Game Show NewsNet

Next Kiss - July 21

If you missed the last episode, you missed NOTHING, as no one got eliminated. Then again, most of the audience has felt all along that they missed nothing, as they have tuned out in droves and ratings are under a 3.0. Yeccch. Well, since I am still here, let's get the ball rolling, shall we?

Jared is hoping that his girlfriend isn't watching (and he should be relieved, since no one is watching this). But we are not concerned about that - we are concerned about the next screen - 'Next Kiss' - as both actors are hanging on a dangling car. One of them must fall off to save the other one's life - and that is the scariest scene that they have done yet. Even scarier for two people is that the worst ones in the group will be eliminated.

We recap the fact that no one got eliminated in the morning as everyone takes martial arts classes. Mae and Melisande realize their vulnerability, while Jared thinks that him, Mark, Mae or Melisande will be leaving - and the competition will be between them.

Kurt Bryant, the stunt coordinator, is meeting for all of them after class as they convene at the Rose Bowl. Kurt explains that in their scene, they will be attached to a cable as one of them will fall from the car dangling off of the bridge. Kurt wants all of them to try out the cable, while Mark thinks that it's a great way to not have kids. John, who we already know has a fear of heights, is starting to hyper ventilate and Jeanne tries to help him out. Jared, who realizes Jeanne as the enemy, starts to talk trash and Jeanne, in return, tells him to shut up. John eventually gets through the stunt, but not before staring daggers at Jared and you can sense that the lines are drawn.

The Hi-Speed Challenge for this week is to see who can hang on to a bar the longest. The winner of the Challenge gets a night out on the town - and they can bring anyone who they want with them. Sean, who claims that he can hang on for the longest, manages 59 seconds - but Melisande beats that immediately with 1:02. I remember in Fear Factor that the women usually do better at this sort of stunt, and Corinne doesn't disappoint, as she holds on for 2:18.6. Jeanne, who pledged to take Corinne with her if she wins, does her one better - 3:10.02. She can smell the dinner...but Jared takes it away from her with a 3:13 mark and that's another notch added to that rivalry.

But we have a second surprise. Kurt gives out the Retake card for the person who did the cable stunt the best. That person is... Melisande, and she is grateful for it. She can also be grateful for a nice dinner, as Jared selects her to go with. This is all nice and well - except we are all reminded that Jared has a girlfriend - which right now is not looking very promising.

Back at dinner, Melisande plants the seed of comedy by talking about her nose. Jared plants the seeds of disunity by talking to John about what Jeanne and Jared got into. Surprisingly, John agrees with Jared and you wonder if this sudden rift will get into anyone's head...

Back in Howard Fine's studio, the group has to do a scene about loss. Each of them talked about a parent or an aunt passing - but Melisande goes further and talks about her own attempt at suicide, and how her aunt saved her. That gets her a Casting card - and John, for his description of the passing of his mother, gets the other card. Howard thought that this could be the scene that could turn everything around for Melisande. Now can she carry this win streak through the scene?

Tina reminds the bottom four that this casting card is vital. John picks Corinne, Melisande picks Jared, Mae works with Mark and Jeanne works with Sean. This is good for Jeanne, who doesn't have to worry about John and her going nuts over the challenge incident. They are not the only people talking; Corinne and Mark get to know each other, as they haven't had a chance to chat. So you're waiting until NOW to talk? Mark explains that he has to talk to people because, 'there's nothing to do in this damn house.' Poor baby.

Jared is waiting forever for Melisande, as everyone is dubbing this Jared's first date. Jared is saying that it's good and exciting to find someone new, but he still says that he has a girlfriend (Christina) that he still loves. He has been playing with the thought of going with someone new, but Melisande puts her foot down and tells Jared that if he isn't serious with her, then it needs to stop. He says that he doesn't know, and that should be the message to Christina that spells curtains on the relationship. If she didn't get the point then, the groping and mouth-to-mouth kissing right afterwards should have driven it home and I suggest that she gets her bags packed up.

Mark and Mae take all of the hours in the house to make sure they know their parts. Jeanne decides for whatever bizarre reason to not take that time to study, and that pisses Sean off to the point where the tension is rising. Sean wants to rehearse, but Jeanne doesn't want to rehearse in front of the camera. WHA? Sean warns Jeanne that if she screws up her lines, he's going to give her the business. Giving up working with Jeanne, a frustrated Sean asks John to go over the lines instead and he obliges.

Jeanne decides to rehearse with Sean, and he agrees. Jeanne asks Sean if he is mad, and he denies that he is - but she says that she heard him and John bitching her out and Sean looks like the cat that got caught eating the canary with the feathers sticking out of his mouth. Despite the error, Sean asks Jeanne for forgiveness. They make up, and...

...in the Screen Test, Sean admits that Jeanne did a great job. There is a woman, though, that does screw up her line - and it's Mae. Mark says that it's natural that she gets caught in the moment, but that could spell disaster. Melisande thinks that she did a great job - but they screwed up the kiss and she was thinking about redoing the scene. She didn't use it, because she thought that she would be giving the wrong message...but should she have if the penalty is elimination?

They all talk about this during dinner, and they talk about how the Call back is going to suck. The producers don't think that John and Corinne sucked, and Marki is impressed that she is the only woman that would take the fall from the car. They liked Sean - but they didn't think that Jeanne improved. They thought that both Melisande and Jared have vastly improved - but is Jared the person who they want to cast? Mae screwed up his line - but there was a split between if they thought that it was because she was weak of if Mark was weak. It definitely looks like Mark and Mae are going, but did Jeanne do enough damage to herself to replace Mae on the Titanic?

Tina comes back to tell them that the next script is called 'Road Kill', which stars 3 people in a dangerous high speed chase. Two of the eight people are going to be road kill right about now, but it won't be Sean or Corinne, who got called up first. Joining them are John and Jeanne, so the bottom four on the couch last time will be the same 4 people on the couch this time. The final two people to advance will be... Jared and Melisande. Marki says that neither of them seemed vulnerable, and the weak scene did them in. Mark now admits that he needed to take it more seriously. How could you not take this seriously? 3 other guys took it seriously, and that's why he's out.

Next week - it's the finale! We move from 3 pairs to 1 as we figure out who will be starring in their own movie - or who will be steering the Titanic into the iceberg.