TV and Burgers

39 days, 20 players, 1 Survivor! Greetings and salutations true believers! For today we will briefly discuss the premiere of Survivor. Now before I go too far let me acknowledge something; I am a true, die-hard Survivor junkie. I have been watching since day one and I just cannot stop. We are into season 39 and it still intrigues me. Obviously there are some seasons I like more than others. I will say I did not like the Redemption Island twist last season. I still believe that once you are voted out you are finished. The sight of Jeff snuffing the torch should be your end on the show. Elizabeth Well this season that appears to be the case. The cast, at first glance, appears to be stellar. I have already chosen a few favorites and I have noticed that no one has come across, at least yet, as the clear villain. While I like the idea of a boot camp, I cannot and will not ever get over the two big ass statues of Boston Rob and Sandra at the Island of the Idols. They...

Although it is one of the only two reality shows that I regularly watch and enjoy, I rarely write about The Amazing Race.  Today I will right that wrong, not with a recap per se, but rather my early impressions on this, the 24th installment of the popular series.  I have to say that when I first saw the lineup for this seasons all-stars I was a bit underwhelmed.  We had a couple of teams that were already running for the third time and frankly only one team of hot women.  When it comes to TAR, as it is know, you need at least two teams of beautiful women.  That should go without saying.  In addition to that oversight I saw that we would once again be stuck with one of the most annoying teams of all time, twin sisters Natalie & Nadiya.  Thankfully they were quickly eliminated by coming in dead last in episode one.  I could hear the cheers from around the world when it happened.  I was also thrilled that one of my favorite t...

Much like the CW, the Fox Network generally offers a heavy dose of crap each fall.  Now, that is not to say that everything they have is bad nor is it to say that they have shows I do not watch.  I love Raising Hope and I have been watching Bones since the beginning, however they also offer up garbage like The X Factor and its twin sister American Idol.  (I still don't know what the difference is between those shows)  And of course Fox has long been known as the home of The Simpsons, which I have still only seen once.  So when I saw the schedule I could easily see stuff that looked good to me and the aforementioned crap.  Let's take a look. Sleepy Hollow: First published in 1820, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is an American classic.  Like many of you, I was first introduced to the story by the animated Disney film and like many I was immediately enthralled with the story.  I have read the story and seen many different incarn...

Due to extenuating circumstances I will be unable to post a complete Survivor Caramoan recap this week. Lady Gianna was injured and hospitalized and my time has been preoccupied with her and her recovery. I will give you a brief recap today: Reynold found another hidden immunity idol. Matt showed us his nasty feet. It rained a lot. The favorites won the reward challenge and had a feast. Corinne drank a lot of wine. Brandon went nuts, dumped the rice & beans, yelled at Phillip and then pretty much everyone else. His tribe forfeited the challenge and gave immunity to the fans. Jeff had to give Brandon an awesome shoulder massage in an attempt to calm him down. They held tribal council right there at the challenge location and they all voiced their votes to Jeff. It was unanimous and Brandon was voted out. Dawn cried. So did Andrea. Hopefully things will settle down and I can get back to full recap next week. Thanks for your support and understanding.

Our episode began with the dysfunctional Gota tribe returning to camp after another testy tribal council. Somehow, Shamar was still in the tribe and boy oh boy was Eddie pissed that his tribe voted off Hope. Eddie said “it’s mindboggling to me that we got rid of Hope tonight. She was the prettiest one here”. I’m with you on this one Eddie. How they can keep that lazy brute Shamar and get rid of Hope is beyond normal comprehension. Seriously, if I am stuck on an island for up to 39 days I want the prettiest people around me. But alas, I am not playing the game. Reynold went on a bit of a tirade as well since he had been blatantly lied to by Laura and apparently he had not realized that being lied to was a time honored Survivor tradition. Over at Bikal it was all unicorns and flowers as Phillip continued enshrining tribe mates into his secret “stealth R us” alliance. Frankly I am having trouble remembering what everyone’s secret name is, but it hardly matters. An...

Every season of Survivor needs a good villain. And by villain I mean someone that you just love to hate. Richard Hatch was such a villain. Jerri Manthey was a good villain. So was Coach and so was Russell Hantz. Even Phillip made a good villain, even though he is now more of a cartoon character than villain. You root against them, but at the same time it’s kind of good to have them around for a long time as they add so much to the show’s dynamic. Think about it; if you don’t have Snidely Whiplash to torment Nell then you have no Dudley Do-Right. It’s just the way it is. But this season is different. We have Shamar and he is not a good villain. I am not even sure if he is a bad villain. I think he’s just a clueless asshole with incredible anger issues. He serves no purpose on the show whatsoever. He’s not a hero and not a villain. He’s not likeable in the least and he appears to be despised by everyone except Sherri, who sees him as a cranky teenager working ...

I have been watching Survivor since the beginning and in doing so I have learned quite a few things. I have learned is that if the producers show us an arrogant guy at the beginning saying he will not be voted off while another guy is saying that the arrogant guy must go then it means two things: 1. That tribe will lose the immunity challenge and head to tribal council and 2. The arrogant guy will not get voted off despite half-hearted efforts by the producers to get us to believe otherwise. So was my early assessment on target as usual? Well, read on… Our episode began with the tribe of faves, Bikal, returning to camp. Brandon was visually upset. So upset in fact that new tattoos seemed to suddenly appear on his body. Just for a second, let’s recall how Brandon was like on his first go-round. Let’s see, he was very religious and did everything for Jesus, proclaimed he was nothing like Uncle Russell and gave up his immunity like an idiot and was voted out. (N...

As I have said before the Fans vs. Favorites format is not my favorite. I would much rather see 20 new people compete as opposed to 10 new people playing against Russell’s nephew, fuchsia undies, a woman no one remembered and seven others. However, after seeing Jeff standing majestically on his perch while helicopters flew by I was already hooked. The show began with the newbies on the Gota tribe arriving by boat. We were introduced to them before they were introduced to the favorites they would be playing against. As the favorites exited the helicopters the Gota tribe cheered and giggled when they saw who they were to be playing against. Well, except for Francesca since no one could remember her and Malcolm since they had no idea who he was. The favorites would now be known as the Bikal tribe. Jeff explained that they would have a challenge right away to play for fire and 20 pounds of farting beans. Okay, maybe he didn’t say that, but they played for beans no...

A while back I received two emails from some of my alleged fans saying they were tired of my Survivor recaps so I stopped.  Well, the outcry from my loyalist of fans has been immense and thus I am announcing a return to the weekly Survivor recaps that all but two of you have come to know and love.  And since I will be doing recaps I only thought it fair to give a season preview as well. Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites was filmed from May 21st through June 28th 2012 and will premiere on CBS on February 13th.  It marks the second time that fans have had the opportunity to play against fan favorites.  I have to say that even though the previous FvF season was one of the all time best, I can't actually say I am thrilled to be seeing it again.  I like my new seasons of Survivor to be fresh.  I relish the opportunity to meet new castaways and see how they bond.  With a team of newbies playing a veteran team some of that pleasure if lost.  Ho...

Except for Survivor and The Amazing Race, I have virtually no use for reality television. I don’t watch it and by design I know very little about it. I don’t care about anyone named Kardashian, people that drive trucks or hillbillies that fish with their hands. However, I have determined that there are several reality ideas I have in my head that I would watch if they actually aired. So take a look at my thoughts for reality television shows and let me know if you’d watch any of them. Chelsea & Angie – Two of the sexiest and most beautiful Survivor contestants of all time, Chelsea Meissner and Angie Layton, move in to a beach house together. They spend their days and nights wearing bikinis and doing normal, everyday things. Sometimes they read the phone book aloud and they often run in slow motion on the beach. Though I could not promise anything it would be great if they became lovers. The beach house would be near where I live. Seacrest or Death – A conte...

It is time for Sir Griffin to take a look at the shows that will be offered by the CBS television network.  My apologies for taking so long in my fall previews, but I am doing my best and hopefully will have it all said and done before the new shows begin.  But even if I do not you really can’t complain because I do this for free for your pleasure.  So let’s begin our look at CBS with Partners –   From the creators of Will & Grace comes a show about two men; one gay and one straight.  They have been friends since childhood and are now business partners and still best of friends.  The show delves into their lives as they both begin new relationships.  I have to say that I was a huge Will & Grace fan and the preview for this show indicates I will love this one as well.  It looks funny and appears to have the same wacky charm/  Plus, there is a dog named Elphaba and you can never go wrong there.  The show stars David Krumholt...