Survivor Week 12- Katty Cousins

This is always my favorite episode of the Survivor season, when a bunch of grown adults cry like babies because they get to see family members after being away for two weeks, but this time there were some extra special scenes.  My favorite was when I lost all notions that Kat was cool, because she sprinted like a maniac, jumping and yelling at the sight of her cousin.  Get a life Kat.  First of all, your immediate family was probably upset when you said that your cousin was more important to you than anyone else.  Secondly, get a life.  You haven't even been away for a minute.  Oh yeah, and Tarzan needs to see his wife more, because he's old?  Well, then just send him home.  Does seeing his wife right in this moment have anything to do with the fact that he probably has 20 less years left on this life then the rest of you?  No, it doesn't.  Man, I love this episode.  And man, do I hate people.

Champions League

Jaydon

Matt -100
Kim +195: Immunity (+20), W12 (+67)= +282
Alicia +250: W12 (+67)= +317
Nina -24

Last Week +321: Team Total= +475

Larry

Michael -17
Kat +193: Reward (+10), Votes (-24)= +179
Jonas +9
Tarzan +231: W12 (+67)= +298

Last Week +416: Team Total= +469

Jack

Troyzan +208
Christina +174: W12 (+67)= +241
Kourtney -45
Bill -45

Last Week +292: Team Total= +359




Me

Jay +71
Chelsea +163: W12 (+67)= +230
Monica -5
Colton +25

Last Week +254: Team Total= +321




Free Agents
Leif +146
Sabrina +287: Votes (-4), W12 (+67)= +350

Developmental League

Mags

Matt
Kim: Immunity (+20), W12 (+67)= +87
Alicia: W12 (+67)= +67
Tarzan: W12 (+67)= +67

Week 12= +221, Team Total= +1,008

Marsh

Jay
Chelsea: W12 (+67)= +67
Bill
Christina: W12 (+67)= +67

Week 12= +134, Team Total= +817

Tippy

Troyzan
Kat: Reward (+10), Votes (-24)= -14
Colton
Monica

Week 12= -14, Team Total= +553




Rizzo

Michael
Jonas
Kourtney
Nina

Team Total= +49

Free Agents
Leif
Sabrina: Votes (-4), W11 (+67)= +63

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Top Ten

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings take into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred far in the past.  We now move onto those ranked 10 through 1.

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

10. Fringe (12, 10) Fridays on FOX
The show may have lost a bit of steam with the story starting season four, but things have more than picked up as of late, including a fantastic guest performance by Henry Ian Cusick a couple weeks ago.  The fact that Fringe got picked up for a fifth and final season next year makes me very excited that they are going to be able to end things the way they want to.

9. Sons of Anarchy (8, 3) Tuesdays on FX
The gang won't return until this fall, but the news that Jimmy Smits is going to be on as a guest star only has me more excited than usual for Sons of Anarchy to come back.  Smits was fantastic in his run on Dexter, so I have no doubt he will bring some major entertainment to this FX staple.

8. Happy Endings (9, 8) Wednesdays on ABC
Now that the gang has finished up their second season, I can't stress enough the fact that you need to catch up on Happy Endings.  It seriously has something for everyone, and for me, every single one of those somethings is gold.

Come get some with Jane, Max, and Brad on Happy Endings

7. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (7, 7) Thursdays on FX
The more I think back on this past season of It's Always Sunny, the more I realize how great it was.  All three of the main dudes had fantastic years, and even Dee, who I normally don't enjoy all that much, had some great moments in her.  The finale alone kept this show in the top ten.

6. Breaking Bad (6, 2) Sundays on AMC
How much longer can this series go on?  It has to be coming to an end sooner rather than later, and I can't wait to see how they decide to carve out the finality of this epic tale.  Will there be a new big bad in the mix, or will the Walt/Hank showdown finally come to the forefront?

5. Curb Your Enthusiasm (5, 1) Sundays on HBO
A sub-par season overall, with a number of fantastic individual efforts, Curb stays put based on its great legacy in the comedy world.  When will LD decide to make another season?  And will it compare to the best that this series has had to offer?

4. Game of Thrones (2, 2) Sundays on HBO
Thrones takes a slight dip, because unlike what I heard about the beginning of season two, this is starting slower than season one did.  I honestly think that this show would greatly benefit from a 14-17 episode season.  Sometimes it feels like they are just glancing over moments instead of digging deep.  Why not take advantage of the source material, and make each book two seasons of 10 episodes even?

3. Homeland (3, 3) Sundays on Showtime
September 30, that is when Homeland returns, and we can't wait.  The trailer is out, and it has me all excited.  How will Carrie get things done after all that happened at the end of the first season?  What about Brody?  Nazir?  The mole?  There are a lot of questions to be answered.

2. Community (4, 2) Thursdays on NBC
The NBC comedy jumps up to its highest ranking ever at the Quiet Pool.  A number of great episodes in a row will do that for a series, and between the war ep, the Blade ep, the Law & Order ep, and more, Community has had that in spades.

1. Justified (1, 1) Tuesdays on FX
The champ remains.  Justified has been number one for a long time now, and a season that backed up its stellar sophomore campaign should keep it here for a good while longer.  The question now becomes, "can they do it again?"  And "will they ever run out of steam?"

The Voice Semifinals Results- 60-40 I Forget The Whole Thing

In comparison to Monday's semifinals, there was very little Christina Aguilera on tonight's The Voice Results. That made me happy, but it probably disappointed the loyal Xtina lovers, which includes many of you TV Fanatics.

With some help from the coaches, America whittled the remaining crop of hopeful artists from eight to four, preparing us for what should be an exciting finale next week. Who made it through? Who was sent home? And which former finalist returned with the best performance of the night?

That's right. Before we got to all of the results, there were a few performances by some friendly faces. Last season's final four, Dia Frampton, Vicki Martinez, Beverly McClellan, and Javier Colon were in the house to belt out some tunes.

Dia sang with Kid Cudi, Vicki performed with her former coach Cee Lo, Beverly rocked out with Cyndi Lauper and Javier worked solo. I wasn't surprised by the fact that last year's champion was still my favorite an entire year later. Dia was also pretty solid.

To read the rest of my rundown of last night's The Voice Semifinals Results, head over to TV Fanatic.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings take into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred well in the past.  We now move onto those ranked 20 through 11.

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Top Chef (-, 18) Wednesdays on Bravo
It wasn't the best season that Top Chef recently finished, but you can never go wrong with sitting down to a nice and easy episode of this cooking classic.  If the unbelievably annoying Sarah hadn't made it to the final three, this reality competition might have made its way even further up the rankings.

19. Wilfred (16, 16) Thursdays on FX
This strange comedy returns to television screens in less than two months, premiering its second season on June 28.  Jason Gann and Elijah Wood were terrific in the first season, with the former putting forth one of my favorite individual performances of the year.

18. The River (HM, 18) Tuesdays on ABC
In all likelihood, with the below average ratings it continually brought in, The River was probably a single season endeavor.  It was a pretty good season though.  The eight episode run made it possible to keep things tight and not bore the audience at all, while the mystery always kept me guessing.

How long could this mockumentary go on with The River?

17. Survivor (14, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
While I still find it as the top reality show in the game, Survivor takes a bit of a drop due to the severe lack of talent on this year's cast.  Thanks to the fact that the women have taken control of the game, we are probably in for a mediocre end to the season, especially since the lone entertaining dude - Troyzan - is out the door.

16. Shameless (18, 16) Sundays on Showtime
Even though the show found a way to ruin my favorite first season character - Lip - Frank and Kevin made such great strides in season two that Shameless continues to climb up the Power Rankings.  Now that I'm thinking of it, Frank's ex, his mom, Sheila, and Ian all were absolutely worthless as well.  Maybe I didn't like this season as much as I thought I did.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
I feel like it has been forever since Parenthood has been on the air, and I've wanted to slap Jabbar across the face.  Do I just have too much hate built up right now?  There ARE characters on these shows that I enjoy.  Adam, Max, and Joel are a fantastic trio on Parenthood.  If they could find a way to get Sam Jaeger more screen time, this show could be in contention of the Top Ten.

14. 30 Rock (17, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Maybe I am still on a high from the great live show last week, which introduced us all to this instant classic - "Alfie and Abner" - but I think 30 Rock is having itself a fine season.  If Tina Fey could only figure out to write her own character in a way that didn't make me want to throw up so much, this comedy could make it back to the top of the heap.



13. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
Nothing much to see here as Boardwalk won't return again until this fall.  The HBO drama concluded its season in fine fashion, not unlike the similarly loved Breaking Bad.  It's just too bad that neither can figure out a way to start its seasons the way they end them.

12. Mad Men (10, 3) Sundays on AMC
Mad Men is great and all, but a conversation I had with T-Time recently helped me understand why it will never be in the same league as the top dramas on television.  The stakes are just never as high, and nothing ever seems as important as what goes on during an episode of Justified or Game of Thrones.  That's not to say that you need murders to make a show fascinating, but it is just the scope of everything that is happening just seems a bit trivial.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
The CW's lone hit has continued its success this season.  To go along with non-stop action, unlimited twists and turns, and some great romance among its characters, The Vampire Diaries benefits from what I have discovered is the best looking cast on television.  Top to Bottom, male and female, TVD's cast is the best looking, and I'm not sure how close it is.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings taken into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred in the past.  We begin once again with the Honorable Mentions, not necessarily the shows just missing the cut, but rather the series I feel like mentioning at this time.

Show (Last Time) green=moving up, red=moving down

Awake (-) Thursdays on NBC
What was once the most promising pilot of the 2011-12 season has turned into a police procedural with the occasional interesting idea floating around.  Thankfully the acting performances by Malfoy's dad and Jack Shephard's son have been extremely good, or this would be painful to watch at times.

Lucious Malfoy as Detective Britten on Awake

Big Brother (19) Summers on CBS

The summer reality series made its way back into the Top 20 back in March thanks to a weak crop of shows currently on the air, but some new additions knock Big Brother back out of the rankings.  Sometimes a horrible cast ruins the season for everybody.

The Borgias (-) Sundays on Showtime
This Showtime series has gotten out to a fantastic start to its second season.  It has been action packed, full of twists, and has created a few great relationships on screen.  If you are into historical series in any way, this is one you should definitely give a try.

Dexter (20) Sundays on Showtime
The carousel of showrunners has finally seemed to catch up with Dexter.  This season was the worst yet, but there is definitely still hope for the serial killer and company to turn things around.  With the big reveal at the end of the season, I wouldn't be surprised by a bounce back in 2013, followed by no critics admitting that it's good again.

Girls (-) Sundays on HBO
I wish I had more time to write about how much I hate this show.  I hate this show so much that, like I have done with Louie, I am going to watch every episode just make sure that it remains awful.  For a comedy it is not funny at all. There are no dramatic moments that can even compare with any good drama on television.  And all of the characters are either completely uninteresting or unbelievably detestable.  Why are critics pretending to like this show?

Magic City (-) Fridays on Starz
Not a bad start to this period drama.  Ike Evans is a protagonist that I already find myself rooting for, and Ben Diamond is among the most evil villains currently on tv.  This is an interesting take on the 50s/60s, and if NYC and advertising don't do it for you with Mad Men, how does Miami Beach and the mob sound?

New Girl (-) Tuesdays on FOX
The FOX comedy has been on a good run this spring, which is thanks in large part to the major character change in Nick Miller.  He was God awful at the start of New Girl's run, and recently, he's been carrying the series on his back.  Schmidt and Jess are staples, but Nick has been the reason it has excelled as of late.

Once Upon a Time (-) Sundays on ABC
This most recent episode showcasing August was the reason I tuned into this fairy tale series to begin with.  It had heart, it had excitement, and it revealed some secrets while providing even more questions for the audience to ask.  The more Once Upon a Time serializes itself, and the less it does random one-off episodes of new characters, the better off the show will be.

Scandal (-) Thursdays on ABC
I have been seriously surprised at how good Scandal has been through its first four episodes.  I have long since tired of Grey's Anatomy, and never quite got into Private Practice or Off the Map, so I didn't have high expectations for this Shonda Rhimes series.  There has to be someone else running the show, because this intense legal thriller has been interesting from the word go.  Like the best in the business, Scandal does a great job of weaving episodic stories with the overarching plot dealing with the President.

Veep (-) Sundays on HBO
I have yet to watch this week's second episode of the series, but after one viewing I am definitely on board.  Julia and Tony Hale won me over, and I look forward to seeing if it sticks with me or dies out slowly.

The Voice Semifinals Review- Xtina Marks Her Spot

Christina Aguilera and her fans in the crowd are becoming more and more difficult to deal with on The Voice, but it's worth suffering through to get to fantastic performances like we saw on this week's Semifinals.

Seriously, I'm not sure which is worse, the fans that repeatedly scream out that they love Christina, or the pop queen responding to them every single time. It was more than that, though, this week. Christina was taking every opportunity to show her pipes, get up on stage to show her booty and make every contestant's performance about her. At first it was a bit entertaining, but now it's just getting annoying.

There were some great performances, too, making it even more of a shame Christina was too busy to notice them. Let's take a look at all that went down on The Voice's Semifinals...

Tony Lucca - "How You Like Me Now"
So his sob story is that he cooks dinner for his family? That's not going to get it done, Tony. What will get it done, though, is that performance! What is so interesting about Tony is that his voice doesn't sound all that phenomenal, but I am still intrigued every time he's on stage. Maybe it's that he is just so darn cool, or perhaps it was his unbelievably exciting performance skills, but I loved this a whole lot.

Blake said it was bad ass. Christina tried as hard as she could not to compliment him, but enjoyed his dance moves. Cee Lo became a fan of Tony. Adam said it was the perfect thing at the perfect moment.
Grade: A-

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

Mad Men 507 Review- Pity, Dirty, Funny

Glen- "How's the city?"

Sally- "Dirty."

Like many Mad Men episodes, and the series in general, "At the Codfish Ball" was a slow burn. It was taking so long to build up that I was ready to unabashedly declare it the worst hour of the season thus far.

Fortunately, once the Draper clan made its way to the eponymous gala, there was so much to adore that the lack of previous enjoyment was forgiven.

It is so often the little things that make Mad Men such a treat, and nothing epitomized that more than the quick conversation between Pete and Dr. Emile at the event. Of course Emile takes on the opinion that an account man does absolutely nothing at the company. Thankfully, after listening to the academic complain and condescend all episode long, Pete Campbell put him in his place if just for a few moments.

Emile was certainly an easy target, what with his ego ready to burst anyway, but it was a treat to watch Pete do what he does in a matter of seconds.

They were all there to watch Don receive his award, and that he did. What he probably didn't think he would here that night was the fact that nobody in the business liked him or would work with him because of his open letter a ways back. How could they trust you after the way you bit the hand? Ken's father-in-law asked Don.

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

Mad Men 507 - "At the Codfish Ball"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Borgias 204 Review- Sure, I Like Dags

Cesare- "She chose God, Micheletto, and God repaid her with mutilation."

Not only have the brothers Borgia been literally fighting over the past couple of weeks, but Cesare and Juan have now begun coming to figurative blows about who is going to have the more interesting start to season two of The Borgias.

Thanks to the absence of the latter, and a superb performance by Francois Arnaud, "Stray Dogs" swayed things back in favor of Cesare as being the brother all viewers should have their eyes glued to while watching this captivating Showtime series.

As soon as his nun was found murdered, and he announced that he had lost all emotions but vengeance, we should have all known what kind of thrill ride Cesare was about to embark on. Unsurprisingly, the ride began in style with Micheletto gathering up the rest of Rome's stray dogs, and Cesare rallying them to get revenge on the French through whatever means necessary.

Unlike the Duke of Mantua, Cesare didn't care about fighting with honor. Cannon was too barbaric for the good Duke, so I wonder what he would have thought of our favorite Cardinal's torture techniques... or the way he said he would let the man go after getting information from him, and then just had Micheletto stab in the gut.

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

The Borgias 204 - "Stray Dogs"
Review
Recap
Quotes