Author: Shane

Life Is Wild Episode 3

In Life Is Wild Episode 2, Jo started her mission to transform the lodge into something that functions, Katie met Oliver’s ex-girlfriend and got tricked by her, and Jesse lied about his age to get a job to get close to a girl.

The lodge is open for business. Jesse’s about as happy with this as he usually is about everything else, and Katie’s not much happier than him because she wants to get to school. The kids head off for school, and Jo and Art take the guests sightseeing for animals, where they manage to see a cow. Colin resolves this by taking an elephant that can’t be around people and buying something not particularly fitting to Africa, two ostriches.

Katie’s a singer, and as luck would have it, she’s trying out for the club that’s run by Tumelo and has Lauren as a lead singer. Much of the rest of the (talentless portion of the) school is there as well, since the club is a big deal and does a lot of assemblies and travelling. Katie turns out to be pretty decent, though. She gets the lead duet with Oliver.

Jesse’s upset he has to hang out with the guests’ teenage son, until he finds out he’s a rebel like himself. Drinking, being a poolshark, and forcing himself on Jesse’s boss. Despite the company he’s keeping, Jesse does get a promotion to bartender because the other person quit.

Her husband and son aren’t impressed (and the husband’s getting less impressed as time goes by), but the woman of the family staying at the lodge seems to like it. Jesse returns with their drunk child, though, which may not go over well with either of them.

Katie blows off practicing her duet to have pizza with Oliver, then gets upset about it the next morning and blames it on the lodge being under construction. When she gets to school, she can’t get anything right in the song. She blows up at her father in the morning and again when she gets home.

The two younger kids agree to pitch in and help. Jo has a minor breakdown, but Colin’s there to cheer her up and try to convince her she wasn’t a fool for reopening the lodge. Oliver invites Katie over to work on the song, but she decides to stick around and also help. The mother of the family staying with them wants to help, too.

Jesse’s boss tells him to get his friend out of the bar because he’s becoming more obnoxious. He flings some insults at the lodge and Jesse’s mom/boss, so of course things get physical. After the fight, Jesse’s boss cards the kid, finding out he’s only 17, and he tells about Jesse not being 18 either.

Colin starts the process of healing the elephant, then lets him go back to the competition in Mara to be with his family. In exchange for his help with the elephant, though, Colin does get a lot of help on the lodge in the form of workers and equipment. He also helps the man who’s staying them start to enjoy himself by letting him feed the elephant.

Jesse apologizes to his parents for the fight, which is a step in the right direction. His boss is not as easily impressed by an apology and fires him.

Tumelo and Oliver exchange words about Katie. This triangle isn’t resolved by a long shot.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live blog of Life Is Wild episode 4, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on The CW.

Reaper Episode 4

In Reaper episode 3, Andi decided to go back to college, but thanks to some help from the Devil, the all classes were cancelled due to the mysterious appearance of asbestos. C’mon, Sam. The Devil gave you another opening. Don’t screw it up.

Episode 4 starts off the way every week starts off: with Sam’s mind getting screwed with. As he’s going to get in his car, his keys disappear into thin air, so he has to take a cab to work. When he goes to pay the cab driver, the money disappears as well, along with his wallet. Ben has his keys but doesn’t know why. Then he finds his wallet in a paint can.

A new vessel arrives. As they’re trying to decide a good reason not to open it, Andi comes in and tells Sam she can get tickets to a concert for them, them meaning all of them. They make plans to head to Idaho, a 7 hour trip. Ted comes to tell them they’re in trouble for their earlier destruction of property when Sock was playing rodeo and riding a homemade bull, and Andi, who wasn’t even there, is lumped in with them. He forbids talking of a social nature while at work.

The Devil takes Sam to the scene of a car crash, where someone’s dead at the hands of an escaped soul. As usual, he’s not real big on minor annoyances like details. After Sam pushes, he’s told the name of the soul, Bellifiore, which is about all he’s going to get. Sam, hoping to get this over with so he can go to the concert, stands up for himself and says he refuses to accept his power over him. The Devil lets him know he doesn’t have a choice but to work for him by sending two tractor trailers that he needs to jump out of the way of to avoid being crushed.

The boys head back to the vessel, which is moving around. With much hesitation and fear, they open it to find a not so terrifying bird. While searching, the mouse disappears, as do Ben and Sock. They come back after Ted gives Sam a lecture about talking to himself. This gives him the idea to search for Bellifiore’s name plus the word disappear, which leads them to a magician DVD. On it, they learn he was found guilty for murder.

Andi breaks the news to Sam that she could only get two tickets to the concert. He says she should go with Josie, but she says she asked him first. The problem is the Devil made it clear he didn’t want him to go. I don’t get this Devil guy. Does he want these two together or not? But considering the invitation to be alone with Andi overnight, Sam forgets that the Devil tried to run him over with trucks.

Acting on a tip from a lady with a bunch of apples (there were apples at the scene of the accident), the boys go to a magic show. The magician gets pissed off because people applaud but don’t give him a standing ovation. He invites one of the onlookers on stage to assist him with a trick. He stabs the guy, leaving him unharmed, then disappears. When they walk outside, they discover the guy wasn’t so unharmed, as he’s got massive internal injuries and is being hauled away by an ambulance. Sam feels Bellifiore hates the audience because he blames them for his crappy career when he was alive.

Sam asks his mom to see the contract for his soul. Should be a pretty simple thing to find, but for some reason it takes some searching. Sam looks in the envelope and finds the contract fell apart. Sam tells his keys not to disappear, and they listen. His car disappears instead. As he’s walking, the Devil drives by and tells Sam his rights are an easy question to answer: he doesn’t have any. Complaining he has nothing to look forward to, Sam asks for some incentive. The Devil has his own plan in mind, and he goes to see Andi. When Sam gets to work, his car is there, parked in a handicapped spot and ticketed. Then they try to get out of work early, and Ted says there was a guy in there earlier giving away tickets to a magic show. The bird got out and flew away because Ben let him out to talk, so it may not be as quick a process to get there as they thought.

When he arrives at the magic show, Sam tries to convince Andi to leave, saying the show sucks. Of course, Bellifiore hears this and invites Sam on stage to see some real magic. He tries to talk his way out of it, but Andi says she’ll do it, so Sam agrees to do it instead. Knowing better than to admit the sword’s real, Sam steals it and runs. He finds out that Bellifiore is powerless without his sword. Bellifiore grabs his sword back, and a chase ensues. In the nick of time, Sock and Ben show up with the vessel. Thanks to Bellifiore’s mocking, Sam figures out how to work the vessel. He makes the bird disappear, and it reappears overhead (and much larger), attacking Bellifiore and sending him back to Hell.

In his rush to get out of the store to rescue Andi, Sam agreed to work the next four weekends plus Thanksgiving, which means he can’t go to the concert with her. She asks why he would do that, but he can’t answer. While he’s moping at a bar, the Devil comes up to him. He tells him he realizes that if anything’s going to kill him, it’s going to be a soul from Hell, not the Devil, who needs him. The Devil agrees to give him the contract.

Quotes from this episode:

Sam: I just had this really weird vision that he stabbed me.
Sock: I just ate this really weird cupcake, so I guess we’re even.

Sock: Beta males are in right now. Chicks dig it.

Devil: I’m not Google.

Sam to the Devil: God, you sound like Ted.

Customer: How much for the flat screen?
Sock (not feeling like talking): $1 million. Try Best Buy.

Sock: Dude, Winston is not a bird’s name, Ben.
Ben: Okay, well you tell me what a bird’s name is.
Sock: I don’t know. How about Flappy? Or Paul?

Ben: I’ve never seen a dead body up close before. It’s messed up.
Sock: I know, right. I mean you think that seeing Scarface all those times I’d be better prepared for that.

Sam: You put the contract for my soul with my third grade report card and Mr. Huggles?

Devil: Sarcasm is the lowest form of social discourse.

Guy driving by (to the Devil): Go to Hell, jerk.

Sam: I’m just the guy sending you back to Hell. Just… as soon as my friends show up.

Ben (saying goodbye to Winston): You a freaky ass bird, who scared the crap out of me, and now I can’t be comfortable around birds ever again.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Reaper episode 5 What About Blob?, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on The CW.

Writers Guild of America Votes to Strike

In a move that may potentially have a significant impact on scripted television shows, 90% of Writers Guild of America voters authorized a strike if they can’t come to an agreement on a new contract. The current contract expires Wednesday October 31, 2007. Should it occur, this would mark the first strike since a five month strike in 1988. Though this vote would allow the union to strike immediately after the contract expires, they may wait for some time after that while they continue negotiating.

A strike now would not have an immediate impact, but it would create a big problem come early next year when the new seasons begin. One genre that would not have trouble going forward would be reality TV, which is not unionized. In the event of a lengthy strike, we would see a lot more reality TV in the spring than we normally do. Beyond that, we could expect to see a lot more reruns than usual, and news and sports shows also would be able to continue without interruption.

Fox looks pretty good. Because of the completion time of animated series being far more in advance than most shows, its Sunday night lineup is safe. Its biggest show, American Idol, also debuts early next year, and they could easily fill 2-3 nights with that. Additionally, there are several other reality shows that make up Fox’s lineup currently that could easily be used to fill the gaps. Only having to run two hours of programming a night should make it a lot easier on them than CBS, ABC, and NBC as well.

The CW has returning shows in its lineup such as America’s Next Top Model, Beauty and the Geek, Pussycat Dolls, and WWE Smackdown and is preparing new reality shows in the event of a strike. On Sunday nights, The CW’s as good as dead currently, so that should be easy enough to fill.

NBC’s heavy dependence on Deal or No Deal may not be such a bad thing after all, and they’ve also got The Apprentice and The Biggest Loser looking to make returns. On the news magazine front, NBC has Dateline. Beyond that, NBC is looking abroad, considering airing the UK version of The Office.

CBS, with its 432 procedural dramas, would definitely be in for some hurt. However, reruns of shows like CSI do quite well. Survivor remains one of the biggest shows on TV, and The Amazing Race will be making its return. A strike could actually help revive those two shows to their former glory. 60 Minutes, already running 90 minutes long, could easily be stretched to 2 hours.

ABC has Extreme Makeover, Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, and 20/20. Of these, Dancing with the Stars will be the most useful, as it’s got the potential to fill in 2 hours a night for 2-3 nights and achieve top ratings doing so.

Celebrity Apprentice Cast Revealed?

Update: the list below was only a partial leaked list. The full official Celebrity Apprentice Cast has now been posted.

Another list of Celebrity Apprentice Cast members have been revealed, this time by TMZ. The previous list turned out to be wishful thinking.

The list, which may or may not be partially accurate, this time is:

Omarosa (The Apprentice 1)
Lennox Lewis (Boxer)
Gene Simmons (KISS Singer)
Tito Ortiz (Mixed Martial Artist)
Stephen Baldwin (Actor, Flinstones movie, both Celebrity Moles)
Carol Alt (Ex-Model)
Vinny Pastore (Actor, The Sopranos)
John Cena (Wrestler)
Marilu Henner (Actress, Taxi)

Yeah, I had to look half of them up. With a cast like this, it’s almost like doing a non-celebrity version.

The Bachelor 11 Episode 4

In The Bachelor 11 Episode 3, Brad wanted to give his twin brother some prime camera time, so he had him trick the girls into thinking he was Brad and pretended the results of this test actually mattered. Also, Hillary went on a one-on-one date with Brad (and got over the top emotional), we found out McCarten and DeAnna were heartless, and three more women were sent home (Solisa, Lindsey, and Sarah, the last two largely, if not entirely, because of the twin twist).

This week there will be three dates: a one-on-one date, a group date, and a two-on-one date where only one person will return.

Jenni gets the one-on-one date. Brad arrives in a helicopter. Brad and Jenni have dinner on top of a building overlooking the city. Back at the house, DeAnna and McCarten continue to be mean to people. Jade gets really pissed off at them. Jenni, who was the first to kiss Brad (really kiss him anyway) kisses him again, then she gets a rose.

Sheena, McCarten, Hillary, Bettina, Kristy, and Stephy will go on the group date, leaving Jade and DeAnna to go on the two-on-one date. Brad chooses to have the group date do an improv comedy show because apparently making people do improv comedy proves they’re not shy and reserved. Bettina screams that she loves Brad and gets embarassed because she meant it. Kristy says she’s not comfortable being put on the spot and doing something she feels ridiculous doing, then she starts crying. Everybody else seems to feel reasonably comfortable. Brad says Hillary steals the show, but he gives the rose to Bettina because he felt she did a lot more than he’d expected.

Jade and DeAnna pack their bags and go on a two-on-one date. They hate each other, and the tension between them gets played up by the producers. Granted, everybody hates DeAnna except McCarten, so they could have taken this angle regardless. The date turns into a competition. Whatever Jade says, DeAnna responds similarly. Brad tells Jade she doesn’t give herself enough credit, and DeAnna tells him she’s looking for love. He gives the rose to DeAnna. Not a particularly big surprise since we’ve seen so little of Jade this season. She’s probably more upset that DeAnna stayed than having to leave. After she leaves, Brad gets into the hottub with DeAnna and kisses her.

At the house, the girls are discussing marriage. A couple of them say they’d say yes if he asks. Bettina, who’s already told Brad she loves him after like three dates, is telling the girls they’re naive for saying that stuff. She then breaks the news to them that she’s divorced.

Brad’s concerned Kristy’s too refined for her. Sheena gets emotional and says she wants to stay there for all the right reasons. McCarten tells Brad she’s afraid of being hurt again.

Four of the girls ask who was Brad’s first kiss, and he says Jenni. They all hate her. They then talk to her and twist her words to try to make her look bad. She refuses to get wrapped up in the catfight.

Roses
Bettina (received earlier)
Jenni (received earlier)
DeAnna (received earlier)
Kristy
Sheena
Hillary

McCarten and Stephy get sent home, following in the footsteps of Jade.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Bachelor 11 episode 5, which airs Monday at 10/9c on ABC.

Watch The Bachelor 11 Online

Survivor: China Episode 5

In Survivor: China Episode 2, I said Zhan Hu should get rid of Dave, or they’ll regret it. Of course, they refused to do that and kept him around. So then in Survivor: China episode 4, they woke up and realized they should have done that, and decided to vote him out. Unfortunately, what made sense in episode 2 no longer made sense in episode 4. I really can’t figure out what Sherea, one of the laziest contestants on the show this year, contributes to the team, and her excuse that she’s saving up her energy for challenges doesn’t cut it because it’s not like she’s good at them or anything. With decisions like these, it’s no wonder they’ve been to tribal council three out of four times.

Erik and Jaime start flirting. He says he’s a virgin, which she says makes him more trustworthy than she thought before. In Survivor, a showmance should work pretty well.

James and Denise are getting along well because of their work ethic. He’s definitely a good person to coast under.

The tribes receive a message saying they must pick two warriors. Fei Long picks Frosti and… Sherea. Huh? As Simon Cowell would say, what the bloody hell was that? Zhan Hu picks James and Aaron. Maybe this tribe is less dumb than the other. Or maybe they’re both just dumb in their own ways. Anyway, this does even things up, as Fei Long was becoming way too strong (largely because Zhan Hu kept sucking worse and worse).

Both tribes are talking about voting off new members, but in terms of winning challenges, this doesn’t make sense. If this were a normal tribe shuffle, it definitely would, but when you get the strongest members, you don’t just vote them off. That’s just stupid unless you want to lose. With that said, Sherea’s completely expendable.

Sherea’s talking about stepping up her work now that she’s on the other tribe. I’m not betting on it. Frosti’s happy to find out nobody likes Jean-Robert because it improves his position. Jean-Robert’s asking people to help him out politely as far as I can tell, yet everybody takes offense to it. They’re just looking for an excuse to hate on the guy who’s now their strongest member. If they lose him, they’ll suck as bad as the other tribe used to.

Aaron already starts talking about James being a threat longer term. Dude, it’s episode 5. Granted, better James than himself.

Peih-Gee is the only person I’ve seen smart enough to discuss taking advantage of having a post-shuffle majority. Most people try their hardest to make sure they win immunity, thereby ensuring that their teammates on the other side who are in the minority go home. She realizes this problem and contemplates whether it’s a good idea. This is potentially problematic for her in this case (again going back to the picks based on strength) because if they get rid of the strongest players, that runs the risk of losing more immunities, which may be a problem if the couple decide to take her out.

Tribes must head out to a raft and dive under the water to retrieve sticks. They must get as many sticks in one breath as possible. When they get all the sticks out, puzzle pieces will be released. Amanda and Courtney sit out for Fei Long. Zhan Hu gets back to shore first. Fei Long’s a bit behind but not too far. Jaime and Peih Gee are completely unconcerned about the challenge, and since they’re two of the three puzzle solvers, this is enough to make sure they lost big.

James hopes the guys unite, which would make for a very strong tribe. Erik’s not going to turn on Jaime yet, but he would turn on Peih-Gee. Would have made more sense to clue Erik in on the decision beforehand and gotten his feedback. They do, however, tell him after the fact, and he’s willing to work with them just because he doesn’t see a viable alternative. James tells them to just send him home if they’re not getting rid of one of the girls. He would have been safe at least one more time, but probably not much more at this rate.

Jaime admits at tribal council that she threw the challenge. James is going nuts listening to this conversation and wants to leave because he just can’t sit around and watch what they’re doing.

Votes:
Peih-Gee
James
Aaron
Aaron
Aaron

Aaron has been voted off the island. James is quite upset, but they got rid of the person who’s a smoother talker.

I’ve got to give credit to Peih-Gee for one of the better strategic plays I’ve seen in quite some time. This is how you deal with a shuffle.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: China episode 6 That’s Love Baby! It Makes You Strong!, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

Watch Survivor: China Online

The Next Great American Band Premieres Tomorrow

From the folks that brought us American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance comes the newest music-focused creation, The Next Great American Band. It’s in a rather iffy time slot of 8PM on Fridays, so I wouldn’t expect too much from it in terms of ratings, but it may perform well enough to move to a real night.

“You just have to cross your fingers,” said Mike Darnell, Fox’s president for alternative entertainment. He added that American Idol’s success “doesn’t necessarily translate to the band show. … You can’t compare anything to American Idol.”

Nigel Lythgoe’s not afraid to poke fun of American Idol in the process of promoting this new show. “I can pick out five bands that I can go, ‘Wow, these guys are tremendous.’ You can’t do that with the top 12 Idols,” Lythgoe said.

One of the judges, the Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik, told The Associated Press, “People are tired of seeing really manufactured artists, who are very beautiful and can sing but don’t have their own body of work… This is a cool process, not put together by a marketing team, a record company.”

The producers accepted 60 videos from online submissions and will narrow that down to the final 12 on the first night. So they will get rid of one of Idol’s biggest criticisms (yet also its biggest draw): the excessive really bad auditions. Two bands will be voted off each week.