Category: reality tv

reality TV spoilers, recaps, news

Undercover Boss Season 2

Undercover Boss has been renewed for season 2. Perhaps this comes as no surprise considering how high the ratings have been, but I’m left to wonder what they will do now that everybody knows about the show. Surely if I see somebody walking around with a camera crew at my work, my first assumption is that’s the big boss. Of course, it’s really hard to buy even without knowing the show’s premise, and I get the sense that some of these people are on to it.

Allegedly, the show’s producers have come up with a way around that, although they don’t care to elaborate at this time. I’ve got an idea. Let’s drop all this feel good stuff and turn it into a real reality show. I’d tune in to see which fast food joint’s president survives the backstabbing from the others.

American Idol Season 9 Episode 19

Four more people were sent packing in American Idol Season 9 Episode 18: John Park, Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamor, and Haeley Vaughn. Tonight the top 8 girls perform, and they’re given an hour. Oh geez. Let’s hope the incompetent producers have sorted this out so it doesn’t run 8 minutes over or remove half the judges’ comments.

Katie Stevens
Song: Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Randy: Paled in comparison.
Ellen: Didn’t feel the connection or the personality, but it was the right song choice.
Kara: Great radio voice, but don’t know who you are yet.
Simon: Haven’t worked out what kind of artist you want to be. 10 out of 10 for trying.

Siobhan Magnus
Song: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
Randy: Different. Love what you do.
Ellen: Why I love music.
Kara: Brilliant choice to do a cappella at the front. Doing great.
Simon: Weird. Underimpressed.

Lacey Brown
Song: The Story by Brandi Carlile
Randy: A little sleepy but your best performance in a long time.
Ellen: Distinctive voice. Really good.
Kara: Why you got here. Effortless singing.
Simon: Didn’t love the song, but it feels like you’ve been doing this a long time. In danger of being forgotten, but good.

Katelyn Epperly
Song: I Feel the Earth Move by Carol King
Randy: Didn’t feel the right connection.
Ellen: Not the song to choose to wow people. Just not enough.
Kara: Didn’t feel like you were competing.
Simon: Kind of like request night in a restaurant. Other people look as if they’re trying harder.

Didi Benami
Song: Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
Randy: No wow moment but a lot better.
Ellen: Lovely performance. Liked what you did with the song.
Kara: One of my favorite moments so far this season.
Simon: Head and shoulders above anything else tonight.

Paige Miles
Song: Smile by Charlie Chaplin
Randy: Just didn’t work at all.
Ellen: Supposed to be an inspiring song. Instead, it was just sad.
Kara: Just all wrong.
Simon: Horrible choice of song. Awful arrangement.

Crystal Bowersox
Song: Give Me One More Reason by Tracy Chapman
Randy: Love that. Love you. Love the song.
Ellen: Need new adjectives for you. Best performance of the night.
Kara: Easy for you because you know who you are.
Simon: 1 million billion percent in the top 12 (Randy’s math is rubbing off). The one everyone has to beat.

Lilly Scott
Song: Fall to Pieces by Patsy Cline
Randy: Loved the mandolin. Loved that song.
Ellen: Love your voice, love it, love you.
Kara: Kinda made Patsy Cline feel current.
Simon: Cute, quirky, no wow factory.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 20, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on Fox.

The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 8

After the split to blue and black in The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 7, Miggy was voted out.

O’Neal is now a member of the blue team, which lost last week in the most shocking elimination ever (that really wasn’t all that shocking). He’s being reunited with his daughter Sunshine.

Ali warns them that one day they will have to go home again and handle distractions. Darn. With that in mind, this is work week. They will have an 8 hour shift and will commute. They’ll have to squeeze in working out when they can because the gym won’t be open 24 hours either. Their job for the week will be to work alongside the volunteers at Feeding America.

To kick things off and not have to worry about it later, they will have to pull a semi, each of which weighs 33,000 pounds. Along the way, they will have to load puzzle pieces and then complete a puzzle at the end. Reward is groceries for a year. O’Neal is the puzzle picker upper for blue with everybody else pulling the truck, but despite the fact that he’s just going along for the run and they’re pulling a truck, he can’t keep up, no doubt raising concern among the rest of the team. Over on the slow to start black team, Sherry is the puzzle piece person. It goes without saying that black’s running behind on this challenge, but O’Neal’s giving them a fighting chance. At the third station of three, O’Neal’s pulled it together to allow the blue team to have the lead as they head into the puzzle. Spelling out the puzzle phrase first, blue team wins the challenge, leading to lots of screaming.

Bob’s shameless promotional tip of the week is The Biggest Loser Protein Powder. Hmm, I like this 2GO Pak idea of individually wrapped protein packets.

When they arrive at the LA Regional Food Bank, they have their choice of jobs. O’Neal and Andrea get desk jobs and call to thank people for their support. Sam, Koli, Ashley, Lance, and Sunshine opt for distribution, which will allow them to sweat while they work. Cheryl and Sherry do inventory together because they get along like sisters. Daris and Michael also join in on the inventory, finding out they’ve got a boring task.

While they’re at lunch, they get a visit from a guy whose dad died at 33 because he was overweight. Not having learned from that experience, he has now hit the size of these contestants, but he comes to talk to them and see if he can get some tips how to change, since he has just hit age 33 himself.

Having started the day off with a workout, they return home at 6:00, at which time they promptly head into the gym because it’s closing in less than an hour. I guess the lesson here is supposed to be that gyms at home are not open all day long. Not even 24 Hour Fitness? Granted, it forces the contestants into a schedule. The need for 8 hours of sleep a day is hard to fulfill if you’re working out at midnight and then waking up early in the morning.

On day 2, they head to a distribution site to distribute fresh vegetables in the rain. From there, the cycle continues. Fast forward to lunch day 3. Sam forgot his lunch. Perhaps he can buy from the vending machine. Perhaps not. Insisting there’s nothing healthy there, it appears his plan is to skip lunch. Surely that’s not more healthy than eating some junk food. Stephanie thinks she saw a Subway on the way there. How convenient.

Cheryl and Sherry get to talking. They’re both in fear that they’re at the top of the order to be cut if the black team loses.

For the first time since returning to campus, O’Neal does not have immunity. He’s there for his daughter, though, and he’d rather go home instead of her, should it come to that.

O’Neal: 311 pounds (-5, 1.58%)
Sunshine: 225 pounds (-7, 3.02%)
Michael: 408 pounds (-9, 2.16%)
Koli: 306 pounds (-10, 3.16%)
Daris: 258 pounds (-9, 3.37%)
Lance: 290 pounds (-10, 3.33%)
Blue Total: -50 pounds, 2.71%

Andrea: 243 pounds (-7, 2.80%)
Ashley: 293 pounds (-8, 2.66%)
Cheryl: 182 pounds (-5, 2.67%)
Sherry: 166 pounds (-5, 2.92%)
Stephanie: 210 pounds (-3, 1.41%)
Sam: 286 pounds (-4, 1.38%)
Black Total: -32 pounds, 2.27%

After a competitive start, the last two members of the black team fall flat, putting them below the yellow line. As the person with the most weight loss on her team, Sherry is safe. Andrea’s theory is that they should base it on how far everyone is away from their goal weight. Lame. But what it does is highlight Sam. He says he’s 50 pounds away from his goal weight. I don’t know. 235 pounds sounds like a lot still. At the end of the day, though, if he thinks that’s all he has left to lose, his usefulness to the team is at an end.

Votes
Sam: Cheryl
Stephanie: Cheryl
Cheryl: Stephanie
Sherry: Sam
Ashley: Cheryl

With three votes, Cheryl is not The Biggest Loser. From her starting weight of 227, she is now down to 164 pounds today. She now plans to live forever.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 9, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Amazing Race 16 Episode 4

Monique & Shawne prayed but to no avail, as they were eliminated in The Amazing Race 16 Episode 3.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived, or so I would assume. Jet & Cord leave at 10:57PM.

Teams must now fly more than 8000 miles to Frankfurt, Germany, where they will then catch a train to Hamburg. The first flight is at 11:10AM, an indication that there will be some airport bunching. Even further indication is that they again don’t show the departure order. All teams end up on the same flight to Buenos Aires. However, they are taking varying routes to go from there.

Via Paris, arrives at 12:35PM: Jet & Cord, Louie & Michael
Direct, arrives at 3:00PM: Carol & Brandy, Dan & Jordan
Via Sao Paolo, arrives at 3:40PM: Joe & Heidi, Steve & Allie, Brent & Caite, Jordan & Jeff

Carol & Brandy have a word for the day: respectful. Well, we’ll see how that works out. Dan hates travel, but he agreed to do the show anyway for his brother.

The first train leaves at 3:37, plenty of time for the first flight, but it leaves the other two teams running with minutes to spare. Not quite quick enough. They run and arrive just in time to see the train leaving. At least they’re not alone. The last group had no chance of even catching it.

The train takes them to an intersection, where teams must pair up. The first pairing is predetermined by flight schedule: Jet & Cord and Louie & Michael. I was expecting Joe & Heidi to pair with their allies, but they instead opt to go with Steve & Allie. Carol & Brandy and Dan & Jordan have been getting along and will team up. That leaves Jeff & Jordan and Brent & Caite.

Two people from different teams must work together to complete a road block, a race first. The road block is to go to Hamburg Harbour and perform a 155 foot bungee in the middle of the city.

Jordan lets Caite lead the way there. The blonde leading the blonde. They get on the wrong train headed in the opposite direction from where they need to go.

Joe’s running on a bad knee, which can only get worse as the race progresses.

Road block (in order of arrival): Jet and Michael, Joe and Allie, Dan and Brandy, Jordan and Caite

Jet proves one important fact: you can bungee jump and not lose your hat.

The next stop is the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm, and the intersection is now at an end. The detour is a choice between soccer or sauerkraut. In soccer, teams must hit 5 targets in the goal. In sauerkraut, teams must eat a plate of sauerkraut before the song ends. An unwritten rule in this race is don’t do food if you can avoid it. This, however, does not look too bad. It actually looks like the right choice. Well, except for Jordan & Jeff. She spends the time plugging her ears and nose, and he doesn’t fair much better.

Along the way, Jet & Cord seem to have gotten themselves pretty lost, and are down with the middle of the pack. Brent & Caite also get lost, with her appearing on the verge of a meltdown, and Jordan & Jeff don’t know where their cab driver is taking them. They later find out he doesn’t know where he’s going either, relying on his GPS until they are in the middle of nowhere.

Caite says she’s been playing soccer since she was 5, which looks to be the case on her first kick, although she pretty quickly ends up on the ground crying about injuring her leg.

Sauerkraut: Louie & Michael, Joe & Heidi (switched from soccer), Carol & Brandy
Soccer: Steve & Allie, Jet & Cord, Dan & Jordan, Brent & Caite, Jordan & Jeff (switched from sauerkraut)

Teams must now make their way to the Haifisch Bar and share a boot of beer. This could well get someone tipsy. Louie picks up the slack for Michael, who does not like beer. Steve is more than happy to chug some beer. Like Michael, Cord also does not drink, leaving it to Jet, who doesn’t like the beer anyway. Caite is revolted, so Brent will have to drink until he pukes, then drink some more. Jeff is another quite thrilled person.

The pit stop for this leg of the race is the Indra club, the first place The Beatles played in Hamburg, located in the Red Light District, which Jet observes is not in the bible belt.

First: Louie & Michael (win $5,000 each)
Second: Steve & Allie
Third: Joe & Heidi
Fourth: Jet & Cord
Fifth: Carol & Brandy
Sixth: Dan & Jordan
Seventh: Brent & Caite
Non-eliminated: Jordan & Jeff

Almost done in by their cab driver, Jordan & Jeff are saved by a non-elimination leg. In the next leg, they will face a speed bump.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 16 Episode 5 I Think We’re Fighting the Germans, Right? (France), which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

American Idol Season 9 Episode 18

Following the performances of the top 10 girls and the top 10 guys, 4 more people will be sent home tonight.

Simon says he watched the show back and changed his mind on some contestants he gave compliments to.

Tim Urban is safe. Michael Lynche is safe. Casey James is safe. That leaves John Park or Todrick Hall. Randy says both of them lost the plot. Simon is right that Purple Haze is getting their lead singer back, and John Park is heading home.

Lee DeWyze is safe. Aaron Kelly is safe. Alex Lambert is safe. That leaves us with Jermaine Sellers or Andrew Garcia. No brainer. Jermaine Sellers has reached the end of the line.

Lilly Scott is safe. Paige Miles is safe. Katie Stevens is safe. That leaves Didi Benami and Michelle Delamor. Kara has decided that Michelle’s performance was not very good after all, and she may be in jeopardy. Michelle Delamor has been eliminated.

Katelyn Epperly is safe. Crystal Bowersox is safe. Siobhan Magnus is safe. That brings up Haeley Vaughn and Lacey Brown. Haeley has been eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 19, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Episode 4

The villains lost in Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Episode 3 and voted out their outcast Randy.

Coach remains overly upset about what seemed like nothing at tribal council. He starts crying and says he’s sensitive. Surely this is all part of his act. This whining goes on a while before his giant ego returns.

They’re finally stopping that one challenge per show silliness. The reward challenge is to slide down a slippery course to retrieve a numbered ball. Once they have the ball, they’ll toss it in their baskets. Reward is two products from Sears. Heroes chose a tackle box and fishing pole and a kitchen set. They’re hoping to catch and prepare food. Villains chose a tool kit, tarp, twine, and multifunction tool. History has shown us this should help Boston Rob make an awesome shelter. Parvati sits out for the villains. Coach and Tom go first. They’re neck and neck as they head to the baskets, where Coach scores. Russell and Cirie go next, and Russell quickly gains the edge and takes the lead 2-0. Courtney and Candice are next. Both women get to their balls quickly before Courtney starts flailing about, but it it’s all moot since Candice scores on her first toss. Jerri and Amanda go next. It’s a close race to the basket, where Jerri takes the lead 3-1. Sandra and James are the next pair. Could they have picked a more lopsided contest? James makes it 3-2. Danielle and Rupert are next. They’re even at the baskets, and Rupert scores to tie it 3-3. Colby and Tyson are the final match. Colby quickly makes his way down the course, but Tyson sinks the basket. Villains win reward.

They don’t just get the tools, though. Russell spots something in the saw. He thinks it’s something that holds the blade in place. Nope. It’s a clue to the hidden immunity idol. Boston Rob suggests going to find it as a group, and Sandra says that they need to throw it in the ocean because whoever gets it is marked. Russell has an alternate plan. He’s gonna find it. He sneaks off. Poorly. The rest of the tribe knows what he’s up to, and they’re not happy about it, though they let him be on his merry way and keep searching.

The heroes also get a clue, hidden in their coffee. Their plan is different than the villains. They all want to search on their own and hope to save themselves. Tom, standing directly next to someone, finds the idol. Nobody notices. Well, not until he gets up and adjusts his pants, drawing Amanda’s suspicion in the process. Whether this was intentional or not is unclear because Tom plans to use the knowledge that she knows as leverage to get into the alliance.

For the immunity challenge, one person will be strapped inside a giant ball and guide two blindfolded tribe members through a course to a table maze. The person must then guide four other blindfolded members through the maze. This is the only challenge ever not completed because it was stopped due to a medical emergency. Courtney and Sandra sit out for the villains; Cirie sits out for the heroes. Boston Rob gets in the ball for the villains to guide Coach and Tyson; Tom gets in the ball for the heroes to guide Rupert and James. Villains are the first to arrive at the maze, but the lead is not overwhelming. The ending is extremely close with both teams hovering right near the hole. Villains win immunity.

Colby and Tom are the low men on their totem pole, despite the fact that getting rid of them would not be the wisest move since they are in need of some wins. Since Tom has the idol, this will require some planning. There are 8 votes. Tom and Colby voting one way would require everybody else to vote 3 for one and 3 for the other. This would either force a tie or eliminate Colby in the event that Tom plays the idol.

JT suggests Candice instead. Tom and Colby are trustworthy. Tom’s promise to JT and Amanda is that he won’t use the idol against them. He can give it to them if they want.

Cirie tells Amanda not to be stupid. These two guys wanted her gone desperately. Now they want to join her.

Since Cirie’s the puppetmaster, Tom proposes a new plan. Get rid of her. JT, Tom, and Colby makes three votes. Tom plays and burns the idol, and she goes if they split their votes.

Jeff doesn’t quite understand the wisdom of voting out strong people. Rupert says he may not be making the best move, but he’s going to keep his word anyway.

Tom plays the idol, prefacing his decision with his hope that he didn’t have to use it until they were willing to use it against the villains.

Votes
Tom (does not count)
Tom (does not count)
Tom (does not count)
Colby
Colby
Cirie
Cirie
Cirie

By a vote of 3-2, Cirie has been voted off the island. It just got interesting.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Episode 5, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

American Idol Season 9 Episode 17

The top 10 boys competed in American Idol Season 9 Episode 16, and tonight the girls get their shot.

Crystal Bowersox
Song: Long As I Can See the Light by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Randy: Love that girl.
Ellen: Pure raw natural talent.
Kara: Completely recovered from last week. Effortless. Hit a new level.
Simon: Like the moment with Kelly Clarkson where we realized we’ve got a really serious artist here.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-01

Haeley Vaughn
Song: The Climb by Miley Cyrus
Randy: Didn’t work. No connection. Rough.
Ellen: No connection to the song.
Kara: Need about a year. Inconsistent.
Simon: Complete and utter mess.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-02

Lacey Brown
Song: Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
Randy: Would have worked, but nothing new brought to it.
Ellen: Good song choice. Adorable.
Kara: Brought the special tone back, but you have to step it up.
Simon: Marginally better.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-03

Katie Stevens
Song: Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae
Randy: Some bright moments.
Ellen: Want to see you younger still.
Kara: Not enough of a performance song.
Simon: Tell us what kind of artist you are going to be.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-04

Didi Benami
Song: Lean on Me by Bill Withers
Randy: Song choice showed more of the imperfections.
Ellen: Great voice, but not a great song choice.
Kara: Not good.
Simon: Screeching bad choice of song. Wasted opportunity.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-05

Michelle Delamor
Song: With Arms Wide Open by Creed
Randy: Didn’t do enough with the song.
Ellen: Thought it was good you changed it up that much.
Kara: Favorite performance of yours ever.
Simon: Kind of got 80% of it right.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-06

Lilly Scott
Song: A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
Randy: So unique. Favorite performance of the night.
Ellen: You have it, whatever it is.
Kara: Riveted. Gonna change the game.
Simon: Good but not crazy about it.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-07

Katelyn Epperly
Song: The Scientist by Coldplay
Randy: Really liked it.
Ellen: Way too slow.
Kara: Kind of love you. All over the place but really good.
Simon: Million times better than last week.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-08

Paige Miles
Song: Walk Away by Kelly Clarkson
Randy: Liked it. So many words.
Ellen: Loved it.
Kara: Could have a hit with that song. But it was supposed to be an angry song.
Simon: Failed to choose the right song. Getting lost in these songs.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-09

Siobhan Magnus
Song: Think by Aretha Franklin
Randy: So bold and so fearless. Dope.
Ellen: Aw man, that was good. Like a Snuggie.
Kara: Don’t know how you hit that note.
Simon: Parts of the song were terrible, but that note was incredible.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-10

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 18, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 9 Episode 16

Following the elimination of Joe Munoz and Tyler Grady in American Idol Season 9 Episode 15, the top 10 guys perform tonight, switching nights because Crystal Bowersox was taken to the hospital this morning.

Michael Lynche
Song: This Is a Man’s World by James Brown
Randy: Standing ovation.
Ellen: Everybody now has got to top that.
Kara: Did not get it until tonight. Potentially a great artist.
Simon: Like going from a pussycat to a lion.

John Park
Song: Gravity by John Mayer
Randy: Probably your vibe, but didn’t bring anything new to it.
Ellen: Right song choice. Could have been a little more soul in it.
Kara: Way better than last week. Lack the connection.
Simon: Nothing to get excited about. So what?

Casey James
Song: I Don’t Wanna Be by Gavin Degraw
Randy: Could see you making this as an artist.
Ellen: Everything is there, but there’s just a stiffness.
Kara: Two steps backwards. This is a singing competition.
Simon: Turned into somebody trying to be a rock star.

Alex Lambert
Song: Everybody Knows by John Legend
Randy: Didn’t sound as sound-alike as it had in the past. Really enjoyed that.
Ellen: So much better than last week. Most unique style of anybody here.
Kara: Not a person out there not rooting for you. Incredible recordable voice.
Simon: A million times better than last week. Not taking part to win.

Todrick Hall
Song: What’s Love Got to Do with It by Tina Turner, kinda
Randy: The end of the song was hot. Didn’t need a different wild arrangement.
Ellen: Not the right song.
Kara: Don’t get it. All over the place.
Simon: Not working out at all.

Jermaine Sellers
Song: What’s Going on by Marvin Gaye
Randy: Better than last week but just not a great performance.
Ellen: Pushed too hard again.
Kara: Don’t need every trick. Just one trick that means something.
Simon: Frustrated and disappointed. Watered down the song.

Andrew Garcia
Song: You Give Me Something by James Morrison
Randy: Not the vibe for you.
Ellen: Liked it a lot.
Kara: Just been kind of going down since Straight Up.
Simon: Beginning to become a problem. Just okay.

Aaron Kelly
Song: My Girl by The Temptations
Randy: First half was brilliant. Can really sing. 200% better.
Ellen: A whole lot more confidence. Song was a little forgettable.
Kara: Liked it. Gonna get better and better.
Simon: Didn’t like the song. Need to work out what kind of artist you want to be. Too old fashioned.

Tim Urban
Song: Come on Get Higher by Matt Nathanson
Randy: Didn’t really get it. Very karaoke.
Ellen: Don’t think the strong point is the singing.
Kara: Liked the song choice. But not all there yet.
Simon: Marked improvement. Really listened to the criticism.

Lee DeWyze
Song: Lips of an Angel by Hinder
Randy: Bold move. Liked it.
Ellen: So much passion and intensity.
Kara: Big improvement. Could hear you on the radio right now.
Simon: Head and shoulders above everyone else vocally. But look terrified.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 17, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.