Reaction: America's Next Great Restaurant

I was personally a little disappointed that Spice Coast didn't win America's Next Great Restaurant, but he turned it into the Indian Chipotle, which must give Steve Ells a boner thinking about it. So disappointing. The guy shouldn't have become Steve Ells's bitch. Curtis was so disappointed that Sudhir basically sold out his Indian culture. I think he would've won if he didn't.

Did anyone noticed that there wasn't even a dramatic pause for when Bobby Flay announced the winner? I think I watch way too many of these shows to notice these things. 

I probably should've seen it coming as the Soul Daddy dude's been under the radar as well as not being in the hot seat as much as some of the other contestants on the show. At the same time, I'm also glad that Brooklyn Meatball Company didn't win as well just because.

I have no idea whether there will be another season of America's Next Great Restaurant, but I kind of hope there won't be - it was a pretty rough season to watch.

Random thoughts while watching the royal wedding on TV

I was one of millions of suckers around the planet who saw Friday's royal wedding on TV... well, on the cable news channels anyway. I'm just glad that I don't have to wake up early to watch (like in the US), or stay up too late to watch it - it was on sometime in the evening in my time zone, which wasn't too bad really.

I had my pick of channels to watch the pre-wedding banter/coverage from but I stuck with CNN's coverage, where Anderson Cooper was the odd American on the panel besides Piers Morgan (CNN's token Brit) and Cat Deeley (why? so that Piers wouldn't be the only Brit there?) and also the occasional special guest. CNN also had Vera Wang on standby in New York as someone known for her wedding gowns. I mostly stuck with CNN because of Piers Morgan's snark: he was making fun of Anderson Cooper's choice of suit, etc - it was like having Simon Cowell cover the wedding. It was funny.

• Philip Treacy must be making a killing on the hats that a lot of the women were wearing to Westminster Abbey, including Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.
• Some of the women's hats are really ridiculous.
• David Beckham and his hair slicked back like that reminded me of Ricky Gervais. Shit you not - same smile, even. Are there pictures of Beckham wearing his top hat before he got there? It'd be a shame if he brought the top hat for nuts.
• Give the British PM's wife props for not being in a stupid hat.
• You can't help but feel bad for the people whose view was blocked by the damn trees in the Abbey.
• I did like the bride's dress - remind me to get lace sleeves like that for hiding the sausage arms :P
• Saw E!'s coverage (with Giuliana Rancic as the lone American on THAT panel) - pretty meh, even though they got Facebook in on the game with them.
•  So's everyone else's royal wedding coverage, really - like TLC and the lot.

Iron Chef America

Started catching up on Iron Chef America (ICA) this week after a couple of missed seasons. I didn't know there were TWO new Iron Chefs now - Iron Chefs Garges and Forgione, who won their respective seasons of The Next Iron Chef (which I've also not seen since its first season). 

What can I say - after missing a few seasons of ICA, I still think it's pretty damn entertaining and hilarious, like the sound effects used, particularly during the challenger's entrance and whenever the Chairman moves his head. You know the ones. Hearing those sounds always cracks me up.

I've gotten over the common-ness of the "secret" ingredient and the behind the scenes stuff - it's still a fun show to watch and still one of my favourite Food Network shows after Good Eats.

AJ Cook back on Criminal Minds

Read it here that AJ Cook is coming back to Criminal Minds for two years as series regular, which apparently first came out via Twitter here. All thanks to the fans, apparently. After all the hoopla about her being fired from the show not too long ago, I guess this would count as a hurrah if you're a fan of her character, JJ. As I'm not (really), all I can say is good on her.

It should be interesting to see how they'll squeeze her back into the show after all that; the most ridiculous thing I could think of is that she comes back to the BAU as liaison between them and the Pentagon (as her character was ordered to take the Pentagon job), or she pulled some string high up in the Pentagon hierarchy to come back to the BAU. If I'm right, it either means that I watch way too much TV (which I can't deny), or the writers ran out of ideas, too.

While we're on the subject of the show, I don't understand the hate on Rachel Nichols (as Seaver), with the show's history of cast comings and goings: In case no one remembered, Mantegna was brought in to replace Mandy Patinkin and Paget Brewster replaced Lola Glaudini (who only lasted ONE season). Did anyone complained about that then? Sometimes you need to change things up. People should just deal with it.

Am I the only person that wondered how Seaver got into the FBI academy with her serial killer dad? We all knew that she changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, but still - you would think that the FBI has the resources to do a deep enough background check on candidates. Or perhaps there was an interview component that she passed with flying colours? 

Anyway, it can't be that hard to work her back into the opening credits and into the huge group shot in the end, no? It's just one of the things I like to watch out for whenever there's news about the cast.

Related articles

• A.J. Cook Officially Returning to 'Criminal Minds' As Series Regular (tvsquad.com)

Comments about this week's Top Chef Masters

"Everything Old Is New Again"

1. Did anyone else knew Kelis was a "trained chef"? Neither did I.
2. I should be glad that it wasn't a MILKSHAKE quickfire challenge - that would be groan- and cringe-worthy.
3. Having never seen Body of Proof or Mad Men.... holy shit, he's married to her?! REALLY? The lucky schmuck. Okay, okay - I know I'm not the first person to say or think it, but it bears repeating.

Related articles

• Top Chef Masters: Christina Hendricks, Kelis and Not Enough Duck à l'Orange (eonline.com)

No more Hetty? *GASP*

The NCIS: LA fandom was abuzz when the news broke that Claire Forlani will be joining the show in the near future as their new operations manager, where some fans have speculated (perhaps), to possibly replace Linda Hunt. 

I don't how they'll write this one - is Linda Hunt's contract up, or wants out, or getting written out? Will Claire Forlani be keeping her English accent, or be American? So many questions.


Related articles

• Claire Forlani cast as 'NCIS: LA' operations manager: Is Hetty heading out? - EXCLUSIVE (insidetv.ew.com)

Top Chef Masters, Revamped

Image via Wikipedia

Caught the latest season of Top Chef Masters (TCM), with the format revamped from previous seasons. It's now more like Top Chef and Top Chef: Just Desserts, where one chef is eliminated on a weekly basis with the usual Top Chef-esque challenges. 

Frankly, I didn't really find anything wrong with the old TCM format; I just thought that it was differently refreshing from the rest of the Top Chef franchise. But if they want to standardise the format, then fine.

As part of the revamp, Curtis Stone took over hosting duties from Kelly Choi (who? heh heh). I guess this is NBC Universal (who owns the Bravo)'s way of addressing the issue :P But also in line with Bravo's thing of having non-American (born) minor celebrities host their reality-competition shows. When I first heard that Curtis Stone is hosting this season of TCM, my only question was "Why?" Never mind that I liked the guy from before he was on American TV screens, but now with his judgvestor gig on America's Next Great Restaurant (also an NBC Universal thing) and between his previous shows like Surfing the Menu, My Restaurant Rules and the occasional episode of Take Home Chef, it's Curtis Stone overload for me.

Not being an American foodie, I didn't recognise most of the contestants this season - if I'm not wrong, Traci Des Jardins was a contestant back in the first season, but got the boot pretty early, so it was nice that they brought her back for a another shot at this. I'm gonna take a guess and say that these are the chefs that don't have to the time to appear as judges on Top Chef? Am I the only one that's glad Wylie Dusfrene is not back a THIRD time? Oy.

One of the things I like about the first Quickfire is to see who didn't finish in time. Crappy ingredients like marshmallow, licorice, canned corn beef were the mystery box ingredients. Three unfortunate cheftestants got disqualified for not done plating on time, which was a bit anticlimatic as they were competing in pairs and it means that the other person won by default.

Since it is TCM after all, it's only fitting that they get Restaurant Wars as their first elimination challenge - which I don't think it's that big a deal since most of them have opened restaurants before, so it wasn't terribly chaotic until service started. I think the only reason why diners preferred Leela over Mosaic was because they didn't have to wait too long to be seated. To wait too long for food is one thing, to be standing there waiting to be seated is another.

Critic-wise, the only constant since the first season is James Oseland, the guy from Saveur.

Related articles

• Who Is Curtis Stone Anyway? (huffingtonpost.com)

Prentiss's Departure (Spoiler)

If you've not seen this week's episode of Criminal Minds where Paget Brewster's character Emily Prentiss got written out of the show for this season, go watch it someplace and then come back. Really.

.
.
.
.

Google Person Finder

Just thought I'd put this up - spread the word!

America's Next Great Restaurant

Saw the pilot of America's Next Great Restaurant. Twenty semifinalists fly to LA to pitch their concepts to the judgvestors (I'm calling dibs on this portmanteau - it's faster than typing judges/investors) and also to cook samples from their menus for a place in the Top 10. 

The top prize is not too shabby - financial backing from the judgvestors to open restaurants in LA, New York and Minneapolis in several weeks, which is two more restaurants than usual. If the show feels familiar, it's produced by the same people behind Top Chef, except this show is on NBC and primarily hosted by Bobby Flay.

• Didn't know the founder of Chipotle is a skinny white dude. You learn something new each day.
• Some of the finalists' ideas are admittedly pretty stupid, so much so I totally forgot what they were even though I just saw it. Were those seriously the best ideas the producers found in the auditions?
• They had the racist wing dude in for the drama - he wasn't going to go that far.
• Minneapolis for the Midwestern market? Chicago would've been TOO obvious, I suppose.
• Having the judgvestors use their own money is a great incentive for them to pick the right winner. I'm sure they won't give a damn if it wasn't their money. 
• I didn't know Curtis Stone had money to invest in someone's restaurant :P
• I have no idea why Curtis Stone is a judgvestor on this show. Apparently, neither does he. HAHA.
• The Soupz lady was hilarious, and the cartoon voice helped that along its way.

I'd keep watching just because I'm such a reality show junkie.

Bieber dies... on CSI (VIDEO)

I know it happened awhile ago and the moment's over, but I cannot be the only one that was happy to watch Justin Bieber gunned down on CSI a couple of weeks back, even if it didn't happen for real (oh, the rest of us can only dream). The good news is that there are more likes than dislikes on the videos posted on YouTube, haha. 

To be fair, he was playing a baddie on the show, so he got what he deserved (on the small screen).

Two and a Half Men spoof on House (VIDEO)

It wasn't the first time I saw this before I saw this week's episode of House - I don't know if it's bad timing on their part with the Charlie Sheen meltdown, or they really intended to poke fun at that whole situation.

While I'm not a huge fan of Two and a Half Men, but a spoof starring Hilson (House + Wilson) is hilarious - the straight man (Wilson), the not-so straight man (House) and kid (in this case, Cuddy's kid Rachel), even down to House in the bowling shirt (haha). It's hard to miss.

Oscars and STAR Movies - Really?!

Watching the STAR MOVIES pre-show with Lisa S and Jason Godfrey was annoying; mostly because it's a huge time suck. The Academy Awards are already long enough without the hour-long preshow where both hosts and special guests go on about their predictions and what not. Huge waste of time.

I've been wondering why James Franco and Anne Hathaway were picked as hosts for the Oscars, cos if they wanted to "appeal to a younger audience" they might as well had Miley and Bieber host the show :P But I'm a fan of Anne Hathaway, so no real complaints from me.

• The mandatory "host(s)-digitally-inserted-into-nominated-movies" opening is a little stale, but you didn't expect them to include Back to the Future and also Grease.
• A lot of the winners also happened to be first-time nominees. I'd hate to be the ones that have been snubbed time and again.*coughScorsesecough*
• Justin Timberlake announcing that he was Banksy fell flat BIG time. Wrong show to "announce" that, perhaps?
• James Franco just seems stoned the entire show.
• I want what Anne Hathaway was on - she was totally the total opposite of Franco.
• I never want to see James Franco in drag ever again - who's with me?
• When Inception was winning the technical awards like sound mixing, etc, that is when I know that they won't be winning the big one (Best Picture). But good on the people that worked on the movie that won.
• Some hilarious and amusing acceptance speeches, F-bomb excluded.
• Has Oprah ever presented at the Oscars?
• Nothing against Firth and Portman for winning Best Actor and Actress, respectively.
• The closing with the singing kids was endearing, but having the night's winners all come out carrying their statues seem a tad obnoxious and the cute moment died right there. 
• I thought Inception might win Best Motion Picture, but I'm okay with The King's Speech too. Just as long as it's not The Social-freaking-Network.
• What happened to the ushers that would help the ladies up the stairs in their gowns? I only noticed because Natalie Portman's baby daddy had to help her up when she won the best actress award.

I thought the Oscars wasn't too bad, it's the STARWORLD preamble that I really don't care for.

Two and a Half Men Cancelled... no shit, Sherlock :P

Image via WikipediaAfter all that shit Charlie Sheen has done lately; all he had to do to shut down production of Two and a Half Men was to threaten Chuck Lorre. It really was a matter of time before something like this happened; hope Jon Cryer and the kid had other stuff lined up.

Carrying on with the show without Charlie would be nearly impossible; not to mention changing the title of the show to One and a Half Men or Two Men and Surly Housekeeper wouldn't be as hilarious.

I'm not the only one that feels bad about the cast and crew who are now unemployed because of one jack ass.

I'll be surprised if the show came back for another season. If they did, maybe they could write Charlie off...

But really - meh. Never got terribly attached to the show.

Understanding TV spouses piss me off

If you've watch enough TV, you'd notice that there are some shows where one or more lead characters are married/otherwise committed to spouses/partner/significant others that are pretty understanding as to what they do for a living and are pretty much okay with their quirks and idiosyncrasies. I watch these shows with incredulity when it comes to their home life aspect, thinking "that's not for real!" - I know it's not, just bear with me.

Here's a list of characters that comes to mind:

• Tiffani Thiessen's character Elizabeth Burke on White Collar
• David Conrad's character on The Ghost Whisperer (as Jennifer Love-Hewitt's uber understanding husband)
• At least one of the women on Army Wives... and maybe that guy who's wife is in the army.
• Jon Tenney on The Closer - so much so that he doesn't even wear the pants in their marriage anymore :P But it's good to see him exasperated with the wife on occasion.
• Kelli Williams on Lie to Me - while technically not romantically involved with Tim Roth's Dr Cal Lightman, but she seems to be okay with his crazy shenanigans and is about as good as a TV spouse can get.

The rare exception that I could think of would be Meredith Monroe's character Haley on Criminal Minds, who divorced from Hotch because of his job.

First Impressions of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior pilot

It's months since the back door pilot of the Criminal Minds (CM) spinoff; and finally Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (as it's now known) starts this week with a child abduction case. 

First impressions so far: 

1. The opening narration (to explain the function and difference of this team) brings back memories of The A-Team; I wonder if it's one-off or will it be a regular feature?
2. Theme song not as memorable (or creepy) as the original, which is just as well because I can't imagine anyone using the original CM tune for a ringtone. 
3. Good to see some of the characters from the back door pilot made it, like the English guy.
4. The Red Cell team is the CM version of the Five-O team (that they work outside the bureaucracy,  and answer directly to the director of the FBI, too casually dressed for their jobs, etc) with a run down gym for an office. The bad-der ass version of the original CM team, perhaps?
5. Obviously, the only common link between the two is Kirsten Vangsness, who's character Penelope Garcia also serves as their tech analyst too. Garcia is one busy lady - I wonder if she ever get her shit mixed up? Plus she doesn't seem to be in the same office as on CM. Also very grim on this pilot and not as sassy as anyone knows the character to be.
6. The other common feature between the two is the use of the word "unsub" - if they didn't, then no one would guess that this was the CM spinoff.
7. Actors need a regular paycheque too - that must be what Forest Whitaker was thinking when he signed on to do the show - he kinda seems to be phoning it in.
8. I have no comment about Janeane Garofalo in this.
9. The case is a bit blah.

We'll see where this goes, but high hopes is what I don't have for this spinoff.

NBC's Prime Suspect

I hate it sometimes when Americans can't seem to leave the British shows bloody well alone and make the American version of everything, like Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars), Top Gear, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, The Office, etc etc. Word on the street is that NBC has finally found their lead for the American reboot/remake of Prime Suspect, and it's Maria Bello.

Admittedly, I've never seen the original English Prime Suspect (with Dame Helen Mirren), but I think it must be pretty bad ass simply because it's Dame Helen Mirren. Yes, I'm biased like that. I'll get back to everyone on this when I'm all caught up.

There's gonna be the usual questions, like the format of the show - is it going to be the typical "case solved in 42 minutes", or would it be closer to the format of the original, with cases shown in multiple parts?

There aren't too many crime procedural shows with a female lead, except maybe The Closer, which they've admitted was inspired a little by Prime Suspect.

Anyone else watching NBC's Prime Suspect this fall?

NCIS renewed for another season

Who was worried that NCIS wouldn't be renewed for a ninth season?

Exactly.

I'm a fan, but I wasn't exactly worried that it wouldn't be renewed. I mean, it's doing pretty well in the ratings for itself and the fandom is pretty fanatic about the show.

It was a definite shoo-in for renewal since just about everyone on the cast has renewed their contracts and there hasn't been a lot of departure news.

Save Lie to Me!!!!

Admittedly, the direction of Lie to Me is a little iffy (in my opinion) since they don't have the FBI case of the week angle or the Clara Musso arc anymore, but I'm eager to see where it's going. And since it hasn't been picked up for a back nine (leaving the current season at 13 episodes), fans are worried that it's a sign that it won't be renewed for Season 4, which is a valid concern, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm worried too, because Tim Roth is fun to watch on a weekly basis on the small screen and I can't be arsed to watch some of the films I've not already seen he's been in that he's not wearing prosthetic makeup (Hulk, Planet of the Apes) or not.

Why Lie to Me should be renewed

1. Tim Roth - 'nuff said.
2. I'm a Cal-lian 'shipper, so shoot me.
3. Dr Paul Ekman (who's work the show is very loosely based on) is also a consultant and has a blog where he comments on each episode (if applicable) - worth a read if you're into these things.
4. The father-daughter relationship is similar to the one on Castle (yes, I said it), just with more snark - LOVE IT!!
5. Because it's not a cop and/or procedural show - it is still a drama series.

Twitter users should check out the Twitter-based petitions here and here; and if there are other petitions online, please sign them and spread the word.

Random thoughts about the Golden Globes

Apart from finding most of the Golden Globe winners a little meh, I thought it was just alright.

• Saw some ugly dresses/outfits - yes, I'm talking about Tilda Swinton, but that's an easy target; that's like poking fun at some other badly dressed famous person.
• Ricky Gervais's scathing opening monologue (by American standards, anyway) - makes me wonder who's gonna get the hosting gig next year, haha. Anyone noticed that his refreshment vessel was getting smaller as the evening went on? (He started with a beer mug and ended with a wine glass on the podium). Also love the rest of the hosting gig. 
• The only people who loved Ricky Gervais's hosting was the people Gervais did not poke fun at during the show.
• There's no way in heck that Robert Downey Jr should host an awards show, no matter how raunchy he gets doing it, like he did when he was presenting an award in the show. If that was him sober, imagine  if he wasn't :P
• Always love the Globes, knowing that at least some of the acceptance speeches are tinged with slight inebriation (allegedly) and people would fuck up a little.
• Call me weird, but I also like to see who the Miss/Mr Golden Globe (actor offspring; the young men and women that guide people off stage, etc) is because some of them would come to their own down the road - this year it's Gia Mantegna, daughter of Joe Mantegna.
• How the heck is Scott Caan the only one nominated from Hawaii Five-O?
• Yes, am a little sad that Inception didn't win anything, it got beat by The Social Network in all their nominated categories.
• Why is Matt Bomer the only one out of White Collar presenting? Pretty boy role? If I hadn't seen the guy in a tux on the show before I'd be amazed, but I'm not.