After 3 or 4 days (depending on whom you ask) of preparation, the celebs and pros were back with a new dance. This week featured the Rumba and the Paso Doble – my two least favorite dances. Combined with the obvious second week adrenaline dip among the participants, it added up to a weak night from my perspective. Judge Len Goodman predicted how the night would unfold, saying that he was hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.
Toni Braxton & Alec Mazo – Both hosts, Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris, made a point of clarifying that, while Toni was the last one to hear she was safe last week, that did not necessarily mean she was in the bottom two. There were some contradictory statements made during last Wednesday’s results show so I’m glad they were definitive about it. Toni decided that since Alec was constantly taking her out of her comfort zone, she would do the same to him. She took him to a Karaoke bar and had him sing “Unbreak My Heart”. It was pretty horrifying. Toni thought Alec sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alec’s wife, Edyta Sliwinska, looked appropriately embarrassed. As bad as he sounded, he was still pretty adorable. As for the dance, it was hot. Really hot. And that’s coming from someone who has never seen the charm of the Rumba. Toni can do slinky and she and Alec have great chemistry. Len expressed surprise at how good it was. He did say that it lacked a bit of fluidity and some basic moves, but overall it was very good. Bruno Tonioli thought Toni captured the sensuality and vulnerability of the dance. Carrie Ann told Toni that she dances like she sings – with passion and gravitas but……..she saw two lifts. Yep, Carrie Ann Inaba – foot monitor, is back and she saw Toni’s foot come off the floor twice. Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len - 8, Bruno – 8 for a total of 23.
Brooke Burke & Derek Hough – They were assigned the Paso Doble and Brooke was struggling with the mood of the dance. She prefers things light and happy. Derek took her to a karate class to try and get her in tune with controlled aggression. The dance was quite good. It had very interesting choreography (which is Derek’s trademark) and I especially loved the cape work he did at the end. For someone who is not an actress, I thought Brooke handled the character of the dance very convincingly. She really is emerging as a solid, if unexpected, frontrunner. Carrie Ann was “truly mesmerized” by the performance. She said that the balance was off at times, but every line she hit was gorgeous. Len stated that Brooke portrayed the aggression very well but he wasn’t happy with the “messing about” at the beginning and end of the dance. Bruno told Brooke she was “born to dance”. Scores: Carrie Ann – 8, Len – 8, Bruno – 8 for a total of 24.
Rocco DiSpirito & Karina Smirnoff – Rocco was struggling with the emotions of the Rumba. He said he was Italian and a chef so he has enough emotion for 12 people but he was having trouble channeling it. To prove to Karina that he did have a romantic side, he made her a sexy Italian meal. No question, a good-looking man who can cook is hot, but this dance wasn’t. We returned to the awkward Rocco of the first night. He did all the moves, which seemed rather simple, but it all felt off. The judges were really tough on him. Bruno said that the Italian Stallion had run out of juice and specified his poor hip action. Carrie Ann said Rocco was lacking musicality and added a really pathetic sounding “but nice try”. Len described it as “more tears than cheers”. Rocco never flinched and smiled through the whole thing. Len even called him on it a bit saying that he knew what Rocco was really thinking. Rocco’s easy going demeanor seems to be rubbing off on Karina too because she handled the harsh criticism much better than she would have in previous seasons. Scores: Carrie Ann – 5, Len – 6, Bruno – 5 for a total of 16. Ouch.
Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer – The dance floor rebels were back. Lacey said that they were trying to balance respecting the judges with traditional dance moves while still being true to themselves as performers. Salty believes this conflict was by design – you don’t hire someone from “So You Think You Can Dance” if you want only straightforward Ballroom. I’ve become a fan of Lacey because I like her fresh choreography. As a side note, I noticed that in the rehearsal footage Lacey was wearing the “Lance.Dance.Vote” t-shirt that she was given by Ellen DeGeneres when she and Lance were guests on Ellen’s show. Their Paso Doble was done without the traditional bullfighter costumes and they danced to (I’m not kidding) Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl”. I don’t remember the show having quite this level of edgy humor with the song selections in previous seasons. It was a fun dance and certainly different from the other Pasos, but some of the traditional moves seemed jarring when taken out of the bullfight context. I did applaud when the song ended with a huge kiss followed by Lance applying some “Cherry ChapStick”. Len, on the other hand, was not pleased. He said, “I know your game and I know your brain.” They can’t appease him by just throwing in a few real steps here and there. Carrie Ann stated that she thought they made a clever choice and she appreciated the risk taking. Bruno described them as thrilling to watch but then added something that was edited out by the censors. It had something to do with there being more hip hop than Paso in the dance. It all ended with Tom looking at us and saying, “And to think, I was worried about Cloris.” Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len - 6, Bruno – 7 for a total of 20.
Kim Kardashian & Mark Ballas – Kim again was struggling with “being sexy”. She had a lot of trouble not giggling during their Rumba rehearsals. Robin Antin, of the Pussycat Dolls, came in to give her some coaching but it didn’t work. It was graceful, but it looked like Kim was going through the motions and the steps were simple and repetitive. Bruno described it as more “Pussycat Dead” than ”Pussycat Doll” and as colder and more distant than Siberia. Len thought Kim had a lot of potential but it’s not coming out on the dance floor. Carrie Ann said that the judges want her to do well, because she’s very appealing, but she needs to watch herself and figure out what is missing. It came across as pretty brutal. Salty thinks that the judges may believe that Kim isn’t trying that hard and that’s why they are so tough on her. They may be, but it’s hard to tell if that’s true or not. I’ve watched “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (don’t judge!) and the personality we’re seeing on DWTS is the same as she has on her reality show. She does come across as surprisingly reserved. Frankly, Khloe is the sister who might have been better suited for this type of show. In past seasons, the judges have brought up how many hours each contestant is putting into rehearsal. I’d be curious to hear this season’s comparison. Scores: Carrie Ann - 6, Len – 6, Bruno – 5 for a total of 17.
Misty May-Treanor & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Maks was shown being really tough on Misty during rehearsals and, at one point, she said she wanted to cry. She added that it did get her to understand what the finished product should be. Maks actually apologized several times – in the rehearsal clip and during the show. He needed to because he didn’t come off looking good. It really bothered Salty because Misty doesn’t seem like the type who needs to be kicked in the butt to work hard. In the rehearsal clips we saw Misty struggling with her balance and I think that carried over into the performance. It looked to me like she was moving the lower half of her body very carefully as if she was afraid of slipping. The best thing for her might have been to lower the height of the heels on the boots she was wearing. Her upper body movements, though, were classic Paso Doble. Carrie Ann loved the energy and determination especially compared to the previous dance (Kim’s) and expressed shock that Maks would give Misty such an ambitious routine for week two. I’m not sure whether that was meant as a compliment or if she was chastising Maks. Bruno described Misty as “Zena, Warrior Princess” but added that she needs to work on her finesse. Len thought it was a good attempt at the Paso but they need to make sure that they keep a connection. Scores: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 7, Bruno - 7 for a total of 21.
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke – Maurice was having trouble getting his hips moving so Cheryl took him to watch some belly dancers. He seemed to have a very good time dancing with them! Maurice has a big, likeable personality so you can’t help but get drawn into his performances. I thought their Rumba was smooth and much less awkward than some of the others. The judges, though, weren’t as impressed. Len said it was a bit rough and lacked finesse. Carrie Ann thought his energy seemed very bottled up which made him look stiff. Bruno called the performance “robotic”. Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 6, Bruno – 6 for a total of 19.
Cloris Leachman & Corky Ballas – In the rehearsal footage we saw Cloris say that she was going to be more serious about this dance because she felt she got too carried away with the fun last week. Her Paso Doble with Corky was very straightforward which I don’t think was what any of us expected. Bruno called it “surreal” but Len said he appreciated the traditional dance to traditional music. He added that her solo spins were excellent. Carrie Ann said that Cloris’ greatest asset is her wit and she missed ”crazy Cloris”. Scores: Carrie Ann – 5, Len – 5, Bruno – 5 for a total of 15.
Susan Lucci & Tony Dovolani – In her rehearsal clips we got a glimpse of Susan’s busy bi-coastal life and of her seeking advice from DWTS alum Cameron Mathison. Susan and Tony’s Rumba was absolutely lovely. It was graceful and sexy and she had a bit of Edyta’s look going on. Carrie Ann said it transported her to another world. It was very smooth and elegant and Carrie Ann was so swept up in it that she even gave Tony a compliment saying, “Nice chest!” I’ll add that it was fully on display and was very nice. Bruno thought it was a very good Rumba but added that Susan still looked a bit like a “virgin queen”. Len thought Susan acted the dance well but added that he wasn’t as happy as Carrie Ann about seeing Tony’s chest. This gave Tom an opening for a classic Tom quip, “You have to remember, Tony. The last time he had a six-pack it came with a bottle opener.” Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 7, Bruno – 7 for a total of 21.
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson – (Pictured above) Kym informed us that Warren’s biggest problem with the Paso Doble was not smiling or giggling through it. I thought the routine rocked. Warren has totally won me over and this routine was sharp and stylish. They had, by far, the best costumes of the night. Kym was so done up that Salty thought she actually looked more intimidating than Warren. The bottom of Warren’s pleather coat had a cape-like flair to it and he really worked it. It was a very striking dance but the best part was at the end when things got screwed up and Warren couldn’t keep himself from laughing. If they go back to having encore dances in the results show, my vote is for this one. Len loved the dark, menacing look it had about it. Carrie Ann called Warren the “Paso Doble Killer!” It had the light and shade they’ve been looking for. Bruno thought the way Warren moved his feet was fabulous for a guy his size. Salty thought this would only surprise someone who doesn’t watch football. Scores: Carrie Ann – 8, Len – 8, Bruno - 8 for a total of 24. I have to add that I really loved how happy Warren was to finally get some sequins on his costume!
Cody Linley & Julianne Hough – With a short time to prepare, Julianne was worried about Cody’s short attention span. For his part, Cody was concerned that he’d have trouble pulling off the sexiness of the Rumba. I thought Cody did very well and there was a sweet chemistry between him and Julianne. Bruno described Cody as a kid in a candy store and added that he has the talent; he just needs to develop the focus. Len said it lacked a bit of polish and finesse but was well done. Carrie Ann liked that the dance was age appropriate and found the innocence of it very attractive. Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 7, Bruno - 7 for a total of 21. The best part, though, came during Cody and Julianne’s post-dance Samantha interview. We learned that if a girl wants to win Cody’s heart she just needs to bring him some Twinkies – and chicken. He is a very cute and goofy kid.
So, the evening ended with Brooke & Derek and Warren & Kym tied for first place with 24. Cloris & Corky were at the bottom with a 15 and Rocco & Karina and Kim & Mark weren’t much ahead with a 16 and 17 respectively. I think the judges may have beat up on Kim enough to get her some sympathy votes so my guess is Rocco will be the one leaving tonight.
Posted on September 29th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Television
It took me a while to get around to watching the pilot of “The Mentalist”. I’ve always liked Simon Baker but the plotline for this show, a fake psychic who uses his enhanced powers of observation to help the police, sounded like a complete rip-off of USA’s “Psych”. That is, in fact, exactly what “The Mentalist” is, but what surprised me was how little that bothered me while actually watching the show. The difference of one show being a broad comedy while the other is a witty drama was enough to get me to forgive the sameness of the concept.
Simon Baker has charm and sex appeal to spare and that’s on full display in his portrayal of Patrick Jane. Jane is a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation and is part of Agent Teresa Lisbon’s (Robin Tunney) team. Unlike most pilots, this one didn’t overwhelm with exposition about all the characters. Most of the team is still a mystery as the focus was on explaining Jane’s situation.
The plot of the premiere involved a killing by a copycat of a serial killer named “Red John”. Jane was able to identify it as a copycat because he’s all too familiar with this killer. Five years earlier, while Jane was making a good living as a celebrity psychic, he bragged on TV about helping the police track “Red John”. He profiled the killer in very derogatory terms and “Red John” sought revenge. In a surprisingly quiet flashback, we watched as Jane returned home one night to find a note on his bedroom door. It said that, if he were a real psychic, he wouldn’t have to open the door to know what had happened. Jane opened it to reveal the red smiley face symbol that “Red John” uses and we knew that he had murdered Jane’s wife and child. The buildup was so subtle that the reveal was genuinely shocking.
The only flaw I found with the pilot was Tunney’s character. She’s supposed to be the tough, reserved boss but I found her to be too reserved. Since the end of the first episode hinted at a possible romantic angle between Jane and Lisbon, I’m hoping she gets a bit livelier in future episodes.
The premiere can be viewed online at CBS’ website here:
It’s understandable if you are on cop show overload, but if you’ve still got room in your schedule at 9:00 pm on Tuesdays, this is a pretty good one to add.
Posted on September 29th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Amazing Race
Aired 9-28-08
Host Phil Keoghan is back with another group of racers! When the Emmy nominations were announced over the summer I felt kind of bad for Phil that he was overlooked in the Reality Show Host category. I figured it was an attempt to keep TAR from dominating yet another award. As it turns out, Phil was the lucky one. He got to pick up his 6th straight Emmy for Best Reality Show (as a producer) and he didn’t have to be part of that train-wreck Emmy show opening. Yes, it is good to be Phil!
Classic cars transported the 11 teams competing for the million dollar prize to the Los Angeles Coliseum. It is the only stadium in the world to have hosted the Olympics twice. During this trip, Phil introduced us to the teams:
Toni & Dallas - A single mother and her adult son from Northern California. Nick & Starr - Peppy and happy siblings who now live in New York and Texas. Early on we learned that they know they are not as well traveled as some of the older couples so they have a goal of adopting a “mom & dad” from among their competitors. Ken & Tina - Separated husband and wife from Tampa. Ken is a retired pro football player who recently cheated on Tina. According to Tina, part of the reason for competing on the show is to figure out if they should stay together or go their separate ways. Aja & Ty - A couple dating long distance. They started out wearing Michigan hoodies so they have already earned points with me. Marisa & Brooke - Southern belle, girly-girls. Andrew & Dan - Fraternity brothers from Phoenix who came straight out of a Seth Rogan movie. One of them even has Seth’s hair! They are all about “parties, girls and booze”. Dan was a Tourism Management major in college – a fact he mentions frequently. Anita & Arthur - Married, hippy beekeepers. I love the hippy teams! Kelly & Christy - Best friends from Texas who have both recently gone through bitter divorces. Terence & Sarah - Newly dating couple from New York with opposite personalities. Terence is the “free spirit” who coaches runners and Sarah is the workaholic businesswoman. Mark & Bill - Best friends from San Diego who are self-described “comic book geeks.” I always have a soft spot for the geek teams.
There are 11 legs in this race and 8 are elimination points. The first clue was placed with the teams’ luggage at the top of the stadium stairs. They learned that their first destination was Salvador, Brazil and they could only travel on one of two flights (American and United) leaving from LAX. After reading their clue, the teams sprinted to their cars and headed to the airport with Nick & Starr in 1st place, Terence & Sarah in 2nd, Andrew & Dan in 3rd and Toni & Dallas in 4th. Everyone took the highway except for Terence & Sarah who took side streets. Ken & Tina began passing other teams on the freeway and had worked their way into the first place spot – until Aja & Ty went whipping past them in the carpool lane. Once at the airport, Nick & Starr took the wrong exit and fell behind. The American flight was scheduled to arrive in Salvador three hours ahead of the United flight so the teams that arrived at the airport first headed straight to the American counter. Unfortunately several of them didn’t get in the line that was marked with TAR flags and they lost their advantage. Mark & Bill were the first ones at the correct counter followed by Ken & Tina. Ultimately Terence & Sarah, Nick & Starr, Aja & Ty and Kelly & Christy also got on the earlier flight. After much fretting and fussing by Dan while he waited in line, he and Andrew learned that the American flight was full. They joined Toni & Dallas, Anita & Arthur, Marisa & Brooke and Anthony & Stephanie on the United flight.
While waiting for their flight, Nick & Starr found their “mom and dad” in the team of Ken & Tina. They all agreed to a “loose” alliance for the first couple of legs.
The American flight landed in Rio de Janeiro but the connection to Salvador was delayed. They ended up arriving there an hour and a half later than expected. In Salvador, the teams had to travel by taxi to a sandwich shop named O Rei Do Pernil to get their next clue. Leaving the airport, Mark & Bill were in 1st, Kelly & Christy in 2nd, Terence & Sarah in 3rd, Ken & Tina in 4th, Nick & Starr in 5th and Aja & Ty in 6th.
Once they arrived at the sandwich shop, they were instructed to take a vending cart through the narrow streets of Salvador to a popular plaza named Praca Da Se where they would deliver it to a man named Indio. He would give them their next clue. Mark & Bill arrived at the sandwich shop first and began the trek to the plaza with, what they described as, “the worst shopping cart in the world.” All the boxes of candy on it kept falling off until Mark finally tied his jacket around everything to keep it in place. Sarah was able to speak Portuguese and got a local to help her and Terence navigate their cart to the plaza. This is when we learned that when Terence is stressed or irritated he begins his requests to Sarah with, “I love you but….” That may get annoying. They caught up with Mark & Bill at an elevator/escalator type thing that carried them and their carts up to the plaza. Because Terence & Sarah got on last, they ended up getting off first and pulled ahead of Mark & Bill. Meanwhile, while Ken & Tina struggled with their cart, we saw that Tina doesn’t have much patience for Ken. Given their recent history, it’s easy to understand why her tolerance would be low, but the snipping might lead to some problems in the challenges.
The clue from Indio instructed the teams to travel by taxi to a Brazilian military base where they would spend the night sleeping outside under mosquito netting. I began itching just thinking about it. Upon arrival at the base, the teams signed in and got one of three departure times for the morning; 9:00, 9:30 or 9:45. After watching the front runners head off to the base, we went back to the United flight arriving in Salvador. I had already forgotten about this group! Eventually everyone made it to the base and the starting times were as follows:
9:00 – Terence & Sarah, Mark & Bill, Nick & Starr and Ken & Tina.
9:30 – Aja & Ty, Kelly & Christy and Andrew & Dan.
9:45 – Toni & Dallas, Anita & Arthur, Marisa & Brooke and Anthony & Stephanie.
While the teams socialized at the base, Starr struck up a conversation with Dallas who she thinks is the hottest guy in the race. Meanwhile we learned more about Terence & Sarah’s relationship. Terence was annoyed that Sarah was spending the evening getting to know the other contestants. He wanted her to hold him and connect with him instead of being engaged with other people. To her credit, Sarah didn’t roll her eyes while she sat next to him and listened to this. I certainly would have.
The next morning the teams learned that they had to travel by taxi from the base to the historic center of Salvador called Pelourinho and locate a church that had the next clue. Terence really began getting on my nerves in this segment. First, during the taxi ride, he started in on how Sarah likes to talk to everyone (she had been talking to the other 9 am starters about how hard it was to find a taxi) because she wants to be liked, whereas he couldn’t care less about making friends. Then, once they got to the church, he was badgering her about constantly outrunning him while they looked for the clue. She actually apologized to him. Um, Terence? Aren’t you the running coach? Why can’t you keep up with her? Sarah was carrying a backpack full of stuff too. Still, they might actually be compatible because they were both hating on the team of Nick & Starr as they left the church.
Detour
At the church the teams got their detour which was called ”hard way up” or “soft way down”. The “hard way up” required the team to climb a long staircase on their hands and knees as a spiritual pledge. Once at the top they would be asked a mystery question. If they got the question right, they would get the next clue. If they got it wrong they would have to walk around the city streets to the base of the stairs where they would start again. In “soft way down” the teams had to find an outdoor elevator. From the top of the elevator they would have to climb down a 240 foot cargo net (pictured above) to the street below. I’m sure the cargo net was the fastest option, but I would have headed immediately to the stairs. All the early teams, though, picked the net. Nick & Starr were the first ones down followed by “mom and dad”, Ken & Tina. While climbing, Tina told Ken to stop telling her to go faster because she was scared of heights. Oh no, honey. You are not scared of heights. If you were standing at the top of the elevator, sobbing hysterically like I would have been, then you’d qualify as scared of heights. You are just having a rational reaction to doing something crazy.
Andrew & Dan were the only team to take the “hard way up” detour. They were behind and worried that the requirement that only 3 teams could be on the net at one time would put them even further in the back of the pack. They crawled all the way up the stairs and then were asked how many steps they had just climbed. Duh! It was an obvious question but I didn’t think of it either. They guessed 40, which was wrong, and started over. The second time they yelled out the number of each step and gave the correct answer of 53. At the end of the detour, the teams were given the next set of instructions telling them to head for the first pit stop at a place called Forte Sao Marcelo. It was a fort that sits out in the water and was used to guard the city from pirates. In telling us about the pit stop, Phil used the definitive phrase, “the last team to arrive will be eliminated.”
Ken & Tina were the first to find a taxi, but Nick & Starr found a local who told them they could easily walk to where the boats were that would take them to the fort. Nick & Starr were the first to arrive at the pit stop and Phil told them their prize was a trip for two to Belize from Travelocity.
2nd – Ken & Tina
3rd – Terence & Sarah
4th – Mark & Bill
5th – Kelly & Christy
6th – Toni & Dallas
7th – Andrew & Dan, so their call to take the steps paid off.
8th – Aja & Ty
9th – Anthony & Stephanie
10th – Marisa & Brooke
Leaving Anita & Arthur as the team eliminated from the race. That made me said because they seemed like a really nice couple. The CBS website has a ton of clips including a nice “final thoughts” clip of Anita & Arthur. You can find them all here: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/
Posted on September 28th, 2008 by Salty Old Dog in Movies
“He set the bar too high for the rest of us. Not just actors, but all of us.” —George Clooney
If I ruled the world, I would have found a way to split a pitcher of beers with Paul Newman and Robert Redford and watched them gleefully tee off on each other. Newman, who died of cancer on Friday at the age of 83, always gave the impression as one of the least pretentious men in Hollywood – a man who took his work seriously but himself the exact opposite. At every phase of his 50 plus year career, he always had an adolescent twinkle in his eye as if he were constantly thinking of the next prank he was going to pull. That prank would often be on Redford who was always glad to return the favor. Their chemistry made for one of Hollywood’s best pairings.
He didn’t have a perfect life or a charmed life, there was too much tragedy for that, but Paul Newman certainly had a life well lived.
There are beautiful tributes all over the web now, and I’m sure there will be more in the days to come, but below are a couple of my favorites.
Posted on September 27th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Talk Shows
There’s a bit of a “Yoda” cat craze going on right now and I think this little baby is the winner. Her face is definitely one of a kind. Even though “Yoda” is clearly not pleased with being interviewed, this local news crew did get some great close-ups of her. I really like her people too:
Posted on September 26th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Amazing Race
In anticipation of the season 13 premiere of “The Amazing Race”, this Sunday at 8pm on CBS, a map of all the pit stops has been released. The teams will start and stop in the US and in between will visit Brazil, Bolivia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, India and Russia.
Most of the pages for “The Amazing Race” at CBS’ website are not active yet, but the cast bios are up. Here’s the link if you want to do some advance preparation: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/bio/
Posted on September 26th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Music
What better way to get the latest news on Josh Groban than from the man himself! He talks about recording with Placido Domingo and Sting and discusses his “controversial” Emmy appearance while sitting in his kitchen at 2am. And in case you think he’s exaggerating the critical response – he’s not. I read some of it myself. Apparently there are a lot of people who missed Josh’s appearance in that Jimmy Kimmel/Ben Affleck video.
And I’ll admit it, I’ve got a crush. I love the whole geek chic look he’s got going on while he sits there in the glow of his computer screen. He’s just too cute!
The finals for AGT ran for only 45 minutes, because of President Bush’s address, and I think it actually made the show better. It was pretty much all performance and no filler!
Host Jerry Springer announced that the audience vote for these performances would determine the winner of AGT3. Next Wednesday (10/1) will be the one hour finale to announce the winner – and give us back all the filler we missed this week.
Nuttin But Stringz – As they have done throughout the competition, NBS performed an original piece. This time it was the first one they wrote when they started performing in the NYC subways. They are the most consistent performers in the top 5 and always deliver with a lot of energy and passion. I’ve preferred other pieces from them, this one was less melodic and had a stronger hip hop element, but I was still engaged by the performance. They electrified the crowd and got a standing ovation from all three judges, Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff. Piers declared, “What a start!” He hoped that the President was still watching because, while there’s a lot going wrong in America right now, there’s not much wrong with a country that can take two guys from the subways of New York, put them on a stage like this and have them perform like that. He flatly stated that he thinks they are the winners. Sharon asked about the number of songs they have written (to which one of the brothers replied, “a little too much”) and said she was doubling what Piers said. David simply said, “Nuttin but Vegas!” The judges most definitely were not being cryptic about who they want to win.
Donald Braswell – Donald opted to repeat his original audition song, Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up” because it was really the story of his life. I don’t think it was the right call. This time Donald was backed by a choir, which will light up any song, but he tried to make it different by straying from his basic vocal style. He made a couple poor attempts at riffing that didn’t work because that’s just not the kind of voice he has. He also overreached with his final note so it sounded more strained than soaring. Parts of the number were solid, but overall I think it was the weakest performance of the night. While I wasn’t particularly impressed with the song, I was very impressed with the man himself. Sharon was the first judge to give a critique and she said that Donald’s a nice guy but, “I don’t see a great personality” adding “I don’t think your personality is as good as your voice.” She then went on to recommend that he pursue musical theater so he can use his great voice while pretending to be someone else. Needless to say, the audience (and David) had a very negative reaction to this. On the other hand Donald simply smiled and said “Thank you Sharon.” He didn’t even say it in a snarky way. The man’s a saint. Now, I think what Sharon actually meant was that Donald’s stage presence wasn’t as strong as his voice – not his actual personality – but Salty thinks I’m giving her too much credit with that interpretation. For his part, Piers just sat there, taking it all in, with a look that said he loved every minute of the audience turning on her. I also suspect that the next time Sharon tries to imply that Piers is mean, he’ll remind her of Donald. Anyway, David vehemently disagreed and said he thought Donald had really stepped it up. Piers told Donald that he’s done himself proud, lived his dream and proved the judges wrong (for originally voting him off) and America right (by bringing him back).
Neal E. Boyd – Neal also went back to his original audition piece, “Nessun Dorma”. This worked better for Neal than it did for Donald, but I didn’t feel the same “punch” as I did with the audition. That was stripped down – just Neal and his backing track. This was slick with a tuxedo, an orchestra and a choir. Neal still sounded great but it lost some of the charm. David said he was honored to have been on this journey with Neal because he is what the show is about. David was sure Neal was going a long way whether or not he wins. Piers said he found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to say, on national television, that he completely agreed with David. Sharon said that Neal brings people together and, while she’s heard that song many times before, she’s never heard it done quite as beautifully.
Eli Mattson – Eli performed Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds”. He said it had a lot of meaning for him because of how tough the last 10 years have been as a struggling musician. It was a very passionate performance but I don’t think it was one of his best. He went in and out of the actual melody in a way that was jarring like someone going from the gas pedal to the brake pedal and back again. I adore Eli, and I would definitely buy his CD, but I didn’t love this song like I wanted to. Piers said that he liked how Eli can take any classic song and give it his own interpretation because of his distinctive voice. He said that he didn’t know what the odds were for Eli’s winning, but he thought this performance just shortened them. Sharon said that Eli would be an amazing winner to represent the show. David told Eli he should look in the mirror and say, “Take a look at me now!”
Queen Emily – Emily sang Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” and showed off several aspects of her voice. She started off singing in a classic and beautiful voice and then progressed to her “blow off the roof” voice. She looked great and had a gospel choir in the background so it was a wonderful performance but……..there was probably nothing Emily could have done to top her show stopping performance from last week. Sharon said as much in the intro piece and, unfortunately, this time Sharon was right. Piers actually thought it was her best performance and that she sang with amazing passion and emotion. He added, however, that it was a tough night and it will be hard to beat NBS. Sharon told Emily that she’s a diva and her confidence shines through. David said it was fantastic and said she’s going to have an amazing career.
I hate to say it, but I don’t think anyone hit a homerun in the finals. They all did well, but no one ran away with it. I think the final two will be Eli Mattson and Nuttin But Stringz but I’m not sure who will, or should, win. Since I can’t decide, I’ve attached both performances:
The show opened with the first big dance of the season from the Pros and it featured everyone: Cheryl Burke, Edyta Sliwinski, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough, Tony Dovolani, Alec Mazo, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Karina Smirnoff, Corky Ballas, Mark Ballas, Julianne Hough, Inna Brayer and Kym Johnson. They danced to David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”.
The twelve remaining couples took the stage as hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris began the elimination process by announcing the first two couples “in no particular order” who were “safe to dance again”. The first declared safe – Brooke Burke & Derek. No surprise there. The next safe couple – Kim Kardashian & Mark – bit of a surprise here. Kim had the second lowest score from the judges (just ahead of Cloris Leachman) and I figured she was in the most jeopardy. Suddenly things don’t look so good for Cloris and Ted McGinley who was third from the bottom in the judges’ scoring.
As a nice touch, Jeffrey Ross & Edyta got to come back and do the Quickstep they would have done Tuesday night if they’d been voted through. Jeffrey tried, I’ll give him that much, but the dance wouldn’t have saved him. Edyta is the only Pro who has participated in all 7 US editions of DWTS, so it is a shame to have her gone so early but, I’m sure we’ll be seeing her dance in more results shows.
Samantha Harris interviewed the two safe couples and Kim promised that she was going to work on bringing out her inner J-Lo.
Next couple declared safe: Cloris Leachman & Corky Ballas. Oh Oh. Now things are looking really bad for Ted. The next score up from the bottom was 21 and four couples had that: Lance Bass & Lacey, Misty May-Treanor & Maks, Maurice Greene & Cheryl and Rocco DiSpirito & Karina. From this group the only ones I can picture being in trouble might be Maurice or Rocco.
Jesse McCartney took the stage to perform “Leavin’” and I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have guessed. Jesse sounded quite good.
Adam Carolla handled some “filler” duty by doing a series of “Man on the Street” interviews about the DWTS debut. It had a few funny moments but my favorite was the guy who didn’t know who Adam was.
Next couple declared safe: Maurice & Cheryl. Again, not good for Ted but Rocco could still be in danger too.
The Jonas Brothers were next with a performance of “Lovebug”. I’m not fond of the song but, then again, I’m miles away from being in their target demographic. There was a cute bit with Joe Jonas dancing with Derek and Mark. I know it was Joe because Tom Bergeron told me it was Joe.
Next bit of filler was a “Biggest Season Ever” montage. I thought Julianne had the best line, “The make-up department is so crowded this season, you have to fight to get your eye lashes on.” After the montage Tom quipped, “There’s nothing like sequined trash talking.”
Next two couples declared safe: Misty & Maks and Warren & Kym. Samantha then interviewed the last four safe couples. Warren wanted to know when he was going to get his sequins and Cloris decided that Maurice was in love with himself- but that was OK - because she’s in love with herself too.
With less than 10 minutes remaining we got down to serious business. Susan Lucci & Tony and Rocco & Karina were declared safe and that pretty much ended it for Ted McGinley. Lance & Lacey and Cody Linley & Julianne (pictured above) were also declared safe leaving just Toni Braxton & Alec and Ted & Inna. Tom told us that this didn’t necessarily mean that Toni and Ted were the “bottom two”, it just meant that one of them was the “bottom one”. Len, however, gave an “it would be a shame to lose either” speech that made it sound like they were the bottom two. It was confusing but I’ll go with Tom on this one. Poor Ted knew what was coming because he had already begun giving Inna a consoling pat before the announcement was even made. Indeed, the couple leaving was Ted & Inna. He really looked disappointed saying, “Some of us aren’t meant to dance.” This is awfully early in the season for me to be feeling this badly about an elimination.
The deck was kind of stacked against Ted too. I don’t know that he has a smaller fan base than Kim Kardashian but I suspect Kim’s fan base is more likely to actually vote. Plus, the reality on DWTS is that the Pros are now celebrities too and have their own fans. Poor Ted was paired up with someone new.
Next Monday will be another round of dances. My guess is that Kim was the other one in the bottom two so she’s got her work cut out for her.
Posted on September 24th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Biggest Loser
Aired 9-23-08
It was Rocco DiSpirito Day on network television! While he was Mambo-ing with Karina on ABC, he was making another visit to the Biggest Loser campus on NBC. It’s a good thing I think he’s a cutie.
After last week’s showdown between the Green team and the Orange team, we began this week with Heba of the Orange team tearfully thanking the others for not eliminating her and hubby Ed. L.T. of the Grey team used the extra vote he won in last week’s challenge to send the Green team home so he is hopeful that Orange will have his back if he should fall below the yellow line. Now, the real reason why Orange is still around is because the others viewed the Green team as the bigger threat. It will be interesting to see if this is the start of alliances or if logic will keep ruling the eliminations.
Both teams that were up for elimination belonged to Trainer Bob Harper and when he visited his team to get the results, they were all wearing green headbands in honor of Stacey and Adam. Bob immediately began working to fire up his team because week two is notorious for bad weigh ins. He explained that the body gets shocked by the extreme loss during week one and shuts down. It’s critical that they make sure they keep themselves well fed and that they are working out properly.
Trainer Jillian Michaels also held an “evils of week two” coaching session but during it, Michelle of the Pink team began crying. Her mom, Renee, explained that it started earlier in the day and Michelle wouldn’t talk about it. Jillian dismissed everyone else so she could have a one-on-one session with Michelle. Michelle explained that she is still feeling the sting of her parents’ divorce and it is hard for her not to feel resentment towards Renee for being the one who walked out. Jillian explained that Renee left her marriage because she wasn’t happy and, for once, put herself first. Michelle needs to learn from that and give herself permission to put herself first right now. I love Jillian. We should all have a Jillian following us around for advice, a hug and a swift kick in the ass.
During one of the regular workouts in the gym, Bob decided he was sick of the yellow line that divided it into his half and Jillian’s half. He ripped up the line saying that the gym is supposed to be a positive place and that line wasn’t positive. Jillian was thrilled he’d done it. Meanwhile we learned that Jerry, of the Yellow team, was feeling a world of difference from last week. Jerry is the man who was declared one of the sickest to ever be on BL and his workouts are restricted to just 30 minutes a day. He’s already feeling a lot better.
Product Placement Alert One: Extra Fruit Sensations Gum.
Temptation
While the contestants were gathered in the kitchen, host Alison Sweeney arrived for this week’s temptation. Instead of being about food, this one was all about money. She led them into a room that had one auction paddle in each team color. Alison stated that in all of BL history, the average loss for week two was just 2%. Since this was going to be a tough week, Alison thought there should be a big reward. The prize was $10,000. To win it, each team needed to bid on what percentage of weight loss they thought they’d have for the week. The team that bid the highest percent was eligible to win the money. If, at the weigh in, they met their goal, they’d get $10,000. If they didn’t, then they would automatically fall below the yellow line. The Orange team decided to play it safe and not get involved. They weren’t going to risk a second time below the line. The Red team started the bidding because, as we learned from their interview segment, they wanted to drive up the percent so that one of the other teams would get trapped by it. The Yellow team was being pretty aggressive in bidding against the Grey team and Michelle of the Pink team was shocked by it. She couldn’t understand why, with all of Jerry’s limitations, they would take that kind of chance. Eventually Grey and Purple dropped out of the bidding and the Yellow team “won” with a bid of 2.4%. Alison informed them that this meant they needed to lose more than 13 pounds at the weigh in.
Product Placement Alert Two: Subway Sandwiches
Jerry and his daughter Coleen donned yellow t-shirts with the number 14 on it to symbolize what they needed to achieve to meet the 2.4% goal. Upon hearing the news, Jillian was not pleased. She told them they were out of their minds. Now, she was going to have to beat the crap out of them physically and mentally.
Challenge
Alison informed the group that this week’s challenge was called the “Sprint & Slide” and it looked pretty cool. In the challenge, one member from each team would slide down a giant, 200 foot long Slip ‘n Slide. They then had to hike back up the hill and hit a buzzer before the 2:00 minute timer ran out. If a team didn’t make it back to the buzzer in time, they were eliminated. The teammates would alternate runs on the slide until only one team was left standing. The prize was a call home which really appealed to the Orange team. Jerry (Yellow) and Tom (Grey) still can’t participate for medical reasons so their kids, Coleen and L.T. had to do every run themselves. The Brown team (Vicky & Brady) were eliminated in the very first round when Brady came limping back up the hill. We learned from Vicky’s interview clip that he was faking the injury. They had done so well last week, they wanted to make it look like they were less of a threat. Round two knocked out the Red team and Grey went down in round three after the time got reduced to 1:30. After that, things got serious and no additional teams were knocked out until round 17 when both Pink and Yellow called it quits. Considering that, at this point, Coleen of the Yellow team had done twice as much as everyone else; I was really impressed with her stamina. She’s proving to be a workhorse. Finally, in round 18, Shellay of the Purple team couldn’t make it and Orange became the victors. Ed joked that now Heba could call her dad and he could call the dog. They also got to give another team the opportunity to call home and Orange gave that to the Red team. Phil and Amy have three sons at home, one of whom is autistic, and Orange thought it would mean the most to their family. I’ve wondered about these calls. They always begin with the contestant sobbing into the phone and I’d think it would freak out the people back home. Instead, they always remain calm like this is an everyday occurrence.
He first asked each team to tell him which member was the better cook. He then announced that the team member who wasn’t the cook was going to shop and cook with him. The others would taste all the food prepared and declare which dish was best. The winning cook would get a year’s worth of groceries. At the store, they were all pretty much lost in the produce section and, in the kitchen, they couldn’t figure out how to turn on the stove!
Product Placement Alert Three: Jennie-O Turkey
Product Placement Alert Four: Ziplock Zip ‘n Steam Bags
The food actually did end up looking great and my stomach immediately started growling. The winning dish was the Tiny Turkey Meatballs and Chickpea Soup prepared by Amy of the Purple team. Rocco gave a tip that you should always shop the perimeter of the grocery store. That’s where the fresh food is. The deeper inside the store you go, the more processed and expensive the food is and the less healthy. I was picturing all the groceries stores I shop at and that is actually true.
In the last chance workout, Jillian was following through on her promise to beat the crap out of Coleen. At one point Coleen tried to walk away but Jillian called her out. Jillian finally determined that Coleen was afraid of getting close to her goal and failing so she was subconsciously trying to sabotage herself. It was another great Jillian moment.
Weigh In
The teams gathered once again for the dreaded weigh in. Yellow was still wearing their “14″ t-shirts and, of course, they went last.
Brown: Vicky lost 4 pounds and Brady lost 7 for a total percent loss of 2.04%.
Purple: Amy lost 3 pounds and Shellay lost 3 for a total percent loss of 1.41%.
Pink: Michelle lost 2 pounds and Renee lost 5 for a total percent loss of 1.46%.
Red: Amy lost 4 pounds and Phil lost 8 for a total percent loss of 2.30%.
Orange: Heba lost 2 pounds and Ed lost 9 for a total percent loss of 1.83%.
Grey: Tom lost 3 pounds but L.T. gained 3 for a total percent loss of 0%. This was the shocker of the night.
Yellow: Coleen lost 6 pounds but Jerry only lost 5 meaning they missed their goal of 14. Even though their total percent loss was 1.93%, they were still going below the yellow line. Alison did the part of her job I hate and said to Jerry that it must be hard not to feel he had let Coleen down. Coleen stepped in and said that he didn’t let her down and he never could.
So that put Yellow and Grey, both teams belonging to Jillian, up for elimination. Grey was counting on Orange to return the favor and help them stay at the ranch. Ed sounded like that was his plan when some of the other teams met to discuss strategy. There was a strong feeling that Grey was the bigger threat because L.T. was likely to put up huge numbers at the next weigh in.
The teams gathered with Alison for the vote and the first team up was Purple. They voted for the Grey team because, if Yellow hadn’t made their bet, Purple would be the other team below the yellow line. I guess they felt like they owed Yellow for that. Orange came up next and Heba said that it was hard to be loyal when you know it won’t make any difference. For that reason, they were going with the team decision and voted for Grey. Ouch. Red sealed the deal by casting their vote for Grey saying they were the bigger threat.
It was a tough call. On the one hand, L.T. was almost guaranteed to post a huge loss next time but I can’t help but feel that Yellow was the one who most deserved to go because they took such a huge risk with their bet. Before the dust could do much settling, Alison informed the group that they needed to go pack because they were about to take a road trip to the Grand Canyon.
In the where-are-they-now end clip we learned that L.T. has lost 81 pounds and promised to be the “at home” champ. His father Tom has lost 65 pounds so far.
