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By Diane Vadino

Special to MSN TV

 

"The Bachelorette" can make for compulsive viewing -- and it has been recently, even during this lackluster, off-kilter season. Tonight, unfortunately, is not that night. Let's think of it as a palate-cleansing sorbet before we make our sprint to the finish -- it's hard to believe, but the last time this show aired, Bentley was still on it. (That guy dragged on like a cold.) So, with any luck, we're just gearing up for the hometown dates next week. For now, a bit of dreck to sift through. 

 

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First up: Constantine's one-on-one date. The chemistry between Ashley and Constantine reminds me of the chemistry behind the last two single people at a party: They're, like, "Eh...? Sure? I guess so?" It's too bad they're so -- what's the opposite of "electric"? -- blah together, because Taiwan looks like an amazing place to visit -- unless, of course, you're forced to participate in a weird marriage/love tradition like the producers make them do in every city in the world. This time: lanterns. Remarkably, this provides the episode's biggest laugh, when during the blooper-y reel at the end of the show, a dog is shown literally peeing on their love lantern. To her credit, Ashley seems to interpret this as the clear sign it is. 

 

Photos: Take a look at this season's contenders | 'The Bachelorette': A Look Back

 

On tonight's next date, Ben and Ashley tiptoe around saying they "love" each other -- but the real news is that Ben somehow stays "over." (In separate rooms, he somewhat begrudgingly reveals.) This news sets J.P. at DEFCON 5 -- he's not a very happy bunny in the least, and he welcomes Ben back to the suite with "The Bachelorette"'s version of dagger eyes. (Also, a smirk.) Beside the fact that Ben and Constantine both look like they could pass for Rafael Nadal's brother, the chief difference between them is that one of them (er, Ben) seems to be into Ashley, and one does not. It's sort of like peering into an alternate universe, but without the entertainment value of "Fringe." 

 

Luckily for J.P., the group date is next, so he, Lucas, and Ames are sent packing to a wedding photography shindig. Why this seemed like a good idea, I have no idea -- what's up with all the wedding-trial-run dates this year? (Let us remember poor William and that bizarre fake marriage ceremony from earlier in the season.) In accordance with local tradition, each of the guys dresses up -- Lucas in a "dress," Ames in Elvis's cast-off sequined jacket, and J.P. in an ill-fitting tux -- and take faux wedding pictures with Ashley. However bad that sounds, it looked approximately a million times worse, with everyone fiddling with their weird clothes and generally trying not to cry. J.P. is so distraught about the extra attention Ash has been showing to other dudes that he mopes until she gives him the group date rose. 

 

Finally, in what passed for drama this evening, Ashley went on her first one-on-one with seeming front-runner Ryan, the solar-energy executive. Watching Ashley's face throughout this date is an exercise worth doing, if only to remind yourself never to make those faces during a date -- even a clearly terrible one, like this. Ashley's expressions wavered between: tedium, boredom, exasperation, desperation, depression, and, chiefly, befuddlement, as she tried to figure out why in the world Ryan might still be talking about water heaters. She's not feeling it, so she does him the service ("I respect you too much...." she says) of cutting him on the date, rather than at the rose ceremony. Ryan takes this on the chin -- "You don't want to meet my family?" he asks, voice a-quiver -- and begins wandering the streets of Taipei in his pink shirt while crying. (Fake crying? I didn't see any tears, but if he was faking the voice-overcome-with-​emotion thing, he deserves a prize.) He just wants someone to love! And to listen to his stories about energy conversation, which could have been stirring, but were not. Good call, Ashley. 

 

Thus empowered, Ashley tells Chris Harrison that there's no need for a cocktail party tonight: We can just skip ahead to the rose ceremony! Lucas goes home. This is not much of a surprise, since Ashley was making some of the same Ryan faces during their time at the group date. Then she starts crying about the pressure for no discernible reason, beyond the obvious mistake of trying to find a boyfriend on this show. 

 

The final 15 minutes tonight are devoted to Emily Maynard of the Brad and Emily story. Emily is in sweet-Southern-gal mode today, and after seeing her other side -- the steely, no-nonsense one -- at last season's "After the Final Rose," I don't buy a minute of that, so I'll just recap this briefly by saying that they broke up, she still loves him, blah blah. And she told her daughter Ricki that the paparazzi had mistaken her for Taylor Swift, which is sort of hysterical. That said, here's hoping she's not the next bachelorette: The real Emily might be quite interesting, but I'm afraid we haven't seen much of her on this show. 

"The Bachelorette" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

 

Did producers think seating Karen Gravano and Drita D'avanzo as far as possible from each other for VH1's "Mob Wives" reality show reunion would somehow stop the two from physically attacking each other on live television? It's never stopped them before. No one was punched out on Sunday night's reunion show, but that does not mean the two have resolved their season-ending brawl over whether Drita violated girl code by hooking up with Karen's ex-boyfriend back in the day. Mob princess Renee Graziano also stormed off the set in tears. Now that's what we call a reunion!

 

Bing: More about VH1's 'Mob Wives'

When we left the ladies at the end of the first season, Karen and Drita were being dragged off by burly men, hair wild, kicking and clawing while screaming obscenities at each other. We finally saw the footage showing the end of the fight, cut off during the season finale, but it ended about as we expected. Drita was disheveled and angry. So was Karen, who continued to yell threats: "I want Drita now," she seethed. "I’m going to keep coming for Drita and coming for Drita and coming for Drita until I get Drita."

The reunion show was the first time Karen and Drita had been in the same room since the fight, they acknowledged. They talked about the fight again, and argued again about the same issue. Karen thinks Drita betrayed her, Drita thought Karen was over and done with Lee. We also learned Drita was angry over footage of Karen talking about having sex with Lee. (We're with Drita on this one.) "There was no respect," Drita said. "It is what it is." Karen also tried to accuse Drita of stealing a guy from Drita's own best friend, but Drita shot her down and said that never happened.

Carla and Renee also had a blow-up of their own when they rehashed the fight they had on air over whether Carla's now ex-boyfriend touched Renee inappropriately at Carla's birthday party. Carla refused to believe Renee, and said the ex told her it didn't happen. Renee blew her top, then said Carla must be dumb to believe him. She compared Carla to Restylane. "Filler," she said. "You're a moron." And somehow they're still friends?

Other interesting facts: Renee's dad, Anthony Graziano, who is in jail, stopped all contact with her after she signed on for the show, but Karen's father, Sammy the Bull, also in jail, watches. Also, Drita filed for divorce after learning late last season Lee cheated on her.

Let's move on to regrets. Some ladies had regrets, some didn't. Here's what they said:

• Renee: "I wish I lost weight before the season."
• Carla: "It bothered me, me and Renee having the argument. We've been friends since  were 15 years old."
• Drita:  "I definitely 1,000 percent regret I fought with Karen. It bothers me a lot. I do want Karen to know if I could go back in time and call you, I would."
• Karen: "Did I want it to get to this level? No, absolutely not."

All four women have signed back on for season 2, and we hope fame doesn't spoiled them and their appetite for emotional accusations over nonsense. We like them just the way they are.
 

Once upon a time, all we wanted was for Nadya Suleman to go away. She actually did, but only after famously having octuplets, dominating the tabloids, and even trying to get herself a reality series. What we did get was a Fox two-hour special, "Octo-Mom: The Incredible Unseen Footage."

That was 2009. Her babies are now toddlers, and she showed up on NBC's "Today" show with all eight of them in tow. If eight toddlers didn't make Friday the worst day of Ann Curry's week as she chased kids around the set, we don't know what would. Suleman, sitting on the floor, talks about how she's considering suing "In Touch" magazine for slander, how she potty-trains eight toddlers and is working on a career as a personal trainer.

Watch the video here.


 

By Rachel Stuhler

Hulu

 

We've finally made it folks. It's Vegas week on "America's Got Talent." We've suffered through tone-deaf singers, people who think their pets have super powers, and more bad dancing than at your cousin's wedding.

 

Last Night on TV: Watch recaps | Bing: More about 'America's Got Talent'

 

From here on out, the talent only gets stronger … and more competitive. Howie, Piers, and Sharon had their work cut out for them, choosing the best of the best and having to send home more than a few disappointed performers. Let's take a look at some of the highlights from this season's top 48 acts.

 

More: 'America's Got Talent' on BuddyTV | Video: Watch full episodes and clips

 

The Daring Bike Brothers

The Smage Brothers are every parent's worst nightmare: clean-cut kids who just happen to like leaping over obstacles (and one another) with motorbikes. With each performance, they keep promising the judges more danger and suspense. We're almost afraid to see what they do in the Hollywood round.

Don't 'Forget' Them

Teen musical group Poplyfe received mixed reactions to their acoustic performance in the first round. Out to prove they can compete against acts with ten years more experience, the kids pulled out all the stops with an electric version of Cee Lo's "Forget You."

Do You Believe In Magic

The battle of the magicians was particularly fierce in the favorites' round. Scott Alexander's levitation trick in Houston made him stand out from the rest, but in Vegas, it was an inventive take on the 'disappearing woman' act that gave him an edge over his competitors.

Soul in Blue Jeans

Sharon loved Daniel Joseph Baker in the audition round, but Piers wasn't sold on his over-the-top style. Baker brought a combination of soul and sass to Vegas that had Sharon all but threatening the other judges to advance him to Hollywood.

Living Up To Their Name

Fatally Unique had a scary mishap during rehearsal, sending one of their dancers to the emergency room. But like a true performer, she returned -- with a split lip and a broken nose -- to take their turn in front of the judges. Though the group altered the stunt just a bit, it was still a nail-biting finish.

"America's Got Talent" airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

 

 

Bing:  More about Pavarti Shallow

 

Style maven Nicole Richie will be one of the celebrity mentors commenting on and helping out the hungry designers on NBC's new reality show, "Fashion Star," the network announced Thursday. She and menswear designer John Varvatos will join mentor Jessica Simpson and host Elle Macpherson.

"NBC could not have asked for better additions to the celebrity mentors than John Varvatos, one of the most well-known menswear designers in the nation and international style icon and creative director, Nicole Richie," said Paul Telegdy, NBC's executive vice president for alternative programming. "Both are trendsetters and tastemakers and their design skills and expertise will be invaluable to our contestants on the series."

The 14 unknown designers on "Fashion Star" are competing to launch their lines nationally. They will be judged weekly by buyers from three major retailers who also will be competing to outbid each other on the designs. And viewers every week will get the chance to buy the winning designs.

Can Richie and Simpson add enough luster to make "Fashion Star" a hit for NBC? We shall see.

 A premiere date has not been announced, according to TVGuide.com.



 

It was down to seven couples on last night’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Mitchell and Caitlynn, hands down, got the best performance of the night from the Judges (Mary Murphy was in tears) and were the only couple to get a standing ovation in the studio.

 

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We don’t know who America voted for, but we are predicting that the bottom three couples will be Sasha and Alexander, Ashley and Chris, and Jordan and Tadd. Guest judge Carmen Electra wasn’t the most electrifying guest judge we’ve seen thus far … although "SYTYCD" Sseason 2 runner-up and choreographer Travis Wall made up for it with his constructive yet poignant advice to the couples.

 

Video: Watch full episodes and clips

 

Here are the top 10 things seen and heard at “So You Think You Can Dance”:

 

1.       If you like to dance, the warm-up guy will ask you to get on stage and showcase your talent. The audience dancers are by far the best we’ve ever seen at any TV taping.

 

2.       “When I was approached for the show, it was an automatic yes! I’m there! What day? What time? (laughing) I get a kick out of Nigel, he’s so funny.” (Carmen Electra)

 

3.       You are not allowed to chew gum. If you see an usher (wearing a red jacket) approaching you with a paper cup, you’ll have to spit your gum out. Awkward!!!

 

4.       During the commercial break, Cat Deeley was blowing kisses and smiling to the audience, then asked an audience member, “Have you got candies there? No? Nothing? I thought you’d at least have gummy bears.”

 

5.       There was a man named Escobell with a broken leg in a cast sitting in a wheelchair. When asked if he was injured from dancing he responded it was from being in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. Everyone in the audience immediately stood up and cheered for him. It’s great to see so much patriotism!

 

6.       “I got slapped in the face seventeen times (from using the suspenders). I have cuts and bruises but it’s ok. I (just) hope that it looked good.” (Ricky)

 

7.       Melanie seemed to be the crowd’s favorite dancer. However, there was a 10 year old girl wearing a multi-colored tutu holding a glittery Clarice sign. Clarice’s parents were so happy they got up waving their signs and Clarice’s mom even bowed down to the little girl.

 

8.       Cat Deeley was eating pretzels with twenty seconds left till we were back from the commercial break. She quickly gave the stage manager her pretzels, wiped her hands on her (gasp) Gucci Chinese-inspired silk blue dress and told us not to tell anyone before she gracefully did her job.

 

9.       There was a little boy that told the warm up guy he was 8 then 7… we realized that he had lied about his age to be a part of the audience. Security was going to escort him out with fifteen minutes left of the show… then Nigel told Security to let him and his family stay.

 

10.    “We only get seven hours with the choreographers and then we practice on our own.” (Ryan) “Right after rehearsal we go to the hot tub real quick. Then we’ll go practice until midnight. We watch each other and inspire each other.” (Ricky)

 

Bonus Moment of the Night: Mitchell almost didn’t dance with Caitlynn because the muscle was so swollen on his foot, he couldn’t even stand. Robert Roldan was in costume and ready to perform in Mitchell’s place. Five minutes before the performance, Mitchell stepped in and said he would dance. 

"So You Think You Can Dance" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.