BB11: Ronnie Really Holds the Power Now

Hey y'all, what a show, huh? Big Brother 11 had to have it's drama, didn't it? HamsterDame wrote in her last post that Ronnie had the power, and she wasn't kidding. Not only did his vote for Braden to leave tie it up, but then he came right back and won the Head of Household. Must be a dream come true for such a Big Brother fan.

The problem for him is that now he's going to have to make some hard choices. I don't know how he's gonna keep straddling that fence. He's playing so hard, I'm kind of expecting him to spontaneously combust at any moment. I know he voted with Team Jock this time, but I still don't know whose team he's really on, if any. Ronnie is playing for Ronnie, which is what he's supposed to do, but sheesh dude.

I've been sitting here watching the feeds since the show, trying to figure out an angle for this post. I don't care for either side. Natalie is too loud and abrasive, and so is Chima, but I don't like Jordan either. I think she's fake and the fact that she thinks it's perfectly alright to indiscriminately use the terms 'gay' and 'fag' is very offensive to me. I cheered Michele tonight when she told Jordan that it offended her. To sit there and talk about how she's too nice for those people and the show and then turn around and use those terms just makes me want to puke. And I hate the fact that every year, you have your houseguests dividing into what they call the 'good' people and the 'evil' people.

I just don't know what to make of these people. They have to live with each other 24/7. I would think that they'd at least try to get along. But they don't. And they don't care. It has to be so tiring to be so miserable all day every day. I can see not trusting anyone, but you can at least be civil, I would think. You would also think that after 10 seasons, I should be used to asinine behaviour from the houseguests, lol.

Tonight the house is split into factions along the vote line with Ronnie still trying to play monkey in the middle. He is insisting to Team Jeff that he was not the rat. Not only that, he's insisting that it's either Casey or Michele. I don't think they believe him, but what can they do at this point? He has insisted to them that if he finds out who the rat is, he'll put them on the block. Is this setting up a Casey nomination?

You've noticed that I haven't written a word about Chima's speech. I can't believe she did it. Nothing she said was a lie, but still ... I was appalled when I found out that she said something about Braden calling Julie a whore. She had the truth on her side, but not the right. After hearing Jeff say something last night about since they were able to keep someone who makes racial comments in the house, then they could keep anyone in the house, I laughed a little when I realized that Chima was calling them out on keeping a misogynist and a bigot in the house. I didn't feel sorry for Braden, but I felt sorry for Julie. She didn't deserve that. I'm sure, though, that the CBS show only folks were confused because they made a point of whitewashing Braden's rant against Lydia and Kevin, and they didn't show anything of the games when he said that about Julie. In case you missed her rant, CBS posted the video here.

So who do I think Ronnie will nominate? I'm not sure. I'm thinking that Casey will go up, and he's mentioned putting up Laura, too. At one point I heard Kevin's named thrown into the mix, too. I haven't heard him mention any names to Team Jeff, other than the 'rat', but he can't nominate himself. But we've seen how the Big Brother house turns on a dime. The only people safe are Ronnie, Chima and Michele. Who do you think he'll nominate? Who do you think he should nominate? Comment below.

Update: Okay Team Jock (basically Jesse, Natalie, Chima, Lydia and maybe Ronnie) just named themselves NBK, for Natural Born Killers, meaning no silicone, no steroids, all natural. They have a handshake and something they do after winning. Haven't they figured out that the minute you name yourself you become losers? I'm rolling my eyes here ... later, y'all.

BB11: Braden or Chima - Who Will It Be?

Hey y'all, what a difference a day makes on Big Brother 11. Yesterday, it was all but over for Braden. There was no question that he was going home. Tonight, however, it's all in the air. What happened here?

First of all, Chima is an idiot. Yes, I know most of them are idiots, but let's talk about Chima for a minute.

Number One: She has not campaigned one iota this week. Yes, I know she thinks she is just the pawn, but really. For a self proclaimed fan, she's not playing smart. You always check in and campaign regardless of what they tell you. You count the votes yourself and work them. Don't depend on anyone for your life. This is an individual game, after all.

Number Two: Two nights before the vote you do NOT go off on a vote that you need. Yes, I agree that not cleaning up after yourself after making a mess on the toilet is nasty. Yes, these are grown folks and they should all clean up the bathroom. However comma it is not smart to keep going on and on about Michele being nasty in the bathroom ... with her sitting right there. And to keep verbally abusing your own clique-mate is not good play.

Then there's Braden. He is playing well right now. He's played it cool, after going off on Lydia and Kevin the other day. He's gone back and apologized to Kevin, although I don't know if it helped. Don't get me wrong, I think he was a jerk and he's still douchebag of the week, but he's playing it smart. He's quietly gone to people not in the jock alliance and lined up votes to stay. He's had his buddy Jordan campaigning for him, too. Will it work? I honestly don't know.

Why don't I know? Basically because some of them are playing both ends against the middle. Tomorrow night after the vote looks like it will be explosive. There are people telling both groups right now that they have their vote. The two groups right now are the jocks, minus Jeff, plus Chima and Lydia and then the Jordan/Jeff/Braden group.

The jocks have played this stupidly. They had an alliance with the brains, but they pissed it away. They also had an alliance going with Laura. They were so self absorbed, that they didn't even try to keep their alliance members satisfied. Laura was pretty pathetic in just wanting to be accepted, but they neglected to do that, and Jordan was able to move in and scoop her up, the same with Michele. Now it looks like those two votes will go for Braden to stay.

I see the vote going 4-4 right now, but I don't know about Casey or Ronnie. Both of them are playing nice with both groups and telling both groups that they have their vote. Casey and Ronnie told each other that they are voting for Braden to stay, but right after, Ronnie went running up to Jesse. Casey does not like Chima, but he, too, seems to have this thing going with Jesse.

And what about this Casey/Jesse relationship? There are videos out there with Casey and Jesse being in the same venues, participating in the same bikini contests down in Florida. We didn't have the feeds the first few days they were in the house, so we don't know if they discussed this.

Anyway, y'all, this has been quite the entertaining week in the house. Two defined groups in the house already, with your floaters and ego on both sides. Lots of people out there are so in love with Jeff that they overlook the fact that he's really no better than Jesse and Russell that they love to diss. He has an ego if you listen to him, and he's also on video making very negative discriminatory comments. But then, none of them are angels. They've all overplayed this week.

Braden or Chima, which houseguest will still be in the Big Brother 11 house this time Thursday night? Comment below and tune in to find out ...

BB11: 'Fight For Your Right'

Woohee! Hey y'all, it was a pretty explosive early afternoon in the Big Brother 11 house. Think of the Jeff/Russell/Natalie bruhaha as a prelude. Things have been brewing since then, I think, and this afternoon was a boil point. Notice I said 'a' boil point and not 'the' boil point. In keeping with the high school theme, it seems that they casted a bunch of hormonal immature personalities.

Round 1: Braden vs. Lydia/Kevin

This one's been brewing since the Veto meeting when Braden replaced Lydia on the chopping block. Braden blames Lydia for his nomination and let her know in no uncertain terms. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, the language he used was a bad thing. He threw around derogatory and/or racial slurs like they were oh so normal. Yes, Braden took over the Douchebag slot from Casey. Go check out the RealPlayer SuperPass Flashback at around 12:45 ish BBT today to watch this mess.

Round 2: Jordan vs. Lydia

I call this one the Battle of the Blondes. This was a typical non-physical high school girl catfight and my daughter and I cracked up watching it. 'I didn't do anything to you', 'but I tried to talk to you',' but I thought you were my friend' ... yeah, you know what I mean. It was really pretty funny. It comes not too long after the first round, so just keep the Flashback running.

And this was in a couple of hours, y'all. If you don't have the feeds, then you need to click on the link now and get them!

BB11: To Veto or Not To Veto

Hey y'all. It's been a crazy weekend in the Big Brother 11 house. These houseguests have hit the ground running. They're making me tired trying to keep up with the alliances and loyalties. I've about given up. For the most part today was pretty tame compared to the past couple of days. The only thing that really happened was the veto meeting. Would Russell keep the nominations the same, or would things be shaken up.

For some reason, Saturday night Jordan tried to convince Lydia that she needed to convince Russell to leave things the same. Hello? Lydia is on the block, why would she try to convince Russell to keep her up there if there was an opportunity to come down? No, Lydia was not loyal to your little group, Jordan, but she's not stupid. I had to just shake my head over that one. Jordan is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm still trying to figure out if she's really as stupid as she's acting, or if it's just that ... an act. Sometimes I really think that she's got the dumb lil hick role down to a 't' Sunday she claimed not to know what an egg white was. I'm sorry, I'm not buying it. Yes, I seem to be in the minority. I don't think she's the bee's knees, just a cute lil old thing. I know quite a few of those sweet lil southern misses that are conniving as heck.

I really wanted to like Ronnie coming in to this. You know, us computer geeks need to stick together. But I tell you, he just gets creepier and creepier. Not only is he playing both sides against the middle, he seems to be in everyone's business and pops up everywhere they want to talk game. He wants to be liked so much, but he's overplaying his hand.

At this point, the only houseguests that I still like are Michele and Kevin. They seem to be the most normal. Of course, it's early. So far, though, Michele is playing a pretty good game. She gets along with everyone, but doesn't seem to be jumping into the drama. And she seems to be handling her 'have not' status very well, without the whining. Her secret about her Ph.D. is out, though. I think Casey busted her on it. I'm not sure yet if he was joking about it or not. Kevin, too, is kind of playing under the radar. He hangs out with pretty much everyone, but stays out of the drama. He's not in anyone's crosshairs.

Russell is not my favorite houseguest, but he can stay around awhile. He's not stupid, is able to carry on relatively interesting conversations, and he looks quite yummy. I may turn the sound off, but I love to watch him work out. I think he'll be more tolerable once Jesse is gone. The two meatheads together seem to decrease the IQ's of anyone around them. Wonder if Michele could work out a scientific theory for that phenomenom.

Speaking of meatheads, Lydia seems to have convinced them that Braden was a big threat. Maybe she knows more than I do, but I don't see it. The only thing I've seen him do, other than sun and swim, is drop names. He's supposedly partied with a who's who of LA celebrities and has negative stories to tell about them all. Did any of you watch 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here'? Yeah, yeah I know. Well they had this little segment on the celebs and their name dropping. Well, in just the few days of the feeds, I think Braden has them all beat.

But yeah, Braden is now the next biggest threat to the meatheads next to Jeff, and they can't nominate him for eviction. So what did they do? At the Veto meeting on Sunday, Russell took Lydia off the block, and Jesse replaced her with Braden. They tried to convince Chima that she was just a pawn, but she knows what can happen to a pawn. Both sides seem convinced of the votes, but they shouldn't be. I really have no clue as to the outcome. I can only presume that the brains and the athletes, minus Jeff, will vote to keep Chima and that will give her 4 votes to stay. They are assuming that Lydia and Laura will also vote with them. Braden will have Jordan and Jeff, for sure, and probably Casey. Kevin is a big wildcard.

But hey, this is only Monday, or late Sunday night. They have until Wednesday to shake things up some more. What do y'all think of the new nominations and who do you think will be the first houseguest eliminated from Big Brother 11?

BB11: A Wild and Wooly First 24 Hours of Feeds

Hey y'all, it's been a very busy 24+ hours in Big Brother 11 Land since the feeds were turned on. We've gotten to learn a bit more about the houseguests, some a little too much more, and we've seen alliances begun. We also learned that Team Brain were the first occupants of the 'Jail Room', the room with the pallets on the metal flooring.

Jesse, the first Head of Household nominated the first two houseguests for eviction and the first Power of Veto (PoV) competition was held. So did Jesse target one clique or did he share the wealth? Are the Populars and the Athletes together, as it usually happens in high school, or are they more individual than collective?

When the RealPlayer SuperPass feeds were turned on, and Big Brother After Dark (BBAD) came on it quickly became apparent that Jesse nominated Lydia and Chima. It seemed that Chima was pretty calm about it, but Lydia started working it. She went from sexpot, to cry baby, to hardcore gamer in a matter of less than an hour. She must have worked every male in that house. It was quite interesting to see that she and Jordan had changed into lingerie right before BBAD came on. And yes, there were some remarks about it. I originally thought Laura would be the trampy one, but it seems like Lydia and Jordan want that crown.

It's very early in the week, but the house seems to be almost even in the choice of who to evict and who to keep. But then again, it depends on who they talk to. The only ones I'm 'almost' sure of are Natalie and Team Brain to keep Chima, and Jordan and Team Outcast to keep Lydia. It would be stupid, I would think, to vote against someone in your own clique if there were anyone else available to vote out. Jesse promised to keep Chima if it were a tie vote, but that's subject to change, too. Especially if Lydia keeps up what she calls 'Operation Sexpot'. She was all over him last night. She gave him tears, she kissed up to his greatness, played the pitiful poor me card, etc. She worked it. And it did seem as if it were working. You know how meatheads love to be adored. She pulled the same thing with the other meathead in the house, Russell, but to a lesser extent (at least that we know of).

Natalie promised Chima that she was safe, and she is seeming to be content with that for some reason. Or maybe she's waiting until closer to the day. Natalie has been a big disappointment. I originally called her manipulative, then I softened to her after hearing her interviews, but now I just think she's not too smart. For someone who supposedly is such a big fan, she's going about this all wrong. First she told stupid lies then she became almost unbearably arrogant. She is the BB11 version of BB10 Michelle to Jesse, only she's not as sociable.

Douchebag of the week, though, goes to Casey. Why, you ask? This morning he was talking to fellow Outcast Lydia and he told her that the only way Chima would stay in the house is if it was 'White Guilt'. Yeah, he was the first to play a race card. He went on about if she stayed it would be similar to Obama winning. I want to slap him. He undid all the relatively benign feelings I had for him.

And last night, I was feeling benign towards him. He did a great job emceeing the BB11 Beauty Pageant. That was so fun to watch, and very enlightening. Little Miss Dr. Michele showed us a whole nother side. She strutted her stuff in that bikini, and she did it well. She's such a little cutie. I think she's my favorite right now (and I hope that wasn't the kiss of death for her). I honestly think that she could go far in this game. She's personable and seems to fit in with everyone, at least so far.

The nominations, though, mean nothing until after the Power of Veto competition and/or meeting. Jesse, Chima and Lydia played along with Russell, Jeff and Natalie. Weird how the entire Team Athlete got to play and it was meaningless for them. So it ended up being a 2/3 chance that the nominations would stay the same. Allison Grodner teased us via twitter that this PoV competition could change the 'complexion' of the house. Of course, we probably won't see it until Tuesday. We do, however, know that Russell won the competition. And something else we know is that something happened during the competition between Jeff and Russell because about 2 hours later, Jeff was STILL bitching about Russell. And Lydia is stirring the pot.

Seriously, though, there are about 5 days until the first eviction of Big Brother 11 and already it seems as though I've been watching these people forever. They're playing too hard, too quick. And there's already talk of the "Good People" vs. the "Evil People". The house is already being divided and that makes for a long season ... and that's too bad

.

And the Thirteenth Houseguest Is ...

Hey y'all! What a great start to Big Brother 11! Not much was revealed that we didn't know, but it sure was nice to get back to business. I LOVE BIG BROTHER! We got to meet the twelve new houseguests, see their reactions to the first two twists, and watch the first Head of Household competition.

As the houseguests got their first looks at the house, I thought it was funny how no one wanted the pool room. Jeff, Laura, Michele and Natalie were the unfortunate ones, and even more unfortunately, there were only three beds. The girls agreed to double up so that Jeff could have a bed, with Michele telling the Diary Room that if she were single, she'd double up with Jeff, lol.

My very first impressions were pretty much right on, except that I like Jeff and Russell a bit more than I thought I would and Chima and Natalie a bit less. Chima's laugh would drive me totally bonkers and she laughs often, for stupid reasons. Natalie came off as a bit cocky, which surprised me. I thought she'd play the game a bit more strategic. She was even annoying her clique mates.

Speaking of cliques (like that smooth segue?), they are as follows:

Athletes: Natalie, Jeff, Russell
Brains: Chima, Michele, Ronnie
Populars: Laura, Jordan, Braden
Off-Beats: Kevin, Lydia, Casey

The houseguests found out their cliques at the first Head of Household competition and the second twist (the first being the clique thing). Even though they might win the competition, none of them would be the first HoH. This was where the Mystery 13th Houseguest came in.

That Mystery houseguest was no stranger to the game. Whichever team won the competition would get an advantage in that they would get a fourth member. We were told (the hgs were not) that if the Brains won, Brian from BB10 would re-enter the house. If the Populars won, Jessica from BB8 would come in. If the Athletes won, it would be BB10 Jesse, and BB5 Cowboy would represent for the Off-Beats.

The competition was pretty strange, and strangely amusing. Each houseguest wore a pair of very large underpants and were told to hang on to these toilet seats with their names on them. At Julie's signal, they were lifted into the air giving them all wedgies. The object of the game was to hang on the longest. The Brains were first out with the Off-Beats following behind. It was down to the Populars and the Athletes, no surprise there, and Casey was the last Off-Beat to drop leaving Natalie and Jeff still hanging for an Athlete win.

The show went off with the houseguests all going back into the house to see who would join them. A couple of the girls guessed that it would be Jesse. We were shown very little of the interaction between Jesse and his new teammates. I know that as soon as the feeds and Big Brother After Dark come on, we'll get a better idea of where things stand in the house.

What did y'all think of the show? Are you looking forward to Jesse continuing his reign of terror? I, personally, don't think that he'll be any better than he was last summer. Who do you think that he'll nominate? Probably not the big boobed chicks, but maybe they'll surprise me. Will they nominate two from the same clique or will they share the wealth? What kind of alliances will be made? I can't wait to get the answers to these questions! Big Brother 11 has truly begun!

Tomorrow is the day!

One day left until Big Brother 11 and I'm ready. Reformatted the hard drive on my computer this past weekend and installed fresh new copies of my essential software, made sure the feeds were working, stocked the fridge, and warned the family. I even took some vacation time beginning Friday to immerse myself in this experience.

One new avenue I'm exploring this season is Twitter. I've had it for a while, but I've not experienced Big Brother with it. The season has not even started and I'm already enjoying it. I'm not talking about the repetitive spam to retweet this and that or to visit their sites or to try to get big brother as one of the top topics. I'm talking about the tweets that contain real information.

In addition to the information that you might get from me about new articles here, or from Chelsia and MissyZ tweeting about new or fun stuff with RealPlayer Superpass, or the ladies at BBDish, this year Big Brother itself is tweeting. The producers have a twitter site, the HoH (Head of Household) will be tweeting, and Allison Grodner herself has a twitter account.

The past couple of days they've been feeding us information that has just whetted my appetite and made me whinier that we don't have feeds yet.

From @agrodner22 today
We can already crown the sorest loser on BB...and it is only day 3! about 3 hours ago
Exclusive announcement from the "Chenbot" tonight on Ferguson!

from Big Brother HOH
Following the Premiere Show on Thursday July 9, check in for tweets from the Big Brother HOH!

From Big Brother Scoop
Today:
Ronnie claims that after 3 days in, he's already lost 4 lbs!
A MAJOR tantrum at the BB house last night!!
Yesterday:
Lydia is rocking her gold pants right now!
Major surprise in the Big Brother house tonight. Hope the HGs are ready!!
He's been out in the sun so long, he's starting to burn!
In memory of MJ, houseguests are out of bed and performing Thriller!!
Monday:
I never thought that she would fit in THAT clique...but she totally does!
Seriously!? Less than 24 hours in the BB house and alliances are already forming!

We are missing some good stuff! It looks like this year there will be more openness and more information flowing. Are you ready for this? I am!

Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Men

Hey y'all, welcome back! It's about that time again. I'm ready to give my first thoughts on the Big Brother 11 Men. They seem to be a diverse group, but not as interesting as the women. I've already posted my one word descriptions, as well as those of HamsterDame, Chelsia and MissyZ and after reading and watching more about the houseguests, a couple of my impressions have changed a little.

Diane Henry's interviews were very good and I'm sad that her interviews with Casey, Jeff or Kevin haven't been posted yet. Anyway, her posted interviews were at least 10 minutes long for each houseguest, so I was able to get quite a bit of information. I also watched InsideDish interviews and I was disappointed. Maybe at some point, he'll release the rest, but what was on his show was more about Ross than about the houseguests.

While we have what seems to be the requisite bar recruits, I was pleased to see that many of the houseguests are actually fans of the show and actually applied, whether it was online, at open casting calls or by answering ads on Craigslist. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of hamsters that classify themselves as big fans or even as Big Brother nerds. With very few actor wannabes, I am getting excited for the game to start. There should be some interesting strategizing, especially as many of them say that their plan is to strategize on the fly and to be very flexible.

Let's talk about the males:

Jeff Schroeder - My one word for him was 'meh'. He didn't stand out to me at all ... a big whatevah. He played football in college and he says that that is his proudest accomplishment, okay Mr. Jock. He comes across as very sweet, though, in interviews, almost too sweet. He admits to wearing his heart on his sleeve and would be open to a showmance. He says that he plans on being true to himself. I think I want to change that word from 'meh' to 'sucker'. Some of the less scrupulous players will play him like a fiddle.

Braden Bacha - I used 'pfft', a couple of others used 'douche'. I haven't changed my mind. Other than finding out that he was nude in an episode of what reality blurred called a 'supernatural gay soap opera' what else did we learn about him? Well, he plans on 'rockin' the show' for exposure for his acting career. He says that he can cry on cue and plans on using his acting skills in the house. Arrogance, ignorance and two-facedness piss him off and says that he'll work to get rid of negative energy in the house. Yes, I rolled my eyes quite a few times while reading and watching. Okay, maybe I'll change my word to 'douche', too.

Ronnie Talbott - 'Know-it-all'. I think Ronnie might get far in this game. He looks like such the sweet little nerd, but he's got that competitive drive thing going. He was a champion debater and many hard core gamers are very, very competitive. He's also a huge big brother fan. He's studied the game and can name in order all of the evictees from all the prior seasons starting from 2. He says that he can compartmentalize like Dr. Will, but tends to be more emotional. That could actually work for him. If he can play mild mannered cub reporter, I think he can fool everyone and be a monster at the end.

Russell Kairouz - 'Macho'. Hmm, I may have to steal Chelsia's word and call him a 'meathead'. I really wanted to like him because he's a MMA fighter, and I love MMA, but I don't know. He actually says they call him 'Russell the Love Muscle'. Good grief. I think I will just stop there. I hope he doesn't think the Big Brother house is 'The Ultimate Fighter' house. Cuz that's usually a house full of meatheads, a giant frat house. He does come off as charismatic, though, and that might work for him, strategically.

Kevin Campbell - 'Fabu'. He's the token flamboyant gay guy, I guess. He describes himself as 'ghetto fabulous'. He says that he was in the closet so long that he has the tools to deceive anyone. His strategy is going to be to highlight and magnify others' flaws. I see him as Marcellus x2, and that's not necessarily a compliment. Will we see Marcellus/Amy version 2 with him and Jordan? I can see that happening, actually.

Casey Turner - 'Ugh'. I don't know. Diane didn't have her interview with him posted and with Ross he did this stupid rap. He's the oldest guy in the house, but his night job is that of a DJ, so he may have something in common with the others. He confesses to being worried that the camera will focus on him picking his nose, which is a big turn off. I do NOT want to see that montage, hence the ugh. All of the interviewers seem to like him and say that he's a nice guy, though, so I guess we'll just have to see.

So there you have it, Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Houseguests. Take it with a grain of salt. I'm invariable wrong on these things. Remember that at the beginning of last season I couldn't stand Dan or Memphis. What do you think? Vote and comment below.

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Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Women

Hey y'all, welcome back! It's about that time again. I'm ready to give my first thoughts on the Big Brother 11 Women. They seem to be a diverse group of women and very interesting. I've already posted my one word descriptions, as well as those of HamsterDame, Chelsia and MissyZ and after reading and watching more about the houseguests, a couple of my impressions have changed a little.

Diane Henry's interviews were very enlightening, in particular, and I'm sad that her interviews with Laura, Casey, Jeff or Kevin haven't been posted yet. Now I know a lot of people don't like Diane, but I do. I felt sorry for her in season 5, cuz she got played, but I didn't dislike her at all. Now some of her fans ... that's a different story. Some of those so called Divas were scary. Anyway, her posted interviews were at least 10 minutes long for each houseguest, so I was able to get quite a bit of information. I also watched InsideDish interviews and I was disappointed. Maybe at some point, he'll release the rest, but what was on his show was more about Ross than about the houseguests.

While we have what seems to be the requisite bar recruits, I was pleased to see that many of the houseguests are actually fans of the show and actually applied, whether it was online, at open casting calls or by answering ads on craigslist. Yes, Lydia and Michele were Craigslist applicants. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of hamsters that classify themselves as big fans or even as Big Brother nerds. With very few actor wannabes, I am getting excited for the game to start. There should be some interesting strategizing, especially as many of them say that their plan is to strategize on the fly and to be very flexible. Many of them claim that they're going to pretty much hide their talents, for example Michele says that she won't tell anyone about being a neuroscientist and Natalie says that she's not going to tell about being a tae kwon do champion. Wonder how that will work for them since Big Brother 11 has that classification twist going.

Let's talk about the females:

Jordan Lloyd - 'Ditzy'. I'll stick with that. I saw two interviews where first thing she did was tell that she got a boob job three weeks ago. Say what? I think she got the America's Sweetheart role this year and she might pull it off. She was recruited and never saw an episode until about a month ago (hmm, get recruited, watch some tape, get a boob job ... see a connection here?). She's gonna use that small town country girl persona to the max, and I'm not sure I buy it. She interviews very well and comes across as such the innocent little sweetheart. She claims that she's a bad liar and that she's worried about getting on people's nerves because she talks a lot, especially when she gets excited. I'm gonna keep my eye on this one.

Natalie Martinez - 'Manipulative'. That was harsh, I'm thinking now. I really liked her after her interview with Diane. She's another huge fan and went to an open audition in her town. She's tiny, but tough. A champion tae-kwon-do competitor, she seems to have her head on straight. She's also a poker player, which means she's good at reading people. It'll be interesting to see her game play. Will she be manipulative, or merely a good game player? Jury's still out on this one.

Michele Noonan - 'Brainy'. I stand by that one. She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience for pete's sake! Neuroscientists study the brain and as she's a research scientist, the houseguests will be her lab rats. She's a big fan and answered a Craigslist ad for a woman with an interesting occupation. She thinks she will hide her Ph.D. and says that she won't be wearing the 'dork costume'. Michele says that she's a pretty tough Jersey girl, and that not much gets to her. She uses yoga to diffuse her anger. I think I'll have to root for her because my daughter is a Jr. Biochemistry major and is another non-stereotypical science nerd.

Chima Simone - 'Chameleon'. I'm not sure about her. She has this bigger than life personality that will either endear her to the others or quickly get on their nerves. She even knows it. She says that she will have to dial back on her energy at first. She's an 'in your face' type person that will go off on people if they piss her off. Sigh ... I'm hoping that she can control that and not have very many ABW (angry black woman) moments. She's all about Girl Power and really wants a female alliance to work, but says that she has to be cognizant of those women that will throw her under the bus. She was a high school teacher for two years after graduating, so she should have a good handle on the nonsense in the house. She's another of my favorites.

Lydia Tavera - 'Interesting'. I'll stick with that. She looks tough, but seems like she's a softie inside. She does say though that she will flirt with the guys and the girls to get herself farther in the game. But she also says that her goal is to get everyone's trust. She's a huge Harry Potter fan and has a HP tattoo, and she has the Prince symbol tattoo'd on her finger (I knew I liked this girl). In fact, she says that all of her tattoos mean something to her. Her mom told her to leave her bitchiness at home, wonder if she did, lol. She hopes that people won't judge her on her tattoos and gets to know her, but it won't bother her too much if they do. In fact the only thing that will bother her is spiders.

Laura Crosby - 'Tramp'. Huh, that will work. She says that she's worried that her cleavage will be a disadvantage, but then she goes on to say that she wants there to be some pushover men types in the house so that she can use her body to manipulate them. She may just be the biggest beyotch in the game. She says that she is not afraid to hurt feelings, lie or manipulate to win. She claims to be a Big Brother nerd, has studied the game and strategies, and that she's spent a lot of time on the message boards during past seasons. I'm fully prepared to dislike this trick.

So there you have my first impressions of the Women of Big Brother 11. I know I'll probably change my mind a number of times, and my favorites never win. What do y'all think? Vote and comment below.

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BB11: Random Thoughts Before the Start

Hey y'all! There's lots of information out there on the house, the houseguests and the game. I'm not ready yet to do my first thoughts article, but I didn't want to let any more time go by without posting some of what I'm thinking. This is where my head is:
House
Earlier in the week, CBS posted photos of the house. I'm not too impressed with it overall. I think my favorite rooms are the HoH room and the red-orange bedroom. The kitchen and dining areas aren't too bad, but there's not really too much difference in these from previous seasons. I see a washer and dryer, so the washboard theory is blown. And it seems as if they have all the running water they need. That's really a shame. I think they dropped the ball on their eco-friendly theme by not having touch control or sensored water faucets. In fact, the only things I really saw eco-friendly was the recycled materials on the walls and the recycle bins.
One room actually has bubble wrap on the walls. Great. So the houseguests will to to that area and pop bubbles while they discuss strategy so that the microphones don't catch what they say. The room that they have decorated like a pool is a cute little room ... for kids and not for sleeping. In the spa room there are a couple of bikes with light bulbs. Will that be for a competition similar to season 1? Will they have to take turns pedaling for power in the house, perhaps for the hot water heater? That'd be cool. And what's up with the locked room? Is that the room that will look like a slum for their Haves/Have nots theme? The red-orange room looks like it could be a Haves room. It has a very classy look to it. But that doesn't fit with the pool room, so I don't know.
Houseguests
I'm not sure yet how I feel about them. There are the requisite models and wannabes, but there are also some that look interesting. One rumor out there that is everywhere is that they will be broken down into the four groups: jocks, populars, nerds and outcasts. I can see this cast fitting into those cliques. There is only one guest over 40, three in their early 30's and the rest are 20 somethings. The Bi-sexual tattooed Nanny, Lydia, fascinates me, as do the Gamer, Ronnie, and the Neuroscientist, Michele. CBS released the photos and bios of 12 houseguests today, but said that the mystery 13th would be released next week. That doesn't make me happy. What's up with that? It seems to be feuling the Sheila return rumor. I just don't see the purpose of it. Why bring her back? She finished third, she wasn't all that interesting OR popular, and she doesn't seem to have the fan support to justify her return. But then I don't want any of them back, so ...
No Housecalls
Well, CBS, or rather Gretchen, announced the end of Housecalls, but there are plenty of contenders for that spot. CBS seems to have crowned Ross the Intern as the official host for the post-Housecalls-era show. I don't particularly care for him, don't really find him funny, so I probably won't be a regular watcher of his Friday only web show. Real SuperPass has their Thursday and Friday lunchtime show with Missy and Chelsia (BB9), which I'll catch the archives of. And at one point Evel Dick (BB8) was promoting his own show with Janelle (BB6 & AS). It'll be interesting to hear how each show does.

Well, I'll be back later in the week with more of my thoughts on the houseguests, after I catch the pre-show interviews that are bound to pop up. And check out the Film.com/bigbrother page for more stuff about Big Brother 11.

BB11: Welcome Back to My Summer Obsession

Hey y'all! Welcome back! Less than two weeks to go until my summer obsession begins and I'm so excited, and I just can't fight it ... oh, sorry, that slipped. Rumors are flying and they span the spectrum from the believable to the 'yeah, right'. The media tour participants can start talking on the 29th, so I suspect that is when the finalists will be sequestered. RealPlayer SuperPass has new features, the house is rumored to have had an eco-friendly makeover and, once again, we've been promised an exciting group of houseguests. What's not to be excited about?

What are these new RealPlayer features, you ask? One that I'm especially excited about is Flashback. I have a day job and I'm in the Central timezone, so I can't stay up all night, every night with the houseguests. With Flashback, though, if something happens during the night, I don't have to go try to hunt down youtube videos. I simply hit the Flashback tab, pick the date and time and 'Bam!', all four camera feeds at that time are presented for me to pick from to watch. When I heard about this feature, I did a little happy dance. The next feature excites me as well. You know how in the past with the QuadCam, you'd have video from all four cameras, but audio from one (and that wasn't your choice)? And when you picked one to watch and clicked on the button, you'd miss something? This season, you'll be able to watch all four feeds and quickly navigate to the feed that you find the most interesting. If this excites you nearly as much as it does me, make sure that you get your Early Bird discount for the season by clicking here.

As far as the house and the game itself, there has been, as usual, a good deal of speculation. I've read on a variety of sites that the house was going to be eco-friendly. How far that goes, and what it entails, is up in the air. I've heard that there's no washing machine. I don't know if that means that it will be back to the washboards and wringers of the earlier seasons, or if they will have the opportunity to win one in some kind of competition. They do waste a lot of hot water and I wonder if they will limit the times they receive it like they did in earlier seasons. There are many things that they could have done to make the house more eco-friendly, like build with recyclables and that sort of thing. We should find out some time this week what they've incorporated.

Have you heard the rumor about the two tribes? I have, too. I read rumors that the houseguests will be split into two permanent tribes instead of different tribes for different competitions. One rumor I heard was that one tribe will be the 'Haves' with the other the 'Have Nots', with the Haves living in luxury. Random competitions would be held to decide who would have the luxury half of the house. Another rumor, which I discounted pretty much immediately, was the one where they'd have two houses. It would be pretty amusing, though, if instead of whisking the jury away to a luxury resort or other luxury location, they just moved them across the lot to another trailer. I also read that there will be twelve newbies and at least one prior houseguest moving into the house. I'm not really sure how I feel about that one. Right along with that rumor, I read on Sheila (BB9) Kennedy's myspace blog that she'll be 'traveling for three months'. Coincidence?

I think the rumor that I'm least excited about is the High School Theme rumor. Some nonsense about high school cliques and who was your enemy type of thing was mentioned. Well, if I wanted to watch that mess, I'd have watched High School Reunion on TVLand, but I didn't. Just how I want to spend my summer ... watching the jocks and the cheergirls try to bully the others. Pfttt. *Insert eye rolling emoticon here*. I mean, if they did it, I'd watch, but it would suck a lot of enjoyment out ... until the others rebelled and turned on them. I really hope they don't do that, though, and just let them form their own alliances.

And I'm really bummed about the cancellation of Housecalls. For some reason, that was one of the few videos that wasn't blocked at work, so I was able to watch it at my lunchtime. It ticked me off that they never talked about what happened on the feeds because they considered them spoilers, but I still enjoyed hearing about the show. RealPlayer SuperPass is stepping into the breach, though. Chelsea Hart from BB9 and Missy Zeigler will be hosting Big Brother Express Lunch call-in show on Thursdays and Fridays at 12:00 pm pst. They'll have lots of call in guests as well as talk about what's going on in the house. That's just another reason to make sure you've signed up for SuperPass.

Now, are y'all as excited as I am? I hope you are. Let's play!!

Dancing With the Stars 8: And The Winner Is ...

Hey Y'all! Welcome back! This is the Final Results show for Dancing With the Stars 8 and tonight one of the three remaining couples will take home the Mirror Ball Trophy. Each couple danced once more for the judges and a winner named. That was about 15-20 minutes out of this 2 hour show. That means, yes, you guessed it ... more filler.

Just Dance was sung first by Lady GaGa. I've never heard of this chick, but she's awfully weird looking. Oh, I like this song, didn't know who sang it. You have to see her to believe it. She's just looking bizarre. Her costume has one leg, she has bleached blond hair or wig, short in front, long in back and a variation of the Kiss makeup on her face, it looks like.

If you missed last night's show, or the replay earlier, you can read my recap here. There was only a two point difference in the judges score from last night between all three couples. Tonight's dances were judged, but the viewer votes still count for 50%. Gilles and Melissa both chose dances that they already scored 30 on and Shawn chose a dance that she got a 28 on.

They did a recap on the first three weeks and the first three couples eliminated danced. Belinda/Jonathan did a Salsa, Denise/Maks did the Quickstep, and Holly/Dmitry danced a Samba. Tom announced that Samantha will be starring as Roxi Hart in Chicago on Broadway this summer. That surprised me. Didn't think she had it in her ...

The Woz/Karina were back doing the Quickstep. He's been practicing, lol. More recaps followed ... sigh. David/Kym followed with their Viennese Waltz. After his behavior and interviews when he got bounced, I'm surprised they invited him back. Steve-O/Lacey came next with their Foxtrot. He didn't fall on the step this time, aww. He looked good. Samantha called DAG on his interviews and asked about his experience and he kissed up to the judges. Hmm ...

After a recap of the Pick A Pro competition, Anna was announced as the winner, and guaranteed new pro. She then did an encore of her Quickstep with Maks. Loved it again. They look great together.

LT/Edyta re-danced their Jive. They showed Warren Sapp in the crowd cracking up, it was so funny. Chuck/Julianne did their Samba and yes, he wore his red satin pajamas .

Jeffery Ross was back with another roast. He wasn't funny last season, I don't know why they brought him back. He described the judges as Smokin', croakin' and flamin'. That was the only funny thing he said. He called the finalists The Underaged, The Un Wed, and the Unpronounceable. Like I said, he wasn't funny.

Then they recapped the end of the season. Lil Kim/Derek repeated their Jive with Derek trying to steal the trophy to Jailhouse Rock. And last, but not least, Ty/Chelsie did their Lindy Hop.

Finally, our three finalists were introduced. First up with the final dance is Shawn/Mark doing a Cha Cha. It actually looked like she enjoyed it more this time around. It was really cute, kept a smile on my face. Len said that, like an athlete, the longer Shawn went, the better she got. His problem in the past was her lack of performance, but tonight she brought it. Bruno said she was great. Carrie Ann said that in the last three weeks she's powered her way to the top and she belongs here. Scores: Three 10's for a perfect 30, and a three dance total of 88/90

Melissa/Tony went second with their Samba. Loved their Samba Roll. This was really one of my favorite dances, in part cuz I loved how it fit the music. Ha! At the end Tony kissed Bruno. Bruno said that it was more appetizing the second serving and said that she had a body made for dancing. Carrie Ann called her a muse of dance. Said she brought out the best in Tony. Len said that she had a presence. She mixed style, elegance with performance. Scores: Three 10's for 30 and three dance total of 86/90

Lastly, Gilles/Cheryl reprised their Argentine Tango. This was better than last time. They put a lift in there that I don't remember seeing the first time. Their hooks were clean and the passion was hot. Loved it. Carrie Ann said that he's a very special performer, brings a special artistry. Len said that they were the couple that brought him the most pleasure this season. Took him back 50 yrs with that tango. Bruno called it an Argentine Triumph ... A star is born ... and some other stuff that only Bruno could say. Scores: Three 10's for 30, three dance total of 88/90.

Judges leaderboard looks the same as last night:
Shawn/Mark - 88/90
Gilles/Cheryl - 88/90
Melissa/Tony - 86/90

Love Game performed by Lady GaGa. Now she has on this hot pink number, with a different blonde wig and better makeup. But she had a cane type thing with a mesh bathroom puff on the end. Strange woman. This song is weird, too. She wants to take a ride on your disco stick. Yeah, uh huh.

An hour and fifty minutes into the show and there is a commercial. We still had no clue who would win this thing. The third place couple was announced and it was Melissa/Tony. We just had a commercial and now they are sending us back to another one not 2 minutes later. Sheesh, finally. Tom said that there was less than 1% difference between 1st and 2nd place. The winners of Dancing With the Stars 8 are Shawn and Mark! Mark looks even more shocked than he did last year. Derek did his repeat of lifting Mark on his shoulder and Chuck finally lifted Shawn. On their way out the door, Tom said that they'd be back in September with Dancing With the Stars 9. So I'll catch y'all then.

Dancing With the Stars 8: The Finals

Hey y'all! Welcome back to the first part of the finale of Dancing With the Stars 8. We're down to the three best dancers, how will they do tonight in the Paso Face-Off and their Freestyles? The Freestyle has been known to make and break this thing wide open. After tonight's two performances, the viewers will vote. Tomorrow night they get another set of judges scores. Last year I thought there was an elimination before that last dance, but the way that Tom was talking, I'm not sure.

I'm quite excited. I was so looking forward to this Paso face-off. All three couples are capable of some seriously hot dancing. Melissa was in an Edyta-type costume, Shawn looked cute, but I like Cheryl's costume the least. It is white with orange and red flowery pattern, instead of the black/red or black/white combo. This week each judge visited individual competitors to give them tips. Bruno went to work with Shawn, Carrie Ann with Melissa and Len with Gilles. Bruno seemed to give Shawn some really good tips to help her paso pop. Carrie Ann surprised me and really helped Melissa with her aggression. Len also surprised me. He took off his suit coat and got down and dirty with Gilles to pull out the best in him.

They are doing the Paso to So What? I'm Still a Rock Star ... which seems like an odd song, but it seemed to work okay. It was a little distracting at times, though. Each couple takes a turn at a solo part and they come together at the end. Shawn/Mark were up first and they were really good. Shawn left it out there. She's come such a long way. Melissa and Tony were up next and they were good, too. They were much better than last time. Gilles/Cheryl brought up the rear and I think I liked it the least. I think it's because he seemed to me to be stiffer than the two pros. He had the disadvantage of being the only guy and following Tony and Mark. Don't get me wrong, all three Paso's were really good, and they are definitely all deserving of being here. Len told Shawn that this Paso was much better, he noticed one mistake in Melissa's but better than last time, and he told Gilles that this one was not hectic like he complained about last time. Bruno said each one was splendid. I don't know what else he went on about. He really complimented Melissa with her confidence and called Gilles a leading man. Carrie Ann said that all three were incredible dancers. She said that there wasn't as much of an emotional attachment with Shawn, but she did a great job and complimented the other two.

The scores were as follows:
Shawn/Mark - Two 9's and a from Bruno for 28/30
Melissa/Tony - Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30
Gilles/Cheryl - Three 10's for a perfect 30/30

First up in the Freestyle is Shawn/Mark. Shawn said that they were not going to use excessive gymnastics because last time they got marked down. Apolo Anton Ono visited their practice to give her a pep talk. They are dressed in all black leather, including hoods and white sparkly masks and white gloves. I'm not liking the costumes. They soon stripped off the hoodies and pants and Mark revealed what is becoming his trademark look with the too short sparkly pants, bow tie and jacket. They both had on sparkly Chuck Taylors and she had on suspenders and lime green top to match his lime green sparkly jacket. It was such a cute, fun dance! A nice mix of dance and tricks. I loved that. Bruno said that they were going for the gold, and it was an explosive performance. Marvelous. Carrie Ann said it was youthful, energetic. Len loved the fun, speed, precision. He loved it. Scores: Three 10's for 30

Melissa/Tony are up next. Tony was disappointed the last time he was in the finals, and he's determined to leave everything on the dance floor this time. They are both in all black, he in a muscle shirt and she in sparkly bikini type top. Too much awkward looking hip hop and tricks for me and it didn't jive. It looked like she choreographed this instead of him, using her DCC background. A couple of the lifts were neat, but meh ... I was disappointed. Carrie Ann loved her new attitude, but thought the choreography was disjointed. Len said that she showed her versatility, but it was not his cup of tea. They went for the cheerleader/hip hop instead of the ballet, elegant type dance. Bruno also thought it was disjointed, not as perfect. The dance didn't flow from move to move, but from trick to trick. Scores: Three 9's for 27

The final Freestyle belongs to Gilles/Cheryl. They got the pimp spot, but did they do it proud? He had to call in a pain management specialist for his shoulder because of the lifts and tricks. He's very nervous. Another dance starting on a chair, but this one a la Flashdance. She choreographed a seriously sexy dance, one full of lifts. I was actually laughing at parts of it because it was so corny, though. Len said that it was slick, he loved the slow sexy part. Proved he's a real dancer. Bruno said great performance, but he wanted a bit more actual dancing. Carrie Ann found it an odd choice. Flashdance was for showcasing the female. She expected to see a whole lot more. I have to agree. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Len for 28.

The final leaderboard looks like this:
Shawn/Mark 28+30 for 58/60
Cheryl/Gilles 30+28 for 58/60
Melissa/Tony 29+27 for 56/60

What did you think of the night? I thought Shawn totally took the night, especially the Freestyle. I loved the Paso from all three couples, but felt really let down for the Freestyles. I felt robbed, especially by Melissa/Tony. I am a big Gilles fan, but based on tonight, Shawn wins it for me. Who will take the Mirror Ball Trophy as the winner of Dancing With the Stars 8? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 10 Results Show - Finalists Revealed

Hey y'all, welcome back. Tonight was the Dancing With the Stars 8 Week 10 results show. In addition to another couple being eliminated, Raphael Saadiq sang, the Design A Dance winner was revealed, and our Pick A Pro competition continued. Last night Tom gave a little spoiler when he introduced Maks and Kym in the crowd and said that they would be performing with our two remaining prospective pros. Since Mayo was the only male remaining, the fact that Kym was participating spoiled his selection. Who would join him in the finals, Anna or Afton? The most important question of the night, however, was whether or not Ty's 'Army' would once again save him from elimination.

Tonight's show began with said Rafael Saadiq. He seems like some kind of 60's Motown throwback act. He brought his own dancers, which I always hate, and I wasn't impressed by them at all. Our dancers would have done him proud. This performance was kind of bizarre. I like the music, I grew up with 60's Motown, but the performance was different. The recap followed, if you missed it, read about it here.

They picked Shawn/Mark's Argentine Tango for the encore performance tonight. I enjoyed it more tonight than I did last night to be honest. Then for some reason they thought we'd care what Helio, Brooke Burke, and Drew Lachey thought about this year's final 4. I don't, so I'm not recapping it.

Wow, Afton was eliminated from Pick a Pro. This week, the prospective pros had to choreograph two dances, one latin and one ballroom, and they'd be partnered with one of our pros. Mayo was partnered with Kym, and Anna with Maks. Mayo/Kym were first with a Tango. That was a very sharp tango ... but the music seemed to de-evolve to Lawrence Welk music. Len was very happy with it, Bruno thought it was beautiful and Carrie Ann said that she was very impressed with his choreography, but she wanted to see more of his personality. Watching Anna with Maks in practice was interesting. She handled him well. Anna/Maks did the Quick Step for the ballroom round. Wow, their feet were flying across that dance floor. They looked really good together. I had a smile on my face all the way through that routine, it was fun. Bruno called it magnificent, Carrie Ann payed her a compliment by saying that she may have outshined Maks tonight, and Len waxed effusive, saying she brought the best out in Maurice last week and in Maks this week.

Rebecca Farmer was introduced as the winning costume designer for Design a Dance and the winning dancers were Derek, Julianne, Mark and Lacey. They did the Quick Step to 'It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing'. The dresses were pretty until they took the bottoms off, could have done without that. I'm kind of bummed that Julianne and Derek were chosen again, though. No wonder that there are rumors that the three of them, I'm including Mark, are talking about not being on the show next season as a ploy to get more money. They obviously think that they are the total shiznits, and with good reason it seems. They're good, without a doubt, but none of them are my favorites. Oh well.

Next was the latin round for Pick a Pro. Mayo/Kym did a Cha Cha to 'Shake Your Groove Thing'. This looked like a dance from Saturday Night Fever more than a Cha Cha. I didn't get into that one. Carrie Ann said that Mayo was a wonderful dancer, but wonders if he's versatile enough for the show. Len said that he's a great choreographer, but said the Tango was far superior. Bruno said that Mayo is better in ballroom, but he has to be careful. He'd have done a proper cha cha, instead of disco. Anna/Maks did a Samba for her entry. This dance was sharp as heck. I loved it! Anna blew Mayo out of the water today, I'm thinking. Len said that from week 1 until tonight she's brought it. He predicted a win for her, and that if she's not back next season he'll show his bum in the supermarket. Bruno said that she was a stunner in both ballroom and latin. Carrie Ann said that she wants to see more of her, wants to see her come back.

After a shameless plug for The Bachelorette and introduction of Chris Harrison, they finally got to the elimination at :52 after the hour. The first two couples guaranteed a spot on the Season Finale are Gilles/Cheryl and Shawn/Mark. Before they put us out of our misery, they showed a commercial for Land of the Lost movie, among other things. How many people here remember the Saturday morning show? The movie looks silly, though. Back at :59 after, Samantha made a point of telling us that the 2nd couple in the last two is not necessarily in the bottom 2. Still wasting time by talking to the judges about the two couples remaining, but ran out of time so Carrie Ann didn't get to talk at all. On this tenth week of competition, Ty/Chelsie were eliminated. Good grief, the band sunk to a new low by playing the 'na-na-na goodbye' song for their final dance.

So our final three couples are Gilles/Cheryl, Shawn/Mark and Melissa/Tony. This thing is up for grabs, I'm thinking. Any one of these could win the jeweled ball. That's the way it should be, though. We'll also find out next week, which new pro will be joining the next season. So what do you think? Did the fans get it right? What do you expect for next week on Dancing With the Stars 8? Cheryl's freestyles have been awesome in the past, so I'm expecting big things from her. Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: It's the Semi-Finals and Lil Kim is Living in Gilles Pants

Hey y'all! It's week 10 of Dancing With the Stars 8 and, as last week showed, this is anyone's ballgame. I don't even know if tonight is necessary. It seems that the fans are gonna vote for whoever they fancy regardless of what they do on the dance floor. I'll try to curb my cynicism as I recap what happens. Tonight's show opened with three couples, Julianne, Dmitry, Karina, someone that looks like Chelsie, Louis, and Alec dancing a medley of dances to 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?'. Very cute and entertaining number. I wish Tom would introduce the dancers and not just the choreographer. Tonight is the semi-finals and our semifinalists were then introduced. Four couples, eight dances and two hours ... that means a lot of filler.

Before they danced, we looked back at the couple's breakthrough latin and ballroom dances. Up first was Melissa and Tony. We got to see basically the whole of their week three Foxtrot and their week nine Samba as they talked us through it. Then they were interviewed by Samantha and Tom. Gilles and Cheryl also picked their Foxtrot from week nine to review and critique and also their week five Paso Doble. Tom asked Gilles about Cheryl's 'crankiness' in their dance instruction and Gilles told him that that was the way he learned. Shawn and Mark chose the Week nine Quick Step and the week nine Paso Doble. Ty and Chelsie picked the week two Quick Step and the week four Lindy Hop. Hmm, I didn't know the Lindy Hop was a latin dance until tonight. Why couldn't this show be 90 minutes this week and skip this part?

Thirty minutes into the show, we finally get to the ballroom round. Melissa/Tony and their Quick Step were first. I wasn't crazy about the pattern of her dress, but they did look very classy in black and white. Their final swing move was very impressive. This dance was very nice. Len thought it had great musicality and her feet were much improved. Gorgeous. Bruno thought it was very good, but it wasn't as crispy and exhilarating as it should have been. Carrie Ann agreed with Bruno that it was very nice and pretty, but she didn't feel the connection. Backstage, Samantha tried to create drama with a stupid question about how they felt when they wanted to repeat last week but had to take the criticism from the judges that they just did. They sidestepped her very well. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Len for 28/30.

Gilles/Cheryl got the Waltz for the ballroom round. Cheryl brought Jonathan Roberts in to help Gilles with his sophistication, frame and polish. Her dress was a beautiful white frothy number. This dance was so beautiful and elegant. He was going for sophisticated, but I still saw a broody latin lover. He just can't tone down the sexiness. His carriage looked better and I did see some rise and fall in his movement. Bruno said that that was the way to start his way into the finals. Unbelievable, beautiful, then he went off on one of his ramblings. Carrie Ann said that this dance was breathtaking, complimented Cheryl on choreography and Len said that he was giving them a sitting down standing ovation. Scores: Three 10's for 30/30, their first since week four.

Shawn/Mark performed the Argentine Tango. Okay, the beginning reminded me of their Paso with their characterizations. I didn't like Shawn's costume, it wasn't flattering, but the dance was very cool. Their first lift was wonderful and their hooks look really good. In fact, I loved all of their lifts. Carrie Ann said that she worried that Shawn wouldn't be able to deliver the emotion required, but she didn't need to worry because they delivered. Len said that they showed the maturity and intensity. Honestly their best performance. Bruno called her Catherine Zita Shawn. He was very complimentary. Scores: Three 10's for 30/30, their first of the competition.

Wrapping up the ballroom round was Ty/Chelsie performing the Viennese Waltz. In their practice video, they concentrated on showing Ty's personality as a justification for their being here. Chelsie looked beautiful dancing, even though I really didn't like that white top and belt with that aqua dress. Ty's frame was about perfect, as usual, and they looked very nice. I saw a bobble almost at the end, but I enjoyed the dance very much. Len complimented Ty on his hard work and mentioned the issues of the dance, but overall thought it was fabulous. Bruno wasn't nearly as complimentary (which means that Ty will make the finals because he was mean) and Carrie Ann mentioned how he can generate support, but it was not his best dance and there were some wobbles. The judges really had a three way spat over the comments with Len playing defender. Well the judges once again probably helped mobilize Ty's 'Army' ... sigh. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 for 25/30.

After the ballroom round, the leaderboard looks like this:
Gilles/Cheryl - 30/30
Shawn/Mark - 30/30
Melissa/Tony - 28/30
Ty/Chelsie - 25/30

Before the latin round, we saw hometown background filler on each competitor. I'm not gonna recap that and hopefully it will be over soon. For Melissa they focused on her prior dance experience, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and The Bachelor. Yes, I rolled my eyes when they blathered on about The Bachelor fiasco.

Melissa/Tony did a very cool looking Cha Cha. She did not forget what she learned about shaking her hips and her boobies, though, lol. That last swing was awesome. I loved this dance. Bruno said that at times it was fabulous, but not all the way through. They didn't sustain te energy throughout the entire dance. Carrie Ann thanked her for listening and acting on criticism. The connection was there, but there were some footwork issues. Len liked it, but not as much as he wanted to. At times, it was lackluster. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30 and a 55/60 for the night.

Next we visited Cannes, France to do the background for Gilles. They focused on him getting his work ethic from his dad, then touched on his modeling background to earn money for his family. Gilles/ Cheryl got the Salsa, and dang that man can move his hips. I loved their orchid costumes and their dance. I had a smile on my face all the way through. Carrie Ann gave them a standing ovation with her little fly girl move. Gilles Marini at his best, she said. Len said that he was almost speechless, he wishes he had an 11 paddle. Bruno said that Lil Kim was alive and well and living in Gilles pants. Um, I'm speechless on that one. Both Bruno and Carrie Ann said that he deserved to be in the Finale. Scores: Three 10's for another 30/30 and 60/60 for the night.

Off to Iowa to do the background on Shawn. Of course the focus is on her gymnastics and how it's shaped her. Shawn/Mark's second dance tonight was the Jive. It was adorable, and Mark had on what's becoming his trademark, too short pants, with shiny socks. I smiled all the way through. It was such a fun dance to watch. Len began by complimenting the house band, and thought the dance was fun, but there was too much messing about dancing, not enough jive. Bruno sid he likes it when she goes wild. He saw a lot of Lindy Hop in the Jive though. Carrie Ann said that it seemed like they lost a little steam towards the end, but she liked it. Scores: Two 9's and a 8 from Len for a 26/30 and a total of 56/60. Wow, I definitely didn't see that 8 coming. And I really disagree with her getting an 8 when they gave Ty an 8.

Back to Texas, this time for the background on Ty. In comparison to the glamour and glitz we saw with Melissa, we saw the rodeo this time. Ty/Chelsie's final dance was the samba. Chelsie was her regular bouncy, dshaking self. He was his usual stiff self. I don't think he even attempted to shake except in that one little solo thing he did.. I enjoyed watching her, but not him. Bruno said that he has resilience and determination, he made a great effort. Carrie Ann voted him MVP of season 8, did not comment at all on this dance. Len said that in ballroom he's Arthur Murray, but in latin he's Murray in a hurry. He did compliment Chelsie on what she's been able to accomplish with him. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30 and 48/60 for the night. They gave him 8's after either not commenting on the dance, or giving lukewarm compliments on his effort, but gave Shawn an 8 for that fun Jive. Right.

The final leaderboard looks like this:
Gilles/Cheryl - 30+30 for 60/60
Shawn/Mark - 30+26 for 56/60
Melissa/Tony - 28+27 for 55/60
Ty/Chelsie - 25+23 for 48/60

What should happen is that Ty should be eliminated. What will happen? Hey, with his fans, anything can happen. Nothing against Ty, and he's certainly come a long way, but it will truly suck if he makes it to the final. What did you think of Semi-Final night on Dancing With the Stars 8? I mean the dancing, not the hour of filler. Did you agree with the scoring? What do you think tomorrow will bring? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 9 Results Show and Round 3 of Pick a Pro

Hey y'all! Tonight was the Week 9 results show and Round 3 of the Pick a Pro competition. Would our favorites make the cut or would tonight be another 'shocking' elimination? To start of the evening, Melissa and Tony reprised their perfect 30 Samba. And it was just as good tonight as it was last night. That Samba took them to the top of the leaderboard, but two couples were only one point behind. At this point, they recapped last night's show. If you missed it, read the recap here. I'm excited about tonight. DanceCenter returns! That segment cracks me up.

First performance is of a Frank Sinatra hit, 'I Get a Kick Out of You', by Jamie Cullum. I don't know who these two pros are dancing, but they are good. Looks like a Quick Step, and yep, it's quick, but very glamourous looking. That was a wonderful performance.

DanceCenter time with returns with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne, and Len. Both Jerry and Kenny had some kind of sparkly tatoo things on the side of their faces and Jerry was shirtless with a tux collar and tie. First to be dissected was Ty. Kenny says that Ty is 7'8", and he's glad they are celebrating a bad dancer, but Len disagrees. They are talking about how he is fully committed to the show. Lil Kim was next and described as lil. Len said that she was the ultimate performer, but was then cut off. Jerry said that she has one one major ASSet and knows how to use it. Shawn was called lil'er than Lil Kim. Len cut off again when he was trying to analyze her and told that they didn't want to hear his mumbo jumbo. Video footage shows Mark turning into a chipmunk. The last two contestants were to be talked about later. For some reason, this wasn't as funny as it usually is.

Next some results. In no particular order, the first couple moving on to the semifinals is Gilles/Cheryl. He was excited, I think. He jumped straight up and shouted Yes!

Then DanceCenter was back. Melissa was described as pretty. I I thought they were gonna slam Jason talking about her public humiliation, but they were talking about Tony, lol. They showed practice video and showed him laughing when she got hurt. They do some serious video manipulation, lol. They complimented her jive and said that it wins the award for the best use of denim. Gilles was described in French. Kenny totally dissed the French and Len corrected him. Oh Yum, love the video ... called Gilles 'Sex on a Stick'. Back in the studeo after the video clip, hahaha, all three guys shirtless to make fun of Gilles. Kenny needs a tan, and Len ... uh yeah. Now this was DanceCenter!

Macy's Stars of Dance performance ... Largest ever seen. Acrobatic dancers with a large star shaped structure as a centerpiece that they danced on and around. to Coldplay's 'Vida la Vida'. Very cool performance, back to the Macy's Stars of Dance that I love. Unfortunately, they never said the name of the performing group, only the choreographers.

The first couple in our Pick a Pro competition was next. Afton, paired with Cody Lindley, got a Samba. Cody compared Afton to Julianne and they showed how busy he was with Hannah Montana. He hasn't lost his hyper-ness. Once again the house band massacres a song, this time a Shakira song. That Afton can shake her stuff. That was a pretty good performance, very fun to watch. Another royal blue costume, between last night and tonight it was a blue parade. Len complimented Afton on her teaching and choreography. Bruno said that she got Cody to sell himself, and Carrie Ann said that she brought it up a notch.

The next couple going on to the semifinals is Melissa/Tony.

Mayo and Lisa Rinna were next in our Pick a Pro competition. There is a seven inch height difference and Lisa said that she had to get used to it. They did a Quickstep in black and gold. she had on a beautiful gold dress with orange and red. That was pretty good. I thought it suffered because we saw that quickstep pro couple at the beginning. Bruno said that Mayo made the most of Lisa's assets, Carrie Ann complimented him, but said that they got out of control, and Len said that they did a good job. Oh and I did see Omarosa sitting behind Harry Hamlin. I'm thinking that even if Mayo doesn't win, he'll be back because Carrie Ann said that he'd be great for the taller female celebrities.

Anna was up last with Maurice Greene doing a Tango. My Banty Rooster was back! For some reason, Maurice picked a dance that he hadn't done before. He said it was because he wanted to see how good a teacher she really was. This is going to be a challenge. Wow, he looks great doing this, I'm loving it. She did a great job with him. This was my favorite. Carrie Ann loved it, said Afton brought something out in Maurice, wonderful performance. Len said that she got the most out of her celeb. Bruno called her a miracle worker, said that Maurice never looked better. Next week the final two will be paired with a current pro and will have to choreograph both a latin and a ballroom dance.

Now the last three couples will hear their results. Moving on the the semis will be Shawn/Mark, which left Lil Kim/Derek and Ty/Chelsie. Tom made a point of telling them that they were in the bottom two. After five minutes of commercials, tom told Lil Kim/Derek that they were eliminated. Wow. The audience was in shock, very quiet. This was what I was afraid of last night ... Derek was full of praise for her and the looks on the faces of the remaining dancers was very telling. Mark looked devastated. This ending was bad.

Okay, y'all. I know we talked about how this could happen, but were you surprised? What will this mean for next week on Dancing With the Stars 8? Will the rodeo crowd continue to vote on something other than dancing ability? Will the judges make sure that Ty's scores are so low that he cannot win, regardless of his 'Army'? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com