TVSquad

This week it looks like we were treated to scenes from Washington DC, San Francisco and, again. New York. This was the second to last open casting calls episode before everyone who's been given the green light comes back to present again. Out of those, 12 will be chosen to receive $50,000 to further develop their inventions and move on to the finals.

Some of the winners (and a couple of losers) after the jump.

Toner Belt -- This got a unanimous yes vote and was likely the best invention of the night. It's still yet another exercise gimmick, but it's small and handy, which is what more people are looking for these days.

Dan Shalhoub's "Shapoopie" -- The last name look familiar? Yes, Dan's brother is Tony of Monk and Wings fame, but his "crappy" invention gets a round of thumbs down. I think his biggest problem was not accounting for the larger dog logs that could overfill that thing. That and the messy, sloppy ones.

Disposable sheets -- This woman irritated me. Dear lord, I feel for this woman's grandkids, if she has any. All this woman did was get some bulk diaper liner fabric and call them bedsheets. What's to develop? Gets the votes it needs anyway.

The handy flosser -- I'm not quite clear on how this thing works, but most of the judges see its application.

The bat grabber one guy displayed is already invented! I've seen it advertised. Yet the judges turn it down, possibly for that reason.

The Bed Plate -- Good idea, but I do agree that if it takes too much to produce these, it's doomed. Nobody's going to pay much more extra over a regular paper plate for these.

Rescue Disc -- The "Mr. Know-it-all" song was just a cute way of saying Doug Hall is an asshole. Worried about being laughed at, Doug? It's too late! Really, this guy is arrogant beyond Simon Cowell's arrogance. Simon's at least got the British thing going for him, but Doug seems to have it out for people because of a troubled past or something; he really has an ax to grind on anyone who doesn't remind him of himself. He expects people to care about his past achievements, but the only person who seems to care about that is Doug.

Word Ace -- Too simplistic of a game, I think, but three judges give it a go. And once again, Doug blurts out his expertise in the matter, saying it will fail. Cute game, but I do agree that it's not going to go very far.

Others that made the cut: Nemi clock(?); Touch glove; Tailgating chair.

While I'm in a ranting mood, Mary Lou (some are calling her "Boo Hoo Mary Lou" -- love it) is actually someone I'd rather see less than Doug Hall on this show. She seems to have emotional problems that completely get in the way of her decision making, even nearly falling over in her chair at loud noises, ones nobody else even flinches at. Total overreacting, though producers will tell you it makes for interesting TV. I've good news for them: not really.