March 2008 Archives

"Survivor's" back in its first full episode since Wheaton's Kathy Sleckman opted out of the game. Here's Jeff's weekly teaser for the episode.
Who do you think Jeff is talking about in this clip?

Not having any daughters, I have little awareness of the "Hannah Montana" phenomenon except for the many stories about parents paying thousands of dollars for tickets to her recent concert tour.
Saturday night, I actually saw a performance by Miley Cyrus aka Hannah, on the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was not the slicked-back, studio-enhanced song, she was clearly singing. And she was awful! Most of the singers on "American Idol" this year can carry a tune better.
And I understand, she is a teen idol, and most people have been exposed to her by her records only. But I have seen other teen idols perform live on these types of shows, and they don't sound like this. It's bad enough to pay thousands for a good concert. How could anyone justify plunking down thousands of dollars to hear this for an hour?
Check out the performance for yourself and tell me what you think. What exactly is the appeal?

Today I wrote about how most of the most popular scripted shows on TV are finally coming back after the writers strike, including most of the Nielsen top 20 -- ABC's "chick shows" (boy are they marketing them this way) and CBS' "dead body shows." Here's the complete list and a clip from CBS' "Without a Trace" to whet your appetite.
What shows are you looking forward to? What have you learned to live without? What do you wish was coming back?
I know, for me, I was disappointed "Heroes" and "Chuck" were not on the list. I miss them and I think the long hiatus is going to hurt their already sagging ratings, to the point that they may never recover.

Late Friday afternoon CBS announced that the next episode of "Jericho" on Tuesday is definitely the last.
Here's a clip from the finale, featuring some Hawkins awesomeness. I still say he and Jack Bauer should team up.
The show never recovered from its fall finale last year, when its ratings slipped. After a passionate fan campaign it was brought back for seven episodes in the midseason this year.
CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said: "The March 25th episode of Jericho will be the series finale. Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more. We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high quality second season. We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try. We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen. We're proud of everyone's efforts."

... or something like that. The fallen pop princess is guest-starring on "How I Met Your Mother" Monday. Clips are here and here. Will you watch the show because she's on it? Or if you do watch it already, will you skip it because she's on it?

Ozzy and Tracy are really getting on each other's nerves. At Airai, James complains that the women are griping too much. Kathy in particular is really feeling dirty, hungry and sad.
Back at Malakal, Erik and Ozzy become very close. The women make fun of it.
Malakal finally wins a challenge.
Jason and Tracy go to Exile Island, but you don't see much of it, because Kathy has decided to leave the game.
The full recap, including the person voted off, is below.

How can the "American Idol" contestants have so much trouble with some of the greatest songs ever written? That's what Simon Cowell was getting at last night when he said he thought maybe a second night of Beatles songs was a mistake, I think.
Well, the reason is, these people don't respect the Beatles - they respect Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson and people who don't have a fifth of the talent, but all of the star behavior and swagger. They're too young to know who the Beatles are, and for the most part they aren't music students (only Jason has mentioned studying music in a school setting), they are people who want to take a quick road to stardom by being on a reality show.
Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying watching the people I like - like Jason, David C., Chikezie and Brooke - but they aren't really in the Beatles' league, ya know? So maybe sticking to broad themes like '80s night might be the way to go. After all, Mariah Carey started in the '80s, right? (OK, it's 1990, close enough, it still seems like she has been assaulting my ears forever.)

By the way, here's the performance I liked the best last night. It was Jason again.

Check out this week's "Survivor Micronesia" preview here. It's one of those where Jeff says "something big will happen! I won't tell you what it is though!"
How do you think the season is going this time? How much further do you think Kathy will get?

Tracy continues to work her magic, convincing her Malakal tribe members that one of the favorites must be the next to go.
After a reward challenge that is very difficult for him, Jonathan has to leave because his leg injury.
Jason and Chet go to Exile Island, where Jason looks for the immunity idol as Chet lays on the beach.
Jason, who has a fake idol that he thinks is real, says he thinks Ozzy found it. Ozzy says the clues were easy and anyone could have it.
Airie easily wins both challenges this week.
For a full recap, including the person voted off, see below.

We had some techical difficulties earlier today, so I couldn't get this on the site til now. But this absolutely blew me away! I am amazed at how every week a different contestant has just knocked it out of the park, and how David Archuleta -- the presumed winner -- hasn't really been the one to do it yet.

See what you think of Chikezie doing the Beatles' B-side "She's A Woman.'

Here's a preview of this week "Survivor: Micronesia" in which Kathy is shown crying. She has lasted longer than people thought she would initially, based on the fact that no one seemed to like her at first. How much longer do you think she will be on the show?

The new tribes have been chosen, with Natalie and Ozzy as the new captains.
Kathy manages to be picked second to last because of the way that the tribes are chosen.
Joel and Chet are still on the same team, and the strain is starting to show.
Full recap below, including who was voted off.

Last night, I went from thinking this was the stupidest idea EVER to thinking it was pretty freaking awesome. Check out David Cook singing "Hello" on "American Idol' last night. I couldn't agree more with the judges that it was risky, and it could be a hit song. In other words, this is what the show is all about. Did you like it?

I have preview clip from CBS of this week's episode. View it here.
CBS sent a screener of this week's episode and I have to say, I gave serious thought to how willing I would be to go on this show after I viewed the immunity challenge this week. Have you ever thought about trying out for "Survivor"? Or have you done it? How does one prepare for such an experience?
I think the fans have found, especially when the tribes get mixed, that being a fan does not prepare you for the actual day-to-day challenges.

Our favorite "Idol" was on tmz.com with Haley talking about who she likes this season on "Idol," and some other things. It was hard to make some of it out but it sounds like she may be making an appearance on the show soon as well.

Gina will be hosting "American Idol" Extra starting March 13 on Fox Reality. Will you tune in ?

Here's the clip. Scroll down to the right until you get to the headline "Idol rejects." Hey, wait a minute? Does he mean Gina? Why I oughta! I think she looks great, and it's nice to see she and Haley are still friends.