Chico: Okay, everybody now... *singing* Take me out to the game show.... Take me out to the crowd....
Ryan: Buy me some dalmatians and cheap furniture...
Chico: Hey everybody, I'm Chico Alexander, and from somewhere in America, the opening day edition of WLTI... is on!
Ryan: What? no dalmatians for $154, Chuck?
Gordon: lol - This is Gordon Pepper - and we're wild about baseball... unless you're a New York Mets Fan.
Joe: "Game Show Man" Joe Van Ginkel here. I'm an Angels fan. AND a fight fan too, and The Ultimate Fighter finale is tonight.
Ryan: I'm Ryan Vickers, where in Toronto the Blue Jays' stadium is no longer the Skydome, but the Rogers Centre - but I think I'll call it the "Cable Box".
Chico: The Cable Box?
Ryan: Yeah, because the Rogers Centre doesn't have the ring to it...
Joe: Hmm.
Ryan: And someone mentioned it on the radio so I think I'll go with it :-)
Chico: And on deck from the home of the Mariners, Rob Seidelman.
Rob: Blech the Mariners. The West Coast's Answer to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Gordon: They were in the ALCS only a few years ago.
Rob: Note, a few years ago.
Ryan: Yeah, and I miss my expos :-)
Rob: I miss your expos.
Gordon: We also have a special guest joining us - my sister, Bonnie!
Chico: From the home of the Mets. Say hi, Bonnie...
Rob: Meet the Mets.
Ryan: Hey Bonnie!
Bonnie: Hello.
Rob: Hi Bonnie.
Gordon: Bonnie will be helping us start the show. Who is your favorite American Idol singer, Bonnie?
Bonnie: Hmm... can I put in a disclaimer that I have slowly become disillusioned with all of them?
Gordon: Sure.
Bonnie: But I think Bo has the best potential.
Chico: Wow... disillusioned with all of them...
Bonnie: It seems to be a cheese fest.
Joe: So am I, Bonnie. Hey, I like that answer. I was rooting for Amanda Avila.
Chico: Well, I'm going to have to agree with that. Especially since my favorite left this week.
Gordon: Nikko Smith left, and although he wasn't my favorite, I did like him.
Chico: Nikko Smith, son of baseball legend Ozzie Smith.
Bonnie: I liked him too.
Chico: Continuing with the theme.
Joe: I think we're all in shock that Scott Savol hung on, aren't we?
Chico: Shock wasn't the word I was thinking of.
Joe: So I gathered.
Bonnie: I'm not a big fan of him, he doesn't have much of a personality, or a voice for that matter.
Rob: Especially after our favorite party poopers, TheSmokingGun.com found out some huge dirt.
Chico: He had a backstory, which brings up... yeah, that, Rob.
Bonnie: That should not preclude him from competition as he sought treatment, which is good in terms of a role-model stand point.
Chico: So that brings up a question... Do people factor in background when they vote?
Gordon: I definitely think they do.
Rob: Sure, why not.
Joe: I dunno.
Gordon: Thats what gives people a personality and would give the audience a chance to relate or vote for them.
Chico: The sole dissenter in Joe. Care to explain?
Joe: I'm not really dissenting here. I'm just not sure. Besides, if they really voted on background, Savol would probably be out.
Gordon: Well, you have to remember that you're not voting for who should be out - you are voting for who should stay. What do you think, Bonnie?
Bonnie: Hmm...I guess I have mixed feelings, like I said before I think in some ways b/c he sought treatment that actually shows that he does not think his behavior was acceptable, but I don't think in general society thinks that what he did was out of the norm, so I don't think it will effect him, I will spare you my view of society...
Chico: That's cool. I spare my view, and I'm quite the bastard about it. Anyway, there was one more... key element in play, Gordon..
Gordon: We talking Chaos Theory, Chico?
Chico: We talking Chaos Theory, that tricky Charlie Numb3rs thing.
Gordon: It's evident that the chaos theory is in full swing this past week. All of the R& B voters who rushed to save Nadia and Anwar forgot all about Nikko and Vonzell, which is why they are at the bottom. Scott also had an R&B base, so that's why he joined them (and I'm sure his press didn't help).
Gordon: So for this week's Chaos lesson, we look to next week.
Chico: Sure bets, barring performance: Anwar and Vonzell, for two.
Gordon: You are correct, Chico.
Chico: Thanks, Ed :-)
Joe: Hohohohohohoho.
Gordon: We'll look at 2 patterns. Everyone will be voting to keep them safe, so now the pendulum swings the other way - to the only other R& B person who was safe - Nadia. The thing that will help her - with Nikko eliminated, all 3 of them will probably get chunks of those votes.
Chico: Scott'll be inundated with votes as well, narrowly averting danger, leaving the other only pure popper... Anthony.
Gordon: We now go to the second part - the audience is more than welcome to answer this. What do we have way too much of now?
Chico: Actually, too many people that are inconsistent.
Gordon: That too, but genre-wise.
Chico: Soulsters? There are three of nine of the remaining contestants.
Gordon: We have too many WHITE BOYS!
Chico: I stand corrected.
Gordon: 8 people left. 4 of them white males. One of them has to go.
Bonnie: Constantine!
Rob: Savol will get booted this week.
Joe: Constantine AND Bo, Bonnie.
Bonnie: No, I like Bo.
Gordon: Bonnie likes Bo, Joe - lol
Joe: I don't, Bonnie.  Rob, Scott probably should have been booted THIS week.
Chico: Let's look at those four: Constantine is a crossover rocker. Bo is a solid rocker. Scott is "White Ruben" as Quisla says, and Anthony is Clay Aiken incarnate.
Gordon: lol... I think Bo and Constantine are both safe.
Chico: No doubt.
Gordon: Bo has a huge rocker base and Constantine draws both from Rock and Pop. I think Savol and Anthony are in a world of hurt.
Chico: So Constantine will always have a big bank of votes to draw upon.
Bonnie: Constantine is not a rocker, he just has long hair.
Gordon: And what hurts Anthony even more is that Scott's fans KNOW that he is in trouble. So with himself being in the chaos theory cross-hairs and with no votes coming to him from the departed Nikko, unless Anthony sings lights out and sways fans that way, he's in deep trouble.
Bonnie: I agree.
Chico: Word...
Joe: That's my line....
Gordon: So we move from predicting a loser to watching a team of losers get dissolved. U-Long...is no more.
Chico: *lights a candle*.
Joe: So long, Ulong. Or is that U-Suck?
Ryan: U-r-right.
Chico: U-lose.
Gordon: (groan).
Joe: U-lame?
Rob: U-right.
Chico: U-went too far with the joke here.
Ryan: U-haul them all out of here.
Gordon: U-betcha.
Chico: So now that Stephenie is an army of one, what happens next?
Rob: Well, the bad news for Stephenie is that she is out next week. The good news is this. She has at least made the final 9 and will make the Jury.
Gordon: I’m not sure that she's leaving, Rob.
Chico: Me netiher...
Gordon: If you remember on the last episode, Tom even said that Stephanie was part of his secret plan, so I doubt she's going to be the first one to leave.
Rob: The odds of her surviving this week is pretty bleak, and if she doesn't win Immunity, she won't win.
Gordon: I think Tom has more fish to fry before eliminating Stephanie - like a Coby fish and a Janu fish.
Chico: I think Janu has dead weight written all over her.
Gordon: I think Stephenie won't win - but I don't think she's leaving this week. If she isn't leaving - who is?
Chico: I stay with Janu.
Gordon: Just to be different, and since he's on the same block, I'll pick Coby =) So we move on to Survivor Alumni Rob and Amber as they are just chopping up the field in Amazing Race. Are you all convinced that they are the best team ever?
Rob: ok. Now for AR, yes I am.
Chico: As much as it pains me to say, yes I do.
Gordon: I agree with Rob - this team has just wrote the new rulebook on how to play this game.
Rob: They are using what they already have, their 15 minutes of fame to their advantage. Plus they are masters of manipulation.
Ryan: I don't think so. They've made some mistakes off the top... and I still say they come at it from a radically different perspective, having both done Survivor twice before.
Gordon: True - but I guarantee you that future teams will be using tips and strategies that they have come up with, and that makes them one of the best teams ever in my book.
Ryan: It wouldn't surprise me if they changed the penalty on the roadblock rule, for example, for future editions.
Chico: Like how?
Ryan: Make it a stiffer penalty?
Gordon: I don’t think it would have mattered - Rob convinced other teams to take the penalty as well, which ensured them that they would be around for the leg.
Chico: That's right.
Gordon: What’s fun this season is to see what Amber and Rob will do next.
Chico: While we're talking about them, you know we can't forget their main adversaries... which would be everyone else, but MAINLY Lynn & Alex. Do you agree with their statement that they are decent players, only sneaky?
Ryan: I don't know, I'm starting to enjoy the adventures of Meredith + Gretchen, whom I'm sure we all picked to go the way of the wind earlier. Lynn and Alex are starting to drive me nutty... they're really starting to be portrayed as annoying, I think.
Rob: They are annoying.
Chico: Starting? Heh.
Ryan: lol
Rob: Nails on a chalkboard are less annoying.
Ryan: Hey! Don't say that to a teacher - that sound gives me a chill.
Gordon: I think they are 'decent' players - but decent isn't going to give you the win.
Chico: But arte they sneaky?
Gordon: I haven't seen it yet. Maybe the editors sneakily edited it out.
Chico: Well, CBS does have the best editors Viacom money can buy.
Ryan: Sneaky... everyone is sneaky.
Rob: In a way.
Gordon: (shrugs)
Chico: I don’t think Meredith & Gretchen are THAT sneaky... They've played straight all the way, I thought.
Gordon: I agree.
Chico: And that's why they're in trouble.
Ryan: Will they ever be able to get their backpacks back? Maybe if they win a leg?
Chico: I have absolutely no idea...
Rob: I wonder what will happen if they lose another non-elim leg aka come in last.
Ryan: Such is life I suppose?
Chico: I suppose.
Gordon: Maybe they have to turn in all their clothes!
Ryan: I don't know about that...
Chico: See, I was thinking that, but I didn’t want to say...
Gordon: Sure - make me say it - get me in trouble with Jason Elliott again.
Joe: ROFL.
Chico: Hey, who's forking over the money for the site again? Oh yeah, me. =p If anything, you'll get in trouble with me. But we'll talk LATER about that.
Gordon: Fine - I'll be the scapegoat. Baaaaaaa.
Ryan: Oh dear.
Chico: Heh...
Gordon: Getting back to business, there were no scapegoats in Jeopardy, as we continued the KenJen tournament.
Chico: We're down to the wire in round 1.
Ryan: And we're almost at round two, correct?
Gordon: There was, however, a lot of emotion and a lot of close games.
Ryan: Sorry, it was report card week, haven't been watching.
Joe: ROFL.
Gordon: What was the better moment - the almost win of Michael Braun or the Paul Gutowski primordial scream win?
Joe: Did that scream come from his Gutowski?
Chico: Wow. Close call. I'd say Gutowski.
Rob: Yeah, the Gutowski scream gets the nod.
Chico: But Michael's close win was a close second. Would've been interesting to see someone as young as Michael against the vets in round 2.
Rob: However, I didn't like the $91 wager that Michael made.
Chico: What was up with that?
Rob: He knew he was in third and had to make a big bet.
Chico: He HAD to have forgotten to write the two zeroes. The only explanation that makes sense AND got it right. The Final Jeopardy! involved the secretary of Education, while Michael thought it was "HUD". So he had to have gotten it right AND bet everything. Like we always say, you play to win.
Gordon: I thought Gutowski was great - should make him a crowd favorite for the next round. I also think you'll see a lot more emotion from the players as we get deeper into the tournament
Ryan: I'm quite happy that Lan Djang won though :-)
Gordon: The Canadians Live!
Chico: I'm happy that April won, myself... She was a trip.
Ryan: That makes I believe, 3 for 5 kids - Daunt, Slaven and Djang won...
Gordon: Yep - the kiddies are coming! And the youth has spread to Nashville Star, which has come into controversy of their own.
Chico: *sung to Handel's Hallelujah Chorus* Controversy, controversy.
Gordon: A few weeks ago, Justin David was perceived VERY negatively by saying that he hasn't brought his 'A' game to the competition - and he blamed the editing for that. I shrugged it off, but then Tamika Tyler called a prayer meeting that was perceived by some as an attack against fellow contestant Erika Jo - and she got booted.
Chico: And A plus B equals...
Ryan: Ooh! Ooh! The derivative of 2x^3!
Chico: That would be 6x^2... but not it.
Gordon: After the booting, Tamika lashed out at the producers for editing it in a way that perceived her as going after Erica - when she was actually one of the people supporting her. Is too much being determined by editing instead of talent?
Chico: Almost like the producers know about the trends of the audience... and are choosing a winner? Holy cannoli!
Gordon: Idol tried to do that last season by profiling Fantasia Barrino's kid - and the audience responded by almost booting her.
Chico: They already got themselves into hot water over having two winners who were of an unmarketable demographic. I mean, why else would they let kiddies on.
Joe: I'm sorry...did you just say "the fix is in?"
Chico: To quote Tom Hornikel... Nashville Star, for all its intents and purposes... quite possibly... may be.... rrrrrRRRRRRRIGGED!
Gordon: You don't think the editors would MANIPULATE the audience into picking the next Nashville Star, do you?
Joe: Yeeeeeeesssss.
Chico: And people wonder why I don't take the show seriously.
Joe: Same reason I don't: it sucks.
Gordon: I don't think it's rigged, per se - I think they are trying to make the show more interesting by making the audience youthful and adding Cletus T. Judd and drama to make it more of a reality/talent show. The problem is that the changes...aren't working. It's not making it interesting, and if anything, it's compromising the fairness of the show.
Chico: How is THAT making this show more interesting?
Rob: I’ll sum it up.
Chico: Please do, Rob.
Rob: Reality shows on USA: teh suck. They can't make a good reality show. That's all there is to it.
Gordon: Combat Missions ruled
Rob: I never was convinced to watch Combat Missions when I saw it first.
Gordon: Very underrated fun show.
Rob: I just couldn't get into the show, but then again I was 14 at the time.
Chico: Combat Missions I'll give'em. Anywho, back to my comment... Have you once heard the NS/SS producers talk about how fair the process is?
Gordon: I think that Idol has the ratings, so they have to defend themselves - which I think they do, nicely. If Nashville Star isn't careful, they may have to answer to those allegations - and they won't nearly have as much of a good defense. The Star Search judges have come out to say that they were biased - I don't think the producers have much of a defense after hearing that.
Chico: And you never hear them talking about the fairness of the show, defending it and all, something that Idol has done countless times in the past.
Gordon: What also killed Star Search when the judges admitted that they used their bias to keep people in the circle.
Chico: Well, at least they were never caricaturized (ahemPaulaahem).
Joe: ROFL.
Gordon: You even had Arsenio telling the judges that they have to base their opinions on that one performance, and once it was evident that none of the people competing to be in the circle (especially the adult singers) were going to be seriously threatened, the ratings went bye-bye.
Chico: Which is a shame, really, because there was a friend of mine, Whitney Hollar (HEY GIRRRRL! heh), who wanted to be on the show.
Gordon: BTW - A few of those singers who couldn't get into the Winner's Circle included one Mr. Judd, one Nadia Turner and one Amanda Avila - sound familiar?
Joe: Indeed.
Chico: Oh yeah. And so we've come full circle in act 1 :-)
Gordon: Seems to be a good breaking point.
Joe: Clean Break!
Gordon: When we come back, we look at GSN's new schedule and give presents to...worms!
Chico: Worms?
Gordon: Worms!
Chico: Is it Worm Day?
Rob: Probably.
Gordon: Don’t squirm out yet - we'll be right back.