Erik, Erik, Erik

It was like something out of The Sting or The First Wives Club, the way the four women pulled together to con Erik on Survivor last night. The final ten minutes were the funniest thing on reality TV in ages. You know who I think should win this season? Cirie! She’s been the mastermind behind some of the best strategic moves ever. Getting Natalie to help them oust the biggest threat to them in terms of winning challenges was pure brilliance. If only Erik would’ve stuck to his guns when he told Natalie “I’m not even going to consider that.” But she won him over, and the others played their parts brilliantly. It was almost like it was scripted. The juror reactions were priceless, especially James and his “I’m now officially not the dumbest Survivor player ever.” Erik’s immaturity was his downfall and entertainment gold. He was so burned he didn’t stroll down the pier he scooted, almost ran. I can’t wait to queue up the behind-the-scenes videos later.

Law & Order was really good on Wednesday night, too. It was an interesting and clever case, and the fact that one of the prosecutors was co-opted to work for the defence added new depth to the characters and their interactions.

And what can I say about LOST other than, wow, what a closing line, after an astonishing final 10 minutes or so. Up to that point, the story was fairly pedestrian, moving along under the force of inertia. I loved the shot of Ben and Hurley sharing a candy bar while Locke was inside the cabin, for some reason. The oddest of odd couples. The revelation inside the cabin was like something out of Twin Peaks. We had hints before that the character sitting in the chair would be there, but still. And his lounging companion. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it. Three more hours left until the end of the season. I read in the news today that the next two seasons have each been granted an extra hour so the creators will get their total 48 hours after all. 14-17-17 instead of 16-16-16.

I revised the 900 words from yesterday and added another 1000 to the short story in progress. Didn’t quite make it to the end, but the end is in sight. I’m guessing 2500 words for the first draft and perhaps 2000-2200 for the final product. Though it’s being written for a themed anthology, if it doesn’t make the cut I can think of a dozen other places I might be able to sell this one. I’m really enjoying how its unveiling itself to me.

I still have three programs on DVR to catch up on from last night: CSI, Grey’s Anatomy and Without a Trace. I’m looking forward to seeing Linda Hunt’s guest performance on the latter, and to find out what the Two and a Half Men writers do with the former.