XFactor and FlashForward

As an advanced warning, I am going to be discussing FlashForward and therefore, the following few paragraphs may contain spoilers. For this reason, I have hidden them by default and with a bit of luck, clicking the show link will reveal them. I will be discussing episode 5 so if you haven't seen it yet, you have been warned!

Two in one this evening, as well as a little bonus video clip just for fun. First off, FlashForward. This weeks episode was a little bit disappointing. Nothing actually seemed to happen other than a small discovery of the mysterious pylons which at the moment have no relevance. There was a huge car crash which frankly no mortal could have survived and yet somehow everyone got out without so much as a hair out of place. Starting the beginning of the program with that sort of scene is fine for any other TV show but when you already know that most of them will be alive in six months time, it kinda ruins it a bit. That coupled with the fact that if three main characters die then that's the show over and unless they've had a budget cut and have run out of money then that is unlikely to happen this early on. Other than those minor events, the rest of the episode felt more like a soap opera than a big US drama. A wife wondering whether her husband is back on the drink, an FBI agent has a same sex relationship - shock horror! I do hope it doesn't go downhill from here because so far I've been very impressed, a new concept and it's been pulled off well so lets not go and spoil it.

I managed to get very little work done today - again and so I resigned to the fact that this evening was a write-off as well. I managed to spend about half an hour in the Co-op choosing dinner which turned out to be a frozen fish pie. I haven't had a ready meal in a very long time and now I remember why! On the plus side the supermarket played it's cunning advertising game again and so what was supposed to be a cheap dinner ended up costing more than a fiver. I came back with 4 dark chocolate Mars bars which I'm informed have a Milkywayesque filling inside them, a pack of chocolate tiffins - one of my favourite chocolate based snacks ever, and a bag of marshmallows that were on special offer. I'm so glad I don't put weight on very easily otherwise I'd be the size of a house!

Next up, XFactor and tonight is the first night I've sat down and watched it properly. I managed about 10 minutes last week after the first act (whoever it was) put me off with a poor rendition of a Whitney song. This week got off to a slightly better start and that coupled with not being bothered enough to crawl upstairs meant I sat through it. Favourites of the night started with Miss Frank who surprised me a lot after what little bits I've seen of them so far, they were blooming awful but I actually quite enjoyed their performance. Next person to grab my attention was Rachel - slightly for the wrong reasons, but she was another greatly improved over last week. She's got rid of that hideous hair cut and looks pretty normal now if not a bit too Rihanna like but she made up for that with a decent performance. She got a little bit too excited at the end after receiving some positive feedback from the judges.

I really enjoyed Stacy's rendition of a Disney Classic and she managed to get through it without ruining it for me. When I Wish Upon a Star was a good choice and suited her quite well. She brought the sob story in about her kid though so that ruined it a bit. On the plus side, she's the first contestant I've seen doing it which makes a change. Then we come to the guy with the hair who's parents can't spell. Danyl I think he's called and as far as I'm concerned, Feeling Good should not be touched by anyone other than someone who is extremely talented. I'm a big fan of the Nina Simone version and an even bigger fan of the Muse cover which is one of my favourite if not my very favourite covers of all time. He didn't do a very good job of it, he completely avoided the high notes (which is half of the song) and just shouted his way through the rest of it. Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long to be comforted from this anger and as soon as Lucy opened her mouth I knew that there was no way she could be voted off this week. Best performance of the night by far, perfect flawless vocals - what more can I say. The rest of the show paled into insignificance after that and there was just the fairly mediocre rendition of Sway and the unmentionable twins rendition of She Bangs. There wasn't much chance of those two getting any praise but they could at least have started off with a semi-decent song in the fist place.

A little treat now courtesy of Cassetteboy based on Thursday night's question time. If you haven't seen his Apprentice mash up then I suggest you check that out as well. This guy has got a lot of time on his hands but I thank him for yet again bringing a smile to my face.