Survivor Week 14- Family Cries

This season of Survivor is going way too much according to plan. There has been one move in the game - Cochran's switch - and even that didn't amount to anything after the fact.

Luckily this was my favorite episode of every season. It's the ep when these grown individuals cry like babies over seeing their family members for the first time in 30 days. Give it a rest! If I was out there and my mom showed up, I would be like "Oh hey Karebear. What happened on tv since I've been gone?"

After Brandon bawled about setting an example for Christ, we met Sean Hantz, and it was glorious. A lot more like his brother Russell than his son Brandon, Sean started talking strategy with the other contestants and HE'S NOT EVEN ON THE SHOW! Never before has a family member talked game with the other survivors.

"I don't know how he hasn't been voted off yet," Sean said of his son Brandon. Yeah, you and me both Sean. You and me both.

Champions League

Larry

Brandon +382: Votes (-4), W14 (+92)= +470
Rick +331: W14 (+92)= +423
Christine +13
Dawn +151

Last Week +877: Team Total= +1,057

Jaydon

Ozzy +32: Duel Win (+10)= +42
Whitney +165
Cochran +252: Duel Loss (-10)= +242
Edna +357: Votes (-20)= +337

Last Week +806: Team Total= +786

Dan

Albert +367: W14 (+92)= +459
Mikayla -7
Jim +69
Semhar -43

Last Week +386: Team Total= +478

Mags

Coach +373: Immunity (+20), W14 (+92)= +485
Elyse -142
Keith -89
Mark -173

Last Week -31: Team Total= +81



Free Agents
Sophie +453: W14 (+92)= +545
Stacey -27

Developmental League

Jack

Albert: W14 (+92)= +92
Whitney
Coach: Immunity (+20), W14 (+92)= +112
Edna: Votes (-20)= -20

Week 14= +184, Team Total= +1,670

Tippy

Ozzy: Duel Win (+10)= +10
Cochran: Duel Loss (-10)= -10
Elyse
Sophie: W14 (+92)= +92

Weeks 14= +92, Team Total= +957

Marsh

Mikayla
Rick: W14 (+92)= +92
Dawn
Christine

Weeks 14= +92, Team Total= +714

Rizzo

Keith
Mark
Brandon: Votes (-4), W14 (+92)= +88
Jim

Weeks 14= +88, Team Total= +682



Free Agents
Stacey
Semhar

The X Factor Top 5 Review- Mesmerizing Melanie

Just in case anyone was wondering, everyone faced the music yet again on The X Factor this week. The Final Five performed two songs, one dance hit and another chosen by the contestants.

How contrived was it the "they have one day to practice this song" bit, though? After the Pepsi songs didn't come through, they were given 24 hours to prepare another track? If it's their "Save Me" song, everyone but Marcus Canty should have it in the holster ready to go.

Although the Chevy commercials in between the live performances were much, much better, let's still take a look at how the contestants did...

Melanie Amaro "Someone Like You" - Why would you waste such an epic song like this by turning into a dance beat for this week's theme? She was good, but it could have been a lot better.
My Score: 7/10

Marcus Canty "Ain't Nobody" - This took me back to the 80s and that's not a good thing. He did the song justice, but it did not feel organic whatsoever. Simon said that Melanie's wasn't karaoke. But his was.
My Score: 6/10

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 216 Review- Many The Milestone

Danielle- "Indiscretion is the chicken shit way of saying you boinked your fat assistant."

The Covert Affairs season finale was filled with personal milestones for Annie, an emotional disappointment for Auggie and a painfully selfish - yet strategically savvy - maneuver by Mr. Jai Wilcox.

Annie Walker has been a CIA field agent for a while now, but not until "Letter Never Sent" had she killed a man. In an effort to save herself, and especially her sister, our favorite blonde American took down the guy coming after them with a few shots to the chest. Thank God for that recent gun training.

I was always a fan of Annie's lack of gun use on the show, but here it was necessary, and the writers did a good job building up to this moment over the course of the second season. Without her newfound ability to use a firearm, Danielle would probably be dead, and Annie would be a complete mess.

Thanks to Danielle and her big mouth, Annie started to think about Auggie in a way the fans have been dreaming of since Jump Street. Recognizing that there may be a romantic attachment between them was certainly a milestone for Annie and the show.

To read the rest of my review of last night's second season finale of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 216 - "Letter Never Sent"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Homeland 110 Review- The Briefcase Bomb

Al Zahari- "So I'm bait?"

Saul- "You're bait."

What makes both Abu Nazir's plan of attack against the United States and Homeland's story of deception so successful is that they are both constructed from a number of intricate layers. The thought process that has gone into each has been incredible, and that was never more apparent than in "Representative Brody."

It seems as though Nazir has three Americans working for him that we know of: Tom Walker, Sergeant Brody and the apparent mole inside the government.

Walker is the short-term guy, the one who has been given violent tasks to perform in the States. We witnessed his efforts at their finest when he hired the homeless guy to deliver the briefcase bomb to Al-Zahari this week. His attack was smart, it was destructive and it caught the CIA by surprise. His time is going to run out quickly, I'm sure, but all Abu Nazir seemingly needs him for is to be the shooter at Marine One.

Because Walker knew that the CIA was following said rendezvous with the Saudi diplomat, it became more obvious that there is a mole within the American government. It's another layer to Abu Nazir's plot, and another way for him to complete his tasks.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 110 - "Representative Brody"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Weekly Comedy Rankings- The Toolman's Tops

After a week off for the Thanksgiving break, the Weekly Comedy Rankings are back. The Top Five of the Week, on the other hand, has not made its way back. I am behind on too many shows to give an honest opinion on what the best non-comedy episodes of the week were this time around.

1. Last Man Standing
2. It's Always Sunny
3. Community
4. The League
5. Parks and Rec
6. The Office
7. New Girl
8. Bored to Death
9. Family Guy
10. I Hate My Teenage Daughter

No single aspect of a show gave me as many laughs as Tim Allen's character on this week's Last Man Standing. The fact that his daughters' side plot wasn't good at all wasn't enough to drop it from the top spot this one time. Sunny and Community had decent weeks, and The League was better than what it has been putting forward this season, but the rest of the output was pretty pathetic.

I gave Allen's Mike Baxter my MVP, and the red-headed mom from Teenage Daughter my LVP. This one lived up to the billing of being awful. Unlike LMS, which critics also hated, Teenage Daughter has no actor I have confidence in to keep the series watchable. That red-headed woman, specifically, had me wanting to kill myself as I sat through the one pity episode I'm giving Teenage Daughter.

The Office 809 Review- Liar Liar

Dwight- "We figured out your goal. I'm gonna make you the buffest dude Val Kilmer has ever seen."

The Office continued its lackluster eighth season with an episode that was filled with a few good one-off jokes, but failed to come together as a funny half-hour.

"Mrs. California" introduced us to Robert's wife. Now that the CEO has turned out to be much less crazy than we originally thought, this could have been a perfect opportunity to bring in another insane character, but that, of course, did not happen.

Aside from wanting to date Andy, Susan was as normal as they come. More importantly, Maura Tierney's character was good for zero laughs.

The first of the two main stories this week was hilarious in theory, but was very bland for almost the entirety of its run. Robert going overboard with his plan to make his wife happy, while making sure she didn't work at the office, was a funny concept, sure.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 809 - "Mrs. California"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Survivor Week 13- In Ozzilation

A few quick notes from last night's episode...

Ozzy almost benefits more by being on Redemption Island. He's always been great at individual challenges, but doing them against a number of other players in the game is more difficult than one on one battles on Redemption. His lack of social game doesn't come into play. All he has to do is win. And win. And win.

I guess i would have done the same if i were Coach or Albert. I'd much rather be in this game against Rick than Cochran. Cochran is one of the only people playing this game. You keep guys like Rick and Brandon around and you will make it far. I don't think that was their mindset, but it was the right move.

Let's take a look at the scores...

Champions League

Larry

Brandon +303: W13 (+79)= +382
Rick +260: Votes (-8), W13 (+79)= +331
Christine +13
Dawn +161: Duel Loss (-10)= +151

Last Week +737: Team Total= +877

Jaydon

Ozzy +22: Duel Win (+10)= +32
Whitney +175: Duel Loss (-10)= +165
Cochran +272: Votes (-20)= +252
Edna +278: W13 (+79)= +357

Last Week +747: Team Total= +806

Dan

Albert +268: Immunity (+20), W13 (+79)= +367
Mikayla -7
Jim +69
Semhar -43

Last Week +287: Team Total= +386

Mags

Coach +294: W13 (+79)= +373
Elyse -142
Keith -89
Mark -173

Last Week -110: Team Total= -31



Free Agents
Sophie +374: W13 (+79)= +453
Stacey -27

Developmental League

Jack

Albert: Immunity (+20), W13 (+79)= +99
Whitney: Duel Loss (-10)= -10
Coach: W13 (+79)= +79
Edna: W13 (+79)= +79

Week 13= +247, Team Total= +1,486

Tippy

Ozzy: Duel Win (+10)= +10
Cochran: Votes (-20)= -20
Elyse
Sophie: W13 (+79)= +79

Weeks 13= +69, Team Total= +865

Marsh

Mikayla
Rick: Votes (-8), W13 (+79)= +71
Dawn: Duel Loss (-10)= -10
Christine

Weeks 13= +61, Team Total= +622

Rizzo

Keith
Mark
Brandon: W13 (+79)= +79
Jim

Weeks 13= +79, Team Total= +594



Free Agents
Stacey
Semhar

The X Factor Top 7 Review- The Jackson 7

You guessed it. We faced the music once again on The X Factor, as the remaining seven finalists performed tracks from the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

After we said hello to Michael's brothers Marlon, Tito, and Jackie of the Jackson 5, Michael's mother and children were introduced before any of The X Factor's contestants were brought out on stage. Intermittently asking the Jackson family about their thoughts on the show proved one thing: Prince Jackson is all about the limelight. He and Paris didn't let Blanket say one word.

Let's get to the performances, shall we?

Josh Krajcik "Dirty Diana" - The sound mix was off again. I couldn't really hear anything he was saying. I didn't like how very talky Josh was throughout this. The backup singers then came in and over powered him completely. Then there was the fact that he had the guitar on his back for the first 2/3 of the performance. He finally broke out the axe for a solo where he yelled "come on!" a bunch of times. This was definitely not his best effort.
My Score: 5/10

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.