The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 12

Elena found out why she looks like Katherine despite being from a different family in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 11: she’s adopted.

Stefan says there’s another vampire in town, so they need to be careful. Too bad he invites the pizza delivery guy inside.

Jeremy writes a paper about vampires in Mystic Falls. His teacher, Alaric, who knows a thing or two about the subject, tells him to not bother getting too caught up in the conspiracy theories.

Caroline and Matt are growing closer. She says it’s because Matt’s not over Elena.

Bonnie suggests that Elena dig deeper into this adoption thing. Seeing as how she just found out her boyfriend is a vampire, it’s not as if things can really get much worse.

Elena gets a call from the guy she hit with her car. Why call if he just wants her dead? To protect her, Stefan gives her a compass, so he can find her if she’s in danger.

Elena’s parents delivered the baby of a teenager, but a few days later she disappeared. That left them with Elena. All Jenna knows about the girl is her name, Isabelle.

Stefan says he’s willing to do anything to get his brother out of town, even release Katherine, although the other 26 vampires will have to stay put.

Having received an invite inside Elena’s house, the new vampire in town is able to make his way in and attempt to attack her, but Stefan arrives just in time to save her. Damon suggests they go to a public place instead, using her as bait.

Anna continues to stalk Jeremy at the dance. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, they’re about as on a date as they can get.

Bonnie has decided to make a move on Ben, the ex-jock now bartender.

Anna insists that Jeremy give her his ancestor’s journal. When he tells her he gave it to Alaric, she tells him he shouldn’t give it to just anybody. Unless that anybody is her. As her face starts to change, she turns around and leaves. From there, she heads inside the school to see if she can find the journal, and she runs into Elena’s not so friendly stalker Noah, who’s working with her, more or less.

Elena gets another call. She’s told she has 5 seconds, or her brother dies. It’s not long before she realizes she probably can’t kill Noah with pencils through the heart, so it’s a good thing Damon and Stefan realize what’s going on. They don’t want to kill him. They just want to talk. And maybe torture him a bit. He gives in and tells them to check the journal to find out how to get into the tomb. Since he’s not going to talk any more and was invited into Elena’s house, that’s about all the use they have for him, so now he can die. At least now they know they need to find the grimoire.

Matt has decided he doesn’t want to risk the one good thing he’s got going, so he doesn’t plan to start dating Caroline. With that said, he doesn’t have to worry, since she has now lost interest in doing so. He chases after her and warns her it’ll never work, which leads to kissing anyway.

Alaric has decided to keep the talk of his ex-wife to a minimum when he’s around Jenna. Her name was Isabelle.

Stefan tells Elena he lied to his brother. He has no intention of helping him get in the tomb.

Anna sneaks up on Ben, who’s not surprised by her because he, too, is a vampire.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 13 The Children of the Damned, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

American Idol Season 9 Episode 6

Los Angeles brought us Jim Ranger, Mary Powers, Andrew Garcia, Tasha Layton, and Chris Golightly in American Idol Season 9 Episode 5. Tonight we head to Dallas with guest judges Neil Patrick Harris (huh?) and Joe Jonas.

Julie Kevelighan was here in season 1 and was promptly tossed out. Less worse than the first time.

Lloyd Thomas sings Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder. Simon calls it his favorite audition of the day. Randy gives him a billion percent yes. Well, that’s pretty high.

Kimberly Carver sings an original song. Randy likes her really good voice, but Simon doesn’t see anything current or interesting. Simon declines, but the other three say yes. She promises to go watch Doogie Howser.

Dexter Ward tells us he is the next America’s Idol (he almost got the name right). Randy wants to know if that hurt.

Erica Rhodes was on Barney & Friends. Time to break out the leather and whip then. After doing the Barney theme song, she sings Free Your Mind by En Vogue. She’s through to Hollywood.

Dave Pittman was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome when he was 9, although it doesn’t affect him when he’s singing. He sings Bring It on Home to Me by Sam Cook, and he’s through to the next round.

Day 2 brings us a Jonas.

Todrick Hall was in The Color Purple with Fantasia. He sings a somewhat lame original song but nonetheless sounds great. Randy calls him one of the best of the season. Simon’s not jumping out of his chair but says yes.

Dawntoya Thomason and Stephanie Daulong also make their way to Hollywood.

Maegan Wright is there with her little brother Dawson. She sings To Make You Feel My Love. Kara found that very moving and says she’s her favorite of the day.

Vanessa Johnston is entirely too perky and pink. Simon’s nightmares look and sound like her.

Christian Spear was diagnosed with Leukemia on her 4th birthday. Now at age 16, she is doing fine and singing All I Could Do Is Cry by Etta James. Joe likes her confidence and beautiful voice. Kara didn’t sense any fear.

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

American Idol Season 9 Episode 5

Orlando brought us Jermaine Purifoy and Matt Lawrence in American Idol Season 9 Episode 4. Tonight we head to Los Angeles, so basically everybody who showed up there is already going to Hollywood. The guest judges are Avril Lavigne and then Katy Perry.

Neil Goldstein tells us he’s got an IQ of 168. So he’s probably smart enough to know that he sucks at singing. He sings Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through by Meat Loaf, and it goes about as badly as expected.

Jim Ranger sings a song he wrote called Drive. Simon thinks his voice is authentic. Avril thinks he’s got a good voice, but warns him that being in this business means travelling, which may be a problem with a wife and three kids and being a pastor.

Damien Lefavor has been trying to hit that one note for years. He sings You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling by the Righteous Brothers. At least he acknowledges that he sucks, and he just walks out.

Mary Powers’ daughter predicts she will be in the top 14 or something. She sings Love Is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar. Simon thinks she’s got a really good voice but is cliched.

AJ Mendoza wants to be Adam Lambert. He sings Cult of Personality by Living Colour. Simon felt it was as if he just got back from the dentist.

Katy’s first bit of judgment is to say that the other judges are ridiculous for arriving by helicopter.

Austin Fullmer is more in love wih himself than Simon is. Simon suggests he stick to just cleaning water. Katy wants to know if these people are frisked before entering.

Andrew Garcia wants an improvement over his life, having been raised by parents who were in gangs. Simon calls him a genuinely really good singer. Randy says he’s got mad vocals.

Tasha Layton is a personal assistant/minister. She sings Baby Baby Baby by Joss Stone and gets through to Hollywood.

Jason Greene believes in magic. He also believes he’s hot, which in itself would require magic, and he sings I Touch Myself by the Divinyls. Creepy. Katy feels dirty. Simon didn’t like being hit on, although Ryan ends up getting the phone number.

Chris Golightly has bounced around in the foster care system since he was a baby. He sings Stand by Me. Kara calls him one of her favorites of the day. Simon thought he was nice but old fashioned. Katy and Simon give him limited support but still yes, but Kara and Randy are big fans.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol 9 Episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 4

After the white team fell below the yellow line in The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 3, the contestants reluctantly eliminated Maria, despite her son’s lack of effort.

Michael claims that he’s making an effort, but that it’s a learning experience. He calls the rest of the house childish, seeing as how they gave him another shot.

D’oh. Damn Comcast. Internet connection went down in the middle of a post, so I’ll have to settle for a summary from memory for the first half of the show.

In the pop challenge, teams ran up and down the hill gathering cards in a dumb luck attempt to see who could get three green checks first. Red team won the challenge, which granted them immunity. In addition, they had to make three choices.

No gym access: brown team (John does about 80% of his workout outside)
No vote this week: white team (in case Michael’s bitter)
2 pound disadvantage: green team (which led to much whining from Miggy and Migdalia)

After the confrontation last week at the weigh-in and the screaming match about how Melissa’s 0 pound weight loss over the course of two weeks was just gameplay, Bob decided to talk to them about it. He’s 99% sure they’re lying, but he’s willing to move on anyway. Jillian, however, is 100% convinced there’s no possible way they’re not playing the game. That said, Lance has no respect for her and refuses to work with her the rest of the game. It was at this point that I decided that the red team needs to go home. After thinking about it, Melissa has decided that she is willing to move on, and Lance agrees, although he was perfectly happy to continue pouting the whole game.

In the final challenge, teams had to hoist their cages up 120 feet using ropes. In a battle between grey and red teams, grey team won. Their reward was a phone call home. They were also able to give calls to three teams: red team, green team, and brown team.

The last chance workout is a trek to the top of the mountain. Well, that’s part of it anyway. Once they go to the top of the hill and back with Bob, Jillian’s waiting for them with news that they’re only half done, as she’s got a course out in the yard with rocks and wheelbarrows.

Starting off the weigh-in, Miggy says it’s been gameplay since day 1 with Melissa, so the red team decision was all about gameplay.

Melissa: 203 pounds (-11, 5.14%)
Lance: 318 pounds (-6, 1.85%)
Red Total: 521 pounds (-17, 3.16%, immune)

For someone who supposedly had so much trouble losing weight, Melissa put up a pretty good size number. Granted, she had immunity again, so it can’t be argued that she was just losing it because she was in danger.

Michael: 456 pounds (-15, 3.18%)

Andrea: 267 pounds (-5, 1.84%)
Darrell: 351 pounds (-10, 2.78%)
Black Total: 618 pounds (-15, 2.37%)

Cheryl: 197 pounds (-6, 3.00%)
Daris: 295 pounds (-6, 2.00%)
Orange Total: 492 pounds (-12, 2.38%)

Ashley: 326 pounds (-7, 2.10%)
Sherry: 186 pounds (-4, 2.10%)
Pink Total: 512 pounds (-11, 2.10%)

John: 427 pounds (-10, 2.29%)

Sam: 320 pounds (-14, 4.20%)
Koli: 341 pounds (-12, 3.40%)
Grey Total: 661 pounds (-26, 3.79%)

Stephanie: 230 pounds (-6, 2.54%)

Migdalia: 233 pounds (-4, 1.69%)
Miggy: 211 pounds (-1, 0.47%%)
Green Total: 444 pounds (-5, +2, 0.67%)

Migdalia steps down off the scale swearing, but at the end of the day, the green team put up such bad numbers that the disadvantage is irrelevant. They can blame whoever they want, but the finger should be pointing the other direction. Miggy tells Migdalia that she can’t cry. As Jillian sees it, this is their problem. They keep their emotions bottled up.

Whichever member of the green team sticks around, they’re going to need to change their attitudes if they wish to not only perform better but also make sure in the future that the other teams are not gunning for them. Migdalia makes it simple: she wants to go home. Then she yells at everybody letting them know they’re going to have to live with an increasingly miserable bitch if they keep her there. Melissa’s comment is that the drama and the negativity is coming mostly from Miggy. I agree, not that Migdalia’s pleasant. However, I say vote out Miggy and watch Migdalia quit. Two birds with one stone.

Due to the pop challenge, Michael will not have a vote.

Votes
Melissa & Lance: Miggy
Cheryl & Daris: Migdalia
Ashley & Sherry: Migdalia
Stephanie: Migdalia
Sam & Koli: Miggy
John: Miggy
Andrea & Darrell: Migdalia

By a vote of 4-3, Migdalia is not The Biggest Loser. During the voting, Migdalia finally defends her position, which she did not do originally when she yelled at everybody and demanded they vote for her without explaining. She feels her mom needs to be there more. Despite saying she’s learned everything she needs to succeed at home, she says that she’s only learned how to deal with her issues a little bit. Migdalia is now down to 219 pounds from her starting weight of 265. She gained about 10 pounds when she first got home but is back on the right track.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Season 9 Episode 5, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

Heroes Season 4 Episode 17

Sylar played some mind games with Claire in Heroes Season 4 Episode 16 to get her to tell him he should give up his powers.

Samuel is growing increasingly distrustful of Lydia, who tells him nobody respects him any more.

Parkman returns home, where he sees Sylar. The good news is that Sylar’s not in his head. That’s so two months ago.

Claire goes to see her father, and she’s greeted by Lauren and a bunch of files and maps and everything that he promised to put behind him. They’re investigating the burial of a town, where 200 are dead at Samuel’s hands.

So why has Sylar showed up on Parkman’s doorstep? He needs him to go inside his head again, so he can take his powers away. Maybe that would help him be normal, despite the hundreds of murders.

Peter believes Sylar was trying to help Emma in the dream.

Claire heads to the carnival to see Lydia and warn her that her father’s on his way to kill Samuel. Of course, Eli overhears this conversation. Claire’s hope is that he will give himself up, and she promises his father will not hurt him if he does, as if he’s known for his mercy. HRG and Lauren don’t buy this plan, but he’ll trust Claire since she believes it’s a good plan. Worst case, they just get a better shot at him out in the open away from everybody else.

As Samuel’s giving his speech about brokering a deal and the importance of the safety of everybody there, he’s shot from behind. Claire, too, is shot.

Parkman tries to go in Sylar’s head. Then he tries again unsuccessfully. Sylar’s warning is that, either he purges him of his powers, or he will use them in some creative fashion.

HRG spots the shooter, who also shoots Lauren. Too bad it’s not the real Eli, who’s waiting right behind him. Lydia is also among the wounded. Samuel thanks her for her sacrifice, letting her know he set this up.

A properly motivated Parkman tries again. Sylar’s powers seem to be gone, or at least they’re buried. He’s trapped him inside his twisted immortality. Then he proceeds to seal him inside the wall. The problem with this plan is that Peter needs to find Sylar, and he knows that Sylar’s there. Peter’s cool with going back inside Sylar’s head and bringing him back. He is greeted by empty streets without a soul around.

Lauren calls Tracy, seeing as how things have gone wrong.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Heroes Season 4 Episode 18 The Wall, which airs Monday at 9/8c on NBC.

The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 4

Three more women went home in The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 3. First, tired of Michelle and her in need of therapy behavior, Jake took her up on her offer to leave the show. Then Eliabeth and Valishia were also cut.

Chris tells them everything is about to change. They will all be leaving the house forever. Instead of a mansion, they will now be living in RVs. Ali, Jessie, Kathryn, Ella, and Tenley all get in one RV. That leaves Gia, Corrie, Ashleigh, and Vienna in the other.

Gia gets the one-on-one date. Jake picks this city girl up on his motorcycle. Their first activity is to play hide and seek in a vineyard. My tip for her is not to giggle and give your location away. When he finds her, they go to have a picnic. She says she was a nerd growing up. Jake can relate, as he used to be called Mr. Dateless in 9th grade. After they polish off the wine, they play spin the bottle. Yeah, you really can’t play that with just two people because it’s kinda rigged, but this leads to their first kiss, which she calls the best of her life. Well, that’s a little dramatic. Their dinner is hot dogs and s’mores, cooked over her first campfire. She wants kids before 30, two kids and a baby girl from China. And a pot-bellied pig. After dinner, Gia gets the rose.

The group date is for Jessie, Ashleigh, Tenley, Ali, Vienna, and Corrie. They head to Pismo Beach. First, they get on dune buggies. Ali doesn’t care if she doesn’t drive as long as she gets to ride shotgun with Jake. Corrie looks right at home driving, though Jessie’s a little timid. Then they go sandsurfing, which is apparently a real thing. As the sun sets, they have some fruit and wine. Jake invites everybody to roll down the hill, but only Corrie takes the bait. She’s realizing that either she spends time with the guy, or maybe she should just head home. After playing in the sand, they get their first real shower in a while. Ashleigh and Jake seem to be struggling to find conversation, and Jake isn’t feeling a lot of chemistry with her. When Vienna’s asked for some alone time, she says she’d rather go last. With Tenley, he wants to make sure she’s really over her ex-husband. He’s the first man she’s kissed since then. Vienna wants to be the last girl he kisses before he goes to bed. Meanwhile, the others discuss how much they still hate her, which he’s noticing and concerned about. Thanking her for being patient with him, Jake gives the rose to Tenley.

That leaves Ella and Kathryn for the two-on-one date, and one of them will be going home. After last week’s date, I’m assuming Ella will be the one who sticks around. Kathryn feels as if she’s in danger as well because she really hasn’t spent much time with Jake. They’re invited for a quiet dinner at Jake’s cabin. Kathryn’s frustrated, thinking she’s just a third wheel. She feels as if he doesn’t pay attention to her. Since he’s developing stronger feelings for some of the other women, Jake has decided to eliminate Ella. Not the outcome I was expecting. Ella doesn’t get it. I don’t get it either. I’m not seeing a connection between him and Kathryn, and it doesn’t seem like Kathryn does either. That said, it’s not over yet. Kathryn is also being sent home.

Corrie feels that the other girls have progressed further than she has.

Jessie, who’s been a little on the invisible side thus far, wants to tell Jake that there’s one person who’s not for him. That person is Vienna.

Vienna says that the girls are uptight, and that they view her as a threat. Ali says that, if Vienna gets a rose again, she’s going to have a conversation that Jake would never expect, whatever that means.

Roses
Gia (individual date)
Tenley (group date)
Ali
Corrie
Vienna

The bloodshed is not over yet. After two roses have been given out, Jake needs to talk to Chris. Does he really have to give out two more roses? He’s definitely sure on one girl and pretty sure on another. Following Vienna receiving a rose (as if by some coincidence, her name just happened to be called last following all the drama), Ashleigh and Jessie have been eliminated. Though she’s not alone in her belief that Vienna needs to go, Ali’s more emotionally invested in Vienna than she is in Jake. We haven’t seen the last of this feud.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Bachelor Season 14 Episode 5, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC.

Survivor: Amazon Winner

Despite (or perhaps because of) Jenna’s whining about how she wanted to go home, the others chose to vote out her closest ally Heidi instead in Survivor: Amazon Episode 13.

That brings us down to a final four of: Butch Lockley, Jenna Morasca, Matthew von Ertfelda, and Rob Cesternino. Between the lot of them, only one person deserves to win, that being Rob. It’s hard to make a case for any of the others.

Upon returning to camp, Jenna again repeats that she’s ready to go. The others are happy to oblige, but they had to get rid of Heidi, the person they considered the bigger threat. The next morning, however, Jenna says she hopes to win immunity.

The immunity challenge is to go through a maze while blindfolded. They will use symbols to guide them through the maze and gather four necklaces, one for each of the elements. Matthew has the first necklace. Jenna and Rob follow him. Butch is out of it. Jenna’s getting groped left and right, but it’s okay because they’re blindfolded. Rob has his second necklace. Matthew is next to get his second. Jenna follows. After that, Butch and Matthew team up, although Matthew’s pretty much just wasting his time because this won’t do anything to help since it’s a close race between the first three, with Butch having no chance. Matthew has his third necklace. Jenna’s right on his heels. Butch finally scores his first. It’s a battle between Jenna and Matthew and who can get the last necklace first. Jenna gets her final necklace and wins immunity.

Rob tells Matt to vote for Butch. Jenna tells Butch she would like to get rid of Rob, since she still hates him for getting rid of Alex. Matt’s response is that Rob has played the game, whereas Butch hasn’t screwed them but hasn’t really done much of anything. So Matt goes to Jenna and makes a secret alliance with her. He has not made a decision yet whether to stab her back or not.

Votes
Butch
Rob
Butch
Butch

With 3 votes, Butch has been voted off the island. The other two have kept a far more dangerous person in the game.

Breakfast on the day of the final immunity challenge is their biggest one of the season. Who does this help more?

Before they get to the festivities of the day, they get a scale. Matthew has lost 16kg (35 pounds). Rob has dropped about a pound a day down to just north of 130 pounds. Jenna has dropped to 46 kg (101 pounds) from a start of 118 pounds.

A seaplane will take them to a canoe, which they will use to get to a small hut with various decorative items to get dressed up for the final immunity challenge.

Heading into that, Matt says he’s considering throwing the immunity challenge just so he doesn’t make an enemy. Jenna has already said she’d be mad at him if he didn’t honor his word, although she’s been mad at Rob for a long time anyway.

The final immunity challenge will play out in front of the jury. It’s an endurance competition as usual. They will stand barefoot on a narrow wooden perch, while holding a headdress above their heads. If they fall or their headdress touches their head or body, they’re out. Matthew is out pretty quickly. If you’re gonna throw a challenge, don’t make it that obvious. Rob wants to make a deal, but Jenna is not interested. Rob is the next to fall. Jenna has won immunity.

Jenna claims she will be taking her best competition. Well, then, that means she will bring Rob with her.

Vote
Rob

With 1 vote, Rob has been voted off the island. This ends his streak of voting for every person who has been voted out. So much for Jenna’s lie about taking the best competition. That brings us down to a rather pitiful final 2. Jenna played an awful game more often than not (giving her immunity idol away, telling Dave all her tribe’s secrets, asking to be voted out so Heidi could stay). As for Matt, at least he admitted he had no clue what he was doing, although he learned a lot about the game from Rob as it progressed.

While Jenna has some friends on the jury, Matt’s been an outcast pretty much from the start of the game. Whether her victory would be a joke or not, it’s basically a foregone conclusion.

Jenna opens by saying she doesn’t have much to say, except that she’s played the game morally. I hate it when people get this far and pretend that they haven’t done anything wrong.

Matt says he’s shown that he’s dedicated to the tribe and is a serious competitor. He, too, claims he’s maintained a level of morality and integrity.

Butch asks whether they have lied. Yes or no. Jenna says she did lie to Deena about voting against her. Matt admits to lying to non-jury member Roger, as well as Alex.

Rob wants to know why the person next to them does not deserve to be there. Matt responds that Jenna has not done as much as everybody else to contribute at camp. In addition to her poor work ethics, she expressed a desire to give up on multiple occasions. Jenna’s response is that Matt has not played the game from the beginning (just tagged along with an alliance, like she did), doesn’t need the money, and doesn’t care about the people.

Alex asks about regret. Jenna’s biggest regret is trusting people she shouldn’t have. Matthew regrets being naive at the start, supporting Ryan instead of just going along with the group.

Heidi wants to know if there is someone more deserving. Matt thinks Rob deserves his seat (or Jenna’s) for being an amazing strategist. Jenna agrees that Rob should be in the final two. Heidi asks if that’s the only person. It’s obvious she wants her name mentioned. Not gonna happen.

Deena goes back to Jenna’s opinion that Matt does not need the money. Is that how the decision really should be made? If Jenna were on the jury, that’s what she would do. As for Matt, she viewed his expression “may the best man win” as chauvinistic, as if it were a saying he invented or something.

Christy asks Matt his reaction when he found out he was competing with a deaf woman. He thought she was going to be like everyone else. From Jenna, she didn’t like her statement that being beautiful is a handicap. In the category of poorest choice of words in a reality show, the nominees are…

Dave asks what modern influential leader they emulated throughout the game. Really? Well, I guess that’s about the kind of question we should expect from a rocket scientist. Matt’s response is Colin Powell and his concept of versatility. Jenna does not have an answer of a modern leader, but she emulated her mom.

In closing, Matt says he realizes he has lied and does not belong on a pedestal. Jenna says she’s worked hard at camp, despite maybe not being the strongest person.

Matthew thinks he received 2 votes, from Butch and Christy. Jenna knows she got votes from Alex and Heidi, but thinks the rest went to Matt.

Votes
Matt
Jenna
Jenna
Jenna
Jenna

By a vote of 6-1, the Survivor: Amazon winner is Jenna Morasca. Matt only received Butch’s vote. Not even Christy went against her wicked stepsister, instead following the girl power that’s prevailed throughout much of the season.

Jeff suggests that, for the first 36 days, Jenna acted like a selfish, spoiled only child. She agrees, adding the term annoying to the mix. But in the last three days, she actually became somewhat more likeable.

Heidi and Alex were voting based on friendship and had no interest in how the game was played, but there is enough support for Rob from the jury that he probably would have won had he gotten to the finals.