Cat welcomes us but apparently she is missing her skin from about her shoulders to about halfway down her thighs. What? That’s just her dress that looks kind of like her insides. My bad. The opening number is a kind of more-bizarre-than-usual Wade Robson routine that seems like A Clockwork Orange meets Blade Runner. It involves kidnapping Nigel. To me, Mark, Chelsea, Twitch, and Joshua are the standouts. But the editing is a little too hectic to really showcase the dancers. Cat informs us of the business of the evening and once again refrains from massacring the word “judges”.
Our first three couples are immediately brought on stage because it’s a packed show. Kherington and Twitch are first, and with positive feedback and audition round name recognition, they sail on through to the next round. They pretend like they were nervous. Pshaw. Chelsea and Thayne are next, and, again, with them kind of rocking last night and Chelsea maybe being the surprise star of the night (because, lets face it, she rocked it), they go right on through. Chelsie and Mark’s contemporary also received really good reviews, and I know others picked Mark out as the standout of the night, so I’m not surprised when they are safe as well. Aw, Cat shushes the contestants because she needs to send us to commercial. She’s adorable (and I mean that in a completely non-condescending way. She really is adorable).
The next group of couples is already on stage. Matt and Kourtni are first, and while I liked their routine, I would not be surprised to see them in the bottom, which would be really bad for Matt, since he kind of got the worst reviews of the night. They are in the bottom three, and as such will be dancing for their lives. Susie and Marquis are next, and, seeing as how Susie seems like such cannon fodder, Marquis is unknown, and they weren’t memorable, I’m not gonna be shocked if they’re down in the bottom too. But they’re safe. Comfort and Chris are next, and seeing as Comfort has more personality than anyone on that stage, I’m pretty sure they’re safe, and they are. Rayven and Jamie (who Cat calls Matt) are last from this group, and seeing as how I had them ranked as the worst, I’m not surprised they’re in the bottom. Nigel thinks Jamie being pantsed during the number is maybe why they’re in the bottom. If you say so, Nigel.
SIDENOTE: So, apparently Extra Fruit Sensations gum lasts longer than it took to make the universe. I like my gum to last longer than a split nanosecond. Or seven days. Whichever you believe.
Cat brings on the final three couples. Katee and Joshua are first, and since they were, IMO (and the judges), the best of the night, I’m gonna be really surprised if they don’t move on. But they do, so color me, I dunno, not surprised. The last spot is either for Jessica/Will or Courtney/Gev, and I think its kind of a tossup. I’m guessing the curse of Doriana Sanchez will continue and Courtney and Gev will be in the bottom, but we’ll see. The couple rounding out the bottom three is Jessica and Will, meaning Courtney/Gev are safe. Dan is bewildered as to why Jessica and Will are in the bottom. I’m guessing because Jessica kept slipping. I’m guessing that Rayven and Matt are going home.
One of the things SYTYCD is doing this season is introducing us to figures from the world of dance and this week its one of the innovators of popping, Popping Pete and a friend, Sho’Nee. They more than rock. They’re ridiculously good, and remind me of a better version of Robert Muraine (that’s how good they are). Popping Pete tells us about the origins of popping. See, it’s edumacational TV too.
SIDENOTE: As much as I like the music being used in the Snuggle commercials, Snuggle himself (bearself?) is really starting to creep me out.
Please, lets kill this Snuggle “Random people who want camera time do things that don’t really resemble happy dances” segment. Ooh, it’s time to dance for your life!
Kourtni: Kourtni is all beautiful leaps and leg movements, but she’s really weak on an extension to the point where she looks like she’s gonna topple. You can tell she’s pissed with herself after.
Matt: Matt’s footwork and extensions/leaps are beautiful, but he still needs to quite smiling so much. Also, don’t think I didn’t catch that you fell at the very end.
Rayven: It’s weird to see ballet on the stage. Obviously her form is great, but there’s nothing in it that made me want to see another 30 seconds of it.
Jamie: There’s a music glitch in Jamie’s performance, which really throws him. Ballroom solos are always kind of weak, but this is nowhere near as good as someone like Pasha was last season. Not to get all Nigel on you all, but he’s not nearly as masculine as the really good ballroom dancers usually are. It’s more blustery.
Jessica: Her solo is the most engrossing the three girls and she seems to have gotten over any of that wobbliness from last night. I could have maybe used a little bit bigger range of movement, but it’s a minor quibble.
Will: Well, that just blew everyone else out of the water. His movement is so interesting and, not to keep using this word, beautiful. Hands down the best solo of the bunch.
If I was doin’ the cuttin’, I’d eliminate Jamie and either Rayven or Kourtni, which is sad to say because I like her. Although I’d be worried if I were Matt, seeing as how there’s an excess of contemporary boys this year and Will knocked it out of the park.
Oh, hey, look, it’s a group of dancing prostitutes. What’s that, they’re a popular band called The Pussycat Dolls? Ok, got it. There’s a group of dancing prostitutes on stage called The Pussycat Dolls. The song is atrociously bad, with no melody or, you know, singing to speak of. At least they’re dancing though, which most musical acts last season did not do. I have to say, I truly hope they’re not lip-synching because then the song is actually that atonal and spoken. Yikes.
The judges are back, and it’s cuttin’ time. The girls are up and the judges are unanimous. They tell Kourtni to bring what she brought to her solos to her routines, because she’s safe. They weren’t big fans of Rayven’s footwork and Jessica’s solo overall, which is a little weird to me, since I was a big fan. Rayven is the girl going home tonight, and her parents in the audience seem more broken up than she is, although I’m guessing she’s just holding it back. Rayven is proud to have been a part of the experience. Also, she’s never danced professionally, which is pretty remarkable actually. The boys are next, and the judges are unanimous again. They are disappointed to see Will in the bottom three but they loved his solo, and he’s safe. They loved Jamie’s personality and Matt’s technique, and as such, reward Matt’s technique over Jamie’s personality, so Jamie is goin’ home, making it a full pair cut. Jamie is audibly on the verge of tears. I’m not particularly broken up, because, well, I didn’t think they were very good and their personalities didn’t do much for me either. Also, that prevents the Schwimmer legacy from making it far this season too, so yay (and yes, feel free to slam me for my continuing dislike of the Schwimmer Family and all subsidiary dancers). Did the right two go home? You tell me.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance 6/11- The Top 20 Perform
Going into this first performance show of the season, I’m not as enthusiastic about this group as I was last season. So I’m hoping this top 20 are better than I’m expecting. Cat is perched high on the balcony and looks all shiny and welcomes us to the show. In everyone’s little intro, the standouts are Comfort, Mark, Katee, Thayne, Twitch, and Will are the standouts, at least in my opinion. Cat avoids using the word “jidges” and welcomes Nigel, Mary, and Dan Karaty. Dan, who missed Vegas, thinks its up for grabs. Mary says Vegas week is insane. Nigel thinks its too early to name a frontrunner, but calls Cat one. Nigel wants Cat’s legs. We get a video package of the dancers auditions highlights.
Rayven and Jamie- Rayven is the oldest competitor at 28, and has sacrificed things. Jamie is a prodigy of the Schwimmer family and wishes his girlfriend made the top 20 too. Their video package doesn’t make me like them much. Their hip-hop routine, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha, doesn’t do that much either. The 2nd half of the routine is much better than the first, but overall, it wasn’t particularly inspiring. That may have been just bad choreography. Nigel is worried if it will be memorable but likes it. Mary is more shrill than normal and loves them both. Dan thinks it wasn’t quite there and was wondering where the funk was.
Susie and Marquis- When I first saw that Susie made the top 20, I immediately thought “Well, there’s some cannon fodder.” I still kind of stand by that comment about her. Susie wants to be inspirational. Marquis’ mom didn’t want him to dance. They’re smooth waltzing, courtesy of Hunter Johnson. They’re having a lot of problems in the package. They look nice and graceful and the extensions are really good, but something seems technically weak about it. Marquis also seems to have some problems with fluidity. Nigel calls it a difficult routine and says that they carried on well despite a flub. Mary says they pulled it off. Dan found it romantic and smooth, he loved it.
Kourtni L. and Matt- I loved Kourtni in Milwaukee and Matt was pretty impressive in his audition. They’ve got a Jazz routine by Mandy Moore. Mandy is hit or miss, but I’ve got faith in these dancers. I liked it. At times they seemed a little sloppy, and Matt smiled entirely to much for the concept of the routine. But I liked it. Nigel tells Matt he dances like he has a stick up his ass, and he wants more personality. He also tells Kourtni she looks “unique”. Mary thought they did a great job and calls them both Sexy but denies them access to the Hot Tamale train. Dan loved the choreography and the dancers but called the performance so-so.
Chelsea and Thayne- I don’t really know anything about Chelsea, but she seems decent. Thayne was really good in his Salt Lake audition. They’ve got a Tony Meredith cha-cha. This could be good. And it is. They’re sexy and fun to watch. Thayne could maybe be a little more masculine, but this is far and away the best so far. Nigel thought it was very good and thinks Chelsea is sexy. Mary puts them on the hot tamale train and thought Chelsea was on fire and Thayne partnered well. Dan starts with “Damn, girl” and continues the sexy streak for Chelsea. This could definitely be a pair to watch this season.
Chelsie and Mark- Chelsie was one of the many dancers with a hard luck story. I really like Mark, his quality of movement is interesting. They’ve got a Mia Michaels contemporary that she describes as “Tim Burton’s wedding” and I’m super pumped. Mia disses Mark though, which worries me. Why is Mia Michaels’ choreography always so amazingly splendiferous? Not to complain, I just wonder how much awesome she can create. I like the piece, but it probably could have been danced better. Nigel thinks this season is gonna be really good and he really liked them. Mary calls Mark wild, crazy, and unique and she loved them both and she takes off an imaginary hat. Dan thinks it was amazing. This could be another couple to watch.
Kherington and Twitch- This is a pair I’m looking forward to. Both of these guys are one of my two favorites for their respective genders. Twitch is awesome and he really wants it this year. If I had to pick a frontrunner, it’s him. Kherington is a senior in high school, and that makes me really ashamed of what I’ve done so far. They’ve got a Tyce broadway routine. I’m still not sold on Tyce, he’s hit or miss, with more misses. It’s fun and I really enjoy it, but they seem, at times, to be a little weak in some of their moves. That’s more Twitch. They’re both safe though, no doubt about it. Nigel calls the pair of them great. Mary thinks it was so hot it’s gonna set off the sprinklers. Mary seems to be threatening a scream, but she doesn’t, thankfully. Dan loved them both. And another power couple is born.
Comfort and Chris- I heart Comfort, so I’m hoping this pair works out. Chris is kind of unknown for me, so who knows. They’ve got a Tony Meredith jive and I hope it’s as fun as Anya and Danny’s jive from the first episode of last season. They seem confident, maybe even a little over confident. It’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of personality, but the footwork seems a little slow at times. Overall, though, it’s probably one of the better ones of the night. Comfort is a little bewildered by her outfit. Nigel calls Comfort smoldering and thinks Chris was pretty good too. But he thinks the dancing was kind of weak. Also, apparently, Comfort dislocated her shoulder earlier this week. Nice comeback. Mary says they were kicking it, and thought they did a respectable job. Dan says everything’s been said about Comfort and thinks Chris did a good job of keeping up, but thinks they need more chemistry.
Katee and Joshua- Katee kind of needs to knock it out of the park this week to make up for the somewhat negative portrayal she received in Vegas. I enjoyed Joshua in the pre-lims, so hopefully he’ll make up for any residual bad mojo for Katee. They’ve got a Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop routine. I hope it’s better than the previous N & T hip hop. Despite the theme being bizarre for this style, I’m a big fan. Katee and Joshua both knock it out of the park, separately and together. I’d say it’s the best of the night so far. Nigel calls it really, really good and his favorite routine of the night. Mary didn’t expect this and calls it tremendous. Dan thinks they killed it, which may not be the best word choice for a military themed piece, and tells Katee that she held her own.
Jessica and Will- Jessica proves that she can spell Vegas correctly, and she wants to touch people. Will is a Debbie Allen prodigy and removed Debbie from the judging pool, which is mixed news for me. They’ve got a Hunter Johnson tango. They’re good, but not Great. Will is better than she is, but she’s got good extensions, too. She seems to keep Slipping. Nigel thought they coped really well with hard choreography and calls Will majestic. He calls Jessica on her wobblieness. Mary says that was the way she likes her tangoes and tells Will he owned it. Mary bewilderingly calls them the couple to beat. Dan says they played their parts well and calls them hot like fire.
Courtney and Gev- I like Courtney, but I still don’t understand why Gev got Brandon’s spot in the top 10. Hopefully, tonight he’ll show me why. They’ve got a Doriana Sanchez disco, which could be good, since both these dancers seem fun. They seem to be doing alright in the video package. Again, they’re good but not great. They’re having fun, but it’s nothing spectacular. Gev is better than I though he was going to be, but he’s still not as good as Brandon was. There seems to be real chemistry between these two though. Nigel loves Disco but he didn’t love this because it lacked a boogie feel. Mary liked Courtney more than Gev and thought they did a good job. Dan enjoyed it, but says it wasn’t the best disco he’s ever seen.
Overall, a decent start. Not as spectacular as I remember last year being, but no trainwrecks to speak of, so that’s good.
My Rankings For The Night
1) Katee and Joshua
2) Chelsea and Thayne
3) Kherington and Twitch
4) Chelsie and Mark
5) Comfort and Chris
6) Kourtni and Matt
7) Jessica and Will
8) Courtney and Gev
9) Susie and Marquis
10) Rayven and Jamie
In Trouble: Rayven and Jamie weren’t memorable, so I’m expecting to see them in the bottom. Susie and Marquis also weren’t very memorable, so they may end up down here too. Jessica’s slips may place them here too.
Rayven and Jamie- Rayven is the oldest competitor at 28, and has sacrificed things. Jamie is a prodigy of the Schwimmer family and wishes his girlfriend made the top 20 too. Their video package doesn’t make me like them much. Their hip-hop routine, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha, doesn’t do that much either. The 2nd half of the routine is much better than the first, but overall, it wasn’t particularly inspiring. That may have been just bad choreography. Nigel is worried if it will be memorable but likes it. Mary is more shrill than normal and loves them both. Dan thinks it wasn’t quite there and was wondering where the funk was.
Susie and Marquis- When I first saw that Susie made the top 20, I immediately thought “Well, there’s some cannon fodder.” I still kind of stand by that comment about her. Susie wants to be inspirational. Marquis’ mom didn’t want him to dance. They’re smooth waltzing, courtesy of Hunter Johnson. They’re having a lot of problems in the package. They look nice and graceful and the extensions are really good, but something seems technically weak about it. Marquis also seems to have some problems with fluidity. Nigel calls it a difficult routine and says that they carried on well despite a flub. Mary says they pulled it off. Dan found it romantic and smooth, he loved it.
Kourtni L. and Matt- I loved Kourtni in Milwaukee and Matt was pretty impressive in his audition. They’ve got a Jazz routine by Mandy Moore. Mandy is hit or miss, but I’ve got faith in these dancers. I liked it. At times they seemed a little sloppy, and Matt smiled entirely to much for the concept of the routine. But I liked it. Nigel tells Matt he dances like he has a stick up his ass, and he wants more personality. He also tells Kourtni she looks “unique”. Mary thought they did a great job and calls them both Sexy but denies them access to the Hot Tamale train. Dan loved the choreography and the dancers but called the performance so-so.
Chelsea and Thayne- I don’t really know anything about Chelsea, but she seems decent. Thayne was really good in his Salt Lake audition. They’ve got a Tony Meredith cha-cha. This could be good. And it is. They’re sexy and fun to watch. Thayne could maybe be a little more masculine, but this is far and away the best so far. Nigel thought it was very good and thinks Chelsea is sexy. Mary puts them on the hot tamale train and thought Chelsea was on fire and Thayne partnered well. Dan starts with “Damn, girl” and continues the sexy streak for Chelsea. This could definitely be a pair to watch this season.
Chelsie and Mark- Chelsie was one of the many dancers with a hard luck story. I really like Mark, his quality of movement is interesting. They’ve got a Mia Michaels contemporary that she describes as “Tim Burton’s wedding” and I’m super pumped. Mia disses Mark though, which worries me. Why is Mia Michaels’ choreography always so amazingly splendiferous? Not to complain, I just wonder how much awesome she can create. I like the piece, but it probably could have been danced better. Nigel thinks this season is gonna be really good and he really liked them. Mary calls Mark wild, crazy, and unique and she loved them both and she takes off an imaginary hat. Dan thinks it was amazing. This could be another couple to watch.
Kherington and Twitch- This is a pair I’m looking forward to. Both of these guys are one of my two favorites for their respective genders. Twitch is awesome and he really wants it this year. If I had to pick a frontrunner, it’s him. Kherington is a senior in high school, and that makes me really ashamed of what I’ve done so far. They’ve got a Tyce broadway routine. I’m still not sold on Tyce, he’s hit or miss, with more misses. It’s fun and I really enjoy it, but they seem, at times, to be a little weak in some of their moves. That’s more Twitch. They’re both safe though, no doubt about it. Nigel calls the pair of them great. Mary thinks it was so hot it’s gonna set off the sprinklers. Mary seems to be threatening a scream, but she doesn’t, thankfully. Dan loved them both. And another power couple is born.
Comfort and Chris- I heart Comfort, so I’m hoping this pair works out. Chris is kind of unknown for me, so who knows. They’ve got a Tony Meredith jive and I hope it’s as fun as Anya and Danny’s jive from the first episode of last season. They seem confident, maybe even a little over confident. It’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of personality, but the footwork seems a little slow at times. Overall, though, it’s probably one of the better ones of the night. Comfort is a little bewildered by her outfit. Nigel calls Comfort smoldering and thinks Chris was pretty good too. But he thinks the dancing was kind of weak. Also, apparently, Comfort dislocated her shoulder earlier this week. Nice comeback. Mary says they were kicking it, and thought they did a respectable job. Dan says everything’s been said about Comfort and thinks Chris did a good job of keeping up, but thinks they need more chemistry.
Katee and Joshua- Katee kind of needs to knock it out of the park this week to make up for the somewhat negative portrayal she received in Vegas. I enjoyed Joshua in the pre-lims, so hopefully he’ll make up for any residual bad mojo for Katee. They’ve got a Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop routine. I hope it’s better than the previous N & T hip hop. Despite the theme being bizarre for this style, I’m a big fan. Katee and Joshua both knock it out of the park, separately and together. I’d say it’s the best of the night so far. Nigel calls it really, really good and his favorite routine of the night. Mary didn’t expect this and calls it tremendous. Dan thinks they killed it, which may not be the best word choice for a military themed piece, and tells Katee that she held her own.
Jessica and Will- Jessica proves that she can spell Vegas correctly, and she wants to touch people. Will is a Debbie Allen prodigy and removed Debbie from the judging pool, which is mixed news for me. They’ve got a Hunter Johnson tango. They’re good, but not Great. Will is better than she is, but she’s got good extensions, too. She seems to keep Slipping. Nigel thought they coped really well with hard choreography and calls Will majestic. He calls Jessica on her wobblieness. Mary says that was the way she likes her tangoes and tells Will he owned it. Mary bewilderingly calls them the couple to beat. Dan says they played their parts well and calls them hot like fire.
Courtney and Gev- I like Courtney, but I still don’t understand why Gev got Brandon’s spot in the top 10. Hopefully, tonight he’ll show me why. They’ve got a Doriana Sanchez disco, which could be good, since both these dancers seem fun. They seem to be doing alright in the video package. Again, they’re good but not great. They’re having fun, but it’s nothing spectacular. Gev is better than I though he was going to be, but he’s still not as good as Brandon was. There seems to be real chemistry between these two though. Nigel loves Disco but he didn’t love this because it lacked a boogie feel. Mary liked Courtney more than Gev and thought they did a good job. Dan enjoyed it, but says it wasn’t the best disco he’s ever seen.
Overall, a decent start. Not as spectacular as I remember last year being, but no trainwrecks to speak of, so that’s good.
My Rankings For The Night
1) Katee and Joshua
2) Chelsea and Thayne
3) Kherington and Twitch
4) Chelsie and Mark
5) Comfort and Chris
6) Kourtni and Matt
7) Jessica and Will
8) Courtney and Gev
9) Susie and Marquis
10) Rayven and Jamie
In Trouble: Rayven and Jamie weren’t memorable, so I’m expecting to see them in the bottom. Susie and Marquis also weren’t very memorable, so they may end up down here too. Jessica’s slips may place them here too.
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Mole 6/9- I'm Gonna Kill You In Your Sleep
Previously on The Mole, people bickered at and about each other and the players did kind of miserably and Marcie was executed. Paul is a little lost because his alliance mate was executed. Liz is upset Nicole doesn’t know manners. Craig makes a funny.
Jon introduces us to our location in Santiago and welcomes Nicole back to the group, and people immediately begin to insult her. Jon introduces the challenge and divides the group. It’s a race, with Mark and Kristen tandem-biking up a mountain racing the rest of the group in a gondola, but the other group has to play a game of soccer first. If Mark and Kristen make it up first, they’re both exempt, but if they lose, $35,000 into the pot. The team are all very confident in themselves in their soccer abilities, but they are schooled. By a bunch of Chilean kids. It’s all kind of embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Mark and Kristen are having technical difficulties with their bike; the chain keeps falling off. So they decide to run up the hill and carry the bike. Bobby is a weakling and almost collapses on the field. It’s also kind of embarrassing. Craig accidentally scores a goal on his own team. The team expends their entire twenty minutes of play, but Ali scores a goal on the team’s second penalty kick. The team then has to run to the Gondola station and they absolutely fall apart, because no one can communicate with one another.
The team is still disintegrating, but they start to pull it together. The bike team is making steady progress, but Mark is bitching. Jon interrupts their trek and offers them a cab for $5,000 from the pot. Mark rudely turns him down. It seems pretty close, but the gondola team gets there first. Or so Jon tricks them into thinking, because Mark and Kristen actually got there first. Victoria is on a little rampage, but Paul is the one who decides to go a little crazy, unloading on Bobby, which angers Victoria. Nicole, unhappy if she’s not the bitchiest one, confessionals that she’s happy everyone else is unhappy. At an impromptu group meeting, Paul continues to be a douchebag, and this time Victoria is his target. Paul is happy to further fracture the team.
The next day, the team is taken to the Chilean countryside, and apparently, the smell is hideous. The team is doing something with pigs. There are 50 piggy banks hidden around a town. The team splits up into 3 groups of 3 and a group of two. The groups of 3 search for the pigs and the group of two has to catch them after they are fired from a slingshot. Jon makes a bunch of really bad puns and puts a special emphasis on them, so we hear just how bad they are. The teams go off to search for pigs and Bobby again proves completely useless, needing Kristen to push him in a wheelbarrow. Bobby is also useless in language skills and basically his team is making no progress. Alex’s fluency is really helpful though, and Bobby seems really obvious in his sabotage of this task. Alex pulls his team back to the slingshot, as does Mark, leaving only the ineffectual group of Craig/Bobby/Kristen in town. Paul has a feeling about an exemption in one of the pigs.
After the break, it turns out Paul is right, and the douchebag is exempt. Liz wishes she had wrestled it out of his hands. The first team back starts to sling them, but Liz and Paul can’t catch them. Craig takes over though, and Liz and Paul start to catch them. Alex is a control freak on the slingshot and won’t let anyone else play with it. The teams all reveal how badly they screwed up. Bobby reveals his wheelbarrow escapade and Paul is, of course, angry with Bobby. The team gets 28 pigs total, which brings the pot tally for this episode to… $28,000. Alex leaves his journal in Bobby and Craig’s room, and Bobby and Craig read it, but it proves no use to them. Alex then backs up their claims of “idiot” by playing an incredibly dumb song about mole hunting on something that looks kind of like a dulcimer.
The team goes to dinner with Jon, and everyone is worried about Mark, Kristen, and Paul’s exemptions. All the non-exempt players have to take the quiz. My suspicions are still on Kristen. I’m still not sure why, but she just seems moley to me. Ali suspects Alex. Craig suspects Mark. Alex suspects Nicole. Nicole suspects Bobby. Jon gathers the group in front of a big cemetery and begins the execution. Clay is first, and he’s safe. Alex is next, and he’s safe too. Victoria is third, and she’s also safe. Bobby’s next, and he’s safe too. Liz, however, is not, and Jon executes her. Liz loved the experience, and the others all had fond recollections of her. Paul, however, needs to continue to be a douchebag, and says Nicole and Bobby should have gone home instead. Bobby tells Paul he’s not classy, and Nicole tells Bobby that she’s gonna kill him while he sleeps and leave no forensic evidence. God bless her.
Net time on The Mole, everyone gets naked, Paul continues to be an ass, and confrontations abound.
Jon introduces us to our location in Santiago and welcomes Nicole back to the group, and people immediately begin to insult her. Jon introduces the challenge and divides the group. It’s a race, with Mark and Kristen tandem-biking up a mountain racing the rest of the group in a gondola, but the other group has to play a game of soccer first. If Mark and Kristen make it up first, they’re both exempt, but if they lose, $35,000 into the pot. The team are all very confident in themselves in their soccer abilities, but they are schooled. By a bunch of Chilean kids. It’s all kind of embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Mark and Kristen are having technical difficulties with their bike; the chain keeps falling off. So they decide to run up the hill and carry the bike. Bobby is a weakling and almost collapses on the field. It’s also kind of embarrassing. Craig accidentally scores a goal on his own team. The team expends their entire twenty minutes of play, but Ali scores a goal on the team’s second penalty kick. The team then has to run to the Gondola station and they absolutely fall apart, because no one can communicate with one another.
The team is still disintegrating, but they start to pull it together. The bike team is making steady progress, but Mark is bitching. Jon interrupts their trek and offers them a cab for $5,000 from the pot. Mark rudely turns him down. It seems pretty close, but the gondola team gets there first. Or so Jon tricks them into thinking, because Mark and Kristen actually got there first. Victoria is on a little rampage, but Paul is the one who decides to go a little crazy, unloading on Bobby, which angers Victoria. Nicole, unhappy if she’s not the bitchiest one, confessionals that she’s happy everyone else is unhappy. At an impromptu group meeting, Paul continues to be a douchebag, and this time Victoria is his target. Paul is happy to further fracture the team.
The next day, the team is taken to the Chilean countryside, and apparently, the smell is hideous. The team is doing something with pigs. There are 50 piggy banks hidden around a town. The team splits up into 3 groups of 3 and a group of two. The groups of 3 search for the pigs and the group of two has to catch them after they are fired from a slingshot. Jon makes a bunch of really bad puns and puts a special emphasis on them, so we hear just how bad they are. The teams go off to search for pigs and Bobby again proves completely useless, needing Kristen to push him in a wheelbarrow. Bobby is also useless in language skills and basically his team is making no progress. Alex’s fluency is really helpful though, and Bobby seems really obvious in his sabotage of this task. Alex pulls his team back to the slingshot, as does Mark, leaving only the ineffectual group of Craig/Bobby/Kristen in town. Paul has a feeling about an exemption in one of the pigs.
After the break, it turns out Paul is right, and the douchebag is exempt. Liz wishes she had wrestled it out of his hands. The first team back starts to sling them, but Liz and Paul can’t catch them. Craig takes over though, and Liz and Paul start to catch them. Alex is a control freak on the slingshot and won’t let anyone else play with it. The teams all reveal how badly they screwed up. Bobby reveals his wheelbarrow escapade and Paul is, of course, angry with Bobby. The team gets 28 pigs total, which brings the pot tally for this episode to… $28,000. Alex leaves his journal in Bobby and Craig’s room, and Bobby and Craig read it, but it proves no use to them. Alex then backs up their claims of “idiot” by playing an incredibly dumb song about mole hunting on something that looks kind of like a dulcimer.
The team goes to dinner with Jon, and everyone is worried about Mark, Kristen, and Paul’s exemptions. All the non-exempt players have to take the quiz. My suspicions are still on Kristen. I’m still not sure why, but she just seems moley to me. Ali suspects Alex. Craig suspects Mark. Alex suspects Nicole. Nicole suspects Bobby. Jon gathers the group in front of a big cemetery and begins the execution. Clay is first, and he’s safe. Alex is next, and he’s safe too. Victoria is third, and she’s also safe. Bobby’s next, and he’s safe too. Liz, however, is not, and Jon executes her. Liz loved the experience, and the others all had fond recollections of her. Paul, however, needs to continue to be a douchebag, and says Nicole and Bobby should have gone home instead. Bobby tells Paul he’s not classy, and Nicole tells Bobby that she’s gonna kill him while he sleeps and leave no forensic evidence. God bless her.
Net time on The Mole, everyone gets naked, Paul continues to be an ass, and confrontations abound.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Should I Get With Swingtown?
So, I just got around to watching the pilot for CBS’ 70’s drama/soap/who knows “Swingtown” and, despite very critic kinda savaging it, I somewhat dug it. But I’m not entirely sold on it, so I’m asking you, loyal reader(s) (the s is in parentheses because I doubt there’s more than one of you reading this), should I keep messing around with “Swingtown” or kick it to the curb?
On the plus side of the bed filled with swingers, there’s a majority of the performances. Now, I liked “Deadwood” when it was on, but I could never quite make it all the way through the show (I’ve still only seen about half of the final season). One of the problems I had with “Deadwood” was the characters all seemed incredibly stilted (although this was probably because they were supposed to be), and one of the biggest offenders was Molly Parker. On “Swingtown”, however, Parker is, well, kind of delightful. Her behavior and general air after she took the Quaalude were really fun to watch. Also, on the delightful side are Lana Parilla and Grant Show as the Deckers, the main swinging couple. They made the show entertaining to watch.
I’m not as sold on Jack Davenport as Parker’s husband or Josh Hopkins as Roger Thompson, the Parkers' old neighbor, but they were serviceable, and both seemed charismatic. And, while a lot of critics detracted from the show for being over the top on 1970s references, I thought it was a little funny on how much they felt the need to enforce the 70s-ness. But funny in a good way.
But there are a bunch of problems, which may just be too big to overlook. First off, you’ll notice that I left one of the main adult characters off the previous lists. That’s because I firmly believe that the show would be 1700% better without Miriam Shor. Now, this is absolutely nothing against the actress, I just thought the character was obnoxiously fake. Marcia Cross plays a similar role on Desperate Housewives, but she comes across like a real person. Shor, on the other hand, was a complete and total bad caricature. Sure, there were people who hadn’t mentally escaped the 1950s then, but they weren’t that bat-shit crazy too. She just did not work. I also didn’t find the younger characters nearly as entertaining as everyone else did. The only one who was interesting was the daughter who was clearly in love with her teacher. But my interest was only mild.
So, the question is: Do I keep swingin or do I break it off? Summer TV is kind of a barren wasteland right now (thank God for the returns of Weeds, Burn Notice, Psych, and The Closer), so should I stick with the show for a while at least? Help me, folks. There’s a can of Tab in it for you.
On the plus side of the bed filled with swingers, there’s a majority of the performances. Now, I liked “Deadwood” when it was on, but I could never quite make it all the way through the show (I’ve still only seen about half of the final season). One of the problems I had with “Deadwood” was the characters all seemed incredibly stilted (although this was probably because they were supposed to be), and one of the biggest offenders was Molly Parker. On “Swingtown”, however, Parker is, well, kind of delightful. Her behavior and general air after she took the Quaalude were really fun to watch. Also, on the delightful side are Lana Parilla and Grant Show as the Deckers, the main swinging couple. They made the show entertaining to watch.
I’m not as sold on Jack Davenport as Parker’s husband or Josh Hopkins as Roger Thompson, the Parkers' old neighbor, but they were serviceable, and both seemed charismatic. And, while a lot of critics detracted from the show for being over the top on 1970s references, I thought it was a little funny on how much they felt the need to enforce the 70s-ness. But funny in a good way.
But there are a bunch of problems, which may just be too big to overlook. First off, you’ll notice that I left one of the main adult characters off the previous lists. That’s because I firmly believe that the show would be 1700% better without Miriam Shor. Now, this is absolutely nothing against the actress, I just thought the character was obnoxiously fake. Marcia Cross plays a similar role on Desperate Housewives, but she comes across like a real person. Shor, on the other hand, was a complete and total bad caricature. Sure, there were people who hadn’t mentally escaped the 1950s then, but they weren’t that bat-shit crazy too. She just did not work. I also didn’t find the younger characters nearly as entertaining as everyone else did. The only one who was interesting was the daughter who was clearly in love with her teacher. But my interest was only mild.
So, the question is: Do I keep swingin or do I break it off? Summer TV is kind of a barren wasteland right now (thank God for the returns of Weeds, Burn Notice, Psych, and The Closer), so should I stick with the show for a while at least? Help me, folks. There’s a can of Tab in it for you.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance- 6/5- VEGAS BABY
A bunch of the names are probably wildly incorrect. My bad...
Now, I know I missed the last two episodes. I saw last Thursday’s, but it was way to late to recap it. And I missed last night’s because it was my Mom’s birthday, but I have it, waiting for me to watch (I would have watched it today but I am now a workin’ man, and thus didn’t have the time today). So, I’m kinda just gonna break this down by sections of the show.
Cat tells all the dancers to go to the stage and introduces the 6 judges for Vegas: Nigel, Mary, Mia, Debbie Allen, and some two hip hop cheographers who I’ve never seen before (who are named Tabitha and Napoleon). Napoleon is an awesome name.
DAY 1- HIP HOP
Routine: It looks pretty cool, but we only see approximately 10 seconds of it, so I can’t really judge.
Awesome Breaker Robert Muraine is unhappy, because he sucks at learning choreography, which is why, as awesome as he was in LA, they should have made him do choreography. He’s basically gonna quit, so Nigel calls him up on stage and gives him a speech. Nigel has him do his solo for Debbie, Tabitha, and Napoleon, because they’ve never seen him. His solo isn’t as ridiculously awesome, but it’s still ridiculously awesome (if that makes sense). He gets a standing ovation from all the dancers and half the judges. He then quits.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: Strip Club DJ Ryan Race, Ricky (of the Asian Ballroom couple), Claire Calloway (Mia Michaels calls her a hot mess)
DAY 2- BROADWAY
Tyce is choreographing, which always has me worried, since he never really impresses. No Robert Muraine style drama this time, just people who are worried because they couldn’t see Tyce. I think that’s a fair point to complain about. There is, however, a previously unseen girl (at least to me) who is paired with Erika Gee (there was a gender disparity) who shines. I think her name is Brittany. Also, the judges break out the crazy a lot more this time. Oh, and there’s a playful Mia/Debbie catfight.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: 3 Time Auditioner Erika Gee (Aww, I liked her), Lesser Twin Antwain Hart
DAY 2- BALLROOM
Jean Marc Genereux is the choreographer, and he’s hit or miss. The two really good Texas hip-hop breakers are worried. The routine looks nice enough. Oh, and those two had nothing to worry about, they both make it to the next round.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: Beauty Queen and Possible Bimbo Paige Jones.
DAY 2-3 SURPRISE CHOREOGRAPHICAL CHALLENGE
The dancers are broken up into groups, pick a random CD, and have to choreograph a dance to it. This portion will be split into groups shown identified by notable dancers.
Twitch, Aliona, et al (“Every Breath You Take”)- The tapping interlude is awesome, and ending with a little bit of stepping was nice, but the choreography was very amateurish. The judges all call it basically awful. Twitch and Aliona and the tapper make it, and one of them (a guy named Jason) has to dance for his life.
Comfort, et al: (also “Every Breath You Take): This group had major drama in the auditions, thanks to one of them, who went off to sleep at a certain point and left the rest of them to figure it all out. The judges like it. Every dancer makes it on.
Yeah, they only show two groups (and quick flashes of others). The guy from Twitch’s group who had to dance for his life survives.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: BFF of Michelle/ Single Mother Kortney (But did eerily similar Michelle make it? Did she get cut earlier?)
Sidenote: The Hatfields/McCoys T-Mobile commercial is absolutely brilliant.
DAY 3- CONTEMPORARY
Mia Michaels routine, so, even though I’m typing this during the commercial and they haven’t even practiced, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s awesome. Ok, so now it’s into the actual choreography and I was totally right. Mia’s use of sounds like “Zwah”, “Sikum”, “B-Gow” to illustrate choreography just makes me love her more. Also, some girl is pretty close to collapsing, and she promises if she collapses, she’s doing it on stage. But the judges all very pleased with her. She makes an impassioned speech about how she wasn’t stressed because she was just focusing on not letting her legs buckle under her. She seems to have a problem with talking back (Mia seems kinda pissed and Debbie tells her to shut it, too). And her talking back gets her cut. But at least her legs didn’t give out on her. Also, really good Jeremiah Hughes continues to suck at picking up choreography. He falls apart and walks off stage and everyone calls him on how shitty a move he pulled by walking off. He seems pretty humbled by how he’s screwed up.
Also, when dancing for his life, one of the contemporary dancers really screws up his leg really bad, and is cut. Other notable dancers for their life include Sheila Kayser, who gets cut, and Twitch, who is kept.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: JEREMIAH HUGHES, SHEILA KAYSER
(Interesting, these cuts even get a play off)
The Final Group do their solos, which flash before us.
PRE-REVEAL TOP 20 PREDICTIONS: Twitch, Leonidas and Aliona, Comfort, Joshua Allen, Chelsea Hightower, Kelly Baker (even though I don’t even think I’ve seen her in Vegas, she’s just that good), Brandon Bryant, Anthony Hart, and Markus Sheilds will all make it. I’m not sure about anyone else.
The Final Named Group (Listed by Name- then Made it or Got Cut)(There are a Few Unnamed, who sadly, will not get a mention here)
Kelly Baker (I knew she was gonna be there)- Got Cut (Wait, What? For Real? Absolutely Bizarre to me…)
Courtney Galliano- Made It (Not a big surprise)
Chelsie Hightower- Made It
Susie Garcia- Made it
Chelsea Trayer- Made It
Kourtni Lind- Made It
Anthony Hart- Got Cut (Again, wait what?)
Leonidas and Aliona- Both Cut (Wow, I am sucking at predicting tonight)
Bianca, the Tapper- Got Cut
Joshua Allen- Made It
Twitch- Made It (Was this one even a question?)
Kherington Payne- Made It (Good, I liked her)
Rabin Ormeo- Made It
Thayne Jasperson- Made It
Matt Dorame- Made It
Marquise Cunningham- Made It
Mark Kanamura- Made It
Comfort- Made It (Good, she’s cool)
Jamie Bayard- Made It
Chris Jenrose- Made It (Endearing in his promises to amp up his personality)
Markus Sheilds- Got Cut (That sucks. I was a big fan. And again, wait what?)
Asuka Kondoh- Got Cut
Derek Spears- Got Cut
Jessica King- Made It
William Wingfield- Made It (I liked this guy too, but he may be a ringer of sorts), (Also, because of a previous relationship, Debbie Allen can no longer be a judge)
FINAL 2 MALES: Brandon Bryant and Gev Manoukian. I see no scenario where Brandon doesn’t make it, since he seemed like Danny Tidwell 2.0, but my predictions have been off tonight, so who knows. And I’m off again, because Gev makes it. This is somewhat of a bewildering night for me.
FINAL 2 FEMALES: Best friends and roommates Katie and Natalie are the last two and they seem all happy for the other one. Mia Michaels gets all pissed (actually all the judges do), because Katie indicates that she wouldn’t try out again if she gets cut. Nigel sends the girls out and the judges revote. It’s a split vote. They come back and Nigel tells them that Katie would have moved on, and even though it’s split, Katie still moves on.
So, Our Top 20:
The Boys: Joshua Allen, Twitch, Thayne Jasperson, Matt Dorame, Marquise Cunningham Mark Kanamura, Jamie Bayard, Chris Jenrose, William Wingfield, and Gev Manoukian
The Girls: Courtney Galliano, Chelsie Hightower, Susie Garcia, Chelsea Trayer, Kourtni Lind, Kherington Payne, Rabin Ormeo, Comfort, Jessica King, and Katie
So, What do you folks think of the top 20? I'm a little curious to the fact that I've never seen 10 of these dancers before (Were a bunch of them from the last auditions show?). But I'm excited for Twitch, Comfort, William Wingfield, Mark Kanamura, Chelsie Hightower, and Kherington Payne...
Now, I know I missed the last two episodes. I saw last Thursday’s, but it was way to late to recap it. And I missed last night’s because it was my Mom’s birthday, but I have it, waiting for me to watch (I would have watched it today but I am now a workin’ man, and thus didn’t have the time today). So, I’m kinda just gonna break this down by sections of the show.
Cat tells all the dancers to go to the stage and introduces the 6 judges for Vegas: Nigel, Mary, Mia, Debbie Allen, and some two hip hop cheographers who I’ve never seen before (who are named Tabitha and Napoleon). Napoleon is an awesome name.
DAY 1- HIP HOP
Routine: It looks pretty cool, but we only see approximately 10 seconds of it, so I can’t really judge.
Awesome Breaker Robert Muraine is unhappy, because he sucks at learning choreography, which is why, as awesome as he was in LA, they should have made him do choreography. He’s basically gonna quit, so Nigel calls him up on stage and gives him a speech. Nigel has him do his solo for Debbie, Tabitha, and Napoleon, because they’ve never seen him. His solo isn’t as ridiculously awesome, but it’s still ridiculously awesome (if that makes sense). He gets a standing ovation from all the dancers and half the judges. He then quits.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: Strip Club DJ Ryan Race, Ricky (of the Asian Ballroom couple), Claire Calloway (Mia Michaels calls her a hot mess)
DAY 2- BROADWAY
Tyce is choreographing, which always has me worried, since he never really impresses. No Robert Muraine style drama this time, just people who are worried because they couldn’t see Tyce. I think that’s a fair point to complain about. There is, however, a previously unseen girl (at least to me) who is paired with Erika Gee (there was a gender disparity) who shines. I think her name is Brittany. Also, the judges break out the crazy a lot more this time. Oh, and there’s a playful Mia/Debbie catfight.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: 3 Time Auditioner Erika Gee (Aww, I liked her), Lesser Twin Antwain Hart
DAY 2- BALLROOM
Jean Marc Genereux is the choreographer, and he’s hit or miss. The two really good Texas hip-hop breakers are worried. The routine looks nice enough. Oh, and those two had nothing to worry about, they both make it to the next round.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: Beauty Queen and Possible Bimbo Paige Jones.
DAY 2-3 SURPRISE CHOREOGRAPHICAL CHALLENGE
The dancers are broken up into groups, pick a random CD, and have to choreograph a dance to it. This portion will be split into groups shown identified by notable dancers.
Twitch, Aliona, et al (“Every Breath You Take”)- The tapping interlude is awesome, and ending with a little bit of stepping was nice, but the choreography was very amateurish. The judges all call it basically awful. Twitch and Aliona and the tapper make it, and one of them (a guy named Jason) has to dance for his life.
Comfort, et al: (also “Every Breath You Take): This group had major drama in the auditions, thanks to one of them, who went off to sleep at a certain point and left the rest of them to figure it all out. The judges like it. Every dancer makes it on.
Yeah, they only show two groups (and quick flashes of others). The guy from Twitch’s group who had to dance for his life survives.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: BFF of Michelle/ Single Mother Kortney (But did eerily similar Michelle make it? Did she get cut earlier?)
Sidenote: The Hatfields/McCoys T-Mobile commercial is absolutely brilliant.
DAY 3- CONTEMPORARY
Mia Michaels routine, so, even though I’m typing this during the commercial and they haven’t even practiced, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s awesome. Ok, so now it’s into the actual choreography and I was totally right. Mia’s use of sounds like “Zwah”, “Sikum”, “B-Gow” to illustrate choreography just makes me love her more. Also, some girl is pretty close to collapsing, and she promises if she collapses, she’s doing it on stage. But the judges all very pleased with her. She makes an impassioned speech about how she wasn’t stressed because she was just focusing on not letting her legs buckle under her. She seems to have a problem with talking back (Mia seems kinda pissed and Debbie tells her to shut it, too). And her talking back gets her cut. But at least her legs didn’t give out on her. Also, really good Jeremiah Hughes continues to suck at picking up choreography. He falls apart and walks off stage and everyone calls him on how shitty a move he pulled by walking off. He seems pretty humbled by how he’s screwed up.
Also, when dancing for his life, one of the contemporary dancers really screws up his leg really bad, and is cut. Other notable dancers for their life include Sheila Kayser, who gets cut, and Twitch, who is kept.
NOTABLE ELIMINEES: JEREMIAH HUGHES, SHEILA KAYSER
(Interesting, these cuts even get a play off)
The Final Group do their solos, which flash before us.
PRE-REVEAL TOP 20 PREDICTIONS: Twitch, Leonidas and Aliona, Comfort, Joshua Allen, Chelsea Hightower, Kelly Baker (even though I don’t even think I’ve seen her in Vegas, she’s just that good), Brandon Bryant, Anthony Hart, and Markus Sheilds will all make it. I’m not sure about anyone else.
The Final Named Group (Listed by Name- then Made it or Got Cut)(There are a Few Unnamed, who sadly, will not get a mention here)
Kelly Baker (I knew she was gonna be there)- Got Cut (Wait, What? For Real? Absolutely Bizarre to me…)
Courtney Galliano- Made It (Not a big surprise)
Chelsie Hightower- Made It
Susie Garcia- Made it
Chelsea Trayer- Made It
Kourtni Lind- Made It
Anthony Hart- Got Cut (Again, wait what?)
Leonidas and Aliona- Both Cut (Wow, I am sucking at predicting tonight)
Bianca, the Tapper- Got Cut
Joshua Allen- Made It
Twitch- Made It (Was this one even a question?)
Kherington Payne- Made It (Good, I liked her)
Rabin Ormeo- Made It
Thayne Jasperson- Made It
Matt Dorame- Made It
Marquise Cunningham- Made It
Mark Kanamura- Made It
Comfort- Made It (Good, she’s cool)
Jamie Bayard- Made It
Chris Jenrose- Made It (Endearing in his promises to amp up his personality)
Markus Sheilds- Got Cut (That sucks. I was a big fan. And again, wait what?)
Asuka Kondoh- Got Cut
Derek Spears- Got Cut
Jessica King- Made It
William Wingfield- Made It (I liked this guy too, but he may be a ringer of sorts), (Also, because of a previous relationship, Debbie Allen can no longer be a judge)
FINAL 2 MALES: Brandon Bryant and Gev Manoukian. I see no scenario where Brandon doesn’t make it, since he seemed like Danny Tidwell 2.0, but my predictions have been off tonight, so who knows. And I’m off again, because Gev makes it. This is somewhat of a bewildering night for me.
FINAL 2 FEMALES: Best friends and roommates Katie and Natalie are the last two and they seem all happy for the other one. Mia Michaels gets all pissed (actually all the judges do), because Katie indicates that she wouldn’t try out again if she gets cut. Nigel sends the girls out and the judges revote. It’s a split vote. They come back and Nigel tells them that Katie would have moved on, and even though it’s split, Katie still moves on.
So, Our Top 20:
The Boys: Joshua Allen, Twitch, Thayne Jasperson, Matt Dorame, Marquise Cunningham Mark Kanamura, Jamie Bayard, Chris Jenrose, William Wingfield, and Gev Manoukian
The Girls: Courtney Galliano, Chelsie Hightower, Susie Garcia, Chelsea Trayer, Kourtni Lind, Kherington Payne, Rabin Ormeo, Comfort, Jessica King, and Katie
So, What do you folks think of the top 20? I'm a little curious to the fact that I've never seen 10 of these dancers before (Were a bunch of them from the last auditions show?). But I'm excited for Twitch, Comfort, William Wingfield, Mark Kanamura, Chelsie Hightower, and Kherington Payne...
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Mole 6/2- Yes, It Was Worth Peeing My Pants Over
It’s here! It’s here! Yay! According to host Jon Kelly, they’re gonna be pushed to the the brink. We get brief intros to all of the contestant, but they go by too fast for me to get decent impressions of them. The players all meet up at a Waterfall. They are immediately given a secret ballot and half to guess which one is the mole. They pick Marcie, who is pleased. She is immediately given power over the group for 44 hours.
Jon (who is already nowhere near as good as Anderson Cooper and nowhere near as bad as Ahmad Rashad) tells them that their first task will be riding a raft over a waterfall and jumping for cash. Marcie gets to decide who jumps for money (as some of them are) and who jumps for worthless bags. Alex is up first and he completely misses. Immediately, accusations of being the Mole fly. Ali is next and she prayed to Jebus. Jebus helps her, but not that much, as she gets fingers on it but loses the bag. Clay is up next and informs us that attorneys don’t usually jump waterfalls. Thanks for that informative tip Clay. He manages to get his bag. Kristen, one of my first mole suspects, gets her bag, already making me look like an idiot. Bobby, next, is worried about hanging himself, but gets the bag. Liz, a 60 year old retiree, also gets her bag, and I already like her because she’s a tough old broad. Paul, who is worried about getting bested by a 60 year old lady, gets bested by a 60 year old lady. Victoria, a cheerleader in college, sits on her raft as it goes over the edge and misses the bag. Craig, my other initial Mole suspect, just misses his, and apparently something dramatic happens as people gasp and we go to commercial.
SIDENOTE: As much as I wish it wasn’t the case, the more ads for it I see, the more I wanna watch Wipeout.
Craig does survive, and Nicole is up net. She gets turned around on her raft and still manages to get the bag. Mark manages to get his bag as well. Time for the bag reveals. Nicole, Kristen, Bobby, and Liz all have fake money. Mark and Clay have real cash though, so they get 20 grand. Everyone gets their Mole journal and then Marcie is made to pick 4 people to sleep out for the night. Marcie actually picks three of the people who managed to get their bags and Craig, who choked himself, which seems like a very dumb or moley strategy. One of the younger idiot males (Maybe Alex or Paul) gives away his journal because he has a photogenic memory, which I guess is good for the other players, because not only is he an idiot, but he may give them some really attractive photos of things he remembered.
SIDENOTE: As much as I wish it wasn’t the case, the more ads for it I see, the more I wanna watch I Survived A Japanese Game Show. God damn you ABC.
Marcie and Paul are forming an alliance. I’m still not sure if he’s the one with the photogenic memory. They get a clue and have to go to the beach. Paul, immediately making him more aggravating, gets Alex involved in his coalition of the driving. It’s all very idiotic. The group picks Nicole as the biggest complainer, and she complains about being called a complainer and says that she’s awesome. Jon tells them about Robinson Crusoe and calls him a crybaby. Nicole has to pick out a bunch of roles for people. There are 45 items hidden on the beach and then they have to pick out 5 items that Robinson Crusoe had with him. Meanwhile, two of them have to keep filling a giant hourglass with sand. Liz keeps endearing herself to me. Everyone is basically screwing up. Methinks the Mole is afoot…
SIDENOTE: I think the reason that I want to watch the previous two shows is because schadenfreude is a major component of my personality and they look like people getting harmlessly injured a lot.
The three who pick the guesses get one right the first time, three the second time. Paul, one of the sand people, gives up. The get 3 out of 5 items right, which gives them another 15 grand. Nicole is gonna get stranded on the beach while everyone else leaves. I can’t help but think that there’s a better deal coming for her.
SIDENOTE: Based on every commercial and trailer I’ve seen for it, I really kind of hope The Love Guru destroys all of Mike Myers’ box office reliability and he’s forced to go back to making good movies.
Nicole gets comfortable on the beach. Meanwhile, everyone is discussing possible Mole suspects. It seems like everyone’s name comes up. The contestants all go to dinner with Jon, while Nicole is still camping on the beach. Mark gets all teary-eyed talking about his family and how he’s doing for them. Not to sound like an synical asshole, but I’ve heard it all before. Jon toasts them all “May the mole be merciful.” He might not be that terrible a host yet.
THE LAST SIDENOTE, I PROMISE: Wanted looks awesome.
It’s quiz time. The quiz is ten questions. They still refer to them as executions, but I don’t care.
LEADING SUSPECTS:
Paul suspects Craig
Alex suspects Marcie
Craig maybe suspects Marcie
Bobby suspects Kristen (Me too! Please don’t go home, it’ll make me look like an idiot)
Marcie maybe suspects Nicole
Mark maybe suspects Craig
Victoria maybe suspects Bobby
Well, it turns out Nicole? She’s safe from being executed tonight. She is teleconferenced in front of a very fake looking fire, and she is very pleased with her exemption. It’s time to get down to executin’. Ali is first, and she is safe. Victoria’s next, and she’s safe too. Paul is next, and I’m hoping he gets executed. But he’s safe. Bobby’s next, and his results don’t make me look like an idiot, because he’s safe. Mark is next, and he’s safe too. Marcie is next, and, unfortunately for anyone who suspected her, she is executed. Which means my mole suspect (Kristen) and my favorite contestant (Liz) both survived the first episode, which, no joke, may be a record for me with The Mole.
NEXT TIME ON THE MOLE: Tandem bikes! Bobby in a wheelbarrow being pushed in Kristen! Paul being a typical tri-state area douchebag (Don’t worry, I can say that, I’m a tri-stater)! Nicole threatening to murder someone in their sleep!
Jon (who is already nowhere near as good as Anderson Cooper and nowhere near as bad as Ahmad Rashad) tells them that their first task will be riding a raft over a waterfall and jumping for cash. Marcie gets to decide who jumps for money (as some of them are) and who jumps for worthless bags. Alex is up first and he completely misses. Immediately, accusations of being the Mole fly. Ali is next and she prayed to Jebus. Jebus helps her, but not that much, as she gets fingers on it but loses the bag. Clay is up next and informs us that attorneys don’t usually jump waterfalls. Thanks for that informative tip Clay. He manages to get his bag. Kristen, one of my first mole suspects, gets her bag, already making me look like an idiot. Bobby, next, is worried about hanging himself, but gets the bag. Liz, a 60 year old retiree, also gets her bag, and I already like her because she’s a tough old broad. Paul, who is worried about getting bested by a 60 year old lady, gets bested by a 60 year old lady. Victoria, a cheerleader in college, sits on her raft as it goes over the edge and misses the bag. Craig, my other initial Mole suspect, just misses his, and apparently something dramatic happens as people gasp and we go to commercial.
SIDENOTE: As much as I wish it wasn’t the case, the more ads for it I see, the more I wanna watch Wipeout.
Craig does survive, and Nicole is up net. She gets turned around on her raft and still manages to get the bag. Mark manages to get his bag as well. Time for the bag reveals. Nicole, Kristen, Bobby, and Liz all have fake money. Mark and Clay have real cash though, so they get 20 grand. Everyone gets their Mole journal and then Marcie is made to pick 4 people to sleep out for the night. Marcie actually picks three of the people who managed to get their bags and Craig, who choked himself, which seems like a very dumb or moley strategy. One of the younger idiot males (Maybe Alex or Paul) gives away his journal because he has a photogenic memory, which I guess is good for the other players, because not only is he an idiot, but he may give them some really attractive photos of things he remembered.
SIDENOTE: As much as I wish it wasn’t the case, the more ads for it I see, the more I wanna watch I Survived A Japanese Game Show. God damn you ABC.
Marcie and Paul are forming an alliance. I’m still not sure if he’s the one with the photogenic memory. They get a clue and have to go to the beach. Paul, immediately making him more aggravating, gets Alex involved in his coalition of the driving. It’s all very idiotic. The group picks Nicole as the biggest complainer, and she complains about being called a complainer and says that she’s awesome. Jon tells them about Robinson Crusoe and calls him a crybaby. Nicole has to pick out a bunch of roles for people. There are 45 items hidden on the beach and then they have to pick out 5 items that Robinson Crusoe had with him. Meanwhile, two of them have to keep filling a giant hourglass with sand. Liz keeps endearing herself to me. Everyone is basically screwing up. Methinks the Mole is afoot…
SIDENOTE: I think the reason that I want to watch the previous two shows is because schadenfreude is a major component of my personality and they look like people getting harmlessly injured a lot.
The three who pick the guesses get one right the first time, three the second time. Paul, one of the sand people, gives up. The get 3 out of 5 items right, which gives them another 15 grand. Nicole is gonna get stranded on the beach while everyone else leaves. I can’t help but think that there’s a better deal coming for her.
SIDENOTE: Based on every commercial and trailer I’ve seen for it, I really kind of hope The Love Guru destroys all of Mike Myers’ box office reliability and he’s forced to go back to making good movies.
Nicole gets comfortable on the beach. Meanwhile, everyone is discussing possible Mole suspects. It seems like everyone’s name comes up. The contestants all go to dinner with Jon, while Nicole is still camping on the beach. Mark gets all teary-eyed talking about his family and how he’s doing for them. Not to sound like an synical asshole, but I’ve heard it all before. Jon toasts them all “May the mole be merciful.” He might not be that terrible a host yet.
THE LAST SIDENOTE, I PROMISE: Wanted looks awesome.
It’s quiz time. The quiz is ten questions. They still refer to them as executions, but I don’t care.
LEADING SUSPECTS:
Paul suspects Craig
Alex suspects Marcie
Craig maybe suspects Marcie
Bobby suspects Kristen (Me too! Please don’t go home, it’ll make me look like an idiot)
Marcie maybe suspects Nicole
Mark maybe suspects Craig
Victoria maybe suspects Bobby
Well, it turns out Nicole? She’s safe from being executed tonight. She is teleconferenced in front of a very fake looking fire, and she is very pleased with her exemption. It’s time to get down to executin’. Ali is first, and she is safe. Victoria’s next, and she’s safe too. Paul is next, and I’m hoping he gets executed. But he’s safe. Bobby’s next, and his results don’t make me look like an idiot, because he’s safe. Mark is next, and he’s safe too. Marcie is next, and, unfortunately for anyone who suspected her, she is executed. Which means my mole suspect (Kristen) and my favorite contestant (Liz) both survived the first episode, which, no joke, may be a record for me with The Mole.
NEXT TIME ON THE MOLE: Tandem bikes! Bobby in a wheelbarrow being pushed in Kristen! Paul being a typical tri-state area douchebag (Don’t worry, I can say that, I’m a tri-stater)! Nicole threatening to murder someone in their sleep!
Top 10 Of The Year- #9- South Park
Ok, so I’m breaking the rules with this one a little bit. This is a top 10 list for the 2007-2008 TV season. South Park tends to air in short 8 episode blocks. During the 2007-2008 season, South Park showed the tail half of season 11 and the first half of season 12. I’m gonna clump these together.
With a show that has gone on into it’s 12th season, you’re always gonna be able to say “Eh, it’s been better.” And, in all honesty, South Park has had better seasons. But, for the sheer brilliance of 4 episodes (Not to mention a bunch of normally good episodes), South Park makes this list. Those four episodes? This spring’s “Canada on Strike” and this past fall’s absolutely genius “Imaginationland” trilogy.
“Canada on Strike”, a clear parody of the writer’s strike, was hilarious on so many levels. The simple idea of Canada going on strike from the rest of the world because they don’t get enough respect, and the rest of the world not really caring were both great. But the episode evolved past the basic laughs from the concept and had excellent writing and an absolutely amazing ending. I would probably rank it as one of the best they’ve ever done. I may have just found it funnier because of how overly obsessed I am with TV and was with the strike, but it hit every note perfectly.
Even without “Canada on Strike”, though, South Park would have made this list, for the utter genius of the “Imaginationland” trilogy. Not only were the episodes absolutely hilarious (Although the first one was clearly the strongest), but the ideas raised by the episode were equally as genius. Terrorists taking control of our imaginations and then our imaginations running wild. Seriously, those guys are brilliant. Plus, who doesn’t love an appearance by ManBearPig?
But on top of those four brilliant episodes, you also had amazing moments like Cartman hiding cats from the DEA and Kyle trying to point out the similarities, Bono being revealed to be a giant turd, “How do I reeeeech the keeeeds”, Mr(s). Garrison’s penis running wild, and Britney Spears missing a head. That’s not to say that there haven’t been misfires (I’m looking at you, completely unfunny and actually quite disgusting episode with Cartman and Kyle getting AIDS), but overall this has been a really good year for South Park. Not the best they’ve ever had, but a damn good one. And so, even 12 seasons in, South Park still makes my top 10.
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