A Smattering of Thoughts on Survivor and Idol

Okay. I know. These recaps are piss-poor. And becoming more pathetic as we go along.

But I can't help it. Idol is now down to an hour and a half, which means I'm missing most of it while watching Survivor. And last night, I missed most of Survivor too.

So for today, my usual Survivor/Idol Mash-Up is going to be pretty skimpy. And I know what you're all thinking: In this day in age, with technology as advanced as it is, there's no need for me to be missing anything. But, as I've said before, I don't own a PVR, and the ol' VCR is just too much work. Also, I haven't had time to go on-line to watch anything. So I hope you enjoy my little wee snippets of thoughts on the little wee snippets of TV that I watched.

Survivor was 40 minutes in before I settled down to watch, and by then, the tribes had merged and Matt was back in the game. So yep, I kind of missed a lot. I appeared to tune in in the midst of a tug-of-war, with Mike trying to lure Matt over to their side with a secret note and get him to vote Grant out of the game. My stomach literally flipped at the thoughts of losing Grant. The only other player to get my stomach to flip like that has been Colby.

At Tribal Council, though, it appeared that Matt was duped by his old tribe. He chose to stay loyal to them by voting for Steve (ACK! my guy in the pool! don't vote for him!!) - which I assumed that was who they told him they would be voting for - while they all blindsided Matt again instead, and the other tribe voted for Grant. The votes turned up 6 for Matt, 5 for Grant, 1 for Steve. So Matt headed back off to solitary confinement on Redemption Island. I felt sorry for the guy, but better him than Grant. I also enjoyed the look of incredulousness on Dave's face as he saw what I could only assume was Rob's master plan fall into place. He was even heard murmuring, "That was genius!!" Rob may have a new sidekick...

Of course, what would a Survivor recap be without some words of wisdom from our favourite former federal agent, Phillip? At Tribal, Jeff asked him something about how the joining of the two tribes had gone, and he literally had people - mostly his own tribe - doubling over in laughter as he spoke of the stench that came from the others, and called them parasitic. Wehhh. Atta make friends, Phill!!

Next week he's going to wear a feather on his head. It only gets better with this guy.

So as I mentioned, I missed quite a bit of Idol as well, so forgive me for not having much to say about Rock Hall of Fame night. But from the performances I did see, and the clip montage at the end, it looked like it was a very strong night. For everybody. Should be interesting to see who America sends home...

Jacob sang one of my favourite MJ songs, "Man in the Mirror", and I thought he did a pretty amazing job with it. My only problem with Jacob? The white pants. Boy's got a bubble butt. And the white pants did not help that situation.

Janis Joplin in the house!! Haley kept hearing the judges mention Janis in comparisons with her, so she brought it with "Piece of my Heart". Gotta say, I've seen a lot of girls attempt Joplin on these Idol shows, and nobody lit a candle to her (or to my fave "Bobby McGee" singer, Vikki Richardson!!) - until last night. Haley has the perfect tone, the perfect voice, the perfect growl to tackle it. She did very, very well.

Only caught the tail-end of James singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - love that song, and it seemed like a beautiful performance. Go JAMES!

Pia...FINALLY going up-tempo! Yay! She did Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High", and I really enjoyed it. I did take issue with Pia's outfit, though. It did not flatter her, and that girl should be able to wear almost anything and look hot. I envy Pia's looks. In any case, she finally proved that when she's selling out stadiums like Mariah or Celine, which I have the feeling she is capable of, that the people won't just be sitting down listening to her ballads. A little practice on her stage presence, and the girl's got it all.

Stefano...Oh, how I think you're adorable, but I just can't seem to get into your groove. He took on Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", which only makes me think of Michael Bolton, and that's not a good thing, people. And I think Stefano looks like he's in pain sometimes when he's singing. Based on what I saw, I think I'd be sending poor Stefano home. But I really, really do want to like him.

And I'm so glad that Paul's reading my blog. He brought the guitar back again!! Yesss!!! Now, Paul? Doing Johnny Cash to close out the show? I wasn't sure. Will.I.Am encouraged him to go all Jerry Lee Lewis with "Folsom Prison Blues". Well, then, why not do "Great Balls of Fire" instead? I actually did enjoy it, though. I'm still not Paul's biggest fan, but when he's got a guitar in his hands, I like him much, much more. Good stuff.

I missed seeing Scotty doing Elvis' "That's Alright Mama", but I loved seeing the little clip of him at the end. I HEART that song - and we all know that I HEART Elvis too, so Scotty gets the big thumbs up this week!

And then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose and the Idols are dancing on-stage like maniacs while Ryan gets the judges final thoughts and gives the numbers to vote one last time. My last observation is this: What the hell was Lauren Alaina wearing?!? Who is dressing these people this year?? HORRIBLE!!!

Was this really the Rock Hall of Fame night? I didn't see too much rock up there...Hmmm...

PS - I love Steven Tyler. That is all.