David Wins! Woo-Hoo!
May 26
Before we get into this
week's show a couple of personal bits. First of all, a thank you to all
the soldiers, past and present, who have given their lives in sacrifice
for the freedom that I, and everyone in this country enjoy. When you
have finished your Memorial Day barbecue, take a moment or ten to thank
a soldier you know...or one you don't. They will really appreciate it. I
know I do.
And to my friends over at WLTI who are celebrating their 200th Episode
this week...congratulations on being the best damn commentary show in
the business
today. To Chico and Gordon, thank you for allowing me to be a recurring
panelist. That allowed me the inspiration for my column and this podcast
which you
are listening to right now. To all the guests that have been
there...thank you. And I can't believe it has been that long! So here's
to 200 more!
Now, onto the show. As you can see by the title of this week's
show...David won American Idol. Ok, ok...that joke has been worn out to
the death. The New
American Idol (as predicted by me...and probably a lot of others) is
David Cook...and he won by 12 million votes. But, if you watched the
finale, David Cook lost the night. David Archuleta came to play and win.
However, David Cook's fanbase was peaking for the last month. And David
Archuleta's fanbase pretty much held steady.
And the finale results show was pretty much uneventful...except for the
very funny Guitar Hero commercials starring Cook and Archuleta. I don't
think Archuleta even saw the film it was based on (Risky
Business)...since it came out 4 years before he was BORN. And it was
good to see Jordin Sparks back on a stage singing. But we put a close on
the season by saying this was the best finale in a while, in the best
season in a while. American Idol isn't going away anytime soon...what
with the tour starting up soon, the auditions during the summer and the
American Idol Experience in 2009 in Walt Disney World. And in January
2009, I will be back to start up the reviews both good and bad for
American Idol 8. I am looking forward to see what Fox does to spruce up
the franchise.
Another winner was Kristi
Yamaguchi, who beat Cristian de la Fuente and Jason Taylor to win the
latest "Dancing with the Stars" crown. But Jason Taylor is
making the most noise by saying he wants to be remembered as an actor
rather than a football player.
In an interview with ESPN's Tom Friend for the Sunday Conversation he
says: "Well, I hope more for acting," Taylor said. "It's strange that in
our business, that
in your mid-30s, you start thinking about retiring. It's not like you're
getting put out to pasture and you're done. A new chapter in your life
has to start.
"In 10 years from now, when I'm 43 years old, I'm hoping that people are
talking more about the things I've done in the film business than what I
did in football or dancing."
Taylor also offered an explanation as to why he shouldn't apologize to
anybody who wants to second guess his motivations for laying the
groundwork for life after retirement even though he's still playing.
"There comes a time when they open that door and they kick you in the
rear end and you're not welcome anymore," Taylor said. "Regardless of if
you're under
contract or not, they will kick you out the door - we've all seen it
over the years - and say 'Thanks, but you're not welcome anymore.'
Taylor also said "I can guarantee you this: I'm in five times better
shape right now than I was the year I won defensive player of the year."
And since that conversation, Taylor has stated he is not going to any
mini-camps for the Miami Dolphins. With the tenuous relationship between
him and Bill Parcells...don't be surprised if that career starts sooner
rather than later.
As I was sending resumes out
this week, I was watching the Tuesday edition of the Price is Right and
came across something that I never saw before and I hope to never see
again. A contestant whose name I am not going to dignify the column or
podcast with, did everything to give Price is Right Contestants a bad
name.
First of all, this kid was a college student and a frat guy. That was
evidenced by the Sigma Nu T-Shirt he wore. Secondly, he started off by
giving a bid on a treadmill for $420. Ok, cute joke...but we get it. And
it's isn't funny anymore. (For those who don't get it...it's a weed
reference.) And then he went to a bid ending in 69...ha ha...real funny.
And Finally, he gave a $2 Million bid on a kitchen island. You heard me
right...he did. Drew did the right thing saying, "You want it. You Got
It."
Now over the last couple of days, there have been vigorous discussions
back and forth. Who do you blame for this debacle? Stan Blits, the
contestant coordinator? Do you blame the contestant for just being a
total ass? And what do you do in a case like this?
Ok, partial blame does go to Blits. But When you have to go through
63,375 contestants over a season (yes, I did the math)...occasionally a
clunker does slip through the cracks. But the main culprit this time is
the contestant. He took a spot from a contestant who really wanted to be
there. He broke the unwritten rule for not bidding immature sexual or
weed based bids. He got his 15 minutes and is on YouTube.
What scares me, is that some people saw that on Price and said (probably
after taking a toke), "Yeah man, he did it, so could we." Stan probably
got called on the carpet for that one by the powers that be, and I know
he will be on the lookout for people like that...big time.
A couple of quick other TPIR notes...if I didn't mention it
before...Price has lowered the $1,000,000 showcase win barrier to $500
from $1,000. And if you haven't guessed by now...the foreign car ban on
Price is officially dead and buried. It started with a Jaguar XK Coupe
and over the past few weeks we have seen Honda Elements and Civics, a
Porsche Cayman S coupe and most recently, a Jaguar XF sedan.
Well, we knew it was
coming... "The Moment of Truth" is back for it's summer season. And in
an article with the Daily News, host Mark L. Walberg is a bit tired of
the show getting a home wrecker image and ruining families' lives.
"Quite honestly, the wrecking-your-family, evildoing rap the show gets,
I think it's crap," Walberg told reporters. "No family gets wrecked
unless they're wrecking it anyway. And of all the people that have been
on the show, only one couple that I know of that was married has decided
to separate. And they were already on the rocks well before they got to
us, by their own admission. "That doesn't necessarily mean we're doing
God's work," Walberg added, "but what I'm saying is that things happen
on the show, conversations happen that are uncomfortable. But on the
other end there is relief for everyone involved who has known that that
issue existed and has been avoiding it."
On "The Moment of Truth" contestants submit themselves to a lie-detector
test, where they answer 21 very personal questions. They're then asked
those same questions on the show, where the lie-detector results are
revealed. At stake is $500,000. New episodes of the show begin airing
May 27 at 8 p.m.
Despite the controversy, people are willing to participate - and watch.
"I hosted 'Temptation Island,' and when I did that show I thought, this
is an interesting program but there's no way there will be a second
season because nobody will do it," Walberg said of the Fox reality show
that tested relationships. "And then 60,000 couples, not singles, but
couples applied for the show. So that kind of took my naivete out the
window. I think the allure of ['Truth'] is that it seems to be a very
simple game. Tell the truth, you win money. But I don't think people
really value the sensitive nature of it sometimes. I think there are
people that aren't as sensitive as you or I might be and they just
think, 'Let's go for it.'"
The most shocking of episode of "Truth" that aired earlier this year had
a young wife who admitted to committing adultery and that she believed
she is meant to be with an ex-boyfriend instead of her husband. (That
was Lauren Cleri - if you didn't remember, or washed the memory from
your brain.)
"It was horrible," said Walberg of the vibe in the studio after that
show wrapped. "Where I really got uptight about it was, people can
answer questions about their past and do what they want to do, but I
felt like she was almost maliciously throwing her husband under the
bus."
Coming up in the new episodes, Walberg said, producers have tried to
expand their question arsenal to include areas outside of sex and
infidelity. "Those questions will always show up because that's what we
talk about in society," said Walberg. "But what makes the show
interesting is that with every new contestant is an entirely new life
and a new story. And though some of the questions may be the same, the
reactions are unique to that person and their family."
A pretty short podcast this
week...but we have a lot of random newsbits to cover so here they are:
- "Banzai" is being distributed through the web...with MySpace getting
first dibs.
- "Hole In The Wall" (A Japanese Game show where people put themselves
through Tetris like holes) gets a 13 episode order from Fox.
- Sharon Osbourne is hosting "Rock of Love Girls: Charm School"
- ABC is casting Season 2 of "Here Comes The Newlyweds", as well as for
"Opportunity Knocks". And if you have no shame...so is "The Moment of
Truth" on
Fox.
- Survivor drops it's minimum age from 21 to 18.
- Best wishes go to Luke Menard as he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin
Lymphoma.
- 1 v. 100 comes to the DS.
- RDF USA is pitching a new updated version of "Queen For A Day".
- Rumors abound of an all-star version of "Project Runway." Speaking of
Runway, Jack Mackenroth will not return and continue to be active in the
HIV Community.
- VH1 has bought 130 hours of "The Bachelor." for reruns. Why?
- Joey Lawrence is hosting "Master of Dance" on TLC.
Short, but sweet. This is Jason Block saying, don't just play
fair...play to win.
Jason Block does a great
stoner impression. E-mail him at
jb.regis@verizon.net.
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