Survivor: Philippines Cast

The Survivor: Philippines cast of 18 castaways features some well known names. Starting the list is Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. She will be joined by Jeff Kent, 2000 National League MVP who played with a variety of Major League Baseball teams before retiring in 2008. Personally I think they need to just go all in and have a celebrity Survivor, as we’ve seen in both South Africa and Australia, perhaps with a twist such as celebrities vs. all stars or celebrities vs. fans.

I assume Dana Lambert is not the eldest daughter from Step by Step.

Additionally, we will see something that fans have been asking to see for a long time: the return of contestants who had to be medically evacuated in a previous season. Michael Skupin fell in the fire in The Austrlian Outback. Russell Swan collapsed during a challenge due to dehydration. Jonathan Penner survived the lackluster Cook Islands but was removed from the awesome Micronesia due to a knee injury.

The cast will be rounded out by an additional 13 contestants to be split among three tribes, a scenario that worked out quite well in All Stars.

Abi-Maria Gomes
32
Los Angeles, CA

Angie Layton
20
Provo, UT

Artis Silvester
53
Terrytown, LA

Carter Williams
24
Shawnee, KS

Dana Lambert
32
Winston-Salem, NC

Denise Stapley
41
Cedar Rapids, IA

Jeff Kent
44
Austin, TX

Jonathan Penner
50
Los Angeles, CA

Katie Hanson
22
Newark, DE

Lisa Whelchel
49
Dallas, TX

Malcolm Freberg
25
Hermosa Beach, CA

Michael Skupin
50
White Lake, MI

Peter “Pete” Yurkowski
24
Holmdel, NJ

Roberta “R.C.” Saint-Amour
27
New York City, NY

Roxanne “Roxy” Morris
28
Brooklyn, NY

Russell Swan
45
Glenside, PA

Sarah Dawson
28
Silver Springs, MD

Zane Knight
28
Danville, VA

America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 25

The final group of quarterfinal acts performed in America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 24. Tonight four more will advance.

The first three acts are Sebastien “El Charro de Oro”, Bandbaz Brothers, and Ben Blaque. For some reason, America has passed on Ben. After last night, really? Sebastien will be advancing instead. Oh here we go again. Let’s watch the variety acts fall while we push the moderately talented singers to the top.

Horse, Jake Wesley Rogers, and Andrew de Leon are the next trio. Left to choose between these three, I assume Andrew is advancing, but then again I assumed that about Ben as well. Since Andrew’s a singer, I’m correct this time.

Howard interjects to say that America has made some mistakes tonight. I noticed.

Todd Oliver, Cristin Sandu, and Spencer Horsman are next. As impressive as Spencer is, Todd and Irving are too funny to pass up.

The final trio of the night is Lindsey Norton, All That, and Jarrett & Raja. Jarrett & Raja have been eliminated. Oh c’mon, America. Howard’s not happy that he’s stuck choosing between these two acts, especially considering some of the acts that have been eliminated so far. All That says they have been here before. Yeah, 6 years ago, since this show is running out of talent apparently. Howard votes for All That. Howie votes for Lindsey. Choosing between her two acts, Sharon breaks the tie by voting for All That.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 26, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

Big Brother 14 Episode 18

The ill-fated from the beginning alliance was officially flushed down the drain in Big Brother 14 Episode 17 when Shane nominated Frank and Boogie.

Rather than take credit or blame or give any reason for the nominations, Shane gives the most ridiculous nomination speech in history. He later blames it on influence from other people. Like Joe and… people in this house.

He declines to throw Dan or Ian under the bus, but he does reluctantly admit the obvious that Britney’s pulling his strings. She’s upset that her name is mentioned, as she thought this was going to be a week in which she would not get any blood on her hands, which is why she (like the other coaches) did not even try to win HOH. In turn, Shane’s not happy that she expects him to take all the blame (again). Upon hearing this, Britney goes downstairs to talk to Boogie and Frank, and she lets Shane know he’s not welcome to participate in their conversation.

Frank returns to his mindset from last week. He doesn’t trust Dan again/still. Britney only helps to cement this by refusing to reveal her super reliable secret source. As these people all look like idiots, they continue to protect their mole, who is just skating by with no enemies and no target from either side of the house nor anyone in the middle. Dan’s just about fed up with him, though.

Shane picks Jenn at random to play in the veto competition. Boogie picks Ian as houseguest’s choice. Frank picks Ashley as houseguest’s choice. Frank and Boogie just got lucky by ending up in a competition with the three weakest competitors in the house. Granted, they still have to beat Shane.

They see candy everywhere. They’ll have to figure out how much candy is in larger containers based on how much candy is in smaller containers. Ian plans to throw this game of dumb luck. Historically, the trick here has been to just keep folding and watch all the people who are making an effort get booted.

Frank, Shane, and Boogie stay, while Ashley and Jenn with their ridiculous answers fold, as does Ian. Frank scores a point, but Boogie is narrowly eliminated. Ashley continues with her strategy that cannot be explained in our Earth logic, and she folds, with Ian (who would have been eliminated had he not folded) following suit. Frank gets another point, and Jenn is eliminated. Frank goes over the top this time and folds, and as usual Ashley folds as well. Shane gets a point, and Ian has been eliminated. Frank comes up with a huge number, but this time he’s right about it. He didn’t need to fold but does anyway. Despite being off by 13,000, Ashley gets a point, while Shane is off by even more and is eliminated. She is very pleased with her pretty lollipop point. Frank is correct on the next counting question and wins the power of veto.

Boogie hopes to rally the floaters to get Dan nominated in Frank’s place. The other side made a big move too early, and there are enough votes to turn the tables. He also wants to convince Britney to get onboard so that she can again tell Shane what to do. He should just stick to talking, though, as the fake tears aren’t going to work.

At the veto ceremony, Frank removes himself from the block. The replacement nominee is Jenn. It’s perhaps the most dangerous player in the house against the most invisible.

Shane has now nominated half the players in the house. Maybe this week one of them will actually be eliminated. Wonder if that question mark will blow up in his face.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 14 Episode 19, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 24

Last week sucked, but that didn’t prevent 4 acts from advancing to the next round in America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 23 anyway. Tonight’s wild card represents the last chance for acts to move to the semifinals. Hopefully it is more entertaining. Each judge has chosen four acts to return. Sharon’s picks: All That, Jake Wesley Rogers, Bandbaz Brothers, and Lindsey Norton. Howard’s picks: Horse, Ben Blaque, Todd Oliver, and Spencer Horsman. Howie’s picks: Sebastien “El Charro de Oro”, Jarrett & Raja, Cristin Sandu, and Andrew de Leon.

In an effort to catch up to Sharon and Howard, which will never happen, Howie wants everybody to know that he’s on Twitter and surfing the web while he’s supposed to be judging.

Spencer Horsman is the world’s youngest escape artist, a worthy talent who just happened to have a bad night with an overly critical judging panel. He’s padlocked and lowered into a tank that is being filled with wet cement. This time he gets a standing ovation. Howie says this trick worked a lot better for Spencer than it did for Jimmy Hoffa.

All That is a clogging group. My problem with them is simple. They were in the finals of season 1, also as a wild card act. Although there may be three different judges now and a new host, surely somebody on the crew remembers and has the ability to prevent recycling acts that are no better than they were last time. Howie and Howard don’t think the audience is going to respond to that performance anyway.

Jarrett & Raja were booed off the stage last time, so of course Howie wants to see them again. Raja and his piano disappear from a box, only to reappear in the crowd. I still don’t get this weird combination of magic and playing music, but the illusion is good this time.

Jake Wesley Rogers bombed with a really bad Britney Spears song. I guess Edge of Glory by Lady GaGa is an improvement, but it’s still his swan song.

Cristin Sandu has an awesome balance act, but his fall eliminated him from contention. He’s returned with his father, who believes his last performance was too dangerous. He lasts longer this time, but he falls again. The most impressive part of that is again he escapes without a scratch.

Todd Oliver has a potentially funny dog ventriloquist act. Irving is running for president, something very easy to make fun of that everybody can laugh about.

Bandbaz Brothers were cut in Vegas. One of them balances the other on a pipe in his mouth, a trick that their grandfather’s cousin died doing. I’m not sure where you take this from here, but this brief act is still impressive.

Sebastien “El Charro de Oro” mixes mariachi with Frank Sinatra. I don’t get the combination, but this kid’s got potential.

Howard told us his objective for the night was to pick people that viewers won’t fast forward. With Horse, the guy who repeatedly gets hit in the nuts, that mission has failed. Time to pause and get back to The Glass House finale, which was preempted by a preseason football game, a testament to the show’s ratings or lack thereof. I’d even rather watch another of Erica’s humiliating meltdowns.

Lindsey Norton is the perkiest dancer this show’s seen, and she mixes a bit of contortion in for good measure. Good dancer, but it’s not clear whether it will be enough.

Andrew de Leon was the early frontrunner who blew it in Vegas. I remember liking him before, but that performance won’t stick with me.

The final act of the night is Ben Blaque. This time he turns the arrows on himself, shooting an apple off his own head while blindfolded with the sound of bells as his guide. Surely this time that was good enough for you, America.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 25, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Big Brother 14 Episode 17

Wil was eliminated in Big Brother 14 Episode 16, leading up to an endurance competition for HOH.

The first thing I notice about the HOH competition is that there are three coaches left in the house. How many of them are trying to win HOH? Zero. That should send a message to the newbies, but I don’t get the sense any of them is smart enough for it to click.

To nobody’s surprise, Boogie is going for the $10,000, which he’s pretty much guaranteed to win because nobody else wants the cash. Britney, Joe, Dan, Jenn, and Ashley compete for safety. Only 3 houseguests out of 9 are actually trying to win HOH: Danielle, Shane, and Ian.

Danielle’s falling a lot, and Ian is as well, complete with his own sound effects. That makes it easy for Shane to coast right to the HOH prize.

Britney, who doesn’t look like she has fallen at all, is killing the others in the safety battle, which she ends up winning. The others can now switch to HOH, but Shane is more than 1/3 of the way to his goal by that point. In the meantime, Mike Boogie wins the cash prize, bringing his total for the season to $16k.

Had he not started off going for safety, Dan might have had a shot at this. Shane falls about half way through, and he starts to slow down as a result. But it’s not enough for Dan to catch him. Shane wins HOH.

Frank considering nominating Dan, though he did not do so, is sufficient excuse for him to be nominated, and if he were nominated, alongside him would be his coach Boogie.

Normally when the HOH room is unveiled, everybody pretends to care, even though they really don’t. Frank and Jenn are in bed and don’t join the party, though Jenn at least goes upstairs to say a few words.

Boogie thinks he can still trust Ian, but everything he tells Ian just gets back to Britney. With that, Boogie’s question of whether Ian would nominate Britney or Shane if by some miracle he were to win HOH gets into Britney’s ear. As if she needed more ammo for the Boogie/Frank nomination, she gets some more. Shane’s worried that he gets blood on his hands, which she honestly understands. That would explain why she didn’t even try to win HOH, nor can she really be faulted for not doing so since she has other alliance members who are stupid enough to take the hit.

Now that Frank and Ashley have made out, Ian finally makes another move and asks her out on a second date. She realizes that they’re just friends, which isn’t going to change even if Frank gets eliminated this week.

Shane talks to Joe, who tells him he’s onboard with whatever plans he has and will even jump in front of a bus if necessary, though I don’t see any buses in the Big Brother house.

Ian believes that, in a game of good vs. evil, he would be on the evil team. Villains don’t tend to name their alliance Quack Pack.

Prior to nomiations, they find a box with balls and a question mark inside. Britney assures Shane there’s no chance this will impact nominations. Really, no chance?

Nominations
Britney has safety.
Danielle is safe.
Dan is safe.
Jenn is safe.
Ashley is safe.
Joe is safe.
Ian is safe.
Boogie and Frank have been nominated for eviction.

So much for that alliance.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 14 Episode 18, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Big Brother 14 Episode 16

Much drama led us nowhere in Big Brother 14 Episode 15 as Joe and Wil remained on the block.

Frank just kept his alliance all safe. So what’s the first thing they do? Talk about how they have to win HOH because they can’t trust him. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea to trash his alliance. But not by going after Dan. Britney’s doing the most talking, and lopping Shane’s head off would isolate her.

Not waiting around for Ian to make another move and wanting to get some information about Wil’s safety, Ashley asks Frank out on an ice cream date. During the date, Frank asks her to make out on the couch for a while. Somehow, this works, and she seems to have forgotten all about Wil.

Wil continues to talk about one big group getting ready to pick him off. He’s not doing himself any favors.

Jeff is back minus Jordan, but they’re living together now. He’s pulling for Ian, as the strong players tend to go strong for a while then get it in the back at the end.

Votes
Ashley: Joe
Boogie: Wil
Danielle: Wil
Jenn: Joe
Dan: Wil
Britney: Wil
Shane: Wil
Ian: Wil

Ashley remains loyal, but it’s largely symbolic, while Jenn is just as in the dark as Joe was last week. By a vote of 6-2, Wil has been evicted from the Big Brother house.

The HOH competition will have them running back and forth on a slippery path to fill jugs with a cup. This should last a while. In addition to HOH, immunity and $10,000 are also up for grabs should they opt to forgo the power. 5 people have already decided they don’t want to be HOH. Boogie is the only person going for the cash, while 4 people (Ashley, Joe, Britney, and Dan) have decided to go for safety, leaving 4 people (Danielle, Jenn, Shane, and Ian) to compete for HOH. Britney and Dan may have talked tough about going after Boogie and Frank, but they’re not stupid enough to get blood on their own hands. Let one of the idiot newbies do that instead, most likely one of their partners.

Want to know who wins HOH before Sunday’s show? Check out the BB14 spoilers.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 17 Episode 14, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 23

A bunch of terrible acts took the stage in America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 22. That won’t stop 4 of them from making it to the next round, while much better acts were cut prior to the Olympics.

Cast in Bronze, Reverse Order, and Academy of Villains are first. The dance act is clearly advancing, though I think Reverse Order has the most potential with the right song.

7 in Unison, Bria Kelly, and Rudy Cody are next. It obviously won’t be Rudy, but I’m going to go with Bria between the other two. She is the one to advance.

The Magic of Puck, Eric Buss, and Melinda Hill are the third trio. I get the sense Melinda’s actually funny, but too bad she did not show it last night. Combine that with Eric’s weird act, and you get the result that Puck moves to the next round.

Clint Carvalho, Drew Erwin, and Romeo Dance Cheetah are the last group. No chance of the lame air guitarist advancing. Howard votes for Clint. Sharon does, too. My ears are not looking forward to it.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 7 Episode 24, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

Big Brother 14 Episode 15

Frank predictably nominated Joe and Wil in Big Brother 14 Episode 14.

Dan’s relieved that he’s not nominated, but he still doesn’t trust his alliance members.

Since Wil has an attitude problem, Frank and Boogie now want to team up with Joe. They want him to keep his cool and keep his mouth shut. Good luck with that.

Shane continues to talk about how he doesn’t want a showmance. I might believe you if you’d stop kissing her.

Wil hopes to get Danielle’s support by telling her a sob story. It seems to be working at gaining her sympathy, but I can’t see her wanting to go against the rest of the house on that basis.

Frank picks Jenn at random to play in the veto competition. Joe picks the injured Ashley as houseguest’s choice because he doesn’t trust anybody. Wil calls this selfish, but it’s not like she has to play if she doesn’t want to/can’t. She just has to dress in a stupid costume and show up. Wil chooses Boogie, who would have been his last pick.

Zingbot tells Ashley that it’s too bad her smile, which lights up the room, is the only thing about her that’s bright. He asks Britney to tell him more about the charity she gave half a million dollars to, The Brigade. Little orphan Annie wants Frank to stop stealing her hairdo. Shane’s going to require a restraining order for Danielle once the season ends, which is funny because it’s true.

After zinging everybody, Zingbot brings them to the backyard for the veto competition. Their job is to bring baby Zingbot to life, which requires them to build a pipeline through gateways, then guide an orb through the pipe and into a transformer. Boogie helps Ian, while Britney helps Shane (with a puzzle, really, Shane?). None of this help seem to be working for either of them, but everybody else is just as clueless. Except for Frank, who’s making steady progress. He ends up winning the power of veto and unleashing Zingbot 4000.

Frank’s win gives the rest of the house more time to sweat. They say they can’t trust Frank, but it seems he shouldn’t trust them either.

Wil thinks he should get a bigger target out. Back to this again. If Frank takes out a big target, he in turn becomes a bigger target, when he’s already painted a big bullseye on his forehead. Even taking out Wil is a risk, but at least Wil has made it clear he can’t be trusted. He gains the support of Ashley and Jenn to go upstairs to see if Frank is willing to target Dan. As much as Frank does not trust Dan, Boogie’s been able to talk some sense into him against going down that path just yet.

Since Ian’s working both sides or at least thinks he is, he digs up information for his alliance with a stupid name, and Frank mentions Dan as a potential target. Ian tells Danielle and Britney, trusting that the information will go no further.

Frank’s main defense of Dan being a threat is that Dan wanted to vote against him. Who didn’t?

At the veto ceremony, Frank chooses not to change his nominations.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 14 Episode 16, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on CBS.