Month: June 2008

Farmer Wants a Wife Episode 7

Ashley, who should have gone home to weeks ago, was the obvious pick to get kicked out on Farmer Wants a Wife Episode 6, and so nobody (herself included) was surprised to see just that happen.

The girls get a visit from their best friends (at least they better be since the girls are screaming and running up to hug them). Matt plans to judge the girls based on who they hang out with. Christa tells her friend about people she doesn’t like. Uh, there’s only three other people left, and there’s still a plural associated with this discussion? Christa’s friend asks Matt to take his shirt off when he first walks into the room.

From this point forward, there’s no more sitting pretty, since we’re down to the final four. Matt’s family of about 45 people (there’s like 300 people in the whole town) will be getting together for dinner, which the girls have to cook. These guys are apparently hungry. They all show up at once before the girls are even finished getting dressed. Kanisha puts on a smile and tries to not show the frustration. Meanwhile, everybody else… lets her, while they finish getting ready.

At dinner, Brooke proceeds to get along with everybody. Christa’s got that same look she’s always got on her face. They have to answer a series of questions from the family. Amanda doesn’t know what Matt farms. Christa’s friend tells us chivalry is dead in the city. Matt’s mom Janet says she absolutely sees a farmer’s wife sitting in front of her. Kanisha’s friend starts crying and says she’s in love with the whole family.

After their friends go home, Matt wants to go on a group date of fishing. Amanda’s bored. Christa is the first to catch a fish. Kanisha is afraid of snakes (aka worms), and as she struggles to get away from this killer worm, the girls tip their boat over. So it turns into a swimming party, which Matt believes is more fun for the girls, but he’s happy they at least tried.

Everybody goes back to the girls’ home, and Matt decides to hang around for a while so he can chat with them because there’s a surprise elimination later in the day. Kanisha says she’s had a life changing experience. Brooke wants to know whether he feels a connection with her, and he responds that he does and that they probably have the most in common. Christa wants him to keep her around for a little bit. If you ask me, he’s humored her long enough. Amanda promises that, even though she hasn’t opened up much, things will continue to get better.

At the elimination ceremony, the girls get shotguns. I don’t trust some of these chicks with guns. They have to shoot cans to reveal a sign that says whether they’re safe or not. Kanisha just hopes she doesn’t get her head blowed up. Christa and Brooke are safe. Amanda is going back to the city. Kanisha believes this means she’s safe, and since she didn’t hit her cans, she has to go up and knock them down. When she does this, she learns that she, too, will be going home. That leaves the two bitter enemies in the final two. How fitting.

Matt decides to go on a two-on-one date with the girls who remain. Matt wants them to grab their bikinis. It turns out they’re hopping in a country hottub, where a cow joins them for a dip. Christa informs Matt that she doesn’t like to share and brings up her alleged issue that caused her incessant whining for which someone still hasn’t slapped her upside the head.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Farmer Wants a Wife episode 8 Farmer Picks a Wife, where we will see who the Farmer Wants a Wife winner is, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW.

America’s Got Talent 3 Episode 1

I didn’t see a lot of indication of it last year, but from what I hear, America’s Got Talent. It’s back again for season 3 with David Hasselhoff, Celebrity Apprentice winner Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and Jerry Springer.

This year’s winner will get $1 million and be able to perform on the Vegas strip. Last year’s winner, Terry Fator, apparently signed a $100 million deal there. I gotta give NBC points for hype here. Their heads may be bigger than the folks over at Idol.

52-year-old Bill Curlee was told in high school he was a great dancer. Yeah, it’s entirely possible he’s serious here, too. He does a Tom Jones impersonation. Piers and Hasselhoff buzz him right away. Why isn’t Sharon putting him out of his misery already? She is confused that it’s actually Elvis doing Tom Jones. Piers calls it the single worst tribute act ever. He gets three nos. Jerry Springer tells him to keep it up. No. Just… no.

Nick Afanasiev has the tongue of a cow. Not enough to win for some reason.

Ed Jacques plays the trumpet without a trumpet. It was enough to impress them last year when Butterscotch did it, but this year they admit it’s lame.

Jonathan Arons is a classically trained trombonist guy who plays a little bit of trombone inbetween some questionable dancing. At least he’s entertaining, though. Hasselhoff calls him barking mad, apparently a British saying meaning he’s good (if it wasn’t before, it is now). Sharon calls him naughty because he fooled them into thinking he was going to be boring. Piers found him quite entertaining, against his better judgment. He gets three yes votes.

Indigo, a Romanian singing duo, are in New York because if you can make it there, you can make it there. We really don’t need more than a couple notes here. Piers and Hasselhoff buzz them. Sharon’s the one responsible for dragging out the show. Hasselhoff compares them to Dracula. Sharon wants to give them a second chance. Huh? Piers tells them they’ve got everything going for them apart from their terrible voices. Despite that, he lets them through. What the bloody hell was that?

Tory and Damian (Nuttin But Stringz) are two brothers who play the violin. Done right, the violin has the potential to sound cool. They don’t disapoint. Hasselhoff says “Very different, very cool.” Piers calls them fresh, exciting, original, and talented. Sharon hopes they’ll be responsible for a lot of young kids going for violin lessons. All three judges say yes.

Mary Bly has been waiting for 80 years to perform in Vegas. She’s wearing a dress that’s a few inches shorter than it needs to be. Jerry’s afraid she’ll fall of the stage and/or have a heart attack. Piers and the Hoff buzz her. Sharon wants to keep watching. Hasselhoff calls her Shirley Temple who got lost in the woods. Sharon gives her a yes. At least this time Piers disagrees with her.

4-year-old Kaitlyn Maher loves to sing. Probably the most adorable thing we’ll see all season, but I fear what happened in Britain’s Got Talent repeating itself (a cute little girl got through to the finals and damn near won). The judges let her go to Vegas, where all the 4-year-olds hang out. (Video of Kaitlyn Maher’s performance.)

In the second hour, we’re leaving New York and heading to Chicago.

The Slippery Kittens, a group of moms (so we’re told), are burlesque dancers. Sharon asks to see what they got, which includes shaking stuff and showing their underpants. Their goal was to prove that burlesque is classy. They failed at that particular mission. Piers sees potential, whatever that means. They’re going to Vegas.

Jonathan Burkin tells a story about how he was picked on at school for what he’s about to do. He’s a baton twirler. He proceeds to toss around not one but three batons on fire. Hasselhoff says all the kids who called him names can shove it. He’s going to Vegas.

Chicago was short-lived. Next stop is Los Angeles.

Up first is Derrick Barry. He impersonates Britney Spears. Yeah, he’s a dude, apparently. The sad thing is he actually looks a lot better than Britney does nowadays. Hasselhoff calls him hot… but the wrong sex. Piers says he’s a lot like the real Britney Spears, a complete and utter trainwreck. Sharon and Hasselhoff say yes to Vegas.

Dallas Dance Company is a group of dance teachers that quickly gets buzzed. This leads up to a bad dancing montage, and LA’s not kind to dancers.

Perhaps power tap/clogging group Extreme Dance FX can change that. Piers buzzes them, but the crowd loves them. He says he buzzed the outfits mostly. Sharon liked their combination of dancing styles. Hasselhoff wants them to change the outfits as well, but he liked them otherwise. They go through to vegas.

Opera singer Neal E Boyd (whose nickname is “The Voice of Missouri”) hopes to prove to his mom that all of her sacrifices weren’t a waste. By the time he’s done, everybody is on their feet. Hasselhoff calls him the frontrunner. Sharon appreciates his warmth and spectacular voice. Piers says he’s a very special talent. He obviously gets through to the next round. (Video of Neal Boyd’s performance)

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of America’s Got Talent 3 episode 2, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

The Mole 5 Episode 3

Liz was the mole’s next victim in The Mole 5 Episode 2. Bobby proved to be either really good or really bad, while Paul proved to just be obnoxious, giving Nicole a run for her money in that respect.

Following the death threat, there may be some lack of trust amongst the group, so this task is all about trust. Players must split into 5 players who trust blindly and 5 who can’t trust anybody. From those groups, players will form teams of two with someone from the opposite group. They’ll go on a bobsled with one blindfolded person receiving descriptions of some pictures from the non-blindfolded person behind them. When they get to the bottom, they must then identify the objects correctly.

Clay & Bobby: 5 out of 7 correct for $10,000
Paul & Ali: 5 out of 7 correct for $10,000
Craig & Victoria: 7 out of 7 correct for $14,000
Kristen & Mark: 7 out of 7 correct for $14,000
Alex & Nicole: 1 out of 7 correct for $2,000

Alex & Nicole are a little bit too suspicious. It’s not over yet, though. Clay & Bobby and Craig & Victoria broke the rules, talking after crossing the finish line, so their money doesn’t count.

Pot total: $89,000 out of $240,000

Clay is waivering in his trust of Bobby. Mark is also getting suspicious. Mark now trusts Clay and wants to use him to figure out Bobby. Clay, however, only trusts himself.

The players go to a spa. So where is the catch? They’ll find out when they’re done with their massages. Their clothes are missing. Now they’re left with just shoes and underpants. They must make it to a restaurant for dinner by 6:30 (just over 2 hours), but they’ll need to pass the dress code, which they can do by convincing people to give them the clothes off their backs. In addition to money being at stake, if they don’t make it to dinner, they don’t eat.

Clay and Mark decide to quit right away before the mission even starts.

Bobby, Nicole, and Craig are one of the teams of three, perhaps the oddest looking team of three ever. Nicole is first to be clothed. After some time, a theater group helps clothe them. They even get a shirt big enough for Craig. Now they need to find pants for Craig. At Bobby’s suggestion, they decide to head to the laundromat, which happens to be the same laundromat where everybody’s clothing is being dry cleaned. They arrive with moments to spare, and they’ve got everybody else’s clothes with them. So this time Bobby and Craig are the heroes.

Kristen, Ali, and Victoria look like Charlie’s Angels. They very quickly get a lot of attention. Whoever tries to clothe them is going to get beaten up. But that’s not a problem since everybody who sees them is drooling. To make matters worse, they have on what they refer to as hooker boots, which means their feet are killing them. Ali says she wants to give up. They eventually run into some American’s who give them shirts. After that, they meet up with a woman on her smoke break, and she’s got three bottoms for them. They are able to arrive on time.

Alex and Paul get some shirts from cab drivers and then some pants for Alex. Paul runs into a New Yorker who happens to have a spare pair of pants, which completes their wardrobe. They arrive at the restaurant first.

Aside from Clay and Mark, everybody completed the task, earning $40,000 for the group.

Pot total: $129,000 out of $290,000

At dinner, it’s time for Paul to fight with Mark. And Bobby. And Craig. And Nicole. Any more takers?

Nicole suspects Bobby. Victoria suspects Ali. Clay suspects everybody. Paul thinks the last group arriving with everybody’s clothes is way too fishy.

Unlike last week, nobody is exempt, but an offer is on the table. If somebody leaves the game now, they get $20,000. Nobody is interested.

Kristen is safe.
Mark is safe.
Victoria is safe.

After telling Victoria it’s too late to take the money, Jon raises the offer to $30,000. Ali takes it and is out of the game. She would have been safe. There’s still an execution to get through.

Alex is safe.
Bobby is eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Mole 5 episode 4, which airs Monday at 10/9c on ABC.

The Bachelorette 4 Episode 6

Proving that alone time with DeAnna is becoming increasingly more dangerous, not only did Robert get cut on the two-on-one date, but Fred was sent packing as well in The Bachelorette 4 Episode 4. Brian was the third person sent home.

Everybody’s packing to go to a resort in Palm Springs. They’ll all be there all week.

Sean gets a one-on-one date. They’re going up on a mountain, where a scared of heights DeAnna hopes she doesn’t die. After a conversation over dinner where they get to know each other better, she invites him back for some dessert. She’s happy to have finally gotten to know him at the last minute and would have given him a rose if there were one to give.

Jesse, Jason, Graham, and Twilley get the group date. Twilley says he’s confused by this decision. Considering how well DeAnna already knows Jeremy, that’s a fair statement, although she hasn’t had a one-on-one date with Jeremy either. Leading up to the group date, though, Twilley does get to go alone with her on the helicopter ride. Graham is looking forward to Twilley’s motion sickness popping up, which it does. He manages to not toss his cookies, so that’s a good sign. The date is four wheeling in the desert with 50 mile an hour winds. DeAnna has no problem showing up the men with her riding skills. Jesse’s having a lot of fun since he’s in his element as well. Twilley, meanwhile, is off on his own at his own pace all day.

From there, they head to a pool party. Her concern about Jason is that, if they go to the hometown dates, she’s going to meet his son. During their conversation, I’m left wondering: is this guy really this nice?

So far, DeAnna has had the least physical connection with Jesse, who she was really impressed with today since he was fearless while riding. She’s hoping to get a kiss from him. No go.

Next up is Graham. Jason says he’s a sure bet and that nobody else has quite the same connection with DeAnna as Graham does. She says she’s a giddy school girl with butterflies when she’s with him.

And Twilley? Well, he already got some alone time with her. When he was attempting to not vomit.

DeAnna and Jeremy will be going to dinner in a vintage convertible. They go to what was Frank Sinatra’s house. I think we know where this is going. It’s time for some karaoke. No, this is a very bad idea. It’s time for some tone deafness. DeAnna feels she already knows Jeremy pretty well, which again returns us to why she chose him for this date over Twilley. Granted, it can be argued that Twilley’s a goner no matter what, so perhaps she just wants to see what a real date with Jeremy is like.

DeAnna decides there’s no need for a cocktail party because she already knows who the final four will be. She doesn’t want to lead anybody on like what happened to her (yeah, this old story that we’ve heard like a brazilian times before).

Roses
Jeremy
Jason
Graham
Jesse

Despite the apparent connection they had on their date, Sean won’t be taking DeAnna to meet his family. He wonders if maybe he got started earlier he’d have done better. Twilley, meanwhile, clearly had no prayer of sticking around past tonight and wasn’t given the opportunity to change his fate. He realizes he may be a bit zany, but he’s just being himself.

The Bachelorette 4 Episode 5

The story of the final 6 guys continues later tonight, but first, DeAnna tells all.

DeAnna tells us she’s surprised that Ryan is a virgin, which is surprising since he told everybody else about it.

Chris asks how much of this is real, and DeAnna responds that it’s all real (as real as someone dating 25 guys on national TV can be anyway).

The first question on everyone’s mind is Richard and why she axed him. Watching the show, she said she thought she was an idiot for getting rid of him, but she remembers that she knew she didn’t have a deep enough connection with him to let him keep going.

From there we relive DeAnna’s hissy fit at the barbeque. She felt like her heart was being broken and that the guys weren’t making enough of an effort, an odd statement considering some of the guys left in the final six who still aren’t making an effort yet weren’t eliminated.

DeAnna tells us it was hard to watch how hurt Robert was after his elimination. But that was the obvious thing of that night. It’s what happened to Fred that had people wondering what the heck was going on. She reiterates she wasn’t going to lead him on. But as I’ve said before, Brad did the same thing when he cut both women when he didn’t love them, yet he’s labelled as an asshat.

Trista and Ryan are back yet again because it’s not like there are any other success stories from this show. We get a look at their family life and their child. Also, like DeAnna, though, Trista had been rejected on a previous season but came back to be The Bachelorette where she met Ryan. She likes Graham and Jason.

Jesse gets into detail about what he’s broken and that he’s never been in a wheelchair (for too long). His plan is to just be himself, except when she wants him to not be himself.

Twilley (he’s still here?) also plans to just be himself, which appears to be very loud. He tells us about his artistic side and how he started a business when he was younger. He hopes she’ll notice there’s more to him than just the guy trying to grab her attention.

Jason says he’s just a regular guy who always does his own thing. He just hopes DeAnna’s ready to be a mom.

Sean originally went into martial arts because he was small for his age as a child. He discusses how he’s entirely too vain (no need to go over his list of bragging). He admits he’s a mama’s boy and considers himself a good southern boy.

Graham is apparently surprised that DeAnna has feelings for other guys when this whole show is about dating a bunch of different people. He believes the conflict between them is healthy.

Jeremy likes extreme sports. As an attorney, he says there’s a lack of time for socializing. He’s afraid that he’s holding back with DeAnna like he always does.

Unwilling to commit to a particular answer (not that the producers would let her anyway), DeAnna says she’s got feelings for everybody and doesn’t have a favorite yet.

Up next is another new episode of The Bachelorette 4.

Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii

It didn’t take long for the Wii Fit clones to start appearing. Jillian Michaels, best known for her role as one of the trainers on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, is working with Majesco Games (largely a budget game publisher) on Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for the Nintendo Wii.

“Wii and the Wii Balance Board have added a credible and effective new option for players looking to get in shape in a fun and entertaining way,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. “Jillian Michaels’ expertise in the fitness world coupled with the innovative Wii Balance Board lets us deliver a compelling game that will change the way America approaches home fitness.”

“As a huge gamer myself with younger siblings and godchildren, I recognize the importance of staying current with how people digest their media and information,” said Jillian Michaels. “I truly think this type of product will be instrumental in revolutionizing the fitness industry and will help combat the childhood obesity epidemic in this country today. I couldn’t be more excited about partnering with Interactive Game Group and Majesco to bring a family-oriented fitness video game to the market.”

Frederic Chesnais, founder of Interactive Game Group (I2G), added, “This project is exactly why I created I2G — to bring talented people together and facilitate the creation and distribution of highly-innovative interactive entertainment.”

In Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 players become new recruits in Jillian’s boot camp where they enroll in a unique training program composed of fitness tests and a changing series of workouts. Players choose their workout from four types — Weight Loss, Strength Training, Intervals and Hill Climb — and set the intensity to light, medium or hard for a duration between 10 and 60 minutes. By completing Wii Remote and Wii Balance Board motion-based challenges that range from crossing monkeybars to climbing ladders and rowing, players can also unlock lifestyle and fitness video tips from Jillian. Players can even track their progress based on calories burned and workout intensity. In addition, a Competitive Party Mode lets two players race against each other through individual challenges or through the entire Physical Training course to earn the winning time.

Developed by 3G Studios, Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii is expected to release this holiday season. I’ll greet this product with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it will be interesting to see how it works out.

The Apprentice UK Series 4 Winner

After Lucinda decided she was kinda sorta maybe still interested in being the next apprentice, Sir Alan decided he was not kinda sorta maybe still interested in her any more and decided to fire her in The Apprentice UK Series 4 Episode 11. That brought us down to the final four of Alex, Claire, Helene, and Lee, and that’s where Sir Alan wanted things to remain for the finale.

The final four are divided into two teams: Claire and Lee against Alex and Helene. Six of the castoffs return to work with them.

Claire selects Jenny C. Alex selects Raef. Lee selects Michael. Helene selects Kevin. Lee selects Simon. That leaves the other Jen on Helene and Alex’s team.

The teams are standing in a blank room, which is a canvas for their promotion of a new fragrance for the modern man, retailing at £29.95. Sir Alan informs them that whichever team loses, both will be fired, a twist I’m not particularly fond of.

Helene tells Alex she’s glad she’s working with him because Claire takes over and Lee is a nightmare.

Alex suggests he is the modern man. Lee is thinking metrosexual. Claire visits plumbers, which leads her to overthrow the metrosexual theme.

Helene is in charge of branding. After two hours brainstorming, she’s still stuck. Alex and Kevin have decided on the name Connect. Helene and her team hate it. Alex wants to know what she suggests. Silence. Kevin and Alex discuss how, despite it being a joint project management, Alex should be managing Helene. When they arrive to discuss bottle design, they still don’t have a brand name. Kevin makes a pitch to create a bottle made of a stress ball material. The designer says that’s a silly idea, but he runs with the concept of the regular large container and then a smaller one to go with it to carry with you. They’ve got a design ready, despite the lack of a brand.

Following 5 hours of brainstorming, Helene still has nothing. She’s also late for her focus group. Alex describes the bottle and once again brings up the name Connect. His other idea is Dual. She doesn’t want to hear it and has to go. Jen’s not any more impressed with her than Alex and Kevin are.

Lee’s concerned about the presentation, whereas his partner is the best presenter on the show.

Alex’s team finally has a brand name, Dual, which they’re using to promote the inner self that occasionally wants to come out. Nick is impressed by Alex, despite thinking Helene is useless.

Unlike Claire and Lee, who realize they’re competitors but also realize they need to work together or face being fired, Alex and Helene are approaching this task as competitors.

Helene hopes to have an unusual scent. She begins looking at things like chocolate and curry.

For their fragrance, Roulette, Lee wants to revive the old fashioned gambling gentleman. Their location is a night club that looks like a casino.

During a discussion of when they’re going to wake up, Raef, Jen, and Kevin walk out on Helene after getting tired of her. They leave Alex behind so she can yell at him.

Lee struggles to even practice the presentation and tells Claire he can’t do it.

Alex smells his fragrance. Probably not the wisest idea. Jen comments: it is quite… chocolatey.

Lucky for Lee, Alex and Helene’s team finds them boring, so it may not matter whether he can pull it together or not.

Lee tries to tell the audience that the metrosexual trends are dead and that there’s a new modern man. Granted, their actor in the commercial is apparently himself a metrosexual. Their fragrance is a spicy oriental blend. The audience has concerns about the gambling aspects of the campaign, but Claire does a good job of covering this. One comment they receive is that the product may not be particularly special, but it could sell reasonably well immediately without much work.

Alex and Helene receive a comment that they’ve done an extraordinary job considering the time frame they had to make the product. The concern raised about their product is the potential cost of the bottle, which they say will be slightly higher but should be manageable. The buyers suggest even the few percentage points higher is too much to leave room for advertising.

Claire and Lee’s team supports them fully. Nick’s not too thrilled with the gambling aspect. He says that Roulette = gambling = debt = misery. Harsh. The experts felt the fragrance was not distinctive. One said it was retro 1970s, which was what I thought the market they were going for was.

Kevin’s not quite so supportive of his project managers as the other team. Well, at least he’s not quite so supportive of one of them. He says the decisions were made by Alex. Their fragrance was definitely distinctive, although Sir Alan says it’s a copy of the perfume Helene wears. Sir Alan wants to know who came up with the idea of the dual bottle. Alex doesn’t really have an answer.

Sir Alan tells Lee his presentation was improved 100%, and Claire’s Q&A handling was brilliant. More importantly, though, is the cost of the dual bottle the other team had. While it may have been a great idea, it just doesn’t work at this price. Alex and Helene are fired.

So that brings us down to the final two: Lee and Claire.

Helene, who proved useless on the task, blames the loss on Alex because she didn’t design the bottle (or do anything else), which, therefore, must mean it’s not her fault. As skeptical as I was about whether Alex was more than just a pretty boy, Helene is someone who shouldn’t have been allowed in the final task to begin with.

Michael tells Sir Alan that Claire’s shown a lot of tenacity and has had the tougher route. Simon says he can’t choose between the two. Jenny is impressed by Lee’s chivalry, for whatever that’s worth.

Sir Alan calls Lee’s presentation improved but lacking, whereas Claire’s was superb.

Claire says that she’s learned throughout the process and has improved as time has gone by. She believes she’s the tougher person and won’t crumble.

Lee speaks to his record, which was the best of the final four.

Sir Alan is concerned about Lee being a one trick pony (sales), but he also raises concern about Claire’s general demeanor. Ultimately, he has decided that Lee is very, very convincing, and with that, he’s reached a decision. Lee is the winner of The Apprentice UK Series 4.

I’m less convinced than Sir Alan is. I’ve been a lot more impressed with Claire.

The Apprentice UK Series 5 will air next year, presumably around the end of March. In the US, The Celebrity Apprentice 2 starts in January. Stay tuned to dingoRUE for coverage of both.