television

Big Brother 12: End Game

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(One of summer’s guilty pleasures for me is the CBS reality series Big Brother. If you haven’t been watching this season, this post will mean nothing to you. Move along; there’s nothing to see here.)

Now that it’s a done deal (although anything can happen in four days, but I’d be very surprised if anything changes) and a Brigade member is going to win the game, my interest level is hovering around “E” (for “Empty”, not “Enzo”). I suppose the eventual winner will “deserve” the $500k, because he lasted longer than the rest of the jury and convinced them to vote for him, but I can’t drum up enough enthusiasm to really care one way or another.

Enzo should be the first of them to go. They all have Final 2 deals with each other, but the Meow Meow hasn’t done anything to justify giving him the $50,000 2nd place money. Other than winning one Veto Comp, what has he done to even earn the money BB’s paid him this summer, other than hanging out at the house? All I remember is him saying “I haven’t started playing this game yet, it’s time to start” several times a day for the past month, bragging about what a tough competitor he is, planning his post-BB future in show biz, taking credit for everything and taking a lot of naps.

I can’t back Lane because of his off-screen personality, which has been well-discussed in various online forums. Look it up, or take my word for it – he’s not a nice guy.  Some have suggested that he makes up a lot of his stories for effect, but I doubt it. I don’t want to say much more, because he’s liable to get 2 or 3 of his good buddies together, hunt me down, beat me up and dance with my girlfriend, and harm my cat just for fun.

I guess that leaves Hayden for me to root for, but I’m not happy about that choice, either. Until the past couple of weeks, he’s spent the summer relaxing with the Brigade, letting others do the dirty work. When Britney was trying to prevent Brendon from winning Veto, Hayden grabbed cash and a Hawaii trip and let Matt take the blame, because he knew he was safe. I suppose that could be considered good gameplay, but not by me. But out of the three of them, he’s worked at winning the competitions to keep himself safe the past couple of weeks, so I guess I have to give him that. If he’s in the Final 2, I can’t imagine him not winning. But like he said last night, he’s going to have to get himself there; nobody’s going to take him. Now that it’s on the line, he’s tough to beat, and winning out the competitions is something that should impress the jury, Brigade or not.

That being said, I doubt I’ll be wasting my time on the feeds during the next ten days, and certainly not after Britney’s gone (hey, you never know what can happen). Especially if CBS blocks Wednesday night’s endurance comp. When it’s just the three of them left in the house, the WBRB bubbles will be more interesting than watching that lot congratulate themselves for a week.

I wouldn’t even bother with the broadcast, except I’m curious about what’s happening in the Jury House. Is Vegas Red still pissed that Brendon’s out of the game? I think that was the reason she went over-the-top with Matt, not just because of the cameras, but because she had to have some outlet for her disappointment that she and her man have no BB money in their future.  If she’s smart (a stretch, I know), she’ll keep her distance from Ragan (especially after he finds out about Matt’s lie); if she tries rubbing it in that he’s out of the game and asks him mockingly what he thinks of Matt now, the Backyard Slapdown will look like the Paris Peace Talks. It will not end well for her.

I’d consider skipping the finale, too, except it’ll be on right after Survivor, so I’ll be sitting there watching CBS anyway. I’m curious to see the reaction when Ragan is revealed as the Saboteur, since everyone’s so sure it’s Matt. I’m wondering if Brendon will actually propose to Vegas on live TV, and what she’ll say to avoid committing without making both of them look like total idiots.

And I guess I’m looking forward to the whole America’s Favorite thing, which Enzo assumes is his. My druthers would be that J Chen will say that, “Oddly enough, nobody cast any votes this year because you’re such a lame group,” but that’s just a fantasy of mine (one of many that involve Julie, but that’s a topic for another time). I know that a lot of people will be voting for Brendon, but I can’t. He’s not my favorite anything. He didn’t play the game for himself (despite what he told Julie; even the last vote he cast was “For Rachel”), he was a poor sport when it came to losing comps, and I don’t want him to have the chance share any of it with Vegas, either. It’ll just postpone the inevitable.  Sorry, Britney haters, but I’ll be voting for her early and often.

Survivor: Heroes Vs Villians

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It’s here! Survivor 20, formally known as Survivor: Heroes Vs Villians,with “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” replaced with “Return, Redemption, Revenge”. I love this! I had seen the cast list, of course, but actually seeing them on the screen again quickened my heart and shortened my breath. Rupert, you old softie! Good to see you again, brother! Stefanie! I’m still holding out hope you have a hidden longing for an older man that I can fulfill. Randy! I forgot what a dick you are. Same with Tyson. Boston Rob…I forgive you your past cockiness and douchiness. Marriage and fatherhood has softened up more than your abs.

I could go on and on. But it was good to see the old familiar faces once again. Say what you will about All-Star editions of reality shows, but there’s a reason they work, for me at least. If you spend a TV season investing emotionally in certain cast members, you want to know occasionally that they’re doing well. You don’t dump your friends after six months and lose interest in seeing them again do you? (I know, I know; you think it’s pathetic that I look at complete strangers on reality television in this light. Screw you.)

As the season progresses, I’d like to commend to you three entertaining sources of insight and analysis of HvV that I never miss.

First is Dalton Ross’ recap that appears on EW.com every Friday. Dalton’s been recapping Survivor forever, and provides a fan’s insight that’s dead on and hillarious to read. He generally spends a few days on site at the beginning of each season providing behind-the-scenes goodies such as the following that appeared in his recap of the season premiere:

” As some of you may know, often when there is a challenge on Survivor that is presented as a ”first team to three wins,” in actuality, it was something much longer. Take this reward challenge: What you saw on TV was a ”first one to three wins.” But in reality, the teams actually played all the way to five. Remember how the Villains went up 2-1 after Coach dragged Colby back to the Villains mat? In actuality, the Heroes had a whopping 4-0 lead when that contest took place, and that Coach victory merely got the Villains back to 4-1. But this was just the tip of the out-of-order iceberg, and what I am about to tell you is so convoluted and confusing we may need Lostexpert Doc Jensen to decipher it. The first-round match-up you saw with Stephenie and Cirie vs. Parvati and Danielle was actually round six and got the Villains back to being down only 4-2. But wait, it gets even more confusing. Remember how you saw Stephenie dislocate her shoulder and Probst remarked how she injured herself in the very first round of the very first challenge. Well, that was true, but it wasn’t the round you saw. The actual first round (that you did not see) featured the exact same match-up (Stephenie and Cirie vs. Parvati and Danielle) and it was actually a Heroes victory. Not only that, but the injury appeared to occur while Stephenie was slapping the mat with her extended arm to give her team the win. So, the round you saw presented as the first match-up was actually a rematch that Stephenie was participating in after she had already dislocated her shoulder! (How tough is she?) So, the injury happened in one place, but was edited into another. Now because this is all a bit hard to follow, let me be clear about one thing: There is no monkeying around when it comes to Survivor challenges. The teams compete and the winner is the winner. Nothing is rigged. When you saw people winning rounds, they were winning rounds, maybe just not in the exact order it actually happened. Like all elements of the show, the producers just often record much more than can actually show so then have to figure out the best way to condense it all. (For example, the one round where Coach dragged Colby to his mat took over nine minutes by itself. It was an epic duel that was mesmerizing to witness, but simply too long to show in its entirety) And Stephenie did injure her shoulder in that competition against those same players, just not in the round they showed us. I’m actually surprised they edited it this way because watching Stephenie dislocating it as she won, and then coming back to compete after injuring it was pretty dramatic in itself. Again, just not enough time.”

Just as entertaining an insightful is Probst’s blog that appears on EW.com on Fridays. A must-read every week. A sample:

“Okay, without thinking it through – just off the top of my head – here are some overall thoughts about some of the returning Survivors:

Sandra Diaz – I am so glad she is back. I love her lippy way of telling it like it is. Courtney is also surprising me early on. I like how hard she fought in the initial challenge. Cirie is a legit, 100% full-on threat to win this game. Parvati, if given any kind of an opening will worm her way back into a solid alliance. Russell is a no-brainer. Take him out early or risk seeing him in the final again. Tom Westman, so glad he came back for another go. He needs a strong alliance and if he gets it, he will go deep. He’s a very good “people person.” Rupert, Rupert, Rupert. It’s hard for me to distinguish the Survivor Rupert from the real Rupert. Maybe there isn’t a difference anymore, but I know this… kids still love them some Rupert!”

Want your analysis a little more biting and a little less mainstream? Then you must bookmark Colette Lala’s “Bitchy Survivor Blog“. Colette, you da best!

“We’ve met them all before. We know their reputations. We’ve seen them at their best and, by golly, we’ve seen them at their worst. The Heroes sit in silence, their capes billowing in the breeze of the helicopters. They look hopeful and eager with promises of success and ponies in their future. Over in the Villains aircraft they’re smug, arrogant, smirks on their faces and an overwhelming amount of opportunites to annihilate their opponents waiting for them patiently on the beach. The gentle hairy giant known as Rupert tries to tell us that ‘good’ will win. I put my cigarette out on the kitten at my feet and I just laugh and laugh. Silly man! Thankfully, a voice of reason takes over. It’s Lucifer (Russell Hantz) fresh off of Survivor 19 telling us it’s a fact that Villains are smarter than Heroes. “It’s a proven fact.” He insists we google it. I did. I marched right over to my laptop and punched in “Are villains smarter than heroes?” I never got my answer cuz it took me to an Asian porn page, but I’ll interpret that as a resounding YES! If you can’t trust Lucifer, who can you trust? I mean, come on, seriously.

And then it happens… the line I wait for every season… I’m getting tingly all over just thinking about it… Dimples stands alone on a mess of rocks, violent waves crashing all around him, and we hear it… 39 DAYS, 20 PEOPLE, 1 SURVIVOR!!! *throws confetti in the air* I throw my top off and twirl around my living room. Hay day doh dee doh dee doh doh… I study the opening credits for clues, quickly decide I’d rather not know, and go back to my half Irish, half Salsa gyrations.”

If you’re more of a podcast fan, hurry on over to iTunes and subscribe to Armchair Survivor. Mike and Marji dissect each episode with brutal (and expicit, truth be told) honesty, and just may have you squirt a beverage out of your nose once or twice. They record their show live following Survivor and encourage chat and voicemail feedback.

These articles, blogs, and podcasts greatly augment my enjoyment of Survivor, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them too.

The Balloon Boy: We Got Got

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I was sitting at work Thursday afternoon, and my iPhone let me know I received a text message. It was from CNN, and it said that a 6-year-old boy crawled into an experimental aircraft his parents were building and had floated away into the Colorado sky.  The text was worded poetically enough that my curiosity was aroused, so I dutifully logged on to CNN.com to see what was going on.

What was going on was horrifying. A six-year-old had reportedly climbed into the basket of what appeared to be a saucer-shaped helium weather balloon built by his parents, which somehow became untethered and sailed away.

Like millions of others, I sat in front of my monitor transfixed as the balloon floated a reported 7,000 feet in the Rocky Mountain air at speeds of 30 M.P.H. I could not begin to imagine the terror the little passenger must be feeling, but, as a parent, I could certainly imagine what the boy’s folks were going through.

CNN trotted out their requisite “experts” (there must be a Manhattan-phonebook-sized directory of every conceivable expert in any field a news organization could possibly need at every newsdesk in the studio), including a Hot Air Balloon Expert who helpfully informed us that hot air in a balloon makes it go up, or “rise”.

I was surfing back and forth between various news sites (even Fox News, to see if they had a slant yet on how this was Obama’s fault). I kept current and contributed to the Twitter #balloonboy stream. I called co-workers and friends to alert them to what was happening to this poor child.

In the midst of all this activity, I almost missed the expert that said that, based on the way the balloon was moving, he didn’t think there was anyone  on board. The physics weren’t quite right to suggest there was 60 pounds of boyweight affecting the flight.

Eventually, just like the balloons I used to get at the carnival, the helium gassed out, and the balloon sunk to earth, where it was met by various law enforcement personnel, who quickly ascertained that the boy was…not there.

Huh? So I was watching a cargoless balloon float across Colorado that whole time? Yeah, but that’s a good thing, right? Because the boy must be OK.  But his whereabouts were still unknown. Neighbors and  hangers-on took to searching the area around the family’s house, calling the boy’s name.

By this time my workday had ended (well, to be truthful, it had ended when I started following the story), so I stopped by a friend’s house to discuss the story. My take was that the kid and his brother were messing around the balloon and accidentally set it free, and the kid was probably hiding somewhere thinking he was in big trouble.

My friend, however, was more skeptical than I was. “I dunno,” she said. “There’s something not right about this.” (By this time the parents’ involvement in various TV projects had been revealed.) “I’ll bet you anything this is some sort of publicity stunt.”

I scoffed; happily, in light of subsequent events, she hasn’t rubbed my nose in it.

The first subsequent event was that the boy was found in a box in a garage attic. He crawled in the box and fell asleep, he said, because his dad had yelled at him earlier in the day and was upset.

The second, and biggest subsequent event, occurred later in the evening as Wolf Blitzer (I still have trouble  believing that’s his real name) asked him, through his dad, if he heard people calling his name while he was hiding in the box. The boy said he did; Dad asked him, “Well, why didn’t you come out?” After some hesitation, the boy answered, “Well…you guys said…we did this for the show.”

Wolfman asked what he meant by that, whereupon the dad got all huffy and “appalled”, and instead of answering the question, accused the media of making false accusations (he obviously studied under Sarah Palin).

Keeping up the strategy of not answering questions, the dad said that he would be making a “major announcement” Saturday morning. Having invested so much time in the story already, I was seated in front of my computer, watching the live feed.

 

The dad said he’d be back at 7:30 local time to answer whatever questions were in the box.

It was during this Major Announcement that I realized: I’d been had. I got got.  My friend was right. They did this for the show. I’d invested my time and emotions into an event as empty as my martini glass.

The dad did not show up at 7:30 local time to answer the questions that had piled up in the box. I’m sure the majority of the questions were along the line of “Are you nuts, or what?” But he didn’t answer them because he was answering questions for local law enforcement.

Sunday the sheriff proclaimed that the whole thing was a hoax, planned and executed by the parents, and probably other miscreants as well. The sheriff knew it the whole time, of course; he just wanted the parents to think he was a sucker so he could get some proof. Sometime in the next week, the parents will be charged with God knows how many felonies and misdemeanors, and whoever decides these things are currently deciding if the kids should be taken away or not.

In the meantime, the parents’ “high-profile Denver lawyer” is currently making the talk-show rounds, huffing and puffing about evidence and saying it’s his job to slap down the sheriff’s office.

Note that I did not mention the lawyer by name; nor did I mention the name of the parents that instigated this whole mess. They are all publicity whores, and the worst thing you can do to a publicity whore is ignore them.

Which is what I intend to do from here on out.

“You’re Going To Want That Tooth” (Survivor 3/12 – Spoilers)

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Random Thoughts about tonight’s Survivor episode:

Recap shows the story of two strong (HA!) tribes who keep sending Brenden and Taj to Exile Island. I smell the theme of tonight’s episode being set up.

“They made plans to strengthen their alliance”… by including the two wimpiest people in their tribes to work with.

Taj didn’t have a chance to look for the HII, but Brenden found his stuck in the ass of the Tree Mail Idol. Early guess is that Brendan has a chance to give his idol to Taj, but doesn’t. She goes home.

“I’ve never brought such pleasure to a woman before.” Not something you want to admit on national TV. Even in jest. Especially to Eddie George’s wife.

Too much early emphasis on the idol. It must play a huge part in tonight’s show. If not, I’m deleting all this tomorrow.

“Why the sad frown?” “Because everyone feels the need to give me a prostate exam!”

She found it! Forget what I said earlier. Just start reading from here.

Uh oh. Stephen’s playing the “Possession is 9/10ths” rule. Taj is going home tonight, and it’s because he won’t give it up.

That tapir still creeps me out. Might be fun to take to a party, though.

Those Charmin commercials with the bears are just…wrong.

Sierra: “I’m proud of myself. I’ve formed an amazing alliance.” You did? When? Oh, you mean the one that was formed before anybody bothered to tell you about it?

Probst: “Sandy voted out at the last Tribal Council.” Coach:”Only a matter of time.” Pot, meet kettle.

Is someone going to puke? I bet someone pukes. I know I would.

The Charmin Cafe???? OMG. I hope you don’t have to watch bears wipe their asses while you eat.

“A modern toilet and plenty of Charmin.” I don’t know why that literally made me laugh out loud. Jeff, they don’t pay you enough.

I bet Tyson isn’t paying attention to any of this.

Who was it on Big Brother that got spun around, tried to walk, fell down and sliced his head open? Wasn’t it that FBI guy?

Coach is guiding Erinn with his eyes.

Jalapeno wins reward!

Brendan chooses Stephen to go to Exile. Assistant Coach Tyson is suspicious. Doesn’t pay attention at Tribal, but keeps track of who goes to Exile with who.

Pick a trip to Brazil, or to the Survivor Finale. Hmmm. Tough choice.

Product placement the past couple of seasons has been too much. “Got any napkins?” “No, use the Charmin.”

They’re not really more excited about the Charmin than the food, are they? That’s just editing, right? Right?

No, Joe, Taj has not had the opportunity to create a tighter bond with her tribe, but she’s had the opportunity to find the Hidden Immunity Idol. If Stephen gives it to her, of course.

Wait…what’s that? More Charmin? No! Letters from home! I bet Taj gets autographed pictures of Eddie George to hand out to everybody.

Everybody’s getting all weepy about people they haven’t seen for, what…two weeks? I’ll be right back. Martini time.

I’ll bet Taj’s letter from Eddie starts, “You know all my millions that I invested with Madoff?” No wonder she’s crying.

Tyson’s got Brendan figured out! Bastard!

“If we merge, he’s got control of the game. And I’m just a bystander. And I certainly don’t want that to happen.” Too late, Coach. It’s happened.

Coach the Weatherman. And as accurate as the guy on channel 69.

Didn’t anyone tell the CBS graphics guy that Exile is not on an island? Everyone else is just calling it “Exile”.

Stephen is definitely going to keep the HII from Taj.

Spencer isn’t telling Sydney he’s gay. Although she probably already thinks he is because he’s not flirting with her.

The ol’ Ball Launch Immunity Challenge! How boring!

Joe hurt his knee back there, with subtitles. Does this mean he loses the challenge for them later?

JT loses a tooth. He doesn’t care. He’s from the south, where that happens all the time.

Probst wants to stop and find the tooth. Otherwise they have to come up with another catchy title for the episode.

What? They actually found it? And Probst puts it in his pocket? LOL!!

JT says it’s Spencer’s fault. But JT misses the last ball. Ha! Sacrificed that tooth for nothing. Tempura wins immunity! Crap. We’re stuck with Coach for another week.

Shut up, Taj! Stephen’s not going to give up the idol!

Wait…they’re saying she’s next to go. That means it’s Spencer.

Isn’t that the same shirt Probst had on last week? Isn’t he rich or something?

Oops. Jeff called it “Exile Island”.

They never showed Stephen not giving the HII to Taj. That means Spencer’s toast.

WHAT!!!! DAMN YOU, TIVO!!! WHERE’S F’ING TRIBAL COUNCIL???

Never mind.

Jeff’s going to tally the votes.

The 5th person voted out of Survivor:Tocantins: Spencer.

“Spencer, the tribe has spoken.”

TWO WEEKS?!?!?! DAMN YOU, MARCH MADNESS!!!!

“Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This”

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Happy Thursday!

I have my Tostitos, my bean dip and my Stewarts Orange and Cream nearby, ready to watch this week’s installment of Survivor: Tocantins. Random Thoughts as the episode unfolds:

  • Did you know that Benjamin Wade was fired from his woman’s soccer coaching position? Seems he told the athletic director at his school that he was going to be gone for a week, but ended up missing school for almost two months, without a note from home. He’s not worried, though, because he’s off to persue a career in Hollywood, because his popularity on Survivor will open doors for him. And why not? It certainly opened doors for…um…you know, that other guy that became famous after Survivor…
  • Two hot babes were voted out in the first two weeks of the season. Hope that trend reverses. They don’t have that many to lose.
  • “She just insulted all of our intelligences.” Can that be grammatically correct?
  • Erinn doesn’t know when to stop talking. Just like her parents didn’t know when to stop adding “n”s to her name.
  • What the hell kind of animal is that with the flexible snout they show during the opening? Creepy.
  • In each of his EW.com blogs so far this season, Probst has wisecracked about Sierra marrying a Survivor producer. Think she’s gonna?
  • Oh, yeah…Debbie! Has she done anything noteworthy yet?
  • Jerry’s having problems with the beans. Aren’t beans standard Army-issue grub?
  • “We’re a force to be reckoned with.” As long as there’s not a challenge that involves catching fish with a net.
  • I’d hate to be the caller in one of these challenges. The losing team always blames the callers and votes their ass out.
  • Maestro looks pissed.
  • Brendan and Taj off again to Exile Island. It’s tough enough not to look suspicious without Probst stirring the pot.
  • “Winners always find a way to win. Losers always find a way to lose.” Wonder what his record was when he still had a soccer team to coach? Because his Survivor team sucks.
  • Crap. The Tostitos are already gone. Do I bother making popcorn, or just grab the Fritos?
  • “You’re like my assistant coach.” Aw, that’s swell, Little Buddy! Maybe he’ll let you carry his jacket at the next TC. I wouldn’t let myself get too associated with him, though. No matter what he thinks his standing is, he’s annoying a lot of people. You don’t want to be caught in that backlash.
  • “He loves me.”? “Everyone can see it.”? “Maybe he’ll promote me”? Never mind what I said before. Good luck with all that.
  • I forgot I had some chips and French onion dip. The popcorn and Fritos can wait for Lost.
  • Brenden and Taj choose Stephen and Sierra as their Mini-Me’s.
  • Sandy: “I know I’m a sex kitten this morning. There’s no doubt in my mind.” And the men all remember they have an appointment on the other side of Brazil.
  • Sierra runs like a girl.
  • Erinnnnn – hush! Your mouth is a shovel that’s digging a deeper hole!
  • Jalapao wins! Erinnnnn will be going home, no matter what Jerry thinks.
  • Or not.
  • The owls are not what they seem.
  • Maestro is still pissed. I’m concerned about his blood pressure.
  • “I am so true that existing around people that smile evilly when somebody else is on their knees kills me.” Huh?
  • “To me, it looks like she’s just here to lie and deceive and, you know, get ahead any way she can.” Unlike everyone else in the game, right, Assistant Coach?
  • Brenden finds the HII by lifting up the backside of the skirt and seeing the hole.
  • “I like seeing people cry when you crush their dreams.” I don’t want him to be my assistant coach anymore.
  • Jerry: “I think the leader should be Brenden.” And Maestro’s smile turns upside down. Ha!
  • “I basically told everybody with my eyes what they needed to get.” I think I laughed harder than Erinn did at that.
  • Jerry’s thinking maybe he should have kept his mouth shut.
  • GAH!!!!! UGLY CENTIPEDE!!!!
  • First 2 votes Jerry; Erinn’s smiling smugly. She’s toast.
  • Or not.
  • Poor Maestro. Erinn’s still around, plus nobody wants him to be the leader. Been a tough day.
  • “Jerry, the tribe has spoken.”

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$4 Billion For Teenage Goofiness? Puh-leez!

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If you haven’t seen this picture before now, you’ve certainly heard about it. The young lady in the middle of the group finds herself in the middle of another photographic controversy. She is, of course, Miley Cyrus, offspring of Billy Ray, who’s built a mini-empire for herself since she began appearing as Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel’s tv show (and movie and guitar and CDs and sundry other merchandise) of the same name.

The OCA issued a statement that “The photograph of Miley Cyrus and other individuals slanting their eyes currently circulating the Internet is offensive to the Asian Pacific American community and sets a terrible example for her many young fans. This image falls within a long and unfortunate history of people mocking and denigrating individuals of Asian descent…Not only has Miley Cyrus and the other individuals in the photograph encouraged and legitimized the taunting and mocking of people of Asian descent, she has also insulted her many Asian Pacific American fans..” Except, I would guess the APA in the picture. He doesn’t appear to be too annoyed.

Someone who was very annoyed, though, was a Los Angeles woman named Lucie J. Kim who filed a class action suit against Cyrus for $4 billion. Yes, that’s right: $4,000,000,000.00.

Now, after double-checking this with some friends of mine to make sure, I counted a total of seven people in that picture. Why is Miley the only one being sued? Why not sue the lot of them for $28 billion and really make a point? Yes, even the Asian American. He apparently condoned the behavior of his friends, or he would have asked to be Photoshopped out of the offending portrait.

Maybe it’s because they’re not newsworthy? Without Miley in the picture it’s just a bunch of kids goofing around, and nobody, even Kimberly Castro, would give a shit.

I’m still waiting for the ASPCA and PETA to weigh in about the guy holding up the bunny ears behind the other guy’s head. Surely that has to be offensive to rabbits.

But since it’s not Miley holding her fingers up, it’s not worth the quarter to call a lawyer.

Why Probst Thinks We Should Watch Tocantins

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Besides being a Lost and 24 dweeb, I’m a big fan of the granddaddy of so-called “reality shows”, Survivor.  I just caught the end of the first season, but I started watching religiously during the second season, and always look forward to the next.

Survivor: Tocatins begins this Thursday, Feb. 12. If you don’t know, host Jeff Probst writes a weekly blog at EW.com following each episode. In the current (Feb.13) edition of Entertainment Weekly, he tells us why we should tune in to the 18th season of the venerable series:

The first thing is CAST, CAST, CAST. (Here’s a tease: “Dragon Slayer” – just wait.) I’m putting my reputation on the line: If you don’t love this cast, I’ll offer to switch EW.com blogging jobs with The Bachelor’s Chris Harrison. And get ready for a BIG TWIST in the first five minutes that has lasting repercussions. Hint: Can you ever change a first impression? We’ll find out. As for THE BLINDSIDE, it is taken to a whole ‘nother level. We set a new record this season. Beastly. And the TERRAIN? High desert, 120 degrees, snakes, injuries, and a stunning river oasis. Exile Island will totally destroy them. Tocatins is so good, it may just crack out top five seasons ever.

If you’re a Survivor fan, you owe it to yourself to check out Jeff’s blog, and writer Dalton Ross’ recaps every Thursday at EW.com.

How “Lost” Will End (My Theory)

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This is what we will discover during the last half-hour of the very last episode:

The Losties are the original Others. The Others we’ve been wondering about since Season 1 are their descendants.

I have nothing to back this up, except the time travel concept.  It’s just a hunch.

“Jughead”

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Now that I’ve finally seen the episode, a few Random Thoughts:

  • Watching the stream from ABC.com wasn’t half bad. HD quality picture, 30-second commercial breaks…if I didn’t have to wait until Thursdays, I might watch Lost this way every week.
  • I have such a crush on Elizabeth Mitchell.
  • Does Faraday really love Charlotte, or is he just trying to distract her from what he knows is going to happen to her shortly?
  • The woman on the island that Faraday says looks familiar – I’ve seen some hypothesize that it’s his mother, but I must say that if I ran into my own mother 50 years ago, I’m pretty sure I’d recognize her. Of course, much has been made of Faraday’s memory problems. Still, it seems a stretch.
  • Faraday doesn’t seem the type to me to put a girl in a time-traveling coma and skip to the States.
  • Des and Penny named their baby after Charlie. Aww.
  • Speaking of Charlies: young Charlie Widmore on the island! Quite a revelation. How does he know the island better than anyone else, as he claimed? Where did he – as well as Alpert and the rest –  come from?
  • Faraday’s plan is to bury Jughead. Could this somehow be tied to the fertility problems in the island’s future? Could that be the reason for the radiation suits worn around the Swan? Was entering the numbers into the computer every 108 minutes resetting the bomb’s trigger in some way?
  • Now we know why Alpert visited the hospital when Locke was born. When will we find out the meaning of the objects he showed him later in his childhood, and why he was so disappointed when John picked up the knife?

Man, I love this stuff!

Don’t You Hate It…

/ jimmyrhythm / Leave a comment

…when you tell your TiVo to Season Pass Lost, and you check the settings to make sure that it only records first-run episodes, and ignore that the default setting is to only keep three episodes at a time, and you neglect to delete the three hours from the week before, and ABC calls the premiere “Because You Left/The Lie” so tonight when they broadcast “The Lie” before “Jughead”, your TiVo thinks it’s a new episode so it records it, and now you have “Destiny Calls”, “Because You Left/The Lie” and “The Lie” recorded and that’s your three episodes, so “Jughead” isn’t recorded? Don’t you just hate that?