Reality TV Round-up - July 2011 Edition

As usual my Tivo is clogged with hours upon hours of reality television. Good stuff (yes, there IS good stuff) and bad stuff. Competition stuff like Big Brother, SYTYCD, and The RW/RR Challenge; fun stuff like Ice Loves Coco, Million Dollar Decorators, Roseanne Barr's new show, and candid stuff like Celebrity Rehab, and my fave 1 Girl 5 Gays. I love it all!

Here's some of what I've been watching and dissecting this month -

Roseanne's Nuts: I've never been a big Roseanne fan. I didn't watch her sitcom when it was on, and I've always found the antics surrounding her to be a little exhausting. So why the hell did I decide to record and watch the premiere of her new reality show on Lifetime? I don't know. But I'm glad I did. I love everything about it. Roseanne is now living in Hawaii with her boyfriend John on a 50 acre macadamia nut farm. She has this weird (but hilarious) hippie dude named Greg that camps on her land and that she takes care of in exchange for his calm zen-ness. In the first couple of eps, Roseanne's eldest son comes to visit from L.A. She's constantly running around on her tractor and jeep, chasing pigs or trying to kill dangerous, invasive foliage on her land; all while spouting an endless stream of curse words. She's my new hero.

Big Brother 13: As much as I love Jeff & Jordan and am excited to have them on my screen again, this season of Big Brother is already SO ANNOYING. I may only watch the Thursday live shows and catch up by reading the live feed summaries.

Million Dollar Decorators: How can the season finale for this gem already be next week?! I've tweeted my love for this show for weeks but I can't reiterate enough how much I love Ross Cassidy, project manager and boyfriend of designer Jeffrey Allan Marks (who Ross adorably calls "JAM"!). He's South African and an ex-model, and he's a ruthless task master and he is indespencible. I love his hair and the way he's always putting it up in messy ponytails or flipping it over to the side; I love his clipped accent; I love his laugh. I want Ross to live with me and yell at me to "snap out of it and get things done!" I also love me some Jacqueline, designer and textile artist Kathryn Ireland's old French housekeeper. Forget what I said about Roseanne, JACQUELINE is my hero. I want to be her when I grow up - only wear crisp white shirts and black pants, tie my hair up in fabulous Hermes scarves, have a loose interpretation of "cleaning", only cook appetizers, and drink wine all damn day. Perf. All of the designers on the show are pretty interesting. I can't wait for season 2.

Ice Loves Coco: Who knew that Ice T and Coco (I still don't know if she uses a last name; surely she doesn't go by "Coco T") could be so charming? They're a great couple. And seriously? Ice T looks so much like my friend Jim, I can't stand it. Hilarious.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew: Oh lerwd, this show. Sean Young makes me sad y'all. I really feel for her. Bai Ling is CRAZY. Like chemically imbalanced. I think that she needs a higher level of care than Dr. Drew (who is slowly losing boyfriend status the more he's on my tv screen) and his stupid 21 day tv treatment show can provide. I'm surprisingly sympathetic to Michael Lohan, and it's been actually nice to see Steven Adler back in rehab. Oh, and Amy Fisher is a fucking bitch.

The Challenge - Rivals (RW/RR): Kenny! What is wrong with you baby? Where's my cocky, joking, handsome, smart-ass who's quick with the quips and a challenge beast? Did that pasty, UGLY, red-headed freak Wes kill your spirit once he partnered with you? I want the goofy, hot, clever Kenny pictured below to come back onto my tv screen! In other news, shut up Johnny Bananas.

TV Week in Review Oct. 25 - 29

Some thoughts on this week's addictions -

Project Runway: Everyone's already ranted and complained about the finale outcome on the interwebs, so the less said from me the better. I'll only add another WTF?! to the thousands exclaimed last night. Mondo was robbed.

Sound of Music cast on Oprah: The entire cast was reunited for the first time in 45 years. It was an amazing episode despite the fact that I wanted to jump through the screen and back in time to throttle Oprah Winfrey. Seriously, why is she so damn annoying?! Also, Christopher Plummer is the hottest 80 year-old ever and I would still run away with him to be his sex slave in a minute.

RW/RR The Challenge: Cutthroat - All you really need to know is that this week's Gulag challenge involved slapping the shit out of your opponent with a fly swatter while holding up a 20lb bucket. And that before the nature of the challenge was revealed, all of the cast were wildly speculating about what it would involve. Some of the best ideas about what the challenge would be about? Brandon's suggestion that the guys would have a dualing "boners" contest and see who would kiss each other first, Brad's overly serious (duh!)insistence that it would involve FIRE, and Danimal's idea that the contestants might get water-boarded. If only. The red team won again so Brandon was safe another week. My Johnny Bananas hair hatred continues unabated. And I still want to find that Czech bar patron who punched Johnny and buy him a beer. And maybe pay him to kick Bananas in the nuts. God, I can't wait for CT to get to Prague and maybe kick some of these people's asses.

Glee - This Rocky Horror episode could've been so much worse. I think that's why, once again, I'm in the minority of those who enjoyed it. I had really low expectations that were succeeded. And hello, I got my wish to see my boyfriend John Stamos sing on the show. And Matthew Morrison and Chord Overstreet were shirtless so there's that.

"So, there you go."

Thoughts on this week's episode of The Challenge: Cut(My)throat -

• Awesome part 1: Batshit crazy Katie!!! Gawddam, I love this little psycho. And I felt so bad for her when her team sent her into the Gulag instead of useless, annoying Theresa. I'm glad Katie lived to fight (and beat/scream down bitches) another day.
• Awesome part 2: After Katie (rightfully) flipped the f*ck out on Ty for being a mysogonistic, hypocritical asshole, Derrick's response regarding Ty and Emily getting a taste of Katie's crazy - "So...there you go."
• Awesome part 3: The Red Team won this week so Brandon didn't have to go into the Gulag.

• My obsession with Johnny Bananas' hair week #3: I'm truly trying to rack my brain to remember if Bananas always had such whack, fake looking hair and I just ignored it. But I don't recall it ever being this bad - Hair Club For Men lookin', flat-ironed weirdness.

• Awesome part 4: Bananas got punched in the face by a Czech citizen. Thank you brave man whoever you are!
• Awesome part 5: "Medium" Easy whipped dumb Vinnie's ass in the Gulag! And then Vinnie was so mad about it that he acted like a little whiner afterwards. Now, I hope that the rest of the Blue team (minus loyal Derrick and Katie) step up and appreciate the good that Easy brings to their team. Send Bananas into the Gulag you dumbasses!

• Horrible Laurel and her hate-filled spew towards Erik was easily one of the grossest things I've ever seen on this show. Laurel is a digusting mess, who has some SERIOUS mental health issues.

Above: Laurel keepin' it classy in the hot tub.
Who needs mixed drinks when you can just mix your own directly in your mouth?!

TV week in review - Early October 2010

Thoughts on TV this week...

Showtime Shows:
Dexter - Wow, season 5 has really started out strong. Considering season 4 kicked all sorts of ass and there's pretty much no way to live up to it, they're doing an admirable job so far. You can't even tell that much that Michael Hall is wearing a hair piece (because he was undergoing cancer treatment for most of this season's shoot). But seriously, Hall and his real-life wife Jennifer Carpenter who plays his on-screen sister Deb, have been acting the HELL out of the writing they've been given. They both deserve Emmys this year, no question. I'm not even minding nosy ol' Quinn who is bound and determined to fuck Dexter up in some way. I'm intrigued to see how this season's story lines all play out. And hee hee, every time they show Dexter carrying Harrison in his little car seat to all of these weird places to do his forensic dirty work, I get a big kick out of it. Dexter is still the sexiest killer on television.

The Big C - My appreciation for this show has been growing steadily since it started in August. Right from the beginning I loved Phyllis Somerville's Marlene and the great John Benjamin Hickey as Sean, but it took awhile for me to warm up to Laura Linney and the rest of the cast, as well as the story. But after the last two episodes I've really learned to love this new series. Could it be hot hot Idris Elba as Lenny that's making me feel this way? Could be. As we near the end of this first season, I'm hoping for a second one.

Modern Family: I saved up the first 3 eps of this second season so that I could enjoy a nice amount of quality time with my favorite TV family. The show is definitely proving that they deserved that Best Comedy Emmy. I didn't think it was possible to love Phil Dunphy or Cam Tucker (or the actors that portray them, Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet) any more than I did in the first season but I was wrong. And I loved the way the writers chose to handle the (TOTALLY STUPID and IRRITATING) brouhaha that's been swirling for the past year over the fact that Cam and Mitchell never kiss on the show.

Cougar Town: First, I love that the producers/writers are totally in on the joke, and have been making fun of the increasingly ridiculous title of this show in their credits each week. Nicely done! So far this show isn't having the sophomore slump that I predicted, which is such a pleasant surprise.

I was sad to hear this week about Courtney and David's marriage split; they seemed like good partners.

Glee: The past few weeks I've read a lot of negative reviews and hateful comments over this second season of Glee. As usual I totally don't understand why people take this show so seriously and can't appreciate it for what it is. Anyway, even the most critical watchers have been saying good things about last night's "Duets" episode. From the snarky mention of Grease 2, to the fantabulous Mercedes/Santana performance of "River Deep, Mountain High", the hilarious way that all of the kids were SO into the fictional Breadsticks restaurant, to the amazing duet between Rachel (Babs) and Kurt (Judy) of the classic "Happy Days/Get Happy", this episode was really excellent.

"The Challenge" aka Real World/Road Rules Challenge aka Freaks on Parade:

Tivo didn't want me to watch this newest season of my favorite televised crack addiction. Even though I shamefully have several different "wishlist" season pass ticklers for this craptastic show, Bunim/Murray have evidently fiddled around with the title so much that my little dvr isn't catching on (it's apparently called The Challenge:Cutthroat this season). So it was with surprise that I was randomly switching channels last Wednesday night and came upon TJ Lavin's stoned mug and immediately squealed "NEW CHALLENGE SEASON!", waking up the dog and cat on my lap and almost dumping an entire mug of tea on myself. I quickly set the dvr to record the 11pm rerun and booted up the lap top to see which drunken losers contestants are gracing this season. I am excited about Abram and Bananas (but not about their unfortunate heads of hair), but was appalled to see Fresh Meat II's Theresa and Laurel back. And contrary to many people, I kind of miss my pasty Canuck Evan and my boyfriend Kenny.

Low Resolution's Joe had a wonderful discussion about this show with the two Sarahs that needs to be shared with all who love this stupid thing.

Reality TV catch up - First week of June 2010 edition

So You Think You Can Dance - while I watch the audition shows (the producers do a slightly better job than "American Idol" of not wasting time with crap attention-starved asses), it's not really until Vegas semi finals that I even remotely care or become emotionally invested in any of these people, with a few exceptions. This week the two audition cities featured were LA and Chicago.

Standouts included that kid Adrian with the looooooong neck who choreographer Stacey Tookey couldn't wait to get her hands on, and Alexie who made it to the last round in Vegas Season 6 and whose movements I really liked. But more importantly she reminded me how much I freakin' love Janis Joplin's version of Summertime. Seriously, musically this version kicks so much ass. The guitar parts alone make me weep.

And y'all is there anything cuter than the fact that Cat Deeley puts a coat on to protect herself from the sweat pouring off the kids as they come out of the auditorium to hug her after they've been given a ticket to Las Vegas? Cat loves these folks so much - take note Ryan Seacrest.

RR/RW Challenge: Fresh Meat II -

Yay for my boyfriend Landon and his Fresh Meat partner Carley, she of the bad hair and weird frowny face. They beat loathsome sore loser Evelyn and perma-smile Luke in the Exile and then did well enough to come in 2nd place not have to face the last Exile which would have been totally unfair. Here's hoping they can continue to kick butt and win that prize money.

Nine By Design - I haven't really talked about this show. It chronicles the ridiculous Novogratz family, a husband and wife design team with their 7 gorgeous children in tow as they build, design, sell, kvetch, yuppify and annoy the living hell out of everybody in Manhattan (really the tri-state area, oh, and London).

To be truthful, I actually love the relationship that Bob and Courtney Novogratz have. Theirs is a real partnership, in both love and business, and they are truly a great team. Courtney is kind of kick-ass actually. She's really why I watch the show. I would have been jailed for murdering Robert Novogratz long before I had a chance to birth 7 of his children. The way Bob whines about them being in debt and their lack of money (sure, whatever Bob, you own three $20 million dollar homes) and the way he treats their best client (developer Dave Barry) grates on my nerves to no end. On a shallow note, I also HATE his thin lipped mouth.

But other than his fondness for dumb hats and overpriced ridonk "desks" aka fiberglass art, his parenting and husbanding skills kind of make up for every other douchey thing he does.

The season finale was this week - can't wait to see if they were able to sell their $25 million home on West St in NYC (Tribeca?), and all of the new projects they've roped poor Antonio and Steve, their contractors, into next. And seriously those kids? With the whacked out names like Five, Breaker, and Major? ARE UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL!

The Real World/Road Rules Challenge - a story of addiction told in pictures

Once again my guiltiest of guilty pleasures has sucked me back in for another season. This time these fame-whore, human petri dishes are destroying some nice place in the woods of British Columbia. What is it about this show that keeps me coming back? It's certainly not the "challenges" which are seriously super lame; and it's not the host TJ Lavin, the biggest stoner on the planet. Does the dude to the left seem like a dynamic tv host? 'Cause he's not. Is this all TJ does now? Is he still a "professional BMX racer" whatever that is?

So if it's not the structure of the show itself, or the host, could it be the cast? You can't call them contestants really, because although there is a monetary prize, these aren't your typical game players, even under reality tv standards.

Yes, as deplorable and disgusting as most of these arseholes are, I find them wildly entertaining. Let's take a look at some of them:

First, I can't talk about the Challenge without talking about Kenny Santucci. Although there were several Challenge seasons televised before Kenny made a strong first impression showing up on the scene in the original "Fresh Meat" competition, he's quickly established himself as MTV's go-to guy for this ridiculous show. I unabashedly and without shame adore Kenny. And when he almost went home this week (in only the 2nd ep of the season!) I was really sad. But hopefully he and Landon can put past differences aside and work together to take control again.

Speaking of Landon. I now pronounce you Husband and Bear.

Sigh...I love Landon to distraction. The dimples, the body of course, his weird high-pitched mid-western accented voice, his sexual charisma that manages to be super-hetero and ambiguously gay at the same time. If Landon is in a Challenge I will always be cheering for him to win, which surprisingly he has not done yet. It's your time baby! Even if you are saddled with big dumb Carley as a partner.

Speaking of dumb, one of this season's mini-serial dramas involves new Fresh Meat girl Theresa, who's paired up with token gay alumn Ryan. Theresa started drama the first night in the house when she got wasted and came on strong to Kenny, propositioning and declaring her lust for him before she'd even been playing the game 24 hours. Kenny turned her offer of sex down. Which she took like a trouper. immediately turning her charms on pasty asshole Wes who gladly agreed to be boot-knockin' buddies with her. Let's take a direct quote from her shall we? "Being considered the 'hot girl' is really awkward. All the guys are very good looking so it's kinda fun. But then again it could be a bad thing". You think?

Ok, first up, who the hell said you were the "hot girl"? You're cute (sort of, I guess) but there are a lot better looking girls in this season's competition, and certainly in the history of the show. Second, your boy crazy ways are going to f*ck you in this game, rookie. And that doesn't bode well for Ryan. Can the cute gay boy ever catch a break in this game?

Finally, you chose Wes? You call this fugly ginger hot? Not only is he a psychopathic loose cannon, he's also insanely competitive and jealous of Kenny, who stole Wes's fiance (the gorgeous, but stupid Johanna). Now Wes has hooked up with Theresa and doesn't yet know that she was Kenny's reject and that he was 2nd choice. Oh, Wes. I'll be seriously disappointed if this king douche wins another Challenge. Especially if Kenny and Landon don't make it to the finals. Now, I have to get back to my tv watching.

Reality TV catch-up: early April 2010

America's Best Dance Crew - the fifth season ended with a deserving final 2, but with the wrong crew crowned champion in my humble opinion.

While Poreotix were awesome little poppin' and lockin' munchkins, Montreal's Blueprint Cru totally deserved to win and were totally robbed of the championship. I think they absolutely suffered from the fact that Canadians couldn't vote, and the fact that a lot of the kids that watch/vote ABDC are strangely loyal to the West coast crews. They've been victorious for most, if not all of the seasons. Check out Sling.com's blog post about the show - they love ABDC even more than I do.

Amazing Race Season 16 - Who knew that I'd end up cheering the most for the two teams of brothers?! Seriously, I don't care who wins this season. I really hope that Jeff and Jordan are at the finale party (TARcon) in NYC next month.

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat 2 - oh my God this show! Every season gets more fawking ridiculous. But I still can't help watching and loving the hell of these dumbasses! It could have something to do with the big galoomp above right here - I love me some Kenny. No matter how misogynistic, scheming, dastardly, and douchey he gets, I always love him; it's because he's in on his own joke - he totally embraces how ridiculous he is and he doesn't care. God love him.

Project Runway - As usual I looked at and over analyzed the 2010 Fashion Week collections back in February trying to determine who was a real finalist and who was a decoy collection. I guessed pretty well, totally having predicted this season's top 4.

I really really really want Seth Aaron to win, but I also wouldn't mind Jay. Despite his ENORMOUSLY inflated ego, I've liked almost all of the work Emilio has done this season but his fashion week collection is so damn lame. Like "Meredith Viera shops at Chico's" boring. And I hate everything about Mila's point of view so bleh. Which means that she'll probably win the whole thing.

Seriously, except for Jay McCarrol's win in the first season (and somewhat Sibilia's S3 controversial win), I've never been truly satisfied with any of the PR ultimate winners.

Go Seth Aaron FTW!

Catching up

I've been so damn busy this week practicing and preparing for our Christmas show this Saturday that I really haven't had a chance to breath, much less watch television or read. Basically I've been getting home close to midnight and trying to fit in a little Tivo or reading before collapsing into a deep sleep each night this week.

So although I know that most of the items in this post have already been discussed or dissected, I'm still going to share my opinion with y'all. Here's what's on my mind this week.

Movie news:

You know I love anything Jane Austen, even shitty movie adaptions or poorly written Austen sequels/adaptations. And now there's news that Natalie Portman will star in the upcoming film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's mash-up of Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. I'm okay with this choice, actually even sort of excited about it.

I'm not excited about Avatar; and you can't make me be.

TV:

SYTYCD eliminating down to the 6 in the finale - Although Ashleigh totally deserved to go (hey America, remember we talked about this shit?!), I was okay with Mollee leaving us this week. What I wasn't okay with? The fact that Legacy went home before Ryan or even Russell totally bugs me. Sigh...well I'll see him on tour at least.

This week in reality television competition finales - I was truly happy with the Amazing Race and Top Chef finalists. And ultimately satisfied with Meghan and Cheyne winning the 15th season of TAR, although I was hoping for Bryan and Ericka to eek out 2nd place ahead of the gay brothers.

On Top Chef however, I think the wrong Voltaggio brother won. Bryan clearly won 2 out of the 4 courses and split the judges on the other two. But Michael still won?! Was it because he takes more "risk"? **eyeroll** Who cares? I hope Bryan at least is consoled that he's the nicer, more competent brother.

On the RW/RR Challenge I was happy to see the Champions win only because it meant that Susie got the most money which she totally deserved for having to put up with Johnny Bananas dumb ass. My former boyfriend Kenny and Evan didn't deserve shit though. It still totally pisses me off that neither of those douches ever went into the Ruins and pretty much controlled everything from the get-go. At least Derrick was able to take some money home to feed his kid, because God knows he's too dumb to earn money any other damn way. And as much as I hate Kellyanne's crazy ass, or Sarah's crying desperate one, they really did awesome in the final challenge and nearly snatched the win right out of the Champs hands. Oh how I would've loved to have seen Kenny and Bananas faces if that had happen, but Susie would've been ripped apart which wouldn't have been good. But seriously this show is my crack. And where else would you be able to see grown "straight" men throwing golf balls at each other's bare assess and pouring hot wax on their bodies? For no apparent reason, other than to pump each other up for the competition? Excellent.

Glee autumn finale - I'm still in denial about this gem not being back on the air until fucking April but at least I have the latest volume of music to comfort me a little.
And the knowledge that the first part of this season will be on DVD the end of this month. I'll definitely be rewatching these episodes over the winter.
I really liked that they revealed Terri's fake pregnancy and the fact that Finn isn't the baby-daddy before the end of this mini-season. I'm looking forward to seeing how the "Road to Regionals" goes come April. Especially since Jonathan Groff will be joining the cast as the leader of rival group Vocal Adrenaline. Yay!

Catching up

I've been sick for about a week now (not bacon flu, just bad cold) and instead of being able to just take care of myself, rest, and you know fuck around on the computer (aka "blog"), I've had to work, deal with an annoying parent situation, and live through 48 hours of the wettest, weirdest, windiest weather I've experienced since moving to Seattle.

I've been behind on most of my television shows, but tonight I got current with a few; here are my thoughts.

SYTYCD -
Not being able to vote and having the judges send home the first 4 dancers hasn't been as bad as I thought. And I've pretty much agreed with their choices. But WTF? Nigel & Co. for putting Victor in the bottom 2 this week? Not cool. All of my faves are still in it (Nathan, Jakob, Ellenore, Russell) and I have been pleasantly surprised by a few dancers that I thought for sure I'd be hating (Legacy, Kathryn, Ryan). I'm still hating that Nathan is paired with Mollee, but even though she's the most immature annoying person alive, I don't want to punch her in the mouth as much as I have previously. It will be interesting to see how the voting plays out in the coming weeks.


Top Chef -
Zzzzzzzzzzzz so boring this season. Can they just give Kevin the $100K and the GE appliances already?


Project Runway -
Boring as well as annoying. While I'm happy to see an all-girl finale, the ending of this season has been so damn anticlimatic. And I don't think it's just because it was filmed a million years ago. And Irina can suck it. She's just so damn unpleasant.


Real Housewives -
I gave up on the latest Atlanta season weeks ago; I mean can we all just admit that Kim is a horrible dumbass and stop humoring her? But this week the 5th(!) season of the OC part of the franchise (OC = Original C U next Tuesdays) began and Bravo's sucked me in again. I'm just as ashamed of me as you are.


Real World/Road Rules Challenge "The Ruins" (or as The Soup hilariously refers to it "The RUNS" -
I'm bored with this show too, and I never thought I'd say that about a Challenge, especially since this season started out so awesomely. But there you go. All of drama is gone (Tonya), the loud and crazy (Katie, Wes), and the buttery (Veronica); all gone. Even my boyfriend Kenny, and the usually affable Bananas are irksome. I'd love for Cohutta to win the whole damn thing but I know that won't happen.

Survivor: Samoa -
I'm only half-assed watching this because of the betting pool I'm in at work (go Natalie!). And for weeks it's been predictable even with Russell's crazy medical stuff etc. But this week after the merge the game got kind of interesting. In a surprise move, the former Galu banded together with old Foa Foa to vote off Eric (#1 hottie, just edging out John and Mick). This was done with the help of Jaison and a lot from my girl Natalie (way to go girl!). The vote also ended up flushing out the 2 immunity idols so we don't have to worry about those for the rest of this season. Woo!

Reality TV Round-up for the week

Rachel Zoe Project finale - First, I don't think that Rachel or her husband Rodger know the difference between literally and figuratively. They both drive me CRAZY with their misuse and overuse of the word literally. So the season finale was a little disappointing and anti-climatic what with Rachel's "vertigo" still annoying, and her decision to make Rodger the head of her company just feeling like a stunt for the cameras. And her branding stuff seems far-fetched. Seriously those fake furs of hers are totally FUGLY. All in all a much better season than the first however.


Guilty Pleasure of the Week!
Million Dollar Listing - I hate to admit how much I missed Chad, Josh, and Madison and all of their ridiculousness. Looks like this season will be focusing on the collapse of the market, and how that affects the boys and their bottom lines. And their egos - can't forget those. The guys are still basically the same - Josh is still a blow-hard asshole but at least he shaved his head and looks much better; Chad still has his annoying voice and his STUPID hair and his misguided girlfriend but he's added a tiny little dog in the mix that he carries around in a leather satchel to client meetings; Madison still seems stoned but he's looking a lot more manorexic than I remember, and his weird accent still fascinates me, especially after meeting his older brother in the season opener who looks and sounds NOTHING like him. Tivo season pass has been set!

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team - Oh geez, I love this damn show so much. I'm sad to say that I've been waiting for this season to begin for a few months. The first episode is of course the initial auditions and they were fascinating as usual. I wish the show was one hour each week, not just for the premier and finale. Where do these girls come from? I swear, this show represents one of the reasons the Taliban hates us. But seeing bitch-in-heels Kelli McGonagill-Finglass again just warms my heart; I'm looking forward to Kelli making a lot of these girls cry. And yay! we got a to see and know a little bit more about security guard Phil. Will returnee Sunni Cranfill make the team this time? Will both Menchew sisters go all the way? Is Katie's ass still too big? Will all of the veterans make it through when they have to go through all of training camp with the newbies? These are the questions that keep me on the edge of my seat. Kind of sad to see Texas Stadium closed; and holy hell just how many people does the new Cowboys stadium fucking hold?! It's humongous!


SYTYCD - I totally thought they were announcing the top 20 this week. Lame! Fox is really milking these episodes and spreading them out aren't they? I guess I shouldn't complain that much. Although many of my faves have been cut, several are still in (e.g. cute boy who was too young to compete last season, tapper Philip, krumper dude, sassy Eleanor) and I hope they make the final group. Don't know why Adam Shankman was hyperventilating over that Billy kid, but whatever.

RW/RR Challenge - Evan and Veronica?! Ugh! **SHUDDER**
I was seriously too grossed out by the two of them to care about all of the other bullshit. Although, shut up Wes!

TV Round-up for Wednesday, September 30

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins -
A few words from returning champion Wes on why he decided to come back for another Challenge: "I saw the opportunity to be with two of the most important girls that have ever been in my life [Johanna, Kellyann]; to be there with someone I'd consider a hated enemy [Kenny]; to be there with other ex-boyfriends of my girls [Cohutta, the aforementioned Kenny, etc.]; to me was just too hard to pass up." This guy is a NUT JOB. Welcome back Wes! It's also good to see my boy Kenny, Bananas, sad Brad, crazy Katie, daddy Derrick, and 'roidy Evan. Even self-righteous annoying Evelyn made me smile. And Chet! It's an embarrassment of riches really.
But seriously when Derrick and Cohutta are consistently the voices of reason during the first hour you know something is messed up. Is it weird that I don't actually know where the Challenge is taking place? Thailand? Mexico? Fiji? Mars?

Glee -
I loved EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE. Tonight's episode was made of WIN! First were the awesome performance numbers; Fox has been teasing us for months with tiny seconds of "Somebody To Love", but getting to see the full piece was so much better than I could hope for. And gawd, I couldn't love Kristin Chenoweth anymore if you paid me. Her comedic timing is amazing. Oh and her Sally Bowles! Kurt Hummel and I shared a tear watching her sing "Maybe This Time". And her duet with Matthew Morrison on Heart's "Alone" is quickly going to become the most played song on my iPod. A keeper all-around.

Modern Family/Cougar Town -
Last week wasn't a fluke. Both of these new ABC shows had good second episodes. Keep up the good work guys.

For the love of Landon

The Real World/Road Rules Challenge is probably my #1 guilty pleasure tv show. But I just love it for the silliness like random drunken bikini fashion shows like this one. WARNING: Not really SFW


Ahh I just love Landon. And that juicebox...

Reality TV musings - April 29 edition

Just a few random thoughts regarding Wednesday night reality tv -

• American Idol: The right two people went home but I'm still really sad about Anoop. Even on those weeks when his performances were questionable - Usher? Really? - I still loved him. He'll always be my little adorkable mathlete crooner boyfriend. Here's hoping he gets his shit together and gets a nice career out of this experience (if he even wants that).

• Make Me A Supermodel: I'm SICK about Kerryn being eliminated. SICK I tell you! I'm okay with Laury getting the ax but not my Kerryn. That horrible wench Amanda should have gone home instead. Stupid move judges, stupid move.

• America's Next Top Model: Good riddance Natalie! While I'm surprised that Aminat wasn't the one sent packing because she's been in the bottom two so many times, fans of the show know that Tyra Banks hates "pretty" girls. Especially pretty girls who think their shit don't stink and backtalk to Tyra. Stupid Natalie. But she was annoying anyway so again - don't let the door hit ya...

• RW/RR Challenge - The Duel II: First I have to say, because I think I had powerful sex dreams about it last night, that watching Landon wrestling, flipping, monkeying around on those ropes during the challenge with first Mark, and then Nehemiah was totally HOT! And then seeing Evan being called into the Duel by lovely Davis was so great especially when it was revealed to be a puzzle challenge, because my big dumb Canadian is bad at those because steroids fry your brain. But sadly (so sad), Davis lost out to Evan at the last minute during the Duel which was a combo of a puzzle and rock-climbing. Sigh... so all of my gay boys are gone from this season and big dumb Evan is still there.