The Daily Pop

Because I'm Busy (Read: Lazy)

So sorry I haven't posted on last week's episodes.

First, American Idol was not as terrible as I expected it to be. The results show, however, was worse than I expected. The judges used their ONE save. Already. On Casey. Who is not that great. Ugh.

What's your secret TV confession?

I found out recently that a good friend of mine won't miss an episode of "Teen Mom."

Me = perplexed. I don't know the demographics of the "Teen Mom" audience, but I doubt a highly intelligent 27-year-old with a penchant for political history and JFK memorabilila is the "Teen Mom" target audience.

But then I think about all the drivel I've consumed in the past ten years, and I understand.

Besides the shows I believe still stand the test of time ("Buffy," "My So Called Life," "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") I've watched some really, really bad TV.

Currently, there's "Jersey Shore." So many of my friends watch this show, so I'm ALMOST unashamed.

But would they judge me if they knew my love for "America's Next Top Model?" What about "Toddlers and Tiaras?"

Does anyone remember "The Starlet," from 2005? The prize was a "career-launching" role on "One Tree Hill." How about "The Wade Robson Project" on MTV in 2003?

I watched both of those shows obsessively.

My biggest confession:

I've seen every episode of "One Tree Hill." I KNOW.  This is the show they clip on "The Soup" because at one point last season, villain Dan looks on as a dog EATS the donor heart for which he's been waiting months.

Seriously. Here's the clip:

An Idol Rant

Instead of recapping last week’s episode, I’m basically just going to whine/rant and then talk about the fact that I’m sort of excited it’s Motown week but sort of not because these losers are probably going to make any Motown song they sing sound so bad that I’ll never want to hear it again.

Ok, maybe I’m being a little too hard on them, but there are basically two people with any consistent talent: Scott (I refuse to call him Scotty) and Pia. Haley has a beautiful voice but doesn’t seem to know what to do with it.  I may add Stefano and James to this list eventually because I sort of liked them last week.

Here’s my rant: Fox should quit on American Idol after this season because it is definitely not a singing competition any more if it ever was one in the first place. First, since the departure of Simon, there is absolutely no legitimate critical feedback. Basically, the judges say, “That didn’t sound great because you didn’t sing very well and you were off key, but we really love you, so YAY!” Second, and I think the bigger problem overall, is that it’s clear that the judges know that you don’t actually have to be able to sing anymore to make and sell records. People like Britney Spears manage to have hit songs – those songs rely on fancy equipment to make her voice sound certain ways. People even use this kind of equipment during live performances (*cough* Black Eyed Peas *cough* Super Bowl Halftime Show *cough*). There’s not anything wrong with this, necessarily, as it makes for fun music that makes me want to dance, but some people might argue that it signifies the deterioration of the music industry. Of course, maybe I’m wrong, because I’m not expert, but neither are you, probably, so you might be thinking the exact same thing I am.

My dad and step-mom tell me this is their favorite season yet, and Facebook friends have commented that there are only one or two people they DON’T like this season, so maybe I’m in the minority here. Maybe if I went back and watched past seasons of Idol (which I think might be more torturous than productive), I would see that they all sucked in the beginning, but I don’t truly believe that’s what I would see. Lucky for all of you reading this, I have to watch each week so I can write something you might want to read about, so you’ll get to see if I change my mind.

Ok, rant over. This week on Idol, the contestants will be singing Motown songs. I’m originally from Michigan, and my favorite commercial on television right now is the Chrysler-Eminem commercial (you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc), so I’m currently kind of obsessed with Detroit. I’m interested to hear what songs people pick, but I’m less excited to see who Idol manages to drag on stage Wednesday night to perform.

Moral of the story: stick with me here, folks. I might be funny, and I’ll probably be mean, but I’ll always be honest.

Tonight's Best TV: "Dancing with the Stars," "Pretty Little Liars"

8 PM

Obviously, the big show for tonight is "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC. Our 11 new couples will perform live for the first time.  Are you rooting for Wendy Williams or Kendra Wilkinson? (Do you know who they are?)

If you're not interested in dancing pseudo-celebrities, you can watch new episodes of "Chuck," (NBC) "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS) or "House" (FOX). I'll be watching the season finale of "Pretty Little Liars" (ABCFamily), because I have the television habits of a 14-year-old.  Seriously.

8:30 PM

"Mad Love" on CBS is pretty decent, but it's suffering from the same syndrome as so many other shows; I care more for the secondary characters than I do about the "leads." Jason Biggs and Sarah Chalke are great and all, but I'm rooting for their respective best friends to fall in love with each other. (Other shows in which you care about the secondary characters more than the "leads?")

9 PM

"The Chicago Code" (FOX)

"The Event" (NBC)

"Being Human" (SyFy)

10 PM

"Castle" (ABC)

"Harry's Law" (NBC)

"Hawaii 5-0" (CBS)

"Skins" (MTV)

The Season of Mike

What you missed on Top Chef this week: Padma in a bikini, and Mike Isabella with his shirt off. Though, I think you probably would have only actually missed Padma in a bikini.

First, Mike Isabella will be doing cooking demonstrations at Colonial Heritage in Williamsburg on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Email HeritageSweetLifeVG.com, or call 1-877-78-LENNAR, to RSVP!

The QuickFire challenge this week required the chefs to pair up to create and serve 100 dishes in exactly the same way. Consistency was key here in every way - portions, taste, presentation. Antonia and Tiffany won, though Mike and Richard were confident that they had created a better, more complicated dish.

The Elimination Challenge required the chefs to cook a dinner on the beach for the 80^th anniversary of the Nassau Yacht Club. As a fun twist, the chefs had to go “fishing” for their own conch, and then figure out how to break it open. It was fun to watch the chefs hammering at those conch, while Mike Isabella figured out a very simply, efficient way to do it. For those who missed the episode, the actual conch is very scary looking. When it’s cooked, you wouldn’t even know how it looked coming out!

Mike Isabella is on his game. His dish for the Elimination Challenge looks and tastes amazing. He is totally confident, contrasting with Richard’s extreme lack of any self-confidence. I am nervous that Richard will not be able to keep it together even if he makes it past this week. Though I hate to admit it, I think at this point, Mike Isabella deserves to win this season.

At this point, the girls are still a non-issue for me. Tiffany has a sort of false confidence in her dish. She finished too early and a dish she meant to serve hot ended up cold. Antonia’s dish was good, so I think she will stay this week. If one of the men goes home, I will be incredibly surprised.

Mike Isabella wins the Elimination Challenge, further proving that he deserves the win for the season. Tiffany goes home, as she should.

All in all, the chefs really stepped up this episode, and I think it was my favorite of the season. It was a real competition, and my predictions were right!

My Elimination Predictions (which are still just so, SO wrong):

Tiffany Derry (6)

Antonia Lofaso

Tre Wilcox (1)

Carla Hall (5)

Fabio Viviani (2)

Mike Isabella

Angelo Sosa (3)

Richard Blais

Dale Talde (4)

This Week:

Theme – Consistency

Controversies – How many chefs does it take to open a conch?

Elimination Challenge winner – Mike Isabella

Departing chef – Tiffany Derry

Glee: Regionals

 

Songs of the night :

1. Misery – Maroon 5
2. Blackbird – The Beatles
3. Candle - Hey Monday
4. Raise your Glass – Pink
5. Get It Right – Original Glee Song
6. Loser Like Me – Original Glee Song

Lines of the Night

“What’s your favorite song?”  “My Headband” – Brittany

“And there she goes – making me regret voting for her” – Santana

“Sometimes I don’t feel like the Warblers… I feel like Blaine & the Pips” - Kurt

“World War Sue” – Sue

“You rejected me… go off with Stubbles McCripple pants” – Santana

“Oh, there you are… I’ve been looking for you forever” – Blaine <3

I love competition.  The Regional’s episodes NEVER disappoint!  I put a video above from LAST year's Regionals episode just to see how good they were last year too!  They blasted open the episode with a musical number to start off with.  I don’t think I’ve seen that before - other than a few Cheerios performances.  It also opened with Quinn… wow – what a Witch!  She is so power hungry it’s not even funny!  I really don’t like the crazy, power hungry Quinn – although watching the last couple episodes it was definitely coming – who knew someone would want Prom Queen that badly… back to that in a moment…

Top 13: The Idols' Idols

Roses:

Steven Tyler – Steven Tyler is funny. He is like the new Paula, except it’s more acceptable to assume he is drunk and/or on drugs. Quotes like “You are a rainbow of talent,” and “You are a plethora of passion,” made him my new favorite judge.

A (Really) Hot Mess

What you missed on Top Chef this week: A fryer fire!  Somebody call 911!

'Survivor': The King is gone

 Russell Hantz is out of "Survivor: Redemption Island," courtesy of a backstabbing tribe and a tough loss to young buck Matt in last night's "redemption challenge." And his departure will go down as one of the most memorable moment's in the history of the hit show.

 In two previous appearances on the show, Russell has proven himself to be a master strategist, spinning webs of remarkable complexity and extricating himself from seemingly fatal traps. Only his failure to champion the social aspects of the game (he makes people really mad) has prevented him from winning the big prize.

 On "Redemption Island," his tribe disliked and distrusted him so much that they took the short-sighted step of intentionally losing an important challenge just so they could vote him out sooner rather than later. And after he lost to Matt in last night's redemption challenge, in a moment that no one saw coming, Russell broke down and wept. We're not talking about tears trickling on his cheeks. We're talking quavering lips, breaking voice, trademark hat pulled down over his eyes, the whole deal.

Glee: TV14 - Sex Ed

 

Songs of the night:

1.)    Do you wanna Touch me? – Joan Jett

2.)    Animal – Neon Trees

3.)    Kiss – Prince

4.)    Landslide – Stevie Nicks

5.)    Afternoon Delight – The Starland Vocal Band

Lines of the night:

“So why is the Celibacy Club singing Afternoon Delight?” – Holly Holiday

“Afternoon delight… it’s when you have dessert in the middle of the day right?” - Emma

 “So remember, each time you have sex with someone, you’re having sex with every person they’ve ever been with… and everybody’s got a random!” – Holly Holiday

 “Cucumbers can give me AIDS?”  “I just had them on my salad at lunch” – Finn & Mercedes

“It’s pretty cool how close our girlfriends are isn’t it?  I wish we had a friendship like that” - Sam

"What was with all the weird facial features when you were dancing?” “What?  Those were my sexy faces” “You looked like you had Gas pains” - Kurt and Blaine

“Speaking of STDs; how is your dating life” – Holly Holiday