As there’s no way to talk about this episode without spoilers, the whole post is behind the fold.
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Catching Up To DoI haven’t seen last night’s AI or Lost yet, because I was doing this instead: Updates on TV stuff later (or tomorrow). To Double Down or Not....FiveThirtyEight is one of my favorite blogs, even when it’s not presidential election season. But Nate Silver has turned his analytical skills to a new subject today: the KFC Double Down. Awesomeness here. Book Review: The Man from BeijingHenning Mankell is a prolific Swedish mystery writer, whose police procedurals featuring Inspector Kurt Wallender have reached bestselling status in a number of countries and spawned a BBC miniseries. His latest novel to reach U.S. shores (translated from the original Swedish), titled The Man from Beijing, interweaves a traditional whodunit with seemingly autobiographical details of his former Maoist political activism, and has received some of the best critical acclaim of Mankell’s career. The book begins with a mass murder in a tiny and remote Swedish village and the police investigation that immediately follows. A federal judge, Birgitta Roslin, learns that some distant relatives were among the victims and begins her own parallel investigation. Mankell weaves in diaries of an ancestor of Roslin’s who worked building railroad lines through the American West, as well as the story of Chinese immigrants who were subject to brutal conditions in providing labor for the same endeavor. We learn that Roslin was a Maoist in her youth, and her sojourn to present-day China frames the country’s attempts to keep up with the stratifying effects of capitalism and leads to a key sequence in Mozambique, where Mankell lives today. Idol Thoughts: Why The Judges' Save Doesn't Really MatterSome people get a little foamy at the mouth at the prospect of the judges’ save. Last night, Big Mike Lynche got the lowest number of votes, but was saved by the judges, setting up a double-elimination next week. In previous seasons, many argued that the save was unfair, that the network was putting its thumb on the scale. But ultimately, the save is meaningless. Here’s why. Do you know how many times an eventual winner has finished in the bottom two at this stage of the competition? None. It’s never happened. In fact, no winner has ever finished in the bottom two before the Top 7 week. Winners don’t build over the course of the season — Idol rewards frontrunners, and the eventual winners are popular from the start. They don’t tell you who has the highest number of votes each week, but they don’t need to — just look for the people who are never in the bottom. Those are the only people with a chance to win. Think I’m exaggerating? How about this fact: Fantasia Barrino was the only winner ever to be in the bottom two at any point before the finals. In seven of the eight seasons of the show, the eventual winner was never in danger of leaving, and Fantasia’s Top 7 hiccup occurred when she and America were cruelly subjected to Barry Manilow week. So Big Mike may stay around for another week, or even another four or five, but he’s not going to win. Tim, who’s been on the brink of elimination twice, can expect an early exit. Andrew, buddy? You’re done too. Watch the bottom two in the coming weeks, because the single most significant key to determining the final winner is who doesn’t get a whiff of failure. In fact, only two runners-up ever finished in the bottom two before the Top 7 (Katharine McPhee and Bo Bice), and each of them only once. Idol Thoughts: Not That BadIn a surprise, the Top 9 put together the best set of performances of the season, climbing from the depths to, at the very least, mediocrity. Idol Thoughts: What to Do on Lennon/McCartney Night?The contestants have an embarrassment of riches to choose from tonight, and will undoubtedly screw it up just like they did last year. But if I were coaching the final nine, these are the songs I would pick: Crystal – In My Life Casey – Revolution 1 Siobhan – Got to Get You Into My Life Lee – Drive My Car Andrew – Here, There and Everywhere Big Mike – Golden Slumbers Aaron – The Long and Winding Road Katie – Yesterday Tim – Fool On The Hill My guess is that none of these will actually be chosen by the person I’ve indicated. Nevertheless, let’s hope someone, anyone, is good tonight. LOST: Me and the DevilLast night featured the long-awaited Richard Alpert backstory. Spoiler-y goodness behind the fold: Idol Thoughts: Wow. Just... wow.This week’s Idol featured one of those moments, one of those unforgettable performances that live in Idol history. Sadly for Paige Miles, it was because the performance was so breathtakingly bad, so spectacularly dreadful, that it will be the limbo stick under which Idol contestants fail to crawl for years to come. LOST: More QuestionsAs promised, here is a new set of intriguing questions from the previous list that remain unanswered going into the much anticipated Richard Alpert episode (more spoilers abound after the jump): |
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