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Jessie takes a dive (Wednesday 7/31)

The great Sprite scandal (Tuesday 7/30)

Still more scandals

Switcheroos (Monday 7/29)

Ratings - Misfit Hamsters special edition

Many don't remember the lion who rules the Island of Misfit Toys, let alone that his name is King Moonracer. That's kind of the job of our Powers That Be as well, to keep everyone and everything in line and running smoothly, without being noticed too much. And despite the annual cries of 'rigged' and the like, they usually succeed. Whether nominations or votes are 'guided' or not, or if various seeds are planted in Diary to grow paranoia, we'll never know, but their influence permeates every second of the thrice weekly air shows since they have total control over what's seen on CBS and what isn't. Even the most ardent feedsters tend to accept as fact whatever they see on the show, forevermore. It's pretty cool how that works really, and something Helen understands well with her background in politics. If you say it, with authority, they'll believe it. That's Helen's whole game, actually.
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD Is it an easy, cheap shot to assign her the Abominable Snowmonster? Of course it is, but she is the designated villain of our story, so what choice do I have? Like Bumble, Aaryn started off mean and scary but she's tempered herself somewhat of late. In her case, it wasn't due to David/Hermey removing her bitey, but the jaws of the media and ourselves have indirectly made their way in there to tone down her growl a bit.	NOMINATED Amanda isn't really anything like Clarice the doe-eyed doe, other than her big doe eyes, but her attachment to the young hero has landed her here just the same. So far she hasn't sat around waiting while her guy goes out into the world to do big things, and she probably won't, but we're only a third of the way through. Okay, this one doesn't really fit at all.
Andy seems perfectly suited to the misfit toy bird who swims instead of flies, including his facial expression. Nevermind the fact that Andy probably actually can fly - he'd almost have to, considering the speed he travels from room to room.	NOMINATED Like Howard, her character is talked about a lot but her role has turned out to be a minor one in reality, pretty much just being attached to Howard and repeating herself a lot, so Mrs Claus it is. 'Eat, eat!'
Won: Sit out 1 veto comp Many would tag her as the toyshop worker known simply as Tall Elf because he doesn't have much of a role but he figured big in the early advertising. But I've made her the Elf Foreman instead because she's just as erratic, going from moody & grouchy to happy songleader in the blink of an eye, and back again.	She's the ultimate misfit hamster in every way, but she and her hair are so very random that only the squirt gun that shoots jelly applies. I don't know why, but it does.
Won: 2 night 8pm curfew Who else but Santa's reindeer Comet, who doubles as the drill sergeant coach for the young trainees? I don't think Helen's been involved in a single conversation or activity that she didn't carefully orchestrate first, and she always makes sure everyone does it her way. Not to mention her exercise regime - brutal!	NOMINATED Howard's probably as well suited to Sam the snowman but I assigned Santa Claus to him instead, since he seems to be an integral character in every way but in actuality, he pretty much just steps back and lets everyone else sort things out.
She's clearly Dolly, the spokesgirl for the misfit toys. Both are mostly cute, often smiling and sometimes teary, and there isn't really anything wrong with Dolly to explain why she's there. As always, it's easier to just blame Candice.	Won: 24 hour solitary Sam the singing snowman might not be the most beloved character of his show but he's a constant and reassuring voice of reason, always there to fill us in on the story, wearing a grin and rarely playing favorites. I'm not 100% happy with him in this spot, but I can live with it unless Judd breaks out singing Burl Ives songs.
Won: $5,000 Rudolph applies for McCrae in every way: he's totally the young buck trying to find his way, distracted by love, blinded by blizzards, and torn between loyalties to various factions. Time will tell how our group of misfits lands at the end, but McCrae's still the star of my show.. even if I facepalm a lot about how he's playing it.	USED VETO ON SELF Is there any doubt here? Along with David as Hermey, Spencer as Yukon Cornelius goes back to the initial cast release (first brought to my attention by @thoratkinson). Since then, we've come to know Spencer better and yep, licking random items and muttering 'nuttin' applies, as does 'butterscotch'.
Won: Nothing The spotted pink elephant seems to be the best fit for her: rather odd, rather cute, and not all that memorable.	Won: Permanent Have-not pass If Jeremy was a toy, he'd surely be a Charlie in the Box: all the parts seem correct but something isn't right. Plus he's grouchy a lot.
Won: Nothing A misfit toy and an extra in the cast, check. The cowboy who rides an ostrich is about as random as it gets, and fits Nick in some weird way I can't explain, other than it's kind of sporty.	Won: Nothing Evictees are included for a second time since David's half of the inspiration for today's theme, being the perfect hair model for Hermey, the misfit elf who'd rather be a dentist. The misfits part also fits but the similarities end there: Hermey was one of the stars of his show, David not so much.