Saturday, April 8, 2006
American Idol
Fan Base
Part One
We know that some of the Idol contestants have a fan base. We’ve never actually seen it but we are aware of their existence because Idol-in-chief judge Simon Cowell says, “yes my adoring idol fans, there are fan bases."
So maybe a fan base is really something we made up just so that we could explain away the lengthy stay of such idols as Scott Savol, Nikki McKibbon, or John Stevens. However, since I am one never to let a good mystery go unsolved, I decided to track down these fan bases myself and award the best fan base I can find with Clyde’s Ultimate Fan Base trophy. And what better place is there to start than the official American Idol Discussion boards.
On the Idol boards each contestant has their own place where fans can leave messages of love, praise and adoration. I decided with some fear and trepidation to enter into Mandisa’s cubby fan board figuring that since she was now a banished Idol, her fans would be shedding many tears. Perhaps I could offer them some comfort.
When you go into the idol boards, the first thing you see is a message saying no bashing, no teasing and no gloating. It sure doesn’t sound like a lot of fun does it? But like most signs, some people just don’t pay attention because the first sorrowful Mandisa message I come across is by someone called Missing City that tells me:
GET A FREAKIN LIFE!!! IT AINT THE END OF THE WORLD, LOSERS. STOP WHINING!!!!
Well, that obviously wasn’t a Mandisa fan. The funny thing is that the message is there and then suddenly it isn’t. In fact the whole thread disappears like a puff of smoke.
So I decide to try again. This time I land smack dab into a discussion about Mandisa, religion, Gays, and Mandisa’s interview with The Gay Advocate. It’s certainly an extensive and winding discussion of Biblical proportions, but the only thing I learn is that if any of these people were Mandisa’s fan base, many of them excommunicated themselves from her church. So obviously I’m not going to find out much about Mandisa’s fan base in here.
I’m a little bit luckier in the next topic. Someone wants me to sign a petition begging to either bring Mandisa backor pledge to buy a CD if they let her make one. Hmmm…this might not be a fan base either because if they were true blue sincere Mandisa fans they would know that there are already some CD’s on Amazon with Mandisa wailing away and if they were buying them wouldn’t those CD’s already be in the top ten sales? And then I see Missing City’s message posted again in several places in all caps just as before. And just as before they all suddenly vanish, leading me to believe that there must be a Mandisa wizard about zapping anti-Mandisa prose with his souped up laser gun as if he were the repo man.
So obviously I’m on the wrong track and decide to leave the Mandisa message boards and continue my search elsewhere
I quickly stop into Kellie Pickler’s palace to have a look around. Now this almost certainly is a fan base. I can tell by all the abbreviated words such as y, and u, and luv, and every body has names like pickpickler101, kelliemania, titanspickler, and kellieshometown. They seem to have three big worries right now. The first worry and most immediate concern is that the Idol theme next week is Queen. I would say about 85 percent of the Kellie fans aren’t exactly sure if Queen is animal, vegetable, or mineral, or just that woman over in England who wears a crown on her head. After much debate they finally decide that Queen must be a musical group from the animal kingdom. One Kellie fan named dragonfly quickly laments:
ok i just went to a lyrics site because aside from the obvious songs that everybody knows, i couldn't think of any of their songs. i couldn't tell you how many albums i looked at, but i didn't recognize anything. ('cept for we r the champions, we will rock u, bohm rpdy, bicycle, another 1 bites the dust ect) the only one that rang a bell and i think kellie could do but shouldn't is the great pretender. i think bashers would have a field day with that. but it would be in her range. i don't know what else to suggest for her. Uuugghhhhhhh
After I deciphered that message using my super secret decoder ring for thirteen year old speak, I decided dragonfly does not like Queen, and that she may not be a member of the real Pickler fan base since her name does not have the words Kellie, Pickler, or even pickle in it. She is undoubtedly an imposter. I sigh and move on, still wondering if I should try to make contact with these strange alien life forms that I have found.
Next I discover that at least half of the people in the Kellie cave are up close and personal friends with her, went to school with her, was on the cheerleading squad with her, graduated with her, double dated with her, was engaged to her, baby sat her, or at the very least have had Kelly serve them food on roller skates at the Sonic. In fact, I almost have to believe that every single citizen of Albemarle has visited the Sonic at least once while Kelly was working there. One young fan even aspires to get a job at the Sonic so that she can have a bright shiny future just like Kellie. I also discover that out of 15,000 citizens in Albemarle at least 14,999 love her and worship the ground she walks on. But I began having doubts as to whether this is actually an Idol fan base or if I've mistakenly joined an Albemarle town meeting. Maybe a fan base is in reality nothing more than those people in your home town or old high school who love you, and everybody else in the country just votes on talent. I finally decided that I’m not going to find the answers to my quest here and I move on over to check out Ace Young.
Unfortunately, the very first Ace message I read requires me to dig out my tweener super decoder ring once again:
i am mad of Ace
i am listening to all the songs he did not on IDOL and i was dancing to it and tripred over my og them a pillow and last my brothers shoe
and i am tring so hard not to yell i like it so hard cause my family is in bed
What my super decoder ring is telling me is that this person, was listening to Ace in her bedroom in the dark when she was supposed to be in bed, tripped over something, possibly her brother’s shoe that she’s obviously been hiding from him, that she hurt some part of her anatomy in the process although details on that are a bit sketchy, and she’s trying not to scream in pain in case her parents were to find out that she’s on the computer when she’s supposed to be in bed and that such a discovery would cause her to be grounded from now until the time she turns 21 which could include banning her from the privilege of voting 200 times in two hours for Ace.
Afterwards, there are many Ace groupies offering words of sympathy to the young lady. Yet, I have a feeling if it were a Kellie fan they would be congratulating her for being just like Kellie. I’m wondering if I should go back to the Kellie board and pretend that’s my story and find out for sure. I decide against it and move on.
I find this message on a post and am able to decipher it with out a decoder ring:
Ace is HOT!! Hollaback if you luv him!!
The message supporting this topic gives us the complete details:
Hey fellow fans! I think Ace Young has a good chnce of winning if he keeps picking good songs for his voice! He is HOT! I think he reminds me of Prince Charming on Shreck 2. Like he has the same hair and is CHARMING!! You have my support Ace!
It is followed by about seven or eight responses that simply proclaim: Holla! Or Holla Back! It is quite obvious that Ace does not have the ultimate fan base. Shouldn’t there be at least a hundred or two hundred Holla’s? I decide to leave, safe in the knowledge that with only eight Holla’s, Ace is in a lot of trouble in the weeks ahead.
I quickly enter Chris Daughtry’s board and take up residence among the Chrisaders as they call themselves. Chris camp is a much busier place than that of Ace’s. It seems as if Chris’s space has been invaded by the Paris Posse. The Paris Posse wishes the Chrisaders the best of luck in the days ahead. It’s all very congenial and nice but I can’t help but think that both groups are sucking up for some converts should either Chris or Paris find themselves in the American Idol dumpster of has beens.
I then find a Chrisader who says she’s from South Africa and has been tracking American Idol on the internet. She sends Chris her best. I’m thinking perhaps I have finally found the ultimate fan base as this is the first fan of any contestant that would have to cross an ocean to take a seat in the idol studio. I am just about to award Chris the ultimate fan base trophy when I come across some invading fans making hay over the fact that there is a picture of Chris having a good time dancing with Kat and that he should be ashamed of himself for dancing with another woman. I quickly stuff the ultimate fan base trophy away, deciding that if you can’t defend your fortress from invading forces, then there is a weakness in your army somewhere. It is apparent that when it comes to the fans on the Idol message boards that they take no prisoners.
I check out Katherine McPhee’s fan base only to find that her followers are a bit unsure of themselves. They call them selves the Kat Pack sometimes but they are also recruiting people to join the McArmy to call in votes on Tuesdays. They seem a bit discouraged about Kat’s trip to the bottom two a couple of weeks ago. Obviously they are not the ultimate fan base.
Over at Bucky’s they call themselves the Covington Crew. It’s not a very catchy name at all which tells me that they must be lacking in either confidence or sincerity.
Elliott’s fans are gearing up for Queen Night with the phrase, E will, E will rock you. But they also call themselves the E-train. I can only imagine who comes up with these names. Is there a mysterious AI being who infiltrates the boards and supplies these group names before the competition starts? If it is, you can tell they didn’t think much of Bucky or Elliott before the competition began. Some of Elliott’s fans are making plans for his Idol CD when he wins the competition. I’m not sure if that is wishful thinking or if they are just delusional. But you have to give them points for hanging in there. They also ask the same question I’ve read at Bucky’s, Katharine’s, Kellie’s, and Chris’s. Is (insert name here) going to do Bohemian Rhapsody?
It was also at Elliott’s place that I discovered how ill a true fan really gets when their hero is in the bottom two contestants:
First, I looked at their seating arrangements...I was trying to see if the predictions were correct (someone's blog). During the commercial, I re-wound the tape and paused it...Mandisa, Elliott, and Paris consisted of the last or first 3. My heart started beating fast, I told my hubby that I needed to eat fast coz I was already feeling "sick" and my whole body was just shaking....I was back and forth the dining table to the computer room and then on the couch to watch the verdict. When B3 was announced, of course, I was in total shock, then Ryan told Paris to have a seat, my heart stopped..my whole body felt hypertensive, my hands and feet were clammy, ugh...Ryan told Elliott he was safe and because I have totally forgotten what I did after hearing that...my hubby is now telling me that I exhaled a BIG exhale!!....I voted my butt for 2 solid hours and will do the same...and will have to get my 2 teens to join the marathon this time!
And there was also this die hard E-trainer:
I felt so many things so fast. My first thought was plain old disbelief. Then I was downright BLEEPed. I started ranting at the TV and my friend who always comes to watch with me was trying to go home. I think I scared her. Then I started to feel sick and I think I even might have broke a sweat waiting on that BLEEP commercial for them to announce which it was. I just stood there staring at the tv repeating "he's safe, he's safe, he's safe, he's safe" until Ryan said it and then I let out a huge sigh of relief. Then I got angry again that someone like him with all the things anyone could ever look for in a role model was so unappreciated. I didn't even see anything past him telling Mandisa he loved her. I was too busy going off about how stupid America is. I barely slept and woke up still feeling sick and more so ... helpless because I knew I did all I could do on the voting. What a horrible feeling.
I didn’t have to get out my super decoder ring once to read any of that. Elliott may not have the ultimate fan base, but his fans sure do take everything to heart, and can write complete sentences. They won’t win the trophy, but I really like Elliot’s boards. It’s just that E-train thing that bothers me.
I wipe my tears of sympathy away and decide to check out Paris’s board. Paris’s board is a lonely and desolate place. She only has about 8700 posts, not even close to the next highest contestant. I find this very sad, and although I obviously can’t award the Paris Posse the trophy, I make up my mind to be more lenient on Paris in my show reviews. I have to also believe that I was wrong and the real reason they had been at the Chrisader camp minutes earlier was because they were preparing their concession speeches.
I head on over to Taylor’s Hick’s Soul Patrol. Right away I notice that Taylor fans have posted over 165,000 topics. That is over twice as many as the next nearest competitor, Chris. Wow, surely Taylor has the ultimate fan base!
In Taylor’s fan base, there is a Sgt. Moss, offering words of encouragement from Iraq. I am truly impressed because this is the first military fan I have run into since beginning my journey. I also find that there is a British Soul Patrol. Should I count them even if they can’t vote? They have a whole section just for International members of the Soul Patrol. I see people from Canada, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and even Japan. I begin polishing up my trophy to give to them while I continue to read.
I began to feel a bit uneasy, however. Something is wrong, and I know right away what it is. Taylor fans are just way too cocky and way too overconfident. I have never liked that. Overconfidence leads to complacency, complacency leads to disaster. I almost expect to see a Mission: Accomplished banner hanging somewhere and we know what happened the last time someone put a sign like that up.
I also notice that there is post after post about Taylor’s dancing, Taylor’s harmonica playing and Taylor’s hair. For every ten of those posts, there might be one that actually has to do with Taylor being able to sing. Alas, I have no choice but to conclude that these fans are more caught up in the novelty of Taylor’s act than anything else. And we know what eventually happens to novelty acts. One only has to delve into the history of William Hung to understand that. There will be no ultimate fan base trophy awarded on this day.
I close my browser, discouraged but not entirely deterred. I will award my trophy eventually, and I will begin my quest elsewhere on another day, perhaps with the unofficial fan clubs. Maybe next week, will be a good time to start. By that time there will be one less fan base to check out and a little less work for me. I’m always thankful for things like that.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
The Final 9 Results Show
Goodbye, Farewell, Amen
But let’s be real about this. My prediction of Mandisa’s departure last week or this week had nothing to do with her vocal ability. Nor did it really have much to do with the fact that she performed poorly last night.
Taylor’s performance last night was abysmal also. And yet it didn’t affect his standing. He also has had a few performances that were only average at best. Kellie is another prime example. In a genre that she supposedly excels at, she was at best, average. And last week, she could have chosen any country song then but, instead we get a worse than karaoke rendition of Tidy Bowl in a bucket. Yet, their standing remains unchanged regardless of what they do on stage. In fact, they could just about phone their performances in from here on out and it would appear that’s what Taylor may be doing at this point. Of those favored three, only Chris has shown any consistency at all.
It seems like it was just yesterday that Mandisa was favored to at least hang around until the top five or six, possibly longer than that. Despite her flaws in the lower register, she was far superior vocally to Paris, Bucky, Kellie, Ace and Elliott. So why did she plummet so drastically out of the competition? Yes, she made a couple of mistakes, but they were the kind of mistakes that can be brushed away if you’re one of the contestants who have been pimped by the producers since the auditions. Her “pimp” story was based only on the fact that Simon called her fat (we’ll need a bigger stage). We barely saw Mandisa again until she was picked to go to the final 24 at which point she told Simon that she had “forgiven” him. She certainly picked up a lot of support that night, but by that time contestants like Kellie and Taylor already had their fan bases running in high gear. One of Kellie’s fan sites was up and running before her audition tape was even aired. So whereas those three can afford average performances from time to time, and even a few mediocre ones, Mandisa is in the crowded field of Katharine, Bucky, Ace, Paris, and Elliott that can barely afford even one minor misstep.
It is just not very wise to sing Gospel Music on American Idol. Not that there’s a thing wrong with Gospel music itself. But singing Gospel music will do nothing to increase your fan support. A lot of people will say they love you for singing it, but they won’t change their vote from Column Pickler or Column Hicks to Column Mandisa because you chose to do so. And it can cost you some of your fans who are turned off by it and wish that you would have left it at your Beth Moore Bible Class. When your particular Gospel song opens up with a couple of lines that sound like they came out of a Jerry Falwell Sermon, it just compounds the problem. It is hard to say how many votes Mandisa’s song cost her last week. It wasn’t enough to drop her into the bottom three then, but you have to believe it gave her a big push in a downward direction.
Did the story that came out about her association with Beth Moore and Lifeway hurt her in the week leading up to Tuesday Night? It’s really hard to say. I’m not sure how much that story was circulated, but if she had strong phone support in the gay community it couldn’t have helped. Add to all of this the fact that Mandisa picked Tuesday night to be at her very worst. When you are not one of the chosen ones, if you even give just an average performance it can bring disaster. Remember last week when Katharine was standing along side Lisa Tucker? Her performance was one of the better ones of a mediocre evening but there she stood. The strangest thing of all is that Mandisa actually performed Any Man of Mine quite well tonight in her farewell performance, and if she had performed it that way last night, I may not be writing her AI obituary, but Elliott’s instead.
I do seem to feel that Bucky has siphoned off some of Kellie’s following. Not enough to change the final outcome but just enough to keep him on the show longer than he would be otherwise. Paris and Elliott were in the bottom three tonight simply because their performances were just so-so. I can guarantee you that’s the way it is going to be over the course of the next five weeks. Paris, Elliott, Katharine, Ace and Bucky will one by one fall by the wayside, it’s just a question of in what order. The only possible breakthroughs could be by either Katharine or Paris, and only if one of the three chosen ones completely fall flat on their faces in the weeks ahead. And I guarantee you that AI is not about to let that happen. One need to look no further than who they put out there front and center to star in the Ford commercial tonight to realize that.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
American Idol
The Day After
Nine Idols Singing
Some of the contestants improved on their performances of a week ago, some did not, others got worse. As a whole, the show was only slightly better than last week. It just seems like it’s been forever since we’ve had a really outstanding performance by anybody.
This being country night, Bucky and Kellie should own the stage and dazzle us with their country brilliance. Did they do that? Did you read my last line of the first paragraph?
Tonight as it turned out was also, “let’s rehabilitate Pickler night.” Were you convinced? Are we all just a bunch of no good Pickler bashers who don’t know what we’re writing about? We’ll get to Kellie soon enough.
I’m also not buying this bit where some of the singers are out of their element when singing country. That’s just an excuse. There are plenty of country songs that cross over into other genres that makes that argument null and void. Anyway, let’s get started with the worst going first.
Taylor Hicks – “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
As soon as I heard Taylor was going to sing this song I groaned. I remember when John Denver had such a big hit with it and living just a hop skip and a jump from the Mountain State at that time, there was no way to escape it. After having it rammed down my throat for what seemed like forever, I really learned to dislike it. I also find it to be a strange choice for Taylor. I can’t think of any reason he would pick this song out of so many other possibilities unless he owed the governor of West Virginia a favor.
Anyway, I know the song, know what it’s supposed to sound like and it is not supposed to sound like this in any way shape or form. It’s terrible. It’s just not the way Taylor is standing there singing it as if he might vomit it out, he’s also so far off key that I’m sure I hear the citizens of West Virginia praying in the background that he never gives any thought to recording it. Girlfriend Alice Kramden is in agreement with me although she sits mostly silent through the performance. She worships Taylor and it truly pains her to have to watch him fail so completely.
Randy doesn’t like it at all and says it’s just okay. Paula says the song choice didn’t allow Taylor to shine. Simon says it was safe, boring and lazy. I think the key word here is lazy. I don’t think Taylor put any effort into it at all this week but he’s not the only one.
Mandisa – “Any Man of Mine”
I don’t know if Mandisa thinks the outfit she is wearing tonight is supposed to make her look perky or what exactly. I do know that I now have a much greater appreciation of Shania Twain’s vocal ability. And tonight for the first time, utterly and completely, Mandisa puts her vocal limitations out there in the wide open spaces for us all to finally see. I’ve already mentioned in previous weeks how it appeared that Mandisa probably can’t sing in the lower vocal range. This once and for all confirms it completely. If you think there was anything good about this performance, then my suggestion is that you find another program to watch because you’re tone deaf and aren’t really tuning in properly to this one. It was an utter failure in every sense of the word. It was hard to be worse than Taylor tonight, but Mandisa somehow may have succeeded. And this is from a guy who has had her in the top three more often than not. Randy says he liked the last five seconds of the song. Paula says she can sing the phonebook. Maybe she should have. Simon says it was horrible and gets booed for practically saying the same thing that Randy just said. That tells you which opinion is the only one that really matters.
Elliott Yamin – “If Tomorrow Never Comes”
Elliott decides to give Garth Brooks a try. A few weeks back Bucky gave Garth a try with The Thunder Rolls and didn’t do so well. Elliott isn’t totally awful, and probably sounds a lot better just because of what we’ve heard from the previous two candidates. The vocals are okay, but I have to draw Simon’s karaoke gun on him. It doesn’t seem to me as if he’s into the song at all, and a couple of times I think his voice quivers as if he’s unsure of himself. It’s at this point that I put the Dodgers and Braves game on in the little picture in picture box to help ease my pain. The Dodgers are up 4 -1 and are doing better than the Idol contestants so far tonight.
Randy loves the song, and says he brought it down and is hot. Paula gives a speech that I can’t make a lick of sense of. It’s hard enough to decipher what she’s saying when she only speaks a few words, but on this occasion it’s impossible. Simon says it was a good song choice, the vocals weren’t great and that Elliot appeared nervous. Elliot says he was nervous which after this many performances you have to wonder why. Was Paula looking at his crotch or something?
Paris Bennett - “How Do I Live Without You”
Paris is going to sing the song from Con-air which was recorded by LeAnn Rimes, who was dumped in favor of a version by Tricia Yearwood, then was later released as a recording by LeAnn Rimes also. So now we get the Paris version, so she has two country stars she has to live up to. But she doesn’t. Paris crashes and burns faster than you can say Nicholas Cage. She’s totally off key, no clue as to what she’s singing about, and like Elliott seems to be going through the motions.
But, on the good side, I do like her outfit, her hair, and the fact that she toned down her play-baby shtick beforehand and afterwards. So I’m going to force myself to like it even if it did suck just for those reasons. Randy doesn’t care for it, and Paula absolutely positively doesn’t like it. Then Simon spoils everything by saying he loves it. But do you really believe him? I don’t. I think he saw an opportunity to praise a contestant that Randy and Paula were criticizing and jumped on it for that reason. I think that’s why he said he was “really enjoying it.” He also calls it “early Dionne Warwick.” Does this mean Paris has an infomercial in her future selling a Psychic Hotline? Alice says it’s not as bad as Taylor or Mandisa, and probably equal to Elliott’s performance. I think she was off key a lot more than Elliott though.
Ace Young – Tonight I Want to Cry”
Okay, were the rest of the contestants so bad that Ace sounds exceptional tonight? I’m really enjoying his rendition of this song. I think this may be the perfect Ace song. Mind you, it’s not a knock ‘em dead type of performance, but it is good and the best Ace has done since probably Father Figure. Alice is nodding her approval so I know I’m on the right track. This is easily the top performance up to this point but that wouldn't have been difficult to pull off any way. Randy said it was nice but boring. Paula disagrees but Randy is adamant that it was boring and seems ticked that Paula doesn’t think so. Simon thinks he made the right song choice and that it was one of Ace’s better performances.
Kellie Pickler – Fancy
Okay, this is country night. Country is Kellie’s genre. She should be able to bring the house down tonight, shouldn’t she? She should be able to give a performance that we will remember forever since this is her element. And in a way, this is her second country night in a row since she was able to sing about bubbles in buckets last week. She’s going to sing the Holy Grail of Reba songs, Fancy. Okay, I don’t know what an abridged version of Fancy is going to be like. It’s one of those story songs that if you cut it down to just over a minute it loses quite a bit.
But first, we find out that the Fox Producers roam the internet because Ryan is going to try to rehabilitate her reputation. First they bring up the calamari and salmon bit. It’s not very convincing at all. For one thing, it wasn’t just the calamari thing and never was. And when she mispronounces salmon again she has to think about how to mispronounce it in explaining herself. There is no mention of ballsy, tarantula, eyelashes, minx etc. etc. etc. etc., no mention of pageants and previous TV shows, no prom dress picture, or anything along those lines.
But I don’t care because the funny thing is that all the time I’m looking at Kellie while this is going on I can’t get over how exceptional her hair looks tonight. Whoever styled her hair did an amazing job, don’t you think? It’s just absolutely perfect. Of course when you can afford to fly your own personal hairdresser from Charlotte North Carolina just to do your hair, it should look spectacular. She may just be a normal all American-Albemarle girl but she’s a poor hard working roller skating sonic type of All-American girl who gets her hair done for $300 dollars a c
hop job on a regular basis, and then flies the guy out to California for a one shot job also.
And if you’re interested you can click here to read all about Carmen Cutrona or visit his web hair and spa web site here. And here’s a tip of the hat to Ken at Kick Pickler for leading me to that information. Well, so much for your rehabilitation job, Ryan, and thank you for giving me a good reason to drop that bit of information into this column.
Okay, but she still has to sing. It isn’t Reba, but then who is? It’s okay I guess. It’s not as bad as Paris, Mandisa or even Elliott. But I do notice that Kellie isn’t doing the chorus in the way it’s meant to be done, and it comes out almost as a shout until she brings it down to a lower register so she can handle it. Again, though, she has no clue as to what the song is about. It’s just not a song about a mother sending her daughter off to prostitution; it’s also a song about doing what you have to do to overcome the worst of hardships and how you in the end triumph over that by whatever means possible. That’s the whole point. But Alice likes it, I say it’s not anywhere near as good as Reba (whom I’ve seen perform this live twice), and she says nobody is as good as Reba, and I say yeah that’s true, but this is Kellie’s genre and her type of song so this performance should be a home run and it’s not, and Alice says, yeah but it’s better than Paris, Mandisa, and Elliott. Which is exactly the same thing I said a few hundred words ago.
Randy loves it and says it’s her night, and Paula loves it and Simon hated the song but said she performed it well.
Chris Daughtry – “Making Memories of Us”
Chris and country go together like ice cream and sauerkraut. On the other hand, Chris is determined to make Simon eat his words of last week and show he’s not a one trick pony by singing a ballad. And let me say that if this song doesn’t prove that Chris has a good voice nothing will. In my opinion, Chris positively showed that he can be quite versatile when called upon to do so. I really liked Chris’s performance tonight, and this should put the one trick pony label to bed once and for all. What’s strange about me liking Chris this year is I wasn’t much of a Bo fan last year. Maybe I just like bald rockers better. I think this is easily the best vocal performance of the night and Chris show why he should be one of the favorites in this competition. Randy loves it, Paula loves it, and Simon says it’s good to see a different side of Chris, but ruins everything by throwing in that all the songs for the past two weeks have bored him.
Katharine McPhee – “Bring Out the Elvis”
Wow, between Chris and Katharine, the night has been redeemed. Katherine shows us the difference between being sultry and sexy and just thinking that you’re sexy and sultry or even pretending to be. And no I’m not mentioning names. An excellent performance, and as consistent as Katherine has been her and Chris should be favored to win this competition. Too bad they aren’t. It’s so much easier to write about these good performances, than the bad ones.
Okay Randy loves it, Paula loves it, and Simon thinks it’s a peculiar song. Katharine tells him to just say he doesn’t like country which he does although anyone who’s watched this program over the years already knows that.
Bucky Covington – “Best I Ever Had”
This is easily one of Bucky’s better performances. He’s singing in the spot that I thought would have gone to Kellie tonight. I kind of like Bucky in the Western get up also. I’m still not sure if part of his lyric annunciation is bad or if the band is just playing too loud for this song. After listening to it a second time, I have to say that in this case it’s probably the band. It’s not a knock ‘em dead performance, especially since Bucky has the prime spotlight position tonight, but it’s better than at least four or five others tonight and is very nicely done. The judges seem to kind of like it. Alice fell asleep so I can’t get her opinion.
Okay, so how do I rank them from first to worst?
- Katharine
- Chris
- Ace
- Bucky
- Kellie
- Elliott
- Paris
- Mandisa
- Taylor
Now, who will end up in the bottom three? It would be a lot easier if people actually voted for the best and worst vocal performances of the evening. But that’s not what happens on this show. I am going with Mandisa, Elliott and Paris in the bottom three. No way Taylor is going to be there.
I also think Mandisa has shown she’s the one who’s a one trick pony with two horrendous performances in a row. I was wrong about her being in the bottom three last week. I don’t think I’ll be wrong this week. As a matter of fact, for someone who was a big Mandisa fan for quite a while, the last two weeks have forced me to show her the door. Right this way ma’am and please watch your step as you exit.
Monday, April 3, 2006
Grey’s Anatomy
The Day After
Season Two
Episode 22
The Name of the Game
Meredith’s Opening Narration:
The Patients:
Molly Thompson, 22 years old, 32 weeks pregnant. Her baby has been diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia. Molly as it turns out is Meredith’s step-sister.
Beatrice Carver (Laurie Metcalf) is a patient with cancer that is found to be inoperable.
Andrew is a spelling bee champion with a brain tumor being operated on by Dr. Shepherd with Dr. Bailey assisting.
The Play by play:
Meredith and Izzy decide to become celibate and take up knitting to occupy their time. Izzy continues her growing relationship with heart patient Denny. George continues living with Christina and Preston but Christina becomes even more irritated with George when she and Dr. Burke lose a game to George and Callie on game night. When Dr. Burke and Alex are operating on Beatrice Carver and discover that her cancer is inoperable, Alex says she’s toast. Dr. Burke immediately takes him to task for his bedside manner.
George meets Thatcher, Meredith’s father, and discovers that Susan (Mare Winningham) is Thatcher’s wife. Dr. Bailey becomes upset that she is not scheduled to do surgery so she becomes Dr. Shepherd’s intern to assist in the operation on Andrew.
Izzy becomes suspicious of George’s new girlfriend, Dr. Torrez. Christina remains competitive, even trying to best Dr. Webber in a surgical class.
After telling Izzy that he can’t escape his feelings for Meredith, George informs Izzy that Meredith has a sister, telling her it is now Izzy’s problem instead of his.
When Alex again uses his matter of fact bedside manner, by telling Beatrice that if she leaves the hospital she’s libel to drop dead on the street in front of her daughter (who doesn’t even know that she has cancer), Dr. Burke again lectures him about his bedside manner.
When Meredith sits down to have lunch with Christina and Izzy, she tells them that she thought she saw her father. Christina asks Meredith if she also saw her sister.
While spelling words during surgery, Andrew begins losing his power of speech. Dr. Bailey becomes quite upset. Andrew’s speech returns but Bailey blames her emotions on too much estrogen.
Meredith meets her half sister. Meredith also finds she has another half-sister, Lexie, going to Harvard. While Meredith takes her anger out by beating a cast with a mallet, Dr. Torrez tells Izzy that George makes her world stop and Izzy and Meredith don’t even know him.
Dr. Webber puts Christina in her place by beating her in a surgical procedure-with his eyes closed.
After Alex tells Beatrice Carver that she is doing her daughter no favor by keeping her terminal illness from her, Burke starts to chew him out again, but instead it is Alex who tells Burke that he can’t take his honesty away from him.
Meredith meets Thatcher’s wife Susan. Susan tells Meredith that her mother “broke” Thatcher.
While Thatcher is standing in front of the surgical board with Dr. Webber, Dr. Webber tells him that Ellis is in early advanced Alzheimer’s, and tells Thatcher that it is hard on Meredith. It is apparent that Thatcher knew about Ellis’s and Webber’s affair.
Andrew’s operation is a success. Meredith sees her father, then quickly ducks into a doorway. Thatcher talks to George while Meredith eavesdrops. He asks George what Meredith is like. In the words George used to describe Meredith, it’s obvious how much he really loves Meredith, and that he will not be over her anytime soon. As George goes down the hallway, Meredith says “Thank You” to him, although he doesn’t hear her.
In a very emotional scene, Beatrice tells her daughter that she is going to die while Alex stands in the doorway listening. Izzy gives Denny the sweater she’s been knitting. Dr. Webber explains to Christina how he was able to do what he did with eyes close, he tells her it’s muscle memory from the old school and that the basics are always the most important thing. At home, Christina goes back to the basics by going into the kitchen totally nude prompting Burke to kick George out of the apartment.
George tracks down Callie who is living in the basement of the hospital. They finally kiss. When Meredith goes to check up on her dog that is at the vet, she meets Finn Dandridge (Chris O’Donnell) the veterinarian.
Get Out the Handkerchiefs:
When George was describing Meredith to Thatcher while unbeknownst to George, Meredith was listening. Ms. Carver telling her daughter she was going to die was one of the most emotional scenes of the season. A relly terrific job by Laurie Metcalf.
Weakest moment:
Dr. Torrez telling Izzy that George stops her world. For some reason it didn’t ring true.
Most unexpected moment:
There wasn't really anything unexpected. The reason is that ABC has decided to uncork some of the surprises in their previews. I hate that.
What they said:
*****
Derek: Come on have a drink.
Meredith (while knitting): I can’t have a drink, I’m celibate.
Derek: You mean sober?
Bartender: She means sober
Meredith: No, celibate. I’m practicing celibacy and drinking does not go well with celibacy because it makes everything and everyone seem kind of porny, and then my head gets all cloudy and the next thing you know I’m naked, and my point is I’m celibate and knitting is good for surgical dexterity.
*****
Izzy: I’m knitting a sweater. Actually, Meredith, that’s my friend, my friend that broke George, she is knitting a sweater. She’s not really knitting a sweater, because she cannot knit, but I want her to think she is knitting a sweater, because she and I took a celibacy vow, so she’s replacing sex with knitting, and so I am knitting Meredith’s sweater, so that I can switch it out with hers, so that she can really believe she is knitting because if anybody needs to be celibate it’s Meredith, because she broke George, you know.
Denny: You took a vow of celibacy?
Izzy: Yes
Denny: How am I going to get into your pants if you took a vow of celibacy?
*****
Christina: I am not a sore loser. And so what if I am? See the whole point of games is that there’s a winner, a first place. Do you want a second best surgeon operating on you? No, you want the very best and second best is mediocre. And to settle for mediocrity is…is frankly a sign of self-loathing and a substandard work ethics. I’ve got to get George out of my apartment.
*****
Burke (while operating on Beatrice): Look at this, the mets have adhered to her chest wall.
Alex: Dude, she’s toast.
*****
Christina (after finishing before Dr. Webber): Done! I’m Done! I totally finished first!
*****
Callie: What are you trying to ask me, Dr. Stevens? My history, my marital status, my deep dark little secrets?
Izzy: I’m George’s best friend.
Callie: Oh, I see. Well, it’s just funny because from what I understand, as his best friend you haven’t been the best matchmaker in the past.
*****
George: I can’t escaper her. All I want to do is forget her. All I want to do is just escape her and I can’t.
Izzy: You want to escape, Callie? Oh thank God, because she is like a total freak and I was starting to get really worried about you…..(looks at George, see’s his reaction)..not Callie….oh Meredith again.
*****
George (to Addison): Molly Thompson’s maiden name is Grey. Her father is Thatcher Grey, Thatcher Grey is also Meredith’s father which means that Molly and Meredith are sisters, but I don’t think Meredith even knows that Molly exists, I don’t care, I don’t except I’m on this case and apparently God hates me.
Addison: Okay
*****
Alex (to Beatrice): Your kid doesn’t even know you have cancer. Do you really want to risk dropping dead outside on the street outside the hospital?
*****
Meredith (sitting down after George leaves): It’s okay. I can accept rejection. I’ve got my knitting. The weird thing is I thought I just saw my father.
Izzy: Oh, that’s good, real good.
Christina: Did you meet your sister too?
*****
Dr. Bailey (after Andrew spells a word correctly): That’s it! That’s perfect! (sniffles and wipes away a tear).
Andrew: Dr. Bailey, are you crying?
Dr. Bailey: I’ve got something in my eye.
Derek: You’re doing great, Andrew. We’re almost done.
Dr. Bailey: Stop looking at me like that. It’s my hormones.
Derek: Mmm..hmmm.
Dr. Bailey: I’m still a surgeon. I’m just a surgeon with an excess of estrogen. Deal with it. Andrew, can you spell estrogen?
Andrew: E-S-T-R-O-G-E-N
Derek: Here’s a word for you. Can you spell delusional?
*****
Izzy (To Callie while Meredith is pounding away on a cast): So George, he’s really your type huh?
Callie: You don’t see him. Either of you, you don’t see him. He’s just George to you. He’s just O’Malley, he’s a roommate.
Izzy: You don’t have to get all….
Callie: He makes my world stop. George O’Malley is sweet, and kind, and smart and strong. And he makes my world stop so you shut up about him.
*****
Izzy (talking about Callie): George is her McDreamy!
*****
Dr. Webber (after flawlessly beating Christina): They call me Dr. Webber! That’s why I’m the chief. That’s why I’m the chief. (singing) That’s why I’m the chief!
*****
Alex (to Dr. Burke): I tell the truth. It’s what I do. It doesn’t make me a bad doctor. Everyone walks around this place, lying. Look, we tell a patient who is dying that there is hope when there is no hope. Maybe I’m a pig, maybe I’m an ass, maybe I’m a bum like everybody says, but I tell them the truth it’s the one thing I’ve got going for me and you don’t get to take that away from me and tell me it’s some kind of lesson, Sir!
*****
George (telling Thatcher about Meredith): Well, Meredith is anything but cold. She smiles, not that often but when she does, you know because she’s really gone through a lot, but it’s like you feel warm, she’s kind, I mean she can be a little selfish, she can be…she’s flawed but she’s kind…she cares about people and she cares about her patients. I think she’s going to be a brilliant surgeon. Around here she’s known as the one to beat so I guess she has that in common with her mom, but the rest I think she gets from you.
*****
Meredith’s Closing Narration:
Life is not a spectator sport. Win, loose, or draw, the game is in progress whether we want it to be or not. So go ahead, argue with the ref, change the rules, cheat a little, take a break and tend to your wounds. But play, play, play hard, play fast, play loose and free. Play as if there’s no tomorrow. Okay, so it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Right?
Episode Grade: A This was one of those episodes that got the mix exactly right, combining the right amount of humor, sadness and discovery with many memorable moments. And let’s not forget some great moments by guest stars Mare Winningham and Laurie Metcalf.
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