faith. At this point she was toast. And after Andy told both girls that he loved them (can you imagine how he explained this to Tessa Tuesday?) he dumped Bevin and proposed to Tessa. It might be the first time that the girl I wanted to get the final rose actually got it. Supposedly she's moving out to Hawaii to be with him; I give it six months.
Next was the finale of Dancing With the Stars. It was actually higher rated than Idol, which is pretty crazy, except for the fact that the finale was good. (more on why Idol's wasn't later) I'm pretty bummed that it's over, but ecstatic that Apolo won. He's such a good dancer, and completely deserved it.
Finally, there was the two hour love-fest that was the Idol finale. So much of it was actually un-watchable. If they want to be more relevant, having Bette Midler and Tony Bennett perform does little to achieve that goal. And while I enjoyed the Beatles medleys, I wonder how many of the teenagers watching actually recognized the songs. They dragged it out for two hours before they even started to get to the results. And this was where anyone who was watching on tivo (insert your name here) got screwed. The result was read exactly 2 hours and 4 minutes in to the show. The show was supposed to be two hours long. That's right - they kissed their own behinds for so long that they nearly didn't get to the actual point of the show, leaving many to not hear the anti-climatic finish where Jordin was crowned the winner. (and we saw Blake look rather relieved)
This is one of the many reasons the ratings were down this season. This, and the fact that compared to last year, the talent wasn't nearly as good. For this, I have to blame the judges. There were such talented performers that we saw in the early rounds who seemingly disappeared during the Hollywood round. I also think they need to look at the voting process, especially in the first round of voting. They went to the guys and girls format a few years ago, and I don't think it produces the best possible top 12. I think they would be better served by going back to how they did it the first few seasons, where the top 24 were divided into three groups. Each group sang once, and two or three were voted through to the next round. Then there was a final week where the judges brought a few back to sing again (including some who had been originally cut in Hollywood), and each judge put a singer through (plus a singer or two voted on by the fans). And I understand that they will never go to a voting system like So You Think You Can Dance? or Dancing With the Stars where the judges votes get combined with the viewers, but they need to do something (maybe limit how many votes each phone line gets?).
With that, I'm off for a few weeks. I'll be back once the summer replacement shows get going (or earlier if I have a lot to say!)...enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and GO RED SOX!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
American Idol Finale (part 1)
It's time for the finale on American Idol...my, how time flies. Before we get started with the singing, there was a very interesting article in The Washington Post today about this season of Idol. The ratings are way down this season, mostly because of how this season was cast. There weren't a lot of people to get behind. This group of contestants was also very savy - they knew that they really just needed to make the top 10 so they could go on tour. I'm sure it's online somewhere - you should check it out if you get the chance.
So on to the singing. Blake won the coin toss, and elected to let Jordin choose to sing second. Poor choice, but lends credence to the fact that Blake knows he doesn't have to win to have a successful career. Smart kid. He started off the show with his favorite song from the season, his version of Bon Jovi's "Bad Name." It rocked the first time, and was completely the right song to choose, but not quite as good as the first time. I did love his second song, another by Maroon 5. He sounded great, but I do wish he had chosen an up-tempo song. He finished off with this season's Idol-ballad. I know they have to just sing it, and he did it pretty well. I hated the song, and I think Blake did too. Maybe that's why he doesn't care if he wins - the winner has to record this song as their first single. Yuck.
Jordin started off with a Christina Aguilera song. She is a much better singer than Blake, but I agree with Simon - she's not quite as good a performer. Her second song, her Martina McBride song from country week was a great choice. I loved it when she sang it then, and she sang it even better this time. Her last song, the Idol-ballad was good too. I think she did a better job with it than Blake (actually, a much better job than Blake), but I'm more and more convinced that he's ok with that. And she really does deserve to win.
So we'll find out the results tomorrow. And I have no idea who will win. Jordin is a much better singer, but I think Blake has a bigger fan base. It should be interesting.
So on to the singing. Blake won the coin toss, and elected to let Jordin choose to sing second. Poor choice, but lends credence to the fact that Blake knows he doesn't have to win to have a successful career. Smart kid. He started off the show with his favorite song from the season, his version of Bon Jovi's "Bad Name." It rocked the first time, and was completely the right song to choose, but not quite as good as the first time. I did love his second song, another by Maroon 5. He sounded great, but I do wish he had chosen an up-tempo song. He finished off with this season's Idol-ballad. I know they have to just sing it, and he did it pretty well. I hated the song, and I think Blake did too. Maybe that's why he doesn't care if he wins - the winner has to record this song as their first single. Yuck.
Jordin started off with a Christina Aguilera song. She is a much better singer than Blake, but I agree with Simon - she's not quite as good a performer. Her second song, her Martina McBride song from country week was a great choice. I loved it when she sang it then, and she sang it even better this time. Her last song, the Idol-ballad was good too. I think she did a better job with it than Blake (actually, a much better job than Blake), but I'm more and more convinced that he's ok with that. And she really does deserve to win.
So we'll find out the results tomorrow. And I have no idea who will win. Jordin is a much better singer, but I think Blake has a bigger fan base. It should be interesting.
Last Dances of the Season
Not too much to say about last night's final dances on Dancing With the Stars. They were good. REALLY good. I disagreed with the judges quite a bit...the scores should have been much higher all around. I don't see why we saw perfect 60s in earlier rounds, but not last night. Still, it was a great show. I know so much has to do with how the voting goes, but I think it's going to go to Apollo. He was brilliant last night in both dances. He's been consistent throughout the competition - he's my pick to win.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Shocker in the Final Two on Idol
Ok, so everyone but me was shocked at last night's results show on Idol. No one believed that Melinda could actually be voted out before the finale. But after nearly an hour of filler, that's exactly what happened. And I, for one, am not surprised. When it comes right down to it, there's no question that she is a better singer than the others. But there's also no question that she seems about 30 years older than the other two. That's great if you're looking to sell records to the parents of the pre-teens that watch Idol. She had to know that her fan base was older, since she consistently chose songs this season that were recorded 20+ years ago. And for every vote that a 40-something casts, a 13 year old sent 100 text-messages. So Melinda is out, and the much younger Blake is in.
A personal side note for those of you who have been following my Idol pool picks. With Melinda leaving last night, I am guaranteed at least second place. And if Blake wins, I win the whole thing. It looks like being a reality tv nerd has finally started to pay off...
A personal side note for those of you who have been following my Idol pool picks. With Melinda leaving last night, I am guaranteed at least second place. And if Blake wins, I win the whole thing. It looks like being a reality tv nerd has finally started to pay off...
I think I'm addicted to ballroom...
That's right. I've said it. I'm pretty sure of this, seeing as how I watched this week's episode of Dancing With the Stars twice. Really. It's just that it's gotten really good. All four couples danced remarkably well, and the show was good enough that I wanted to see it again.
I'm not surprised that Ian was the last dancer to not make the final. He wasn't as consistent as the other three, and certainly didn't connect as well with the audience. I've loved Apollo all along, so I'm really rooting for him in the finale. Of course, I'll be happy with any of them - they each derserve it.
I'm not surprised that Ian was the last dancer to not make the final. He wasn't as consistent as the other three, and certainly didn't connect as well with the audience. I've loved Apollo all along, so I'm really rooting for him in the finale. Of course, I'll be happy with any of them - they each derserve it.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Final Three Sing on Idol
It's going to be an interesting results show for Idol tomorrow night. Three very different performances - it's going to come down to which kind of people vote.
First there's Jordin. She's probably the most marketable of the three singers left. She's young and pretty, and she has an amazing voice. She sounded great again tonight, especially her last song. I understand where Simon's criticism of singing older songs is coming from, but she could record those older songs and sell them tomorrow.
Then there's Melinda. She has an amazing voice as well, and she's very similar in sound to Jordin. The biggest difference is that she has consistently sung "older" songs and both looked and sounded much older than the rest of the contestants. (that, and she just looked bizarre singing her second song tonight...at some point I just had to look away) This could be good, but if it's mostly teenagers that vote, we could have a shocker tomorrow night.
Totally different than the two girls is Blake. I really loved him tonight, especially with his second song (the Maroon 5 song). He sang songs that were so much more current - if it's younger viewers that call in to vote (which I think it usually is), he could be a surprise winner.
When it comes right down to it, I win my Idol pool if Blake wins, and finish second if Jordin wins, so, of course, I'm rooting for the upset tomorrow night. Idol pool aside, it's a tough choice. They really are very different singers, and appeal to very different groups of fans. Should be interesting...
First there's Jordin. She's probably the most marketable of the three singers left. She's young and pretty, and she has an amazing voice. She sounded great again tonight, especially her last song. I understand where Simon's criticism of singing older songs is coming from, but she could record those older songs and sell them tomorrow.
Then there's Melinda. She has an amazing voice as well, and she's very similar in sound to Jordin. The biggest difference is that she has consistently sung "older" songs and both looked and sounded much older than the rest of the contestants. (that, and she just looked bizarre singing her second song tonight...at some point I just had to look away) This could be good, but if it's mostly teenagers that vote, we could have a shocker tomorrow night.
Totally different than the two girls is Blake. I really loved him tonight, especially with his second song (the Maroon 5 song). He sang songs that were so much more current - if it's younger viewers that call in to vote (which I think it usually is), he could be a surprise winner.
When it comes right down to it, I win my Idol pool if Blake wins, and finish second if Jordin wins, so, of course, I'm rooting for the upset tomorrow night. Idol pool aside, it's a tough choice. They really are very different singers, and appeal to very different groups of fans. Should be interesting...
Survivor: Fiji Finale
It's been two days since the finale of Survivor: Fiji, and I'm still flabbergasted. I truly can't believe I saw what I just saw. Wow.
First, the things I liked. I liked the challenges. Both were hard, and both could have been won by anybody (one of things I love about Survivor challenges). Loved them. I have no idea why Cassandra and Earl did such a bad job with the maze challenge, but the other three kicked some butt. (apparently when it looked like Cassandra wasn't trying in challenges sometimes, it's because she wasn't trying - she said that she didn't try hard on any challenge that would have involved swimming...it wasn't worth drowning to win immunity) And the final challenge looked brutal - way to go challenges team.
So on to the rest of the show. No shocker that Boo went home first. But the real drama came at the final four tribal council. After Dreamz won the final immunity challenge, he made the decision to not honor his deal with Yau Man, and kept immunity for himself. This was billed as "the most controversial decision ever made by a survivor." I don't agree with that at all - the Johnny Fairplay-dead grandma debacle on the Pearl Islands was way worse. That was motivated by greed. Dreamz saw an opportunity to give a better life to his kids. He knew if he gave Yau Man the immunity necklace, he was gone. Keeping it guaranteed him at least 3rd place, probably 2nd (who would really vote for Cassandra?). There's a big difference in the money awarded to 2nd place vs. 4th place - the kind of money that could change the lives of Dreamz's kids. I don't agree with the decision, but I certainly don't fault him for doing it. A couple other notes about it - Yau Man still wants to be friends with Dreamz, Yau Man says that if he had to do it over he would still give Dreamz the truck, and several jury members said that they were thinking of giving Dreamz their vote had he said different things at tribal.
Ahh, tribal council. I love when there's drama. But the final tribal council went beyond drama and crossed the line into cruelty. Not from all the jury members. Stacy, Michelle, Yau Man - all came off very well. Others seemed bitter, but reasonably so. But then there was Alex and Lisi. Both had been on the jury for awhile, and had plenty of time to calm down and be adults. But instead, they both came off as cruel. I don't know how they could watch that back and be proud of their actions. These are the same people who chastised Dreamz for his decision? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I hear that Alex is no longer practicing law - I hope that karma bites them both in the butt.
In the end, I'm glad that Earl won. He played a great game, and deserved to win in the first unanimous vote in Survivor history. And the new season looks amazing. I have a personal interest in China (since that is where we are adopting our daughter from), and the change of landscape will make for a great game. Just wish I didn't have to wait till September!
First, the things I liked. I liked the challenges. Both were hard, and both could have been won by anybody (one of things I love about Survivor challenges). Loved them. I have no idea why Cassandra and Earl did such a bad job with the maze challenge, but the other three kicked some butt. (apparently when it looked like Cassandra wasn't trying in challenges sometimes, it's because she wasn't trying - she said that she didn't try hard on any challenge that would have involved swimming...it wasn't worth drowning to win immunity) And the final challenge looked brutal - way to go challenges team.
So on to the rest of the show. No shocker that Boo went home first. But the real drama came at the final four tribal council. After Dreamz won the final immunity challenge, he made the decision to not honor his deal with Yau Man, and kept immunity for himself. This was billed as "the most controversial decision ever made by a survivor." I don't agree with that at all - the Johnny Fairplay-dead grandma debacle on the Pearl Islands was way worse. That was motivated by greed. Dreamz saw an opportunity to give a better life to his kids. He knew if he gave Yau Man the immunity necklace, he was gone. Keeping it guaranteed him at least 3rd place, probably 2nd (who would really vote for Cassandra?). There's a big difference in the money awarded to 2nd place vs. 4th place - the kind of money that could change the lives of Dreamz's kids. I don't agree with the decision, but I certainly don't fault him for doing it. A couple other notes about it - Yau Man still wants to be friends with Dreamz, Yau Man says that if he had to do it over he would still give Dreamz the truck, and several jury members said that they were thinking of giving Dreamz their vote had he said different things at tribal.
Ahh, tribal council. I love when there's drama. But the final tribal council went beyond drama and crossed the line into cruelty. Not from all the jury members. Stacy, Michelle, Yau Man - all came off very well. Others seemed bitter, but reasonably so. But then there was Alex and Lisi. Both had been on the jury for awhile, and had plenty of time to calm down and be adults. But instead, they both came off as cruel. I don't know how they could watch that back and be proud of their actions. These are the same people who chastised Dreamz for his decision? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I hear that Alex is no longer practicing law - I hope that karma bites them both in the butt.
In the end, I'm glad that Earl won. He played a great game, and deserved to win in the first unanimous vote in Survivor history. And the new season looks amazing. I have a personal interest in China (since that is where we are adopting our daughter from), and the change of landscape will make for a great game. Just wish I didn't have to wait till September!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
The Bachelor...really...
Yes, I'm still watching The Bachelor. In fact, I haven't missed a minute. And honestly, I haven't really written about it because someone else out there is doing it much better than me. I am a huge fan of Bill Simmons (the sports guy), a writer for ESPN.com. His wife (the sports gal) has been keeping a running blog of the season, and she does it far better than I could. Seriously. Check it out.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bachelor/070508
I hope he chooses Danielle, but I'd be happy with Tessa too. If for no other reason than to watch Bevin's head explode when she doesn't get a rose. Ha!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bachelor/070508
I hope he chooses Danielle, but I'd be happy with Tessa too. If for no other reason than to watch Bevin's head explode when she doesn't get a rose. Ha!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Final Four Sing on Idol
After the amazing night of singing last week, this week's episode of Idol was quite the letdown. It's one of the most talented final fours in years, yet tonight's performances were just blah.
Melinda, the presumed winner, was good but not great. She has gone from the false modesty to over-confidence. Someone has clearly told her that she is the favorite to win, and she is showing it. Her second song was better than her first, and she's clearly going to move on to the final. I also appreciate that the stylists are doing everything they possibly can to make her look like she actually has a neck.
This was an off week for Blake. After his breakout performance last week (which reminds me, I need to download that...), his first song paled by comparison. I didn't like the falsetto, and the beat boxing, which I normally like, felt out of place. I actually really liked his second song; hopefully enough people will agree with me to keep him safe this week.
Lakisha had an off night as well. I hate when the guest coach gives a singer advice and they completely ignore it. It happened again tonight, when Barry Gibb told Lakisha to take it up an octave. Of course, she didn't, and it was a very flat performance. I was also totally distracted by her hideous outfit. Those stylists need to help her out as well. I agreed with Simon - her second song was better, but still not great. I think she'll be standing with Blake in the bottom two tomorrow night.
Jordin's first song certainly earned her a place in next week's show. She sounded great - much better than the others. Her second song wasn't as good, but it was better than Lakisha's. I think she'll be safe for sure.
So I'll be voting for Blake, mostly because I have him picked as my winner in my Idol pool. But I think that it should be Lakisha going home this week; hopefully I'm right.
Melinda, the presumed winner, was good but not great. She has gone from the false modesty to over-confidence. Someone has clearly told her that she is the favorite to win, and she is showing it. Her second song was better than her first, and she's clearly going to move on to the final. I also appreciate that the stylists are doing everything they possibly can to make her look like she actually has a neck.
This was an off week for Blake. After his breakout performance last week (which reminds me, I need to download that...), his first song paled by comparison. I didn't like the falsetto, and the beat boxing, which I normally like, felt out of place. I actually really liked his second song; hopefully enough people will agree with me to keep him safe this week.
Lakisha had an off night as well. I hate when the guest coach gives a singer advice and they completely ignore it. It happened again tonight, when Barry Gibb told Lakisha to take it up an octave. Of course, she didn't, and it was a very flat performance. I was also totally distracted by her hideous outfit. Those stylists need to help her out as well. I agreed with Simon - her second song was better, but still not great. I think she'll be standing with Blake in the bottom two tomorrow night.
Jordin's first song certainly earned her a place in next week's show. She sounded great - much better than the others. Her second song wasn't as good, but it was better than Lakisha's. I think she'll be safe for sure.
So I'll be voting for Blake, mostly because I have him picked as my winner in my Idol pool. But I think that it should be Lakisha going home this week; hopefully I'm right.
Monday, May 07, 2007
TAR All Stars Finale
Last night's finale of The Amazing Race: All Stars was an appropriate end to the season. I was glad to see Eric & Danielle win, but the whole thing was just kind of blah.
The major criticism that I have had (and most who blog about this sort of thing) with the season is that it was not "all star" caliber. In fact, everything seemed easier. Remember back to when we were discussing which teams should be included, and what sort of amazing places they would go? And everyone was wondering what sort of fantastic tasks they would have to do? We didn't get any of that. Some of the best teams to run the race were excluded, the locations weren't overly exciting, and the tasks were dull. There were very few physical tasks, and most of the teams were eliminated because of transportation and bad luck. It's such a bummer for a show that has been consistently one of the best on television.
The last leg itself wasn't horrible. Being on Lanai was gorgeous, and I loved the task with them kayaking out to the shipwreck. But there were only two flights on the final leg (it was like that last season as well; in previous seasons there were a lot of flights which leave a lot up to the great airport equalizer). And the producers had to know that there were limited flights from Hawaii back to Oakland that day (and did the teams figure out that it was better to fly in to Oakland or were they told to do that?). I also liked the final task in the vault (though I don't understand why there wasn't a final roadblock), but I wish they had given them unlimited time to do it. I know, they needed the drama at the end of such a close finish. But it would have been fun to watch the timer on the girls at the end and see how long it would take them to match their partners.
In the end, it was Eric & Danielle to cross the finish line first. I was pulling for the Beauty Queens, but it was really impressive that Eric & Danielle won (they were yielded twice and marked for elimination once). And of course, I was glad to see Shmirna finish third. And I'm hoping both that TAR gets picked up for another season and they go back to the difficulty that the show is famous for.
One last note - I don't have any idea what happened to the last week and a half or so of blogs. I thought I uploaded some of them, but I guess not. And it seems silly at this point to try and recreate them. They're floating in cyberspace somewhere...here's hoping they show up somewhere sometime!
The major criticism that I have had (and most who blog about this sort of thing) with the season is that it was not "all star" caliber. In fact, everything seemed easier. Remember back to when we were discussing which teams should be included, and what sort of amazing places they would go? And everyone was wondering what sort of fantastic tasks they would have to do? We didn't get any of that. Some of the best teams to run the race were excluded, the locations weren't overly exciting, and the tasks were dull. There were very few physical tasks, and most of the teams were eliminated because of transportation and bad luck. It's such a bummer for a show that has been consistently one of the best on television.
The last leg itself wasn't horrible. Being on Lanai was gorgeous, and I loved the task with them kayaking out to the shipwreck. But there were only two flights on the final leg (it was like that last season as well; in previous seasons there were a lot of flights which leave a lot up to the great airport equalizer). And the producers had to know that there were limited flights from Hawaii back to Oakland that day (and did the teams figure out that it was better to fly in to Oakland or were they told to do that?). I also liked the final task in the vault (though I don't understand why there wasn't a final roadblock), but I wish they had given them unlimited time to do it. I know, they needed the drama at the end of such a close finish. But it would have been fun to watch the timer on the girls at the end and see how long it would take them to match their partners.
In the end, it was Eric & Danielle to cross the finish line first. I was pulling for the Beauty Queens, but it was really impressive that Eric & Danielle won (they were yielded twice and marked for elimination once). And of course, I was glad to see Shmirna finish third. And I'm hoping both that TAR gets picked up for another season and they go back to the difficulty that the show is famous for.
One last note - I don't have any idea what happened to the last week and a half or so of blogs. I thought I uploaded some of them, but I guess not. And it seems silly at this point to try and recreate them. They're floating in cyberspace somewhere...here's hoping they show up somewhere sometime!
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