Survivor: Redemption Island - OMETEPE!

Oh goodie, more Survivor: Redemption Island! More like torture. This season has been so blah over the past few episodes but its nearing the finale on May and well, I might as well predict who wins this whole charade.

***** MORE AFTER THE JUMP! *****

American Idol 10 - We Have Rules Buddy

This week, our idols will bring to us songs from the legendary Carole King. Hm. Personally, I don't know Carole King and I don't know any of her songs or maybe I do, I just don't know that it was written by her. Anyway, its going to be interesting that's for sure.

And an interesting note to point out that all of the contestants will sing a solo and a duet. How fun! Let's just hope that all works out well shall we?

***** READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP *****

Glee - Born This Way

I know most of you, seeing as I am myself, was pretty much excited with this week's Glee episode. I mean, this is one of the more hyped up episode since the season began and with it being 30 minutes longer than it usually is, I think it pretty delivered.

See? Even the fabulous Quinn Fabray was in shock to hear that this episode was good. Anyway, the episode began with so much fun but nobody manages to beat the goddess that is Santana. First, she slams everybody's looks in less than 10 minutes.

***** EPISODE SUMMARY AFTER THE JUMP *****

The Amazing Race - Cheese, Luggage, U-Turn, Oh My!

Previously on The Amazing Race, teams race from India all the way to some country in Europe wherein they have to either eat a huge plate of food or deliver a couch. We see the usual things from the remaining teams. Kent still being the girl in the team while Vyxsin tries desperately to keep her girlfri...err, boyfriend in check. The Globetrotters show that they have absolutely no class when they peed on the side of a national landmark. Zev continues to be useless for the team, the Cowboys continue to remain stupid and Mallory remains to be both annoying and adorable at the same time.

And oh, Kisha and Jen continue to be invincible but racing up to par with everybody. So there. Gary & Mallory were saved by a Non-Elimination so that means they have to do a Speed Bump in this leg. Ooh. Wonder where they're going next.

They're going to Schaanwald, Liechtenstein. Whew, that's a mouthful. If I was living there I would probably space out because I ran out of breath just by saying the city. And coincidentally, Liechtenstein is a really tiny country. Like puny, miniature, small. How did I know that? Why they have a Roadblock biking the entire area of the country. I kid you not.

Considering that you can bike the entire span of the country in less than half a day then yes, the country is pretty small. So off they bike, which by the way, takes 22km of biking to get to your end destination. Jen, Justin, Gary, The Smaller Globetrotter, Vyxsin and the dark haired cowboy opted to do the Roadblock. The funny thing about the entire Roadblock is that only Justin and Jet (I'm guessing) figured out the Roadblock. The rest copied off Justin and the answer got passed around.

Funnier thing is that only the cowboy had to repeat the Roadblock because his first answer was wrong. It must have sucked to watch every other team help each other out while you're sweating your ass off a motorized bicycle. Heh. But I'm not complaining. The Cowboys should have went home on the very first leg so I'm glad that they're finally on the verge of elimination.

BUT like every other thing that happens in TAR, a dreaded equalizer happens when they have to take a bus and train to a different country.

Off to Switzerland it is for the teams! Thankfully it wasn't a big of an equalizer since the cowboys are so far behind. I just love saying that. The cowboys are so far behind. Vyxsin however tells us a very good point that no matter how far behind the cowboys are, you can never feel safe because they always appear. Kind of like cockroaches that never die.

And in Switzerland, teams face a Detour!

Cheese or Wheeze. Basically, its an eating challenge versus a strength challenge. We already had an eating challenge before wherein both Zev/Justin and Kisha/Jen failed to complete and yet those two picked yet another eating challenge just because they're hungry. Its so weird when people do that. Just because you're hungry doesn't mean you'll do good on an eating challenge silly.

Almost instantly the sisters opted out and headed to the other Detour option. Everybody sans Zev/Justin did the Wheeze Detour which is smart. That's what I would have done too. The Detour was pretty much straightforward. Kent continued to be this big whiny baby, Kisha and Jen continue to be supportive of each other, Gary and Mallory went kind of invincible the entire Detour, the Globetrotters continue to suck whenever nobody's helping them and the Cowboys continue to be behind everybody else.

And there's a Double U-Turn in this leg by the way. Last time we saw this, drama ensued with Jaime and Cara being U-Turned AND the Globetrotters being U-Turned by Jaime and Cara. As we all know the redheads got eliminated so the suspense of this U-Turn is substantial. Who will get U-Turned? Who will U-Turn who?

At first nobody wanted to use the damn thing. They were either in front or they don't need to do so. Until the Globetrotters came along and U-Turned the Cowboys. EPIC.

And basically since the next Route Marker told the teams to head over to the Pit Stop, that means the end of the Cowboys. They arrived in last place,

and eliminated subsequently. TAR however does a montage of them and plays their theme music as the credits roll. Obviously the race producers wanted them to win but alas, no cigar for them.

Next week, the teams batter on Mt. Matterhorn and the bigger Globetrotter bitches about something. Should be fun!

American Idol 10 - 21st Century

I seem to get lazier and lazier with blogging but oh well. The show must go on as they say. This week's theme is the 21st century so meaning we're going to get songs that we actually know a lot. The theme alone got me excited because I'm roaring to see what kind of songs they're going to perform on stage. BUT before we get to the actual performances of the Top 7, the first 6 people that got eliminated first (Ashton, Karen, Thia, Naima, Pia and Paul) get to perform on stage.

"So What" - P!nk

I seriously have no idea who made them sing 'So What' since it doesn't fit any of them. It just went on and on and on and being this one huge clusterfuck. Even Pia couldn't save it. And with Paul's voice basically overpowering the other five women its just ugh. I was so tempted to close the player right then and there but thank God, it was over and off to the performances.

Scotty McCreery - "Swingin"

Ah yes, the one trick pony boy has finally lost its magic. Whatever spell he has over the judges is finally over and they finally see him what I've been saying the past few weeks is that he is boring. And this one is no exception. I give him his good voice and his charisma but this was just normal. Like a country style hodown or something. I don't know if that's the right term but whatever. That's how I saw this one. (7/10)

James Durbin - "Uprising"

I just have to say this first before any critique: MARCHING BAND FTW! Like seriously. James has thought outside the box for so many times already (yes, I know that most of his acts have been done by artists outside of Idol) and he never ceases to amaze me. I could do less with the screaming as always, that's a huge no no for me but the singing itself with the stanzas was pretty good. (9/10)

Haley Reinhart - "Rolling in the Deep"

One word: amazing. Haley has a lot of ups and downs in this competition but I do think this is where her niche is. Her voice is just amazing and its perfect for this song. Please stay as long as you can Haley because you are talented. (10/10)

Jacob Lusk - "Dance with My Father"

Emotional wise, I felt it. But again, I'll say it once more that Jacob's voice is just not that good. The deepness in his voice is good for gospel songs and church choirs and all that but on the big stage wherein he has to sings pop, rnb and all that, its not good at all. And I really don't like it whenever somebody preaches on the show which Jacob does week after week. Nothing against him but it gets kinda iffy. (7/10)

Casey Abrams - "Harder to Breathe"

When I heard that Casey is going to do Maroon 5, I got excited. Like literally excited. But I was severely disappointed with this performance. Adam Levine to me is a really good singer and Casey is nowhere near him. I get that he did a more rock version but to me it was not good. I get his charm and his surprise factor but vocal wise, its a no. (7/10)

Stefano Langone - "Closer"

Stefano definitely brought the sexiness in this song. Vocally, not the best, but performance wise, I would definitely remember it by far. The sexy moves, the eye contact, it was all there. Stefano worked it out. (8/10)

Lauren Alaina - "Born to Fly"

I'm sorry but what the heck is this song. Anyway, not a huge fan of this, not the best way to close the show. I would much rather have Stefano go last than this one. It was a mess of a song for me, I didn't like it. Sorry. (7/10)

Well that's that. Results show next!

Glee - The Legion of Evil!

I was really, really, really, really and I mean REALLY excited that Glee finally has a new episode out. After such a long hiatus, I can't wait to hear them sing numbers, duets and whatever but this left a kind of bitter taste in my mouth so to speak just because I felt like this was such a filler episode. There was no moving forward in storyline other than Will and Emma moving back together and Sue going back to hating the Glee club and trying to destroy them.

But what can you do. I only watch this just because there are scenes that make me laugh. Like the following for instance:

The Legion of Evil

This consists of Sandy, Terri and Dustin who now go by the following codenames: Pink Dagger for Sandy, Honey Badger for Terri and Sgt. Handsome for Dustin.

Now its very funny just because these three cannot be more unstable. I don't know much about Dustin other than he's the coach of Vocal Adrenaline but Sandy and Terri are shoo-ins for being the crazy psychotic person of the year. Sadly, only Pink Dagger and Sgt. Handsome went into full mode in this episode. I always have a soft spot for Terri just because she's a shrilling shrew and she admits to it. Lol.

Sunshine Corazon

I am happy for Sunshine for only one thing and that is her voice. All By Myself was really, really good, her voice is just spectacular, there's no denying that.

Her acting however, despite it getting better, still sucks. Haha. I'm sorry but other than her throwing jabs at herself for being short and having 600+ followers on twitter, there's nothing that happened much in the episode that warrants her a wow award.

Santana Kicks Ass

I always love Santana and her kick ass attitude and this time there's no exception. Sure, it was less than five minutes of badass but she still delivered. Out of everybody in the cast, she's one that I am always happy to see because clearly she steals the show.

The Decathalon Team

One quick trivia about yours truly. When I was in High School, I have always dreamed of joining an Academic Decathalon. Just because it sounds so cool and people seem to be in awe with you when you go on and win. Lol.

Anyway, I'm not so much in love with the whole idea of this but the fact that Tina and Mike actually having lines this episode makes it so worth it. Its good to finally see, no, hear them speak in an episode, its uncanny that they're still part of the show. And also Brittany knowing the answers of so many topics was a bit questionable.

And now that we got past the good parts, let's move on to the not so good parts.

Holly Holliday

The good thing is that we won't be seeing Holly for at least a couple of episodes before Ryan Murphy thinks otherwise.

I love this character, don't get me wrong, I think Gwyneth is a great person to cast for Holly but she got shafted by the entire script because the whole Holly - Will thing moved way too fast. She didn't want a relationship but she got into one with Will and then she moves away into a new sub job in a different city and now she's gone, I mean, what's the deal right? I still find her hilarious and her solo this week was great but its also good that we're going to get a little less of her now.

Mercedes

The whole deal with Mercedes this episode was just out of the blue. She used to be this badass, don't take no for an answer type of girl and now she's all timid and self-conscious? What the heck happened?

Its good that she got screentime but it shouldn't be this way. It doesn't feel like her and the way she acted the entire episode was just cringe worthy as well. I didn't like her the entire episode one bit. I do give her props for her vocal talent though. She finally showed to me that she is a singer. Good for her. Let's just hope she gets a better storyline soon.

Tina's song gets shafted .... AGAIN

When Tina announced that she was going to sing something, I got excited. Because the last song she sang was My Funny Valentine and that bombed because she cried the entire time.

And now she gets another chance and once again, she flakes out. She never got to finish her solo which is a shame because she is a good singer. She got better and the writers seem to think otherwise. Yes, we know that she's sensitive and all that but all I want is for her to finish a song. Is that hard to ask? Like seriously?

So there you go. Glee failed to deliver this episode but I'm still going to watch the next episode. Why? Because this is my guilty pleasure. Other than Amazing Race, Survivor, American Idol, Big Bang Theory, Vampire Diaries, HIMYM, and the list goes on. Okay, never mind.

Until next week!

Catching Up on TV

So it seems like I missed a week of blogging all thanks to so many things happening in work and in my life. So I present a quick round of updates.

This would happen often if ever I do get insanely busy. This is "In a Nutshell".

The week kicked off with The Amazing Race. Teams stayed in India and things got a lot more chaotic. Ron failed to keep up with at the Roadblock, The Cowboys continue to be stupid, Kent continued to be a jackass to almost everybody in the race including Vyxsin, The Globetrotters are still arrogant, noisy and annoying and Mallory continues to be lovable.

But sadly, we said goodbye to father-daughter team Ron & Christina. I was rooting for them too. Sad.

And then off to Survivor: Redemption Island wherein Ometepe continues to be Rob's slave, Phillip continues to be an ass, Zapatera continues to be picked off one by one as we saw Mike and David get voted out in back to back to Tribal Councils. Three people in Redemption Island? How will that fare out.

And finally, American Idol. Everybody amazed me as always except for Jacob who I don't know why he's still there. Stefano is showing some growth but he's still just a pretty face, Lauren and Haley got the special treatment for being the only two girls left in the competition, Scotty as always remains country and Paul didn't get enough votes to save himself. Guess the smile didn't work out huh?

And that's that!

Survivor: Redemption Island - This Game Respects Big Moves

That pretty much summed up the entire episode. Last week, Sarita got voted out over David and is sent to Redemption Island to battle against Matt who has yet to lose a duel. This week, the two tribes finally merged into one right after Matt beats Sarita in the duel (surprise there) and gets back in the game.

Yes, you heard it right. Matt finally gets back into the game and gets to the merge. Lucky bastard that's what he is. But the funny thing is that Matt gets voted out because he told Rob that he considered flipping to Zapatera. I mean, how stupid is that? I don't know. Matt's a good guy but he is so not cut out for this game.

Let's look at the players one by one shall we?

Boston Rob is clearly running the show. Like he did in All-Stars, Rob has in complete control over Grant, Natalie and Ashley. And he has done that without even lifting a finger. He also has Philip still believing in him and Andrea scared out of her wits to make a move. So even if I don't like Rob, he has pretty much the game on the palm of his hand right now. All he has to do is to get rid of the Zapateras and its a done deal for him. That simple.

Mike really shone this episode because he knows he's on the chopping block. Not only did he rocked at the Immunity Challenge, he was the one talking with Matt in hopes of getting him to flip. He did his best but obviously he's still a threat so his chances of not getting voted out at the next council is slim to none. If he does go to Redemption Island, I really hope he beats Matt. I really do.

Phillip is surviving because of Ometepe's numbers. He got lucky because his tribe didn't lose a challenge after Kristina got voted out because he was the next one to go. But the way he's acting, his shtick is slowly losing steam and he's going into Coach territory more and more. Coach was entertaining to say the last, Phillip is just rude and obnoxious.

Andrea, bless her little heart but her voice is just annoying. I'm sorry but its like she's squeaking everytime she speaks. No wonder she didn't have any confessionals for the past few episodes. BUT with that being said, I think she got gypped all thanks to Matt. She was so ready to flip and then Matt not only bailed on her, he threw her under the bus. Shame. I would have liked to see Andrea go far in this game but alas, no such luck for her I believe.

Matt, bless his little heart and soul for being so righteous but this is SURVIVOR for crying out loud. Its just painful to see people like this on the show because you know that they are so nice, so humble, so down to earth that they are just stupid in this game. After being voted out twice now, I don't think it would be fair for him to reach the finals. Its not. Its totally not.

And congratulations to Natalie for winning Immunity! And....that's about it.

I'm not going to go into further detail about the others like Ashley, Grant, Steve, Julie, Ralph and David because they were pretty much non-existent throughout the episode. I would have not mentioned Natalie either if she didn't win Immunity.

Until next week Survivor-natics!

American Idol 10 - Lack of Passion is Unforgivable

Who is my favorite? After this week's results show, I have nobody. Like literally, nobody to root for now. I have to change favorites this early in the season and it sucks big time. Why you may ask? Its because America decided to send Pia Toscano home. Yes, you read it right. Pia Toscano is out of American Idol.

Now I made my prediction of the Bottom Three or at least who I felt should be in the Bottom Three would be Casey, Jacob and Stefano. Well at least I got two out of the three right.

The Bottom Three

With this Bottom Three, you would think that Stefano would be the one going home. Well for one thing, Ryan announced that Jacob is indeed safe.

Which leaves us with Pia and Stefano and all of us at home, myself included, are ready for Stefano to come home. After all, all he has going for is his charm and charisma. But color me shocked when Ryan announced that Pia is the one going home.

Even Stefano is in shock. And the shock faces continue. Let's see them shall we?

All three judges are shocked and I think JLo summed up everybody's feelings, everybody except Stefano and his family of course and probably James too, by saying about Pia's sudden departure: "I have no idea what's happened here. I'm shocked, I'm angry, I don't even know what to say."

And Steven really put it out by stating: "I don't know America man, mistake is one thing but lack of passion is unforgivable." So, so true.

So we say goodbye to one of this season's really good talents, Pia Toscano.

Farewell Pia

On a sidenote, I can't imagine what Stefano must have felt all throughout. Just the look on his face when Pia was singing was full of guilt like he knows he should have went home over Pia.

Yes, you should have went home buddy

*Sigh*

American Idol 10 - Rock 'n Roll!

And its yet another week of Idol! After the very sad elimination of Thia and Naima last week, something I forgot to blog about, we're left with 9 people and yes, ever since the Top 13 began, all who left have been women. So its either a conspiracy or who knows.

Tonight's theme is from the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame so if I have to guess the person to beat with this genre would be James. We'll see if this will hold up starting with Jacob.

Jacob Lusk - Man in The Mirror

Its good but like I said in the beginning I'm not a Jacob fan and he kind of contradicted himself with this one. He didn't want to sing 'Let's Get It On' because its suggestive and yet he thrusted his hips on stage like there's no tomorrow. It was good don't get me wrong but I like the others better. (8/10)

Haley Reinhart - Piece of My Heart

Haley went back to her growls which was too much I believe but she has her stride, she finally found her place in the competition and she's not letting that go. I still like last week much more than this one but this one's pretty good. (9/10)

Casey Abrams - Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

I'm torn with this one. Its more of I like it but then again I don't really because I felt nothing. Its a strange performance for me, kind of awkward unlike last week. Not my favorite out of the bunch. (8/10)

Lauren Alaina - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

Definitely a whole lot better than last week but I'm still not wowed. I remember watching season one on Youtube and I came across Kelly Clarkson slaying that song and Lauren didn't do that unfortunately. (9/10)

James Durbin - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

I love how he showcased his vulnerable side, his more emotional side but his voice was pretty weak with this performance. What brought this for me is I felt his emotions in this one, its really heartfelt but as far as his voice is concerned, its not in par with the other past performances. (8/10)

Scotty McCreery - That's All Right

The whole performance sounded more country than rock for me which is as always right up Scotty's alley. The thing that made me like this is his swagger, his charisma, his adorkable attitude while singing. So yeah, I liked it. (9/10)

Pia Toscano - River Deep, Mountain High

I am in awe. Not only did she did an up-tempo song, she slayed it. Really, really, really, reeeeeeeeeally good. (10/10)

Stefano Langone - When a Man Loves a Woman

The falsetto, not that good. As always Stefano gives a heartfelt performance but his voice is not that good compared to the others. His attitude up there makes it all up which makes me like him but if we're going on voice alone, I don't really like it. (8/10)

Paul McDonald - Folsom Prison Blues

Paul entertained me! OMG. He really did. The whole performance made me smile, dance along with him, cheer and all that. Loved it. (10/10)

So surprise, surprise my favorites of this night are Pia and Paul while James who I expected would rock out didn't do so which I felt fell short. The bottom I think would be Jacob, Stefano and Casey.