New Partners on So You Think You Can Dance?

The rules change this week on So You Think You Can Dance? – gone are the partners that they have been dancing with for the past five weeks. Instead, they randomly draw a partner for the week (along with their dance styles), dance two dances with that partner, as well as a solo performance. Oh boy.

And here’s my first real complaint about the show (ok, the second…I still don’t understand why two couples each week dance hip hop…) – why are they mixing the solos in with the couple dances? Aside from the fact that it’s confusing, it makes the blogging tricky (and be warned, I have a lot to say tonight). Sigh... So, in the order of their solos…

Donyelle rocks. That’s all there is to it. She has been consistently the best female dancer throughout the show. And I had totally forgotten that she is actually a hip hop dancer. After watching her solo, all I can say is WOW. She was paired this week with Dmitry, and started off with the lindy hop. She was great – there was so much energy, it was amazing. To think, too, that she has been nursing a hurt foot makes it even more amazing. Her samba was fantastic too. She should sail through to next week.

I’m so done with Dmitry. I’m just not all into the bare chest open shirt thing. His solo was absurd – there is a lot more to dancing than throwing open your shirt. His lindy hop with Donyelle was fine. She totally outdanced him. The contrast between her energy and his lack thereof was quite striking. I think that Nigel finally started to see that he’s not as good as everyone thinks. (especially considering the comments about his lack of shirt later in the show) He was good in his final dance with Donyelle. The samba is one of his specialties, and in that specialty he did a good job. I’m hoping that he’s one of the bottom dancers tomorrow night.

Another person who I’m done with is Martha. She started off the show dancing hop hop with Ivan, which should have been extremely exciting. I know that if I had to be stuck with hip hop (I am just SO not funky), I would be so stoked to be with Ivan. But she was complaining about pulling hip hop and complaining about the fact that some dancers have been getting by based on their partners. How ironic, since it seems like she has really been getting by on the strength of Travis. Their routine was good, but she was totally overshadowed by Ivan. (and did you see how much better Travis was without her?) Her solo wasn’t very good either. There just wasn’t much to it. Her second dance with Ivan was the smooth waltz, which was just ok. The judges were pretty harsh, and I think that the criticism was probably warranted. She’s my pick to go home this week.

I admit it – I have become such an Ivan fan. He started off tonight dancing hip hop with Martha. And just as Martha seemed disappointed with the arrangement, I was bummed that he wasn’t dancing with Allison anymore. Their piece last week was so breathtaking. Anyways, even though I didn’t like the choreography, Ivan did a fantastic job with the routine. His solo wasn’t quite as good – as the judges said, it was a novelty routine with the skate shoes. (of course, it took me a second to figure out that he had wheels on his shoes…) But I agree with what Ivan said at the end – he’s trying to entertain the crowd. He finished up his night dancing the smooth waltz. The judges weren’t fans, and rightfully so – neither of them did a great job with it. I will say that it was less of a disappointment for Ivan than Martha, considering Ivan is a hip hop dancer, but it still wasn’t great. Hopefully people will take his dancing from the past few weeks as a whole and keep him on the show tonight.

Heidi has always been such a strong dancer. And her performance with Travis was nothing short of incredible. Their paso doble was spectacular. They had great chemistry as well – I think that Ryan has been holding her back a bit. Her solo was good too – she’s definitely spunky! She capped the show off dancing contemporary with Travis. Mia clearly choreographed the routine for the two of them, and she was fantastic. I loved loved loved the routine, and she was wonderful in it.

Travis is one of the best male dancers in the competition. And his paso doble showed that. I was just floored by the dance. I also think that Martha was holding him back – his performance with Heidi was so far above anything he had done with Martha. His solo was also spectacular. He’s a pure dancer, someone who you just want to sit and watch over and over again. His final performance was the amazing contemporary routine that Mia choreographed for him and Heidi. I thought that Ivan and Allison last week were the most amazing contemporary routine ever – he and Heidi just gave that performance a run for their money. It was so amazing – I didn’t want to even blink because I was scared I would miss something. Not only was he spectacular, he helped Heidi to be as well. Freakin’ brilliant.

Natalie has been so hot the past five weeks with Musa. So I was wondering what would happen when she was paired with goofball Benji. Turns out, she has great chemistry with Benji as well. Their jazz routine was great – I think that dancing with Musa has overshadowed what a great dancer she really is. I also think that she took the judges’ criticism from last week to heart, and her dancing was much more open and yearning – it was great. That openness was clearly evident in her solo as well. Her dancing is showing a lot of emotion, and she’s positioning herself as one of the top girls in the competition. Her final routine was hip hop, and she and Benji did a good job. The judges didn’t love it, but it was pretty good. I really like Natalie – I think she’s good to go for another few weeks.

Benji has been one of my favorites since the first auditions, and he still is. He has been so amazing with Donyelle, so I was worried about how he would do with Natalie. But it turns out that he was so amazing with Donyelle because he’s just an amazing dancer. Watching his jazz routine with Natalie, I almost forgot that his specialty is West Coast swing. That’s right, that amazing jazz performance was done by the current champion of West Coast swing. His solo was fantastic too. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him dancing solo, and it was worth the wait. The reaction of the crowd was great too; I guess I’m not the only one who’s a Benji fan! His last routine was hip hop with Natalie. It was good actually, especially considering that neither of them dance hip hop. But I couldn’t help but compare it with his hip hop routine the first week with Donyelle, which I think was a lot better. I don’t think he’s in any danger of going home this week.

Allison was so amazing last week with Ivan, so I was sad to see her paired with Ryan. Pulling contemporary was a huge bonus for her. The choreography from Mia was amazing – even my husband commented on how difficult it looked. And she danced it really well. She is a really strong contender in this competition. Her second routine was Broadway, which is a tough style. But she really shined. I especially loved how she handled her hat falling off – Nigel was right – that was a mark of a true professional. Her solo was good too. I don’t think she’s as good as someone like Donyelle, but I would be surprised if she was eliminated.

At some point, the judges commented that there seems to just be something missing from Ryan’s performance. I felt that way tonight as he danced contemporary with Allison. I thought that he would be good at the routine, because contemporary is his specialty as well. But even though most of the dancing itself was technically good, there was just something missing. That same feeling of something missing carried into his second routine with Allison where they danced Broadway. Once again, he had the steps right, but you couldn’t help feeling like the performance was somehow empty. He tried to pick it back up with his solo, which was pretty good. He really is quite good technically; it’s a shame that he doesn’t dance better with his partners.

If I were going to vote tonight (I know, I know, what am I doing voting for this thing?), it would have to be for Donyelle and Travis. They were by far the best two dancers of the night. I might throw a vote to Heidi & Benji as well. I’m thinking that Martha will be the bottom girl, and either Ryan or Dmitry will be the bottom guy. Should be interesting to see what happens without the judges making the final cut.

Lots going on at the Big Brother house

Oh, I’m so behind on my blogging. But at least it’s with good reason – not only was I watching the Red Sox last week, but my softball team was in the playoffs over the weekend. We won a few games before being eliminated Saturday night. And with the charming heat wave, I can’t say that we were THAT disappointed to not have to play again in the 95 degree heat the next morning. That’s right, 95 degrees in the morning. At 10:00 this morning it was already 93. Yikes. The real sign of the heatwave? The nearly empty ice cream/frozen treat aisle at the grocery store yesterday. But I digress…

I did catch up on a few shows. First was a quick view of America’s Got Talent. Taylor Ware moved on to the finals, which means more yodeling, less hot guys clogging. Seriously, who votes for these things? You’ve got to think it through.

Way better was Big Brother: All Stars. On Thursday, Alison was the first houseguest to be evicted. Not a real surprise – she was a much bigger threat than Danielle. Then, in a ridiculously fast HoH competition, Kaysar was crowned the new HoH (oh yeah, we’re back to just one HoH). And the S-6 alliance quickly celebrated, just in case we didn’t realize that they were all together. Not such a bright idea. A good idea? The different HoH bedroom décor this week. How cool is that?

No more peanut butter & jelly – this year the houseguests are stuck with slop. What is that stuff? I can’t believe that the producers are getting away with making them eat that. Ugh. It looked like some of them were stirring something into it…I wish I knew what that was as well.

Kaysar took the easy way out and nominated Nakomis & Dianne for eviction. It was a ridiculous move – he made a deal with Chilltown that makes no sense for him. Dr. Will is playing him like a fiddle. You could see it even more on tonight’s episode (which, by the way, featured a great diary by Chilltown mocking the nominations…this is why I love them…). Will knows exactly what he is doing…not winning the PoV competition, talking to Kaysar by the hot tub, asking to be put up for eviction…he’s playing a brilliant game.

Jase is playing such a different game this time around. He has grown up, and I actually feel for him being away from his girlfriend and her daughter. Part of me hopes that he gets evicted soon so he can go home (but then again, part of me wants him to stick around and be eye candy all summer).

Random fact of the week – can you guess Howie’s listed occupation? Light saber salesperson. Wow.

I was glad that Erika won the PoV, and I think that she made the right decision to not veto Dianne or Nakomis. It would be different if she had the power to choose the replacement; Kaysar was sure to nominate one of her friends if she used her veto. That, and she and Kaysar are starting to get closer and closer. Should be an interesting “showmance” maybe? Of course, nothing will top the Will-Howie romance. Seriously, Howie’s crush on Will is getting stranger and stranger (but the bit with him in the shower tonight was great…”little Howie’s getting smaller and smaller…”)

Anyways, I think that Nakomis will be heading home Thursday, which is a shame, since I love her new hair color. And hopefully someone can break the streak of the S-6 alliance winning HoH.

The End of the Road for Two More Dancers

A little late on the blogging after spending Thursday night watching the Red Sox lose an extra-innings heartbreaker. But thanks to the magic of tivo, I’m just about caught up.

This is the last week of the current partner format on So You Think You Can Dance?. Starting next week they’ll dance with random partners as well as dancing solos. The voting will also be by solo dancer, and there’s no judges choices – the bottom dancers go home. I’m not sure how I feel about that…we’ll see what happens with my favorites!

I think that the bottom three were right, based on the performances Wednesday night. It’s not even that their performances weren’t good – it’s that the top three performances were that good. But even before the solos, it seemed like the judges decision would be an easy one. Aside from the fact that Dmitry has been in almost every bottom three since the voting started, he and Ashlee are the clear choices to go home.

The solos were not much help again this week. No surprise that Dmitry danced shirtless, and even though he’s good looking, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The other solo that I didn’t think was great was Natalie’s. That surprised me a little; it might just be the difference between great choreography and what comes out of her head (there are phenomenal dancers out there that can’t choreograph their own dancing to save their lives). I also appreciated what Travis said after his solo (which was fabulous) that he hasn’t really gotten to show America why he’s in the competition – he may be one of the only dancers who hasn’t pulled his own specialty yet. So, I’m pretty confident that Ashlee & Dmitry should go home, but it might just be Natalie & Musa. Hmmm…

No real shock then when Ashlee was eliminated. (although did you see the reaction from Ryan when Natalie was told she was safe?) But for whatever reason, the Dmitry-lovefest continues and Musa is going hime. (although Nigel finally did mention that it’s not enough to just come out and show your abs) It’s a real shame – Musa’s solo was so phenomenal, as was his performance Wednesday night.

Next week we have new partners, and hopefully Donyelle will have healed enough by then to dance (she didn’t dance in the ridiculous group number because of an injury). Should be interesting…

A HOT night of dancing...

I feel a little bit dirty for watching So You Think You Can Dance? tonight. The choreographers have decided that sex sells, and for nearly all of the couples their chemistry was on display in all its glory.

Natalie & Musa have always had great chemistry, and their hip hop routine was hot. Musa totally carried the routine with his dancing – he’s one of the best hip hop dancers I’ve ever seen. Did you see those moves? Holy moly. Natalie was there…really just to rub up on Musa though. Wow.

Heidi & Ryan were next with the cha cha. That seems to be Heidi’s specialty, and she was great tonight. Ryan was good too, especially for never having danced cha cha before.

The performance of the night was Allison & Ivan, who danced a contemporary routine. It made Mary cry; it made my jaw drop open. It was brilliant – the choreography was amazing, and the dancing was perfect. Their technique was right on, and the chemistry was amazing. If you didn’t like contemporary dance before, I don’t know how you wouldn’t after seeing that.

I felt bad for Dmitry & Ashlee having to follow Allison & Ivan. And golden boy Dmitry just couldn’t cut it when it came to pop. He just wasn’t very good, and you could tell that the judges didn’t know how to mesh that performance with the fact that he’s clearly been their favorite. Ashlee was fine – it just wasn’t great.

Martha & Travis were next, dancing the fox trot. It was nice, and on other nights it would be good enough to keep them safe from the bottom three. But after seeing the really hot performances at the top of the show, it just wasn’t as good.

Going into the final performance, I was worried for Benji & Donyelle – they’ve been my favorites from the start, but had a tough act to follow tonight. They had broadway, which was perfect for them. Their performance to music from Hairspray was fantastic, and I agree with Nigel – it will likely be the two of them in the final.

My prediction? Well, for the first time this summer, I actually picked up the phone to vote. A bunch of votes for Allison & Ivan; a bunch of attempts to vote for Benji & Donyelle (it was busy each time). If there’s any justice, they will be the top two couples. I’m not sure who the other “safe” couple will be; probably Natalie & Musa. Who will go home? It should be Dmitry & Ashlee, but I think that the judges will ride the shirtless Dmitry bandwagon one more week and say goodbye to Ryan & Ashlee instead.

Regis swoops in to do it again...

Does anyone else remember when Who Wants to be a Millionaire first came on the air? Regis was the big thing, and everyone joked about how he “saved” ABC. Watching America’s Got Talent makes me feel like I’m watching NBC’s attempt at the same thing.

Tonight’s episode of America’s Got Talent was more Regis than anything else. After he recapped what had happened so far, he explained that there were 15 acts tonight, but only 10 would perform. This I don’t understand. It has nothing to do with “we only have time for 15” nonsense. If you hadn’t spent 10 minutes recapping, 10 minutes talking about how 5 acts won’t perform, and nearly 15 minutes calling acts out of the audience, everyone could have performed. It’s totally a cop out; a way to un-do the fact that the judges let through some pretty pitiful acts. Come on – no one really wanted to see the 80 year old male stripper again, now did they?

Even with cutting a third of the contestants before we even started, the “talent” was thin tonight. A few acts were good. The first two actually – Taylor Ware (the yodeling girl) and All That (hot guys in jeans clogging) – and it made you think that the whole show was going to be good. But of course, we’re just not that lucky. We had to watch some guy dress up his dogs and a Vegas-style lounge singer. Sigh…

The format of the voting is a little different than on the rest of the Idol-inspired shows. Only two acts go through – one chosen by the judges and one chosen by the audience. The judges already have passed through the Millers (the harmonica kid, who is actually quite good, even though he performs with his much less talented older brother). So “America” gets to put through one more. Hopefully it will be All That, and since mostly the voters are teenage girls, the hot guys will most likely make it. Goodness knows I’m not going to vote (and did you see the phone numbers? Something about u love…what?) Maybe I’ll watch the results show tomorrow…ok, who am I kidding – it’s already programmed in my tivo. But I won’t be happy about it.

Big Brother All Stars

First, a disclaimer: I’ve never watched a full season of Big Brother. So if I ask a question that seems ridiculously obvious to those who have watched every episode every summer of Big Brother, that’s why. Just so you know.

This summer we are treated with the all stars version of Big Brother. After viewers voted for their favorite nominees (which, by the way, is really how my other favorites should choose their all star casts…I hear that both Amazing Race and Survivor may be thinking of doing all star seasons…), we found out last week who the newest houseguests are. And thankfully, my two favorites are in the house – Dr. Will and Mike Boogie. Love ‘em. Especially Dr. Will – have you listened to the things he’s said? Like last night, when he realizes that Howie might be stalking him. His analysis? That he and Howie like the same thing – HIM. And then he looks at Howie and says “I’ve never had a retarded friend before.” Hee hee!

The HOH & PoV competitions were interesting. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the first HOH – definitely too much power too soon. I think that Jase realized that, especially when he didn’t try too hard to win PoV. He’s playing a good game, aligning himself with the BB6 crowd, as well as his own friends. He’s letting Janelle play the bad guy role as well – he’s a force to be reckoned with.

The other funny moment of the night? The Big Brother slip and slide. Why would Chicken George ride Howie down the slip & slide? And my favorite comment of the night? Marcello, after watching that display…”it’s enough to make me straight.”

Anyways, I think that Alison is done – she’s far more likely to win HOH than Danielle. Until Thursday…

Last Dance for Jessica & Jaymz

It’s results night on So You Think You Can Dance?, and it somehow feels anticlimactic. Go figure.

The big group routine this week was my favorite so far. I liked the choreography (although I could have done without the constant mugging for the camera), and appreciated how Benji was paired with Heidi (his cousin) front and center.

We found out the bottom three relatively early in the show (thank you, producers, for at least attempting to not drag this out!). No surprise that Benji & Donyelle and Natalie & Musa were both safe. And “poor” Dmitry finally got a reprieve with Ashlee and was safe as well. Jessica & Jaymz, Heidi & Ryan, and Allison & Ivan filled out the bottom three, and I’m not really surprised at all.

I keep trying to pick who will go home before they actually dance their solos. And even though I keep getting it wrong, I don’t see how their solos can save Jessica & Jaymz. Jessica’s solo was good (the toe shoes on that stage were a huge risk), but she looks like she is dancing in her underwear (and hey, maybe the judges will like that…). But Jaymz’s was some sort of strange bull fighter thing…maybe the judges will like that as well. Heidi’s solo was excellent – she will move on for sure. I didn’t like Ryan’s solo, but you could tell that he has quite a bit of dance training. Allison’s solo was also good – you could tell how much of a better dancer she is than Jessica. And even though I’m not a fan of the style of dance, Ivan’s solo was also really good. This is so the end of the road for Jessica & Jaymz.

So, after a performance by some guy hoping to sell CDs (and do people really even buy CDs anymore, or just download songs?), the judges said goodbye to Jessica & Jaymz. If only everything was this easy.

Climbing into a balloon? NOT a talent.

One more week until we get to start voting for the contestants on America’s Got Talent. So one last show of stupid human tricks. Fantastic.

As usual, there were a few good acts. I liked the two “juggling” acts, The Passing Zone and Mark, the world’s most dangerous comic. They were both great. I also loved the last act of the show, Quick Change Artistry. Each time they changed outfits, I asked my husband how they did that. It was amazing.

There were also more than a few really bad acts. From the fat Bulls dancers to the bird call lady, it seemed like the rejects from Letterman. And what about Flippy the Magnificent, doing a “strength” act with his blowup doll. What exactly is the thought process that brings you to come up with an act like that? Hmmm.

Next week we get to vote…my vote is for less Regis.

Salsa...hold the chips...

Even though I hate to sit through nearly 40 minutes of filler, I guess that I appreciate the “unseen” audition tapes. They’re way better than bios of the contestants (because do we really need to know what their favorite flavors of ice cream are?) like they do on Idol. And while I don’t know for sure, I would imagine that in the next couple of weeks they will start to dance solos, which will fill the show back out again.

Heidi & Ryan started the actual show out with hip hop. The dancing was fine, but I was totally distracted by Heidi’s outfit. What on earth was she wearing? And I was glad that Dan said something about it looking like a cheerleading routine – I was thinking the same thing.

I really like Martha and Travis, and their salsa tonight was great. It was especially good, considering the rehearsal piece that we saw before they performed. The judges were really tough on them – I just don’t imagine that the people who are voting would notice the nitpicky things that Mary pointed out.

Dmitry & Ashlee really surprised me. Aside from the fact that it was their first time dancing together (and I feel bad for Dmitry that this is his third partner), they had never danced a contemporary routine before. I wasn’t a huge fan of the choreography, but they did a good job with what they had. And I totally disagree with Dan – I though that Ashlee was better than Dmitry. Her contemporary technique was dead-on…I don’t understand why the judges were so picky about the position of Martha’s feet, but never mentioned how good Ashlee’s were. I’m also not on the “Dmitry-is-a-phenomenal-dancer” bandwagon…perhaps if he put a shirt on I would like him more.

Natalie & Musa were next with a disco routine. I usually really like them, but I didn’t really like this performance. The tricks were fantastic, but the rest of the routine was really flat. It moved slowly, and I don’t know if that was the choreography or the dancing. Of course, the tricks and the chemistry will keep them safe for another week.

Benji & Donyelle are so my favorite couple. Their waltz was beautiful, and they have fantastic chemistry. Of course, the whole “Vietnamese Waltz” and channeling his “inner Dmitry” thing was hilarious. They’ll sail through to the next round for sure.

After Benji channeled his inner Dmitry, Allison & Ivan had to channel their inner Benji. They pulled West Coast swing, and while not as good as Benji or Heidi, they put on an entertaining performance. Allison is actually quite good – Ivan is getting better each week, but has also learned how to show her off.

Jessica & Jaymz finished out the show with the second hip hop routine of the night. They weren’t fantastic, but I liked that Jaymz fought back with the judges a bit. Hip hop for a classically trained dancer is VERY difficult, and I don’t think the judges gave them any credit (while they give credit to the hop hop dancers who dance contemporary). But I don’t think either of them will make it past this week.

The bottom three is tough again this week. I think it will come down to Dmitry & Ashlee and Jessica & Jaymz, which will be hard for the judges, since they’ve both spent some serious time at the bottom. But I think that the love affair with Dmitry will continue, and Jessica & Jaymz will go home.

Master of Champions...not really...

I can’t believe that I sat through another night of Master of Champions, albeit a few days later on tivo. Is this what television has come to?

The first competitors on the dining room motorcycle course made no sense to me – I know they kept saying how much harder it was than it looked, but it didn’t look very hard at all. I say this with the admission that in my house we never miss the X-Games. For whatever reason, my husband LOVES the X-Games, and this was nothing compared to what those guys can do.

But somewhere in the middle of the karate act, I realized that this show is really horrible. That’s right, there has just GOT to be something better on tv. Anything. So no idea who ended up tonight on the wall of champions, and that’s really an ok thing.

Does America Actually Have Talent?

I’m still undecided about this America’s Got Talent show. It is really ridiculous, with way too much Regis (and who would have ever thought there could be too much Regis?). But I still watched it, and I think I may be hooked.

It’s certainly not the “talents” that I like watching – it’s the judges. You can see singers on so many shows, but the look on the judges’ faces watching Leinid the Magnificent or the finance major-turned stripper is excellent. And, as one of my friends said, you can’t go wrong with Hasseloff.

There were a few acts that were actually good. I loved the hot cloggers (I think they were called “All That”) and the hot martial arts group. So I like watching hot guys. Go figure. I also liked Elliott the magician, especially the part where he took the one bird and “broke” it into two. The little girl who sang at the end of the show was also excellent.

So many of the acts, though, don’t really qualify as “talents.” Since when is stripping a talent? And while I guess they had to pass her along since they passed on the old man stripper, I don’t see why either of them were on the show. I guess I would just love to see the “judging handbook” for the show.

It seems like we only have one or two more weeks of this part of the competition before the acts start performing for audience votes. I am looking forward to seeing how that part of the show will work.

12 Wins in a Row!

The most important reality news of the night (ok, the most important for me at least) is my Boston Red Sox. With a spectacular play by Coco Crisp in the 8^th (and, of course, my uncle’s favorite joke…if Coco is named MVP, will he be on the cover of a Wheaties box?), and a couple of home runs, they won their TWELVTH STRAIGHT GAME. That’s right – 12 straight. They also tied the major league record for consecutive error-less games. Oh, I am so happy. And thanks to the power of tivo, I did also catch the results show for So You Think You Can Dance?.

I’m not sure which I hate more, the large group songs on Idol or the large group dance numbers on this show. Tonight’s looked like the halftime show at a college basketball game. These are such good dancers – why do they make them do this?

I could have done without the schmaltz about Ivan’s father calling him at 6 am. Did Nigel just say that that call made the program worthwhile? Oh come on.

So our bottom three tonight are Ben & Ashlee, Jessica & Jaymz, and Dmitry & Aleksandra. I don’t think that Aleksandra’s solo can save her – the judges were so harsh on her for the past two weeks. But I think the solos for the guys will really matter; it’s a much harder choice.

The solos were good tonight. We got to see a side of both Ashlee & Ben that we haven’t gotten to see yet – I don’t think they’ll go home tonight. Jessica and Jaymz each did a good solo as well, although it was hard to tell if Jaymz meant to go off the stage at the end or not. It also seemed like Jaymz was pretty much resigned to the fact he might be leaving. Aleksandra & Dmitry rounded out the solos nicely. I really appreciated how nice Dmitry was about Aleksandra, especially after how he acted towards his previous partner.

Another note about this show versus Idol – even though I don’t think that the solos make much of a difference in the judge’s decisions, it rounds the show out much nicer than just the naked cruelty of Idol.

As expected, Aleksandra was cut, but not before Nigel apologized for his harsh words last night. Of course, he made up for that niceness quickly while yelling at Ben and Jaymz. I guess I understand where he was coming from, but there was bound to be a better way to say it. In the end, Ben got cut, which was a little surprising. So next week Dmitry will try out partner number three with Ashlee. Oh dear.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Another night of dancing, and I’m getting more and more into So You Think You Can Dance?. I can’t believe I didn’t watch this show last summer.

Ashlee & Ben started the show with a hip hop routine. I liked it…the choreography was a lot lighter than some of the other hip hop we’ve seen, which suited Ben a lot better. Of course, I doubt that anyone will top the hip hop of Benji & Donyelle from week 1; they’ve set the bar so high I don’t think anyone can top it.

Heidi & Ryan were next with a hot Cuban rumba. The choreography was amazing, and was tough – it is SO hard to dance to music like that with no melody. They were amazing…such a change from last week! I can’t imagine that they’ll be in the bottom three this week.

New partners Aleksandra & Dmitry did a really good job with the waltz. It seemed like Dmitry is really happy to be with a new partner, and the two of them look good together. I don’t agree with the judges’ criticism – it seemed a bit harsh. I’m not sure how the voting will go – they might be safe even with the comments from the judges.

Ivan & Allison pulled the Argentine tango, another dance style I’ve never heard of. And watching Ivan during rehearsals in his sneakers, I wasn’t too optimistic. But it was a lot better than their last attempt at Latin dancing, though – Ivan has come a long way in a short amount of time. It was a good performance – they’ll be safe for sure.

Donyelle & Benji got stuck with pop jazz (which just seems like they made up, doesn’t it?), but continued to show why they’re the couple to beat. They’re just so good together. I hated the hair on both of them, but I loved watching them dance. They have great chemistry, and they’re two of the strongest dancers in the competition.

Natalie & Musa also have phenomenal chemistry. But they pulled quick step for this week. The judges didn’t like it that much, but I thought it was fun. Who knew that Musa could dance like that? :)

Jessica & Jaymz were next with a contemporary routine. As a dancer, this was my favorite style to dance, and it seemed like they were excited at first to pull it. But the transition from ballet to contemporary is hard, and it wasn’t made easier by the low expectations from their choreographer (although I understood what they were all saying about “competition dancers”…it’s a whole different style, and competition dancers generally aren’t that great). I loved the choreography, and they exceeded expectations by far. It was really enjoyable to watch them dance.

Finally, we capped off the show with Travis & Martha. They were the second hip hop routine of the night (which, again, makes no sense that there are two hip hop routines each week). I hated Martha’s outfit, but their dancing was really good. I think that some of the judges’ criticism was based on the choreography. And I was glad that Travis pointed out that he’s a contemporary dancer; Musa got so much praise for going out of his comfort zone, while no one seems to notice about him.

So who do I think will be in the bottom three? I agree with Nigel – it’s much harder this week. The only two I would be shocked to see in the bottom are Benji & Donyelle. I know, I know, avoiding the question. My bottom three would be Ben & Ashlee, Aleksandra & Dmitry, and Natalie & Musa. And it might be the end of the road for Ben & Ashlee.

Since When is Juggling a Talent?

You know, I heard not-so-great things about the premiere of America’s Got Talent. But still, I was kind of bummed that I missed it. I mean, with Regis AND David Hasseloff, how could you go wrong? So thank goodness that NBC had the good sense to re-run the premiere tonight. Thank goodness indeed.

Now, the concept itself has done before – it’s a cross between American Idol and the gong show. They use the same format as Idol (3 judges, one cute girl, one Brit…) and with buzzers if they’re really bad. And with the “talent” it seems like a much larger version of Letterman’s stupid human tricks. But I LOVE stupid human tricks. And I’ve got to say, I actually enjoyed the show.

Some of the acts were actually really good. But we also had to sit through the grand master of the nose flute. And the impersonator (whose qualification, apparently, is that he can hear the voices). And the “shadow dancers” (also known as “the woman with the goat”). Although I did appreciate the balloon Regis.

The judging criteria are also considerably looser than on any of the other Simon Cowell shows out there. Somehow, acts like the horn guy and the senior citizen stripper made it through (and seriously, why was Hasseloff so interested in Bernie the Stripper?). But the judges were quite entertaining – I liked the interaction between the three of them, especially the moments when they leaned over and hit each other’s buzzers.

The editing on the show was horrific. Why did we have so much Regis? Did we really need to see him pull four acts at a time out of the audience? It made the show move really slowly. Since Simon Cowell is producing this (after all, the official title is Simon Cowell’s America’s Got Talent…really…), he should know better. One of the reasons that Idol works so well is that there is minimal Seacrest. There should also be minimal Regis.

Anyways, I’ll probably tune in next week. That is, unless, the Red Sox are on at the same time.

We're Down to 8...

It’s time for results on So You Think You Can Dance?, and while Cat Deeley (the host) doesn’t drag it out like Ryan Seacrest, there’s still the element of naked cruelty. And there’s the added element of the fact that the bottom three has to dance again for the judges. What fun.

Aleksandra & Jason, Dmitry & Joy, and Heidi & Ryan were in the bottom three. No real surprises, even though I thought that Ivan & Allison would be there instead of Heidi & Ryan (but they weren’t great either). So they’ll all be dancing solos later in the show.

Before we get to the solos, a question about the girls. Why are so many of them convinced that essentially dancing in their underwear is a good idea? I’m shocked how many of them are pretty much just dancing in bras and boy shorts. It just doesn’t seem comfortable (wouldn’t you be worried about keeping covered up?), and it’s not even that attractive. Hmmmm.

Anyways, the solos were good again this week. Of course, we learned last week that the solos don’t make a whole lot of difference in the voting. I especially liked Heidi’s solo – she’s a LOT better than she showed yesterday.

A quick break to watch Rhianna lip sync while the judges ponder who should go home. I’m lucky that I mostly listened to her performance instead of watching it.

So, after the judges deliberated, it’s Joy and Jason that are going home. I think that the judges got it right out of the six that they had to choose from. And Aleksandra & Dmitry are now partners (question answered…), which should be interesting, since they will be working together for the first time, while all the others will be on their third week with their partners. Oh well…I guess this is what happens when you’re in the bottom three!

Master of Champions

The latest entry into the summer reality replacement show contest is Master of Champions. Each week “champions” in obscure fields (unicycle riding, drift racing, “unique talents”…) compete head to head, then the audience votes which one should be the medalist. A panel of “champions” ties the whole thing together by giving their opinions, then awarding the title of “master of champions” to one of the medalists at the end of the show.

I’ll tell you, this show definitely falls into the category of “so bad it’s good” television. The whole thing is ridiculous. Really ridiculous. But, honestly, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. There’s something captivating about watching drift racers grate cheese with their cars, or extreme unicyclists on an obstacle course. That, and everyone on the show takes it really really seriously. There’s play-by-play, bio videos, scoring…it’s as if someone thinks that these are real skills. And who knew that there was such a thing as the world unicycle champion?

Tonight’s master of champions? Princess Elayne, a 14-year old contortionist who shot a bow and arrow. With her feet. Blindfolded. I’ll admit, it was pretty impressive. So she’s now on the “Wall of Masters,” whatever that means. Nothing like being silly just to be silly.

Treasure Hunters Searching in Vain for Watchable Television

I was warned. Really. In The Washington Post on Saturday, a review ran of the new show Treasure Hunters. In fact, Tom Shales’ exact words were: “Fortunately, typical viewers are armed with a necessity of their own: the marvelous, wonderful channel-changer, with which they can effortlessly transport themselves to a location preferable to "Treasure Hunters" -- specifically, any channel not airing it.” Yikes.

Within a few minutes, I could see why. Aside from the fact that the beginning of the show played like an infomercial (really, do we need to know which website they will be using on their laptops?), the quality of the show was terrible. I could have done a better job hosting. Heck, you could have done a better job.

I so wanted to like the show – the whole idea of solving clues and hunting for treasure sounds interesting. But it turns out to just be a low-rate version of The Amazing Race. So 25 minutes in (that’s right, I gave it 25 minutes), I gave up. Now, to put this into perspective, I watched the entire season of Unan1mous earlier this year, and watched Paradise Hotel with a passion. Twice (they re-ran it on Fox Reality…go figure…). I guess Tom Shales was right.

A Hot Night on So You Think You Can Dance?

It’s week two of competition on So You Think You Can Dance?, and it’s already starting to get interesting. New this week – a clip of each couple pulling their style out of a hat, which answers the question of how the styles are assigned. And with that randomness comes some interesting dancing.

Martha & Travis started the show off by krumping. I had never really seen krumping before, and while it’s not my thing, you could tell it was really hard. They did a great job with really tough choreography – I was impressed.

Jamyz & Jessica were next with the foxtrot. They were very clear about how un-excited they were with their dance style, but it was so beautiful. They danced smoothly together; hopefully it will be enough to keep them out of the bottom three.

Part of pulling a style at random is that sometimes you get very very lucky. But even with that lucky draw, you have to dance the routine. So Ivan, (a hip hop dancer, remember) & Allison had hip hop, but didn’t capitalize on that selection. It was just really flat, and there were parts where they weren’t dancing together. Compared to the hip hop routines from last week, it just wasn’t nearly as good.

Joy & Dmitry weren’t much better with their samba. Joy clearly was tentative in her dancing, and might have even missed a few of the step combinations. I agree with Mia – it wasn’t very good at all.

Natalie & Musa turned the show around with their contemporary routine. It ROCKED. The choreography was excellent, and they dance so well together.

Heidi & Ryan were this week’s choreography victims. And since they had the same choreographer that did Natalie & Musa’s routine, I’m not sure what happened. They danced fine for what they had, but they’ll likely be in the bottom three.

Ben & Ashlee were much better this week. Even though they weren’t sure about the style, the choreography suited them more than the cheesy 80s dance they had last week. I agree with Nigel that just because you don’t like the style of dance doesn’t mean the dancers weren’t good. For American Jive, they did a good job.

Aleksandra & Jason were the second hip hop routine of the night (and, once again, why are there two hip hop routines, but not two of any other style?), and once again a hip hop dancer (Jason) pulled his own style. They did fine with it – I liked them better than Allison & Ivan, but I guess that’s not really saying much. I think that the hip hop choreographers tonight also weren’t as exciting as last week’s, and choreography makes a HUGE difference. And, unlike on American Idol where the singers control their song selection, the dancers have no control over the choreography.

Benji & Donyelle finished the show off with the cha cha. They’re one of my favorite couples, and they didn’t disappoint tonight. They made it clear that they are both phenomenal dancers, and are likely the couple to beat. I also liked Nigel’s comments to Donyelle at the end. Weight is a HUGE issue in the dancing community, where eating disorders are as common as sore toes. It’s about time that people recognize that fabulous dancers don’t have to be a size 0.

So who will be in the bottom three? That’s tough, since it’s not just dancing, it’s personality as well. (and I didn’t do such a good job predicting last week!) I think it will probably be Allison & Ivan, Joy & Dmitry, and Aleksandra & Jason. And who will go home? Sigh…Joy just wasn’t good at all, but I think it will be Allison & Ivan, since it would be their second week in a row in the bottom three. But you never know…

First Round of Cuts on So You Think You Can Dance

I really thought I knew who would be in the bottom three tonight on So You Think You Can Dance?. Between my dance knowledge and ridiculous number of hours logged watching reality tv, I thought I had a lock on this one. But clearly I am new to the show, and new to how the voting works – I only got one of the bottom three couples (Ivan & Allison) correct. Go figure.

So the bottom three have to dance solos to determine who will go home. But the time that they have to dance is so short – I don’t know how you would even prepare for that.

All of the girls were good – I don’t think that they were the bottom three girls. Erin was good, as was Allison. Allison really showed that Ivan was the weak link in that couple – she is a lot better than her dance with him showed. Jessica was really good too. I think that Erin will probably be going home, based mostly on her performance with Stanislav.

On the guys side, I really liked Stanislav. I don’t know why he and Erin were in the bottom three anyways, and I think he’ll be ok. Ivan, though, I don’t think will be as lucky. He’s a good hip hop dancer, but not at all versatile. And from his 30 second solo, I think that he knows that he’s going home. Especially with the performance that Jaymz turned in – it was really fabulous.

So the judges take a few moments backstage to decide who to elimante while we get to hear Nelly Furtado (and thank goodness for tivo…I hate that song…way too much like Shakira’s song with Wyclef…).So after the break, the judges come back to eliminate two dancers. Erin is eliminated first…no big surprise. Then, the unthinkable – my tivo ended. Why oh why Fox would you run over? Sigh…thanks to the internet, apparently Stanislav was cut, which makes no sense to me since Ivan was so terrible (get it? Ivan the terrible?). And I guess my question of what happens to the couples who lose their partners goes unanswered for another week.

So You Think You Can Dance?

So far, the only “summer” show worth watching is So You Think You Can Dance?. (I tried to watch Gameshow Marathon, I really did...it was just SO bad. And not so bad it was good; just SO bad.) I watched all of the early auditions on tivo (great fun to watch bad dancers!), and tonight was the first night of competition for votes. I didn’t watch the show last summer, so this was my first look at the show. And as a former dancer (that’s right, I used to dance…even thought about making it a career) this is a great show.

The first part of the show (the early auditions) were a lot like those on American Idol – contestants performed for the judges, hoping to get a ticket to Vegas. Then there was “Vegas Week,” where each day dancers were taught different routines, and slowly cut down to the 10 best girls and 10 best guys. Now, the contestants have been paired up as couples, and they will compete as a couple each week. Each couple was taught choreography (with lots of different styles of dance), and performed them tonight. America votes (just like Idol), but with this show, the bottom three couples then perform solos for the judges, and the judges decide which girl and which guy go home. I assume that the dancers who lost their partners then become a couple (or maybe they eliminate the entire couple?), but I’m fuzzy on that part for sure! Confused yet? I sure am, but so far this is just as good as Idol, but without the bad singing. Fantastic.

Before we start talking about the show though, a word about the contestants. And not about their dancing – they’re all excellent dancers. No, my question is about their names. Who decided that they should spell their names the way the do? Is this something that they have come up with because they’re on television? Or do we have a generation of kids out there that have plain names with ridiculous spellings? Like Jaymz. Or Aleksandra, What is going on?

The first couple was Benji and Donyelle doing an amazing hip hop routine. Sure, they’re the first couple, but I think they’re definitely early favorites. I actually liked them both a lot in the audition rounds, especially Benji. The judges loved them too; they’ll probably sail through the next few rounds.

After Benji and Donyelle, Ivan and Allison were a huge let down. Their club salsa routine just wasn’t very good. Well, to be fair, Ivan wasn’t very good. Allison was MUCH better than he was; Ivan was just a prop. They’ll be in the bottom three for sure.

Next up was Jason and Aleksandra doing a contemporary routine. That style is SO hard, and they did a good job with it – actually, a much better job than I would have thought.

Jaymz and Jessica were next with 70s disco. Overall, they did a good job. Some parts seemed a bit slow, but I think that was the choreography, not the dancers.

I really liked Stanislav during the audition round. But his partner was cut in the final round, so he’s now dancing the paso doble with Erin. For what it was, it was ok…Stanislav was much better than Erin. She’s lucky that he was good enough to probably get them through to another week!

One of the things I like about the show is that each couple has a different style of dance. That is, except for Dmitry and Joy. For whatever reason, they also danced a hip hop routine. They were good (especially considering Dmitry is a ballroom dancer), but not nearly as good as Benji and Donyelle; because they were the only two couples to dance the same style, they will inevitably be compared to each other. I don’t know how that happened, but it wasn’t really fair; I hope they make it through to next week.

Ryan wins the most obnoxious dancer award for tonight. First, he was complaining because Heidi wasn’t the girl he wanted as his partner (which was just stupid…did you see how Heidi danced in the auditions?). Then it turns out that for all that attitude, Ryan just wasn’t a very good dancer. They’ll be joining Ivan and Allison in the bottom three.

The third couple in the bottom three? Probably Ben and Ashlee. Which is really a shame, because Ben was one of my favorites from the auditions. But they got an 80s routine, and not a very good one at that. Nigel thought it was juvenile, and it was, but that was the choreography, not the dancers. In all fairness they struggled with the lifts, but I don’t understand why the choreographer didn’t take some of them out when it was obvious how they would be done.

Not anywhere near the bottom three was Travis and Martha. Their broadway routine was one of the best of the night (although I could have done without Martha’s outfit). They both made a hard routine look so easy, and they were so enjoyable to watch. A top couple for sure.

Finally we had Musa and Natalie. Musa is such an amazing street dancer, so a mambo was quite the challenge. But they did surprisingly good – I was shocked at how well Musa rose to the occasion. And Natalie was smoking – they’ll make it through on the strength of her hips alone.

So even though I’m not quite sure how the elimination process works, I think that America will put Ivan & Allison, Ryan & Heidi, and Ben & Ashlee will be in the bottom three. And if I were going to vote it would be for Benji & Donyelle – their performance held up through the entire show.

Sean is HIRED!

I’m back from some time away, and I was wrong – there was one last season finale before the official end of the season – last night’s finale of The Apprentice. And even though it was a good episode, if you didn’t figure out who was going to win, then I don’t think reality tv is for you.

So it’s down to Lee and Sean, and their first task is to choose their teams. And this is where we know exactly who will win. Sean picked a dream team – Tammy, Tarek, and Andrea, while Lee chose…well…Lenny, Pepi, and Roxanne. And when they got their tasks in the boardroom, Carolyn had what might have been the best line of the season as she asked “who was the guy on the end?” That’s right, they barely even remembered who Pepi was. And Trump followed up with “Pepi, you’re fired…did I say that?”. Fantastic.

Sean’s task with the Barenaked Ladies was great. I am a huge BNL fan, and it seemed like Sean was really on top of things. Even with Andrea’s trip to the doctor (what was that all about), things were running really smoothly. I really like Sean’s enthusiasm for pretty much everything, but especially for Tammy. As they say on Friends, he is such the smitten kitten.

Over at Lee’s task, a celebrity hockey tournament, it’s utter chaos. Lenny is worthless – in fact, I think he was making more work than he was doing. Lee was in way over his head. Which makes me wonder how he got as far as he did…how did he win that many times as project manager? Strange. And they shot some great footage of Jason Priestly wandering around and Jaime Pressly showing that her character on My Name is Earl isn’t much of a stretch. (“get it together little Apprentice boy”…yikes) The event itself seemed to run alright (although the auction didn’t seem to raise nearly as much money as it should have), but Lee’s failure to meet Trump was ridiculous. As Trump said, “they never learn…”.

So going into the final boardroom, it seemed pretty straight forward that Sean was going to win. What I did think was interesting was that the fired contestants were pretty evenly split about who they thought should win. Of course, Trump has watched all the footage, so no surprise that Sean is the one who is hired. (or that he says that he and Tammy will get married) And I LOVED how excited Sean was – that enthusiasm is what’s going to make him a good apprentice.

One final note…did anyone else notice how Trump ended the show too early so they had five minutes to play the theme song on an endless loop? What was that all about? If they really had an extra five minutes, I would have loved to have heard from some of the other contestants (like the reunion show that they do on Survivor).

So, Sean is the next apprentice, and will stay in New York instead of heading out to Hawaii. He must really like Trump to turn that down!

And now I think we’re really at the summer replacements. So far I’ve tivo’d a couple…more on that later this week!

Soul Patrol!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Final Two Sing on American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Week of Recaps...

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

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

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

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

Top Three Sing on American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Down to the Final Four on The Apprentice

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

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

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

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

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

Aras Wins Survivor: Exile Island

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Somebody Call a Whambulence!

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

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

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

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

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

It's Finally Over on Unan1mous

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

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

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

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

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

A Real Shocker on American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

Elvis Lives on American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shane Never Saw it Coming...

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

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

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

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

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

Another Episode of Unan1mous...

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

An Amazing Play on the Amazing Race

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

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

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

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

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

Another cut on American Idol

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

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

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

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

Down to Five on American Idol

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hair Raising Episode of The Apprentice

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

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

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

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

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