PamelaMaeSnap

After occasionally surfing onto this show once or twice over the last few years, I needed some summer brainless TV piled up on the TiFaux and recorded 30 episodes. I've gone through about 8 so far (most recently two that included the four Jersey Shore fist-pumpers and one other, both definitely referenced in the few posts above this, with the ice cream sundae bars etc.) Again, loved loved loved the Schadenfreude (hope that's right use of the word) of the low-balling grate-voiced bitch Tracy ending up in last place -- I was hot, it's a 4 ... I don't like red meat, it's a 4 ... And I can't figure out how they can possibly avoid low-balling, even though ostensibly the concept of having them rate the dress/food/venue first, second and third keeps them from putting numbers on it, they're still going to low-rank the weddings they think are their "biggest competition." Definitely getting some cute ideas here and there on the off chance that when my daughter gets married she actually asks me for advice about anything. (And I can guarantee she won't have a theme or choreograph a ballroom dance or want to be on reality TV.) ... for example, I liked the mini-milkshakes at the end of the night on one episode I watched. But here is my question, and I haven't seen it directly addressed on here so far ... is it possible that the reason we don't hear about any of the couples' honeymoon plans because, aside from the fact that they probably CAN'T talk about them if they have them since they're competing for that dream honeymoon, in fact none of them have MADE honeymoon plans? Because it involves a lot of non-refundable deposits for hotels and airfare and stuff, and if they win, I assume that's all lost ... and if they don't know if they're going to win, how can they make plans in advance? Unless, of course, the so-called "honeymoon prize" can actually be used a year or two down the road as a garden variety vacation. Because none of them could go right after their weddings no matter what, since they have to wait until the last wedding, right? I know I should have bigger things to think about like world peace and stuff but I think about this every episode.

Wondering if that photo is a sneak peek of our top 3? I'd be totally down with that.

I can't see the pix but is Mame the Maryland girl who was just second-runner up to Miss USA? Or at least Top 5 -- I might be wrong on the final placement. Unusual enough name and she was also from Silver Spring, I think. Just googled and that is indeed her.

Absolutely ... but I do think the producers are aware of that, or if not they should be after the editing geniuses (genii???) did that clip several weeks back with him repeating "delectable pillows of something-or-other" over and over again ... and it's also why Emilia called him a used car salesman in her meltdown moment. If his selling point is his down-home good ol' boy WYSIWYG appeal (which to me isn't that appealing but he doesn't bug me that much either) then seeing how rehearsed he is really takes away from that aspect ... BTW is it just me or have the show's editors gone above and beyond this season? Oh, PS ... I already don't miss Michelle one bit. I would never watch her inevitable POV show "My Kids Love When I Make Soup Out Of This At Home."

While this may not be even part of the answer to this question, I noticed this week for the first time that the judges have some sort of "cheat sheet" next to them ... all I could tell was that it had photos of each of the finalists and a bunch of notes. So maybe he puts them on so he can glance at the notes to remember who the heck they are and what they did.

I do wonder if all of the challenges and set-ups are planned before the season ever begins ... I'd have to imagine they would be, logically, but wonder sometimes if some are set up to weed specific folks out or at least to let their chosen ones shine, once they figure out those TCOs' strong points? It certainly made sense that Eddie, Jay, Arnold were the ones who shone while stiff Emilia, cute but forgettable Alex (wow, love the fact that Emilia's meltdown took so much spotlight over his "WTF was that about" performance!) and Dom, whose TCO status seemed to go on a steep decline in last two weeks, imploded. (Oh, and Michelle was forgettable per usual and coasted another week simply by virtue of the fact that others were worse rather than her being good). Viewer vote or not, I don't see Matthew's return being one that would catapult him to the title. Luca (who still should have/could have won and would probably have won without viewer vote) was SO likeable, and his early exit was a one-off of sorts (as with Kristen Kish on Top Chef during her season) but Matthew, even if he's less of an outright a$$hole, will at best seem insincere if he's all unicorns and rainbows and will still leave enough of a taste of smarm that I, for one, would not want to watch a show with him in it. Plus, boring POV. At best, a little redemption and maybe a webisode series.

I finally went to watch Star Salvation but didn't see any previews ... am I looking in the wrong place?

Cooks ... Good points all, and thanks for clarifying who the switch-flipper was. (PS -- was having debate with husband last night -- he said the "epic fail" comment was about Emilia but I thought it was about Alex ... you are the expert ... do you recall?) Do you think there is a chance that Arnold would/could just do an episode as Suzy Wong, period, and take his chances with whatever the on-air challenge is? I really think that's the only thing that could save him at this point, and since it was his POV and yet no one has ever seen that side of him, it makes him seem like he's flailing, for lack of a better word. Also, just one more comment on Dom ... despite how I lost some of my like during his interactions with Michelle, I've gotten the feeling that his anger, etc., on air has been more anger at and frustration with and disappointment in himself than at his competitors. I think he knows he's his own biggest enemy out there. If nothing else, he knows his faults and shortcomings very well, which can't always be said of other competitors.

THIS. Well, I mean "this" among a million other things in this show (which, IMHO, was the best episode so far on what has been , for me and Mr. Snap (aka Brewster Rockit) the best FNS season yet (of those we've watched). My first thought that something was gonna give with Emilia (who I have NOT liked at all anyway) was when she started quaffing the ingredients for her dish and talked about "liquid courage." I had a sneaking suspicion we were gonna get Drunken Emilia but didn't know where that would go (and besides, Drunken Damaris was always so cute but that spot is taken). When she started bashing people, I realized, first of all, she's not funny. Period. But in addition, these people in the audience have no idea who she's talking about anyway. It was, for me, a very "Springtime for Hitler" moment. Watching the train crash unfold with my mouth hanging open and a "no she didn't!" ... I don't think they ever specifically implied, necessarily, that she was drunk (or tipsy) but I inferred it as an excuse for her ridiculous behavior (and her continuing to defend what she did). -- I've been Team Eddie since before the show even aired ... when I looked at the list of contestants I immediately remembered him from Masterchef (I believe he left in the Top 8 episode but don't remember what the circumstances were). I'd liked him then ... great personality, charisma, etc. In this show, I'm just ... fangirly. He's the only one I'd watch, he's different from anyone they have on there, and he's proven time and again that he can think fast on his feet and has a great personality on camera (and is not hard on the eyes). He's also a damned good cook, it appears, his stumble here and there notwithstanding. That said, I fear that his comfortable frontrunner status fro the get-go could be a fakeout ... OTOH, I think Lenny was a frontrunner from the beginning, yes? And I have no fear that Eddie would turn out to be a Lenny. Like someone else said, I think WYSIWYG with Eddie. Which is a good thing. -- I am stunned that we have not yet seen Arnold break out Suzy Wong for the show. Is he not allowed to? He's made no secret of her existence or the concept of the home entertaining, etc. I'd think now as it's getting down to the wire, a Suzy Wong moment might really buy him new life ... plus, of all the POVs, his -- home entertaining with appetizers by Arnold and cocktails by Suzy Wong -- is very unique and would be a hoot to watch. -- Dom. Domdomdomdomdom. Had long debate with both daughter (who lives on other coast and called me on her drive to work the next morning just to talk about Emilia as we both said "Oh ... My ... God.") and husband here. First of all, I'll give Bobby Flay a pasadena on this only because I think they had to boot Emilia after her performance and that saved either Dom or Alex's ass (or should I say his %$# so Tuschie doesn't get upset). Why did he apply for this show and go through the whole song and dance if he didn't want to be on a TV show? Something there doesn't sit right. And we so often see him being indeed engaging, charming, etc. that we know it's there. My gut feeling is that he may indeed have some stage fright but the judges see that SOMETHING is there (was it Giada who said something about needing that switch to be flipped) and that with some one-on-one intensive training, this is a problem that could be solved versus, say, someone who is a loose cannon or can't cook or is just flat out boring. It's there. Somewhere. Maybe his show would always have a guest in studio with him or a partner who would engage him in conversation. My gut says the next two to go, in no particular order, will be Michelle and Alex (probably Alex first), Arnold will break out the emergency Suzy Wong, Rue will come back from Salvation Station or whatever it's called (I don't watch it) to give them a female in the F4 and we'll see an F3 of some combination of Eddie, Jay, Dom, Arnold and Rue. Jay doesn't bug me but he doesn't do anything for me and I can't see what the POV would be unless it included his going out and hunting down all his meals, and, no thank you. At which episode do they finally sit down with each finalist and zero in on what their final POV would be and what the idea of the show would be? That will be fun. I do think Eddie needs his a little more focused -- he's had to regroup after Cheat Day didn't work and Caribbean flavors by themselves will not be enough for a show.

I may still have it. Okay, the CD. Don't judge. But if Ben H is the new Bachelor, I wonder if they'll get Christopher Knight on for a guest shot? (I do, however, think Ben Z -- aka Benzie -- is quite hot ... if we have to have one of the top 8, my pick would be him).

If there it's not too far out of left field for them to come up with a curveball as a winner, I'm not ruling out Shamiqua. The bit of screen time she's had has been intriguing and I wouldn't be surprised to see her last longer than expected (which means she'll be eliminated next week).

Josh Murray got a lot farther with Andi than he ever did in his pro baseball career. As a former minor league baseball writer from the era during which all of the Bach/B'ette alum played, trust me, this guy does NOT want to go there. Right now he can still play the "I played pro baseball" card but once he's in the spotlight, people will finally catch on that, despite his second-round status, he pretty much was a flop. Yes, only a small fraction of young baseball wannabes even make it as far as the minor leagues, but even Brady Toops had a better career than Josh did. (And Chris Siegfried had, by a slim margin, the best career of the three recent minor league alum ... and I don't count Roberto because he did not play in the minors). Josh played a grand total of 34 games above low-A and stunk up the joint. He IS, however, the cutest of the three.

I know at least one other contestant tweeted about heading home yesterday ... not sure if all of the contestants were there ... and IIRC we won't know who won until the end because of the fan vote -- they come down to two or three? I can't remember, so many food shows, so little memory! But Arnold does actually live out there, at least half the time, and has a full apartment, etc. according to the Tennesseean article (I read that on protest because I wanted to read it but they laid off about half their staff not too long ago including some dear friends who had written for them forever!) -- so everyone else having left and his being at a studio could mean a lot or it could mean nothing at all other than that he's still there doing this thing (which has been trying high and low to get his food/entertainment/TV career going).

I was totally Team Eddie when he was on Masterchef and think he has the charisma to nail this as well, which means he'll probably be the first person eliminated. That said, I also love Arnold's backstory and personality and think he'll make for some great, compelling TV ... so, hey, I can root for more than one person, right?

Maybe the whole twist is that she got secretly married to one of the contestants before the show started and is playing out this massive awful cringeworthy charade ... so that when she pulls out the "gotcha" at the end, in fact, her husband will INDEED have been in that room. Points for creativity from the East German judge please?

I have no idea why it took me so long to find this thread but I think it's because I was wondering if any of the "old gang" from TWOP Hot Tub was here ... MSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone else here under a new name? (I'm not breaking any PTV rules, I just am not using the old TWOP name I used to use which rhymed with Spazzie Dazzie). Who remembers the saga of Periwinkle and Todd (which season was he? I am old and senile ... too much hot tub chlorine fumes, I think). Oh, and BACON?

Not that I was distracted from the get-go by JJ's nose, but all he is missing is a cup of coffee, a cigarette lighter and William Holden. Brady is potentially the show's third dip into the washed-out minor league baseball player who didn't make it past A-ball ending up in the "winner's circle" (following in the proud footsteps of Desiree's Chris Siegfried with Cubs and Josh Murray with Brewers). Toops was a backup catcher for a few years in the Cardinals system in the mid-'00s (I just can't call them "aughties") ... I actually saw his team play but don't remember him, probably because he was ridin' the pine all season (but a star-studded lineup). Personally, I think the cutest guy there is Jonathan but I need no further proof that he's fodder than a) they never showed "alone time" between them and b) I don't think his name has come up here in the first 140 posts. Next rose ceremony, farewell Jonathan, we barely knew ye. Trying to make an early guess as to who they'll cull from the loser crew to be next Bachelor, I'm torn between Cupcake Chris (he really is adorable) and dreamy Ian (especially if they might finally be ready to edge ever so slightly into having a "chooser" that has even a soupcon of color). I just can't figure out why either of them would NEED this, though.

I think great points and observations and insights have been made from all sides here (and I specifically loved Simon Bocanegra's take on it and think that was probably very much how it came down) ... But I do want to add one observation that, if it has been made, I missed and I apologize ... and I say this as a member of Team Quentin (not taking sides, IMHO everyone was a little right and a little wrong except Seacrest who totally played playground bully and made this all explode ... and I can't say it's because the producers told him to, because isn't he one of the producers?) Anyway, Dude has a MAJOR case of "resting bitch face" to start with. He just does. I think maybe that's why J-Lo even said she loved when he smiled -- it's because he practically never does. So I don't think that Ryan's pushing him and prodding him was necessarily because he looked so much more upset than he usually does. He just looked like Quentin. IMHO. It will be interesting to see if he loses his regular voters (I'm sure there are people who would vote against him if they could but then I'd vote against JAX every week if that was possible). I bet there are Quentin fans who got a fire lit under their butts to go and vote for him because they know he's on shaky ground after that ... and I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone regardless of what the numbers are. Which would leave a tour of boring Nick, boring Clark, slightly less boring Rayvon (who really kinda won a little bit of my heart with his classiness), intolerably affected JAX and awesome Tyanna (who will nevertheless probably be the next one to go after Quentin). I'll save my money until Tyanna is a solo headliner. Maybe 2-3 years from now. I called a JAX win the first time I saw her audition. I hated her immediately and was convinced she'd win it all. I think she's really good at what she does but I just hate what she does.

I admit to being broken-hearted that they could not help Rajee, the transgender woman. She is so incredibly lovely and has such a great spirit ... Hopefully being a beautiful person inside will be enough ... She needs her own show! She'd be a great talk show host or something ...

Wasn't Paul McCrane in "Fame" even before ER? So it's a Paul McCrane-Debbie Allen reunion. Surprised there was no big song and dance number. Zola always was and continues to be the cutest kid on TV. And the Chief will always be the Chief to me.

LOL I actually Tweeted something to that effect ... that I hoped they were counting all votes where Qaasim was being misspelled. Not that he necessarily deserved to beat Rayvon based on last night's performances, but just because it would be unfair if he got penalized for having a name that everyone mispelz.

1) "Additionally, Daniel may have lots of followers, but there could also be tons of people voting against Daniel, even if they are not Rayvon fans (I was)." This. I am not an active fan of Rayvon but I tweeted "SaveRayvon" as a vote AGAINST Daniel and I'm sure i wasn't alone. 2) Age restriction? That's going to stop someone already on Twitter, and someone already following Daniel? Who can only tweet #SaveDaniel once? I sincerely doubt that "age restrictions" had ANY impact on the Twitter vote and if Daniel is using that as an explanation/excuse then I just lost a bit of the respect I had for him. He lost because his expiration date had expired long ago. 3) I think the fact that someone can go to the AI app and with one mouse click enter 20 votes for any and ALL contestants was created to inflate that "eleventy mazillion votes tallied this week" that gives Ryan that chubby. 4) I would be surprised to see Joey and Jax share much in the Venn Diagram of fanbases ... other than both being blonde and quirky, they are SO not alike ... Jax is super trendy current bleh (YMMV) and Joey is totally throwback. I have loved Joey from Day One and detested Jax with the power of a thousand nuns since that same Day One.

Totally in the minority here but while his vocal weariness was very evident -- and I'm not saying he would have nailed the runs even if that hadn't been the case -- and while I'll admit it was a rough performance, I actually really liked the overall basic quality of Qaasim's "acoustic" side and his guitar playing ... I'd love to see/hear him do something like that after he's had a chance to rest his voice for awhile.

Oh, also? I don't know if this has been mentioned but there has been so much talk about Jax's X and I think it's for jaX. It's her own brand.

I wonder how much Scott Bruschetta has to do, though, with the areas that the judges (mostly Harry) are choosing to stress ... Arguably (well, I'd argue it) the potential front-runners on the show, Clark and Joey, are both throwbacks (with Joey being more emphatically a one-of-a-kind unique performer), something HCJ addressed in his critiques, whereas the guy who is going to be Making A Hit Album With The Winner! probably does NOT want to work with them for that very reason. He wants someone CURRENT and RELEVANT and then, ideally, young enough to let him make all the creative and technical decisions (a la Jax). I am sure that the idea of Joey Cook winning this thing gives Bruschetta nightmares. He might be able to deal a little better with Clark because he could market him as a Sam Smith but there isn't anyone that's YOOGE right now that's like Joey. And that is a loss to music ... I'd posit that Quentin may pose the same dilemma for him, though he's not AS throwback ... and I think HCJ gave fabulous advice and insight ... not enough that it will change where I think Quentin will land in the competition, but hopefully advice that he will take to heart and use as he progresses in his career ... but as much as I adore him and am captivated and mesmerized etc., I don't think he'll make it as far as Top 5. I always feel like he's right on the bubble ... I'm guessing we'll lose Qaasim and Rayvon, in one order or another, and then Quentin (unless Tyanna is a shock boot in the middle there) and be left with Joey/Jax/Clark/Nick the last 4 standing. So, is this new fan save thing going to be permanent or did they just trot it out to get rid of Daniel? And just to add ... I actually have watched the show since the beginning, though I started about a third of the way into Season 1 ... Kelly's "Stuff Like That There" was a highlight I remember, and she has always struck me as a lovely and talented winner. Ruben was my FAVORITE winner, though ... And I just want to argue, for the sake of a previous post, that strictly IMHO the best female vocalist ever on this show was Melinda Doolittle.