A Reality Check With ... Mike Dutz (CBS's "Big Brother 8")

Mike Dutz is a 26-year-old painting contractor from Wisconsin and became the 3rd houseguest evicted from the Big Brother House in last night's live episode. His alliance to Kail and his refusal to be anything other than himself cost him the game. Mike takes time to talk to RealityCheckByGina about "the dumbest move in Big Brother history" & the Mrs. Robinson Alliance.

RC: Were you a fan of previous seasons of Big Brother? Who were your favorite players?
Mike: Yeah, the first season I watched was season 6. In season 6 which led right into All-Stars, my favorite players were Janelle & Kaysar.

RC: What made you want to participate in Big Brother 8?
Mike: I thought it would be a very unique challenge. Being that I am the person that I am & holding the values that I do, I thought it would be an awesome reward to go through the game without manipulating & lying.

RC: In the exit tapes last night, Dustin said he really didn’t know you. Can you tell us a little more about yourself?
Mike: I’m a guy who’s very intellectual. I like to have conversation that have depth & meaning to them. I like to talk about politics, religion, science, math, history – the boring stuff that people don’t talk about. That’s why it was hard with some of the people in the house. They watned to scheme or talk strategy

RC: In the first episode, when host Julie Chen mentioned there would be rivals, did you think perhaps you could have one in the house?
Mike: I knew 100% there wouldn’t be a rival showing up.

RC: Did you feel it threw off the game to have people in the house with such animosity towards each other?
Mike: Yeah, it threw off the game. The strategy I had coming into the game was immediately thrown off when people had a history together. I had to take a different approach.

RC: What made you decide to align yourself with Kail so quickly?
Mike: The reason why was more pressure than anything. She became HOH the first week, sought me out, and asked me to be in an alliance with her. I felt pressure to do so because if I didn’t, she’d view me as a threat. It was an effort to save myself but it just so happened to work out where we align ourselves with the same values. It wasn’t my immediate choice.

RC: How soon after the “Mrs. Robinson Alliance” was formed did you realize it wasn’t going to work out?
Mike: It was probably sometime in week 2. The communication levels were dropping immensely. I started having trust issues with Nick. I thought he was playing both sides. There were some occurrences I’d ask Nick a question & I’d get a different response than what was told to me by another person. The other person was Jen & I don’t think she had any reason to lie. The trust factor was getting real low. Nick never talked to Kail so she felt out of the loop. The paranoia took over and communication broke down.

RC: Julie told you last night your move to get Dick out of the POV competition has been called the dumbest in Big Brother history. How do you respond to that?
Mike: I think people are overreacting in that aspect. I think the dumbest move would have been compromising my own character & hiding behind the shadows of others, floating through. I took the opportunity to show my values in that I was a man true to my word in hopes that people would truly see what I was doing.

RC: Why do people go along with Dick’s every move despite how confrontational & argumentative he can be?
Mike: I’m not exactly sure why people are going along with it. It might coincidental because he was HOH in the third week so people went along with it. He flies off the handle pretty easily. Nobody wants outbursts or to feel uncomfortable. I think it was a matter of the scenario at hand.

RC: Were you surprised to learn that Eric is America’s Player & must do everything they say? Do you think that could be his demise?
Mike: I was really surprised. I certainly wouldn’t have found that out until later on in the game when the votes couldn’t be hidden as easily. Thinking back, Eric was acting peculiar. I think it very well could be his demise. If anything were to make him crumble, that would be it.

RC: Who is the best player in the house right now? Who’s got the most game?
Mike: Honestly, going back to Eric, I think he has the most potential in the house. He has everyone from all sides liking him. He has that in his favor where I don’t think anyone would really consider putting him on the block.

RC: What’s in the future for you now that you’re out of the Big Brother house?
Mike: I’ll be going back to everyday life before the Big Brother house. If some opportunity comes along & sweeps me off my feet, I’ll consider that.

The next episode of Big Brother airs Sunday night on CBS

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A Reality Check With ... Jaimie Goodwin & Kameron Bink (FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance")

On last night's "So You Think You Can Dance", America chose to eliminate contemporary dancers Jaimie Goodwin & Kameron Bink. Jaimie was no stranger to the bottom group, having landed there before but Kameron was a first-timers. Along with Lauren & Dominic, the bottom 4 danced solos but their fate had already been decided by America. Jaimie & Kameron have made the tour and are here with RealityCheckByGina to talk about their time on the show.

RC: What is your dance training & background?
Jaimie: I have been doing ballet, tap, & jazz since I was 7. When I was 12, I went into lyrics & pointe work as well as musical theater & contemporary. I did flamenco, too!
Kameron: My sister started dancing & I wanted to do it too. I started off in acrobatics & tap, actually, when I was six. I got into jazz, ballet, and more recently, I’ve been concentrating on contemporary & hip-hop. I grew up in a dance studio until I was 16

RC: Jaimie, Hok was so apologetic, feeling that he was responsible for you landing in the bottom 3 a few times. What is your response to that?
Jaimie: My response to Hok is, I tell him this all the time: He takes so much responsibility but it takes two in a partnership. If he messed up, it wouldn’t have put us in the bottom 3 just because of him. My fans slacked off & his did, too! I’m totally kidding. It’s not like he was responsible, though.

RC: Kameron, you’ve never been in the bottom before. What was that like for you?
Kameron: It was definitely a new experience. I didn’t realize how much pressure I was feeling. I knew that the solos wouldn’t make a difference on the outcome but, for some reason, I still had nerves going out there. I knew I was on a national stage at that point & it was very nervewracking but it was exciting, too.

RC: Were you proud of the solos you performed last night?
Jaimie: I feel that I was happy with it. I mean, it’s always different on stage than you feel in rehearsal. We all feel really confident in rehearsal. There’s so much adrenaline that you do things you never thoughts you’d do. I think it’s important to always be happy with what you did & you shouldn’t regret anything.
Kameron: I really wasn’t completely prepared to do my solo last night. I’m really happy how far I’ve come in the competition so I make no apologies.

RC: Kameron, set the record straight. Is there a romance between you & Lacey?
Kameron: There is no romance! We had a little bit of chemistry on stage & when you’re with your partner 24/7, you’re going to naturally have chemistry together. When it is put out on stage, people like to play with things they see or hear or think they see & hear. No, there is no real romance. I had a showmance.

RC: Jaimie, I heard from some of the other dancers that everyone got really competitive when it got down to the top 14 and 12. Did you notice a change in the atmosphere?
Jaimie: I honestly didn’t feel a change. I was very close with the top five girls & we were really close & relaxed. Once we got to top 10, I felt like there was less competition. We all said to each other that we were so satisfied once we had made top 10.

RC: What does the future hold for both of you?
Jaimie: I fell in love with California the last few months but my original plan was to move to New York. I would love to be in a company for contemporary. I mainly found the ones I’m interested in out in New York & Chicago. I do love California, though. I’m hoping to be able to hit all those bases.
Kameron: Obviously for the next few months, we’ll be on tour. After seeing the country, I want to move out here to L.A. to see what opportunities are here in the commercial dance world. I want to see where things take me & do what I love to do.

So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesdays & Thursdays on FOX

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So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 10 (7/25/07)

Here they are, America, your top 10 dancers. You helped put them there & they’ll be heading out on a nationwide tour this fall. Tonight’s dancers are judged by Nigel, Mary, and contemporary dancer Mia Michaels. It’s out of their hands though and from here on out, America calls the shots. You no longer vote for couples, each dancer is judged individually.

The top 10 will now be voted for individually by America but will choose new partners each week to dance with. Here’s how it all went down:

Lauren/Pasha – Hip Hop choreographed by Shane Sparks (“Fuego” by Pitbull): Nigel thought the routine was great, Mary thought it was a great partnership, and Mia is impressed by Pasha & feels Lauren is blowin up!

Sabra/Kameron – Contemporary choreographed by Tyce Diorio (“Amazing Grace” by Crystal Lewis): Nigel said it was well danced but didn’t believe Kameron’s emotion, Mary agrees with Nigel, not seeing the magic. Mia says Kameron has been exposed tonight as an immature dancer and says Sabra is full of grace.

Lacey/Danny – Samba choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin (“Hip Hip Chin Chin” by Club Des Belugas): Nigel thought Lacey didn’t connect with Danny as well as she could have. Mary doesn’t think it was her favorite of Danny’s performances but says Lacey was fabulous and Mia calls it the sexiest dance this season.

Jaimie/Dominic – Viennese Waltz choreographed by Toni Redpath (“Man of La Mancha” by Linda Eder): Nigel feels it’s the first time he’s been disappointed with Dominic, May called it over the top and said the technique wasn’t very good. Mia tells Dominic to stop apologizing to Jaimie for one bad week because he’s been great throughout.

Sara/Neil – Disco choreographed by Doriana Sanchez (“Knock On Wood” by Rachel Stevens): Nigel said, “When it’s like that, I love disco.” Mary said it was lots of fun & Mia calls them dorks (in a good way) and said she loved it.

The top 10 also dance the same piece choreographed by Wade Robson. Each contestant performs to John Mayer’s “Waiting On The World To Change” which means we had to hear it 10 times. Not sure that worked but never the less…

To vote for Jaimie, call 1-888-TEMPO-01
To vote for Dominic, call 1-888-TEMPO-02
To vote for Sara, call 1-888-TEMPO-03
To vote for Pasha, call 1-888-TEMPO-04
To vote for Lauren, call 1-888-TEMPO-05
To vote for Neil, call 1-888-TEMPO-06
To vote for Sabra, call 1-888-TEMPO-07
To vote for Kameron, call 1-888-TEMPO-08
To vote for Lacey, call 1-888-TEMPO-09
To vote for Danny, call 1-888-TEMPO-10

Get to voting then find out who’s going home on tomorrow night’s live episode of So You Think You Can Dance on FOX

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Big Brother 8: Dick's On A Power Trip (7/24/07)

Dick continues his vendetta against Kail & Jen continues as he vows to get one of them out of the house, preferably Kail. She tries her best to start thinking up a game plan to save herself but it might be a long shot. The two nominees plot together to stay in the house but Kail feels like Dick will get his way. She doesn’t want any of her former alliance members competing in the Power of Veto competition but Mike swears that, if he wins, he’ll take one of them off the block.

Let’s check in with Eric, America’s Player, to see what his next assignment will be. His next task is to vandalize the property of Jen. He executes this by putting mustard all over one of her “Jen” shirts when she steps outside for a minute. Jen’s reaction was the following: “It was just like, kinda like, Are you serious? Like…” Like. Jen overlooks Eric & immediately goes for Dick & Daniele as the culprits.

Before the Power of Veto competition, players must be selected. Besides Dick, Kail, and Jen competing, Zach, Nick, and Jessica will also play. This is Kail’s worst nightmare & Dick continues to stir the pot by getting inside her head before the game. Suddenly, the competitors are wearing silly Mad Hatter outfits & the backyard has been set up like a tea party. The houseguests must stand on a pedestal with a glass balanced on their hat. Whoever lasts the longest, wins.

Kail goes out first and it looks like her chances are staying in the house are gone. The houseguests not competing get to come out in ridiculous outfits to try to distract the others. Jessica, not being able to control her laughter, goes out next. She is followed by Nick & Zach. The last two standing are Jen & Dick, who tries to convince Jen to step down but she won’t hear of it. Dustin jumps in to distract her by putting on the unitard & dancing around. Kail notes that everyone works to get rid of Jen while only Mike goes after Dick.
Mike steps up with his loyalty to Kail by helping her get Dick off the pedestal. Dick responds by threatening to put Mike up and Mike rattles his cage so much that he actually steps down! The day does not continue to go Dick’s way as he finds out Zach, Nick, and Jen were in the HOH room without his permission. He doesn’t want Jen in the room & he flips on Nick for letting her in. Dick gets paranoid thinking Nick was in an alliance with Jen & Zach, talking game in his room.

Dick confronts Nick who swears he’s not in any alliance. The only alliance he has is with Daniele because he likes her so much. Daniele pulls Dick aside to tell him that he’s pissing everyone in the house off by going on a power trip & talking down to everyone. Dick calls her out because her relationship with Nick is complicating the game. Nick has gotten in the way enough that makes Dick want to maybe get rid of him now. Hear that? Hope for Kail!

At the veto meeting, Jen (of course) uses the Power of Veto on herself. This leaves Dick to choose a new nominee, and he chooses Mike, sticking to his original plan. Who will go home? And who will America ask Eric to try to get eliminated? Find out on Thursday’s all new episode of Big Brother 8 on CBS!

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A Reality Check With ... Brad Miller (FOX's "Hell's Kitchen")

25-year-old Brad Miller is the latest casualty on FOX's Hell's Kitchen. A sous chef from Arizona, he was let go by Chef Gordon Ramsay for working with "back and not his brain". Brad takes time to talk with RealityCheckByGina, responding to Ramsay's comments & letting you know why he should have won Hell's Kitchen.

RC: Can you tell us a little bit about your cooking background?
Brad: My whole life, my dad owned a butcher shop. I’ve been working with him since I was a little kid until I was 15. In high school, I took a home ec/cooking class. After that, I moved to Scottsdale, AZ and worked there for 2 years. My friends & I started a catering company. I had an internship at a place called Michael’s Catering. I worked in a fine dining restaurant for a while. From there, I went to work in Seattle & worked there for a while. Then, I went to The Latilla at The Boulders – the only 5 star, 5 diamond hotel in Arizona.

RC: There are so many cooking shows out there. What made you choose Hell’s Kitchen?
Brad: I was going out to L.A. to apply for Top Chef because I felt that was more suited for me. Everyone kept saying, “Do Hell’s Kitchen!” And I was like, “That’s the last thing I wanna do.” I didn’t want someone yelling at me. I knew about it but I had never watched it. They were saying, “You can win this!” So I decided to try out for it.

RC: What were you unprepared for once you started the show? Brad: I wasn’t really ready for the whole tv show aspect of it. I was thinking that this would be more of a true cooking competition & I was going to win. Fine dining is my specialty, I’m all about that.

RC: Were you cut off from the rest of the world while you were filming?
Brad: There was no tv, no clocks, no alarms, no phone, no nothing. No family and no friends.

RC: How do remain calm in a constantly stressful environment?
Brad: I don’t let things get to me. It was a month & a half. You’re on a tv show, you’re having fun, don’t complain about it. People would kill for this chance.

RC: How would you rate yourself against the competition?
Brad: No disrespect to any of them but my cooking & my knowledge is far superior to any of them … at least, this season.

RC: Just when it looked like Josh was going to be put up for elimination, he & Roc turn around, putting you up. How surprised were you?
Brad: It was very surprising! I felt that it was really weird because Josh was saying he wasn’t gonna go because he’s been up there so many times. Roc was saying he wasn’t gonna go because he didn’t deserve it. I was thinking, “What did I do? I made a menu when you were guys were too lazy to do it!” Maybe I should’ve been a little nicer.

RC: Why do you think Bonnie ended up staying? Brad: As soon as I found out Bonnie was up against me, I knew I was going to go. I know enough about tv. That’s all I’m going to say about it.

RC: Gordon said you work with your back & not your brain. How do you respond to that?
Brad: Well I saw at the end of the episode that he said that. That didn’t make any sense whatsoever. When you look back and watch the episodes, I really didn’t do anything wrong. So I was surprised I got kicked off. A lot of people on the forums were saying, “That didn’t make any sense!” I’m the one who wrote the menu, I’m the one who told people how to do things so I really didn’t understand that comment.

RC: What does the future look like for you?
Brad: I’ve had a lot of really great offers. They did show me in a positive life. I took a month off of work, they’re really cool, letting me take time. I go back August 1st. I’ve been taking it easy, hanging out, partying a little too much with friends. I have a MySpace where fans can write to me & I'll answer them.

A new episode of Hell's Kitchen airs Monday night at 9pm EST on FOX

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Big Brother 8: America's Player Accomplishes His Mission (7/22/07)

The house is full of mixed emotions as Dick became Head of Household on the last episode of Big Brother 8. This spells trouble for people like Kail & Jen while keeping others like Amber & Daniele safe. Kail put herself in the line of fire by being the only vote on Thursday to evict Dick. Her alliance betrayed her, leaving her all alone & emotional.

Kail gives up her alliance to Dick, in hopes to save herself. He calls her “retarded” for trusting people she doesn’t even know and says she’s not a “smart player”. She therefore feels that she isn’t a threat but Dick’s nominations for Jen & Kail are pretty set. However, he’s thinking of flipping to Zach for his shady dealings in the house.

Boredom in the house leads to a wrestling match between Eric & Jen. Place your bets. Eric slams Jen on the ground … more than once. Jen evokes a little a revenge by hittin’ some sensitive spots! Jen was declared the winner … Jen-ius! The guys, meanwhile, make a list of celebrities they think are hot. Nick says he’d do Ryan Reynolds (from “Van Wilder”) which freaks Zach & Dick out a little. Nick’s got a top 5 list of guys & girls. Also on his list, for those interested: Matthew McConaghey, Hugh Jackman, and Brad Pitt.

Dick & Daniele meet up in the hammock for a heart to heart. She’s upset over Nick’s feelings for her because it puts her in an uncomfortable situation. Her boyfriend is the only one who has been there for her the last 2 years & she doesn’t want to jeopardize that. Dick provides an ear & a shoulder to cry on. He is quite fatherly at this moment to her.

Jameka is looking to get off slop. She is so miserable eating it that Amber is brought to tears – for the second time this episode! While she drools over the food that the others eat, Dick says he feels like he’s eating a hamburger in front of starving Africans. Jameka takes offense & stands up for herself, feeling the pressure of trying to represent her race well.

At the food challenge, the houseguests take a ride down a slide into a giant bowl of pasta in pairs. They had to find giant meatballs with food written on it that matched. They had to make the most pairs they could in 5 minutes because whatever they matched is all they could eat for the week. Beer, cucumbers, lobster, chips, cereal, & sweet breads were just a few of the foods they would get to enjoy.

Eric’s assignment this week as America’s Player is to try to get Jen nominated. Dick seems set now on Kail & Zach but Eric uses his power of persuasion to try to change his mind. At the nomination ceremony, Jameka is called out as being safe first followed by Jessica & Amber. Eric is the next to receive a key as well as Daniele, Dustin, Nick, Zach, and Mike. No surprises there: Kail & Jen are up for eviction this week.

Who will go home? But first, who will win the Power of Veto? Find out on Tuesday’s all new episode of Big Brother 8 on CBS.

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