Big Brother Spoilers at the end!!!
Torchwood: Children of Earth:
My DVR is quickly filling up with all the episodes and behind the scenes stuff. At some point, we'll have to find the time to watch them all. Once I've seen them all, I'll probably post my thoughts about it here.
I can't wait to watch it!
P.S. Did anyone watch the special about John Barrowman called "Making Me" or somesuch? It was about him trying to find out why he's gay and how and when he became gay. It was fascinating. For him (the rest is in spoiler proof inviso text. In order to see the "hidden or inviso text" hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the end.) it looks like his mother had 2 sons before him (one who miscarried) and there is a direct link to gay men having older brothers. Something about the mother not being able to produce enough testosterone with each pregnancy. I've heard about that for a long time. Also, research from all over the world pretty much concludes that 99% of gay people are born gay.
Next Food Network Star:
The first challenge was to make a dish and present "live" on a local morning show. I don't remember what they made, it wasn't important. Each presentation was sabotaged. Debbie went first and her sabotage was they didn't have utensils and instead of fish, she found that it was chicken. She just used other things to stir, said that the dish could work with any protein, and then without being able to cut it, just broke it off and she and the host ate it that way. Guest judge "Iron Chef" Michael Symon and the other judges were impressed, said they made it too easy on her. The "live tv host" kept calling Melissa the wrong name and the guy said that he hated one of her ingredients (olives) but she said that she was the right girl for him because she'd make him like them with her dish. Then the guy just started adding hot sauce into her dish, and poured in like a gallon and she got flustered and went into her "speed talk" mode that they've criticized her about many times. Then at the end of the segment when he tried the item he nearly puked. For Jeffrey, they kept saying they had technical issues like the mics weren't working, so at first there was a boom mic right on top of his head, and they actually hit him with it, then a guy came up with a handheld and was holding it while making Jeffrey lean over the counter to talk into it and then he ended up holding a chef knife and the mic in the same hand, which led to the judges being afraid that he'd stab someone with the knife, but on the whole he kept calm and just rolled with whatever else went wrong. Then came Jameka who even BEFORE the problems started, just put her head down and tried to plunge thru the segment because her last cooking demo on Rachael Ray's show went poorly. Then things went wrong like the camera was in her face and they gave her the wrong time cues telling her they needed to speed up, slow down, cut it short, stretch for time, and once even just pointed at the watch and shrugged. Debbie won that challenge, which was the first one that she's one. So, it took the elimination of 8 other people before she was able to win something. Hmm.
Then in the next part, they had to cook something where if they won, the dish would end up on red lobster's menu for a short time. This time, they were all rolling along making their dishes, when Symon and Bobby Flay had them stop the time and then they switched ingredients. They took away all the spices and peppers from Jeffrey, who was already nervous from having to use a wood fired grill which he'd never cooked on before, and made him use Asian sauces and spices. They took away all the citrus from Melissa who said that she'd never made fish without citrus, and they gave her hot habeneros. For Debbie, they took away all of her Asian/Korean stuff and gave her Mediterranean ingredients including capers which she ended up forgetting to use. When called on it, she first said they were in the sauce, then said she hadn't been given capers. For Jameka, they took away her pineapple and gave her celery root. She doesn't like celery root, so she basically shut down. She didn't know what to do, and when asked by head judge Bob what she was up to, she told him that she was just pissed off. Hmm. At the end, she grilled the celery root and found that it tasted great, so she was able to complete her dish.
Jeffrey ended up winning the challenge, and they put a version of his dish on the Red Lobster menu as of Monday, 7/20, although they changed the fish from what he had to Tilapia. Also, I think that since he won that they should have had him make the dish that he wanted to make, and then Red Lobster's head chef could have chosen which of the 2 (or both) to put on their menu. So Jeffrey was the only one who was safe. The judges went after Debbie about her lying about the capers and said that she has made excuses several times during the competition as to why things didn't go well, including last week when she claimed that she did all that she could, but was found out to have only worked on her own dishes. Debbie got upset and said that they were attacking her character and integrity. But it was clear who was going home and as predicted here last week, out went Jameka.
Sunday 7/26 is the second to last episode, so the finale is next week. Here are my odds to win: Debbie really is the least pleasant of the three personalities. She's also only won 1 challenge, and has been caught lying and making excuses. Still, they have favored her from the start, and she has made some good dishes, and FN doesn't have any Asian hosts. Odds to win: 8-1. Jeffrey has won more challenges than anyone. He's a nice looking guy, and is very laid back. He comes across as a more exciting Michael Chiraello, or a more laid back Tyler Florence. FN also doesn't have any Arabic hosts, so he also would be a first. He has been a fan favorite on many forum boards, but almost all of the winners of NFNS have been guys, and the 2 FN executives have seemed to favor the 2 final women more the whole time. Still, he has the best culinary skill of them all, and has worked well live and on camera, and has won the most challenges. Odds to win: 3-1. Melissa is an untrained "home cook." FN already has Rachael Ray, Paula Dean, and Sandra Lee who all work in that same area. Melissa is bubbly and the judges like her tips and advice that she has, plus when she hasn't gone into "speed talker" mode, she's done well on camera. I think she has been a favorite from before the series began, as she fits right into their main demographic, home cook mothers. Odds to win: 6-5
Kathy Griffin:
In this episode, Kathy was going to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, so she went around asking black people what she should and shouldn't do. First she asked her friend who was in the movie Clueless, then she asked comic Katt Williams who is hysterical and made so much money doing standup that he announced in December 2008 after having had some sort of breakdown that he was going to retire after his New Year's show and he's only 35. After talking with him, she went and hung out with rapper T.I. and had chicken and waffles with him. Then she met with Rev Al Sharpton at his office, and later appeared on his radio show. She got Rev Al to introduce her at the Apollo.
When she got to the Apollo, she found out that she was performing on "amateur night," so she said it totally showed that she was still on the D-List. There were a bunch of kid acts before hers, but she was told that they had all left by the time she hit the stage. So she went out and was doing her act and all was going well until she used the p-word for a woman's privates. Dead silence. Crickets. She started to go into another joke, when the band struck up. So she said thanks and good bye and left the stage. When she got backstage, some guy told her that she had disrespected the Apollo and how dare she say that with kids still in the audience. They then essentially tossed her out of the building. In the limo driving away from the Apollo, Kathy called Katt and told him what happened and he thought it was awesome. Back home, she read an email the Apollo sent her talking about how egregious she was and that if they get requests for refunds, they'll add them up and send her an invoice to repay them. Oh, and that she will not be allowed back to the Apollo "anytime soon."
Warehouse 13:
They had some hokey moments bookending this episode with the 2 leads fighting in the warehouse and getting doused with the purple goo as "negative energy" can affect many items in the warehouse. At the end of the episode, they tricked Artie into thinking that they had blown up his precious car to get him back for telling both of them to let the other think he/she was in charge because he/she was "sensitive."
The main storyline was about 3 people suddenly acting violently impulsive. A teen boy smashing his violin during practice, and old lady smashing the jar with her husband's ashes against the entrance to the hospital where he died, and then spray painting the F-Word on their sign, and a nun jumping off of a building thinking that she could fly. Later, each went on to do more of the same, and the boy ended up in a coma.
As the agents went around investigating, a man at an AA meeting suddenly took off for the bar after 20 years sober and then he too wound up in a coma. The Sheriff got affected and became hostile towards the agents for stepping on his turf and his needing to "protect America." The woman agent also became affected and she kept showing man hatred specifically towards her partner, so she kept socking him in the nose.
It turned out that the town's priest was a descendant of a powerful hypnotist and that the recent arrival of his ancestor's "hypno-chair" where those hypnotized would sit had stored mental abilities in the iron springs and anyone who sat in it while being counseled by the Priest would have the power of the chair unlock their "hidden anger."
The hold on the townspeople wouldn't let go, even after the male agent doused it with the purple goo. He had to axe it apart to break the "spell." While doing that, the Sheriff had strapped a bomb on himself and took hostages in the church, and then he activated it before the chair had been destroyed. Once free of the spell, the Sheriff helped the male agent get the bomb vest off and the agent ran outside with it where it exploded and shattered much of the church's stained glass windows. The agent was unhurt, and that's where they came up with the prank against Artie.
Finally, the warehouse power grid kept acting up and Artie realized that the person who tried to hack the computer last week was now trying to hack the power grid. At the end of the episode, the hacker was successful and was able to use the power grid's monitor to send a message, "Knock Knock." From the previews, it looks like this hacker is revealed next week.
Superstars:
Down to the Final Four. Kristi & Maks, Bode & Paige, Brandi & Julio, and Leslie & David.
Since there are only 4 teams left, they had 3 challenges instead of 2...plus the stoopid "rubber match."
The first even had 1 member race a jetski around a slalom course, and then after clearing the last buoy, they could race back to the beach at top speed where they'd have to remove the key, run to the shore and give the key to their teamate. The second member would then run out to the water bike, start it up, and then run the course themselves. The winner of the first 2 races would then race each other to determine 1st and 2nd place, while the 2 losers would race each other to determine 3rd and 4th.
The second challenge had the each team member shoot 5 arrows into a target. What they did was take a regulation target that has 10 rings,and make 10 targets, 1 each size, and each ring was worth the same points. So the largest ring was worth 1, and the smallest worth 10. Julio did the best overall by hitting the 8 point target 4 times in a row. He wanted to shoot for 10 with the last shot, but Brandi told him they only needed 8 points and if he missed they'd finish last. So he made the fifth in a row and got the 8 point target again.
For the third challenge, one player had to climb a 30' rock wall and press a button. Once the button was pressed, the next member could climb up until they too hit the button. Again, the winners of the first 2 rounds would face off while the 2 losers would face off. Maks revealed that he's afraid of heights, but you'd never know it from the way he quickly scrambled up the rock. He kept complaining that the safety harness was hurting his cojones and also said balls (which was funny, because they subtitled it on the screen so that you could tell that he said balls. WTF was up with that?!)
At the end of 3 events, Krist & Maks had won 2 and tied for first once so they were safe in first. Leslie & David had finished last, and second to last each round so they were in dead last.
So time again for the "rubber match." Once again, the team in second place got screwed as Bode & Paige had 30 more points than Brandi & Julio who were in third. Bode & Paige SHOULD have been allowed to be safe without the stoopid "rubber match." For the "rubber match," they had to again shoot at a target, but this time it was the 8 point target only. Also, each member only got one shot. The first team to have a member hit the target without the other team being able to do so would move on. They each shot, and Bode went last. His first arrow looked like it was resting on the top of the target, but the judge ruled that it didn't actually hit it. I was amazed, as was everyone else. It really looked like he had scalped it. But, on the second round, again nobody hit it although there were a couple of near misses. This time, Bode nailed it. So, while Bode & Paige shouldn't have had to do the "rubber match," they prevailed sending Julio & Brandi to the obstacle course.
At the obstacle course, it was a best of 3. Julio & Brandi won the first heat which saw David injure his wrist. In the second heat, when David hit the big heavy obstacle that you have to push into and run through, he screamed from the pain of hitting it at a run with his hands. But, David & Leslie won (especially since Brandi fell twice) setting up a 3rd heat. In the third heat, David again screamed (duh, try to use the other hand only) but again Brandi stumbled and seemed to get caught up in the cargo net. This meant that, once again, Leslie & David had been in the bottom the whole time yet survived the obstacle course.
Next week, the season finale with the final 3 of Kristi & Maks (who have finished alone or tied for first in like 7 events,) Bode & Paige, and Leslie & David. My money is on Kristi & Maks.
Top Chef Masters:
This one had Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith. A guy who's been a chef since 1971, and actually once trained the youngest competitor in this week's competition. An Asian guy from Hawaii named Roy who owns 37 restaurants named Roy's (or some variation of Roy's blah blah blah.) The youngest guy I had heard of too, but maybe in passing.
The Quickfire had the chefs make a dish using only the ingredients found in one aisle at Whole Foods (the aisle was randomly chosen by knife draw,) and had to cost under $20. I think this was the highest rated Quickfire yet as the scores were 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5. The oldest guy had the lowest initial score, while the youngest guy (who had to make a dessert) got 5 stars.
For the Elimination Challenge, each chef had to make a "mystery lunch box" full of ingredients for one of the other chefs (names randomly drawn.) The young guy and his old mentor drew each other, while Art & Roy drew each other.
For the first time, they showed the night between challenges. The 4 chefs went to the Hostess (Ms. Choi's) home (allegedly) and the 4 of them made dinner together. They all hung out with Ms Choi and all seemed to have a good time and the dinner was probably amazing.
None of the chefs tried to sabotage the other, and in fact each pretty much gave them what they knew would be their specialty. The old guy made pork and got enough points to go from 3.5 points to 20 total. The Asian guy made mahi mahi and ribs but they didn't go over well and he got low points and was eliminated. The young guy also got eliminated. Art only needed 16 points (and average of 4 stars from the 3 judges and the table guest who were culinary students.) He got a total of 17.5 stars to win the week with 22 total stars! Wow, who'd have thunk it?
Burn Notice:
I thought that this was a pretty decent episode, and it featured Krycek from X-Files! Well, the actor who played him. Also, this is the first episode to air since star Jeffrey Donovan was arrest for DUI, and at first I kept thinking, "what a dumbass," but once the episode got going, I forgot all about it.
It started with Michael getting a gift from the "agent to the spies" who still wants Michael to join up with him. Michael paid him a visit and once again told him off. Michael then barged in on his put upon CIA contact, and left him a note about the agent, and asked him to find out what he could for him. Michael then tapped into his CIA contact's internet connection to record data (that wouldn't be able to be deciphered) in the hopes that it would show how much activity he's had since Michael's visit and if he has had to change his passwords. All that data WOULD be readable, as statistics, and it would indicate to Michael just how connected this supposed "agent" really was.
Michael and Fi arrive at her home and find it's been broken into. They catch a kid, maybe 13 or so, who is trying to steal one of her guns. Michael catches him and takes him back to Fi's where he eventually spills that he's trying to kill his step-dad. Turns out the step-dad is on several local boards and is connected to several judges, cops, and politicians. His brother (Krycek!) is connected to the local mobs. This make the step-dad virtually untouchable. He has been beating his wife, and now has started on the kids (like 13 & 8...the 8 year old is his kid with the mother.) So the Mom filed for divorce, and this has led the guy to try to steal the kids from her and use all of his connections to get sole custody.
Mike, having had an abusive Dad, feels VERY connected to these people and wants to help. After hearing their stories, Fi and Sam want to help the family by killing or at least beating the step-dad into oblivion. Instead, Mike finds out that he has a side business that even the brother doesn't know about. He resells seized goods (like cars and black market stuff) and keeps the profits. Mike decides to pretend to be a guy who bought one of these stolen goods and beats up the step-dad and tells him that people are after Mike (his cover) and also the step-dad. The scumbag doesn't buy it, so Mike and the gang rig the lights to the parking lot where the step-dad's car is to go out on cue as the guy leaves work. Then they disable his car. Then they jam his cell phone. They next speed at him, and Fi shoots the ground near him. This rattles him, so he calls Mike (Mike's cover) and says that they need to work together to find this guy, while Mike keeps trying to get him to leave town (so he'll miss the next custody hearing, and the mother will get the kids by default.)
The 13 year old decides that Mike's plan isn't working, so he steals Mike's mother's car and shotgun and waits in ambush for the step-dad. Mike finds him, but the step-dad has seen the car drive by his office several times and is spooked. Mike has the kid speed off in the car, leading the guy to pull out his gun and run in terror across the parking lot. Mike then shows up. The guy STILL won't leave town, and insists that they hire people to find out who's doing this and take them out. Mike of course "hires" Fi and Sam to be the take down squad, and the step-dad pays them $40,000. Michael then uses fake blood and small explosives in bottle caps to wire his, Fi's and Sam's shirts. They then take the step-dad to where they tell him the people are, but then set off the explosives, making it look like they were all killed. This time it works, and the guy goes back to his office and is getting ready to run when Krycek, err, I mean his brother shows up and stops him. The guy tells his brother what's going on, but the brother doesn't buy it, as the step-dad has had a history of substance abuse.
The step-dad takes his brother and his brother's goons to where the bodies were, but...no bodies! No blood! No spent shells either! They go to the place where Michael told him the baddies had been holding up, and they find it now is a small church...with Pastor Pete (aka Michael!) Out front, there's Sam working as a fruit vendor! Fi is shown walking down the street, as just a casual passerby! The guy flips out, yelling that Michael was the guy who took him here, and Sam & Fi were the hired killers...and all of them were dead just minutes ago! With that, the brother's seen enough. Michael, Sam & Fi read that he's been tossed into the mental ward, the wife automatically gets sole and full custody of the kids, and the step-dad's business dealings are being investigated. The wife is given the $40,000 to help her start a new life somewhere far away from Miami.
At the end, the CIA Contact catches Michael removing his computer bug, and tells them that the note Mike left with the "agent's" name on it caused the guy to be questioned by 7 different intelligence organizations...1 that he'd never even heard of! Mike hands the guy the computer bug and says that is all he needed to know. Michael then goes to the agent who tells him that he has a job for Mike and either he's in, or the agent will never bother him again. Michael decides to make a deal with a devil in hopes that it will get him where he wants to be (back as a spy.) Stay tuned, only 2 Summer episodes left, and I know the last one is supposed to include a "falling out" between Michael & Fiona.
Eureka:
Something is coming to Eureka.
They've alluded to it several times now since the season restarted, and this episode was part of the process of getting to whatever this big event will be. So far, it seems like the folks at GD and the government I assume, are expecting the arrival of aliens. None of this really had anything to do with this episode, yet all of this was lurking in the background just beyond the events of the episode.
An old friend of Allison's arrives in town to take over a newly reopened Level 5. Odd things start happening all over town about this same time. A scientist whose mother had been a famous psychic believes that her spirit is trying to make contact with him. He has a meter that reads fluctuations in our dimension that he attributes to spirit activity. About the same time that his meter starts picking up all these readings, objects start moving by themselves all over town, sometimes violently thrown about.
The GD people don't believe in ghosts, so they think it must be something else. Carter investigates and while checking the various labs in Level 5 to see if any of them might be responsible, they find themselves transported into the 5th Dimension. Turns out, a Level 5 lab has been trying to create a device, not unlike a Star Trek transporter, that would allow people to shift into the 5th dimension allowing them to travel through objects and perhaps great distance...even into space. Unfortunately, the scientist who "opened the door" hasn't figured out how to get back. Worse, Carter and Allison's friend are now also trapped in the 5th dimension after they walked onto his "transporter" inadvertently.
Meanwhile, the opened door is wrecking havoc all over town, and it's getting worse. Cars and mailboxes are being throw about like a little boy having a temper tantrum with his toys. Also, the affected area appears to be growing. Why is it that in almost EVERY episode of Eureka when there is some sort of anomaly, that it ALWAYS seems to be growing out of control and spreading?
Anyway, the mayor and Allison head to the lab thinking that the scientist may help them stop it, only to discover that it's him that caused it. They decide to shut down his device...once they figure out how to do it. The scientist panics, because if they shut down his device, there won't be anyway to get back from the 5th dimension. He tries to use a portable version of his portal to get himself back, but ends up cooking his body and hurling it across the room.
Carter says that the body skidded across the room much like Allison's friend's car had earlier in the episode. Allison's friend realizes that the portal guy was off on his aim, and that if she could reduce the power needed to send them back (so they don't get cooked) as well as correct the aim, she should be able to get them back. But they have to hurry as Allison wants the device shut down. Carter uses the portable device to try to "communicate" with Allison. He succeeds in getting her to realize that nobody has seen Carter or her friend since they both had been down in this area hours ago. Allison delays shutting down the device just long enough for her friend to recalibrate the device. Allison has the device shut down and all the "spirit activity" around town suddenly stops. Carter and Allison's friend, meanwhile, are able to get back...but somehow her aim was off enough that they landed outside of town, right where the gal's car had been "shoved" by the device earlier.
The episode ends with Carter telling Allison that he heard her and Henry talking about "a signal," and that since Allison's friend worked at CETI, the search for intelligent alien life center, that he believes that they're directing something to Eureka. Allison can't tell Carter anything, but Carter warns her...that something is coming, and they all better hope that they can handle whatever it is.
Big Brother Spoilers!:
This may not all need to be in "spoiler proof inviso text," but I'll put it all in it anyway.
As of now, the nominations have been made. Check back sometime late tomorrow and I'll add the Veto winner, and I'll post the results of the Veto meeting once it's over. Veto competition is usually Saturday, and Veto Ceremony is usually on Sunday, but it looks like they may move the Ceremony to Monday. Not sure.
Also, if you haven't read it, here is the link to Julie Chen's BB blog on EW.com. It's awesome as she has all sorts of details of things that took place that weren't aired on tv. Great blog from the Chenbot! http://tinyurl.com/myq6ex
In order to see the "hidden or inviso text" hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the end.
SPOILERS!!!
Jessie and Natalie are still allied with Ronnie. Russell also is still allied with Ronnie. Russell doesn't like Jessie. Russell had been paralyzed and worked hard to get to where he is now, and thinks Jessie's goal of wanting to be a "fake professional wrestler" is a joke as Russell fights real fights in Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) bouts. Russell also doesn't like how many of the HGs just defer to Jessie since he was in BB last year. He says that Natalie and Lydia are so far up his butt that he's amazed if Jessie can poo. Russell and Jeff have sort of bonded. Russell blasted a fart last night that was not only loud, but was beyond stinky. Everyone nearly lost it!
Natalie apparently only has been showering once every 3 days or so. Eww! She mooned Lydia last night, and Lydia said that she saw her vajayjay. Natalie has admitted her true age to some, but keeps messing up to others. She wanted wine and was denied by the HGs because she's only 18. What a moron. Also, she said that her HS reunion would be in 4 years instead of 10, or something like that. Ronnie now thinks she's been lying about her age.
Lydia admitted to Kevin that she's been giving Jessie, umm, hand relief, but says that's as far as she will go. But then last night, it looks like they more. I'm not sure if Jessie just "returned the favor" of if they "did the deed," but whatever happened to Jessie, it was over quickly. 2 pump chump.
The "Brains" lost the "Have/Have Not" competition...again...and I'm assuming that they're now stuck eating whatever won the America's Choice vote. The options were: Sauerkraut & Seaweed, Cabbage & Cocktail Weenies, or Pickled Eggs & Pickled Herrings. I voted for cabbage & cocktail weenies, and that appears to be what won. I also think they get to have slop as well.
Jessie nominated Michele & Jordan. He has told everyone that Jordan is a pawn, but he has told some that he will backdoor Casey and others he's told he will backdoor Ronnie. I was right in that he was targeting Michele and Casey, as I had predicted that after he won HOH.
End of Spoilers!
I will be back later to add in the Veto winner, and then the result of the Veto Ceremony hopefully by sometime tomorrow unless they more the Ceremony to Monday.
Torchwood: Children of Earth:
My DVR is quickly filling up with all the episodes and behind the scenes stuff. At some point, we'll have to find the time to watch them all. Once I've seen them all, I'll probably post my thoughts about it here.
I can't wait to watch it!
P.S. Did anyone watch the special about John Barrowman called "Making Me" or somesuch? It was about him trying to find out why he's gay and how and when he became gay. It was fascinating. For him (the rest is in spoiler proof inviso text. In order to see the "hidden or inviso text" hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the end.) it looks like his mother had 2 sons before him (one who miscarried) and there is a direct link to gay men having older brothers. Something about the mother not being able to produce enough testosterone with each pregnancy. I've heard about that for a long time. Also, research from all over the world pretty much concludes that 99% of gay people are born gay.
Next Food Network Star:
The first challenge was to make a dish and present "live" on a local morning show. I don't remember what they made, it wasn't important. Each presentation was sabotaged. Debbie went first and her sabotage was they didn't have utensils and instead of fish, she found that it was chicken. She just used other things to stir, said that the dish could work with any protein, and then without being able to cut it, just broke it off and she and the host ate it that way. Guest judge "Iron Chef" Michael Symon and the other judges were impressed, said they made it too easy on her. The "live tv host" kept calling Melissa the wrong name and the guy said that he hated one of her ingredients (olives) but she said that she was the right girl for him because she'd make him like them with her dish. Then the guy just started adding hot sauce into her dish, and poured in like a gallon and she got flustered and went into her "speed talk" mode that they've criticized her about many times. Then at the end of the segment when he tried the item he nearly puked. For Jeffrey, they kept saying they had technical issues like the mics weren't working, so at first there was a boom mic right on top of his head, and they actually hit him with it, then a guy came up with a handheld and was holding it while making Jeffrey lean over the counter to talk into it and then he ended up holding a chef knife and the mic in the same hand, which led to the judges being afraid that he'd stab someone with the knife, but on the whole he kept calm and just rolled with whatever else went wrong. Then came Jameka who even BEFORE the problems started, just put her head down and tried to plunge thru the segment because her last cooking demo on Rachael Ray's show went poorly. Then things went wrong like the camera was in her face and they gave her the wrong time cues telling her they needed to speed up, slow down, cut it short, stretch for time, and once even just pointed at the watch and shrugged. Debbie won that challenge, which was the first one that she's one. So, it took the elimination of 8 other people before she was able to win something. Hmm.
Then in the next part, they had to cook something where if they won, the dish would end up on red lobster's menu for a short time. This time, they were all rolling along making their dishes, when Symon and Bobby Flay had them stop the time and then they switched ingredients. They took away all the spices and peppers from Jeffrey, who was already nervous from having to use a wood fired grill which he'd never cooked on before, and made him use Asian sauces and spices. They took away all the citrus from Melissa who said that she'd never made fish without citrus, and they gave her hot habeneros. For Debbie, they took away all of her Asian/Korean stuff and gave her Mediterranean ingredients including capers which she ended up forgetting to use. When called on it, she first said they were in the sauce, then said she hadn't been given capers. For Jameka, they took away her pineapple and gave her celery root. She doesn't like celery root, so she basically shut down. She didn't know what to do, and when asked by head judge Bob what she was up to, she told him that she was just pissed off. Hmm. At the end, she grilled the celery root and found that it tasted great, so she was able to complete her dish.
Jeffrey ended up winning the challenge, and they put a version of his dish on the Red Lobster menu as of Monday, 7/20, although they changed the fish from what he had to Tilapia. Also, I think that since he won that they should have had him make the dish that he wanted to make, and then Red Lobster's head chef could have chosen which of the 2 (or both) to put on their menu. So Jeffrey was the only one who was safe. The judges went after Debbie about her lying about the capers and said that she has made excuses several times during the competition as to why things didn't go well, including last week when she claimed that she did all that she could, but was found out to have only worked on her own dishes. Debbie got upset and said that they were attacking her character and integrity. But it was clear who was going home and as predicted here last week, out went Jameka.
Sunday 7/26 is the second to last episode, so the finale is next week. Here are my odds to win: Debbie really is the least pleasant of the three personalities. She's also only won 1 challenge, and has been caught lying and making excuses. Still, they have favored her from the start, and she has made some good dishes, and FN doesn't have any Asian hosts. Odds to win: 8-1. Jeffrey has won more challenges than anyone. He's a nice looking guy, and is very laid back. He comes across as a more exciting Michael Chiraello, or a more laid back Tyler Florence. FN also doesn't have any Arabic hosts, so he also would be a first. He has been a fan favorite on many forum boards, but almost all of the winners of NFNS have been guys, and the 2 FN executives have seemed to favor the 2 final women more the whole time. Still, he has the best culinary skill of them all, and has worked well live and on camera, and has won the most challenges. Odds to win: 3-1. Melissa is an untrained "home cook." FN already has Rachael Ray, Paula Dean, and Sandra Lee who all work in that same area. Melissa is bubbly and the judges like her tips and advice that she has, plus when she hasn't gone into "speed talker" mode, she's done well on camera. I think she has been a favorite from before the series began, as she fits right into their main demographic, home cook mothers. Odds to win: 6-5
Kathy Griffin:
In this episode, Kathy was going to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, so she went around asking black people what she should and shouldn't do. First she asked her friend who was in the movie Clueless, then she asked comic Katt Williams who is hysterical and made so much money doing standup that he announced in December 2008 after having had some sort of breakdown that he was going to retire after his New Year's show and he's only 35. After talking with him, she went and hung out with rapper T.I. and had chicken and waffles with him. Then she met with Rev Al Sharpton at his office, and later appeared on his radio show. She got Rev Al to introduce her at the Apollo.
When she got to the Apollo, she found out that she was performing on "amateur night," so she said it totally showed that she was still on the D-List. There were a bunch of kid acts before hers, but she was told that they had all left by the time she hit the stage. So she went out and was doing her act and all was going well until she used the p-word for a woman's privates. Dead silence. Crickets. She started to go into another joke, when the band struck up. So she said thanks and good bye and left the stage. When she got backstage, some guy told her that she had disrespected the Apollo and how dare she say that with kids still in the audience. They then essentially tossed her out of the building. In the limo driving away from the Apollo, Kathy called Katt and told him what happened and he thought it was awesome. Back home, she read an email the Apollo sent her talking about how egregious she was and that if they get requests for refunds, they'll add them up and send her an invoice to repay them. Oh, and that she will not be allowed back to the Apollo "anytime soon."
Warehouse 13:
They had some hokey moments bookending this episode with the 2 leads fighting in the warehouse and getting doused with the purple goo as "negative energy" can affect many items in the warehouse. At the end of the episode, they tricked Artie into thinking that they had blown up his precious car to get him back for telling both of them to let the other think he/she was in charge because he/she was "sensitive."
The main storyline was about 3 people suddenly acting violently impulsive. A teen boy smashing his violin during practice, and old lady smashing the jar with her husband's ashes against the entrance to the hospital where he died, and then spray painting the F-Word on their sign, and a nun jumping off of a building thinking that she could fly. Later, each went on to do more of the same, and the boy ended up in a coma.
As the agents went around investigating, a man at an AA meeting suddenly took off for the bar after 20 years sober and then he too wound up in a coma. The Sheriff got affected and became hostile towards the agents for stepping on his turf and his needing to "protect America." The woman agent also became affected and she kept showing man hatred specifically towards her partner, so she kept socking him in the nose.
It turned out that the town's priest was a descendant of a powerful hypnotist and that the recent arrival of his ancestor's "hypno-chair" where those hypnotized would sit had stored mental abilities in the iron springs and anyone who sat in it while being counseled by the Priest would have the power of the chair unlock their "hidden anger."
The hold on the townspeople wouldn't let go, even after the male agent doused it with the purple goo. He had to axe it apart to break the "spell." While doing that, the Sheriff had strapped a bomb on himself and took hostages in the church, and then he activated it before the chair had been destroyed. Once free of the spell, the Sheriff helped the male agent get the bomb vest off and the agent ran outside with it where it exploded and shattered much of the church's stained glass windows. The agent was unhurt, and that's where they came up with the prank against Artie.
Finally, the warehouse power grid kept acting up and Artie realized that the person who tried to hack the computer last week was now trying to hack the power grid. At the end of the episode, the hacker was successful and was able to use the power grid's monitor to send a message, "Knock Knock." From the previews, it looks like this hacker is revealed next week.
Superstars:
Down to the Final Four. Kristi & Maks, Bode & Paige, Brandi & Julio, and Leslie & David.
Since there are only 4 teams left, they had 3 challenges instead of 2...plus the stoopid "rubber match."
The first even had 1 member race a jetski around a slalom course, and then after clearing the last buoy, they could race back to the beach at top speed where they'd have to remove the key, run to the shore and give the key to their teamate. The second member would then run out to the water bike, start it up, and then run the course themselves. The winner of the first 2 races would then race each other to determine 1st and 2nd place, while the 2 losers would race each other to determine 3rd and 4th.
The second challenge had the each team member shoot 5 arrows into a target. What they did was take a regulation target that has 10 rings,and make 10 targets, 1 each size, and each ring was worth the same points. So the largest ring was worth 1, and the smallest worth 10. Julio did the best overall by hitting the 8 point target 4 times in a row. He wanted to shoot for 10 with the last shot, but Brandi told him they only needed 8 points and if he missed they'd finish last. So he made the fifth in a row and got the 8 point target again.
For the third challenge, one player had to climb a 30' rock wall and press a button. Once the button was pressed, the next member could climb up until they too hit the button. Again, the winners of the first 2 rounds would face off while the 2 losers would face off. Maks revealed that he's afraid of heights, but you'd never know it from the way he quickly scrambled up the rock. He kept complaining that the safety harness was hurting his cojones and also said balls (which was funny, because they subtitled it on the screen so that you could tell that he said balls. WTF was up with that?!)
At the end of 3 events, Krist & Maks had won 2 and tied for first once so they were safe in first. Leslie & David had finished last, and second to last each round so they were in dead last.
So time again for the "rubber match." Once again, the team in second place got screwed as Bode & Paige had 30 more points than Brandi & Julio who were in third. Bode & Paige SHOULD have been allowed to be safe without the stoopid "rubber match." For the "rubber match," they had to again shoot at a target, but this time it was the 8 point target only. Also, each member only got one shot. The first team to have a member hit the target without the other team being able to do so would move on. They each shot, and Bode went last. His first arrow looked like it was resting on the top of the target, but the judge ruled that it didn't actually hit it. I was amazed, as was everyone else. It really looked like he had scalped it. But, on the second round, again nobody hit it although there were a couple of near misses. This time, Bode nailed it. So, while Bode & Paige shouldn't have had to do the "rubber match," they prevailed sending Julio & Brandi to the obstacle course.
At the obstacle course, it was a best of 3. Julio & Brandi won the first heat which saw David injure his wrist. In the second heat, when David hit the big heavy obstacle that you have to push into and run through, he screamed from the pain of hitting it at a run with his hands. But, David & Leslie won (especially since Brandi fell twice) setting up a 3rd heat. In the third heat, David again screamed (duh, try to use the other hand only) but again Brandi stumbled and seemed to get caught up in the cargo net. This meant that, once again, Leslie & David had been in the bottom the whole time yet survived the obstacle course.
Next week, the season finale with the final 3 of Kristi & Maks (who have finished alone or tied for first in like 7 events,) Bode & Paige, and Leslie & David. My money is on Kristi & Maks.
Top Chef Masters:
This one had Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith. A guy who's been a chef since 1971, and actually once trained the youngest competitor in this week's competition. An Asian guy from Hawaii named Roy who owns 37 restaurants named Roy's (or some variation of Roy's blah blah blah.) The youngest guy I had heard of too, but maybe in passing.
The Quickfire had the chefs make a dish using only the ingredients found in one aisle at Whole Foods (the aisle was randomly chosen by knife draw,) and had to cost under $20. I think this was the highest rated Quickfire yet as the scores were 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5. The oldest guy had the lowest initial score, while the youngest guy (who had to make a dessert) got 5 stars.
For the Elimination Challenge, each chef had to make a "mystery lunch box" full of ingredients for one of the other chefs (names randomly drawn.) The young guy and his old mentor drew each other, while Art & Roy drew each other.
For the first time, they showed the night between challenges. The 4 chefs went to the Hostess (Ms. Choi's) home (allegedly) and the 4 of them made dinner together. They all hung out with Ms Choi and all seemed to have a good time and the dinner was probably amazing.
None of the chefs tried to sabotage the other, and in fact each pretty much gave them what they knew would be their specialty. The old guy made pork and got enough points to go from 3.5 points to 20 total. The Asian guy made mahi mahi and ribs but they didn't go over well and he got low points and was eliminated. The young guy also got eliminated. Art only needed 16 points (and average of 4 stars from the 3 judges and the table guest who were culinary students.) He got a total of 17.5 stars to win the week with 22 total stars! Wow, who'd have thunk it?
Burn Notice:
I thought that this was a pretty decent episode, and it featured Krycek from X-Files! Well, the actor who played him. Also, this is the first episode to air since star Jeffrey Donovan was arrest for DUI, and at first I kept thinking, "what a dumbass," but once the episode got going, I forgot all about it.
It started with Michael getting a gift from the "agent to the spies" who still wants Michael to join up with him. Michael paid him a visit and once again told him off. Michael then barged in on his put upon CIA contact, and left him a note about the agent, and asked him to find out what he could for him. Michael then tapped into his CIA contact's internet connection to record data (that wouldn't be able to be deciphered) in the hopes that it would show how much activity he's had since Michael's visit and if he has had to change his passwords. All that data WOULD be readable, as statistics, and it would indicate to Michael just how connected this supposed "agent" really was.
Michael and Fi arrive at her home and find it's been broken into. They catch a kid, maybe 13 or so, who is trying to steal one of her guns. Michael catches him and takes him back to Fi's where he eventually spills that he's trying to kill his step-dad. Turns out the step-dad is on several local boards and is connected to several judges, cops, and politicians. His brother (Krycek!) is connected to the local mobs. This make the step-dad virtually untouchable. He has been beating his wife, and now has started on the kids (like 13 & 8...the 8 year old is his kid with the mother.) So the Mom filed for divorce, and this has led the guy to try to steal the kids from her and use all of his connections to get sole custody.
Mike, having had an abusive Dad, feels VERY connected to these people and wants to help. After hearing their stories, Fi and Sam want to help the family by killing or at least beating the step-dad into oblivion. Instead, Mike finds out that he has a side business that even the brother doesn't know about. He resells seized goods (like cars and black market stuff) and keeps the profits. Mike decides to pretend to be a guy who bought one of these stolen goods and beats up the step-dad and tells him that people are after Mike (his cover) and also the step-dad. The scumbag doesn't buy it, so Mike and the gang rig the lights to the parking lot where the step-dad's car is to go out on cue as the guy leaves work. Then they disable his car. Then they jam his cell phone. They next speed at him, and Fi shoots the ground near him. This rattles him, so he calls Mike (Mike's cover) and says that they need to work together to find this guy, while Mike keeps trying to get him to leave town (so he'll miss the next custody hearing, and the mother will get the kids by default.)
The 13 year old decides that Mike's plan isn't working, so he steals Mike's mother's car and shotgun and waits in ambush for the step-dad. Mike finds him, but the step-dad has seen the car drive by his office several times and is spooked. Mike has the kid speed off in the car, leading the guy to pull out his gun and run in terror across the parking lot. Mike then shows up. The guy STILL won't leave town, and insists that they hire people to find out who's doing this and take them out. Mike of course "hires" Fi and Sam to be the take down squad, and the step-dad pays them $40,000. Michael then uses fake blood and small explosives in bottle caps to wire his, Fi's and Sam's shirts. They then take the step-dad to where they tell him the people are, but then set off the explosives, making it look like they were all killed. This time it works, and the guy goes back to his office and is getting ready to run when Krycek, err, I mean his brother shows up and stops him. The guy tells his brother what's going on, but the brother doesn't buy it, as the step-dad has had a history of substance abuse.
The step-dad takes his brother and his brother's goons to where the bodies were, but...no bodies! No blood! No spent shells either! They go to the place where Michael told him the baddies had been holding up, and they find it now is a small church...with Pastor Pete (aka Michael!) Out front, there's Sam working as a fruit vendor! Fi is shown walking down the street, as just a casual passerby! The guy flips out, yelling that Michael was the guy who took him here, and Sam & Fi were the hired killers...and all of them were dead just minutes ago! With that, the brother's seen enough. Michael, Sam & Fi read that he's been tossed into the mental ward, the wife automatically gets sole and full custody of the kids, and the step-dad's business dealings are being investigated. The wife is given the $40,000 to help her start a new life somewhere far away from Miami.
At the end, the CIA Contact catches Michael removing his computer bug, and tells them that the note Mike left with the "agent's" name on it caused the guy to be questioned by 7 different intelligence organizations...1 that he'd never even heard of! Mike hands the guy the computer bug and says that is all he needed to know. Michael then goes to the agent who tells him that he has a job for Mike and either he's in, or the agent will never bother him again. Michael decides to make a deal with a devil in hopes that it will get him where he wants to be (back as a spy.) Stay tuned, only 2 Summer episodes left, and I know the last one is supposed to include a "falling out" between Michael & Fiona.
Eureka:
Something is coming to Eureka.
They've alluded to it several times now since the season restarted, and this episode was part of the process of getting to whatever this big event will be. So far, it seems like the folks at GD and the government I assume, are expecting the arrival of aliens. None of this really had anything to do with this episode, yet all of this was lurking in the background just beyond the events of the episode.
An old friend of Allison's arrives in town to take over a newly reopened Level 5. Odd things start happening all over town about this same time. A scientist whose mother had been a famous psychic believes that her spirit is trying to make contact with him. He has a meter that reads fluctuations in our dimension that he attributes to spirit activity. About the same time that his meter starts picking up all these readings, objects start moving by themselves all over town, sometimes violently thrown about.
The GD people don't believe in ghosts, so they think it must be something else. Carter investigates and while checking the various labs in Level 5 to see if any of them might be responsible, they find themselves transported into the 5th Dimension. Turns out, a Level 5 lab has been trying to create a device, not unlike a Star Trek transporter, that would allow people to shift into the 5th dimension allowing them to travel through objects and perhaps great distance...even into space. Unfortunately, the scientist who "opened the door" hasn't figured out how to get back. Worse, Carter and Allison's friend are now also trapped in the 5th dimension after they walked onto his "transporter" inadvertently.
Meanwhile, the opened door is wrecking havoc all over town, and it's getting worse. Cars and mailboxes are being throw about like a little boy having a temper tantrum with his toys. Also, the affected area appears to be growing. Why is it that in almost EVERY episode of Eureka when there is some sort of anomaly, that it ALWAYS seems to be growing out of control and spreading?
Anyway, the mayor and Allison head to the lab thinking that the scientist may help them stop it, only to discover that it's him that caused it. They decide to shut down his device...once they figure out how to do it. The scientist panics, because if they shut down his device, there won't be anyway to get back from the 5th dimension. He tries to use a portable version of his portal to get himself back, but ends up cooking his body and hurling it across the room.
Carter says that the body skidded across the room much like Allison's friend's car had earlier in the episode. Allison's friend realizes that the portal guy was off on his aim, and that if she could reduce the power needed to send them back (so they don't get cooked) as well as correct the aim, she should be able to get them back. But they have to hurry as Allison wants the device shut down. Carter uses the portable device to try to "communicate" with Allison. He succeeds in getting her to realize that nobody has seen Carter or her friend since they both had been down in this area hours ago. Allison delays shutting down the device just long enough for her friend to recalibrate the device. Allison has the device shut down and all the "spirit activity" around town suddenly stops. Carter and Allison's friend, meanwhile, are able to get back...but somehow her aim was off enough that they landed outside of town, right where the gal's car had been "shoved" by the device earlier.
The episode ends with Carter telling Allison that he heard her and Henry talking about "a signal," and that since Allison's friend worked at CETI, the search for intelligent alien life center, that he believes that they're directing something to Eureka. Allison can't tell Carter anything, but Carter warns her...that something is coming, and they all better hope that they can handle whatever it is.
Big Brother Spoilers!:
This may not all need to be in "spoiler proof inviso text," but I'll put it all in it anyway.
As of now, the nominations have been made. Check back sometime late tomorrow and I'll add the Veto winner, and I'll post the results of the Veto meeting once it's over. Veto competition is usually Saturday, and Veto Ceremony is usually on Sunday, but it looks like they may move the Ceremony to Monday. Not sure.
Also, if you haven't read it, here is the link to Julie Chen's BB blog on EW.com. It's awesome as she has all sorts of details of things that took place that weren't aired on tv. Great blog from the Chenbot! http://tinyurl.com/myq6ex
In order to see the "hidden or inviso text" hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the end.
SPOILERS!!!
Jessie and Natalie are still allied with Ronnie. Russell also is still allied with Ronnie. Russell doesn't like Jessie. Russell had been paralyzed and worked hard to get to where he is now, and thinks Jessie's goal of wanting to be a "fake professional wrestler" is a joke as Russell fights real fights in Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) bouts. Russell also doesn't like how many of the HGs just defer to Jessie since he was in BB last year. He says that Natalie and Lydia are so far up his butt that he's amazed if Jessie can poo. Russell and Jeff have sort of bonded. Russell blasted a fart last night that was not only loud, but was beyond stinky. Everyone nearly lost it!
Natalie apparently only has been showering once every 3 days or so. Eww! She mooned Lydia last night, and Lydia said that she saw her vajayjay. Natalie has admitted her true age to some, but keeps messing up to others. She wanted wine and was denied by the HGs because she's only 18. What a moron. Also, she said that her HS reunion would be in 4 years instead of 10, or something like that. Ronnie now thinks she's been lying about her age.
Lydia admitted to Kevin that she's been giving Jessie, umm, hand relief, but says that's as far as she will go. But then last night, it looks like they more. I'm not sure if Jessie just "returned the favor" of if they "did the deed," but whatever happened to Jessie, it was over quickly. 2 pump chump.
The "Brains" lost the "Have/Have Not" competition...again...and I'm assuming that they're now stuck eating whatever won the America's Choice vote. The options were: Sauerkraut & Seaweed, Cabbage & Cocktail Weenies, or Pickled Eggs & Pickled Herrings. I voted for cabbage & cocktail weenies, and that appears to be what won. I also think they get to have slop as well.
Jessie nominated Michele & Jordan. He has told everyone that Jordan is a pawn, but he has told some that he will backdoor Casey and others he's told he will backdoor Ronnie. I was right in that he was targeting Michele and Casey, as I had predicted that after he won HOH.
End of Spoilers!
I will be back later to add in the Veto winner, and then the result of the Veto Ceremony hopefully by sometime tomorrow unless they more the Ceremony to Monday.
