From 71 to 51 - July 11

Gordon: Over the past month, we've seen a variety of acts. Some of them
good, most of them bad, and some of them guys who can't wait to get into women's
clothing.
Don: Yipes.
Gordon: Welcome to the semifinals of America's Got Talent. For this recap,
America's got...Donut!
Don: HI, all.
Gordon: And Americas's got me, Gordon Pepper, along with Don Harpwood.
Don: Should be an interesting night.
Gordon: We have 71 acts. In the span fo 2 weeks, 51 of those acts will be
done. We are now in the Las Vegas Callbacks. Each of the acts get 1 performance.
35 will advance, and 35 will go bye-bye. David says that the talent this year
is better than last years. Do you buy it?
Don: Not really.
Gordon: I dont either. Sharon says to step up like they've never done before.
Piers says that the next 3 minutes is the most important 3 minutes of their
life. The judges are looking for who has stepped up their game. The acts will
be divided into music and variety. The 70 acts get to his Vegas for the
evening. Leonid has his best outfit on...that is if he's trying to get a date with
Chiquita Banana.
Don: Does Leonid really dress like that normally?
Gordon: Yes. And we get the obligatory happy shots from the contestants as
they get to see Stomp, while we hear from Leonid and Man-kira. Others, like
Terry Fader, rest while the rest see Jerry Springer in a magic act and Blue Man
Group stomping away. The Red Neck Tenors get some pointers from the cast of 'The
Phantom of the Opera'. The next morning, the acts are congregating. The smart
acts are preparing. The judges will NOT be giving out critiques until
everyone is done. The Glamazons are first, and them making it to the next round
validates them. Their song is 'Hey Big Spender' from Chicago
Don: Nice.
Gordon: Sharon thought their harmony was off and Piers agrees. I thought they
were stronger in the first round. Next up - Johnny Come lately, the small
group of high school kids that knocked everyone out on the first show. I hate to
say it , but I also liked them better the first time.
Don: Same here.
Gordon: The judges agree, and Johnny Come Lately was concerned that they had
their worst effort in Nevada. Fallon is up - and she had guitar issues. She
knows she needs her A Game, but right now she needs to get her A String in tune.
Her performance is better than the first time, but the guitar string is out
of tune and it's noticeable. The judges don't think she has that extra oomph
and she has good reason to be concerned. So far, we haven't seen anyone step
up. 45 Year Old Sheila Ramziore was next. Unlike the other acts before them, she
had a very mediocre first audition. Her version of 'I Just Called to Say I
Love You' did not help. Shes all over the place. The judges liked her. No
accounting for taste this season, apparently.
Don: No kidding...
Gordon: We see Byrain, Cas and our Teenaged Marylander here. Not to mention
The Duttons (Celtic Spring 2007) again. Cas is back...and...FINALLY we get a
good performance.
Don: Now we're talkin'!
Gordon: And...the judges hated him. Wha? Explain this to me, Donut
Don: I wish I could.
Gordon: I think AGT needs American Judges
Don: Agreed.
Gordon: Butterscotch the Beat-Boxer lives her life through music and hangs
out in the corner
Don: Wasn't she the one with the banana during auditions?
Gordon: Yes. She had the banana. She has it now on a piano as she sings - and
beat boxes with piano accompaniment. That's HOT. She is so in the next round.
Now THIS is what the judges are talking about when they say Raise Your Game.
Don: That was cool.
Gordon: If she doesn't get the next pass, then this show is a farce. Byrain
(of Abendz) gives us his performance, and he also improves vastly over his last
time out.
Don: Nice performance.
Gordon: The judges actually like him, and we're finally in agreement. Michael
(the big fat guy who pleaded for a second chance) has the flu. Suck it up,
Michael. Michael sings the always heard 'You Raise Me Up'. He has a good voice,
and the judges are impressed with him. Now for the results.
Don: Here we go...
Gordon: All of the kiddies - Johnny Come Lately, Lil C, Farron, etc.
advance. The Glamazons and Butterscotch join them. Sheila is out. Cas and the Duttons
advance. Byrain is...out?!?
Don: Whoa.
Gordon: Michael and the Redneck Tenors...advance. Next up...the Variety Acts.
20 Music acts made it, so Im guessing we'll have 15 variety acts.
Gordon: Granny Pearl starts it off. She gets...no laughs and three judges who
say it's a shame.
Don: Didn't really impress...
Gordon: Eli's act...unravels as the magic set falls apart. That will kill
him. A step band...doesn't step. The Great Throwdini (knife throwing act) once
again misses his mark.
Don: Ouch.
Gordon: A ventriloquist that we didn't see before comes back with old shtick.
Don: This is not looking good...
Gordon: Piers 'You would think with a million dollars at stake, with a 1 in
71 chance of winning it, you would come out like a hurricane, trying to win our
hearts. So far, I've been really disappointed'. THAT spurs David to give a
lecture to the rest of the acts. He warns them to come out and wow them with
their personality.
Gordon: Of course, all of the choking acts opens the door to 2 people who
haven't gone yet - Man-kira and Leonid.
Don: Ack.
Gordon: You don't think that either...or both...will get in, do you?
Don: If at least one of them do get through, I'll need that barf bucket
again.
Gordon: I've got it right here. 37 year old John Mitchell gets to do some
baton twirling. He gets a flaming baton...no not Leonid or Man-kira.
Don: lol
Gordon: I mean he sets the baton on fire.
Don: That looked cool.
Gordon: He's flawless in his execution, and I think he will get in. Now....do
you think you will be using the bucket this evening?
Don: I'm hopeful that I won't need it. As long as the other acts step up
like John did...
Gordon: What if the acts who step up are...Mankira and Leonid?
Don: I'll be sick.
Gordon: Anthony Reed and Kevin James, both magicians, will be competing
against each other, possibly. They both know each other - Anthony Reed says that
Kevin was his mentor, while Kevin says he has to bring his a game. Anthony gets
out of a tank of water while placing his female assistant in there.
Don: Whoa.
Gordon: The judges thought that was impressive. Kevin does a scene where a
patient gets dismembered, then brought back to life.
Don: Wow.
Gordon: The judges - also impressed with that. Christian Netitia Stonyev, the
15 year old acrobat who balanced with a dog, has to do his act sans dog, who
got bitten by another dog and has to sit this one out. Sharon wanted to see a
dog. Sharon, all you have to do is look in the mirror.
Don: lol
Gordon: Next up...the act that Don has been waiting all night for...Man-Kira!
Don: Eww...
Gordon: Man-kira does...pretty much the same thing he did last time. If
anything, the first act was better.
Don: This is one time when I wish the Xs were active...
Gordon: Piers thought he did better. David 'That was the longest 3 minutes of
my life'. We still have to see Jason Block's long lost brother Leonid perform.
Don: And hopefully he will be edited out.
Gordon: Meghan Miller was asked to bring adult material to her act. She gives
us Ventriloquism gone broadway. The judges think she should be singing. Bruce
Block (the person with the talking bunny) had an act, but his assistant
pulled out the night before, so he has to do another act. The new act - he decides
to pull a Rabbi out of the Hat
Don: Ha!
Gordon: And behind the hat...No Head! Clever. Sharon loved the fact that he
did what the judges wanted and came back with something new. Also bringing
something new are the stilters, who play leapfrog. The lariat from the first round
plays with whips and we have a dog doing jump rope. We also see the 30 second
acts in round one (including the tumblers)...do 30 seconds. Kashif Memon, The
Indian dancer...does nothing for me. Sharon loves it. I think Sharon loves
everything
Gordon: Kashif, that is.
Don: Didn't seem to bring anything new from what I saw.
Gordon: Ivan the Urban Action Figure...We saw what he did last time. He
promises to make an impact with the biggest moment of his life. He starts with
attempting to jump over 6 chairs. The problem is that he trips on the first one
and does a flying bodypress on the rest of them.
Don: He's not moving...
Gordon: That knocks him out cold.
Don: I don't think that was the intended impact...
Gordon: The EMT comes in and the ambulance comes on the scene. Fortunately,
Ivan is Ok as he goes to the hospital. Unfortunately, that stops the acts cold
and we move right to the results. We don't get to see Leonid. I guess that's
ALSO good news.
Don: Yep.
Gordon: Piers and Sharon agree on their choices. David...isn't' very happy.
Uh oh...
Don: Oh, boy...
Gordon: Granny and Bruce...go home. Not enough Rabbis.
Gordon: Cocoa Brown (The black comedienne), Kevin James, and Lazy Legs and
Ill-matic Styles (the dancing guy with the crutches)...all advance.
Don: One of those looked like Leonid...
Gordon: And also advancing....Leonid.
Don: Gordon. Bucket. Now.
Gordon: (Hands over bucket)
Don: *Throws up*
Gordon: Anthony Reed, Terry Fader, Kashif Memon and the guy who plays with
ropes...advances. The acrobat with no dog - out. He cries and winds up getting
consoled by Sharon. John Mitchell and Eli Kerr, who screwed up the act - gone.
Side Swipe, The Fault Line and, the guy with the dogs...advance.
Mankira...advances??!!?!? Here's your bucket again, Don.
Don: *Throws up again*
Gordon: The ventriloquist female singer and a dance group who isn't Side
Swipe...gone. So since some of the acts were that dreadful, we get both Leonid AND
Mankira.
Gordon: Final thoughts?
Don: The fact that those two are STILL in it worries me.
Gordon: Me too. Any shot that either of them making the top 20?
Don: Sadly, at this point, I have a feeling that at least one of them will.
Gordon: What happens if they both do?
Don: I don't even want to think about that...
Gordon: And with that, we end this show. For the Donut, this is the Pepper,
saying Game Over and Spread the Love.