Miss Scarlet

I think Natalie and Meaghan probably didn't do well because they were completing the drill with technique and speed. If they had slowed down and stopped to line themselves up with the target before they shot, like a lot of the other teams did, I think they would have gotten it faster. Sukhi and Jinder are the most unintentionally hilarious Amazing Race team ever. Lol at Jinder asking Sukhi if she knew if she was left or right handed and she responded with "Who cares??". Their hilarity outweighs the annoyance of them asking for so much help. I'm still not fond of Mickey and Pete. The whole "I just had to kiss some babes" thing was so lame. One thing I always liked about Jet and Dave is that they went against the "bro" stereotype. I was underwhelmed with the road block. The preview made it seem much more exciting then it actually was. Or maybe I just wasn't that into it because I didn't like the song. I think it would have been better as a detour because it would have been fun to see both team members doing it and harder to have both of them get the song right. Why 74 perogies? That seems like an odd number.

I completely agree. I wasn't into Rod Man, but he won me over last week with "living room baby". This week, not so much. Breast jokes are unoriginal. Yes, he put his "Rod Man style" on it, but I didn't find it funny. The judges go on about how he can say anything and make it funny because of his presentation, but I don't like how his style is used sometimes to mask jokes that actually aren't that funny. At times I find his style grating, especially the constant repetition of everything he says. He is totally winning this thing, though. I think Roseanne was the one that wanted Joe to stay. She was in disagreement with Keenan and Russell. I think Joe went home because it was 2 for Lachlan (Russell and Keenan) and only Roseanne voting for Joe. I think Joe was running out of gas. He never really seemed to recover from all the rounds he did with Monroe. I would worry that he wouldn't have enough material for the finale. His last two sets have just been a series of unrelated, incoherent one-liners. They were still funny, but not integrated with each other. I can't remember, but was his act always like this, even in the beginning? It looks like the strategy the other comedians had, to keep voting him in the head-to-heads and making him burn through his sets in order to get him eliminated, worked. My two favorite sets of Nikki's have been the ones over the past two weeks. Having said that though, I agree with those that think her act is played out. We get it, you're a black, lesbian woman, who makes jokes about that and about your physical appearance. I like that she's high energy, but she needs to tone it down a bit. The weird head motions and yelling during her sets are too much. It was especially noticeable in that clip from the roast. I find that I tend to judge the jokes the most on is their originality/obviousness. Does anyone else find that? There are a lot of jokes that are funny, but I'm just like, meh that was too obvious or I've heard something similar before. Like Joe Machi's Thomas Jefferson joke wasn't funny to me because I've heard it before. Also, anytime they cut to Keenan I'm completely distracted by the shape of his head. He reminds me of the Brian from Pinky and the Brain. I don't find his critiques very informative and I think he makes his biases too transparent. I really hated during the auditions how his whole commentary about the person's "look". ETA - Speaking of Keenan commenting on appearance, I forgot to mention the part when Russell said that Lachlan's comedy is as crooked as his smile. I know he was joking, but that was kind of mean.

I completely agree!! This made me feel so badly for those poor people. I kept hoping that they were in on the joke, or hired extras or something. They were just trying to get some show tickets and have a good time. Howie was ruining that and being a jerk. It did for me too, not that I was ever really a big fan of his. It just seemed like such a slight and so dismissive of the judges' (very valid) criticisms of his performance. I'll echo the Mara Justine comments. I felt really uncomfortable watching her during the results show. Calm down, girl! This isn't life or death. She was just way over the top with her emotional reactions.

Mat Franco - I really like him. I wouldn't mind seeing him win it all. He's able to do tricks with good presentation that doesn't drag on and doesn't get boring. Aerial Animation - I like her, but isn't she really just Kenichi, but with aerial tricks instead of dancing? John and Andrew - I agreed with Mel B. I was bored. I think their main hook is still being a male-male dance team and I don't find that exciting. Jaycob Curlee - He is totally getting by on his story and not on his singing. I find him really boring. Darik I-forget-his-last-name - I'm just not into the comedy of repeating unoriginal jokes or lame puns with the idea that their whole persona is hilarious because they're being "ironic". Howie said that comics are people who say things funny and comedians are people who say funny things. Which one was he trying to say Darik is? Mara Justine - I had to fast-forward through most of her song because I don't care for her singing, but did catch those weird, gyration-esque moves she was doing. What was up with that? It freaked me out. I liked when Howie said that Juan Carlos is an acquired taste and then said "you either like him or you don't"...yeah, that's not what acquired taste means, Howie.

The roadblock this week was really great and super hard. I was dying watching Nicole doing all that biking. Rex and Bob - I get that this is reality show and not a true representation of their relationships, but still I'm going to say it. Bob can do better. Loved the Satan comment though. They are very entertaining. Mickey and Pete - Jet and Dave they are not. I know that's obviously what casting was going for with these two, but I find them smarmy and not charming. Does anyone else think that Pete looks like Malcolm Freberg from Survivor? Not just the hair, but facially as well. Sukhi and Jinder - They're super annoying when they're asking for help with all the tasks, but they are also so unintentionally hilarious. Like last episode when they were hysterically talking to each other, saying "let's go!" and then running in opposite directions. I thought it was hilarious this week when Jinder said in a talking head that he'd never used a trailer before, but then was telling Sukhi that what she was doing wasn't going to work and said "I know trailers". I find a lot of the teams pleasant, but boring. I don't know if that's because of the teams themselves or just the way editing works on the Amazing Race. It seems like there probably just isn't much time each episode to show more of the contestants' personalities.

There's also Ed O'Neill who went on from Married...With Children to Modern Family. I could see Kaley lucking into another successful sitcom, playing the generic mother/wife role.

I totally agree. In my last post I said they worked really hard, but I forgot that a lot of the hours that they're on set are spent waiting or in their trailers. I don't think any sitcom actor should be paid this much money. Also, I know it's the luck of the draw and all, but if actors are going to be paid this much money I find it weird that mediocre actors like Kaley are getting it and not super talented ones. It boggles my mind that she is going to be paid more than Kunal, Simon, Melissa and Mayim (who is amazing and consistently makes me laugh the most). I completely agree with this. It's interesting to note that the ratings have gone up with each season. I really think this is reflective of the fact that the show is getting to be more of a generic sitcom that appeals to a broader audience, with characters that happened to be physicists, rather than what the premise originally was. Although I was sort of disappointed with the show in the beginning too, only because I thought the premise was going to be about fighting all the stereotypes about nerds and making them more relatable for people. I think they've become more relatable, but the show makes a lot of jokes based on negative stereotypes and cheap humour. This has gotten progressively worse though and frankly, a lot of the humour is pretty weak and played for cheap laughs (like the constant jokes about Penny's alcoholism). I don't know if I should take this to the Penny thread or not, but I also completely agree about Leonard and Penny. I get that they're set up to be this star-crossed, Rachel/Ross couple, but I don't care. At all. They could be a great case of opposites attract, but they're not. If they were as Stuart had described (complimenting each other's strengths and weaknesses) they would be interesting, but they're just not written like that. With the way they're written they basically have nothing to talk about and I don't even see why they would like each other. To me, they don't have any chemistry together. They constantly bring out each other's weaknesses and insecurities. It's also pretty gross the way Penny pretty much gets to do whatever she wants because she's "out of Leonard's league" and everyone just accepts this. Meanwhile, Penny settles for Leonard because he's a "nice guy" and better than the other guys she's dated. How is that a healthy relationship? I also don't like the message that what all nerds really want is just a pretty blonde girlfriend. I wish this show had been able to do more than that.

I'll never understand how some people break out on this show and other people don't. I thought the one sketch that Milhiser starred in with Lady Gaga was really funny and I think Noel Wells had potential. I don't understand how Cecily Strong was able to do so well in her first year last year and these two weren't. I get that there were 6 new cast members and they were all fighting for screen time, but that's true of any cast, regardless of the number of new people. Speaking of Cecily, what is the deal with her being featured so heavily this season? There were episodes where she was in almost every sketch, plus Update. It's getting to be too much. She can be funny, but there are other members of the cast who are a lot funnier and more talented. She seems to be the new Kristen Wiig/Lorne's favorite. Is it seriously because people think she's attractive? Is she a really good writer who gets a lot of her own sketches chosen? I hope that now that Kate McKinnon has been nominated for an Emmy, Lorne will look to her to anchor the show.

This is completely true and I think it's a super depressing commentary on the presentation of women in the media. It's also noticeable how much the conversation about Mel and Heidi is centered around their looks, whatever they were wearing that night and who's "hotter". Nobody ever talks that way about Howard and Howie. I wish they would either replace Mel B. and Heidi with female judges who give insightful critiques or change the way the show promotes them/other judges interact with them so that their opinions are seen as equally important as Howard's and Howie's feedback. Speaking of judges whose opinions matter, has anyone else noticed that Howie usually look over at Howard to see his reaction the acts? He especially does it during the comedy acts to see if Howard is laughing. It's pretty funny.

I feel like there's something wrong with me, because I never find the comedians on AGT funny. They just seem so unoriginal. They all tell jokes that I've heard before, from people who aren't even comedians. Or they have comedians who make really old and unoriginal jokes, but that's the whole point of their act, they're being "ironic", like Taylor Williamson. If that's all it took to be a comedian then pretty much anyone would be able to do it.

Baila Conmigo - The director/choreographer freaks me out. She's very intense and I feel like the she's the type that would be too harsh on the child dancers. JD Anderson - He makes me uncomfortable. I don't enjoy watching his act at all. Jasmine Flowers - I liked this performance of theirs the best. I thought they did a great job at making it more than just a fan dance and filling the stage at Radio City. Emily West - Liked her, but didn't really like this song. Not sure why the judges say that she or her look are unique. It seems pretty obvious she's trying to look Marilyn Monroe/40s esque. Does anyone else remember seeing her on the Celebrity Apprentice when they celebrities had to style an upcoming musical artist? The men's team had Luke Bryan and the women's team, with Cyndi Lauper, had Emily. She performed a song on the show and made Cyndi cry. Seriously. He was fine, but also very drowned out by his back-up singers. I find it interesting that several of the judges mentioned that he's charismatic. I like him enough, but there's nothing charismatic about him. Is charismatic code for good-looking? Speaking of that, enough of Heidi and Mel drooling over him because they think he's cute. I don't like it when the male judges do that over female artists either, like when Howie and Howard kept mentioning how "perfect" Emily West's look is. Also, he definitely knows where all the cameras are. Too much staring straight into them.

I agree. I think Penny is the most disposable character (and Kaley the most disposable actor). They could have Penny move away for her acting career, bring in a new female neighbour and within a few episodes I'd probably forget all about Penny. Simon and Kunal should definitely be making as much as Jim, Johnny and Kaley. They are both very talented and I do think of this as an ensemble show (although the past few seasons Sheldon/Jim has seemed like more of the star). However, I think $1 million dollar for any television star is pretty ridiculous. I'm sure they all work very hard, but they have a great job (which they got very lucky with) and I think asking for $1 million is way too much.

I'm really tired of the judges talking about how awesome the singers on this show are and how they're unique. Every singer we've seen this season whose style they've praised has sounded exactly like other singers that are already out there (except for maybe Emily West). They do this especially for "quirky" or "indie" sounding artists, who are actually really similar to Feist, Regina Spektor, etc. Miguel Dakota also sounds like a lot of soul artists. Also, I'm sure he's a nice guy and all that, but I wasn't that into him after his audition simply because I knew everyone would crap their pants over him. It's just so cliche, the good-looking guy who is "sensitive" and takes care of his mom.

I just wanted to echo the posters who like Natalie and Meghan, but think that this show should be focused on casting "normal" people, rather than celebrities. It's not because I think that these people have already had their chance to shine and so they should move out of the way. It's more because I'd rather have a female team who are not professional athletes, but are still strong and competent. I feel like this would really show that with the right casting, female teams can do well on the race. Whereas when Natalie and Meghan do well it's more of like "Of course they're doing well, they're Olympic athletes. They're an exception, but other than them female teams can't well on the race".

That's true, I had forgotten about that. I still think though the way Jeff discusses these players is completely one dimensional and not completely relevant in real life. The edits are usually one dimensional, but Jeff gets to know the players a bit, so it's disappointing he still addresses things in this way. Was anyone else surprised they aired Kass's discussion with her husband about gender stereotypes on Survivor? I was surprised because I figured this was something they have been trying not to acknowledge.

What I find weird is that she always used to act like she was too cool for Survivor. She said she didn't watch any of the seasons she wasn't on and that she didn't go to any of the events or hang out with any of the former players. Yet she'll accept any job that's Survivor related. Maybe it's time for a real career. This is also one of the reasons why I never understand why Survivor lionizes certain people about how awesome they are. If people are talking within the game, I get it, but people will say that about her more generally. Wouldn't that apply to someone who's more accomplished? It's like when Probst kept comparing Malcolm and Cochran last year to talk about how awesome Malcolm is and how he's everything Cochran is not. I like Malcolm, but outside the game he's a bartender. There's nothing wrong with that, but at the time Cochran was going to Harvard for law school. This show's (or should I say Jeff's) perspective on success is warped.

So Morgan considers keeping guys in her back pocket a skill, but this season the only guy she had in her back pocket was Brice. Maybe she needs to re-think things. That's definitely true about needing a balance. I feel like this season's cast was good, but when people are like "this was the best cast ever!!" I'm like...really? Almost all of the Beauty tribe turned out to be duds. They started off well, but then just sort of faded (which I'm sure would have been very hard to predict in casting). Is the bar for casting really set that low? I guess the expectation is usually that only a few (like 2-3) players will be at all interesting? If so, then the casting system needs serious improvement.

I think depending on who does her makeup that day, she sometimes look a lot older than she is/when she was on Survivor. Like unrecognizably so. Everyone keeps saying this season had an amazing cast. It was good, but there one was one whole tribe (Beauty) where almost everyone turned out to be a dud. Is the bar for casting really set so low?

I understand that Kass was extremely disliked by the jury, but I really don't like the ostracizing that goes on at Ponderosa. Not saying any of them have to spend all their free time with her, but just say hello and be civil. I understand Morgan, Sarah, Jeremiah, etc being bitter toward Kass, but why Jefra and LJ? She flipped to their alliance and without that they would have been out sooner. Their behaviour in this video makes them look really petty. Especially if it's because, as Sarah said, one person decided to ignore her and then the rest followed.

Oh no, are they bringing Brendon/Rachel to Survivor??

Tony got way too much credit for the players. They kept asking him what he did to keep his alliance together and neglecting the fact that these people stayed with Tony not because of some special skill on his part, but either because of Trish (which she did point out) or because it was the best move for them. It was either staying with him or going with Spencer and Tasha, who nobody could beat in the end. This has been a really great season, but it's not because of good gameplay. It's because the gameplay was pretty bad in most instances. Kind of like how Probst thought Ciera was a really exciting player. That wasn't because she was a good player, it's because she made moves, but those moves ended up being pretty bad. At first I thought Morgan's jury speech was her trying to make a joke about herself, since it's pretty obvious why she was cast on the show and what her role was this season. After thinking about it some more, it was pretty gross. Of course she thinks the only way to get a man in her back pocket is with breasts. Not through personality or humour or common interests. Nope, all boobs all the time. Jefra started off her speech with "I'm not bitter" and then launched into one of the most bitter speeches from that jury. Jeremiah was surprisingly bitter too. Tony never lied or betrayed him. They were never allied, from what I can remember. Maybe the Beauty tribe realized how boring they were all season and decided to make up for it at tribal? LJ's speech was pretty funny because it totally exemplified his whole game and relationship with Tony. He was like "finally I get to speak". Then he asks Tony a question, which Tony proceeds to answer in his usual mania-induced way and then LJ just backs down and is like "okay, whatever you say". Good for him though because I really did think he was going to bitter. Someone should have pointed out that Tony wasn't truthful when he kept saying the only person he broke a promise to was Trish. He broke his promise with LJ who, unlike Jefra, was not trying to vote him out.

I think this is an interesting point to discuss. A lot of her moves have actually been pretty emotional. The way the merge episode was shown, it seemed like Kass basically voted Sarah off because she didn't like the attention Sarah was getting. I think Kass is cold, but not unemotional. The way she speaks, sort of monotone and with a flat affect, makes her seem really unemotional. That and her lack of facial expressions. If she gets angry she doesn't yell, doesn't glare or anything like that, but she is pretty emotional. She has an interesting secret scene this week where she talks about double standards on Survivor. I really wish it had made it into the show. She points out a lot of thing that have always bothered me with gender and Survivor. The puzzles this season have been pretty easy. LJ was getting a lot of praise for being good at them, but I kept thinking, these are not that hard! Being better at easy puzzles than Tony, Woo, Trish and Kass really isn't that great a feat. I also liked the distinction that Tony made between Kass in the real world and Kass in Survivor. What I've realized from listening to exit interviews this season is how much more interesting some of these people are than what the show portrayed. It makes more sense now as to how they got cast in the first place. Generally I have liked Trish more than Kass, but if the fight actually went down the way it was portrayed in the episode then Trish really needs to relax. She started going off on Kass because told Woo they should vote Trish out. Kass is allowed to do that. Trish and Tony are not the only ones who can play the game. I did like how Trish calmed down Tony earlier in the episode when he was fighting with Kass and then later on Tony calmed down Trish. Woo was on point at tribal, because that really did remind me of my parents.

I had the same impression of his Survivor Live interviews and I was someone who really liked him while he was on the show. I thought he was super inarticulate. There must have been some serious editing of his confessionals from the show, because although he mixed up metaphors and stuff like that, he usually seemed somewhat articulate. Or if he didn't I just attributed it to lack of food/water/sleep, etc. He also seemed a bit weird, which at times was endearing and other times was just...weird. He definitely seemed arrogant there. He was like "I'm so good at reading people". He did acknowledge that people would probably think he wasn't, since he got voted off, but he still insisted he was. He posted some tweets the night he got voted off saying that he "was too good" at the game. He kept saying that Tony was the only one playing and the only one who could have beaten him. Maybe that was true, but I thought he would have given more credit to Trish. He seemed especially bitter with her, which I thought was ridiculous. Part of me still thinks that he's just a nice guy and some of this bravado was him trying to show more personality and convince people that he's not boring. He seemed very upset that so many people thought he was. Also, Parvati has gotten a bit better at interviewing people this year. I watched a few interviews during Caramoan and she was intolerable.

ITA. This has been a good season, but I can't root for any of these players. Can we cast some likable people next season?

Yes! I hated that this was presented as a woman whose career choices aren't working out, so the alternative is for her to get married. Ugh. I worry about what young girls watching this show will take from that. I also worry about what they'll take away from the notion that Penny is above Leonard because she's "pretty" and how that's mentioned every episode. Yes to this too. Enough of this and enough of the Jewish/Indian jokes. Such cheap humour.