Survivor Panama Episode 7 Spoilers

After an unusual Survivor hiatus we are ready for a new episode tonight and big things are happening in Panama. The two tribes will merge and only one challenge will be held. The immunity challenge is an endurance contest and will feature everyone hanging upside down. The person who hands on the longest will win and this appears to be Terry who wins individual immunity. It is speculated that the person who fails the immunity challenge first will be sent to exile island but there is no information about who that may be. The vote will come down to between Austin and Nick as it could be either one to go after their original tribe alliance is broken up. It appears that Nick gets the last boot before the jury is formed.

Watch Veronica Mars & Season 3

This is your weekly reminder to watch Veronica Mars tonight at 9pm/8pm central on UPN. You don't want to miss the episode where Veronica's ex boyfriend Troy Vandegraff returns. Also, this is the episode where Michael Cera and Ali Shawkat from Arrested Development guest star. But, there is one even more compelling reason to tune in to Veronica Mars tonight, especially if you have never seen it before and that is the fact that season 3's mystery will be subtly introduced in tonight's episode. If you want to stay ahead of the curve for next season, tonight's episode is a must watch!

Also, one more tidbit of information I can share is that Rob Thomas and the writers are considering introducing 3 mysteries next season and will each be wrapped up in 7 episodes or so. The idea is that it will become less intimidating for new viewers to start to watch the show and it will give a earlier payoff for those newbies. The network is also considering making each of those 7ish episode chunks air uninterrupted without repeats, so in essence it would be 3 mini seasons in one. I think the idea is genius because it keep the format fresh and I'm sure Rob will intertwine the mysteries and make it just as engrossing for us Veronica Mars fanatics. Nothing is ever done at face value on Veronica Mars! What are your thoughts about this new idea for season 3?

CSI Episode 18 Spoilers

I will be able to post CSI spoilers much further in advance in the future but it has taken me some time to get caught up. Please let me know if you want future CSI spoilers as detailed as this. Due to the nature of CSI, things are very detailed and it is possible sometime to know how the entire episode will go. I'll do a more condensed version that does not give the mystery conclusion away if more people prefer that.

This episode will air March 30, 2006.

There is a trial going on about a young man, Marlon, accused of murdering a teenage girl named Christy. At the trial Marlon's sister Hannah confesses to the murder. The problem is now that both Marlon and Hannah have confessed and the CSIs are brought in to determine which one of them is lying.

During the course of the investigation we learn that Hannah is a genius with an IQ of over 170. Hannah is very academically gifted and even conducts her own science experiments. Hannah says that she murdered Christy because she was being bullied and Christy always played tricks on her. Christy died because sodium was put in her shower head at school and once water was turned on the shower head exploded. Hannah says that this was her way of getting back at Christy. Hannah says that her brother Marlon was just trying to protect her and that is why he confessed.

Over the course of the investigation, the evidence begins pointing to Hannah. She won an award for the sodium experiment at a science fair and had access to sodium at the school's lab. Hannah also used her computer to print "out of order" flyers from the school's printer to hang on the bathroom door to make sure that nobody would foil her plan.

In the meantime, the CSIs find a bloody fingerprint from Christy's boyfriend Scott in Christy's car. The CSIs think that Hannah is now just covering up for Scott because she had a crush on him. Scott defends himself by saying that the blood was from when he took Christy's virginity and the lab goes to analyze the fingerprint for lubricants and such. Turns out Scott was telling the truth and now they are back to figuring out if it was Hannah or Marlon who killed Christy.

The CSIs think they are on to something when they find sodium in Hannah's bathroom but then discover that she shares it with Marlon. Then the CSIs go to the high school to walk though the crime. Hannah would not have been tall enough to put the sodium in the shower head but Marlon would have. But then they find a chair in the next shower stall over that is mainly used for hanicap use. Hannah could have used the chair to stand on. Then comes the task of moving the body on to the football field. The CSIs determine that Hannah could not have moved the body on her own so Marlon must have had to be the one to carry the body. The CSIs confront Hannah with this information and she says she used the landscaper's cart to move it.

Now we are at the conclusion of the trial and Marlon is found not guilty due to reasonable doubt that Hannah cast on the case. The CSIs ask the D.A. if they are going to go forward with prosecuting Hannah and the D.A. says no because she would get off for the same reasonable doubt. Hannah was smart enough to skew the evidence so that the CSIs could not figure out which one committed the murder and essence they both get off for it.

Denver Declines NFL Opener

Updating my story from yesterday regarding the announcement of NFL week 1 and Thanksgiving games, I have learned that the NFL is not to blame for my disappointment. Ever since the Steelers won the Super Bowl I have been telling anyone and everyone who will listen that I knew for a fact that the NFL would choose the Denver Broncos to play at the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first NFL game of the season on September 7th. When the news came out that the Steelers will be hosting the Miami Dolphins, I was let down and began doubting my instincts. But, today the story came out that Broncos owner Pat Bowlen declined the offer by the NFL to play in the opener. Bowlen said that he would prefer to play at Pittsburgh later on in the year when the focus was not on their recent Super Bowl win. I understand his reasoning and if playing Pittsburgh later in the year gives the Broncos even a slight more chance to win the game, I'm all for it but I can't help but think what might have been!

Veronica Mars Ratings Update

Just updating my previous post about the Veronica Mars ratings. For more information please see the "Veronica Mars Ratings Explained" post.

Episode 2.15 had 2.58 million viewers according to Mediaweek. These numbers are lower than the previous week's 2.76 and are going in the wrong direction. However, Lost was a new episode last week and numbers have always been lower against a new Lost. Since Lost will have another new episode this week, we will have a good comparison to see if there is any ratings growth potential.

Episode 2.16 had 2.07 million viewers according to Mediaweek. This is a terrible development but the good news is that the rating stayed basically the same between last week and this week. This means that the same percentage of TVs were tuned in to VM, just less people were watching them. These numbers should go up once VM moves to Tuesday on April 11th becuase it will not have to compete with Lost and American Idol. However, I'm still concerned about the lack of a strong lead in. It is worth noting that Rob Thomas is still very optimistic for a season 3 so only time will tell. Stay tuned to the next chapter in this saga.

Updated 4.1.06

The OC Episode 3.23 Spoilers

This episode should air in May.

It is time for the prom on the OC and the theme is Pirates! Ryan has a date and it appears to be Theresa. Marissa's date is Volchok but he is not too happy that Marissa asked him to be there. They have a little disagreement and once Marissa walks off, Volchok spots a pretty girl and goes to talk to her. Meanwhile, Seth is at the dance with Anna but it looks like he is hatching a plan to get back Summer. Summer gets involved with a Korean pop star celebrity at the dance. Later on Ryan finds out what Volchok is up to with the pretty girl and tries to keep Marissa from noticing. However, Marissa does catch Volchok kissing the girl and confronts him. Ryan is there to help protect Marissa. Taylor is also at the prom with everyone.

Updated 4.8.06

NFL Week 1 & Thanksgiving Games

Today the NFL announced some early parts of the 2006 schedule. They only revealed the partial week 1 schedule and the Thanksgiving Day games but we are one step closer to the return of football nonetheless. Here is what we know so far, times are listed in eastern:

Week 1:

Thursday, September 7:
MIA @ PIT 8:30pm NBC (season opener)

Sunday, September 10:
DAL @ JAX 4:15pm FOX
IND @ NYG 8:15pm NBC

Monday, September 11:
MIN @ WAS 7pm ESPN (doubleheader)
SD @ OAK 10:15pm ESPN

Week 12:

Thursday, November 23: (Thanksgiving)
MIA @ DET 12:30pm CBS
TB @ DAL 4:15pm FOX
DEN @ KC 8pm NFL Network

While I'm thrilled that the Broncos get to play on Thanksgiving for the second straight year, I am completely shocked that the Broncos do not open the season at Pittsburgh. Traditionally it is a playoff opponent that opens at the defending Super Bowl champion. Carson Palmer is hurt for Cincinnati and Pittsburgh does not host Indianapolis in 2006 so the only logical choice would have been to host Denver. I get that Miami is going to be much improved in 2006 but to give the marquee macthup to a team that failed to make the playoffs in 2005 is a slap in the face.

Another poor move is to feature Oakland on opening week AGAIN. Oakland was an embarrassing team in 2005 and got beat by New England in the opener last year. I understand that an AFC West divisional matchup is the point here but with San Diego going with Philip Rivers at QB and Oakland barely making any improvements this could turn out to be a lackluster game. San Diego at Kansas City would have been a much more attractive matchup. Al Davis must have an awful lot of pull on the NFL.

I like the rest of the matchups that were announced. I like it when teams such as Jacksonville are highlighted. And like I said, Denver was given a prime matchup as well so I can't be too bitter about the week 1 shaft. I love the idea that the NFL is going to broadcast a game on either Thursday or Saturday in each of the last 8 weeks of the season on the NFL Network. Now just watch as the entire country goes into fits trying to figure out if they get that channel or not. For the record, I do and I'm extremely happy about it. This just means that more games will be televised and more opportunities to watch football!

The rest of the schedule will be announced in early April. You can bet that I'll be right on top of that announcement and I will share the best macthups and my thoughts with you again. Now if someone will tell me what the big game of the week is supposed to be now that ABC is no longer broadcasting Monday Night Football. I still don't understand if it supposed to be Monday Night on ESPN or Sunday Night on NBC. I guess when the rest of the schedule comes out things will become more clear.

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Odds

Continuing on with my thoughts about sports and odds, next stop is NASCAR. This sport is growing exponentially in popularity and if you watch a race all the way through you can't help but like it. Here are the current odds to win the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup courtesy of fieldgoal.com.

4-1 Jimmy Johnson
5-1 Jeff Gordon
6-1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6-1 Tony Stewart
7-1 Matt Kenseth
8-1 Greg Biffle
8-1 Casey Mears
10-1 Kasey Khane
10-1 Mark Martin
12-1 Carl Edwards
15-1 Kyle Busch
15-1 Jamie McMurray
20-1 Ryan Newman
25-1 Jeff Burton
25-1 Kurt Busch
25-1 Dale Jarrett
40-1 Elliot Sadler
45-1 The Field (any other driver)
50-1 Brian Vickers
65-1 Kevin Harvick
75-1 Denny Hamlin
75-1 Martin Truex Jr.
300-1 Joe Nemechek
300-1 Jeremy Mayfield
300-1 Scott Riggs
300-1 Ken Schrader

My take on these odds: Clearly the best bets are Jimmy Johnson and Tony Stewart but both have high odds as well. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are awesome drivers but are favored a little too much after missing the chase (top 10 drivers with 10 races to go) last year. Casey Mears is another driver that has higher odds than his history should allow. I was shocked to see that Kyle Busch was favored so much more than his older more experienced past champion brother Kurt Busch. If I was going to lay money on anyone it would be Kurt Busch. At 25-1 these are fantastic odds and after his win today they won't be this low much longer. I also found it funny that some drivers were favored so much less than the field because it is pretty much impossible for someone from the field to come in and steal the Nextel cup crown.

Gilmore Girls Cliffhangers

I'm not much one to report on the rumor mill but this one was too juicy not to share. I have some information on what is going to happen in the finale of Gilmore Girls, specifically the cliffhangers that creator Amy Sherman-Palladino alluded to in her interviews. Courtesy of Genki at Fan Forum, the cliffhangers are that Rory and Logan elope and that Luke and Lorelei break up. The reasons for these developments are unknown!

It has now been brought to my attention that if the Logan-Rory elopement is a foiler that it will perhaps be that Lorelei gives Luke an ultimatum to elope with her or not and Luke will choose to decline.

Updated 4.21.06

Veronica Mars 2.22 (finale) Spoilers

I have to start off this post by saying please don't read any further if you don't want a large piece of information about the mystery. This is a blog created mainly for spoilers and it is assumed that everyone reading wants to be spoiled. However, due to the nature of this show and the spoiler, I want you to be certain that you want to know this information. I also want to say that my sources are very reliable and I'm confident in everything I post here but the information is so detailed and being that this is the season finale, I am afraid that that it is possible that some of this information could be a foiler. But, I will share what I know with you.

If you are not 100% sure you want to know STOP READING NOW!

Wallace is upset because Jackie has left town for Paris and has left Wallace a note. We learn that Wallace has received a scholarship to Hearst College and Veronica will attend the same school.

Jackie has left town but she is not in Paris, but Brooklyn instead. She seems to be back on her home turf and a friend jokes that she was living a sham of sorts with Terrance Cook. We meet Jackie's mom and she tells Jackie that her lavish lifestyle from California is over. Jackie then recieves a phone call from Veronica who tells her that she figured out that Jackie did not go to Paris. Veronica is not upset but says that Wallace should know the truth.

There is a $20,000 bounty on the head of Woody Goodman because he is a fugitive and skipped town. Keith, Veronica and the sheriff's department believe that Woody is responsible for the bus crash. Vinnie calls Keith and offers to combine their efforts to find Woody and split the money. Later on in the episode we see that Keith has captured Woody and they are flying back on his airplane in custody. Woody refuses to confess.

Meanwhile, Veronica has a video capture from a video taken at Woody's house which shows a picture of a little league baseball team. Veronica has all the kids identified except one and tries to figure out who it is. Peter and Marcos from the bus crash were on the team.

Veronica goes to a burger joint that Woody owns and finds a copy of the picture she has. It lists the kids on the baseball team. Veronica doesn't have any luck with the final name of the kids on the team but spies a caption that states that Cassidy Casablancas was not pictured. It appears Veronica feels she has solved the mystery.

Mac and Beaver are at the Neptune Grand getting ready for a graduation party when Veronica tries to get the front desk clerk to give her Beaver's room number. The clerk informs Veronica that they can't give out that information and Beaver has given do not disturb orders. Veronica has to find some other way to get the information.

Kendall is meeting with a lawyer and it appears that someone has committed suicide. She is trying to get her financials in order when the lawyer comes across some papers from the Phoenix Land Trust. The lawyer comments that Kendall is doing very well with it valued at over 8 million dollars but says that it is very risky that she is betting against incorporation, much like what Dick Casablancas would do.

Gilmore Girls 6.21 Spoilers

This episode will air on May 2, 2006.

Rory contacts a woman named Kimberly, who is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, to revise a story that she wrote about Mitchum Huntzberger. In the story, Mitchum said that he gave Rory her internship at the Stamford Eagle-Gazette and now she is the editor at the Yale Daly News. Rory is upset because she thinks the comment implies that Mitchum gave Rory her start and she does not want people assuming that Mitchum can take credit for her success. The reporter does not comply with Rory's request. Bill at the Yale Daly News tries to coach Rory through the call. Rory also takes care of Logan after he is released from the hospital.

Liz is talking to some old bitter women at the diner who are complaining about their men. T.J. shows up at the diner and Luke encourages Liz to make up with him. It appears that they must have has a fight. Liz goes outside to talk to T.J. We also find out that Liz is pregnant.

Emily takes an unsuspecting Lorelai to a real estate office. Lorelai refuses to go in by Emily makes her get out of the car. Maureen, who works in the real estate office, has been expecting Emily and has a presentation waiting for her. Lorelai keep asking Emily what is going on and why are they there. Lorelai just can't understand and keeps asking questions over and over again. Emily just wants to know if Lorelai thinks the house looks nice. The house is furnished and looks similar to Lorelei's but it is unclear who the house is intended for. We also find out that Emily has had LASIK surgery on her eyes and Lorelai is driving her around.

Sookie and Jackson also deal with some marijuana that has been planted on their land.

Veronica Mars Moving to Tuesday

In another ever changing strategy move, UPN has announced that starting on Tuesday, April 11th Veronica Mars will broadcast on Tuesdays at 9pm/8pm central through the finale. This change was made in an attempt to get Veronica Mars away from stiff competition in Lost and American Idol as well as to get the show back in its original time slot and perhaps a preview of its possible pairing with Gilmore Girls on the CW.

Please keep in mind that Veronica Mars will remain on Wednesday for the next two weeks, still airing on its scheduled night on March 29th and April 5th. Once the switch is made, repeats of VM will occupy the Wednesday slot for a couple of weeks until UPN makes up their mind on what move to make next.

What does this mean for our dearly beloved show? One can draw both positive and negative conclusions from this news. It is a good move to get Veronica Mars out of the way of Lost/Idol competition and to put it back in its original time slot. With the repeats airing on Wednesday, this will not affect the casual fan because they will still get to see the newest episode of VM for the week. On the downside, another move signals that UPN is not happy with how VM is performing and the endless tinkering could kill the show. Repeats of Top Model would become the new lead in for VM on Tuesdays and could end up not being a good enough draw for the original episodes of VM. Remember what happened with South Beach as a lead in?

My conclusion is that the jury is still out. This move does not signal doom or celebration. Bottom line is there is still a lot of work to be done before getting Veronica Mars on the fall schedule and the first place to start is to keep getting new viewers and to notify as many people about this scheduling change.

Desperate Housewives 2.21 Spoilers

This episode will air in sometime in May, 2006.

At Lynette's office, a forensic accountant is hired to go through someone's files. Edie invites the mail man over for a friendly chat and he gets the wrong message. Gus the mailman ends up in his boxers on Edie's bed. Edie also hires a private detective to spy on Susan and Karl. Tom gets fired from work. Gabrielle and Carlos learn that their maid Xaio-Mai is going to be deported and Gabrielle comes up with the idea that if Xaio-Mai gets pregnant that it will keep her in the country. Following this revelation, it appears that Carlos goes to a sperm bank. Bree gets in to a fight with Kyle, a store clerk, becuase he won't help her find strawberry ice cream.

Updated 4.1.06, 4.15.06

Veronica Mars Tonight!

In case any of you forgot or are undecided on what to watch tonight, let me remind you that Veronica Mars is on at 9pm/8pm central.

If you have forgotten the many reasons why to watch VM, please reference my post from 3/15/06! The American Idol results are still pointless boring fluff and the eye candy is just as nice. Oh, not to mention the best acting, plotting and mystery on television.

Since I can't post and not leave you with any useful information, here is a little spoiler for you. Kendall visits Aaron in prison and he leads her to Duncan's shower. This time she's not hoping to have a rendezvous with Duncan, she has other plans in mind.

Another Top Model on VM

In keeping with recent tradition, this "cycle" of America's Next Top Model will feature the winner of an upcoming challenge on Veronica Mars. Previous winners include Naima as the dear departed Ms. Dumas and Kim as a rental car company employee. This cycle's winner is none other than Furonda Brasfield playing a character named Beverly in the April 5th episode of Veronica Mars. I guess we all know who is sticking around on Top Model for a while.

Amazing Race Update

I just updated my original post about the Amazing Race but since it has fallen all the way back to the archives, I'll just post the updated route info here and give a little spoiler speculation.

Episode 1: Denver to Sao Paulo, Brazil
Epsiode 2: Brazil
Epiosde 3: Moscow
Epiosde 4: Munich, Germany
Epiosde 5: Sicily
Epiosde 6: Sicily
Episode 7: Rome and Greece
Episode 8: Oman (Middle East)
Epiosde 9: Perth, Australia
Episode 10: Darwin, Australia
Episode 11: Thailand
Episode 12: Japan
Episdoe 13: Alaska (finale)
Episode 14: Finish Line in Denver (finale)

As you can see, tonight's episode will take the teams in the "to be continued" leg from Moscow to Munich. Speculation has been that the "nerds" David and Lori might be in store for some disappointment soon. BJ & Tyler, Monica & Joseph and Ray & Yolanda appear to make it deep in to the race.

Updated 4.27.06

Veronica Mars' Ratings Explained

It seems like there are a lot of questions surrounding Veronica Mars' ratings and chances for a fall pick up. While I don't have any idea as to what the CW is thinking, every day that goes by it looks better for a season 3. That does not mean that anyone should get complacent and stop campaigning but things should be looked at with some hope. Some sites that shall be remained nameless are beginning to irritate me with the constant doom and gloom. I'm a girl that appreciates a realistic approach but there is no need for the constant negativity.

There are a lot of questions I see come up about VM's rating and if they are good enough. Someone even asked Kristin from E! this question today in the chat and while she did give us great positive news that the CW is "96% sure" to pick up VM for the fall, she never answered the darn question! I'm here to offer some information and shed some light on this so that all of us VM fans can make up our own opinions about ratings without having to ask a journalist how good the show is doing.

First of all, what is good rating? Well CSI type ratings is obviously the top of the best. VM is never going to get to this level and I doubt 30 million people even get UPN so we have to compare UPN shows to UPN shows here. One easy yard stick is to see how VM compares to Top Model. If VM gets 60% retention from Top Model that's decent, 70% or more and things are looking good.

If you want to get more in to the numbers and really see where things are headed, compare VM ratings from week to week and from season to season. There are many different calculations of ratings such as Overnights or Fast National. Each website and publication uses different ratings so it is essential to make sure apples are compared to apples and so on. I prefer the ratings that Mediaweek put out because they express their numbers as millions of viewers. That is the easiest for me to understand and compare from week to week.

How well is VM doing in terms of millions of viewers? Keep in mind that the season 1 average was 2.5 (million viewers). Before the holiday hiatus VM was getting about an average of 3.0. A couple of times when Lost was in a repeat VM hit records at a high of 3.55 and the low was during Thanksgiving week at 2.54. When VM came back in January for Donut Run it got a horrendous 1.6, so you can see why everyone began freaking out. The next 2 episodes got 2.14 and 2.05 respectively. A bit better but as you can see still very disappointing. So, when VM finally came back from its second hiatus on 3/15/06 it got a encouraging 2.76. Not bad at all considering all the turmoil it has been though.

My overall point is that VM got one of its higher ratings of the season this past Wednesday and nobody said a darn thing about it. Sure, the ratings need to improve and we need to get back to the consistent 3.0 million viewer range, pushing the 3.5 on a regular basis but this was a HUGE improvement from those episodes shown in January and February. None of the media, journalists or hype types dared to share this information or explain the ratings. Now I hope that you all have a batter understanding of the VM ratings and can keep track for yourself at home.

Desperate Housewives 2.20 Spoilers

This episode should air on April 30, 2006.

Dale, the father of Gabrielle and Carlos' baby, comes looking to see the baby. While at a bar with Lynette, Gabrielle gets into a fight with a waitress. A lawyer comes to take Zach into custody away from Paul. Bree learns that the new man in her life has gotten help for a sexual addiction. Edie hires a private investigator to find out what happened with Karl and the breakup. Gabrielle goes to a high school gymnasium during a pep rally. Edie and Karl break up but Edie does not initally know that Karl is married to Susan. Lynette also helps her boss Ed with his sex life.

Updated 4.1.06, 4.16.06

Desperate Housewives 2.19 Spoilers

This episode will air on April 16, 2006.

Gabrielle and Carlos are in a custody battle over their baby. It appears that they "kidnapped" the baby from the hospital. The biological father's lawyer is trying to get the baby back but he is away at spring break so the judge awards the Solises temporary custody. Susan seduces a new love interest at the movies but he rejects her advances. Susan and Karl are fighting as Karl is trying to hire a band. Lynette has a meeting with Parker's teacher because he offered a little girl a cookie to see her privates. Lynette realizes that she has to have "the talk" with Parker.

Updated 4.1.06

Desperate Housewives 2.18 Spoilers

This episode will air on April 2, 2006.

Gabrielle and Carlos receive a baby from the hospital. Karl and Edie celebrate their engagement with a party. Lynette gives a court deposition about Bree and her drinking habit. Bree spends time in a bar. A strip club is also featured in this episode. Dr. Ron also appears.