We wrote an article a few days ago looking at the way that the show had treated its two remaining boys last week: Craig Colton had clearly been favoured over Marcus Collins. We experienced a much bigger switcheroo this week than we could ever have anticipated: Marcus was handed the Liverpool shout-out in his VT and got the pimp slot for the first time, with some major pimping; Craig came on first to face some classic vote-dampening tactics with his VT and the judges comments.
His VT was a neutral one, as indicated by the fact Craig was now from KIRKBY, not Liverpool (something EM also noted in the comments). They didn’t feel like they could attack his vocals, which were competent once more for such a big song. Instead, the judges bickered about the song choice, so that any praise was overshadowed.
They also planted other doubts in the minds of the viewers. Tulisa said: “I found it a bit predictable,” and, “It felt like a bit of a step down.” Meanwhile Kelly wanted “just a little bit more personality”. Sending on Janet Devlin afterwards was an attempt to send him down the memory hole, a role she has performed before in this series.
All this came after a day which started with The Sun reporting “X Factor’s Craig Colton is dating Danyl Johnson“, complete with a picture of the pair. As Danyl was such a polarising figure, this seems hardly likely to have had voters racing to the phones.
In our article on Marcus and Craig, we floated the theory that producers might want to engineer Craig into a singoff from which he could be saved. This would help him bounce towards the final if he was indeed the preferred boy but not doing so well in the votes. A week 7 singoff save saw both Olly Murs and JLS bounce to the final.
We initially thought this might be what was happening – but the treatment of Misha B and Marcus later in the show has caused us to incline to the more obvious explanation for Craig’s treatment: that they have decided to cut him loose.
Because if they wanted to bounce Craig ultimately over Marcus and into the final, then why pimp Marcus so much at the end of the show? Let’s face it, they gave Craig’s Scouse rival the works. Marcus got Rebecca Ferguson, the gospel choir, a perfect song choice, great styling, brilliant judges’ comments. If they were hoping to dampen Marcus over the coming weeks, they gave themselves the most difficult of uphill tasks.
Misha was given another very favourable draw, a kind VT, good song choice and excellent judges comments. She was further softened in the minds of viewers by the story of her birth mother. Quite whether viewers will respond to it is another matter, and it would be no surprise to see her in the bottom two once more.
But Gary’s comment was fascinating and worth quoting in full:
“I completely disagree with every person out there who’s watching this show because I can’t believe no-one’s voting for you, I really can’t. The other thing that’s making me really sad is that it’s actually affecting you, the songs you choose and the performances you’re giving, because I think you’re being too safe, I want Misha B back, the way Misha B should be. I feel like you’re trying to win votes. Get back to how you was because that’s how I loved you, and if you’re going to go out of the competition like that, who cares, go out with your integrity.”
This appears to be setting up a perfect excuse for what would otherwise be the embarrassing task of saving Misha for a third time – the idea that she has lost her way, and needs another week to go out with her integrity intact.
Little Mix were given every pimping, as was expected. Reaction in our comments box and from Betfair punters was highly positive, and while we didn’t feel it was such a gamechanger, we weren’t expecting them in the bottom two before the show and we aren’t now. We would certainly expect them to be saved if they are.
Of the others, it was quickly apparent that ‘Kiss Me’ was an excellent song choice for Janet Devlin. She looked her most comfortable for weeks and judges concurred. Louis once again made reference to her potential as a recording star, something that we pointed out in our article defending her chances earlier this week. The judges were all far more positive, and this felt like an attempt to turn around some of the negativity the show had previously thrown at her.
We had advised a small stakes interest in Amelia Lily at 10-1 to be eliminated this weekend, on this basis that producers would want to put the brakes on her triumphant return last week. She’s now a general 7/1 and we still wouldn’t rule out her falling into the bottom two, but her production and treatment this week felt more like a gentle deceleration than an emergency stop.
I normally have very strong views on who would be preferred in any sing-off. However, in the most likely-looking match-up – between Craig and Misha – I wouldn’t be as sure as I usually am. Taking this weekend in isolation, everything points to Craig being given the boot. And it may well be that producers have looked at the lie of the land and decided that if they are to get Little Mix into the final, Craig is a sacrifice that needed to be made.
But the relentlessly positive treatment Craig has received up till now must at least give pause for thought.
Given that 18 out of 19 of the previous sing-offs have been won by the act coming on second, that would be the best (but by no means guaranteed) indicator for me if these are the two in the singoff. At any rate, I’m not getting involved for the moment, having already laid Little Mix in the elimination market all week.
Who are you expecting in the bottom two, and who do you think would be saved if it’s Craig and Misha? Do let us know below.
well one thing is certain, littlemix were near the bottom of the votes, because the comment from Tulisa “VOTE for them” kinda idicates that… and god.. misha should get an oscar..
i wouldnt be surprised bottom 2 Craig/Amelia/misha
heh Tulisa is almost spamming on Twitter for ppl to vote fir lil mix..
Completely concur with your thinking as per mostly usual. Rather than thinking of the sing off I got to imaging who the show wants I’m the final 4. I came to Janet, Marcus, Little Mix and Mischa. That’s not who I want there but based on what we’ve seen who I think they want.
That means Craig or Amelia would go in a sing off with any of those and Amelia would go in a sing off with Craig in all likelihood. The only other likely scenario would be if it was a Janet-Mischa bottom two, I could see Mischa going then easily.
Any tiny doubt that may existed about their intentions for Janet were extinguished tonight when they put her on 2nd, completing perhaps the worst rub of the singing order that anyone has ever had on the X Factor. Then when we saw a VT which started off talking about her being boring and finished off talking about her being boring, it felt like an out and out crucifiction. Then to add insult to injury the Gary gave her okish comments, which wouldn’t get anyone voting, but wouldn’t cause any protest vote either.
EM what gives you the idea they want Janet in the final? I think nothing could be futher from the truth.
I think she’s popular and that will count for a lot with them.
I agree with the assessment that she’s used in the running order to make others look bad. Of the 5 weeks of live shows one of the bottom two has sung next to Janet that week.
If they wanted rid of Janet the signs would be much clearer, especially this series. Nu Vibe, Samo, Sophie, Johnny, Kitty all thrown under a bus. For me only the Risk going was a surprise even then not a total shock but a surprise.
It appears they’ve been trying to dampen her vote but turned that round this weekend. If she is topping the vote each week it makes no sense to put her on toward the end. Those slots can be used to ramp up support for the acts they need to build.
great article – I agree 100% (actually 95% – see Misha below) and am glad I got on Craig and Misha early (based on last week’s twitter) and Amelia late (as a saver)
As a viewer that was the best show so far – good performances, interesting songs,
judges comments that had some plausibility.
As a punter:
1) He comes from Liverpool. He has a name. And that name? MARCUS COLLINS. He can even pull off a pink shirt on stage.
Was that screeching noise I just heard a quick swerve? That looked like the producers jumping horses to me. All of a sudden Craig is from Kirby, his support extends to a sign outside a pub, sings dull songs, and in shocking news doesn’t have the charisma to pull off a song that relies on performance as much as vocals.
I had a sense this was coming before the show, and took a small loss reversing my previous hedge on Marcus (so I topped up on Marcus.) Phew.
2) Poor old Misha B. She went from tough urban (for 3 weeks) to cute teenager (last 2,) and has now been transformed into a therapy session on legs. Displaying insecurities worked well for Jesy/Little Mix, but not sure many will identify with not knowing their mothers? There was a desperate pleading for votes, but it was all a bit half-hearted. Why make her the only act to be followed straight by another act if they were still investing in her? Totally inconsistent, as with her the whole series.
3) Looks like Amelia is being softened up for next time.
4) If I was trying to look like a credible artist/producer, would I claim that I didn’t know a song? No – so what was Tulisa doing?
I’ll try to get a full prediction (with ranges for Amelia as she is difficult to place with so little data) tomorrow afternoon as Toby publishes the stats. Toby if you’re reading this – can you publish the figures as well as the graph please? Cheers.
“And it may well be that producers have looked at the lie of the land and decided that if they are to get Little Mix into the final, Craig is a sacrifice that needed to be made.”
Great effort in getting this comprehensive piece online so quickly. I’m struggling to understand the above. Do you think Craig and LM are fighting for the same votes?
Hi bunyman, it’s not so much that Craig and Little Mix are fighting for the same votes. Instead they may have decided based on previous weeks’ results that Craig was the most vulnerable, and thus the easiest to throw under a bus whilst the Little Mix bandwagon keeps rolling. Does that make sense?
ok so lets say misha/crag b2 craig goes home..
but if its Craig/Amelia?
A Craig / Amelia bottom two would be a difficult one to call. I don’t think I’d be betting on that one.
hi Daniel, thanks for the reply. If they are determined to get the LM girls to the final, can’t they use the sing offs to make sure that happens, as they did with Cher Lloyd last year?
Indeed they could bunnyman, but doesn’t it look better for them if they get there without having fallen into the bottom two? It makes them look that much more popular.
There are not many sing-offs left, correct? For a normal 3 -act final they always stopped this 7th week, it seems. I guess they can make an exception but for one more week only?
Hi Daniel, there is an argument that going into the bottom 2 can give them a boost, as viewers realise they need the votes. However, I think I agree that the winning aura of having reached the final without dropping into the bottom 2 is better. But you are talking about whether Craig gets saved in a sing off, not about sacrificing him to the b2 to keep LM out of the bottom 2, which I don”t understand?
Hi bunnyman, our thinking is that if Craig is saved from a singoff against Misha, he would be much more likely to bounce than Misha would be. We wonder if producers may be looking ahead to weeks 8 and 9 and thinking that their efforts to keep LM safe till the final will be aided by keeping a weak Misha rather than a bouncing Craig.
Boki, I suspect they will choose whether to have a singoff or public vote only in weeks 8 and 9 based on what they think will be most beneficial for the outcome they’re trying to achieve. I would suspect if they think they can get LM off the bottom, they’ll go for a public vote; if they fear LM being bottom, they’ll go for a singoff.
Last year’s week 9 singoff with Mary and Cher suggests they won’t feel bound by tradition! 🙂
Thanks Andrew, I was thinking in terms of 5 contestants left last year in week 9 while this year will be 4. So it would be the first year for them to go to top3 via sing-off.
Hi Guys
I just got back from the live show, have no idea how it all looked on TV but thought I would throw in a few observations.
1) The obvious one I guess, they are now ready to drop Craig.
2) All of the people in the queue were given free hand signed vote for Marcus posters (this did not happen for any other act)
3) I was close enough to hear the judges private non broadcast comments while the VTs were running and am now 100% certain that the judges will do everything in their power to stop Janet winning……oh and the stuff you read in the press about Janet and Kelly barely speaking is completley true. I am not sure what price Janet is now but she SHOULD be a double figure price to win IMHO.
3) Of the audience, the biggest support was for Marcus and Littlemix, closely followed by Amelia. Misha gave a great perfomance and received only a luke warm response from the crowd, despite an over the top sympathy striving VT, she clearly just is not liked.
Hi nugget, can you be more specific about what you heard about Janet?
It was in particular comments made between Gary and Kelly while the VTs were running about Janet being wierd and hard to work with. The impression Igot is they really don’t like her, even Louis is not playing the big Irish Vote card for her.
Interesting : this might explain the judges’ strange cooling off towards Janet in recent weeks. Barlow keeps saying she is boring and predictable, and Kelly made no attempt to defend Janet when she came under attack from him last week.
Well done there Agent Nugget, echoed all my gut feelings about JANET too. Noted the VT when she said “I’m not boring …just wierd”. WRONG JANET…you’re BOTH.
Wish I could have afforded to go with you and thank you once again for the kind offer.
Did you find someone to use the ticket in the end ?
I would expect they are talking about weather, tennis and cooking during their “brake”. The fact you could hear them talking make me think it’s also scripted.
Hi Boki,
In the VT breaks Gary talks to Kelly and Louis to Tulisa with mics off, I was sat about 2 metres from Gary and could hear what they were saying…I have no idea what Louis and Tullisa said as they were the other side of the desk to me.
Pete D- went on my own in the end….but was worth it 🙂
Daniel, what was the only sing-off from 2010 where 2nd act was eliminated?
It was the controversial week 5 Katie Waissel / Treyc Cohen one, when Cheryl Cole was asked first, refused to make a decision and asked Dermot to come back to her if it needed bringing to deadlock. Dermot seemed to run out of time and never got back to Cheryl, leaving Katie to win 2-1. Treyc would have won had it gone to deadlock.
Strange exception then but still an exception to the rule. One of those could cost us a lot. Btw I’m wondering why are they still doing it, it’s becoming predictable not only for sharp-eyed punters but to all viewers.
Indeed Boki. At some point the pattern will be broken, so best not to take it as guaranteed, especially having profited from it so much in the past.
Btw, do you see this week’s sing-off as last one or they might add another just to have better control? When will it be announced?
It does make sense. Unfortunately both the bounce Craig and the bleach Craig narratives make sense! Hmm.
I hedged Marcus yesterday at 4.3 but clearly I’ve gone too early. I should have waited for the show and hedged at 3.55 as of now.
However, as you said previously, it’s now a free bet as I got him at 17s
Did they refer to Craig’s recording potential this week?
it’s a difficult one to call this week. i always said that whoever sang the bond song (i thought it was going to be misha) was heading for a train wreck and it duly happened.
janet coming on straight after may have been an attempt to compound the damage, but was it actually another attempt to suppress her vote as it continues her dreadful running slots. a good performance from janet should keep her fans happy and give her the required 16% at this stage.
the misha b pimping has got to the point of embarrassment. she has no chance of winning and i’m fairly sure the continued pleading is doing more damage than good. get her out of there and start building her career now is the best way to deal with this sad state of affairs.
little mix look vulnerable to me – perhaps not this week – but the clear attempts to bolster their support one direction style is now becoming obvious. btw isn’t it about time they had nicknames? cake mix anyone? c’mon it’s a joke… apologies in advance.
amelia lily’s performance was adequate at best, with more needy vt coverage. the producers are giving mixed messages with her. it’s telling that they intrduced janet’s song as from an american film, but introduced AM’s as being from a ‘british blockbuster’! but then they dampen her down slightly in the judges’s comments, so not sure what the plan is? maybe lose her in the sing off before the final?
marcus, marcus? well marcus had the kitchen sink, the bath tub and the urinal thrown at him tonight, with huge number, choir and pimp slot. add to that the gushing comments and you’d think he is plan a. i was sort of pleased but have my nagging doubts. why was all this required? the retro stich while entertaining for a show such as this is not going to shift records and i’m not happy to see it continuing. what happens if they suddenly put marcus in the death slot with a dirge of a ballad after building up his dancy fanbase?
my personal read is that they are maneuvering craig into bottom 2 for a save to engineer a sympathy bounce the following week when the running order will be reversed
Pick n Mix is my personal fave
Two things on the theory they are trying to get Craig into the bottom 2 to get him sympathy and more votes next week.
1. That seems nuts. If this was your strategy it would have to be aligned with a strategy to get someone expendable in to the bottom 2 as well. If you end up with your sympathy candidate in the bottom 2 with someone you also want to get into the final you’re screwed. If they are putting Craig down to pick him up there is no evidence they have soemone else they’re trying to engineer into the bottom two.
2. Something else seems nuts. Slaughtering your act to make them come back stronger has too many imponderables.
Evidence all points to a change in plan this week.
Starting with the best, it was good to see Marcus getting producer support for once. He gave another excellent performance. Little Mix were good again and I thought Janet did well with a very suitable song. I see those three as safe.
I agree with your reasons from an earlier article on why they wouldn’t want Amelia going (again) in the first week or two, but then also wouldn’t want her winning it. I think they gave her such treatment this week as to minimise any further interest in her without screwing her enough to be in danger of going quite yet. They won’t be sure yet how she’ll be doing in regular voting weeks as last week was a one-off situation for her so wouldn’t want to stuff her or pimp her too much.
I think they want Misha to stay, but don’t think they’d go to the extent of saving her again and will give the public what they want if she’s in the bottom two again. They’d like her kept safe by votes so gave her the most sympathy inducing VT I can remember and a good song/slot etc. They’ve already spent the last few weeks softening her image and ridding her act of the annoying rapping (I was surprised how quickly that vanished) she started with. I think she’s way short of the others in the voting though as no other remaining act has been bottom two before, yet alone twice.
I can see Craig being bottom 2 this week after the evidence highlighted in the article but think they’ll save him and bounce him into the last 4/3. They’ve spent so long pimping him so far I can’t see them suddenly switching from all that to being eliminated the following week.
I see it being a 3 horse race for elimination this week with Craig being saved over Misha (due a save by deadlock) as they finally decide she’s too much effort to keep baling out.
Amelia to go next week and Craig the week after as he comes down from his sympathy bounce.
I think that the final 3 are nearly sorted as Marcus, Janet and LM. Here’s my take on the night:
Craig – Well, I have to say I’m glad that you’re wrong. It seems like they are throwing Craig to the wolves. He’s had a good run, but I saw the depressing of his vote as much as everyone else – death slot, Kirby reference, dodgy comments.
Misha B – If the pimping given to her this week can’t help her out of the B2, she had no hope – Massive sympathy VT, late running order slot, sympathy bounce, song suited to her vocals. I think that she will probably fall in the B2 anyway and she will be saved once more ahead of Craig before finally going next week.
Amelia – The only other performer I can see slipping into the B2, relatively early slot and quite negative comments (Can’t believe Tulisa had never heard of Think – Has she not heard of Aretha?). However, in hindsight, I agree that this seems like a softening up before the kill next week. Maybe they are hoping to squeeze Misha into the Top 4?
Little Mix – Still being pushed so much its ridiculous, but should definitely be safe after a very good performance. I think it could be a game-changer. The DS response was very positive afterwards. I think that they can ride on a wave of momentum to the final now. Whether they can go any further depends. They will probably producer’s favourite out of LM, Janet and Marcus, but whether they can engineer enough support remains to be seen.
Janet – Being on early again is quite strange, but she was universally praised for Kiss Me and it was much better, to my ears, than earlier weeks. If she can survive Every Breath You Take and I Want You Back, she can survive this.
Marcus – Absolutely safe with the long-awaited pimp slot. I thought he was very good, not as good as Reet Petite, but still a good performance. This, compounded with producer support in the form of Liverpool vote and Rebecca Ferguson approval makes a very happy night for Marcus backers. I would be amazed to see him out of the final now.
So, here are some amendments to my final order:
6th Craig Colton
5th Amelia Lily
4th Misha B
and then the final could be in any order, but I still think this is most likely:
3rd Little Mix
2nd Marcus Collins
1st Janet Devlin
See you tomorrow night!
The good ship MARCUS etc
As the resident Janet fan, naturally when she came out in 2nd, I was massively annoyed. The song, whilst suitable, wasn’t the type to leave a big impression. I felt she had been stitched. However, the comments were refreshingly good. Could be the start of her turnaround. Next week is the week. Week 8 is traditionally a week where the eventual winner steals the show. We’ll see.
Curtis. Surely after all the fuss recently JANET ‘chose that song herself’ (as she was very happy and in her comfort zone with it). How then could she have been ‘stiched up’ ?
For what it’s worth I thought it was the most pleasing thing she has done yet. Not a show stopper, but right on the money for her style.
The big deal for me was that she looked happy for the first time since the live shows began. It wasn’t a great song or a great performance, but it was a much needed reminder of why she was/is considered to be a contender.
Useful twitter traffic info
http://anlytk.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/xfactor-movie-night-breakdown/
(Use tiny arrow on site to compare 1 hour pre-show traffic)
(Caption underneath the guy’s graph)
“Anyway, some interesting results from the traffic over the show – these results include all the previous results plus everything until 11pm. Little mix storming it this week, Marcus dropping back into the pack a bit and Amelia seeing a massive swing back to normality. Too close to call? I dunno – I think it still looks about the same as earlier in terms of who’s at risk but could go anywhere from here”.
My impression (as is my prediction), ‘flash in the pan’ AMELIA SILLY is NOT going to make the grade as her newness wears off and folk see her for what she IS (a karaoke/pub singer who can’t hold a tune or big note).
Meanwhile, the LITTLE MIX ‘Steamroller’ is flattening everything in sight.
Sure you have your reasons Pete, but couldnt disagree more regarding Amelia. I thought she was next best after Marcus and in fact is a great singer who can hold a note for sure.
Just goes to show how different opinions in general public can be!
AlexK. I never pretend my hearing and judgement is perfect, but I HAVE had to rely on it for many years for a living in performing as a band musician, a solo singer, and now a live and recorded sound engineer. I don’t eat if I get it wrong.
I spend many a ‘burning the midnight oil’ session mixing down vocal tracks and have to have tuned ear for it. I also vocal train inexperienced singers when I am recording them as they waste studio time with bad habits and bad mic technique.
As a good ‘rule of thumb’ guide, if you listen again to AMELIA with the vision OFF, she struggles. She has no sustained diaphragm breathing power and has to scream the big notes till she runs out of steam and weakens. She also has no vocal agility control (especially compared with ANY single one of the far superior LITTLE MIX girls).
BORELOW was spot on with the ‘key’ question and nobody on the panel raved about her actual vocal quality. Good pop star looking performer though, she’s learning.
One of my ‘reasons’ has just been to my door to pick up and pay me for thier CD demo with a smile on thier face.
i can’t say for sure as the second graph doesn’t have a scale but using janets bar as a constant i.e. it doesn’t look to have moved anywhere after the show, it looks like craig, marcus and amelia took a considerable drop off in possitive tweets, whilst misha gained a bit. little mix clearly a force to be reckoned with based on tweets.
i can understand the craig and amelia downturn but not the marcus one (still looks healthy enough for him though).
They absolutely smashed twitter last night on my ratings too.
Also what that chart doesn’t take into account is that Lil Mix was also trending last night and lots of people also spell their name as one word.
Holly Wibbly being one of many.
How representative is twitter?
Well I’d expect LM to be over represented on there, but not to the same degree as 1D and they never came close to doing the sort of figures I saw for LM last night.
Matt would often beat or be very close 1D.
LM were miles clear last night.
(they’ll probably be b2 now lol)
fiveleaves.
YAAAAAAY !!
a snapshot of the youtube hits. all very close. this is xfactor channel only
1st 16,035 Little MIx
2nd 13,909 Janet Devlin
3rd 11,626 Amelia Lily
4th 11,106 Misha B
5th 10,256 Marcus Collins
6th 9,197 Craig Colton
is it a case that marcus is weak in the votes as well as the views and their was a decision to sacrifice craig to save him? looking like a 2 horse race now between LM and JD imo. was this producer intention all along?
yeah its 2 horse race:) check this out too
http://xfactortracker.com/
you just beat me to posting that. have you seen it before or is it something new?
sympathy publicity for amelia
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/221619/AMELIA-S-BLINDNESS-RISK/
interesting about topping the vote last week, although not unexpected.
You know, I reckon that’s more likely to depress Amelia’s vote, Rob. First of all it says she had 25% last week, implying she must be safe this week, right? Then it says
So, vote to keep Amelia in the competition and risk sending her into a coma! Er…
Yes, agree. It also features her having to deny a bust-up with Kelly. This is gold dust for putting Amelia in range for later, as I had little data to go on, I did have her topping the vote with around 30% I think – will revise this downwards a little.
Well, Craig was solidly dumped upon this week which seems to show that the producers have finally backed a Scouse horse properly and come down with Marcus. I am a bit suprised, I thought they’d go for Craig but if media reports of the Marcus vote are to be believed perhaps they’ve backed the lad with the best final 3 chance to have a good final mix.
I stand by the fact that I think they want Misha into the last four a la Cher. They threw pretty much everything they had at her (the only contestent with a ‘personal’ VT this week rather than a good bit of red carpet action). If they can keep her out of bottom two this week (Craig or Amelia goes) I can see a save in the singoff next week to do this. If she B2s this week I think she’s gone. That said wouldn’t a deadlock be an interesting way to play it if she’s actually fifth?
I suspect the matter of Janet going second is purely that she’s doing well enough in the votes to think that she’s safely through regardless. She had good comments and a decent track for her voice in my opinion so should be safe.
I enjoyed Marcus last night and think he should be safe. Shame the choir drowned him out a bit at times.
I thought Little Mix were excellent this week. I do suspect they’ve struggled a bit vote wise to date but suspect this week’s performance will help (note she got the David Walliams vote of confidence and got VT with Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson – neither of the latter said anything specific about them but it’s the association the producers were going for I feel). They were easily the most professional of the night for me, you could imagine it as a clip from a live tour whereas all the others had that X Factor camp schtick.
Lastly Amelia. I don’t think she has a strong voice and sounded dodgy at times. I suspect she’s being hedged. If they can get Misha to spot four they’ll try and dump Amelia (if Misha and her are both through next week cue a pretty poor week for Amelia I suspect). If they can’t get Misha to fourth, I reckon Amelia for that spot.
Seems most have Marcus, Janet and Little Mix top three and I think that’s the way it’ll go. If Marcus can pull off a win fom those three my positions look pretty healthy, and they’re not bad anyway if these three make it so all good!
big positive piece in the press for marcus this week
http://www.people.co.uk/celebs-tv/2011/11/20/marcus-collins-people-exclusive-chat-102039-23574324/
Guys,
Big fan of the site – you write a lot of sense. Hope you don’t mind me linking to my own blog.
I think Craig going is less clear cut, but I agree the producers want him out.
I’ve compiled a few (and there are more!) examples of when “Red and Black” have been used to dump on a contestant they want to get rid of. Can’t post Youtube clips here – but they always seem to use this sort of dingy red and black style background.
(Sophie, Wagner, Johnny – and also interestingly they kind of did when I thought Marcus was being thrown under the bus with Russian Roulette). I’ve pasted some examples here http://www.betsfactor.com.
They’ve done it again with Craig this week.
Personally, I’m only betting on Deadlock happening this week, which I think is pretty likely! Couldn’t say who will go as a result of it though….
Hi Richard, and welcome! Absolutely love the red and black examples, what a great spot. Presumably meant to trigger subliminal mental connotations of being in hell, right?
Amelia got the red and black treatment tonight as well.
Hi Richard,
nice site – are you really from Stockport? Kudos if so.
I’d never spotted the black/red pattern before, but it does seem to be a pattern, particularly where they are trying to remove a previously well-supported act.
I’d be careful on the deadlock call though – the judges/producers will likely know who is bottom before they vote, and this year’s judges seem averse to deadlock as it’s their job to decide. I think we’ll find out at the end of the series that they chose to eliminate the bottom act on multiple occasions. However if Misha B is 2nd bottom this week then I think that would be a convenient exception.
Hi – I am originally from Stockport yes, although strangely enough I am not a lecturer at “Stockport University”. They hadn’t used Deadlock, so I felt it would be wheeled out tonight.
an intersting observation from digitalspy (there aren’t many!) is that favoured acts get better camera angles. i’ve not looked at this in any detail but the poster compares last night’s MB and JD performances to make the point.
tellymix posting negative stuff on MB and AL btw.
going on last nights show,it appears to me that the producers dont know what they want anymore and i guess they just want some sort of finite finish to this years show regardless of who wins.Every week up till this week it was quite predictable who they liked and dislike and who they wanted to be there at the last,but now they cant see it.Craig=up till this week they liked him but now they think hes the same old same old.Misha= thought see was the best thing since sliced bread but now after the vt sympathy slot they think she not getting the right press,even though shes had this stigma hanging over her all series.Janet=They lv her on week1 liked her week2 weeks3,4,5,6 think she boring and prodictable week7 ok,boy make up your minds she either 1 or the other .Little mix=never has 1 act changed so much in all the series,name change, style change ? what do you want them to be?Marus=they seem to think hes the new prince but they style him as a 1950s rock and roller,this is confuseing to all who watch him,they seem to like him but again hes the same old same old every week.Amelia=after all the fuss shes created and only doing 2 full weeks of the show they cant again decide what they want from her,but at this late stage its to late to mold her into a style ,but it seems they did not think of this before bringing her back in.
so for me if your gunna bet you better be more certain then the shows producers are about whos going to be there at the end ,cus i dont know .
Your comment about Marcus irritates me. He is hardly “the same old same old” ever week. In fact for the first 5 weeks he was being praised for being versatile and constantly different and exciting (just compare Are you gonna go my way with Moves like Jagger) but as soon as he has decided to stick with a style (only for the last couple of weeks) he is accused of being “samey” and a one trick pony…
sorry my point i was trying to make is and maybe i did not write it correctly in the post was about style and perception by the producers on all the acts not pinpointeing just marcus im not saying marcus is predictadle in his vocal style but they have styled him wrong this is 2011,either garry or the producers or both need to decide who they want him to be,you cant style someone one way and get them to be another.At leasted with the other acts they give them a suttle change each week,it may not be much but enough to make a difference.Take janet,little mix,and misha they might sound the same but each week they look slightly different on stage ,to me that makes a difference on how you percieve them on the show,if my comment has irritated you is was not ment to it is just a personal view and nothing more
i agree with this point. i think he’s been unfairly pigeonholed and although it’s entertaining i don’t thinks it’s helpful for a post show career… but if it’s enough for him to win his backers will be pleased.
Mixed messages on Misha this week. The VT sob story but then the average (but well performed) song. Sympathetic judges comments and imploring us to vote for her as well. I can’t help but feel she would have absolutely nailed it if she’d switched performances with Marcus though.
On the subject of sob stories, I’m not sure that they have much impact anymore. You may recall this from last year – http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/842231-x-factor-2010-simon-cowell-bans-sob-stories – this was in response to the parade of dead mothers/wives/grandparents/gerbils dragged out every year by the contestants that was becoming less and less believable and a turn-off to the audience.
Misha and Craig in the bottom two seems reasonably likely although I can’t help think that Little Mix are struggling a bit, perhaps scraping though just outside of the bottom two each week. It depends on how much you want to read into Tulisa’s comment about them being in danger and that we need to pick up the phones though.
If Misha is bottom two for the third time, can the judges justify saving her yet again? I don’t think that they can, especially when they’ve tried everything to bring in the votes.
wow didnt see that coming with craig
and at a time after id just topped up on both craig and lil mix to back up my big janet bet i find myself looking to lose craig typical.
personally i have a feeling that tonight will see craig vs amelia sing off which is a tough one to call
back to craig i find this really strange they have supported craig probably the most all the way through the series why is he being chopped off at the knees now ?
Craig is being chopped at the knees because at this stage of the competition it is hardball and CRAIG’s mediocre performances no longer justify all the false praise the judges were lavishing on him previously.
I have always maintained there is a gulf in talent between CRAIG and MARCUS – and I mean a gulf- and to anyone with a musical ear this has been a very easy call.
That 7/2 for top boy a few weeks ago looks astonishing value now when he is 1/6 on.
Come on MARCUS!
You can win this competition.
CRAIG is favourite to go this evening- how about that?
http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/tv/x-factor/next-elimination
He is 1/2 to be in bottom 2 so we have to work on the basis he will be there.
Who will keep him company?
I rule MARCUS out after his performance, and I rule JANET out because of her following. Red line through LITTLE MIX because of an apparant surge of support for them. That leaves MISHA B and AMELIA.
If either of these two are in the bottom 2 with CRAIG, you’d think the girl will go because we are top heavy with girls at the moment. However AMELIA would be saved over CRAIG so biscuit boy could be on his way.
I think PETER KAY’S famous ‘rich tea dunking biscuit’ joke still has at least a another week to live because our “GO ON….DUNK ME DUNK ME” McVITIES HOBNOB BISCUIT BOY is not going to crumble like a wet piece of cardboard on into the bottom of your mug THAT easily.
Nice BLACK/RED theory there Richard (well spotted and will study it with interest), BUT this week we have WHITE in it too in the Shape of MISHA.
This Ugly Duckling (who someone described on Yahoo news today as “The Singing Bouncer”) wasn’t tansformed into a ‘SWAN’ (complete with Angelic downy white feathers) to do her last ‘SONG’ for nothing.
I reckon XF producers (at the instructions of SAVIOUR COWBELL) have had thier orders to “clean up thier doggy doo” and give her a nice emotional send off in the shape of “Sorry we were so hard on you love, Bon Voyage and have a nice life with your new found Mum”.
KELLY’S vt message with MISHA was also all about ‘forgive and forget and MOVE ON’.
Sniff sniff.
It WAS actually a bit moving and I very nearly choked on my ‘Dandelion and Burdock’ (heavy night Friday on the lash on the old Fire-water guys and woke up Saturday with a mouth like a Sumo Wrestler’s jock-strap and feeling like I was wearing an internal Balaclava).
Her damaged votes and tweets are now irretrevably gone and they have done thier best to repair things for her after all the public ‘Kangaroo court’ lynchings. Free money to go at 5/2 and 11/4 methinks.
I still think that they are attempting to bank and save CRAIG’S share of the Liverpool vote for MARCUS to help shore it up against JANET and Karaoke Queen AMELIA SILLY. Wonderful set from MARCUS but he has slipped back a bit too towards JANET with AMELIA’s popular arrival and LITTLE MIX’s huge surge.
He IS very safe but its too early to risk CRAIG’S votes floating about looking for a home at this stage.
REBECCA FERGUSON quote to MARCUS last night “Well, you know what we’re like in Liverpool La”. (BTW I just can’t wait to see her sing tonight. She just oozes talent and quality that girl, and it will be a SPINE TINGLING pin-drop moment for sure).
Not surprisingly, SILLY is starting to slip already but this week she is safe and they need her to keep JANET on her toes whilst they continue tame her for 3rd place in the final with MARCUS and LITTLE MIX (Yaaay !).
I believe it’s been a busy week at the ‘earwax removal clinic’ this week and the Docs have run out of ‘see sense serum’.
All SILLY needed last night was a silly little hat and a feather Boa headband to go with her Ra Ra Skirt and she could have done the old Karaoke favourite ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper as a ‘Stars In Thier Eyes’ audition piece. The song was way too big and too high for her and the only ‘soul’ she has is the ‘sole’ on her shoes.
Though far too obvious a choice (as we all have seen ‘left field’ surprises on XF) CRAIG and MISHA in a sing-off tonight with MISHA gone (hopefully an AMELIA/MISHA one). The stage was already set last night for a ‘sad farewell, but on yer bike love’.
Meanwhile, the LITTLE MIX Steamroller’s firebox is being stoked up further from beyond by our old mate Fred Dibnah (especially with the newest ‘LITTLE’ subliminal endorsement from David Walliams and another big one from Holly Willough-booby).
Good luck tonight everyone !
I don’t think there is room for Janet and Craig in the final. If Janet’s vote is likely to get her there, Craig would be better gone now, it’s the wrong time for a sympathy bounce which might upset things next week if Craig is allowed to survive this week. Misha can go next week that will be easy to set up. At this stage they have to start getting rid of what they don’t want.
simon i reckon it will be amelia craig bottom 2 i dont think amelias song chice is going to her any favours whatsoever i took 6.8 on betfair yesterday on this bottom two combo and it looks quite likely
mishas over the top pimpin could be just enough to save her from the bottom 2 last night but theres still a chance she could be down there.
janet hmmm a bit of a luke warm reception for her yesterday hope janet fans dont get complacent voting for her
the other two pig n mix and marcus are safe as houses
to be honest the gulf in class between craig and marcus doesnt really matter 2 me
this show is more of a who the producers want to do well contest then a singing contest and until last night the producers looked fully behind craig
You’re right Geoff in that the producers were behind CRAIG until last night.
But the majority of the public are not tone deaf and MARCUS is clearly the more talented and they began to look pretty stupid pimping CRAGI all the time.
Mind you they didnt half do a good job on him last night – it was an awful song choice in the death slot and CRAIG rose to the occasion by singing out of tune.
Bottom 2 material – possibly with AMELIA and I think if it is that scenario they will keep AMELIA because she has only just come back.
fair play simon you have stuck with marcus all the way and been one of his biggest supporters on here and it looks as if youve called it right
hope you have covered lil mix if you have you should be sitting pretty right now
is it just me or is it way to hard to call this tonight,cant seem to decide on what the producers and viewing/voting public really want,last week was quite straight foward for me kitty going was not to hard to understand but tonight who knows.
well i guess we should roll the dice and place a bet cus someones going to win!
i go craig/janet bottom 2 with graig going,its a guess but who knows?could be anyone.
One problem with the theme this week is that it led each and every performer to appear dated in one way or another. Big Band week always managed to pull this off by being ridiculously over the top and kitsch. Movie Night felt more like a collaboration between Pop Idol and my local Odeon (which shut down in the 90s).
I can’t argue with the fact that Craig has been dropped like a turd in a patisserie box. There’s little more to say on the subject. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that he has built up a strong enough voting base to survive a dud week with another very solid vocal but it certainly seems unlikely.
Were the nicer song choice and kinder words for Janet perhaps tactical? I wonder if the negative coverage so far is provoking further support from her hardcore fans and it’s time to go easier on her. Had producers actually wanted to rescue her with ‘Kiss Me’ it would have been the perfect opportunity for Janet to whip out her illusive guitar as Matt Cardle had done many times by this stage last year. I have to believe that the plan is still to dampen Janet oh so carefully in order than she be easily shiftable in the later stages of the contest.
I found Amelia’s performance the hardest to read. I couldn’t even work out whether I enjoyed it on a personal level. I’m just too confused – remind me – she was in The Risk at one point, no? But they kicked her out because she was pregnant and so she had to go to a boot camp at a judges house and now she’s back? There’s clearly a positive feeling about her in the public sphere and I reckon she can survive one more week but I could easily see her in the bottom two tonight. I Certainly won’t be betting anything if she’s faced with Craig or Misha in the sing-off.
Misha suffered the double kick of Movie Night and her continued rehabilitation meaning that she was compelled to put on the most boring yet vocally solid performance she could muster. I don’t think it will be enough to see her avoid the bottom two in these ruthless later stages. Gary’s comments were certainly interesting though. It seems unlikely that Misha would rap in the sing-off (or does it?) so surely Gary must have been anticipating some urban swan-song next week. Either way, Misha looks more and more like damaged goods which a bit sad really. At least I don’t have any money on her for the win (does anybody?).
As a Little Mix backer, I was just about satisfied with this week’s performance but I felt that they were as dated as anyone else in the bunch. The song choice was grand but the styling made me think of some rejected girlband made up of hairdressers from Hull who are destined to be eliminated in the first public vote. Two lines of singing a cappella certainly didn’t seem to justify Kelly’s assertion that the girls had turned it around. I think that Gary Borelow did well to point out that double songs would offer LM the opportunity to do a ‘stripped back’ performance and showcase acoustic and beat-boxing skills whilst still leaving space for a crowd-pleaser with big production. I’m assuming that the girls are safe this week and that they still have time to peak.
I found myself to be VERY CONFUSED by Marcus last night. VERY CONFUSED INDEED! His VT, pimp slot and comments were enormously positive but the performance itself was baffling. I’m guessing that producers know his niche and that they are gunning for the older woman vote but seriously? It was less Bruno Mar(cu)S and more Reverend Marcus Sunshine, inspirational leader of an inflatable, pink church in the American Deep South. It had the feel-good factor but I felt it was alienating overall. As a Marcus backer, I am seriously doubtful after a performance that only served to solidify his destiny on stage in the West End. Contrary to popular opinion, I didn’t feel it reflected any producer love at all. Sure, it showed that he was clearly favoured over Craig but I think it just showed that Marcus needed to have a go in the pimp slot. If you think about it, pimping now means that producers could easily ignore him for the rest of the contest without appearing unfair. Doubtless they will want Marcus to do well for Gary’s sake but I don’t think they want to push him too hard and now they don’t have to.
Perhaps I am very wrong and the pimp rota said Marcus this week so that the others could have a turn in the coming weeks and prepare for some serious Marcus pimping in the final. I’m still baffled by every element of the performance and felt it was the most dated and unpromising of the night, despite killer vocals and energy.
Absolutely fascinating work – article and comments. Feels like you have delved into my head and splatted it across the page! I make my money betting on horses using statistical analysis, however, I have been gripped by the tactical side of the X-factor for at least the past 3 years of the show and decided to have a pop at the markets this year. First bet was grabbing tasty prices about Sophie to go the week she was eliminated – job done. They stitched her up good and proper, she was the Laura White style ‘shock’ exit. I was of the impression they were bringing Craig (biscuit boy) to the boil just perfectly (as it seems a lot of you also were) so I fired some of my Sophie winnings onto biscuits. Then BANG! last night they do Craig over Sophie style! I must admit when I caught a glimpse of the ‘Craig dating Darnel’ story on Saturday morning I feared the worst. From what I can see the producers have played a blinder in smashing biscuit boy into little crumbs, as soon as the positive(ish) comments from the judges went on Janet after her performance I took some of the 4.5 & 4.3 about Craig to go on Betfair. I’m slightly perplexed as to exactly why they have thrown biscuit boy to the lions and as some have pointed out I don’t think its 100% clear-cut he goes tonight. My options/thoughts on tonight are – a) Craig has been polling enough votes that they have decided even a bit of deliberate sabotage won’t knock him out and this softens him up for a ‘comeback’ barnstormer next week that fires him right back in the picture (I admit this option may well be wishfull thinking as I stand to win a pretty penny should he win) b) he lands in the bottom 2 with Mischa and he gets saved as the producers realise that if that ’emotional’ VT for Mischa cant poll her votes then NOTHING will! c) He is in the bottom 2 with Janet and they sacrifice Janet as she really is just too cooky and odd and they will likely pull out the old boring card – they will probably manage to milk a decent amount of record sales off her anyway, similar to D Vickers d) He is in the bottom 2 with Amelia it goes to deadlock and he is saved as the British public generally do not like people getting in through the back door (like Amelia has) although admittedly this is no normal ‘back door’.
Whatever the outcome its fascinating and a tad puzzling why they have completely done a flip reverse on biscuit boys ass…tonight will hopefully reveal more!!
Great work all.
Ben Aitken
Oh I should probably add an option e) – e) They continue to crush Craig tonight, smash him out of the competition and don’t even leave a crumb or 2 in his place!
Poor old Biscuits…..
First I cannot state enough how much I enjoy this site, the insightful blogs and the comments.
Just adding my two pence about the producers u-turns with various contestants. One event that hasn’t been mentioned here I think is that the top 6 have recorded the winner’s single this week. There’s a possibility that the result made their change their mind. May be Janet and Marcus were great, Craig not so much…
I think that’s an interesting idea but I can’t see that Craig’s recording of the winners single would have put anyone off him. If anything, his recording voice should be his main strength because for better or worse he has a more distinctive tone and a much wider vocal range than his main rival Marcus. I know that might not be the most popular opinion on here but Week 2’s performance of Russian Roulette showed that Marcus really struggles on a lower to middle register and is at his best when belting upbeat numbers. My point is not that Craig is more talented or better poised to win than Marcus (I think the opposite on both points) but that Craig would have had an advantage in a recording studio that he would not have on stage. I can’t see this being the reason.
Speculating very very wildly, remember it was reported in the tabloids last weekend that Craig had packed his bags and said his goodbyes and it needed Gary to come back and talk him into staying.
If there is any truth in that, could producers possibly have decided – having got through last week’s show – that they couldn’t take the chance of the same thing happening and Craig carrying it through this time, and hence did a horse switch and elected to chop him off at the knees? Hard to see who else they could have brought back if another contestant had walked…
P.S. – Welcome, Chloe, and Ben! 🙂
Very good point. After Frankie getting the boot and the debacle around it the contestants are enormously powerful at the moment. If one of them flexes some muscle and threatens to quit it’s going to be taken much more seriously than pre-Frankiegate.
Janet or Craig throwing some toys out the pram could well lead to them being managed out to avoid embarrassment
just asking,but does anyone know why they would be getting them to record the winning song this week,seems to early to me? 6 acts left and 3 weeks left after this week,do they or have they already (the producers of the show that is) decided who they want to win and are trying to gage if peolple would like it and if not who would sound better,i hear its being produced by one of the n-dubs team so,little mix anyone!!!!
Updates from twitter until 5pm today. To be honest, the show provides the bulk of the information, being so much of the volume of messages, but there was an additional 30k tweets between 11pm and 5pm so shouldn’t be ignored.
http://wp.me/p1U16p-2f
I have to rush so I’ve no time to write an article but I’ve put your findings through my model.
I’ve only made one change since last week; Amelia only got 25% instead of 30% according to the Star so I’ve moved her weighting down (still have her winning the vote, but only just)
I get the following vote percentages for this week:
LITTLE MIX 32.9%
JANET 31.8%
MARCUS 12.1%
CRAIG 9.5%
AMELIA 8.7%
MISHA 5.0%
One note of caution – Toby has changed the way little mix are recorded (adding ‘lilmix’. Any changes from week to week will cause problems with my model, so I’d be interested to see the little mix figure withou ‘lilmix’ being included. So they are probably a strong second to Janet.)
This is a disaster from Marcus – I have him hugely down on last week. And although it’s very tight, and does depend on that downweighting of Amelia, the figures do suggest that the biscuit boy will survive to dunk another day.
Good luck
Good work. I think the bottom three is what most people would expect. I’ve had a small amount on Amelia/Misha bottom two combo as the price is really good. Tricky week.
Regarding Marcus, the oldies, mums etc love him, so this might bump him up the actual voting figures. I think his retro performances might be purposely targeted at these voters.
Yeah, it’s tricky deciding whether to change things or not but given it was trending I felt a bit remiss in leaving it out.
Hi Toby,
yes I can understand that, we are both trying to improve our work. If there was no traffic on the new hashtag before then it’s perfectly fair, the risk otherwise is that they appear to be bouncing higher than they really are. Probably small, but given that it could affect who won this week’s vote I thought I should say it publically before people lump on.
Pleased I had Amelia as 5th, but didn’t detect Misha’s bounce at all; hope I didn’t throw anyone off the scent. I’ll take some time to look at the figures in more detail to try to work out what went wrong. Getting Amelia ahead of Craig will be easy; I think I’ll still be scratching my head about Misha.
How can they do this to Biscuit Boy? God, X Factor is an evil institution. I thought they were nobbling him last week when he came on early styled as John Wilding. But he managed to sing Paparazzi better than expected. This week he was styled as Terry Scott singing a number that surely no one listens to these days. Pure evil. It’s difficult to see him avoiding the bottom two as I imagine he needs the older, pick up the phone only if they like it, type of voters. Et tu Borelow?
I love the titles you give the articles and when I saw the Danyl Johnson story in the papers was going to suggest ‘Craig Does Darius’, but concede yours is better!
Please ignore the last paragraph above of utter gibberish that doesn’t even make sense. Too much red wine (and white to that matter). Never mix your grages.
Grapes. ffs
Well having consumed a large amount of liquor watching the Chelsea game I stumbles into WIllam Hill and asked for the odds to be put up for the bottom 2 and eviction.
I realised that a thrid of the acts would be in the bottom 2.
I ruled out MARCUs because of his performance, and JAENT because of her following- even though she never smiles and looks totally pissed off with proceedings.
I reckoned that AMELIA having had a huge vote last week will be ok so that left CRAIG, MISHA and LITTLE MIX.
CRAIG at 8/15 was the obvious choice but I reckon he might just be safe – I guess Iwas tempted by the odds on LITTLE MIX to be in bottom 2 at 7/2.
You see the history book on the shlef is always repeating itself and I reckoned 7/2 is really worth taking so I did them for one of the bottom 2 and MISHA as the other one.
We’ll see.
If MISHA is bottom 2 (having been holed below the waterline four weeks ago) its another profitable week.
Here’s hoping.
Good luck everyone.
The history book on the shelf (shlef), is always repeating itseeeeelf…Waterloo! I was defeated, you won the war.
Sorry, just needed to point out the Abba reference
Just thought I’d say, in case anyone has missed it, On Xtra Factor, Gary said if Marcus survives this week, he’ll be singing a ballad next week. I think, if this happens, it would be a game-changing “Listen” moment. Anyone else agree?
I agree Jack. Been looking forward to it for weeks now as he has a voice just made for it. Can’t understand how BORELOW can bleat on so much to others about ‘stripping back’ when he hasn’t done it himself yet.
“Physician heal thyself first”.
Even if it’s a MARCUS win I am still happy (£££’s) especialy if LITTLE MIX come in second for a forecast. BIG fan of the lad from day one audition.
he needs it based on tpfkar’s figures.
however, i’ve always detected a weakness on the internet for marcus, so i think his votes are coming more from the ordinary viewers and not the internet ‘class’.
Agreed.
Sail on the good ship Marcus
Yup! Said something similar last week,
Common Marcus
Quite happy as got Craig to be eliminated at 6/1.
Hadn’t expected Amelia to be in bottom 2 so had no clue who was going in the end
MISHA B saved ? HUH ??? Oh well, there’s always next week suppose .
Well done anyway CRAIG, thanks for keeping your half of the Liverpool votes warm and safe for MARCUS, I knew you had your uses. Now hand ’em over before you get inside your BISCUIT BARREL and go over Niagra Falls.
Licence to print this week…. So predictable now, Amelia softened up to go down in either a misha or Janet sing off next week, followed by misha going in the semi…. Little Mix look pretty hard to stop right now
Hard luck CRAIG but sail on the good ship MARCU, arriving in Port “le chat” laden with booty for being top boy.
REsultamondo.
Simon the man, it finally happened, congrats mate 🙂
easy money!! its to predictable,really spice it up and kick out little mix next week,as that will really screw with the figures
Marcus is 3.25 at Boyles if you’re quick!
Next week….Misha gets cancer and adopts a couple of Aids orphans….I mean – where do the producers go from here?