Beauty & The Geek Australia

This week sees – after two weeks – a break from Grey’s Anatomy already – but in the US they have a break after the 3rd week – so maybe Seven are playing it safe. In its place (as well as Smash) is one of those trashy top 50 specials – about plastic surgery shockers. Continue reading »

The full list of 2011 Reality Television Stars is now out- but there are a few notable exceptions. Some of those who didn’t make the list do deserve a mention, and here are those mentions right now!

EMMA DUNCAN (The Biggest Loser)

Second female winner of The Biggest Loser, which is saying something after being allowed back into the competition soon after being eliminated. She came from the very strong Duncan Family, who were trained by newcomer Tiffiny Hall. Her magnificent feat definitely needs some recognition.

SARAH MOON (The Biggest Loser)

Another Biggest Loser finalist, and this fiesty nutter kept giving us excuse after excuse to watch the show! Her continued outbursts of rage aimed at the Commando’s training regime, as regrettable to say, brought tears of laughter to our eyes while at the same time made us feel for her and what she must have been going through. She never gave up though, earning a cool fourth place in the competition.

JOE CHALLENOR (The Biggest Loser)

The villain of the season, Joe was most famous for putting his nephew Nathaniel up for elimination in his place and depriving his brother Damien of a much needed immunity opportunity. He was able to stun viewers though, with his stunning transformation and hard work.

JOSH DENSTEN & JENNA WHITEHEAD (The Block)

This bickering couple were probably the most outspoken couple on this year’s season. Having the only double fronted home, it seemed the unique position they were in lended them a hand as the couple went on to controversially win a good handful of challenges and money! Their most infamous moments included the finale proposal by Josh and Josh’s clashes with site manager Keith.

KATRINA CHAMBERS & AMIE GODDE (The Block)

These pair of sisters were something else on The Block. The third most successful couple on this years season, there was a lot these girls did for the audience- most of it revovled around laughter. Whether it was admitting themselves into self-created Women’s Clubs or singing along to Dynamite, these girls were just so entertaining. When they were down, the nation was down in the dumps with them.

TANIA & ROD WALSH (The Block)

Tania & Rod were the strong couple of The Block this year- both professionally and mentally. Having to deal with a recent death in the family, it wasn’t easy for these two to keep a brave face and renovate to their professional standards at the same time, but somehow they managed it and the nation was happy for it.

MO EL-LEISSY & MOS HAROUN (The Amazing Race Australia)

Mo & Mos were this year’s stereotype breaker. As two Muslims, it was hard to find them in a situation that didn’t challenge your beliefs on the religion. These fun loving, dopey characters proved to be continuous comic relief from the serious challenges and it was equally as sad to see them leave the contest half way through.

ANNE-MARIE BROWN & TRACY READ (The Amazing Race Australia)

The Big W ladies from WA were the first notable characters of the game in my opinion and had they stayed in the game for just a little while longer they may have made the list, but like Mo & Mos, their thirst for fun never parched and they continued to deliver strong comedic moments of television right up to their elimination early on.

DAVE & KELLY MILLER (The Amazing Race Australia)

These bikies were never short of laughs either, but at the same time, they were some of the biggest competitors the game had. When Dave wasn’t going off at an ice- Hockey Player who blocked all his shots, they were out to seek revenge from those who underestimated these two bikies!

JOEY TOUTOUNJI (The Amazing Race Australia)

Less her partner, Richard, Joey was the true villain of the series. Having betrayed former allies Mel & Alana, her ‘Focus, Believe, Achieve’ quote was one of the most annoying cliches of 2011. Good riddance to this one I say.

TIMOMATIC (Australia’s Got Talent)

Timomatic came 21st on my list in the end due to his incredible talent and the chills he sent up my spine when I saw him perform. He has since gone on to perform nationwide and is recieving a lot more notabilty after his stint on the show.

COSENTINO (Australia’s Got Talent)

For his death-defying stunts and his calm and collected nature. YouTube him. ‘Nuff said.

BENCHMARK (Australia’s Got Talent)

Another close call, but these group of oldies had it all- voice, charisma and inspiration. Despite their hardship, these guys taught Australia that anything is possible. It’s a shame they didn’t win the show in my opinion.

BEN PRICE (Australia’s Got Talent)

His funny impersonations will forever be stuck in my head, the head of Dannii and no doubt your head. If only I heard him on radio a little bit more, I may have moved him up and into the list of faves.

ROBERT DAVIDOV (Top Design)

Special mention for winning Top Design. Probably the show’s only winner.

GRETA YAXLEY (Junior MasterChef)

Special mention for winning Junior MasterChef Australia.

SAMMY & BELLA JAKUBIAK (My Kitchen Rules)

Special mention for winning My Kitchen Rules.

TROY THOMPSON & MACKENZIE GOGO-SMITS (Beauty & The Geek Australia)

Special mention for their engagement. Are they married yet?

SARAH LAWTHER & LACHLAN COSGROVE (Beauty & The Geek Australia)

Special mention for winning Beauty & The Geek Australia)

 

Special mentions also go out to those who are still notable for their work on reality television this year but their disclusion from my list was not terribly regrettable:

CHRISTINA PARIE (X Factor), JOHNNY RUFFO (X Factor), PAMELA COOKE (X Factor) ANDREW WISHART (X Factor), DECLAN SYKES (X Factor), CHRISTIE BLIZZARD (Renovators), NATALIE BROADHEAD (Renovators), AUGUST SMITS (Renovators), DANI VENN (MasterChef Australia), JOHN HUGHES (MasterChef Australia), ELLIE PAXTON-HALL (MasterChef Australia), TEAM ROCKET (Australia’s Got Talent), NATHANIEL CHALLENOR (Biggest Loser), MATT NUNN & TOM WARRINER (Amazin Race Australia), FARMER KEV (Farmer Wants A Wife) & HALEY BRACKEN (Dancing with the Stars)

 

Can’t list everyone, but there’s the who’s who of reality television 2011. All that there is to do today is to announce the 2011 Personality of the Year. That announcement will be up shortly.

Last night; reality television bowed its head for 2011 with a lovely finale for Beauty & The Geek Australia. In a blog post; I went through the key aspects that went into making the final week of reality for this year a success while also hinting at future prospects for this blog. In the final recapping blog I will be posting for this year, I will detail the year that has been; the highs and the lows. Pretend it is one of those lengthy recaps shows attach to the top of their finales. Then I will preview what is in store for the coming months and into 2012.

The year began on 30 January 2011 with the launch of The Biggest Loser Australia’s sixth season- the first in the ‘families’ format. The season began with four trainers; Shannon Ponton, Michelle Bridges, Steve Willis (formerly ‘The Commando’, now a fully fledged trainer) and new ninja warrior Tiffiny Hall, all heading to the homes of their respective families to eat what they eat, do what they do and most importantly, live how they live.

It was an eye opening experience, and the perfect way to introduce the four families- the Westren family containing Leigh Westren, fiancée Lara Whelan, mother Sharlene and father Craig. We also had the Moon family, containing sisters Sarah, Jodie, Rebecca and Kellie. The Duncan family contained Emma, Jarrod, Sarah-Jayne and Meg and the Challenor family contained Damien, Nathaniel, Joe and Greg.

One by one, these families competed for immunity and power. Joe became a villain after making his nephew Nathaniel enter an elimination when it should have been him and also giving away immunity to someone other than his brother, Damien.

Despite being eliminated, a twist in the show saw Lara, Nathaniel, Rebecca and Emma return to the show. Two of these four were supposed to be eliminated, but after gaining weight at a weigh in, previously safe contestant Joe joined the line up and was eliminated with Lara, meaning three people were allowed back into the competition.

After 13 long weeks, Kellie, Sarah, Leigh and returnee Emma returned for the finale and despite great odds, Emma Duncan was crowned Australia’s second female Biggest Loser, with Leigh coming in second and Kellie and Sarah coming in third and fourth respectively.

In the same era, My Kitchen Rules returned after a highly successful first season. Its second season seemed to tap into the success MasterChef saw in 2010, and won pretty much every night it was on.

Amongst all the teams, we had High Achievers Kelly and Ash Cooke, Newlyweds Anne-Marie Battista and Nick Sharp, urban hippies Mal Gill and Bec Saul and of course, sisters Sammy & Bella Jakubiak.

It was a toughly contested battle, and MKR became something of a phenomenon. In the end, it was sisters Sammy & Bella who took the crown and have been close to Seven’s heart ever since, even making a few appearances on Dancing with the Stars.

Speaking of which, Dancing With The Stars made its 2011 debut with a big cast. Well, it wasn’t so big, but those people in Seven’s controversy department were prepped and at the ready. A change to the judging panel saw Josh Horner take the place of Mark Wilson, someone who seemed all too keen to create a stir.

The dancing line up consisted of newsreader Samantha Armytage, Home & Away’s Dan Ewing, bungled model Lara Bingle and most infamously, socialite Brynne Edelsten.

Brynne was at the centre of two very public controversies that helped lift ratings for the show. The first saw new judge Josh Horner describe her as a ‘bedazzled sack of potatoes’, causing her to cry after only her first dance. The second saw co-host Sonia Kruger comment on her and her husband, Geoffrey Edelsten’s age gap, referring to the latter as the former’s dad.

Despite all this, the country was ‘bedazzled’ by Brynne’s story, and also that of Samantha Armytage who was also given a beating by the judges. Both stayed in the contest for quite a while longer than many would have thought, with Samantha only just missing out on a place in the final.

Another contestant, Haley Bracken, who’s husband Nathan competed on the show only to be eliminated first, delighted the judges and scored herself a few ten’s, regularly winning challenges.

She made it all the way to the finale with singer Damien Leith and chef Manu Feildel.

While her dancing skills were enough to ward off Damien into third place, she was not able to beat Manu, who won the public vote and therefore the very controversial contest for 2011.

Back to TEN, and their reality ratings juggernaut, MasterChef Australia, returned for its third season. Branded as the biggest yet, a massive mystery box in Sydney Harbour was enough to herald in that promise to viewers watching at home.

The new season had a Cerebral Palsy sufferer, a surfer pin up dude, a few at home mother cooks and a fighter pilot.

Ratings for the season opened fairly high and fairly consistent, but the series was never going to reach the success of 2010. By the end of the season, it was also clear that its days of creating a 3 million plus viewership finale were over.

But there was plenty to celebrate in between. To make up for a lack of inspiration found in most of the dishes presented this year, the contestants headed to the likes of Margaret River, Busselton Jetty, a mine, Malaysia, New York and Melbourne for challenges and episodes.

The production team were in overdrive, and the production of the series was insanely great.

Storytelling also played a big part as many events grabbed news headlines. Firstly was that little fling between Ellie and Hayden which resulted in nothing. The second, and probably the biggest controversy to ever hit the MasterChef kitchen came from contestant Mat Beyer, or more frankly, his smart phone.

During one challenge, it was suspected by the judges that Mat had brought in a smart phone that could have been used to find information on recipes. Their suspicions were somewhat confirmed and he was kicked out of the competition.

Other stories also attracted attention. The shock elimination of CP sufferer John Hughes in the top 50 round, the deletion of fighter pilot Paul Lombardi before the top 24 round even started and the shock walking of contestant Adam Bowen all left viewers with something to watch.

Moving into finals week, and Ellie, Dani, Alana, Michael and Kate were left to fight for the title, although Ellie was eliminated just before all this.

It all came down to Michael and Kate in the finale where mother Kate beat out SA Michael, 87 points to 84. It wasn’t a very memorable finale, and Kate hasn’t been heard of since, but it was still another successful slate for TEN.

Reality television was Seven’s forte in 2011 with Australia’s Got Talent also on the rise. All three judges; Kyle Sandilands, Dannii Minogue and Brian McFadden returned and found the likes of The Old Fella, Ben Price, Jack Vidgen and Cosentino and launched them into the spotlight.

Also launched into the spotlight was comedian Jordan Harris where, after a successful first round of auditions which was based on jokes ‘borrowed’ from other joke makers, he managed to alienate his audience in the semi finals with a less than impressive and rather cringeworthy performance of his own.

They also ‘re-found’ Timomatic who, after modest success on the second season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia in 2009, returned to this competition to place third.

In the end, performer Cosentino placed second to singing schoolboy Jack Vidgen, who was famous in his own right for those veneers.

Seven also launched The Amazing Race Australia, which brought out probably the most diverse range of characters seen on reality television this year. We had Muslims Mo & Mos, Big W employees Anne Marie and Tracy; reunited sisters Alana and Mel and dopey farmers Tom & Matt.

The first season saw these guys race to places like Indonesia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Poland, Singapore and Hong Kong, and face challenges ranging from playing a famous Chinese casino game, to stacking crates of beer to skydiving!

In the end, it was surfer duo Nathan & Tyler, the former of which dated Erin McNaught, won the show over Perth models Renae & Sam. Surprisingly, it all came down to a race around Perth.

But I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing about Seven and TEN for now; so lets visit some of Nine’s reality offerings.

Well, most famously, we had The Block. Now in it’s forth season, the producers mixed things up a bit and introduced a new stripped 7PM format. The show also moved out of apartment renovating with this year’s contestants asked to renovate four houses on a block!

Lastly, there were eight teams, not four. Four of those teams however were eliminated in the first week, but they all made appearances in challenges throughout the series.

The four main couples were Josh & Jenna, a bickering boyfriend/girlfriend duo who were in charge of the only double fronted house on the street; Polly & Waz, a very quirky, young and savvy couple who had nil background in renovating; Katrina & Amie, two sisters with emotions made of concrete and a very stylish yet obscure design technique, and seasoned renovators Tania & Rod.

They were all a bunch of laughs with only a few moments of sadness. There was a time when Tania & Rod were called off the block to attend a family funeral, and there was also a time when Katrina’s Crohn’s disease overtook her emotions a bit. But in the end, these couples, with the help of host Scott Cam, new host Shelley Craft, sometimes embattled onsite manager Keith and a whole set of reward winning challenges, were able to manage four great houses for auction.

The only disappointing thing about this season, was most probably the only thing that the producers didn’t want to end in disappointment- the finale.

After last year’s ‘shock’ announcement that Chez & Brenton’s apartment was to be passed in, it was a surprise to everyone watching when three of the four houses were passed in. It was even more of a shock that the winning house, selling for $15,000 profit, belonged to novice’s Polly & Waz. And it was an EVEN BIGGER shock to Jenna, whose night was turned upside down by a proposal by Josh. She said yes!

Nine also had Top Design, a brand new show by Jamie Durie, once Nine’s love child and host of The Block. The series failed to fire and was at one point shown first run on GEM ahead of a Nine screening.

Robert Davidov won the show, beating out Lisa and Steve at the finale, which was quite a high key affair for such a low key performer. I guess for me personally, the thing I will remember about this show was minutes after blogging the finale of the show on a Friday, news that Big Brother Australia was to return on Nine surfaced.

Nine also had two seasons of The Farmer Wants A Wife, however I only watched the second, which was the series’ seventh overall.

In this season, containing farmers Wil, Trent, Frank, John, Kev and Tim, a seventh mystery girl was added to the picked girls the farmers chose as potential wives. This seventh girl was chosen by the families. The farmers had to decide whether or not to take her back to the farm with him and two others.

Some jumped at the opportunity, some did not.

The show saw numerous exits; most notably, Farmer John’s favourite Belinda. The finale also saw a shocking outcome for Kev, who after two eliminations, his chosen girl got cold feet and left, leaving him with no one to pursue. Potential season eight candidate, anyone?

The season end showcasing the wedding of former contestants Nathan and Amanda.

To end the year, Nine debuted the oftentimes controversial Celebrity Apprentice to a stripped 7PM format. The series contained celebrities including Jesinta Campbell, Deni Hines, Jason Coleman, Julia Morris, Pauline Hanson and Shane Crawford.

Deni became an instant villain; constantly attacking Polly for her lack of celebrity, and generally acting like a spoilt brat and damaged diva. She was soon eliminated.

Pauline Hanson would most likely be considered as the most unlikely hero of the series after showing real integrity and a real maturity towards challenges. She was constantly saved from elimination due to her work ethic and public support backing her, especially after washing some guy’s car in underwear, was shiny.

Another surprise characterisation came from Jason Coleman, who while showed great leadership and well-spokenedness, constantly lost challenges and began to be deemed a villain in the eyes of the contestants who saw his constant need to be in control and his somewhat demeaning mannerisms to be quite rude and somewhat crippling to the receiving contestant’s place in the competition

In the final week, eliminated contestants Polly, Didier, Deni and Max returned to help out finalists Jason, Julia, Shane and Jesinta in what was an explosive and controversial week. Mad Max Markson, who was known for his immaturity, outspokenness and time wasting abilities, somewhat ironically eliminated after competing in a challenge sober of these qualities, returned to give Julia and Jason one more test of patience and control.

But it was Deni Hines who stole the show, seemingly playing up for the cameras and using the villain persona she received in her first stint on the show, and arguing with people, mostly Jesinta, at any opportunity she got.

She later admitted that she did it for fun, and even commended enemy Jesinta on her smarts. It wasn’t enough to let Jesinta and Shane win, and in the end, it all came down to Julia and Jason. Julia Morris won the show, but decided to split the money with Jason Coleman and his charity; a rare show of such true honour and dignity. Julia will be one contestant who’s ‘brand’ isn’t damaged by this show.

TEN also experimented with The Renovators; but it turned into an overall flop, despite showing signs of life throughout its run, and even giving TEN a second place position on finale night. The renovation show saw host Brendan Moar and judges Peter Ho, Barry Du Bois and Robyn Holt guide 20 renovators through challenges, which included a 24-hour makeover of a house on wheels, carted into the show’s massive warehouse studio, and a week trip up to Brisbane to help flood victims, and eliminations which I personally noted for their initial lack of imagination.

Despite the low rating performance of the show, it was generally well received by the public, with many of you suggesting contestants for the Top 20 Reality Contestants of 2011 competition. While it was able to shake comparisons to The Block; its similarity to MasterChef remained and became the show’s only lowlight. Despite all this, I would say that where the Renovators was different was in its increased personal approach to its contestants and its laid back approach to the whole structure of the show.

There were plenty of team changes, but ultimately, Natalie from the sixties suburban (formerly, the shop), August from the shop, Peter from the half done house, Michael from the fibro cottage, Mel from the weatherboard and Luke from the terrace became the show’s finalists for auction night.

While not many houses sold for profit, they did all sell, and it was SA’s Michael Lynch’s fibro cottage that sold for the most and gave the tradie from Laura a win!

Junior MasterChef Australia was generally a miss for TEN, after initially debuting a brand new Top 50 format. Matt Preston took leave for the series, but Matt Moran took his place and Anna Gare returned as a solely Junior MasterChef judge.

The show continued the celebrated production of the main show, and the trips to Disneyland and the inspiring dish after inspiring dish of tasty food was a massive bonus; possibly making it a better season than the first, but the viewers didn’t come, and this is one show that will most probably be forgotten.

For those of you who don’t forget it, Greta Yaxley won the show, with 92 points over Jack’s 84 (if I recall).

Back to Seven and it was another year for The X Factor and it was going to be big. Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands didn’t return, but they were replaced by the gorgeous and talented Natalie Bassingthwaighte and singing superstar Mel B. The rest returned.

This year, it was the likes of Emmanuel Kelly; a talented Iraqi orphan and Luke O’Dell, an untalented Adam Lambert wannabe who stole the show; but none of which made it to the finals.

Out of the twelve who did, Mel B’s lot soon disappeared. Tyla Bertolli and Jacqui Newland were both eliminated early on and despite a promising first half for Christina Parie, she wasn’t able to make it into the top 5.

Conversely, Guy Sebastian kept all of his three acts until the final five, with Declan Sykes leaving in fifth place. His other two acts, Johnny Ruffo and Reece Mastin, both became finalists along with Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s Andrew Wishart.

After winning last year with Altiyan Childs, Ronan Keating did not renew his success this year, with his final act Three Wishez only making it to the final four.

In the end, SA’s Reece Mastin beat out Andrew Wishart and Johnny Ruffo (runner up and third place respectively) to become the winner of the show’s third season.

Seven also had The One; a show that briefly saw the light of day in 2008 and pits psychics against each other to find out who is the most gifted.
Judges were Richard Saunders, a sceptic, and Stacey Demarco, a psychic, whose bickering became a somewhat entertainment staple for the show.

Challenges these contestants faced included anything from in studio readings, finding of objects as small as gold to as big as helicopters using only their abilities; and ended in a now controversial challenge which saw them try to locate the body of missing, presumed dead woman, Kerry Whelan.

Greg Riley, empath Heidi Hanley and detective Debbie Malone were awarded finalist positions, and you at home got to determine the winner. Like the psychics themselves, you all chose Greg to be The One- Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic.

The last show of course, was Beauty & The Geek Australia which returned with Bernard Curry as host for its third season. The twist this year was a simple one; a male beauty paired with a female geek in the form of Troy and Helen.

Other than this, the show didn’t deviate away from its usual format of humorous storytelling, classy cutaway quotes, wonderful production and just plain stupidity. There was a time when the human twists, Helen & Troy, were eliminated quite early, but they were able to return via a twist. One episode later and they were eliminated again.

The season saw geek Lachlan and beauty Jordan, who both went on to be apart of the final two teams with their respective partners, hook up, break up and make up throughout the course of the season. The main problem came when Lachlan got his partner Sarah’s name tattooed on his arse. Pardon my French.

During makeovers, which were a dazzling array of spectacles, Dolly announced her decision to quit on medical grounds, leaving previously eliminated contestant Jacelle to fill her void with Gilbert.

In the finale, Mackenzie and Jimmy were eliminated after an exam challenge; Gilbert and Jacelle were eliminated after a formal challenge and Julian and Jordan were eliminated after a quiz, leaving Lachlan and Sarah as this year’s winners.

Lovebirds Mackenzie and Troy also announced their engagement throughout the final.

 

And that my friends, was the year in reality. Quite a hefty one wasn’t it. But enough about 2011; that was so last year (well, technically it was this year, but you get my drift)- let’s talk 2012.

The only show from the above list confirmed not to be returning is Top Design, but grave fears are being held for The Renovators, which despite being announced by TEN as a returning show, has since fallen victim to second thoughts. The only other show that will probably not return is Junior MasterChef Australia- but it would be for the best. Oh, and The One.

The Biggest Loser Australia will return and revert back to a ‘singles’ format. Dancing with the Stars will return with a new host after Sonia Kruger’s defection to Nine; possibly Nat Bass. My Kitchen Rules returns with a Kiwi pair. MasterChef returns with Matt Preston.

The Farmer Wants A Wife, Celebrity Apprentice Australia, The Block, The Amazing Race Australia, Australia’s Got Talent, The X Factor and Beauty & The Geek Australia will all return, or are all set to return based on viewer satisfaction and ratings.

To join them are a sleuth of new Nine shows. We have The Voice, which features blind auditions and battle rounds. Judges will be Joel Madden, Delta Goodrem, Seal and Keith Urban.

Big Brother returns to our screens on Nine with new host Sonia Kruger and a new ‘Secrets’ format where every housemate has a secret. Location, spin off shows and narrator are yet to be confirmed.

Excess Baggage will be a new celebrity weight loss show where eight overweight celebs pair up with ordinary contestants to lose the flab. Celebrities include Darryn Lyons who has previously competed on Celebrity Big Brother UK, causing a stir after revealing his ‘six pack on top of a beer gut’ formed stomach which evolved due to ‘contouring’. Having watched this season myself, I will warn you now; just in case he takes his top off, don’t eat dinner through this program! Kate Cebrano hosts.

 

And that is just a taste of what 2012 holds in terms of reality television! It’s the substance which makes up these shows in between which will really determine the flavour. And we won’t know what any of this ‘substance’ is until these seasons debut.

 

Over the next few months, Throng will still be delivering important reality news. Of course we have the Top 20 Reality Television Contestants of 2011 competition which will run from the 16^th of December right through until New Years Eve.

I will then be taking a break for the first half of January before returning with some opinion pieces to get you in the spirit of the 2012 reality ratings season. This will also be my last post before December 16 less any important announcements. I’m sure the other lovely writers here on Throng will be keeping you up to date anyway. There’s always an excuse to log onto Throng.

 

Then, in 2012 I can officially announce, Throng will be returning its episode-by-episode detailed recaps of EVERY episode of EVERY season of reality in 2012 (minus any last minute disruptions or planned events), so keep an eye out!

 

That’s all from me; a few last minute thank you’s before I sign off- firstly to AndrewB and Regan for letting me post my thoughts on reality onto this site in the first place. You have given me so much support and I have loved every minute of it.

 

Johnson, as many of you would know, has helped in nearly every single episode of MasterChef, Junior MasterChef and The X Factor; and has even helped out in other random episodes. I truly thank you for that, Johnson, as you have enriched my knowledge and therefore my love of this genre and this job.

 

And Ryno; who offered his complete support and helping hand throughout September, and while it didn’t all go to plan, I think your offer to help was the most exciting thing about this year.

 

And to the rest of the readers, who have commented kindly or constructively, or have just read my work, I am motivated by your continued support and I am proud to be able to do this for such a loving and intellectual community.

 

I’ll see you all soon; for now, it’s time to take a break.

 

Courtney xx

The sheer amount of times I have mentioned this moment must be enough for you guys to just say ‘thank god it’s over!’ but yes, with this blog post comes the end of the 2011 Reality Television Calendar as we all delve into the silly season ahead. Over the next two days here on Throng; I’ll be looking back at the week and the year that was in television, what you can expect over non-ratings and what 2012 holds in terms of reality television and Throng reality recapping.

Tonight; it is all about the week that was and as we all brush off a night of geeks and beauties, lets remind ourselves of the week of cooking that began on Sunday.

Yes, like all shows mentioned, Junior MasterChef was coming to an end; but it was doing so over the course of four nights! It all began on Sunday where Chandler, Lily, Indigo, Jack, Zac, Harry, Alysha and Greta entered as the final eight.

It was going to be the first of three double eliminations to be had this week and the first challenge was to create ‘The Perfect Pavlova’. After all attempting their very best, it was announced that based on the results of this challenge, Greta, Zac, Indigo and Jack progressed to the final six, leaving Indigo, Lily, Alysha and Harry to battle it out in a second round.

Here, they had to recreate Guillaume Brahimi’s Turban of Scampi. While a bit of a scandal ensured when a cast member left shell in some of Lily’s pre-prepared scampi portion, this was not aired, and Lily was eliminated probably because of it with Chandler.

To Monday and the final six entered to find a massive conveyor belt coming out of a massive mystery box. One contestant, after today, was to be given a free pass to the finale while two more would be asked to leave the competition.

After winning this challenge, which involved picking ingredients as they emerged from the mystery box on the conveyor and creating a meal, Greta was able to pick the core ingredient for a Thai food inspired invention test. She chose Duck and was also given five minutes more time than everybody else. This was also the first challenge not to use a score boarding system.

The added time and advantage proved well for Greta as she won the night; progressing through unto the final. It was the end of the road for Indigo and Alysha.

On Tuesday, and the semi-final, the boys were asked to cook two dishes of their choice; a main and a dessert; with only one hour allowed for each dish.

They all impressed as they cooked along the Port Jackson coast on Bennelong Point but only Jack had what it took to face off with Greta in the finale. Zac and Harry were eliminated.

In the grand finale, we saw two rounds worth 50 points each. The first round saw them cooking a Donna Hay inspired dessert while the second saw them cooking a Tetsuya spider crab dish. In the end, Greta won the Junior MasterChef Australia 2011 crown with a record breaking 92 points to Jack’s 84 and was awarded the trophy by last year’s winner, Isabella Bliss.

It was a heartwarming conclusion to a doomed show; one we will miss dearly if and when it is given flick.

To Celebrity Apprentice Australia on Monday, and the first actual finale of the week, the first part of this episode was simply a continuation on the previous Wednesday’s Yellow Brick Road advertisement launch. It included more cross promotion, more Max Markson and more Deni Hynes.

In the end, Jesinta and Shane lost the challenge with Jason and Julia crowned finalists, but there could only be one winner and the title went to Julia Morris. She was nice enough to split the $100,000 prize money with Jason for his charity; a rare show of such gratitude on shows like this.

Safe to say that this show WILL be back in 2012, as per Nine’s 2012 line-up announcement. But will it be the same?

The X Factor has a massive four hour finale split over two nights. Andrew Wishart (Natalie Bassingthwaighte), Johnny Ruffo and Reece Mastin (both Guy Sebastian) battled it out in a star studded performance show which saw the trio perform four different songs, tour the country (the week before, of course), duet with the likes of The Fray, Salt-n-Pepa and a little known star, Kylie Minogue and of course, pitch their new winner’s single.

On Tuesday, Johnny Ruffo’s early elimination saw an unlikely finalist candidate emerge in Andrew Wishart, making SA’s Reece Mastin’s win all that more predictable. Mastin’s winner’s single, Good Night, which sounds a lot like Pink’s Raise Your Glass, began topping charts as early as that night; but the real stage stopper was a performance by Kylie Minogue. And breathtaking it was.

Luke Jacobz did rushingly say at the end of the show, ‘see you next year’ and with ratings as high as they were; I’d say he aint lying.

The One also ended on Wednesday with Heidi Hanley, Greg Riley and Debbie Malone trying to collect your phone numbered votes while taking part in an odd but interesting challenge- to locate a missing body. As of today, the body of Kerry Whelan’s body has not been found; but the subject matter of the challenge alone pretty much dwarfed the appeal of the in house challenge that preceded it; trying to find gold in cases. Some may wonder why two amazingly different challenges were scheduled for the same episode.

Richard and Stacey bickered for what will probably be the final time, due to poor reception and tumbling ratings, before the psychics and Australia predicted and voted respectively for GREG to be The One 2011 and crowned Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic. Yeah, don’t feel so special now, do you Charmaine Wilson!

And of course, the week ended tonight where after an exam challenge eliminated Jimmy & Mackenzie, a formal challenge eliminated Gilbert and Jacelle and a quiz eliminated Julian & Jordan; Sarah & Lachlan were crowned winners of Beauty & The Geek Australia 2011. A quirky show that will most probably return next year. Its finale also included the announcement of the engagement of beauties Troy Thompson and Mackenzie Gogo-Smits.

 

So with that, the final week of reality for 2011 is over. It has been an emotional, nostalgic but hectic week. Tomorrow, we will delve briefly into the year that was for reality television; revisiting shows like The Biggest Loser Australia, My Kitchen Rules, Australia’s Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars Australia, MasterChef Australia, Top Design, The Block, The Renovators, The Farmer Wants A Wife, The One, Beauty & The Geek Australia, The X Factor, Junior MasterChef Australia, Celebrity Apprentice Australia and The Amazing Race Australia.

I will also talk a little bit more on the Top 20 Reality Television Contestants for 2011 competition which debuts on 16 December. To conclude, we will also talk about the upcoming reality highlights in 2012 including returning series’, The Biggest Loser Australia, My Kitchen Rules, Australia’s Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars Australia, MasterChef Australia, The Block, Beauty & The Geek Australia, The X Factor, Celebrity Apprentice Australia and The Amazing Race Australia, and debut or returning series’, The Voice, Excess Baggage and Big Brother.

 

But for now, relax and have a good night!

 

 

In this, the final episode of reality television EVER for 2011, we will be crowning the winner of Beauty & The Geek Australia. Will it be Julian & Jordan? Or maybe Jimmy & Mackenzie? How about Lachlan and Sarah? Or the lovely Jacelle and Gilbert? I bet Seven would have wanted Troy & Helen to win. I guess we can’t ALL have it our way…

We are reminded of the season that was in what is expected to be the first of many recaps. It looks like it will be a rip snorter variety finale!
After the opening credits role, Lachlan and Sarah are chatting to each other before they miss their chance. Sarah trusts Lachlan and has inspired her to go to uni. Lachlan shouldn’t find it too hard to forget Sarah; her name is tattooed on his bum.

Jimmy and Mackenzie are talking to each other and they too are happy to be partners. Jacelle and Gilbert are following suit and it seems Gilbert is much happier with Jacelle. Jacelle feels she will be more ‘factual’ in her conversations.

Jordan is happy to have had Julian as a partner and again, she thinks Julian has made her smarter while Julian has loved the friendship which is based on humour and trust. This makes Jordan cry.

A bell rings and the contestants are dressed in school attire with Bernard standing on a common welcoming them to the final week. This will be the week of final exams and their topics are science, home economics and physical education. Sarah was not good at any of these. Here, they will all be ‘graded’ with the couple with the lowest grade being eliminated.

That will leave three couples standing and after that announcement; it is time for the science exams. They head to the oval; not where’d you expect a science exam, and while it isn’t shown at first, on the oval lies four stations containing a bottle, some liquid and an air pump. Here we go!

Bernard welcomes them to their first exam; telling them that the apparatus is perfect to build a rocket ship.

They must pour water into the bottle, attach some fins and pump away. The contestants to be the first to launch their bottle high enough in the air (marked by a pole), win the largest grade. The last person to do this gets the lowest grade.

If they do not pass the bar; it is an immediate fail. The beauties will be sitting this one!

They all begin to pour the liquid in. The trick here is ‘not too much, not too little’. They then attach their fins, wings and tail which should help with aerodynamics. Some contestants put their things on backwards.

Mackenzie is first to begin pumping with Jordan not too far behind. Mackenzie likes pumping things!

They pump their bottles to 60hPa (or Pa) of pressure and soon enough, Jordan launches her bottle and it flies past the bar; as does Mackenzie’s soon after. Mackenzie feels she will either get a ‘B or a 2’.

I’d like to think that this challenge would teach them something; pressure or aerodynamics, but it doesn’t.

Jacelle’s bottle flies next with Sarah’s flying last.

Next up is Home Economics. The geeks have all the ingredients they need for a cake and a recipe. They must bake the cake and decorate it in the form of their beauty. Anthea Leonard, from Sweet Art will judge them on this. That isn’t the lady who was in that MasterChef MasterClass this year was she? Speaking of MasterChef, didn’t we finish up with this cooking bizzo last night?

The best dressed cake will get the best marks with the last getting the lowest.

After the break, their time begins and they get baking. Soon enough; their cake sponge is ready and Julian cuts his in the form of a star as ‘Jordan is a star’. Jimmy makes his cake into an ‘M’ while Gilbert and Lachlan just work on the face of the cake.

Jimmy wants black icing on his cake as it is an awesome colour and when Julian finishes with his cake decorating, the picture of Jordan on it, as he describes, looks like it has been hit with a shovel.

Gilbert has made a doll house out of his cake and a doll like figure on the side of it. After their time is up, Anthea goes to grade the cakes. Julian’s version of Jordan looks hilarious.

She goes to Jimmy’s cake first and it looks like a Halloween cake. The camera effects and sound makes this whole scene humorous. It looks horrific and even Anthea screws her face up.

Next is Gilbert’s cake and Jimmy thinks he has it in the bag. Oh, and we won’t find out the results right now. It is time for Phys ED!

The contestants head to a pool with a diving column. They are clad in swimwear. The geeks and some of the beauties hope to avoid the towering diving columns but as Bernard says, this challenge will be ‘synchronised diving’. Ethan Warren is there to judge them.

The contestants, off camera, come up with their techniques and routines before they head on up to the 3m platform. Lachlan and Sarah are first and Lachlan seemed scared and ‘taken aback’ by the height.

Their dive is bland and had nothing special however they seem proud of it.

Next up is Mackenzie and Jimmy and this is so funny. Both of them are scared of what Jimmy describes as a chasm of water. They have a red hot go though.

Gilbert and Jacelle are acting like hoons in the hope that confidence and difference will get them points. And they were synchronised, so that will work in their favour.

Jordan and Julian are next and Jordan is now nervous about this, moreso than Julian. She begins to freak and cries, saying she can’t do it. Soon enough; she says she can but she keeps hesitating. And after a while, she does it with perfect synchronicity.

With that done, Bernard tells them the worst kept secret. The diving board used was just the low springboard. They will be judged on two dives today; and the next one will take place on the seven metre platform!

They are all scared and on cue, Mackenzie begins to cry, haha.

After the break, Lachlan and Sarah are first and are so terrified. Sarah looks so funny but I can vouch for her; that would be scary. Funnily enough; it isn’t the highest level. They take the plunge with Sarah saying if Lachlan can get a tattoo of her name on her arse, she can do this.

Jordan and Julian are next and Jordan just writes it off straight away. Julian just gets her to look at the sky and soon enough; Jordan does the impossible- overcoming her fears!
Gilbert and Jacelle are next but are no longer cocky or hooning around. When they dive, Gilbert gets a wedgie!

Jimmy and Mackenzie are last and Mackenzie is freaking out, but not as much as Jimmy who looks like he is about to vomit. As Mackenzie explains, the height isn’t killing him; it’s the hitting of the water.

Jimmy begins to cry and unfortunately gives up. He feels horrible but the sometimes iffy Mackenzie is OK about this.

Change of scene and the contestants are back in their school uniforms and back on that common where Bernard is joined by an oversized report card. That spells- results time!
The couple with the lowest averaged grade will be expelled from the competition. Here are the results:

 

Sarah & Lachlan: F, B, C = C (THIRD PLACE)

Mackenzie & Jimmy: B, C-, F = C- (EXPELLED)

Julian & Jordan: A, C and an A= B+ (FIRST PLACE)

Gilbert & Jacelle: C, A, B = B (SECOND PLACE)

 

And with that; Jimmy & Mackenzie have come in fourth and have been eliminated. They say their goodbyes and we see their best bits.

The three remaining couples are congratulated by Bernard and tell them that to celebrate; they will be attending the End of School formal! But this won’t be a normal formal; this will be another challenge. They will be judged by the guests on their dancing moves in a dance off.

After the break, the contestants are all practicing their dance moves. It is quite funny to see but nothing of notable occurrence; excepting Lachlan’s shimmying.

Now for the fun part; going shopping and they have been given a bit wardrobe of clothes to choose from. They are all dolling up for the bit night. The boys wait at the bottom of the stairs for their date and for some reason, this is the most nerve racking moment of the competition for Lachlan.

Jacelle, Jordan and Sarah walk down the stairs respectively looking great and to take them to the formal is a big, pink hummer and the girls just go off! That hummer looks amazing! I think that would just be the perfect experience. Pity I just went in a dodgy looking limo for mine.

To the formal and the room looks amazing and soon enough; Bernard joins them. He tells them that dancing won’t be the only thing they have to spruik. There is also a kissing booth where the boys can try to win votes with their smooching. Jordan doesn’t like the sound of that. At the end of the night, the couple with the least votes will be eliminated.

Soon, the guests arrive and Julian has already been put in the kissing booth with Jordan spruiking him like mad. Sarah is selling Lachlan to the audience and he is quite flattered by the amount of compliments she is giving him…until she invites boys to come up for a smooch as well!

Jacelle is quite funny, spruiking Gilbert as having ‘the biggest muscles…for a Ranga I have ever seen’. With that, Gilbert is asked to take his suit (but not shirt) off.

With that, the kissing booth begins and Lachlan feels it may upset his immune system.

Gilbert’s line looks like the longest. Julian, as never been kissed before, puts his chap stick on ‘ready and willing’.

The first girl is a tall one and he funnily says ‘I’m not scared of heights’. The next girl makes out with him and he is quite shocked. He can’t even speak!

Despite now looking like a jock, you can see Gilbert is still a geek as he closes his eyes to ‘brace for a kiss’.

Lachlan thinks that if another girl with braces comes along; they will land in emergency. So that means he does still have braces, yeah?

Now it is onto the dancing and Jacelle and Gilbert are first. There’s a lot of hip thrusting, you can say that twice.

Lachlan and Sarah get right into it and even do a bit of a ground roll.

Julian is just hilarious with Jordan actually very much getting into the groove. He pretends to spank ‘Jordan’s booty’.

Then, it is onto the freestyle and Lachlan has quite a good set of moves, even pulling out some underwear. Julian pushes him out of the ‘ring’ as the battle ensures and he is actually quite aggressive. Gilbert and Jacelle maintain a more fun, dancing focussed approach. The music goes soft and the geeks describe the ‘best night of their lives’.

After, Bernard gathers the couples on stage and announces the start of voting. As they vote, the guests leave and it is time for the result.

It was close; only five votes separated the three teams.

In first place is… Julian and Jordan. And they become the first finalist for BATG2011!

The couple to leave tonight, bitter sweetly at the end of a very good night is… Gilbert & Jacelle! Sarah & Lachlan continue to the top two.

And with that, the contestants say their goodbyes to the contestants and we see a best bits package.

One more hurdle remains for the final four and it is a quiz based on their partners. Bernard tells them to go home, write a speech, because tomorrow will be the graduation! Oh god, it’s just like school!
We cut to that graduation where the ex-beauties and geeks are waiting with some other people; possibly loved ones. Bernard comes on stage and welcomes them all there. Jordan is first up for her speech and despite the quirky structure; the music makes this so heartwarming.

Julian follows and his is an even more powerful speech and you can see it in Jordan’s eyes.

Sarah is next and while it is probably nerves, it sounds as if she is about to cry. Lachlan is last and his speech is quite funny but heartwarming all the same. Sarah looks visibly emotional listening to it.

And apparently, as Bernard points out, two beauties have an announcement! I think I know what this will be; even Mackenzie’s face gives it away to anyone ignorant. They are engaged! Why did an ad break have to separate such obvious news? Well, I guess if Johnson didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know either, haha.

After the break, they announce it and Jimmy funnily states ‘their marriage will last longer than Kim Kardashians’’. That latter news was created a lot later than this scene was shot, so that must have been a recent edit.

And with that, Bernard gets the crowd to applaud the finalists of 2011 and in a very well shot scene; the finalists throw their hats into the air.

With that, Jordan and Lachlan say their goodbyes to one another as they go into the final elimination.

They head into the room and Bernard tells them that they are a few questions away from winning the prize money. This round will work in the same manner as other eliminations with the subject- their partners.

The geeks are first and Julian gets; ‘Jordan has a strange superstition! What does she do when she sees an ambulance? A) Sticks her fingers in her ears and sings, B) Holds her breath before the ambulance passes, C) holds her belly button until a bird passes.’ Julian guesses correctly; C!!!

For Lachlan, Bernard takes a platter of shoes out from somewhere and asks which shoe Sarah has not worn in the mansion. Lachlan guesses correctly.

Julian gets a picture of a mashup freak, with Bernard asking if it has Jordan’s lips, nose or eyes. He thinks it may be her nose but he isn’t too sure. The correct answer is her eyes, meaning he is incorrect.

Lachlan’s last question is ‘Sarah’s most prized possession is a designer hand bag; what brand is it? A) Lois Vuitton, B) Fendi or C) Prada?’

Lachlan guesses correctly; Fendi.

With that, it is now the beauties time to shine; Lachlan is on 2 and Julian is on 1.

Jordan is first with the picture question; ‘in which of these three scientific journals has Julian been published? A) Ectoplasm & Enzymes, B) Microbiology News or C) Cell Metabolism’ The pictures of the three journals are on screen. Julian says she can work it out and she does, it is C!

Sarah gets a video question. She must look at a video of Lachlan’s Full Monty routine and perform the move Lachlan performs next.

Lachlan isn’t too sure of the answer. She goes for the Sara-Marie bum slap which is incorrect; it was a bit of a cowboy gun.

Sarah’s next question is ‘In school, Julian was given a nickname by a teacher. Was it, A) Big Julie, B) Big Julia or C) Big Julianne? She guesses A which is correct.

Sarah needs to get the next question correct to stay afloat and for god sakes, it is another clip!

She will see Lachlan talking about a superhero challenge. She must complete his sentence. Here is the dialogue.

LACHLAN: ‘I’m not a massive comic book fan, but I did have a bit of a Superman phase when I was younger which, ahh, ended in me…’

 

<!–[if !supportLists]–>A)      <!–[endif]–>‘Not dating in high school’

<!–[if !supportLists]–>B)      <!–[endif]–>‘Breaking my arm, jumping from a tree’

<!–[if !supportLists]–>C)      <!–[endif]–>‘Wearing my underpants on the outside’

 

She guesses ‘B’ and she is CORRECT!

This means it is time for a tie break round; they will all receive the same question and they will continue with answering until someone gets it incorrect.

The first question is; ‘How old is Julian in years times five’ and Jordan is first. She says 25 times 5 which makes him 125 she hopes; which is correct.

Sarah gets ‘How old is Lachlan in years times five?’

Sarah guesses 110 which is 110; keeping her in the game. Wow, she just won’t let go.

Next question; a closest- to question.

‘In centimetres, how tall is Julian (for Jordan; Sarah gets Lachlan)?’

Jordan guesses 151cm with Sarah guessing 175cm.

Julian’s height is 163cm; so Jordan was 12cm out.

Lachlan’s height is 180cm; putting her 5cm out making Sarah and Lachlan the winner of Beauty & The Geek Australia 2011!

How lovely. Low key, but classy.

Bernard says his sorries to Julian and Jordan and his congrats to Lachlan and Sarah.

The past contestants are outside waiting for them and Bernard comes out to give them all the news.

Lachlan and Sarah come out for the final drinks and Lachlan thinks the best thing he got out of this was Jordan.

And with that, Lachlan and Sarah get a farewell to the theme song in a very antique-y car. A cutaway of the pair thanking each other for the journey plays and the episode ends.

Well, for all finales this week, that was very low key yet somewhat sad. I think it was the perfect length and its versatility; with challenges and events ranging from a formal with a kissing booth and dance floor to a bake off to a mock graduation to three eliminations, I just loved it! And all the way through; perfect production was the highlight. It was definitely a unique way to see out Reality Television 2011.

To the season as a whole and it has been a blast. Love it or loathe it, it is a guilty pleasure show that has fired with the viewers. Still strong after three years, I have been enthralled in this show’s story telling, humour, interesting challenges, format and production complimented with its special twist in grabbing people’s emotion. It has its sad moments; but you still can’t help to smile. While at times this show seemed scripted and some episodes did drag on, highlights included this very finale and the makeovers. Perfect.

And with that comes the end of reality television for 2011 and for this show in particular; I’m sure we’ll be seeing it next year.

 

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.9/10

 

Courtney’s Beauty & The Geek Australia Season Three Overall Verdict: 9.6/10

 

Well, it has been a huge year in reality television, and guess what- only one week left of Australia’s biggest history making genre for 2011! But, for all you reality junkies out there never fear, because reality television isn’t bowing out quietly. The final ratings week for 2011 will be a busy week if ever I saw one, and it will probably take the final breaths of your imagination out of you to ease you into a long summer ahead. I know I’m ready for a bit of a break, haha! But of course, with a week to go, this is just an ordinary Reality Highlights segment, so let’s talk reality…as usual!

It was a welcome return to the Junior MasterChef kitchen after the juniors lapped up their final moments in LA on Sunday. But before that, another elimination loomed, as you would expect so close to the final. Here, everyone was a candidate, but people were saved at periodical times throughout the episode. The exceptions to this rule were Steven, Miraede, Madi and Kieran who were eliminated amongst the World of Colour at Disneyland!

Back at home and a double mystery box challenge awaited them, however not everyone took it. Indigo, Harry and Zac did, and the results were mixed. Indigo, who was excited about the double mystery box, which contained offal, actually ended up not impressing the judges as much as everybody else. A second challenge had them fight in a ‘boxing ring’ one on one! No, not proper fighting, but a cook off whereby one person from a team faced off in a 15 minute cooking showdown against someone in the other team. With four people in a team, this meant that there was 60 minutes to create an overall dish which was scored in a blind taste conducted by the judges.

Colin Fassnidge and Miguel Maestro helped out on this one. Then, in a special !!!BONUS!!! episode of Junior MasterChef, contestants were asked to cook a deceitful dish; one that looked savoury, but was rather sweet. Then, after a slumber party held in the MasterChef kitchen (I know! What a cool idea!!!), the contestants woke up to a Christmas themed kitchen…and George dressed up as Santa Clause. Here, they had to unwrap presents containing ingredients and cook a classic Christmas inspired dish.

These episodes were mainly for points with the usuals; Jack, Greta and Zac all earning solid points.

To Celebrity Apprentice and it was a rocky week. The week began with a challenge which saw Pauline trade places with Shane. Here, they had to create a children’s story and play to perform in front of children. With the help of Lara Bingle, Jono Coleman and Catriona Rowntree, it was set to be a breeze…however Lara was definitely a let down. Jason’s job history pretty much secured him a win…until boardroom when it was revealed that he, along with Pauline, hadn’t actually won, sending them into the final elimination. Here, despite dislike from the safe contestants, particularly Jesinta, and clear responsibility for the team’s failure, Jason was saved at the expense of Pauline Hanson who, despite her background, became liked on the show and whose elimination was seen in a negative light. Apparently, the decision was based on her overall performance on the season which while a little unfair, did give good merit for her firing.

To the next challenge, and four contestants came back to help. They were Deni Hines, Max Markson, Polly Porter and Didier Cohen. While Didier and Polly became background support in the challenge which is still ongoing (to conclude in Monday’s final) to come up with an advertising campaign for Yellow Brick Road, Bouris’ company. Deni and Max however, were a different story. Max reverted back to ‘Mad Max’ which did actually help him before he was fired, so could be a blessing now. He continues to stuff up on set, continues to overrun everyone with his loud personality and continues to annoy the living daylights out of everyone! But, he’s a damn sight better than Deni, whose performance is out of control. When blogging Wednesday’s episode, I was thrown a little out of whack with the constant chip chopping of scene and back and forwards motion of scene changes, but also because half the episode saw Deni arguing or making problems for her team. This proved a distraction for me, and I’m thinking you too, because she was going off about NOTHING AT ALL! I was just spending the whole episode looking for evidence of how this was all fabricated, but I do think it was just the real deal; Deni trying to vie for attention by using her negative persona to her advantage. Trust me, Diva, it aint working!

The results of the challenge, as mentioned, will be shown in Monday’s final.

To The X Factor and again, not much to recap here. It was a heightened night of performances, but the results show was the big kicker- involving heavy weights Florence + the Machines, Ed Sheeran and the wonderful Stevie Nicks. Here, it was all up to the Australian public to decide on the three finalists who ended up being Andrew Wishart, Reece Mastin and Johnny Ruffo. Three Wishez were sent home, leaving Ronan actless with Mel. Gosh, all the international star judges…

To The One and Salvatore was eliminated. Despite my scepticism, it was a very interesting episode and at the very least, entertaining. We now decide who wins. See the website for voting numbers and Terms & Conditions.

Beauty & The Geek Australia Rounded off the week with the make up of Lachlan and Jordan, a challenge involving all the geeks painting a portrait to a very talkative naked blonde model and then answering questions on what she said, a fashion runway involving the beauties dressed up in hilarious London-inspired icons, Jimmy’s rejection by Helen (due to her online relationship with a Dutch person) and the re-elimination of Helen & Troy. Wow, I really thought they were going to make it to the final!

 

So, that’s the week that was- technically semi-final week, really. Next week, it all begins! And in the same right, it all ends as well as all your favourite reality television shows finish up the year and reality television goes on vacation!

To begin the finals week, we have Junior MasterChef, which will eliminate two contestants each night from Sunday to Tuesday to reach the final two. Then, on Wednesday, the final two go head to head for the crown (possibly last ever) of Junior MasterChef.

Celebrity Apprentice Australia however has the first final of the week where on Monday, the challenge ends in what will prove to be a big shocking conclusion most probably thanks to more bad behaviour from Deni Hines which is set to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so to speak. Then, either Jesinta Campbell, Jason Coleman, Shane Crawford or Julia Morris will be crowned Australia’s first (and it is becoming increasingly likely that they won’t be the last) Celebrity Apprentice.

Monday & Tuesday also spell the end for X Factor season three where either Reece Mastin, Johnny Ruffo or Andrew Wishart will be crowned 2011 winner. These two episodes are two hours in length. Appropriate? Well, for a show that has KYLIE MINOGUE performing both nights, it’s sure to be big!

The One finishes up on Wednesday with either Heidi Hanley, Debbie Malone or Greg Riley being voted BY YOU as 2011’s The One.

Then, it is Reality Television’s Final Night for 2011- Thursday 24 November 2011 which will be marked by the 90 minute conclusion to Beauty & The Geek Australia’s third season. There are still four teams remaining- Jimmy & Mackenzie, Lachlan & Sarah, Jacelle & Gilbert and Julian & Julian however one by one, they will be eliminated after a string of challenges.

 

And that is how the final week of reality for 2011 will pan out. Next week’s Reality Highlights segment will mark the end with a special Thursday final week recap before a full ‘report’ on the 2011 reality year is published on Friday.

 

Also don’t forget, the Top 20 Reality Television Stars for 2011 will also be taking place between the 16-31^st of December 2011 to crown this year’s Reality Television Star. Who deserved their 15 minutes of fame and then some the most?

 

That’s all from me tonight, hope to see you all reading along as we enter the finishing stretch!

 

Tonight, the group comprising of the recently returned Helen & Troy will battle it out for a place in the final. A good 80% of them will make it through, so they needn’t worry, however if they do fall into the other 20%, it will mean no second chances!

We begin the day at the magnificent mansion where the group are having breakfast and saying welcome back to Helen & Troy. Helen and Troy are happy to be back and Mackenzie is also happy to have Troy back. They talk about the fact they are in the second to last week, which surprises them all, before they head to the challenge.

Bernard welcomes them to the penultimate week and reminds them of the prize on offer- $100,000. He asks the geeks what London means to them before telling asking them how much they know about women. Lachlan sure knows a bit about them after that infamous tattoo!

Jacelle thinks they will be going shopping for them. Bernard leaves them to it and they begin to study. The beauties go over tips geeks should know about when associating with women.

Mackenzie tells Jimmy to always listen and he says ‘what was that’ as some sort of joke which Mackenzie finds hilarious! Mackenzie already does a lot of talking. Mackenzie just wants him to win.

To an arts school and the geeks head inside dressed as what Helen says, French artists. Inside are easels containing pictures of naked women, and Bernard. Not naked Bernard, Bernard is inside is what I mean…

He tells them that they have to paint whatever is in front of them. They have to capture the essence, form and spirit of the subject. The geeks don’t seem too happy about this. They make their way to their easels when a female, blonde model walks in! She is draped in robes…but not for long! As she strips, everyone is a bit thrown. I don’t know if Helen or the boys are taking this worse.

The geeks begin to draw and under all the silence, the model begins to speak, which throws them all off even more. Lachlan wants her to stop talking so he can draw her mouth and Jimmy just seems distracted from the time.

Their time is up and we get a show of all the art pieces. Lachlan is first and it looks nothing like the person, but he has included the boobs!

Julian’s looks more realistic and of course, her ‘melons’ are drawn nicely in that photo, cheeky Julian!

To Jimmy and his picture is a disappointment, as he said, but of course, he has the boobs in 3D. Bernard says it was almost as if he was concentrating on other things.

Helen’s looks better, but by far not the best. Gilbert actually has a decent picture.

Bernard congratulates them on their drawing but tells them that wasn’t their challenge. They are freaking out and Bernard tells them to listen carefully- today is not about their artistic skill, it is about how well they listen! Hmm, I’m pretty sure it was Mackenzie who said that.

Now for the kicker, their real challenge is that they will be quizzed on some of the things their model said!

Oh. Dear. God!

After the break, we head into the quiz. Surely Helen will have the upper hand here. Lachlan doesn’t know if he listens to Jordan enough, but he will be putting in a better effort this time!

Their first question is ‘What was the model’s name?’ The answer is Katrina. Surprisingly, the contestants weren’t too sure. Surely that was an easy one.

Oh, they are all correct except for Gilbert who is now out.

Next question, ‘when was her birthday?’. The answer isn’t specific, it is just ‘three weeks ago’. Helen is clever and remembers her age, subtracting ‘20’ from 2011- 1990. But that wasn’t the question. No one got that one right- except for Jimmy! He has won this for him and Mackenzie- ensuring them a place in the final! He is ecstatic.

When he gets home, he shows Mackenzie his photo and when Mackenzie thinks all hope is lost on his horrible artistic ability. But when Jimmy tells her the real challenge and the real results, Mackenzie’s reaction is replicated by me- it was a happy moment.

Lachlan has written Jordan a song to serenade her with and to tell her how special he thinks she is. He hopes it gives him leniency in the future when he does something stupid. The funny thing is, throughout the whole thing, he is wearing only a polo shirt and boxers!

Jordan loves the song!

Jimmy is complimenting Helen in the kitchen and it seems Helen thinks he is handsome, saying she can’t even look at him anymore. Jimmy wants to know if there is any chance of a romance between the two. He is weighing up the option. He asks her if things will be different now she is back and she thinks the whole house will be different. He wonders if it is worth asking her out but the smart thing to do would be to ask her!

After the break, we head to a catwalk challenge where Bernard tells them that they will be drawing to London for inspiration. Beauties are currently decked out in T Shirts designed by Rimmel London ‘to get the London Look’. Oh please, product placement is one thing, saying the slogan straight after is another! Save it for the ad break!

Today, the beauties will be getting a London look designed by the geeks. Mixed emotions all round when Lachlan just thinks ‘chimney sweep’. Bernard tells them to take inspiration from London icons. Beauties will be styled in that theme and learn all about the particular icon. Helen’s choice of icons includes Shakespeare and Dickens. Jacelle’s choice of icons includes Sporty Spice and Posh Spice.

They will be judged by how well they capture their icon. With that, the couples go out and talk about who they could be in the pageant/catwalk show. Helen and Troy go for Doctor Who and Troy says Helen thinks he is the coolest guy.

Gilbert wants Jacelle to go as the Big Ben. Seriously, why don’t they go for the spice girls?

In the ‘Rimmel’ room, yes emphasis on those words, Mackenzie is being done up in her character- a bond girl! Nice idea, Jimmy!

However, Mackenzie knows nothing about James Bond.

Jordan wants to be Kate Moss, but Julian makes her go as Hermione Granger- haha, that is hilarious and Jordan isn’t remembering much HP trivia.

Outside on the catwalk, Bernard welcomes the audience to the catwalk and introduces the judges- editor of Marie Claire magazine, Jackie Frank and television personality and host of Dancing With The Stars, Sonia Kruger!… or is that ex-host?

With that, Mackenzie is first out in her Bond girl Honey Ryder outfit. She does a very good impersonation and I think it looks clever. When asked what her skills are, she says she can crack a good whip which the judges assume comes from the wrong movie (actually, I believe she did say that in the movie!). She doesn’t do so well on the catwalk, admitting to never watching a movie before! Still, she doesn’t have to worry, she is safe!

Next up is Doctor Who, Troy Thompson and he does look like a homeless person. Still, he does have a good knowledge base on the subject.

Next is Sarah as Queen Elizabeth II and that is so funny! She looks like a skanky version of the Queen, wearing a short skirt. Her answers are also so happy, getting a laughs. She claims the Queen has a few special gadgets in her handbag ‘which she can’t share with the audience’ and says the Queen can ‘do what she wants’ which is partially true.

Next up is Jacelle as the Big Ben, now this should be interesting. She looks like a grey KKK member. She starts talking like a, as Julian describes it as, tramp in a low voice.

Last up is Hermione played by Jordan. She looks so good and pulls off the best impression!

She says her parents are ‘mongrels’, not ‘muggles’. She says she plays Quidditch which is correct!

The judges seem very happy with that performance.

With that, they all go back stage, the judges deliberate, the crowd leaves and the contestants walk back on stage for the results.

The winner of the challenge is…Jordan and therefore Julian as well, ensuring them a place in the final week.

They are excited as you’d imagine. Jordan still wants Lachlan in the final.

Back at the mansion and in the bedroom, Jimmy confronts Helen with his question. He tells her that he thinks they’ve been getting kind of close before asking her how she would feel about exploring that avenue. She asks him if he is asking her out and she tells him she…is taken!!! Apparently, she has been in a relationship with someone in the Netherlands for three and a half years now. Did I mention this was an ONLINE relationship?! What? Just when I thought there was good reason for Helen & Troy returning, this happens!

Jimmy thinks it is weird that her boyfriend lives in the Netherlands and he lives in the same house as her. He is not thrilled, but is happy to know they are still friends and that Helen is attracted to him as well.

She apologises, and he leaves deflated.

The next day, Mackenzie and Jordan are talking about nominations. Ah yes, with the added couple, nominations will take place. Mackenzie says she will be putting up Lachlan and Sarah which Jordan isn’t too fussed about however Jordan can’t make up her mind.

The contestants then get ready and head to the stairs for nominations.

Bernard welcomes them and Jimmy & Mackenzie and Julian & Jordan wait with him as he debriefs the episode. They must now decide who will be sent to elimination. Mackenzie & Jimmy go first and nominate Lachlan and Sarah as per Mackenzie’s plan.

Bernard asks them how they feel and Lachlan is appreciative of the time he has spent with Jordan thus far.

Jordan & Julian are next and nominate Helen & Troy! Troy thinks Jordan’s thought that they have progressed the least was a bit unfair. This means Jacelle & Gilbert are through to the final.

With that, they all get ready for elimination.

Jordan and Lachlan say their goodbyes as Lachlan reflects on their turbulent time. Jordan asks him to promise to come back but he won’t make promises he can’t keep.

Helen meanwhile is educating Troy on the most possible subject of ‘London’. Lachlan then does the same with Sarah.

To elimination and they all head into the room. Bernard welcomes them and tells them that the beauties will be going first.

Their subject is London and Sarah will be going first with the picture question. ‘London Tube stations have unusual names. Pictured are four different station names but only one of them is real, which one is it?’. The choices are ‘Rabbit Warren’, ‘Elephant & Castle’, ‘Dog & Bone’ and ‘Turnip Pond’.

She chooses Rabbit Warren which is what I would go for. The correct answer is in fact Elephant & Castle. Troy is next with ‘Who is the Prime Minister of the UK?’ which I would say is an easy one. Can he get it? Maybe after the break!

After said break, he answers with David Cameron which is correct!

To Sarah’s final question; ‘Which London suburb is the most expensive on the Monopoly board?’ and she answers correctly with Mayfair.

To Troy’s final question and he gets ‘If a cockney was complaining about his trouble and strife, what would he be referring to?’ and he says dessert. Um, incorrect. The correct answer was his wife.

Switch time and isn’t if funny how only on this finale decide does the score come this close. One a piece.

The geek’s subject is women. Helen should win this!

Lachlan is first with a picture question. Margaret Thatcher comes on screen and he is asked to identify her and her nickname. The answer to the second part of that question is ‘The Iron Lady’. He gets it correct.

Helen gets ‘Name the three Kardashian sisters.’ She gets it correct with Kim, Kloe and Kourtney. Lachlan’s second question goes a bit like this; ‘Complete this song lyric from Helen Reddy’s famous song- ‘I am woman, hear me WHAT?’. He answers Roar which is correct.

To Helen’s final question and she gets ‘what woman did Kanye West famously interrupt as she was accepting a Video Music Award?’ She answers Taylor Swift despite the fact Troy thinks she won’t know it. You should have seen the look on his face!

Now we have a drawn score and for the first time, it is a tie breaker. Here, for the first time this season, they move into a ‘closest-to’ question. The question is ‘How many songs recorded by The Beatles had a woman’s name in it?’ The beauties can’t watch as Helen answers four. Lachlan answers five. Who will win? The correct answer is 18, meaning Lachlan is correct and Helen & Troy are eliminated for a second time!

Lachlan & Sarah progress as the final finalists for the season.

We see some last thoughts from the two before we finish!

Again, nothing new here- quite an entertaining episode with a very tight finish. Production was as high as you’d expect it to be and the laughs were very, very frequent. This show is still fresh after 9 weeks and moving into the final, I think this could be a very sad moment!

 

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.0/10

Only two weeks remain in the reality television year, but it is going to be a race to the finish! There is plenty of action still to come with Junior MasterChef only down to its final 12, X Factor still containing a quarter of its contestants, Celebrity Apprentice with just under half and The One and Beauty & The Geek still left with a hefty number of contestants. So what did this week bring to these contestants we speak about?

Well, let’s begin with Junior MasterChef and their trip to America continued. On Sunday, they were asked to compete in two teams to create a specialty mystery burger! With half the contestants on one team and half on the other; only one could win. In the end, the team consisting of Zac, Alysha, Jack, Lily, Madi and Indigo (blue) won, leaving the red team pointless. Never fear however, as the second challenge of the evening, a very cheerful Mexican themed challenge, gave the contestants a second chance at point grabbing.

They all had to cook a prawn quesadilla and in the end, Harry, Steven and Greta won 2, 4 and 6 points respectively as runners up and winner of the challenge.

On Monday, it was every child’s dream- roaming around a deserted Disneyland. They split into six teams of two before going on a treasure hunt for ingredients for a Disneyland inspired dish. This was one last bid to get points before Sunday’s elimination. Zac, Alysha, Greta, Harry, Kieran and Lily were crowned winners of the challenge and won an array of points. This wrapped up another week in America for Junior MasterChef!

To Celebrity Apprentice Australia, and before the week was up, we saw three eliminations, one massive controversy, two challenges, a timeslot change and Pauline as a model! It all started on Monday when the contestants were asked to put on a fashion catwalk show. Pauline, as PM of her team, seemed to caught up in her own act (and wouldn’t you think it!) to bother about the rest of her team, so you would’ve expected them to lose. But on Jason’s team, the uses of Didier were lost as the model screwed up on the dance floor. It landed him and his team into a double elimination. There, Jason chose to send himself with Max and Didier into the firing line where Max created controversy by bringing up Didier’s drug use past as some sort of ammo against his rival. In the end, Max and Didier were sent home in seething rage, leaving Jason and Shane the last men standing.

On Wednesday, a Thursday Conrad Murray ACA special created a fusion of two episodes where in a 90 minute ‘special’, the contestants were asked to compete in a P&O cruise advertisement challenge which saw crumbles occur in both Julia and Pauline’s friendship and Jason and Lisa’s friendship. In the end, it was the latter (along with Shane) two who were thrown into elimination where Lisa was sent packing over a teary Jason.

To The X Factor, and a stellar ‘hits’ night separated those fit for a final five and those fit for a final four. They all more or less impressed, but it was too much to ask for Declan Sykes and Three Wishez, who were left fighting for their place in the competition on Tuesday. The results show dazzled with Michael Bolton and Susan Boyle (and of course, Ricki Lee Coulter), but not for Declan who was voted out on the judge’s command.

The One also saw the departure of another psychic after a more entertaining and believable episode than usual. Katrina was not able to live up to expectations, and she was voted in favour of not being The One.

Last but certainly not least on the list of reality television accolades for the week and Beauty & The Geek saw an inevitable twist that ensured Helen & Troy a place in the final few weeks of the competition.

The geeks were made to makeover the eliminated geeks and with Jimmy winning the challenge, he and his partner Mackenzie, along with other challenge winner Gilbert & Jacelle were able to pick an eliminated team to go head to head in an elimination round to determine a returnee team. The main point is that Jimmy and Mackenzie chose Helen & Troy to compete, and as expected, they were granted re-entry to the competition in a landslide over Colin & Gaia.

 

As I said, two weeks remain, so to say the competition is about to heat up is a gross understatement. Junior MasterChef will this week evict four more tykes before sending the final eight back to Australia for a final quest for points. Also note the extra episode to air 7.30pm Tuesday.

The X Factor will this week crown its finalists as one more act leaves, so close to the all important finale.

One more contestants will also leave The One before the final three is determined and similarly, Beauty & The Geek will also eliminate another team, leaving four to enter the final episode a week later (identical to last year’s season).

Celebrity Apprentice looked like finishing up a week early with an elimination on Monday set to determine the final four. However the 90 minute Wednesday episode, thought to be the final, is just a final elimination episode with the final set to take place the following Monday.

All Fired Up will air its final edition on Thursday, again ending next week prematurely.

 

A personal note from me and as usual, please vote in the Top 20 Reality Television contestants of 2011 competition which will begin to crown its list in mid-December. The Reality Television Star of 2011 will be crowned on New Years Eve.

Monday will see delays for Celebrity Apprentice, which will be uploaded on Tuesday. Tuesday’s edition of Celebrity Apprentice will also be delayed until Wednesday due to personal reasons and the extra episode of Junior MasterChef.

 

So I hope you enjoy your week and I will hope to hear some of your comments! Thanks.

Ahh, Beauty & The Geek- Australia’s guilty pleasure. We are down to four teams, but tonight we celebrate the departed! Yes, those eliminated geeks come back for a makeover and by the looks of things, a little bit more! I wonder what surprises lay in store for these contestants!
Gilbert is in the spa by himself, so Jacelle goes over to join him considering his ‘girlfriend’ Dolly has been eliminated. Gilbert seems to like Jacelle’s attitude and even thinks they bond well together. Please Gilbert, don’t cheat on Dolly. Then, over comes Sarah to join in. It all looks very scripted; the lonely red head having two girls fit for the playboy mansion joining him, bikini-clad, in the spa bath!

They begin to flirt with him but Gilbert would be surprised if he noticed that to. They notice his new body which is taking shape and it seems as if he is easily going to move on.

Inside at night and Jordan is bonding with Julian as she continues to vent about Lachlan’s tattoo where last week, Lachlan got Sarah’s name tattooed onto his buttocks for immunity.
Julian tells Jordan that Lachlan was not saving himself, but rather stopping a situation whereby he and Jordan faced elimination together. He believes he had good reasons and Jordan realises this. She believes her stubbornness had gotten in the way of her and Lachlan forgiving each other.

The next day, challenge music plays as the contestants head for the lounge. They all talk about their amazing progress in this game; final four and Sarah hasn’t even faced elimination yet. Bernard comes in and reminds the geeks that they have been made over but asks rhetorically how much they know about style. Obviously not much.

Bernard tells the beauties that they have to muster up some Maths skills. Beauties will be up first at the next challenge and with that, Bernard leaves.

Jimmy and Lachlan bring their girls outside for a Maths refresher. Sarah just lists shapes which is a bit worrying.

Can she answer 3 x 2? No, but dog’s can bark apparently.

Jacelle can answer 1 x 8 but not anything else. Gilbert realises it is only guess work when it comes to Jacelle attempting the questions.

To the challenge and the contestants rock up to a farm yard full of different animals. Some of them or all of them have numbers painted on them.

Bernard welcomes them with ‘mustering maths’. Mackenzie is confused by the ‘mustering’ part of that.

Bernard points to the animals who are wearing a number or mathematical symbol. The beauties challenge today will be to muster five of these animals into the stock gates. The five symbols or numbers on the animals must create an equation equal to the number 60.

Sounds hard. The first person to do this- wins! To Jimmy, this is all too simple.

They begin and it is a bundle of fun, really, no educational benefit AT ALL! Mackenzie is a city girl, so this grosses her out. Jacelle goes for the smaller animals which is a clever strategy. Jordan just goes for the lambs. I hope this all adds up…literally!

While Mackenzie tries pulling, pushing and climbing on the animals, Sarah decides to use manners to hoard them in. One of her animals runs away.

At least the animals seem to be treated nicely in this. I think the beauties are having a tougher time. Jacelle thinks she has it but we have to go to a break first!

She has 4 + 56 = 60 which is five parts and correct! Jacelle and Gilbert are safe!

With that, they head back to the mansion where Lachlan finally confronts Jordan about tattoo-gate. He asks how she is feeling before telling us that he is frustrated that he feels good about himself for the first time in his life and she doesn’t. Jordan feels she went far too crazy on him, out of anger. She apologises for her words, which weren’t true.

Lachlan feels that if they go back to being more than friends, he will do something to hurt her again but she wants to do it, saying their love is real. Lachlan asks if she wants to see the tattoo, which Jordan doesn’t want to.

After all this, it is challenge 2 time! They all enter the front yard to find racks of clothes and other accessories littered in front of Bernard. He welcomes them to the challenge before saying there is a surprise! With that, he welcomes back the eliminated geeks- Nathan, Colin, Adam, Theo, Helen and Bendeguz.

There is a ‘free-for-all’ of hugs, as Jimmy puts it before Bernard points at Nathan, Colin, Adam and Theo- stating their need of a makeover.

This is where Jimmy, Lachlan, Julian and Gilbert come in- they will be making over the eliminated contestants, putting to the test their knowledge of style. Gilbert has no idea how this will work.

The geeks will have 2 hours to do all this and while Jacelle thinks this is a huge amount of time, she realises who is doing it.

Bernard tells them that the beauties will be the judges for this one, but they will not know who made over whom. The beauties take one more mental pic of the geeks before leaving. Bernard announces that Theo will be styled by Julian. Nathan will be styled by Lachlan. Colin will be styled by Gilbert and Adam will be styled by Jimmy.

With that, the makeovers begin. I realise that Helen and Bendeguz have left- so why were they here in the first place? I feel there may be more to this challenge…

After the break, the challenge begins and Lachlan takes Nathan through all the clothing options. Gilbert and the rest of the geeks also try this.

Gilbert is now waxing Colin and it seems to go quite well! For Gilbert at least. Julian is shaving Theo’s hair but it still seems to hurt- just wait until he gets onto the waxing!

Afterwards, it is time for tanning and Colin decides to do it full nudie!

Lachlan feels that Nathan’s tan will be his biggest change. ‘When he changes colour on the outside, he has to change colour on the inside’.

Then, it is time for the head hair and Julian is having a bit of trouble, cutting Theo’s head in places! Lachlan also has troubles. Then, it is time for the results. The beauties take a seat before four wardrobes containing the made over geeks.

First up is Theo! He seems to get mixed responses and after the break, we see he doesn’t look too bad. His spray tan makes him look like an Oompa Loompa and his dress style could use a makeover.

Next up is Colin who looks exactly like Jimmy in terms of his dress sense. He does actually look quite good. Next up is Nathan and he is very different! Apparently, Jordan didn’t like his jeans, but I think they look cool. His hair cut is quite good all thinks considering as well. I like his the most so far.

Last is Adam who looks like James Bond and while he looks a lot different, I don’t think his is the best. I do think he will win!

Actually, in his cutaway, he looks quite good- almost like a movie star- so maybe he does deserve to win.

With that, they have to cast their vote and after a preferential vote, the worker geeks stand by their test subjects. With that, Bernard announces the winner to be Jimmy and his makeover geek, Adam as suspected.

With that, Jimmy and Mackenzie win immunity but he also says they have a power of nomination which is odd as with their immunity and Gilbert & Jacelle’s immunity, Jordan and Julian and Lachlan and Sarah are the only two choices. With that, Bernard calls back Bendeguz and Helen. The contestants begin to wonder what is going on. Bernard reminds them that usually, the winning couples win a nomination power, but this week, they have won the power to nominate a couple BACK into the competition. They are all shocked but Mackenzie seemed sure there would be a chance for Troy to come back. Now it is all clear- when this show’s twist of Helen & Troy were booted out so early, it obviously wasn’t the end. Surely they will be the ones to return!

They will nominate two couples to return with these couples going head to head in a challenge to return. Bloody Gilbert has stolen Jacelle due to Maddy’s exit, leaving Theo without a partner and therefore, without a chance of getting back in- a bit unfair really.

They have to decide right now!
After the break, the immune teams decide their choices and Jimmy & Mackenzie’s choice is an obvious one but before that, Jacelle & Gilbert choose to bring back Colin & Gaia. Well, not to come back- but to compete to come back!

Mackenzie and Jimmy choose Helen & Troy. Apparently, Jimmy had no say, but weren’t Helen and he an item? When the beauties return, I realised just how much I didn’t miss Troy.

Bernard briefs them all on what the challenge will be, but it will just simply be an elimination challenge.

In the elimination room, Bernard announces that the team for both the geeks and the beauties will be ‘comebacks’.

The geeks will be first and Colin is first overall. He gets; ‘Which star of Teen Wolf 2 makes a comeback in Arrested Development?’, he guesses Michael Cera which is incorrect- it is Jason Bateman.

Helen gets ‘A hit 90’s show set in Beverly Hills made a comeback in 2008, what was the postcode of where it was set?’ and bloody hell, what an easy question! He may have just as well asked ‘what postcode was the show, Beverly Hills 90210 set?’, although it could be a trick question and the answer could be; ‘it wasn’t set in a postcode, it was set in a zip code’, but I doubt that would happen, haha.

Of course she gets it correct with Colin getting; ‘Which swimmer retired after the 2004 Olympics to return in 2010, claiming gold at the Commonwealth Games?’ and he guesses Emma Thompson which is incorrect (isn’t she an author?), the correct answer being Geoff Huegill. Helen’s second question is a picture question showing a snip of John Travolta in his comeback role in a Quintein Tarantino movie. She has to guess what movie that is. She has no idea and guesses Pulp Fiction which is correct.

With that, the beauties are up but with Helen & Troy on 2 points and Colin & Gaia on 0, there is no other possible way to make this outcome any more obvious. Gaia is first and she gets; ‘Which gruelling sporting event did Lance Armstrong win seven times after being diagnosed with cancer?’. She guesses the Grand Prix which is incorrect and therefore meaning her and Colin will be going home again and Helen and Troy will be re-entering the competition. Surprise, surprise! No doubt they will be going on to win this thing.

Helen and Troy return to the room where the contestants remain and they are all happy to see them, especially Mackenzie.

So the episode itself was probably less humorous than usual, probably due to the heavy emphasis of the returning contestants. To me, Helen & Troy’s return was so obvious, it is hard to convince myself that this wasn’t just a ploy all along. Sure, Mackenzie’s love for Troy is real, hence their marriage, but all the producers had to do was let Jimmy & Mackenzie win the makeover challenge for the wheels to let them back in come into motion.

I do like the twist however, but I feel they left it a tad too late. We are just two weeks away from the final, and it really puts the other contestants at a bit of an unfair disadvantage.

 

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.2/10

 

Sorry again for the late post; but that’s just the way life goes! This week has just been a normal week; except maybe for Junior MasterChef which had its second quadruple elimination before jet-setting off to LA. Let’s begin there.

On Sunday, the eight contestants on the bottom of the ladder; those being Steven, Jack, Kieran, Harry, Gracie, Tom, Dee and Marcus; entered the kitchen for what could have been their last time cooking. After being told to recreate the ‘perfect curry’, Steven and Jack were able to secure their place in the final 12.

The six bottom contestants then entered a pressure test where they had to recreate Matt Moran’s Cheesecake! They all looked delicious, but for Dee, Gracie, Tom and Marcus, the pressure was too much and they were eliminated.

For the final twelve; there was reason to celebrate- made all the more sweeter by the news that they would all be boarding a flight for the US! On Monday; they made their trip and began their journey in Beverly Hills. After shopping for ingredients at the Farmer’s Market, the kids prepared a meal for Perry Hoffman; the world’s youngest Michellen Star earner. This was all in the name of points, but the scenery was brilliant.

On Monday, a new week of Celebrity Apprentice began and the ten contestants began the week painting some art. With Deni as project manager of her team, anything was bound to happen. The boys stripped nude for a group piece which sold for quite a bit at the following auction; which was in contrast to Pauline Hanson’s piece which sold for squat.

Deni was unable to conduct her team in a leader kind of way and with that, any decent trait she could have had disappeared. It was because of this that when she faced elimination against Lisa and Pauline, it was no surprise to see this villainous PM leave the competition.

On Wednesday, it was all about the laughter and the attractions as the newly formed teams (which saw Jesinta and Pauline and Max and Didier trade places) created face boards to go on display at Manly Beach in a bid to make money from photo opportunities.

Women’s Day magazine shook things up a bit when, after promising Max’s team $10,000, they gave their money to the other team due to their entertainment value, causing Max to fly off the handle, blatantly steal the cheque and leaving a fuming Jason and Wendell.

It wasn’t until the boardroom when PM Julia finally took the cheque and gave it back to the other team. After this kind (but needed) act, the fact that Julia’s team still won brought the usually resilient comedienne to tears.

From there, Project Manager Wendell from the other team brought close mate Jason and Pauline back to the firing line where yet again, the project manager (Wendell, as I’ve just said) was fired.

The X Factor also saw a shock elimination when, after singing some pretty decent party tunes, a refined Christina Parie faced sensation Reece Mastin in the bottom two after receiving the least amount of votes.

Even with this shock result, it seemed certain that the mentors would choose to even the playing field by finally voting out one of Guy’s contestants over the last remaining female in the competition; but, the judges surprised yet again by sending Christina packing.

The One was up to its usual tricks, now upping the anti to three challenges a week. This amount of added pressure and the pressure of getting the prize money in the end must have meddled with their ‘aurora’ a bit because they were truly terrible this week but thankfully Anthony, who definitely has NO psychic ability at all, was sent home.

Beauty & The Geek Australia suffered a break up of golden couple Lachlan and Jordan after Lachlan scored immunity for himself and teammate Sarah after having her name tattooed to his arse in a shock challenge. This move sent his girlfriend with her partner Julian and Bendeguz & Dolly into elimination where Bendeguz & Dolly said their final hurrah!

 

So as you can see, it was a very cozy week here in reality television land, but it was by no means a standout and it seems it will be more of the same next week.

Celebrity Apprentice Australia is now down to eight contestants and will put them through their paces with two more challenges to be followed by two more eliminations.

The X Factor is down to five contestants, one of them being Johnny Ruffo (don’t ask why). Will Guy finally lose a contestant this week? I guess we’ll find out.

The One is also down to five contestants and with three weeks left, I think we can see a single elimination only this week. Again, this is a bummer because I really am not convinced by any of these looneys.

Beauty & The Geek Australia will again round out the week with some more makeovers! Yes, the eliminated contestants will be back to have their shot at hot in this latest grab for viewers (and yes, it is working!).

 

That’s pretty much all I have to say here but I have to put a word out that due to personal reasons, some blogs may be delayed, especially those on Monday- but I also have more time during the day so don’t expect those delays to be long.

 

Also, remember that as we near the end of the year, we will soon be announcing the Top 20 reality contestants of 2011. Be them villains, winners or all round nice guys, anyone can be a candidate and you can influence it! Just drop us a comment or me a PM and we’ll see when we can do!

 

Have a lovely week, guys!