TUF 4.11

I really should be working on my second chapter. But I have writer's block. So I am taking the advice I gave to my tutorial students, and using this blog as an attempt to break the walls down.

On with the show

Major Points

• Random acts of violence. Pete Spratt decides he wants to break through the wall of the house to the outside. Not with a sledge hammer or other blunt instrument, but through the application of sheer brute force. For some reason however, Mikey Burnett is the one who does the actual running at the wall. Have no fear faithful reader, he's wearing swim goggles for protection. And actually, I would say that the eyes are probably the most vulnerable part of Mikey Burnett's head.
• Mikey does a fair to middling job of putting Mikey shaped dents in the sheetrock, but is unable to reach the outside. The wall however, draws first blood.
• The hidden television makes an appearance, as the boys get to watch the TUF3 finale. Oh Ed Herman, will Tito ever love you?
• Preparations for Lutter/Drago begin. Dana picks Lutter.
• Chuck Liddell trains with Drago. Liddell is cool.
• Tired of trying to act as a human wrecking ball, the boys in the house practice throwing playing cards. In theory. It breaks down into a game of whip shit across the room, moving from playing cards to poker chips, and ending with ice cream and Twinkies.
• Lutter trains with noboby. Team No Love has seemingly given up on training, so Lutter, the only TNL member to accomplish anything, is left to his own devices for his training. We get some great footage of Lutter jogging alone. Which is odd, because I thought they weren't allowed to go anywhere alone. I mean, Jeremy Jackson got kicked off for leaving the house to go play slap and tickle with a lifeguard. Maybe semi-finalists get special treatment.
• We actually get to hear from Mark DellaGrotte, who is training with Travis. MDG is a third.
• The fight starts around 10:30. We all know what that means by now.
• Drago's strategy seems to be trying to punch, failing, and then falling to his back with Lutter on top. Somebody's a bottom.
• Lutter makes a game of trying to hit every inch of Drago's face with part of his arm. Lutter wins. He also wins the fight, 30-27.
• Drago cries.

The Good

• Chuck Liddell is good people.
• Lutter is unscathed from his fight, so he should be in good shape for the finals. Which are in a week and a half, or, four months after the semi-final fights.
  
• I was glad to see Drago crying after losing his fight. Not because I want him to suffer (although he never did drop 'I Will Break You') but because it was a moment of authenticity on the show. Those are rare on reality tv.
  

The Bad

• After commenting on the relative maturity of the fighters this season, I was disappointed with the decision to play smash the wall. Meaningless destruction is stupid, particularly when somebody is going to have to pay for the damages.
• I've also thought Matt Serra was a great coach all season, but reflecting on this episode, I wasn't very impressed. Matt was too encouraging while Drago was lying there doing his impression of a side of beef. He should have been yelling more than "Nice!"
• Lutter was pretty gassed after the fight. I hope he's been working on his cardio for the finale.

The Ugly

• I cannot in good conscience let the events that stemmed from the playing card throwing go unmentioned. Most of the events were fairly benign. But then they started wasting Twinkies. Twinkies are the food of the gods, and deserve greater respect. I only thank the stars that they weren't wasting Hostess Fruit Pies, or I would be very upset. Mass-produced snack cakes deserve greater respect.

Next week, Cote vs Bam Bam.