Just wanted to pre warn you guys that I am going away for 12 days as of tomorrow.

The good news is that I am only going to stay with family so will still have plenty of time to watch TV and then blog about it — in fact, if anything I will have more time, because I will be home alone all day while they are out earning a crust.

For now though, off to watch this weeks X Factor while I should be packing!

One thing that always intrigues me when it comes to ‘Improve your life’ style reality shows, is that in the end around 90% of the participants end up deciding to go back to college, getting online degrees or doing a course in something.

“I’m thin now, I am going to get that degree in English I always wanted”
“I can control my unruly children now, time to go back to college”
“Now I know how to dress for my shape, I am going to become a hairdresser and get my qualifications”

It makes sense really, it’s about confidence and having the nous to go out and do it. But it still never fails to amuse me for some reason.

If I ever go on a reality show and have that ‘Ting!! get a degree’ moment, I can search on Edvisors.com to pick out what I want to do!

The last few episodes have really picked up for me, this is a relief because I was starting to fear that it was going the same way as most American shows of a similar ilk — mind blowingly amazing first few seasons and then it descends into utter nonsense (I am looking at you Alias and Lost!).

I do still think it’s a little that way. How many times can Hiro need to save the world? How are we meant to care when someone dies because we know they are unlikely to be actually dead. How are we meant to take story lines seriously when we know that they can just explain anything away with time travel — time travel, the laziest form of storytelling known to television.

But at least it’s moving at a fast pace, there is character development and twists a plenty to keep it at least interesting.

Another show I love to watch late at night on those obscure cable channels is ‘Spendaholics’, because I am so sickeningly sensible with my own money it always amazes me to see some of people on that show and how they deal with their own finances.

If you earn £300 a week, and spend £500 a week on handbags and eating out in nice restaurants, you are going to find yourself in debt. Duh.

It also amazes me how difficult they find it to tighten the belt once they realise they need to. I am surprised we don’t see more of them don’t just sign up to paday loans online — or maybe they already did but they just don’t air that part?

I couldn’t believe my ears earlier tonight while watching the X Factor, I was looking at my computer but I heard a Christmas song blasting out at me….’All I want for Christmas, is yooooou’ — It can’t be, can it? A Christmas advert in October?

So I look at the TV and sure enough, there’s DFS trying to sell us sofas just in time for Christmas. Jeez.

Now I am no scrooge, Christmas is my favourite holiday…but did I mention, it’s still October, Christmas is a whole two months away. We have Halloween and Bonfire night to get through first.

Come December, when Christmas is allowed to start in my opinion, I will be bored to tears of it.

There’s such a thing as overkill you know?

Please save the Christmas stuff for Christmas dear advertisers, please!.

Have you heard about Dead Set?
It has Davina McCall in it as well as some well known ex Big Brother UK housemates — the basic gist is that out in the real world people have begun to rise from the dead and go on a killing rampage, your basic Zombie tale, only those inside the Big Brother house are unaware of the horror that is going on outside. It sounds freaking awesome, aside from the tie in to Big Brother which is always going to score points with me, it just seems like the sort of perfect Halloween night viewing I enjoy.

I am actually going to a Halloween party the night it airs, my fiances boss is throwing it and I am semi helping him plan it…I say semi because he has it all basically down pat, he runs a catering business so already knows how to throw a bash…but I am chipping in with ideas and design tips and the like, as I am known as ‘The creative one’ in our circle. To be honest I’d be totally lost without sites like Celebrations.com to help me out, but shhhh, don’t tell my friends that. You can get expert advice and tips, share ideas with the rest of the community and even get information about what the celebrities have been getting up to at their soirees! I love their idea to paint pumpkins rather than carve them, that will save a whole world of time and effort

I am so telling him about that and to put Dead Set on the big telly next time I speak to him

After writing in the last entry that I don’t like medical based reality shows, I realised I don’t actually like medical shows full stop. Medical soap operas are ten a penny, Casualty, Holby City etc to name but two…and they have never floated my boat. I put this down to the fact they are depressing and I am squeamish, but you know what? That doesn’t make sense, because I love my Cop shows…which are just as gory and depressing.

Police Camera Action, Traffic Cops, Cops with Cameras — you name it, if it’s a cop show I can’t get enough. I am forever watching reruns of these shows that seem to air constantly on obscure cable channels in the wee small hours of the morning.

My conclusion/Explanation for liking one and not the other? I don’t have one. Hmm.

Firstly, I am impressed. The last few seasons at this point I have wondered if it is worth continuing as the talent factor seemed low, but this year I already love several of the acts and there’s only two or three who have ‘Early Boot’ written all over them.

I also feel I should disclose I have a total girly crush on the lovely Cheryl Cole — not in a sexual way you understand, she just makes me happy on the inside because she’s beautiful and sweet!

Dani has the worst set of acts, Cheryl has the best, some of Simon’s will do well because they are hot boys and Louis….poor Louis, why has he not retired yet?

Best performances of the night were Alexandra, who I never rated too much throughout the audition process and sweet little Diana who has a divine voice — though I did agree with Dani’s criticism that the performance with the hands was a bit..err..creepy.

Worst performances were Daniel, the guy who…let’s be honest…is only on the show because his wife died in tragic circumstances. He’s a cruise ship singer at best. And Rachel, awful styling, awful song choice, awful voice and just bloody awful attitude — I strongly dislike her. Also poor Scott, probably the worst performance on X Factor ever, good on Simon for admitting he made a terrible song choice for him and good on the public for giving the lad a second chance.

I also didn’t rate Laura too much, it wasn’t atrocious but the comments from the judges confused me as they were singing her praises and calling it the performance of the night. I think it was sketchy and her styling was way off…Cheryl made this gorgeous young creature look about 2 stone heavier than she is by pouring her into a dress that was clearly too small for her!

I was surprised by the bottom two, both of the girl groups. Neither wowed me, but neither were terrible either…except for Girl Bands name…I mean really, why did no one change that god awful name as they progressed in the competition? Based on their second performances I really felt like Bad Lashes deserved to stay — they are at least memorable. Girl Band should be renamed Girl Bland!

Overall, great start to the live shows

…I am having celebrity dancing overkill at the moment.

I watch both the original UK version, Strictly Come Dancing, as well as the USA version, Dancing with the Stars and for the first time both are airing at the same time — firstly I don’t even understand how Len and Bruno are doing it, flying back and forth between the UK and America every week until Christmas is surely going to take it’s toll sooner or later?

It’s too much for me though, really. I don’t even like dancing all that much, I just watch the show because I like reality tv, I like the hosts and judges and I like to see celebrities do things that are outside of their comfort zones.

The dancing I can take or leave. I know, strange right?

Here’s the dealio at the moment:

Saturday: UK version dancing
Sunday: UK version results
Monday: American version dancing
Tuesday: American version results

I think I am going to have to drop one this year, and hope that next year they are back to being on at differing times!

…more like The Amazingly Hard Race Asia. Seriously this season has been hardcore so far, if the tasks on the USA version look arduous you should see this show. The legs seem to last for days without breaks, the things they have them do seem genuinely difficult and frustrating, the direction and travel seems difficult and heck some of the tasks are darned dangerous.

I would not have been able to do the 25 hour coach journey they did in the second episode. I would go crazy doing 25 hours in the comfort of my own car, but on a small, cramped, bumpy, dirty, smelly and ancient old coach….no thanks.

I definitely would not have been OK with the race to the final pit stop in the 3rd episode, where not one, not two but three of the poor blighters crashed their rickshaws into bikes or even cars! Dangerous dangerous dangerous.

There’s no way I would have eaten the ‘mens bathroom smelling’ tofu soup they had to get through in the latest episode. Especially not with other people all around me gagging and throwing up.

It’s no wonder that we’ve had two teams essentially quit already, by not bothering to complete the final task and taking a four hour penalty. That’s not fun to see…it doesn’t often happen in the American version of the show, that’s for sure.