Joe Schmo 2

First off, as you might have noticed they changed the day and time of the Joe Schmo 2 show. It is now shown Monday nights at 11:05. However, be careful if you tape the show since WWE precedes it, and often runs over. Tonight’s episode actually started at 11:10 and ran until 12:10.

Here is some updated info (as of Tuesday June 29th). While the show did show last night at 11:05 (well technically 11:10) it also reaired tonight at 10:00. According to zap2it.com you will be able to see the next episode (90 minutes long) next tuesday at 10:00. I will update the message board if I see anything new.

Like last week they did a quick review of the previous episode. Reminding us that
1) Ingrid is suspicious
2) Cammy has big breasts

At the start of the show the writers and cast are meeting and discussing how to deal with Ingrid. They still seem to think they can handle her, but they remind the actors to be believable. Ambrosia (bitch) is supposed to be more of a bitch, and Eleanor (weeper) is supposed to cry over the necklace.

They start out with the planned scene with Eleanor. She gets all upset that she can’t find her necklace. The cast looks for it unsuccessfully. Ambrosia bitches about Eleanor whining and also talks about the fact that Cammy (dumb blonde) shoves her breasts in Austin’s face. Cammy gets on a roll on how people start assuming things about her because of her breasts and starts to say her real name instead of her stage name (OOPS). Ingrid (the real girl/non actress) seems suspicious, particularly since the rest of the cast flinches. That is all they need, more things to make Ingrid wonder.

The host then comes in announcing that the eviction ceremony is invitation only…and guys are not invited. It will be another “pearl necklace” eviction and only the girls can watch. He also returns Bryce’s (Stalker) frog saying that Piper (Bachelorette) cannot care for it anymore. Bryce gets upset and seems to take it personally…and even comments that he thinks it wants to go back to Piper. Tim (the real guy/non actor) tries to help out, but Bryce flips out saying that he can take care of his own frog.

They are now starting a contest called “taste my treats.” They have to make a meal and give it to Austin and Piper. Of course the guys put their treat in a “fuzzy sack” and the girls put it in their “box.” This contest is set so Tim will win with his “fish tacos.” He makes a few sexual comments (the taco won’t fit in my sack). Austin and Piper are blindfolded and the contestants are told not to make any noises as their boxes and sacks are sampled. The host tells the guys to stick their faces in the girls “boxes.” Of course he “accidentally” tells Austin that the first person was Cammy. The rest of the girls contest goes smoothly, except that Austin spits out Eleanor’s food, saying that he did not like it.

Now the guys are up and Piper is told to stick her face in their sack. T.J. of course sexualized his turn by putting his hand on Piper’s head as she eats. Tim was nice and held the taco for Piper so she did not have to stick her head in the sack. Tim wins (as planned) for the guys and Cammy wins for the girls. Tim made comments about the other meals throughout the contest. He pointed out that Cammy won by giving Austin a “tossed salad.” He really seemed to get into the contest, while as one of the actors noticed, Ingrid rolled her eyes.

Tim and Piper now have a 5 hour date. The actress who played Piper said she was very nervous since she had to spend so much time with him in character. She thought it was very strange that she was getting to know the real Tim, while he would know that that she was not real in a week or so. Tim really seems to like Piper quite a lot…and really enjoyed their spaghetti and meatball. He was actually impressed that she swore a lot, and was glad that he did not have to watch his mouth. He warns Piper that Bryce is creepy, and says that he would not even let him walk his dog. She avoids kissing him by saying that her Father is watching the show and would freak if he saw it. Unfortunately the camera’s light lost power at that point making things more awkward. She did seem to avoid a kiss without upsetting him though, Tim later said to the camera that they decided that their parents would not approve (as if the parents of adults really would be surprised if they kissed). The actress who played Piper said that she actually felt bad about the lack of a kiss, since it was his birthday.

The show comes back with Tim trying to figure out a way to cheer up Eleanor. He ends up asking Cammy if he could use her locket since she never wears it anyway. Cammy agrees. He claims he found the locket, and Eleanor is all excited. The actors point out that Tim came up with this himself, it was not scripted.

They now cut away to a surprise party for Tim (it is his Tim’s 29th birthday). The party was planed by Gerald (the is he gay guy) so that Gerald would have a chance to spank Tim. They expected Tim to resist, but he did not seem to mind (particularly since the girls joined in on the spanking). They had a nice moment where Tim and piper painted shamrocks on each other’s faces. Bryce (stalker) of course painted “Piper” on his face, she got creeped out and wiped it off. Bryce then followed her to the hammock and tried to snuggle, which she resisted again.

They now started playing truth or dare. The game resulted in Piper singing an Irish song, and Tim giving Gerald a lap dance. Amusingly the lap dance seemed to be Ingrid’s idea. Tim then said that this was his best birthday ever.

Cammy then pulls Ingrid aside to tell her that she had been in a soft core porn. She said that the producers found out about it and she wanted Ingrid to tell her what to do about it. Unfortunately the camera man had to change the battery in mid speech and instead of keeping the conversation going Cammy waited for the camera to start up again to continue the conversation. Ingrid picked up on this and thought it was really strange that Cammy made sure that the speech ended up on national TV. They then cut away to commercial telling us that there would be a shocking eviction ceremony coming up (and they claimed that they really meant it this time).

It then cuts away to Ingrid talking about Cammy. She says that she feels like she was on candid camera. She asks if she is being tested, or if it is real, she even wanders if Cammy is an actress placed in this midst of them. Ingrid could not understand why Cammy told her the story. She said that it made her doubt some of the things about the show…and reminded her about the questions that she has had over the last few days. The show flashed back to some of those strange scenes. Including the fact that on the first day Ernie knew how many children to adopt, and also knew the line from Shakespeare that the host said. She did remember the mistake that the minority extra made (remember the “agent” line). She figures since the women cut at the beginning were actresses, that there could be more. They then cut to the writers saying that they might have to evict her. While Ingrid does not seem to think that they are all actors, she at least thinks that there are actors among them.

The show now cuts to the eviction ceremony. The host gives a speech about love and says that if Austin decides to keep them he will give them a pearl necklace. Ingrid is the first to give a speech, she says that she is hear for an adventure and a possibility. She said that she has gotten that possibility and says that she has her heart in her hand. Eleanor simply says that she is hoping for her second pearl necklace. Ambrosia quotes the Michael Jackson song “Children are our future” and says that if he chooses her they might have children one day. Cammy says that she has a smile on her face and has had it since he “tasted her box” and said that it was the tastiest. She said that when he chooses that he should think her her smiling while he eats her box. Ingrid busted out laughing at that one. Austin gave the cheesy speech about how he wished he could give more than three. Eleanor and Cammy got necklaces, but just as we are to hear who is evicted…TO BE CONTINUED. They tell us that next week we will find out what happens to Ingrid. They also say that there will be visitors next week, it seems Matt Kennedy Gould, last year’s Joe Schmo will make an appearance.

-------

Ok, this episode tried to convince us that it is not fake after all. They better explained why Ingrid was so suspicious. I thought she was over reacting to things, but that mostly was due to the editing of previous shows. This week they pointed out that there were other things that she noticed (that I missed) such as Ernie knowing the exact number of children to adopt ahead of time. In addition, while the other actors did cover up the extra’s mistake on the first day it seems that Ingrid did notice it after all. There were a couple other things she pointed out as well. Given that explanation, I am more willing to believe the claims of the producers that Ingrid is real after all. If Ingrid is fake, she and the producers are much better actors than some of the other cast members. I still reserve judgment…but I am leaning towards believing the writers at this point.

The show is still very funny, Tim really adds a lot to the show. His lines are often better than the ones the writers come up with. If they end up making a Joe Schmo 3, they really should end up putting him on the staff. He simply seems to be having a great time. I think Ingrid and Tim are a good balance to each other. The show can pump up the drama by focusing on Ingrid’s questioning of the veracity of the show, and they can give us humor when the focus on Tim.

One thing that seemed a bit odd was the date scene. I have to give it to Piper (her real name is Valerie Azlynn), going on a 5 hour date with Tim could not have been easy. While he is not as suspicious as Ingrid, one on one time could not have been easy. The fact that they were not allowed to kiss made it even tougher on her. I am guessing that it is some sort of ethical issue (since she is an actress and he is not) but personally, I think it would have made more sense just to allow her to give him a quick peck on the lips.

Most of the other actors are doing a great job of falling into character as well. Bryce (real name: Kevin Kirkpatrick) is doing an amazing job at being creepy, but still being believable. With that character it would be very easy to go overboard and make Ingrid even more suspicious. Personally, I think Gerald (Jonathan Torrens) is the best of the entire group. He has to look a little “gay” without going to far and looking silly. The character clearly has some feminine tendencies, but it is not enough for him to look like he is faking it.

The character posing the most problems is Cammy (real name: Jana Speaker). Not only does she overdo her character, she makes mistakes and falls out of character as well. In one scene she actually starts to say her real name when talking about herself in the third person. Of course the rest of the cast does not help matters by looking shocked, but she should not have made the mistake. Then she waits for the camera man to change the camera battery before telling Ingrid that she was in a porn, and does not want her parents and friends to find out. Jana is an attractive girl, with obvious attributes, but the writers should have found a way to get rid of her. They could have used the excuse that she was clearly trying to plug her movie when she was talking to Ingrid, and that using the show to plug a porn is clearly not allowed. This would have made Ingrid less suspicious (as it would have given her an idea of why Cammy waited for the battery to change) and it would have kept Jana from giving away the show in future episodes. Of course the writers might think this will add more drama to the show (trying to see how close they can come without giving things away) but it is a risk.

As for our “surprise” at the eviction, I guess having a “to be continued” moment is a bit funny, but it was DIRTY. I guess we will have to wait until the next episode to see if Ingrid is voted off. My guess is they don’t want to give up on her quite yet. I believe that Ambrosia (the bitch) will be voted off, which is sad because she has done a great job. While Ingrid is smart, and is close to figuring things out…if the actors would simply be more careful they should be able to keep her through the entire show.

On a final note, that speech of Cammy’s during the eviction ceremony was something else wasn’t it. I might catch the reply later in the week and transcribe the entire thing and post it.

Feel free to drop by the message board if you want to talk about the show.