At the Conclusion of Episode 1 - "Hit the Ground Running", Team Pink, (Elizabeth, Adrienne, Sophie, and Cirbe) earned immunity despite Cirbe's repeated attempts to derail the entire team with her [insert phrase here with meaning that is exactly the opposite of "golf shots"]. No one was eliminated on Episode 1, but the members of Team Orange (Lori, Dana, Christina, and Susan) and Team Purple (Samantha, Tina, Courtney, and Kim) were left to do battle in Episode 2 to determine which player would be first to go home.A side note: The Golf Channel has now posted several videos including the players complete "confessionals", contestant bios, audition videos, "sneak peak" at the following week's show, "bonus clips", and a "recap" of the last show. Also new to the site is "3 Play", a weekly question for 3 of the contestants. This week's question, posed to Adrienne, Christina, and Cirbe, is "What are your first impressions of the other contestants so far?" I found the 3 Play videos pretty annoying actually, because it looks like the producers are trying to stir up trouble. I really hope The Big Break isn't going to turn into a run of the mill "reality" TV show that relies on the personality conflicts instead of the golf. The golf already provides enough drama for the target audience. If I wanted to see people being manipulated by the producers and acting like immature adolescents, I would watch "The Real World".
* * * * Warning: Spoilers Below * * * *
Big Break: Ka'anapali
Episode 2: "Reliable Roommate Needed"
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Well, I hate to begin with a complaint, but again the show starts with waaaaayy too much filler. We have to watch roommate choices, flag planting, and drama surrounding flag planting. No one swings a club until 15 minutes into the show. For the first "safety challenge", a total of 6 balls are hit. After that, the next challenge doesn't start until 28 minutes into the show. So, 1/2 of the show is over, and we've seen 6 golf swings. Lame.
Anyway, on to the performances . . .
First Safety Challenge - "Pick Your Distance": Roommates play as a team and each player has one chance to hit their ball into a circle around the pin. To gain immunity, both balls must be in the circle. In the event that more than one team gets both balls in the circle, the team hitting from the longest tee wins.
The teams participating in this episode are:
Samantha & Kim
Susan & Dana
Lori & Christina
Tina & Courtney
I was glad to see Samantha and Kim gain immunity in the first "safety challenge". They chose to hit from the longest tee and they both nailed their shots. Kim has looked solid almost every time she has swung her club, and it was nice to see something from Samantha that showed why she has won twice on the Ladies European Tour. Plus, she comes off as just so darn sweet and charming. I was disappointed, however, that we didn't get to see Kim in the second "safety challenge" - the long drive. She hammers the ball.
Second Safety Challenge - "Drive": Long Drive. Each player gets one ball. Must be in the grid (straight) and longer distances get more points.
You could tell that there had been a lot of standing around prior to this challenge. None of the ladies' swings looked grooved and, ultimately, the challenge had nothing to do with distance and everything to do with driving the ball straight. As a result, the two weakest players not named Cirbe ended up winning immunity. Susan and Dana are safely on to the next show without Dana having to swing a club because not a single payer from the other two teams could get a ball in the grid. Not really a stunning display of talent from anyone.
While I'm no reality TV expert, I think the Golf Channel could improve the appearance of the competitors' talent on the Big Break if they could find a way to keep the competitors swinging their clubs.
Dana referred to herself as "cougar-mama" again this week. And this time she called Susan her "kitten". Make it stop. Please, make it stop.
Third Safety Challenge - "Approach": Closest to the pin. Concentric circles around the pin with points from 1 (on the green) to 5 (closest to the hole). Another challenge where each competitor hits only one ball. So, 35 minutes into the show, and we've seen a total of 15 swings. No wonder these ladies are having trouble with their shots. Considering the "production time" between challenges and locations, how can they possibly stay loose? . . . half a day, one swing . . . another half day, one swing. The pace of the show itself, however, did pick up starting with this challenge.
Lori makes up for her fat shot in the first challenge and puts one in the 4 point circle. Her teammate/roommate Christina gets 1 point for hitting it one the green. Courtney gets 1 point for hitting it one the green, and Tina sprays it off the green. Lori and Christina are safe. Not much to say here other than the performances are disappointing so far. It's got to be a result of the swirling winds and the wait-time between shots, because these are short iron distances.
Elimination Challenge: Okay, this is my first compliment for this episode. I like the way they set up this elimination challenge. Rather than having Tina and Courtney play against each other, they play 2 holes against "par". If either or both of the competitor plays the 2 holes at par or better, they are not eliminated. If they play the 2 holes over par, they are eliminated.
If you are going to set up team-based challenges where a good player can get dragged into elimination by a teammate they didn't choose, it's only fair that the better player not be subjected to the risk of getting knocked out by a weaker player who gets lucky in the elimination round. Frankly though, the only team event I want to see from now on is players who wear golf shoes when they golf, versus players who golf in their bare feet. Anyway . . .
Courtney went first and looked very solid on both holes despite a slightly errant tee shot on the second hole. She finished at even par and deserved to be safe considering her teammate, Tina, had been hitting poor shots all day. Because we haven't seen very many swings from the competitors, it wasn't until the elimination challenge that I noticed what a strange swing Courtney has. On her backswing, she takes the club away low and off plane, then adjusts at the top and gets on plane for the downswing. It's sort of like Jim Furyk, except Courtney loops in the opposite direction (clockwise, instead of Furyk's counter-clockwise). Most players with Courtney's swing end up coming over-the-top with an outside-in swing that puts enough sidespin on the ball to slice it around corners. But Courtney squares the club up nicely and consistently. I do wish she would stop talking about her husband though. It's sweet and all, but enough already.
Tina looked shaky on the first hole, but saved par with her final putt. On the second hole, she looked solid and birdied the hole. I'm convinced that once these ladies get warmed up and have the opportunity to hit balls without interruption, they have some respectable skills. (Except for Cirbe. I have yet to see anything from her that resembles talent.)
I wonder how many comments about "all the standing around" and "not being warmed up" are edited out of the confessionals?
Overall, I didn't mind that no one was eliminated. Mainly because I want the weakest player, Cirbe, to get booted first. That is, unless, Dana refers to herself as "cougar-mama" again on the third episode. Three strikes and you're out, Dana.
Anyway, on to the performances . . .
First Safety Challenge - "Pick Your Distance": Roommates play as a team and each player has one chance to hit their ball into a circle around the pin. To gain immunity, both balls must be in the circle. In the event that more than one team gets both balls in the circle, the team hitting from the longest tee wins.
The teams participating in this episode are:
Samantha & Kim
Susan & Dana
Lori & Christina
Tina & Courtney
I was glad to see Samantha and Kim gain immunity in the first "safety challenge". They chose to hit from the longest tee and they both nailed their shots. Kim has looked solid almost every time she has swung her club, and it was nice to see something from Samantha that showed why she has won twice on the Ladies European Tour. Plus, she comes off as just so darn sweet and charming. I was disappointed, however, that we didn't get to see Kim in the second "safety challenge" - the long drive. She hammers the ball.
Second Safety Challenge - "Drive": Long Drive. Each player gets one ball. Must be in the grid (straight) and longer distances get more points.
You could tell that there had been a lot of standing around prior to this challenge. None of the ladies' swings looked grooved and, ultimately, the challenge had nothing to do with distance and everything to do with driving the ball straight. As a result, the two weakest players not named Cirbe ended up winning immunity. Susan and Dana are safely on to the next show without Dana having to swing a club because not a single payer from the other two teams could get a ball in the grid. Not really a stunning display of talent from anyone.
While I'm no reality TV expert, I think the Golf Channel could improve the appearance of the competitors' talent on the Big Break if they could find a way to keep the competitors swinging their clubs.
Dana referred to herself as "cougar-mama" again this week. And this time she called Susan her "kitten". Make it stop. Please, make it stop.
Third Safety Challenge - "Approach": Closest to the pin. Concentric circles around the pin with points from 1 (on the green) to 5 (closest to the hole). Another challenge where each competitor hits only one ball. So, 35 minutes into the show, and we've seen a total of 15 swings. No wonder these ladies are having trouble with their shots. Considering the "production time" between challenges and locations, how can they possibly stay loose? . . . half a day, one swing . . . another half day, one swing. The pace of the show itself, however, did pick up starting with this challenge.
Lori makes up for her fat shot in the first challenge and puts one in the 4 point circle. Her teammate/roommate Christina gets 1 point for hitting it one the green. Courtney gets 1 point for hitting it one the green, and Tina sprays it off the green. Lori and Christina are safe. Not much to say here other than the performances are disappointing so far. It's got to be a result of the swirling winds and the wait-time between shots, because these are short iron distances.
Elimination Challenge: Okay, this is my first compliment for this episode. I like the way they set up this elimination challenge. Rather than having Tina and Courtney play against each other, they play 2 holes against "par". If either or both of the competitor plays the 2 holes at par or better, they are not eliminated. If they play the 2 holes over par, they are eliminated.
If you are going to set up team-based challenges where a good player can get dragged into elimination by a teammate they didn't choose, it's only fair that the better player not be subjected to the risk of getting knocked out by a weaker player who gets lucky in the elimination round. Frankly though, the only team event I want to see from now on is players who wear golf shoes when they golf, versus players who golf in their bare feet. Anyway . . .
Courtney went first and looked very solid on both holes despite a slightly errant tee shot on the second hole. She finished at even par and deserved to be safe considering her teammate, Tina, had been hitting poor shots all day. Because we haven't seen very many swings from the competitors, it wasn't until the elimination challenge that I noticed what a strange swing Courtney has. On her backswing, she takes the club away low and off plane, then adjusts at the top and gets on plane for the downswing. It's sort of like Jim Furyk, except Courtney loops in the opposite direction (clockwise, instead of Furyk's counter-clockwise). Most players with Courtney's swing end up coming over-the-top with an outside-in swing that puts enough sidespin on the ball to slice it around corners. But Courtney squares the club up nicely and consistently. I do wish she would stop talking about her husband though. It's sweet and all, but enough already.
Tina looked shaky on the first hole, but saved par with her final putt. On the second hole, she looked solid and birdied the hole. I'm convinced that once these ladies get warmed up and have the opportunity to hit balls without interruption, they have some respectable skills. (Except for Cirbe. I have yet to see anything from her that resembles talent.)
I wonder how many comments about "all the standing around" and "not being warmed up" are edited out of the confessionals?
Overall, I didn't mind that no one was eliminated. Mainly because I want the weakest player, Cirbe, to get booted first. That is, unless, Dana refers to herself as "cougar-mama" again on the third episode. Three strikes and you're out, Dana.
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