Posts Tagged ‘Positively TV’

After Tribal Council the Jalapao tribe reflects on the tension as the number of contestants dwindles down.  Joe confesses he feels like the odd man out now that buddy Sydney was voted out. He says, “It’s not fun to loose and it’s not fun to vote people you like home.”  Jalapao is down to 4, which is not good with the looming tribal merge. Jalapao will have the lesser amount of tribe members and it’s likely Timbira will pick them off one by one.

Coming back from the commercial break – dramatic, epic movie music booms from the TV and the camera focuses on a Samaria soldier preparing for war. Standing in the water at sunrise stretching his arms wide in a power stance to re-center his chi…the camera pulls back…oh wait, its just Coach being Coach. (groan) Coach comes back to the beach with a new attitude and gives his teammates a quick message even winning over nemesis Erinn.

At Jalapao, Joe’s leg is not good. He injured it a couple of challenges ago, not too badly, but being in the elements day and night, bugs have gotten into it, dirt, and no band aids in the Brazilian outback. Now the area below his knee is very red and VERY swollen. But Joe insists it’s getting better and doesn’t complain. What a trooper!

Treemail hints at a challenge and the promise of a feast.  Everyone’s excited.  All Survivors head to where the clue describes and they end up together – merged!  The infamous merge has finally occurred. They are asked to come up with a new name and a flag.  While discussing the tribe name Sierra randomly asks how the other tribe decided their last votes.  The former Jalapao tribe is reluctant to reveal too much information and ultimately the conversation is steered into another direction. The Survivors decide on the name “Forza” which Coach says means “strength” in Portuguese (strength is actually “força”, but close enough, right?) The Survivors head to their new camp, the former Timbira camp and immediately makeover the shelter – it’s not water proof or large enough.

Coach and JT fish. Coach states for about the 5th time this episode, that JT’s a “warrior” and that’s why they’re kindred spirits. They bond while fishing though.  JT says, “It’s not even been 15 minutes and Coach is ready to talk about the game.  And…it was perfect.  I couldn’t wait to talk to him about the game.”  Coach and JT discuss who might have the Immunity Idol. 

JT admits his new plan, “I’m just here to make sure everyone hates each other.”

The first night as a combined tribe everyone is off plotting under the dark cover of night.  Tyson talks to Coach about an alliance – Tyson, Coach, JT, Stephen, and Debbie. Coach says, “It’s time to go for the jugular.  Brendan is the head of the dragon, and when you want to defeat an Army, you cut off the head of the dragon.  For him to go out as the first person from the merge…yeah I love it, that’s awesome.” I note this quote for future reference.  Tyson also talks to Stephen about the alliance and about voting Brendan out (who was part of the secret alliance with Stephen, Brendan, Taj and Sierra).

Day 20 – Tyson and JT talk while fishing.  They agree that Brendan needs to go next. At camp Taj admits she’s a little nervous about her secret alliance because Brendan and Sierra haven’t made a move or said anything that hints that the alliance is still good.  Brendan later confesses that it’s a good thing they haven’t said or done anything to hint at the alliance because that will help protect its secrecy.  Tyson and Debbie discuss strategy.  Brendan walks over while they’re talking and Tyson quickly asks him what he thinks about voting Joe out. Tyson plays it like he’s going along with whatever Brendan wants not giving away his new allegiance to Coach, JT, Stephen and Debbie.  Tyson’s proud to out scheme Brendan.

Erinn and Joe look for the Immunity Idol based on what Erinn learned the one time at Exile. They go to the right place, but the Idol isn’t there. They assume Brendan or Sierra have it.

The first Individual Immunity challenge has each Survivor clinging to a pole. It’s as easy as that.  First out is Stephen, but Joe really struggles (that hurt leg isn’t helping). Then Joe falls and Jeff notices his leg for the first time.  Next Taj, Erinn and Brendan all fall at the same time.  Debbie and Tyson are the last two and Tyson is the first winner of Individual Immunity.  While the Survivors are heading away from the challenge Jeff asks Joe to stay behind so medical can take a look at his leg.

At camp the plotting continues. Gathered under an umbrella the tribe talks about the challenge.  JT leaves followed by Stephen. The group quickly discusses a new person to vote out – JT because they see Joe now as weak and beatable and want to keep him.  Stephen and JT talk and Stephen admits he knows he can get to the final 4 with his original alliance, but he’ll align with JT if he promises to turn on Taj, Brendan and Sierra.  Tyson interrupts to ask them about dinner. Then about who to vote out (the dinner conversation was just a rouge to get away from the other team mates).  Brendan is not totally unaware that a surprise vote-out might come his way and, in a smart move, decides to take the Immunity Idol to Tribal Council tonight, just in case. Coach and JT talk and Coach tells JT that the group discussed voting him out. Then Coach calls JT a “warrior” again for the millionth time.

JT and Stephen discuss a new tactic – splitting the votes – just in case Brendan does play his Idol. Word quickly spreads through the alliance of Coach, Tyson, Debbie, JT and Stephen.  Remember the whole “dragon” analogy Coach brought up earlier? Here’s why I mentioned it. While talking to the cameras Coach takes credit for the “split vote” idea and then calls himself the “dragon slayer” because of the votes against Brendan who is the supposed “head of the dragon”. 

Everyone is banking on going to Tribal Council when Jeff, in the pouring rain, pays a visit to the Forza camp. He shares the news that Joe is out. His leg is too infected. No Tribal Council. Now there’s a new anxiety at camp.  Tyson sums it up, “The main thing with getting the plan to work was keeping everyone quiet long enough to vote him (Brendan) off so he didn’t use an Idol if he had it.  Now, I dunno how much is going to leak or what’s going to happen…” And Coach says, “The dragon slayer has to wait to another day to taste blood.” (shaking my head)

Joe’s goodbye is smart, he knows his leg is bad, but he’s sad he has to leave the game this way.

Day 13 Jalapao – Taj and Stephen get more water and take a side trip to the treemail to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol. The last Exile clue hinted it would be in that area and after searching for about a minute, she finds it and immediately hands it to Stephen because she has no pockets (a downside to wearing a dress for the first episode).  Stephen says, “But you know, as long as it’s in my possession I’m going to try to keep it in my possession.  … it is mine. I’m the one who’s wearing the idol around my neck.”

Day 13 Timbira – The tribe heads to the water except Sierra and Brendan who are left at the camp to discuss their secret alliance with Taj and Stephen from Jalapao.  Brendan tells Sierra he has the Hidden Immunity Idol.  Sierra is proud of herself and feels she’s aligned with the right person and no longer feels like a “looser.” I’m skeptical though that the alliance will make it all the way through the game.

Challenge 1 is a reward challenge.  Played in rounds, one tribe member is spun on a wheel pulled by another tribe mate. After being spun and flung that team member stands and walks across a balance beam for a point. If they fall they start over. The team with the most points after 4 rounds wins a café style lunch and a modern toilet break for the afternoon. However, with the twist on Exile this season that means one member of the winning tribe won’t enjoy the potty or yummy food.  Round one and two make the game tied. Round 3 is won by JT of Jalapao and the final round is won by Sydney for Jalapao. Jalapao chooses Brendan for Exile and he chooses Stephen to go with him seeming to favor Taj. Timbira mate Tyson says that he’s suspicious of Brendan’s relationships with the other tribe.

At the Charmin Café for the reward the Jalapao team enjoys coffee, pastries and…a surprise! Letters from home! Everyone cries including the guys.

At Timbira they decide Stephen is next to be voted out.  And despite ridiculous attempts at weather prediction, Coach says he felt the wind change and based on the way the clouds look he thinks a storm is coming but will pass Timbira camp. But it doesn’t and we get this great quote from Erinn, “Coach is kind of a jack ###. I think Coach really truly wants to be this like Survivor Man.” Coach is definitely something else, that’s for sure.

At Exile the boys bond.  Now everyone is on the same page –Taj and Stephen from Timbira and Brendan and Sierra from Jalapao are in a 4 way, cross tribe, secret alliance and each pair has their own Hidden Immunity Idol. Stephen confesses he doesn’t 100% trust Brendan and he’ll keep the 4 way alliance in the back of his mind but can’t put all faith into someone he doesn’t fully trust or know.

Day 15 Jalapao – Sydney and Spencer discuss relationships. Sydney asks if there are any girls back home for Spencer. Spencer tells the world (well just the TV audience and camera guy) that he’s gay.

Challenge 2 is an Immunity challenge. Two members of each tribe sling shot a ball into a coarse where the other tribe mates are waiting to catch it with handheld nets. It doesn’t matter what color ball the Survivors catch, each ball is 1 point and the first tribe to 5 points wins.  JT catches the first ball scoring for Jalapao. Next, JT scores again. Joe makes an honorable dive but misses and hurts his knee a little too.  Ball three is caught by Brendan. JT just misses. One point for Timbira.  Ball four is again caught by Brendan. JT gets ball 5 but his net handle catches his chin and breaks off a tooth. Jeff holds on to it for safe keeping (it’s just half a tooth).  JT also scores a 4th point for Jalapao.  Tyson scores the 3rd point for Timbira. JT is obviously frustrated with Spencer saying “Come on Spence let’s do this.” Tyson again scores for Timbira tying the game.  JT shouts at Spencer telling him to stop the other team from scoring, “that would be nice.” Tyson scores the winning point and Timbira wins immunity. JT is frustrated and says, “I don’t wanna send anyone home, but it’s gotta be Spencer.”

At Jalapao after the challenge some of the team gathers in the water to discuss who is to be voted out. Taj is mad and doesn’t care what others think of her mood. She confronts Joe on why he’s never come to her as an ally. Joe later says to Stephen and JT, “She’s next” and Stephen is torn. JT and Joe talk about voting Spencer out due to his performance in this last challenge. Spencer walks up to the water and over hears the end of JT’s conversation.

At tribal council Jeff brings up the feeling a Survivor gets when they know their head is on the chopping block. Spencer talks about coming back to camp after the challenge and how tense it was with JT. He’s very honest is an adult normal, non confrontational or blaming way that’s rarely seen in these moments on the show. I’m impressed with the open and well handled conversation. Next the conversation of the Hidden Immunity Idol comes up and Joe states he hasn’t heard Taj say that she DOESN’T have it and how that affects the team’s trust and how they deal with her.  With probing from both Jeff and Joe, Taj says “I do not have the idol.” She’s banking on the fact that literally, the Idol is not in her possession that Stephen still has it, but the other tribe mates don’t know this yet. 

I wonder if Jeff Propst knows about the secret alliance. Once the votes are cast and counted it’s Spencer who is the 5th person voted off Survivor Tocantins (pronounced ‘token’ ‘cheese’ as I like to say it).

“You loved him on “SNL.” You hated him in movies. Now you’re ambivalent. Please welcome… Jimmy Fallon!” That’s one of the potential openings announcer Steve Higgins considered, according to Entertainment Weekly. Ironic because that’s also how I feel since Fallon’s show started Monday night.

The “SNL” alum shows his former Weekend Update roots when he does his opening monologue. Rather than the loose, somewhat improvisational monologues of fellow late night comedy hosts Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and David Letterman, Fallon moves at a rat-a-tat pace and overly emphasizes the set-ups and punch lines.

As he reads off cue cards too much or awkwardly handles guests, he lacks O’Brien’s lovable craziness, Leno’s confidence, and Letterman’s charming curmudgeoness. Rather than playing up an interview with an odd guest like Letterman did with Joaquin Phoenix last month, Fallon didn’t know quite what to do with his first guest Robert De Niro who was aloof and quiet.

His interviews fare better when they’re with his friends like Tina Fey. Yet, then the audience is stuck feeling alienated as we listen to a one-on-one private conversation between two friends talking about old times or parties they attend together.

One thing Fallon’s got down pat though is his appeal to the youth demographic. Not only is his audience primarily made up of 20-somethings, he draws them in by incorporating Facebook into his gags and doing a soon-to-be recurring Internet Video of the Day skit. He also makes for a really nice, personable guy running up into the audience every night clapping hands and bringing a girl onstage to sing karaoke alongside Jon Bon Jovi.

The skit, however, where he brought young audience members up to the stage to lick things for $10, like most of his other skits, fell flat. Where’s the humor in watching a kid lick a lawnmower? It wouldn’t be any funnier if Fallon gave me $10 to watch either.

Given Fallon’s nice guy attitude and his funny days on “SNL,” his show is worth keeping an eye on though. Plus, late night comedy shows do take time. Case in point is O’Brien who notoriously got pounded by the critics for the first year of his show and came dangerously close to getting canceled way back in 1995. But now look at him. Starting this June, he takes over from Leno as new host of the “Tonight Show.”

In the meantime, I loved him on “SNL,” hated him in movies (well “Fever Pitch was alright”), and right now I’m ambivalent about him.

After Tribal Council at Timbira camp Erinn launches into a speech about not trusting Candace from the beginning but hung around with her just to “see what she was up to.” Erinn’s tribe mates don’t buy her “save my butt” monologue. Coach says to the confessional cameras, “Not only did she align herself with the wrong person, but she has completely insulted all of our intelligences when we came back tonight…And she’s made her bed and she’s going to have to lay in it.”

Timbira – day seven – Erinn admits her association with Candace was a bit more than she wanted and now she feels like she’s “fighting for her life.”  At breakfast Jerry opts out of the bean meal because they’re irritating his stomach. He also didn’t eat dinner, which raises some red flags amongst his tribe. 

The first challenge – a reward challenge – has one person from each tribe calling directions to the other members to navigate them through a maze while tied together in twos and blind folded. The teams must find their designated buckets, fill them first with water then with corn then get back through the maze to a dumping station to empty their buckets into a container that, when full, will raise a flag. The first team to lift both the water and corn flags wins blankets, pillows, a tarp and other comfy items.  Joe is the caller for Jalapao and Debbie for Timbira. Timbira struggles throughout the entire challenge, never coming close to Jalapao’s lead.  Jalapao works extremely well together, taking it slow and steady and winning the race in the end. Jalapao chooses Brendan from Timbira to go to Exile and Brendan chooses a member from Jalapao to join him and again chooses Taj.

When Timbira returns to camp they discuss their failure.  Coach lectures on how they need to turn things around (without proposing any solutions). Next we see Coach and Tyson by the water.  Coach mentions that Erinn and Sierra panic during the challenges.  Tyson tells the camera his analysis of Coach, “He’s not always the best at what he’s coaching but he thinks he knows the most.”

At Exile, Taj chooses the urn with the clue this time and shows Brendan the next hint after reading it herself in private.  That night Taj and Brendan make a plan – realizing their alliance might becoming obvious, they decide that if Brendan is picked for Exile again he’ll choose a different Jalapao member to go with him and if Taj is chosen for Exile she’ll choose a different member of Timbira to go with her. This also creates a four-person alliance for the merge that no one else knows about. 

Challenge Two – Immunity challenge – has each team lifting and hauling large cubes that they have to align to spell out their tribe’s name. This also creates a large stair case that all team members must climb to win immunity.  Both teams are even in the beginning, but one thing is very clear, Jerry’s hurting.  Timbira gains a bit of a lead with Erinn directing her team where to place the blocks. Some team members hesitate which makes Erinn stop her directing.  Jalapao catches up. It’s neck and neck until the very end when…Jalapao climbs to the top of their blocks and claims their third victory in a row. Timbira is off to Tribal Council again. Jerry is overheard saying “I’m though. I’m finished.”

At Timbira camp it’s clear that Jerry’s struggling and Erinn grabs the opportunity to point it out to everyone to try and save herself from being voted out.  Some tribe mates are torn by the idea of voting Jerry out.  Tyson tries to give Jerry a pep talk. Jerry asks if anyone is talking about voting him out. Tyson replies, “No, but look as strong as you can and don’t say anything to anybody.”  Brendan goes to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol considering the new clue he and Taj received. He looks around the Tree Mail area, looking up and down, pushing the statue over, looking around its base, under its skirt and …voila – the Immunity Idol is there and is now in Brendan’s hands!  At dinner, Jerry doesn’t heed Tyson’s advice and discusses his health status with the group. 

At Tribal Council they discuss the issue of needing a leader. Jerry nominates Brendan as a possible leader. But host Jeff Probst, being oh so good at understanding group dynamics, calls on Coach to counter Brendan’s nomination. (I think Jeff knows exactly what he’s doing here, knowing that Coach will, of course, want to be the leader and create even more drama).  After Coach gives his “I should be leader” speech, Jeff calls on Erinn who says, “I think that’s a role that Coach is used to, it’s a role that he would love to be in but its something that Brendan does better.”  Then it’s time to vote.  And once they are counted…Jerry is the third person voted out of Survivor: Tocantins.  Jerry, I hope you’re doing well and that you went straight to the doctor after the votes were read.

On night three the Jalapao tribe reflects on the difficulties of their first tribal council. Day four inspires some to look for sustenance other than veggies.  Some Survivors experiment with huge worms, things with 18 legs and other bugs that turn out to be very, very chewy. 

At Timbira, Sierra reflects on how it felt to be the first with votes cast against her and mentions the clue to the hidden immunity idol. Now, I don’t know what compels contestants to do this, but whoever has the Hidden Immunity Idol or the clue to the Idol feels as if they have to tell someone else about it. Sierra reveals to Brendan that she has the clue and recruits him to help find it.  And he helps – by digging, and digging, and digging. Debbie finds them and Sierra comes up with a bonfire pit lie to cover their butts.  When Debbie mentions the beach bonfire to the tribe we get the first glimpse of the “not so pretty side” of Candace who says “I just don’t think it makes that much sense. I probably won’t go.  I’d rather sit around here and talk crap.”  The next morning Candace and Coach have a heated discussion about making food and outspoken Candace and egotistical Coach continue to argue throughout the morning. 

Back at Jalapao camp a conversation leads to the revelation that contestant Taj is married to Eddie George (who everyone knows except tribe mate Stephen ). 

The first and only challenge of the episode is a water basketball game and the prize is immunity and fishing gear. Also, the winning team picks the first person to pay a visit to Exile.  First, it starts pouring rain, then the lightening comes making me wonder if the Survivors should even be competing in a water event. But they do and here’s the rules – three team members from each tribe race through the water to get a basketball and work together to get up to the basket and make a shot.

The catch, three team members from the opposing tribe will try and stop the others from making those shots in any violent manner they so choose (including holding people under water, holding onto their bikini tops, pushing, shoving, tackling at the knees and other injury provoking activities).  Timbira takes the lead when both Candace and Brendan make baskets. 

But Jalapao poses a challenge when Sydney scores, then JT makes a shot and finally Stephen makes the winning basket. Jalapao wins immunity and reward.  They send Brendan to Exile but wait, there’s more. Jeff reveals that Brendan gets to choose someone from the winning tribe to go with him to Exile and he chooses Taj.

Tribe Timbira is sent back to camp to think about their upcoming Tribal Council. 

Tribe Jalapao puts their new fishing gear to work right away.  And JT and Stephen bond during a fishing excursion.

On Exile, Brendan and Taj each choose an urn.  Brendan’s has two notes in it which he must read in private. A trend that’s immuring this season is people not understanding these clues.  Brendan doesn’t understand the following statement about his clue “But in tribal homelands is the thing that you seek.” (Meaning the idol is back at camp). And Brendan won’t understand “tribal homelands” until he finally reads the clue to Taj who makes is clear that the idol is at camp.  Brendan is also given the option to switch tribes, which he does not.  The two Survivors bond during their time at Exile. 

When Brendan returns to camp he lies saying that Taj’s urn had the clue, that she went for a walk and didn’t mention if she found anything or not when she returned. Brendan also mentions that Taj seems to be on the outs with her tribe and that this could be useful information later in the game. 

At Timbira they discuss who they want to vote out and Candace brings up how Coach failed physically at the challenge. Next Coach, Tyson and Debbie discuss how Candace is being negative.  Everyone thought they’d vote for Sierra, but people seem to be getting tired of outspoken Candace.  And Coach confesses, “The girls think we’re still voting for Sierra but for me the obvious choice is Candace because she’s just cancer on the tribe.”  Candace and Erinn discuss the possible people who could be voted out and Candace says “Listen, I’m gunna tell ya right now, it ain’t you or me, they know what we’re worth.” 

At Tribal Council Jeff recaps how Sierra felt when she was the first person with votes cast against her.  And trust is brought up as a major issue. We finally hear Survivor Jerry say more than 5 words in a row as well.  Once the votes are counted, Candace, almost unanimously, is the 2nd person voted out of Survivor and an important lesson is learned – do not be the outspoken person on Survivor because you’ll be the first two people voted out of the game!

Thursday February 12 started the 18th season of CBS’s Survivor.  The 16 new contestants take a flatbed truck into the middle of the Brazilian desert where reliable host Jeff Probst announces that on one side of the truck sits team Timbira and on the other side is team Jalapao.

The Two Tribes:

Timbira Tribe – Coach (Benjamin Wade from MO, soccer coach), Candace (attorney from OH), Tyson (cyclist from Utah), Brendan (entrepreneur from NY), Debbie (Debra Beebee a principal from AL), Sierra (model from CA), Jerry (Army Sergeant from SC) and Erinn (hairstylist from WI).

Jalapao Tribe – Sandy (bus driver from KY), Carolina (bartender from CA), JT (rancher from AL), Joe (real estate agent from TX), Taj (former pop star from TN), Sydney (another model from NC), Stephen (consultant from NY) and Spencer (the youngest on the show is a student from FL).

The Survivors have one minute to collect as much stuff off the truck as possible. Each team makes their own pile but one team forgets a key item – water. With temperatures already past 100 degrees Jeff announces they must carry their supplies on a 4 hour trek to camp.  All team members must do this except one. The first vote-out of the game happens now and is based solely on first impressions. Jalapao votes for Sandy due to her age. Team Timbira vote Sierra seemingly because she’s the weakest (she later confesses she has strep and is on antibiotics).  Next, Jeff fills everyone in on the fact that these contestants aren’t actually voted out and will receive a helicopter ride to camp. 

Once the outcasts arrive at their sites there’s a message stating they can either start building shelter for their team and try to convince them they aren’t as worthless as they appear OR they can use a clue and start their hunt for the immunity idol hidden some where nearby. Sierra builds camp and is highly successful, getting most of it together before dark and before her team arrives.  Sandy decides to look out for number 1 and hunts for the idol, but doesn’t understand the phrasing of the clue. The words that confuse her…”Ten paces” and “single palm tree.” Sandy doesn’t know what a “pace” is and searches for the idol near trees that look nothing like Palm Trees.

Once Jalapao arrive at camp they express their let down at no shelter.  Tribe Timbira is thrilled at Sierra’s hard work to get most of the camp set up.  The next day, Survivor Tyson decides to shed his undies and help collect water from the river.  He later confesses to the camera “I’m probably not the stereotypical Mormon.”

Challenge number one is a reward and immunity challenge.  Six Survivors race across sand hills into the water to retrieve a raft with puzzle planks on it.  Once all six members are at the raft they can untie it and bring it to the shore where the two remaining teammates will assemble the planks to create steps.  Once assembled everyone must climb to the top and any two people can come together to finish a table maze, which will release a flag to win.  The two outcasts, Sandy and Sierra, take control and lead their individual teams in solving the staircase puzzle.  Sandy and teammate Taj of Jalapao finish their staircase first giving them a substantial lead over Timbira.  But when Timbira finishes their staircase the other team still hasn’t finished their table maze and in the end Erinn and Brendan speed through their table maze and Timbira wins the first challenge.

At camp the Jalapao tribe talks about their upcoming tribal council. The most obvious person to vote for is Sandy, but some teammates realize her contributions to the days challenge and are already tired of another tribe mate, Carolina and her overly vocal views on every single aspect of camp life.  At tribal council, Sandy in singled out, but the spotlight moves to Carolina too.  Once the votes are cast it is the overly opinionated Carolina who is the first to be voted out of Survivor Tocantins.

This first episode didn’t reveal a lot about the personalities for this season, it was more down to business than usual. But I have a feeling more and more will be revealed pretty quickly this season. So until next time…

Another season, another batch of low wattage stars getting ready to strap on their dancing shoes. But the D-List stars aren’t the only common element of the “DWTS” cast. Just as every season has stars with the same typical occupations, the new cast also consists of familiar people like Olympians, athletes, funny guys, and “who are they?” stars.

On a special all-night name drop during ABC’s Sunday primetime shows, host Tom Bergeron unveiled the new cast for the dancing competition’s eight season premiering March 9 ( 8 ET/ PT). Start placing your wagers (and Googling them to find out who they are!) because here’s the new cast:

Biggest Star: Actress Denise Richards

Best case of nepotism: Country singer Chuck Wicks who will be paired with his real-life girlfriend, dancer Julianne Hough

First married couple to compete in the same season: Singer Jewel and professional rodeo champ husband Ty Murray

This season’s funny guy: TV prankster and stuntman Steve-O

This season’s other funny guy: Comedian David Alan Grier

Loosest interpretation of “star”: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak

This season’s Olympian and youngest contestant to date: Gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson who’s 17

Resident bad girl: Rapper and actress Lil’ Kim

This season’s stud: Actor Gilles Marini (FYI: he’s from “Sex and the City”)

This season’s football player: Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor

More of an ‘80s star: Singer Belinda Carlisle from the Go-Go’s 

Reporter to the stars: “Access Hollywood” co-host Nancy O’Dell

Shortened by the writer’s strike, the 4th season of ABC’s “Lost” features only 4 DVDs of episodes but two discs crammed with fascinating Bonus Features about the most addictive (and question-prone) series on TV today.

If you’ve never seen Lost, please don’t mention that to anyone, what you should do however, is set Disc One of Season 4 in your DVD player and select the Bonus Feature titled “Lost 8:15.” Here you will be whisked through seasons 1 – 3 in eight minutes and 15 seconds and ready for your first full episode of Season 4.

Some other Bonus Features sure to treat any new fan or loyal follower:

The Right To Bear Arms – Want to be reassured that there are more stressful jobs out there than yours? This featurette documents the work-life of the man who keeps track of all the guns on the show including whose hands they are supposed to be in and how they got there. Two words – “flow charts.”

The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies – Uncover the conspiracy theories of the Oceanic 6 as if the show “Lost” didn’t exist, but the mysterious crash of Oceanic flight 815 actually happened. Some of the investigative questions revolve around Jack’s short hair, the Losties clothes, and why Hurley’s not the only one who hasn’t lost a lot of weight.

Soundtrack of Survival – (a personal favorite feature) Discover each character’s theme song, watch as the musicians create the music to an episode and even learn how the infamous Lost noise was created (you know the one that happens right before the screen goes black after something monumental has just been revealed). And watch clips from a live concert performed in Hawaii offering a more orchestral take on the music that makes the show come alive.

Course of The Future: The Definitive Flash-Forwards – This is the most useful Bonus Feature in the DVD collection because it strings together the flash forwards in chronological order helping out everyone establish what day, time, year and show we are actually watching again.

Lost Missing Pieces – This feature is the most fun, I think.  These ‘mobisodes’ or ‘webisodes’ were originally for Verizon subscribers, but eventually placed on the Lost site for a broader audience. Each short snip-it offers clips from episodes that were not actually in any episodes and in some cases provide that extra bit of information avid fans crave. There’s a steamy one with Sun and Michael, wink wink.

It was a big year for the Brits at Sunday’s Golden Globes with “Slumdog Millionaire,” Kate Winslet and Sally Hawkins taking home major awards.

“Slumdog,” a low-budget film about an Indian teenager looking for love and competing on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” took home the prizes for Best Motion Picture- Drama, Best Director for Danny Boyle, Best Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy and Best Original Score for A.R. Rahman.

With all the film’s honors and Winslet’s double-win, one might also say it’s the year of the underdog. Winslet, widely proclaimed to be the best actress of our generation, was 0-10 at the Golden Globes and the Oscars until last night.

The extremely shocked and humble star won Best Supporting Actress for “The Reader” and Best Actress for “Revolutionary Road.” She relished the moment saying, “Wrap up? You have no idea how much I’m not wrapping up” but sweetly stumbled through her speech by repeatedly telling herself to “gather” and even forgetting Angelina Jolie when acknowledging her fellow nominees.

“Happy-Go-Lucky’s” Hawkins was another speechless Brit. Fellow Best Supporting Actress nominee, Emma Thompson, who was still seated in the audience had to gently sooth and coach Hawkins to compose herself and go on.

Best Actor Mickey Rourke from “The Wrestler” had no trouble with his speech and, on the contrary, gave the audience quite an entertaining one thanking his dogs and saying “balls” twice. Plus, he got flipped off (lovingly, of course) from his director after calling him “a tough son of a bitch.”

Other noteworthy speeches from winners included the “30 Rock” cast who won Best TV Series – Comedy, Best Actor for Alec Baldwin and Best Actress for Tina Fey. Fey proceeded to tell all the web-dissers out there to “suck it,” and Tracy Morgan informed us that “Tina Fey and I had an agreement that if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on. Welcome to post-racial America!”

You didn’t have to be a winner to score laughs either. Presenter Ricky Gervais swaggered out on the stage with a beer in his hand complaining about how the Hollywood Foreign Press didn’t nominate his comedy, “Ghost Town.”

“That is the last time I have sex with 200 middle-aged journalists,” he said.

Not everyone laughed, however, at presenter Sacha Baron Cohen when he said Hollywood is also suffering from the financial crisis and Madonna had to “get rid of one of her personal assistants. Our thoughts go out to you, Guy Ritchie.” In fact, he was met with dirty looks from Sandra Bullock and Salma Hayek.

Perhaps Hollywood’s not a big fan of Borat…

Speaking of offensive, Colin Farrell who usually goes hand-in-hand with the network censors was surprisingly well-mannered not even cursing once. Although some would say his Best Actor win for “In Bruges” was surprise enough beating out Javier Bardem and Dustin Hoffman.

Gabriel Byrne’s Best Actor in a TV-Drama win and Anna Paquin’s Best Actress-Drama win also threw off Globe handicappers who were expecting more likely wins from “Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm and January Jones.

“Mad Men’s” win for Best TV Series- Drama, however, was easily predicted along with “John Adam’s” sweep and Heath Ledger’s win for Best Supporting Actor for “The Dark Knight.”

Director Christopher Nolan toasted Ledger’s legacy he built for himself in cinema’s history and also acknowledged “the hole ripped in the future of cinema” as a result of his premature death.

Despite the huge, surprising shut-out of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” at least the Globes gave “Slumdog Millionaire” its rightful place in the history of cinema.