Guest Blogger: Chris on last night's Survivor season premiere!

*Spoiler Alert*

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains has officially begun. This is the 20th season of Survivor, after originally premiering in May of 2000. Mark Burnett is going big this time. This particular 39 day journey is the ultimate clash of the titans. The game's most notorious players, split into two tribes: 10 'honorable' players and 10 'cutthroat' players. It will be interesting to see how these two labels affect the attitude of the players. It is already obvious some of the those in the villains tribe are acting extra evil, and the heroes tribe is almost oddly united, like some sort of Justice League. This is by far the most intriguing cast in a long time, so lets break down who's who and where they came from.

The players: (in order of first original appearance)

Jerri Manthey | 30, Los Angeles, CA
The Australian Outback (8th), All-Stars (10th)
Villain


Colby Donaldson | 35, Christoval, TX
The Australian Outback (2nd), All-Stars (12th)
Hero


"Boston Rob" | 33, Boston, MA
Marquesas (10th), All-Stars (2nd)
Villain


Sandra Diaz-Twine | 35, Stamford, CT
Pearl Islands (Winner)
Villain


Rupert Boneham | 45, Indianapolis, IN
Pearl Islands (8th), All-Stars (4th)
Villain


Tom Westman | 45, Long Island, NY
Palau (Winner)
Hero


Stephanie LaGrossa | 29, Glenolden, PA
Palau (7th), Guatemala (2nd)
Hero


Danielle DiLorenzo | 28, Boston, MA
Panama (2nd)
Villain


Cirie Fields | 39, Jersey City, NJ
Panama (4th), Micronesia (3rd)
Hero


Parvati Shallow | 27, Atlana, GA
Cook Islands (6th), Micronesia (Winner)
Villain


Candice Woodcock | 27, Fayetteville, NC
Cook Islands (8th)
Hero


James Clement | 32, Lafayette, LA
China (7th), Micronesia (7th)
Hero


Amanda Kimmel | 25, Kalispell, MT
China (3rd), Micronesia (2nd)
Hero


Courtney Yates | 28, Boston, MA
China (2nd)
Villain


"Sugar" | 30, Los Angeles, CA
Gabon (3rd)
Hero


Randy Bailey | 50, Austin, TX
Gabon (8th)
Villain


Tyson Apostol | 29, Lindon, UT
Tocantins (8th)
Villain


J.T. | 25, Samson, AL
Tocantins (Winner)
Hero


"Coach" | 38, Susanville, CA
Tocantins (5th)
Villain


Russell Hantz | 37, Dayton, TX
Samoa (2nd)
Villain

So there you have it. The first episode spans the first 3 days of the 39 day show. During the first challenge, we already see a dislocated(and relocated) shoulder, a broken toe, and a top ripped off (which didn't stop Sugar from scoring for the Heroes to win it). The Villains came back and won the 2nd challenge though, forcing the Heroes to send Sugar home, due to her emotional instability. Its early in the game, and neither tribe can afford to keep any weak links.
Check it out, its going to be a great season, if not the best.
Thursdays 8/7c on CBS!

- Chris Caselas

what to watch this weekend: Winter Olympics! HBO!

TONIGHT:

NBC: 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony at 7:30P on Friday

SEASON PREMIERES:
VH1: Famous Crime Scene at 9p on Friday
CBS: The Amazing Race at 8p on Sunday
Style: Ruby at 8p on Sunday
HBO: How to Make It in America at 10p on Sunday (*watch the first episode on HBO.com right now!)

what to watch tonight: Thursday the 11th.

TONIGHT'S PREMIERES:

CBS: Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains at 8p

TiVo SEASON PASS:

ABC: The Deep End at 8p
Bravo: Real Housewives of Orange County at 10p; Watch What Happens Live at 12a
Lifetime: Project Runway at 10p; Models of the Runway at 11p

NBC: The Office at 9p; 30 Rock at 9:30p

Guest Blogger: Angela on American Idol: Hollywood Week – group round

As I wrote before, I always expect cattiness and tension during the Hollywood Week group round, and of course American Idol 9 didn’t disappoint. From choosing compatible group members to finding a somewhat private rehearsal location to sacrificing sleep for practice time, this season’s group round was very much like seasons past. Bickering within groups, bickering between groups, forgotten lyrics, awkward choreography… we’ve seen it all before. This round is really about personality, not performance. Occasionally a group will come up with an impressive, original take on a song, but most of the groups are average and forgettable (unless they’re horribly bad). Really this is the viewers’ chance to see how the contestants relate to others and handle pressure. It can be very revealing but not necessarily in a musical way.

Ultimately the group round is fairly irrelevant in the grand scheme of the show. Regardless of the drama that ensues before they take the stage, most groups are decent enough to make it to the next round, and most of the people who get cut didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it to the top 24 anyway. It’s just a way for the producers to “create drama” and for the judges to weed out the mediocre singers, this year reducing the number of contestants from 96 to 71 (they should have cut at least a dozen more in my opinion).

So I’ll simply break the groups (that were featured on the show, some weren’t shown at all) into three categories: good, decent, and bad. For the most part, the strongest individual singers were also members of the strongest groups. Coincidence? Hardly.

Good
Team Awesome (featuring Michael Lynche) – “Get Ready”
Middle C (featuring Janell Wheeler and Casey James) – “Closer”
3 Men and a Baby (featuring Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens) – “No One”

Decent
Faith – “Irreplaceable”
Destiny’s Wild (featuring Todrick Hall) – “Bad Romance”

Bad
Neapolitan – “Bad Romance”
The Mighty Rangers – “Closer”
Phoenix – “Carry on My Wayward Son”
The Dreamers – “Thunder Only Happens When It’s Raining”
Every group that attempted Gwen Stefani’s “Sweet Escape” (What IS that lyric?! Something about milk on the floor and refrigerator?)

With the Hollywood group round behind us, American Idol can return to what the competition is really about: finding the best individual singer. Next Tuesday we’ll see each contestant perform one more time and then we’ll find out who’s in the top 24 on Wednesday. Hopefully some of my early favorites will make it!

- Angela Pasqinelli


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what to watch tonight: Wednesday the 10th.

I was just talking about Samantha Brown last night, and lo and behold, there's a special about her on tonight! If you're not familiar, S.B. is the quirky, cheeseball of a host for Travel Channel who first appeared on Great Hotels. Man, that was a favorite of mine back in the day. I've heard many people say that they find her a bit annoying...because she is very perky and yes, very cheesy. But I would like to argue that there's something to love about someone with a positive outlook and an appreciation for bad jokes. Or maybe it's just something to admire about her gig: traveling the world one city at a time just for kicks? Yes please.

TONIGHT'S SPECIAL:
Travel Channel: Samantha Brown Fan-A-Thon at 8pm

TiVo SEASON PASS:
Bravo: Shear Genius at 10p
ABC: Modern Family at 9p; Ugly Betty at 10p
MTV: The Real World at 10p

Guest Blogger: Angela on last night's American Idol

Hollywood Week Round 1

Ellen and instruments and talent, oh my! American Idol’s 9^th season, the part that counts at least, is finally underway. These are the episodes I look forward to every year, Idol’s so-called “Hollywood Week” (which was filmed at the Kodak Theatre in January and will be broadcast over the course of 4 episodes) where the real talent is given the opportunity to shine. This year Hollywood Week also marks the debut of new Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres, whose engaging sense of humor brought a lighter tone to the most recent round of eliminations. Say what you will about Ellen’s judging credentials; she’s always good for a laugh. I love her closeness with Ryan Seacrest, too. The two have been good friends for years, and I’m looking forward to their playful banter as the season progresses. Watch out Simon!

As for the contestants, it was great to see the audition hopefuls step up literally and figuratively on the Kodak stage. Many of my early faves continued to impress me (and the judges); Katie Stevens, Haeley Vaughn, Michael Lynche, Tasha Layton, and Todrick Hall all swiftly advanced to the next round. A few other contestants whose auditions didn’t do much for me definitely turned things around in Hollywood, most notably Casey James. I’d written the blonde cutie off as just another pretty face when he auditioned in Denver, but his bluesy guitar and soulful voice really stood out as a highlight of the first round of Hollywood week. Fellow guitar player Janell Wheeler is a new face/voice that caught my attention too.

However, my absolute favorite performances of round 1 came from three other guitar players: Andrew Garcia, Didi Benami, and Crystal Bowersox. Garcia’s cool acoustic version of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” reminded me of season 7 champ David Cook’s stripped down renditions of pop songs (his “Always Be My Baby” is still one of my all time favorite Idol performances). Benami sang a beautiful song called “Terrified” written by Idol’s own Kara DioGuardi; I don’t know which was more impressive – DioGuardi’s song or Benami’s performance. Bowersox’s “Natural Woman” was nothing like Kelly Clarkson’s rendition from season 1, but it was equally moving. These are definitely three contestants to watch!

Next up is the infamous group round… dun dun dun… which is as much (or more) about creating tv drama as it is about showing off the singers’ vocal abilities. There are usually one or two standout groups (like last year’s White Chocolate featuring future Idol winner Kris Allen, 5^th place finisher Matt Giraud, and twice elminated cancer survivor Justin Williams), but the emotional breakdowns and bitchy catfights are generally more entertaining and more memorable than the performances. Hollywood, let’s get ready to rumble.

- Angela Pasquinelli

what to watch tonight: Tuesday the 9th.

TONIGHT'S PREMIERE:
FOX: Past Life at 9p

TONIGHT'S FINALE:
NBC: The Jay Leno Show at 10p

TiVo SEASON PASS:
Oxygen: Bad Girls Club at 10p
Bravo: Millionaire Matchmaker at 10p

AND OF COURSE:
FOX: American Idol at 8p
ABC: Lost at 9p

Guest Blogger: The Bachelor a la Jennifer

It's the hometown dates this week, friends, and I have to start out by saying I was expecting more. Looking forward to your comments and input but here's the recap:

The "I'm on a boat" episode (okay, there were only two, but still) starts in New York for Gia. Gia shows Jake the NY sights and they take some really cute photos. Doesn't seem like anything deep is really going on and it's confirmed that Jake has been too busy staring at Gia to remember anything else about her when he says that he doesn't know anything about her past relationships. Gia says she dated a really bad guy and he did really bad things. This is the same story we heard when they were on their one-on-one "roughing it" at the winery. This is now episode 6 and we know nothing new.

Last week's preview gave us a glimpse of the gem that is Gia's mom but the best clip of her was actually in the end credits when she asks to read cards for Jake. She babbles about what they mean and she asks "did that answer your question or what you were thinking?" Jake flatly says, "No." haha. total fail, lady. Cut back to Gia's brother who looks like a cross between a backstreet boy and Steve (miranda's husband from Sex & the City). Gia's mom gives her the "you're special" speech. The best part of this date segment is Gia's monologue about not expecting Jake to be in love with her right now. I liked that she had a realistic perspective but it doesn't make for great tv. Gia is feeling reassured at the end of their date because her family tells her that Jake really likes her. Of course they're gonna tell you that, honey, they're your family. oh, and you are special. Gia says she's falling in love with Jake.

Ali's hometown date is in Williamstown, MA. Jake starts off saying what I was thinking - Ali is a little bit ahead of the other girls because she's already been able to show him her life in San Fran. Jake says he missed Ali and he seems sincere. They do a cute wishing on leaves thing and they look like they're having fun together - Ali says "everything is fun and a friendship but we wanna kiss and be romantic too." (In case you were wondering, yes, she does have another claw clip in her hair, but she's learning how to wear it better). Ali talks about her grandmother and how much she meant to her so she takes Jake to her grandmother's house, which is a little creepy/cute. We meet Ali's mom, sister and brother and Ali's mom says she looks the happiest she's been in a long time and gives her blessing to Jake. Seems a little early for that but maybe there was a conversation we didn't see? Mom's confident and says "yes, she'll have a ring on her finger," which Ali then later affirms with Jake telling him that if he asked her today she'd say yes. They do some serious kissing and Ali says she's falling in love with Jake.

Next Jake visits Tenley in Oregon. Jake says that his and Tenley's values are aligned and he missed her a lot. Tenley of course looks darling and they head to a dance studio so that Tenley can show Jake her passion - she's choreographed a dance to show him something that her ex-husband never appreciated. Jake presses play and Tenley starts to dance and oh, wait, is that wedding music??? haha. Tenley's house is super cute and it finally feels like the show is gonna get good because her family seems normal and he really has something to prove here because of Tenley's past. It's all going really well and so well even that Jake asks Tenley's dad if he has permission to marry his daughter. Her dad says that he could give his blessing to a guy like Jake and they have a good talk. It seemed perhaps like it was a hypothetical conversation meant to sound like authentic intentions with some good editing. we'll see. Like Gia earlier, Tenley gives a nice little monologue that made me like her more when she explained that she's taking this seriously. She said, "I don't want to just say I love Jake because of just how fun that would be and how incredible it would be and what a fun story we would have here but i can honestly say that my heart feels safe. I'm falling for Jake. Definitely falling in love with Jake."

Lastly, we hear that Jake has been excited to see Vienna all week. Woof. (that was for you, Ash) Vienna talks about loving nature and being outside and i don't believe her for a second. She sets up a boat for the two of them to go down the river, which looks a lot like the jungle cruise. Jake looked super hot driving that boat. In contrast, Vienna Sausage's family looks like a hot mess. Vienna's dad tries to intimidate Jake,at which he's pretty successful with the crazy eyes and all. Mr. Sausage gives Jake the "my daughter's a princess" speech - we believe him. Is it just me or is their relationship a little too over the top? okay, a lot over the top. Jake says he's falling hard for Vienna. Woof. Jake looks pretty uncomfortable during most of his time with the Sausage family but he keeps talking about Vienna's honesty and how drawn he is to her. The only interesting/funny part of this segment for me is when we find out that the pink bauble ring Vienna wears is from her dad. It's her "don't go off and elope again ring." hahahahahaha. Then it's back to awkwardness when Mr. Sausage walks in on them making out on the bed. Welcome to high school. Dad says "I'll just wait for you outside the door." he's serious. it's gross.

One thing all the dates had in common: all four girls are falling in love with Jake. surprise!

Jake's wading through his emotions in his hotel room when there's a knock on the door. It's Ali. She's crying. we know where this is going. She has to decide between staying with Jake and going back to work. (Hey, didn't this work for Ed last season? must be the same writers.) It seems like Ali's just hoping Jake will tell her that he's in love with her and he wants her to stay so that she gets some guarantee. Maybe she senses that she's "losing" to Vienna and wants to fight dirty with head mind games? She tells Jake she'll decide by the rose ceremony, leaves the hotel room and falls to the floor in the hotel hallway. I think secretly hoping Jake will come out, see her crying pathetically and console her. very sad.

Now it's the rose ceremony and Ali is the first to arrive. Her dress is not up to par. It looks comfy. Like maybe she'll be wearing it on a plane soon. it also doesn't fit well (jessie, was there another wardrobe malfunction? this dress looked prime for it). Gia's red lips are back and Andrea Wagner confirmed what I've thought since they made their first appearance: Joker. Tenley looks radiant in emerald green and Vienna looks like she's going to a club with the cast of Jersey Shore and her mom. Ali tells Chris H. she needs to talk and he escorts her up to Jake. She's getting permanent frown lines on her face (not attractive) from all the furrowed brows and pouty faces, and her hair is a mess. She made a good choice getting her nails done because her fingers got a lot of air time whilst she was pulling her hair out. She tells Jake she loves him. They make out. She's sobbing when Chris comes back in. She says she needs more time and then tells Jake she needs to go. Jake reassures her that she wasn't on the chopping block. Ali continues to apologize all the way home.

So, no rose ceremony tonight. We know there's someone in this group that Jake doesn't want. my guess is Gia but i think he's still pretty stoked he'll get to sleep with her in St. Lucia.

My observation of the night: It seems that Jake isn't looking forthe girl but just a good one that'll do. agree? disagree?

In the previews for next week we hear Ali on the phone calling Jake in his hotel room. Do you think she's really pulling an Ed and coming back? How do you think Tenley will take the intimate "fantasy suite" in next week's episode? Who are your final two?

- Jennifer Steinhart

what to watch tonight: Monday the 8th.

TONIGHT'S PREMIERES:
VH1: Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp at 9p

TONIGHT'S FINALE:
NBC: Heroes at 9p

TiVo SEASON PASS:
ABC: The Bachelor at 8p
CW: Life Unexpected at 9p [I keep giving this one another chance...]
Bravo: Kell on Earth at 10p