Flipping Out: Trace Gets Slapped

The looks on Jeff and Jenni's faces on last night's next to the last episode of the current season of Flipping Out are their reactions to seeing the client Chuck suddenly slap Trace.

Jeff had given Trace his first assignment with a client, now that Trace has graduated from Design School and is a full time Jeff Lewis employee.

Jeff told Trace to meet with the Chuck client to go over tile choices some more. And then to take Chuck to lunch, where Jeff told Trace a cocktail or two was permitted.

Trace took Chuck to Hamburger Mary's where Chuck got drunk and became too much for Trace to handle. So, Trace made a 911 call to Jeff and Jenni, at the office. They then came to the rescue at Hamburger Mary's, where Chuck kept getting weirder and weirder.

Including fondling Jenni where she did not want to be fondled.

After the Trace slap, Jeff and Jenni were stunned. Jeff did not know what to do. Eventually Jenni got Chuck away from the table and into the restroom. Jeff then told Trace to escape.

All in all the Trace slap was one of the stranger things I've seen on a Reality TV Show.

The Trace slap was not the only thing that happened on last night's episode, but it was the most memorable.

Everyone in the office, including Zoila, went to Trace's graduation, where Jeff's ADD kicked in. So, he, Sarah and Jett snuck out to drink beer til it was Trace's turn to graduate.

There was more trouble with no-show contractors at Jeff's various projects. Don't these contractors realize their bad behavior is being recorded on a Reality TV Show?

For next week's finale Jeff goes back to New York City for that Kitchen  project we saw him get picked for several episodes ago. The previews seemed to indicate something goes seriously awry with the kitchen. But,  previews are always so misleading.

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for September 27 - October 3

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for September 27 - October 3. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

Rank	Show name	Network	Viewers in millions	Season-to-date average (in millions)
1.	Dancing with the Stars	ABC	21.3	21.3
2.	NFL: Bears at Giants	NBC	20.9	21.8
3.	NCIS	CBS	19.1	19.3
4.	Dancing with the Stars results	ABC	17.3	17.9
5.	NCIS: Los Angeles	CBS	16.5	16.1
6.	The Mentalist	CBS	14.7	15.1
7.	Criminal Minds	CBS	14.6	14.4
8.	Two and a Half Men	CBS	13.9	14.3
9.	Glee	Fox	13.5	13.0
10.	CSI	CBS	13.4	14.1
*	Undercover Boss	CBS	13.4	12.5
12.	Desperate Housewives	ABC	13.2	13.1
13.	Big Bang Theory	CBS	13.1	13.6
14.	The Good Wife	CBS	12.8	12.8
15.	Hawaii Five-0	CBS	12.7	13.5
16.	Grey's Anatomy	ABC	12.5	13.5
17.	60 Minutes	CBS	12.3	13.3
*	Survivor: Nicaragua	CBS	12.3	12.4
19.	Modern Family	ABC	11.9	12.3
*	The OT	Fox	11.9	12.2

Project Runway: Mondo's Record 3 Wins in a Row While Announcing He Is HIV Positive

Well, Project Runway continues to be the most entertaining 90 minute long Reality TV Show. I think it may be the only 90 minute Reality TV Show.

Project Runway uses those extra minutes to deliver some good drama.

This week the designers had to design a fabric inspired by something in their past. Then Tim Gunn brought in their loved ones, like moms and boyfriends.

There was way too much blubbering. How long had they been away from their mommys? A couple weeks?

Mondo's fabric design theme was plus signs. Mondo then told us he'd been carrying a secret to 10 years. He is HIV Positive.

From what I am reading on the Internet, it seems Mondo is becoming a bit of a phenomenon. Every once in awhile there is a breakout Reality TV Star. It seems like this may be the case with Mondo. This week Mondo won a record breaking 3rd Project Runway win in a row. And he delivered what will likely be this year's Project Runway Emmy submission episode with his dramatic explanation of his fabric's story, after Nina Garcia told Mondo she had no idea what story his fabric was telling.

Soon, pretty much everyone was in sob mode.

Watching the story arc and character of Mondo develop during the course of this season of Project Runway has been very interesting. I started off thinking he was a total creepy weirdo. Now I think he's an extremely well-grounded, smart, funny, unique, one-of-a-kind talented guy.

I am also liking how I have gone from totally not liking Gretchen to now liking her.

But, the biggest surprise of the episode, to me, was not Mondo being HIV Positive, it was the fact that Michael Costello has reproduced with a male replication of himself. The son showed up with Michael's mom. No birth mother in view, or mention made of. The son looked like a little version of Michael, so this must be a biological reproduction. Michael just did not seem like a breeder, to me.

Michael Costello's story arc on Project Runway has been interesting too, in addition to that unexpected reproduction. He's gone from everyone pretty much despising him, to now, pretty much everyone likes him.

There is only one of the remaining dress makers who bugs me. Andy South. He had a breakdown because his mommy showed up. Andy seems real dumb. I don't like the way he talks. I don't like his reptilian appearance.   He is not even remotely interesting.

It was Valerie Mayen who was out this week. Even I could tell the dress she made was really bad. I liked Valerie. She was very good-natured and funny. Gave great commentary. And I enjoyed her corny departing comments to each of the remaining designers. She was being Dorothy saying good bye to the Tin Man,  Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.

I don't remember what we were manipulated in to thinking was going to happen in the previews for next week's Project Runway. Will Mondo make it 4 in a row? I have no idea.

Survivor Nicaragua: The Old Folks Get Rid of Jimmy Johnson

I am enjoying Survivor Nicaragua so far.

I enjoyed the Episode 2 boot of Shannon by the young tribe.

But, I did not understand the unanimous booting of Jimmy Johnson from the Elder Tribe in Episode 3.

Maybe I was not paying close enough attention. Did the oldsters blame Jimmy for coaching them to defeat in the Immunity Challenge, not putting in a new sand bag tosser to replace Tyrone who quit having luck at getting the bags on the barrels? Jimmy T begged Jimmy J to put him in. Eventually Jimmy J sent Jimmy T to toss bags, but it was too late.

I would have thought the logical boot was the wheezing geezer Dan. Marty plotted against Jimmy Johnson. In the end everyone went along with voting Jimmy Johnson out of the tribe. Except for Jimmy Johnson. I assume he voted for Dan.

I also did not understand the logic of Marty sharing with everyone that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol. And some of the others saying this made the tribe stronger. I think I need to get Survivor for Dummies to help me better understand what I am watching.

The Amazing Race: Off to a Good Start With Episode 1 of Season 17

I remember the first episode of Season 1 of The Amazing Race like it was yesterday. And now we are in Season 17, which started off last Sunday with a 90 minute episode that began late in my Central Time Zone, due to a football game running late.

Even though the race started off well for Ron and Tony, the number of times they were shown talking about their great navigational skills sort of foretold that they were going to get lost. And they did get lost.

Super lost.

Ron and Tony managed to get to England in the lead with two other teams, being the first to get to the first plane to London. But, from that point on, nothing went well.

Ron and Tony got so far behind, by the time they got to the goofy little boat task, we saw them struggle with the boat and then quickly edited to the finish line where Phil eliminated them from the race.

The little boat task seemed a little unfair. It favored small teams who were similarly sized. Tony is a plus-sized greatly outweighing Ron. I don't think they could ever have managed to get across that water in that boat.

The Amazing Race seems to have done a much better job of casting this time. The teams all seem nice and likable. No annoyingly stupid beauty queen, no dumb mactors, no angry lesbians. Every one seemed fairly good natured, for the most part. The only bickering team was Chad & Stephanie, with Chad being the bicker boy. Chad & Stephanie were amusing in the end, when it took them hours, it seemed, to find Phil and the Pitstop, running circles around the Nevermore or Morenever or Whatever it was Named Castle.

Another amusing team is the tattooed/pierced pair of Nick & Vicki. They did a good job of getting lost. Vicki did not know what Stonehenge was. When Phil asked her what country she was in, Vicki said, "London."

I hope no football game wreaks havoc with tonight's 7 o'clock airing of Leg 2 of Season 17 of The Amazing Race.

Flipping Out: Jeff Flips Out At Sarah

Even though Jeff feels some sort of obligation to employ Sarah Berkman due to her being the sister of his brother's wife, I really don't see why this is a good enough reason to keep her around. Or on my TV screen.

On his Bravo blog this week Jeff Lewis is all apologetic over lashing out at Sarah on this week's episode.

He did go a bit too far with the insults. Telling Sarah she has a pea-brain, or whatever it was, exactly, that Jeff said, may have been a bit harsh. But, it seems fairly accurate.

I think I would have lost my temper at Sarah at that point in time too. Jeff clearly told her to call a contractor and ask why he was not on the job. If the contractor did not have a good excuse, Jeff told Sarah to tell the contractor they'd find someone else to do the job.

So? What does Sarah do? She gets the contractor on the phone, does not ask why he was not on the job, and simply tells him they don't need him anymore. Or something like that.

If I were Jeff, at that point in time, I don't think I would have yelled at Sarah. I think I would have fired her.

And why does Jeff Lewis not have a no gum smacking policy? Sarah's constant gum chewing is very annoying.

Jeff's constant nagging at Sarah about her need to get married to her live-in Steven boyfriend was annoying. And then magically Steven proposed, which has Sarah showing up at work with a ring on her finger. I doubt  this Steven guy proposed. Sarah likely bought herself an engagement ring just to shut Jeff up.

And what is up with Jenni's frequent emergency restroom breaks requiring a makeshift outhouse? This week Jenni's makeshift outhouse used a sheet of sheetrock for a wall. And what's up with Jeff always torturing Jenni when she is in her makeshift outhouse? This week it was Jeff throwing rocks at the sheetrock.With Jenni throwing the rocks back at Jeff.

The previews for next week seem to promise some good drama, with Jenni losing Jeff's scheduled, which, apparently, is a firing offense. And Trace getting slapped by a client should be interesting.