Bob outwits and outplays on new Survivor

There were only seven players left on Thursday's new episode of Survivor Gabon, and old Kota members Corinne and Bob looked like the next to go. The alliance of Kenny, Crystal, Sugar, Matty, and Susie had a huge numbers advantage. Bob and Corinne knew they would have to throw a Hail Mary pass to escape elimination, and they came up with one of the more brilliant plans ever devised.

Weeks earlier, Marcus had found a hidden immunity idol and decided to throw it in the ocean so no one could have it. Bob crafted a fake immunity idol, and claimed that it was the one Marcus claimed to throw in the ocean. This was the second time Bob had created a fake immunity idol, and this one was by far the most impressive counterfeit ever produced in the 17 season history of the show.

After Bob won the individual immunity challenge, he now had all the pieces in place to hatch his plan. He told Kenny that he had a hidden idol, and that he would give it to Corinne at the tribal council to save themselves from elimination. Bob said that he and Corinne would be voting for Matty, and that Kenny and Crystal should join them in blindsiding Matty. Then the four of them could form a new alliance and go to the end. Kenny agreed that Matty was a big threat to him, and that this was a good idea.

At tribal council, Bob's plan was moments from coming to fruition. Unfortunately for Bob, Crystal decided to vote for Corinne instead of Matty. Since their idol was a fake, Corinne could not protect herself from the four-three outcome. She became the twelfth player eliminated and the fourth member of the jury.

"Survivor" is coming down to its exciting conclusion with only six players remaining. Will Kenny's standing in the tribe be shaken because of his vote for Matty? Can Bob win more immunities or hatch a new plan to stay alive? Stick with Starpulse for every twist and turn.

Prop 8: The Musical

Some big names from television and film, gay and straight alike, recently got together to make "Prop 8: The Musical." Prop 8 was a proposition on the ballot in California this November that looks to make a state constitutional amendment making gay marriage illegal, effectively nullifying thousands of marriages carried out in the state over the last several years. The short video is very well done and brings up some great points. It features a solo from one of my favorite guys (not in that way...not that there's anything wrong with that), star of HIMYM and gay rights activist Neil Patrick Harris. I am trying to embed the video in the page, and if that doesn't work just follow this link.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Two Gems cut on ABC Wednesday

On Wednesdays this fall, ABC decided to give three freshman shows a sophomore year when then they renewed Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, and Dirty Sexy Money. This week, ABC executives announced they will be pulling Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money after their 13th episodes later this December. Both shows have been slipping in ratings, and DSM has come in a consistent third against Law & Order and CSI:NY.

Pushing Daisies had a magical run in its first season, but the new season has admittedly been a little flat. Viewers grew bored with the show, claiming that it was the same thing every episode. The creator of the show, Bryan Fuller, says he is not as disappointed as you may think. He says that they are in the process of writing a screenplay for a major motion picture, and they are also in talks with DC comics to make a series of graphic novels that would pick up the story where it left off.

As for DSM, it may just have fallen victim to timeslot doom. DSM has really been excellent in recent weeks. This primetime soap opera has been chock full of the juicy storylines and intruging personalities that normally make a hit show. The American public never gave themselves a chance to fall in love with DSM, and now it will soon be gone.

Twist eliminates two players on Survivor

Coming into last night's Survivor: Gabon, the Fang tribe had lost 5 challenges in a row. This trend would continue as Kota easily handled Fang in the reward challenge. Kota won a picnic, while Sugar was yet again sent to Exile Island. Kota was happy and as confident as ever coming off their most recent win. However, they were not ready for the upcoming twist. When both tribes arrived for the immunity challenge, it was revealed that both tribes would be going to tribal council.

The challenge was a log rolling competition. The castaways would compete one-on-one in elimination matches, with the eventual winner getting individual immunity at his or her tribe's impending tribal council. Marcus, the doctor from Atlanta, was the eventual winner. Since he was from Kota, he got to choose one person from the Fang tribe to also be immune, and he chose Sugar.

At their first tribal council in several days, Kota was looking for the weak links. Susie was not pulling her weight in challenges. She had not gotten a very good reputation around camp either, and Randy and Corrine had gone as far as calling her crazy. Dan was an outsider since he had come from the original Fang tribe, and unlike Randy he had not made any friends on Kota. Dan had grown the tendency to be very paranoid, and the other Kota members did not like having him around. In the end, it was Dan that would be eliminated in a 4-3 split vote.




Opinions differed greatly at the Fang tribe as who should be the next to go. Matty agreed that Ace was untrustworthy, but since he had sworn on his girlfriend's life that he wouldn't vote for her, he refused to do so. Matty wanted Sugar to be the next to go, but Ace was friends with Sugar, and convinced Matty it would be a bad idea. They decided that Crystal was a poisonous attitude in camp and should be the next to go. It looked as though Crystal would be voted out, until Kenny decided to pull Sugar aside and tell her Ace is a snake and that they should blindside him now. Sugar kind of knew all along that Ace was using her, and decided this was a good idea. At tribal council, Ace was voted out 3-2. In a reaction the surprise elimination, Jeff Probst said, "24 days in, Fang is finally playing the game."

Looking ahead to the merger, it would appear Marcus is at the top of the pack. His alliance of Corrine, Charlie, Bob, and Randy will have the numbers and the strength to make it to the final five. Right now, it is his game to lose, and he may want to try to not appear too strong, or others may decide they have to get rid of him before it is too late. For the remaining members of Fang, their only hope will be to get to a merger and hope they can spin the weakest members of the Kota alliance off to their side.

Survivor: Gabon has averaged over 13 million viewers this fall, and is on every Thursday at 8/7c on CBS

High Drama on Mad Men finale

A lot of questions were answered and more revelations were made on the season two finale of the critically acclaimed Mad Men Sunday night on AMC. Actor Jon Hamm hosted Saturday Night Live and did a couple of sketches poking fun at his character, Don Draper. Hamm was very good in the comedic setting, something he rarely gets the chance to do on the high drama set of "Mad Men."

Hamm's character Draper had spent the last three weeks in California after Betty had told him not to come home. While he was away, Betty found out she was pregnant. Betty was put in the awkward position of deciding whether to forgive Don and bring the family back together or commit to raise a third child on her own. She even considered abortion, which was not legal in 1962. A friend told her about a doctor in Albany that would do the procedure, but she also told her to give it a couple weeks to think about it.

When Don finally returned to New York, he surprised Betty by showing up at the stables after one of her riding sessions. Don told Betty that he loved her and apologized for not giving her the respect that she deserves. She decided not to tell him about the pregnancy and told him that she was not ready for him to come back home. Betty did however agree to let Don have the kids for a weekend, so they came to stay with him at a hotel. With Don and the kids away, Betty decided to go to a bar. While there, a stranger bought her a drink and started a conversation with her. Perhaps out of contempt for Don, Betty ended up having sex with the man in the bathroom.

Back at Sterling-Cooper, word of the merger with the British ad agency Putnam & Lowe was spreading through the office. Many of the underlings were getting nervous about job security, but not Pete Campbell. Doug had brought Pete into his office and told him all about the merger and how Doug would be the new president. Then he told Pete that he would like him to be the new head of accounts. Don was initially unpleased when he found out the news that they had decided to sell controlling interest of the company without him, but when he found out he was going to make over $500,000 (approximately $3.3 million adjusted for inflation) on the deal, he cooled down. This did not last long though.

When Doug announced that he would be taking over and bringing the company in a new direction, Don threatened to quit. On the way out, Pete stopped by Peggy's office. Peggy had secretly had Pete's child the year before. Pete had been having troubles at home and told Peggy that he loved her and wanted to be with her. Peggy dropped the bombshell that Pete had gotten her pregnant last year and that she decided not to tell him. She said that she could have been with him if she wanted, but she did not. There are a lot of unanswered questions for the future of Sterling-Cooper and its employees, but one of the biggest secrets was now out of the bag.

In the final scene, Betty finally invited Don to come back home. She told him that she was pregnant, and he reached out to hold her hand. For now, it would appear that the Draper family is back together, but can Betty keep her fling at the bar a secret forever?

The mysterious and flawed nature of the characters of "Mad Men" has made it the most intriguing show on television. While it has caught the attention of the critics, it has still to garner a larger audience. The Emmy-winning show averaged around 2 million viewers this season, according to Nielsen. This was up from last year but still much lower than a typical primetime network audience. Slip into the world of "Mad Men." The first season is now available on DVD, and many cable providers are providing the second season free on-demand. This show offers the highest drama on television, and is not to be missed.

Fang Searching for answers on Survivor

Two more challenge victories for the Kota tribe has left the Fang tribe searching for answers on Survivor: Gabon. With this episode in the books, Kota has now won 10 out of 12 challenges. In the reward challenge, Kota looked strong and determined, while Fang looked weak and uninspired. As Kota keeps winning rewards, they widen their advantage over Fang. The Kota tribe is well-fed and energized. Meanwhile, Fang is rationing what rice they have left so they will have enough to last them the next week. It looked as though there may have been hope for Fang at the immunity challenge. Matty and Kenny came from behind to catch up with the Kota members, but in the end Fang would fall short again, resulting in another trip to tribal council.

Ace realized two episodes ago that he was probably next on the chopping block. In order to save himself last week, he convinced everyone that GC was mentally checked out of the game and had to go. This week, he made a pact with Matty swearing on his mother's life that he would go with him and Kenny to a merge. Sugar, who is Ace's strongest ally, found the hidden immunity idol on Exile Island in the second episode. Ace somehow convinced Sugar to let him hold on to the hidden immunity idol until it is needed. After these two moves, Ace has brought himself from the edge of elimination to feeling safe within the tribe. At tribal council, it would be Kelly, the saleswoman from Illinois, who would receive all the votes but her own. Kelly was a spirited tribe member, but her performances at challenges were really hampering Fang's chances to win. At tribal council, host Jeff Probst asked the Fang members what they thought was going wrong. The tribemates conferred that there was a lack of teamwork, and Jeff agreed. With their problems diagnosed and their weakest member removed, perhaps there is hope for Fang yet.

I had mentioned before that the producers may try to bend the rules a little bit to try to even things out, since there really aren't any concrete rules to begin with. In a teaser it was revealed that next week both tribes will go to tribal council, meaning Kota will have to go for only their second time. Currently, I would guess that Crystal is on the block for Fang and Suzy is in danger on Kota. However, the teaser also suggested that this news really mixes things up at both camps, and on Survivor anything can happen.

The new Survivor: Gabon can be seen Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS, and I give you all the updates and predictions.

What's On?

45 year-old journeyman Jamie Moyer gets his first chance to pitch in a World Series game tonight as the Philadelphia Phillies host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.

Draper's Past Revealed on new Mad Men

Last week on Mad Men, Don Draper went to California for a business trip and did not come home to New York with his co-worker, Pete Campbell. Instead he stayed behind to meet up with someone from his past…Anna Draper.

We had known since the beginning of the series that Draper was not really who he claims to be. However, the details of his past were very clouded. This Sunday, the picture became much clearer. Don Draper's real name is Dick Whitman. Around ten years earlier, both he and the real Don Draper were soldiers in the Korean War. When Don was killed and Dick was injured in the same battle, Don was mistakenly identified as Dick and vice versa. Dick decided to use this opportunity to start a new life, and assumed the identity of Don Draper. When he came back to the states, he got a job as a used car salesman. When Anna Draper, Don's wife, found out that someone had used Don's social security number to get a driver's license in New York, she came to track him down. Anna found that it was not in fact her husband, but instead that Dick had assumed his identity. In order to keep Anna quiet and thank her for the new opportunities that Don's life had given him, he offered to help her financially and visit her regularly. When Don met Betty and prepared to ask her to marry him, he realized that Don Draper was still technically married to Anna. Therefore, he had to ask Anna for an official divorce. Don married Betty, they had two children, and he left his entire past behind him. That is until Betty recently found out that Don was cheating on her, and she kicked him out of the house. As a result, Don went to California to find Anna and ask her advice. Meanwhile, back at Sterling-Cooper, the principal partners are bartering a deal to sell controlling interest of the company to another advertising firm. Don owns 12%, but his shares would not be enough to overturn the decision, so they decide to go on with the transaction without his approval.

This was a lot of information to digest in one episode. Hopefully this clears things up a little bit if the episode left you with some confusion. Next week is the season two finale of Mad Men on AMC. A lot was revealed this week, and more questions will certainly be answered next week. Is Don going to try to win back Betty? Does Betty want anything to do with Don? What will become of Sterling-Cooper after the merger? Will Don reveal his true identity to anyone in his new life, or will he just go back to living the lie? I think that some questions will go unanswered, especially since it is the mysterious nature of the characters that has made Mad Men so intriguing.

AMC is currently in talks with Lionsgate for a new contract involving Mad Men. All signs point to it being picked up for a third season, but it seems to be contingent on Lionsgate making a deal to keep show creator Matthew Weiner at the helm for two more years. This would pretty much assure a third and fourth season of the Emmy-winning drama. Once again, the season finale of Mad Men can be seen Sunday October 26 at 10/9c on AMC, with encore presentations throughout the week.