Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
This week the guest judge was Rick Moonan who competed on Top Chef Masters and is all about "sustainable foods."
The Quickfire involved everyone drawing knives. 6 were blank. 1 said "first choice," and 1 said "second choice." Jen drew 1st choice and they were told to pick people for teams so she chose Kevin, then MIke I, then Laurine. Brother Michael had "second choice" so he chose his brother bryan, then Eli and got stuck with Robin. For the quickfire, they had to see how well they could be a team by having 1 chef start a dish and work on it for 10 minutes while the other 3 were blindfolded (so they couldn't see what was going on) and NO TALKING was allowed. After 10 minutes, the second chef would whip off their blindfold, and then try to continue the dish and so on down the line. Both teams put their weakest 2nd as that was the easiest to fix with the final 2 chefs. Jen's team went Jen, Laurine, Mike I, then Kevin. Michael's team went Bryan, Robin, Eli and finally Michael. Rick liked both dishes, and although Jen oddly called her fish Trout, although it was Sablefish...which she SHOULD know since SHE was the one who got it since SHE went first and CHOSE the ingredient...her team won. By winning, they got a $10,000 chip which they could split 4 ways ($2,500 each,) or "let it ride" and if her team won the Elimination Challenge, they each would win $10,000! They decided to gamble, and put the chip on the line.
The Elimination Challenge was the much loved "Restaurant Wars!" This time it was different. usually, each team is given a small space side by side that they have to create a restaurant from scratch, including decor. This time, they were able to take over Rick's 2 story restaurant in Vegas, because each floor had its own kitchen and decor. Jen's team took the top floor which was more "fine dining" and their restaurant plan was supposed to fit that more. Michael's team got the first floor which had a more casual look. So, instead of decor and food, they split up to get food and restaurant equipment and odds and ends not at Whole Foods. The 4 good chefs, Bryan, Michael, Kevin and Jen, all went for the food while the other 4 went to get the other stuff.
The judges went to Michael's restuarant first, which they named Revolt as in Robin, Eli, and the Voltaggio brothers. But of course, the judges instantly thought "Revolting" which isn't a good pairing with food. Eli was the "front of the house" guy, but in another twist, he HAD to come up with 1 dish. He and Michael did first courses, Michael and Bryan did second courses, and Bryan and Robin did desserts. The judges LOVED the food. They weren't especially fond of Eli's dish (which was incorrectly labeled on screen as someone else's (I think Bryan.) Bu they really loved Michael's first course chicken, and also his second course a fish dish. Robin's dessert also got high marks, although she and Michael fought in the back because he was trying to improve it while she took it as him messing with her dish. Bryan had to step in and settle them both down. They also loved Bryan's beef dish and mostly loved his dessert. While Eli's dish was the weakest of all the dishes, it was passable and his hosting was very good.
Jen's team was fail. Laurine was terrible as a hostess. She put out food and then walked away without explaining the dishes. It wasn't until the 2nd course that Padma had to stop her and ask her to tell them what they were having and who made what. She also seemed to disappear for long periods of time. The food did not go over well. For some reason, instead of having the chefs cook 1 dish per course, they had them do both dishes per course. First course were both Mike I's dishes. They were so so, but they got the highest marks for this team. Second course were 2 seafood dishes from Jen, and for reasons unknown, she cooked shellfish to order....which is dumb, time consuming, and easily undercooked. Finally, Kevin had a beef dish and also had to finish Laurine's Lamb dish that she prepped all the way up to the actual cooking process.
Needless to say, Michael's team won. That meant that his team now got the $10,000 chip that Jen's team had "let ride." Michael offered to split it 4 ways, but when they got to the back, Bryan told him to keep his portion. He felt that (a) Michael had won it, and (b) Michael was such a jerk in the kitchen that his bad behavior shouldn't be rewarded.
Jen's team had all decided to NOT make a dessert because they said in past seasons, the team who made desserts lost. The judges pounced on them for no dessert. In the end, Laurine got the boot even though her dish was undercooked by Kevin. Laurine had told Tom that SHE would send back ANY dish not made properly, but then said that because there was such a long wait in between the 1st and 2nd courses (due to Jen cooking the clams and such to order) that she just tried to get the food out. So, she went due to that and due to her poor front of the house performance. While Tom has said time and again that each chef is ONLY judged by THAT week's elimination, I don't think that is what happened. Jen made 2 terrible dishes. Both were called out for how bad they were. Had she precooked the clams, oysters, and etc, and maybe made one as the first course and 1 as the second, she might have been able to stay on top of them. Same with all the chefs and their dishes on her team.
For me though, it SHOULD have been Jen because it was her team, and BOTH of her dishes were terrible. Afterwards, Kevin was pissed and wouldn't talk about it. I wonder if it was guilt for undercooking Laurine's dish and her going home, or because he felt that Jen was given a pass due to her prior good performances. Once again, Jen's dour, pouty, poor self esteem caught up with her. She really is her own worst enemy.
This was a great week in tv! Many shows had some of their best episodes ever!
Survivor:
Chief Russell passed out at the reward challenge and at one point had "cold dead eyes." Jeff stopped the challenge, and then cancelled it outright and sent the tribes back to their camps. he had announced that reward was for pizza, but that BOTH tribes would go to tribal where the winning tribe would eat in front of the losing tribe, but BOTH tribes would vote off someone. Snake bitten Foa Foa looked to be about to win when Chief Russell faceplanted on Galu's puzzle table. Russell's heart rate dropped from like 98 bpm to 67 bpm, so they pulled him from the game. Russell was pissed and reading interviews with him now, he was a jerk to medical and the Survivor people. He didn't realize how bad it was as he was out of it. He just thought he was dehydrated and passed out and would have been fine after some water. Watching it with his wife, he said seeing his cold dead eyes would haunt him his whole life and made his wife breakdown next to him. She thought that she had just seen him die before coming back. Thankfully, this has apparently brought them closer together. Jeff blogged that it was about 45 minutes before Russell was fully conscious and aware. He also responded to comments on his blog and said that both tribes got pizza because of what had happened. Neither tribe voted anyone out so Galu now has 8 and Foa Foa still has 5.
Smallville:
I thought that this was one of the best episodes of Smallville in a LOOOONG time.
It was kind of like that Michael Douglas movie "The Game" where he's a rich guy and for his birthday gift he is thrust into a "game" where his life and lifestyle are put to risk. That happens to Oliver who is on a self destructive binge, and essentially tried to kill himself last week when he stepped off the Toyman's bomb platform, not knowing that it was a fake.
He is at a gambling house when an Asian woman with a dragon tattoo offers him some "real fun." She give him a pill and he wakes up in a coffin. he gets out and finds himself in a room with another coffin, this one locked and someone inside pounding to get out. On the top of the coffin it says, "Alexander Luthor" who Ollie believes he killed last season. Ollie opens it and it's just speakers. He's then taunted by the game makers.
He escapes to a car, that gets hit by a semi. He wakes up on the ground and makes his way back to the gambling place where he finds the scared Asian woman. She tells him that her life is in danger too, and they both get attacked and she gets shot. Cops show up and taser Ollie. He wakes up handcuffed to a table and a cop yelling at him. An FBI agent comes in, and tells Ollie that they've been tracking this group and that they raid his accounts. He gives Oliver a laptop, and Ollie checks his accounts. He has over $3 billion, but it's all there. The FBI agent leaves the room, and suddenly the money disappears. Clark busts in, and takes him to see Chloe.
Chole is shocked at Oliver's appearance. Ollie tries to get to the bottom of it, while Chloe sends Clark to see Jor El as they find out that nearly 100 Kandorians have arrived on earth, and 1 was at the event where Oliver was standing on the "bomb" platform. Clark later returns to say that Jor El recognized the symbol as a house from Kandor and that her presence there means big trouble.
Oliver goes back to the gambling place and finds a bound Lois in the Asian woman's dress. Lois saw the footage of Ollie stepping off the platform, and was made that Clark both hid it from her and lied that Ollie was ok. She found Oliver's lambo, and the Asian woman was in possession of it. She and Lois fought until Asian woman (now known as Roulette,) pulled a gun on her. Roulette told Ollie that he had a choice, save Lois from the fire she was about to start, or try to stop her. She knocked out Lois (actually, it seemed quite lame,) and as she left, the fire caused an explosion in the other room. Ollie left Lois to save a trapped Roulette, telling her that despite all that she's done, he won't leave her to burn alive. Suddenly, she gets up and all the fires go out. It was all a set up. She tells Ollie that she kept asking him, "Who did he destroy?" Suddenly mirrors appear and the answer is obvious...Ollie "destroyed" himself.
Ollie confronts Chloe. He figured out that only SHE could have put it all together and used the League to prevent him from serious harm. Chloe admitted it, and said that Clark and Lois only became involved by accident. She knew he was still a good man and a hero, but had lost sight of it after what he did to Lex. Oliver now was "reborn" and the episode ended with him and Clark on a rooftop, looking to stop crime together.
Dollhouse:
Dollhouse told how Sierra (born Priya) was an artist found by a brilliant Noble nominated doctor. He used the Dollhouse to throw her an art gallery showing mixed with real art people and Dolls. He wanted her to be with him, but she fell for "Victor." It was then that he used his pull to have her drugged with psychotics and committed to a mental institution. He then arranged for her to be picked up by the Dollhouse and made into a Doll...where she would become his unknowing personal sex slave as she was programmed to be his "girlfriend."
Acting on a tip from Echo, Topher looked into it and found out that the Dollhouse had been had. DeWitt was NOT amused and told him that they would no longer be sending her to him. he told her that as a major contributor to the Rossum Foundation, HE not she called the shots. Sure enough, her job and life were threatened by her higher ups to make Sierra PERMANENTLY his girlfriend.
Topher instead gave her back her real mind, and she ended up killing him. She called Topher who came to help her and they'd BOTH have to run away. Until Langton showed up with a plan. He had followed Topher and sent him to his car for some tools and acid. Topher had to cut up the loser's body in the tub, and fill the tub with the acid. Priya then came back with them and knew that she had to go back to being Sierra again. She saw Victor, and realized that somehoe, the 2 of them were in love. She told Topher that if she were to be returned to Priya again, to restore her to where she was when he woke her up, without any knowledge of what has happened and what she did.
By all accounts from fans and reviewers, this was one of the best episodes ever!
Other shows that were really good this week include Spectacular Spiderman which saw a battle between 3 crimelords and then Spiderman, only to find that the Green Goblin had returned and had set the whole thing in motion. Batman the Brave & the Bold also was surprisingly good. It was a musical, with Neil Patrick Harris in the role of the Music Meister, a villain who can control minds with his singing. Good guys and bad all end up doing his bidding while Black Canary and others sing his twisted songs. Very interesting songs, and especially the Black Canary pining for Batman song.
Other shows:
Sanctuary was pretty decent, but I STILL want to know why they killed off Ashley and replaced her with a new character. Stargate:Universe is much more like BSG than Star Trek:Voyager, and NOTHING like the other Stargates. Medium was a good episode on the whole, but I HATE episodes where they make Allison look crazy.
In other news, it was my birthday on Friday (10/23.) Not a good day on the whole, but could have been worse.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Recaps and Comments 10/20/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The guest judge was Charlie Palmer, who is sometimes credited with making "American Food" a "Cuisine" and not just a derided joke.
Brothers Bryan and Michael had both worked for him. Bryan for about 10 years, and Michael for about a year. Charlie said that he wouldn't give them any special treatment.
The Quickfire Challenge was that they had to pair a new company's (ie sponsor) brand of snack food with something else to make a nice dish. The snacks were 1 of 6 flavors of Alexia Crunchy Snacks that are made from veggies. The chefs had all been eating the snacks back at the apartment they've been living in, so they were all familiar with the flavors of the snacks. Some seemed really good, while others were kinda meh. Poor Jen, she cooked her tenderloin too early, and Charlie and Padma got to her last, so while her meat sat all that time, it continued to cook. Tenderloin has less fat and is easy to dry out, and by cooking it too early and having it sit, by the time it was tasted, it was overdone. Jen, Ash and Robin were in the bottom. The tops were Bryan, Eli and Kevin and Eli got the win. No $15,000 or immunity for him though, his only reward was that he got to pick first in the Elimination challenge.
The Elimination challenge began with everyone drawing knives. On each knife was a type of cut of pork. Shank, shoulder, butt, loin, tenderloin, leg, etc... Jen got "Wild Boar" which was the "wild card" so she could pick whatever cut she wanted. She wisely chose pork belly which is the juiciest, tastiest, and least likely to get dried out. One they had their pig part, they had to pick a brand of Pinot Noir to pair their dish with for Charlie's "Pigs & Pinot" annual charity fundraiser.
The result was a microcosm of this season as a whole (and clearly of the remaining cheftestants.) The Top 4 were the usual 4 that are in the top. Brothers Bryan & Michael, Kevin, and Jen. Kevin got the well deserved win, and he get talking about how much he loves pork that he even has a tattoo of a pig, and once he won, he proceeded in showing it off to the judges. The bottom 3 were the usual bottom feeders, Robin, Ash and Laurine. That meant that Eli and Mike I were where they usually are...somewhere in the middle. Laurine's dish was called "catfood" by Dana Cowen, another Food & Wine person (like Gail) who also is a regular on Top Chef and I think she's been on Iron Chef America too.
For me, anyone who has a dish called "cat food" should be the one sent home. Especially after she explained how she cooked it, and Charlie informed her that her cooking method wasn't even the way the dish is SUPPOSED to be prepared. So, let's see, she didn't even know how to cook the dish she made, and the final product was like cat food. So she went home right? Wrong! Ash who YET AGAIN changed his mind after talking to one of the other cheftestants, and prepared the dish the way the other person suggested, instead of his original idea. He told Charlie what his original plan was, and Charlie thought that it sounded yummy. I think Ash got the boot because Tom was tired of Ash always cooking someone else's idea, and not his own...even after telling Tom that "this time it would be all him." Ash would contend that Padma had a LOT to do with him going. He claimed that she NEVER liked ANY of his dishes, and was ALWAYS critical of him. When he was in front of the judges explaining his latest disaster, she asked him in a VERY condescending tone, "Did you taste the dish?"
Regardless, The Top 4 will most likely always be in the top and SHOULD be the Final Four, the bottom 2 should go next, and Mike and Eli may win another Quickfire or so, but I don't see either winning an Elimination round.
Paranormal Activity:
Odds and Ends...
Adam, who won Big Brother 9 (the ONLY Spring edition) was arrested for selling Oxycodone.
http://www.silive.com/entertainment/tvfilm/index.ssf/2009/10/adam_jasinski_big_brother_9_wi.html
The headline that lead me to that search for the above article (as that one has a photo) was "Big Brother Winner Arrested for selling Oxycodone." I thought, oh no, Dr Will!?!
I had thought that Adam was a basically decent guy, despite his well known "retard" comment. I guess not. He used his winnings to fund his life of crime. As Bugs Bunny would say, what a maroon.
The guest judge was Charlie Palmer, who is sometimes credited with making "American Food" a "Cuisine" and not just a derided joke.
Brothers Bryan and Michael had both worked for him. Bryan for about 10 years, and Michael for about a year. Charlie said that he wouldn't give them any special treatment.
The Quickfire Challenge was that they had to pair a new company's (ie sponsor) brand of snack food with something else to make a nice dish. The snacks were 1 of 6 flavors of Alexia Crunchy Snacks that are made from veggies. The chefs had all been eating the snacks back at the apartment they've been living in, so they were all familiar with the flavors of the snacks. Some seemed really good, while others were kinda meh. Poor Jen, she cooked her tenderloin too early, and Charlie and Padma got to her last, so while her meat sat all that time, it continued to cook. Tenderloin has less fat and is easy to dry out, and by cooking it too early and having it sit, by the time it was tasted, it was overdone. Jen, Ash and Robin were in the bottom. The tops were Bryan, Eli and Kevin and Eli got the win. No $15,000 or immunity for him though, his only reward was that he got to pick first in the Elimination challenge.
The Elimination challenge began with everyone drawing knives. On each knife was a type of cut of pork. Shank, shoulder, butt, loin, tenderloin, leg, etc... Jen got "Wild Boar" which was the "wild card" so she could pick whatever cut she wanted. She wisely chose pork belly which is the juiciest, tastiest, and least likely to get dried out. One they had their pig part, they had to pick a brand of Pinot Noir to pair their dish with for Charlie's "Pigs & Pinot" annual charity fundraiser.
The result was a microcosm of this season as a whole (and clearly of the remaining cheftestants.) The Top 4 were the usual 4 that are in the top. Brothers Bryan & Michael, Kevin, and Jen. Kevin got the well deserved win, and he get talking about how much he loves pork that he even has a tattoo of a pig, and once he won, he proceeded in showing it off to the judges. The bottom 3 were the usual bottom feeders, Robin, Ash and Laurine. That meant that Eli and Mike I were where they usually are...somewhere in the middle. Laurine's dish was called "catfood" by Dana Cowen, another Food & Wine person (like Gail) who also is a regular on Top Chef and I think she's been on Iron Chef America too.
For me, anyone who has a dish called "cat food" should be the one sent home. Especially after she explained how she cooked it, and Charlie informed her that her cooking method wasn't even the way the dish is SUPPOSED to be prepared. So, let's see, she didn't even know how to cook the dish she made, and the final product was like cat food. So she went home right? Wrong! Ash who YET AGAIN changed his mind after talking to one of the other cheftestants, and prepared the dish the way the other person suggested, instead of his original idea. He told Charlie what his original plan was, and Charlie thought that it sounded yummy. I think Ash got the boot because Tom was tired of Ash always cooking someone else's idea, and not his own...even after telling Tom that "this time it would be all him." Ash would contend that Padma had a LOT to do with him going. He claimed that she NEVER liked ANY of his dishes, and was ALWAYS critical of him. When he was in front of the judges explaining his latest disaster, she asked him in a VERY condescending tone, "Did you taste the dish?"
Regardless, The Top 4 will most likely always be in the top and SHOULD be the Final Four, the bottom 2 should go next, and Mike and Eli may win another Quickfire or so, but I don't see either winning an Elimination round.
Paranormal Activity:
I am not a horror movie fan.
That said, if a movie comes along that looks interesting, I might try to see it. 10 years ago, it was Blair Witch. That was not really a "horror" movie as we know them these days, but more of a scary movie...like a throwback. It was ok, but by the time I had seen it, the "cat was out of the bag" that it was a movie and not "found footage." I also happened to see the fake documentary (aka mockumentary) that presented all this back story. I think it was called "Curse of the Blair Witch." I've read where some people saw the mockumentary first and then were disappointed that NONE of that info makes it into the film. For me though, I think it enhanced the experience because I understood some of what was happening. Perhaps it would have been better to see the movie first, and then the fake documentary. I dunno, hard to say.
It's been surprising at how few "scary" movies have been made since, and how many gory horror movies have come out. I suppose there have been a few, some would say 28 days later.
Most would say [REC] which was remade as Quarantine. I haven't seen any of them.
I am trying to see "Let the Right One In," but I've heard that the DVD has poor ad misleading subtitles. Like some of the dialogue was misinterpreted or made not as full as seen in the theaters. So, I guess I'll wait for the revised DVD. I also want to see Trick r Treat, which like Paranormal Activity was a small budget film (although it does have some known actors) and for whatever reason, it was never given a proper release. I've heard it's scary as Hell, and I see it's On Demand, so I'll probably try to order it soon.
At any rate, Paranormal Activity, like Blair Witch and Cloverfield, is supposed to be a movie made from footage from a personal camcorder.
I won't give anything away, but the gist is that a young 20 something unmarried couple move in and odd things start happening. The guy doesn't think much of it, but decides to buy a really nice video camera, with great resolution and an expensive mic, to let the thing run at night and see if it picks up anything. He does it more or less to appease his girlfriend.
As such, while the entire movie is filmed from this camera, the main thrust of the film is told while the camera runs during the night while the couple sleep. Watching darkess and a time counter run in the bottom right corner of the screen may not seem very interesting, but trust me, it is.
There isn't any gore. This movie is 100% creepy, suspenseful, scariness. Sitting there watching them sleep and wondering if something is going to happen is pull out your hair, look thru your fingers, bite off your nails creepy. I would say that I found this to be 10 times creepier than Blair Witch because while that took place in the woods, this takes place in their home. I find that to be MUCH creepier. The main problem that people had with Blair Witch was that you really don't see anything. If you like creepy, scary, terrifying, non-gory horror movies, this is for you.
I have NEVER been in a theater with so many people screaming their faces off. Even Sixth Sense was more people being startled than actually terrified. This movie could very well make you lose your shit...both figuratively and literally.
I saw this by myself.
I do not recommend that.
While I personally didn't have any problems sleeping, alone, that night or since, I've read where a LOT of people have had problems. Even those not sleeping alone.
I encourage people to go see this movie. It's the perfect time of the year for it. Also, it's a great story of a movie made for less than $20,000 doing good. In very limited release (still in less than 800 theaters) it's made over $20 million this past weekend, and has topped $30 million total.
If it's not showing in your area, call your local theaters and request it. Go see this movie, and see it with an audience as that is really part of the experience.
That said, if a movie comes along that looks interesting, I might try to see it. 10 years ago, it was Blair Witch. That was not really a "horror" movie as we know them these days, but more of a scary movie...like a throwback. It was ok, but by the time I had seen it, the "cat was out of the bag" that it was a movie and not "found footage." I also happened to see the fake documentary (aka mockumentary) that presented all this back story. I think it was called "Curse of the Blair Witch." I've read where some people saw the mockumentary first and then were disappointed that NONE of that info makes it into the film. For me though, I think it enhanced the experience because I understood some of what was happening. Perhaps it would have been better to see the movie first, and then the fake documentary. I dunno, hard to say.
It's been surprising at how few "scary" movies have been made since, and how many gory horror movies have come out. I suppose there have been a few, some would say 28 days later.
Most would say [REC] which was remade as Quarantine. I haven't seen any of them.
I am trying to see "Let the Right One In," but I've heard that the DVD has poor ad misleading subtitles. Like some of the dialogue was misinterpreted or made not as full as seen in the theaters. So, I guess I'll wait for the revised DVD. I also want to see Trick r Treat, which like Paranormal Activity was a small budget film (although it does have some known actors) and for whatever reason, it was never given a proper release. I've heard it's scary as Hell, and I see it's On Demand, so I'll probably try to order it soon.
At any rate, Paranormal Activity, like Blair Witch and Cloverfield, is supposed to be a movie made from footage from a personal camcorder.
I won't give anything away, but the gist is that a young 20 something unmarried couple move in and odd things start happening. The guy doesn't think much of it, but decides to buy a really nice video camera, with great resolution and an expensive mic, to let the thing run at night and see if it picks up anything. He does it more or less to appease his girlfriend.
As such, while the entire movie is filmed from this camera, the main thrust of the film is told while the camera runs during the night while the couple sleep. Watching darkess and a time counter run in the bottom right corner of the screen may not seem very interesting, but trust me, it is.
There isn't any gore. This movie is 100% creepy, suspenseful, scariness. Sitting there watching them sleep and wondering if something is going to happen is pull out your hair, look thru your fingers, bite off your nails creepy. I would say that I found this to be 10 times creepier than Blair Witch because while that took place in the woods, this takes place in their home. I find that to be MUCH creepier. The main problem that people had with Blair Witch was that you really don't see anything. If you like creepy, scary, terrifying, non-gory horror movies, this is for you.
I have NEVER been in a theater with so many people screaming their faces off. Even Sixth Sense was more people being startled than actually terrified. This movie could very well make you lose your shit...both figuratively and literally.
I saw this by myself.
I do not recommend that.
While I personally didn't have any problems sleeping, alone, that night or since, I've read where a LOT of people have had problems. Even those not sleeping alone.
If it's not showing in your area, call your local theaters and request it. Go see this movie, and see it with an audience as that is really part of the experience.
Odds and Ends...
Adam, who won Big Brother 9 (the ONLY Spring edition) was arrested for selling Oxycodone.
http://www.silive.com/entertainment/tvfilm/index.ssf/2009/10/adam_jasinski_big_brother_9_wi.html
The headline that lead me to that search for the above article (as that one has a photo) was "Big Brother Winner Arrested for selling Oxycodone." I thought, oh no, Dr Will!?!
I had thought that Adam was a basically decent guy, despite his well known "retard" comment. I guess not. He used his winnings to fund his life of crime. As Bugs Bunny would say, what a maroon.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Catching up
Sorry that it's been so long, work has been nuts.
Anywho, I'll do short recaps of Warehouse 13's final 2 episodes and the last 3 eps of Top Chef: Vegas, plus a few comments about other shows this season.
Suffice to say, I probably won't be blogging any shows for the time being, but I will try to keep posting on Top Chef until it finishes.
Anything else, tv shows, movies, wtfe, will come as I can.
Warehouse 13:
Ok, so I was wrong in that Mrs Frederic didn't turn Artie and the team loose to get MacPherson. The second to last episode started with Myka in Europe in a hotel room they traced to MacPherson. She discovered that special hand cymbals that he had were not in their storage box in the room, so he must have them on him. At the same time, Pete was chasing MacPherson down a street in Montreal when 2 cops showed up. MacPherson used the cymbals which blasted a sonic wave that knocked Pete over and killed the 2 cops (Pete had been warned to cover his ears, the cops weren't so lucky.) Mrs. Frederic was NOT pleased at what they had been up to.
Myka's father, who runs an old new & used book store and lives above it with her mother was sent an old Edgar Allen Poe book. Upon touching it, words from the pages ran up his arm causing him to scream in pain. Myka's mom called and told her that he had some sort of seizure, so Myka went to check on him...although they never got along. Pete showed up unexpectedly to offer his support. Later, the father read the book again (not knowing what had happened) only this time he went into some trance/coma like state and the words could be seen all over his body.
At the same time, a college student with a crush on a pretty gal "hears" Edgar Allen Poe's pne "calling" to him. He breaks into a display case with it, and by writing a word down anyone who reads it is affected by it. He writes "fire" on paper and puts it in a rivals locker and the guy bursts into flames (survives.) Then his professor confronts him about the pen and the kid shows him "wall" and the wall grabs the prof and buries him alive inside. Luckily, by now Pete and Claudia have arrived and they get the prof out of the wall. The kid entralls the gal and when Pete & Claudia show up he shows them "Pendulum" and suddenly they're lying prone on the ground with a giant pendulum swinging above them. They're able to break the spell from them and the gal, and take the pen into their custody.
Back at Myka's parent's place, the reunite the pen and book and the words leave her dad and go back into the book. As Myka and Pete leave, they realize that something isn't right. They go back inside and fine Myka's parents entralled by a lantern (Jack the Ripper's) and MacPherson is there. He agrees to free her parents and spare their lives in exchange for the book and pen. He takes them and leaves.
Ok decent episode, it resolved Myka and her father's estrangement when Myka finds out that he wrote and rewrote a book about her and how great she is. He never published it, but Myka and her mom encourage him to do so. Myka's parents were played by real life husband and wife Michael and Susan Hogan. Michael played the eye patch wearing Colonel Tigh on the recent BSG remake series.
The final episode of the season had the whole team hunting MacPherson who possessed a Phoenix pendant that allows the wearer to survive being in a fire, but by killing double the amount of lives it saves. This is what caused MacPherson to be banished from the Warehouse and imprisoned. Years earlier, he used it to save the life of the woman he and Artie both loved, but it killed 4 firemen. Banishment from the Warehouse means adding an element to his blood that should he step into the Warehouse, the magically enhanced elements in the Warehouse would cause him to explode. He somehow had managed to not only escape prison some time ago, but had managed to get the Phoenix pendant as well as other items from within the Warehouse. Doing an investigation, the team used the item's tracking device that records anyone who removes an item from a shelf. In all cases, the person was Claudia.
Turns out that MacPherson had a shape changing artifact, and had one of his henchmen wear it to "become"Artie to try to frame Artie as a major criminal. It was also revealed that Leena, the Bohemian woman who runs the Bed & Breakfast where the agents live, was working with MacPherson and stole the items for him while looking like Claudia. The point was to get the agent's to capture MacPherson and bring him to the Warehouse to be encased in copper for all time. In order to do that, he was given an item that neutralized the chemicals in his body so that he could go inside. Once inside, Leena (as Claudia) freed him from the copper and he stole some items and set the tunnel that connects the Warehouse to the outside to explode...which it did...with Artie inside.
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The last 3 episodes-
Episode 5:
Guest Judge: Tim Love who competed and lost in the first rounds of Top Chef Masters.
Quickfire Challenge: make something with cactus. Winner: Mike I who won a $15,000 chip
Elimination Challenge: Camping cooking out in the desert with fire pits.
Winner: Brother Bryan for his second in a row, and third overall.
Eliminated: Mattin who made ceviche...out in the dessert...and it was raw.
Episode 6:
Guest Judges: Michelle Bernstein and Penn & Teller.
Quickfire Challenge: Make something that represents Angel on one shoulder and Devil on the other. Winner: Robin who made a dish that represented what she could eat and couldn't eat due to her cancer diagnosis. The cheftestants were NOT happy as Robin is considered a light weight and they though Michelle gave it to her because she's a woman and her cancer story. Chef Tom disputed that in his online blog. BTW, Michelle Bernstein is SMOKING HOT now!
Elimination Challenge: Use their own "magic" to deconstruct and recreate a dish.
Winner: Kevin who had made a similar dish in the previous challenge but failed...he just happened to get some of the same ingredients by chance.
Eliminated: Ron who tried to make a Paella but neither successfully or correctly made a paella, and didn't even get the concept of deconstructing it as it was essentially just his trying to actually make a paella using the normal ingredients.
Episode7:
Guest Judge: Tyler Florence of Food Network (huh? how was he able to do this?) aka my "celebrity look-alike." I don't think I look like him, but he's the only celebrity who is even close. I think he was able to be on this show as it was all to benefit a feed the hungry program that he's seriously involved with.
Quickfire Challenge: The pulled a slot machine and it gave them 3 random ingredients based upon "mood" "taste/texture" and "origin of cuisine"
Winner: Kevin who could take a $15,000 chip, or have immunity in the Elimination Challenge. He chose the chip (good call!)
Elimination Challenge: They had to draw knives to pair up and make a dinner using ingredients given to them from a well regarded restaurateur who also were members of Tyler's organization. The ingredients represented that restaurateur's "style" but they didn't have to make the dish like the restaurateur, they could make something of their own using that person's ingredients in a new and different way.
Winner: Jennifer who had been sick and was in the bottom in the Quickfire Challenge.
Eliminated: Ashley Brother Michael almost got the boot, but since he wins more than not and Ashley's in the bottom more than not, I think that's why she went.
At this point, the only really "weak" cheftestant left is Robin. She SHOULD go this week, and if not her then maybe Laurine.
Other Shows:
Survivor:
They spent waaaay too much time hyping Evil White Russell and yet nothing he has said is really true. He keeps gloating that he's "calling the shots" yet the first to go was a young gal who didn't get along with the tribe, and the next to go was an over 40 woman. These are the types who USUALLY go first anyway. His first real challenge was when Jaison wanted to get rid of Ben but EWR didn't. Jaison got his way as EVERYONE (including EWR) voted out Ben. I will give EWR credit for finding the Hidden Immunity Idol without a single clue, but for me, it was hidden very lazy. I was more impressed when Eirk was told the 2 clues by Shambo and he went and found it just using what she had told him. Their HII was also in a tree, but it seemed MUCH harder to find.
The Amazing Race:
It would SUCK to have been Philiminated before the start of the race as the "hippie" couple was, but at least it's not as bad as when they've done it on Top Chef where they had traveled across the country only to be eliminated before it began, or Survivor where people had traveled across the planet only to be eliminated before tribes were even formed. I had hpp[ed byond hope that the annoying lawyer couple would be the ones to go, but alas.
Right now, I like the young couple who have been together since Elementary school, the father and son team, and the Globetrotters (these 3 teams finished 1, 2 & 3 on the last episode!)
I didn't like the poker playing gals, but they redeemed themselves a bit when the gay brothers had stopped to help them and they told them to continue on so that they wouldn't fall behind trying to help them.
Smallville:
So, they made Clark "Batman" for the first 2 episodes and he's now "The Blur" instead of the "Red Blue Blur" as he now wears black and not red & blue. They're also making Green Arrow have the "addict" storyline...much like the Tony Stark drunk storyline in Ironman. I think they had a GA storyline that was similar in the comics, but I'm not 100% sure. Also, Zod and MANY Kandorians are on Earth, but NONE of them have powers...yet. They now know that Clark exists, but for the moment, they think it's Jor El. I'm also not sure I like what they're doing, but I'll reserve judgment until I see how it all plays out.
Stargate-Universe:
This certainly isn't the "old" Stargate, and also isn't Star Trek:Voyager. MUCH darker. MUCH more conflict. Also, MUCH more adult and has really "deep" themes.
Fringe:
Pretty good, glad it's back. Hope it does well.
Heroes:
I haven't watched ANY of the episodes, and apparently neither has America as it's ratings are terrible. I doubt it will make it.
Dollhouse:
Somewhat better, but still glad it's back.
Sanctuary:
Very different than last season so far. I like the change, and the effects seem even better, so perhaps they increased the budget. So far, so good!
Wolverine & The X-Men:
Wow, this series has continued to impress me. If you're not watching it, you're missing the best first season of a cartoon series ever...even better than Spectacular Spiderman from last year.
Spectacular Spiderman:
It took a LOOONG break recently for no reason after having FINALLY come back on, but it's back and it's still good.
Next Iron Chef America:
Why?
I know Batali is gone, but I recognize NONE of these people. Why not wait and maybe bring back some of the other NICA people from last time, or some of the TCM folks. Who are these people? So far the first episode might as well have been called Top Iron Chef America as it was virtually IDENTICAL to Top Chef and NOT like the previous NICA that Michael Symon won.
Anywho, I'll do short recaps of Warehouse 13's final 2 episodes and the last 3 eps of Top Chef: Vegas, plus a few comments about other shows this season.
Suffice to say, I probably won't be blogging any shows for the time being, but I will try to keep posting on Top Chef until it finishes.
Anything else, tv shows, movies, wtfe, will come as I can.
Warehouse 13:
Ok, so I was wrong in that Mrs Frederic didn't turn Artie and the team loose to get MacPherson. The second to last episode started with Myka in Europe in a hotel room they traced to MacPherson. She discovered that special hand cymbals that he had were not in their storage box in the room, so he must have them on him. At the same time, Pete was chasing MacPherson down a street in Montreal when 2 cops showed up. MacPherson used the cymbals which blasted a sonic wave that knocked Pete over and killed the 2 cops (Pete had been warned to cover his ears, the cops weren't so lucky.) Mrs. Frederic was NOT pleased at what they had been up to.
Myka's father, who runs an old new & used book store and lives above it with her mother was sent an old Edgar Allen Poe book. Upon touching it, words from the pages ran up his arm causing him to scream in pain. Myka's mom called and told her that he had some sort of seizure, so Myka went to check on him...although they never got along. Pete showed up unexpectedly to offer his support. Later, the father read the book again (not knowing what had happened) only this time he went into some trance/coma like state and the words could be seen all over his body.
At the same time, a college student with a crush on a pretty gal "hears" Edgar Allen Poe's pne "calling" to him. He breaks into a display case with it, and by writing a word down anyone who reads it is affected by it. He writes "fire" on paper and puts it in a rivals locker and the guy bursts into flames (survives.) Then his professor confronts him about the pen and the kid shows him "wall" and the wall grabs the prof and buries him alive inside. Luckily, by now Pete and Claudia have arrived and they get the prof out of the wall. The kid entralls the gal and when Pete & Claudia show up he shows them "Pendulum" and suddenly they're lying prone on the ground with a giant pendulum swinging above them. They're able to break the spell from them and the gal, and take the pen into their custody.
Back at Myka's parent's place, the reunite the pen and book and the words leave her dad and go back into the book. As Myka and Pete leave, they realize that something isn't right. They go back inside and fine Myka's parents entralled by a lantern (Jack the Ripper's) and MacPherson is there. He agrees to free her parents and spare their lives in exchange for the book and pen. He takes them and leaves.
Ok decent episode, it resolved Myka and her father's estrangement when Myka finds out that he wrote and rewrote a book about her and how great she is. He never published it, but Myka and her mom encourage him to do so. Myka's parents were played by real life husband and wife Michael and Susan Hogan. Michael played the eye patch wearing Colonel Tigh on the recent BSG remake series.
The final episode of the season had the whole team hunting MacPherson who possessed a Phoenix pendant that allows the wearer to survive being in a fire, but by killing double the amount of lives it saves. This is what caused MacPherson to be banished from the Warehouse and imprisoned. Years earlier, he used it to save the life of the woman he and Artie both loved, but it killed 4 firemen. Banishment from the Warehouse means adding an element to his blood that should he step into the Warehouse, the magically enhanced elements in the Warehouse would cause him to explode. He somehow had managed to not only escape prison some time ago, but had managed to get the Phoenix pendant as well as other items from within the Warehouse. Doing an investigation, the team used the item's tracking device that records anyone who removes an item from a shelf. In all cases, the person was Claudia.
Turns out that MacPherson had a shape changing artifact, and had one of his henchmen wear it to "become"Artie to try to frame Artie as a major criminal. It was also revealed that Leena, the Bohemian woman who runs the Bed & Breakfast where the agents live, was working with MacPherson and stole the items for him while looking like Claudia. The point was to get the agent's to capture MacPherson and bring him to the Warehouse to be encased in copper for all time. In order to do that, he was given an item that neutralized the chemicals in his body so that he could go inside. Once inside, Leena (as Claudia) freed him from the copper and he stole some items and set the tunnel that connects the Warehouse to the outside to explode...which it did...with Artie inside.
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The last 3 episodes-
Episode 5:
Guest Judge: Tim Love who competed and lost in the first rounds of Top Chef Masters.
Quickfire Challenge: make something with cactus. Winner: Mike I who won a $15,000 chip
Elimination Challenge: Camping cooking out in the desert with fire pits.
Winner: Brother Bryan for his second in a row, and third overall.
Eliminated: Mattin who made ceviche...out in the dessert...and it was raw.
Episode 6:
Guest Judges: Michelle Bernstein and Penn & Teller.
Quickfire Challenge: Make something that represents Angel on one shoulder and Devil on the other. Winner: Robin who made a dish that represented what she could eat and couldn't eat due to her cancer diagnosis. The cheftestants were NOT happy as Robin is considered a light weight and they though Michelle gave it to her because she's a woman and her cancer story. Chef Tom disputed that in his online blog. BTW, Michelle Bernstein is SMOKING HOT now!
Elimination Challenge: Use their own "magic" to deconstruct and recreate a dish.
Winner: Kevin who had made a similar dish in the previous challenge but failed...he just happened to get some of the same ingredients by chance.
Eliminated: Ron who tried to make a Paella but neither successfully or correctly made a paella, and didn't even get the concept of deconstructing it as it was essentially just his trying to actually make a paella using the normal ingredients.
Episode7:
Guest Judge: Tyler Florence of Food Network (huh? how was he able to do this?) aka my "celebrity look-alike." I don't think I look like him, but he's the only celebrity who is even close. I think he was able to be on this show as it was all to benefit a feed the hungry program that he's seriously involved with.
Quickfire Challenge: The pulled a slot machine and it gave them 3 random ingredients based upon "mood" "taste/texture" and "origin of cuisine"
Winner: Kevin who could take a $15,000 chip, or have immunity in the Elimination Challenge. He chose the chip (good call!)
Elimination Challenge: They had to draw knives to pair up and make a dinner using ingredients given to them from a well regarded restaurateur who also were members of Tyler's organization. The ingredients represented that restaurateur's "style" but they didn't have to make the dish like the restaurateur, they could make something of their own using that person's ingredients in a new and different way.
Winner: Jennifer who had been sick and was in the bottom in the Quickfire Challenge.
Eliminated: Ashley Brother Michael almost got the boot, but since he wins more than not and Ashley's in the bottom more than not, I think that's why she went.
At this point, the only really "weak" cheftestant left is Robin. She SHOULD go this week, and if not her then maybe Laurine.
Other Shows:
Survivor:
They spent waaaay too much time hyping Evil White Russell and yet nothing he has said is really true. He keeps gloating that he's "calling the shots" yet the first to go was a young gal who didn't get along with the tribe, and the next to go was an over 40 woman. These are the types who USUALLY go first anyway. His first real challenge was when Jaison wanted to get rid of Ben but EWR didn't. Jaison got his way as EVERYONE (including EWR) voted out Ben. I will give EWR credit for finding the Hidden Immunity Idol without a single clue, but for me, it was hidden very lazy. I was more impressed when Eirk was told the 2 clues by Shambo and he went and found it just using what she had told him. Their HII was also in a tree, but it seemed MUCH harder to find.
The Amazing Race:
It would SUCK to have been Philiminated before the start of the race as the "hippie" couple was, but at least it's not as bad as when they've done it on Top Chef where they had traveled across the country only to be eliminated before it began, or Survivor where people had traveled across the planet only to be eliminated before tribes were even formed. I had hpp[ed byond hope that the annoying lawyer couple would be the ones to go, but alas.
Right now, I like the young couple who have been together since Elementary school, the father and son team, and the Globetrotters (these 3 teams finished 1, 2 & 3 on the last episode!)
I didn't like the poker playing gals, but they redeemed themselves a bit when the gay brothers had stopped to help them and they told them to continue on so that they wouldn't fall behind trying to help them.
Smallville:
So, they made Clark "Batman" for the first 2 episodes and he's now "The Blur" instead of the "Red Blue Blur" as he now wears black and not red & blue. They're also making Green Arrow have the "addict" storyline...much like the Tony Stark drunk storyline in Ironman. I think they had a GA storyline that was similar in the comics, but I'm not 100% sure. Also, Zod and MANY Kandorians are on Earth, but NONE of them have powers...yet. They now know that Clark exists, but for the moment, they think it's Jor El. I'm also not sure I like what they're doing, but I'll reserve judgment until I see how it all plays out.
Stargate-Universe:
This certainly isn't the "old" Stargate, and also isn't Star Trek:Voyager. MUCH darker. MUCH more conflict. Also, MUCH more adult and has really "deep" themes.
Fringe:
Pretty good, glad it's back. Hope it does well.
Heroes:
I haven't watched ANY of the episodes, and apparently neither has America as it's ratings are terrible. I doubt it will make it.
Dollhouse:
Somewhat better, but still glad it's back.
Sanctuary:
Very different than last season so far. I like the change, and the effects seem even better, so perhaps they increased the budget. So far, so good!
Wolverine & The X-Men:
Wow, this series has continued to impress me. If you're not watching it, you're missing the best first season of a cartoon series ever...even better than Spectacular Spiderman from last year.
Spectacular Spiderman:
It took a LOOONG break recently for no reason after having FINALLY come back on, but it's back and it's still good.
Next Iron Chef America:
Why?
I know Batali is gone, but I recognize NONE of these people. Why not wait and maybe bring back some of the other NICA people from last time, or some of the TCM folks. Who are these people? So far the first episode might as well have been called Top Iron Chef America as it was virtually IDENTICAL to Top Chef and NOT like the previous NICA that Michael Symon won.
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