6 posts tagged “top chef”
"She Loves Everybody" will supposedly be available at iTunes for the next couple of weeks before the band takes it down. Rush out and get your copy today. Oh, take a listen at their My Space page first if you didn't hear it on Entourage.
I've posted a couple of interim music posts at BlogHer while summer TV is slow and a permanent music editor is still being sought. One is on workout tunes and the other is on some independent grrrls.
Also, last week's Top Chef recap is up.
And is it sad that I'm sad that I'll miss So You Think You Can Dance tomorrow night since I'll be at my book club and my DVR is still broken and hasn't been replaced?
Check her out in the promo - she's the fetching gal in the argyle sweater shouting out Tattoo's signature line from Fantasy Island.
Here's a viewer drinking game suggestion - every time Kryss' team answers correctly and/or does the Carleton Banks dance, take a drink. Hopefully by the finals you'll be drunk enough to join Lindsey Lohan in rehab. So be sure to check the show out when it begins airing on July 9th.
In other TV news, I'm covering Top Chef at BlogHer. Check out my recaps of the 4 Star All Stars prequel and the season 3 debut.
This summer is not so strong for the TV watching this year. I'm looking forward to The Closer (starts tonight) and Psych returning. I'm bummed that Rescue Me is moved to Wednesday and opposite Top Chef since my DVR is dead and I haven't gotten a new one. So You Think You Can Dance, My Life on the D-list, Entourage and The 4400 are on my schedule but I think that's it. Maybe I'll try to pick up Eureka in it's 2nd season - it looks fun but I hate having missed season 1. Got any hot recommendations for something I should be watching?
I still have no sympathy for Marcel even though apparently one viewer took the play-along-at-home version of hating Marcel a bit too far. I can't say that his chemical-laden concoctions translated well to the screen as scrumptious. And, I wasn't thrilled that Ilan made it to the finale on the basis of such a challenge specific success - cooking the taro, which nobody else attempted. So, I'm still not waiting on pins and needles for the winner to be announced.
I was in love with the setting of the episode and the challenge. The final candidates aren't given a quickfire challenge when they arrive on the big island of Hawai'i and instead are whisked away to a luau with amazing chef, Alan Wong (seriously, I had the great fortune to eat at his epinonymous restaurant and it's one of the best meals of my life) in the gorgeous Waipi'o Valley. Sigh. And then the elimination challenge is for them to add their personal twist to traditional Hawaiian dishes for a birthday dinner for Alan Wong. Now that's an episode for which I would have loved to have been a guest.
So I'm looking forward to seeing more of Hawai'i but not to the final outcome.
As shows arrive back after being gone for the holidays I'm finding I'm not feeling as fond of them as I did before.
How I Met Your Mother on Monday was OK but not great. Which is fine because good-not-great for them is better than most sitcoms. The Ted office scenes with Bryan Cranston as his boss where meh, but I did enjoy Barney begging Lily to paint him nude after finding her painting of Marshall. Especially when she gave him the "Ken doll" and didn't paint his "barnana."
Studio 60 on the other hand was practically unbearable. I doubt I can continue to keep watching heavy handed, preachy characters I feel no emotional engagement with. I don't care about the Matt/Harriet relationship, the Danny stalking Jordan and her having to beg him to stop storyline was creepy, I just can't buy multiple women vying for Tom and the Darius/Simon "massa" conversation didn't feel bold and enlightening but rather unsettling.
On Tuesday the Gilmore Girls returned but it just felt wrong. Chris and Lorelei were great when the alternative was Max. But at least it seems like they are moving Luke and Lorelei closer towards understanding and forgiving each other and it's clear the Chris doesn't fit into Stars Hollow or Lorelei's life. The Lane pregnancy story is just awful and ridiculous and sad. And where were Miss Patty and Babette and Kirk...? Why wasn't Sookie knocking sense into Lor? I'll ride the wave to this once great show's sad end but it makes me sadder with every passing episode.
Top Chef is on tonight but after that over-the-top head shaving episode where Chef Tom wanted to send everyone but Marcel packing and declare him the winner without a final cookoff, put the nail in the coffin to me caring who wins this hot mess. Top Design can't get here fast enough.
Lost is coming back next week and I am surprisingly not that excited about diving back into the Jack-Sawyer-Kate love triangle. Please get back to the mysteries of the Island!
Armed and Fabulous and Beauty and the Geek are your alternatives to the unpleasantly mean American Idol auditions which apparently virtually everybody in America hates but is watching anyway and the critically adored Friday Night Lights. I encourage watching one episode of Armed and Fabulous as it is funnier and sweeter than expected and not in a train wreck way. However one episode will be enough for me, I think. I'm going to watch Beauty and the Geek again tonight but I'm not really enjoying the Beauties that much this season - they don't seem to be learning their lessons very well - but once AI is out of it's cruel debut I'll switch over.
Happy viewing!
Anyhoo - on to the TV!
Wednesday: 30 Rock once again featured no "girlies" past or present which is a mixed blessing but, hey, more Alec Baldwin, yay! ... Lost - darn it, I was right about who got died - memo to ABC - don't promo that someone is going to die on Lost and then promo by name that an actor from Lost will be making the talk show rounds the day after that episode! The Nine continues on its maddening pace but I'm intrigued enough to keep watching... Top Chef picked up a bit after the lackluster first couple of episodes but it still seems like the "characters" are edited a little too closely to match last season's cast.
Thursday had another fun Ugly Betty, but no Justin! What up with that? After his fabulous Halloween Gene Kelley dance break how could you leave his energy out of an episode? And focusing on the story about the Dad being a killer illegal immigrant is a downer. More Justin and less immigration drama, please. However, Debi Mazar guesting as an immigration lawyer was a kick so maybe a little more immigration drama... Roseanne Barr was enjoyable as a guest item on Earl's karma list... The Office was my favorite episode I've seen. I haven't drunk the kool-aid on this show and I generally find it amusing though sometimes repetitive in the jokes. At times the humor in Michael's cluelessness wears thin. However, this "Diwali" episode written by Mindy Kaling (who plays Kelly) was freakin' genius. And Jim and Andy, drunk and rolling around on the floor singing "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls... I'm still giggling... ER continues to benefit from John Stamos' injection of Clooney-esque bad boy rebelliousness.
Skipping to Friday (saving the best for last) - I got hipped to Battlestar Gallactica too late and now I want to play catch-up before getting into it. Someday I'll rent it all and learn what I'm missing.
Saturday is a complete wasteland now that NBC isn't even burning off the remaining episodes of Kidnapped.
Sunday is, of course, all about The Wire. And, just a spoiler alert note, HBO has started offering the next week's episode of some shows, including The Wire, a week prior to when it runs in its scheduled time slot. So, if you visit some sites that cover the show they will have recaps of the On Demand episode up several days before it runs on Sunday. Just be careful with your clicking if you hate spoilers.
Today is Monday and that means watching How I Met Your Mother and it should be interesting to appreciate anew the awesomeness of Neil Patrick Harris' acting abilities and his portrayal of womanizing Barney and, even playing "himself" in the hilarious Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle now that he's outed himself. Recording Everybody Hates Chris and Girlfriends, and Studio 60 which I appreciate more intellectually than emotionally. I'm hoping it will grip me more but if, as rumors persist, it goes away, I don't think I'll be too sad except for the fact that it means NBC will give us more game shows.
OK - the best thing in the past week (other than The Wire) was the return of The OC. Seriously, wonderfully, awesome. And the music was perfect. "A Bad Dream" by Keane came at the end, but bookending the show was Placebo's cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."
"If I only could, make a deal with God, and get him to swap our places..."
The perfect soundtrack to this episode which showed the ways in which those Marissa left behind were continuing to mourn her 5 months after her tragic demise. The show benefits from the absence of Mischa Barton's sulky, slouchy Marissa. It gives Ryan's brooding the appropriate weight in the show's balance and keeps his Fight Club life from going too over the top. We got Luke's younger twin brothers as Kaitlin's lap dogs - hopefully this means that somehow Luke will make his way back to be Ryan's pal once Seth goes off to RISD.
Unfortunately, the viewership for this airing was abismally low. So Fox is playing around with the schedule and will run the next two on Wednesday and Thursday. The show is up against too much fire power either way but perhaps, if it can survive this week, Fox can run it against Day Break once it subs in for Lost. I just hope that Fox doesn't give up and dump the show before even finishing off the shortened final season. And, hopefully, Josh Schwartz will spare us any more Olivers or Johnnys to disrupt the flow now that Marissa is gone.
Dancing With The Stars carried on predictably last night. I think last week's order will be the final finish: Mario wins, then Emmitt, Joey and Monique. Poor Monique - the judges criticized her last week for getting her heel caught in her long skirt and then this week for showing off her imprecise footwork in her short skirt. But she could have protested that unfortunate dark lipstick which certainly didn't help her chances. And, I can't believe that none of the recaps I've read have mentioned the fact that Cheryl has a ballroom. In her house. I'm still scraping my jaw off the ground over that one.
Law & Order: CI was a bit disappointing. In the continuing L&O tradition of using aging stars for over-the-top roles, Liza Minelli's turn was more of a whimper than a bang. But always fun to see Vincent D'Onofrio work his psychological charms.
It was fun to see Mariska Hargitay back on Law & Order: SVU but, damn, put some dirt makeup on that woman. Her post-pregnancy glow on top of her already insane beauty was a tad riduculous when she was supposed to be an undercover anarchist terrorist. But loved how she couldn't get SVU detectiving out of her blood. And, please tell me that Dani and Elliot kissing in the promos for next week is some kind of bad dream red herring play acting to catch a thief and not a real hook-up. Ewww.
For tonight its 30 Rock which is getting better. Alec Baldwin and Kenneth the Page are laugh out loud funny. I'm still laughing over the "those shoes are definitely bi-curious" line from last week. No Jane Krakowski is a good move and, although I wished Rachael Dratch was in the "Girlie" role when ever Krakowski or Dratch were on screen, perhaps Dratch won't feel as bad now that they are both MIA.
Then Lost, of course. I have my suspicions of who's going to bite the bullet based on promos for upcoming daytime talk show guests. Dang! I generally don't mind spoilers but I like being surprised with Lost. And if I am right, I am not happy.
Finally, watching The Nine and recording Top Chef. I loved the pilot for The Nine but I'm losing patience with the pace of reveal and balance between flashback and present. Seriously, if they keep doling out 10 minutes per week of the 52 hour robbery this show will lose its already dwindling audience before the end of the season let alone before revealling the whole story. Top Chef, so far, is not as fun or engaging as last season. At this rate, it may disapper from the DVR and I'll catch up when they have a marathon at the end of the season.
And, question about Heroes... is Niki a Summer Roberts rage blackout come to life?
My Groups
-
Chihuahuas Updated: 6 days ago
-
hua hua Updated: Nov 30, 2009
-
Food-ku Updated: Nov 2, 2009
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
