Goodbye Creepy Metal Dude, Hello Dr. Mark!

OK, I've got lots to write about, so I'm gonna dive right in, starting with...

SURVIVOR

I'm not a big fan of the racial divide concept they've tossed in this season. I think when we're trying to rid society of racism, bringing it back to the forefront in a popular TV show is not the best way to deal with it. I'm sure we were all expecting racist attitudes to surface - it's almost inevitable when the players are thrown into this format. However, the ironic part is that the offending party happens to be an older Vietnamese man named Cao Boi (pronounced "Cow Boy") and he's telling jokes that are offending his Asian tribemates - not because he's making them at the expense of African-Americans, Latinos, or even Caucasians. He's making them about his own people! His theory is that you have to be able to laugh at yourself - but the rest of his tribe aren't getting the joke. First time they go to Tribal Council, Cao Boi will be gone - that is, unless they really need him to keep getting rid of their headaches.

That being said, judging from the first two episodes, I'd say the Asian tribe is probably the strongest, so they might not see Tribal Council for a few weeks. Last night, they tied for first place in the challenge with the Caucasian tribe, with the African-Americans coming in third. The Hispanics seemed to be the strongest tribe last week, finishing first in the competition and seeming to form a strong bond right off the bat, but this week cracks appeared, as Ozzy made plans to throw the competition and oust the slacking heavy metal dude, Billy. That's exactly what happened - and I was happy they did so. Billy got kind of creepy this week, and perhaps the most awkward moment of the show was when, after they lost, a few of the white girls said they felt bad for them as a tribe that they'd lost. One said, "We love y'all", to which Billy whispered back, very seriously, "And I love you."

Later, at tribal council, Billy told Jeff that he knew his teammates that thrown the challenge, that he knew they wanted to vote him out, but that he had won a bigger prize than the $1M, and that was that he'd fallen in love with Candice from the Caucasian team and that she loved him back. I thought Jeff was going to laugh in the guy's face. It was like, where did that come from?? That poor Candice girl better brace herself, 'cause I see stalker written all over him!

Other things to note: Yul was sent to Exile Island, and he found the hidden Immunity Idol almost instantly. He's one of my favourites, so that was a good thing. One of my other favourites, Adam from the Caucasian tribe, was whiny and lazy, so I'm not holding out big hopes for him. Aside from that, the cameras seemed to show an awful lot of wet rats running about. I wouldn't last ten minutes out there.

GREY'S ANATOMY

I love this show. Absolutely adore it. Last week, I recapped the Finale from last spring, and my main concern was the whole poor little Meredith thing. Well, apparently over the summer, Meredith decided to turn that frown upside down upon realizing that she can't lose - if she goes one way, she ends up with Dr. McDreamy; if she goes the other way, she ends up with hot vet Finn (played by Chris O'Donnell - more evidence that the gods made this show especially for me.) Meredith still hadn't decided which to choose by the end of the show, so she's asked that they allow her to date them both for awhile. Which means more Chris O'Donnell in the weeks to come, so I can't complain.

I expected there to be more of a focus on Izzie and how she was dealing with Denny's death, but they only showed her baking lots of muffins as a part of her grieving process. I really hope Alex sweeps in and becomes her Man of Steel. No sign of that last night, though, as he was screwing some older woman dying with lung cancer. Yuck-o. One of my favourite moments of the night, though, did involve that older woman, as she raced down the hall in a wheelchair squealing with delight, while poor George said, "Hey, was that my patient? Hey, get back here!" as he chased after her.

George's love interest, Callie, emerged as one of my favourite characters last night. Not only did I like her bailing both Meredith and Cristina out of a potentially embarrassing situation, but I also love the fact that she's a bigger girl - she's no size 2 - and yet, she is often seen parading around in her underwear. And all the other doctors think she's hot - even the women. That doesn't happen very often on TV. It gives someone like me reason to believe I should have a little more confidence. I mean, Callie can do it, why can't I? (Don't worry, I'm not going to start trailing around in my underpants anytime soon...)

Another highlight was Addison getting drunk to compensate for the fact that she now knows McDreamy, her husband, is sleeping with Meredith again. When McDreamy shows up at Addison's motel room to apologize and discovers his ex-best friend, Dr. Mark, emerging from the bathroom in nothing but a towel - let me tell ya, it was awesome. Not only because it was revenge on Addison's part, but also because Dr. Mark is the only one who can give Dr. McDreamy a run for the title of Dr. McDreamy. Did that not make sense to anyone? Don't worry, it made sense to me.

Alright, I guess that's just about long enough, huh? The big event on for this weekend is the Half-Way to St. Paddy's Day party at Gavan's Saturday night, featuring The Town Pants. I'll give my "concert review" on Monday. If anyone's interested, tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door - for more info, check it out at www.thetownpants.com . It's going to be a riot! In the past, we've partied in the street (following a fire in the hotel), and last year, I even won the Bucket o' Booze! Wherever you go, and whatever you do, have a GREAT weekend, gang!