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Big Brother 15 Episode 2

Pizza boy McCrae got the first taste of power of the season when he won HOH in Big Brother 15 Episode 1.

Jeremy thinks America is going to vote for all the pretty girls for MVP, which gives him an excuse to hit on all of them. Of course, most of these girls made terrible first impressions already, not that that necessarily matters, as some of the fan favorites in the house over the years have been complete jerks with no redeeming qualities.

Nick proposes an alliance with Jeremy, Howard, Spencer, and perhaps because he’s HOH, McCrae. The alliance name, as lame as they come, is Moving Company. Their first target is going to be David. If they get rid of him, that puts all the strength in their group. Jeremy is already in an alliance with Howard and Spencer, but it looks like his alliance with David and Jessie is done.

Amanda would like to slap Jessie in the face so she will make a decision which guy she wants to have a showmance with rather than having to listen to her talk about it.

Elissa’s secret is spreading throughout the house very quickly. It was foolish of herself to even attempt to hide this seeing as they do look similar, although it has gotten her some honest opinions about Rachel from people like Kaitlin that don’t like her.

The first have/have not competition will have them floating across the “lake” in tubes, hopping in a cooler to retrieve soda, and bringing that back to the start to build a pyramid to be balanced on a swing. They don’t even bother announcing the teams because that would take all night.

Howard gets his team off to a poor start, and Judd is not much better. It seems apparent they will lose, as long as nobody else drops their cans. It’s actually their red team to drop their cans first, though. The blue team takes first place. With just one can left, the yellow team drops everything.

Their next attempt is successful, making the red team of Elissa, Howard, Judd, Helen, and Andy have nots for the week. Their bedroom for a week? A room that looks like an airplane, complete with seats that don’t recline.

Despite the fact that they did not lose, Katilin has decided she now hates Candice based on what happened during the competition.

Amanda wants McCrae to get rid of Jessie, who nobody likes, despite her ass being way better than Amanda’s.

Elissa finally breaks down and informs somebody that she’s Rachel’s sister, and that person of course is McCrae. As much as he’d like to play the game with her, he knows that people may be angry if he doesn’t get rid of her. The girls especially are very vocal about wanting her gone, particularly Aaryn.

Nominations
Nick is safe.
Jeremy is safe.
David is safe.
Aaryn is safe.
Kaitlin is safe.
Ginamarie is safe.
Elissa is safe.
Helen is safe.
Amanda is safe.
Andy is safe.
Howard is safe.
Spencer is safe.
Judd is safe.
Candice and Jessie have been nominated for eviction.

Jessie says she’s going to be coming after McCrae for revenge. Ooh, scary.

His strategy was simple: nominate the two people nobody likes.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 15 Episode 2, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on CBS.

Big Brother 15 Episode 1

The Big Brother 15 cast consists of 16 new contestants within a 15 year age range all vying for reality TV’s cheapest prize. Already we know of multiple twists (three people will be nominated each week, and America will vote for the MVP). Here’s hoping none of the twists that are introduced are show crippling, but they usually are, which is why seasons 2 and 3 remain the stand outs. At least there are no returning contestants with the closest thing being Elissa Slater, Big Brother 13 winner Rachel’s sister.

Aaryn is a psychology major, which she thinks she will help. Nick promises to be the hardest working player ever. Helen considers Big Brother just another political campaign. Spencer wants us to believe he’s not a simple country bumpkin. David likes to look at and touch himself. Elissa looks better than but still similar to her sister, and her objective is to hide the fact that they are related. Andy is a superfan who teaches his students how to lie. Kaitlin is too friendly to guys. McCrae aspires to be the best damn pizza delivery boy ever. Ginamarie is a pageant coordinator, and like her, Howard has to win at all costs. Jessie fancies herself a leader who’s better than everybody else, and she doesn’t get along with girls because they are jealous of her great personality and looks (great first impression in a season where America has power). Jeremy lives on a sailboat and embraces his Cherokee side. Amanda is used to to getting what she wants. Candice has a black and white family. Unlike Spencer, Judd makes it clear he is indeed a country bumpkin.

With a start in late June, this season will last a full 90 days.

Judd was hoping there would be a girl from Staten Island, and with Ginamarie, he got his wish, which he finds out literally within the first minute of entering the house. She’s immediately drawn to Howard for his muscles, though. McCrae agrees. He would be all over him if he were gay.

Elissa hopes to form an all girl alliance. They may be getting along right now, but this plan seems doomed already. Jessie has made it clear she does not like girls, and Kaitlin follows suit.

The last group to enter finds out that there are no beds left. The house was not designed with 16 people in mind.

Ginamarie is proving to be obnoxiously loud.

Judd for one is happy to see David in the house. Maybe he won’t be thought of as the dumbest guy in the house after all. Meanwhile, people dismiss McCrae’s story that he’s a pizza boy because they think he’s a genius. Huh?

Helen pretends to be just a mom. She doesn’t want anyone to know she works in politics, particularly Chicago politics.

During the meet and greet, it’s become clear Elissa’s other goal won’t last long either. Judd thinks she looks familiar.

Spencer, Howard, and Jeremy form an alliance right away. This rarely ends well.

Jessie forms her alliance based on looks and her hatred for other women, so she approaches David and Jeremy. Her awkward laugh when McCrae walks in is a dead giveaway.

The HOH will nominate two houseguests as usual. Presumably, the MVP, chosen by America, will nominate the third. Of course, the risk this poses, other than the fact that it makes the show a lame popularity contest, is that the HOH may end up nominating two people who both don’t go home.

It’s time for the first quite possibly irrelevant HOH competition. They climb on popsicles and must hang on longest. Elissa is worried that someone will find out her secret, and McCrae feels like an outcast already.

Judd drops at 5 minutes. Howard is down at 7, and Candice is right behind him. Everybody who remains then gets sprayed, a process that will continue periodically throughout the competition. The three who have been eliminated start chatting, and Candice says Elissa looks like Rachel’s sister. The next person to fall is Amanda, dropping at 41 minutes, an indication that the other three threw the competition… really badly. Spencer follows her. Then Helen, Jessie, Elissa, Ginamarie, Andy, and Kaitlin. By this point, it’s been 2 hours and 14 minutes.

After 3 hours, Aaryn is the last girl to drop. 4 people left in an endurance competition, and they’re all guys. Not the outcome I would have expected. Among those who remain is McCrae, the pizza delivery boy who is now considered not only a genius but also a big challenge threat.

Julie makes an offer. There are two lunch pails, one of which contains a never not pass that will ensure they will never be a have not all season. David quickly takes her up on her offer, and he receives an empty envelope, so whoever drops next has a guarantee. Jeremy immediately hops down. McCrae promises Nick that he’ll be safe, which to Nick sounds like a good deal since being HOH and making enemies is stupid anyway. He drops after 4 hours and 11 minutes, and McCrae is the first person to win HOH.

Julie explains the MVP twist. It’s supposed to be a vote for the person who’s playing the best game. Oh c’mon. We all know how these things really work. You can pose the question any way you want, and people will just vote for their favorite, who may be a bumbling fool, which usually is the case. Most people are looking for personality, not gameplay.

One key to the twist is that the player will be notified of their status in secret, and they will make a nomination in secret, effectively eliminating any chance of them being targeted either for their choices or because they won the vote.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 15 Episode 2, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 4

The Asian invasion in America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 3 brought us dancer(ish) Kenichi Ebina from Japan and acrobat Rong Niu from China. Tonight auditions continue in New York City.

Struck Boyz are hip hop dancers ages 8-11. Cute kids with just enough attitude, do we even need to see a vote?

KriStef (Kris and Stefan) Brothers aren’t wearing any shoes. Is that really a smart idea in the streets of New York? They say they will change our minds about hand balancing, like there are a lot of preexisting opinions about the subject. The main appeal of their act actually seems to be stripping, as the little woman lifting her husband (Paradizo Dance) a few years back was more impressive when it came to a balancing act.

The last time she performed her singing mime (what?) routine, Aneya Marie was booed by 4500 people. Yeah, that’ll be happening again. Heidi was trying to listen to the performance (when’s the last time anyone needed to hear a mime?), but she couldn’t hear it over the chorus of boos behind her.

Hammerstep is a dance group that combines Irish dance with hip hop. Certainly not a combination you see any day, but it’s interesting enough.

Aaralyn and Izzy are 6 and 9 year old time wasters. He drums while somebody goes to get an exorcist for his seemingly sweet little sister whose talent is screaming. With the judges unwilling to be honest, only Mel says no.

Virginia State University Gospel Choir promise an experience like no other. I’m not sure they necessarily delivered on that, but they do put on quite a show.

Chris Antes makes art in his mouth with chewing gum. So he tells us. The audience immediately gets hostile, not that they can even see what’s going on.

Howie and Howard got into a debate earlier in the day about whether singing an original song is a mistake. Brandon & Savannah want to prove Howie wrong, and they pretty much do, though it’s ultimately their performance that stands out more than the song.

Before going on stage, Taylor Williamson tells a joke about what you get when you combine an elephant and a rhino. At this pace, I’m not sure he’s going to be getting out of performing gigs at laundromats. But his actual act turns out to be reasonably funny.

Jacob Calle is a party stuntman, whatever that is. He pulls string he swallowed out of his stomach then puts a scorpion in his mouth and blows bubbles until he gets bitten.

So begins a bad magician montage, which leads us to Naathan Phan. His escape act splits the audience and the judges, but his on the spot card trick where he pulls the chosen card out his mouth wins them over.

Forte is a singing group that met online within the last few weeks. Each very talented in his own right, they put together an act that has a lot of people saying wow.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 5, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Big Brother 15 Cast

The Big Brother 15 cast consists of 16 new contestants, a large amount by Big Brother standards. There are no returning players, a twist that generally falls on its face in this show. However, Brendon & Rachel keep on going, as Elissa is the sister of Big Brother 13 winner Rachel Riley. The oldest contestant in this season’s cast is 37.

The new twist, as if we really need one since they generally just ruin the show, is that three houseguests will be nominated for eviction, and America will vote for the weekly MVP. Oh great. Can’t wait for the public to screw this up. There’s a reason why the UK format was dropped in the US after just one season.

Kaitlin Barnaby, 23
Hometown: Vadnais Heights, Minn.
Current City: Minneapolis, Minn.
Bartender

Spencer Clawson, 31
Hometown: Conway, Ark.
Current City: Conway, Ark.
Railroad Conductor

Judd Daugherty, 26
Hometown: Englewood, Tenn.
Current City: Etowah, Tenn.
Property Appraiser

David Girton, 25
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Current City: San Diego, Calif.
Lifeguard

Aaryn Gries, 22
Hometown: San Angelo, Texas
Current City: San Marcos, Texas
College Student

Andy Herren, 26
Hometown: Aurora, Ill.
Current City: Chicago, Ill.
Professor

Helen Kim, 37
Hometown: Falls Church, Va.
Current City: Chicago, Ill.
Political Consultant

Jessie Kowalski, 25
Hometown: Beaumont, Texas
Current City: San Antonio, Texas
Unemployed

Jeremy McGuire, 23
Hometown: Katy, Texas
Current City: Katy, Texas
Boat Shop Associate

McCrae Olson, 23
Hometown: Zimmerman, Minn.
Current City: Oak Grove, Minn.
Pizza Delivery Boy

Howard Overby, 29
Hometown: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Current City: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Youth Counselor

Elissa Slater, 27
Hometown: Concord, N.C.
Current City: Kannapolis, N.C.
Nutritionist

Candice Stewart, 29
Hometown: New Orleans, La.
Current City: Houston, Texas
Pediatric Speech Therapist

Nick Uhas, 28
Hometown: Hilliard, N.Y.
Current City: New York, N.Y.
Entrepreneur

GinaMarie Zimmerman, 32
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Current City: Staten Island, N.Y.
Pageant Coordinator

Amanda Zuckerman, 28
Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.
Current City: Boynton Beach, Fla.
Real Estate Agent

Big Brother 15 begins Wednesday June 26 and will air Sundays at 8/7c, Tuesdays at 9/8c, and Wednesdays at 8/7c. The Tuesday night showing puts it opposite America’s Got Talent.

America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 3

The Miami All Stars returned yet again in America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 2, and they were followed by magician Collins Key, escape artist Alexandria the Great, and singer Paul Thomas Mitchell. Tonight the auditions return in a special time for a one hour abridged episode ahead of The Voice finale.

Omega Force is a group of strongpeople. Their oldest member is 75, and they claim he’s the world’s strongest senior citizen. Their feats of strength include breaking blocks and lifting Nick Cannon. Howie didn’t really get it, but the other three judges say yes.

Kenichi Ebina is a dancer(ish) from Japan, who mixes robot, dance, and martial arts. I’m not sure this really qualifies as dance, but whatever it may be is very impressive.

Deanna DellaCioppa is a singer who lacks confidence. I’m not sure where the singing ends and the screaming begins, but she’s definitely got a powerful voice.

Steve Price (Sprice) builds goldberg machines, a process where knocking down one domino causes a chain reaction that knocks down everything else. He may seemingly lack enthusiasm, but he gets points for how long it must have taken him to set that up.

Rong Niu brings with her from China a traditional Chinese acrobatic act. Her act for tonight is juggling bowls (using her hands, head, and feet) while riding a unicycle. Having already tossed several bowls on her head, she concludes by tossing four bowls balanced on top of each other on to her head in one movement. Howard says she’s the best thing he’s seen all day.

The American Military Spouses Choir is, well, what it sounds like. Their goal is to help treat PTSD through music. With a story like that, they really don’t even need to sing, but they manage to entertain by singing Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 4, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 2

A new judging panel got started in Amercia’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 1. It’s still early, but Mel and Heidi seem like they’ll fit right in, even if Howie still doesn’t. Among the first acts they judged were Catapult Entertainment, Anna Christine, and Special Head.

Travis Pratt sings a song that his girlfriend apparently loves. He sounds like a very good female opera singer. But the real news of this performance is that he wants to propose to his girlfriend of 5 years.

Ruby and Jonas are a pre-teen ballroom dancing duo. She was a member of The Untouchables from last year (who were children of the Miami All Stars from the prior year). They consider their biggest competition to be Ruby’s slightly older brother D’Angelo and his partner Amanda, who used to date way back when they were 9.

Taking a page out of American Idol’s book, the judges have voted for both of these acts with four yes votes at the same time. I wonder if Nigel is telling them how to vote, too.

Howie gives Mariachi Nuevo Estillo AVM a standing ovation right when they walk on stage because he believes they will annoy Howard. Their version of I’m Sexy and I Know It wins Howard over, though.

The next act runs out on stage shooting guns, but they’re in Texas, so nobody seems to notice. Pistol Packin Paula fires several more times before the female judges buzz her. Then she whips a candle in a shaking Nick’s mouth. Howard’s the only judge who gets this act.

Brad Byers is going to marry someone with a medical background, which comes as no surprise considering he’s about to swallow 9 swords, which the audience can see in an X-ray. As if swallowing them is not enough, he then twists them in circles a couple times. Mel says no because she can’t watch that again, but the other three judges say yes. Nick’s not looking forward to seeing him again either.

Collins Key is a 16 year old magician. First he steals Nick’s food and Howie’s money. He burns the money, which then ends up inside the sealed bag of popcorn. He’s surprised and overwhelmed to find the audience loving his act.

From San Antonio, the auditions now move to New Orleans.

Megan Piphus goes on stage with a couple dummies. She’s a better singer than she is a ventriloquist, but either way she’s going to Vegas.

Jonathan Allen was kicked out by his parents on his 18th birthday because he’s gay. Regardless, he still hopes to make them proud, rather than just writing them off like I’d suggest. He’s already got the audience pulling for him with that story, and his singing backs it up.

Alexandria the Great had a hobby 30 years ago before she had kids. You wouldn’t think it by looking at her, but she’s a female escape artist. She dives in a pool with 30 feet of chains around her. After a minute and a half under water, she comes to the surface unchained. This is compelling television.

Mel says that’s a difficult act to follow. So who’s next? JC Starbright, a computer programmer who views himself as the next Lady Gaga. Howard buzzes within the first sentence. Then Mel. Eventually, he forgets the words to his own song. It takes some time before the other judges finally axe him. Then Nick insists on continuing the foolishness.

Sam Johnson is going to do a handstand. On a sway pole. 80 feet in the air.

The final act of the night is Paul Thomas Mitchell, a singer/songwriter from Memphis. His song, My Life, is a tribute to his father, the one parent he has that recovered from alcoholism. Great voice, great song.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 3, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

America’s Got Talent Season 8 Episode 1

After Sharon Osbourne had a tantrum and quit the show, she was replaced by not one but two new judges. Melanie Brown, apparently a Spice Girl (Scary Spice), joins the panel along with Heidi Klum, who at one point was super and a model. Not sure either of them will add anything to the show. They are joined by returning judges Howie Mandel (comic relief but not much else) and Howard Stern (a surprisingly competent judge in his first appearance last year). The four judge panel has actually worked out well the past couple years on Britain’s Got Talent, but it’s a hit or miss prospect, typically more miss than hit.

Nick Cannon remains the host, which means we will see him foolishly extend the worst acts by joining them and pretending they don’t suck. He is generally a decent host, though.

Hopefully we can have a repeat of last year. No singers in the finals, especially lame ones who nobody’s ever going to actually listen to again. Let the other shows suffer from singing show fatigue. I want to see some variety.

With four judges, the contestants will need to receive at least three yes votes in order to advance to the next round.

David “The Cobra Kid” Weathers has been working with venemous snakes for 25 years, but he’s not dead yet. He blows up a balloon and gets a diamondback rattlesnake to strike it out of his mouth. Glad they survived, the judges vote for him.

Marty Brown talks about how the colonel was about 65 years old before his dreams came true, and now KFC is all over the world. The judges who clearly don’t think much of him before he starts singing have to change their minds after hearing him sing To Make You Feel My Love. It turns out his wife tricked him into coming on the show.

Clearly the first waste of time act of the night is Miu, who thinks she might be from Japan. Howie insists on watching this nonsense dancing of a woman possessed through to the end. Mel informs her that was not dancing.

Catapult Entertainment incorporate illusion and body magic into their dance routines. We’ve seen similar acts to this in the past (the much better Attraction is one of the front runners on this season’s Britain’s Got Talent), but their take on shadow dance is likely to propel them into the live shows.

Hype made their dance routine overnight, but they promise it is entertaining. Howie will be blown away if they put two days into their next routine.

Chuck from the Bronx eats three raw eggs, does a tequila suicide shot, then sits in a bathtub full of ice while eating the hottest pepper in the world. Despite the pointlessness of this, Howie does not buzz, but at least we get to watch him take a little tiny bite of pepper and learn that milk is the only way to get rid of the burn.

Anna Christine is a 10 year old singer and piano player. She’s 10? This is like when we first saw Jackie Evancho, whose vocal talent far exceeded her years.

3Penny Chorus and Orchestra is what you would expect. I don’t really get it and barely recognize their version of the overplayed song, but Howard, who hates orchestras, gives them a standing ovation.

Pacific Boys Choir kicks off the visit to LA with their rendition of California Dreamin. Howard, who interviewed the writer of that song, said he would enjoy that.

Special Head disappears and forces the audience to wait for him while he aligns his shockras. After obnoxiously meditating and getting buzzed by Howard, he begins floating in the air. Howard even takes his X back.

Angela Hoover does stand up comedy and impressions. She wants to be more than just a stay at home mom. She’s funny, but I’m going to have to take Howie’s word for her being a perfect impressionist.

Tone the Chiefrocca has a simple goal. He wants to be a one hit wonder. B double O TY is the song he’s going to use to do that. The crowd appreciates stupidity when they hear it. He promises to do the exact same song if he comes back. Then, of course, Nick joins him and encourages him to continue.

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

All Star Celebrity Apprentice Winner

After Lil Jon and Lisa Rinna were fired in All Star Celebrity Apprentice Episode 11, the final two of Penn Jillette and Trace Adkins began their final task.

Penn needs to cut 9 seconds from his video to get down to a minute. They decide to cut Dennis out of the video and then show the video of him afterward as a bonus. Simple enough.

Trace has secured Tim Tebow with $200,000. Seems not having a team to play for hasn’t phased him.

Now everything has been prepared, and it’s time for the ice cream social and to see who shows up and brings some money.

Penn’s early scores include a check from the former mayor of Las Vegas for $250,000. He is getting a lot of foot traffic while Trace sits there waiting. It’s not long before Trace’s country friends start to trickle in with big checks of their own, including a pair of checks for $100k.

Wayne Newton has managed to make it, and the Blue Man Group are back.

Penn is happy that he’s above where he expected, but Trace is short, now just waiting on Tebow with 10 minutes left. As Trace is about ready to walk away, Tebow arrives.

While Penn takes center stage for his own presentation, Trace takes a different approach, handing over much of the spotlight to Gary Busey as Buddy Holly.

One thing about Trace and Penn is that they both greatly respect each other, and they have nothing but kind words to say about their opponent. This sure is not a rematch of Joan Rivers vs. Annie Duke (where the worse player won because she’s Trump’s friend).

The executives loved the name swurtle and the flavor of Penn’s ice cream, thought his video was clever, loved the brand integration and the use of magic, and felt the presentation was on point. However, the packages blended a bit with the other packages.

They loved Gary singing, which they thought might go viral (memo to marketers on this show: you can’t force viral things… they just happen), and thought the name mashup might reach a different demographic. But maple as a flavor was almost too specific.

Penn raised $503,655. Trace raised $664,000, but Tim Tebow’s $200,000 was late, so his total is $564,000. Wait. I don’t understand. I guess half of Tebow’s contribution still counts? Either way, it’s a pretty close race with impressive numbers from both sides.

Trump gives $20,000 to the charities of Gary, Lil Jon, La Toya, and Dennis.

Walgreens is donating $100,000 to the charity of the best selling ice cream. With 400,000 pints sold between them, the winner is Penn.

Joan Rivers thinks that Penn should win, I think. Ivanka picks Trace.

After having received a lot of flack for firing Lil Jon (which was the right decision), Trump agrees to give $100,000 to his charity.

Apparently, Penn blasted Trump and the show after his last season, but he has since written to him to apologize.

Trump has made his final decision. The All Star Celebrity Apprentice winner is Trace Adkins, who receives an additional $250,000 for his charity, American Red Cross. I thought Penn was a much stronger competitor throughout the season, but it’s hard to deny that Trace has done a great job across two seasons.

Despite Trump’s delusion that this is one of the top rated shows on TV, there are only two shows that NBC has neither cancelled nor renewed. This is one of them. Presumably, they are waiting to see how many shows in their brand spanking new lineup flop in the fall before making a decision on the midseason lineup, which has already prematurely been announced. Perhaps then they’ll stop kicking The Biggest Loser as well.