Author: Shane

American Idol 7 Episode 4

Last night in American Idol 7 Episode 3 in San Diego, we saw some good talent, including Australian Michael Johns, Samantha Musso (who was a shoe in after saying Simon was hot), 16-year-old David Archuleta, and previously disqualified due to visa trouble Carly Smithson. Not very much in terms of disastrous performances. Well, nothing worth mentioning anyway.

Tonight we head to Charleston, SC, with over 10,000 contestants.

Raysharde Henderson believes he’s the black Clay Aiken and also from the 70s. Good voice but over the top. They reject him, rather odd considering he’s better than half the people they let through.

DeAnna Prevatte is from Albemarle, Kellie Pickler’s hometown. She’s no Kellie Pickler, though, and she’s got a very pronounced angry side.

Crystal Ortiz and Randy Stark met on the American Idol message boards and are now dating. This audition is a waste of time. Crystal asks whether her parents are blind; Simon tells her they’re deaf.

Maybe siblings will be better. They’re certainly more obnoxious. Unless you like really, really loud people. Michelle Lampkin and her brother Jeffrey Lampkin sing I Am Your Angel. They actually sound really good. Simon likes Jeffrey better but likes them both. Randy says yes to Jeffrey but no to Michelle. Paula and Simon say yes to both of them.

16-year-old Amy Catherine Flynn, captain of her catholic high school dance team, has a public service announcement. She wants people to abstain from sex, drugs, and alcohol and gives Simon a lecture about sex. He pretends to agree. She sings Reflections by Christina Aguilera. Not sure she’s ready for this, but she has star potential. Simon tells her a lot of people will find her annoying and that the song is too big for her (and again with the not as good as you think you are line he picked up recently). All three give her the thumbs up(ish).

London Weidberg is the last contestant of day one. She had a “surreal” childhood growing up right on the beach but lost her father three years ago to cancer. Good voice, but none of the judges are really thrilled by her. Still, it’s enough.

Lindsey Goodman is a pilot for the Air Force. She sings Black Velvet. Good voice, but Paula is concerned about her nerves. Simon calls her cabaret. All three say no.

Aretha Codner’s chest distracts the judges from looking elsewhere. Simon doesn’t like her dress, belt, voice, or anything else. Randy likes the belt, though.

Joshua Boson’s telling us he’s not going and that we’re gonna love him. Not likely. Then he says the show is fake and rigged. Oh, as if that’s a news flash.

Oliver Highman has been on throughout the show, as his wife went into labor as he was preparing to audition. He sings Get Here. He doesn’t look like a pop star, but he has a nice voice. He tries to do too much, though, and the judges aren’t impressed.

23 contestants have managed to get through to the next round.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 7 episode 5, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol 7 Episode 3

American Idol 7 Episode 2 had some talent, from country singers Jessica Brown and Alaina Whitaker to singer impersonator with a great voice in her own right Katie Malloy. The biggest performance of the night, however, was arguably Renaldo Lapuz, a Simon worshipper who sang an original composition, We’re Brothers Forever. Oddly enough, I agree with Simon about this song, though. I could see this actually being a hit record. Of course, William Hung managed to sell 300,000 albums, so anything could happen.

Next stop on the audition tour is San Diego, CA, with a crowd of over 12,000.

Tetiana Ostopowych (that may or may not be spelled right) is up first. She sings Someone to Watch Over Me. Simon says she’s not as good as she thinks she is but lets her through. Pretty girl with a decent voice but forgettable.

Perrie Cataldo is there with his four-year-old son. Their wife/mother died about a year ago. He sings Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love to You. Simon’s very impressed.

Michael Johns, originally from Australia, is up next. I’m not sure what this song is he’s singing, but he’s got a great voice. Simon says he’s like a white soul singer.

Valerie Reyes is a big Mariah Carey fan, and she loves laughing at the rejects on American Idol. It’s pretty obvious before she even starts singing she’ll suck. Simon says it sounds like Mariah Carey’s CD having been left out in the sun for a year. Randy thinks she has potential if she stopped trying to copy Mariah.

Simon thinks three different people dressed Monique Gibson today. She sings Whitney Houston’s I Believe in Miracles. It only takes about one note before we realize how bad this will be. Simon doesn’t believe in miracles. She insists she can sing and will be back. Her friend Christopher Baker, also singing Whitney, isn’t any better. He can’t take the hint either. Both of them are still singing out in the hall, yet still have no talent regardless.

Samantha Musso, the last contestant of the first day, thinks Simon is really hot. Ryan Seacrest isn’t happy. Simon invites Samantha’s sister to be a judge, too. She wanted to meet him, along with Oprah and Obama. What it comes down to, though, is singing, and this chick has a great voice. After the audition, Simon gets a hug from both of them.

Blake Boshnack has auditioned in at least 10 cities. He was the statue of liberty from season 5 in Chicago. They give him a chance to actually sing this time. He sings Stand by Me. Not necessarily a bad voice, but it’s obvious he’s a goner before he even walks in. Hopefully next year they don’t show this guy again, as he’s gotten enough attention already.

Alberto Hurtado, with a flower in his hair, a big fan, and a sparkling eagle on his shirt, has made his own song called Live. This isn’t even… interesting. Simon suggests it’s probably the most depressing song he’s ever heard and calls him the equivalent of a storm cloud on a sunny day.

16-year-old David Archuleta had problems a few years back with a paralyzed vocal chord. He didn’t want to have surgery because he was scared it would impact his singing. He sings Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer. Not sure how far he’ll go, but he’s got a good voice. I remember this kid (well, mostly I remember the name, but there was some quality talent in those finals) from when he won Star Search in 2003. After the jump is a clip of him at age 12 singing And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going to the American Idol 1 contestants. Kelly Clarkson’s sure impressed.

Carly Smithson was disqualified previously because her Visa fell through. She sings Whitney Houston’s I’m Every Woman. Simon tells her it wasn’t as good as two years ago, but she’s still easily through to Hollywood.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 7 episode 4, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Continue reading “American Idol 7 Episode 3”

Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 15

Kyle and Jessi worked together to stop Ballantine in Kyle XY Season 2 Episode 14. While their efforts put Jessi out of the woods as far as being sought after by Madacorp, there was a new wrinkle at the end: a man introducing himself as her father came to see her in the hospital.

Kyle feels free now that he’s no longer hiding anything from his family. He might want to be more careful, though, as his newest trick of levitating with the assistance of water in front of Amanda’s mom won’t exactly win her over.

Nicole is concerned about Jessi’s well being with her newfound father Brian Taylor, a man who hasn’t proven to be particularly trustworthy in the past.

They go to the career fair at the school. Kyle doesn’t like that Madacorp has a booth there, but Lori tells him it’s okay and that they do every year. Hillary plans to be the queen of fabulous when she grows up, which actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Josh thinks this is all just a waste of time, but Kyle views it as an opportunity to find out what he can become.

Stephen goes to Madacorp to clean out his desk. Emily, who played right along with Ballantine’s game, apologizes and says his agenda was his own. She asks him to stay. He doesn’t trust her, with good reason, and happily declines.

Jessi’s back at school, and she says everything’s going well with her father, who claims he created her from Sarah’s genetics based on Adam’s experiments. The evil Jessi appears to be gone now, replaced with one who’s willing to keep her word. But the very curious Jessi still lurks. She insists on doing something to get away from the boring career fair, which leads her to jump off the roof… with a video camera nearby. Kyle believes she’s safe since he couldn’t make out a face in the video, though. Unfortunately, Jessi’s pretty happy with all the attention she’s getting from this. She doesn’t get why it’s a bad thing and thinks life is about getting noticed. She reluctantly promises Kyle no more tricks. This lasts all of a few minutes, as Hillary egging her on gets her to walk on water. This time it’s pretty clear who it is.

Hillary’s hoping to get some drooling guys to help her out. She offers them first base, no tongue, in an effort to get them to help her find out how Jessi did her “stunt” and put the spotlight back on her.

Nicole goes to confront Taylor about what’s been happening, hoping to prevent a circus from coming to Kyle. She wants him to start acting like a dad.

Kyle’s just getting more confused with all the options available. A group of guys want him to become an engineer after he saved their firm some money. Josh wants him to become a doctor to cure cancer and save Andy. Emily’s there, too. Kyle isn’t interested, but Jessi’s eager to work with her. Kyle tries to talk some sense into her, but she doesn’t care what he has to say.

Josh and Kyle were watching a science documentary “hosted by one of those naked magazine rabbits” in which a rat was kept in a cage and had its every move monitored. Kyle fears that if his secret gets out, that will happen to him, though he did notice that the tests helped find answers.

Taylor comes to the house and admits he doesn’t know how to handle Jessi. As a gesture of faith, he brings the ring, which Kyle sold at the pawn shop. The ring around Kyle’s neck is actually from Ballantine’s father. He makes a case for why they should trust him, or at least not abandon Jessi.

Jessi seems to have learned her lesson. The kids are asking her for more tricks, but she’s refusing. Hillary, however, has not learned her lesson, and she taunts her. With enough pushing, Jessi finally agrees to jump off the roof again. Just in time, Kyle comes to stop her, telling her he’s jumping, too. That doesn’t work, so Lori and Josh volunteer as well. This works, but they back off when asked, except Kyle uses his newfound water-based powers to prevent her from actually falling off the roof.

Jessi didn’t want to jump either but was afraid she was losing approval. She doesn’t want to be what she was before: invisible. Kyle’s lesson for her is that the people with the most to offer usually believe in themselves the least, but that’s not the case with him because he has people who believe in him, who will believe in her as well if she lets them.

Josh has chosen a career. Following Kyle’s suggestion, he’s decided to become a doctor.

Jessi claims to have learned her lesson. That lasts about two seconds before she sneaks out her bedroom window and jumps off the roof.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Kyle XY Season 2 episode 16 Great Expectations, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Oscar Nominations

The nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards are:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf’s Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

It’s unclear what impact the writers strike will have on the awards ceremony, which is scheduled for Sunday February 24, 2008. The Golden Globes were largely ignored, and the Writers Guild of America has vowed to not allow any writing for the Oscars either if the strike is still going on at that time. However, organizers for the event say the show will go on. Some actors have said they won’t cross picket lines, though.

Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

Prison Break Season 3 Episode 10

After two months on hiatus, Prison Break Season 3 Episode 9 was the first of five new episodes. General Zavala managed to get Susan’s name out of Michael, along with a location of where she would be. She played along as if Zavala had the upper hand, just long enough to take the opportunity to kill him. Meanwhile, inside Sona, the struggle for power continued. Sammy managed to get ahold of a gun thanks to Sucre unintentionally assisting him, a pretty good advantage to have.

Lechero is afraid Scofield’s a hero now, since he survived the box, or so he says. As such, he refuses Sammy’s request to kill him.

Mahone gets a picture of his son in the mail.

Whistler informs Scofield T-Bag’s coming with them. Mahone wants in, too. Michael may as well just accept they’re all in this together whether they want to be or not. Now that last week’s drama’s done, it’s time to start digging again, at least that’s the plan. Michael says it’ll be two days.

Sammy pulls out his gun and lets Lechero know he’s done. Then he lets everybody else know he’s in charge. When nobody objects, he offers a case of rum for whoever brings him Michael.

Lincoln’s trying to find out what he can about Gary Miller.

T-Bag wants to take Sammy out. He doesn’t want to risk his own neck, but he’s got no problem risking Bellick, asking that he chicken foot Sammy and cheat again like he did last time.

Sofia doesn’t want to turn her back on Whistler, even if she doesn’t exactly trust him. She makes Lincoln give her his word that he’ll be okay.

Sucre goes to meet Susan and tells her Lincoln’s not playing any games. She tells him she believes him, then she gives him a cashier’s check for $25,000, with the other half payable later.

Whistler tells Scofield he was supposed to kill him but didn’t. So now apparently he’s supposed to be grateful.

Bellick approaches Sammy asking for the chicken foot. After he does this, though, he realizes he doesn’t have any acetone left, so it looks like the first plan’s out the window. He pretends he made a mistake and wasn’t actually talking about Sammy, but it doesn’t get him anywhere.

Lincoln and Sofia buy some explosives.

Mahone, Scofield, and Whistler use the distraction of the fight as an excuse to come out from digging. They’re quickly stopped by Sammy’s goons. Their location is no longer secret, but at least they’re able to get back into it, well, two of them anyway. Just as Sammy’s about to kill Bellick, they call for him. They threaten to kill Whistler if he doesn’t help them get through the door. Not at all intimidated, Whistler’s request to Michael is simply to not open the door.

Sucre doesn’t bother telling Lincoln the part about how he’s got cash in his pocket. Susan knows something’s up, and she tells Sucre she knows where he sent the money and that if he doesn’t cooperate, she’ll kill Maricruz.

Sammy and his boys get Lechero and go ask him for the combination. Then Michael opens the door. He offers Sammy a deal to go with them. Sammy agrees but not to the part of going with them. He wants their plans all to himself. Michael wants them to take Whistler with them. Obviously a setup. Sammy pokes his head in the tunnel, which comes crashing down around him. Then Lechero kills his goons with his gun.

Bellick wants in, too, and if not, he’ll blow their cover, so T-Bag accepts. McGrady wants to go with them as well, but Michael tells him he doesn’t want any part of it.

Sofia does some digging and finds a briefcase. As we’ve seen before, the show ends with us wondering what’s inside.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Prison Break season 3 episode 11 Under & Out, which airs Monday at 8/7c on Fox.

The Amazing Race 12 Winner

The Amazing Race 10 winner
The Amazing Race 11 winner
The Amazing Race 13 winner
The Amazing Race 14 winner

With Nathan & Jennifer’s inability to work with each other in The Amazing Race 10 Episode 10, the final three teams were revealed: dating couple TK Erwin & Rachel Rosales, father and daughter Ronald Hsu & Christina Hsu, and grandfather and grandson Nicolas Fulks & Donald Jerousek.

They’ve worked hard at trying to convince us that all three of these teams belong in the final three, and there are no doubt those who would argue there’s some truth to that. Despite that, I can’t help but feel things are a bit lacking here.

TK & Rachel have performed the best of the three, and for that matter, the best of anyone this season other than Azaria & Hendekea. Their laid back attitude has gotten them criticized by some (namely their bitter opponent Jennifer) for not working hard, but it’s this carefreeness that has gotten them this far. As a team that’s unlikely to bicker, they work together quite well.

Unfortunately, the other two teams have been a bit of a disaster. Ronald & Christina have gotten the dysfunctional father/daughter that have grown closer thanks to the show (we saw that edit with Dick & Danielle in Big Brother 8, and it was a lie there) edit. (Looks like I struck a raw nerve with the BB8 comment. I welcome and encourage feedback on this or any other subject… within the bounds of calm, rational discussion.) While he arguably has been more patient with her the last couple episodes when they were in the lead, he’s been quick to freak out at her and pretty much everybody else on the race with little provocation, a situation that’s been uncomfortable to watch at best. If we leave him aside, I have been impressed with Christina, though.

Then there’s Nicolas & Donald. Donald’s effort for his age is certainly commendable. However, it just hasn’t been enough to hang with the other teams. This team is the #6 team of the season in terms of finishing rankings and has relied primarily on major mistakes by another team and second to last place finishes to limp along and not be eliminated.

With all that said, history has taught us it’s still anybody’s game. Whether it’s a flat tire, someone having an EZPass, or the producers forcing a plane to turn around to let a second team board, you never can tell who’s going to be the winner of this race.

For about the third time this season, the show’s actually starting on time.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Ronald & Christina (9:47am)
Second: TK & Rachel (10:30am)
Third: Nicolas & Donald (10:37am)

The final destination city is Anchorage, Alaska, where they’ll first head to 6th Avenue Outfitters to get equipment for the detour. That means just one plane or one set of planes before the final city, which normally magnifies even the smallest of mistakes.

All three teams get on the same flight, a nonstop flight to Anchorage. With the lead they have, Ronald & Christina are using their time to surf the web and get some extra information on the only thing they know they’ll need: where 6th Avenue Outfitters is. Doesn’t much matter since they take a cab there anyway. The first two teams get their gear. Nicolas & Donald, however, grab the clue and forget their gear.

From there, they will head to Ship Creek Boat Launch.

The detour is a choice between cut the cod and grab the crab. In cut the cod, teams must cut through 50 pound fish and search for a clue inside one of the fish. In grab the crab, teams must jump into a boat swarming with over 500 crabs to find one marked with race colors. So it’s a choice between disgusting or risking being clawed.

Donald blames and gets upset with Nicolas (who’s carried him the whole time) for the mistake. They must return to the store and get their gear.

Cut the cod: Ronald & Christina, Nicolas & Donald
Grab the crab: TK & Rachel

Ronald & Christina seem to make easy work of the cod. TK & Rachel get dropped off in the wrong location, putting them in last by about a minute. But since Nicolas & Donald don’t have their bag, those two can’t actually do the task yet.

TK & Rachel struggle quite a bit with the crabs, to the point where they’re still hanging around when Nicolas & Donald get back. It’s apparent that this detour was nowhere near equal, as Nicolas & Donald finish in a few minutes with theirs like Ronald & Christina did. Still, all teams are within probably less than half an hour of each other.

The bad luck doesn’t stop there for TK & Rachel. They’re finding it easier to communicate with taxi drivers in India than in Alaska, placing both of the last two teams within about a minute of each other.

They’ll travel 60 miles to a boat launch, take a high speed ride to 20-Mile River, and climb a glacier to get their next clue. Ronald’s immediately afraid of the glacier, but it’s Christina who struggles. He’s made it to the top, but the she’s still there when the other two teams arrive. It’ll be interesting to see who this task actually favors, as there’s no team that appears so overly dominant in this type of physical task.

Christina manages to keep the lead for her team, but they have lost some of their lead. TK makes short work of the glacier, but Rachel’s no slouch either. Donald gets up quickest of the two members of his team, while it’s Nicolas who struggles for them.

Teams must take a helicopter to Merrill Field, and from there they’ll travel by taxi to Goose Lake Park.

The road block is a field of objects they’ve encountered along the race, 15 total. They must choose one from each leg of the race, with a certain number of items they’ve carried to the pitstop, a certain number of animals, etc. The tricky part is that multiple items can fulfill the requirements. It’s a puzzle, with only one right answer. This is potentially a very confusing and stressful task.

Road block (in order of arrival): Christina, Rachel, Nicolas

All three teams are doing the road block at the same time, so the race now is coming down to who finishes the road block first.

Christina gets 9 out of 10 right on her first try. She rearranges them and goes down to 6 out of 10. Then she starts praying. Her third guess is correct.

Rachel gets 7 out of 10. She realizes it’s crucial to stay calm, something the other two don’t seem to get. Her next guess is correct.

Rachel is the first to finish the road block. Christina is next. I don’t think Nicolas has even registered a guess yet.

The next clue is at the statue of Captain James Cook. They’re told to find the salmon hooker (another statue). It’s a footrace, which favors TK & Rachel.

The final pitstop for this race is Girdwood Airport.

And The Amazing Race 12 winners are… TK & Rachel. It’s a good ending for a change. They say their relationship has only gotten stronger as a result of the race, and they believe they’ve proved nice guys can finish first.

Ronald & Christina finish in second place. I do think they have gotten closer during this. Even though it would take a lot more than this to make him change his spots and become a more patient person, it was a good bonding experience for them nonetheless.

Nicolas & Donald arrive at the pitstop in third. Donald’s the oldest person to have ever made it to the final leg of The Amazing Race.

Because of the delayed start to this season (hopefully this has been a lesson to them to not do that again), we unfortunately won’t be seeing The Amazing Race 13 any time soon. However, CBS has confirmed that it’s picked up The Amazing Race 13, presumably for the fall lineup, if not as a summer show. This season’s ratings have been up sharply, a good sign for things to come.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 9

Terri & Henry were last in The Amazing Race 2 Episode 8, but they survived due to a lame second non-elimination in a row. It’s like David & Mary from The Amazing Race 10. Just put them out of their misery already.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Rovilson & Marc (2:17am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (2:24am)
Third: Ann & Diane (2:40am)
Fourth: Paula & Natasha (3:10am)
Fifth: Vanessa & Pamela (4:17am)
Sixth: Terri & Henry (10:35am)

Teams must travel by train to Prague and find Petrin Hill, where they must climb the 60 meter observation tower and correctly count the 299 steps to the top. The next train is at 4:20am, enough to create some bunching.

Train 1: Rovilson & Marc, Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane, Paula & Natasha
Train 2: Vanessa & Pamela
Train 3: Terri & Henry

The teams have a new plan to foil Ann & Diane. Refuse to work with them at the intersection.

The next hours of operation are at 9am. More bunching, this time enough for Pamela & Vanessa to catch up. Rather than waiting around aimlessly, Adrian & Collin and Ann & Diane go on Google and figure out how many steps are on the tower. Well played. While this gives Adrian & Collin the lead, though, Rovilson & Marc don’t need the answer beforehand and still place second on this task. Vanessa & Pamela also get it right, followed closely by Ann & Diane. Paula & Natasha, however, guess 311. They get confused the next time on the 52nd step and end up guessing 300. They finally get the right answer after that.

Strelecky Island on the Vltava River is the next destination. It turns out that Adrian & Collin’s foreknowledge of the number of steps did pay off after all. They catch the train before everybody else and are on the island apparently before anybody else leaves for it, though it doesn’t seem like a particularly long distance away.

Once on the island, teams will use a marked row boat to row 140 degrees southeast using the compass provided. A fairly simple task, but it has the potential to confuse some. The rowing could be bad enough, but when the compass is added to it, chaos could ensue. This is another one of those tasks that Rovilson & Marc have absolutely no problem with, while everybody else struggles.

The next clue is located at Prague Castle, the biggest ancient castle in the world. At the castle is the intersection, where each team must team up with another team. Adrian & Collin are first to arrive, and they plan to team up with whoever comes second. Pretty obvious who that will be, and these four together is even more unfair than the rest of the race has been. Shockingly enough, Rovilson & Marc are the next team to arrive.

They will head to the Ice Hockey Arena Letnany in Letnany. Each team member must score one goal from three different points on the rink (no goalie).

As the boys are leaving, Ann & Diane show up. Too bad for them, since Adrian & Collin are the only team particularly willing to actually work with them.

On the cab ride there, Rovilson & Marc tell us about the plan. If Paula & Natasha and Pamela & Vanessa team up, Ann & Diane will have to wait for Terri & Henry, putting them so desperately far behind they have no prayer of catching up any time soon. I didn’t get it before (and it appears to me they’re just realizing it, too), but this is absolutely brilliant strategy considering that point.

Too bad they didn’t think of this earlier. Vanessa & Pamela readily agree to work with Ann & Diane. Generally a very good idea, but given the circumstances, there was much strategy to be had with this. They totally forgot about Terri & Henry (who we haven’t seen this entire episode), and like Marc & Rovilson, they didn’t think about it until the cab ride. While they had discussed the yield with the boys, and the boys have discussed the intersection with Paula & Natasha, nobody filled Vanessa & Pamela in on the plans for what to do in the event of an intersection.

Paula & Natasha know they’re screwed. It’s at this point that we finally figure out just how far behind Terri & Henry are. They’re departing over 8 hours behind the first and second place teams. Even with the hours of operation bunching, we’re still looking at a wait time of at least a few hours. This is the same absolutely hideous planning that we saw in the US version (intersection on the leg after a non-elimination leg is almost certain defeat), with the added complication of the last place team being ridiculously far behind. Paula & Natasha are killing time to the extent that it’s just silly.

The detour is a choice between snap or roll. In snap, teams must find and take photos of three historical monuments and bring them to the statue of Josef Manes for verification. In roll, teams must collect two 50 liter beer kegs from a restaurant and deliver them to Admiral Botel.

Roll: Adrian & Collin and Rovilson & Marc, Ann & Diane and Vanessa & Pamela (after trying snap and being unable to either find anything or work together)
Snap: Paula & Natasha and Terri & Henry

After the detour is over, they are released from the intersection. Rovilson & Marc and Collin & Adrian worked together quite well as expected. All four other teams did okay until they got to the detour, where they failed miserably to be cohesive foursomes. They’ll head to the swimming pool in Prague 4.

The road block is a ten meter dive. That’s it? Yep, just as poorly planned as the US one. This will take no time at all. If there were any question before, it’s clear based on this that Terri & Henry are toast considering their 30 minute penalty. Granted, as little time as this did take, Vanessa says she’s delusional and can’t remember what she’s doing afterward. She doesn’t know what she just did or that they’re going to the pitstop. She was bleeding, so it would seem that the impact has caused some momentary short-term memory loss.

Road block (in order of arrival): Rovilson, Collin, Vanessa, Ann, Henry, Natasha

On the way to the pitstop and in a mad dash for last (only not really since the penalty negates any prayer Terri & Henry may have had), Terri & Henry are unable to get a cab, so they walk away. This very same cab picks up Paula & Natasha. Henry comments, “They just were nice to the guy.” It’s here we find out how long Paula & Natasha are behind the other teams: 5 hours. Terri & Henry’s poor performance has the potential to continue impacting the race, as we’re probably heading to an airport leg. 5 hours could mean nothing in that case, but it could mean an even larger gap. The plane here in the first place is what put Terri & Henry so far behind.

The pitstop for this leg of the race is Vrtbovska Garden in Mala Strana.

First: Rovilson & Marc (win Sony HD Handycam SR7)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Ann & Diane
Fourth: Vanessa & Pamela
Fifth: Paula & Natasha
Sixth: Terri & Henry (eliminated)

It’s about time. I don’t know if it would have been possible for Terri & Henry to actually get any further behind than they were this leg. At least they’re going out in good spirits, though.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 10, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.

The Biggest Loser 5 Episode 3

Curtis & Mallory, who seemed like one of the stronger teams, were eliminated in The Biggest Loser 5 Episode 2, in what was really a rather bad showing by most people considering it was only the second week.

Paul & Kelly, the other team below the yellow line last week, have an interesting relationship. She left the marriage and wants no part of him. He still wants her back, though, or so we’re hearing from the other contestants.

Jay & Mark and Jackie & Dan openly acknowledge that they’re there to play the game.

Jackie & Dan are The Biggest Loser team of the week. To earn their reward, they must perform the first challenge again, hiking up to the top of the hill. At the top, they must choose between luxury, family, and gameplay as their prize. Jackie’s initial worry was just about surviving, but now she’s focusing on how they can win. Dan thinks they’re due for some luxury. Jackie goes with gameplay because she’s concerned that since they had such good weeks they’re both going to have a target on their back and may hit a wall this week. It’s not extra pounds like she’d hoped. However, it is an extra vote at the next elimination. With only seven votes now available, this gives them a good amount of power. The family choice would have been a visit from the family member of their choice for 24 hours, a lot better than the letters they were expecting. The luxury choice was free massages for them and another team of their choice for the week, potentially very good but also very dangerous.

Neill & Amanda are trying to convince us Neill’s not lazy any more. Jenn’s not buying it.

Ali eats because she has a fear of abandonment. Following her parents’ divorce, she can now use being fat as the excuse for people leaving her. Jillian wants her to confront Bette-Sue about this.

The challenge is a dirty one, in more than one sense. Alison hopes by now they’ve formed friendships and hopefully some alliances. One team member will race through muddy water, grab a medicine ball, race back, and put the ball in another team’s rack. When a team’s rack is full, they’re out of the game. A little early to be playing the pecking order challenge, but it’s normally pretty revealing. One player will run, while the other player will help decide where to put the balls. In addition to all this, the reward will be immunity.

Mark & Jay, concerned people will target them first, start plotting. They go to Ali & Bette-Sue for an alliance, and decide to make it a three-way alliance with Roger & Trent. They want to target Bernie & Brittany. Bernie & Brittany are looking at targetting Mark & Jay, as are Jackie & Dan, and the next target for these two teams is Roger & Trent. These alliances are strange. People are pretty much just joining up with whoever’s standing next to them. Beyond that, they’re being overly vocal about their plans, and it’s no secret what’s going on.

Elimination order:
Jackie & Dan
Neill & Amanda (odd… do people just want Neill gone?)
Mark & Jay (their elimination causes an argument… between each other)
Paul & Kelly
Bette-Sue & Ali
Bernie & Brittany (Maggie chooses she’d rather see Roger & Trent be safe than these two)
Maggie & Jenn

Roger & Trent win the challenge and immunity.

Amanda’s worried that Neill’s personality is getting them in trouble.

Unlike the others, Jackie & Dan don’t want to go back to their room to discuss what happened at the challenge. They’ve decided instead that they’re going to discuss things but will do so on the treadmill.

All the teams are getting more concerned about the black team (mainly Mark because he yelled at his brother). Mark couldn’t care less. He just wants to stay above the yellow line and says he acts obnoxious like that at home, too, so it’s okay. But he apologizes anyway, quite reluctantly. Not that it matters since this meeting that’s supposed to be them getting in everybody’s good graces just blows up into a big argument between everybody.

During the workout, Neill’s warned not to touch the treadmill, or the entire group will be punished by an additional 5 minutes on the treadmill. With less than 10 seconds left, he just can’t resist the temptation, hoping Jillian’s looking at her watch instead of at him. She catches him, and the group is angered that they have to keep going. This is how Neill operates. If he thinks someone’s not looking, he’ll try to take the lazy route. He does it again but doesn’t get caught.

After the workout, Jillian pulls Bette-Sue aside to tell her about what she discussed with Ali. Following their chat, she goes to get Ali and helps the two of them talk and start to get over the past.

Bob hopes this week sucks less worse than last week.

Roger: 331 (-9)
Trent: 388 (-13)
Total: -22 pounds, 2.97%

Jackie: 216 (-7)
Dan: 265 (-12)
Total: -19 pounds, 3.80%

Maggie: 221 (-6)
Jenn: 236 (-4)
Total: -10 pounds, 2.14%

Mark: 249 (-12)
Jay: 268 (-7)
Total: -19 pounds, 3.54%

Bette-Sue: 231 (-8)
Ali: 206 (-6)
Total: -14 pounds, 3.10%

Bernie: 248 (-13)
Brittany: 203 (-7)
Total: -20 pounds, 4.25%

Neill: 292 (-6)
Amanda: 185 (-5)
Total: -11 pounds, 2.25%

Paul: 269 (-14)
Kelly: 248 (-9)
Total: -23 pounds, 4.26%

By .01%, Paul & Kelly are the team of the week. Not so good news for Neill & Amanda or Maggie & Jenn, though, as they are below the yellow line, Maggie & Jenn for the second time. The thing the girls have going for them is that nobody likes Neill, and nobody really sees them as a threat either. Amanda’s very emotional about staying, but Neill can’t muster the same level of concern. At the voting table, he tells one of his jokes that Amanda warned us about, saying she spoke because she can turn on the tears, which draws looks of shock/disgust/nothing good from others.

Votes
Mark & Jay: Neill & Amanda
Bernie & Brittany: Neill & Amanda
Roger & Trent: Neill & Amanda
Jackie: Neill & Amanda

It’s unanimous. People like Amanda, but Neill’s gotta go. We saw this week one as well with Lynn. It doesn’t end there, though. Alison poses the question: if you could vote off one more team, right now, who would it be? Let’s hope this isn’t a lame twist, but we’ll find out the answer next week.

Neill has lost a total of 48 pounds. Amanda, meanwhile, has lost a total of 43 pounds. Despite being half his size, she continues to kick his butt.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Biggest Loser: Couples episode 4, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.