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Not Everyone Can ‘Deal With It’
Howie Mandel is a prankster. He also likes to produce Candid Camera inspired shows, which is why Howie Do It, Mobbed, and now Deal With It exist. The former two shows both lasted less than 20 episodes. If TBS is smart, Deal With It will meet the same fate. In other words, the show isn’t good. To make matters worse, it is an exact copy of a short-lived Food Network show that even the Internet doesn’t remember.
Deal With It ambushes a random restaurant patron, who is then asked to participate in a game where they can win up to $5,000. Of course, all the people agree to go along with whatever crazy thing host Theo Von and his celebrity guest tell them to do. There are five rounds, which are worth $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, respectively. If a contestant does not feel comfortable continuing the game, he or she can end the game by saying “I can’t deal with it.” Unlike many shows in this genre, the contestant then gets to keep the money won up to that point.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmy Opening and Monologue
While Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmy open is not the best one ever, Kimmel certainly kept true to himself. The open is clever without being brilliant, so how much you enjoy it depends on how much you like Kimmel and his guests.
AGT’s Final Performance Night
After a long season of America’s Got Talent, Wednesday was the last chance for the six remaining acts to prove they were worthy of a headline show in Las Vegas. This season has had a lot of ups and downs, but the show was certainly more entertaining in the latter stages of the competition. This finale had more variety than past seasons, so the show will finally have a second non-singing winner. Some of these acts will probably have a promising career in show business. However, the performances on Wednesday were good, but not great.
David Garibaldi and His CMYK’s
David Garibaldi and His CMYK’s have a unique combination of music and art, but the novelty wears off fast. This time, the group danced to The Who’s “We Won’t Let Go Again.” The attraction of this act seems to be waiting for the reveal of the painting. As with the previous performance, it took a bit too long to show the audience the art. In the end, the massive canvas revealed Albert Einstein The art was well-done, but the performance was not exciting enough. It was reasonable to be confused about the content of the painting during most of the performance, which took away from the dancing. If the only especially strong moment in a performance is the last second reveal, the act does not have a shot at winning.
AGT Results Recap: September 6th
Thursday’s AGT was the last result show of the season before the winner is revealed next week and, even though it was everyone’s last shot at the finals, there wasn’t much drama. The results were pretty obvious. As with last week, the Top 4 acts were revealed before three of them advanced.
The first result was between Shanice and Maurice Hayes, Lightwire Theater, and All That! None of these three acts are worthy of winning the competition, but Lightwire Theater was the best choice in terms of originality. They got the first of the Top 4 spots.
The next group was Sebastien “El Charro De Oro,” David Garibaldi And His CMYK’s, and Jacob Williams. Both Williams and Sebastien have a future in performing, but they are not currently ready for a national audience. Garribaldi is ready and deserved a spot as one of the Top 4 acts. Performance painting is a talent that the show has never seen before. AGT was lucky to find this mesmerizing act.
America’s Got Talent Semifinals: Round 2
The remaining semifinal acts on America’s Got Talent could not afford to simply have an average performance night on Tuesday. However, most of them did not stand out. It’s been a disappointing season for AGT, but one that paradoxically has led viewers to the most exciting final round in the show’s history. The best talent came from the first semifinal round, some of whom did not deserve to be eliminated. Even so, there are a few acts from Tuesday’s show that deserve a spot in the finals.
All That!
All That! has narrowly escaped elimination twice, but they are out of luck this time. Strangely enough, Tuesday’s performance might have been their best. That being said, the performance was still enjoyable. It was nice to see the clogging group take a risk by including solos and incorporating fire into their act. However, All That! just isn’t good enough for Vegas.
Sebastien “El Charro de Oro”
Sebastien “El Charro de Oro” has been in the competition for far too long. He is a decent singer, but not great. His main draw is that he is charming and mature. His talent is not exactly common, but it’s still average. Sebastien’s mariachi performances have never been something that is worthy of national attention. His time in the competition is over.
AGT Results Recap: August 29th

From Left to Right: Comedian Tom Cottor, Host Nick Cannon, Sand Artist Joe Castillo, and Earth Harpist William Close
Only three acts were eligible to advance to the finals of America’s Got Talent this week. Surprisingly, the competition actually got serious. There were 12 acts performing for a spot in the finals. Certainly more than three of the acts deserved to advance, but the AGT is finally realizing its potential. The tough eliminations made the hour exciting.
The hour opened with an unnecessary commentary on the semifinalists from guest comedian Steve Harvey. Harvey seemed to do a terrible job at crudely connecting the acts to his own personal life. He wasn’t funny at all. On the bright side, he was simply honest when it came time to talk about Tom Cotter, saying that he is pulling for him to win the competition. It’s a nice sentiment, but Harvey’s appearance was still a waste of time.
To make the show last an hour, Nick Cannon told the viewers that the results would be announced differently this week. First, the four acts with the highest vote totals would be announced in no particular order. Then, the three finalists would be revealed. The first grouping was Joe Castillo, Turf, and The Scott Brothers. It was a great performance night Tuesday with all these acts performing reasonably well. However, none of these acts seemed like standouts on Tuesday. That being said, of the three acts, it makes sense that Castillo got one of the Top 4 spots.
America’s Got Talent: Semifinals Round 1
Overall, this season of America’s Got Talent has been subpar. The live shows started with 48 acts, more than half of whom did not deserve to be seen again. Including the YouTube show, roughly two-thirds of the acts seen on live television have been eliminated. That seems about right, although there are still some acts that shouldn’t have another shot. Only three acts out of the 12 performing are advancing this week.That being said, Tuesday’s show was full of talent. It makes the decision for who advances genuinely difficult for one of the only times in the entire season. However, as with the last quarterfinal performances, it seems too much of the best talent was put on one show.
Andrew De Leon
Andrew De Leon is a talented opera singer. His performance of “Ave Maria” was technically good, but it wasn’t special. There’s no doubt he would be a better singer with training, but, unfortunately, he went from singing in his bedroom straight to the national stage. The crowd seemed a lot less engaged in this performance than last week’s performance. There’s no question De Leon has a lot of natural talent, but he does not have star quality. If he was grouped with other acts or was in another stage of the competition, his performance might have been sufficient. However, it isn’t sufficient this time. De Leon’s time on AGT is most likely over. Read the rest of this entry
AGT Results Recap: July 18th
A poor night of performances has become the norm on this season’s America’s Got Talent, so the result shows are not really exciting. It’s hard to root for anybody to advance. AGT makes it seem like sending four acts to the next round makes the decision tough because two-thirds of the acts get sent home. However, the real challenge is not deciding which acts have to go home, but rather which average acts will get an undeserving chance at winning the competition. In a season like this, a semifinal of 24 acts seems too big. America is forced to choose the best of the worse.
The first result grouped Mike Price, Jacob Williams, and Cristin Sandu. This was an easy decision for America, but it wasn’t a rewarding one. This group was made up of a juggler who dropped his props, a balancing act that failed, and a promising comedian whose skills are still raw. Williams was the only performer out of these three whose act went as planned. Of course, that gave him an advantage. I’m happy for Williams. While he may have deserved to advance, he also got pretty lucky.
AGT’s Third Quarterfinal Performance Night
This season, I have come to expect disappointment from America’s Got Talent. Most of the acts that made it this far do not deserve to be performing on a national stage in front of millions. They are just not good enough. Some have promise, but are very unpolished. Some are just outright horrible to the point that I feel sorry that they were given so much false hope. Some are good, but they serve as only a mildly pleasant surprise. The competition is far easier for them than it should be. The performances this season have repeatedly come up short. Tuesday night’s show was no exception.