Missed your favourite shows? No problem. Primetime update gives you the rundown.
Friends
Last week we witnessed a bachelorette party, a college alumni party, as well as a hoard of flashbacks.
This week we hop right into wedding preparations, including Phoebe’s request that Joey walk her down the isle, and Monica as the wedding planner who freaks out about many little details such as times, music, food, and even the presence of Rachel’s daughter Emma. We then learn that Ross and Chandler are not a part of the wedding party, which is immediately followed by the falling out of one of Mike’s groomsmen, leaving an opening for only one of the guys. The responsibility of choosing which one is passed from Mike to Phoebe (as she knows them better), and then on to Rachel.
At the rehearsal dinner, Phoebe tries to practice her speech but is constantly prompted by Monica to change what she wants to say, and cut it shorter for time’s sake. However, in response, a fed up Phoebe blows up at her friend, and fires her as a wedding planner; but the later stress of making all the arrangements is a little bit too much and she has to re-ask Monica to take control.
Throughout the whole episode, Joey takes the “father thing” way too far, by interrogating Mike and the whole nine:
Rachel tells both Ross and Chandler that she’s chosen them for Mike’s last minute groomsman. In the heat of the argument, Mike comes in and announces that he’d like his dog to be his third groomsmen.
After all the final decisions are made, the group looks outside and sees the huge blizzard that will inhibit the big plans. But Rachel suggests that the couple should get married on the street (in front of Central Perk), since the snow has slightly stopped. All (even Monica) agree and the stage is set.
In the end, Ross has to walk Mike’s dog down the aisle, and since the minister is snowed in, Joey must perform the ceremony, leaving Chandler to walk Phoebe down the aisle. In the end the ceremony is so beautiful and heartfelt that even I shed water like Niagara:
Next week: a family crisis sends Rachel back into Ross’s arms.
Friends airs on Thursdays at 9:00pm Alberta Time, on Global (channel 7 in Calgary)
Survivor – ALL STARS
Last week the tribes spent four days without water or fire, a mystery box, and Saboga won reward and chose to give all three tribes fire. In the end, however, Saboga went to tribal council and Rudy was voted out.
This week we start off with Mogo Mogo discussing their bug bites, and the visuals are worse than the descriptions: each tribe member is just covered in welts. Jenna is hurting worse than everyone else, which is aggravated by the fact that she’s not eating and drinking.
And then there is Richard: Naked as all get out he goes after a shark. Seriously guys a shark. He sticks his hand under a rock and grabs the tail of a shark, then tries to stab it with a spear. The sucker comes out and bites him and won’t let go. So Richard bites him back, then drags him to shore and bashes his head on a rock. His tribe is impressed, not so much by what he’s got downstairs, but by his ability to provide.
On Saboga, the energy comes from nowhere and everyone gets stuff done. But, the competition for Alpha male heightens as Ethan tries to get fish the way Rupert does, and it gives Rupert a laugh. Rupert becomes the wise man by talking about the importance of Unity.
For the reward challenge, sponsored by Home Depot, each tribe is provided with some building supplies. Those who build the best shelter win a reward.
On Chapera, Sue and Tom argue over the shelter, and since only four people can participate, Sue and Amber sit out. Boston Rob is great as a leader since this is what he does for a living. Rob C and Alicia mope about how the “big boys” won’t let them play. Meanwhile, Amber admires the muscles of the Boston kid.
On Saboga, Rupert has the tribe aiming towards a log cabin. However, big mouth Jerri tries her best argue. It comes down to a vote, and Jerri loses. Later, a huge underground tree trunk that they can’t move destroys their cabin plan. Criticism comes out, and spirits are destroyed. Rupert goes completely mad.
On Mogo Mogo, the guys (Lex and Colby) aim for a fully equipped tree house, while Shii Ann and Jenna “help” them. Richard and Kathy happily volunteer to sit out. When Jenna and Shii Ann make some stupid girly suggestions, the guys ignore them.
Jenna Morasca expresses her worry about her Mom, and whether or not it was a good idea for her to leave again. Pity party. We all know how I feel about pity parties. This is the Jenna who won Survivor: Amazon (which really ticked me off to begin with). The Amazon is famous for the strength of the female warriors. If the woman who represents this strength is nothing but a whining sniffling wimp, she should be stripped of her title. If you question anything you do, I will question your character.
When the contractor goes to examine the shelters, he grabs a hold of everything and shakes it really hard. Mogo Mogo seems to pass the test easily as does Chapera. Saboga, however, presents a semi-underground shelter, with loose roof pieces, etc. Their confidence is completely shattered. The reward is dropped on Chapera’s beach. The box contains a tarp, blankets, and wine (which hits Amber to the point that she talks about kissing Boston Rob).
After the reward challenge, a storm rolls through and freezes everyone. Instead of sitting in the shelter out of the rain, Jenna M tells everyone that her priorities have changed, and she makes the decision to walk. Damn Pity Parties. Stupid things ruin the game. The rest of the tribe criticizes the decision, and talks of the loss the tribe would be suffering.
At the Immunity Challenge Jenna makes the public announcement that she’s going to pull herself out of the game. The rest of the castaways support her decision. Chapera and Saboga get a free ticket to the next round and Mogo Mogo loses a tribe member. I’m a happier person for it. Weakness only gives way to more weakness. Only the strong survive. The game would go nowhere without strength, however knowledge and therefore intuition have an important place in this world. Jenna knew that if her mother died while she was away she would regret that she never spent all the time she could with her. Jenna will look back on her decision not as a moment of weakness, but as a chance to say good-bye to the only woman who gave Jenna life.
And, now we discover the reason I hate pity parties. Sadness is the one emotion that no one has control over. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a parent. Even me: I had a good cry.
Next week: Rob and Amber heat things up, more storms and tears, and a physical battle against each other.
Statistics
CHAPERA
Alicia Calaway – 35 years old, 9th place in Australian Outback (1st Juror)
Amber Brkich – 25 years old, 6th place in Australian Outback (4th Juror)
Rob Cesternino – 25 years old, 3rd place in Amazon
Rob Mariano – 28 years old, 10th place in Marquesas (Boston Rob)
Susan Hawk – 42 years old, 4th place in Pulau Tiga (Big Mouth)
Tom Buchanan – 48 years old, 4th place in Africa (Pig farmer)
SABOGA
Ethan Zohn – 30 years old, SOLE SURVIVOR of Africa (soccer player)
Jenna Lewis – 26 years old, 8th place in Pulau Tiga (2nd Juror)
Jerri Manthey – 33 years old, 8th place in Australian Outback (2nd Juror)
Rudy Boesch – 76 years old, 3rd place in Pulau Tiga (retired navy man) GONE 2ND
Rupert Boneham – 40 years old, 8th place in Pearl Islands (2nd Juror)
Tina Wesson – 42 years old, SOLE SURVIVOR of Australian Outback GONE 1st
MOGO MOGO
Colby Donaldson – 29 years old, 2nd place in Australian Outback
Jenna Morasca – 22 years old, SOLE SURVIVOR of Amazon
Lex Van Den Berghe – 40 years old, 3rd place in Africa
Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien – 50 years old, 3rd place in Marquesas
Richard Hatch – 42 years old, SOLE SURVIVOR of Pulau Tiga (big naked gay guy)
Shii Ann Huang – 30 years old, 10th place in Thailand
Survivor airs on Thursdays at 9:00pm Alberta Time, on Global (channel 7 in Calgary)
The Bachelorette
The Bachelorette (Wednesday, February11, 2004, 10:00pm)
HOMETOWN DATES!!
Friendswood, TX, with MATHEW.
The couple goes for a walk and has a picnic, and Mathew plays on the swings. Later when they meet his family, the questions hit like wildfire. Despite the questions, Meredith was comfortable. Matt’s mom reads a prepared toast (poem), which touches the hearts of all.
Buffalo, NY, with Chad.
Chad lives with his mother, and has since his father passed away. After a short talk, they head over to Chad’s sister’s house for dinner. The family feels like they’ve known Meredith for a long time. All of a sudden the bomb springs that Chad is UNEMPLOYED. Later, Chad’s mom gives him her ring, to give to Meredith. After they say good-bye, Meredith talks about how good she feels when she’s with him, but on my mind, the jerk is unemployed.
New York, NY, with Ian.
We know Ian as the guy who won’t open up. Ian tells her that he’s not comfortable with her meeting his whole family at once, however, she meets his brother. Ian opens up to Meredith with his family. Later they go up to Ian’s friend Damian’s loft apartment, where Erik pries into what it is that she wants out of this. In the kitchen Ian admits that his emotions are completely screwed up. Meredith tells the guys that she’s ready to get married. Ian and Meredith spend some time alone in the apartment but Erik comes back in and steals Ian away for some conversation. In the end, Ian promises his brother that he WILL NOT offer Meredith a ring at the end of the show. Meredith admits that Erik makes her uncomfortable.
Aubrey, TX, with Lanny.
They spend some time on the ranch, and Lanny introduces her to his position as manager of breeding. Lanny’s mother gets right into the serious stuff, such as her own role as a mother-in-law, as well as religion, to which Meredith replies that she’s “open.” Lanny’s mom has too much mouth. Meredith admits that it was hard to sit at the family’s table.
So, on the scoreboard:
Mathew: hot, nice, and great family
Chad: hot, nice, and great family, but he lied about being unemployed.
Ian: weird. If it were me this would be the guy to go.
Lanny: Well, the two of them share a great connection, however the relationship Meredith has with the family tends to stifle the mood.
At the rose ceremony: Jeff welcomes each guy one by one, and they don’t have the chance to talk. After looking at the video messages I have an inkling that Chad will make it to the end, but we’ll see. Meredith offers roses to Ian, Mathew, and Chad, leaving Lanny to go back home to his overprotective Mama.
Every week they play the same sappy song as the loser says good-bye, it’s not even a surprise anymore.
Next Week: Intimate overnight dates. The guys start to express their real feelings.
The Bachelorette airs on Wednesdays at 10:00pm Alberta Time
The Apprentice
The Apprentice (Thursday, February 12, 2004, 10:00 pm)
Last week, after four strait losses, the men’s team was destroyed in a corporate reshuffle leaving Amy, Erica, Katrina, Tammy, Bill, and Nick on Versacorp and Kristi, Heidi, Omarosa, Jesse, Troy, and Kwame on Protégé Corporation. Both teams were given a thousand dollars to buy what they wanted and then resell it at a flea market. Versacorp made almost six hundred dollars profit, whereas because of some lost cash, Protégé Corp took a net loss of almost two hundred. In the end Kristi failed to defend herself, and she was fired.
Right off the bat, the rest of the competitors are shocked as heck to see Omarosa come back on the project. Omarosa decides that she must step up to be project manager so that she has more control over what happens.
This week the task is to negotiate with five celebrities to get donations for a charity auction for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Versacorp manages to get the following commitments:
Regis Philbin – Limo to Atlantic City, participate in dress rehearsal, and then late night dinner with Regis – sells for $6000.00
Carson Daly – personal guest for Z100 FM Jingle Ball with backstage passes- sells for $10,000.00
Tiki Barber – package sells for $4000.00
Ed Bernero (Co-creator of Third Watch) – sells for $7000.00
Rocco’s Restaurant (Rocco DiSpirto) – Private Party for 50 people – sells for $13000.00
The team is frustrated first when Tammy suggests that Carson Daly should commit to treating someone to a golf match with Tiger Woods or a private weekend away with the highest bidder! Her team members call her a loose canon. This is confirmed later when she suggests Regis Philbin take the highest bidder on a four-day getaway.
Protégé Corporation manages to get the following commitments:
Russell Simmons – spend one evening with the highest bidder – sells for $7000.00
Kate White (Editor of Cosmopolitan) – Cosmo Day – sells for $6000.00
Nicole Miller (Jennifer Anniston’s designer) – 15-day apprenticeship – sells for $6000.00
Fab Five (Cast of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”) – Disco Bowling and Cocktails – sells for $9000.00
Isaac Mizrahi (designer) – tickets to a preview of his fashion collection and lunch as well as eight personal outfits – sells for $7000.00
Jesse talks to Isaac as though he were a four year old, which forces everyone to think she’s the weakest link when it comes to negotiations.
Auction at Sotheby’s
SCOREBOARD: Total of $75,000.00
Versacorp – 35,000.00
Protégé Corporation – $40,000.00
No reward for the winning team, but Nick and Amy reward themselves by spending a lot of time together. Nick says that they’re just friends, but both parties seem smitten.
Going into the boardroom the fight is between Omarosa as the project manager and Jesse who failed in her negotiations. Everyone was surprised that Omarosa was a wonderful leader. Everyone also stands behind Omarosa’s choice of Jessie being the weakest link. However, Trump talks about the sharp edge that Omarosa has and how people shouldn’t like her considering the way she speaks to them.
Trump is disgusted by the way Omarosa disrespects her teammates, but worse: Trump hates the way Jesse took so much crap from Omarosa without standing up for herself and he fires her.
Next Week: ten remain and the tension goes up as people are again accused of being unethical. Each team must renovate and rent a NYC apartment and Omarosa gets injured and is sent off the job. As well, after a surprising phone call, Heidi might be forced out of the game.
The Apprentice airs on Wednesday evenings at 10:00 pm Alberta Time
If there are any other shows you want updates on, or any comments you wish to make, please email me at abaldwin@shaw.ca!