Sunday, November 25, 2007

Chickens and goats: Oh MY! The Amazing Race



A U-Turn derailed Jason and Lorena's quest for $1 million. Photo by CBS.com

Sooo many things to say about this episode! The blondes in a word: suck. But I skip ahead: TAR unveiled a handy new trick to cause the racers misery: The U-Turn. How it works is this: If a team gets U-turned they have to finish BOTH assigned tasks instead of choosing the one they think they can do. Unfortunately for Jason and Lorena, they had to do an African dance (those dances were hilarious!) AND pan for gold which lead to their early dismal.

It's too bad because I actually wanted to see more Lorena meltdowns like last week. And what's going on with the animals? last week animals, this week goats! I felt sorry for the poor goats. And what's up with Jen's pissy attitude? "Everybody deserves a turn? This ain't Miss America honey, it's the Amazing RACE!

Episode grade: B+

R.I.P Bradford Meade: A very late "Ugly Betty" recap





So long Bradford. Photo by ABC.com

I've said it once, I've said it twice, the show just keeps improving episode by episode. After last week's death of Bradford Meade and Betty's promise to help Daniel, Betty's got a case of the guilts as she keeps seeing Mr. Meade everywhere.

MM tells Betty she needs to go back to Mode but she says she didn't like the person she was becoming there. The day of the funeral, Hilda, Papa Suarez and Justin all prepare for the annual "let's get the tree ready" ritual. Hilda wants a hot pink fire retardant tree and Justin reminds everyone that "Pink is the new green." but after he gets the Xmas lights from his room from when "he turned his closet into a night club."
Betty dashes off to MM's funeral but not before Hilda reminds her that she could have quit AFTER she got the Xmas bonus. (I'm with Hilda on this).

At the funeral, Daniel discovers from Alexis that MM bought a huge family plot for all of them and he's stunned. The police escort Claire to the funeral and just as things were settling down, Willie shows up with Marc in tow. Marc shouts out "I can't believe she came! What's she doing here! Who's she wearing!" to create a classic dramedy moment! And just when you think the laughs end there, Claire trips Willie into the open grave. Claire, Alexis and Daniel all vote to terminate Willie.

But they obviously must not know about girlfriend because she's not going down without a fight. She goes back to the Mode offices and activates a virus that wipes out the entire issue called Medusa X. (I gotta get me one of those!)

Henry's at the office and calls Daniel and Alexis and they scramble to get the issue ready. And of course, Betty is already there waiting and somehow managed to beat them both back to the office and called all the staff ready to report for work. Willie shows up, reveals HER new magazine and then manages to take most of the staff. When she offered free plastic surgery, Amanda tells Betty to "Go! GO!"

Willie tells the remaining staff to enjoy and they remind her of the orchestra that played as the Titanic was sinking.

Back at Casa Suarez, Hilda complains about the tree and accidentally sets it on fire. Oops!

At Mode, everyone is scrambling to bring the issue to the presses and it winds up that Henry gets to be the food editor, Betty takes over books and Amanda gets the "What's Hot" feature. Daniel realizes that they need to reshoot the cover and breaks their cover model Cameron (Eliza Dushku who totally deserves a nod for this role) out of rehab.

Amanda is feeling the heat and keeps reminding everyone that she's Fay Summers daughter and it finally takes Sheila to tell her that she's out of her league. Alexis is busy trying to keep the printer happy and tries to seduce him until she realizes that he's a dwarf. They bond over "My dad didn't love me" stories and he agrees to keep the presses running.

At Mode, the photoshoot goes horribly wrong and Betty inspires Daniel to produce a black cover commemorating MM and then renumbers the issues.

Willie's busy trying to secure funding and is shocked when her father turns her down. At Mode, everyone pulls together and the issue hits the stands. Back at CS, Betty surprises everyone with a fully decorated tree.

The end! Feliz Navidad!!

Episode grade: A+