"Survivor," Thursday
What Happened: The aftermath of Rob voting out Alex seems to be simple: Jenna and Heidi now hate Rob. The two women are very angry at Rob for breaking the alliance and can no longer trust him.
The reward challenge involved paddling across a river to complete a puzzle. The prize is spending a night with a loved one. Matthew won the challenge, but was told by host Jeff Probst that he could give his opportunity to the other five castaways if he so chose; Matthew does just that and also gets to spend the night with his mother.
Rob tries to gain Jenna back as an ally, but his plan really misfires. Jenna wins the immunity challenge, which is basically shuffleboard. However, at tribal council, she gives up her immunity to Heidi. Since Rob desperately allied with Heidi to vote out Christy, the Long Islander is no longer on the chopping block. Christy is voted out, much to her surprise.
My Thoughts: The incessant complaining of Jenna and Heidi is really ticking me off. They complain to Rob about the way he plays the game. Don't they know that this game is about betraying people? The first winner of this show, Richard Hatch, was a complete jerk to everyone else. But the important thing to know is that Hatch won, because he knew how to play the game. However, I decided last night who I'm going to root for until the show ends: Butch. Why Butch, you ask? I know absolutely nothing about him. I know Rob is a total jerk and a backstabber. I know that Jenna and Heidi are selfish and whiny. I know that Matthew is very scary and freaky. I don't know a thing about the quiet Butch, except that he's a funny drunk, as we saw last night. So, with two episodes left, all I say is: go Butch!
"American Idol 2," Wednesday
What Happened: As I predicted, there was 55 minutes of padding and only 5 minutes of actual results Wednesday night. First, there was a group sing-along of many 1960s songs. They flew by so fast, it was hard to distinguish one from another.
Next, Burt Bacharach returned to conduct another group sing-along of "What the World Needs Now Is Love," featuring ex-contestants Carmen, Julia, Kimberly Caldwell, and Rickey. After this, there was a behind-the-scenes look at the FOX program "Boston Public," since "Idol" season one's Tamyra Gray is guest-starring on it.
Then Justin Guarini, also from the first season, came out and sang his new song, "I Saw Your Face." After, there was a look at "X2: X-Men United" premiere, which the final five singers went to.
Finally, host Ryan Seacrest revealed that the bottom two contestants this week were Trenyce and Ruben. After both sang a song for the adoring audience, Seacrest revealed that Trenyce is going home.
My Thoughts: There was so much wrong with this episode that I may forget some of its awfulness. First and foremost, what morons in this country decided that Joshua Gracin (who still can't sing, as we saw last night) is better than Ruben Studdard? When Gracin himself looks shocked and saddened that he isn't being voted out, then we have a problem. There has not been one single moment on this show where Ruben has been outshined by the nasally and whiny performance of Joshua. Of course, Ruben is safe for now, so things are all right.
Trenyce, while very good, was bound to be out in the next week or two, so I'm not that annoyed at her leaving. It was kind of sad to see that Bacharach had to mouth the words of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" to the contestants. What, they couldn't bother to memorize the words?
Also, the appearance of Justin Guarini was quite annoying. As if I wasn't already aware that he's an awful, high-pitched singer, last night's show clinched it. His performance was vocally all over the place, and was painful to watch. Finally, the strangest thing on the show was, by far, the appearance of a sign which said, "I $%*@ Corey," in reference to ex-contestant Corey Clark. Maybe I was wrong when I said the producers may not have written the signs that the audience members wave around.
"American Idol 2," Tuesday
With only five contestants left and one hour to fill, the producers of "American Idol 2" decided to double our pain Tuesday night by having each contestant sing two songs. The two songs are from two categories: the 1960s and the music of guest judge Neil Sedaka. Here's what happened:
Ruben Studdard, singing "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do:" Both of Ruben's songs were, as usual, great. The first showcased his up-tempo skills while the latter song let Ruben show America his versatile range. As Randy Jackson said, "You've already won."
Trenyce, singing "Proud Mary" and Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together:" Trenyce seemed to be more emotionally into the first song, which was bluesy and fast-paced. "Love Will Keep Us Together" was an altogether uninspiring rendition, no matter what the judges said, due to her lack of emotion.
Joshua Gracin, singing "You Can Tell Me Goodbye" and Neil Sedaka's "Bad Blood:" Even if Gracin's typically nasal performances weren't on display tonight, his back-talking to Simon was a downer. Isn't it funny how a performer only complains when Simon is right? Gracin must not have noticed how he missed an entire verse during the latter song.
Kimberley Locke, singing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and Neil Sedaka's "Where the Boys Are:" This week, Locke was at her best. My problem was more with the songs than how she sang them. Locke injected the right amount of blues and soul into each. Still, the only thought I had throughout the first song is that Marvin Gaye sings it better. Also, I couldn't help but wonder how Neil Sedaka sang a song about a girl looking for a boy to love.
Clay Aiken, singing "Build Me Up, Buttercup" and Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire:" This may have been Aiken's best week. His over-enunciation was at an all-time low and his voice was rich and layered. It's pretty obvious that Clay should be in the top two with Ruben.
When the singers weren't on display, host Ryan Seacrest and the judges took the spotlight. It was nice to hear a guest judge not be totally positive for once.
Finally, does Paula Abdul know what the word "vulnerable" means? It's not a good thing to commend someone for his/her vulnerability. Wednesday night's results show is one hour. I think we all know that means 55 minutes of padding and 5 minutes of results. Check out tomorrow's issue for an update and more commentary.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reporter for the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
