Hi, everybody, sorry so late today. I'm actually enjoying a day off, but had to get on to recap last night's Survivor! Hope you watched, things are really getting good.
Over in good ole' Gabon, Africa, the Kota tribe was feeding its faces, and Randy couldn't have been happier about (Randy was constantly worried about the intake of food when he was with the Fang tribe). Apparently Kota has an abundance of fish, although Randy still fears he will be the first one out if they lose immunity.
The Fang tribe spent their morning watching an elephant across the river. Ace and Matty dared to get closer in their canoe ... oh, and Ace knows Sugar has the Immunity Idol.

The Fruit Flies Challenge
Which brings us to the Reward Challenge, a fruit toss was held and whichever tribe got the most fruit past the other tribe, weight-wise, won not only the fruit, but a live herb garden as well.
Fang got 16 lbs. of fruit across, but was agani bested by Kota, which garnered 18 lbs.
Kota elected to send Sugar back to Exile Island and stupid Dan actually told them why -- they think Sugar's got the Idol and hope to flush it out if her tribe votes for her, thus putting the idol back in play ... never give your strategy to the other tribe!
GC's fed up with everything and is letting everyone know. He disappears right before they have to leave for the immunity challenge. Ace is ticked off because everyone is expending their energy trying to find GC. He shows up in the canoe just in time ...

However, the next challenge involved throwing giant wicker balls down a slope into slots worth various amounts. Hence the tribe with the greatest numeric amount wins. Each tribe has a member blindfolded at the bottom trying to block the ball before it can score. Another tribe member has to be the "eyes" and guide them in the right direction.

Sugar was not the best choice to be the guide and Ace suffers greatly for it! Randy is the guide for Kota and in addition to doing a great job, he also yells commands to Ace, confusing him enough to lose the challenge.
Back at the Fang camp, GC tells Matty he wants to go home. Matty tells everyone else and they decide to grant his wish.
Later on, Crystal goes thru Sugar's bag and finds the immunity idol. Then she tries to get everyone to vote for Sugar, thinking it's the best time to blindside her, thus getting rid of the idol altogether.
In the end, the Fang tribe spoke and gave GC his wish. Yeah! He had to go ... he was nothing but a hinderance to the tribe and the game.

Bye Bye G Sizzle

To watch this episode or for more info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/


Weekend Watch: Tonight at 8 pm NBC rolls out its latest epic drama, based on explorer Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe sets sail for the New World and becomes straded on an island in the premiere of this adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic novel.

Saturday brings great news for me over on the Food Network. Not only does Giada DeLaurentis have a new show, airing at 1 pm, called Giada at Home (c'mon guys, you all know you love Giada and her low-cut shirts), but my all-time foodie Ina Garten returns with an all new season of the Barefoot Contessa following at 1:30 pm. Just in time for lunch ... how easy was that?

The Barefoot Contessa
For those of you who don't know, Garten, former owner of the culinary store of the same name in Southampton, N.Y. -- Yes, those Hamptons -- is a best-selling author and all around entertaining guru. If you're lucky enough to count her as a friend or neighbor, your parties will be the toast of the town! And nothing's too hard to make, I have a few of her books and have made several of her dishes and they've all turned out great!


The Lovely Giada
DeLaurentis, the grand-daughter of legendary director Dino DeLaurentis (King Kong '70s remake), is a well-known chef in Los Angeles. She specializes in Italian cuisine and her dishes are almost as easy and elegant at Garten's. And she's a favorite among male Food Network viewers for more than just her cooking. See for yourself ...
For more info on either show visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Later Saturday at 9 pm on Lifetime, Harry Connick Jr. returns to acting in the premiere of Living Proof. It's the story of the doctor who helped develop the breast-cancer drug Herceptin. I don't know how interesting the movie will be, but I sure can stand to look at him for two hours.

Love Ya Harry

Of course, over on CMT at 9 pm it's another wacky episode of My Big Redneck Wedding, following by more auditions for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team. This week, the cheerleaders start boot camp.

And you can pretty much count on seeing guest host Josh Brolin bring his recent character W. to life on Saturday Night Live, NBC 11:30 pm.
According to people.com Brolin said, "Expect a lot of fun and some surprising moments. There's a good chance the W. (himself) may appear in a skit -- you'll have to watch to find out!"

Halloween Horror Watch: Tonight over on FX it's scary incidents on the road beginning at 7 pm with Joy Ride and followed at 9 pm by Wrong Turn. Both flicks are good for some Friday night fun -- and they're free. I wouldn't have paid to see either in the theater, but what the heck ... there's a few thrills for all.

But if you really want to be scared, click on over to TNT at 8 or 10 pm for two airings of The Ring! The generic TV Guide description of this one goes "video is linked to deaths of several teens, so a reported investigates."
Well, that's pretty basic, but this movie is absolutely chilling. It's a good, solid, creepy story throughout, but what makes it great is the last 10 minutes, when you actually find out how the video kills people!
The first time I saw this (on DVD, thank God it wasn't in the theater), it was around 1 am (the ending, I mean) and I had to stay up 2 more hours before I could calm down enough to turn out the lights and go to bed! And, if you watch it on a big screen TV (which is what I have), it makes it that much worse!


In the News: Apparently, Mad Men may be on its last legs, so enjoy it while you can. After making history as the first basic cable seriesa to every win the Emmy for Best Drama, Mad Men has yet to be renewed for another season.
I already told you that I gave this show up two weeks ago. I loved the first season, but the second did nothing for me. And others must feel the same way because ratings have really slipped.
The NY Post reports today that there is no scheduled start date for shooting Season 3, no scripts are written and the creator hasn't been rehired yet. If AMC doesn't want it, there is talk that it could move to another network. We'll see ...

The Major Players of Mad Men

Also reported in the Post, Fox and Major League Baseball have agreed to a 15-minute delay in the start of a World Series Game in order to carry in informercial by Barack Obama. That's a little UnAmerican, isn't it -- interrupting America's past time during the World Series, no less, for an infomercial?
If there is a Game Six, it would start at 8:35 pm instead of the scheduled 8:20 start time to allow for this.

Have a great weekend!

Charm School Girls

Ok, I'm gonna try to keep it short and sweet today, wish me luck.Last night, I caught up on VH1's latest skankfest Rock of Love Charm School (originally aired Sunday at 9 pm, but will undoubtedly repeat all week). This show is a carbon copy of last year's Flava of Love Charm School, changing out Monique as hostess, for Sharon Osbourne.
And instead of the "ladies" from Flava of Love, this one features the "ladies" of Brett Michael's Rock of Love. Fourteen of the worst of the worst from Rock's two seasons gathered at some mansion in Los Angeles to battle it out charm school-style for a chance at winning $100,000 (yeah, that's about $60,00 after taxes - it's not gonna go as far as they're hoping). Of course, one can't deny that the publicity one gets from this show won't help (hurt) a career ...
In either case, it's up to Sharon to turn these sorry subjects into "ladies." Good Luck!
All the faves are back: Raven, Jessica, Kristy Jo, Destiny, Rodeo, superdrunk Courtney (she passed out the first day on Rock of Love and did it again last night), Brandi C., Brandi M., Angelique, Megan, Dallas and yes, season one runner-up Heather (who "loved" Brett so much she actually got his name tattooed on the back of her neck).
I've already written too much regarding this mess. But, just to let you know, at the end of every excruciating episode, one contestant will be expelled from Charm School and last night it was the aforementioned drunk Courtney. Hey, at least Sharon arranged for her to go to rehab!
Don't waste your time. It was really bad ...But just in case you don't want to heed my warning, you can check it out at http://blog.vh1.com/2008-09-08/the-charm-school-rock-of-love-girls-cast-the-first-season-ladies/

Over on ABC at 10 pm, Denny Crane continued his hilarious shenanigans on Boston Legal. Who'd ever thought that William Shatner could be so funny and entertaining! He totally makes the show, along with James Spader.
Spader, who started out his career playing the worst teen villians in John Hughes' movies, is the last person I would've thought I would like. But, hey, if I'm ever accused of a crime, I totally want his Alan Shore to defend me!
Don't miss the opportunity to catch this fine show while it enjoys its last season. For info visit http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/bostonlegal/index?pn=index

Shatner as the wacky Crane

So, moving on to tonight: It's the return of Fox's superhit Fringe! I found myself really missing this show last week (it wasn't on due to the debate). Tonight's episode finds dangerous and deadly occurrences following a man who has the ability to harness electricity. Dr. Bishop (the superb John Noble) enlists homing pigeons to help him break the case. Fringe starts at 9 pm. For info or to watch previous eps visit
http://www.fox.com/fringe/

Over on CBS at the same time, Aussie hunk Simon Baker stars in the second ep of the new hit The Mentalist - When a high school girl's body washes up on the beach, CBI investigator Patrick Jane (Baker) sets a trap to get a group of surfers to turn on one another and reveal what really happened.
I haven't checked out this one yet, but coworkers enjoyed last week's show. For info visit
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/


The "Real" Housewives

At 9 pm Bravo will bring the rich biches back - I mean, The Real Housewives of Atlanta - for their second episode. I have to admit, this is my kind of reality TV. You just have to marvel at the way these broads can spend money! And, of course, money doesn't buy happiness, as is well illustrated on this show! Check it out http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php

Following at 10 pm is the season finale of The Rachel Zoe Project. This show just caught my attention about two weeks on the recommendation of a coworker and I love it! It's ending way too soon for me. Rachel Zoe is a "celebrity stylist" and spends most of her time running all over the world (she's based in LA), finding the "hero" dress that some big star needs to wear to some awards show, or even for a whole press tour.
Tonight it looks like Rachel may have to fire one of her assistants! Will is be mean girl Taylor or nice guy Brad? My vote's for Taylor, she's really been making things difficult for Brad lately, and he's always stepped up to the challenge. Of course, probably no one will get fired, it was just a ploy to make us all watch!
For info visit http://www.bravotv.com/The_Rachel_Zoe_Project/season/1//index.php
Mean Girl Taylor


For those of you who asked yesterday, CMT will be rebroadcasting last weekend's episode of My Big Fat Redneck Wedding tonight at 10:30 pm. Enjoy the wacky redneck nuptials of Jeanne and Phil (refer to yesterday's post for more info). Just prior from 9-10:30 CMT is airing the first two episodes of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team. A fine show that both guys and girls can enjoy - for totally different reasons, you'll see what I mean.
Visit http://www.cmt.com/ for information on either show.
Jeanne & Phil tying the knot


And for the hopeless romantic (girls, you know who I mean), E! presents a favorite tonight at 8 pm. Sandra Bullock stars in Hope Floats, as a jilted wife who moves back home with her mother, and is courted by an old boyfriend ... and if you've seen this one, you know who I mean - Justin Matisse, played breathlessly by the gorgeous Harry Connick Jr.
If you haven't seen this one, drop everything and watch it - ladies, you won't be sorry. And if Justin's just not enough, tune in to Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC at 12:35 am, where Harry will be promoting his new Lifetime movie Living Proof, premiering Saturday night at 9 pm.
Dreamy Harry Connick Jr.


For the football crowd, get your fix on FX at 7:30 pm with Invincible, the gridiron saga of Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a 30-year-old sandlot player who earned a spot on the 1976 Philadelphia Eagles. I've seen it, and I recommend it. Enjoy.

Of course, you can always go out and rent/buy Memorial Day Weekend 2008 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, out today! I know a lot of people have issues with this one (not to mention what the creators of South Park did last week), but I enjoyed it. It's always nice to see Indy in action again ...

I know I said short and sweet, but just a little news ... Terrence Howard is officially out for the Iron Man sequel. He's already been replaced by Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark's best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine.
According to RopeofSilicon.com, sources close to the deal with Howard say negotiations fell through over financial differences. Careful Terrence, you may be sorry ...
Handsome Howard


And last, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, what were you thinking? I'm talking about the tell-all book coming out today by former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick. As usual, with "celebrity bios," something scandalous must always be revealed - I mean, why would we want to read it if there wasn't something juicy being offered (remember Barbara Walters scandalous affair with a gentleman of color?).

Anyway, McCormick apparently describes a teen life of debauchery that includes romancing her TV brother Barry "Greg" Williams (who also admits to dating TV mom Florence Henderson for God's sakes), dates with Michael Jackson and Steve Martin (Steve, who knew?), hitting wild Hollywood parties at the Playboy mansion and the home of Sammy Davis Jr., cocaine binges, trading sexual favors for drugs that lead to unwanted pregnancies, and blowing an interview with Steven Spielberg because she was high. Need I go on?
Not enough to get me to read it, but just in case you're interested, "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice" hits bookstores today.

Short and sweet, I'll keep trying ...