Lantern7

More HD-unfriendly bars. I'm hoping they'll be gone by the time we get to Sanji and Chopper's respective flashbacks. Damn, Axe-Hand Morgan is/was scary. He had a friggin' axe for a hand! And I don't think he was ever heard from again, unless somebody wants to correct me. No real insight into Zoro's rival or her death, though. Ah, the Syrup Village arc. Captain Kuro was a major league asshole, and so was Jango. I remember spoofing the arc, making Kuro's crew LOLCats. Good times. Apparently, they left out Usopp's dead (long-nosed) mother and the reason why he lies so much (pirates coming to the village would mean his father's return). I think his backstory is the weakest of the crew, in terms of sheer tragedy (Nami, Chopper, Robin). Another "Straw Hat Theatre," about the eating habits of the crew before Sanji joined up. Very cute.

Here are the average placements after eight legs: 2.75 Misti/Jim 2.88 Kym/Alli 3.13 Adam/Bethany 4.75 Brooke/Robbie 4.88 Tim/Te Jay 5.38 Amy/Maya Once again . . . huge gap between the lead teams and the also-rans. I think it would take a minor miracle for the Wrestlers or Scientists to even sniff third place, let alone win the game. Between the Double-U Turn and the Surfers risking "suicide," anything is possible. Question about the Scientists' painful-looking massage: when was the last time anybody on TAR got pixelated/blurred? I know it's expected on Survivor, but I think it's rare for TAR to break that out.

Well, looks like things got a little snippier between teams and individuals tonight. And it looks like the wrong team went out. I feel bad for Tim & Te Jay, whom I never got to tell apart. Going on the pole (dirty?) was too tough for all the teams, and it was a case where the last team to screw up would be eliminated. Brooke & Robbie were lucky that they had to swap out tasks; otherwise, Brooke would be complaining about stuff at the ol' Elimination Station. And the Candy Girls (cuter than "Sweet Scientists") are statistically racing on borrowed time, in terms of average placement. And I know it's soooooo easy to criticize on the couch, and that I have no sense of balance to carrying a tray with one hand, but still . . . shut up, Brooke. Every week with the whining. Granted, the "Blind Detour" was a bit of a face smack, but I like Brooke when she's not whinging about how she can't do stuff. At least Robbie picks up the slack comically. Felt bad for Bethany when she had to 1. drop the glasses in front of the jeering knights, 2. run back to the restaurant with Adam to get the broom and scooper, and 3. clean up and start over. But then Bethany rocked the Roadblock, and they passed on the Detour, even though they had the best chance of any of the teams of surviving the pole. I half-expected Phil to deduct a few thousand bucks for skipping the Detour, but no matter . . . they're still in the game, and I'm happy. Now . . . what would their anti-Cyclist codenames be? Man, what was up with Maya running a lap? So cute. Here's hoping T&T's respective families see them more than just roommates, and accept them for it.

Thanks, Bob Sambob. I'll be expecting ball-droppage from MTV and BMP, but I suppose there's a chance it won't stink, given the lead time.

May making fun of Stan Lee never get old. Peele made for a good Stan. And I liked the "bad boy" sketch as well.

From the current episode thread . . . if I had been on Survivor: Pearl Islands, I would've at least thought about killing Jon. I don't care if I found out about the dead grandma lie five seconds or five years later . . . it's a low-down "lookit me!" move that deserves a beating. And I know that I would've been separated from my loved ones for about a month (I threw in a few weeks for pre-game orientation) at most, and that I'd be back to civilization in less than that, but I would've wanted to spend time with a loved one, as opposed to finding out Jon and his pal patting each other on the back for their lie. BTW, Jon losing to Lillian was one of the most hilarious moments in the show's history. Also, I didn't like Terry. He looked to me like a failed military project to replicate the success of Tom by cloning him.

I wound up going out last night, so I didn't catch up with the episode until now. Can't believe I didn't get to see this on DVR immediately, but I had to check out other stuff. If the CW had run an ad for "NO LAUREL WEDNESDAY," I would've stayed home. Sure, the episode had its flaws, and Felicity being in a "Pretty Woman"-type situation (different profession!) is a little icky, especially since I'm comfy shipping her with Barry. But Cupid was a fun villain, Diggle was back in character, and now I know why the show is taking next week off . . . because Ollie will be done punching himself in the balls by then. The first shot of him in two weeks should be spent soaking his groin in an ice bath. Anybody know what "A.T.O.M." stands for? No, I'm not a newbie with DC canon . . . I got giddy hearing Ray talking about "white dwarf stars." I think I smiled as much as I did with the impromptu boxing glove arrow last week. Does the DJ have a name? I'm stumped about what canon could be brought into the mix. I'm guessing/hoping Malcolm seriously wounds him at least in order to be a good dad to Thea. ETA: Does having manpain count as a superpower? That might be the only way Oliver survives against Barry in two weeks' time.

True, there aren't any Section 8 cases (Philip, Brandon) or "love to hate" people (Russell), but it's hard to root for darn near anybody this season. Makes me hope for a more lively S30.

When will it air?

Color me surprised that Lewis Black is still on the show. I perk up anytime Jon talks about "news falling through the cracks." And Lewis didn't disappoint, ramping up his crankiness as far as he could take it. I saw him perform once . . . he was so intense and hilarious.

People still play Magic: The Gathering? Yu-Gi-Oh! made more sense to me, as least when the anime was on. What saves the episode? Cocks fighting with cards instead of talons, and the Amazingly Randy. Seriously, when was the last time Stan facepalmed over his father's sheer stupidity? I did think the bit with the dong coming out of the cop's mouth was overkill. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

First up, the immunity challenge was after Tarzan, who'd say "The game is afoot" a lot. Or something. Seriously, I blocked out that season, because it probably sucked copious amounts of ass. But it's probably a diamond compared to this season. Aside from Natalie, I don't think there's anyone worth rooting for. Can somebody make a case for any of the eight other contestants? Yeah, that was a blindside. Jeremy should've turned on Jon. Actually, Jeremy should never have given up his reward. Now he and Natalie look like chumps giving Jon & Jaclyn their gratitude. And Reed should have been smacked for rummaging through Keith's belongings. (Pause while I spit) I get the whole "I'm gonna burn the camp down before I leave" attitude, but there's some shit you should never do. In a perfect world, Probst would have smacked Reed on the hand for that offense. As for the immunity challenge? Kind of lame, if you ask me. Maybe they should have used their hands while blindfolded. It didn't make for compelling television.

No tears here, but I do want to hug CT. I really hope he doesn't fall into any abysses in the days to come. scrb . . . she never bugged me, but she did have a tendency to bug others, so you're not alone. I figure that in the big picture, she was a good person, eye-rolling moments and all.

Here's the new challenge . . . Jeff seems a little too excited about it . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TeIphRg5TE&list=UUVW1RiWXTQL-G-3KcoRy-_g&index=1 Hopefully, things will pick up soon. I'd hate to be sleepwalking to the finale.

Man. I would not want to attend a Ward family reunion. Supernatural had some family shenanigans tonight, and it wasn't quite as messed up as Ward killing his brother and others. So . . . Kyle McWhatever and his wife are (seemingly) immortal, and Whitehall stole her mojo. But Whitehall doesn't know about Dr. Kyle being special, and Dr. Kyle knows that Whitehall a. killed his missus and b. is an immortal N . . . Hydra agent. And Ward makes it an interesting threesome. I'm not sure what he brings to the party, aside from familial-based psychoses. Good episode. Any idea what ABC will be running next week? And "yay" to angersex between Bobbi & Hunter. Like I said last night in the Gotham thread, I'm a cheap date.

I thought this was the weakest episode. It felt formulaic to me. I mean, it was still good, but Iris had to be distressed, and she still insists on being Flash's main cheerleader, which makes her a target for guys like Girder. Yes, I'm calling Tony that. I'm sure Cisco would approve. And yeah, WTF is up with locking up Girder and exposing your secret, Barry? That was dumb, and it doesn't take due process into account. And Barry is supposed to be a smart guy. Anybody else sweating about Joe? I hope he doesn't get targeted by the Big Bad. He's too good to kill.

Tributes have also been collected on Stop Being Polite. Word of warning: there's a pic of Diem hooked up to a machine, with CT passed out next to her.

Yeah . . . one mission in BOTS2, then he was never seen again. Probably because he was too normal, at least compared to his roommates.

Putting up Selina at Stately Wayne Manor . . . bad idea, or the worst idea? I'm thinking "bad idea," since this is Gotham City, home of the judgmental lapse. What saves it is the rapport between the actors playing Bruce and Selina, with Sean Pertwee thrown in for good measure. Makes up for Bruce being a little too weird (not intense, not yet) about his future. And I wasn't titillated by Selina's flirting, because these are kids we're talking about. Now . . Barbara back in bed with Renee? I cheered. As a guy, I must be a very cheap date. Seriously, setting up Selina isn't as bad an idea as Arkham being propped up for the "criminally insane." Or Harvey Dent's machinations. BTW, as a fan of B:TAS, I'm taking Harvey's outbursts and calling it "Big Bad Harv." Mentally, I giggle remembering the original "Two-Face" arc, because "Big Bad Harv" is such a porn-y nickname for a repressed alter ego. At least this Harvey isn't as big of a boob as his counterpart in Beware The Batman. Or are we always to forget that? (ETA while I'm thinking about B:TAS: does anybody else expect to hear the wooshing sound anytime Harvey tosses his coin? Or is it me?) Hi, Oswald! Way to be creepy as always. In other news, I laughed hearing "The Final Countdown" as a ringtone for the bomb. Anybody else want to promote Butch to full-time player for that alone? Hi, Eddie! I know he's creepy, but I want one of the detectives to pat him on the head, just because he does a good job. One more episode before hiatus? Darn. When would the show come back?

Good luck to you as well, MissMel. I was looking for Skeletons teasers, and I came across this tribute on MTV's YouTube site. You can find reaction tributes as well, with tweets from Paula, Trishelle, Jemmye and Coral. This is how sad things are . . . I don't hate Trishelle. Beth could throw in a few words, and I wouldn't heap abuse on her.

I forgot that I set this thread up. Anyway, here's an article on Jamie and her superhero debut in Big Hero 6. Apparently, she's hoping to play Psylocke one day. In the wake of Diem's passing, does anybody else think of Frankie? I still feel bad for her, "punk rock" thing and all.

Kel Varnsen . . . I meant two-time Racer Mike White suggesting to Probst that Redemption Island might not be the best thing.

Way Wes Jr . . . Adam was the first person eliminated in Gauntlet 2. My idea of comeuppance back then was Sarah running him over with her brand new car. While I understand where he was coming from, I still loved Sarah to bits. Oh, and Abram beat him up in Road Rules: Viewers Revenge. My memory is fuzzy, but I think Adam had it coming.

Next week is the season finale. I don't think I'd mind too much if it was the series finale. We already have a high body count-minded show in Superjail, and I don't see what's so special about this series where new seasons would be made.

Press release for "Cock Magic." Even with a rated-PG-sounding synopsis, I'm still scared about the implications of the title.