American Idol Season 11 Episode 22

The top 10 performed in American Idol Season 11 Episode 21. Tonight 1 more will be sent home.

Why is Jennifer so pink?

Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, and Elise Testone are up first. It’s obvious the other two are safe, but I admit I’m surprised by Elise’s safeness.

Deandre Brackensick, Joshua Ledet, and Jessica Sanchez are next. Deandre’s luck is about to expire, quite likely tonight.

Erika van Pelt, Heejun Han, Colton Dixon, and Phillip Phillips are the last group. The unrecognizeable Erika’s in as much danger as she usually is. Tough call between the other three, though Heejun’s clearly the weakest singer of all. Seems Heejun’s support due to his humor is approaching its end, no matter how many Twitter followers he has.

Deandre, Erika, and Heejun find themselves in the bottom three.

Deandre is safe. Heejun dodges a bullet. Erika van Pelt has been eliminated. Again there’s no way the judges use their save.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 11 Episode 23, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 11 Episode 21

Following another lackluster performance, 16 year old Shannon Magrane, who Steven Tyler refers to as “hot, humid, and happening,” was eliminated in American Idol Season 11 Episode 20. Tonight the top 10 will perform Billy Joel songs, and it’s also makeover week.

Now that my Tivo’s working, sort of, I get to watch Idol tonight, and with all the filler should probably be done by the regularly scheduled show time in spite the Survivor delay. Wait, is that a good thing? I’ll admit, though, that the judges this season suck less than they did before, actually offering something resembling constructive criticism from time to time.

Deandre Brackensick
Song: Only the Good Die Young
Steven: A little too happy, but isn’t that what the world needs right now?
Jennifer: Like the laid back vibe. Nice mix.
Randy: Nothing special.

Erika van Pelt
Song: New York State of Mind
Randy: Love the vocals.
Jennifer: Such a beautiful vocal. Love to see you let loose.

Joshua Ledet
Song: She’s Got a Way
Jennifer: Needed to feel like you were connected more to the lyrics.
Steven: Made a song I didn’t know come to life.
Randy: Kind of a half-half thing for me.

Skylar Laine
Song: Shameless
Randy: Key was a little low in the intro, but you got in your comfort zone by the middle.
Jennifer: Fearless.
Steven: Every time you hit a chorus, you just hit it with such conviction. Maybe a little pitchy.

Elise Testone
Song: Vienna
Steven: Fantastic melody. Lot of heart.
Jennifer: Everybody got to see your personality.
Randy: Made it your own. Had a moment.

Phillip Phillips
Song: Moving Out
Jennifer: You are who you are.
Steven: Took that song and Phillip Phillipsed it.
Randy: Those that do should. You just did. Stick to your guns.

Hollie Cavanagh
Song: Honesty
Steven: A little pitchy. Seemed like you were overthinking the song.
Jennifer: Have to know every single note when you take on these big songs.
Randy: Choruses were great. Some little pitch issues in the verses.

Heejun Han
Song: My Life
Jennifer: Breath of fresh air. Didn’t hit the vocal exactly the way you would have liked to because you were running around.
Steven: At some point, you gotta try and take it more serious.
Randy: At least you had a good time.

Jessica Sanchez
Song: Everybody Has a Dream
Steven: Gone way past my judging. Thank you for letting me hear you sing.
Jennifer: That song was written for you. The defining moment for you.
Randy: You have a moment every time you step on that stage. Perfect.

Colton Dixon
Song: Piano Man
Jennifer: Goosies from head to toe from the minute you started.
Steven: Stunning choice of chords.
Randy: Very sensitive, touching, moving performance.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 11 Episode 22, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

Survivor: One World Episode 6

The newly formed misfit tribe was outmatched in every way in Survivor: One World Episode 5. So naturally they voted out perhaps their strongest competitor, Monica.

Colton informs Christina she’s a cockroach but is going home soon, probably, perhaps after the merge, possibly. Glad we got clarification on that.

Kat had a dream last night. Alicia killed her. At the mall. No doubt at least part of that will come true.

Their challenge is to run up a couple platforms, grab a coconut, bounce the coconut off a trampoline, and destroy 5 targets. Reward is ice cream. Sabrina sits out for Salani. Kim breaks Salani’s first target. Tarzan ties it for Manono. Leif makes it 2-1 for Manono. Probst says his nephew can throw better than Alicia. Chelsea ties it at 2. Colton informs Christina she’s a stupid idiot. Jay makes it 3-2 Salani. Tarzan can barely climb, but he’s good at throwing, making it 3-3. Kat retakes the lead for Salani. Troyzan breaks Salani’s final target to win reward. And in case you missed it the first time, Colton hates Christina’s guts. The race card seemed pretty convenient a couple weeks ago, but I’d argue this guy is just an asshat.

Christina tells Jonas and Leif that they need to get rid of Alicia because otherwise she will align with the women after the merge. During this conversation, Alicia comes up behind them and hears the whole thing, with complete lack of warning from either of the guys who are facing that direction.

Colton is not feeling well. He says he’s dehydrated, and the pain keeps getting worse. Tarzan tells us he recognizes all the signs of appendicitis and gas in the cecum and stuff like that. Rather than leave him for the vultures to feed on, Christina goes to his aid. Jeff comes in with the medical team. Lightly touching his stomach results in his heart rate doubling, and they agree with Tarzan’s diagnosis of appendicitis. They have to take him to a hospital, which will eliminate him from the game. He just wishes he could have done more. So Jeff wants to know: what does he want to do with the idol?

Alicia’s worried about how her strategy just blew up in her face. Upon hearing he wants to keep the idol for a souvenir, she calls him a spoiled brat and says screw him. And so the race of who to hate more continues. Jonas has a thought about Colton’s departure. Karma. Ain’t it a bitch?

Treemail informs them that both tribes are headed to tribal tonight.

Tarzan says that Christina wouldn’t be his friend. “But I do respect you, Katrina.”

With Colton and Alicia having been cut down to size, Jonas views himself as the new ringmaster. He wants to go with Christina’s plan of getting rid of Alicia. This leaves Leif somewhere in the middle, having to decide whether to vote against Christina or Alicia.

Once they arrive, after everybody hears the news about Colton, Alicia tells them that Colton thanks Sabrina for the souvenir. Some people believe her. Some don’t.

By the way. You can drop your buffs. We are merged. Well then. I did not see that coming.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: One World Episode 7, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

The Biggest Loser Season 13 Episode 12

With the pink team on the chopping block in The Biggest Loser Season 13 Episode 11, Emily wound up being eliminated.

They’re going on vacation to Hawaii in an effort to test the excuse “I can’t lose weight on vacation.”

They start off with some sunbathing, talking about hot guys, and planning to get some cocktails. At least Mark says his head’s still in the game.

Dolvett’s biggest concern is Kim, whose partner went home last week and who is the most likely target this week. While the others eat, she hops on the treadmill and starts her workout.

Floating out from the ocean is Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer who got her arm bit off by a shark. Within a month of her shark bite, she was back on her board, determined to find a way to surf again, eventually getting good enough to turn pro. For today, she’s going to teach them how to surf.

The challenge is Q&A of Hawaiian foods. With my Tivo acting up, I guess I’m stuck just jumping right to the results. How long does it take this thing to refind channels anyway? And then restart. In a tie breaker question about the number of calories in 24 chocolate covered macadamia nuts, Chris’ guess of 1260 is closer to the correct answer of 1320 than Kim’s answer of 518. As the winner, she gets a 1 pound advantage.

So apparently the answer to my previous question is 43 minutes. And still not working. Damnit.

Reward at their next challenge is immunity. They will have to gather leis and put them on their opponents’ tikis. Once they have 10 leis (or the death lei) on their tiki, they are out. Buddy sits out for medical reasons. Mark will target Chris, Megan, and Kimmy, as they all target Kim. Strangely enough, Chris is the biggest target. Kimmy offers Mark a death lei, but he doesn’t want it. When she gets to the top of the hill, she eliminates Kim, a surprise to Mark seeing as Kim was already almost eliminated. Chris is the next one out. Megan is the next one to be eliminated. The last one in their group, Kimmy, follows suit. Perhaps they should have put their efforts into targeting those who remain rather than Kim. Jeremy asks his sister if she wants to win. What’s she gonna say? No? Jeremy and Conda sit out the challenge for a while so Mark will run up and down the hill to help them a bit. Once both Jeremy and Conda are close, Jeremy eliminates Mark, then Conda eliminates Jeremy to win immunity. Lame.

They’re sticking around Hawaii for their weigh in, surrounded by ships in Pearl Harbor.

Conda: 217 pounds (-4, 1.81%, immune)
Chris: 174 pounds (-3, -1, 2.26%)
Mark: 200 pounds (-4, 1.96%)
Jeremy: 266 pounds (-7, 2.56%)
Megan: 195 pounds (-3, 1.52%)
Buddy: 275 pounds (-6, 2.14%)
Kimmy: 161 pounds (-2, 1.23%)
Kim: 171 pounds (-5, 2.84%)

Mother and daughter Kimmy and Megan find themselves below the yellow line. Kimmy asks them to let her go home so Megan can stay. Kim suggests they repeat their same line of thought as last week and get rid of the threat, removing their emotions. Regardless, neither is a particularly big threat.

Votes
Mark: Kimmy
Jeremy: Kimmy
Buddy: Kimmy

With 3 votes, Kimmy is not The Biggest Loser. Since starting the show, Kimmy has lost 65 pounds.

Stay tuned to dinguRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Season 13 Episode 13, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Celebrity Apprentice 5 Episode 5

Adam Carolla took a bullet as the losing project manager in The Celebrity Apprentice 5 Episode 4. Then Trump threw a hissy fit and fired Michael Andretti, too, because the Buick execs expected an Andretti at the helm of the project but did not get it.

Patricia warns the women that they’ll need to change their behavior if they hope to keep winning. They won’t have too many rigged tasks like that one to fall back on.

This week’s task is to create an original theme and viral video for an O-Cedar spray mop. The whole concept of viral videos on this show is laughable. They will be judged based on product integration, entertainment value, and brand messaging, plus any other things Trump decides to throw in like whether or not Michael Andretti is project manager.

Having received a beatdown in the boardroom in which he should have been fired last week, Lou steps up to be the project manager for the men. Tia volunteers for the women. Both of these people view themselves as the two outcasts of the two groups.

Lou wants to be the star of his team’s commercial. He says that every week, and it was bound to happen eventually, at least when he’s in charge.

Aubrey has decided she no longer hates Debbie, but now she hates Dayana.

Lisa comes up with an idea: what’s your number (of mops you have used)? It won’t be long before the inappropriateness gets out of hand. Whether the executive signed off on sexy or not, this is a 100 year old brand that’s probably somewhat conservative.

Lou wants to be a super hero. Penn shoots this down, which he defends by saying all brainstorming should involve shooting down every idea. Clay comes to Lou’s defense, arguing there are people in the room trying to set Lou up for failure. This confrontation gets them to working, but it leaves Penn upset.

Aubrey is used to being front and center on these tasks, but this time she’s being pushed aside. Dayana doesn’t understand what’s going on. There’s no mop in the script. Seeing as they’re already filming, it’s too late to change, so she’ll just complain to Aubrey, who has more than her share to complain about.

In the middle of his video, Lou starts dancing. He wants to show people that a big man can move his butt like a woman.

During his visit with the women, Don Jr. observes that there’s a lot of tension and somebody’s ready to explode. Most of them are just talking badly behind the others’ backs. That’s not going to fly with Lisa. After Dayana asks to be in the presentation, she tells them that not everybody needs to be included (last week, Trump blamed the men for not everybody being included), and they need to drop their egos.

Dee thinks Lou did a great job. Paul agrees, and so does Clay.

Tia calls Lisa the star. In turn, Lisa thinks Tia is great, but she never had a handle on the task.

Dayana thinks Debbie was really stressed out, which Debbie agrees with.

Don Jr. believes that Lisa, Aubrey, and Debbie are the three creative people, and Lisa agrees, adding that Dayana is the least valuable. She says that the ideas that worked came from the three of them. That said, the ideas that didn’t work also came from them, and if you have enough people with the biggest voices shooting down everybody else, that’s what is going to win the day whether it’s good or not.

Dee would fire Paul because there was not really anything for him to do on this task. Paul’s lone contribution on the task was coming up with the tagline, “I’m gonna mop the floor with you,” which was very clever. Arsenio would fire Paul as well.

Lou will bring back Paul and Penn if they lost. He calls Penn a bull in a china closet with a superior attitude. Harsh. Clay repeats that Penn is condescending, the word he knows Penn does not like to hear.

The executives felt the women nailed the entertainment value and the brand, did a great job working as a team, and showed off the mist sprayer. They didn’t like their confusing concept, and they focused too much on the presentation and not enough on the video. For the men, they felt they were entertaining, Lou was great as a housewife, the tagline was terrific, and they showed off all the key features of the product. They though the video needed too viral, and they didn’t like that the suggested the need to use an eco friendly cleaning product.

The men won. Lou won $50,000 for his charity, Muscular Distrophy Assocation. Not surprising. The women’s concept was flawed. If you have to explain the concept to every single person who hears it, it’s neither funny nor clever.

Lisa defends herself by saying that, although her concept was bad, she should get a pass because it was approved by the project manager.

Patricia would fire Tia over Lisa, but Teresa is their weakest player. Teresa responds that Patricia is the weakest, clarifying it by saying that, if she’s going to knock her down, she’s going to return the favor.

Aubrey would fire Tia because she’s project manager, but Dayana is weaker. Arsenio would fire Aubrey, but his say from the suite doesn’t count.

Trump says he will not fire anybody else if she throws herself on the sword, so Tia accepts responsibility, and she has been fired. She’s happy to get away from this cattiness.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Celebrity Apprentice 5 Episode 6, which airs Sunday at 9/8c on NBC.

The Amazing Race 20 Episode 5

An early mistake left them trailing for the entire leg in The Amazing Race 20 Episode 4, but a non-elimination leg saved Bopper & Mark.

It would be really nice if this show started on time for a change.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Art & JJ – 8:57AM
Second: Rachel & Dave – 11:33AM
Third: Joey & Danny – 12:11PM
Fourth: Vanessa & Ralph – 12:27PM
Fifth: Nary & Jamie – 12:56PM
Sixth: Brendon & Rachel – 1:18PM
Seventh: Kerri & Stacy – 3:58PM
Eighth: Bopper & Mark – 5:54PM

Vanessa & Ralph say that, having both been divorced, they learned to vocalize what they want more, which may not necessarily be the best thing. Rachel is trying to remember that Brendon is her little bookie bear, not her enemy.

Teams will now travel by train to Ehrwald, Austria, then drive across the border into the oldest state in Germany, Bavaria.

There is a huge 9 hour gap between first and last place, a combination of both the fast forward and also the last place team having done so poorly, but the timing works out perfectly for them. The 10 hour train ride makes most teams spend the night at the train station, and their next stop doesn’t open until 8:30 in the morning. Not everybody is bunched together, but there are two packs a lot closer than they had been, with only the first three departing teams getting an early enough train to open up a lead.

The detour is a choice between fairy tale or champion male. In fairy tale, they’ll follow a trail of gingerbread, find the witch’s cottage, and use those pieces to complete the roof of a gingerbread house. In champion male, they have to style the beards of beard champions. You can’t make this stuff up. Seeing as it’s snowing out, the indoor task probably makes more sense.

Champion Male: Art & JJ, Joey & Danny, Rachel & Dave, Vanessa & Ralph, Nary & Jamie
Fairy Tale: Rachel & Brendon, Kerri & Stacy, Bopper & Mark

Before their detour, Bopper & Mark must complete a speed bump, which requires them to yodel. If previous speed bumps are any indication, this task takes about 10 minutes.

The first two beard teams retain their lead, but Joey & Danny chose the guy with the longest hair, a choice they blame for the other teams catching up. Ultimately, the task is not created equally for all players, as the different beards have different styling requirements.

Their next stop is Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle. At the castle, they have a choice between walking or taking a horse and buggy. The horse route is theoretically easier but slower. Rachel & Dave continue their standard fighting, while Vanessa tells Ralph to shut up, correcting him to tell him he couldn’t care less, which is probably true.

Aside from that, there are two castles. That means that Rachel & Dave and Nary & Jamie both just spent time on a tour for nothing. Bopper & Mark make the same mistake, minus the tour. In a pretty tight race, these errors are sufficient to shake up the standings. Adding to this, Mark thinks he’s going to have a heart attack from all that walking.

From there, they head to an ice hockey and curling rink. The road block is a game of eisstock-schiessen. They have to slide their Travelocity roaming gnomes across the ice to land them on a bullseye.

Road block (in order of arrival): Art, Joey/Danny, Ralph, Nary, Brendon, Rachel, Stacy/Kerri, Bopper

Most of the teams seem to get through this fine, but Nary’s noticeably struggling, having tried over 100 times by the time the trailing teams arrive. Another 100 or so tries later, they finally leave, now in last place.

The pit stop for this leg of the race is Landhannes Farm, a 200 year old working dairy farm.

First: Art & JJ (win a trip to Thailand)
Second: Joey & Danny
Third: Vanessa & Ralph
Fourth: Rachel & Dave
Fifth: Brendon & Rachel
Sixth: Bopper & Mark
Seventh: Nary & Jamie
Eliminated: Kerri & Stacy

With Nary & Jamie navigating their way to the pit stop better, Kerri & Stacy have been eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 20 Episode 6, which airs Sunday at 8/7cish on CBS.

American Idol Season 11 Episode 20

After Jermaine Jones got booted from the show in American Idol Season 11 Episode 19, the top 11 performed. Tonight one more will go home. Probably.

Phillip Phillips, Skylar Laine, Elise Testone, and Joshua Ledet are up first. The judges’ overreaction to Joshua should keep him safe this week, as compared to last week when he was in danger, and Skylar and Phil should be fine as well. Among them, Elise is in the bottom three.

Colton Dixon, Shannon Magrane, Deandre Brackensick, and Jessica Sanchez are next. Colton should be safe in spite of his terrible song choice that nobody has ever heard of, and Jessica’s performance last week should carry her for a bit. The other two are a toss up. Deandre is safe. Shannon is in the bottom three.

Erika van Pelt, Hollie Cavanagh, and Heejun Han are the last group. Hollie should easily be safe. Heejun probably has the following because of his humor, in spite of Randy being the only person capable of providing a name of who should go and saying Heejun. That leaves Erika as the last person in danger.

So the bottom three are Elise Testone, Shannon Magrane, and Erika van Pelt. Jennifer is not happy that the bottom three includes Elise, and Steven agrees. Elise returns to safety.

That brings us down to Shannon or Erika. Erika is safe. Shannon has been eliminated.

The judges can use a save any time through week 5, but no way they use it here.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 11 Episode 21, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 11 Episode 19

The judges voted out Jeremy Rosado in American Idol Season 11 Episode 18. Tonight the top 12 will perform, or at least 11 of them will. Jermaine Jones has been eliminated after they were too lazy to do spend a few bucks on a background check and have since uncovered his criminal record and outstanding warrants. Tonight’s theme is songs from the years the contestants were born (1983-1995).

Phillip Phillips
Song: Hard to Handle by The Black Crowes
Randy: After (kidney stone) surgery, sounding like that, I don’t even know what’s going on. Sound amazing.
Jennifer: So natural. Great song for you.

Jessica Sanchez
Song: Turn the Beat around by Gloria Estefan
Steven: Don’t stray too far from ballads. Rhythm was a little shady.
Jennifer: Lagged a little bit behind.
Randy: Song didn’t allow you to show your big old voice.

Heejun Han
Song: Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx
Randy: Pitchy all over the place. Felt like you were out of breath the whole time. Wrong kind of song for you.
Jennifer: Could tell you were struggling, but got really beautiful towards the end.

Elise Testone
Song: Let’s Stay Together by The Rippingtons
Jennifer: Feels good when it’s right, and that was right.
Randy: Elise is back.

Deandre Brackensick
Song: Endless Love by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey
Jennifer: You can sing anything, but Jimmy steered you wrong. Not the right song.
Randy: Paled in comparison. Boring and very safe.

Shannon Magrane
Song: One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Jennifer: Terrified for you, but you did a beautiful job.
Steven: Sing your best when you don’t try so hard.

Colton Dixon
Song: Broken Heart by White Lion (a song nobody knows)
Jennifer: Colton’s a lover. You look pretty when you sing.
Steven: Wrong song for your voice and your passion.
Randy: The song didn’t matter because you performed it dope.

Erika van Pelt
Song: Heaven by Bryan Adams
Steven: Too busy all over it.
Jennifer: The arrangement left us wanting more.
Randy: 8 out of 10. Be careful not to make too much out of a great song.

Skylar Laine
Song: Love Sneakin’ up on You by Bonnie Raitt
Steven: Haven’t heard you sing a song bad yet.
Jennifer: Really killed that.

Joshua Ledet
Song: When a Man Loves a Woman by Michael Bolton
Randy: Phenomenal. Incredible on every level.
Jennifer: Best thing I’ve ever seen on American Idol.
Steven: Most beautiful performanc I’ve ever seen.

Hollie Cavanagh
Song: The Power of Love by Celine Dion
Steven: A little pitchy here and there, but beautiful.
Randy: Blew it out the box.

Randy says Joshua is safest, and Heejun is in trouble. Jennifer agrees Joshua is safest and also Hollie and Phillip, but she declines to name names who is going home. C’mon, Jennifer. Pick a name. Joshua is safest, and so are a bunch of other people, but he also won’t name names. It’s like watching Paula and Nicole.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 11 Episode 20, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.