TVgasm Recaps

As you may have heard, B-side and I were away this weekend for our five year college reunion. Therefore, some recaps are going to be late this week. I still plan on doing The 4400 and many people have been asking about other shows such as Treasure Hunters, So You Think You Can Dance and Making the Band 3 among others. The answer is that we are working on most of these (Treasure Hunters will be up today or tomorrow), so please bear with us. What I can say is that for those of you who are dying to talk about these shows and other favorites should check out the TVgasm Forums. We have threads on Treasure Hunters, Making the Band, The 4400, and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-list, not to mention all of the interesting general topics to get you through your day at work including "What celebrity do you look like?" and "Look mom! I'm on TV!". What better way to waste time than with other TVgasm readers?

I really wanted to love Treasure Hunters. I really did. But I didn't. I don't know what it was -- maybe it was the overproduced presentation, the charmless host, the humorless narrative, the repetitive drama. Who knows? It just didn't click for me. That's not to say I'm giving up. No, I'll stick with this bad boy and see if it improves. The second hour was already better than the first, which means that by episode six or seven, we could have a halfway compelling show. There's certainly promise in Treasure Hunters, but it's kind of hard rooting for something that The Amazing Race does so much better.

This morning, I was really hoping to write "Wow, I was wrong about Treasure Hunters. It really found its stride this week." But alas, this series continues to be as slow as those Brown brothers paddling in a canoe. Sure, there are neat puzzles and codes everywhere, and it's impossible to deny that charmer Laird MacIntosh, but honestly, this bad boy is shaping up to be the disappointment of the summer. To be fair, for about fifteen minutes during a rigorous and eventful trip up a river, it seemed as though the show was finally gaining momentum, but alas, it was all lost during a flaccid and uninspiring climax involving compasses and the word "artichoke." Plus, it doesn't help matters that the travel route seems to be plotted from rejected Amazing Race: Family Edition destinations. You know what I'm talking about: all America, all the time. I love the U. S. of A. as much as anyone, but when it comes to these adventure shows, it's all about going international. Luckily, there was one bright spot in last night's show: the continuing villainy of the Fogal Family. They're shaping up to be the second coming of The Weaver family, and while it will be hard to top Linda, Rolly, Rachel, and Rebecca, this pastor and his clan sure will give them a run for the money. Now, if only we could care about the rest of the show as much.