Watching Reality TV

As usual, here are the recaps in case you missed last night’s show:

• Big Brother Craze
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

Tonight was full of eviction goodness.  Am I the only one tired of all the “catching up” we have to do each episode?  Gah.   Jessica is pretty upset that Eric didn’t use the Veto.  She’s actually nearly crying.  Then Amber shows up and starts her waterworks almost instantly.  Amber’s argument is pretty flimsy.  Eric is pretty truthful when saying he hasn’t decided if he’s voting out Amber or not.  Cuz you know, America hasn’t told him yet.  And for some reason, Zach is hardcore campaigning to get… second place?  What the f?  This guy is dumber than a bag of hammers.  Amber and Jameka are turning up the heat big time on Eric.  These so-called “good girls” are pulling out all the stops and half-truths they can come up with to try to turn her against him.  Which… GRR.  It’d be one thing if what they were saying were true but it’s not.  Not when it comes to Jessica, at least.  This is pretty shoddy strategizing, and Jessica is foolish to even entertain the notions.  Amber goes right to work on Daniele, swearing on her daughter’s life again, and claims she’s as close to Daniele as anyone in the house (including Jameka!).   Desperation smells pretty bad, ya’ll.

America has chosen (big shock) Amber for Eric to get evicted.  Eric tries to mend fences with Jessica.  He wants to know what Jameka and Amber were talking to her about.  She eventually fesses up on their scheming against him and he’s understandably miffed.  He literally tries to talk her down from her doubts.   I love how Dick tells Jessica and Eric about Zach’s master plan to get HoH (riiiiight), put up Jameka and Jessica and backdoor Eric.  Eric then fills Dick in on Zach’s trying to get Jessica to backdoor Dick or Daniele.  Are they getting it now?  Do they realize that these people are DESPERATE to save themselves and will say anything?

Julie interviews the houseguests for a little while, including asking why Dick spits so much.  Dick has no good answer, he just does it.  Makes sense, I guess.  For whatever reason, we hear from Jameka’s pastor.  Her pastor.  And she’s not even nominated this week.  So… what?   We also hear from her sister.  The expected noises are heard and blah blah blah, good person.  Yawn.

Cut to Eric using his charm on Jessica and we hear from Eric’s brother who has been devoted to watching Eric play this summer.  And the truth comes out about Eric’s so-called “girlfriend”.  This girl, Cheryl, is apparently a girl he was on again and off again with four years.  Apparently they were “off again” and before the show he tried to get back with Cheryl but she wouldn’t have him.  Cut to Cheryl talking about how much she’s missing Eric and cheering for him and BAAARRRFF!  Yeah, I see the writing on the wall here.  This Cheryl is hoping to ride his coattails here somehow and I think that’s pretty pathetic.  Julie interviews Jessica and we get the expected answers.  Coming up… the live eviction!

Each nominee gets their final say.  I must say that Zach is getting more and more on my nerves.  He such a putz.  Amber says she’s going to try not to cry and what does she do?  She CRIES.  I’m so done with her.  Boo!  Hiss!  Yeah, she’s gone.  Jameka looks pretty shaken up, which is odd for her.  She must know Amber is dust.  Eric has earned $30,000 so far!  Woo!  So Amber is told the “bad” news and sent packing.   Jameka is devastated but the rest of them look vaguely relieved.  No more Wahmber!  This is a GREAT thing!  LOL, Amber thinks she was evicted because no one wanted to be against her in the final 2.  WHAT?  Oh, her delusions are what I’m going to miss most.  She blames Eric most, which she probably should but not for the reasons she thinks.

The HoH competition is basically set up so that whoever really wants HoH the most can probably win it fairly easily.  Think Jen’s miraculous win in week two. It’s a long competition, so the show ends before the HoH has been decided.  Through the miracle of the internet (and the beauty of the site that is Big Brother Craze), I know who won, and you can too!  If you want to know, click over and check out the spoilery goodness!

“Dancing with the Stars” premieres on September 24, and ABC has finally announced the celebrity cast that we can expect to see waltz across our living room televisions. Actually, host Tom Bergeron, judge Carrie Ann Inaba and winner Apollo Anton Ohno spilled the beans on “Good Morning America” the other day. It’s an interesting lineup, with some surprises as far as I’m concerned. Shoot, I may just go ahead and watch this year.

• Wayne Newton (if you don’t know who he is, I can’t help you)
• Marie Osmond (again, if you don’t know then you’ve got bigger problems)
• Jennie Garth (of former “Beverly Hills, 90210″ fame)
• Sabrina Bryan (a Disney “Cheetah Girl”)
• Melanie Brown (formerly known as “Scary Spice”)
• Jane Seymour (anyone remember “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”?)
• Hélio Castroneves (two time Indy 500 champion)
• Mark Cuban (dot com billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner)
• Floyd Mayweather Jr. (pro boxer)
• Cameron Mathison (soap opera star)
• Josie Maran (Sports Illustrated swimsuit model)
• Albert Reed (ex-surfer and Abercrombie and Fitch model)

And there you have it. I think there’s some interesting people on that list and I’ll be interested to see what they can do.

As always, we start with the recaps. Let the recapping commence!

• Big Brother Craze
• TV Squad
• Television without Pity
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

And now… what did I think? Well… Zach appears pretty bitter about his nomination which doesn’t wear well on him at all. Amber is predictably distraught and calling upon God’s power to save her. One thing I’ll be happy about after Thursday’s show is that I won’t ever have to watch her cry again. PRAISE JESUS! Daniele talks up Zach about how being nominated isn’t the end of the world. He’s not the smartest player to ever play the game by far here. The shower gargling? YIKES. Everyone keeps acting like these nominations are so earth-shattering but I think they’re pretty tame, don’t you? Jameka, widen your perspective just a touch please. For whatever reason, Amber believes she’s a pawn instead of a real target. Yeah… no.

Cut to footage of Eric and Jessica being cute. That’s always welcome when sandwiched in between footage of Amber and Jameka crying to God. Why she’s praying in Jessica’s HoH room, I have NO idea. Of course, Jessica comes in and is all confused about what in the heck Jameka is doing. I’d be like, “Go pray in your own room, girl.” Oh, and Jessica is “way into church, too”. Seriously, ya’ll! It’s true! Cheerleaders for Jesus!

Zach finally has a talk with Jessica, an opportunity to vent. And takes the chance to put in a few words against Dick and Daniele while he’s at it! Let’s backdoor them! Yeah! Jessica makes noises but you can tell she’s not feeling it. Zach, how have you been in this house THIS long with such a bad game?? Oh and I love Jessica’s “I’m too pretty to work” t-shirt. I think I need one of those.

It is finally revealed what Amber and Daniele got to do last week when they left the house. Wee! I’d report what happened but I think I slipped into a coma during that whole segment so I’ve got nothing. Daniele was upset she didn’t get to party with Nick, that’s all I know. Meanwhile, Eric is taking extra care of his breath with some Listerine. He’s hoping for some hot kissing action with Jessica, sounds like! Cue the cheesy music! Cue the lights! Cue the kissing! (Cue my gag reflex.) As Jessica said, “It’s about time!”

The players for the Veto competition are: Daniele, Zach, Jessica, Eric (thanks to Zach’s houseguest choice!), Amber and Jameka. Wee! I’m just glad that Eric finally gets to play for a freaking change. Dick is going to host the game (good choice there). Zach talks up Eric about backdooring Dick or Daniele. And much like Jessica, he makes the proper noises but yeah, no. The backyard is done up big time as a spooky swamp/forest. They need to feed a creepy looking “cat” rats that are hidden here and there throughout the yard. Fun! The long and short of it, Eric won! Yay, Eric! So what are they going to do? Is a Donato going to be backdoored? Oh the drama! In other news, sounds like the Donato’s want to get Jessica out. Huh?

So Eric gets his next task and he’s assigned “Jessica”! Big freakin’ shock. Talk about easy. Even he was expecting Dick to be the one he’d have to kiss. He got in a “peck” which given the gargling mouthwash he’d just injested, was kinda a letdown. BB even said the task was completed, but BARELY. Amber comes to the HoH and tearfully pleads her case. Wah wah wah. Go home already! Jessica and Eric discuss the benefits of putting up Dick or Daniele. Yeah, I can see how it’d be a good strategy this week. But… I don’t know. Will keeping the nominations change Dick and Daniele’s opinion of Jessica? Decisions, decisions.

So we get back to the POV ceremony. Jessica made it sound as though she’d rather Eric used the power of veto, perhaps to take off Amber? Eric, however, felt that America had made a decision about Amber by asking him to get her nominated so he didn’t want to change that. So as a result, he didn’t use the power of veto. Smart move? Or stupid one? Jessica seems okay with his choice. Dick and Daniele looked thrilled. Amber and Zach are pissed. Amber thinks he’s evil with no soul. Whatever, Wahmber. You’re so going home. And I don’t know if I’d take strategy tips from Zach, but whatever. Was it a smart move? I don’t know. You don’t want a situation where someone like Jameka, Amber or Zach wins Big Brother. I’d rather it be Dick or Daniele than them. I truly think the final four will be the Donato’s and Jessica and Eric. As of now, doesn’t look like that’s going to change any. We’ll have to see who wins HoH on Friday, though!

I’m sure all of you by now have heard of CBS’s new reality TV show, “Kid Nation”.   It’s a show that has 40 children let lose in a ghost town in the middle of New Mexico.  The children are then challenged to rebuild and run the town all on their own.  They have 40 days to sink or swim.  Unlike “Survivor”, there aren’t weekly eliminations and each child could go home whenever they wished.  Each child that finishes the entire series will be awarded $5,000 with a $20,000 bonus to the child voted the best participant of each episode.  This show has been drumming up some serious controversy, between questions about violating child labor laws, to parents outrage to questions over the safety of letting children cook/etc alone unsupervised.  In the midst of all this, “Kid Nation” is getting some great publicity and I doubt there’s too many people out there who haven’t heard of this new show (premiering September 19 at 8pm) and aren’t at least a little interested in checking it out and seeing what all the hubub is about.

Let’s do the standard recap lineup, shall we?

• Big Brother Craze
• TV Squad
• Television without Pity
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

Now, onto the good stuff.  Jessica is back in the HoH room!  Now she and Daniele are tied for most times as HoH.  The women are kind of kicking butt and taking names in this game aren’t they?  Boy, Jen sure went out on a sour note, didn’t she?  Of course, I get nervous when people say things like, “Never” and “Safe” at the beginning of a new HoH week, don’t you?  Dick and Eric both feel 100% safe.  Even Zach said he felt safe.  The ones who don’t feel safe are Amber and Jameka, rightly so I’m sure.  They’re praying, in case you couldn’t have guessed that yourself.

Eric and Jessica are involved in some pretty blatant flirting by now.   Goofballs.  They’re about the last couple I would have figured on cropping up in this house.  Eric knows his place, funnily enough, he admits that next to an ogre (Zach) and a 44 year old pervert (Dick), he looks pretty good.  Har!

I will have to admit, Jessica cheering/dancing squad is full of some strange looking women.  Or maybe it was just a strange picture.  There’s much speculation about Jen’s last remarks about Eric.  I somehow missed what was said so the significance is lost on me.  … Okay, a little sniffing around on Big Brother Craze (thanks, guys!) during the commercial revealed to me that Jen had said something to Amber about Eric having a girlfriend and not telling Jessica about it.  If he does, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

After the commercial, Eric is explaining things to Amber.  He’s upset that Jen’s little “fib” (is it a fib? do we know?) might upset his position with Jessica.  It doesn’t SOUND like he has a girlfriend, but more a girl acquaintance?  I’m thinking we need to hear from this girl in question what the real story is, don’t you?  Cut to Dick hassling Daniele about eating and taking her vitamins.  HA!  He nags her about everything, turns out, and after their “feud” she finds it odd.  Or rather, annoying.  He’s your parent, Daniele, he’s supposed to be annoying.  She seems kinda like a high maintenance brat doesn’t she?  Am I not totally reading this right or what?  Dick is obviously at least trying with her, but she’s just so “bershon” about it all.  Meanwhile, Eric and Jessica speculate that the fighting between them is fake and all for “show”.  I don’t know, that’s a tough one to call.  Jessica ponders maybe getting one evicted this week.  HMM!  Yeah, not likely.

Ooh!  Luxury challenge!  This sure beats food, as far as I’m concerned.  All the houseguests get duded up in their “outfits” and outside is a big bubble bath lookin’ sorta thing.  The winner gets a Big Brother shopping spree.  (Woo!)  To win, they have to get into their “birthday suit”.  That’s when everyone gets quiet.  It’s a big spelling sort of thing that does require some “disrobing”.  Girls still look unsure but the guys are “game on!”.  Amber gets naked super quick, surprisingly enough.  So does Daniele!  Woo!  Who cares about the guys, right?  I still can’t believe they had them get naked.  That’s hilarious.  The women won, surprisingly enough.  They don’t even to seem to care about getting dressed again too quickly.  Thankfully, Big Brother supplies them with robes to wear.   So the girls go on a major spree and it’s funny to watch them just tearing through these clothes and throwing them on.  Daniele probably ended up with the most clothes and even she admitted that she needs them less.

Now there’s talk about Amber being a model and she thinks the way she talks is one of her big selling points.  I’m sitting here going, “WHAT??”.  Mmm, right.  Zach tells Jessica she should put up Dick and Daniele.   Proving that he has no idea of the alliance, which is good.  He puts himself even ahead of Jameka, since she can’t win HoH (huh?).  Trying to save his booty is what he’s doing.  And America says that Eric should get Amber nominated.   Eric is all for that, since it’s a pretty easy task.  And his reasoning to Jessica for nominating her are good ones and rooted in truth so that’s good.  And now?  We need to decide who in the house that Eric should kiss.  HA!!  Dick!  Pick Dick!  Aww, you know they pick Jessica.  But STILL.  I think it’d be totally hilarious if people picked Dick.  Does this mean I’m disturbed?

So here come nominations and she says she’s looking to take out “power players”.  Somehow I truly doubt that.  Why can’t she call a spade a spade and admit she’s getting rid of the deadweight?  She put up Zach and Amber, of course.  I think that was a good move.  It was high time Zach was on the block.  And Amber, she’s an easy vote.  Now, depending on who wins the veto, the lineup could change but with each week that passes, unless the HoH wants to backdoor someone, the nominations are more and more likely to remain unchanged.   Amber?  CRYING.  Yeah.  Again.

First off, let’s not forget the all-important recaps.

• Big Brother Craze
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video.

If you were expecting some enormous shakeup in the house this week, then you were sorely mistaken during last night’s show. Despite Julie’s assuring us it had been an “explosive” week. Riiight. About the most explosive you got were Jen’s little temper fits. Anyhow, let’s get into the show.

Jen muses that Daniele is a liar which might not be entirely untrue but I don’t think she can really blame Daniele either. Still, didn’t believe Daniele for an instant when she assured Jen she was sorry. Right off, Jen gets into it with Dick claiming she’s not bitter when there’s her picture in the dictionary right next to the word “bitter”. She has a “meeting” with Daniele while she’s packing for her fabulous NYC getaway. Daniele tries to throw her a bone by saying she and herself are the biggest competitors in the house. Mm. Yeah.

Daniele and Amber take off on their fabulous trip while the rest of them sit around and mope. Jen goes on and on about she just can’t go to the sequester house. She couldn’t stand it. Dick blows smoke in her face and this causes Jen to get super upset and go in and pack her things. Good thinking, eh? She also started to cook which was a little surprising since in that one veto competition she gave up food in order to go on slop. Girls getting REBELLIOUS! Then she does the unthinkable. She takes Dick’s cigarettes and smashes them up and throws them away. So that’s why she packed her things, cuz she feared retaliation. OOOH, boy. Girl’s going to hell. Dick notices right away, of course and knows she did it. Aaaand, Nice Dick is gone. Vanished like a fart in the wind.

So Dick found her stuff (didn’t hide it well did she?) and took it to the HoH room to hold it for “ransom”. And he’s still looking for the cigarettes. And she’s totally eating real food. What a BRAT. Jessica called her a cheater and that’s about accurate, I’m thinking. Everyone else was just DISGUSTED. And… then she got called to the diary room.

BB gave her a spanking in the form of “penalty vote” against during eviction. So not so much for destroying Dick’s property as it was for breaking BB rules. And then… wow. Okay, Dick was smoking his cigarette and whatever. Jen was eating in front of him and for whatever reason got annoyed with him and was getting in his face. He told her not to touch him. She wasn’t listening. He repeated his request. She kept pestering him. She told him not to blow smoke in her face so what did he do? He blew smoke in her face. Dude, I could have told her he’d do that. She got FURIOUS and tried to grab the cigarette out of his hand. He threatened to burn her with the cigarette if she didn’t back off. She, of course, refused to back off so he tried to get with his cigarette. And then she acted all horrified that he burnt her. How DARE he?? This woman is too stupid to live.

Right in the midst of that uber-drama, we get to watch Daniele and Amber’s great NYC adventure. Blah blah blah cross show promotion blah blah blah. Amber is certain the audience is going to love her. Yeah, not if they’ve been watching “Big Brother” they won’t. And that’s about all we saw of that.

Julie does a quick interview with the houseguests. She asks Amber and Daniele about their “day of freedom” and blah blah blah perspective blah blah regroup… you know, the standard response. Oooh, and Jen is the first person in 8 years to break food restrictions and get a penalty vote. Dumbass. Gee, I wonder who’s going home? Yawn. Julie talks briefly with Daniele who says she’s very thankful to Eric and Jessica for saving her dad. Oh and she’d like to sit with her dad in the final 2 because duh, she’d totally win that way! Ha! Too funny. Once again back with the housemates, where Jen and Jameka do their final “plead”. Jen is making me want to barf (and no, that’s not the morning sickness talking) and Jameka looks like the classiest woman alive standing up there next to Jen. Aaaand onto the voting!

Is anyone surprised here? You? Me? ANYONE? Jen is gone gone gone. The votes, unsurprisingly, are unanimous. And she’s gone. Eric says, beautifully, “As happy as you are to be leaving, we’re happier to see you go.” Truer words, there! The houseguests muse that Jen’s controversial picture DOES look better in black and white. Snort. Even her interview with Julie was just downright absurd. How did she stay in the house this long? I’m amazed. So off she goes to sequester. I don’t think Dustin deserves that, do you? The recorded messages are predictable. But most people really reined it in, like Jessica and Eric. Everyone is TOTALLY kissing up to the new jury member, which is disgusting. I’m just annoyed I’m going to have to see her again.

So who will be HoH? Daniele and Jameka are out of the running, and the rest are playing “Tanks for the Memories” where each player is situated above a water tank. If they answer incorrectly, Jen will get to push the button that plunges them into the water. Oh dear. Eric gets dunked first. Jen looked like she enjoyed that a little too much. Amber, Zach and Dick are dunked next, leaving Jessica as the winner and HoH. Again. This sure is setting up for a Eric, Jessica, Dick and Daniele final four, isn’t it?

I know it got lost in the “Big Brother” news from yesterday, but I actually did watch the finale of “On the Lot” Tuesday night as well.  I haven’t been watching that show very much since several weeks in.  And I’m not the only one either.  Which is why I was surprised that the hostess Adrianna Costa seemed to make it sound like this was only the first “On the Lot”, there may be others!  Wha?  Seriously?  There might be another “On the Lot” next summer?  I’d be awful surprised if that’s the case.

At any rate, after much fanfare and downright torturous stalling (Costa is a horrid host, by the way), Will Bigham was revealed to be the winner of “On the Lot”.  And as such he is the recipient of the $1 million development deal with Dreamworks studio.  And you know what?  They actually showed Will meeting with Steven Spielberg outside of Dreamworks studio and I wasn’t exactly expecting that to happen.  So kudos to Steve for actually showing up.  That gave this ailing show some much needed credibility, I thought.  It needed something, didn’t it?

And here are the recaps of the episode from last night, in case you missed it:

• Big Brother Craze
• Television without Pity
• TV Squad
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

Surprisingly, Amber isn’t weeping! Yet. Jameka is in “tough as nails” mode. Eric gives a lame apology to them, saying he thought it would be him. OH PLEASE. Boy, just hush. You’re not fooling anyone. Jessica does a pretty good job of playing innocent with Jen, like they’re all against Dick and Daniele like they always have been. She’s better at it than Eric, at least. Course, she couldn’t be much worse.

Cut to some footage of Eric and Jessica flirting. She’s just totally into him and it’s hysterical! Zach admits to liking to “block” Eric when he’s working Jessica. Cuz he’s just a nice guy that way! Yeah, especially when he makes noises about her breasts. Whatever. If I were Eric I’d be pissed. But he does look pretty pissed so there you go.

Amber and Jameka moan about how they’re the only decent people in the house. *snort* And Amber has had a vision from GOD that she’s going to win POV. Mm. Right. It’s “her time” though. She promises that there’s no more crying but hello? Is that tears I see? Yeah, you and your POV there, Amber.

Back from break, Eric gets his woobie assignment. He’s just horrified. But very pleased when he learns the person he needs to share it with is Jessica. Aw come on, I think Dick would have been great, don’t you? Jessica of course totally bought it. She was happy to bestowed with it, even. Too funny. I bet she won’t be happy when it’s all over and done though, will she? Oops, Eric IS a liar!

And Daniele? Is sick of Jen. She goes on to talk about everything about her that she’s sick of. Zach wonders how she’s still in the house. Daniele is so over her. Zach? You’re not planting seeds and you’re not a force to be reckoned with. Daniele has already said she wants to backdoor Jen. This is no big shocking revelation here.

The POV players are playing not only for veto but for a top secret trip out of the house. The players are: Dick, Daniele, Jameka, Amber, Jessica and Zach. Eric, was denied yet again. Eric gets to host. Again. Dick is actually being NICE this week, which is sort of eerie. It’s like he doesn’t have reason to fight, he just feels THAT secure.

During the competition, it was just so obvious that Amber was trying to mainline God or something. She looked practically constipated. IT’S A GAME! She was thinking way too hard about it all. And… Daniele wins POV! HA! That was awesome. Jen was even happy when she won the veto, the fool. Dick is insanely proud. Amber is completely wrecked. Looks like she’s going to break that “no crying” thing she had going there. Har. Hey, at least she gets to go on the secret trip, right?

So Amber is thinking of making a deal with Daniele and Daniele is thinking of making a deal with Amber. I don’t see Daniele taking Jameka off the blog, to be honest, so that makes sense. As much as Amber bugs me. But she and Daniele make their deal and Amber swears on her daughter. Again. She actually gave up quite a bit to be saved and Daniele was like, “Okay!” She wasn’t expecting that much safety from Amber, so she just let Amber volunteer it. Very wise indeed.

Dick and Eric talk strategy and that seems to be going very well, interestingly enough. They’re getting along amazingly well. This is really, really weird. The veto ceremony goes pretty much as planned. Ho hum. Very anti-climactic. But Amber did start crying again. And had a pretty good “woe is me” speech too. So yeah, Daniele takes Amber off the block and puts Jen up. HA! I don’t think Jen was expecting that at ALL. She played it off in typical Jen fashion, but I think she was surprised. Jen expects to be around next week, which is pretty funny. Doesn’t she understand what being backdoored means? Obviously not.

The mystery trip! Amber and Daniele discover they’re going to New York City! They’ll get to be on the new “Power of 10″ game show hosted by Drew Carey! Wee! Bah. Cross-show promotion! Amber looks ready to lose her nut while Daniele seems to be taking it in stride. But excited. So when does this trip take place? Soon, it sounds like.

If you’ve been looking at the CBS fall schedule, you may have noticed that there is a notable omission.  Reality TV great “The Amazing Race” isn’t on it.  Since the show’s premiere, there has been a “Race” in both the fall and spring seasons but in recent years, the ratings have been declining steadily.  So while the next installment has already been filmed, CBS execs have decided to reserve it back for the mid-season.  Which means that we can expect to see Phil on the mat come January or February.  Also, expect to see more younger contestants and no “non-elimination legs”.  I wonder what other changes are in store for my favorite reality show?

Let me get you lined up with the “usual suspects” for you BB8 recap goodness.  These are the sources, you know!

• Big Brother Craze
• Television Without Pity
• TV Squad
• CBS.com recap and full episode video

Okay, first off, I have to LAUGH MY BUTT off at Nick’s “letter” to Daniele. Especially once it was revealed that yes, he in fact did craft it entirely himself. It looked like a scrapbook page doped up on pepto bismol. Eric found it funny for the same reasons I did. Zack noted with interest the lack of any photos of Daniele’s boyfriend this time. Dick groaned over a photo of him, Daniele and her brother and they all had bad hair in it. All in all? Yet another boring HoH room.

So Jessica tries to cover her butt with Jameka and so does Eric though Jessica is a lot more successful at it than he is. And ya’ll? Daniele is IN THIS this week. Her head is 100% in the game and she has her eyes on the prize. Jameka, in other news, marvels over Amber’s utter lack of vocabulary. I? Am not surprised. That’s pretty freakin’ sad. Eric has a talk with her (making sure not to use any big words, I’m sure) about strategy, supposedly in an effort to soothe her ruffled feathers. Amber, regardless of what she told him, wasn’t convinced. Wow, so she is smart after all!

And now we get to see them playing Beer Pong. I’ve been hearing a lot about this on the live feeds. A very popular game among the houseguests. Eric and Jessica lost a wager where they had to wear each others clothes. And Eric? Did it GOOD. He pulled it off. I’m just impressed that it fit.

Jameka and Amber start to wonder if there isn’t a secret alliance between Dick and Daniele and Eric and Jessica. Gee, ya think? This was after Dick pretty much laid it all out on the line about how he was saved. Well, all but the secret alliance, of course.

The food competition involved Togas which everyone rocked pretty supremely. And Zach? You did not look the best. I did like Daniele’s laurel wreath. Oh, and they had to play oversized beer pong. RIIIIGHT. And Jessica? Toga parties and beer pong are an everyday thing for you? You realize that your parents are paying for you to get an education, right? YIKES. And why am I not surprised that Dick was good at beer pong? Ultimately, Eric won it for the red team (otherwise known as the beer pong devotees) so they got food for the week. They both got the “Feast” though, so they’ll get one really bitchin’ meal. Oh and the table shrunk. Yeah, that usually happens about now. It just reminds Daniele how close she has to be these diseased peasants and how much she hates that. LOL!

In “light and fluffy” news, more flirting is going on between Jessica and Eric. Dick calls them on it and Jessica tries to play it off. Eric seems a little delighted and teases her after which she says she “hates him”. And obviously doesn’t mean a single word of it. Nice try there! And America has deemed that Eric should get Amber nominated for eviction. YAY! Way to go, America. Way to work WITH him for a freakin’ change. He gets right to work, planting the seeds for an Amber nomination. He’s a little “brutal” with his suggestion. Daniele claims not to trust him one bit, she’ll think about it. This week? We decide who he should give a ratty old childhood “woobie” to. I totally think he should give it to DICK. LOL! How hilarious would that be? Not to mention awkward, but hey, you asked.

And now? The nominations! Daniele lets it be known in her diary room confession that she doesn’t want certain members to just skate their way to the finish. So it is with little surprise that Amber and Jameka are nominated. Because they are, in fact, pretty much dead weight. Of course, it could be argued that Zach and Jen are also dead weight, but at least they are easily told who to vote for. And let’s prepare for the water works. It’s going to be an Amber-tastic week, ya’ll! *snort* In other news, Amber believes she’s had a vision that she will win the power of veto and she and Jameka will be in the finale two. And Daniele reveals her true target is in fact Jen. HMM! Interesting!

Recaps!  Step up and get your recaps!  Recaps here!

• Big Brother Craze’s liveblogged minute-by-minute recap
• Television without Pity’s weecap
• TV Squad’s recap
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

Yeah, I’m reminded of how stupid it was for Dustin to offer to go on the block. I mean, that goes down in the book of “Stupid Reality Moments”. He did ask for it, in case you need reminding of that. In case you’re feeling he’s been unjustly wronged. Ahem. Anyhow, on with the show. These live shows are always a jumble of information and I don’t want to get “lost”.

The good news is that Jessica trusts Eric again. I thought it was shitty he had to deceive her in the first place. And Zack and Jessica had a date night/dinner thing which… I don’t really remember WHY but whatever. They had beer. In… wine glasses. Interesting. It was all to talk strategy, where Zack tried to convince Jessica to talk deals with Dick. Last week? The mere notion would have been laughable, but this week? He gave her his word he’ll vote out Dick unless she tells him he doesn’t have to. That’s Zack for you, loyal to the end. To who? To whomever can carry his rather large self through this game, apparently.

OMG, so surprising that America has chosen Dustin as Eric’s vote this week. Eric was “real surprised” too. He tries to talk to Jessica about voting out Dustin but she all takes her shirt off and they’re laying in the HoH bed and she’s just TOTALLY flirting or whatever with him, trying to distract him. Basically, blows him off and tells him she’s tired and going to bed. He takes off and talks to… DICK! Yes, Dick! Strategy, my mate. And in turn earns some words of respect from Dick. Mostly because Dick is recognizing that Eric is integral to his survival in the house. About time, eh? This can only be good, I feel. So then Eric starts talking Jessica into the “get rid of Dustin” thing. It feels like at last, Eric is putting his head into the game. Almost too late, but at least he’s there now. Jessica doesn’t seem sure at first and I don’t blame her. He makes some EXCELLENT points about aligning with the strong vs. aligning with the weak.

Would Daniele have taken Dick off the block? DOUBTFUL. She didn’t in week two when they were both nominated and she won the veto. So there’s your answer. And guess what? Amber is trying again! YAY! This should be a drinking game. I’d be so embarrassed if I were Lexie. You gotta love Joe trying to highlight Dustin’s selfishness. Cuz, you know, Joe was SO NOT selfish. Har. He does have a good point about Dustin being so arrogant. Didn’t like Joe that much but he does have some valid points there.

And the moment is here. Dustin… is gone. Dustin looked shocked as hell. Amber looks ready to burst into tears (of course). Didn’t get a good luck at Jameka’s reaction. Everyone else looks resigned (because, duh, everyone else voted for him). AWESOME. Amber looks like she’s been kicked bya horse. Jameka? PISSED, from her body language at least. Dustin admits to Julie he’s stunned. Apparently, he got NO wind of this operation. He does and doesn’t regret offering himself. WTF? He’s happy to be on the jury, at least. He admits to feeling a little worried today, at the last minute. Eric, in his taped goodbye, was STILL trying to play Dustin, which of course Dustin wasn’t buying. Amber? Crying. Natch. I can see why they didn’t reveal the America’s Player twist because DUH, he’s in the jury and it could have bearing should Eric make it to the end. So yeah, no more revealing that until the end of the game. Aww nuts.

HoH competition! The shenanigans from earlier this week (check out Big Brother Craze for the deets) were shown before we open on the competition where, of course, this all applies. The HG’s are asked questions about the visitors. Last one standing wins. Simple enough, right? Jen, again, proves she’s too dumb to live. Yeah, there was NO WAY Amber was going to beat Daniele at a battle of wits. So Daniele is HoH! This is good news, I’m sure. I’m thinking Eric and Jessica are safe. I’m hoping. Fingers are CROSSED, yo. Amber? Is crying. Julie awesomely cuts her off. HA! Love it. So who should Eric try to get evicted? I say “TAKE IT EASY” on the poor guy for a change and pick Jameka and Amber. PLEASE.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we?  Summertime is for trying to stay cool, sipping lemonade, kicking your feet up, and watching some utterly brainless television.  And, lucky us, reality is custom made for summer.  And this summer is no different, according to an article on MSNBC.  Consider “Big Brother”, “The Singing Bee”, “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Hell’s Kitchen”.  All of these shows are highly entertaining and require nearly zero thinking to enjoy them.  After all, the grand-daddy of all reality TV shows premiered in the summer seven years ago.  How can we forget “Survivor”?  It was launched into superstardom amidst the lazy days of summer.  Network executives were completely taken by surprise since up until then summers were for reruns.  That way people on vacation wouldn’t miss anything and those who hadn’t seen the shows during the regular season could catch up before the fall premieres.

Can I just say that I’m so glad times have changed?  Sure, most reality TV is drivel.  But it’s not a repeat of a show that I don’t want to watch.  I’m pretty much guaranteed that on any given night there’s something mindless and fun to turn on and watch.  God bless it!

Aaaaand… we’ve got recaps!  If you missed last night or need a refresher course on what went on, then do check out these awesome wrapups:

• Television Without Pity’s weecap
• TV Squad’s recap
• Big Brother Craze’s recap
• CBS.com’s recap and full episode video

This show is so twisted. Can I just say (don’t think I mentioned it the other day), I love how Jessica said “You’re welcome” when Dick said “Thank you” after the nominations. CLASSIC. Dude. Dick is off his nut. I like the idea of riling everyone up and getting them up early before the Veto competition but he’s just SO OBNOXIOUS about it. Good gravy. He goes over the edge, you know? I know he wants to be the one evicted, but please. Does he have to do that? It’s getting on my nerves and I don’t have to live with it. Just when I start feeling sorry for him, or for Daniele, he goes and pulls stupid stunts that make me go, “Nope! He’s an ASS!”

So Eric ran the show while Jessica, Dick, Zack, Daniele, Jameka and Dustin played for the veto. And once again, when Dick sarcastically said “Thank you” to Jessica, she returned with a smooth, “You’re welcome.” Awesome. Anyhow, it’s a sort of croquet or whatever. Anyhow, looked nasty because it also involved eating/drinking nasty stuff. Jameka didn’t do so hot. Dustin rocked it though. Zack was pretty much just dumping the entire contest. Didn’t even TRY. Love it. Daniele tried, bless her. And Dick, like Dustin, just rocked it. Jessica used a wise strategy, drinking the thinner, easier drinks first. Still, she wasn’t quite able to get some of them. (Yeah, nice puke shot there) I’m not going to go on and on about this so the long and short of it is, Zack sucked the veto competition while Dick won it. Yeah, big shock there. Again, something Big Brother was hinting at the entire episode. Though Dustin did come close, VERY close.

And guess what? SORE WINNER. Oh yeah, all these people are. He’s doing his job well, I can give him that. Dude, he’s 44? Color me surprised because he’s acting about 10. And Daniele? Dear? If you’re tired of people taking Dick out on you (which, are they? Sounds like all they’re doing is ignoring her, which considering is the best possible outcome for her.), then maybe ask him to take it down a notch. And if he won’t in order to help you feel a little better, then maybe he doesn’t care that much about you. But she wouldn’t do that. Anyhow, what follows here is a nasty, nasty blow up in the HoH room and Daniele is just LOSIN’ it. And again this is somehow about God and I am just not getting how that’s factoring into things here. (And, can I just ask what Jen is doing in the HoH room? Is she on “their” side now? Wait. Zack is in there too??) Eric stated it best. Daniele, of course, missed the point he was trying to make. Jameka did apologize, but I don’t know if Daniele’s approach was good. She could have toned it down a bunch and made her points a LOT clearer. But it was all apparently for show and strategy so whatever. Respect LOST there, Daniele.

The good news is that as a result of all this, Daniele DID ask him to tone it down and he said he would. So hopefully things will be a little “calmer” from here until Dick’s eviction (am I wrong? Is this not a foregone conclusion at this point?).

So America chose for Eric to give Jessica the silent treatment. SIGH. I heard this was part of some master brilliant scheme to somehow stick it to Big Brother but I can’t help but think that not only are we sticking it to ERIC but to ourselves since (duh) he’s OUR player. Obviously these people just can’t handle this sort of power. So yeah, now Jessica thinks Eric and Dustin are scheming to destroy her or somesuch nonsense. Way to go, AMERICA. You suck.

So yeah, the veto ceremony went as expected and Dick gave his veto to Daniele. Let’s say it all together now: “AWW!!” *barf* So Jessica selected Dustin to go up next to Dick. Which was sort of what they were all planning all along. I don’t THINK that Dustin is vulnerable, but you never know. He is being a little overconfident though, which doesn’t bode well. And Jessica STILL thinks that Eric is allied with Dustin. GAH. Why do I WATCH this show? *bangs head on wall*

Yep, we’ve got recaps!

• Television Without Pity’s weecap
• FOX.com’s recap

Again, like I did last night’s “Big Brother” episode, I’ll be kinda sorta “liveblogging” this. I’ll be writing down what I think as I’m watching it, but I won’t publish this until the morning. So excuse me if the narrative seems a little disjointed.

Anyhow, so we’re back in the finale pretty much where we left off last week. And let me just say that if Rock doesn’t win then this show is a rigged crock of shit because seriously? Bonnie is a NANNY, ya’ll. Just sayin’. We cut in on each contestant talking up their teams. And it seems like everyone (including Julia) is on board to work together, which is nice. Apparently, Bonnie’s menu is a little… different. But what’d you expect from a NANNY? Rock has great command of his team and (so far) they seem to really respect him. Whereas Bonnie seems to be patronizing Julia earning her a few snide comments and dirty looks. She seems like quite the pill to work with, to be honest. Not that Rock is a cup of tea, but whatever.

And can I just say THANK GOD Melissa has her hair tied back? Otherwise, that was going to be distracting as hell.

Just have to say, Bonnie’s truffles? Seriously? That’s not a desert, that’s a snack. Though Rock’s milk and cookies was little better. Meh. I do like Bonnie’s restaurant decoration. Soft and elegant. The reds and browns looks very nice. Rock’s is a little more modern looking, but still warm but maybe a touch less striking than Bonnie’s. I hate to give her the edge in anything though.

It is interesting to see them run the kitchens, however. Everyone seems to be working very hard. And I can see where it’d be hard to take Bonnie seriously because, dude, it’s Bonnie. Josh and Rock are butting heads a bit. I can see where Rock needs to push him though and where Josh needs to shut up and do what he’s told. That’s got to be rough. And Bonnie’s passive aggressive “not listening” thing just reeks. If she even had a chance, she just lost it there. And it just got worse from there. On both sides, admittedly. Josh was a huge detriment to Rock, unfortunately. Eventually Rock just had to lower the boom on the guy. So he switched him. Simple fix, right? Naw. Rock was getting PISSED. And rightfully so because he was falling behind. But it ultimately worked out when Vinnie stepped up. WHEW.

And, shock of all shocks, some of Bonnie’s customers were unhappy with their dishes. Cold, undercooked, etc and so forth. Yeah, that can’t be good. Getting dishes sent back is a big ol’ no no, apparently. And then Julia giving her the attitude. Which, you know, was funny. Inappropriate, but funny. Rock seems to understand the permanence of this service and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Meanwhile, Bonnie is falling apart. Both teams pretty much just squeaked over the finish line. But I do feel Rock came out on top.

Ramsay talked up both contestants and had some really nice things to say about both of them. And they both did work really hard and they both did do a really good job. I was actually pretty impressed with how Bonnie stepped up to the plate here at the end of the season because I wouldn’t have expected it of her. (At this point I have to pee pretty bad so I’m just hoping it finishes up and soon.) But I still don’t think she deserves it more than Rock.

And now we’re down to it. They’re standing in front of their doors and the winner is… (commercial!!! damn you, FOX) ROCK!!! Okay, that’s just sweet. And the poor guy is practically sobbing. He deserved it, plain and simple. It was about consistency. He was consistently the better chef on this show. So congratulations, Rock! You did it!

First off, we must get our dose of recap goodness! You know the drill:

• CBS.com’s recap and video of the episode
• Television Without Pity’s weecap
• TV Squad’s recap
• Big Brother Craze’s recap

(Fyi: I sorta liveblogged this, just jotting down my thoughts as I was watching so pardon me if it seems a little disjointed.) Yeah, just in case we didn’t already suspect this, Dick is a really, really, REALLY poor loser. The little snit he threw after the HoH competition was just ridiculous. And calling Jameka a hypocrite? Was a little uncalled for, I think. What did she ever do to him? He sure got her riled though. See, I don’t understand why people rise to his occasion. There’s just no arguing with him because he doesn’t fight fair. I’d probably just ignore him, if I could. Easy to say from this side, right? I just thought it was hilarious how Dick tried to pretend like he didn’t really care but it was entirely obvious that he REALLY cared. Zack said it best, “The peasants are revolting and they’re not scared of him anymore.” True DAT!

Seeing as how I’ve turned into a hopeless “Big Brother” addict, I’ve been peeking at the live feed spoilers over on Big Brother Craze. So at the start of this episode, I knew who had been nominated as well as who had won the power of veto. I found it definitely colored my reactions to what was going on but I’m trying very hard to put it out of my mind so I don’t “give anything away” over here.

And in grand “Big Brother” tradition, the paranoia sets in almost instantly and everyone starts questioning what was five minutes ago set in stone. You can almost count on it happening, every season, every time. It’s interesting to watch these people tear each other apart. But it’s not as much fun as watching Dick and Daniele throw their pity parties. Dick promises to sacrifice himself over Daniele. It’ll be interesting to see if a) that situation arises and b) he’ll actually do it. I think he would. As awful as he is, I do believe he loves his daughter and is 100% loyal to her.

(DEAR GOD! EVEN JEN’S UNDERWEAR SAYS “JENIUS”. KILL ME NOW.)

America choosing for Eric to try to sell out Dustin was just about the most retarded thing ever. Are they TRYING to get Eric evicted from the house? Really? Of course then Dustin starts yammering about he thinks that he should go up against Dick only to see Dick go home and how satisfying that would be. So of course, Eric just JUMPED on that and why wouldn’t he? Shoot, I would have too. Course, then he tried to sorta sell out Dustin as well at the same time which is a little bold of him. But whatever. It’s all good. Anyhow, now we’re supposed to pick who he should give the silent treatment. WTF??

As for the nominations… yeah a big ol’ DUH right there. Not surprised. They were sort of gearing us up for this the entire episode. Next up? Power of Veto! Who will win it and will they use it? Dun dun DUNNNN!!!