American Idol
Did the best singer win? No. But, Lee probably "needed" the win and the Idol/19 machine push more than Crystal. Crystal is a "true" artist, but her style of music isn't always the most commercial. I can see her still performing in 20 years, while I can't quite say the same for Lee. I think Lee is clearly the least talented singer to have ever won, and he's in the same genre as David Cook, Daughtry, and even Kris Allen to an extent, but isn't anywhere nearly as talented or inspiring as any of them...and Kris for all his talents didn't really inspire a lot of fans either.
I liked Siobhan and Casey and I can see Casey having some sort of a career as he's good looking, a pretty darn good guitarist, and is a decent singer. Siobhan is perhaps the best pure singer from this season, but can she have a sustained career? She's a quirky personality and somehow should find a way to combine those 2 things into something successful.
As for the judges, Simon had clearly checked out of this season and just didn't care. Ellen was HORRIBLE, as I predicted. Randy is useless. Kara turned in the best judging performance all season. Who knew?
Going forward, Idol should fire everyone but Kara. Give Ryan's job to Ellen. Hire 2 new judges (so ONLY 3 total) and consider the following for those final 2 positions, Shania Twain, Neil Patrick Harris, Ken "Babyface" Edmonds, superproducer Steve Lillywhite, P Diddy, Ben Folds, Piers Morgan, Natalie Maines, Don Was, and someone heretofore unknown (as Simon was originally.) I would prefer that one be a singer/performer and one a producer/talent scout.
They also should incorporate the judges in the process in terms of who goes like they do on DWTS and X Factor. That gets rid of the "judges save," and instead allows the judges to pick kbetween the Bottom 2 or 3.
Get rid of the theme nights that focus on one artist, and don't go further back for a "decade" theme than the 80s. Country night, R&B night, Rock & Roll night ALL make more sense than Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis, Sinatra, Shania Twain, etc...
AI also needs to give the contestants more choices to sing, and not allow a song from earlier in the season (or the prior season) to be sung. They also should ban any song performed more than 3 times, and certain songs should be banned that are associated with a "moment" from a former Idol (like Summertime, Stuff Like That There, Hallelujah, Mad World, etc...)
AI had a VERY comprehensive poll on their website asking all sorts of questions about what works and what doesn't, and I HOPE that they got good replies and they take it to heart.
Smallville
FINALLY a season ending that rocked! It's about time after the last couple that sucked. All in all, it was a pretty good season, but honestly, I wish "Checkmate" had been the "big bad" and not the stoopid Kandorians.
Survivor
Russell SHOULD have won Samoa, and as much as it pains me to admit, Parvati SHOULD have won Heroes vs Villains. I STILL think that in order to win Survivor you really should have won at least 1 Individual Immunity. I understand "puppet masters" and "social players," but Sandra was neither. Sandra won because she wasn't Russell and by proxy Parvati. Sandra did NOTHING to win. She had no alliance. She had no puppets doing her bidding. She had no strategy other than "boot Russell." The ONLY move she made was getting Russell to evict Coach, and by finding the last HII she kept anyone else from getting it. Whoopee doo.
Amazing Race
This last one was MUCH better than the prior one which had some of the LAMEST challenges ever (like go to the top of this building, run onto the roof, and find your clue...seriously?) That said, the Cowboys SHOULD have won, but they goofed at the end. I still don't like how they bunched the final 3 together onto the same plane back to the US. The brothers were waaaay behind and shouldn't have been brought to parity. Ah well. At least the unlikable lesbian couple didn't win.
Justified
WOW! This was a very "slow burn" series. It started with a spark, well a bang anyway, and then slowly burned until the explosive finale. It was one of the best season finales of ANY show this year, and probably one of the best finales ever.
V
This show finally hit its stride the last few weeks. I see this on a short leash next season. This show has many problems, the kid who plays Tyler, the Vs calling themselves Vs, and the way people are able to do things that they shouldn't (like move about unnoticed on a high tech spaceship.) Let's hope that they get off to a fast start next season.
Stargate:Universe
This series also was quite uneven, but I like it on the whole. Good performances, and good ideas. I like that unlike Star Trek:Voyager, there isn't a "reset button" at the end of each episode. Shit happens and mostly the results stick. This has a LOT of potential, and I hope that they're able to get some traction next season.
Chuck
This series should be REQUIRED VIEWING for people writing series that have a "serial" format. This shows how characters can evolve naturally and even find love without losing chemistry or jumping the shark. This past season saw the addition of several new characters, and ALL of them worked. Scott Bakula as Chuck's Dad was genius, and Brandon Routh was actually quite good as the largely unlikable character Shaw. Mu-ha-ha indeed. Next season will have Chuck's Mom. I vote for her to be played by Sarah Connor (either Linda Hamilton or Lena Headey...hmm, they both have LH as initials...oddly interesting.)
Top Chef Masters
Ok, I now am CONVINCED that this series is FIXED. Last season, I predicted that Rick Bayless would win before the season started as he is revered as some sort of Messiah in the food world, and surprise surprise, he won. This season, I again predicted that Marcus Samuelsson would win before the start of the season as he too is highly praised whenever I see him mentioned on something and he also seems to be a "favs" of the "foodies." At the end of the day Susur Lee seemed to do the best overall (heck he got 19 and 19.5 out of 20!) but Marcus got the win in the end. I may have to give up on this show. The new Top Chef is about to start and it features a pretty well regarded local chef from Farmington Hills, so I hope he's a good dude and I can cheer him on.
LOST
While there are about a hundred unanswered questions http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1936291 the ending was amazing and Vincent laying down next to Jack as Jack died was so moving. This series had FAR more hits than misses, and although LOTS of things were unanswered, the characters got their stories resolved (for the most part.) Kudos for an interesting series and well made finale.
New or Returning Shows I Am or Will Be Watching:
Burn Notice, Eureka, My Life on the D List, The Gates, Worst Case Scenario, Mythbusters, Next Food Network Star, and for the first time America's Got Talent. I think that the choir comprised of former homeless vets will win AGT, and they were introduced in the first episode. They're good, and have an amazing and inspiring story. I also like Michael Grimm and he has a good look, voice, and story, and could have won any other year. The 18 year old who looks like James Blunt is decent, but Grimm is better, and the choir's story trumps them all.
Showing posts with label Stargate:Universe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stargate:Universe. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Week Ending 11/15/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
The guest judge this week was Nigella Lawson who is sexy but I've never been a big fan of her cooking shows. The Quickfire Challenge had the 6 remaining cheftestants prepare breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella (they were in separate beds, perve.) Robin's breakfast of course sucked and as usual she was all "I was unhappy with my dish." Of course you were, you blow. Bryan's dish also ended up in the bottom but only because he added vanilla to it which Nigella didn't like. I dunno, it looked and sounded great and I'm not sure how vanilla could have ruined it. For reasons unknown, Jen made "Shit on a Shingle" and actually CALLED it that! WTF!?! Michael made a nice dish, and Kevin made an interesting twist on "steak and eggs" by adding coffee beans, but it was Eli's Reuben/Eggs Benedict sandwich that won the Quickfire, and earned him the one and only slot from this season to be including in the new Top Chef Quickfire Challenge Cookbook. Good for Eli, as that will probably be his last honor in this season.
For the Elimination challenge, the chefs were each sent to various casino/hotels in Vegas to be "inspired" and then turn their inspiration into a dish for 250 guests. That's a LOT of work for each chef, but you just knew who would do well and who wouldn't.
Jen again tried to sabotage herself and in the "stewing room" where they wait to find out their fate she just kept saying, "Just send me home already." Nice. Nothing like giving up.
Eli went to "Circus Circus" and somehow decided that meant peanut and popcorn soup. WTF? Sounds gross. Chef Tom blogged that he actually kinda liked it, but ultimately Eli failed to pull it all together. Padma said that she NEVER wanted to try to eat it again. Nigella was afraid to even try, but ultimately did after the other judges gave it a go.
Michael won by making a nifty chicken wing dish inspired by firefighters of NYC. It had a little sweetness and a little heat and had a semi-frozen blue chees mousse on top.
FINALLY getting the boot was Robin who tried to make things that she'd never done before (again) and failed at it (as usual.) She claimed that she had been an artist and I think she should do everyone a favor and go back to doing that as she just sucks as a chef.
*******
I went and saw Michael Jackson: This Is It and it shows how he was involved with all aspects of the show from auditioning backup dancers to watching the shoots of the little videos that would appear on stage during the different songs. He looked to be in good shape, danced well, and for the most part his voice was in fine shape. I do think they "augmented" his voice by playing the album version of the song at times 9probably as the audio was poorly recorded when he sang it live (remember, these rehearsals weren't supposed to see the light of day) but when he did sing live that were obviously live, he sounded really good.
*******
Fringe was pretty decent although I saw the first "twist" a mile away. Next week should be amazing as it is about the "Observers." Yes, that's an "s" at the end. Stargate:Universe was kinda boring, and Sanctuary wasn't very good (again.) Smallville was quite good although the "Wonder Twins" weren't really given much to do. Lois believed Clark to be "The Blur" and showed him that she was ok with the idea (so why Clark continued to lie to her is a little odd) but this episode did mark the appearance of "Clark with spectacles." Lois also realized, fully, that she is madly in love with Clark and when he risked her life (or so she believed) to try to save her, that just cemented it. Survivor had one of the best Tribals ever as Evil Russell found a Hidden Immunity Idol for the second time WITHOUT A CLUE! Amazing. It led to a great tribal where the "other tribe" cast 7 votes to evict him (although Shambo's was a sham vote...just for looks) and they were all nullified by Russell playing the HII. It was awesome.
The guest judge this week was Nigella Lawson who is sexy but I've never been a big fan of her cooking shows. The Quickfire Challenge had the 6 remaining cheftestants prepare breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella (they were in separate beds, perve.) Robin's breakfast of course sucked and as usual she was all "I was unhappy with my dish." Of course you were, you blow. Bryan's dish also ended up in the bottom but only because he added vanilla to it which Nigella didn't like. I dunno, it looked and sounded great and I'm not sure how vanilla could have ruined it. For reasons unknown, Jen made "Shit on a Shingle" and actually CALLED it that! WTF!?! Michael made a nice dish, and Kevin made an interesting twist on "steak and eggs" by adding coffee beans, but it was Eli's Reuben/Eggs Benedict sandwich that won the Quickfire, and earned him the one and only slot from this season to be including in the new Top Chef Quickfire Challenge Cookbook. Good for Eli, as that will probably be his last honor in this season.
For the Elimination challenge, the chefs were each sent to various casino/hotels in Vegas to be "inspired" and then turn their inspiration into a dish for 250 guests. That's a LOT of work for each chef, but you just knew who would do well and who wouldn't.
Jen again tried to sabotage herself and in the "stewing room" where they wait to find out their fate she just kept saying, "Just send me home already." Nice. Nothing like giving up.
Eli went to "Circus Circus" and somehow decided that meant peanut and popcorn soup. WTF? Sounds gross. Chef Tom blogged that he actually kinda liked it, but ultimately Eli failed to pull it all together. Padma said that she NEVER wanted to try to eat it again. Nigella was afraid to even try, but ultimately did after the other judges gave it a go.
Michael won by making a nifty chicken wing dish inspired by firefighters of NYC. It had a little sweetness and a little heat and had a semi-frozen blue chees mousse on top.
FINALLY getting the boot was Robin who tried to make things that she'd never done before (again) and failed at it (as usual.) She claimed that she had been an artist and I think she should do everyone a favor and go back to doing that as she just sucks as a chef.
*******
I went and saw Michael Jackson: This Is It and it shows how he was involved with all aspects of the show from auditioning backup dancers to watching the shoots of the little videos that would appear on stage during the different songs. He looked to be in good shape, danced well, and for the most part his voice was in fine shape. I do think they "augmented" his voice by playing the album version of the song at times 9probably as the audio was poorly recorded when he sang it live (remember, these rehearsals weren't supposed to see the light of day) but when he did sing live that were obviously live, he sounded really good.
*******
Fringe was pretty decent although I saw the first "twist" a mile away. Next week should be amazing as it is about the "Observers." Yes, that's an "s" at the end. Stargate:Universe was kinda boring, and Sanctuary wasn't very good (again.) Smallville was quite good although the "Wonder Twins" weren't really given much to do. Lois believed Clark to be "The Blur" and showed him that she was ok with the idea (so why Clark continued to lie to her is a little odd) but this episode did mark the appearance of "Clark with spectacles." Lois also realized, fully, that she is madly in love with Clark and when he risked her life (or so she believed) to try to save her, that just cemented it. Survivor had one of the best Tribals ever as Evil Russell found a Hidden Immunity Idol for the second time WITHOUT A CLUE! Amazing. It led to a great tribal where the "other tribe" cast 7 votes to evict him (although Shambo's was a sham vote...just for looks) and they were all nullified by Russell playing the HII. It was awesome.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Recaps and a little more 10/28-11/1/2009
Top Chef 6 - Las Vegas:
First I want to correct myself from last week.
Although it seemed at the time that the judges weren't happy with either seafood dish from Jen last week, I read Tom's blog and he stated that her Halibut dish was good, the shellfish dish (the one she cooked to order like a dumbass) was terrible. So, Mike I. had 2 acceptable dishes; Jen had 1 good and 1 bad; Kevin had 1 good (his dish,) and 1 bad (Laurine's dish that he cooked;) and Laurine had a bad dish (her lamb dish that she prepped, Kevin cooked, and she allowed to be served undercooked,) and did a terrible job as hostess. So, I now agree that she did deserve to go over Jen last week.
Now, on to this week...
This was one of those Quickfire Challenges that had NOTHING to do with the guest judge. The guest judge was Paul Bartolotta, who has one of the top Italian restaurants in Vegas. The challenge, though, was sponsored by TV Guide and was "tv dinners." The challenge was misnamed because instead of making a dish to be frozen and then served tv dinner style, they were asked to make a dinner to eat fresh that was inspired by a classic tv show. What Chef Bartolotta's connection to any of this escapes me. It just seems that they were able to get a paying sponsor (TV Guide) and "crowbarred" the guest judge into the challenge.
The shows that were to "inspire" the chefs were MASH, Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Sesame Street, Soprano's, Seinfeld, & Cheers. For me, none of the dishes really had ANYTHING to do with the shows. Kevin at least made an Italian dish (meatballs) for the Soprano's, but pretty much everything else could have been for any tv show...or heck, just any movie, radio program, or even book. I will give Robin props for being a non-tv watcher and used to eating only "healthy foods," yet knew Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Unfortunately, she made a cookie and some mess with an egg on top. It looked terrible and she wound up in the bottom 2 along with Jen who is Hell Bent on crashing and burning. For MASH, why didn't Bryan make something inspired by Korean cooking like Korean Ribs and a Korean style veggie side? Instead, he made meat and potatoes which he said would have been something American Servicemen would have considered "comfort food." Ok, I'll give him that, but the Korean Ribs would have been great, especially since there was an episode where Klinger had ribs sent from Toledo. For the Flintstones, why didn't Jen make a GIANT CUT OF BEEF with the bone in, and call it "Brontosaurus Style?" For Gilligan's Island, Eli went "tropical" but why not a mini coconut pie, or even coconut custard? Why not something with "Ginger?" Anyway, Bryan and Kevin were the Top 2 and Kevin won.
For the Elimination Challenge, they were going to take over Tom's Vegas restaurant, Craftsteak. The Cheftestants were all excited and mulling the proteins when Tom brought in Padme Amidala herself, Natalie Portman. Oh, did they mention that Natalie is Vegetarian? I don't understand why chefs go nuts over having to cook for vegetarians. A few weeks back, Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen called the the "biggest pains in the ass in the world." Kevin made some snide comments too, but at least not as bad. Chef Tom acknowledged that although he understand why vegetarians/vegans choose to not eat meat, he went on to say that there are stomach acids that ONLY exist to break down meat...so in other words, Vegetarians/Vegans are going against nature. Well, at least he tried.
I go to a Vegetarian restaurant all the time, and there is PLENTY that can be made vegetarian. Heck, every Indian and Ethiopian restaurant have a big vegetarian menu, as does most Mexican and many Italian. Not including odd things like Seitan, they can use beans, lentils, and soy for protein, but pasta dishes, rice dishes...so many dishes are out there that are already vegetarian, let alone any number of dishes that can be made. Robin was excited because she cooks and eats vegetarian all the time. Mike I. also cooks vegetarian all the time and his own mother is Vegan. The rest mentioned that they have vegetarian dishes or make them special at their restaurants...but they all seemed to whine a bit.
Well, whatever. Michael, Kevin and Eli were in the top, and Kevin's sloppy looking mushroom dish won. I think this made him the first to win both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges with the same guest judge. Michael bitched that Kevin's dish may have been tasty (he didn't try it,) but it was pedestrian and could be made by any young chef in cooking school, while his was much more complicated. Chef Tom admonished this on his blog and that technique and presentation don't exceed taste, and Kevin's tasted better...although I think he actually wanted Michael's to win inspite of Kevin's dish tasting better, and was out voted.
Jen, Robin & Mike I. were in the bottom (this meant Brother Bryan was alone in "no man's land,) and all of them were pretty terrible. I think the judges are cutting Jen slack, but her dish did seem to be the least offensive of the 3. Robin's was a bunch of disparate veggies that had no connection to each other, and the dish was not balanced in terms of seasoning, acidity, and so forth. But surprisingly, it was Mike I. who got the boot. He didn't cook his leeks properly...and for whatever reason tried to make them a "pretend protein" rather than actually incorporate a real protein. His dish fell apart and he just was like, "oh well, whatever," because rather than try to fix it, he figured that Robin would fail worse and she'd go. He was wrong. In Chef Tom's blog, he seem to imply that one of the brothers or Kevin will go earlier than expected, and in the promo for next week, judge Toby is heard to say, "he" in relation to someone totally failing.
Random Thoughts:
After one of the best Smallville's in a loooong time, they followed up with another good one. Oliver is back and has recruited a gal to be his "Speedy" of sorts. He also got into a love triangle with Clark and Lois, but the episode ended with Clark taking matters into his own hands (although Lois already had told Oliver that she loved him as a friend but Clark has her heart) and Clark kissed Lois.
Sanctuary was one of those episodes to show that the "new person" is part of the team. It didn't work. She still sucks.
Stargate:Universe was one of those "needs of one outweigh the needs of the many" episodes. It was so so.
Ghost Hunters was semi-live with 5 "scariest" episodes as voted by "fans," but hosted live and included Steve and Tango and people from their spinoff series Ghost Hunter Academy. It was ok, more good humor from host Josh, but after they were spoofed on South Park a couple of weeks ago, I'd have rather seen a full episode made by South Park than this sort of semi-live "best of."
Personal Notes:
With my birthday so close to Halloween, I've always had a special place for it. Also, it fits me much more than say Christmas, or 4th of July. I've always looked forward to it...
Until a bad combination of factors over the past few years.
My ex and I wanted to get married on Halloween. We couldn't get the date, so we settled on November 1. It was great, and everyone who was there still talks about how unique and fun it was. The theme was Halloween during the Renaissance. She made her Renaissance style wedding dress, my Renaissance style outfit, her son's outfit that was like a junior version of mine, the 3 little flower girl's dresses, and altered the matron of honor's gown.
We made most of the decor ourselves. The card box looked like a castle. The bride's cake looked like a castle, and the groom's cake was dark chocolate ganache over a red velvet cake...so it looked like a "blood cake." The groom's cake had a little gazebo painted black with black roses on it, and little figurines of Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein. All of the tables had artificial leaves on them. We took all of our carved pumpkins (my family and my brother's) from Halloween and spread them around the reception hall. We had a table set up for kids after dinner and hired the 2 gals who operated the after school facility at my stepson's school. People were encouraged to dress up...either Renaissance or Halloween costumes. Not everyone did, but many did dress up. It was a LOT of fun.
But now, I see that day just after Halloween, and it makes me a little sad. Before it was over, I had a little family of me, my wife, my stepson, and our 2 dogs. Worse, 2 years ago on 10/29 I had to put my girl dog to sleep (the other one lives with my ex several hundred miles away down south.) So now I've "bookended" my favorite day of the year with "sadness."
This year, it's kinda hitting me differently. Last year, I had no desire to decorate for Halloween as it was the first year anniversary since my little girl had to be put down. I went Trick or Treating with my niece and nephew...and I will again this year. Having just turned 40 and still single...and then these 2 dates all in a row...I'm just not feeling much joy or having the kind of fun that I usually have. Add to that the fact that I'm still having money problems and know that until I get that improved, I won't even THINK about trying to date anyone...
Well, it's all left me more than a little melancholy.
Yeah, yeah, I know...waaaaah.
I know it could be worse. A LOT worse. But the weight of the "blahs" is keeping me down. As I've written before, I'm not a "rah rah" type of person, so when I get the blahs...oy. But, I'm muddling through and hanging in there. At any rate...I just wanted to try and put how I'm feeling into words as it seems to help to "get rid" of those feelings.
I went to my brother's to carve pumpkins, then went Trick or Treating with them on Halloween. It was fun.
But I miss my little girl.
And I miss my little family.
First I want to correct myself from last week.
Although it seemed at the time that the judges weren't happy with either seafood dish from Jen last week, I read Tom's blog and he stated that her Halibut dish was good, the shellfish dish (the one she cooked to order like a dumbass) was terrible. So, Mike I. had 2 acceptable dishes; Jen had 1 good and 1 bad; Kevin had 1 good (his dish,) and 1 bad (Laurine's dish that he cooked;) and Laurine had a bad dish (her lamb dish that she prepped, Kevin cooked, and she allowed to be served undercooked,) and did a terrible job as hostess. So, I now agree that she did deserve to go over Jen last week.
Now, on to this week...
This was one of those Quickfire Challenges that had NOTHING to do with the guest judge. The guest judge was Paul Bartolotta, who has one of the top Italian restaurants in Vegas. The challenge, though, was sponsored by TV Guide and was "tv dinners." The challenge was misnamed because instead of making a dish to be frozen and then served tv dinner style, they were asked to make a dinner to eat fresh that was inspired by a classic tv show. What Chef Bartolotta's connection to any of this escapes me. It just seems that they were able to get a paying sponsor (TV Guide) and "crowbarred" the guest judge into the challenge.
The shows that were to "inspire" the chefs were MASH, Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Sesame Street, Soprano's, Seinfeld, & Cheers. For me, none of the dishes really had ANYTHING to do with the shows. Kevin at least made an Italian dish (meatballs) for the Soprano's, but pretty much everything else could have been for any tv show...or heck, just any movie, radio program, or even book. I will give Robin props for being a non-tv watcher and used to eating only "healthy foods," yet knew Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Unfortunately, she made a cookie and some mess with an egg on top. It looked terrible and she wound up in the bottom 2 along with Jen who is Hell Bent on crashing and burning. For MASH, why didn't Bryan make something inspired by Korean cooking like Korean Ribs and a Korean style veggie side? Instead, he made meat and potatoes which he said would have been something American Servicemen would have considered "comfort food." Ok, I'll give him that, but the Korean Ribs would have been great, especially since there was an episode where Klinger had ribs sent from Toledo. For the Flintstones, why didn't Jen make a GIANT CUT OF BEEF with the bone in, and call it "Brontosaurus Style?" For Gilligan's Island, Eli went "tropical" but why not a mini coconut pie, or even coconut custard? Why not something with "Ginger?" Anyway, Bryan and Kevin were the Top 2 and Kevin won.
For the Elimination Challenge, they were going to take over Tom's Vegas restaurant, Craftsteak. The Cheftestants were all excited and mulling the proteins when Tom brought in Padme Amidala herself, Natalie Portman. Oh, did they mention that Natalie is Vegetarian? I don't understand why chefs go nuts over having to cook for vegetarians. A few weeks back, Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen called the the "biggest pains in the ass in the world." Kevin made some snide comments too, but at least not as bad. Chef Tom acknowledged that although he understand why vegetarians/vegans choose to not eat meat, he went on to say that there are stomach acids that ONLY exist to break down meat...so in other words, Vegetarians/Vegans are going against nature. Well, at least he tried.
I go to a Vegetarian restaurant all the time, and there is PLENTY that can be made vegetarian. Heck, every Indian and Ethiopian restaurant have a big vegetarian menu, as does most Mexican and many Italian. Not including odd things like Seitan, they can use beans, lentils, and soy for protein, but pasta dishes, rice dishes...so many dishes are out there that are already vegetarian, let alone any number of dishes that can be made. Robin was excited because she cooks and eats vegetarian all the time. Mike I. also cooks vegetarian all the time and his own mother is Vegan. The rest mentioned that they have vegetarian dishes or make them special at their restaurants...but they all seemed to whine a bit.
Well, whatever. Michael, Kevin and Eli were in the top, and Kevin's sloppy looking mushroom dish won. I think this made him the first to win both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges with the same guest judge. Michael bitched that Kevin's dish may have been tasty (he didn't try it,) but it was pedestrian and could be made by any young chef in cooking school, while his was much more complicated. Chef Tom admonished this on his blog and that technique and presentation don't exceed taste, and Kevin's tasted better...although I think he actually wanted Michael's to win inspite of Kevin's dish tasting better, and was out voted.
Jen, Robin & Mike I. were in the bottom (this meant Brother Bryan was alone in "no man's land,) and all of them were pretty terrible. I think the judges are cutting Jen slack, but her dish did seem to be the least offensive of the 3. Robin's was a bunch of disparate veggies that had no connection to each other, and the dish was not balanced in terms of seasoning, acidity, and so forth. But surprisingly, it was Mike I. who got the boot. He didn't cook his leeks properly...and for whatever reason tried to make them a "pretend protein" rather than actually incorporate a real protein. His dish fell apart and he just was like, "oh well, whatever," because rather than try to fix it, he figured that Robin would fail worse and she'd go. He was wrong. In Chef Tom's blog, he seem to imply that one of the brothers or Kevin will go earlier than expected, and in the promo for next week, judge Toby is heard to say, "he" in relation to someone totally failing.
Random Thoughts:
After one of the best Smallville's in a loooong time, they followed up with another good one. Oliver is back and has recruited a gal to be his "Speedy" of sorts. He also got into a love triangle with Clark and Lois, but the episode ended with Clark taking matters into his own hands (although Lois already had told Oliver that she loved him as a friend but Clark has her heart) and Clark kissed Lois.
Sanctuary was one of those episodes to show that the "new person" is part of the team. It didn't work. She still sucks.
Stargate:Universe was one of those "needs of one outweigh the needs of the many" episodes. It was so so.
Ghost Hunters was semi-live with 5 "scariest" episodes as voted by "fans," but hosted live and included Steve and Tango and people from their spinoff series Ghost Hunter Academy. It was ok, more good humor from host Josh, but after they were spoofed on South Park a couple of weeks ago, I'd have rather seen a full episode made by South Park than this sort of semi-live "best of."
Personal Notes:
With my birthday so close to Halloween, I've always had a special place for it. Also, it fits me much more than say Christmas, or 4th of July. I've always looked forward to it...
Until a bad combination of factors over the past few years.
My ex and I wanted to get married on Halloween. We couldn't get the date, so we settled on November 1. It was great, and everyone who was there still talks about how unique and fun it was. The theme was Halloween during the Renaissance. She made her Renaissance style wedding dress, my Renaissance style outfit, her son's outfit that was like a junior version of mine, the 3 little flower girl's dresses, and altered the matron of honor's gown.
We made most of the decor ourselves. The card box looked like a castle. The bride's cake looked like a castle, and the groom's cake was dark chocolate ganache over a red velvet cake...so it looked like a "blood cake." The groom's cake had a little gazebo painted black with black roses on it, and little figurines of Dracula and The Bride of Frankenstein. All of the tables had artificial leaves on them. We took all of our carved pumpkins (my family and my brother's) from Halloween and spread them around the reception hall. We had a table set up for kids after dinner and hired the 2 gals who operated the after school facility at my stepson's school. People were encouraged to dress up...either Renaissance or Halloween costumes. Not everyone did, but many did dress up. It was a LOT of fun.
But now, I see that day just after Halloween, and it makes me a little sad. Before it was over, I had a little family of me, my wife, my stepson, and our 2 dogs. Worse, 2 years ago on 10/29 I had to put my girl dog to sleep (the other one lives with my ex several hundred miles away down south.) So now I've "bookended" my favorite day of the year with "sadness."
This year, it's kinda hitting me differently. Last year, I had no desire to decorate for Halloween as it was the first year anniversary since my little girl had to be put down. I went Trick or Treating with my niece and nephew...and I will again this year. Having just turned 40 and still single...and then these 2 dates all in a row...I'm just not feeling much joy or having the kind of fun that I usually have. Add to that the fact that I'm still having money problems and know that until I get that improved, I won't even THINK about trying to date anyone...
Well, it's all left me more than a little melancholy.
Yeah, yeah, I know...waaaaah.
I know it could be worse. A LOT worse. But the weight of the "blahs" is keeping me down. As I've written before, I'm not a "rah rah" type of person, so when I get the blahs...oy. But, I'm muddling through and hanging in there. At any rate...I just wanted to try and put how I'm feeling into words as it seems to help to "get rid" of those feelings.
I went to my brother's to carve pumpkins, then went Trick or Treating with them on Halloween. It was fun.
But I miss my little girl.
And I miss my little family.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Recaps 10/20-10/25
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.
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.
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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