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.

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.