#and to be Frank; I actually kinda hate even entertaining the last 10 seasons as canon

[acesammy]

Idk I’m just thinking about how chuck started as a stand-in for kripke, and de facto the writers on whole. Meaning that every plot contrivance from the writers really was an act of god in the canon of the show itself..

as much as I really don’t feel that strongly on the finale one way or the other, they reaaally should’ve ended the show with 15x19 because if chuck is no longer writing their story for his own amusement we as an audience should also not have access to the story for ours. Like they should’ve been able to completely break free of the narrative both in and out of canon. I think that’d’ve been cool

[mashitandsmashit]

America’s Got Talent: Season 14 - Finals

Well now I feel like a jerk! I ranked Emanne and Benicio as my Bottom 2 in my “Rooting For” list last week (though to be fair, between them, VoS and DYC, the factors that ranked them in the order they were in were practically nonexistent, because it was too close to even think), but I had no idea that BOTH of them had birthdays this week (and that Emanne’s was tomorrow). I mean no disrespect to the birthday boy and girl...

And again, I must emphasize that I have nothing against any of the acts that made it this far (barring some not-so-great performances from some of them). But when there are several acts that deserved to be here more than several of the acts that ARE here (oh, how naive we were to believe that Marcin EVER had a chance), and almost every act just feels like part of a big mushy sap monster, it was hard to feel much excitement going into tonight...But I kept the most open mind I could...

Let’s do what the judges aren’t willing to do and compare everyone based on their pros, cons and overall experience...by doing a Top 10 list!

...Oh yeah, and...Whoop-dee-doo, Finals and stuff...Let’s just get to it...

10: Detroit Youth Choir. It’s their audition all over again, but with more Nazi salutes! ...I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself...But seriously, they either didn’t have time to prepare a new song, or something happened keeping them from performing what they were ORIGINALLY gonna do...Either way, Macklemore is gonna be there tomorrow, so does that mean they’re gonna perform it a THIRD time!? Two nights in a row!? I guess I’m biased since this is the act that single-handedly ruined the Finals for me (just ONE guitarist in their place would have made all the difference in the world), but I really did honestly see a lot of potential in this act, and it’s kind of a shame that they fizzled out after they peaked at the Quarter-Finals...

9: Tyler Butler-Figueroa. It might be my anger at the Cowellization infesting these Finals why I’m putting Simon’s Golden Buzzer this low on the list after being overall positive to him throughout the game, but this one felt like a mess to me! The violin was scratchy and hard to listen to, it sounded like he couldn’t keep up with the backing-track, and there were no unique dances or staging to really help the entertainment value...At the end of the day, this kid really IS one of the acts that didn’t deserve to make it this far over other certain acts, despite how much I’ve enjoyed him overall...Brian King Joseph is coming back tomorrow; Maybe he’ll teach the kid a few lessons and help him hone his skills, because I know Tyler WILL be a great dancing violinist someday...He’s just not there yet...

8: Benicio Bryant. Well, the Benicio Bros are still by his side, even after he looked and sounded more lost than ever tonight! It’s a shame, because I still found his song to be fairly catchy...I mean, he’s no Robert Finley, but I see a lot of potential in him as well! He just needs to get over his stage fright is all...And maybe cut down on the Mr. Rogers sweaters...I WANTED to say Cosby, but I was worried about what that would imply about him...

7: Emanne Beasha. No real step up from before...She seemed a little shaky as well, but it didn’t bring the performance down as badly as Benicio...Uhhh, Happy Birthday to both of them?

6: Kodi Lee. Once again, this wasn’t his best! Is everyone just in denial or something!? I still stick by my opinion that he was at his best during his first two performances! But what do I know!? I’m just some schmuck writing countdown lists on a website that’s getting sold (yeah, heads up Frank, we might have to jump platforms again). Nothing I say is gonna stop Kodi from taking the win tomorrow night...

5: Ndlovu Youth Choir. I knew it was only a matter of time before they performed this song, and it was as fun and upbeat as I could have asked for! That being said, this didn’t have anything to offer that they didn’t give us before...THAT being said, they are definitely still the superior Youth Choir, regardless of which one gets more votes tomorrow...

4: Ryan Niemiller. Not the funniest material we’ve heard from him either, but I still love his energy and presence! I guess I’m committing a hate crime by not voting for him, but technically EVERYONE tonight qualifies for that...

3: Voices of Service. Maybe it’s because I came into tonight with a more open mind than last week, but whereas I quickly forgot about these folks before, tonight they were hands down my favorite singers! I guess I could go on about the same old stuff regarding their harmonies as well as their individual talents (I don’t even remember hearing much from the skinny guy before, but he might actually be the best singer of the bunch next to the lady!) It’s clear why they made it this far to begin with, but at least they have the talent to back up those cheap ‘n easy votes...

2: Light Balance Kids. THIS is the kind of creative, fun, well-choreographed, well-made performance I’ve been waiting for from these kids throughout the entire live shows! It had the same charm as their Judge Cuts performance, but with even more nicely-done effects! Kinda wish they put more focus on being this hip 90s-style youth group throughout the season...But either way, this should TOTALLY be the new “Let’s all go to the snack bar!” that plays before the movie...The goofy presentation with the food monsters would fit PERFECTLY with “It Chapter Two″! You’ll float too!

1: V.Unbeatable. They REALLY ramped up the crazy flips THIS time! Not much else to say...It’s good to know that they’re as popular as they are, but will it be enough to give them the win that they most definitely deserve...? Well, if nothing more they will DEFINITELY be in the Top 3 tomorrow...

You can tell Howie was trying to carefully dance around saying that this was the the “Best Finals Ever”, because he was contractually obligated to say it like he is every year, but I can definitely see why Simon would say that! These finals were everything he could have dreamed of! Oh, so many tear-jerking Cinderella stories...It’s enough to make a TV producer moan in ecstasy!

But when factoring in what actually MATTERS, tonight was about as lackluster as a line-up like this could have suggested...Only a few REALLY rose to the standards of the Finals...

My Votes: Appropriately enough, the two acts I was rooting for were also the best performers hands down tonight! For that, I used all three voting methods to give them as many votes as I could...

Result Predictions: There’s a case to be made for everyone tonight, but I do have a few observations...First of all, Ndlovu will probably be near the bottom in the votes, because they never had the support that the other Youth Choir had throughout the season...And I think the reason for that is the old factor of DYC being a group of dozens of kids, who each have numerous family members to vote for them along with all of the people giving them the sympathy vote...Ndlovu doesn’t have this luxury, not only because there are less of them, but also because the majority of their relatives are clearly still in South Africa, where they can’t vote for this show...This is why Ndlovu ended up in the Judges’ Choice TWICE, whereas DYC keeps getting easy passes in each round...

I’d like to think that LBK will get enough of that variety vote (that ESPECIALLY seems common in the Finals) to end up in the Top 3 like all acts of their nature tend to land...But they haven’t been as popular as the original Light Balance, and they might not have begged for nearly as many sympathy votes as say, Tyler or VoS...Chances are, the variety votes might end up concentrated on V.Unbeatable...

Which brings us to our main candidates for the Grand Prize: V.Unbeatable and Kodi Lee...It seems practically guaranteed that they will both be in the Top 3...I say Top 3, because there is a side of me that predicts that there may be an act coming between them for the Runner-Up spot! Whenever there are these two acts, one of them a cool variety act and the other some singer that’s been held up on a pedestal throughout the game, and they are BOTH being considered as candidates for the win...it’s usually not the both of them in the Top 2...Usually one of them gets a shock elimination in Third (and more often than not, it’s the cool variety act), and some dark-horse might end up as the Runner-Up...Who that might be is hard to call, but I’m actually considering Benicio being that act standing side-by-side next to Kodi at the end, because again, the Benicio Bros are ever dedicated, to the same degree that Angelica Hale’s fanbase was...

So I’m gonna go ahead and do what Frank usually does by predicting what I think the final rank will be...I’ll keep it pessimistic just to avoid being let down TOO much tomorrow...

10: Ndlovu Youth Choir

9: Emanne Beasha

8: Ryan Niemiller

7: Voices of Service

6: Light Balance Kids

5: Tyler Butler-Figueroa

4: Detroit Youth Choir

3: V.Unbeatable

2: Benicio Bryant

1: Kodi Lee

As for which guest performers will perform with who, I already made my guesses for Tyler and DYC, but I hear that Chris Jericho will perform with Ryan, and I’m willing to bet that Cher will be Kodi’s partner...I'll leave everyone else to surprise me, as opposed to what the final results will be...

(Sigh) Now let’s get this season over with...

[thechallenge-mtv]

Thoughts About The Cast

So, this is my 16th season of The Challenge, & I’ve seen many challengers come & go. And this season, we have some OG’s returning & we have some new people, even from different shows on different television stations. Below, I’m going to rate each challenger(based off the first episode, and previous knowledge of these challengers) 

I’m going to put them in order from least favorite to favorite. 

Eliminated

Nicole R: I hate that she was eliminated first. I really like her. She isn’t the strongest competitor, but you can tell she shows up to compete. She really is trying to prove something to herself, and everybody else. I’m hoping she returns for another season, because I really think she can make it to a final. 

Rogan: I didn’t form much of an opinion on him, honestly. I feel like he could have done better, though. Truthfully, I wanted all of the newbies to qualify, just so we can learn more about them. I know enough about the Big Brother people because I watch that show, but all these UK kids are completely new to me. Maybe he’ll be back, but I don’t really know if people would want to see him again. Wasn’t here long enough to make an impression on viewers. 

Still in the game

26. Melissa: I know we’re only 1 episode in, but they really did not give her any screen time. She didn’t really stand out to me. 

25. Alicia: Girl go away. I hated her on her season of Are You The One, & I’m gonna hate her on The Challenge. One of the worst to come from AYTO, even worse than Brandon Tindel. And she’s hooking up with Cory. That says more than I could. 

24. Tony: Stop bringing him back, please. He’s annoying. I don’t think I will ever be a fan of his. I hope Brad wrecks him. 

23. Nelson: Boring & arrogant. Could live if he never came back. 

22. Kayleigh: I feel like she’s going to start some drama. I can see it. I kinda like her so far, but we’re only 1 episode in, so we’ll see how long that lasts. 

21. Eddie: I liked him on Are You The One, I’m actually kinda excited to see him on The Challenge. He just didn’t do much yet. Again, 1 episode in, so we have time for this to change. 

20. Britni: She was one of my favs on Are You The One, & I thought I wanted her on The Challenge, but after last season I realized I didn’t really care if she was on there or not. I just think there’s other AYTO cast members that could come on & be much more entertaining & compete a lot better. Also, stay away from Brad. 

19. Cory: Yawn. Idk what happened to him, but I just can’t stand him that much anymore. He was one of the only people from his Real World season that I actually liked. Now, I just get annoyed by him way too easily. Don’t care how far he makes it, honestly. 

18. Devin: Arrogant & cocky with not much to back it up. Good entertainment though. 

17. Sylvia: I am iffy about her. She came for my girl Kailah on Invasion of the Champs, so that was strike 1. Idk. She seems like a decent competitor. She can stay for awhile. Wouldn’t be mad or ecstatic of she became a challenge regular. 

16. Jemmye: I’m happy she’s been coming back. I feel like we needed her. Not the greatest competitor, but she’s very entertaining. She really said Bananas is overrated. 

15. Kyle: I want him to come back for more after this season. He is already very entertaining, and he doesn’t seem too bad at competitions. I can see him making it far, maybe not this season, but in the future if he came back. Also, go for Cara, not Marie. 

14. Nicole Z: Oh my. She’s a mess. I didn’t watch her season of Real World because I was annoyed with RW changing the format all the time(I just want the OG format, no twists with exes or enemies). But, I really enjoyed her on Invasion of the Champs. A good competitor. Can’t believe she hooks up with Cara. I’m a fan of hers, though. 

13. Leroy: Deserves to be in a final(and maybe win). He is such a good competitor & it’s very obvious he is there to compete. I would be very happy if he won finally. 

12. Bananas: Maybe since other OG’s like Brad, Derrick & Darrell are starting to come back, they can replace him. I don’t hate him, I’m just tired of him coming in every season & the same things happening every time. I kinda like him & Natalie together, but mostly for the benefit it will give Natalie. She’s already a great competitor, it’s just Bananas gives her basically guaranteed safety. 

11. Kam: Queen of her season of AYTO. I’m ready to see her kill it this season, and I hope she drags Alicia through the mud. That’s all. Welcome to the challenge, tho, queen. 

10. Marie: Honestly, keep bringing her back! Nobody else from her season of RW(aside from LaToya) is willing to as far as I’m concerned, and their season was one of my favorites. I think Marie is highly entertaining, and she also isn’t the worst competitor. I think she could make it far. She is one of the only people I want to come back every season. 

9. Shane: He’s so funny, and I am so happy he came back. I was worried that since he didn’t return last season, he was done again. But, he’s back! Hopefully he sticks around for a decent amount of time this season. He’s a good competitor, and I love his interviews lol. 

8. Veronica: Queen of shaking up the game. What she did to Leroy last season was so unexpected but also savage as hell. I appreciated it. Although I’m a huge fan of Leroy & just want him to win already, Veronica really shook things up with that move. I can’t wait to see what she does this time around. 

7. Victor: One of my fav Big Brother house guests. I really hope he makes it far, and I hope they invite him back in the future. I don’t know if I can see him getting to the final, but I definitely can see him making it at least halfway through the game. 

6. Brad: I have been waiting my whole life for him to come back to The Challenge. He didn’t get enough screen time for my liking. He’s one of the best OG’s & they barely hyped his return. I wish he would stay away from Britni. I like them both, I just don’t want them together. I really hope he makes it far. I’ve missed him on this show & I won’t be satisfied with his return if he doesn’t make it at least to the top 10. 

5. Natalie: I’m so happy she’s on The Challenge. I think she’s a pretty smart player & with the Big Brother background, she should be great at politics, so hopefully she can make it far. I hope she uses Bananas & then just cuts him off. I really want her to make it super far. 

4. Kailah: One of my favs. Happy to see her back. Wish her & Cara weren’t enemies because they’re my 2 favorite female competitors. But, I think if Cara were to ever retire, Kailah can take her spot. Hopefully that won’t be anytime soon, though. I hope Kailah makes it to the final, though. I really want to see her in a final. I don’t want her to win yet. She needs some more experience. 

3. Joss: He needs to come back for more seasons. He absolutely killed that first challenge. I can see him making it far if that first win didn’t put the biggest target on his back. But hopefully people are more concerned with getting their vendettas out first, rather than the usual “get the newbies!” tactic. 

2. Zach: I used to be iffy with him. His attitude towards Frank(and everybody that wasn’t Ashley) on their season of RW was disgusting. Also how he treated Sam was gross. And Jonna(queen). So, in that aspect I don’t really like him. But! He is a great competitor, so I will give him that. As much as I hate his past, he does seem different now, and I can’t help but be happy when I see him return to this show. 

1. Cara Maria: My fav since Fresh Meat 2. I seriously hope she doesn’t ever quit. And I think she was robbed last season, so hopefully this time she can pull out the win. Wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t win, though. I’m also super shocked her & Nicole hooked up. Either way, still a challenge queen.