American Idol Review: Will You Still Love Them Tomorrow?

The final stretch of American Idol’s tenth season is finally upon us as this week rounded out a Top Five many viewers might not have predicted at the start of the finals a mere six weeks ago. Has it really only been that long? Fret not, readers! A light at the end of the tunnel awaits us at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater in one month to mercifully crown the winner, who can almost certainly guarantee themselves at least as many album sales as reigning champ Lee DeWyze. Aim high, kids. After enduring such grueling obstacles as the weekly Ford Music Video and yet ANOTHER tired “Songs From The Year You Were Born” theme over the last couple of months, it’s hard not to wonder if all the energy invested in Idol is really worth it – for both the viewers and the contestants. Does the title of American Idol hold any credibility these days, if ever?

Given the comparatively impressive talent this year, we’re admittedly more likely to find a potential Carrie, Kelly or Daughtry in this bunch as opposed to another Taylor Hicks-level disaster, but it’s impossible to predict whether or not the baritone twang of Scotty McCreery or the adolescent musings of Lauren Alaina will be on the pop culture radar post-May. The blinding supernova of Paul McDonald’s teeth has long faded from Idol relevancy in just two weeks, and Stefano’s dimples left nary a mark in the wake of his exit. Even the controversy of Pia Toscano’s arguably premature boot has the stale stench of yesterday’s news – because that’s precisely what it is.

Always eager to either desperately chase fleeting trends or haphazardly uphold the integrity of industry icons, this week’s set of Carole King songs followed the latter of Idol’s trademark approaches; an informative montage highlighting King’s superlative career attempted to educate the clueless target demographic with, as usual, assumedly marginal success. Let’s assess the subsequent damage, shall we?

Seacrest and the judges are doing their best to ignore the collective “Huh?” sweeping the nation by appearing relatively enthused about the night’s events. Randy’s cardigan is actually embroidered with a shockingly apt letter “R” while Seacrest resurrects his best head cheerleader skills of yore to pump up the audience. Nice try, Seacrest, but we already suspect you spent your pep rallies stuffed in a locker. The ghost of will.i.am threatens to rattle its chains as Jimmy Iovine teases about a “friend” he has joining him in the studio. Much to my relief, someone with actual credibility appears instead: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, who has a basement full of Grammys and boasts the same singer/songwriter cred as Carole King, albeit at a more modest degree of success. According to Babyface, “America hasn’t really caught the essence” of any of the contestants yet; if that’s true, I wonder what the hell we’ve been watching since January.

Jacob’s up first, and Iovine says he’s in the “most jeopardy” of being sent home. Rehearsal proves tough, as Jacob sings “Oh No, Not My Baby” about “65 times” in the studio until Iovine and Babyface are satisfied. Essence is an elusive thing, apparently. Last week the judges told Jacob to start singing for the title and show off his range, instead of reining in his theatrical side. He took the advice to heart and delivers his most energetic performance to date, complete with technically flawless vocals. The fact he raided Randy’s grandfather’s closet is beside the point, given the pure success of his singing, but Jacob’s problem still lies in his future potential as a recording artist. I appreciate his talent, but I can say with firm certainty I’d never buy his album. Idol needs a sellable artist, and Jacob’s impressive, but pigeonholed, gospel flair just won’t fit the mold. Tyler is pleased Jacob “finally shook [his] tailfeathers,” which is a more fitting description of Jacob’s stage antics than “dancing,” while J. Lo says she detected “little spaces where it wasn’t perfect,” but is glad he “brought it home” by the end and “killed it.” Randy loved the “incredible” scatting, and Seacrest congratulates Jacob while gingerly adjusting his plaid bow tie.

After Seacrest not-so-subtly plugs the Idol summer tour – another sign of the impending finale – Jimmy Iovine and Babyface express understandable skepticism toward Lauren’s trepidation about vocally challenging herself. She admits rather weakly she’s never missed a note she pushed for, but nonetheless feels nervous about the pressure from the judges to step outside her comfort zone. Miley Cyrus shows up at rehearsal for a brief pep talk, but somehow, hearing her tell Lauren “I listen to your music all the time” doesn’t ring sincere, considering the only music Lauren has to offer is her weekly karaoke on Idol. Despite Lauren’s rejuvenated belief in herself, her rendition of “Where You Lead” boasts the same level of uninspired competency as the rest of her performances. Unlike Jacob, Lauren is massively marketable, but is strangely unable to tap into the opportunity this offers her. Whereas Jacob stepped up his performance and showmanship this week, Lauren appeared as reserved as ever, despite bringing a random admirer named Brett onstage to serenade. Seacrest uses Brett’s googly-eyed appearance as an opportunity to showcase his parental interrogation skills, and the embarrassing allusion to statutory rape that results leaves Brett as dateless as he arrived. The judges seem to think Lauren brought “extra swagger” and “vengeance” to her performance, with J. Lo even saying she’s “proud” of her for pushing her vocals, but all Lauren hears is reference to a note she missed and she instantly wells up with tears. Being a teenage girl sucks enough as it is, but the kind of scrutiny these kids go through on national television must manifest the angst tenfold.

After Casey and Haley engage in one of three time-filling duets of the evening, Scotty brings the competition back on track with his heartfelt rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend.” This seems to be the week where the contestants are at least trying to implement constructive criticism into their performances, and Babyface proves an able mentor when he and Iovine get Scotty to tone down the cartoonish drawl and open the song with a softer approach. By golly, it works. By reeling in his honky-tonk shtick, Scotty is able to deliver his most poignant performance to date. The sly eyebrow smirks are kept to a minimum and he – gasp! – simply sings the song with genuine emotion and generates sincere pathos from viewers, including me. What a lovely surprise. Randy continues to mix his metaphors by congratulating Scotty for “turning the other cheek,” while J. Lo tells him that performances like this are why “we couldn’t let you get away with what you did last week.” Indeed. Tyler doesn’t think Scotty’s ever sung better, and I agree with J. Lo when she points out the strength in Scotty’s storytelling during his performance. Given his trajectory in the competition thus far, I predict a happy ending for Scotty’s Idol story.

James picks up where Scotty left off and also decides to strip down his performance this week, saying his version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” will be sans marching band or flaming piano. Instead, James says he can “put on just as big of a show” by being himself. Iovine seems thrilled with what he heard in rehearsal and hopes the “intensity and excitement” from the studio sessions will come through onstage. James begins by singing a cappella and proves his point that flashy props aren’t needed when flawless vocals and a relatable connection to the song are present. The magic of the performance interestingly dwindles a bit once the full accompaniment kicks in, but it’s the closest to a “moment” this entire season of Idol has seen so far, and, unlike any other contestant, James actually gives off the vibe of an established musician onstage. The judges are equally mesmerized, with J. Lo proclaiming James “the star of the night with that one” and Randy deeming the performance “incredible” before hinting at James’ increased chances of winning the competition. Tyler, meanwhile, continues to confuse his prepositions and informs us “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” was “the first song I ever made out to a girl with.” Like me, Tyler also preferred James’ voice a cappella, but warmed up to the band eventually. After J. Lo makes the valid point that James has been consistently solid every week, it seems more plausible than ever that Nuts of Wonder might not have this in the bag after all.

After Scotty and Lauren’s duet prompts Seacrest to continue his off-putting attempts to play matchmaker, Casey dons a fedora to growl his way through “Hi De Ho,” a risky song that undoubtedly fits Casey’s persona but not necessarily the mainstream confines of Idol. Iovine expresses concern with the polarizing nature of Casey’s performances, with good reason. Despite Casey possessing the “pure, 100 percent personality” it takes to attempt such a straightforward blues number, the performance never really goes beyond his trademark talky growl and I suspect it might alienate some viewers expecting to hear some actual musical notes emerge from his mouth. I personally think it impossible to find Casey anything but likable, but can understand why some just might not get it. Randy does get it, however, raving about Casey taking him “back to New Orleans” with his jazzy swagger, and how he “always keeps this show different.” J. Lo thinks the “whole thing worked” but recommends Casey “loosen up a bit” in his physical stance, while Tyler says Casey made his “scalp itch, it was so good,” and loves how Casey’s niche is “nestled into all this American Idol stuff.” So, in the midst of all this manipulative mainstream crap, actual musicianship can really be found? Thanks, Uncle Stevie!

Poor Haley can never seem to catch a break, as her rendition of “Beautiful” is initially off to a jilted start when technical difficulties threaten to thwart her performance. Luckily, both the “groovy and uplifting” song and her interpretation hold up throughout, and I suddenly notice Haley is a completely different performer than she was the first week of finals. Virtually gone are the orangutan arm swivels and cutesy pouts, and she looks more polished and professional than ever. While Lauren has been stuck at the same level week to week, Haley has actually displayed remarkable progression in her performance skills and ability to control her throaty wails. Tyler, of course, exhibits needless hyperbole in place of normal positive comments, saying he “saw God” during Haley’s performance. Whatever. Randy begins to say he “didn’t love the beginning,” but J. Lo cuts him off and tells Haley she has “one of the best voices in the competition,” a compliment that means less and less each week.

After Wednesday’s performance show ends with James and Jacob offering a hilariously horrendous performance of “I’m Into Something Good,” Thursday night arrives with more time-wasting filler on the horizon. Seacrest opens the show by warning us that the “crazy” results will leave “ a lot of fans disappointed.” How mysterious. After the earth-shattering news that Steven Tyler is famous enough to be on the covers of TWO magazines in the SAME WEEK (is it in the judges’ contracts to be simultaneously publicized by multiple media outlets?) a mind-numbing sequence of the Idols exploring the British consulate in anticipation of the Royal Wedding snatches away three and a half minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

After the group medley offers new insight into the incompetency of Idol’s sound department, the Ford commercial renders me virtually comatose. Even the return of Crystal Bowersox and her wonderfully hippie mic stand can’t wrestle an attitude adjustment from this disgruntled viewer.

One drawn-out Q&A session with the Idols later, a result or two is finally revealed. Of course, there’s still copious time to kill, so Iovine is brought back to tell the Idols via JumboTron what they suck at. Haley resents Iovine’s proclamation that she doesn’t have a musical identity, and gets the first contestant bleep of the season. I like her more and more every day. In maybe the first display of mercy given to her, Haley is deemed safe right off the bat and heads for the Couch of Safety. Scotty, Casey and Jacob are each brought on stage to hear Iovine’s respective observations, and then told to sit down again without hearing their fate, because there’s STILL SO MUCH TIME LEFT. Eventually, James and Lauren join Haley on the Safety Couch, leaving Scotty, Casey and Jacob as the bottom three. I’m shocked to see Scotty in this group, but Seacrest slyly mentions the results are random, so this “bottom three” isn’t necessarily comprised of all the lowest vote recipients. Oh, Idol, you’ve got to stop sneaking up on me like this!

After Bruno Mars sings a song about being defiantly lazy, a subject matter I’m all too familiar with, someone finally gets kicked off the show. In a move I admittedly do find surprising, Jacob is the first one of the “bottom three” sent back to safety, leaving Casey and Scotty as the final two up for elimination. Since I’m fairly sure the Idol equivalent of a burning cross would have showed up on stage in the event of Scotty’s departure, I prepare to say goodbye to Casey. Indeed, his Idol time has officially run out, but his second elimination proves cheerier and far less dramatic than the first. Casey takes the news in stride, and sings “I Put A Spell On You” to the audience, judges and fellow Idols, making particular effort to croon the last words “because you’re mine” to rumored girlfriend Haley. It’s cute.

While Casey’s unabashed personality and unique spin on the tired Idol cookie-cutter singer will be missed, it’s inevitable that the show would eventually have to say goodbye to him for good. With Season 10 coming to a rapid close, a final showdown between James and Scotty seems virtually inevitable. Everything else, ultimately, is just filler.

Are you sad to see Casey go, or thrilled to finally be rid of his grizzly-man jazz revue? Has James surpassed Scotty as the assumed one to beat this season? Is English Steven Tyler’s second language? Post your thoughts below!

For another take on Casey’s exit, read “Now With 100% Less Beard” by Kelley Lynn.

Season 10, Episodes 30 – 31: 6 Finalist Compete and 1 of 6 Voted Off (originally aired April 27 – 28, 2011)

For more American Idol coverage, click here.

Don’t miss American Idol Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8/7c on FOX.

Photographs courtesy of IMDbPro.

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The Office Review: Goodbye, Michael

It’s officially the end of an era. A passing of the guard. The day the music died. A rolling stone gathers no moss (wait, maybe not that last one). Michael Scott (Steve Carell) has left Scranton for greener, more elevated pastures, leaving the state of the office in a bit of limbo and ending in a send off that is satisfying, if not a little cliche.

On this particular morning we find Michael on the roof of the building, gazing at the modest Scranton skyline one last time and “getting used to higher elevation” before his move to Colorado. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) takes the opportunity to present Michael with an assortment of “Rocky Mountain Oysters.” Michael takes a big, savory bite not understanding that they aren’t oysters, but are in fact bull testicles; another vindictive prank by Dwight, still bitter that he was not promoted to office manager. As Michael deals with the bittersweetness of his final days at the office, Gabe deals with his split with Erin (Ellie Kemper) the only way he knows how- by telling Andy (Ed Helms) to stay away from her, threatening that he is dangerous and “owns 200 horror films.”

With the following day being Michael’s last, Pam, Phyllis, and Angela put their heads together to create a proper going-away party for Michael, but end up just butting heads. Things get even worse when Meredith butts in, suggesting a shop that specializes in erotic cakes. While this fiasco unfolds in the conference room, Michael reveals during an interview segment that this day is his last. The lie seems unfair and strangely mean, but the regret on Michael’s face seems to suggest otherwise. Michael struggles to go about the rest of his day by giving special gifts to all his employees: to Phyllis, a pair of wind up teeth, reminding her to speak her mind; to Darrell (Craig Robinson), an unfinished manuscript titled “Somehow I Manage” (fantastic wordplay, that); and most alarmingly, to Andy goes Michael’s ten best clients. As luck would have it, Andy is a terrible salesman and in a effort to stop the hemorrhaging of his top tier clients, he grabs D’angelo (Will Ferrell) to help him on an in-person greeting. D’angelo, whose behavior is becoming increasingly odd and alarming (pressing marshmallows into a coffee burner plate doesn’t exactly fall under “normal”).

Michael continues his rounds, scratching everyone off his Goodbye List as he comes to them. Most notably, Dwight, who is touched by a glowing letter of recommendation from Michael, but is even more excited by a cryptic note attached to the letter: “2:45. Back of the building. Paintball.” And there is suddenly epic paintball. Not paintball the likes of Community’s “Modern Warfare”, but the mini-war really does sum up Michael and Dwight’s relationship nicely.

Off-site, D’angelo is coming apart at the seams, all during this important meeting. Instead of encouraging Andy as a salesman, he completely assassinates his character. “You ever play Russian Roulette?” he asks casually. “Time to spin the chamber by signing up for another year.” Needless to say, the meeting is an absolute disaster, but Andy still has some juice in him to attempt to recover.

After Michael hangs out with the warehouse crew and has a heart-to-heart with Erin, the last person on his list is Pam, who has gone out to price paper shredders, but really has gone to see The King’s Speech (bad choice, Pammy). As the day nears its inevitable end, Michael becomes more and more anxious, the reality that he is leaving earlier than people think finally getting to him. He calls for a company meeting, but still can’t muster the strength to say goodbye and instead channels “Ping,” one of his most insanely offensive improv characters. With the meeting imploding, Jim can see the forest through the trees and takes Michael into his office, asking to take him to lunch the next day (his “last”). It’s Jim’s way of squeezing the truth that he already knows and rather than say their goodbyes right there in the office, Jim opts to save them for “tomorrow,” which won’t happen, but the sentiment is a nice touch and this scene distinguishes itself as the strongest of the episode. There’s something to be said for some well placed subtlety, even if it is noticed (I’m looking at you, Paul Haggis).

The episode closes with Michael at the airport, moving through security and ripping off his microphone pack once and for all in an effort of solidarity. As he walks further away from camera, Pam runs up to him, just barely catching up. The two exchange words, scrambled by the din of the airport; a really nice moment, but ultimately one that Greg Daniels lifted from Lost in Translation. And with that, Michael is off to Colorado, leaving Scranton in his rear view.

Show runner Daniels and episode vet Paul Feig close Steve Carell’s tenure on The Office rather effortlessly, if not for recycling some old ideas and themes from other shows as well as their own, but with a storyline like this, a bit or reflection is almost necessary and when looked at from that perspective, works. No doubt, the remaining three episodes of the season will close out Will Ferrell’s arc (an odd, but very funny post-script to the episode has D’angelo completely losing his shit at what would have been Michael’s goodbye party) and touts guest starring spots filled by Ray Romano, Ricky Gervais, and Jim Carrey. Steve Carrell may be gone, but judging from the talent roster on the back end of the season, filling his shoes is going to be no small task and he won’t soon be forgotten.

Season 7, Episode 21: “Goodbye, Michael” (originally aired April 28, 2011)

Will The Office survive without Steve Carell? Watch NBC Thursday nights at 9/8c to find out.

Check Poptimal for more of Keith Kuramoto‘s pop culture observations.

Looking for more Poptimal coverage of The Office? Your search ends here.

Images courtesy of Chris Haston for NBC and IMDbPro

America’s Next Top Model Review: The Wild, Barren, and Desert Morocco

The dry Moroccan desert served as the spirit of this week’s ANTM performances as a few of the models delivered wild and uncultivated work at the go-see and the photo shoot while the one of the girls’ work teetered between vegetative and barren, and Tyra forsook her warning to one of the girls.

Upon arrival to Morocco, the top five models toured the streets and marketplace and met up with Mr. Jay Manuel and Miss J. Alexander where they learned they’d be treated to an authentic Moroccan lunch and taken on a fashion tour of Morocco.  After lunch, the girls arrived at a local boutique and met Vogue fashion editor and ANTM judge Andre Leon Tally who introduced the girls to Marrakeshi fashion designer Noureddine Amir.  Each girl tried on a dress and walked for Andre and Amir.  Since models usually wear sample sizes, which are around size 2, unfortunately, Kasia, almost brought to tears, ran into the classic conundrum all ANTM plus sizes models have encountered at one stage of the competition when they modeled clothes for a designer – finding something, anything that will fit her voluptuous body.  Although Kasia did not have a size 2 body, she had a leg up on the other models who made the classic model mistake of forgetting to bring their heels, and Alexandria even wore socks while modeling her gown.  Although it wasn’t a challenge, she didn’t have heels, and she didn’t put her hand on her hip at all, Brittani, according to Andre, came the closest to having a runway-ready walk.  Away from the boutique, Andre met the models on a Moroccan rooftop, shared tea with them, and chatted about the competition before he told them that the rooftop actually sat atop their new home in Morocco.

For their first Moroccan photo shoot, the girls arrived in the Marrakeshi desert where Jay Manuel introduced the girls to their photographer Michael Woolley.  For the shoot, the girls were styled in a mix of “traditional costuming and European sophistication.”  Having gotten past the drama with Alexandria and the judges, Brittani reclaimed her spot as one of the most inspirational and enjoyable models to shoot and watch work.  Jay Manuel even noted that she’d “gotten her mojo back.”  Molly finally learned to go with the flow of not only the camel but the photo shoot and delivered a great shoot minus the negative attitude.  While Alexandria thought she was “feeling the moment,” Michael Woolley thought she was “overdirecting” herself in the shot.  Hannah, who in the past has been the forgotten and unmemorable one, brought her electric bull-riding skills to the Moroccan desert and became the model favorite of the photographer as she brought the spirit and energy that he said he initially wanted for the shoot.

Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, joined the judges as the week’s guest judge.  As each model received her critique, they watched the pendulum once again shift Brittani back into the #2 position as the judges loved her “androgynous,” story-telling photo.  Alexandria, although she arrived at judging looking more model-esque, delivered a stiff photo, and Tyra finally noted that she got word back again that Alexandria was talking back to the photographer.  With Alexandria trying to take over the photo shoot, yet again, and Kasia loosing her spark, Molly received best photo, Hannah rounded out the top 3, and Alexandria and Kasia were left in the bottom two.  Even though Tyra admonished Alexandria weeks ago that if she received word again just once more that Alexandria was trying to take over a photo shoot again, she would be sent home; since Alexandria had a stronger portfolio than Kasia, who was the only model to come prepared with heels in tow for the Moroccan go-see, Tyra hypocritically announced that Kasia would be the first model sent home from Morocco.

Cycle 16, Episode 10: “Franca Sozzani” (originally aired April 27, 2011)

Get fierce with this season of America’s Next Top Model, Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

To look at this episode from a different angle, check out “An Oasis of Fashion and Culture” by Desiree Neall.

Images courtesy of The CW

Dylan Dog Review: Another Failed Comic Book Movie?

Take one part mystery, one part supernatural, and one part so-so acting and you get Dylan Dog. Based on the Italian comic book series of the same name, the film version stars Brandon Routh as the retired supernatural detective, Sam Huntington as his sidekick Marcus, and Icelandic actress Anita Briem as Elizabeth.

At first it all seems like a cheesy B-detective movie with Routh as the private eye with a shady past and Briem as the damsel in distress. But not all as it seems in New Orleans as we learn all about its colorful citizens like the werewolves who run a meat packing warehouse, vampires who control the hottest nightclub and sell their blood as drugs, and of course zombies who are just trying to live like the living (no pun intended).

But with a series of murders of both the human and supernatural alike the formerly retired supernatural detective is pulled back into a world that he walked out on. He quickly needs to figure out what is happening and who is behind all the mysterious deaths plus a massive flesh-eating zombie. There to help him is his trusted sidekick Marcus who gets a crash course as a new member of the undead. Huntington was the true gem in this film as his reactions to accepting his new self are priceless. He appears to go through at least some stages of grief like denial, anger and acceptance.

Huntington is currently on Syfy’s Being Human as the werewolf Josh and so he’s no stranger to a supernatural setting. Routh himself has played a “super” character as Bryan Singer’s Superman in Superman Returns as well as the psychic Todd Ingram in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

While Routh is the lead character in the movie, I was a little disappointed with his performance. He just didn’t sell me on his tortured past with his intense reflective gazes that really weren’t working at all. Dylan as the sarcastic and witty anti-hero was just so flat. His love scene with Briem felt so awkward and forced that I was relieved they didn’t show anything more than a kiss and Routh taking his shirt off.

Still though I can’t say that didn’t enjoy some parts of it, mainly Huntington’s scenes as he tries to cope with life as a newly undead. He goes to a burger joint only to be given worms because that was the alternative to human flesh. His human instincts are still telling him how gross that is but it’s hilarious to see zombies portrayed as creatures with feelings and thoughts too, instead of just mindless slow walking human eaters. They even have a zombies therapy group where they can just talk and express their feelings. Maybe it’s because only Marcus’s character that shows any real growth or change as he goes from being a human to a zombie and having to deal with a new set of extremely challenging circumstances that makes for a more interesting performance.

While there were definitely some interesting plot points, Dylan Dog is more of a renter. The film did play homage to the original Italian comic book character by making Dylan wear a red button up shirt and a black sports coat. He even spoke a little Italian. The supernaturals though were more caricatures than real characters, such as Taye Diggs‘ vampire Vargas, who was utterly predictable and generic in his power hungry, I want to conquer the world kind of way. Despite that though, we got some fun fight scenes, a super evil looking beast, a hilarious look at zombie culture, a not so typical damsel in distress plot, and Brandon Routh shirtless. You can be the judge if that’s worth your nine dollars.

Survivor Review: Selling the Drama

Survivor returned this week with its sights set on either changing the course of the game or, at the very least, turning up the plot to a more dramatic pitch. As stated in the past, this season of Survivor has been quite underwhelming due to its predictability. With not many episodes left, the sooner we get down to six contestants (the remaining Ometepe tribe members), the sooner we will have more entertaining episodes to view. With this fact in mind, a twist was thrown in this week that helped speed up the process.

Phillip continued on his path of insanity, stating he had more visions from his Native American ancestors which led him to find his buried shorts. Smiling ear to ear with this victory, Phillip displayed his shorts openly to Julie at Redemption Island, right before her duel against Matt and Mike. After losing in a shuffleboard-like challenge, Julie is now our second member of the jury alongside David. As far as Matt and Mike go, they still remain on Redemption Island, awaiting their fate. It has to be said however, that no matter how crazy Phillip makes himself look, Matt is doing his best to compete in the “most out-of-his-mind survivor” category. Continually stating that he is here for his God, and that it is God’s will for him to endure Redemption Island, is utterly ridiculous. This is a game show. This is a multimillion dollar business on CBS. Jeff Probst is the host. I don’t think God is anywhere near this thing.

After the duel, contestants competed in a log rolling competition with immunity and a gigantic chocolate cake as rewards for the victor. Ralph and Grant battled against one another in the finals, with Grant outlasting Ralph after a lengthy bout. Aside from Rob, Grant has to be the most dangerous player still left. He has the ability to win his way right into the final two or three, and if I were in this game, I would send him packing the first chance I got. That being said, contestants on this show continually show their desire to not make any big moves. Before tribal council, Steve approached the remaining female members with a very smart proposition: blind side Rob. Rob has complete control over this game, and if his allies continue to allow him to coast through, he will easily be in the finals. So what do these girls do? They go and tell Rob what Steve proposed and have a good chuckle about it. It’s as if they don’t realize this is an individual game, and at some point they will need to map out a way to best advance themselves.

At tribal council, the game was given a twist. After Ralph was voted to Redemption Island, remaining contestants were immediately thrown into another immunity challenge that involved them repeating a series of images on cards held up by Jeff Probst. This is where things could have gotten really interesting. If Steve were to have won this challenge, the Ometepe tribe would have had to vote one of their own off. However, Steve lost and was cast to Redemption Island where we now have four castaways.

The silver lining to this week’s episode is that we lost two contestants, thus speeding up the game and making the next episode more interesting. Still, we have four people on Redemption Island, and wouldn’t it be interesting if those castaways formed their own tribe and were pitted against Murlonio? Not likely, but just an idea. Stay tuned.

Season 22, Episode 11: A Mystery Package (originally aired April 27, 2011)

For more on Survivor, click here.

Don’t miss Survivor: Redemption Island Wednesdays, 8/7c on CBS.

Photos: CBS ©2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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In Plain Sight Interview: Why Joshua Malina’s Better Than Snooki

There are many things I suppose I could thank In Plain Sight’s Joshua Molina for.

Let’s start with the obvious: his earnest and stalwart portrayal as Peter Alpert, the rock-steady though faulted boyfriend of series lead Mary McCormack’s sister in the hit USA Network show. A character which makes a girl believe no matter your issues, or how screwed up your family, there’s a multimillionaire waiting for you somewhere out there. Or if that’s not enough, I could go old school (or at least my version of it), and give kudos to the creator of Celebrity Poker Showdown, a show that I was completely addicted to as it gave a sneak peek into how it feels to socialize with our favorite celebs. And I suppose yet another debt would be his general awesomeness during our Wednesday afternoon interview. But, any of that must give way to the book lover in me. And so I say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you Joshua Malina for being better than Snooki.

In the course of our interview, the actor talks season 4 of In Plain Sight ahead of the debut this Sunday (May 1st on USA). Also, Malina talks Knights of Badassdom, why he’s not fit for his dream job and how he almost got Brad Whitford to admit ‘I’m a bad actor.’

Keshaunta Moton for Poptimal.com: You play Peter Alpert on In Plain Sight. Can you tell us more about your character?
Josh Malina: Peter is your everyday mild mannered recovering alcoholic multimillionaire. He’s kind of a car tycoon in Albuquerque and he is the unlikely boyfriend of Mary McCormack’s character’s sister Brandi. They actually meet in an AA meeting and hit it off. He’s an unlikely character for me to play and I think Peter’s kind of the emotional anchor to Brandi’s sort of crazy family. The whole family has issues; it’s kind of funny to be the calm in the storm of it.

Poptimal: You said he was an unlikely character for you to play, why’d you choose him?
Malina: I would have played whatever character was offered me on Mary’s show. I got a text from Mary a couple years ago saying ‘I think we’re going to offer you an arc on the show.’ Sight unseen, I’m just a huge fan of Mary’s. So I would have done whatever it was. Any time you get to do something, it’s kind of a joy, because people tend to get typecast. I have no complaints about the characters I’ve played; it’s always fun to do something that is a little bit different. Rather than being the nomadic crazy guy it’s kind of fun to be the only stable anchor.

Poptimal: At the end of last season, it was announced that you [Peter] and Brandi would be moving in together. What’s coming up on Season 4 with you two?
Malina: That’s an interesting question, I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to reveal. We definitely will be taking the relationship to the next level. Definitely not on shaky ground, we’re getting more and more serious.

Poptimal: What do you love most about Peter?
Malina: Peter is funny in a very dry way. I think he has a sense of humor that is sly and not immediately apparent. He’s not way out there; there are certainly wackier characters on the show. I think that Peter’s taking in everything he sees and commenting quietly, slyly on what it is. I like his sense of humor.

Poptimal: In what ways do you think that you are like Peter?
Malina: I think I am, myself, more reserved in public situations than people might guess. I’m an observer, first and foremost. I like to get the lay of the land and see what’s going on before I get involved. I think maybe I have that in common with Peter.

Poptimal: You starred in The West Wing with Mary McCormack. In what ways has your relationship changed during this series in comparison to that one?
Malina: I would say I just get to know her better and better. She and I were a couple on The West Wing, and now on this show I’m dating her sister. So, it’s been changed on screen, in terms of our friendship it deepens. The more we get to know each other the fonder of her I am. Our relationship has always been very similar; I think we work in very similar ways. We just kind of do it, we don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it we just throw ourselves in and do it.

Poptimal: You also have another project Kings of Badassdom?
Malina: The Knights of Badassdom, yes.

Poptimal: I love that name so much.
Malina: I was sold on the title too. I had to work to get into that movie and I fell in love with it even before I read it. I was like ‘there’s something called The Knights of Badassdom, I want to be in that.’ So I pursued it and it’s actually a really clever and scary horror movie. I just sent an e-mail to the director, a great guy named Joe Lynch asking him about it because I’m dying to see it. I’m not even sure when that comes out, but I have high hopes for it.

Poptimal: Can you tell us more about the film, a synopsis?
Malina: There are a lot of surprises in it, I have to be careful not to give too much of it away. It’s about a bunch of LARPers, Live Action Role Players, these guys that are kind of Dungeon and Dragons type thing. They go out to a field and they actually bring their swords and they act these things out. They’ve acquired a book of spells from eBay, which they’re kind of fooling around with. Unbeknownst to them they actually unleash something out of this world. It’s very humorous, but at the same time it’s a legitimate horror movie too. It follows what happens to them.

Poptimal: That sounds awesome.
Malina: Yeah, I think it is going to be. It’s one of those things that I can’t believe I’m in. This is not the kind of thing normally I would think of someone offering me so I was really, really psyched to get a part in this.

Poptimal: Of your career, are there any particular characters you feel you’ve connected to the most?
Malina: Aaron Sorkin is an old friend of mine, and has been very good to me as an employer. He created two different characters for me, Jeremy on Sports Night and Will Daily on The West Wing. Those are the two characters I feel most connected to. I don’t want to claim to be like them because they’re both smarter and nicer and better people than I am. But I feel a real connection to them. I played them for an extended period of time. They were so creatively well written that I always have a place in my heart for those two.

Poptimal: I heard that you saved Aaron Sorkin’s life is that true?
Malina: It was many years ago. I did Heimlich him, it’s true; whether he would have died without me it’s hard to say, but he was definitely choking and somehow I managed to Heimlich him. I don’t claim to save his life but it did happen.

Poptimal: I’m sure a great many people want to thank you for that. Are there any other projects that you’re working on?
Malina: I’ve been very busy lately. I’m on the finale of Private Practice this season. I’m on CSI Miami…Shonda Rimes has a new pilot and hopefully we’ll get picked up and do the series, it’s called Damage Control. And next week I start work on a really good script in this movie called The First Time. I’m kind of all over the place lately.

Poptimal: What has been your greatest career achievement to date?
Malina: I don’t know; I don’t want to claim greatness on anything I’ve done. With that being said, one of the things I most enjoy, is I actually have a web series that I wrote, co-produced and co-starred in; that was definitely one of my favorite achievements anyway. I don’t know if I’d make the claim to greatness but it’s called Backwash, and it’s a really ridiculous, absurdist, slapstick-y old school comedy. Making it was a great deal of fun and a big achievement. It was fun to make something I wrote.

Poptimal: What were you like in high school?
Malina: I was way into theatre already but definitely one of the guys who was in a lot of the plays. I think my main motivation was to make people laugh… and it remains today.

Poptimal: That was my next question, are you still like that today?
Malina: I am, except that my family’s really tired of it. I had a more receptive audience when I was in high school. Now, my kids and my wife roll their eyes at my attempt to make them laugh.

Poptimal: I heard on the set of The West Wing, you were a prankster. Is that true?
Malina: That is true. In keeping with my high school persona, I did spend as much time as I could trying to prank people. Brad Whitford was on an episode of In Plain Sight this season, I wasn’t in the episode myself, but I put a recurring joke into play but it ultimately didn’t work out. Brad wrote an episode of The West Wing, in which he made my character Will say “I can’t act, I’m a terrible actor.” Pretty funny, I have to hand it to him. And then another time, I did an episode of his TV series The Good Guys, he had the writers write in another thing that said ‘I can’t act, I’m not that good of an actor.” As soon as I heard he was doing In Plain Sight, I called Mary and I begged her to try to get the writers to write his character a line saying “I’m a terrible actor” and they did and I was really gloating and very excited about it. And then I got a text message from Mary, the night they were supposed to shoot it, they ran out of time and had to cut that scene. I was very, very disappointed.

Poptimal: If you weren’t an actor, what would you do?
Malina: That’s good. Is it a fantasy question, something I wish I would do, or realistically, something I think I might do?

Poptimal: Let’s go fantasy. Just go as big as you want.
Malina: If it isn’t fantasy, if it’s real, I think I’d be a screenwriter, I think I would really concentrate on that. Fantasy, I think I’d be a novelist. I know that I in fact, could never write a novel, but in my fantasy world I would love to have that ability to be able to write books, novels.

Poptimal: I’m just saying; Snooki has one, so I think you could do it.
Malina: Well, I haven’t read it; I can’t speak to the quality of it. Yeah, I might be able to write a Snooki novel.

Poptimal: I’m just saying it’s possible.
Malina: You may be right.

You’ve got to love someone who can admit to their own limitations, someone who cares more about the principles of art than their own vanity and that’s something I can admire.

Make sure you catch Malina on In Plain Sight’s season 4 premiere this Sunday, May 1st at 10/9c on USA Network.

Photos courtesty of Gregory Peters/USA Network and IMDb Pro.

America’s Next Great Restaurant: Q & A with Chef Bobby Flay

Chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay participated in a question-and-answer session this week, addressing the finale of his new show, NBC’s America’s Next Great Restaurant. The competition allows aspiring restaurant owners to vie for an initial investment in their enterprise, with professional mentoring, part ownership, and what Flay referred to as “a substantial salary” as additional rewards. Three contestants remain: Jamawn Woods, who wants to open Soul Daddy, Joey Galluzzi (Brooklyn Meatball Company), and Sudhir Kandula (Spice Coast).

Choosing between Jamawn’s American soul food, Joey’s traditional Italian fare, and Sudhir’s healthy and trendy Indian cuisine has been tough for the judges, Flay admitted. He spoke of the “hours on top of hours” of deliberation required each week for an elimination to be decided upon. As viewers don’t get a vote, he and his fellow investor judges are solely responsible for deciding what America will likely want to eat; and there are many considerations to weigh. In this age of heightened awareness about food and nutrition, light Indian dishes might be preferred over comforting but calorie-packed soul food, while Italian meatballs are always a favorite, explained Flay. Each contestant has strong skills, dedication, and a high level of passion for what they do, which the seasoned chef considers essential to starting a restaurant and having it succeed. When trying to open a new eatery, “there are so many things that can go wrong and only a few things that can go right,” he offered, saying that shows like these provide the unique opportunity to gain needed tools and financial support, but the competitors have to possess the requisite drive and work ethic to realize their dreams.

When asked what shocked him the most at the start of the ordeal, Flay was frank. People weren’t too keen to have their restaurant ideas dissected and altered by the potential investors, he said. The players were in the game to win, but many failed to carefully consider the fact that constructive criticism was necessary for their growth and improvement. Instead of competing for the sake of the show, suggested Flay, the contestants should keep their eye on the prize, which is earning a restaurant and improving their skills to maintain its success. The nature of competitive reality television is such that it may be easy to forget what the real goal is in a situation like this.

Flay revealed that the upcoming finale will feature the remaining chefs as they “go through the motions” of opening pop-up restaurants and seeing how they respond under pressure while serving customers. Ultimately, the winning eatery will be open to the public in three cities on the day following the final episode, with locations in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and New York City. Only the investor judges know who won, and staffing of the restaurants is already underway. It seems an ambitious and risky undertaking, which is why Flay has considered the judging process so stressful.

The chef’s love of food and passion for restaurants that pair great service with a fun, creative dining experience compel him to inspire others in their own business pursuits. Offering advice to those who seek to open restaurants themselves, Flay insisted that people let their origins, birthplace, and family dining experiences inform their cooking. Create “food that you know,” he said, and develop the rich flavors and ingredients that helped to kindle your love of food in the first place. Cook and plan authentically, he said, and the customers will come to you. The public will ultimately decide which ideas fail and which weave themselves indelibly into our collective understanding of American dining.

Watch as America’s next great restaurnat is chosen this Sunday, May 1st.

America’s Next Great Restaurant airs Sundays at 8/7c on NBC.

Images courtesy of Chris Haaston, Mitchell Haaseth and NBC.

The Vampire Diaries Review: Jenna Gets Her Head in the Game

It seems like I’m going to be starting every article that I write about The Vampire Diaries in a state of shock. I just finished watching this week’s episode and once again I’m lifting my jaw off the floor. This has officially become the show where just about anything can happen and lately – it does.

But before we get to this week’s stunner let’s start at the beginning. With Klaus now in town and ready to break his curse, the gang of heroes prepares their plan to save Elena. The reformed Elijah produces a magic elixir that will make Elena appear dead during the ritual only to come back to life when Klaus is gone and the coast is clear. Damon absolutely hates this plan and wants to find another way so when Elena tries to calm him down he repays her by force feeding her his blood. Yep, you know what that means. If Klaus sacrifices her now, she’ll be turning into a vampire!

For Stefan, this action goes over like, well…it goes over like when your arrogant brother turns your perfectly lovely girlfriend into a vampire. I shouldn’t have to say this but: they start fighting. They both get a few good licks in but Damon ends it by staking Stefan in the chest. By this time Alaric and Jenna arrive to help break things up. Jenna even pitches in for the first time by getting some bags of blood for Stefan to feed on to regain his strength. Damon leaves in a huff.

Meanwhile, Klaus is across town (I can’t really back that up; he might live next door.) preparing for the ritual. We know by now that in addition to the doppleganger (Elena) he needs to also kill a vampire and a werewolf. Mystic Fall’s favorite werewolf, Tyler (Michael Trevino), has vanished but Klaus lures him back by sending his witch henchman to toss Tyler’s mom down a flight of stairs Scarlet O’Hara style. Tyler comes back to visit her in the hospital despite his besty, Jules’s advice not to. While at the hospital, Tyler runs into Caroline who is shocked to see him. Jules reluctantly gives them some private time and a few moments later, Klaus’s witches show up and take both Tyler and Caroline prisoner. Guess we know who’s getting sacrificed!

Damon, in his rampage to come up with a Plan B, boldly goes to Klaus’s apartment and demands that Katherine tell him who the intended werewolf sacrifice is suppose to be so he can kill him/her prior to the ritual. Katherine spills the beans that its going to be Caroline and Tyler and they’re being held in the tomb. Damon races there where he confronts Klaus’s witch and kinda gets his ass kicked, but then Matt shows up with a shotgun and shoots the witch dead.

Matt, as we know, is in cahoots with Caroline’s sheriff mom to dig up info on the vampires around town but we can tell his heart is leaning towards Caroline and wants to protect her at all costs. Damon temporarily knocks him out and frees Caroline and Tyler himself. Together they all flee into the woods as the full moon rises…

While this has all been going on Stefan and Elena have been taking a walk in the woods to talk about their feelings near CGI waterfalls and mountaintop sunsets. Bottomline: they love each other and she doesn’t want to be a vampire. Duh.

When they return to town Elena willingly turns herself over to Klaus and minutes later Damon calls to say that he has Caroline and Tyler safely away so do not let Elena go. Oops. Little late on that one, Damon. But then, to make matters worse, Tyler turns into a werewolf in the full moon and goes on the attack. Damon distracts him in a vicious brawl while Caroline and Matt get to safety in the Lockwood cellar.

Damon then breaks free to tell Klaus that the jig is up with his intended sacrificial lambs now free. But Klaus manages to one-up him with his snooty accent by revealing that he has Jules being held prisoner as a backup werewolf. And just when we think Damon is going to be named the backup vampire, we learn that Damon is already as good as dead from a werewolf bite that Tyler landed on him so Klaus decides to make a new vampire…..

Can I get a drumroll please?

And the newest vampire is………AUNT JENNA!!!

If you saw this coming you are a liar. She has been worthless since almost episode one so we’ll see if this change makes her relevant or interesting from here on out. Then again, she could very well die next week. Who knows?! All I know is that next week is going to be INSANE so tune in and be sure to post your predictions below!

The Vampire Diaries: Season 2, Episode 20: “The Last Day” (originally aired April 28, 2011)

 The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on TheCW.

Images courtesy of Bob Mahoney and The CW.

The Celebrity Apprentice Review: Coup d’Trump

Week Eight of Celebrity Apprentice starts like any other, with NeNe upset and the men whining about Gary Busey. Gary is, thankfully, but a memory now, though Meat Loaf is still profoundly affected, reeling from the experience. While the rest of the contestants chill in the champagne room, toasting their Busey-free future, NeNe is tucked away on a couch somewhere, chagrined by the fact that LaToya doesn’t want to be best friends with her after the season ends. John Rich is optimistic about his team; there are three “race horses” remaining, he says, so the men should be virtually unstoppable now. Since the women’s team is crumbling due to infighting and a malignant tumor by the name of Star Jones, I’d say the guys have it in the bag.

Perhaps I’m too cynical, but I could do without the scene at the start of every episode that features last week’s winning Project Manager handing over a check to their charity. I know that’s what this show is pretending to be all about, but I find it condescending at best. This week, we get Hope bowling with some representatives from Best Buddies before gifting them with $20,000 and plenty of hugs. There’s no reason for this program to be two hours long; it’s adding insult to injury when we’re given extended shots of The Donald walking down long hallways and the corporate executives du jour explaining their idea of brand messaging for several minutes at a time while the charity segments last approximately thirty seconds apiece. The players might as well speed by charity headquarters in a limousine each week and toss dollar bills from the windows on the way to their next task. I don’t think anyone would notice the difference.

Trump greets the contestants in one of his many high-rise buildings by preposterously stating, “Everybody’s saying I should run for President” before playfully soliciting their support. They’re all talking about it as if it’s all a harmless joke; I’d be laughing along with them if only the situation were actually a giant farce and not a tragic reality. The task this week is to create a four-page conceptual advertising campaign for the Trump Hotel Collection, a series of luxury establishments in different locations. As always, the teams will be judged according to creativity, brand messaging, and the strength of their pitch to executives. Star immediately demands to be Project Manager, while John Rich is pushed into the lead by his own team despite claiming to be “drawing a blank” when it comes to luxury accommodations. It’s too high-end and outside his range of expertise, he claims. This guy consistently acts like he just fell off the turnip truck; is he afraid he’ll alienate his fans if he admits to having stayed in a hotel room at some point in his career?

Star hits the ground running during her team’s brainstorming session. Since she’s lodged at Trump’s hotels many times, she says, she knows all about their expectations and impeccable taste. “I know as much about luxury as I do about living,” she says. Star suggests the tagline, “Individual elegance, collective luxury.” If all this promotional stuff is her specialty, I don’t understand why one hundred per cent of her material is ridiculously lame. She suggests taking photos of Hope “luxuriating” in the bathtub with champagne. That’s no less stale than the “service shots” of a waiter at the door with champagne that Star banned just minutes ago. LaToya uses her famous psychic abilities and says that if Star’s creative ideas fail, she’ll just blame somebody else in front of Trump. Meanwhile, the men are dreaming up scenarios including helicopters, green screens, and fortune-telling mirrors or something; Meat Loaf sees Gary’s departure as having left an opening for team crackpot, so he paces around the room spouting themes inspired by David Lynch. It’s a confusing maelstrom of ideas, but the men still manage to come up with an infinitely better tagline than Star did: “Live the life.” It’s simple, but I think it conveys the right message.

Meanwhile, back at the women’s camp, NeNe is horrified upon receiving her assignment to go shopping with LaToya, and she decides to waste time speaking up about it instead of biting her tongue and getting on with the task. At a table along with the rest of her team, NeNe tells Star that she can’t work with fake people and calls LaToya out for unjustly throwing her under the bus in the boardroom last week. Being the instigator that she is, Star is anxious to dig into the drama, insisting that they’ve got plenty of time to talk. They wouldn’t have quite as much free time if they’d been a bit more creative during the brainstorming session. LaToya cries and says that eye-rolling and name-calling hurts her feelings. NeNe has never imagined such a concept. “Maybe I need to be more sensitive and not so rough?” she ventures, taking a stab in the dark. The two warring ladies make up quickly, and Star reiterates the theme of their task, which she misremembers as “Elegantly individual, collectively quality.” Really, Star?

I don’t understand why Trump keeps introducing us to his children. Son Eric Trump is joining us this week, and he’s just as much of a tool as the other two. Don’t these people feel kind of silly acting as henchmen for their father? Star calls in an order for some of Ivanka’s custom jewelry for the photo shoot, as I’m sure she was instructed to do. I’m glad Ivanka has found a vocation that showcases her unique talents and sets her apart from the rest of her family. I know absolutely nothing about jewelry, but I’m fairly certain I could make a career of designing it. Anyway, Star and her team enjoy the privilege of getting manicures for the photo shoot they’ll be featured in, and Star has never felt better during a task. “For the first time in my life, being pretentious doesn’t hurt me,” she says, referring to her advantage in this challenge. That means the women will absolutely not lose this time, right?

The men aren’t following the “no service shots” rule; they somehow think that photos of a fancy butler outside of a hotel room door are interesting enough to include in their ad campaign. Unfortunately, Meat Loaf is in charge of shooting the scene, and his teammates end up hating the pictures, which make the butler look like a Mafia warlord instead of friendly and welcoming. They end up having to chop the waiter’s head off in the shots, including only his arm with a towel draped over it. The women, for their part, are shooting Hope in and near a bathtub with a thick white robe covering most of her body. NeNe is directing the shoot, but Star isn’t happy with it. She complains that Hope is too covered up, not naked enough for the scene. “She could be any miscellaneous girl,” Star says, wanting NeNe to play up the Playmate of the Year a bit more. Instead of responding to constructive criticism by taking it in stride and making minor adjustments, NeNe decides to fly off the handle and defend her decisions. She could stand to be a little bit more reverent when following orders from her leader, but since Star is particularly heinous, I’ll give NeNe a pass.

It’s time to prepare for presentations, and the players are nervous. The men spend what seems like hours poring over their ad copy to make sure there are no typos whatsoever, since that would be humiliating. LaToya intones that Star should be fired should they lose. Yes, she does seem to have come up with all of the ideas, and she did spend the bulk of her time being pampered and having her photo taken, it would appear.

The men present first, with John Rich telling a few male executives about his own experience staying in a Trump hotel while filming Celebrity Apprentice. He’s impressed by the baby cribs, since he has children, and he gushes about the world-class service offered by the establishment. The judges look over the men’s materials and seem somewhat pleased, but I suppose we’ll learn what they were truly thinking in a moment. The women present next, and it’s pretty much the most embarrassing spectacle I’ve ever witnessed on this show. Star leads the pack, telling the executives that she wants to make the Trump brand synonymous with “luxury.” If by “luxury” she means “decadent excess,” then I think that’s already been taken care of. She says that the collection of hotels is “luxury personified,” leading me to question whether she understands what the word “personified” means. Then she has the women take turns reciting random words as if they’re presenting a project in a middle school classroom. Consistency. Compassion, Style. Escape. Lifestyle. Atmosphere. Original. I think they repeated words a few times, and there must have been a billion of them. If these women weren’t operating under a totalitarian regime under Star, they would have felt comfortable protesting; I can’t imagine that any of them could have thought it was a good idea.

The executives loathed both teams, as Trump learns in their pre-boardroom powwow. The women’s presentation was sleazy and cheap, they say, and their little recitation of adjectives and values made the judges cringe. Also, their materials were befuddling, as Hope wears a towel in the bathtub and drinks from an unopened bottle of champagne. There were altogether too many photos in their brochure, and the print was overwhelming. The men’s ad copy had a few typos and lacked a “call to action,” meaning they fully neglected to include contact information for the hotels. There was too much text to read, and they missed the point of the task, essentially, by talking about everything other than how to actually stay in a Trump hotel. The judges claim that the men made a better pitch, while Star’s presentation didn’t seem to come from the heart. That might have something to do with the fact that she doesn’t have one.

In the boardroom: Trump asks both teams how they think they did. Star claims she’d like to live in a Trump hotel forever, and the women lavish effusive praise upon Star under implicit threat of terrible punishment. NeNe is the only exception; she gives credit to Marlee and calls LaToya “great” before accusing her fellow players of kissing up to Star in most cases. The women deny her claim, and Trump moves on to the men, who also defend their team. Trump admits that everyone in the room is “very, very smart,” which makes Hope perk up a bit. She’s probably never been told that before in her line of work. Trump lets the cat out of the bag; “The judges did not like either team,” he says. The men’s team was on its way to being a good concept, he says, but the executives didn’t appreciate that the men were pitching the hotels themselves rather than their ad campaign. I could have easily made that mistake, so I see how it’s a fine line. Trump mentions the cluttered eyesore of photos and ad copy in the women’s materials, along with their utter lack of emotional connection with the theme. Again, perhaps if Star weren’t a robot, things would have worked out differently. Why would anyone ever look to Star for heart or anything related to humanity?

Though the executives felt there was no winner, the lesser of two losers was the men’s team. Trump begrudgingly offers the $20,000 to John Rich’s charity, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. The men retire and drink liquor to celebrate their “win,” while the women stay back to duke it out in the boardroom. Star begins by asking if she can make an argument in her team’s defense, but Trump makes the point that the women didn’t do well enough for her to be making any arguments. Star puts forth the idea that though she came up with the concepts and ordered the execution of those concepts under force, she shouldn’t be fired. NeNe admits that she directed one of the photo shoots but reminds Trump that the women collectively came up with the ideas. I saw no collective creativity; I think NeNe was a bit too easy on Star. LaToya suggests that Star be fired, of course, while Marlee, who is Star’s pet and would defend her under any outrageous circumstance, says that LaToya should go. Hope sits at the end of the table looking pretty and staying silent, which is exactly the behavior that’s carried her through this game so far. Star brings back LaToya and NeNe to be considered for firing.

Star accuses LaToya of not being a strong player, while LaToya helpfully mentions that Star has been coming up with all of the awful scripts that get the women fired, so she’s responsible above all others. This point should be evident to Trump, but he admires Star’s moxie over LaToya’s meek demeanor. NeNe, much to my surprise, sort of sides with Star and says that LaToya isn’t a strong enough player to move forward in the game. Trump seems to buy this; he says he likes LaToya but sees that her own team doesn’t want her around anymore. His reasoning is that the women deserve a fighting chance in the competition, and they can’t succeed without cutting their most reviled player from the roster. Trump compassionately fires LaToya, largely unaware of the brainwashing he’s been subjected to by Star. As LaToya enters the elevator, NeNe tells us that Star would do anything to win, even if she has to cut a teammate’s head off, and that “Star has orchestrated all of this.” What we just witnessed was a coup of the most evil kind, and it’s only the beginning.

Season 11, Episode 8: “Bitter Suites” (original airdate April 24, 2011.)

Celebrity Apprentice airs Sundays at 8/7c on NBC.

Images courtesy of Douglas Gorenstein and NBC Universal.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Review: Grand Finale

Tyra Banks and America’s Next Top Model taught the world that fashion is about smoke and mirrors, illusion, and convincing the photographer, the viewer, and the audience that what their eyes see is actually what is there – even when it isn’t – even when it’s a boy in a dress.  However, as Auntie Noxee (Wesley Snipes) explained, even boys in a dress can achieve true queenly status by letting good thoughts be their swords and shields, ignoring adversity, abiding by the rules of love, and remembering larger than life is just the right size.  The Season 3 Grand Finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race crowned “the boy in a dress” who not only subliminally followed all of Noxeema’s rules but who also portrayed the most “charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.”

Over the last four months, Ru has sadly asked 10 drag queens to sashay away as they lost the “lip-sync for your life” competition to “Raja” (Sutan Amrull), “Alexis Mateo” (Alexis Pacheco), and “Manila Luzon” (Karl Westerberg).   In their final challenge of the competition, the final three queens would have to become Greek goddesses, living statuaries, as they co-star in the music video for RuPaul’s video “Champion.”  Under the choreography of Ryan Heffington, the queens learned the basic steps for the video.  Mid-way through the competition, because they were the self-proclaimed prettiest and most talented queens in the competition, Raja, Manila, Carmen, and Delta Work began calling themselves “the Heathers,” which alluded to the movie Heathers about four girls in a trendy high school clique, three of whom were named Heather, who ruled their high school through intimidation and sex appeal.  In contrast, the Heathers referred to Alexis, Shangela, Yara Sofia, and Stacey Layne Matthews as “the boogers” because not only did the Heathers not find them attractive but they also did not see them as competition.  Ironically, in the music video the only two Heathers left in the competition, Raja and Manila, were being outperformed and overshadowed by Alexis Mateo, the last-standing “Booger.”  Although Raja has had the unique benefit of living, breathing, and working amongst the most powerful models and the most talented up-and-coming models, most memorably as the make-up artist for the models on America’s Next Top Model, he did not bring the pose and grace from the ANTM teachable moments to the set of the music video, and Alexis received all of Ryan’s praise as Raja and Manilla were heavily critiqued and redirected, as they impeded the completion of the video not only during the rehearsal but also for the filming.

During the second part of the rehearsal, the queens would be using one of the pit crew members as a prop.  The story line behind the interaction should have been that the queen has known the man for only two nights.  Again, Raja proved that he did not pick up any acting skills from ANTM because he could not seem to even fake an intimacy scene.  However, for Manila trying to balance the intimacy scene for the video and follow Auntie Noxee’s third rule, abide by the rules of love, proved a bit challenging as he didn’t want to compromise his relationship with Season Two’s Sahara Davenport.  Alexis Mateo implemented Noxee’s rule #4, larger than life is just the right size, when it came time the hair; however, Manila swore the hair on top of a six-foot man hindered him from being able to see a black spot on a white floor and being able to hit his mark in the video.  However, Raja finally worked one good ANTM trick – work like the rent is due.  Although he struggled during the rehearsals, Raja spread on the fake intimacy and worked it out during the filming of his scene with the pit crew member while Alexis struggled just a bit to work around his larger-than-life hair that supposedly was getting him “closer to God.”

On the main stage, Alexis, walking the runway in a pink showgirl costume complete with rhinestones and a pink parasol, and Manila, sashaying in a lime green and pink gown with sparkling jewels and a crown, unfortunately paled in comparison to the fashion forward, unique, and audacious Raja, whose outfit was inspired by the movie All That Jazz. As the top three queens, none of them received overtly negative critiques, as in the past; however, Alexis was the first queen asked to sashay away while Manila and Raja lip-synced for their lives for the final time.

During their final interview with Ru and the judges, the queens were asked to give pros and cons about each other and themselves.  A few important observations Raja made about the other two is that Alexis’s drag is stale and he does not think outside the box and Manila’s drag fits into a template.  While Raja’s cattiness with Shangela and his demeaning and belittling the other queens was reminiscent of high school and proved to be a major turn off, Raja competed not simply as a drag queen but as a model from ANTM.  From Marie Antoinette to a Warrior Woman, from week to week, Raja allowed the inspiration for his outfits, his make-up, and his hair to come from diverse cultures and genres in fashion history.  With his skinny physique and multiple tattoos, Raja may look like a boy in a dress, but for the last sixteen weeks he turned those dresses out and took home the prize and the title of being America’s Next Drag Superstar!

Season 3, Episode 15: “Grand Finale” (originally aired April 25, 2011)

Check out Poptimal’s coverage of seasons 1 and 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race here.

Read more of Savannah DuBois‘ pop culture observations on Poptimal.

Images courtesy of Logan Alexander/Logo and IMDbPro

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