December 17th Holiday Recommendations

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It's hard to believe how close to Christmas we're getting! Below you'll find some of our recommendations for holiday programming to watch or DVR for Saturday, December 17th. It's a bit heavy on the ABCFamily, so I hope that you get that network! For a full listing, check out our Holiday Programming Schedule. As always, times are Eastern and Pacific to the best of our knowledge (except when noted otherwise), but it's always good to double-check with your own provider.
 
7am: Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (ABCFamily)
- Now, I'm a sucker for some of the "weirder" Christmas specials out there, but I like this one. I don't love it, and I don't own it, but I do tend to watch it annually. Nestor is a lot like Rudolph... he's different from the others, but gets a really important job at some point. Rudolph got to take Santa through the fog, and Nestor got to be the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem.

10am: Twas the Night Before Christmas (ABCFamily)
- The songs in this Christmas special are the most precious thing ever. I was always jealous that I couldn't sing as well as the children heard in this feature! Rather than actually read Twas the Night Before Christmas, we would watch this special as kids. I think that's why it became one of my favorites, actually.

2pm, 10pm: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (ABCFamily)
- As a child, I based all of my Santa knowledge on this stop-motion special. The story of Kris Kringle, the fact that his wife was named Jessica, the fact that he was an outlaw, why he grew the beard, why the reindeer fly, and that the bad guy is always the Burgermeister Meisterburger. When children ask me questions about Santa, I spit out answers from things I learned here. It's worked so far! 

3:30pm: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (ABCFamily)
- It's not Christmas if I don't watch the first two Home Alone films! (I saw the third and fourth for the first time last year... what disappointments!) I prefer the original, personally, but I understand why the second one tends to be pretty popular. The "Kevin Saves Christmas" part of the film is a lot better than the "Kevin Saves his House" idea. The bird lady is more appealing than the snow shoveler. And, let's not lie, New York City at Christmas has a magic all its own. And, as I continue to steal bits from others, I tell Mr. Duncan's story of the two turtle doves as if it's fact... never having actually looked it up elsewhere. ha!

8pm: Frosty the Snowman (CBS), 8:30pm: Frosty Returns (CBS)
- I love the song. I love the idea of bringing a snowman to life with a mysteriously magical hat. I'm not the biggest fan of the actual Christmas special in comparison, though. Maybe it's that whole greenhouse scene with Karen, but I was upset that Frosty would give his life to save someone else. I still get angry with that scene, and fast-forward through it when I watch to this day. Oh, and if you want another sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland is on ABCFamily at 3pm.

8pm: Wipeout "Deck the Balls" (ABC)
- I made it a point at the end of the summer to give up watching Wipeout. It was a lot of fun for a very long time, but I just got sick of it. However, if you want a few laughs and physical injury is funny for you, I'm sure that this will be good. Their themed episodes were generally their best, and you'll get to see Jill's replacement as well. Should anyone tune in for this, report back and let us know how it was!

9pm: Everybody Loves Raymond "Season's Greetings" (TVLand)
- This is the one where Debra wants to write a Christmas letter and it soon turns into a disaster. Marie and Debra decide to team-up (because that always goes so well... haha!), but nobody is happy with what's being written about them. This episode changed how I write my family update each year... the good and the bad are fine, since history is history.

Wipeout: Double Whammy with a Double-Long!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

After missing in action for a couple of weeks, Wipeout aired two episodes last week - one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. The second episode was a double-whammy, which caught me by surprise. At the end of the episode, the hosts made a comment about having had a great summer season, so it sounds like it's off the air for a while. As I mentioned before, I do not anticipate following this show any longer, so I apologize to any readers who honestly enjoyed my breakdowns and commentaries for Wipeout.

Wipeout "Does This Avatar Make Me Look Fat?" (S04E30): Yet another episode designed to push the video game. Anyone surprised?
Qualifier: Starts with the Video Game Spinner (jump onto a spinning circular platform. Avoid danglers hanging down as you rotate around, and try to jump off the other side onto a platform that randomly raises and lowers. But the tricky part is getting onto the thing in the first place - there are tall blocks around the circumference, featuring avatars of the hosts), Driver's Ed (get across a wall of spinning steering wheels, popping-out air bags, and swinging pedals), Big Balls (which descend in height this time), the Jiggilator (jump onto a vibrating platform, then onto another, through a hole, and get past a punching glove to a steady platform), and Double Barrel (there's a large oval that revolves vertically with two circles carved inside - just jump into one circle and ride around, jumping out on the other side. Oh, and it's a Surfing Safari theme this time). The best time in the Qualifier today wins a $25,000 bonus! Nobody really did well on the Video Game Spinner. [Toothless was creepy. The Patriot was interesting. Watching the punching glove slam down on the various contestants was amusing. The repeated replays of the airbags from Driver's Ed got obnoxious.] TheExhibitionist won the $25,000.
Round 2: Total Carnage (everyone starts out on one platform and they need to jump from one to the next, ten feet above the water. The whole time, they need to deal with two arms that keep coming around - one side has three spinning rings hanging down while the other side has a crankshaft going). As per the usual on this obstacle, many people are wiped out almost immediately when the arms come around. TruckTricker finishes first. 
Round 3: Wipeout Playset (each person has their own slide to go down, land on a spinning platform, ride some sweepers across to other areas, then use a diving board [while goo is spraying at you] to go through a windmill and land on a small slide/ramp. When one person gets through, everyone has to start at the beginning again). MrTaylorSwift finishes first, then TheExhibitionist, then TruckTricker. [hilarious misses on the slides-to-spinner!]
WipeoutZone: Flume of Doom (7-story plummet into the water), Iron Maze-In (there's a giant, vertically-spinning maze... enter on one side, climb through, and jump out on the other side), Axel of Evil (there's an arm that goes around. grab onto the three spinning prongs on one end and ride them around to another platform), and Great Wall of Fall (cross a wall by climbing across cylinders that pop out and retract. plus there are water cannons shooting at you). TheExhibitionist is first... he messes up his jump out of Iron Maze-In on his first try. He gets by the Axel on his first try, but does fall on his first cross of the Wall. He finishes at 7:24. [pretty good!] TruckTricker is next. He struggles to get out of the Iron Maze-In on the first try, and messes up his first attempt at Axel as well. He runs out of time when he falls from the Wall. MrTaylorSwift falls out of the Iron Maze-In on his first try and almost doesn't make it on the second try. He screws up the dismount off the Axel the first time, too. He finishes with 7:18, winning by six seconds. [the commentary while TheExhibitionist went was kinda forced... "the Wall of Fall can make a good run go bad," "it's easy to lose your sense of direction, as we have seen all too often," etc.]

Wipeout "Blind Date 2.0: This Could Get Ugly" (S04E31): Another blind-date edition... meaning that the game is done by couples... who just met. I thought this one was really corny, between the pairings and the commentary... geesh. Also, not a big fan of John Henson's outfit this time.

Photo: Wipeout on Facebook

Qualifier: Starts with Love Train (run across train tracks, but they're not all stable so some fall down toward the mud, like seen to the right), then Dreadmill with Big Balls (treadmill propelling you toward the four big balls), Lovers Leap (jump onto a ball, then onto a swinging platform, then off again), and Italian Kitchen (cross a platform, going through a hole and down into a puddle of sauce, then through another hole and get punched by a bouncing bowl of noodles [?], then through another hole, then over two giant cannolis that move). Overall, lots of messiness this time.
Round 2: Scareousel... Start on a red platform, grab onto a red dangler as it comes around, riding it over three hurdles to a designated red finish spot. Then, go up a couple of stairs to a yellow pedestal and wait for a yellow dangler to come around. Ride that past some sweepers to the finish platform. The first four teams to have both members make it across will move on.) [I feel like it took extra long for players to make it across this time. just me?]
Round 3: Wipeout Disco. This is an obstacle course that starts out with a flipping platform that you have to get over, then a platform that bounces, a crankshaft (the easy kind where the pieces parallel to the waterline are even with one another... but the platform you walk across does sway), a knee-sweeper, and a spinning platform to jump onto and off of. [Honestly, this is one of my favorite rounds!] The Disco part refers to fake records and disco balls being thrown at the contestants by people dressed as folks from the 70s. The first pair to get both people across move on. Then, everyone starts over and the next couple to get both people across also move on. Then, do that a third time. [Some great moves on the flipping platform, hahaha!]
Round 4: [what? Is this why the episode is sooooo long? ANOTHER weed-them-out round? grrrr...] This round starts with some mini-interviews... first the guys, then the girls. Beach Bums, Party People, and Bartenders are left. The guys all say that they'd ask out the girls in real life... the girls aren't as in to the guys. Okay, back to the game... Singles Bar. Elevated ten feet above the water, everyone is on individual pedestals. A sweeper arm comes around, and you have to jump over it, though it gets higher as time moves on. Last person to remain standing has to wait until their partner is the last one standing in order to move on... tricky. and lengthy.
WipeoutZone: Chairborne (ride a chair as it launches at an upward angle and soars you into out over the water), then Over-and-Out (very large platforms are on a rotating block... there are several possible ways to wedge yourself on them to ride around and off again, or you can run on and run off. But you have to get by both of them to move on!), then PointBreak (climb up a staircase as 500 gallons of water dumps on you. Then go down a slide and land on a platform... but the entire apparatus is spinning so it's difficult to judge when to slide), then CoinToss (get across a bunch of spinning-end-to-end cylinders). Your team's combined time is what we're using, and they alternate going. Bartenders and BeachBums are competing. Lauren from BeachBums is first. She falls far on Over-and-Out, then falls again. She does the jump-on-run-jump-off approach when nothing else is working. [at least she stopped trying stupid moves!] She lost a shoe messing up the timing on Pointbreak! She finishes at 13:50, with two attempts on CoinToss. Katrina from Bartenders is next. She rushes the Over-and-Out, falls off, then makes it. She slides early from PointBreak but does great on CoinToss, finishing with 12:02. BeachBum Mark goes next, screws up Over-and-Out twice (just not making the jump off well), and takes two tries on the PointBreak as well. CoinToss throws him off and he needs a second try, but he finishes with 22:07 total for the team. Bartender Marcus is last. He struggles on the Over-and-Out, and withe everything, really. He runs out of time after falling on CoinToss. [I got kinda tired watching all those attempts... four people is a lot to go through the Zone...]

Wipeout: A Family Affair

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Wipeout "The Family that Wipeouts Together" (S04E29): 12 family teams begin - 2 members per team. Aflac is now a sponsor of sorts, with an Aflac safety zone for families to watch the Qualifier from, plus an Aflac duck sitting on the fourth big ball that, if grabbed, wins that family $2,000.

Qualifier: Double Bubble Trouble (run, use a diving board to jump off and through hoops that come around to land on an unstable platform... then do it all again), Driver's Ed (get across an area that has pedals popping out, steering wheels spinning, and air bags popping out), Big Balls, Jiggalator (jump onto a vibrating platform, then onto another one, through a hole, and avoid some props while trying to jump to a steady platform), Double Barrel (a large rotating oval has two circles carved out - jump into one, ride it around, then jump out and land on another platform). SquabblingSiblings waste a bunch of time at the beginning because they argue over who should go first... and they laugh at each other quite a bit. They do grab the Aflac duck though. So do CaptainandCadet. [I rather enjoy watching the Double Bubble Trouble. It's new, different, and fun.]
Round 2: [I actually was happy for the six teams that made it this far - they're all entertaining folks. This rarely happens.] Total Carnage (everyone starts on one platform and they have to jump across a dozen or so platforms while dealing with a sweeper arm coming around - one side has three spinning rings hanging down, the other has a crankshaft) is the obstacle. The first three teams to have both members make it all the way move on. JonandKatePlusHate, CaptainandCadet, and DadandGrad move on.
Round 3: WipeoutPlayset (everyone slides down onto a spinning platform. Then, ride sweeper arms across platforms, then use a diving board to jump through a windmill and onto a small slide). The first two families to get both members to the end get to continue on to the final round. The first part - the slides - really trips up the contestants. Jon makes it across first, with a fairly simple run. Cadet gets across next, with a nice wipeout on the sweepers. Dad is next to get through. Grad really struggles on the beginning slide [and looks like she's going to cry after awhile]. Captain makes it, and Kate is the last to finish. [Cadet yelling at Captain was a bit disturbing. The diving-board-through-windmill-to-slide seemed really easy this time for some reason...]
WipeoutZone: Flume of Doom (7-story drop to the water), Iron Maze-In (vertical, spinning maze that contestants must enter through one end, climb through, and exit through the other end), Axel of Evil (ride three rotating prongs on a sweeper from one platform to another), The Great Wall of Fall (cross a wall made up of cylinders that pop out and retract). Jon from JonandKatePlusHate [I do giggle each time I hear the team name!] is first. He struggles on the maze but still finished on the first try. He doesn't land correctly off the Axel of Evil... twice. He still finishes with 7:36. Cadet is next, who makes the Iron Maze-In on the first try but also takes two attempts on the Axel of Evil. His time is 7:43, making it a close race. Kate doesn't make the jump out of Iron Maze-In on time on her first try, but has a great ride hanging by a thread on the Axel of Evil. The combined time for their team is 17:00. Captain has a slow start getting to the Maze-in and climbing through it, but she falls out, wasting a lot of time. She gives up at that point, leaving JonandKatePlusHate the winnings! [it always disappoints me when people give up midway through a round.]

New Obstacle on the Wipeout Qualifier

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Wipeout "Contestants are Dropping Like Flies" (S04E28):
The Qualifier starts with The Flyswatters (Use a zipline to ride into paddles coming at you. twice.), Driver's Ed (cross the gaps in the floor by holding onto a wall that has spinning steering wheels, airbags popping out, and pedals swinging out at you), Big Balls, Jiggalator (jump onto a platform that is violently vibrating. Then jump onto another, this one with a circle to get through as well. then jump off onto a steady platform), Double Barrel (there's an oval-shaped, vertically rotating apparatus with two circles carved out. Jump into one and ride it around so you can jump out onto a platform on the other side). [SuperStache made me laugh.]
Round 2 is Total Carnage... Elevated 10 feet over the water, everyone starts on one platform and has to jump across about a dozen of them. Along the way they'll encounter the two arms of the sweeper - one is a crankshaft and one has three spinning rings hanging down. There are a lot of wipeouts early on. [I wanted PersonalitySucks to move on, haha.]
Round 3 is the Wipeout PlaySet, where you slide down onto a spinning platform, then ride some sweeper arms across platforms to jump onto a diving board and get through a windmill and ride a small slide down at the end. There are three heats, and the first person to finish each round moves on. Surprisingly, most everyone fails at doing the first slide. SuperStache falls off and onto the next platform, amazingly. Sliding off the end of the diving board is unfortunate. WindowWhackJob is the first to get through it. BripeatOffender moves on next, though she juuuuust edged out DinghyDanielle. ManChild is just ridiculous. DinghyDanielle makes it in the third round. [yay.]
The WipeoutZone consists of Flume of Doom (70-foot plunge in 3.5 seconds), Iron Maze-In (giant vertically-spinning maze that's 30 feet high and 85 feet around. You enter in a yellow opening, make your way through, and exit through the red area), Axel of Evil (ride three spinning prongs on a revolving sweeper arm), and Great Wall of Fall (make your way across a wall pretty much made up of pegs that push out and then retract). DinghyDanielle is first. She misses the exit and falls out. She makes it on her second try. She lets go of the prongs on the Axel of Evil at a weird time and slides off the platform. She finishes at 10:23. WindowWhackJob is next and has an amazing run. He doesn't wipe out until the Great Wall of Fall, but ends up finishing at 4:57. BripeatOffender then goes, and she's a screamer! She makes it through Iron Maze-In okay, but the Axel throws her. She ends up running out of time. [my favorite round today was totally the PlaySet, haha.]

Two Wipeouts, No Waiting...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Note: I think I'll be giving up this show when the season ends in a few weeks. It's just not as amusing as it used to be, leaving me with less and less to say besides describing the obstacles. Anyone else finding this show to be dragging on lately?

Wipeout "Bucking Broncos and Jiggling Monkeys" (S04E26): 
The Qualifier: starts with Bucking Broncos (jump from a diving board onto a bucking bronco, then onto an unstable walkway... twice. see photo!), Driver's Ed (get across a wall with a few platforms to stand on, avoiding a pedal pushing out, spinning steering wheels, and airbags that pop out), Big Balls, Monkey Jiggalator (jump onto a shaking platform, then onto another, through a hole, and past two monkeys, then to another platform), Double Barrel (a large oval is spinning vertically. It has two circles carved out - jump into one of them and ride it around, jumping out onto a platform on the other side).  LingerieFootballPlayer comes close on the big balls.
Round 2: is Total Carnage. All contestants start on one platform. They need to jump from platform to the next in a circular pattern, all the while 10 feet above the water. There's also a sweeper coming around - one end has three spinning rings hanging from it and the other end has a crankshaft going. As per the usual, a good half of the contestants get wiped out immediately, and a bunch more a few seconds later. The crankshaft's three pieces are no longer alternating completely - they're staggered, making it more difficult. Six guys move on, which is rare.
Round 3: Wipeout Playset. Everyone rides individual slides to a spinning platform in the middle. Then, get past a few sweeper arms. After that, bounce from a diving board through a spinning windmill onto a slide to the finish. [yeah, it is a bit strange!] The first person to finish each of three heats moves on to the WipeoutZone. Finishers include TheInappropriateFan, Geologist, and TheBully.
The WipeoutZone: contains The Towering Flume of Doom (7-story plummet into the water), Iron Maze-In (vertical spinning maze - enter in the yellow, make your way through the maze, get to the red, get out), Axel of Evil (sweeper arm that comes around, you have to grab onto the spinning prongs and ride those to another platform), and the Great Wall of Fall (a wall full of pegs to cross that pop out and retract). InappropriateFan is first. He needs two attempts on both the Iron Maze-In and the Axel of Evil. He has some fancy footwork on the Great Wall of Fall, finishing at 11:31. Next up is Geologist. He gets stuck in the maze a bit, but makes it out just fine. He also takes on the Axel of Evil without any problems. He pushes through, finishing at 4:55 with everything! TheBully doesn't have a great run, especially taking three attempts on the Axel of Evil. Eventually, he just runs out of time. 

Wipeout "Ballsy's Playground" (S04E27):   [as a whole, I liked today's contestants. I thought they were pretty funny, the nicknames were amusing, and the jokes made by the Johns were hilarious.]
Qualifier: Ballsy's Playground (zipline into a foam pit, then get past a tilting/spinning merry-go-round), Driver's Ed (get across a wall that has steering wheels spinning, air bags popping out, and pedals flinging out... and only a few points to stand on), Big Balls, Jiggalator (jump onto a violently shaking platform, then onto another, then off to a steady platform), Aquatic Adventure (really the Double Barrel - vertical rotating oval with two circles cut out - you jump in one, ride around, and jump out onto a platform). [Nudist was funny on the zipline. There's a girl they describe as a high schooler... so did they film this earlier and not think through the fact they weren't airing it until the summer? or is she just going into her senior year? Because if that's the case, those digs on "Class of 2011" aren't correct...]
Round 2:  Total Carnage. Everyone stand on one platform, ten feet above the water. They have to jump from one platform to the next, but as they go they need to avoid a crankshaft that comes around, plus a trio of spinning rings. [some great wipeouts on both the crankshaft and the rings.] PhotoBomber finishes first. [he was one I would've bet on! and, apparently Dunkin' Donuts is now a sponsor of sorts...]
Round 3: Detour - get over some bouncing pedestals and sweeper arms, a rotating block, a spinning circle, and some tilty platforms. First one to make it through in each of three heats goes on.
WipeoutZone: includes the Flume of Doom (7-story plummet), Iron Maze-In (giant vertical spinning maze. enter on the yellow half, make your way through, and exit from the red half), Axel of Evil (an arm is spinning around with three rotating prongs on the end. Grab them and ride them to the next platform), The Great Wall of Fall (climb across pegs that push out and retract from a wall). DinoDan is first. He has a great Flume and a great Maze-In, though he slips on the Axel his first time. The Wall of Fall doesn't give him problems, but he falls off of the finish platform so he has a long swim back to try that obstacle again. He finishes at 6:00, which is still pretty competitive! BrokenHearted is next. [looks like she's holding her breath long before the flume even starts!] She's pretty slow in getting around and ultimately falls out to late. On her second try, she climbs in the other direction and ends up falling out AGAIN. She's quick enough on her third try, but misses the jump... and time runs out. Last is WildThang. He goes into Iron Maze-In clockwise and ends up missing the jump out. He makes it on his second try, but at that point he only has one minute to go... he makes the Axis of Evil just fine, but a fall on The Great Wall of Fall pushes his time too far.

Halloween on Teen Mom & 2 Eps of Wipeout

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Teen Mom "Trick or Treat" (S03E05): Halloween all around.
Maci: Maci talks to Ryan about Bentley's birthday party and trick-or-treating. Maci and Kyle take Bentley to the aquarium for his birthday, where they see he's afraid of a lot of the animals. When Ryan has Bentley, his parents tell him he needs to get the kid more often. They have his second birthday at a Pump It Up place. Ryan wants to go to court. [I agree that Maci isn't being fair.] Bentley dresses up as Barney. 
Farrah: Farrah is in her last semester of culinary school. Her mom is gluten-free. She's working on a business plan as part of her final. Farrah's mom had her do too much business stuff in the project and it got a negative reaction from the faculty. [so... what's next? Is Farrah actually going to open a restaurant? is she going to move?] We don't see Sophia go trick-or-treating, but she does paint a pumpkin.   

Amber:  Amber is getting harassed in public because all of her issues are in the paper. [haha, sucks to be her.] So she and Leah are looking for another house to rent. [if Amber is having issues with people bothering her, why would she just say "come in" when there's a knock at the door??] Gary seems to have gotten his license back, but Amber still doesn't have a valid one. [her constant complaining is so annoying. if she didn't act stupidly, there'd be nothing to be upset over. GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, AMBER!] She finds a realtor who will drive her to see a few places. [::shaking my head::] Gary's mom takes Leah trick-or-treating because Amber would just get harassed. She finds a place to live. Leah dresses up as Cinderella, in a costume Amber's mother put together.  
Catelynn: They go to a haunted corn maze. Catelynn needs a resume to apply for a specific job and she doesn't have one. Catelynn tells the store owner that she doesn't have a resume [why not make one?? but, honestly, I blame the schools. We had to create one first quarter of ninth grade and turn in an updated one once or twice a year. As a result, I got in the habit of updating it regularly before I ever had a job.] Tyler tries to apply at a pizza place. Catelynn is probably graduating in March, but Tyler says he'll start college in January. [how does that work?]  Tyler got the job, and he's thrilled. [Why isn't Catelynn applying to more than one place?] Catelynn gets her job, just 1-2 days a week.

Wipeout "Ballsy Gets a Hard hat" (S04E24): The Qualifier starts with the Car Wash (cross a floor next to a wall that has panels popping out... while being bombarded with soapy foam), then Driver's Ed (get across a series of blocks, holding onto spinning steering wheels that sometimes have airbags pop out from them... plus pedal shooting out), the Big Balls, the Jiggalator (two vibrating platforms you have to cross), and the Double Barrel (large rotating oval with two circles carved into it. Jump in and ride around, trying to get out onto a platform on the other side). Next, Total Carnage - everyone starts on one platform, having to leap from one to the next, trying to avoid a sweeper arm that comes around with a crankshaft on one end and three spinning rings on the other. Lots of early wipeouts this time. Onward to Round 3, Detour. Here, contestants have to go through an obstacle course of sorts, consisting of bouncing pedestals, sweepers, spinning platforms, tilting platforms, and bricks being thrown at you. After one person makes it through, everyone starts over for rounds 2 and 3. [BodyGuard is agile on this one!] Photo finish on the winner of the second round.... CheerMom beats out Rambow just slightly. But that's okay, Rambow got it in the third round. The WipeoutZone starts with Flume of Doom (7-story plummet), Iron Maze-in (enter a vertical, rotating maze on the yellow, climb through it to exit through the red), Axel of Evil (ride three revolving prongs on the end of a sweeper arm to get to another platform), and Great Wall of Fall (get across a wall pretty much made of pegs that shoot out and retract). Rambow is first and takes the clockwise route on the Iron Maze-In. He comes close but falls trying to land on his exit. He chooses the counter-clockwise strategy after that, and exits just fine. He fumbles once on the Axis of Evil and once on the Great Wall of Fall (where he succeeded mostly on the worm method). He finishes at 16:37. CheerMom is next, and she slips up once on Iron Maze-In, twice on Axis of Evil... and time runs out before she ever gets to Great Wall of Fall. Except, she decided she wanted to finish anyway... [odd. but good for her.] BodyGuard had a great start but bounces around in the Iron Maze-In a little bit. He's still got a great run, landing the first two big obstacles without wiping out. The Great Wall of Fall causes him a tiny bit of trouble, but he still finishes at [a very impressive] 4:41. 
 
Thursday:

Wipeout "Is That a Potato in Your Sack or Are You Just Happy to Wipeout?" (S04E25): [longest title ever, no?] The Qualifier starts with Kindergarten Chaos (run along a wall, hopping over some ropes while getting pelted with finger paint and kickballs), Big Balls, Mood Swing (use a slide to get to a swinging platform, then jump off and onto the platform on the other side), and Nana's Kitchen (climb through bouncing holes while dealing with bouncing bowls of food and pits of gunk. Then get yourself over two corn dogs that move around hydraulically). LandShark has a good run, especially on the Big Balls. [DoubleCornea had an interesting story - was blind until two years ago when she underwent a double-cornea-transplant.] DoubleCornea actually made it across the big balls! [though it sure didn't look like she would when she careened toward the first one!] Next, Scare-ousel: Everyone on a red platform. Get across a couple pedestals, grab onto a red dangler, ride it over some bouncing hurdles to a specified platform, cross a few more pedestals, ride a yellow dangler over some sweepers to the finish spot! Onward to SuperSack. All wearing potato sacks, contestants have to jump over a sweeper arm that comes around... while standing on pedestals 10 feet over the water. Last person standing in each of three heats moves on. Jermaine wins the first round. LandShark takes the second. PumpkinFarmer takes the third slot. [BellyLaughs was hilarious, too bad she didn't make it to the Zone.] The WipeoutZone includes Chariborne, Over-and-Out (jump onto a giant rotating platform and either run fast and get off again, or brace yourself between it and smaller platforms to ride it around and then jump off. then do it all a second time), Pointbreak (climb up some stairs to go down a slide, hoping to land in a specific area... because the whole contraption is revolving and 500 gallons of water comes down on you while climbing the stairs), and CoinToss (race across a bunch of cylinders spinning end-to-end). LandShark is first. He struggled hard on Over-and-Out, not even getting past it until around 12:40. He speeds through the remainder of the course though, with a final time of 13:38! [didn't see him being a good competitor after the Over-and Out!] Jermaine is next, and after one fall from the Over-and-Out, he quits due to shoulder pain. [more and more people are quitting midway lately, it seems.] PumpkinFarmer struggles a bit on each obstacle, but ultimately wins with a time of 13:03. [This show is starting to wear on me... though the mentioned that there will be crazy new obstacles next week, so let's keep with it...]

Campfire Cake; Maci Moves Again; Workplace Wipeout

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Recaps & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Teen Mom, and Wipeout. Spoilers abound, so don't jump down if you don't want to know what happens!

Collage of Cancer Cakes; Duggar Extractions; Ryan and Kyle Meet

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Recaps & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, 19 Kids and Counting, Teen Mom, and Wipeout. Spoilers abound, so don't jump down if you don't want to know what happens!

101st Birthday Cake; Adoption Special; Repeat Contenders

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Recaps & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: 19 Kids and Counting, 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Wipeout. Spoilers abound, so don't jump down if you don't want to know what happens!

Duggar Book Process; Original Teen Mom Back; New Wipeout Obstacle

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Recaps & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: 19 Kids and Counting, Teen Mom, and Wipeout. Spoilers abound, so don't jump down if you don't want to know what happens!

Sofia's Communion; Gosselin Dinner; Duggars Snowed In

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Recaps & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, 19 Kids and Counting, 16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout. Spoilers abound, so don't jump down if you don't want to know what happens!

Wipeout Back; Gosselins Give Back; 16 and Pregnant Updates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, 19 Kids and Counting, 16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout.

Wipeout Renewed; Glee Gets Writers; Roseanne Back

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Wipeout was renewed for a fifth season. Also, new camera techniques will be added, and Vanessa Minnillo will take over for Jill.

If you'd like to read about the newest season of Burn Notice (back Thursday!), as well as an exclusive clip, go here.

Charlie Sheen's trial will not be aired live, as a federal judge ordered it be settled by private arbitration rather than a public trial by jury.

Glee now has a writing staff. And, the kids on Glee will graduate next spring.

Before he resigned last week, Anthony Weiner was offered the opportunity to play himself on Entourage.

In the first photo released of the newest Duggar, Michael James, Jana is missing. I'm not sure why.

Lance Bass has apparently sold six reality shows, including one that will be about putting together boy bands, which we'll see on VH1.

If you haven't seen the all-Betty-White AARP commercial, here you go. I love it.


We're going to be at Comic-Con this year. So will panels from The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Fringe, Nikita, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, Childrens Hospital, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The Looney Tunes Show, MAD, and ThunderCats, among others. From that list, I'm most looking forward to ThunderCats!!  Here's the WB announcement.

Josh Cooke, who played Ben on Better with You, will have a recurring role on Dexter.

Conan O'Brien will have a small role (like in the background) on How I Met Your Mother next season. In the same interview I linked to, Neil Patrick Harris says that he's "Papa" and David is "Daddy" to their children. I think that's really cute.

CBS will be hosting the Grammys for ten more years.

Roseanna Barr is going to be back on television next month, as Roseanne's Nuts premieres on Lifetime July 13th. Sixteen half-hour episodes have been ordered.

DirecTV has come out with an anti-microbial remote for use in hotels.

Babies Share a Room; Another Crappy Dad; Engaged Wipeouts

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Pregnant in Heels,16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout.

Minimal Summaries this Week...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Pregnant in Heels,16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout. 

Note: Complete reviews were written for Pregnant in Heels and 16 and Pregnant, but Blogger's outage erased them. So, I jotted down a few notes from what I can remember at this point (I was hoping that they'd come back like they were supposed to, but apparently not), and Wipeout still has a full review.  

Kate in Philly, No Mummy IQ, A GingaNinja

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Kate Plus Eight, Pregnant in Heels,16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout.

Vacuum Boycott, New Minister in Cleveland, Name that Obstacle!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

If you're interested in winning season 2 of Growing Pains or season 6 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, head over to Things 90s Kids Realize and leave a comment!

Remember Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead? Christina Applegate played a teenager who convinced a fashion company that she was an adult, so they gave her a job. We saw this again on Arrested Development with Maeby convincing people that she was old enough to work at a movie studio. Well, ABCFamily is going to have a show focused on this concept next season: it's called Jane by Design, and Jane is a high-schooler who also happens to be a fashion assistant. 

Kelsey Grammer is producing a new reality show, based on the blog, ThatsNotOkayNY.com, written by three single female twentysomethings.

In the ongoing Charlie Sheen drama, he claimed talks were happening to get him back on the show. Then, WB lawyers said that there have been no talks.  Then, Sheen's lawyers came back saying that yes, talks have been happening.

Doris Roberts has three upcoming guest roles, on The Middle, Grey's Anatomy, and Hot in Cleveland.

Soap operas One Life to Live and All My Children have been canceled. Hoover Vacuums is boycotting the cancellation and encouraging others to do so as well.

NICK renewed iCarly for a fifth season.

We just saw the episode of Teen Mom 2 where Leah and Corey got married, but apparently they've already filed for divorce. 

Hot in Cleveland is plotting a spin-off that would center around Cedric the Entertainer, who will play a minister. This intrigues me.

It's no surprise that FOX wants to burn off the remaining episodes of the canceled Running Wilde. However, it's going to burn them off on FX instead, which is different.

CBS has pulled Chaos after only three episodes. That's mighty fast!

You have the chance to help name a new obstacle on ABC's Wipeout!

Mauro does Morocco; Kate with a Koala

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & Commentaries for unscripted shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, Teen Mom 2, Pregnant in Heels, and Wipeout.

Katie, Meredith, Jill all Quit; Some Renewals & Cancellations

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Katie Couric is going to stop hosting the CBS Evening News to host a daytime talk show.

Similarly, Meredith Vieira will be leaving Today to care for her ill husband.

My So-Called Life will be appearing on The Sundance Channel. It will start April 25th at 11pm.

Bob's Burgers got renewed, which surprises me. This means that FOX has five shows for "Animation Domination" next season... this should lead to a rotating schedule... not a great thing for anyone!

MTV has announced that they're going to have two spin-offs from Jersey Shore. One will focus on Snooki and JWoww. The other will focus on DJ Pauly D.

As is a hot topic right now, House has not yet been renewed. If an agreement isn't reached by the 15th, it may end up on NBC instead of FOX. And, Robert Sean Leonard, who plays James Wilson on the show, may not sign a new contract if it is renewed. He's preparing to open a new show on Broadway (he was a Great White Way Vet long before House) which would interfere with the start of next season, at least.

Burn Notice will be back on Thursday, June 23rd, at 9pm. 

The Discovery Channel started a twitter contest yesterday, requiring contestants to post specific types of photos.

CMT's Working Class has been canceled. It's not looking too good for Better With You, although there is still a chance for it to be renewed.

Hulk Hogan has a six-episode show coming to TruTv... about Micro Champion Wrestling... for little people.

Jill Wagner has decided to leave Wipeout after this summer... the show is already looking for a replacement.

No Showtime on Netflix; Futurama Renewed; New Betty White

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Tyra Banks is going to Harvard, if you didn't know. And, the business school there requires you to live on-campus... so if you're interested, hear Tyra talk about it for a minute or so here. 


Clarissa Now. Ever heard of it? It was meant to be a sequel to Clarissa Explains it All, but it never made it past the pilot. You can see the pilot now.


Retired at 35 got renewed, Hot in Cleveland's next season got extended, and TVLand picked up two MORE sitcoms. Getting busy over at that network!

Netflix and Showtime will no longer have an agreement, as Showtime wants people to subscribe to their network in order to see their shows.

Futurama got renewed for a 26-episode seventh season. The episodes will air in two batches of 13 each, one set in 2012 and one in 2013. 

The Paul Reiser Show will replace Perfect Couples starting Thursday, April 14th, at 8:30pm.

Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79.

The new ThunderCats has another video available if you're interested. 

In light of the nuclear problems in Japan, several countries have pulled episodes of The Simpsons that make jokes of nuclear meltdowns.

Wipeout Canada films in Argentina, along with a bunch of other countries' versions. You can read a little more about it here.

We're in the middle of CBS' "tweet week."

Betty White has another new show. This time she'll be pulling pranks on people. Look for it on NBC.