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Waltzing through
Half of the dancers who performed tonight on So You Think You Can Dance will be in danger of being trimmed from the competition on tomorrow night’s show, so it’s good for their sakes that each couple had two routines. That’s because almost across the board they had one great number and one that wasn’t so great.

There were two exceptions. Mollee and Nathan were just okay in both routines, without giving us anything memorable other than their smiles. They started with a hip-hop number that had something to do with the invention of the telephone, but it wasn’t exactly riveting. Then they danced a cancan that was more weird than entertaining (but we probably have Tyce Diorio to thank for that, because I think they hit all their steps). If there’s a weak link, it’s this pair.

The other exception was Ashleigh and Jakob, who were outstanding in both their routines. They did a lyrical jazz number that was beautifully fluid and controlled, and they closed the show with a cha cha that was so hot it sizzled. They’re favorites of the judges, and tonight they proved why.

The most fun routine of the night was the Lindy hop, the original swing dance that opened the show with Ellenore and Ryan. It might have been one of the most fun routines ever on the show. The Broadway number they did later, by contrast, seemed more character than dance (although what is Broadway all about if not character?).

The jazz routine that Kathryn and Legacy did in the first half was quirky and strong, with some great moves. They later did a Viennese waltz that was a little awkward to watch, mostly because Legacy seemed to be working a little too hard (although it was explained that this was part of the back story of the dance; I’m not convinced that’s enough to excuse him, though). Kathryn, on the other hand, never faltered.

The new couple, Karen and Victor, had their work cut out for them. They really came though with the sharp but smoldering tango in which they portrayed silent lovers as brilliantly as we’ve seen in a Latin ballroom number this season. I found their hip-hop number, choreographed by Laurieann Gibson, to be sweetly lyrical and quite touching, but the judges pronounced it unmemorable.

It’s good Noelle and Russell did so well with the emotional contemporary routine that Tyce gave them, because their earlier samba seemed a bit labored. That samba proved one thing to me. It showed me that he is a performer, and she really isn’t.

So who’s going home, just shy of the top ten? If there’s any justice it will be Mollee and Nathan, but the judges have just about promised them that they won’t be cut, so I’m a little worried for Noelle and Victor. I think the eliminations will come from these four. I’d guess everyone else is safe, but I haven’t been on target with my predictions so far, but who knows?

He’s slowing us down on purpose
The nice guys who keep finishing last on The Amazing Race, Brian and Ericka, blamed Sam and Dan for stealing their cab, but that’s not why they finished last yet again on tonight’s leg. They finished last mostly because they took the word of someone on their plane to Prague and decided the fastest way to the center of town was not to take a taxi, as the other three teams did. They instead somehow figured it would be quicker to take a bus to the subway and a subway to somewhere else. We’ll never know where the subway would have taken them, because they gave up halfway through and found a taxi. By that time they were hopelessly behind.

Well, maybe not quite hopelessly, because they kept catching up with the others. They caught up with Sam and Dan at the Detour only because the brothers had wasted a lot of time taking the whitewater rafting course and falling out of their kayak, before they finally gave up and took the ropes course instead, at about the same time Brian and Ericka got there. This is where they took the taxi Brian and Ericka had waiting, which as far as I know is within the rules. Anyway, Ericka had trouble getting to the end of the course, so they again put themselves at a disadvantage. And they did manage to find another taxi.

By the time Brian and Ericka got to the Road Block at the opera house, they were fighting Flight Time and Big Easy for third place. Big Easy searched frantically through the rows of seats for the tiny mandolin that would give them the next clue, while Ericka meandered languidly around the theater, not even turning over all the chairs, moaning that Brian should have done the task because she was no good at looking for things.

They were so far behind by the time she stumbled in the miniature instrument that only another non-elimination leg could save them. But they will start the next leg well after the other teams, and then have to perform an extra task to get themselves into the final three. I don’t like their chances, although they are nice people. I know that because they keep telling us.

The bad blood between Brian and Ericka and Sam and Dan over the stolen taxi wasn’t the only tension in this leg of the race. There is still lingering resentment over the pushing and shoving between the Globetrotters and the Brothers from the last leg. Tonight we saw Flight Time monopolize the ladder that led from the Detour to the taxis, keeping Meghan and Cheyne behind him even though Big Easy had yet to complete the tax.

Despite that incident (which possibly should have been against the rules), Meghan and Cheyne offered to work with the Trotters but then grabbed the first taxi they saw and left them in the dust. It should be fun next week to see four teams who don’t much like each other trying to avoid what I assume will be the final elimination.

The clock is now ticking backward
It was kind of fitting for the somewhat disappointing sixth season of Project Runway to end with its cheeriest designer turning up so sick she almost couldn’t finish her collection. But like the show itself, Carol Hannah pulled herself together just enough to get to the end with her head held high (instead of bent over a bowl). The collections of the final three designers didn’t blow me away (but again, what do I know?), but they did at least get more of a reaction than some of the dreary challenges the show presented this season.

Carol Hannah’s collection made me smile, which suits her personality. She had some interesting looks, although the judges questioned the cohesiveness of the whole. At the same time they praised the one thing I thought she had over the other finalists, her use of color.

Althea’s collection got my attention, if only because I was trying to see how it fit into the futuristic vision she described. I had to squint a little and furrow my brow to see where she was going with her garments. It almost seemed like three different mini-collections, all equally interesting and all equally incomplete.

As the winner of this season, Irina was nothing if not cohesive. You don’t get points taken off for lack of cohesion if every single garment is black. But I have to endorse her win, because hers was the only collection that had even a hint of a “wow” factor for me. It was obvious she had put a lot of work into it, and I think that’s what she was rewarded for.

Having won more challenges than anyone during the season, Irina was the obvious pick for winner. She had some detractors among viewers for her superior attitude and her lack of interest in getting along with her fellow designers, but in the finale she seemed a bit more humble and less caustic. Therefore, she has earned my approval, which she does not need and did not seek. But I still think this is the only one of the six seasons she could have won.

Roll the dice and pull a rock
It’s a risky move to test the rules of a tie vote on Survivor. You have to be pretty cold-blooded to keep someone else in the game, even an ally, knowing that a tie puts you in more danger than either your ally or the person you’d like to eliminate. The old Galu members were apparently fine with this situation, though. Dave even seemed to relish it, but there was one member that wasn’t willing to put himself on the chopping block.

John had had more time to think about it, because his own former tribe mates had approached him with their plan to promote him to the old Foa Foa members as a target. If their plan had worked, Foa Foa would have thrown four votes at John, Shambo would have voted for Laura, and the other five Galu members would have sent Natalie home. Understandably, John didn’t think this was a very good plan, because it depended on Shambo sticking to her decision to vote out Laura, no matter what.

The first vote, as anticipated, went five for Laura and five for Natalie. Galu expected the second vote to be 4-4, but John had had enough and flipped, voting out Laura to make sure that she went home and he was safe. As he had said earlier, he wasn’t willing to step in the way of the punch coming her way. She’s the one who made Shambo such an intractable enemy, and it wasn’t about to become his problem. Another tie would have made Laura and Natalie safe, and the other eight players would have drawn rocks, with the one picking the odd color being sent home.

Meanwhile, though, I’m wondering why Galu abandoned their plan to flush out the hidden Idol, or, failing that, get rid of Russell straight up. Russell had to lose Dave, who was chasing him around as he searched for the Idol, and as soon as he did, he found it. There was no indication that he shared it with anyone, or that anyone knew for sure he had it, but he has it for at least one more Tribal.

Shambo told Brett tonight that “there is no more Galu,” and after tonight’s Tribal Council, she’s correct. Only Monica, Brett and Dave voted against Natalie on the final vote. That’s three people out of a tribe that went into the merge with eight members to Foa Foa’s four. Those four are still there. They picked up Shambo along the way, and now John becomes an associate by default.

Maybe the Galu three can turn the numbers around the way Foa Foa did, but they seem a little shell-shocked after what’s happened already. Nobody does the stunned “wow” face better than Dave, but at least he has always had his head in the game. Monica lost her strongest ally and might need more time to recover than she’ll be allowed. And Brett has never been a player in the strategic side of the game. He might find it’s a little late for someone like him to make a move.

I’m still not sure Russell deserves the million dollars, but I don’t see anyone else who deserves it more. I’ve always thought the others would find a way to get rid of him (although I’ve been wrong so far). That might still happen, and if it does, I’d guess Mick has the next best chance to win. He’s never drawn votes, and he was the Chief of the tribe that now has the numbers in the game. Who would have thought that tribe would turn out to be Foa Foa?

The food I cook on my day off
The judges on tonight’s Top Chef Las Vegas had a hard time deciding which of the final five to eliminate, and based on their comments I had as hard a time figuring out what they were going to do. Even though I didn’t know whom they’d send home, I could tell they were leaning toward giving the win to Kevin, because they liked his flavors and his execution, even if they weren’t as impressed with the ambition of his entry in the faux Bocuse d’Or competition. Simple and cooked well beats technique without flavor.

It was a win for which Kevin might want to give some credit to Bryan, who advised him on the sous vide technique he wanted to use, despite never having cooked that way. Bryan was a little reluctant to help, but he couldn’t figure a way out of it. And anyway, doing so made him feel superior to his brother (who had already gone to bed at the time of this conversation). That’s always a good thing in the Voltaggio family.

Jennifer actually had flavors in her dishes that the judges liked, but the cooking was uneven, and some diners got undercooked salmon while others’ were overcooked. Bryan’s lamb was also undercooked, while Michael’s plate was not cohesive (and one judge found a bone in his salmon). None of the three was a total failure, but any could have been sent home for how far their execution fell short.

In the end, it might have been the memory of how close the judges were last week to sending Eli home that got him eliminated this week. His lamb was described as unpleasant and sad, and the judges were unimpressed by the fat in his sausage, which made it hard to eat. Eli was upset, I don’t think he expected to make the finals, because he’s always been so much in awe of his competition. He looked up to them and expected them to beat him.

Stepping outside the cage
If the judges on So You Think You Can Dance only want to see growth, maybe they shouldn’t cast a dancer who’s as good as Victor already was. After Channing and Victor’s perfectly acceptable jazz routine, the panel praised Channing by telling her this was the first time she seemed to be enjoying herself, and then they criticized Victor because he came to the competition with such good technique and apparently hasn’t got better fast enough to suit them.

To me, the couple is in trouble because they didn’t stand out on a pretty good night for most of the dancers, and Tyce Diorio didn’t do them any favors with the choice of music for his quirky routine. The choreography was okay, nothing special despite the back story of the blackbirds coming out of their cage to play. But, as Adam Shankman hinted, it was hard even to watch them dance because the song by Bobby McFerrin was so distracting.

The only couple who fared worse were Karen and Kevin, whose Broadway number was a little plodding and slow and not nearly as much fun as it could have been. I can see almost every other couple taking the same choreography and doing a better job of selling it. Then they had the misfortune to be picked by all three judges as being in the most danger (although knowing the fickle way the voters think, that criticism might even help them). If they do turn out to be in the bottom three this week, I boldly predict they will be cut.

I don’t know who danced best tonight, but I do know that Travis Wall’s contemporary number for Ellenore and Ryan was heart-stoppingly beautiful, as was their performance of it. If they land in the bottom three again, I’ll be surprised and dismayed. Ashleigh and Jakob led off the show with a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routine that brought out qualities I didn’t know they had. They were totally committed to both the characters and the chemistry, and it was riveting to watch.

Noelle and Russell can always get by on his charisma, but tonight they did a fox trot that showed all that and more. It was so smooth and engaging, punctuated with one of the best lifts of the season, smack dab in the middle. For once she was almost as much a star as he was. Similarly, Kathryn and Legacy will go a long way on his likeability, but in their paso doble both dancers stepped up and owned the stage with passion and intensity. It was so good it was almost weird to watch them becoming the characters and telling the story.

Mollee and Nathan shouldn’t have survived that awful salsa last week, but it will take more than bad dancing to get this popular couple off the show. Tonight they had the good fortune to get Laurieann Gibson as their choreographer, because it’s possible she was the only one who could force these two to take themselves seriously. It was a hard hitting, fiery pop jazz routine, and in this case the music, a song by Lady Gaga, will help them get even more votes that they don’t really need.

On thing that worries me is that I think the judges have promised too many dancers a spot in the top ten. Somebody is going to be disappointed. I just hope it’s not me.

Off our game big time
At this stage of The Amazing Race, most of the teams that habitually take wrong turns and misread clues have been eliminated, so smaller mistakes begin to take their toll. That’s what happened to Gary and Matt tonight.

They could easily have overcome the Speed Bump imposed for finishing last on the previous leg, if only Matt hadn’t taken so long to figure out what a “candelabra” is. Then he took a little longer than he should have to decipher the clue, rubbing the paper instead of simply holding it over the flame. He also missed the key word “garden” in the clue, so the team wasted time trying to get to the top of the tower, instead of locating the clue box in plain sight in the tower garden.

None of these self-imposed speed bumps should have eliminated Gary and Matt, but taken together they added up to more than the five minutes they were required to spend on the sauna bus.

Meghan and Cheyne easily won the leg, working through the tasks with ease. They were not first to the Road Block, but they were first to solve the hidden message, and when they moved on to the mud volleyball Detour, they were well in front of the other teams. They were the only team to have no trouble at the Detour, because they were a little more mobile in the mud and figured out how to use their volleyball skills under those conditions.

Flight Time and Big Easy seemed to be tripping over Sam and Dan all through the leg, and then the two teams tripped each other up on the run to the Pit Stop. The bad blood between them will probably have an impact on the rest of the race, since the teams seem so evenly matched. They competed in the volleyball Detour at the same time, and although the Trotters finished slightly ahead, the Brothers made up time and finished second when their rivals took off in the wrong direction looking for the Pit Stop.

Brian and Ericka were near the front the whole leg, but they were unlucky enough to be racing for the Detour at the same time as the Trotters and the Brothers. Since only two teams could play volleyball at once, and they got there third, they were forced to choose the slingshot option. It took them a long time to hit the target, but they had enough of a lead on Gary and Matt that they didn’t have to worry about finishing last. They start the next leg in fourth place, and it will take the kind of teamwork they’ve shown only occasionally for them to make up ground and get to the final three.

The two teams immediately ahead of them might just knock each other out of the way, giving Brian and Ericka an open lane to the finish. All three of these teams have shown that they can be mistake-prone, so any of them can come in second. Barring unforeseen disaster, I don’t see Meghan and Cheyne surrendering first to any of the teams chasing them, though.

Bringing a tank
From what we saw in the first part of the Project Runway finale, it’s a little hard to tell, based on the collections, which of the three designers is likely to win. It’s a bit easier to gauge where they are based on their levels of confidence, and (in the case of Carol Hannah) their health.

Irina is still the favorite, except for the fact that she so blatantly disregards Nina Garcia’s advice about not sending out an entirely black collection. Apparently to her, cohesion means lack of color. This might play better on the runway than it sounds, but it’s never the best tactic to ignore the person who will be judging you. However, her idea of using screened T-shirts with Coney Island scenes as a unifying feature is intriguing. Neither of the other finalists is doing anything quite that far out of the box.

Althea, Irina’s rival and nemesis, had some issues with a few looks tending toward costume over fashion. That’s not going to get her great praise from the judges, but she’s always willing to rethink and edit and keep changing things around, so I have a feeling what she ends up sending down the runway will be fine. She definitely knew exactly what she wanted from the models she chose, so that tells me that the qualities her designs express will have a similar point of view.

If Carol Hannah can get up off the bathroom floor long enough to complete her collection, she should be able to finish strong. If it’s variety the judges are looking for, I think Carol Hannah has more of it than the other two designers, but still with a cohesive approach that expresses her sense of fun. It was smart of her to choose a gown for her thirteenth look, because we know she can execute it and it will be eye-catching. I just hope her health holds up long enough to do it.

Any of the three could still win. They haven’t shown us enough to give us a clear picture of how their collections will play on the runway. Confidence is so important that I still think Irina will overcome any deficiencies and sell her designs better than the other two, so if I had to bet, my money would be on her.

A communal decision
On tonight’s Survivor Samoa, Shambo’s vote against her secret ally Russell might be the only thing that keeps her from being the next target of Galu. Otherwise they would have to assume that she had told him about the new hidden Immunity Idol. While the five who won the Reward Challenge were on their picnic (and finding the clue that told them there was a new Idol), Russell was back at camp systematically figuring out where the Idol was, and stowing it in his pocket.

And he’ll probably have to find the next one. If anyone from Galu gets it, they’ll know they can vote Russell out without any fear that the plan will backfire, the way it did tonight when seven votes against him didn’t count. The other four, by the surviving Foa Foa members, were all for Kelly, the secondary target after Laura won immunity.

Really, except for Natalie dispatching a rat (“Eat your snack, buddy.” Whap!), that’s all tonight’s episode was about. The reward was fine for those who won it, but besides the clue, which ultimately proved useless to them, it wasn’t the most riveting moment of the season. The Immunity Challenge that Laura won showed what a strong player she is in mental games. She started last but made up ground quickly once she got into the rhythm of solving the puzzle. Mick and Shambo, despite their head start, never figured out how to play the game, much less win it.

Shambo was the most dismayed that Laura won immunity, because the two of them have been in conflict for most of the season. I think Shambo could even have voted with Foa Foa against Laura without raising suspicion among former Galu members, because of the fractured relationship between the two women.

But this was all about Russell finding the Idol and playing it. He knew he was the target, so it was an easy maneuver for him to get his allies to vote Kelly out. Even if Galu had split the votes, as was discussed, they didn’t have enough to get out anyone from Foa Foa unless they had abandoned Russell as a target completely, and that was never going to happen, despite what Russell thought he overheard during one of their strategy sessions.

If I’m one of the ten Aiga members still in Samoa, I’m getting up early the morning after Tribal Council and searching for the next hidden Idol until I find it. There’s no more strategy needed than that, until someone gets it.

Complex flavors, subtle hand
The judges on Top Chef Las Vegas had every reason to send Eli or Jennifer home tonight, but it was Robin, who has dodged elimination so many times this season, who left the competition on the basis of her failed panna cotta. But the main criticism of her was that she overreached and tried to live up to the other chefs.

It was Jennifer who served beef so tough the judges asked for a sword to cut it, and she was also the one who has been falling steadily the last few weeks. On the other hand, it was Eli who came up with an unappetizing fiasco of a caramel apple peanut soup with popcorn. Nigella Lawson said she’d rather eat sawdust. So Robin wasn’t the worst on the night, but she was the victim of accumulated underperformances.

Now we are down to the final five we expected all along, but I’m not sure the final three will be the ones I thought they’d be for most of the season. I now believe that tonight’s top three of Michael, Bryan and Kevin have the confidence of the judges and are unlikely to be let go before the finale. All three are creative chefs, and all put delicious, beautifully crafted food on the plate. Eli is very good but not as consistent, and Jennifer, an early favorite, has lost whatever edge she had.

Tonight’s winner was Michael’s boneless chicken wing confit. It’s hard to imagine that any other chef could do chicken wings and win an Elimination Challenge at this stage. Bryan went the more elegant route, with his escabèche of halibut with bouillabaisse consommé. And Kevin did wild Alaskan sockeye salmon whose flavor was admired by the judges almost as much as the tomato broth it came with. For once there was clear separation between the top and bottom groups, so it’s hard to see how any of this top three can fall far enough to leave before the other two remaining contestants.

Kiss a few frogs
If you have to do hip-hop to be America’s favorite dancer, Ellenore and Ryan should probably start packing. On an episode of So You Think You Can Dance where new choreographers brought new interest and excitement to the stage, one of my favorite couples was brought down by old friend Lil C. The routine was all over the place, but not nearly as much as the way it was danced. Ellenore was a little easier to watch, but only because Ryan was like a big galumphing cowpoke, not exactly what hip-hop calls for.

Since I can’t speak much about the technical side of dance, I don’t have to hold back how much I enjoyed some of the routines that weren’t loved by the judges. Kathryn and Legacy’s Broadway number was the best of the season in that genre, and it wouldn’t have been if both partners hadn’t been into the dance. Kathryn held my attention every bit as much as Legacy did. The quickstep by Pauline and Peter was an engaging performance, fun and entertaining, and that’s all I care about. The Navy guy and the hula girl were a highlight of the show.

Channing and Victor may be the judges’ new favorite couple, but there was something missing from their contemporary routine tonight. I don’t know that there was anything wrong with the steps, but the chemistry they were looking for just didn’t seem to be there.

The two couples that always sizzle, for me, are Karen and Kevin and Ashleigh and Jakob, and tonight was no different. Kevin had some good steps in the hustle that they did, but it was (as always) Karen who carried the routine. She danced with every part of her body and every bit of her personality. The contemporary number that Mandy Moore did for Ashleigh and Jakob (and a cane) gave them a chance to show what they can do, and they stepped up to the challenge. Jakob especially moved beyond his athleticism and showed more intensity than I expected from him.

On the other hand, it was way too obvious that Mollee and Nathan were struggling with their salsa. They missed steps, they missed connections, and they missed out on adding their own considerable personalities into a dance where personality is one of the key elements. I was a little embarrassed for them, but I’m not worried about them, because I think they are vote getters no matter what they do on stage. If their fans don’t pick up the phone, though, the judges might be tempted to let them go, with the notion that we’ve seen all the growth and maturity we’re likely to get from them.

As Noelle and Russell did their Afro jazz routine, I was riveted, because I never knew what they were going to do next. I didn’t totally buy into the story, but Russell commands attention just standing there, much less leaping and hopping all over the stage. Noelle was a perfect princess to his frog, and I couldn’t wait to see what technical problems the judges could find with the number, as they were doing with everyone else. They smartly refrained from trying to grade it on technique and went with the brilliant performance.

He’s worked through hay most of his life
Sometimes the tasks on The Amazing Race test the emotional strength of the teams, and sometimes the tests are physical. Nothing ever tests both elements more than the infamous hay bale challenge, resurrected from season six. Just unrolling the bales is hard enough, but the frustration of doing it time after time and not finding the flag you’re looking for is enough to cause a breakdown.

And that’s not even the whole story. Flight Time and Big Easy were third to arrive at the farm, but first to find the flag, while Sam and Meghan were drowning in their own futility. That caused even more tears and trauma. Cheyne missed the chance to do this Road Block by nudging his girlfriend toward the hay. He said she was taking the lead, but it was obvious he just didn’t want to do it. The task brought her to tears, but to his credit he encouraged her all the way, and when she was the second to find the flag, all psychic wounds were healed.

On the other hand, Sam and Dan had been first to arrive at the farm. Dan seemed to have an idea what the task was about, but Sam was the one to tackle it, with his brother shouting at him from the sidelines. After a while, Dan must have known that his anti-cheerleading was only adding to Sam’s frustration, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. While they were going through this sibling ritual, Brian and Ericka arrived from far behind. Brian found the flag, and they finished third on this leg.

By then it was between the brothers and the father and son team of Gary and Matt, who had missed planes and trains all day, and driven around Stockholm in circles (literally), placing themselves firmly in last place. The fact that they had a good chance to pass Sam and Dan and finish fourth was one of the more amazing features of the race. The fact that they finished last is not the fault of Gary, who worked gamely through the bales with his son gently encouraging him.

Very properly, this turned out to be a non-elimination leg. In no way should that task, both nearly impossible and largely ruled by chance, have been the reason any of the final five teams went home. The fact that all five finished the Road Block proves that they deserve to move on to the next leg.

Nina Garcia's stilettos
The judges on Project Runway tonight chose three designers to show collections at Bryant Park, and they probably chose the three most likely to create cohesive, consistent collections. Throughout the season, they’ve eliminated most of the edgy, interesting designers and kept the ones with the greatest technical skills. The three remaining contestants have always risen to whatever challenge they were given.

It was a long road for Christopher, and he never kept his own personality out of his designs. That’s a plus in the sense of vision, but it could be a big minus when that vision took him places that were more weird and wacky than fashionable. Some of his looks were so bizarre that they bordered on costumes, and the judges weren’t willing to take a chance that he could bring to Fashion Week the elegance and sophistication they were looking for.

Gordana has had a few bad weeks in a row, and I think that’s the main reason she was cut. She did create a beautiful dress for this challenge, and it definitely represented her esthetic, but it was a simple design, and I think that gave the judges the excuse they needed not to include her in the finale.

Irina has been the front runner most of the season, and although the outfit she showed tonight was a little too flowing and shapeless to be truly flattering, it was a foregone conclusion that she would be safe.

Carol Hannah has always lacked confidence, but she has rarely failed to send an interesting garment down the runway, and it has always been technically superior.

Althea’s dress for tonight’s show was kind of an uneven mess, but this was one of the few challenges where she hasn’t been one of the best designers.

The judges picked the same three that I would have chosen (which doesn’t mean I know anything, only that I listen closely). Any of them can win, but it will depend on how much they put into their collections. My guess is that Irina is the most driven of the three and will not disappoint the judges. Carol Hannah will stress over her designs and still be sewing backstage at the finale. Althea will try to do more than the others, and it’s a coin flip whether she’ll succeed or not. We’ll know in two weeks.

Extended family
If you like to see an overwhelming underdog beat the odds, you had to love tonight’s Survivor Samoa. After the tribes merged, with the former Galu members outnumbering Foa Foa eight to four, it would have seemed inevitable that Foa Foa would be picked off one by one. As always, though, Russell took matters into his own hands and with John’s help engineered a consensus that was going to vote out Laura and keep the Foa Foa four intact.

Then came the first underdog comeback, as Laura (along with John) won immunity. Russell tried to steer the vote toward Laura’s close ally Monica, and John worked with him. But, as Shambo bluntly informed Russell, that was never going to happen. She said that Erik and Laura would decide who went home, and the plan, a perfectly logical one, was to vote out Jaison but keep Russell in the dark in order to flush out his hidden Immunity Idol.

When John and Erik spoke about John’s plan to get out Monica, Erik knew he was in the minority, so he got John’s permission to vote with Laura against Jaison, to maintain his alliance with her. In return, he tried to strongarm Natalie, Jaison and Mick to vote out Monica, without telling them how his own tribemates were going to vote. “What you need to know, you know,” he told them, and that didn’t sit well with them, especially with Jaison.

That’s when the worm turned. Jaison got his Foa Foa mates to agree to vote out Erik. Natalie then went to Laura and Kelly and convinced them that keeping Erik was dangerous to the women who wanted to make it to the end. With the groundswell of opinion moving against Erik, Russell got paranoid. He thought it was too easy, and he didn’t trust it, so when the time came he played his hidden Idol, squandering a key weapon because of his own misplaced fear.

If there was any doubt before Tribal Council, Erik managed to cement the sentiment there by proclaiming that Foa Foa had nothing to offer Galu, and that all but Russell seemed to have quit on the game. He made a particular example of Jaison, questioning his “résumé,” and he said that although he respected Russell’s resolve, Russell would have to change his alliances soon or be voted out himself. Erik spoke like someone who believes he is in total control.

Russell’s response: “I ain’t gonna stop playing.” By playing the Idol tonight, he proved that he’s still playing hard, but he also proved that his judgment isn’t always as sound as he thinks it is. Still, I think he believed the Idol’s value to him was as a bargaining chip, and now that so many people knew he had it, that value was diminished. In his eyes, mitigating the risk of being voted out tonight trumped any further use of the Idol to him in the game.

Erik, who had considered playing his own Idol, was totally blindsided by the 10-2 vote at Tribal. The only votes that weren’t against him were from himself and Shambo, both against Jaison. Whatever happens next, Foa Foa has done something that seemed impossible, getting out one of their strongest opponents before they lost any of their own players. Overconfidence and paranoia both played their parts tonight, and both are likely to be factors from here on.

Laserlike connections
As much as the judges on So You Think You Can Dance repeat and repeat their praise of the show’s choreographers, I think some of them let their dancers down tonight. The dancers who got the best reviews were the ones who had the best routines.

Bianca and Victor would not have been so easily dismissed if it hadn’t been for Tyce’s painfully ordinary Broadway number that seemed to be all waving hands and bouncing shoulders, with very little actual dancing. And Jamal’s idea of putting tennis rackets in the hands of Noelle and Russell surely had plenty to do with the fact that their dance wasn’t well received. Noelle had to dance for her life and was not cut, but she was the weakest of the girls in their partner routines tonight and probably should have been sent home rather than Bianca, who was so beautiful last week in Travis’s emotional number.

Channing and Phillip may have had more to work with in the samba choreographed by Tony and Meredith, but even to an untrained eye, they were pretty bad. It might have been the weakest execution of a dance that I’ve seen on the show in several seasons. It was almost as bad as Jeanine and Phillip’s Russian folk dance from last season. It was slow, labored and stiff, and the fact that Phillip was sent home for this number is justified, as painful as it is to lose two tap dancers at this stage.

I have to disagree with the judges who thought Wade’s “Starry Night” number for Pauline and Peter would be controversial. It was a fascinating use of the stage to tell a story that was pure imagination. The sets and costumes were amazing, and the dancing was a pleasure to watch. They weren’t the best of the night, though. In fact, they weren’t even in the top half (in my opinion, of course). Who was?

Well, as much as I don’t always enjoy ballroom, Ashleigh and Jakob swept me away with their smooth, elegant Viennese waltz. As much as I always compare any Bollywood routine to the original by Katee and Joshua, Mollee and Nathan did a terrific job with a sort of Bollywood fusion number that was both dramatic and utterly cool. Ellenore and Ryan’s Argentine tango had some sharp moves and a whole lot of heat, and the fact that she caught her heel in her dress didn’t detract from the performance one bit.

The most fun number of the night was the hip-hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon for Karen and Kevin. Even the concept – “hot girl walks into a mechanic’s shop” – is more engaging than any of the spotty hip-hop numbers we’ve had so far this season, and they worked it together better than any partners yet.

But my favorite routine was the contemporary number Stacey Tookey did for Kathryn and Legacy. It played right into what stands out about Legacy, the emotion with which he dances, and how well he expresses feelings. And Kathryn, portraying a woman struggling with fear, brought to life the most vivid character of anyone on that stage tonight. It was a spellbinding few minutes while they were telling their story. If this were a voting week, I would have picked up the phone for them.

Higher up there’s a longer way to fall
Tonight’s episode of The Amazing Race was almost as difficult to watch as it must have been for the teams to run. Ordinarily when all of the tasks are as hard as they were on this leg, it turns out to be a non-elimination leg. But we’ll never know, because for the second week in a row we saw a team unable to complete a Detour. And Maria and Tiffany gave the word a new meaning, as they detoured back and forth from one option to the other, exhausting themselves in the process.

For once, the Detour choices seemed not to have a good option for an all-woman team. Tiffany came close to ringing the bell at Farmer’s Dance – on their 71st try at it, during their second time at that venue. They then tried Farmer’s Game for the second time, but without enough energy to do now what they couldn’t do earlier when they were stronger and fresher. It was a sad ending to a team that grew on me as they progressed through the race. They quit, but only because they had nothing left to give.

And it’s too bad they couldn’t ring that bell, do that dance and eat that herring, because they were that close to knocking Brian and Ericka out of the race. That’s the team that should have been eliminated tonight, if any, because they did pretty much everything wrong. As soon as they landed in Amsterdam, Brian fell far behind the other teams because he couldn’t get the car started. It wasn’t the car’s fault, either.

Then when they got to the Road Block at the bell tower, Ericka had to climb those stairs at least five times that we saw, counting the bells. She was the only one who had trouble with the task, but three of the teams worked together, making it that much easier. Sam and Meghan got there at the same time and compared notes, then gave Tiffany the answer (because, in Sam’s opinion, she would be easier to beat). Only Gary and Matt, who got there first, and Flight Time and Big Easy, who were near the back, completed the task on their own without having to redo it, the way Ericka did. They were far behind when the left the tower.

They didn’t help themselves much at the Road Block, either, because they didn’t read the clue. Instructed to ride bikes to the task, they instead walked the distance in wooden shoes. Not only did it take them forever, but it also cost them a thirty-minute penalty at the Pit Stop. It’s a good thing for them that Brian could ring the bell on his first try. Then all they had to do was learn the dance and eat the herring. With Maria and Tiffany not making it to the Pit Stop, the only effect of the penalty will be that Brian and Ericka will start the next leg thirty minutes later.

With all the problems the other teams were having, Sam and Dan were looking pretty good when they came in first. They sailed through every task and even used a delay at the Dubai airport to come out to their fellow contestants. It was such a congenial group at that point that I would have liked to see more of the six teams sitting around and getting to know each other better. It would have been easier to watch that the grueling challenges that took such a toll on so many teams on this leg.

The Idaho point of view
What, cattiness amongst fashion designers? Oh, yes. Project Runway was rife with sneering resentment tonight. Althea thought Logan copied her zippered collar, so Irina decided that Althea had used her oversized sweater jacket (as if no one had ever made a big jacket before). Anyway, the judges weren’t impressed. They weren’t impressed by Logan’s hideous zipper explosion and sent him home. And they weren’t impressed with Irina’s complaints and handed Althea the win.

By the way, speaking of cattiness, tonight’s judging panel came up with some of the most colorfully descriptive putdowns in the history of the show. It was like a roomful of Michael Kors clones (and he wasn’t even there). Christopher’s bottom heavy gown was characterized perfectly as a carnival float. Gordana’s hideous gray jacket with dark skirt was so drab that it would suit an office worker in Poland. And Logan’s losing space suit reject (yes, the name of Judy Jetson came up) was described as a student fashion project.

In my opinion, Gordana’s creation was even worse, because it had no character at all, but I can’t argue with kicking Logan off for designing a look that would be unflattering on a cartoon character.

Even though Irina is obviously very talented and a clear favorite of the judges, it was kind of satisfying to see her pouting and sulking when Althea’s casual but tailored jacket and pant set beat her sweater jacket covering a brocade dress. Maybe it’s because Nina Garcia hated the dress that Irina came in second tonight. I actually thought that dress looked so good on the model that I would have given her the win, but I’m not the expert.

Carol Hannah’s charming cocktail dress, inspired by the Bob Mackie challenge, might have won on many shows this season. Everybody loved the pockets, but they seemed to think it was too simple. Funny, but that’s exactly what I liked about it.

With only five designers left, I can’t see Christopher or Gordana making it to Fashion Week, because neither seems capable of creating the kind of collection that the judges want to see there. Christopher likes to push boundaries but sometimes doesn’t know where to stop. If he did make the final, it might be fun to see how he would fill out a collection. Gordana’s work, on the other hand, has been so uneven that if she were asked to create ten looks, five would be elegant and five would be industrial uniforms.

That leaves Irina, Althea and Carol Hannah (in that order). Those seem the three most likely to get to Bryant Park.

Raised in a trailer park, driving a Jaguar
The best thing Galu did on tonight’s Survivor Samoa wasn’t voting Shambo as the new Chief. That seemed to have a neutral effect on the success of the tribe and the way things work there (except for Laura, who was banished for a couple of days to Foa Foa).

No, the smartest move was in the Reward Challenge, when they took a fire starting kit and a tarp, forfeiting two points. They won easily anyway, so it’s not as if the lost points hurt them, and they’ve been miserable in the rain and dependent on one person (Dave) to make the fire. Life should get better for them, and the tribe should get even stronger now.

Laura’s time at Foa Foa was another opportunity for Russell to make one of his famous alliances. He promised her a shot at final three with himself and Natalie, and with a merge looming, that promise might be enticing. After all, she was the one singled out not to participate in the reward, even after she won the fire starting kit for them in the challenge. This might give her a chance to go to the merge as number five in a group of five, rather than number eight in a group of eight.

Liz was voted out tonight for making a fatal mistake. She opened her mouth to Russell. That’s all it takes on Foa Foa, because Russell doesn’t trust anyone who has an independent thought, and he easily manipulates everyone who doesn’t. Liz complained about Natalie and Laura chatting while she was trying to make fire, not knowing that Natalie was acting as Russell’s agent, gathering information.

Russell said at Tribal Council that he was hoping for the merge. He’s running out of people to control at Foa Foa, having engineered the demise of most of them. It will be interesting to see how quickly the laid back Galu members fall under his spell. He’s just sneaky enough to cover his tracks, and just smooth enough to make suckers of all of them. He’s never been mentioned as a target, and at this point I’d be shocked if he were voted off any time soon.

Vegetarians are people, too
Tonight on Top Chef Las Vegas: When good cooks go bad! As Tom Colicchio pointed out in reference to Jennifer (but it could be said about several contestants), there comes a point in the season where people are tired and start falling apart. How many of them didn’t finish cooking, or didn’t finish plating, despite having two hours? (At least three: Robin, Mike and Bryan. And Jennifer might have finished only because she didn’t do much.)

The curve ball of having to cook a vegetarian meal in a steakhouse threw the competitors off their game, but Kevin was the clear winner with the heartiest, most delicious blend of flavors and texture in his duo of mushrooms with smoked kale. Everyone at the table was impressed with the fact that it was the one dish served tonight that actually felt like an entrée.

Naturally, Michael thought he should have won instead. He grumbled that Kevin’s winning dish was something he could have cooked in twenty minutes in his second year in culinary school. As always, he put a lot of thought into his own dish, especially the banana polenta that had everyone smiling but confused. Or confused but smiling, I guess. This is the kind of thing that gets him the “Picasso” label. (I hope he didn’t hear that. He thinks well enough of himself already.)

Eli’s confit of eggplant also landed him in the top three, and Bryan at least escaped the bottom group with his artichoke barigoule. That left a bottom three of Jennifer, Robin and Mike, and all three deserved their fate. In fact, any of them could have gone home for their performance in this challenge.

Why wasn’t it Jennifer? She’s been underperforming for several weeks now, and her charred baby eggplant with braised fennel was criticized as being little more than a garnish. Maybe she was saved because the judges thought it would have made such a beautiful side dish.

Why wasn’t it Robin? Her stuffed squash blossom, beet carpaccio and fresh garbanzo beans were all over the map, almost as much as her longwinded explanation. Once she starts talking she doesn’t easily find a stopping point, and tonight she cooked that way as well. The judges didn’t think much of her dish, but they did appreciate her presentation; maybe that’s what saved her.

Why was it Mike? I think it was Mike more because of his attitude than his cooking. He hasn’t been at the bottom often, but every time he has, he’s been arrogant and dismissive about it. He has had a much higher opinion of himself than his performance dictated, and tonight his undercooked leeks were the excuse, but his “Whatever, whatever” was the real reason. The judges don’t like to see a contestant so blatantly taking the challenge less seriously than they do.

Sorry to see Mike go? Not really, although he’s a better cook than some people who are still in the competition. None of the chefs thinks Robin belongs in their company, and I doubt she’ll hang around much longer. She may be gone as soon as the next episode, unless Jennifer continues to slide so precipitously. The season is at the stage where one mistake could send anybody out the door. That raises the stakes and makes it that much more exciting.

Spreading the gospel of dance
It’s hard to say the judges got it wrong on tonight’s top twenty performance show of So You Think You Can Dance, although based on tonight’s competition only I would have cut Pauline over Ariana. It was the right decision to let Brandon go, even though he was at an unfair disadvantage, having been brought back with only a day and a half to rehearse. If he’s allowed to audition again next season, that will rectify the inequality. And anyway, how would it have been to cut Russell, who didn’t even have his partner available to dance with? He has shown so much potential, from first audition through Vegas Week, that it would have been criminal to lose him now.

I thought Channing and Phillip’s jive was a little slow and at times awkward, although the judges’ only criticism was in technical areas that I’m not qualified to comment on (not that it usually stops me). Ariana and Peter’s hip-hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon was okay for me, but he seemed a little stiff and she seemed the better dancer. That’s why it surprised me that she was in the bottom four and he wasn’t.

The cha cha danced by Karen and Kevin wasn’t my favorite; it seemed slow, and the couple seemed disconnected. The judges had no problems with them, and in fact the only problem noted was that Karen was so spectacular that she outshone Kevin, who is quite a dynamic performer in his own right. Brandon and Pauline’s waltz was smooth and elegant and a little boring. Ballroom isn’t my thing, so I’ll defer to the judges, who really didn’t like it.

Everyone else blew me away, to different degrees. I loved Mollee and Nathan’s disco number, although the lift at the end slowed it down so much it was distracting. Sonya’s contemporary jazz routine danced by Ellenore and Ryan was weird and wonderful, with feathers flying. Ashleigh and Jakob’s sultry Broadway number sizzled with chemistry and charisma. I can’t wait to see what they do next, both because of their technical abilities and the level of performance they bring to the stage.

Easily my favorite routine of the night was Travis Wall’s number, danced by Bianca and Victor. It was beautiful and emotional, and the connection between the two of them was such a part of the dance that it was like a character in itself. These are two performers who will have to prove that they can maintain that level, but they can thank Travis for getting them off to a great start.

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