Survivor: Fiji - Aired February 22

Ravu confuses me. I really don't know what's going through this tribe's minds. Other than season one when Richard Hatch created the concept of alliances, when has a tribe been this fractured this repeatedly at tribal council? Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing from an entertainment perspective, but it becomes more obvious every week that this tribe has no idea how to play this game. There hasn't been a single unanimous vote so far this season, and 14 seasons in, this is a very unusual thing to see.
It's a weird thing. I've been driven crazy in the past by the incessant need for people to vote with the majority, and it's kinda nice to see a tribe not worry about that, but there seems to be no strategy at all in anything they do.
But more on the divided tribe. First, let's look at the losing tribe that can't pull out a win to save their lives.
On the slip'n'slide challenge... What the hell? You really need this win! This isn't the time to be taking dainty little steps. Watch the people who fling themselves onto the slide and follow suit! That way, even if you can't get the ball into the basket at the end, nobody can accuse you of not trying and you'll look like you really want to win the challenge. I'm particularly thinking of Syvlia, but she wasn't the only one who didn't try hard enough.
In the immunity challenge, Ravu had people taking dainty little bites and making sure the food was completely chewed before swallowing. There isn't time for that! Get it into small enough chunks to get past your gullet and swallow hard! If you start to choke, there are people standing by who can give you the Heimlich!
Before this, the most losingest tribe we ever saw was Ulong on Survivor: Palau (Stephenie and Bobby Jon's first season). They made it all the way to the merge without winning a single immunity, but for the most part, they at least tried in the challenges and were able to pick up a reward or two.
Tangent time. I will argue to my dying breath that Angie in that tribe got screwed. In the challenges, it was consistantly the women in that tribe that stepped up and gave the competition a run for their money, particularly Stephenie and Angie. Yet the stereotype that you need manly strength to win challenges held out despite the evidence to the contrary. When it's the men who keep costing you wins, it's time to look at getting rid of them. Particularly, in that season, James.
Which brings up another issue. One thing you need in Survivor is a good, strong alliance. There's no argument there. However, that alliance is going to be no good to you if it's not going to get you anywhere. Angie was hurt by the sexism inherent in thinking you need manly men to win, but she was also hurt by not being part of the alliance, the alliance that was going to be no good to anyone if it doesn't make it to the merge fairly intact. There's no point of loyalty in a game if that loyalty is going to cost you the game (as opposed to real life, for the record). James should have been cut loose and Angie brought in. If this had happened, there would have been a much better chance of more than just Stephenie making the merge.
Another great example of needing to get rid of alliance members earlier than one would have liked was in Vanuatu. It was also a great example of changing strategy when it needs to be changed, and for keeping an eye on your alliance members instead of just trusting that they'll stick to the plan. And don't be so stuck on getting one person out that it's going to cost you the game (but start voting out your alliance before getting rid of all your opposition either unless you really need to). When Scout and Twila started showing signs of disgruntlement, they should have been kicked out of the alliance and Eliza brought in. Instead, they got together with the sole remaining man, Chris, and got to Eliza first. Even though she didn't particularly like them, they made her feel safer than the others did and that helped turn the numbers away from Aimee's alliance, and that gave the game to Chris who got to the end against all odds.
So why am I spending so much time looking at past seasons, other than for the lessons they have to impart? Well, I hate to say this, so far this has been the most boring season yet. At least when Ulong was losing, they had tribe members you could cheer on. Three episodes into Fiji and there's still nobody I care about. Ravu is an underdog, but they are seriously lacking the spunk or any other redeeming qualities that would make me want to see them persevere.
Even though we know little about the people on Moto because they do keep winning, we at least have had "Boo" and his accident prone ways to enjoy, but at the immunity challenge this week he showed himself to be a sanctimonious twit over a little smack talk from a tribe that needs to win and could use a little psychology against their opponents to help them do it.
However, who would have thought that the first member of Moto to risk leaving the game because of injury would be Gary? He took a pretty bad fall in the first competition, resulting in him being unable to breathe properly. Suspecting a broken rib or worse, the medics were called in to check him out and they passed him as healthy enough to keep playing. He managed to do quite well in the eating competition, but judging by the previews for next week, it's not looking good.
It'll take a lot for Survivor to match Treasure Hunters though. That show had only one season, yet they managed to have two game ending injuries and one game inhibiting injury (if you didn't watch Treasure Hunters or follow Realivision's fine recaps (my pride and joy of my recaps, I must say), then you missed Miss Realivision 2006, Melissa Witek, playing with a hairline fracture in her arm). Damn, it would be nice to have a Kayte Fogal on this season of Survivor. She made my job so much easier.
So how broken is Ravu as a tribe? First there was "Rocky" coming up with an idea, but instead of presenting it to the group like a normal person, he had to make it clear that he wasn't trying to be a leader, he's just throwing it out there, and they can decided if they think it's a good idea or not. This hatred of leaders thing is pathetic. It's one thing if the person who tries to step up is a horrendous leader, but it's another because everyone loathes being told what to do. This tribe deserves to be decimated.
Where does the tribe stand on who to vote out? Mookie was pissed with Anthony's performance during the immunity challenge, so he wanted to see him gone. Then there was the contigent who still wanted to say goodbye to Sylvia. "Rocky" put it out there that she might have the hidden immunity idol, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a few votes towards Anthony so that if Sylvia does have the idol, the vote will then deflect to him. It was actually not a bad idea, and one would like to think that's why the vote went the way it did, but with this tribe at this point, you really have to suspect the worst.
Perhaps the most bizarre moment was Rita talking about making a move, then being the only person to vote against Earl. I really don't understand this tribe.
Well, if the split vote was part of a plan in case Sylvia had the hidden idol, it was for naught as she was indeed immunity idol-free. Even tough she was the underdog on a tribe of underdogs, I'm not going to miss her. She didn't play to stay other than some half-hearted digging for the idol, so having her leave is no loss.
If I'm mistaken and the split votes were the plan, then I'd like to apologize to Ravu for thinking they're completely useless as a tribe.
There was one bright spot for Ravu. Michelle, who I don't care for thanks to her entirely uncalled for and unexpectedly intense hatred for Sylvia, was able to start a fire without flint thanks to the use of a pair of spectacles. It's about time someone's glasses were put to this use! As long as a tribe has lenses, barring nothing but cloudy or rainy days, there is no excuse for them to go without fire.

Grease: You're The One That I Want - Aired February 18

I know this is being posted later than I would have liked, but with three shows on Sunday now I have to work out the best way to schedule the time. However, I am so dedicated to you, the reader, that I'm going to get this written right now despite having a splitting headache. Hopefully the Tylenol will kick in before I have to talk about Billy Bush. No, on second thought, I want it to go away so no Billy Bush talk this week at all. I just can't promise much in the way of humour.
The first thing of note this week was that the show went suddenly from two hours to one. Either they were going to have a mass exit to speed things up to the end, or it's Duets Night. It makes sense. Danny and Sandy need chemistry, so it's a good idea to have the men and women perform together.
The show started with the usual group performance, this week it was "Born To Hand Jive". The dancing by everyone was pretty good, but when it came to solo singing in the song, some of the voices far outclassed others. It went by pretty quickly though, so I didn't have time to take notes.
This week's guest panelist was Jon Secada. A singer I've heard of, but what qualifications does he have for this? It turns out he's played Danny on Broadway. Alright, good enough for me.
Before getting to anything else, we got a video trip through the last week where contestants demonstrated their egos while doing a little trash talk against their competitors. Oooooh. It might not have been so awkward if they had the opportunity to see this before it aired. Ah well, it was pretty obvious they weren't all friends anyway.
Because of the once a week nature of the show, the producers can't keep the suspense over eliminations going for too long, and as the two that aren't cut need to compete still, it's right to the bottom four. This week, it's Jason, Juliana, Kevin, and Kathleen, and the two Js got the lowest votes from the viewing audience.
The good news? The Tylenol seems to be working and while my head still hurts, the worst of the pain has passed.
The song they would have to perform was "Those Magic Changes" and it was more evidence that the women in this competition are light years ahead of the men. Juliana and Kathleen sang it very well, and with feeling. Jason and Kevin both sang it tunefully, but neither of them had any emotion behind the song. If you're going to be performing in a musical, you'd better be able to put that emotion into whatever you're singing. The songs usually have a reason to be there, they are part of the story and help show the audience what you're feeling at that moment. If Sandy just left you at the drive-in, you have to let us know how much you love her in your song!
Judge Kathleen got to make the call this time around, getting to save Kevin because he was one of the best singers and Contestant Kathleen because she was one of the best actresses.
In her final words, Juliana said she would have liked a chance to show more of what's inside her and do some more different styles. In his, Jason said he would have liked to have been able to impress David this week. Enough chitchat though, let's get on to the competition.
Ally & Chad - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The singing was pretty good, and I thought these were Chad's strongest vocals to date. The chemistry between the two of them was okay, but they didn't blow me away.
They did a better job on the panel though. Jon thought they were absolutely electric. Kathleen said that Chad really rocked out and that Ally came back from her bottom four placing last week like a pro. Jim said that Ally hit him in the heart, and that Chad was wonderful. Dave called it "theatrical Viagra". He said Chad needs to go big, and that Ally was fantastic.
Austin & Laura - This is tricky, because "I Don't Know Much" is one of my favourite romantic songs, so they'd better do it justice. Luckily they did a great job, and I really liked their chemistry. For me, it was the chemical reaction of the night.
David believed they were in love. Jim said that they told a story and it was dramatic. Kathleen loved both of them, Austin has charisma and Laura is getting stronger every week. Jon thought they were fantastic and had great personalities.
Headache update - the pain is almost gone. Good job, Tylenol! I'm still going to get this done and head to bed though.
Max & Ashley - "It Takes Two", a Donny and Marie classic! I really didn't feel the chemistry, unfortunately, but at least they did a decent, fun performance. There was one great moment in the song where Ashley did a little giggle which added a heck of a lot of personality into everything.
Jon thought they looked relaxed. David said that Max is engaging and real, and that Ashley should work to keep it real (did he not hear the great giggle?), the jerk. Jim thought that Max was great and that Ashley is getting better. Kathleen likes Max's humour, and thought Ashley was relaxed and playful. Did you hear that, David? Ha!
Derek & Kate - Singing "From This Moment On", Derek missed some very unfortunate notes early on, something you can't afford to be doing at this stage of the game. The chemistry was okay, but as the song progressed both it and the singers got stronger and stronger.
David said it was sort of okay, Derek didn't wow him and he definitely noticed the missed note. He thought Kate needs more charisma, and she left him bored. Jim and Kathleen had the same issues, the former saying they can do better and the latter thinking Kate needs to be more spontaneous. Jon said they shouldn't be afraid to "go for it."
Kevin & Kathleen - Before getting to their song, we heard their reactions to being in the bottom four. Kevin said he was happy to be saved and that he will "bring it". Kathleen was thankful to be saved, and she promised to sing her butt off. In other words, they said the same thing in other words.
Singing "Something To Talk About", I thought they did a good enough job, though not exactly bringing it or singing their butts off. However, I thought they did have more chemistry than most of the couples we'd seen.
David thinks that Kevin has a big voice but he's small on charisma and star quality, and told him that his days are numbered (which will surely cause a lot of horror online and result in him getting a lot of votes just to put that mean judge in his place (seriously, I've seen this happen on Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance (which is a lesson to judges, if you think that someone needs to go, don't tell them that or you'll end up keeping them around longer))). Kathleen came across much better to him though, as he loved her performance though he would like to see less woman and more girl. That would have really creeped me out if Sandy wasn't an innocent girl in high school.
Jim agreed that Kathleen needs to show more innocence. He was far nicer on Kevin, saying that he's not getting the right songs for him. Kevin would like to get the right songs and show them what he can do. I felt very for him, you could really hear the sting of David's words in his voice. Judge Kathleen put in another vote for Contestant Kathleen being more innocent, but she is very strong. She also agreed with the song not being right for Kevin's voice. Jon said there seem to be problems with them not listening to each other in the song and that they're not clicking.
The best Danny and Sandy of the night? David liked Austin and Ashley. For Kathleen it was Chad and Ashley. Jim and Jon agreed on Chad and Ally. I must have missed something in Chad's performance. Maybe they were impressed because he was so much better than he's been yet.
It looks like the goodbye songs will be the same each week. Jason's "Sandy" was okay, but there was not enough longing in it at all. Matt had so much more emotion in his version last week, and he has nowhere near the voice talent that Jason possesses. Matt drew out an "Awwww!" from the audience when he was finished. Jason drew out polite applause.
Juliana, however, was very good in her version of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)". It's just a shame that the remaining women had to join in, because I would have liked to have heard more of her. And yes, that "(Reprise)" has to be there. I checked the album last week and that's the title of that version, because the first "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" is sung by Rizzo when the Pink Ladies are all in Jan's bedroom and Frenchie has taken Sandy into the bathroom to pierce her ears. Do you see now why I have to watch this show?
My headache is completely gone now, but I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

The Apprentice L.A. - Aired February 18

Surya was angry after last week's boardroom. Oh, he was PISSED! So full of righteous fury was he that it was all I could do to not shout "SHUT THE HELL UP!" at my television. He was just that mad.
Um, get over it? He has family, a job, and a reputation to go back to after this is all over. I usually recommend that people watch the show they're going to compete on to get an idea on how to succeed in the competition. This time, I would have recommended that Surya watch the show before going on to see what show he was going on. Besides, by the time this is all over for him it's highly likely there will be much more happening to hurt his reputation than one boardroom, and in order to hasten that along he demanded to be the next project manager. Okay, Mr. Raging Hair, let's see how you do.
Huh. All this time doing this blog, and I just noticed I can do this or this or even this. I promise I won't (usually), but damn, how could I have missed that? There is one button for Edit Html, and one for Compose. I've always just stayed on the default Edit Html side because it does everything I want it to. Yes, I'm digressing. What do you want me to do, talk about Aimee? Fine.
Aimee was feeling pretty good about herself after last week's victory, and she was pretty sure she's the pinnacle of management excellence. She is a glorious Golden Goddess and her minions flock to her light where she leads them to decisive, historic victories that will be sung of by bards for millennia to come. Her team, however, felt a little different and they pretty much won the last task in spite of her. Well, with the new rule for winning project managers she now has a second chance to prove to them just how fantastic she really is.
This week's task is pretty simple. Each team was to go to a different shopping mall in Las Angeles and get people to enter a Priceline.com sweepstakes. The team with the most people signed up wins. Set up an attractive booth and get out there and sell, sell, sell. How much easier can it get?
Kinetic already has an ace up their sleeve. Come meet an Olympic Gold Medalist and enter a free sweepstakes! HOW DID THEY NOT USE ANGELA FOR THIS?!?!? Are they under some sort of injunction that prohibits them from using her as a spokesperson for anything other than honey? I liked the tropical themed booth they had set up, even though Aimee really didn't like an inflatable pink octopus. She reeeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy didn't like it. She didn't like it so much that I have a feeling she was letting out all her sublimated hostility over never being able to make a decision at it. Well, at least she knows how to delegate poorly without putting enough thought into it. That's a skill that will do well for her in life.
Derek and Jenn were walking through the location with a mall representative and Derek asked what the ethnic makeup of the mall customers was, and she told him it was 50% Hispanic and 50% trailer park trash. Ha! Noooo, she didn't call the honkies that! I did wonder why the heck Derek would ask that, but as it turned out, it was a good question. I live in a fairly linguistically homogenous city in a fairly linguistically province in Canada. We do have some French enclaves around Alberta, but for the most part you'd have to head much further east for language to be an issue.
Aimee is from Chicago, so I'm actually on her side that it may not have occurred to her that many of the mall customers might have a problem with English. Derek not only asked the question of the mall representative, he's also from L.A. and he speaks Spanish. That they didn't have translators there and all their signs, ads, and computer sign-up bilingual falls largely on his shoulders.
"Watch the damned show" comes into play here as well. One thing that usually works out very well on The Apprentice is doing casual focus groups. Go talk to your potential customers. If someone bothered going through the mall talking to customers to find out what would attract them to the sweepstakes, the language issue would have come up a lot sooner. This also gave us something for future Apprentices to learn from when they watch this damned season. If you're going to be competing in a location you're not familiar with, and you know where it's going to be, study up on it. Learn everything you think you may need to know for what may come up.
Over on the Arrow side, Surya continued to make himself into someone it will be very pleasant to see fired. The task is getting people to sign up for a sweepstakes. That's it. Yes, it's more than just setting up a table and waiting for people to come to you, but it's not that much more. The way he was approaching it though, you'd swear he was getting ready for a hostile takeover of the Coca-Cola company. He really doesn't fit in with his team. It's like putting Sean Penn in with the Three Stooges. Not that Sean Penn is dour and humourless! Oh, wait. Yes, because Sean Penn is dour and humourless. (I'm thinking back to a recent dour and humourless Academy Awards appearance he made, when he didn't much like the host's joke at the expense of a fellow dour and humourless actor.) Arrow may be a little too goofy at times, but at least they work well with people on their own wavelength.
"Frankie Suits" annoys the hell out of me, but he can sell up a storm unlike Surya who appeared to have no luck with his little walk around the mall. That was bad, but even worse is that his team had no idea where he went. Really, if you're going to disappear, tell someone. Especially if you're the project manager, and even if your team does better without you.
So much better, Arrow won. The lack of understanding of the mall's clientele likely killed Kinetic in this task. Having everything bilingual and hiring an interpreter or two could have made all the difference in the world.
The reward Arrow got for winning this task, other than getting to move back out of the tents, was a surfing lesson from a couple of champion surfers followed by supper at a fancy restaurant. It all seemed fun until the waves got bigger and bigger. It really didn't seem safe for a beginner out there. Someone might get... Ouch! Nicole got hurt! It was bad enough that she had to go to the doctor, and Tim volunteered to go with her. This romance is really heating up! But first, what about her injury? Will she have to play the rest of this season on crutches? It wouldn't be the first time a reward caused that to happen, and what was the result? Possibly the best second place finisher ever, Rebecca (I say not having seen season 1 and having heard good things about Kwame but not seeing him in action hurts him in the ratings). Too bad Rebecca wasn't in this season or the last. She'd be owning the competition. Anyway, nothing was sprained or broken. It was a jellyfish sting. Well gee, if they knew that earlier, Tim could have peed on her foot for nothing!
I don't know if the doctor gave her something for it, but back at the mansion she was able to jump into the pool easily enough. Then she and Tim kissed. Awwwww! The big romance that's been blossoming all season is finally blooming! And I still don't care about either of these two, even though Tim does play a wicked piano.
Going into the boardroom, Aimee planned on calling on Derek for not telling her about the ethnic makeup of the mall, and sure enough she did. It was so obvious that Trump should fire either him or Jenn for not telling her about the 50% of Hispanics! Imagine her surprise when pretty much the whole team called her lack of management style into question. She really was surprised. She's the Golden Goddess of Management! If looks could smite...
Things didn't get any better for her when her team kept telling The Donald that she is no Heidi. They praised Heidi's leadership more in this boardroom than they did at all while she was project manager. The best part of this is that it gives me a great excuse to go into my weekly Heidi segue and boardroom style comparison.
Surya did a far better job sitting at Trump's side than Aaron or Aimee did, but he didn't quite match Heidi's poise, confidence, or ability to say the right things. On the plus side, he didn't fall as far from all that as the other two did. He was competent, which is something he hasn't been showing much of lately.
Something else occurred to me about Heidi this week. I really like the way she's playing this. Yes, she did very well as a winning PM in the boardroom, and while she didn't blow me away as PM, she was a solid performer in that position. If you notice, we haven't really seen or heard much from her since then. Believe it or not, I actually think that's a good thing.
It means she isn't out there actively putting down the other PMs on her team, and each task she's in there working hard for them. One of the biggest mistakes we see every season on The Apprentice is that too many people want to be the leader and get all bristly when someone else is PM. Yes, Trump is looking for a good leader. But he's also looking for someone who can be lead and is a smart, capable team player. I would like to see her step up a little more if a PM is failing, but she's not creating pointless friction and that's a good thing.
This is a show that makes it pretty impossible to fly under the radar. If you're not pulling your weight in a team, it will be noticed. If you're not willing to be a project manager, it will be noticed. You can't win this show if you've never been a PM. So just because we're not seeing a lot of someone, it doesn't mean they're playing to fly under the radar. It means they're not PM, not creating drama, and not a disaster.
I can see one thing about Heidi that will probably turn a lot of people off her. At times she does have a bit of an air of smugness about her. When she was being praised by her team, she couldn't keep that smile off her face, despite at times looking like she was trying to hide it. The smugness came through, but I also saw a little embarrassment and some genuine happiness at the kind words. Who wouldn't be affected by that show of support?
I wasn't sure at first, but I'm making it official. Realivision is now cheering on Heidi to win.
Back to the boardroom, Aimee chose to bring back Derek and Jenn with her, which was no big surprise. They were the two who knew about the ethnic makeup of the customers, and neither of them bothered to mention it to her, and this was the big focus of the night. They didn't tell her, but she didn't ask. She also didn't think about it herself by taking time to actually look around the mall. I agree she should have done that, but out of fairness, I don't think the language thing would have occurred to me either. I don't see that as a bad thing. "Look at all these Hispanic-looking people. Oh dear, they must all speak only Spanish!" No, I can't hold that against her. Losing this task fell more on Derek and Jenn's shoulders if it was all about the language barrier.
The thing is, it wasn't all about the language barrier. Aimee was just an awful leader. Maybe in a real life situation she's a lot better, but not here. Maybe it's the fear of looking bad on television or not wanting to give her teammates cause to want her gone that caused her to be that bad, but if so, in the end it cost her everything. Well, not everything, but this competition anyway.
That said, she really did seem to have an overinflated opinion of her abilities. She was pissed when she was fired! Getting into the car after leaving the boardroom, she looked at Derek and Jenn and said something angry. I can't read lips, especially from the side, and there was no sound, but yes, it was definitely not "Goodbye and good luck!"
Her bitterness shone through in her final words, and bitterness is usually the name of the game there. Perhaps she should have had an Apprentice Night with Surya before they started the competition to see just what show it is they were going to be on. Do people sign up for Survivor then act surprised that they're going to be stranded on an island? Boardrooms are going to be cutthroat, and your flaws are going to be exposed. Sorry. You should have known that going in.

The Amazing Race: All-Stars - Aired February 18

It was with some trepidation that I approached the All-Stars season of The Amazing Race. Would it be the abomination that Survivor: All-Stars and Big Brother: All-Stars were? Rob and Amber are participating, so that's not a good start (though to be fair, they are actually really good at this game, and very nearly won last time). The big thing working in favour of Amazing Racing skipping the All-Star curse is that it's a much different game, and it's never really been about alliances so any pre-season alliances made won't make much difference. The very nature of the show also makes it that much harder for the producers to tip it in favour of any particular contestants.
I didn't come to The Amazing Race until several seasons in, a mistake I now regret. However, the advantage to that is that I'm not familiar with some of the teams which helps alleviate one of the other problems of All-Star seasons - getting sick of seeing some of the faces. Realivision is once again firmly in the corner of the Beauty Queens, Dustin and Kandice, but with teams we don't know it's entirely possible we may end up endorsing another team before the end. I hope not, as it would be great to see an all-female team win, but that also depends on how far the Beauty Queens make it. Speaking of which, last season I kept referring to them as Team Miss America. To avoid confusion, I will use the same team name everyone else does. Beauty Queens, or BQs, it is.
It's nice to see some teams in action that I've only heard of, and some that I've never heard of (John Vito and Jill?) so it's a little like an All-Star season and brand new teams all in one.
One of the teams is very much brand spanking new. If you remember the Frat Boys from a couple of seasons back, one of them is back and dating half of another team from his season, Danielle. No, I couldn't remember who she was either. Her team went out fourth I believe, and she's likely here because she's dating Eric. I know! I'm surprised he's with a woman too! Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Not that anyone should care, but who am I familiar with this season? There are the aforementioned Beauty Queens, Romber, Eric, and even Danielle a little. Didn't her team dress in pink a lot? There is Kentucky (Mary and David), and the only winners invited back, Uchenna and Joyce. I wasn't watching the show yet, but I did see one episode with Charla and Mirna when they first appeared. It's possible that may have been to see how former Big Brother House Guest Alison was doing, but if I remember correctly, Mirna had somewhat of a crush on host Phil Keoghan. Oh Phil, I've missed you.
It was season six when I started watching The Amazing Race, and what a season to start. I was cheering on Lori and Bolo, but one of the greatest reality villains was born that year with Jonathan, of Jonathan and Victoria screaming at each other fame. How could I have missed out on five wonderful seasons of this?
That means coming into this I have no idea who Kevin and Drew, Oswald and Danny, John Vito and Jill, Teri and Ian, or Joe and Bill are. That's almost half the teams! Throw Danielle in, and it's 50/50.
One of the things you'd think would change this season is that people would learn more from the past. If a clue says "North Entrance", you really don't want to be trying out the South Entrance. "Oh, it might work!" NO IT WON'T! Some map reading skills would have been a good thing to pick up, and learning some of the different languages would be invaluable, though this first leg took them to a Spanish-speaking country, and every racer knows "Rapido!" by heart, and they all seem fond of repeating it over and over again.
We didn't see too much of Team Realivision... um, the BQs and that's a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they weren't likely to be eliminated. On the other, they're probably going to be in the middle of the pack for now. That's okay, they came in 6th and that's far better than last. Until there are only six teams, that is.
One moment they had on screen was interesting. Kentucky, or Mary in particular, seemed to like them even less now than when they were racing last. I'm only guessing here, but maybe she didn't like how they were against Team Alabama, Kentucky's fellow Back Pack alliance chums. Get over it, Mary. Kandice and Dustin were there to race, not participate in a box social spanning multiple continents.
It was a hoot to see Mary trying to play dirty by lying to the BQs about which airplane was the best to catch then immediately whispering to the team behind them, sending them scurrying off to another ticket counter. I didn't know you had it in you, Mary. This is the same woman who seemed to think that last season was The Amazing Stroll Through A Park Making Friends.
Ooooooh, I know I'm so going to piss off Mary and David fans before this is over. Hey, I enjoyed watching them try to change their game. I just don't want them to win, even though it's very unlikely they will. If they do though, good for them. Spunky Kentuckians, that's what they are. Spunky Kentuckians. It was cute watching them get all star-struck over Rob and Amber, and even a little over Mirna and Charla (who in turn were a little star-struck by them).
Airport shenanigans are one of the greatest things about The Amazing Race. You have to wonder though if there are ticket agents just for the players sometimes, because it seemed like the teams at the American Airlines counter were flanked by lines on both sides, yet there was one agent suspiciously unencumbered by work. But there's no way the producers have any pull at airports, eh, Joyce and Uchenna?
The Detour seemed a little too easy. The choice was anyway. Search a field for items that include a button, or cut some horse hooves and hair? Why Rob and Amber thought that the searching option might make more sense, well, it makes no sense. Not one other team thought it was a good idea, and it wasn't. Every one of them became equine estheticians. So the Detour was easy. Finding it, not so much.
What this leg came down to was being able to find the North Entrance of that whatever-it-was park in a timely manner. Many teams were unable to do this, John Vito and Jill least of all. I really wouldn't have put money on them being last. Kentucky, sure. Charla and Mirna, maybe. With a painful fall suffered by one of the bald men (I can't tell them apart yet), Kevin and Drew seemed the best bet. But all it takes to lose the Race is one wrong turn, one piece of bad luck. Heck, John Vito and Jill were so lost, a team with a blown tire were able to beat them.
There isn't too much to talk about yet. A lot of people running and one challenge. The drama will come soon enough.
Let the anger go, Mary. Just let it go.

Survivor: Fiji - Aired February 15

One of the problems with the early episodes in any season of Survivor is that most of the time we don't have any emotional connection to any of the contestants yet. We just got over the excitement of the premiere and learning what new things we're going to see this time around, but we don't really know anyone yet. At the start of the hour there were still 18 people left, and who is there yet to cheer on or to boo?
Yes, there are people you can kind of like, and people who sort of annoy, but no real heroes or villains yet. Luckily we still have two tribes full of bone-headed contestants who have no idea how to play the game to keep us entertained, and the most accident-prone Survivor ever. Despite his annoying nickname, I may just have to cheer on "Boo" to see if he actually survives.
Before I go any further, I should say I wasn't fully focused on the show. Maybe it was because I don't care about any of them yet, maybe it's because second episodes are rarely keepers. All I know is that if I don't remember things that happened, I'm sorry. It also means this may end up being a fairly short post. We'll see at the end. But right now I'm just typing away hoping I think of something to say about the episode other than that I think Erica has the best 'fro we've seen on television in decades. Seriously, I love her hair. Her, on the other hand, not so much. Is she capable of cracking a smile? Even when she found the pineapples, her joy didn't seem to last long. Yes, we only see a small portion of what goes on with the castaways because we (thankfully) don't have live feeds à la Big Brother, so maybe she's only grumpy during those moments worth televising.
Sylvia finally arrived to join her new tribemates in Ravu, and it was obvious from the start that she was screwed by the twist last week. Her personality may have had her still in the firing line for elimination, but she would have had more of a chance than this time on Exile Island cost her. Really, Sylvia, these people just spent a couple of days bonding. They may not be giving you any chance to be part of the team, but you should still try by keeping quiet. The woman has no idea how to play the social aspect of this game. With rare and usually charismatic exceptions (I still don't get the Terry love from Panama), nobody on this show likes people who try to be leaders. Hell, they'd rather starve, freeze, and lose challenges than have someone try to step up and lead. Really, what the hell is up with people on Survivor and the leader hate? "I don't like anyone telling me what to do!" I know, I bitched about it last week too. I still don't get it.
If you're joining the tribe late, even if you think there should be a leader, don't try to be that leader. They already see you as an interloper. If you're an interloper who is trying to change the group dynamic, you're just sealing your own fate. Not that I had any doubts about her inability to play the social game, but when Sylvia spoke up at tribal council about how they should elect a leader right after everyone complained about her trying to be one, I wanted to slap her. Don't do exactly what everyone says they hate when you're sitting at tribal council!
Oh yeah, Ravu lost the immunity challenge again. That makes them underdogs, but they're far from plucky. But I want to get back to Sylvia, who was very lucky in surviving the vote.
It doesn't matter that she was right and the tribe does need a leader to help keep them focused, there is no way she is going to win this season. However, there is no reason she can't go much farther than anyone expects. The problem with that though is that it depends on some of her tribemates playing a smart game. She's got no chance. But let's pretend that there might be some capable strategists on the island. How can Sylvia benefit them? Depending on how intelligent and self-aware she really is, she should know that she is the next in line to go, barring anyone else screwing up massively (or not so massively, as we saw this week). If she wants to stay, she should know that would be up to an alliance taking her in. The only real alliance we've seen fell apart and was whittled down to one person after two tribal councils, so that's something these players really need to work on. Especially those that may not be feeling the safest. Sylvia is a vote that could sway things in your favour, and she should be grateful for any alliance that will take her in right now. Not only that, if things take a turn for the worst, she would be an easy choice to vote out first.
I don't care how much you don't like her, Michelle. She can be very useful to you. And there is another issue I have with Survivor. It's only 39 days, and it's for a million dollars. Hell, I'll share a tent with Ann Coulter and Paris Hilton for a month if it means I can win a million bucks! "I hate her so I'm going to write her name down because I don't care about the majority and I'm a pathetic whiner!" Oh, shut up Michelle. That one sentence put her right at the top of the list of people I'd gladly see eliminated.
A lot of viewers are enjoying Yau-Man, and I did at first too, but he's coming across to me as desperate to please so that he won't see his name written down, and that's just not pleasant. When Sylvia arrived at the beach, he gave her a big hug, and he used that opportunity to get a peak in her bag to see if she had the hidden immunity idol. That was a fairly good idea, but at the same time it crossed a line I think I wouldn't even cross on the show by invading her privacy. I had to say it was a fairly good idea, but unless Sylvia's not too bright, it was a pointless exercise. If you had the hidden idol, would you have it on top of everything in your bag where a quick peek could expose it? That's right, Yau-Man. The only way to tell is to really invade her privacy and dig through her bag when she's not looking.
We didn't see too much of Moto this week, a sure sign of which tribe is going to lose immunity, but besides "Boo" and his injury prone ways, we got to see "Dreamz" talking about how it's not so bad on Survivor, and how it's still much cushier than being homeless. I'd have to agree with him, but at the same time, it brings up a point about how much the show has eased up on the castaways. A couch? A couch isn't Survivor! Plans and materials for a shelter? I do like that the show keeps trying to change things up, so I'm really hoping this haves vs. have-nots twist pays off. It doesn't seem to be making any difference right now though. And at least Ravu still hasn't got fire. Theirs is still a more authentic Survivor experience, and I wish "Dreamz" was on that tribe as I'd be seriously interested to see how that compares to actual homelessness.
It would be nice to see the show go back to the harshness of its early days. Back then "Survivor" really lived up to its name. Unfortunately there were nutrition issues back then, so the producers do have to be far more careful about that. In the end it is only a game show.
I'm trying to remember back to the early episodes on previous seasons. The premiere always only has an immunity challenge because it's already a packed hour. Am I wrong in thinking that episode two on almost always has a reward challenge and an immunity challenge? Okay, I just checked CBS.com and episode two of Cook Islands had them both as one, but episode two of Amazon had separate challenges. I'm not going to try to pinpoint the season this changed, but I wonder why it did. It could have been a cost issue, or maybe they were trying to not go through too many challenge ideas per season. Or, and this is the potential reason I like, they want to give us more of a chance to know the castaways early on. Especially considering tribes are bigger now than they were in the beginning.
Ravu made a good showing at the challenge and had the lead all the way through until it came time for the puzzle. Then they didn't do so well, and Erica screaming didn't help. It didn't help them win, but did it really cause them to lose? She wasn't screaming last week and they still lost on the puzzle.
This is one of those places where the reasoning in tribes really annoys me. Every season, pre-merge, all they really think about is needing strength for the challenges. Yes, that's an important factor, but nobody ever seems to talk about the need for intelligence. Ravu had the lead up until the puzzle, but at no point did they talk about weeding out stupid tribemates. Yet we always hear about sending the weak ones home. Granted, if I was there I'd want a lot of stupid tribemates. The smart ones are the bigger threats for that million. Unfortunately, I don't think that's why the subject is never brought up.
I said that I didn't think Erica's screaming didn't cost them the challenge. I really don't think it did. However, the frustration that led to the screaming, that is not good. Going into the challenges, you want people who can keep a level head. Frustration has cost many a tribe a challenge throughout the series. It kills teamwork, and it rubs off on everyone else.
It was really a 50/50 choice when it came to the vote. Erica's frustration can be deadly in a challenge, and they desperately need to win a challenge right now. Sylvia brings out a very ugly side of some of her tribemates, and if people are wasting energy thinking about how much they don't like her, they're not going to be effective in the game (though I'd say get rid of those who are so thrown off by one person). What it came down to was "Rocky" and someone else, I really can't remember who because so few castaways are particularly memorable right now, looking ahead to the merge and who will be a bigger threat later on. I like that, but there does need to be balance. It doesn't matter if you get rid of all the threats for individual immunity now if your numbers are so depleted by the merge that you will be picked off one by one. It doesn't necessarily mean you won't win the grand prize, as Yul from Cook Islands or Chris from Vanuatu can attest. All it means is that your job will be that much tougher.
So Erica was voted off, much to her surprise. As with last week, it wasn't unanimous (not including the losing castaway's vote). Despite her seething hatred for Sylvia, Michelle still wrote Erica's name down, but Anthony voted for Sylvia. Six days in, it's a little more reasonable to have more loyalty to someone, but if you're going to be that loyal where you will go against the majority, shouldn't you be loyal enough to warn your friend that they are in danger so that they have a chance to plead their case, or at least not be blindsided? If you're not going to do that, not writing their name down is a pretty empty gesture.

I am so glad that Survivor airs on Thursdays. The Amazing Race: All-Stars premieres this Sunday, making it three shows I cover on one night. Joy.

Grease: You're The One That I Want - Aired February 11

Summer Lovin' on a cold winter night. Thank you, Grease: You're The One That I want.
Yes, "Summer Lovin'" was our opening number, and almost everyone did a swell job. Ashley Anderson showed more confidence that we've seen from her yet, but Matt Nolan once more made us question how he ever made it as far as he has. He's so out of his league in this competition that I'm feeling bad commenting on his lack of ability and it's really the fault of the producers for letting him get this much attention. What he needs more than anything else is vocal training, and it's very obvious he hasn't had any. There's no shame in needing the training and going for it. If anyone honestly thinks he currently has the voice to open a Broadway show, I'm going to have to ask why they watch with the volume on their tv off.
But enough picking on Matt! There'll be more time for that later! First, we have to hear about a new twist. It seems that the bottom two guys and bottom two gals in votes received are going to have to sing for their survival, and the panel will choose who goes home. Huh? This is the first I've heard of this rule. It's the first anyone has heard of it. It's almost like this was a last minute change in the game to prevent someone from winning who shouldn't. Remember last time around I predicted Matt would be safe this week. As soon as I heard this rule, that was my first thought. Why else would they spring this new twist out of nowhere and risk pissing off everyone who voted?
We were introduced to the panel including special guest, Andrew Lloyd Webber, then there was some footage meeting the contestants talking about the competition. If cars could run off ego, many of these people would never have to walk anywhere again. But you have to have some degree of ego to make it in that business, so it's all good.
After this it was time to find out who would make up the bottom four.
Of the men, it would be Jason and, surprise, Matt. I would have bet money that Matt got more votes than Jason, and thus the new rule. But would anyone let us know who got what? If they're planning it, it's not happening yet. I'm not surprised Jason was the other one. My entire comment on his last performance - "He sang 'Faith' and was pretty good. That's all I've got to say about him." Not exactly someone setting the show on fire.
The women were next, and the bottom two were Ashley A. and Ally. I though Ally's performance was much better than Double A's, but you never know with the voting audience and their love for plucky underdogs. Seriously, look at all the movies where the plucky underdog makes it over all the hurdles and wins. Even in the rare instance the plucky underdog loses the big game, they still win big in life because of their newfound confidence and respect. I see it all the time in watching the popularity of contestants in competitive reality shows. The people go nuts for their plucky underdogs. Stephenie in Survivor: Palau? Plucky underdog, very much loved by fans. Stephenie in Survivor: Guatemala? Ran the show, not so much loved by ex-fans. (I was still rooting for you, Stephenie!) Dancing With The Stars horror, Master P, ran out of luck when people realized that even though he was a huge underdog, he wasn't so plucky.
The point I'm trying to make is that people love their plucky underdogs, and even I'm tired of reading those two words so I'll move on to the competition, which finally started after all of this.
Max - Everybody's favourite Crumm went and got himself a haircut. He's really trying to show he can look like Danny. I wish him luck, because he does have talent. We already know he has the ability to sing, and his version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", while not the best version I've ever heard, was pretty darned good.
Laura - HOLY FRIGGIN' CRAP! Where the hell did she come from!?!? Last time we heard her sing, my entire review of her song was, "Good. Blah blah blah." This week she kicked some serious ass with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and moved to the front of the pack with the performance of the series so far! I'm not even going to keep you suspense with this one. Nobody touched her all night. If she keeps this up for the rest of the season, the role of Sandy could very well be hers. However, we still have some very talented women to come, and even if the night is Laura's, there are still several more weeks left. But who is her best competition? We'll see soon.
Visiting with the panel, Laura blew everyone away. Jim called Max a "master storyteller", and David was very happy with the changes he's making. Andrew Lloyd Webber loved both, but he also made some very good comments and critiques that showed he's more comfortable being in this position than Olivia Newton John was. Of course, she's a performer, whereas ALW helps put huge productions together so this is something he's fairly used to.
Derek - Ooh, backup dancers! Derek gave a good rendition of this song, but I was more impressed with his dance moves. That he was able to dance as well as he did and still sing is a good indication that he could well pull off the Danny role. His song wasn't going to take anyone's breath away, but he's very capable.
Ashley S. - Ashley Spencer, you Meg Ryan lookalike, what have you brought us? "Take That Look Off Your Face", you say? No, not say, sing and act. I loved that she not only sang this song very well, but played it on her face too. One of my issues with this competition is that we're only voting on singing. I'd like to see them really give us something different and have a week of dancing and a week of acting. The prizes here are Broadway roles, and the winners should be triple threats. Give us chances to vote on singing, dancing, and acting, and you'll stand apart from other shows a lot more.
I wasn't the only one who noticed Ashley's face. Kathleen did too and commented on just that. She loved both, as did ALW. Jim loved that Derek did dancing and singing together so well, and thought that Ashley was just wow! David though that both of them were good, but he would have liked to have seen more anger in Ashley's face.
Kevin - He did "Burning Love" with backup dancers, and was pretty good but he was no Elvis. "Grease" takes place in 1959 and there are some pretty rockin' songs in it. If these contestants are going to do it any justice, they'd better start drawing out their rock'n'roll selves.
Juliana - "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". I loved it, and thought she did an excellent job. She reached me emotionally, but what do I know? I'm just an audience member.
David, for example, thought she had too much polish. He also thought that Kevin's not sexy enough yet to be the leader of the pack. ALW thought Kevin should show more character, and that Juliana was a little insecure in some notes. Kathleen wants Kevin to show off more, and she wanted Juliana to break out more and show her feelings. Jim thought both of them could have been better. Like I asked, what do I know? These are the pros.
At this point it was time to take a break from the competition and give us some filler. There was some talk with Andrew Lloyd Webber and his thoughts on the competition. A look back at the week with the cast and talk of "Phantom of the Opera", then the cast came together to sing the eponymous song from that show. It wasn't the best cast number we've seen, but it was okay. We also got to see Billy Bush prove just how horrible he is at this job when he called their guest judge "World Wide Webber". For the first of two times that night. I'll just let that sink in for a bit.
"World Wide Webber".




IT MAKES NO FREAKIN' SENSE!
Chad - He was fighting the flu when he sang "My Eyes Adore You", but he was pretty good.
Kate - She sang "Buenos Aires", a song with a very Latin beat. She sang it very well, but I would have loved to have seen some more Latin moves to go with it. Kate's from Cincinnati, and she moved like it. Luckily we're casting Sandy in "Grease", not Carmen Miranda in "The Carmen Miranda Story".
ALW, or WWW as we'd call him if Billy Bush got his demented way, didn't watch to judge Chad because of the flu, but he loved Kate. Kathleen loved both. Jim thought Chad was a little too contained, and he liked how flirty Kate was. David thought Chad was the most romantic Danny, and that Kate is really good.
Austin - "Ease On Down The Road". I lost confidence in Austin last time, but he went up in my esteem again this week. This was a very good, fun version of the song, and he danced quite well with his backup dancers.
Kathleen - My favourite Sandy last time, she did an excellent job singing "Memory". If it wasn't for Laura's performance earlier, this would have been the song of the night.
ALW wasn't sure about Kathleen at first, but he thought she got a lot better at the end. Judge Kathleen liked how physical Austin got, and she thought that Contestant Kathleen was excellent. Jim thought Austin was really able to pull the song off, and that Kathleen was fantastic. David thought Austin was the best Danny of the night, and I have to agree with him. He thought Kathleen was wonderful, and I have to agree with him again.
With all of that out of the way, we came to the Bottom Four part of the night. There was some video showing us how they took it backstage. See, voters? Look upon the pain you have wrought! Watch them cry because you voted for someone else! I hope you're happy with yourselves.
Before the song, Billy Bush announced who got the lowest votes. Yes, it was Jason and Ally. What did I say about plucky underdogs? I almost felt like this information was given as a warning to the audience. "Look what you made us do! We didn't want to have a sing-off, but you forced it upon us!" If this doesn't tell us that the new rules were a last minute change because the producers were horrified at the thought of the plucky, yet slightly (or in the case of Matt, far) less talented underdogs making it through to the end. Personally, I love this bottom four with the panel making the final decision idea. They should have thought of it from the start. It gives the audience a chance to participate, but it keeps people who shouldn't advance from going on and knocking more talented performers out. This is what they do on Rockstar an it works. No plucky underdogs there, nosiree.
If the evidence of this being a last minute decision wasn't piling up enough already, the sing-off consisted of the bottom four taking turns singing parts of "Tears On My Pillow", the same song performed at the infamous Grease Academy massacre when they cut the contestants from 50 to 24. Jason did a good job, and Matt was the best he's been yet (showing he's got potential to sing, so I really hope he looks into getting some serious voice classes). Ally was also good, and Ashley A. was very good. But was she good enough to save her from the judges' wrath? The two times we've heard Ashley A. sing this night, she's been better and showed more confidence than we've seen from her at any other time in this process. If she was this good two weeks ago, then she would have had a much better chance.
After the singing, it was up to David to drop the axe. He said they were saving Jason and that Broadway is not for beginners, and they were saving Ally because they had no idea why she was in the bottom two Sandys. David, she was in the bottom one of the Sandys because she's not a plucky underdog!
Ashley A. was a tremendous sport about this, and she said they didn't rise to the occasion when they got their second chance. Matt said he's not giving up on his dream, which is admirable but if he's going to seriously go after that dream, he really should get training. There is definitely nothing wrong with that.
And there you have it. The bottom two were saved by this new twist. Hey, I'm all for it if it means that the most deserving move on in the competition.
The episode wasn't over yet though. The saved two still need to give their performances and try to win audience votes for next week.
Jason - He got to see "That'll Be The Day", and he gave a darned good performance with a great ending. It was one of the best, if not the best, rock'n'roll songs we've seen yet. I know, that's not saying much.
David thought he needs to improve, and Jim thought he was fine. Kathleen thinks he's too slick. AJW sees improvement in him.
Ally - She gave a very good rendition of "I Don't Know How To Love Him", proving that our field of potential Sandys far outshines our field of potential Dannys.
Kathleen thought she gave a beautiful performance. Jim wants her to let us inside (and I really hope he means metaphorically), and David agreed. AJW really likes her and wants to see her draw on the expert help she has available.
David's picks tonight for the best Danny and Sandy were Austin and Laura, Kathleen liked Derek and, being the sole dissenter when it came to Sandy, Contestant Kathleen, Jim liked Max best for Danny and ALW liked Derek.
Our two rejected competitors got a chance to sing one last song. Matt sang "Sandy", showing that he does have potential with the right training, and his "Oh, Sandy" at the end was so emotional the audience gave a very sad, "Awwwwwww!" I've been hard on Matt through this whole thing, but if he can put that kind of emotion into acting, even if he can't get his voice good enough for musical theatre, it's not the only kind of theatre out there.
Ashley Anderson sang "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee", the reprise that Olivia Newton John sang sadly later on in the movie shortly before she made her transformation. Ashley A. killed it. Damn, she was good. If she had been able to bring that confidence and emotion with her earlier, she would have easily still been in the running.
Really, she was that good. I wish them both much success in chasing their dreams, but Ashley Anderson is definitely that much closer to making it happen.





Plucky underdogs.

The Apprentice L.A. - Aired February 11

Thanks to the Super Bowl, we didn't get an episode of The Apprentice last week, damn their football playing, tight pants wearing hides! My disinterest in sports runs quite high, so in addition to being peeved at a week without this show or a new episode of Grease, something came up in this episode that I'm quite embarassed at missing, but more on that later.
I should also mention that in my last commentary, I commented on Kinetic having one man and Arrow having one woman left. I was mistaken. Arrow has Nicole and Stefani, two women. My mistake.
Arrow was feeling pretty darned good about themselves after their El Pollo Loco win. If you're going to win anything, win the El Pollo Loco task.
"Wow, you sucked on the show!"
"I KICKED ASS WITH EL POLLO LOCO, BUB!"
See? It's much better than winning a task that's all about honey and bees. Maybe.
"The bees... Oh god, the bees..."
Okay, that might not be a bad one to lose. You can use the bee terror as an excuse.
I can understand wanting teams to get an understanding of different parts of a business, but is it really necessary to send them out to personally harvest honey? Yeah, it was cool that they did it, but what if it turned out any of them were allergic to bee stings? Well, if it was Frank it would be funny, but not so much with anyone else. Franky Pants would instead be Franky Swollen Face Can't Breathe. Heh. Ha. Ha ha. Haahahhahh.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
No, seriously, he doesn't annoy me that much.
Arrow, despite Surya's rambling, got off to a good start and seemed to be getting things done in the office while the others were off fighting the insect menace. Not so much with Kinetic, where the bumble warriors came back after four hours to find that new project manager Aimee came up with two possible names for their honey, and got absolutely nothing else done in all that time. What the hell? Throughout this task, Aimee proved herself completely useless as a project manager. If Kinetic were to win, it would be despite her, not because of her.
This was a tough episode to call. Aimee was so useless there was no way she was going to win. What was with the shopping spree?
Not that Aaron was doing much better. No matter what Surya was doing, things did seem to be going well until it came time to start selling sweet, delicious honey. His team was doing well in sales, but the stubby man himself was... there. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while now know there is one piece of advice I'd give to any contestant on a series that's lasted a season or more. Watch the damned show! There are certain things you must always do if you're the project manager. Delegate responsibly and intelligently and work your little butt off! Once the sales part of the task is under way, unless there are little fires you have to put out, get out there and sell.
The biggest fear on the show is getting fired, but if you try to play it too safe, you're not going to win anyway. On Survivor and Big Brother, I will argue tirelessly that flying under the radar is a valid strategy. A lot of people disagree, but not everyone can dominate those challenges. This isn't one of those shows. You need to stand out as someone competent and hard working who can take smart risks.
Back at Kinetic, the team was noticing that something needed to be done if they were going to win (unfortunately Heidi wasn't one of them, or at least we didn't see her really saying anything). Derek and Angela rose to the challenge, that's for sure. Derek put on a beekeeper outfit, which looked silly, yes, but it got attention. He also seems very personable, and that certainly helps.
Angela. Oh, Angela. Remember back at the beginning when I said I'm quite embarrassed about missing something? Kinetic has a friggin' Olympic gold medalist on their team! How have they not used this resource before? Well, not that I thought of her myself. Only Canadian gold medalists matter to me, eh! And she hasn't been getting much screen time, so it was easy to forget she's even there.
If Heidi had utilized Angela properly, Kinetic may well have won the El Pollo Loco challenge. Contact some radio stations, get the word out that an Olympic gold medalist is at the restaurant for a limited time. But they didn't, and now Aimee is the PM. But someone on the team realized that Angela is a definite asset and they quickly set up a table for her with some hand-made signage.
They were helped by another blunder on the Arrow side. With the chicken challenge, their win was aided tremendously by nice big bulk sale of chicken bowls. Hey, it worked once, why not try it again? A good reason not to try it again is because it's a different product and they were trying to get a different client. It's one thing to sell people lunch, something they can buy individually. It's another trying to sell honey in bulk to stores that can't just make purchases like that as a snap decision.
Tim and Nicole spent a lot of time driving around pointlessly, time they could have spent selling at the supermarket. The lesson there is that you have to tailor your strategy to the task. Yes, learn from what came previously (Watch the damned show!) because often tasks are pretty similar, but don't just repeat something and hope it works. At least they got some alone time together. Alone with the cameras, but about as alone as it gets when you're on a competitive reality show.
So despite Aimee's incompetence, Kinetic won. It would be pretty horrifying if they keep winning in spite of her. Imagine if they keep winning, and she stays PM. Yikes. Well, we'll see what happens next week. If Kinetic is smart, they'll use their Olympic gold medalist as an attraction when the tasks warrant it.
The boardroom wasn't the most exciting we've ever seen. The blossoming romance between Tim and Nicole came up, and Aaron brought Nicole back with him even though nobody thought she deserved to be fired. It really came down to Aaron vs. Surya. Surya wasn't a lot of help on this task, but the blame for the loss really sits on Aaron's shoulders and when he was fired, the right decision was made.
I know I keep singing the praises of Heidi in the boardroom at Trump's side, but as we see other people in that chair, it keeps getting more obvious how good she was. Last time Aaron was far too quiet, an issue that came up this week more than once. Now it was Aimee, who went too far in the other direction and she was so aggressive it was getting a little on The Donald's nerves. Sure, she was trying to save Surya, something that was pretty obvious, but in the end it's either him or her so she could have toned it down a little.
All in all, it was an okay episode. It could have used more bees though.

Survivor: Fiji - Aired February 8

For the first two seasons of Survivor, I missed the first several episodes. Season one was a cultural phenomenon, but it didn't sound interesting enough at first to get me watching. One day there was nothing else to do and everyone was talking about the show. I was hooked right through to swearing loudly several times after Richard Hatch won. For the record, in hindsight I'm glad he did. My appreciation for how these games are played has long since changed, and he played brilliantly. I've also come to appreciate drama and friction on the shows, and I do regret my vote to get rid of Will Mega in season one of Big Brother. But here we are in the first paragraph, and already I'm rambling.
Season two of Survivor came around, yet in spite of getting drawn into the previous season, again I didn't feel like watching at first. It was the same story, one day came around where I had nothing else to do and once more I was sucked right in.
I learned my lesson and I've watched every season since from the premiere on. I bring this up, because one of my favourite parts of any season is the first several minutes. From Jeff Probst giving his usual countdown from 39 days to only one survivor, to the mad chaos we are often greeted with when contestants are made to jump from their ship (I know this isn't always the case, but it's always the best). Last season we had players madly grabbing for supplies before they ran out of the time. Nothing has ever topped the season (Vanuatu possibly?) where the camera pulled out from Probst's face and he was standing at the mouth of a volcano.
Unless I missed it, not only did we not get the countdown that should lead into the credits (the theme music starting after he says "one survivor" always gives it an extra punch), but the castaways were shown all together rowing on a boat. Where were the dives? The splashes? The mad swimming for safety?
Nothing. Nineteen people confused as to why they were not split into tribes yet. Congratulations, Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor. This was the most boring entry into a season yet. Luckily it's still Survivor and it's still enjoyable. But next season I want to see Probst being lowered into a shark cage as he gives his countdown and I want to see the contestants jumping from a luxury liner. Those first minutes need to GRAB us! You need to try and top Pearl Islands where Rupert won us over by engaging in a delightful act of piracy.
Okay, now that I've got that off my chest, let's get to the show and it wasn't all bad. Some of it was quite good in fact, and some of it was quite annoying. This season we have 19 contestants, though there were supposed to be 20, but one dropped out at the very last minute. That had to have pissed a lot of people off, especially the person who just missed the cut in favour of that woman (9 women, 10 men, it's easy math). Nice going, Quitty McQuitterpants.
There was a lot of consternation. Where was Probst? Where are their buffs? This was all so confusing, but it can't be good. The producers had to have something evil in store for them!
As it turns out, they did. Building. Probst threw a crate down at them as he flew by in a small plane, and I hope they tethered him before opening the door. Some of the stronger men had trouble breaking the crate open with brute strength. It took one of the oldest and physically frail men to get it open by using his brain and physic. Way to go, Yau-Man! Not only was he able to succeed where stronger men failed, but he proved himself useful around camp in many other ways right from the start, what with originally being from one of the Malaysian provinces on the island of Borneo. True fact: I lived for two years in the town of Miri, which just so happens to be in one of those provinces, Sarawak. That fact alone makes Yau-Man my early favourite, and from what I've been reading, he's an early favourite out there in Viewerland too.
The crate contained a map and instructions. The castaways were to use the map to find where a whole crapload of supplies were waiting. Once they found the supplies, they had to work together to build not just any shelter, but one of the best shelters ever on the show consisting of a sleeping area, a kitchen area, and an outhouse with a real toilet seat.
I don't know if it was coincidence, or her vocation helped get her picked for the show because of this task, but it so happens that one of the contestants is an architect. Perfect! Sylvia is an expert at this stuff, so just listen to her and you'll have it all up in no time!
Of course, this is Survivor. It's not Survivor if you don't have people bitching about being given orders. I honestly don't know how some of these people survive the real world, let alone a distant island jungle. "I don't like people ordering me around!" Suck it up! Do you even have a job with a boss at home?
Then there are those that don't want to work hard. They're on a beautiful island, can't they just relax and enjoy it? This is season 14 of Survivor. FOURTEEN! If you don't know by now that you're going to have to work, don't go! But there are still people who don't bother watching the show and learning from past seasons before they apply or are recruited. Yeah, Survivor recruits contestants. All those shows do. Something to do with not enough pretty people applying, I think. Even if a Canadian could apply, I know I'd never make it on the show, what with being a hideous troll. That's show business. The non-telegenic need not apply.
So despite having someone who knows what the hell she's doing, the shelter wasn't built in time the first day, and the castaways were greeted by a storm their first night. Ooooooh, that's why the shelter should be built quickly! Suffice it to say, the shelter was finished fairly quickly the next day. Good for them.
With 19 contestants vying for camera time, we're not going to meet everyone in the premiere, but we did get to meet three people with annoying nicknames. First was "Boo", but that's really all we got to see of him. We also met "Rocky" and "Dreamz", both of whom ended up arguing the second night, so we saw a lot more of them. "Dreamz" told us in an camera confessional that his plan was to be noticed by everyone. Okay, so he doesn't want to fly under the radar. That's alright. I'd try to stay a little more in the background the first few days, be a hard worker and a strong competitor, but there are several valid strategies. Except the way he decided to be noticed by everyone was by being loud, obnoxious, and not letting anyone get any sleep. "Dreamz" needs to go, and I'm not just talking about his horrible nickname.
Finally we got to the first challenge, and that's where Jeff Probst dropped the bombshell. First, he asked everyone if a leader had emerged yet, and they all agreed on Sylvia. He asked her to come join him. I suspected she would be the first of two captains, and they'd each get to alternate choosing tribemates. But oh no, it was not to be. Instead Sylvia was given the task of separating everyone into the two tribes! Oy vey!
This is one of the reasons it's good to keep a relatively low profile at the start. I'd hate to have been in that position. You never know what's going to piss someone off early on, and unless you know where you're going to end up, you're going to have some very tough decisions.
There were times I suspected she was trying to load one tribe with strength, maybe thinking she'd get to choose which one she gets to join. That's a huge mistake. Never assume on this show. The best option here is to try to match the teams up evenly so that it doesn't matter where you end up.
Sure enough, she had no choice in the matter. After the two tribes were chosen, Sylvia was sent to Exile Island (this time around a place filled with dangerous snakes and somewhat of a shelter up high on stilts). She would then have to join the losing tribe after Tribal Council. She may not have a lot of physical strength, but I think that is very overrated in this game (by both contestants and viewers, sorry, but there is a strong mental component in a lot of the challenges too and let's not forget the very important social aspect of the game), and this means that the first losing tribe won't immediately be shorthanded.
Oh, and the losing tribe would have to leave the camp they helped build and go to another island where they'll have nothing but a pot and a machete. Jaws dropped.
There was a level of strength required for the first challenge, but it all game down to knots and puzzle-solving ability. Huh? HUH? See! Brains! There's a reason zombies don't shuffle around trying to eat muscles!
And so Moto won the first immunity challenge, getting not only one of the most evil looking immunity idols to date, but a couch for their shelter, a jungle shower, hammocks, cutlery, and other assorted items. Sweet.
Ravu, on the other hand, had to go to their new home. In addition to their pot and machete, they got a bit of a cave. Most of the tribe looked on the bright side of this development, but Erica wasn't happy at all and she couldn't understand how the others could be. It's called "not bitching and trying the make the best of a situation", Erica! Yes, use it to build a fire under yourself and try to win from here on out, but don't dwell on it! Oh, I shouldn't have said "build a fire". It turns out they weren't given flint, so they have no fire. At least they have Yau-Man. If he can't keep them alive, nobody can. They should at least be able to drink enough coconut milk to keep from getting too dehydrated.
However, before such silliness like shelter, food, fire, or water, there's something more important to take care of. Scheming! We've only been able to see one alliance form so far. Erica, Jessica, and "Rocky" (because, when Erica and Jessica talked before the tribes were split, they said they needed a man (picture my eyes rolling here, even if it's not a horrible idea)).
They felt strong enough as an alliance that they felt safe. But who do they influence the others to vote out? It should be a woman, of course, according to "Rocky". Of course. Because all women are weak competitors and all men are strong competitors. Who would you rather have on your tribe, Stephanie from Survivors Palau and Guatemala , one of the toughest competitors ever (I don't care what people say about her after Guatemala, she ran that show), or Osten from Survivor: Pearl Islands, the first ever castaway to quit the show. I really hate the sexism and ageism that dominates the pre-merger game.
Anyway, this alliance decided that Rita should be the one to go, and they figured the matter was settled. Jessica and "Rocky" also agreed that if either of them were the ones on the block, they'd tell each other.
You'd think that he would have held up his end of the bargain, but it turns out a three person alliance carries little weight in a tribe of nine people, and pretty much everyone else decided that Jessica should be the one to go. When her name was read at Tribal Council, it was very obvious that "Rocky" never told her, and she was completely blindsided when she was the first person voted off.
Jessica, you were in an alliance of three. Unless you know who most people are voting for, never assume you're safe.
Interestingly enough, even though "Rocky" and Erica didn't tell Jessica she was leaving, they told each other they couldn't bring themselves to write down her name. After three days. In a game where you need to make it all the way to the end to win a million dollars. Write down her friggin' name! If she doesn't understand by the time the episode airs, she wasn't much of a friend after three days!
But they didn't all vote for Rita either. Jessica was the only one who wrote her name down. The other two voted for Yau-Man and Mookie. Mookie. That's gotta be a nickname too. Interesting strategy, if you're going to suck enough not to write down Jessica's name. I hate that they refused to vote for her when it was obvious she was the one leaving, but if you're going to do something stupid like that, I like the way they went about it. The only thing they could have done better was be more strategic about the names they picked to write down. Spread a little paranoia in the right people. But if they weren't smart enough to write Jessica's name, they weren't going to be smart enough to do that. Yau-Man's not a threat to anyone right now, and Mookie's name is Mookie, even if he is one of the strong, young men. I would have maybe picked Earl, and possibly Michelle, though I am fine with Mookie.
So that was it. Far from the best Survivor premiere yet, but with enough good elements to make it not horrible. I can't wait to see how this season shapes up. One thing I haven't mentioned is that instead of one hidden immunity idol, this time around there are two. Sylvia's clue points to one of them being hidden somewhere back at her camp. That should make for an interesting search.


Realivision Update - You may have noticed the title already, but I've shortened it to just the name of the show and the air date. With the new labels system Blogger allows, I see no reason to have it at the beginning and the end now and so "commentary", "recap" and "partial recap" will now be relegated to the labels at the bottom of the posts.

Grease: You're The One That I Want - Aired Jan. 28 - Partial Recap

So we've made it to the live performance part of the season, and we get to vote for the people we like best. As I've stated time and again, I'm not a big fan of audience voting. However, one thing that could improve it is that instead of voting for our favourites, we vote out the one we like least. That wouldn't get rid of all the problems, but it would dramatically lower the chance of another Master P debacle.
While it's often reasonable that large numbers of people may disagree on who's best, it's often easier to agree on who's worst, especially in the early going. By voting for the worst, there is a better chance that the votes of people who vote for the worst as the best would be thwarted. Yeesh, did that sentence even make sense? As it is, a lot of second or third favourites are leaving, and that's a travesty.
Speaking of travesties, I thought "You are not Sandy/Danny" and "You are... the one that we want" would be the most annoying aspects of this series. Oh, did Billy Bush prove me wrong. He took it upon himself (or it was a bad production decision) to give everyone really stupid nicknames, depending on if they're auditioning to be Sandy or Danny. "Okay, you're our 'Perky Sandy', and you're our 'Butch Danny'!" (Alright, the former may have been one of them, but I'm positive he didn't use the latter. The whole thing was too horrible to bother writing them down. If you really want to know, someone actually bothered listed them in the bios at NBC.com.)
Instead of "judges", the show has a "panel". This "panel" (who aren't judges) will judge the competitors, giving us their insight into the performances. Joining the same three we've seen all season will be Olivia Newton John. I really want to say something snarky about her facelift, but I can't. It really sucks how much of a premium society places on youth, especially in women, and even more especially in show business. I'm sure there have been good facelifts that are unnoticeable, but then there are ones that look much worse than any wrinkles would. Alright, that's all I'm going to say on the subject.
The show started off with the whole cast performing "You're The One That I Want", and it was pretty gosh-darned good. Nobody really stood out as the best or the worst, and it was a fun, high energy number. They each got to do a little solo, and the only flaw was the lack of sound coming from Austin Miller's mouth, something I attribute to his microphone likely being off.
Our two hosts, as always, are Denise Van Outen and the aforementioned Billy Bush. It was very obvious right from the start that Denise outshines Billy as a host in many ways. In addition to not coming up with stupid nicknames, she has the uncanny ability to actually look at the camera. Not so much with Billy, who can't seem to go two seconds without staring very obviously at the cue cards or teleprompter, whatever the case may be.
The way this is going to work is that they are going to bring out the contestants two at a time. We first get to know a little bit about each potential Danny and Sandy thanks to some videos that I'm not going to bother recapping, then they take turns performing different songs.
First up were Derek and Austin, and let's cross our fingers that Austin's microphone is finally working.
Derek - First we had a Meg Ryan lookalike, now it's John Stamos. Now, he didn't look like Uncle Jesse all the time, but from certain angles, it was definitely there. Derek sang "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", not one of my favourite songs but he did very well. So well, in fact, that he shot right up there as the Danny to beat.
Austin - From the auditions he was my favourite, but not so much now. He sang "Mony Mony", and sang it well, but not good enough to be better than Derek.
After each pairing performed, it was time for feedback from the panel. Right across the board, everyone loved these two. I'll say right now as well that Olivia Newton John was just taking up space, because she liked everyone so I'm not going to mention her again when we get to the judg... panel.
Ally - She sang "I Love Rock'N'Roll", and she did so well enough I guess. The song should be a lot more raw than she did it, as she doesn't seem to have quite that rockin' edge. Which is good for Sandy until the transformation.
Kate - This was interesting. She seemed to go between wobbly and very, very strong in her voice. She sang "All By Myself" in a disturbingly sunny way. It's not a cheerful song, for crying out loud.
Kathleen loved both, but wanted to see Kate a little looser. David thinks that Kate is the best singer in the competition. Jim could really see Ally as Sandy, and Kate just blew him away.
And then came the twist. We don't have a final 12, we have a final 14! What? How? Who? Most importantly, why? Two people who were cut last week have been brought back, and they are... Ashley A. Yay! Two Ashleys! I don't know why I enjoy that, but I do. The other is... Matt Nolan. Oh. Put your hand to your chest. Anything over that is overwhelmed, anything under it is underwhelmed. To figure out how this news has affected me, move your hand down to around your ankles. Yeah, I'm about that excited. At least I got to see an "Ashley A." graphic. Woot!
Matt - Our resident jock sang "Pretty Woman", and, oh. That's why he was cut in the first place. He sang better than we've seen before, but nowhere near Broadway quality. Or karaoke even. I know I'm going to piss a lot of Matt Nolan fans here, and a lot of them have found this blog. I know, I've seen the search engine keywords that have brought people here. But come on, he wasn't that good. When he tried to hit that high note, I actually winced for the poor guy.
Ashley A. - Singing "Still The One", Double A had a pretty and emotional voice, but it was still pretty week. I don't know if it's nerves or not, but if every other woman sings with more confidence, she should be an easy first elimination. Sorry, Double A.
Oh, come on Newton John! It's okay to give constructive criticism! Kathleen thought both of them were a little tentative in their performances (no kidding). David was not happy with Ashley, and said that Matt needs to work on his vocals (no kidding). Jim... was hitting on Ashley? What the hell!?? No! This is just wrong! Let's move on, nothing to see here...
Jason - He sang "Faith" and was pretty good. That's all I've got to say about him.
Max - The male contestant with the greatest uphill battle due to him having the wrong looks. That's such a shame, because his vocals on "Summer of '69" were fantastic, as were his moves. If he doesn't get to be Danny, I really hope they find another role for him.
Jim loves them both, and particularly the growth he's seen in Max. Kathleen and David loved both as well, though David thought Jason was a little too "pop" in his performance. Yeah, I can see that.
Laura - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". Good. Blah blah blah.
Kathleen - Singing "Suddenly I See", she was very, very good! Quite possibly my favourite Sandy yet, based on vocals! She also showed a great sense of humour after the performance when she was talking to the ju... panel.
David thought Laura was a little too sweet and nice, but he loved Kathleen. Kathleen agreed with him, and Jim, still dreaming about Ashley A., said something or another. I think he may have liked them.
If you'll allow me, I'd like to quote myself from last week.
"The live shows are next, with the first one being a two hour extravaganza of singing, dancing, and filler. Oh, you just wait and see. There will be filler!"
The good news? At least there wasn't that much of it. There was a little story on Jim Jacobs, panel member and co-creator of Grease (I just looked up the other, Warren Casey, on IMDb.com, and sadly he passed away in 1988). The other bit of filler was a question and answer session for the Sandys with Olivia Newton John. Now, what do you think the chances are that we'll see something similar for the Dannys with John Travolta?
Kevin - He sang "Walking In Memphis", and he was very good at it. Definitely one of the better choices here.
Chad - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", a song we last heard from former WWE wrestler and Fozzy frontman, Chris Jericho, on a little show called "Celebrity Duets" (yeah, that was back when I took too much on so I never finished covering that show, but I still have most of the episodes on tape, as I do with Dancing With The Stars 3, a show that also suffered from recap overload). Unlike Y2J (who I think did a good job), Chad sang it well enough that he should be here next week.
Jim liked Kevin, he loved Chad. David thinks Kevin has one of the best voices, but he loves Chad too. Kathleen loved both.
Juliana - "First Cut Is The Deepest", a song I've long loved, and she did an excellent job with it.
Ashley S. - The other Ashley, the one who made it through the first time, and she showed why. She sang "It's In His Kiss", and she sang it wonderfully.
Jim loved both, and saw the two of them as Betty and Veronica, because one is blonde and one is brunette! Oh, he's such a wit. Kathleen wants to see Juliana having more fun, which makes me wonder if she's at all familiar with the song. Maybe she can do a peppy funeral dirge next! David would like to see more heart from Juliana, and more emotion from Ashley S.
And with 20 minutes left, that's it for the individual performances. After that, all the Dannys and Sandys got together to perform "We Go Together". With all of them dressed in appropriate costumes, it was a good opportunity to get to see them more in the roles they hope to assume.
A wop ba-ba lu-mop.
A wop bam boom.
To finish off the show, we went to the j... panel to see who they though the best Danny and Sandy of the night were, and none were in agreement.
David really liked Derek and Ashley S. For Kathleen, it was Austin and Ally. Jim, on the other hand, preferred Chad and Kate, but I'm sure still wanted to take Ashley A. out for dinner. Olivia Newton John. Grrrr. "I'll let America decide!" Oh, just shut up, Olivia Newton John! Shut up, or make a decision!
Oh, Olivia. I can't stay mad at you. You're the first and only Sandy I've ever known! But still, please, nobody will hate you if you state your favourites. Except maybe the other 12 contestants and their families. But what do you care? You're Olivia Freakin' Newton John!
After this, we got to find out who the mystery guest is for the next episode. Somehow he managed to have a camera right there in his house with him, but of course, he created Cats! Andrew Lloyd Webber! In a completely unscripted conversation, and feeling lucky because ALW already had a camera on him, Jim asked him if he'd join them for the next show. I was on pins and needles, but sure enough, he said yes! Unlike ONJ, I'm sure ALW will offer some criticism. On the other hand, ALW doesn't have the same image to uphold.
And that was it. The only good news about the two people who got a second chance is that it should be an easy vote out this week. It should be. Double A may still go, but I fully expect Matt to be the "upset" of the week and go on. Why? It's more than just all the people who have Googled him (and speaking of Googling, whoever it was who was searching for "max crumb naked", shame on you (yes, someone really did)). His was a story that was followed from his audition through to Grease Academy and on to this miracle second chance. Despite him being the least talented man in the competition, people are more familiar with him than some of the people we just met this week. He'll have enough of a following who see him as a cute underdog that he should easily make it to the next round. Again, I'm not a big fan of audience voting the way it currently stands.
For the record, he seems like a nice kid. He's just not Danny.