The show
Average Joe: Hawaii
9 p.m. Monday, NBC
American Idol
7 p.m. Tuesday, Fox
America’s Next Top Model
8 p.m. Tuesday, UPN
The Bachelorette
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC
Survivor All-Stars
7 p.m. Thursday, CBS
acThe Apprentice
8 p.m. Thursday, NBC
Last episode recap
Finally, an elimination episode. Larissa picks Boston Brian for a charming date. Hunk Theo shows a mean-spirited cartoon he drew of the joes, and they later hear about it. Theo reveals he was average in high school, and he cries. Jerry, Sean, Pete, Mike S., Theo and David Daskal get the boot.
In a California auditorium, Simon, Paula and Randy narrow 117 down to 32 in a tense few days. The performers had to come up with a three-person rendition, and then some solo performances.
Mercedes reveals she has lupus. The women’s personal styles are critiqued. They have a photo shoot dressed like celebrities. Jenascia, the 5-foot-7 “short” girl, is kicked out for not overcoming her height with something special.
With former “Bachelor” candidate Kelly Jo and another of Meredith’s friends in the house, the guys try to impress the pair in order to get individual dates with Meredith. She dumps Sean, Brad and whiny stalker-type Ryan.
Premiere and second episode. 18 former castaways, three tribes. Saboga loses the first immunity challenge and boots Tina. Then, they win the first reward challenge and decide to give everyone fire. But then they lose the second immunity challenge, and it’s bye crotchety old Rudy.
Because the women have been kicking so much butt, Trump mixes up the teams and sends them on a new task: $1,000 seed money to turn a profit at a flea market. Nick’s team wins, earning them a trip to see George Steinbrenner. Kristi’s team loses, and Trump fires her over Heidi and Omarosa.
Fast-forward
A tug-of-war for Larissa’s heart, a new woman enters the picture, and a romantic boat date is ruined by the other guys’ decision to explode the boat.
The 32 are divided into groups of eight for the next round, and the judging is turned over to audience phone voting.
“Original supermodel” Janice Dickinson grills the contestants in interviews; expect Dickinson to continue her holier-than-thou attitude. The women continue their extreme photo shoots with an underwater session.
Meredith visits the guys’ hometowns. Mysterious Ian could be the most interesting. He’s well-traveled and wealthy, and his family and friends might look down on his participating in the show.
Two contestants find love, or something like it. Rupert and Jerry, two strong personalities, collide. And Richard tackles a shark.
NBC trots out a bunch of “celebrities” such as
Rocco DiSpirito to help the teams with a charity auction.
Get real
The producers must have finally granted David Daskal’s release. He had been around long enough to serve as the dorky foil, and it wouldn’t surprise if Larissa kept him around solely after consultations with producers.
It sure seems like it has taken forever to get to the audience participation part this year. So many weeks of auditions have almost made us forget the real meat of the process.
Because of her lupus, and because she hasn’t annoyed anyone too much,
Mercedes is surely the sentimental favorite for now, though she might not have the energy to last for long.
The last episode was a new boring low for “The Bachelorette.” The dates were uninspired–another gondola ride?–and Meredith clearly succumbed to the show’s trappings rather than be herself.
Does Richard Hatch have a shot at winning? One possible scenario: He convinces people to keep him around because he’d be the best person to face in the final two, but then people vote for him since he played so well.
Simply because of numbers, the women stand a worse chance of making it through the next few rounds. Subconsciously, there might be some effort to even out the teams.
