JayRo Watches: Expedition Impossible

(No true spoilers here.)

I watched the first episode of Expedition Impossible and enjoyed it a lot. That's all you need to know.

Well, maybe some description would be nice.

Expedition Impossible is essentially Mark Burnett's ode to the Amazing Race. It uses the familiar checkpoint/roadblock method of racing, but eliminates (a) the travelling from country to country via plane and (b) the puzzle side of determining where you have to go next. Both are replaced by having to traverse the landscape of Morocco, whether that be the desert, the canyons or the snow capped mountains. The last team to check in at the pit stop cross the finish line is eliminated.

One improvement on the Amazing Race is some of the humour added by "translating" the locals. (I put translating in quotes because it's not completely clear whether the locals are actually saying what the subtitles say.) On the Amazing Race, you normally are left to wonder what these locals are thinking about the crazy Americans doing wacky things in their country. Here, you get an answer, and it can be amusing.

The addition of team names is a mixed blessing - it's nice to have an easy way to identify the teams from the outset, but the names are pretty plain. They are pretty descriptive of the idea behind the team though, so again, it is appreciated.

If you like the Amazing Race, you will enjoy this show. It has all of the features of the amazing race, with some gorgeous shots of the Moroccian landscape that only a Mark Burnett production can provide.

It's all in how you present it

Robin Leach talked about Gordon Ramsay and his new Las Vegas restaurant and Hell's Kitchen when he wrote this:

Hell’s Kitchen is now the longest-running, non-celebrity contestant, reality TV challenge program, surpassing Donald Trump’s The Apprentice.

My first reaction was to try to come up with a snarky comment about Survivor not counting because it wasn't filmed in the US, and American Idol not counting because too many people watch it. But then I started to think to try to understand exactly what he was saying. So, I went to Wikipedia to see if they had a reference for that "non-celebrity contestant, reality TV challenge program" line It has this to say:

Hell's Kitchen has surpassed The Apprentice (hosted by Donald Trump) in number of non-celebrity-contestant seasons

So, I have no clue as to what a "non-celebrity contestant, reality TV challenge program" is. If I had to guess, it's a show where the winner is determined by some sort of judging and not by any sort of calculated measurement.

The true question now is where did Leach get this line? Did somebody read what Wikipedia said and then give it a bit of a flourish? did a PR flack give him that line to add into his column? Or was it a simple misinterpretation?

No matter what the reason is, that line is one hell of a thin slice to make in order to puff up somebody whose ego doesn't need any more inflating. But that is Robin Leach's style - gush about his subjects and write puff pieces. He doesn't need to question something so specific sounding. Why would somebody lie about something as specific as "non-celebrity contestant, reality TV challenge program." What would be the benefit of being the longest lasting of such a niche group?

I don't think there's a benefit to being the longest running anything of a limited subsection of television; it's clear that others believe that being number one in something has to be a positive.

The Art of the Misdirection

When I was much younger, I had some eclectic tastes and interests. One thing that interested me was the rise of Donald Trump. I read Trump: The Art of the Deal with a lot of interest. I own a first edition of Trump: The Game(*)

(*) That reminds me that I should play this again sometime.

This is a roundabout way to say that I'm not surprised by what he's been doing by flirting with running to be president of the United States. And nor will I be surprised when he doesn't formally declare as a candidate.

The biggest thing to realize about Donald Trump is that the biggest reason he has been so successful in business is his name. Trump has built the Trump name up to be one of the biggest hotel brands in the world. And his method of building up that Trump name is to get personally involved in many other projects, whether that be the USFL or Trump Ice, his brand of bottled water.

Once he gets involved in these projects, one of three things occur - either the project is a success and he's able to claim some credit for the success, the project is slightly successful and Trump takes credit for this part of the success, or it fails and Trump avoids being the scapegoat by placing the blame elsewhere.

So let's look at his recent musings about running for President.

The first key to his musing is that Trump recognizes that there is no shining star in the Republican ranks to take a run at President Obama in 2012. The early returns on the presidential candidates is that there are no good candidates there; the best option is Milt Romney and he does not appeal to the Tea Party part of the Republican caucas.

Trump saw this and took advantage. He knew by flirting with running, the public would know his name and this would allow him to do well in polls. In turn, this would give him some credibility with the journalists who would otherwise dismiss his flirtation as a publicity stunt. (This isn't to say that it still isn't being dismissed by some as a publicity stunt; instead any "publicity stunt" argument comes with a caveat that Trump is polling well and might be resonating with the public.)

Next, Trump starts making stump speeches in locations. These speeches contain a lot of "no nonsense" talk about the economy and what needs to be done to fix it. It appeals to the Tea Party side of the crowd which again helps him with polling, along with getting the positive attention of other Tea Party representatives. These representatives defend him on panels, and further the mystique of a Trump presidential run.

And then there was the birther nonsense. Trump knew that it was a no lose issue for him to tackle. The group that he was trying to get the support of was already of the opinion that President Obmaa was hiding not being born in the US. Trump also knew that he didn't need to have the support of the more mainstream Republicans, as he wasn't planning on running for president. This meant he wouldn't have to worry about the long term ramifications of this line of attack.

The end result if Obama did not release his birth certificate is that Trump could rage on about how untrustworthy Obama was, and that he was hiding something. Trump would essentially be in the same position he was before persuing the Birther argument. Fans/supporters who disagreed with Trump would be likely to dismiss it as another exampleof Trump's blowhard antics, which makes him appealing to watch. The fans/supporters would stay.

Now, when Obama did release his birth certificate, Trump was very quick to take credit for the release. This ended up helping him in two main ways. First, he was able to solidify his position amongst the outsiders of the Republican party. He gained more influence with them, and thus gained more influence in the Republican party. he will now be somebody who the eventual Republican Presidential candidate will have to court.

Second, this gave Trump his exit strategy. He can now say that he has accomplished something in his teasing of running for president, so he can declare it a victory and an accomplishment which nobody else can. He can be gracious in leaving by just saying that he is confident that the Republican candidate is now better equipped to lead the party against Obama (or something). That was the end game for Trump - find a way to say you accmomplished something, while not actually putting yourself out for scrutiny.

(Why has Trump continued on with his attacks by saying that the certificate could have been forged? Because until he announces he is not running for president, Trump needs to keep his base comfortable and activated.)

What's the next step for Trump? Continue on, then on the Celebrity Apprentice finale, announce you will not be running. Then promote your latest venture, while still using your position to keep your values in the forefront.

Trump's motives are prety clear most of the time. You just have to know where to look.

A quick post on the Amazing Race

It's always frustrating when the most deserving teams end up 3 and 4, while the teams that coasted through end up 1 and 2.

Blog post - saved

I was going to go tackle this article by John Doyle in regards to the apparent flood of singing competition shows (which is to say, the three of them). But then I saw this article by Doyle and see that he's really just repeating an article that he wrote 6 months ago. If he's not going to bother to put in an effort, why should I?

Grind My Gears: A random thought as I catch up on my DVR

I'm watching this week's Poker After Dark, and a situation arose which has annoyed me with a lot of the televised poker that will no longer be on television is on television currently.

They are playing PLO, and Phil Ivey just went all in against Patrick Antonius. Ivey has a pair of aces, while Antonius has KK99. Antonius in theory only has 4 outs - 2 kings and 2 nines. However, thanks to the hole cams, we know that other players have already folded both kings and 1 nine, leaving Antonius only one out. But the graphics on the screen and the announcers act as though Antonius has all 4 outs available to him. Why not be honest about this and give us the correct odds?

(What makes this case particularly irksome is that in a previous hand, the graphics and announcers reflected the true situation, noting a folded card as being an out that is no longer available to a player.)

JayRo Watches TV: Minute to Win It

Finally, a show that admits it is a game show, and owns it!

Minute to Win It is NBC's latest attempt to create a phenom of a show. The premise is relatively simple: You have 1 minute to complete a task. Each task wins you more monely along a ladder. Complete 10 of these tasks, and win 1 million dollars.

The hook is that you use household items to complete random tasks. For example, one task is to stack 5 apples in one tower, and have that tower hold together for 3 seconds. The draw is that these are regular people who don't have special talents that are going to help them finish these games. When watching the show I could not believe how involved I got with this show and the tasks - trying to figure out the best strategy, rooting for the contestants and just wondering if they would make it.

Host Guy Fieri is surprisingly good, managing to balance excitement, tension and compassion while giving off the everyman vibe that has made him successful as a Food Network host. The casting department deserves credit for choosing contestants who are likeable and are people who you can support.

Watch this show; it deserves to succeed.

December Can't Get Here Quick Enough

Steven Seagal: Lawman - debuting on A&E in December

Today in awesomeness

Premiering August 18th on ABC, Shaq vs. A show where Shaquille O'Neal challenges other athletes at their own game. Shaq racing Michael Phelps in the pool? Check. Shaq against Albert Pujols in some sort of baseball battle? Already there. Shaq against Oscar de la Hoya? Shaq facing Olympic champion beach volleyball players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh? Gravy.

Just when you think he couldn't sink any lower

Mike Duffy does it again.

When opposing MPs don't join on your chosen theme, especially when it would cause embarassment to their main opponent, you know that you've fucked up huge.

I'll see Andrew Potter's Mike Duffy is a despicable human being and raise him a "Mike Duffy just needs to retire, for his own good."

I'll also throw in a Stephen Harper is very afraid right now, why else would he desperately grab at this?

This just in

Mike Duffy is a braying jackass.

UPDATE: Seriously, the comparison of this 5 point plan to Paul Martin's Notwithstanding Clause bullshit from the last election is stupid. The Notwithstanding Clause had nothing to do with the last election and was a desperate gambit. A 5 point plan on what to do about a weakening economy is actually a good idea. Duffy's continued comparison is bullshit and it's shameful that he mocks Dion while not mentioning that Harper's plan is "trust me, I know what I'm doing".

And now Duffy just said there's no point to try to analyze "the translators'" points and instead we would get "real analysis" tomorrow. Seriously? Fuck off Mike Duffy. If there's no point in trying to analyze anything in the French debate, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ON MY TELEVISION RIGHT NOW?

UPDATE 2: Duffy just got knocked on his ass when the La Presse reporter said that the French debate was the best that he had seen in years. Maybe you're out of touch on this one, Mike?

WTF?

In watching the aggrivating Bills/Rams game, CITY just had a Rogers Sportsnet score update, showing what happened in the Indy/Minnesota game. The problem is, the Indy/Minnesota game happened two weeks ago.

Things I need to be notified of

Deal or No Deal models act out scenes from NBC shows.

No cross over opportunity here

Congratulations to Lacey Schwimmer, who is joining the Dancing with the Stars cast (and is paired with Lance Bass, which can only be a positive).

Interestingly enough, she is the first person I can think of who will have been on both Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. I wonder what Nigel Lythgoe thinks of this?

The good old days

The balcony might be closed, but the outtakes live on. The clip below has been around for a little bit, but still worth watching if only for the sudden turn it takes about half way through.

I couldn't have put it any better

Jamie Weinman on the debut of Million Dollar Password.

I agree with everything he said, and make sure you read the last paragraph:

Another reason the format started to crumble was that audiences increasingly wanted to get involved with the adventures of the contestants, rooting for them to win and watching their struggles and tragedies and triumphs. That’s hard in a celebrity game show, because the celebrities are so often inept. Not all of them are. Betty White was a game-show staple not just because she was married to the host of Password, but because she knew how to play the games and be a good partner for the contestants. And if you watch an old episode of Match Game you’ll know why the contestants usually chose Richard Dawson as their partner in the final round: because underneath the drunk act and the leering, he actually tried to come up with a good answer that the contestant might be likely to match.

This is probably why I was so ambivelant about Game Show Marathon. The celebrities who were playing were, for the most part, morons.

Quick Celebrity Apprentice thought

They couldn't film this in HD?

(Edit: The men's team is called Hydra, after the mythical three-headed beast. Of course, I couldn't help but think of this HYDRA.)

(Edit part 2: Who's a bigger baseball player in New York than David Wright, Jennie Finch? I can think of four.)

The International Crisis Facing Us All

Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant.

First, she must be congratulated, as she has the rare chance of being a celebrity who is a MILF at the same time she is jailbait.

But for those of us who were wondering exactly how to cope with this tragic news, we need not worry. CNN has things covered with their article How do you talk to kids about Britney's sister?.

I think one thing is missing from the article though: I wouldn't be talking about Britney's sister, I'd be talking about Jamie Lynn Spears, star of Zoey 101. Look, if my child only knows Jamie Lynn Spears for being Britney's sister, I'm guessing I don't need to worry about them saying "Well, if Britney's sister can have unprotected sex at age 16 and she's famous, why can't I?" But if my child knows that Zoey is pregnant, I might need to have a discussion with them.

I do feel sorry for Jamie Lynn because this is getting much more attention because this is Britney's sister who is pregnant. If her last name was Jones instead of Spears, it won't spark a front page discussion on CNN.com about how to talk to your kids about this, or a discussion on variances in statuatory rape laws from state to state.

CNN also brings the obvious, with their "analysis" that Spears' pregnancy may harm her career. You think being a 17 year old who's career has been based on being a clean-cut kid who stars in a family friendly TV show might be harmed by a teen pregnancy?

A couple of other random thoughts about things related to this:

- Lynne Spears had a parenting book coming out? And this was before the Jamie Lynn news? I don't know if that amuses me as much as the fact that the publisher's spokesman did not give a reason for the book being postponed indefinitely. Reading between the lines has never been this easy.
- My thoughts also go out to Scott Feschuk, who is currently on holiday hiatus. I'm hopeful that his head doesn't explode from all of the jokes that his brain has come up with.

One of the worst ideas in history

I have a metric tonne of respect for Bob Barker, but this might be one of the worst things I have ever heard.

Rosie O'Donnell is the polar opposite of what you need for the Price is Right. You need someone who is poise and class in the midst of the tackiness all around him (or her). Rosie O'Donnell might relate well with people, but she does not have the presence needed for the show.