OK! The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I had every intention of blogging my little fingers off about Survivor and Utopia and other TV and social issues. Then hell opened up and swallowed me whole, in the guise of super stressed work issues and the inevitable health issues that ensue from a stress-filled environment that I'm working in.
I'll spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say, I toil. I toil hard.
Anyway. What the heck is going on in the real world of TV reality?
Survivor San Juan del Sur has been chugging along for Copacabana whose only chance at winning immunity is when a dumbass on Hunyebooboo (I can never remember the tribe names and am too lazy to Google them right now ) throws the challenge. Good grief! So one by one the Copacabana tribe loses people,with one making her exit after an elaborate lie about having not one but two hidden immunity idols. Oh Val! You disappoint me! And all the cops winning CBS reality TV shows. The other was ousted with an idol in his pocket after he was thoroughly trashed by a loud-mouth twinnie whose aggressive mouth makes her manly but then turns girlie when confronted in an aggressive manner. John Rocker's mouth is legendary but his exit was premature. Then aforementioned dumbass gets the boot after he tries to throw his weight around and play the mastermind. He "drew" the short stick...
Woo baby!
So, Utopia. I can't get the feeds without internet gymnastics that I don't have time for anyway. I've been watching the show but don't have the big picture. What I do know is there are a ton of jackholes in Utopia and that's not coming through in the edit. Its ratings aren't great mostly because it's failed to grab internet attention with the lack of feed access; it's lost a lot of the Big Brother fan base that was ripe for the picking after, yet another, disappointing season. At least I didn't despise the winner...
I digress.
Utopia is raw and filmed raw without the colorful BB fanfare. I'd say it was refreshing but it kind of feels like the barnyard of TV. Pun intended. It's not visually appealing and the crazy does not come through equally on TV. Sure Bella's, Bri's, and Red's crazy was paraded around but not Aaron's, Kristen's and Mike's deviousness. I guess I'm happy for the insulation of being a TV only. It's better for my blood pressure. I might continue this with Big Brother next season.
Not watching the feeds keeps the viewer tethered to the TV edit but since they insist of crappy casting, I think it might be almost meditative not to know what is really going. Feed watchers went into a frenzy of outrage against some of the house guests' behaviour and attitudes. But it didn't last long. Most jumped on the Twitter kiss ass bandwagon and rewrote history.
Speaking of which. I have messays to mark but I will be back sooner than you think!
Stay tuned! :) (If anyone is reading... lol)
Showing posts with label Game Analysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Analysis. Show all posts
2014-10-20
2014-08-29
Survivor: San Juan del Stunt Casting
We (I) have always given Big Brother producers a hard time about their casting formula which has been getting more deranged as the seasons pass, but Survivor casting is no better. They've gone from bringing back their favorite retreads so they can finally win, to casting newbies who are more of the same.
The Survivor casting formula is simple: Gotta have a pageant queen, 911 must have representation now, throw in a simple country soul or two, a couple of geeks, a couple of models and don't forget the former pro athlete. This season is no different. We've got all that; and borrowing from Big Brother to bring in a couple of Broadway over-the-tops and from Amazing Race to bring back two of the most obnoxious people to be cast, not once but twice - the fucking Twinnies. Oh CBS, you bore me.
I'm looking forward to the beat downs Survivor conditions have coming their way.
Anyway.
Top Left: John Rocker and Julie McGee: Former pro pitcher who's been known to put his big foot in his big mouth and his model girlfriend who owns a spray tanning business fill out the pro-athlete and model casting slots. Put on your sunglasses, folks. This couple is bedazzled.
Next are: John Misch and Jaclyn Schultz: Former MSU football player and pageant queen. They're the selfie of the all-American couple, complete with a taste for the arts, wine and gosh-darn cutesy-ness.
Next are: Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly: Not one but two Broadway geeks who might break into song and dance in the middle of the jungle. I'm going to try to keep an open mind but Frankie J. Grande has ruined it for me. Josh seems energetic and Reed more OCD.
Next are: Drew and Alec Christy fill out the frat-boy/surfer dude mold. They're both clearly in it for the adventure high; and they both seem like goofballs, so they might capture the viewers' hearts.
Top right are: Jeremy and Val Collins: A firefighter (former pro-football player) and a cop fill out the first-responders casting quota. They both seem like two very smiley people who probably can take down an elephant if need be. I'd keep my eye on these two.
Bottom right are: Dale and Kelly Wentworth, a father and daughter team who fill out the down-home country slot as he's a farmer and she's a marketing manager with country roots. But don't count out the country folk, they both seem tough and smart.
Next to them are: Missy Payne and Baylor Wilson, a mother and daughter cheerleading super-duo. You can bet they're competitive and probably would knock some people out on their way to the prize. Missy owns a competitive cheerleading gym and Baylor is a cheerleading word champ.
Then we have, ugh: Nadiya and Natalie Anderson - the dreaded Twinnies. I hate you CBS. You've ruined Big Brother, and now Survivor is in peril. These chicks are the epitome of annoyingly competitive, loud and obnoxious. I would kick them off the island on day 1.
Finally bottom left are: Keith and Wes Nale, a fire captain and firefighter. Whoa! 911 overload here. They love hunting and fishing and having some brewskies. Good ole boys who risk their lives on a daily basis might just become the fan faves.
Well, seems the geeks were given a pass this season. On first impression, I predict this cast will be very polarizing among the fans. It, of course, depends on the editing and which confessionals they choose to air. You can bet the twinnies, N&N, Rocker and McGee will probably be the ones who cause most fan reaction and not in a good way. I bet Rocker will rock the idols. It seems to have been happening a lot lately, that the Alpha male seems to be showered with immunity.
Anyway. I will be blogging Survivor and Utopia. Since I'm Canadian and I don't want to go through internet gymnastics, I won't be able to see the Utopia feeds but I will be watching the show which premieres Sept. 7th on FOX.
Stay tuned! :)
The Survivor casting formula is simple: Gotta have a pageant queen, 911 must have representation now, throw in a simple country soul or two, a couple of geeks, a couple of models and don't forget the former pro athlete. This season is no different. We've got all that; and borrowing from Big Brother to bring in a couple of Broadway over-the-tops and from Amazing Race to bring back two of the most obnoxious people to be cast, not once but twice - the fucking Twinnies. Oh CBS, you bore me.
I'm looking forward to the beat downs Survivor conditions have coming their way.
 |
| courtesy of CBS-Survivor |
Top Left: John Rocker and Julie McGee: Former pro pitcher who's been known to put his big foot in his big mouth and his model girlfriend who owns a spray tanning business fill out the pro-athlete and model casting slots. Put on your sunglasses, folks. This couple is bedazzled.
Next are: John Misch and Jaclyn Schultz: Former MSU football player and pageant queen. They're the selfie of the all-American couple, complete with a taste for the arts, wine and gosh-darn cutesy-ness.
Next are: Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly: Not one but two Broadway geeks who might break into song and dance in the middle of the jungle. I'm going to try to keep an open mind but Frankie J. Grande has ruined it for me. Josh seems energetic and Reed more OCD.
Next are: Drew and Alec Christy fill out the frat-boy/surfer dude mold. They're both clearly in it for the adventure high; and they both seem like goofballs, so they might capture the viewers' hearts.
Top right are: Jeremy and Val Collins: A firefighter (former pro-football player) and a cop fill out the first-responders casting quota. They both seem like two very smiley people who probably can take down an elephant if need be. I'd keep my eye on these two.
Bottom right are: Dale and Kelly Wentworth, a father and daughter team who fill out the down-home country slot as he's a farmer and she's a marketing manager with country roots. But don't count out the country folk, they both seem tough and smart.
Next to them are: Missy Payne and Baylor Wilson, a mother and daughter cheerleading super-duo. You can bet they're competitive and probably would knock some people out on their way to the prize. Missy owns a competitive cheerleading gym and Baylor is a cheerleading word champ.
Then we have, ugh: Nadiya and Natalie Anderson - the dreaded Twinnies. I hate you CBS. You've ruined Big Brother, and now Survivor is in peril. These chicks are the epitome of annoyingly competitive, loud and obnoxious. I would kick them off the island on day 1.
Finally bottom left are: Keith and Wes Nale, a fire captain and firefighter. Whoa! 911 overload here. They love hunting and fishing and having some brewskies. Good ole boys who risk their lives on a daily basis might just become the fan faves.
Well, seems the geeks were given a pass this season. On first impression, I predict this cast will be very polarizing among the fans. It, of course, depends on the editing and which confessionals they choose to air. You can bet the twinnies, N&N, Rocker and McGee will probably be the ones who cause most fan reaction and not in a good way. I bet Rocker will rock the idols. It seems to have been happening a lot lately, that the Alpha male seems to be showered with immunity.
Anyway. I will be blogging Survivor and Utopia. Since I'm Canadian and I don't want to go through internet gymnastics, I won't be able to see the Utopia feeds but I will be watching the show which premieres Sept. 7th on FOX.
Stay tuned! :)
2012-10-21
X for Expression
Rain + baseball = X Factor FAIL, but if you know where to look, you can find spoilers. Looking through several sources online including Wetpaint, MLive and Gossip and Gab the final 16 are:
Ages 12-16: Britney Spears chose: Arin Ray, Beatrice Miller, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Diamond White
Ages 17-24: Demi Lovato chose: Cece Frey, Jennel Garcia, Paige Thomas and Willie Jones
Ages 25 and over: L.A. Reid chose: Jason Brock, David Correy, Tate Stevens and Vino Alan
Groups: Simon Cowell chose: Emblem3, Lyric 145 (One4Five + Lyric Da Queen), Sister C and LYLAS.
It's going to be a hard battle this season with a lot of favorites already. As the voters tend towards the younger and the female, a trend has developed for shows like this. Based on that, Spears' and Lovato's teams have the best chances of making it to the finals even before the show begins. Here are my predictions:
From Britney's group, although all four are very talented, it will be a neck-to-neck battle between Carly Rose and Diamond; but I have a feeling Carly Rose will prevail because she appears less polished and rehearsed in her expressions and mannerisms than Diamond. This group will probably last the longest in the competition because they're closer to the voters' age group or they have the Cute Factor.
From Demi's group, Cece Frey will probably be the first to go because her on-screen personality is highly unlikable; and although Page is very talented, she too can come off as a bit abrasive. It will probably come down to Willie and Jennel. The latter two are not only talented but are very sympathetic on camera. Their voices and performance styles are very surprising and engaging. This team's chances are good to last a bit longer than Reid's or Cowell's.
L.A.'s and Simon's protegees will probably not fare as well with the voting public, getting decimated early in the season. The voting public's age profile will make it difficult to connect with the over 25s; and the groups have not done well on this show. From those teams, Tate and Vino have the best chances of making it farther because of their stories. Talent only marginally plays a role in voting as the playing field is level on that front. Simon will find defeat a bitter pill to swallow with Lyric 145 and Playback making it the farthest but probably not to the finals.
Despite Reid's and Cowell's "reactions" to getting those teams, it more than likely was a production decision to give Spears and Lovato the two groups that have the greatest chances right out of the gate. Why? To sweeten the pot. They probably want these two to stay with the show longer; and what better way to do so than to give them a taste of success?
Be that as it may, it's shaping up to be a great season of X Factor, given the caliber of talent, human interest stories and personalities that the contestants bring to the table. Couple that with the thrill of tuning just to watch this:
How can FOX lose?
Stay tuned! :)
Ages 12-16: Britney Spears chose: Arin Ray, Beatrice Miller, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Diamond White
Ages 17-24: Demi Lovato chose: Cece Frey, Jennel Garcia, Paige Thomas and Willie Jones
Ages 25 and over: L.A. Reid chose: Jason Brock, David Correy, Tate Stevens and Vino Alan
Groups: Simon Cowell chose: Emblem3, Lyric 145 (One4Five + Lyric Da Queen), Sister C and LYLAS.
It's going to be a hard battle this season with a lot of favorites already. As the voters tend towards the younger and the female, a trend has developed for shows like this. Based on that, Spears' and Lovato's teams have the best chances of making it to the finals even before the show begins. Here are my predictions:
From Britney's group, although all four are very talented, it will be a neck-to-neck battle between Carly Rose and Diamond; but I have a feeling Carly Rose will prevail because she appears less polished and rehearsed in her expressions and mannerisms than Diamond. This group will probably last the longest in the competition because they're closer to the voters' age group or they have the Cute Factor.
From Demi's group, Cece Frey will probably be the first to go because her on-screen personality is highly unlikable; and although Page is very talented, she too can come off as a bit abrasive. It will probably come down to Willie and Jennel. The latter two are not only talented but are very sympathetic on camera. Their voices and performance styles are very surprising and engaging. This team's chances are good to last a bit longer than Reid's or Cowell's.
L.A.'s and Simon's protegees will probably not fare as well with the voting public, getting decimated early in the season. The voting public's age profile will make it difficult to connect with the over 25s; and the groups have not done well on this show. From those teams, Tate and Vino have the best chances of making it farther because of their stories. Talent only marginally plays a role in voting as the playing field is level on that front. Simon will find defeat a bitter pill to swallow with Lyric 145 and Playback making it the farthest but probably not to the finals.
Despite Reid's and Cowell's "reactions" to getting those teams, it more than likely was a production decision to give Spears and Lovato the two groups that have the greatest chances right out of the gate. Why? To sweeten the pot. They probably want these two to stay with the show longer; and what better way to do so than to give them a taste of success?
Be that as it may, it's shaping up to be a great season of X Factor, given the caliber of talent, human interest stories and personalities that the contestants bring to the table. Couple that with the thrill of tuning just to watch this:
How can FOX lose?
Stay tuned! :)
2012-09-22
Survivor Philippines: The Tribe of Failure
It's difficult making cast assessments based on one episode of a show, one that is heavily edited to portray certain people in stereotypical roles, fitting stereotypical "story lines"; but here goes, as I hack my way through the jungle of editing to find the nuggets of possible truth.
It doesn't take a medium to predict that the Matsing Tribe is going to be tanking early. This is mostly due to the fact that their un-leader, leader who doesn't want to lead but does anyway, Russell Swan can't assess his tribe's abilities and their inability to tell him to go take a long hike on the beach. Now, he's probably a perfectly nice guy, one who made a huge mistake, admitting to it in Tribal Council, but something tells me he won't be able to help himself.
He's lucky. Zane Knight, who went out in a huge ball of fail by underplaying, underlasting, and undersmarting everyone, saved Russ' Survivor life this week. I don't know how many times I need to say this but I will again. Future reality contestants: if you want to play the BIG game, trying to make BIG moves while congratulating yourself about your own GENIUS, you better back it up with two things: a killer ability to save yourself in challenges, and zipped lips. These were the exact two qualities that Zane did not have, therefore earning him the distinction of being the first voted off.
Russ will probably continue for at least another week of life in the game because of two other tribe mates: Roxanne "Roxy" Morris and Angie Layton who risked losing their eyeballs with all the rolling they did at Tribal Council. They tried to pin their predicament on Russ, but he does not carry the sole blame. Instead of standing up to Russ before the immunity challenge, asserting themselves and their abilities, they "stood down" to his non-authority, authority, obeying his directives. His bright idea? Get the one guy on the tribe whose physicality ensured failure to do the running with him.
This tribe seems to have only two possibilities of making it to the merge: Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg. They were smart enough to seek each other out as the only two with the brains and strategy in the tribe. This, with their ability to make it through the physical challenges, will give them the best chances of getting out of this cluster of a tribe intact.
With this tribe's state of disarray and dismal un-leadership, Matsing stands a great chance of losing yet another immunity challenge next week and one of Roxy or Angie being sent packing. Russ will probably find the immunity idol because he stumbled on the clue, unlike Penner who found it with purpose. Even with this coveted idol, I doubt Russ's chances of making it to the merge are good. He'll probably not use it or give it away by accident.
These are just my assessments from watching the show. If you want real insider info, then get it from the one, true source of spoilers: Missyae.
Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs:
It doesn't take a medium to predict that the Matsing Tribe is going to be tanking early. This is mostly due to the fact that their un-leader, leader who doesn't want to lead but does anyway, Russell Swan can't assess his tribe's abilities and their inability to tell him to go take a long hike on the beach. Now, he's probably a perfectly nice guy, one who made a huge mistake, admitting to it in Tribal Council, but something tells me he won't be able to help himself.
He's lucky. Zane Knight, who went out in a huge ball of fail by underplaying, underlasting, and undersmarting everyone, saved Russ' Survivor life this week. I don't know how many times I need to say this but I will again. Future reality contestants: if you want to play the BIG game, trying to make BIG moves while congratulating yourself about your own GENIUS, you better back it up with two things: a killer ability to save yourself in challenges, and zipped lips. These were the exact two qualities that Zane did not have, therefore earning him the distinction of being the first voted off.
Russ will probably continue for at least another week of life in the game because of two other tribe mates: Roxanne "Roxy" Morris and Angie Layton who risked losing their eyeballs with all the rolling they did at Tribal Council. They tried to pin their predicament on Russ, but he does not carry the sole blame. Instead of standing up to Russ before the immunity challenge, asserting themselves and their abilities, they "stood down" to his non-authority, authority, obeying his directives. His bright idea? Get the one guy on the tribe whose physicality ensured failure to do the running with him.
This tribe seems to have only two possibilities of making it to the merge: Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg. They were smart enough to seek each other out as the only two with the brains and strategy in the tribe. This, with their ability to make it through the physical challenges, will give them the best chances of getting out of this cluster of a tribe intact.
With this tribe's state of disarray and dismal un-leadership, Matsing stands a great chance of losing yet another immunity challenge next week and one of Roxy or Angie being sent packing. Russ will probably find the immunity idol because he stumbled on the clue, unlike Penner who found it with purpose. Even with this coveted idol, I doubt Russ's chances of making it to the merge are good. He'll probably not use it or give it away by accident.
These are just my assessments from watching the show. If you want real insider info, then get it from the one, true source of spoilers: Missyae.
Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs:
- My assessment of the singing competitions: The Voice, X-Factor and the newly rehashed American Idol. Why is this show still on?
- Misogyny and Reality TV
- Skill, Luck, Production and the Mighty Buck
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