Lantern7

I'm dreading Wednesday. Normally, I'd try to sneak Arrow in after Survivor and before South Park, especially since it'll be the second part of the "Flash Vs. Arrow" crossover that looks like fun. But for whatever reason, CBS is running TWO episodes of Survivor, meaning that I'd have to DVR Arrow, then DVR Comedy Central's stuff at 10-11 p.m. And I know South Park reruns at 12:30 a.m., but I don't want to take the 0.5 percent chance that the episode would get pulled for being too controversial (see "Episode 201"), so I have to DVR that. All this while I'm sitting on a pile of recorded DVR material that I never get around to watching. I know, it's a "me problem," but it's still a pain in my ass. I'm beginning to understand why Christmas has been big lately, what will only 28 days between that holiday and Thanksgiving. Minimum, I have to go shopping for Christmas cards. I hope nobody out here gets burned out on the holiday. ETA: Does Tom Coughlin quit the Giants before he gets fired? Giving up a 21-point lead to the Jaguars probably called for hara-kiri on the 50-yard line, but I guess he's waiting on the Titans next week to do that.

Dang. And I was hoping for something awesome to happen, even though it would have jeopardized Natalie, whom I consider to be the only person worth rooting for in the game. Apologies for getting too hyped about that mistake.

Continuity rears its head in "#Rehash."

I just saw another commercial, which was more generic than what I saw. Maybe a disgruntled intern ran the wrong footage, and nothing as severe as what I saw will happen on Wednesday.

Damn. Really? Why would CBS do that to the likes of us? Apologies to those I PMed and hyped up if that's the case.

Quick warning . . . I just saw a commercial on CBS with a major tribal council event/development. Also, with the number of jury members shown, I think it indicates which episode it takes place on this Wednesday. I'm not sure if it counts as a spoiler by Previously standards, but it is worth mentioning to spoiler-phobes who want to change the channel when it comes on, because it is a biggie.

Had a moment on Friday morning . . . I was at a comic shop for an early morning sale. They play music there, and you know what I heard? "Miles Apart" by Yellowcard, the theme to The Inferno. I just found it funny.

I forget . . . does the head-shaving Fast Forward count as a Switchback? That was the time Brendon & Rachel balked, leading to Bopper getting his dome shaved to no avail.

They did four new episodes in five days as part of Thanksgiving week. I think new episodes will be airing on Thursday nights from here on out.

I showed the episode to my mother. She got a kick out of the Scientists' misery. Poor girls . . . I wonder how long the welts will remain on their backs. In that regard, you have to envy the Cyclists. They get to chill out while being sequestered. Seriously, though . . . who would've guessed that Amy & Maya would be the last all-female team racing?

Bad news . . . next week's schedule has Summer Wars airing at 1 a.m. If [adult swim]/Toonami is following last year's pattern, then it looks like we won't be getting any "new" episodes until January. ETA: Rule of thumb . . . if Luffy gives you his hat for safe-keeping, that means he's gonna fuck somebody up just for you. As good as the flashback was, I don't think it gave a sense on how the Arlong Pirates owned Nami. Or how big a dick Arlong was. Or how dangerous he was. For instance, he commented on how he could regrow his teeth sharper than before, then he pulls 'em out of his jaw. TWICE. Still, I think Nami's backstory was conveyed well enough to show how it was the most depressing of the Straw Hats . . . at least until Robin came along. Who cares about Zoro's bounty hunter friends or the reference to how Nami "killed" Usopp? Oh, and since when does CN/[as]/Toonami care about eyecatches? Or providing subtitles for kanji? I guess "Obahan Time" needed more explanation than usual for a "Straw Hat Theatre" bit. Frightening to see the crew as middle-aged women. Or maybe it was "Namizaki" having more control over their lives than we usually see.

SIX promo videos are up for the show's January 8 premiere. The gang gets individually tested by Krieger, and chaos ensues. Oh, and it looks like Pam is over her cocaine addiction, though she's still insatiable.

Bit of trivia . . . I just saw the extended scene with Phil and the Surfers. Turns out the greeter is Melody, who raced with her best friend Sharon on TAR Asia 1. Thanks, Wikipedia and YouTube! I wonder . . . do cameramen get bonuses for framing Racers to look like chumps, the way the Wrestlers were in the same shot as the clue guy? If not, I think they totally should get a bonus . . . or at least Phil should bust Brooke & Robbie's humps about it afterward.

True, Lingo, but the Surfers got their Express Pass by going (a little) out of their way in the second leg. Also, the Dentists were bailed out of a last place finish by a non-elimination leg. I see both teams being about equal in terms of skill and luck, and they compliment each other's styles (Dentists : Aggressive :: Surfers : Mellow) Thinking about it . . . what about averaging the times teams leave in relation to the leaders? Problem is, I don't think the show likes showing that minutia anymore. ETA: I'm beginning to think that if there's a memory-based final task, it'll be animal-themed. That would explain the guy in the crab suit at the Detour.

Here are the average placements after nine legs: 2.78 Misti/Jim (third) 2.89 Adam/Bethany (first) 3.11 Kym/Alli (eliminated) 4.11 Brooke/Robbie (second) 5.22 Amy/Maya (fourth) I know . . . I need a better metric to judge teams. The closest thing I can think of is counting how many times a team is showcased being in trouble heading into a commercial. The more times a team is shown in that situation, the weaker it can be perceived. Problem is, that's not measured on Wikipedia. Meanwhile, I got a handy leaderboard and basic division to judge teams. I'm putting the odds of anybody channeling Colin next week at 25-1. I don't think anybody will have trouble handling an ox, and I can't see anybody (even Jim, a distant descendant of Colin) breaking down and openly cursing. Either way, kudos to Bert and/or Elise for bringing back memories of a crazy moment like that.

So . . . anybody else amped up by the Switchback next week? Colin's "Broken Ox" moment has to rank about the funniest in TAR history. I can't see anybody having trouble, since a. We'll probably dealing with recruits and new fans, as opposed to fans from 2004, and b. I don't think the task is that hard. One person works the yoke, the other guides the ox. Colin couldn't hack it because Christie wasn't walking the ox. I don't think we'll have anybody saying, "My ox is BROKEN! This is BULLSHIT!" even ironically. How many other Switchbacks have there been? I remember the hay-unrolling, the cheese-transporting downhill, and the mud-vaulting. Am I missing anything?

Upset! Now it looks like the Dentists and Surfers will battle for the win, the Scientists and Wrestlers fight for a probable third place finish, and the Cyclists wait patiently for a return trip. I have to say that they've earned another tour of duty, especially since the Fast Forward was tailor-made for Adam & Bethany. Only way it could've been more unfair is if the Fast Forward involved rodeo riding, with Jet & Cord waiting in the wings. As much as I'm happy Adam & Bethany live to race another day, I have to get a whiff of production thinking. I'm sorry, but that seems so unfair. This isn't like TAR6, with the tai chi demonstration and Avi being into that. Adam & Bethany are pro surfers. I am surprised that Adam ate it, mostly because it gave the Cyclists hope. But then they screwed up, and it cost them the game. Once again: I think they've earned status for "All Stars" or "Unfinished Business," and I wouldn't bet against them. Anybody else wondering how Misti & Jim would've handled the massage? Misti would've cried, but not as much as Amy & Maya. I don't thin Jim would have flinched. The Scientists, on the other hand, looked miserable. And Brooke looked like she enjoyed the pain. Speaking of the wrestlers . . . they're probably happy playing the heavies for this season. Minimum, they got fourth place, one better than Lori & Bolo in TAR6. I'd be more annoyed if they weren't inept half of the time. No way they're winning it. I take Maya's constant "I love The Amazing Race!!!!!" as more of a sign of editor-directed foreshadowing than anything Brooke & Robbie have done. The Dentists aren't annoying me. They're still the antagonists, though, because of Jim's intensity and the fact than Bethany is practically a saint. And I didn't think Misti was "godbothering," because she probably was praying for Jim's safety, as opposed to wanting a lead. Bigger shock: Kym & Alli getting eliminated, or the immediate flashback to TAR5? I hope Colin gets a kick out of the Switchback. I wonder who'd win an "intense-off" between him and Jim.

Tonight's episode has Amy and/or Maya topless for their massage. Question: when else has the show needed to break out the pixels to cover nudity? The only thing that comes to mind is Jon going naked for the final Roadblock in TAR4.

Actually, Ryan Knight was not part of the 2000 season. He was on in 2010. I created this thread for any remembrances of Knight. In other news . . . damn, it's going to be 15 years since the original NOLA season. I feel old thinking about it.

If you missed the dog show, NBC will run it on Saturday at 8 p.m. I only caught bits of it, but I did see who won. Thankfully, all the dogs that advanced to Best In Show looked like dogs, as opposed to any Poodles and Pekingese.

Got my Black Friday shopping done . . . bought a bunch of comics and trade paperbacks at 40 percent off, and it' not even 10:30 yet. Right now, I'm trying to see how long I can go without going back to sleep. Wound up getting up around 6:30 to make the sale.

Did anybody catch Comedy Central's holiday special? K&P had a bit where they played vloggers talking about seasonal movies. I didn't think the bit was that special, though.

Does anybody remember anything from this season? I don't have any warm fuzzies beyond recalling the Ryan/Preston feud. Normally, I wouldn't start a topic on a season I didn't care about, but Ryan Knight died yesterday, so I figured something should be set up. Seriously, all I really remember was that Ryan Leslie was a punk-ass. The rest is a blur to me.

Knight is in BOTE2? Dang. I could go without a Challenge, even if it meant the ensuing season would be ruined by the Skeleton kids. And now I feel bad for bad-mouthing him when he was going on about Diem's passing

Another tragedy . . . apparently, Ryan Knight died at 29. Condolences to his friends and family. I'm just going to shake my head now.