Football is always screwing things up. At least for whatever show airs after 60 Minutes on CBS, and lately, that's been The Amazing Race.

We only have one TV and cable box at my house, plus I'm usually watching football on Sundays anyway, which led me to get way, way behind with TAR.

I still have several unwatched episodes, but last night I decided to watch that latest one, because it was now or never.

Though I've basically neglected it all season, I do enjoy this show. Watching how teams deal with the stresses dealt to them in the race is always interesting.

I found it interesting that Ronald of the dad-and-daughter team is still berating her and realizing after the fact he needs to stop it. I thought by now he would have chilled out a little. Also, Jenn interviewed at the beginning of the episode about how she and Nathan were on an upward swing in their relationship and were going to be so much nicer to each other; once it got to the point where they were having trouble with a task, the meltdowns started yet again. 

In the end, goth couple Kynt and Vyxsin (pictured) were eliminated, leaving grandfather-and-grandson team Nicolas and Donald and dating couple TK and Rachel to fight it out with Ronald and Christina and Jenn and Nate.

Having missed so much of the season, I don't feel right in making predictions. What do you think about the final four teams? 

(Photo courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: The Amazing Race
        

Back in October, the folks at ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition filmed an episode in Port Deposit. At long last, an airdate has been announced -- the Port Deposit episode featuring the Luther Family will be on at 8 p.m. Jan. 20.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Tim Swift reports on the finale of A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila:

Tila "I'm actually bisexual" Tequila's train wreck of dating show finally ended last night with the Internet celebrity choosing Bobby the boy, not Dani the girl. Poor Dani was sad, but at least she kept some semblance of dignity (the 31 other contestants, not so much). And something tells me she'll have a lot dating options now that the show's over.

Devoid of hair pulling, public drunkenness and granny lap dances, the finale to the weekly trashtacular was kind of a snoozer. The final verdict was delivered over a swimming pool, but no one was pushed in. (Tila, you're such a tease.)  The producers did try to spice things up with a mini-chase sequence set to some cheesy Grey's Anatomy song. But it was all a little forced -- and by forced I mean super fake.  

While the final decision has been made, the awkwardness isn't over. MTV has a reunion show on the way. And yes, the crazy hair-pulling floozy, Vanessa, returns for another meltdown. Huzzah!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

So remember Denise Martin's tale of woe, of getting demoted to janitor upon her return from China, on Sunday's reunion show for Survivor: China? A tale of woe that prompted producer Mark Burnett to promise her $50K on the spot?

According to the school district where Denise works, this is not true. From this article:

"None of that is true," said schools Superintendent Nancy T. Lane, who, like many in the rural town 50 miles southwest of Boston, had been faithfully watching the show. "It made me sit up on the couch ... flabbergasted."

Lane said Martin was hired as a cafeteria worker at $7.37 an hour in 2004, but was promoted on March 30 this year to janitor, a job that now pays her more than $17 an hour. The promotion to janitor, Lane said, came before Martin even tried out for "Survivor."

Yikes. I don't know what the deal is with this, but I have a feeling the aftermath ain't going to be pretty.

UPDATE: More details. Martin and Lane were on The Early Show this morning. Video is here, after a commercial. Denise says what Lane says is true. She says that when she returned, she wanted to go back to her old job as lunch lady because of the day shift issue. Lane says at the moment, that position is not available and that if she wants to change jobs, she knows the process for transferring jobs. Denise also apologized for being accidentally misleading and apologized to Lane and the rest of the district. Julie Chen asked her about the money from Burnett, and Denise said she didn't do this to get money, but she didn't answer the question about whether she would take the money.

== 

Also, I had been wondering whether host Jeff Probst was going to ask Todd about how he dealt with his tribemates publicly doubting whether his sister had had a miscarriage, which came up in the family visits. In this interview (which is currently not loading for me -- I will try to get to it later and update this with a quote), he says the story was true, and the Courtney gave him a heads up and called and apologized to his family the day of the show for her egregious comments.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Survivor
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

Apparently there is trouble brewing over Saleisha’s recent win on America’s Next Top Model.

Show fans are posting comments and digging up links about Saleisha’s relationship with host Tyra Banks.

Enthusiasts are objecting over the fact that Saleisha – the Ciara-double -- has appeared in a Wendy’s commercial and has modeled on Tyra’s talk show.

Some seem to think that these are clear violations of the show’s rules that dictate that contestants cannot have professional modeling experience.

I’m pretty sure that neither a Wendy’s spot or a catwalk on Tyra’s talk show qualifies as “professional.” But after my Dec. 13 post about the "accomplishments" of Top Model alumni, maybe these prior experiences should have disqualified Saleisha. It seems that all past winners have been doing is appearing in future seasons of Top Model and showing up in scant ads for companies that are anything other than top couture.

In all seriousness, while these reports have raised my eyebrows a bit, I can’t say that I am in an uproar.

All you have to do is watch the final runway showdown. There is no way that Chantal should have won after the "great fall."

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

Clearly, the producers of Survivor are done with those final-four immunity challenges that last 20 hours. On tonight's episode, the survivors had to pile dishes onto a platform and hold it steady with a handle.

It came down to Denise and Amanda, but Amanda took it. Denise desperately wrangled with her to get rid of someone else (and the editing sure made it seem like Amanda promised not to write down Denise's name), but in the end, Denise was out, leaving Amanda, Todd and Courtney as the final three.

At that tribal council, Denise said Amanda had said she had Denise's back, and Amanda tried to clarify that she had said it earlier, not that day (so not sure what gives with the whole "won't write your name down" thing). Todd pulled a face, Jeff asked him about it, and he said he was just reacting to the harshness. Back at camp, Amanda worked what became her favorite face of the evening -- pouty -- and yelled at Todd for selling her out. He said he didn't mean to, and while he and Courtney tried to celebrate, Amanda went to sleep.

The next day, there was the ritual "say something about the ousted players, even if you didn't know them" thing, this time with firecrackers instead of straight-up fire.

Then ... final tribal council.

There were some funny moments (James asking for a positive memory and reiterating that he is not "a bitter Betty"; Todd playing Jean-Robert's ego by saying that the reason he broke his word with him was because J-R was the better player; Peih-Gee saying she was tired of Amanda's doe-eyed apology face) and some strange ones (Jaime being the harshest in her questioning). No "rat and snake" speeches a la Sue Hawk in the original Survivor, though.

When the votes were cast, they showed one each for Todd, Amanda and Courtney. After a quick flip to live, host Jeff Probst read the votes, and Todd was named the winner.

In the reunion show, it was the usual focus on a few and then give two seconds of screen time to the people who hadn't been talked to yet. But of note:

• Todd says he had a plan from the beginning to align with someone on day 1 and to make friends with the strongest player as soon as possible. Quickly, he said he realized he needed to pull in someone smaller than him so that if a group challenge was lost, he wasn't blamed as the weakest link. Good thinking, actually.
• Denise returned to work to find that she was no longer allowed to return to her job because her boss thought her celebrity would be too much of a distraction, so now she is a janitor on night shift. (Shortly thereafter, producer Mark Burnett had Jeff announce that he was giving her $50,000 to get things together.)
• James is popular with everyone -- even at funerals when he is doing his job as grave-digger. Also, he won the people's choice $100,000 prize.
• Jeff asked Courtney about a comment she had made about Denise during the last episode ("It's not welfare," she said to Todd. "It's not our fault she sucks at life." She then immediately called herself "the world's biggest b---h.") Courtney first appeared to flip Jeff off and then said yes, she regrets it, that sometimes she talks without thinking, and that she had already apologized to Denise.
• He also asked Courtney about her weight -- she went from 93 pounds to 86 over the course of the show. He asked her if she had an eating disorder, and she said no, and this doesn't even faze her anymore because she's been asked about it her whole life. She said her whole family is thin and lanky.
• Oh, and Jaime and Erik are dating now, and Erik is still a virgin.
• But my favorite part was Todd detailing exactly how he played to Jean-Robert's ego with his answer at tribal council, and J-R admitting that is why he voted for him. Hee!
• And next season? Favorites from past seasons vs. Superfans ... in Micronesia. Well, now. That could be interesting.

What did you think about the finale and the reunion? High points? Low points?

I think Todd played the hardest from the first day, so his win is a satisfying end to the season. At least for me.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Survivor
        

Peih-Gee fought and fought hard, but it wasn't enough. On Thursday's Survivor: China, she made friends with Amanda but failed to persuade her to vote against Todd.

Amanda must have figured out that turning on Todd would look bad at this point, and, as he pointed out, he has made a lot of people mad, so going to the end with him doesn't look like a bad option.

But seriously, Courtney is still in this? There's always someone. I hope she looks less bony at the reunion.

Overall, though, this is not the final four I would have predicted toward the beginning. Will this be a jury that respects game-play or gets angry about being back-stabbed? Tonight, we'll see how it all plays out.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Survivor
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams reports on the America's Next Top Model finale:

I swear I don’t have a crystal ball and I’m not a psychic, but I did accurately predict the exact placement of our top three models this week. (Check out the comment section of my Dec. 10 entry.)

I’m not going to brag—too much. I told you so! I told you so!

Now that that is out of the way….

After Jenah was eliminated – thank goodness – Saleisha and Chantal battled it out during a Qi Gang (a top Chinese designer) fashion show. Chantal held her own until the “great crash.”

I thought the Caridee/Melrose collision in Cycle 7 was pretty bad, but Chantal definitely takes the top spot. Poor thing was walking down that long runway when the train of her dress got caught underneath one of the performers standing on stilts. The performer collapsed to the ground; Chantal slipped, gasped, and looked back in horror. I think that sealed the deal.

Although Chantal -- a pretty girl with an adequate catwalk – was strong through most of the season, she was no match for Saleisha, who has gotten stronger and stronger in recent weeks.
 Saleisha simply tore it up from the beginning to end of the fashion show.

“I’m going to bring it,” Saleisha said right before she walked the seemingly endless runway, which was staged near the Forbidden City in China.

Saleisha walked out with one hand on her hip and strutted with strong, slightly pigeon-toed stomps. She was a force to be reckoned with.

“I felt my legs and my stride,” she said. “I have a strong walk.”

The judges gushed over Saleisha’s runway walk.

“You looked like you had been on the runway your entire life,” said Twiggy, who will not be returning to the show next cycle. 

The judges also raved about Saleisha’s Great Wall of China photos from last week’s episode.

“You took the city by storm,” Nigel Barker said. “It was the best photo of the competition,” Twiggy said.

As the winner of this season of America’s Next Top Model, Saleisha will be managed by Elite Model Management. She also receives a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl, and will appear on the cover and in a six-page spread in Seventeen magazine. Great for her. Now for the bad news...

History has shown that Top Model winners have not really made a giant splash in the world of high-fashion modeling.

One of the best-known winners of Top Model – Eva – has made her mark in acting. CariDee – Cycle 7 winner -- is not a household name. Cycle 7 contenders Michelle and Amanda were in Maryland filming a horror movie. (That doesn’t cut it, either.) I think I saw Ya-Ya (Cycle 2) in a soap commercial… Right now, it seems that the best a Top Model winner can do is appear at Wal-Mart or at an Orioles game. (Sorry, Jaslene!)

Am I wrong? I dare you to find examples of any of the models on America’s Next Top Model that are being mentioned in the same breath as Tyra, Claudia, Naomi, Kate, Heidi and Cindy once were.

Could it be that a Top Model winner/contestant is cursed because they are over-exposed by the time they hit the runway for fashion week? Past supermodels seemed to appear out of nowhere. (Most people are not die hard fashionistas who monitor the catwalks, and notice the freshest faces in modeling.)

When you have a show like this, the public has seen the winner for a minimum of an entire season – usually 13-14 shows. We’ve seen everything from the winner getting ready in the morning without makeup to them throwing temper-tantrums over missing granola bars. In other words: Most of the mystery is gone.

The public never really had the opportunity to formulate an opinion about a supermodel’s disposition, because we never really got a chance to hear them talk or interact. With the popularity of reality television, we can make “more informed” opinions about models. Now we can honestly say that “Model A” is a diva and “Model B” is dull.

Maybe a model needs be seen and not heard in order to achieve supermodel status.

It's been fun tracking this season for you. Until next cycle, keep catwalking!!!!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

Neil’s departure the other night resulted in The Biggest Loser history. For the first time, the final four contestants all come from one team.

Hard to imagine that it has taken this long for a team to stick together and use a strategy to advance to the finals.

It’s also hard to get over the fact that Julie, Hollie, Isabeau, and Bill – also known as the black team – were formed after each of them was not chosen to be a part of the red or blue teams. That Jillian – the black team’s trainer -- gets results! She took a team of castoffs and turned them into the skinniest contestants standing. Jillian deserves extra kudos for Isabeau, who also made Biggest Loser history by losing more weight than any other women before going into the finals. So far she’s lost 81 pounds!

My money has to be on Bill. He consistently turns out great weight-loss numbers and he has been involved in minimal controversy. He’s always seems to have had a good attitude.

While I was watching The Biggest Loser – and consuming a very unhealthy dinner – I saw a teaser for the new American Gladiators. That’s right, the new installment of the hit 90s show will premiere Jan. 6.

Here’s the skinny: fresh from the announcement of his divorce, Hulk Hogan will host the show aling with Dancing With the Stars alum and boxer Laila Ali.

The show’s Web site promises the latest installment will use special effects and the latest technology.

Forget the technology and a the special effects! People are going to be checking out the show to catch a glimpse of all those muscular beauties and brutes pushing themselves to the physical limits!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Annapolis' Christian Siriano pulled out his first challenge win on last night's Project Runway, even though he thought it was soooo not his style.

The designers were each assigned a model, but rather than their usual rail-thin skinny minnies, the models were everyday women who had recently lost a lot of weight. They showed up in their favorite outfit from their larger days, and the designers had to use this as the raw material for a new, fashionable, well-fitting outfit.  

Early in the episode, Jack revealed that he had a staph infection in his face (his mouth was so swollen; it looked terribly uncomfortable). After consulting with his doctor, he left the show to go get medical treatment. To keep the numbers even, ousted designer Chris March was brought back.

For some people, the challenge was a total disaster. Steve had the unfortunate luck of getting the model whose favorite outfit was her wedding dress. He could not figure out what to do with all that beaded polyester, and he basically punted: With the $10 they had to spend at Mood, he bought a bunch of black fabric and made a shapeless black frock with white trim from the wedding dress (glued on!). The judges said it was a funeral outfit crossed with a French maid's costume. Whoops.

Also in danger was Elisa, whose highly layered outfit did little to flatter the newfound figure of her model.

But Steven's nightmare of a dress got him sent home instead. 

Other standouts were Kevin's sleeveless yellow top and leggings (made from a shapeless blazer) and Jillian's red and black dress (although she kind of flouted the rules and only used black fabric from the pants as piping).  (Also, as much as the judges loved the dress, I thought there was something about it that wasn't totally flattering to the woman. But no doubt it was well made.) 

For Christian's winning outfit, he refitted his model's jeans and created a button-down black shirt with some interesting pleating. OK, I'm no fashionista, so here's a picture.

It didn't hurt that his client LOVED the outfit and worked the runway.

My favorite moment of the show was when Tim Gunn was coaching Chris March. Since Chris got a late start on the challenge, he had until 3 in the morning to finish, and Tim was concerned that he was going to costumey and said something along the lines of, "I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made at 3 in the morning."

The designers all busted up laughing as their minds went to dirty places. ("Give us details, names," someone demanded, jokingly.) Tim went red and totally cracked up, shedding some of his usual facade. It was hilarious.

What did you think about the episode -- and, of course, our local contestant's win? 

(Photo courtesy of Bravo)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Maryland reality contestants, Project Runway
        

Remember Emmett from last season of Project Runway? Apparently, he launched his new line, EMc2 this past Sunday in New York (where, as you can see above, he was joined by current PR contestants Jack, Kevin and Christian, as well as mentor Tim Gunn.

You can see Emmett's line at his web site, but the big draw might be the talking Tim Gunn bobblehead doll, seen here. From the description on the site:

Trying to pull it together in your closet? Never be unfashionable again with the help of your very own fashion mentor. The official Tim Gunn talking bobblehead will help you "Make it work!" If you give up too soon, Tim may gently admonish: "I can't want you to succeed more than you do." Eventually, you'll earn a "Fa-bu-lous!" and surely "carry on" with quality, taste and style.

(Photo courtesy of GALE GROUP) 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Project Runway
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

I’m not really sure what to think after watching an extended preview for the new CW reality show Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, which is scheduled to debut tonight after the season finale of America’s Next Top Model (sniff, sniff).

The show takes 11 mother-daughter teams, puts them in a house for a little catfighting, and then puts them in front of a three judges for a little deconstructing of their egos.

The judges include the over-the-top, flamboyant Carson Kressley from Bravo’s Queer Eye For the Straight Guy, former Miss USA and Dancing With the Stars contestant Shanna Moakler, and television personality Cynthia Garrett.

I couldn’t quite get a grasp of what was going to happen on the show from the extended commercial. All I know is that there will be a sash-cutting ceremony each episode, which will symbolize the end of the road for one of the teams.

The show’s Web site doesn’t provide much information either. There are brief – and I am being kind here – bios on the contestants. The synopsis of the show is also bare-bones.

I checked out the show’s message board and discovered that a majority of the public says that they will not watch the show (44.19 percent). Ouch!!!

I’ll give the show a chance and watch the first few episodes. (It doesn’t look like this writers' strike is going to end anytime soon!) But, I’m not expecting to love it. I’m always cautious of shows, movies that provide scant details. It usually means that the product is filled with a lot of fluff and not a lot of substance.
  

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Last week's Survivor: China wasn't nearly as strategically interesting as the prior week's, but it really would have been hard to match James' Bad Move of 2007. (Although correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the previews make it seem like Amanda was going to turn on Todd in this episode? Guess we have to wait until Thursday.)

Mostly, it was a pretty rote episode. The reward featured family visits, and we got to meet Denise's husband, Amanda's sister, Todd's sister (more on this later), Courtney's British dad, Erik's mother and Peih-Gee's father. They took part in a blindfolded maze, and Denise won. She was allowed to take two other people and their loved ones with her, and that's when Denise met rock and hard place. In the previous episode, Peih-Gee chose her to go on the Shaolin Temple reward (in an attempt to sway her to the other side). But Denise has felt very shaky in her alliance and so she took the Powers That Be (Todd and Amanda) with her. Peih-Gee? Not amused.

After a boat ride and a feast, the winners returned, and Amanda and Todd had chocolate sauce all over their hands -- the only food they could manage to bring with them. And several of the non-winners were desperate enough for a taste of chocolate to suck the sauce off their fingers. Think that was a little awkward for the loved ones?

Denise tried to explain to Peih-Gee about why she felt she had to choose Todd and Amanda, and Peih-Gee seemed to understand and then snarked at her.

Later, immunity challenge involving ropes, an obstacles course, trivia questions and locks, and Peih-Gee ended up victorious (because Todd got a question wrong and had to go back). Despite some posturing by Peih-Gee to try to get Denise to flip and force a tie, at tribal council, Erik went home, which wasn't much of a surprise.

So, the nasty part of the episode? At the reward challenge, when Todd and his sister first saw each other and hugged, he asked after their other sister's pregnancy. He was told she had miscarried and got sad, and Jeff overheard and made them tell everyone what they were talking about. The timing was very "Johnny Fairplay lies about his grandmother being dead," except that the contestants never know much much time they will have with their loved ones, so you have to ask what you need to know.

Anyway, most of Todd's fellow Survivors seemed to think this was all fake, posturing for sympathy so he would get to go on the reward if he didn't win. And if they needed to mention this to one another back at camp, fine. But they went on and on in really kind of disgusting ways about a "convenient miscarriage" and an "Oscar-winning performance" and so on. Which if you are only making fun of Todd is one thing. But if this really happened (and I don't dispute it did), can you even imagine being Todd's family -- especially the sister who had the miscarriage -- trying to watch this episode? As if a miscarriage isn't enough of an emotionally scarring experience. It made my blood boil.

So heading into the last two episodes, we're left with:

• Peih-Gee: I can't believe she has made it this far after driving everyone nuts the first episode by volunteering to be the leader after they already had one. She seems to think she's been a master strategist the whole game, but I think she's been more carried by circumstance than active moves she's made in the game (her recent challenge wins notwithstanding).
• Denise: Now that she has finally gotten some screen time, I am finding myself strongly in her camp. She's an interesting person and an interesting character, and I hope she continues to win some challenges.
• Todd: He's been more of a game manipulator than Peih-Gee, for sure, but his constant mind-changing means he's a little short of being the Machiavelli he thinks he is. And since this jury seems pretty bitter and unforgiving, it seems like he's playing for second place.
• Amanda: She's been trying to keep Todd together, but I suspect if she makes it to the end, she might be accused of coat-tailing it, even though Todd's strategy alone probably wouldn't have gotten them as far as it has. (I don't think she's riding his coat-tails, but it might be interpreted that way.) In fact, part of why I think the other contestants don't realize how much Amanda has been working behind the scenes is Peih-Gee's questioning of Denise about why she took Amanda on the reward. (On the other hand, Peih-Gee's been pretty behind on the whole "what's happening in the game" thing before -- see: hidden immunity idol.)
• Courtney: Who thought she would still be here? Seems like since the merge, she's been kept around for numbers and because she can be beaten in any challenge (other than the one in which she had to "be lazy" and sit completely still).

What do you think is going to happen?

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Survivor
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

We all knew that Chantal and Saleisha were safe because most of last night's episode focused on Bianca and Jenah. 

Jenah should have been sent home! Yes, she has taken great photos. But she has been struggling of late. She has been sarcastic with judges, and she has expressed an overall desire to go home. I believe in granting wishes …

Bianca, on the other hand, really seemed to want this thing. Yes, she acted extremely immature and catty on the show. But, I truly think she is immature, and catty in real life. At least she was being true to herself. Jenah kept saying that she was trying to find herself. What the heck did she mean by that?

Saleisha and Chantal appeared to have found their groove. Their pictures have been strong. And Saleisha in particular looks like she has got this thing wrapped up. She keeps on getting better and better.

I’ll let you watch this YouTube clip for more info from the episode. I want to use the rest of my keystrokes to: give Jaslene some props, scold CoverGirl, and share news about the show.

After two weeks of bashing Jaslene’s management, I want to give them some props.

During her latest CoverGirl commercial, Jaslene finally did something to make us a little envious: she made the cover of Latina magazine.

No, it’s not Vogue, Elle, or Vanity Fair, but it is also a vast improvement over appearances at Wal-Mart and at an Orioles game.

Not so fast CoverGirl, ya’ll have some explaining to do!

How is it possible that Heather – the model that was booted off the show last week – was this week’s CoverGirl model of the week? She isn’t even in the competition anymore. I think that this CoverGirl competition is seriously flawed. I also think that Heather has been getting a sympathy vote because she has a form of autism.

On to the juicy news:  Twiggy won’t be returning as a judge next cycle! See ya!

Supermodel and Dancing With the Stars alum Paulina Porizkova will replace her. (And it couldn’t come at a better time!)

Twiggy is leaving the show due to “scheduling conflicts,” according to several reports. Read more here.

Personally, I don’t think the show will be hurting by the loss of Twiggy. She has been very blah at times. She has never added the same spice that Janice Dickinson brought to the show.

I don’t know much about Paulina’s personality, but I hope that she is a true diva. The show is in need of a Simon Cowell-type. Hopefully Paulina will last longer than she did on Dancing With the Stars. (She was voted off during the first round of the fourth season.)

America’s Next Top Model can’t rely on contestants to have piss-poor attitudes. (Sorry Bianca!) A true iconic fixture – a judge – will add a little somethin’ somthin’ to the show. Hopefully Paulina will be that missing ingredient to spice up the fashion gumbo that we call America’s Next Top Model. Twiggy was a little to bland for my taste.

Keep catwalking!!! See you next week for the finale!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

Is it just me, or are the challenges getting tougher on Project Runway?

Last week's -- to create a three-piece outfit for Tiki Barber that he could wear on TV on the Today Show -- was insane. People fully didn't finish the challenge, Carmen in particular. She was sent home after sending her model down the runway in a weirdly constructed Members Only-esque jacket (in a bad way), a piece of fabric draped around his neck in lieu of a shirt and frightening pants. The scariest piece, though, was from Sweet P, who said she had never made menswear but appeared to have never seen a men's shirt before. The resulting piece of clothing looked like Salvador Dali sent it through a wringer and then Willy Wonka danced all over it. Jack ended up winning, but I still question whether that was fair since he didn't actually end up making three pieces. I thought Kit had it.

Last night, the contestants each had to choose an outdated trend (such as overalls, cutouts, poodle skirts, dancewear, pleather and more). Then they broke into teams of three and had to create a cohesive, modern three-piece collection that used their three trends. 

Christian, Jack and Kit were working with zoot suits, pleather and fringe and felt confident from the start that their collection was going to win the whole thing. One might even say that they were cocky, since they lost to Jillian, Kevin and Rami (overalls, poodle skirts and 70s flare). The editors made it look like these three wouldn't finish, but Kevin finished the last piece at the last minute, and their collection definitely met the judges' expectations.

Ricky, Victorya and Elisa were dealing with neon, underwear as outerwear and cutouts, and their collection was a mess. Plus, Victorya and Ricky were butting heads the whole time, and they were both wrong and right on various fronts, so it was hard to know who to root for. I thought Ricky was done for, especially with last week's outfit, which was unfinished and full of pins on the runway.

But instead, it was poor Chris who was out. He and his team had shoulder pads, dancewear and baggy sweaters. They decided they would use one trend per outfit instead of incorporating all three, and they ended up with a collections whose only common thread (sorry) seemed to be color. Chris' jacket was deemed too costumey, and he was out.

I still think it should have been Ricky. His garments haven't been constructed well yet. Call Chris' stuff costumey, but at least it's well-made. Oh, well.  

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was one big letdown after another.

The show tried to pack in as much information as possible into one hour. Somehow, the producers were able to squeeze in: video biographies of all of their top models; a nationwide America’s Next Top Model-inspired contest to find a new runway model; a sappy love story involving Heidi Klum and her husband Seal; and a “special appearance” by the Spice Girls.

Let's start with the trite model biographies. Give me a break. (Most of the stories sounded the same: “I didn’t think I was pretty growing up. The Victoria’s Secret fashion show changed my life…) Try not to laugh too much!

The nationwide model search segment crammed the equivalent of an entire season of America’s Next Top Model into a five-minute – I’m being generous – spot. I still can’t remember the name of the woman who won that contest. There was absolutely no connection established between the contestants and the audience. Most of the memorable characters on reality television have a back story where they have overcome some sort of adversity. Not the case in world of Victoria’s Secret…

The momentum was building when will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas performed “I Got It from My Mama.”  It was upbeat, pop-sounding, and the models were able to bounce all the way down the runway. It was the perfect song for a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. The choppy, rushed style of the show didn’t help keep that momentum going…

I know that the show’s producers were trying to give the audience a behind-the-scenes feel when they aired the headset chatter of the fashion show’s directors, but it didn’t work. A lot of the chatter was inaudible and didn’t really do anything to help move the show along. A good commentator would have been sufficient. (I guess a commentator wouldn’t work because he/she would probably get tired of saying: “This is yet another model wearing underwear dipped in sequins.” Seriously, how many times can you say that?)

While I’m talking about outfits, I was not impressed with the latest designs by Victoria’s Secret. Much of the underwear looked cheap. With all the head dresses, capes, LEG WARMERS!!!, and angel wings (I swear one pair of wings looked like a preschool paper mache project gone awry), I thought I was at a bad drag show.

The models weren’t the only fashion disasters. Seal was probably the worst. He looked like he was channeling Liberace, and Michael Jackson’s outfit from the “Rock With You” video.

The show also featured a duet with Seal and Heidi Klum. (You read correctly. Heidi “belted” out some notes!) It was so slow, boring, and bad  that I wish Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn, and the other Project Runway clan were there to send the couple packing.

The show provided a few funny moments…

The camera panned in on Neil Patrick Harris eyeballing the heck out of the models. Didn’t he come out in People Magazine?

The funniest thing was the Spice Girls’ performance. It appeared to be lip synched! It was also very blah and non-memorable. They were dressed in 1930s/40s-inspired outfits. (I thought I heard Cavalli was designing their outfits for their reunion tour?) Mel B’s outfit was particularly unflattering for her figure. And Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) looked pouty as usual.

Victoria’s Secret elite model Selita Ebanks wore the famed $1 million bra this year. It didn’t look like it costs a $1 million. I wonder how they clean a diamond-encrusted bra? Do they dry clean it? Not sure.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

And now we know: Dave and Jasmine are the $250,000 winners of this season of Beauty and the Geek. That is a pretty satisfying end to this season.

The whole finale, though, was a little lackluster. It was great to see how the geeks were maintaining their makeovers, or how they had tweaked them, in some cases, and it was nice to see everyone together again. And meeting Josh's mom Marla explained soooooooo much.

But I would have preferred more time talking to all the couples and less staged weirdness, like forcing Jasmine to touch a tarantula and the other Josh getting a backrub from a stunned Natalie because he waxed his upper body. (That was based on a promise from some time during the show, but it was awkwardly presented on stage.)

Also, I wish there had been time for Tony to say something. He seems like a sweetheart, and he didn't get much time on the season.

Overall, it was another fun season for the "social experiment." What did you think?

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Beauty and the Geek
        

I haven't kept up with Beauty and the Geek as much as I had hoped, and suddenly, here we are at the end.

Last week, the final couples -- Dave and Jasmine and Nicole and Sam -- learned that voters would be choosing the winner. Tonight, they will find out who has been deemed most transformed and which team wins the $250,000 prize.

After that, all the contestants will appear for a reunion show.

It's been a fun season, and there really have been some startling changes among the players. I didn't much like Sam at first, but he he stepped it up as a teammate for Nicole -- and they are probably still around because he won so many challenges.

Dave and Jasmine got off to a bad start when he told her she was his last choice for partner, but they got over it and managed to show a lot of growth.

I am thrilled that William and Jen aren't in the finale -- their tense relationship was unpleasant to watch. Jen wasn't my favorite person, but she really wasn't overstating it when she called William a know-it-all. He could have learned a lot more during his time in the house, but maybe seeing himself on television will help?

Who do you think is going to take home the prize? I think it could go either way. 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Beauty and the Geek
        

From guest blogger John-John Williams IV:

Heidi Klum will be hitting the runway tonight. But don’t expect to see Christian anywhere. (Don’t worry Christian supporters, your hometown boy has not yet been given the boot on Project Runway!)

Klum will host the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS.

Klum’s husband, Seal, will perform. In addition, will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas will take the stage and likely perform his hit song “I Got It from My Mama.” Dancing With The Stars finalist Mel B. will go back to her roots when she performs with the Spice Girls.

Check out this Web site for behind the scenes videos from the show. Can’t get enough Heidi Klum? In some of the videos at that link, she talks candidly about getting back in shape after childbirth, and about life as a top model.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Project Runway
        

How dumb must James feel getting voted out while holding two unplayed immunity idols? Whoops!

It was nice that he still trusted his tribe, but I think he was being a little greedy, trying to hold on to them as long as possible so he could use them as a guaranteed way into the finals. Oh, well. That's why he had to be blindsided. Kudos to Amanda for figuring it out and persuading everyone go to along with her.

For the reward challenge, three contestants got to go to the Shaolin Temple and see a martial arts demonstration. Peih-Gee won the challenge and took Erik and Denise with him. Denise, as it turns out, has been taking karate for eight years and is working on her black belt. It was great to see her reveling in a reward that was so meaningful to her. (It was particularly cool for me, too, since the reason I missed the original airing Thursday night was because I was at tae kwon do class.)

The other thing that stands out for me in the episode is how awkward it was when Pieh-Gee tried to be all cool and smooth, telling Amanda that James had an immunity idol, and did she know about it? Um, yeah. EVERYONE knows. I laughed when Amanda was basically reduced to telling her to not do anything and then she will be safe *WINKWINK* to get her point across.

Speaking of Amanda, I cannot figure out what is going on with the pixelation of her rear end. When she's far away, the editors leave it alone, but if the cameras get too close, there goes the pixelation again. There doesn't seem to be a hole in the back of her bathing suit. I guess it's just a, well, wedgie issue.

This week should be interesting, since Amanda seems done with Todd and how he's playing the game. And with the "hidden" immunity idols out of play, it's a whole different game.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Survivor
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

Heather was finally given the boot on America’s Next Top Model. She totally screwed up on this week’s challenge — a Go See.

For all you Top Model newcomers and fashion beginners, a Go See is where models meet with designers for the equivalent of an interview. The models show off their portfolios, show off their signature runway walks, and model some clothes.

Heather only made it to one Go See in a six hour period. She then missed the deadline for the challenge, which disqualified her.

In the end, Heather’s amazing photos couldn’t save her, and the judges sent her back to the states. (The girls are still in China.)

We’re down to four models, and I’m feeling kind of blah.

In past years I have looked at the girls and said “Now that’s a Top Model!”  This year, I’m not so sure. Chantal seems a bit inexperienced and unsure of herself. Jenah is lucky that she survived this week’s episode. She managed to sass judge Nigel Barker, and get disqualified from the challenge. In addition, she didn’t make much of an impression on the designers during her Go See. (Several were turned off by her personality.)

Bianca is stunning -- at times, but she has a piss-poor attitude. And Saleisha is pretty, but I’m not sure that she has that “model” look.

There are only a couple of episodes left – Dec. 12 is the season finale -- and I feel that the girls are much further behind past cycles at this stage of the competition.

Has the model well run dry? Or am I being too tough on the contestants? Lemme know.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention Jaslene’s latest CoverGirl commercial that appeared amid the episode.  In this week’s commercial, it shows Jaslene throwing out a pitch at an Orioles game at Camden Yards. Excuse me! When was Jaslene in Baltimore? How did I miss her? And why was she throwing out a pitch during an Orioles game? Couldn’t she have picked a town with a better team?

First, a Wal-Mart appearance; now an Orioles game. What’s next? A high school fashion show during the Jerry Springer Show or in the infield at Preakness? Jaslene, it’s time to get better management…

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

I'm not meaning to neglect some of my favorite shows -- Amazing Race, Survivor, Project Runway -- I'm just not all caught up on my TV viewing. (I suppose the Dancing With the Stars excuse is wearing thin at this point, but now that it's gone, my chances of catching up are much better.)

In the meantime, I have John-John's post on the last Top Model to publish later today, plus I did get to finally watch Thursday's Survivor (quite a good one, too), so I will get to that today, too, I promise.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)