Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own
This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]
I am the anti-Scrappy. I was bored by this season from the very beginning and it just kept going strong with the boring straight through to Todd FTW. I coulda had a V-8.
Although, of that final three, Todd was my number one choice. And he really worked the jury well. In fact, both Todd and Courtney had great jury performances, some of the better ones I've seen anyway. While Amanda had a crap-tastic jury meltdown. (And now I have to love PG just a little bit for calling her on the doe-eyes!)
The jury wasn't even amusingly bitter and/or crazy. Just bland. When the best you can work up on is Lunch Lady outrage . . . well, it's no "snakes and rats" or even an Edgardo "Don't talk to me when I ask you to talk to me!" And when they brought the whole group back, I swear I didn't remember who half of them where.
Bring on the half-stars, I say. Although, I am a little bit perturbed that Survivor is now stealing ideas from Real World/Road Rules challenges (Fresh Meat, anyone?). I am hoping for some good folks to come back. My dream would be to bring back all of the Aitu 4 + Jonathan(but I don't think anyone but Ozzy would be down), a little Earl, a little Yau Man, a little Ian and yes, even Tom (dirty bird, but that is one fine looking man). Throw in a little Dani, a little Hogeboom(?), a whole lotta Cirie. That would be fun. Of course, we'll probably get Rocky and Candace and a whole lotta other douchebags.
Bored? But this season had the whole Jamie/fake immunity idol deliciousness. And James with no shirt. And Crazy Dave.
Bored. I thought the Jamie/fake immunity idol was dull as dishwater. By the time she made it to tribal, it seemed clear that she was 99.9% convinced that it wasn't an idol and just played it in a "What the hell? Just in case." kinda way. And then Probst, being the he-man, woman-hater that he is, decided to make a big stink about it. Crazy Dave? Swear to bejeebus that I did not even remember who he was when he first came out. And then when they showed the naked thing, I just thought Hatch did it first and did it better. James was very, very pretty. But this was a man who had not one, but two idols and couldn't find a way to make that suspenseful in any way. Aaron? Who? Sherea? Who? WWE girl? Had totally forgotten her until she showed up again. And the end pre-ordained from the time of the merge.
So. painfully. bored.
both Todd and Courtney had great jury performances, some of the better ones I've seen anyway. While Amanda had a crap-tastic jury meltdown. (And now I have to love PG just a little bit for calling her on the doe-eyes!)
I totally agree with this. I'd say I was pro-Amanda before the jury but she really didn't do herself any favors there. And, before the jury, I would have put good money down on Courtney getting zero votes. The minute it ended, my housemate and I knew she had pulled in at least one or two.
I think it was a pretty good season, although I hate the concept of the immunity idols and how they work.
I really would like to see a twist that makes it more about surviving. It just doesn't seem like people have any real incentive to keep the workhorse/survivalist/strongman and you end up with people like Courtney in the finale. For example, I would love to have them know upfront that they weren't merging, or that they had to live with the jury members after being voted off. Anything that would really change
the game from the standard "get an alliance of four, vote off the strong people around merge-time" that it has become.
or that they had to live with the jury members after being voted off.
Oooh. That could be fun! I agree that they need to shake things up some. The immunity idol hardly ever pays off. (Hi, Terry. I'm talking to you!)
Is anyone watching the Clash of the Choirs show?
Ooh, no, but I meant to. Is it any good?
Did anyone else watch America's Next Great Band? We've been kvetching about it at the music store for its whole run. It conveniently aired on Friday nights before our Saturday morning lessons.
I watched Clash of the Choirs. It was too much filler for me, but the four choirs were actually not bad. Patty's choir blew the other ones out of the water, though. They broke it the hell on down.
The "judging" was less than useless.
On the whole, I am bitter that this is taking my Heroes timeslot.
The judging was useless, and I really think the competition is going to come down to "which charity pulls the American heartstrings the most." I mean... sick babies! homeless people! cancer victims! battered women! soldiers and their families! It's tug-a-palooza.
I was least impressed with Lachey's choir. I thought Shelton's was surprisingly good, and Rowland's was ok. At this point, though, Bolton's choir is my favorite. I don't know if it's just the particular arrangement, but I thought theirs was both the most aurally interesting and the most "choir"-like. I can't deny that Patty's choir broke it down like a fraction, but much like fractions, there was nothing there I haven't seen before. A pair of strong sopranos and not much for everyone else to do does not a choir make.
ION, I can't even believe I care this much.
Well, I wasn't expecting Patty's choir to be other than a fairly strong church choir, which is usually a couple of really strong sopranos and other folks who can carry a tune. It was all very Patty-fied.
I thought Nick's was by far the weakest choir, too.