Lantern7

I know, right? I think Daisy would brighten up the show, but I'd expect someone like Zach to devour her.

It's been snowing off and on for a while. The temperature is also dipping, which makes walking around a pain. I need a new hobby. I picked up another Doctor Who blind item figure, and -- for the second time in a row -- it was a figure I already had. Next time, I'll wait for a sale.

I will admit it . . . the concept of "Exile" is interesting. Other than that, it's the usual bacchanalia. Oh, and I'm waiting for poor Diem to drop . . . which is a shame, since she and CT are/were a legit threat in the game. Of course, Wes thinks too much about gameplay, and that's usually his downfall. I think "Exile" would make his head explode if he knew about it. I would've supported him throwing Johnny into the Dome, because Johnny Fortune needs to have his ass burned. I also support the elimination of Are You The One? couples, since I don't want to devote any more brainpower to people I never followed in the first place. If I wanted to watch AYTO, I'd watch it. I don't, so their dramas and histories mean nothing to me. Of course, Adam & Brittany wind up getting lucky in the Dome. Not much else to add. I think I can get behind the dogpiling on Jay. He was good for a while on Ex-Plosion, but he wound up making out with too many girls. He's a schmuck, plain and simple.

Doesn't the format of RW turn off would-be candidates? I mean, would you go into a situation where you know you're going to get ambushed, even if you get some drinking and nookie out of it? Big fat "whatever" to tonight's episode . . . I don't think anybody looked good, not even Nicole.

Heads up . . . the premiere is set for 90 minutes. I don't know if we'll be getting an "After Show" at midnight, or if we'll be getting 1.5 hours of Challenge "fun."

So . . . what teams would you like to see back? Also: are there enough memorable teams to make up an "all-winners" season? I'd suggest "all stars"/"Unfinished Business" candidates, but the last few seasons heading into the superior TAR25 are a bit of a blur. How about "Champs vs. Chumps"*? Six winning teams and those that came close (e.g., the Afghanimals) and six that got wiped out early in the game. Could be interesting, right? * That was the best theme title I could come up with.

GaryE . . . good point. I knew that the championship game was next week, but it didn't occur to me that Fox would be scared to put out a first-run episode.

I also felt too much was going on, especially coming from hiatus. While I'm thinking about it . . . what's on Fox next week that keeps Gotham on the shelf until the 19th? And yeah, I'm surprised that I'm liking Bullock. He's still a snarky pain in the ass . . . but it's as if Jim's nobility (for lack of a better term) has rubbed off on him. Since when does Selina have access to Jim's place? Or is it Barbara's? I can never remember. Also, how did Ivy get past the front desk? Or am I thinking too hard about it. Also: Barbara still sucks. Sapphic content can only last so far, then you see a grown woman trolled by a tween with mental health issues. No Bruce & Alfred? Dunno how to feel about that, since the show is supposed to be partially on Bruce's shoulders. Penguin the Bonsai. Cute. Poor little monkey. ETA: What were the inmates acting out at the start of the episode?

I figure if Coral would host, she'd get to bring her daughter with her, as opposed to leaving her at home. Or maybe she could host the After Show. This isn't taking away from Devyn, but I think Coral could be a better host, especially since she's divorced enough from the current stable where she can snark on them without consequence. An idea recycled from a blog I posted back in 2008 (scroll down to "Finale"): instead of an endurance mission at the very end, why not use the elimination format? Each player would get another "life" for every endgame won, as well as for valuable performances in missions. If a team runs out of "lives," the other side wins. It would be a marathon of sorts, but it would compress the universe to a small arena. Afterward, "surviving" members of the winning side would face each other, with one person getting a six-figure payday separate from the victorious team's shares.

Interview with the Titan editor behind the Doctor Who books. Right now, I'm collecting Twelve's comic, and I figure that I could buy Ten and Eleven's stuff when they get collected.

I think we'll be getting Robin's story . . . even though we've already seen the bulk of it. I'm basing this off of Wikipedia and episodes that have "Straw Hat Theater" accompnaying them. And yeah, those were giant rabbits.

I'd go by Gauntlet 2 and Gauntlet III rules as a guideline: two or more appearances gets you on Old School. Rookies and sophomores belong to New School, with more recent personalities getting tacked on. Finally, No School would be people we haven't seen in at least three years and/or people who would have gotten on with their lives. I know, it sounds subjective, but it would be interesting to see if any of the "normal" people would be as dramatic or productive as competitors. For the sake of argument, "normal" would be along the lines of Cynthia in Battle Of The Sexes 2. Who saw her coming? ETA: I'd also take Coral as a host. I don't know if she doesn't want to come back, or if she's on a "bad" list because she quit Gauntlet III.

. . . and CBS just took down the bulk of the TAR25 videos. I'm pissed because I embedded stuff on my last blog post, and two of them are now set to "private." I know CBS did the same for their Survivor YouTube account, but it still bites.

Since we didn't have much movement on individual threads, I thought an all-inclusive topic should be set up, especially since the show is returning on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. ETA: Oops, turns out the season resumes next week. My bad.

If I'm right, we have this episode and the next before we get back to the main story, so hang in there. ETA: A lot got skipped over, but it's good to have Sanji and Chopper's stories retold. Now . . . "Italian Stereotype Theater"? Not so much. And damn, people must smoke a lot in Japan.

Bumping up for the show's return to Toonami tonight at 12:30 a.m.

In the wake of the "collar" theme in the upcoming Survivor, how about a "school" Challenge? Old School would be the regulars we've grown to love/loathe, New School would be the (relatively) new Challengers, and No School would be the "graduates"; people who have moved on with their lives and have actual jobs. Colors could be used instead of "schools," but you get the idea.

No, this is not about rigging events to make sure "Johnny Bananas" doesn't win. This is about tweaking The Challenge into something that's more interesting . . . and given how MTV has stuck it in 11 p,m. on Tuesday night, things have to get better for the show. Here what I got, at least in terms of a future "Free Agents" edition: 1. Limit The Player Size I'm thinking they can compete as individuals, male/female or same-sex pairs, or in quartets. Anything larger would be overkill, and it would play further havoc to the stats I had been keeping prior to last season. 2. Eliminate The Automatic Elimination Entry Instead of having the winners select somebody to do into Elimination, they would vote one boy and one girl to not go into the "elimination round." One proviso would be that no person could be selected for immunity twice in a row. 3. Institute Mass Hysteria Rather than have people go one at a time to flip cards, line up all the losers with one card each (at random), then have them flip. Two unlucky players would draw the "kill card" and have to face off in the elimination round. I like the idea that winning would be the only way not to be eliminated. This would also wipe out any possibility of flipping multiple cards, like Jordan did to face Johnny. 4. Replace TJ Lavin Okay, this is more of a general complaint. I'm tired of seeing Teege stink up season after season. I have a list of people who would've fit the bill to replace him over the years, but I'll keep it short: Devyn Simone. Come on, this girl is funny, she's easy on the eyes, and she's lasted two Challenges (Battle of the Seasons, Free Agents) while getting chump change for it. All she needs is a cute wardrobe and a box of weaves, and she'd be set. What other ideas would you have to improve the show?

Just curious . . . is MTV going to be an After Show after episodes of the Challenge? I haven't heard anything about it.

In case it isn't obvious . . . Kathy took dye/chalk and glazed the sides of Anderson's head red and blue for a patriotic theme.

Thinking of you guys and the Hobbit trilogy . . .

I'd prefer Daisy. More personality from her . . . though I would be curious as to what sort of "Skeletons" a Roomba would have.

Fight, fight, fight, revelation, fight, fight, mud wrestle, Wolf Pack, a-wwoooooooooooooo, Bruno gets laid. That's what I got out of the episode. Maybe it's the Challenge preview blocking out relevant information, but that's all I got. Oh, and Nicole is still the most normal cast member, though in terms of nice lesbians, I wouldn't match her against Arielle just yet. Maybe when her Skeletons haunt her, we'll see what she's really made of . . . though so far, I'm impressed with what I've seen. And I'm guessing the ratings should perk up once the Skeletons come calling. Sometimes, I believe BMP won't be happy until somebody gets seriously hurt, mentally and/or physically.

You know how I was concerned that I had to treat the Challengers like human beings in the aftermath of Diem's passing? I think the sneak peek may have cured me of that. Seriously, who are these people? Am I alone in wanting the Are You The One? couples gone ASAP? And Leroy! WTF are you doing accepting mouth present from Nia? Ewwwwwwww, bad Leroy. I hope Santa brought you coal for Christmas. Or an 8x10 autographed glossy of Chet Cannon. I'm sorry, but I can't see anything redeemable about these people, even in the biggest available picture. And the AYTO kids don't look too much better. Oh, and Teege seems to be the same old charisma vacuum he always is. Maybe I'm supposed to be grateful Camila isn't involved in any way? Also: what goes through Hannah Teter's mind as she sees her odious boyfriend Johnny compete on season after season of this show? Hannah, I don't know you, but I know you can do so much better.

Live chat session with Amy & Maya. Pretty informative stuff.