Sunday, December 14, 2008

Survivor Gabon: Reunion Recap

We start off with a video of Bob’s accomplishments and his idol. They also have that swooping shot of him when he went to exile.

Jeff starts off and points out that Bob is the oldest winner ever. Bob relays that he was useful and friendly. His original plan was to fly under the radar. Bob knew that the fake idol helped. He explains that the beads and trinkets were from the flag. He put them all together with some ingenuity. Jeff pulled out what was left from the burned torch. Bob explains the rope was from exile and he gets the remains left. His students have been quite supportive. Bob has used some of the challenges (like the rock toss challenge) and used it as a physics problem.

Jeff asked if Matty made the final, who would vote for him. The onions and Kenny would have. Matty talked about confidence. Jeff warns every contestant who will be on to practice fire. He asks Susie how she got so far. She talks about the under the radar challenge. She got lucky with the first and last immunity. Randy was the deciding vote and said the cookie was the reason. Apparently Susie’s definition of the cookie situation cost her the million.

Sugar is next for questions. She gets a lot of positive viewership. Sugar blames production for showing her license plate. He asks the dad question. She says that it was why she cried a lot. She’s a better person now. We get the Corrine statement again and she’s booed. I hope she continues to get booed.

We get some more generic video of every animal from Gabon possible, since it’s all in HD. I love the fact that there is a commercial for antidepressants.

There is a clip show of Corrine being a bitch. Jeff is shocked. Corrine does feel sorry for her loss, but she feels like Sugar was a baby. The loss of the father was not a jugular. Corrine talks about how in real life she wouldn’t talk to people, but it’s her. She gets booed. She basks in boo.

Marcus tries to explain the animosity on Sugar. He tries to make himself look better by using editing as an excuse. Jeff asked Corrine why she was edited negatively. They made it look that she wasn’t as nasty and it wasn’t shown. Randy’s edit was better in Corrine’s opinion. Corrine has no regrets in her expressions. She’s dry and sarcastic.

Next up, Randy. His video has his comments about Crystal, screaming at Sugar, and how he’d burn down the house. Randy gets applauses. He admits that he wasn’t always bitter, he was himself this whole season. He gets laughter and applause. Randy’s best friend was his dog for 15 years. Marcus had the highest IQ and the second highest was Randy. Randy thinks the test was flawed. Randy used to be a commercial pilot, used to be a marathon runner, and many other things. He brought six strangers that he never met. They are fans of the show. Randy applied 15 times. He is thanked for being both despicable and likable.

Charlie was seen as the nicest guy on the show. Why was he friends with Randy and Corrine? According to him he saw past their emotional walls. We get shots of the band and sent to yet another long string of commercials.

Crystal has the wonderful video of her sucking at challenges. It culminates with her missed basket. Jeff asks her for proof. She pulls out her 2004 medal for the 4x4 relay. Jeff calls her out for everything. She explains that she’s built for running in a circle. She got calls from friends who are disappointed. People on the street liked how she told everyone off.

Dan talks about his vulnerability and he wanted to be himself. When you are yourself you make better decisions.

Ken is asked about the whole gaming thing. He has some video of him winning a championship and he got money from Super Smash Brothers: Melee. It paid for his college. He tried to use the same “mind games” that he did with Survivor. He understood that he got too cocky. Ken at least now gets to talk to girls but he’s still single. He quickly asks Michelle if she would date him. She instead talks about termites eating her.

Ace’s accent was inconsistent. Ace was raised in London and his accent kind of goes in and out. He regrets not having an American accent during the game. Jeff thanks the Gabonese government for the whole situation. There are some more elephant videos.

The Sprint player of the season will be announced. The top three are: Matty, Bob, and Sugar. Matty is #3. Bob won the $100,000 player of the season. He is speechless.

Jeff asked Matty about the girlfriend/fiancĂ©. He is still engaged and he has the date planned and everything. He’s happy to succeed with the proposal. He got her a nice ring.

Paloma (who?) thinks that she could do everything and anything. Nice to see her get mentioned, I guess. Kelly, being really young, grew and appreciated everything. GC went MIA before a challenge and GC makes an excuse that he was hungry. Jacquie liked getting away from technology. Gillian applied for years and thought it was worth it.

We get a slight preview of Survivor: Tocantins. It’s in Brazil. There are a lot of temperature-shifts, weather (in the form of rain), and drama of course.

Survivor Gabon: Finale Part 2/2

It’s day 38 at Nobag and we get butterflies and discussions. Matty talks to Susie about being nervous. She’s worried about the immunity challenge and losing. If she wins, she’d get rid of Bob. She’s upset that Bob and Sugar are so confident. Sugar and Bob come back and Matty reads the mail, it’s the fallen comrades walk. They instead of burning the torches, burn the masks. That’s probably the torches are on eBay. We continue to wonder who Michelle, Gillian, Paloma, or Jacquie are. GC was that quitter guy. Kelly was another Fang casualty. Ace planned too much and that’s why he went home. Dan was too paranoid about the game. Then there were the onions: Marcus, Charlie, Corrine, and Randy. They each get edits that made them look nice, but they were asses in the edits and exit-interviews. Crystal is humbled. Ken was a sweet kid who grew up. There is a tribe who play for the contestants as they arrive. The contestants slowly burn each of the masks. They all hold hands and Sugar cries.

The contestants arrive at the final immunity challenge. This challenge is a house of cards challenge. They have to have a tower that is ten feet tall. What happened to the endurance challenges? After thirty minutes, if no one makes it to the ten foot marker, then the person with the highest tower wins. Matty attempts triangles as well as Sugar. As Sugar gets to the top, Susie’s house collapses. Sugar’s whole thing topples. Bob can’t seem to get the numbers right. Sugar attempts another thin house and it topples. Susie topples again. Bob loses everything as well. Bob can’t make it up three feet. Physics teachers. Sugar’s tower wobbles as Susie speeds up. Matty is behind Susie. Sugar can’t get any higher. Susie decides to stop at eight feet. With thirty seconds Susie waits for Matty and Sugar. Bob loses his tower. Sugar loses her tower. Matty is too slow and Susie wins the final immunity. She wins the first and last immunity challenges. Sugar feels blindsided by the fact that she underestimated Susie.

Everyone returns and Susie talks about how she was going to go home. Everyone seems emotional about the whole thing. Sugar cries that they have to get rid of Bob. Matty knows that he has to get rid of Bob as well. Susie’s so excited and can’t stop talking about it. She asks Bob if he would get jury votes. Bob tells her that there is no reason. Susie tries to talk to the rest about the whole thing. Bob snaps at her and she’s ready to get rid of him. Sugar and Matty tell her to shut up. Sugar thinks of forcing a tie, trying to give Bob a second shot because he’s become a father to her. Bob goes out into the woods and decides to practice making a fire in hopes that the tie-breaker is a fire building challenge.

The four arrive at tribal and the jury show up. Ken looks so much younger without a beard. Susie is pleased and proud. Bob feels vulnerable and uncomfortable. People like Bob. Bob is worried about scrambling with three contestants. Matty scrambled in his head instead of talking to everyone. Matty was happy for Sugar saving him, but is worried about stabbing someone he trusts. Crystal is emotional. Sugar gets emotional equating Matty as her brother and Bob as her father. Bob and Matty are proud to be mentioned in that way. Bob chokes exclaiming how he’s a good father because his father was a good father.

Matty is up to vote and he votes for “Runaround Bob.” Susie’s vote is kept a mystery. Bob votes for Matty. Sugar is also a mystery. Jeff reads the votes: Bob, Bob, Matty, and Matty. Sugar forced a tie. Jeff announces a fire making challenge. Ironically, Susie’s original individual immunity win.

Jeff gives the go and Bob starts first with the flint. Matty has a husk with the magnesium. There are a lot of sparks from Matty, but Bob gets the fire first. There is a lot of wind hindering Bob. Bob loses his flame. Bob continues to blow the fire back and succeeds. Matty gets nothing as Bob gets a good fire going and burns through the rope. Matty cries about the whole situation, he grew up and loved it.

It’s finally Day 39 at Nobag and we get every animal shot possible. They finally notch down the 39th notch. The three go to the mail and there’s food. They had a nice brunch. Sugar is nervous because she voted off everyone except for Marcus.

Bob and Susie fill up one hut with everything flammable. He grabs his torch and each contestant holds on to the torch and starts burning everything. The thing burned down faster than the three expected. They grab their torches and head to tribal council.

Kenny wants the truth and sounds a little sour from the Bob situation. Randy hates all three. Corrine decides to be a bitch tonight. I’m a little disappointed that we don’t get to hear the rest of the jury thoughts.

The three arrive and the full jury show up. Again, Matty looks years younger than ever without a beard. The power shifts and the three start with opening remarks. Susie starts off explaining how it was to try and she wants to succeed in trying. She’s learned to stand up for herself. Bob played with his heart and personality. He knows that he outlasted the three, but unsure of whether he outwitted or outplayed. Sugar talks about how she played a great social game. She thanks her immunity necklace. She points out how she was a free agent and her only alliance was with Bob (stunning Matty).

Charlie goes first and asks the girls about the ranking back in the day. They were the worst on the poles. He wants to know why everyone should vote for her. Susie thinks she was underestimated. Sugar thinks that Charlie shouldn’t vote for him. He asks Bob whether or not his cuddling with Charlie was better. Bob liked it and Charlie smiles.

Crystal commends Susie from coattail riding. Bob was controlled by Sugar and Bob admits to riding coattails. Crystal wants to know why Sugar voted her out. She talked about bullying Matty and she shouldn’t have been mean.

Kenny asks Susie why she deserved the vote. Susie plays the underdog card. Ken asks Sugar why he backstabbed her. Sugar thought that Ken was a bigger threat. Ken asks Bob about the whole immunity necklace fiasco. Bob tells him that Ken was going to vote him out. And he responds by saying that Bob’s answer was the wrong answer.

Corrine asks Susie if she will get her vocal chords removed. She asks Bob to be nasty. Bob talks about how Sugar laughed at Randy. Sugar is called unemployed, maybe she needed antidepressants and bashes her dead father. (What a bitch. You can call people names and everything, but when you start to bash dead people that you don’t even know? That’s just disrespectful and in bad taste. You don’t know the man Corrine)

Marcus mentions his health problems. He calls Susie not a positive role model. He mentions how they both lose their loved ones, if Sugar won she would give some money for lung cancer. Marcus asks Bob for one example to be responsible. Bob doesn’t think that there needed to be a time to be responsible for the whole season.

Randy wanted Susie to elaborate on why he’s sad. Susie wanted to just understand her better. Sugar laughed at Randy, he wants to know why. She calls him a jerk the whole time. Bob is called out for his idol. Bob tries to call it strategic and Bob was pissed off at Sugar for laughing.

Matty is last. He asks Susie why the other two are less deserving. Susie was disgusted by Sugars laughing at Randy. Susie was angry at Bob for snapping at her win. Matty asks Sugar to reveal something evil. She points out breaking Kenny’s heart. She starts to tear up. He asks Bob why the other two contestants are more deserving. Bob says that neither are deserving and this gives Matty an eyebrow raise.

It’s time to vote and Marcus is first and his vote is a mystery. Matty voted for Susie because they are friends. Corrine voted for Bob. Randy tells the three to kiss his ass. Nice. Ken is confused and paces. Jeff gets the votes. Of course we get the wonderful information that they have to wait for the reading. This season Jeff gets the weird TV-transition where he walks around a hut and he’s in the auditorium to read the votes.

The three contestants all look great. Bob like a real teacher, Susie like a nice mother, and Sugar like a 40s star. Jeff reads the votes: Bob, Susie, Susie, Sue, Bob, Bob, and the final vote is Bob. He runs to his wife and family and they embrace. In the background Randy says kiss my ass. There is five seconds of "too late" silence. The rest applaud and the other contestants rush out.

Survivor Gabon: Finale Part 1/2

Throughout the whole season we had a lot of hot air. Marcus thought he and his onion friends could win. Ace thought he could manipulate Sugar. Kenny thought he was the mastermind of the whole show. Even Corrine, Marcus, and Charlie were asses to Crystal while she was at Ponderosa for no reason. It’s a game. Corrine slams doors. Charlie admitted to only following his “friends” so that he wouldn’t be outcasted if he talked to Crystal.

And we have our final five: Kenny, Matty, Susie, Bob, and Sugar. Three original Fang members plus one that came along after the first swap have made it through the ending through a lot of luck and an small percentage of skills. At one point or another each of them made a dumb mistake. I don’t think any contestants were aware of Matty’s trust fund, but if he didn’t squander it he wouldn’t be here. Sugar is too emotional at points and sways like the wind. Susie pissed off Corrine and then mysteriously disappeared for the rest of the season. Bob made fake idols and faked out his onion friends. And Kenny? Well, his downfall was when he thought he was a good player.

The contestants return and Sugar pats herself on the back. Kenny is now by himself and Sugar is the happiest for how everything turned out. Bob tells Kenny to get his own idol. Sugar talks to Bob about playing dumb with the two. Sugar is convinced that she needs to sway Ken back. As they walk to tree mail, they talk about who will win immunity and who will be out. Ken somehow is swayed, even though he knows that there may be a chance to blindside. The contestants all get a unique color and they get to decorate themselves. Susie actually gets a sort of edit this episode.

The contestants arrive each representing their colors. Matty in yellow is a little embarrassed for looking like he is. Jeff calls Bob a village person. The immunity challenge is a wall, planks, a maze with puzzle pieces, and a platform to solve the puzzle. As the contestants start, Susie is out first, quickly followed by Bob and Ken. Each contestant runs around the platform, and Matty falls off. Sugar follows Susie, Ken follows Sugar. There is a gate with knots. Sugar and Susie unknot, followed by Bob, Ken and Matty. In the maze everyone grabs pieces and runs. Matty is first with a bag, but everyone else also has some pieces. Bob looks winded after hauling his bags. Sugar gets her last bag of puzzle pieces before everyone. Bob is next, followed by Matty and Ken. Bob quickly catches up to Sugar and eventually beats her. Susie is still lost in the maze. Susie acting like a zombie last week, followed by this? Amazing, Susie. She contemplates how anyone could beat ultimate-mega-wizard Bob. Almost a third place edit right there.

Ken lays around, confident that Susie will be going first. Matty tells Kenny that Susie may still scramble. He doesn’t know. Susie is worried because Matty hasn’t said anything. Matty dodges questions and tells her to go with her gut. Matty and Sugar discuss the final two. Sugar and Matty agree to get rid of Susie. Bob and Sugar discuss getting rid of who.

The jury welcomes the five remaining contestants. Bob talks about how he has tied for consecutive wins, he makes sure that he has to win. Matty is jealous. Ken talks about how he’s not like Bob. Susie is very concerned that she’ll go home because she flies under the radar. The onions laugh at her at the sidelines. Ken admits that he did some tribal healing. Ken didn’t realize that Bob wanted trust. Ken tries his best to weave a tale of trust. Bob keeps his idol.

Susie votes Ken in fear that she’ll be blindsided. Ken votes Susie. Jeff reads the votes: Kenny, Susie, Kenny, Kenny. Somehow the onions applaud. Hah, he’ll still make more money. He sounds gracious for playing the game and not as sour grapes as the onion alliance.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Survivor Gabon: Episode 13 Recap

Last Week: Bob and Corrine thought of getting rid of Matty with a fake idol. Kenny got cornered after giving a vote to Matty, but Corrine went home anyway.



The tribe comes back and Matty corners Kenny. Kenny knew that he needed some votes from the jury. Sugar reminds Kenny and Crystal that she would vote for Matty. Crystal regrets voting off Corrine now. If they voted off Matty, the drama that ensued would have never happened. Kenny corners Bob about the fake idol and Bob feels guilty. Bob then offers to give the immunity necklace if he wins immunity. He wants to be a man of his word.



At the reward challenge, the tribe walks into an obstacle course race, there is a little bit of basketball involved as well. The reward is a trip to a gorilla sanctuary with a good meal, shower, and bed. As the contestants run, Matty gets a lot of lead but Kenny gets through first. Matty unknots the ball, followed by Kenny and Bob. Most struggle with getting the ball into the net; Matty, Kenny, and Bob get through in the same order that they get in. All the girls struggle making a basket. Bob takes his time as Matty gets his in. Bob gets his second one in, quickly followed by Bob. Matty gets back first and tries to make baskets. Bob and Kenny get back and attempt shots as well. After a lot of missed baskets, Bob wins. None of the girls ever made a basket. Crystal attempts a slam dunk and misses. Hah. Bob gets to choose one person to go with him and he picks Crystal and Kenny. Bob decides to send Susie to exile. Matty decides to use this one on one time with Sugar to try to sway her. If he was smart, he would have sent Sugar to exile.



Bob, Crystal, and Kenny get a wonderful helicopter ride and arrive to some drinks, fruit, and some deli meats and cheeses. Bob thanks the two and they cheer. They discuss getting rid of Matty. Bob may have won Crystal and Kenny because he has integrity. Kenny tries to weasel his way into getting the idol whenever he feels vulnerable. The three walk into the showers and emerge in some African outfits. The three talk about the gorilla project “Africa’s Eden” and discuss about how the gorillas get poached and the babies are alone. Cross-promotion talk. Yeah, it’s cool and all, but a little annoying that it was placed during the show. The three walk around so that the gorillas could get comfortable. The biggest gorilla connected with Bob and their souls connected for a moment.



Over at the Sugar Shack, Susie quickly went to the shack and had some food. She quickly consumes cantaloupe and gets some time to lie around and not play the game. She contemplates calling it the “Susie Shack.”



Matty is upset about Kenny and Crystal and voices his concern towards Sugar. He starts to flip-out and tries to convince Sugar to swap her alliances. Sugar is more concerned for Matty being the physical threat. Matty wants to get Sugar to give the hidden idol to Sugar. She reminds the audience that it only lasts for one more council.



The three return from their challenges and Sugar wants to know everything. Matty is upset about Kenny and Crystal. Kenny talks to Matty about getting a vote from him. Crystal chimes in that she’s gotten eight votes; Kenny has gotten seven votes. (Edit: I looked it up afterwards and Crystal [not counting this episode] had seven votes; Ken had three) Crystal talks to Matty about trying to getting to the final four, she talks about how he changed his vote by aligning with Susie. Sugar is confused by how Matty is being confronted by Crystal and Kenny. She cries in interview. Sugar talks to Matty about how they don’t have integrity. She decides to give the idea that Susie, Bob, Matty, and Sugar will vote off Crystal and then Kenny.



At the immunity challenge, the tribe reunites with Susie. The immunity challenge is a puzzle/obstacle course. The twist? The contestants are blindfolded. As the game starts Crystal didn’t even reach the table. Matty is out first, followed by Kenny, Sugar, and Bob. Matty goes back to try getting all of his pieces. The rest try to get the pieces first. Crystal goes out of bounds and stays in the wrong lane. Matty gets all of his pieces and starts to work. Bob gets his second bag and Crystal finally arrives in the post. Bob goes back for his third bag, and Susie walks off the course. Matty goes back to check his mask. Bob tries his solution and it’s wrong. Kenny and Bob continue trying. Susie isn’t even on course. Kenny is wrong and decides to go back to try. Bob solves the puzzle and wins his fourth immunity. He smiles that he’s old and still an immunity winner.



The tribe returns to Nobag and Kenny and Crystal quickly discuss possibly getting rid of Bob. He’s becoming too much of a threat for her tastes. Crystal is a little upset but okay with losing. He tries to get the idol but Bob decides to have a group meeting sooner or later. Crystal tries to talk to the other members about the Bob/idol decision. Sugar is a little upset. She decides to talk to Bob about the whole situation; she mentions how Bob would be blindsided. He’s confused and asks what Susie is looking at. No one knows. Bob is still confused and Sugar attempts to cry in front of him. She mentions how “good guys” should win in the end. Sugar comes back with branches and tries to convince the rest that he will give the idol. She talks to Matty to continue to play the idol. This is Sugar’s last day to use the idol so she will use it. I still hope that Susie votes randomly for Matty to get rid of him.



The tribe arrives back at tribal and Randy arrives in a Mohawk. Jeff starts off by confronting Bob by being a physical threat. Kenny is amazed by the smarts and strength of Bob. Matty is happier that Bob is the winner. Susie coming back from exile is confused a little bit. Kenny decides to try telling the truth about Bob’s promise. Bob agrees about the situation and the onions over by jury cock their heads. Sugar makes funny faces in response. Crystal talks about how she’s such a loser at challenges and is happy that Bob picked her. Jeff probes Matty about the Kenny/Crystal alliance talking to Bob. Kenny tries using his flopping as leverage somewhat successfully. Tonight is the last night for the hidden immunity idol. Sugar wears it around her neck. Bob laughs about not making it. Bob decides not to give the idol. Crystal votes first and she votes Matty. Matty votes Crystal. Sugar votes for Crystal.



Jeff asks about the hidden immunity idol and Sugar decides to give the idol to Matty. The onions smirk in glee. This is the real idol and all of Matty’s votes get negated. The votes are: Matty, Matty, Crystal, Crystal, and Crystal. Corrine fist-pumps that Crystal is going home. Why? Now she will have to annoy the onions.



Crystal talks about how she tried to be honorable and good in her confessional. She roots for Kenny. Well, if he makes it to the final, then he’s got 2 votes from Corrine and Crystal.



Next Sunday: The final five make it to the final episode. Who will win?

Monday, December 8, 2008

Scream Queens Episode 8

It’s finally the last episode, there has been a lot of stress but there are only three remaining: Tanedra, who suffers from inexperience, Lindsay, who lacks security, and Michelle, who may lack talent.

Tanedra starts freaking out because she got her first critique on the second to last episode. Lindsay points out that she got chopped all the time. They are all focused on winning at this point, especially Michelle who is excited to see the other two break down.

The girls return to the place that they jumped out the window. Shawnee explains the biggest test: The Gauntlet. It’s one long continuous chase scene. The girl starts off as the hunted and becomes the hunter. The girls go through the whole scene: the girl’s best friend gets killed, she gets chased, there are doors, and shovels. Tanedra attempts a kick in practice and she slips and falls on her bum. She is reminded to slow down and use her energy. She gets frustrated and Lindsay really thinks Tanedra has no chance. Michelle just wants her to get over it.

Lindsay goes through the first run-through and she’s a little worried. In her first take, she knocks down the door completely leaving some awkward time when she didn’t know what to do. She misses the kick. James tells her that she may be over thinking the marks. He wants her to be more intense. Her second time, she mimes opening the window, but the rest is more believable.

Michelle goes second and her heart is pounding. In her first take, she got really over the top. Her adrenaline comes off as weird. James tells her that she is taken over by her emotions. She puts everything together the second time, and although it’s still a little over the top, it’s better.

Tanedra is nervous about her criticism of James. Action is called but Tanedra didn’t know when to start. After the next action call, Tanedra makes it into the bedroom. She then doesn’t react fast enough and the guy gets her. That’s how it would be in real life. She continues to stumble a little bit. She talks to James and he reassures her that it’s all about her and the camera. Her next take was great and they find it believable. They point out that her beginning was rocky.

Shawnee tells the girls that one of them is getting the axe. Each girl interviews about being nervous about the whole thing. James reminds them that they have to kick ass all the way through. Shawnee cuts Lindsay. They say she’s good, but not Scream Queen material. She is disappointed, but she knows that she grew. Michelle is excited and Tanedra is in tears. They have a scream fest in happiness.

It’s the next morning and there is a knock at the door and a chauffeur and a limo and the girls are taken to Lions Gate Studios. They walk past some Saw posters. They walk into a theater and watch a short video. Jigsaw tells them that there is one final scene. They have to redo a scene from the third Saw. Jason Constantine and Mark Burg greet the girls. They want to make sure that the girls stand out and do their best. They get their scripts in the limo.

There is one more class with John. John tells them to make sure that they do the final dig correctly. He tells them that it’s a one-on-one class. Tanedra is first and while she practices, John continuously screams “BANG!” to keep her focused. Tanedra loses her focus and John tries to get the urgency correctly emoted. Michelle, although intimidated, tried her best. She gets really aggressive and he stops her. He sits her down and tells her not to half-ass her performance. She tries again and John pushes her over and over. He breaks her. John tells the two that they have to bring the right emotions and look professional. He wishes them the best and they mysteriously make it to a top of an apartment. The two girls flashback about their evolutions from the past few weeks set to stereotypical VH1 artist of the moment. They do the stereotypical montage of the hard work that they’ve gone through.

It’s the last morning and each girl talks about why they deserve to win. It’s the same thing we’ve heard for weeks. James greets them and tells them that they will be performing mostly by themselves and they speak to a speaker. Tanedra is first and although she’s nervous, she brings everything she has. After the first take, Tanedra absorbs all the criticism. The second take she’s crying and more emotional. James tells her not to be too angry, because Jigsaw would kill her if she was too emotional. She screams, but James tells her to tone it down. After the take, James makes her try a whole scene sitting until the family reveal. James cuts for the day and hugs Tanedra. She is in tears because she is proud of herself.

Michelle talks about proving that she isn’t just a pretty face. James tells her that they will go back and forth between takes. After her first take, James makes her mess up her mascara and hair. James pushes her to maintain her emotions at the first scene. She gets back to the floor and is in tears the whole time. She gets emotional at the right times. James thanks her for her take. After the performance she is in tears because she related the whole experience with her family.

The two girls prepare for the final judging. They arrive and Shawnee greets them. They have decided to go through all their scenes. Mark Burg is the guest judge. It’s final judgment. James thought that she was terrible in the first day, but she has gotten better the whole time. John thinks that at the morgue he saw the potential. Shawnee points out her sexuality and innocence. James likes her emotional core. She is still called out for being inconsistent. Tanedra gets the positive of being real; she was also very comfortable on set. John liked the nuances. James criticizes her about how she separates herself from the criticism. Tanedra cries because she was embarrassed for the criticism. James tells her to note it and move on. Shawnee thinks that she may not be dynamic.

Mark thanks the two girls and tells them that only one person broke out. Shawnee announces the winner is Tanedra. She is in tears and hugs Michelle. Shawnee thanks Michelle and she leaves. Tanedra gets weak in the knees and cries. She gets the power and stands up. She is the Scream Queen.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Survivor Episode 12: Recap

Last Week: Randy used an idol that wasn’t actually an immunity idol. But before that, Marcus threw out an idol.

As the remaining seven return from tribal council, the group discuss the vote off. Bob is upset that everyone, especially Sugar, was laughing so hard. Sugar is not upset because Randy deserved everything that came to him. Corrine has yet another bitch-fest, aimed right at Sugar. Sugar calls her out for actually playing the game. Corrine goes as far as calling the rest of the tribe “mutants” and not being able to stand any of them. The episode must have been jam packed because the opening credits were about five seconds long. It was just the Gabon logo.

Elephants and gorillas have a nice time as day 31 starts. Bob and Kenny are in a boat catching fish. Ken is quite impressed by his outdoors skills. They bring the fish in and everyone is happy. Bob turns a can into a grill by flattening it and while that happens, Ken contemplates getting rid of Bob.

The reward challenge involves two parts. First, there is a two-teamed challenge where there is running through mud, getting puzzle pieces, and raising a flag. Round two has a sliding puzzle. Jeff tells that the prize is a message from their loved ones. He shows snippets of the videos to each contestant. Crystal is first and is in tears after seeing her husband and daughter. Kenny has a sister named Jenny and it brings him to tears as well. I would also be in tears if my parents named the children Kenny and Jenny. Susie’s husband and son greet her. Corrine gets a well produced video with microphones. This makes me think that she doesn’t need the money. Bob gets a video his wife. Matty’s girlfriend Jamie and his pug say hi. Sugar’s sister sends her video greeting her as “Jessica” and reminding her that her father is watching over her. There is an extra prize of some comfort food. They pick stones to choose teams.

Crystal and Susie pick the captain stones and Susie goes first to choose teams. Susie’s team is Susie, Matty, and Kenny. Crystal’s team is Crystal, Sugar, and Bob. Corrine is odd woman out. She is automatically eliminated. As the teams wade through the mud, Crystal drags her team across. Crystal’s team gets the pieces first, but Susie’s team catches up when Sugar and Crystal fall in the mud. Susie’s team gets a big lead over the other team and work the puzzle before Crystal’s team gets there. They get back and both teams try solving the puzzles. Bob and Kenny become the puzzle solvers. Eventually Bob solves it for the three.

The next round pits Crystal, Sugar, and Bob in a slide puzzle challenge. Bob quickly wins the reward. Bob gets to sit on a couch placed outside and watches a video of his wife, Peggy. She tells him that there was something to show him, she walks away from the video. She sneaks up behind him and surprises him. Peggy interviews saying that Bob got attractive with the dirt and beard.

Bob comes back to the Nobag tribe with Peggy to the tribe and gets introduced to the rest of the tribe. Bob whistles and the rest of the loved ones emerge. Everyone is in tears and they rush to their loved ones. It’s a cry-fest. Kenny talks to his sister about the tribe and his strategy; he eventually wants to blindside Matty. Sugar talks to her sister and her sister brought some of her father’s ashes, they thank him, and spread some ash into the water and hope that he likes his trip to Africa. Matty voices-over about growing up. He hugs Jamie and proposes to her in a nice way that didn’t actually say “Will you marry me?” at first. It’s heartfelt, moving, and quite personal. There’s a part of me that wishes I didn’t just watch Matty sob through the whole proposal. He made her a necklace and puts it around her neck. I wonder if Bob made it for him? Although we didn’t see a lot from Susie and Crystal, both are relieved that they got to meet their loved ones. The loved ones leave before sunset.

Day 33 at Nobag and Corrine and Bob go and get the tree-mail. Bob talks to Corrine about considering blindsiding Matty. The five talk about sticking together and consider getting rid of Bob then Corrine. In the forest Bob tells Corrine his amazing plan to create the idol that was supposed to be thrown in the ocean.

The immunity challenge is a Gabon quiz with a ball toss involved. They get a ball for answering the question correctly. Then they all toss into a bull’s-eye. Closest to the bull’s-eye wins.

The questions involve things like gorillas, elephants, snakes, and the like. The first question is true and Sugar and Corrine get the ball. Sugar, Susie, Corrine, Bob get the next right. The third question Susie and Corrine are wrong. The last question involves the trunk of an elephant. In the end Crystal and Susie get one shot, Kenny and Matty get two, Corrine and Bob get three, and Sugar gets four.

Kenny goes first, quickly throws it and makes sixth zone. Matty throws and gets 4th zone. Sugar rolls, but misses. Susie’s only ball doesn’t make it. Corrine’s shot makes 5th zone. Bob’s first shot gets it into the 4th zone. Crystal’s only shot messes up. Kenny’s last shot messes up. Matty falls short as well. Sugar makes 5th zone. Corrine’s next toss is too far out. Bob makes it to the 2nd zone. Sugar messes up. Corrine’s last shot is in the outer layer. Bob doesn’t improve his shot. Sugar’s last shot and the ball makes it into the center but rolls out. Bob wins immunity. As they walk away he talks about his plan of blindsiding Matty.

Corrine talks more about the hidden-sea-idol idea. She brings out Bob to the forest and explains the idea that Bob gave to her a while back making it sound like she thought up of the whole thing. Back in the tribe everyone practices spelling Corrine’s name. Corrine strings out Kenny and tells the idea of the idol. Kenny is nervous about blindsiding Matty. Corrine and Bob talk to Kenny about who they would consider switching. He says Crystal. Where does Bob get all his items? Joanne Fabrics? Did Sugar create a store at her Shack? Bob shows Crystal the fake idol and she’s a little shocked. She likes the idea and shakes hands. Kenny and Crystal realize the whole thing so they try to flush out the idol and blindside Matty in a 4-3 vote. Crystal knows that if this a fake idol, Corrine will go home, but this is a great time to get rid of Matty. The real question is why 4-3? The plan would have been perfect as a 5-2 vote and if Corrine’s idol was real, the only two votes that would count would have been against Matty.

The jury arrives at tribal and Sugar smirks at Randy. Susie talks about how the contestants all have to think ahead. Bob is happy and confident that he is immune. Corrine talks about paranoia and trying to break up the five. Sugar is afraid of people freaking out. Crystal is worried about trust with some. Matty makes funny faces the whole time. Corrine votes first, but her vote is kept a secret. One by one each contestant votes. Kenny votes for Matty. Matty votes for Corrine.

Jeff asks about the hidden immunity idol and Corrine doesn’t play the fake one. It disappoints Kenny. The votes are Matty, Corrine, Corinne, Corrinne, Matty, Matty, and the last vote is Corrine. Although Corrine still went home, I’m sure Matty will be paranoid that he got a vote against him.

In her goodbye, Corrine says that the only people left that she liked were Kenny and Bob. If either make it to the end, they might get her vote for pure friendship.

Next Week: Kenny is pissed off at Bob. Sugar is worried about Crystal and Kenny.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Scream Queens – Episode 7 Recap

Tanedra and Michelle find that Jessica is gone. Michelle was excited for being leading lady and Angela is pissed that Michelle won. Lindsay is in tears about her criticism and cries by herself by the hot tub.

Another day goes by and the girls get a skills test. Shawnee Smith gives them their challenge. It’s a Blair Witch competition about having the ability to be a leading lady. Each of the girls get a scenario. Michelle is under the bed in tears because mutants have killed her family. Angela is in a forest and aliens are following her. Lindsay gets the scenario that she was kidnapped and locked in a cabin. Out of the three, I find her performance to be the most convincing. Tanedra is about to die from a virus. After the challenge, the girls get to watch their own performances and they are all impressed about their own work. Shawnee is impressed by the four, but the winner is Lindsay.

Back in the house Angela is upset that she’s not appreciated by the judges. The next teach with John continues the solo theme by having a creepy ventriloquist dummy. He apparently kidnapped their family. John wants to make sure that they don’t act, but be real in the camera. He wants to do this as a lightning round, like a casting call where each girl only gets 15 seconds. Lindsay messes up. John calls out Michelle for screaming. Angela is not realistic. Tanedra is not believable. John tells the girls to make the dummy a real person. Tanedra channels her family members. Lindsay is next and John tells her to use her eyes. Michelle goes next, and she curses up a storm and cries; John congratulates her for doing better. I still think that she overacts sometimes. John keeps telling Angela that she keeps acting; when she cries it gets more connecting. John tries to talk to the girls, but Angela starts breaking down. She asks John why she wasn’t last week’s leading lady. John tells her that she should suck it up; actors should learn rejection.

Back at the house, Angela is in tears under the covers. Michelle tells her that it’s all about bringing it every time there is a camera in front of the contestants. Tanedra walks past a mirror with a message on it. As they look at the items in front of a mirror, the girls are shocked by a monster who pops up on the other side of the mirror. He gives them a message that there are scripts in the bedroom. Lindsay and Michelle talk in the hot tub. Lindsay wants her to be more humble, but Michelle isn’t having any of it.

The director’s challenge is a mirror challenge. There is a good vs. evil situation using a green screen. Lindsay’s heads up is to choose to go first or last and she picks last. Tanedra is first and is excited to work with green screen. James tells her after the first take to be more connecting. Michelle watched Tanedra’s work in the back and is disappointed. James tells her to try differentiating the two characters. After her last take, she is disappointed. Michelle starts off a little meek, but easily picks up and creates two different characters. She is confident about her work. Angela doesn’t really connect as the good character; James gives her some tips. They try again and she still is holding something back. James keeps telling her to be more convincing and vulnerable. Michelle was laughing in the back. Lindsay is last. James tells her to connect with the scenario more and James is impressed after her last take. James tells the four girls that there will be no list this week because all the girls are going to judging.

Michelle and Angela talk to each other about the judgment. They are both nervous because the next step if they make it past this week is to go to meet the Saw producers. Tanedra knows she has what it takes. The clock strikes and the girls are at judgment. Lindsay goes first and is praised by James. She wasn’t scared and she actually had fun. Shawnee is also impressed. Michelle is complimented for her choices that she made, but then she goes too far. John tells her that she was good at the teach, but not great. Angela was not the strongest to James because her good side was not strong enough. She needs to trust more in her vulnerable. John brings up the whole leading lady situation. The three tell her that rejection is commonplace in the acting career. Tanedra is told that her performance flat lined during the challenge. James is worried that she might be getting boring. John thinks maybe that she’s given all she has and there’s nothing left.

Shawnee tells Lindsay that she is this weeks leading lady. Angela and Tanedra are the bottom two: Tanedra because she was boring, but Angela gets the axe really for not being able to handle rejection. Shawnee tells the remaining girls that there is a “Scream Queen Gauntlet” that culminates the whole season of teaching.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Survivor Episode 11 Recap

This week we got a recap show with unseen footage. Jeff narrates the story of the remaining contestants. After we got a questionable group due to Gillian’s (Susie’s and Crystal’s as well) tribe choices, Fang loses a lot and Jeff is edited saying Kota way too much. Fang complained too much and slowly eliminated Michelle and Gilliam. There is a small shout out to the only Kota who went the wayside before swapping drama: Paloma. She would have been interesting since she would have targeted Ace. We’re reminded that Marcus loves onions but who is Jacquie again? How many people spelled her name Jackie during the tribal? I would have.

Today’s episode focuses on the final seven and how exactly they got there. We get to look at some audition video tape as well. Bob’s looks to be more interesting on his audition tape than anything Bob has done during the show (sans the fake idol).

We start off the night with some audition videos of people but we start first with Bob who sports his tie. He is chased by a bear and calls cafeteria food crap. Crystal has a boring tape. Susie has a normal video as well, who used her oven as a timer. Heh. Ken still has his braces on in his video and looks even younger than he does now. I like his hair longer. Corrine sounds like a bitch where she talks about herself too highly. Sugar sounds and looks like more fun than she was on the show; I’ve seen her MySpace and she’s has a crazy voice (and I don’t mean crazy good. Matty has an HD video and his has a cool edit of him being cool. That’s probably why I wouldn’t vote for him to win; that former trust fund baby.

We’re back at the beginning. Kota wins things and we watch them celebrate early on. Fang attempts to eat some sort of snail things. Ken attempts to eat some ants; Crystal eats a grasshopper. Apparently Randy got attacked by a leech in the water; this scares most of the tribe, but Matty goes in with no problem. Or so he thinks. He comes back and he got leeches on his legs. They squish it and Matty’s blood comes out.

On the other side, Corrine talked to Bob about the Onion Alliance. They exiled Dan but he was too dumb to find the idol. In Kota Marcus flirted with Jacquie and it pisses off Corrine. She bitches to Marcus to stop, she was probably jealous. After one Fang win, Sugar was sent to the Sugar Shack for the first time. Corrine and the rest of the tribe think that Sugar is too useless, but Sugar shows everyone. She tells Ace.

Fang is low on rice and Randy considers eating one meal a day. Matty tries his best to cheer up the group by making his group sing about his girlfriend. What? That’s uplifting? Randy talks to Matty about how his former dog was his life and how everyone else is bad. Fang considered making an alliance of Randy, Matty, Dan, and Susie. There was a tribal switch and it killed Matty’s ideas. Fang made some bad choices again. Sugar is sent to Exile Island again; she chills in her shack.

Randy tried his best to not be an ass around the tribe and he helped win immunity in a very lop-sided game. Crystal, Kenny, and Matty (and GC) considered voting someone out Crystal’s decision of Jacquie went well. Sugar was disappointed. Luckily Corrine had a bitch fest watching her ally never show up. We get a new video of Bob. Bob’s strategy is to be a cool fatherly builder. He makes slingshots, sundials, and other random stuff. Corrine complains about him. Really Corrine?

GC didn’t help the losing Fang cause and everyone let him go. The next day Crystal found Sugar’s hidden immunity idol. Matty tried his best to win challenges, but they lost. Crystal cried in disappointment. Kelly went home.

Sugar broke records by going to exile for the fifth time. We get to watch video of the lunch reward. It turns out that there was a lot of stuff in the picnic. Corrine complains that no one knows what kind of food everything is. There is some wine drama causing food division. Corrine is voming off as a horrible bitch.

Sugar was bored and made clothes, picked fruit, flowers, swam around, tanned, and had food. She started to break down because everyone else didn’t get to eat. Exile was probably the best thing to happen to her. We have a double tribal council and in the immunity challenge Marcus won. He gave Sugar immunity. Kenny decided to try his best to convince Sugar to blindside Ace, it wasn’t a full lie because Ace was trying to get her idol away when they were talking. Ace and Dan went home that night.

There was a tribal feast that wasn’t actually a merge, it was just lunch. Kenny saw the clue for immunity, but Charlie messed it up for him. As an aside, he actually did a good toss to Marcus of a piece of paper. Randy and Marcus threw the idol in the water. The tribes shuffled. Matty told Sugar that she was duped. Matty won Fang immunity. Marcus being an idiot pointed out that he wants to get rid of Kenny. Marcus decides to talk to Susie about the same thing. Crystal and Ken discuss and manage to sway Susie. Marcus gets blindsided. That’s what you get for throwing the immunity into the water.

Corrine bitched some more. Fang won and sent Bob to exile. Fang had fun at the reward. At Exile Bob decided to make his own idol. There was a merge and Susie won a fire making challenge. Unfortunately for Charlie, Matty, Crystal, Ken, and Susie managed to convince Sugar to vote him off.

Sugar talks to Corrine about life. She tells Corrine that she speaks cancer. Amazing. Corrine flips her script about Sugar’s lifestyle. Her eyes start to bulge as she complains to Randy. She speaks really fast to Randy in whisper. Bob tells Sugar about his fake idol.

At the reward, Randy tried his best to make himself look nice in front of the tribe with a cookie plate but Sugar wasn’t taking it. Maybe it was because it wasn’t Sugar cookies. Randy came back complaining. Randy hoped that Bob had the idol and his plan is to be a bastard. He starts with a complaint about Susie yawning. Susie yawning? That’s all you could think up of? When someone tells you in a very surfer accent, “Be nice, Bro” you know it’s a bad decision. Everyone is afraid that he will throw food out or something. Randy may possibly be eating goats that cross bridges. Bob gives Randy the fake idol. Everyone laughed during the tribal especially a scheming Sugar.

What will happen next time? Corrine will bitch. There may be loved ones. Will there be more Sugar cookies?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Dancing With the Stars Finale (Parts 1 & 2 !)

Dancing With the Stars Finale Part 1

Realizing that there is a lot of time but not a lot of performers the producers have decided to show a clip show of what the contestants thought was their best ballroom and Latin dance. Since I don’t recall things perfectly, I have a feeling that producers should post edit the dance to cover-up a few foot mistakes with a close-up or two.

Brooke & Derek – The ballroom quickstep that they have performed as their favorite. Their favorite Latin was the Paso Doble. They talk about consistency and how she has the best average of the season (which is nowhere near Kristi Yamaguchi). Brooke talks afterward about having positive thinking and how Warren is trying to psyche him out.

There is a little bit of an editing warble where there is an echo. It gets edited as Lance & Lacey talk. Maybe we aren’t as live as we think.

Lance & Lacey – Their best ballroom is the tango. Thinking about it now, that performance fit the Halloween theme when it was performed. Their best Latin was the Mambo. Lance has had the biggest lead coming into the finals and is the only other contestant who beat Brooke for first.

Warren & Kym – They say that their best ballroom is the Viennese waltz. It showcased Warren’s gentle gliding abilities. They pick the Paso Doble as their best Latin. They call the outfits intimidating. They talk about their strengths is that Warren is a fan favorite, they’re apparently also averaged second most of the season, though I don’t think that’s a positive.

The junior trophy winners are Craig & Samantha. They re-dance their Jive again. It must be awkward for a brother sister team to dance with emotions aimed at each other. After receiving their trophy, Samantha waves the trophy in front of her brother’s face.

There is a video that says that this could be the greatest ballroom competition, ever. I think that’s because they are equally on the same level. Still nowhere near someone like Stacy Kiebler (Until she flopped the freestyle) or Kristi Yamaguchi. The judges are here and everyone does their official welcoming. Len talks about how he’s so excited that he may have to pee. Everyone starts laughing.

Samba Smackdown – The order goes Brooke, Lance, Warren. Brooke’s challenge is to make her steps amazing. Lance and Lacey wants to be creative with their section. For Warren, they want to do better than the last place scores they received the last time they did the Samba. They do a group rehearsal where everyone tries to intimidate each other. Lance and Lacey play dumb during the practice. Warren tackles a wall to scare Lacey.

The Samba starts with Brooke & Derek. They decide to go with technicality and a lot of floor covering. They use a lot of strong hip action to keep them going. They do a few rolls and short runs. Lance & Lacey emerge and they go with a lot of strong fast leg works. Lacey does some interesting spins. They go with some unconventional moves. Warren & Kim come in and Warren still looks a little awkward, but he definitely has improved. In comparison to the other two Warren lacks the technicality. The three finish off with some synchronized dancing and an interesting human windmill. Len loves his band as they continuously pimp out the band. Len thought that all three improved: Warren was better, but lacked a little bit of footwork. Lance had more movements and was powerful. Brooke is still the one to beat. Bruno calls Brooke dazzling, Lance clean, and Warren irresistible. Carrie Ann likes that Lance has improved, she’s blown away by the improvement of Warren, and Brooke has the best technicality, but was too ambitions.

The Scores:
Brooke – 9, 9, 10 = 28
Lance – 9, 8, 9 = 26
Warren – 9, 7, 9 = 25

Round 2 – The Freestyle

Brooke & Derek – There was a bad Jive, but a good Salsa. Derek tells her if there are any mistakes he wants her to breathe. They attempt a lot of lifts in practice, it hurts Derek a little so they move to a swimming pool. I’m worried about Brooke’s outfit until I realize that they went for a Grease theme. There’s a lot of kicking, Broadway-esque moves, and they put Brook on the judges table where she becomes Bad Sandy. They do their leaps. She does the leg spiral (which I saw on So You Think You Can Dace) into a group tumble. They flip to the end. Brooke loved it as he flails his arms in amazement (he also uses the words Kama Sutra). Carrie Ann thought that they brought it. Len thought it was the best freestyle that he’s ever seen. The scores are: 10, 10, and 10.

Lance & Lacey – Last week they aced both their dances last week, so they are coming in with strength and confidence. They practice some hip-hop type music and Lance booty shakes. Lance thinks that he should do an Nsync move to shout out to his more successful partners. They do an old-school hip hop. I’m at a loss of words for the whole thing. It’s oddly good, but so out of place for this show. Though I will say, the two would have done well on that other dancing show on Fox. Lance takes off his shoe at the end. Carrie Ann thought it was clever, but she thought that there was one section of awkward with the Cha-Cha. Len liked the song, but he liked the fact that the Cha-Cha was there. Bruno called it youthful and creative. The scores are: 9, 9, and 9.

Warren & Kym – They did well last week, but Warren still is called out for a lack of content. They decide to go with a lot of different lifts and attempt a death flip. They go for a “Proud Mary” so the beginning is slow. They dance and ace the first lift. They remove their original costumes in lieu of a silver getup as the song speeds up. Kym’s dress loses pieces as they attempt lifts. Kym does her best to make Warren look great. They do a similar lift-spin move that Brooke did, but ended with that into a pose. Len was entertained to the max. Bruno wants to lay back and enjoy the ride. (What?) Carrie Ann called it her favorite dance, but pointed out that he messed up at one small point. The scores are: 9, 10, and 9.

The Scores
Brooke – 28 + 30 = 58
Warren – 25 + 28 = 53
Lance – 26 + 27 = 53

___________________

Dancing With the Stars Finale Part 2

There is a final dance for each of the contestants, but of course we are given basically an hour and 15 minutes of fluffer. We get a recap of what happened last night. There will be a lot of recaps tonight. They play up the fact that everyone did well and how everyone worked hard.

We get a clip of whatever happened to Cloris. She plays a disheveled bum and eventually just Wonder Woman spins around and interviews people about who they were voting for. She dances around with some and with one she holds the microphone upside down for another. She then mistakes the phrase “dawg” and laughs.

Alicia Keys has the first performance of the night. After some intense research I found out that both Alicia’s and Miley Cyrus’ performance was taped yesterday (Possibly why the shots of Miley in the background were the same shot twice later on). Nevertheless, I appreciate Alicia for doing some dance moves. You traditionally see her behind a piano and it’s nice to see that she’s coordinated. She eventually goes back behind the piano but it’s still great.

We get a big recap of all the contestants. For week one and two we’re reminded that Cloris was crazy, Jeffery Ross was poked in the eye, and Ted McGinley was on the show. Weeks later I am saddened that Misty-May was eliminated so early. Jeffry is back dancing his quickstep. It’s disappointing that Edyta got a dud partner, but I’m happy she got to sub for Julianne. This dance is a lot better than I ever remembered too. Ted McGinley dances his foxtrot and I always liked his drive and want to be on the show. He’s one of those contestants who looked like he was having fun the whole time. He’s still a little stiff, but he’s happy. Kim Kardashian dances her mambo and she still looks bad. I think she improved her movement a little bit, but I think it’s because she knows that it doesn’t really matter anyway.

We now have weeks 3 & 4. Cloris was still crazy, Cody played with a leg and I’m still disappointed by the loss of Misty-May. Week four was great for most and a miss mostly for Cloris and Rocco. Misty-May and Maks are back, she’s able to walk, but is disappointed that she has to watch on a TV. They get cutesy with Tom. Rocco and Karina dance their Mambo. He still is gawky. I also appreciate the fact that Karina tried to make a sequence of moves that tried to minimize the awkwardness of Rocco.

Before commercial we get a Preview of Cloris going crazy. They call it “Dirty Dancing: The Retirement Years.” Week 5 had the new dances introduced this year. I see that the West Coast Swing was ignored the whole time. The hip-hop dance was questionable for most. Julianne’s surgery was put in place, Cloris was still crazy. Also, Michael Flatley was amazing. We have an interview with Toni Braxton; she apparently has recovered from a few surgeries.

“Clorky” decide to their tango. Out of all their dances, their tango was the one that probably had the most content (dance-wise). It’s still dramatic and a little disturbing seeing someone who could be my grandmother flirting with an older gentleman. She gets a standing ovation. She equates the dancing with pregnancy. She isn’t doing the Broadway play Spamalot, because it is being canned.

Susan Lucci does the Paso Doble. She is more emotional in this performance than she ever was during the show. She also seems less frail than she ever did during the performances, not afraid to actually go for it. A little late don’t you think?

Maurice and Cheryl decide to the Salsa. There is a little bit of drunken camera to remind us that this show is actually (on the whole) is live. The Salsa is quite a fun dance and I hope that this and the Jitterbug make it back in future seasons. Maurice may not be the winner, but I’m sure he got his chicken dinner.

Weeks 7 and 8 brought us a questionable dance without shoes, a bad group dance, and Edyta’s substitution. The solos were great for Brooke and Maurice, but mostly awkward for Cody.

Jeffery Ross is back to roast the remaining contestants. Before he gets to the roasting he talks about his eye and how somehow Cloris beat him. Warren to Jeffery has great boobs. Brooke is pointed out that she has too many kids, we finally some gay jokes about Lance (something I was convinced that ABC was tip-toeing around especially after the whole Grey’s Anatomy situation) relating Lance to Clay Aiken, and Warren is still somehow fat after weeks and weeks of performances.

The youngest contestant, Cody, almost made it to the final three. We’re reminded that Brooke choked in the semi-finals. Cody performs his jitterbug with Julianne. Although I know it’s supposed to be an “I Love Lucy” theme, I could see the performance on “Happy Days” as well. Cody successfully slides between Julianne’s legs. I’m always afraid someone will miss the slide and kick their partner.

We’re given another rundown of the competition. Lance gets words like edgy and sleeper. Warren is called light-footed, has charisma, and is entertaining. Brooke says she has the best technique. The last dances remind us that they need to be focused on the end. Looking at what they were wearing during the editing, Warren and Brooke must have changed their last dance last minute because in one three shot where Lance was in his Sailor outfit, but Brooke looked to be in her Samba and Warren looked like he was doing the tango or Paso.

We’re given a weird Superman opening that hypes up the three remaining contestants. There is smoke and fabrics. Why wasn’t this shown in the beginning of the show? Instead it’s put in almost an hour and 10 minutes into the show.

Warren & Kym – The montage shows a lot of improvement of Warren. He is surprisingly light on his feet. He was always busy flying around, but he stayed dedicated to Kym. They have decided to do the Hustle. It seems like Warren is lighter on his feet on this performance and he definitely has improved from the last time that he did the performance. He is looser and looks like he’s enjoying this even more this performance. Len tells Warren that he is the people’s champion. Bruno calls him a crafty Hustler. Carrie Ann called them cool and loved the fact that Warren inspired people to get up and dance. The scores are 9, 9, and 9. They have an 80 out of 90 without the audience’s vote being counted. I’m still disappointed they attempted a disco in the finals after Stacy Kiebler flopped on hers.

Lance & Lacey – The progression of Lance was interesting. He was happy that they were edgier and did what they wanted. Both Lance and Lacey have grown up. There is a funny simile of Lance coming out as a butterfly. They do the infamous shoe Jitterbug in hopes that a shoe doesn’t fall off. The performance is still uplifting and bouncy. Lance sometimes can have this crazy look on his face. Lacey looks like she messed up a lift, but they recover very well. The rest of the performance is clean and the two become emotional. Bruno calls Lance a great showman. Carrie Ann pointed out the struggle with the lift; she applauds them being so edgy. Len knows that Lance deserves being here after a strong showing the last few weeks. The scores are: 9, 9, and 10. An 81 out of 90.

Brooke & Derek – They point out that Brooke has improved a lot and then they added the technique. They have a lot of respect for both of them. They dance the Viennese Waltz. It’s almost like their swan song/last dance. It’s graceful, beautiful, and clean. Brooke has this silly grin on her face, but it’s still good. In that wonderful ending, Brook kisses her daughters. One of Brooke’s daughters makes the most awkward stare into the camera. Carrie Ann is in tears because she’s so fantastic. Len still thinks that the dance was the best dance of the season. Bruno calls it amazing as well. The scores are: 10, 10, and 10. The last dance is the perfect score. It’s a 88 out of 90. I wonder who’s gonna win?

We get a final wave from Kristi Yamaguchi. The third place team is Lance & Lacey. I guess Lance couldn’t beat Joey Fatone. He talks about being excited the whole time. Lacey thanks him for everything. It’s a little sad that the two don’t get a final dance.

We have Miley Cyrus next and you could clearly see she’s grown a little. The dancers are having a fun time. Miley flirts with the judges. The strobing lights probably gave someone a seizure.

The two talk positives about each other. Derek calls the competition “close” even though there is an eight point disparity between the two. Tom talks to the eliminated people and he points out that they did better and how everyone shouts out their projects. Kim is the only one to shout out a project.

We’ve finally got to the final judging. Brooke is still technical; Warren is still entertaining. This season’s champions are Brooke & Derek. Another front-runner wins the trophy. I’m not sure who is more excited: Brooke or Derek. Mark, Corky and Julianne quickly rush Derek and they both get lifted up, somehow Corky is maintaining his balance of Brooke the whole time.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Survivor: Gabon Episode 10


Last Week: Randy caused unnecessary drama at the reward challenge. There was a real merge and Ken & Friends got rid of Charlie. In post interviews, Susie’s fire win took more than an hour. That’s survival skills for you.

Its night 27 at Nobag (I’m still disappointed that it could have been “Kotang” because ity would have sounded like both “Tang” and “Kotex”) and Randy is upset about the shift of power. Corrine is upset about the loss of Charlie but wants to reevaluate when morning hits.

Day hits and Sugar talks to Bob and he shows her the fake idol. She’s really surprised by its authenticity. She doesn’t know exactly what his intentions are but she’s okay with it.

Corrine talks to Randy talk about trying to break up Sugar and Matty away from the five. Randy talks about being “charming” and that’s quickly followed up with a discussion with Corrine saying that he hates everyone. Corrine wants to convince Matty to flop.

There’s a tree-mail with envelopes; the mail basically explains an auction. Corrine’s strategy is to hold until something can help her in the game. The contestants walk in and we are given the rundown: $500 and bids in increments of $20.

The first item is beer and peanuts. Randy decides to go for $180.
The next item is a question mark. Randy decides to go with his remaining $320, but Kenny gets it for $340. It’s a choice to send someone to Exile Island and take their money and Ken decides to send Bob.
The third item is another covered item. Sugar cuts past Randy again with $340 and it turns out that she bought peanut butter and chocolate. Unfortunately there is no milk for her.
The fourth item is a hot bath and a nice new set of clothes. Randy goes with $320, but Susie outbids him with $340. Susie chills in the tub while the fifth item goes up for bids. It’s a burger meal. The bidding is intense but Matty gets it for $400. Susie gets out of the bath upsetting Sugar. Sugar would have stayed in the whole time.
The sixth item is covered and it goes to Randy for $280. It turns out being spaghetti.
The seventh item is a note. Corrine goes with $500. Kenny is the only person to outbid her, but he decides to give it to Corrine. She wins the bottle with the note and is instructed to not open it until the immunity challenge.
The eighth item is for the tribe and Randy buys it for $20. It turns out to be chocolate chip cookies, Sugar denies her cookie at first. Randy hands his last cookie to Sugar and she hands it to Matty. Randy is upset about the whole thing.

The contestants return and Matty thanks Sugar for the extra cookie. Randy flips out on Matty about the cookie because it should have been his cookie or at least Randy’s credit. Matty talks to Sugar about how Randy is fuming. Matty tries to talk to Randy about how Randy is playing the victim; he decides not to talk to anyone. Corrine tries to plant a seed about him being eliminated sixth.

In Exile Island Bob decides to go for the clues again. What? He made a fake idol after not finding the idol and he tries again? He reads a clue and realizes it’s the same clues as before. Bob decides to go on a high definition safari walk. CBS always has to have the shameless swooping of the camera.

Back at the council the five talk about getting rid of Randy. Matty wants to make sure that Bob goes next. This surprises Sugar because she knows that having an ass around in finals so you would win is a smart strategy. Randy shows up at the hut and then wanders away. There is yet another visual of small ants eating a bug.

Randy talks to Corrine that he wants to “crash and burn” and make life miserable for everyone. He considers that Bob should give the (fake) idol to Randy and he plays it. The three would then get rid of Susie and more time. He talks to Matty complaining about Susie. He then turns on Matty. Matty decides to try getting rid of Randy. Randy upsets conversations and it pisses off Crystal and Susie.

The contestants go to the immunity challenge and Bob returns from exile. The challenge is two part: a balance beam first and puzzle challenge second. The puzzle involves dominos and trip wires. Corrine reveals the clue in the bottle that she automatically gets to the second (puzzle) round.

The rest go through the competition and Matty and Ken do well. Susie seems to be in a distant third. Matty moves into the final first followed by Ken. The final round goes and the three untie their satchels. Matty and Corinne work to the front and Kenny decides to go in the end. The tripwires are annoying and Kenny shakes most of his pieces off. Matty looks like a snake while he goes through the tripwires. Matty and Ken finish around the same time. Ken tries and it messes up. Matty, Corrine and a recovering Ken all try. Corrine’s stops short, Matty’s stops next and Ken wins.

Back at Nobag Kenny is congratulated and Randy is ready to talk to Bob about the hidden idol. He talks to Corrine about the whole idol thing. Sugar talks to Bob about him buying time in the game. Sugar decides to convince Bob to give the fake to Randy. Bob realizes that the move is the best thing. Corrine talks to Bob like he was five with all her talking. Bob decides to give the fake idol to Randy. Randy feel surprised about the whole thing. Sugar thanks Bob. She runs to the huts and tells the rest of the tribe that the competition will get funky.

The competitors enter tribal council and the jury enters. Jeff asks about the cookies at the reward. Sugar mentions how she gave it to Matty. Randy thinks that everything is overplayed and Sugar thinks that he’s a kid. Susie wonders if Randy is actually the character that he portrays in Survivor. Corrine mentions that Randy told Susie to shut the (beep) up. Crystal hopes that Randy is just playing part of the game. Randy plays the happy to be here part. Kenny decides not to give the immunity idol away. Matty starts the voting process.

Corrine’s vote is for Susie, Sugar is for Randy (she has a great speech), Randy calls his vote personal, Crystal screams into the camera Randy’s vote and everyone could hear it. She’s great for TV. Sugar can’t stop laughing. Jeff comes back with the pot and Randy plays the idol. Jeff points out that it isn’t a hidden immunity idol and Sugar and Crystal can’t stop laughing. Jeff reads the votes: Randy, Randy, Susie, Susie, Susie, Randy, Randy, and Randy. Randy’s torch is snuffed and he storms off. Marcus and Charlie giggle at the Jury bench.

Next Week: Bob convinces Corrine that Marcus may not have fully thrown the other idol. Or he’s just trying to convince Corrine that she’s going home in the same way. I thought that there was a clause that the idol was a one time thing.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

America’s Next Top Model: Episode 13

Throughout the season there was a mix of good and weird. Last week Marjorie got drunk and had a great time, but was sent home.

The girls come back from panel and there is already a Tyra Mail. It’s a note about the upcoming Cover Girl commercial. There are 3 scripts that have some Dutch in the first sentence that the girls study for the rest of the night.

The girls arrive to their commercial and photo shoot. The photo will become a national ad and be in Wal-mart (clearly a model’s haven). Jay introduces last season’s winner Whitney, who explains that the product of the night is some sort of lipstick/lip-gloss. Apparently there is some mouthwash in it so that even though the gloss never reaches your tongue it refreshes ir.

Analeigh practices in front of Sutan but she loses all her lines almost immediately. The girls get on the boat to shoot. The commercial is a basic girls-meet-boy commercial. Samantha goes first and she looks around confused as she tells her lines. After some tips from Jay she focuses a little more on the camera. She kisses the boy and worries about catching Herpes.

In her first take McKey starts to channel Caridee (Season 7 winner) and looks crazy in the eyes, she does the look up to the side in that very blond fashion. McKey sounds good, but she was disjointed. Analeigh’s first take happens and nothing comes out. Jay has to feed her each line. It turns out pretty good. At the kiss with the boy she laughs and is nervous, he gives her a peck and she wasn’t prepared for it.

Jim De Yonker is doing the photo. Jay tells the girls that he won’t be there so there are no training wheels. Samantha was awkward to Jim. Analeigh was great with her posing. McKey’s smile doesn’t look too natural; Jim calls her cuckoo.

There is a Tyra Mail about the elimination. Samantha is nervous. Analeigh knows that she has a chance of winning; she’s just worried that everything can end so quickly. That sounds like tragic foreshadowing.

Tyra welcomes the girls and they show the commercial. It’s quite hokey, but every Cover Girl Top Model Commercial is. Samantha is evaluated first. She struggles with the Dutch part and she is a little too bouncy in her commercial. Nigel didn’t like it. The judges don’t think that she was convincing. The photo looks forced and her neck looks broken. The smile looks really fake as well. It’s almost as if Tyra picked that photo to kill any chances of Samantha winning or if Tyra photoshopped Sam’s head too far. Analeigh is next and it was butchered and horrible since all the lines were fed. Tyra is disappointed. The photo was a little actress-y. Analeigh complains about looking too sexy and showing teeth to counteract it.

McKey’s commercial is decent. Tyra thinks that memorization was better than her teleprompter. Her photo looks nice without teeth (Whitney) and she looks modern. Tyra warns her that she suffers from a crazy look in her eye.

My Life As A Cover Girl – It’s a montage of Whitney’s work. She doesn’t say too much and that’s the way it should have been. It’s sad that her life as a Cover Girl consisted of biking around and baking cupcakes.

The judges deliberate. To Paulina, Samantha was decent overall. Nigel thought she was catalogue, but the photo showed that she wasn’t. Paulina doesn’t think that Analeigh has the face. McKey was great overall. There is a little bit of a bad walker in McKey that worries Tyra. Tyra calls McKey first. The bottom two are Analeigh and Samantha. She tells Analeigh that she is great with poses but suffers from a commercial face. Samantha is told that she’s really commercial, but she lacks the commercial in the advertisement. Tyra calls Samantha; she is warned about go-sees and the look she evokes. Tyra hugs Analeigh and mentions that Paulina thinks that she’s a great actress as well. Analeigh is upset, but has no regrets. They do the photo montage and she fades away.

Ann Shoket welcomes the girls to the Seventeen shot. Samantha looks a girl who wants to be part of Seventeen with her clothing options. McKey looks like a model that can be booked for Seventeen. Ann doesn’t know what the challenge is.

Sam and McKey see the runway and are worried about the Dr. Seuss-like pink hills. Jay tells the girls that the paint was mixed with sand so there is some traction for the hill. The girls get make-up and fittings. Whitney is placed in an ugly dress that makes her look fat. Tyra goes to the back and talks to the two girls and tells them that nervousness isn’t a bad thing. She reminds them to make “black mama proud.”

The show begins with Tyra, Nigel, and Paulina walking in. Ms. Jay walks with a guy with a big bubble and he pops it. Whitney started the runway first and was underwhelming. McKey does this run to make it up the big hill. She looks a little dead with the eyeliner. Samantha walks and worries about running up the hill. She has a little bit of the weird pout that she does. The two girls are in the back changing. Samantha struggles with putting her shoes on. McKey has to run with her skirt scrunched to even get up the first hill. Samantha meets up with her and the two walk together. There is the finale walk and the two voiceover about wanting to win. Tyra goes to the back and talks to the two about standing out.

Back at judging, Tyra welcomes the judges again. There is no guest judge. She reminds the two what the prizes are. They go through the runway walk. McKey’s first and Ms. Jay liked the walk. Nigel thinks that she needs a little bit more practice. Samantha’s walk was good for Ms. Jay and loves the way she worked the dress. Tyra points out the downturned lip and how she thought too hard while walking.

They go through the photos. The first shoot, Election, shows potential, but wasn’t great. The swim wear shoot was great for both. Nigel loves Samantha’s shot. Tyra points out the hair change that she likes. Tyra likes McKey’s muscle. We fast forward to the Clipper ship shot. Nigel loves McKey’s shot with the legs. With Samantha’s shot, it was passionate but a little fat looking actually. Tyra’s shots are next. The normal Tyra shot is the best for Samantha. The editorial shot is perfect for McKey, Tyra likes her movement in the shot. Samantha’s shot is great because of the usage of limbs. I’m not surprised they ignored the Cover Girl shot.

Top Model’s in Action – It’s Anya! She looks equally as pretty as a brunette, instead of that pee-blond look. It’s a little intimidating for Whitney that they decided to use Anya.

The judges deliberate between the two. Nigel starts and dislikes the fact that Sam is not Commercial but isn’t that High fashion. Jay likes the contortion, but dislikes that it’s too model 101. Nigel recants his words in the beginning about not being a star; he likes the glimmer. Jay likes the body movement of McKey and she’s great with high fashion and still has a great commercial look. The judges made their decision.

Tyra announces that the model is McKey. She is happy and hugs Samantha. Tyra runs to McKey and she hugs her, McKey lifts her. Tyra gives a big squeal. Tyra thanks Samantha and she leaves. McKey thanks the judges and has a fun posing time. They do a photomontage of some of her shots. They do the post-winning shot right afterwards. Tyra screams to end the season.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Dancing With the Stars Week 9 Results Show


There must be a busy show tonight because the results really started at 8:40 (Eastern Time) with the children’s dances.

Kirill & Hanna – The two came back to celebrate at what seemed like their dance studio, but the two got back to practice. Tony came by to check up on the couple. He makes sure that they have hips. He calls them sponges and has faith. The do the Cha-Cha with large smiles the whole time. I’m surprised by the legwork and the splits that Hanna does. Len loved the footwork. Bruno loved the arm placement and the naughtiness. Carrie Ann loved it as well.

Mitchell & Maria
– They had an interesting Paso and they returned to Philly. The ambulances and fire department thank them. Julianne comes in to teach. She emphasizes looking at the partner really intently while having sharp legs. They do the samba this time and cover a lot of ground. They also are very sharp. They are quite entertaining. Bruno thought that there was power and staccato in their performance. Carrie Ann thought that it was poetry in motion. Len calls them better than Julianne and Mark when they were that age.

Craig & Samantha – They returned to Jersey to a high school prep rally. As they practice, Maks shows up and he really makes sure the two are precise; even with their facial expressions. They dance the jive. They definitely capture the speed and energy associated with a Jive. I find it almost unfair that the three couples had three different styles. Craig does a kick that almost kicks his sister in the face. Carrie Ann thought that they were animated. Len is knocked out since he never saw them perform. Bruno called them energetic, active, and light (like birds).

There are no judge votes this week for the kids. It all depends on audience votes.

We have the traditional “Last Night” at 9PM (Eastern) about the whole Lance rising, Brooke struggling storyline.

The first special performer is Aretha Franklin; she is accompanied by Karina, Inna, Dmitriy, and Louis. She performs “Chain of Fools” in a large Muumuu-type dress. Her voice is still shrill. I can’t get past the fact that Dmitriy was dancing in this dance. Starting with Lacey, now with Dimitriy they just keep moving “So You Think You Can Dance” contestants over. He’s a great dancer though, as are all of the performers.

Leona Lewis performs “Bleeding Love” and now I really am having flashbacks of “So You Think You Can Dance” with the Chelsie/Mark performance this summer. This time we have Karina and Maks. I always love Maks’ lines and Karina is so smooth; even when jewelry goes flying around. Leona’s singing is as amazing as Karina’s dive from the judge’s table.

After the points results, the judges talk about qualities. Len thinks that Cody’s strengths are his dedication and cuteness. Bruno thinks that Lance is creative and full of content. Carrie Ann likes Warren’s entertainment. Len likes the technique from Brooke.

Julianne performs “My Halleulah Song.” She’s not exactly the best voice out there, Mark and Derek join her at first and they do a lot of spins. Lacey is next with her footless dancing. I heard a rumor that this performance was previously recorded, possibly a reason why some of the audience doesn’t look the same. Derek and Lacey return and have a fun time. She then switches over to Mark, until they all sit in front of the singer.

Samantha is in the back talking to all the contestants. They all talk about how they were having a good time and have accomplished a lot.

John Legend performs “Green Light” and the camera drunkenly stumbles around in the beginning (the only thing that convinced me that this performance is also live). The women dance around him and the rest all kind of mock a live concert. John then goes into some weird beam stage. The rest of the dancers do some paired synchronized dancers then split into two lines so the camera could get away with doing swoops. They then do soul trains down the line. There is a lot of running in circles in the end until they collapse.

There is a video about the contestants’ loved ones watching the contestants. Warren and Cody’s mom are amazed. Brooke’s husband has the hots for her. Lance’s grandfather is happy as well. Cody’s mother flies from Texas weekly. Lance’s granddad watches and votes twice. They talk a little about the evolution of the contestants.

Aretha comes back in her muumuu performing “Respect” and Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas are back to perform. Although Aretha’s voice is raspy, it’s still better than half of the performers out there today. Kristi starts with some strong lifts and spins. She looks like one of the professionals out there. Kristi schools the rest of the competitors left.

There is a little bit of a clip about how hard the competition is. They all wear some black and put the contestants in some alleyway. There’s also some smoke. Cody says some sort of poem involving the words “Lance,” “Dance,” and “Pants.” I’m reminded that he’s only 18.

We finally got to the results. After a synopsis of each of the contestants the two couples safe are Lance & Lacey and Brooke & Derek. The bottom two are Cody & Julianne and Warren & Kym.

After the commercial break the couple going home is Cody & Julianne. I guess the point disparity did them in. Cody talks about his growth and learning in his life from the show. He thanks everyone. They have a little goodbye clip. You know it’s sappy when you hear the words, “Words can’t describe.” Julianne thanks him and the two go off to their last dance. The two do their final booty-shake.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Dancing With the Stars: The Semi-finals

Last Week: Maurice went home; I doubt anyone actually was surprised.

There are two dances this week: Each contestant has their last Latin dance remaining and one of those new dances this week. Julianne is back to dance. She looks quite like Christina Aguilera.

Round 1:

Brooke & Derek:
Brooke was technically great last week. They have the Jive and Salsa. Derek is a little unsure of the Salsa because it’s not his forte. Brooke was worried about the wow factor; she wants to be entertaining. They start with the Jive and Derek is energetic off the bat. Brooke, although technical, looks like a horrible actress. The gasp-look in her face looks foolish. I liked the lift too. There’s something stiff about Brooke in this dance. Len thinks it was a disaster and it had a lot of mistakes. Bruno pointed out that the technique was bad, he’s shocked. Carrie Ann points out that she went for a blatant illegal lift. The scores are: 7, 7, and 7. This is Brooke’s lowest score ever.

Cody & Julianne: Cody had an interesting time with Edyta, but managed to survive for the return of Julianne. Cody went to the CMA awards and surprised Julianne. Cody was worried about how stiff he dances. Julianne likes his determination that grew while she wasn’t around. They have the Salsa and Paso Doble. Cody is worried about how manly the Paso has to be. They do an army inspired Paso and Cody maintains a stone face the whole dance, which I’m not sure if it’s great or not. He’s a little stiff, but I think it’s the character. He puts on a jacket and knees across the stage. It’s interesting to say the least. Bruno calls it different, a little robotic. He thinks that there were no Spanish lines and the timing was poor. Carrie Ann likes the determination, but there was tension. Len disliked the whole thing. It was too stiff. The scores are: 8, 7, and 7.

Warren & Kym: Warren had a strong Jive and Tango last week. Kym explains that Warren has to fly back and forth. They do the mambo and fly and do the jitterbug at a TV set. He is stressed out. The mambo starts off in the crowd and then involves a lot of walking. It’s very playful; Warren takes off his jacket while balancing Kym on his knee. I really appreciate Kym in this dance. Carrie Ann wants Warren to up the game a little more. Len points out the performance vs. lack of the technique. Bruno thinks that it was engaging but flat-footed. The scores are: 8, 8, and 8.

Lance & Lacey: Last week the foxtrot and samba actually got into Len’s good graces. They have the Mambo and Jitterbug. He talks about his grandfather who did some army work. His dad and granddad watch them practice the jitterbug. He’s dedicating the Jitterbug to his grandfather. They start the night with the mambo. Lacey looks like a conceptual peacock. After three questionable dances, Lances looks a lot better. I have to applaud Lacey’s technique and choreography. It’s energetic and captures Lance’s spirit. Len thinks that it was Lance’s best dance. Bruno thought that it was semi-final material. Carrie Ann thought that it was a show stopper for the night. The scores are: 10, 9, and 9. That was Lance’s first 10.

Round 2:


Len’s Master Class: Len wakes up from a nice dream of him with Kym and Cheryl and goes to teaches. He starts with Lance. He suffers from pigeon-toe. Len makes sure that Lance’s thigh is in the right place. Cody suffers from hip problems. Len makes sure that he rolls his hips and loosens his shoulders. Brooke doesn’t have the right leg action; she bends funny. He points out exactly where she extends and she fixes it as much as she can. Warren’s problem is his feet. He uses an analogy of having a cast on his ankle. Warren tries to teach him his chicken dance.

For a demo of what the dances are supposed to look like we have two professional Salsa dancers. Paul Barris and Yesenia Adame do a real Salsa; besides being quite intimidating for the celebrities to watch, it flows like water.

Brooke & Derek: They start off with a strong lift and I can’t help but look at the fringe that goes everywhere; I’m sure that’s to help cover up the leg bend. Derek and Brooke are trying to be really outrageous with their lifts and splits. They end with this insane spiral where Brooke’s shoulder could have popped out. Bruno loved it. Carrie Ann points out how she’s a champion for rising to the occasion. Len reminds her to work on her crisp technique. The scores are: 9, 10, and 9.

Cody & Julianne:
The two start on the stairs and work the way into the middle. Cody is still a little stiff, but I am impressed by his extensions and his silly faces. Their steps are a little more basic until Julianne does a flip into a spin. They end with an interesting flip. Carrie Ann thinks that there was a lack of musicality. Len thought that there was rhythm and liked the lifts. Bruno thinks he was a cheeky devil, but was loose technically. The scores are: 8, 8, and 8.

Christian Perry and Annette Nicole have a demo of the jitterbug. They are swing champions and they are so bouncy the whole time. Christian looks like he needs to cut back on the caffeine. The whole dance is fun and technically amazing with al the flips.

Warren & Kym: Warren starts in front of the judges dealing cars, he does a little bit of a chicken dance and then just has a fun time flipping Kym around. He manages to kick very quickly. It was never a question that his lifts were good, but I can definitely see a lack of technique in this dance. Len liked watching the performance, and was sold. Bruno makes some reference to “Starship Troopers” and thinks that his feet were everywhere. Carrie Ann liked the performance. The scores are: 9, 8, and 8.

Lance & Lacey: I find it funny that Lance and Lacey have the World War 2 inspired dance when Lacey cameos in Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman” video. Their dance is what I was expecting for a jitterbug. They are high in kicking. Lance kicks really hard and loses a shoe and does the rest of the dance with one shoe. He completes flips kicks, lifts, and a lot of other moves with only one shoe. Bruno thought it was brilliant, shoe or not. Carrie Ann thought it was perfect and magic. Len salutes Lance and Lacey. The scores are: 10, 9, and 10.

The Scores:


Lance – 57
Brooke – 49
Warren – 49
Cody – 46

Who’s going home? I don’t know. I’m convinced that Brooke has no real fan-base and Cody has more fans. If I went on talent I would say that Cody was going home since Brooke is technically better. If I said it was determined by the people, Brooke would go home.

WARNING: Big Brother Spoilers!

We watch the current season of Big Brother on CBS and the Feeds. We watch all Big Brother 24 coverage and DVR it and watch it again. There will be posts about things we have seen from watching Big Brother 24/7. If you are a casual viewer of the CBS show-only or do not want to read any spoilers, do not read our posts dealing with the Live Feeds.