Hell's Kitchen: 4/8/08

My DVR missed the beginning (oops), so I came in to see the tie breaker in the Halibut challenge.

Corey cried, Jen was mad, the men were thrilled.

As a punishment for losing, the women got to prep all the fish and make fish stock for the dinner service. The men got to go out on yacht and overindulge.

Back at the prep, Jason shows himself to again be a chauvinistic pig. Can't stand him.

Ramsey quizzes Petroza on the menu, and he fails miserably, and gets kicked out to go study it, leaving his station unmanned until he returns.

Ramsey chooses Craig and Rosann to be Assistant Maitre D's so they can see what poor Jean-Phillipe has to go through when they suck.

Instead of studying, Petroza gave up and had a cigarette. Pathetic. He won't last long. Bobby went and pulled him back in, wiping his tears with his apron. How sweet.

The kitchen is falling apart as expected, Bobby was a jerk, Jason was an indignant jerk. Rosann took 45 minutes to get the first order into the kitchen, and I have no idea what could have taken so long. Corey at least made a nice risotto with no complaints from Ramsey.

The men got all of their appetizers out no problem, then Jason was trying to serve raw halibut, Petroza was trying to serve raw, cold steak instead of medium. Not good.

Craig smacked a customer in the head with a chair while acting as Maitre'd. Yeah. Smart.

Sharon was messing up with the meat also, but Petroza managed to get some good looking lamb.

Rosann was completely falling apart as Assistant Maitre'd. She actually said "I have a lot tickets waiting for you, but I didn't want to bombard you all at the same time." Yeah, that's good.

Ramsey told Sharon that she was a showgirl with a feather coming out of her ass. Jason ended up serving raw fish, and that was the final straw. Ramsey shut the kitchen down early again. The comment cards indicated that the women lost the night. The men only got to serve half their entrees, but it was better than the women.

Corey (and her brilliant risotto) was chosen "Best of the worst" and got to pick the two people to go up for elimination. No one really tried to talk to her, and she decided to send up Christina and Jen. That was a surprise. Sharon looked relieved.

My husband thought that Ramsey should have fired Corey for not being able to get along with others. Christina was really hurt by Corey saying that she was condescending to her, and turned on the tears. Jen talked and talked and talked her way right into a corner. They had to edit it down, she talked too much.

Ramsey totally ignored Corey's nomination and out of the blue kicked Sharon off. Slap on the hand to Corey for not paying attention to cooking, but only to strategy. Ramsey said that he couldn't keep someone he didn't trust, so he booted her. I think he just didn't like Sharon's fashion sense.

Next week looks worse and worse. More tears, more fires, more yelling, more threatening to quit. Yup, I love this show.

American Idol: The Top 8 - Inspirational Songs

I really want someone to sing Your the Inspiration by Chicago. That would be funny.

Michael Johns (Dream On - Aerosmith) - Nice choice for him, though his transitions between octaves were a bit weak. Not nearly as good as last week, he seemed forced in the beginning especially. I was dreading the high part, but it was actually not bad. I was highly distracted by Paula's corseted cleavage. I wondered if she was making a double entendre when she said her chihuahuas would join Michael on stage. I'm not sure I want to know.

Syesha (I Believe - Fantasia) - Ugh ugh ugh. Why sing something by Fantasia. And even worse, her winning song, which was pathetic and forgettable even then. I was bored bored bored. Syesha is just so forgettable. Her high note was good, but I forgot about it instantly. I didn't like the song when Fantasia sang it, I don't like it now.

Jason Castro (Somewhere Over the Rainbow) - Well, it's no Andy Bell in heels. His yukelalie was amusing, and well played, he sounded nice, but I am not sure if it was anything more than "sweet." The judges loved it, though. That should keep him around.

Kristy Lee Cook (Anyway - Martina McBride) - Again with the shimmery top? She is a pretty girl, but she was shouting tonight, and then the choir came in, and it was all over for me. I hate this kind of song. If that's the kind of song that Kristy is going to sing when she leaves the competition, I am hoping to never hear her music ever again. Yawn.

David Cook (Innocent - Our Lady Peace) - Mumble mumble what? Kind of a mess, sadly. Then - blah - in came the choir. Since when did inspirational songs need a full gospel choir? Jut because you love a song or a band does not mean that you can sing them. I am highly disappointed. He was all over the place.

Carly Smithson (Show Must Go On - Queen) - The high waisted pants are not very good, but I like her shirt, and the lack of tall boots is nice. The Wonder Woman Belt needed to go. I think this is one of the best vocals of the night, a inspirational song that is not cheesy, the choir didn't need to happen, and she was weak on her high notes. Some people just need to realize they are not sopranos. Carly has such a gorgeous alto range. Embrace that. The end was a mess, though. Still, one of my favorites of the night so far, not like that's hard.

David Archuleta (Angels -Robbie Williams) - Gag. Wow, what a stretch for him (she said sarcastically). I thought vocally he sounded nasal and not nice at all. I am so over him. So. Over. Him. He also looks like someone dressed him in his father's shirt.

Brooke White (You've Got a Friend - Carol King) - Totally predictable song choice from Brooke, but she looks nice, and it is her total niche. Unlike David A, I am not nearly as bored with her as I am with him. She could still be in trouble, though. She has so pigeon-holed herself. She was pretty pitchy on some parts. Perhaps she would have been better if she had been playing the piano. Standing isn't her thing. Neither is emoting. She seemed really sad at the end. Then she thought of rainbows and sunflowers and everything was peachy again.

Man, I'm glad that my gag reflex is strong. Otherwise, I would have spent a lot of time in the bathroom puking from tonight. The only two that I liked at all really were Michael and Carly, and Carly only slightly. I think I am only voting for Michael. I don't care who goes home, as long as it's not David Cook. He was very disappointing tonight, but I still hope he wins.

Who knew that Inspiration could be so absolutely dreadful.

Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites - Week 7

Oh, how I love it when Survivor is back after a week away. My week can now be complete.

Ozzie doesn't see himself as leader of Malakal, but he is deluding himself. If others see you as a leader, you are pretty much a leader. Sorry to break it to you.

Now, what are Ami and Cirie doing? Awwww, crab hunting. How neat. Those are some giant crabs. That does bring Ozzie down a notch as provider. Ami is sure to tell Ozzie that she was responsible for keeping him safe at Tribal. I don't know about that, Ami is being sneaky.

I bet a food challenge is coming up, because the Survivors on Airai are featured talking about their food cravings. A rat enters the camp, and Jason becomes the first to whack a rat this season. They plan on skewering him and eating him (the rat, not Jason).

And now they are talking about being dirty and going home to the other camp, so I smell a merge coming on, with a Spa type reward. We'll see how good my instincts are.

Parvati is doing some scheming with the other women. She is up for a woman's alliance, which is probably the only way she could possibly win. She wants to pull in Natalie and Alexis. Might be a good strategy . . . it remains to be seen.

Tree Mail is cryptic - They have to pick one member of the other tribe to get Individual Immunity for one night only, and get sent to Exile, skipping the Challenge. Ozzie is picked to sit out (big surprise), and Alexis. Off to Exile they go. Ozzie must be pained to be sitting out a challenge!!

The Immunity + Reward Challenge is kind of like the old style American Gladiator Gauntlet - Two people balances on an obstacle course with others trying to knock them off with giant bags. Ozzie Junior (aka Erik) showed some impressive skills. Both Eliza and Amanda fall immediately their first times, and Erik and Jason each get second ones. Amanda makes it back with one, and so does Jason. The bags are having no impact, these people are just running like made. On his last try, Erik tried to jump like he had jumped before, and missed and whacked himself hard into the platform. Ow. That was enough to win Airai Immunity and Pizza and Beer.

I don't think this is good for Ozzie Junior. I would love to see Cirie go, but I don't know if that is going to happen. Over on Malakal, Ozzie Junior's injury is inspected. He said it hurt a lot, but it doesn't look awful.

On Airai, Jason again gloats a bit about having the (Fake) Hidden Idol. Parvati does a funky little dance about the pizza and beer. James shows off his poor dental habits by opening some beer bottles with his teeth. Yeah. He has obviously not read Dr. Seuss' Tooth Book.

Ozzie takes Alexis on a hunt for the (Fake) Immunity Idol, and cackles with glee in his confessional when he finds that someone has taken the bait.

Erik is trying his hardest to stay in the game, and he tells Cirie and Amanda about Ami's scheming, which I think was a smart move. I want them to believe him, because Ami has been all flip-floppy. Ami, of course, catches him, and tries to tell the others that Erik is lying about her scheming ways. Don't. Trust. Ami. Ami puts on the hurt that they didn't ever come to her to join them. I think that they fact that she is an original Malakal is going to save her, and that makes me sad because I like Erik. Ami takes the opportunity to go and gloat to Erik that his telling the other girls about her made her alliance with them stronger. It was kind of a bitchy thing to do, I felt badly for Erik.

When Ozzie came back from Exile, Erik goes to him, and tells him everything, and Ozzie was peeved that Ami had gone after him. Ozzie talks to Amanda, and they have a little talk about who is more reliable...

Tribal Council, Ami puts on the tears when Ozzie mentions that someone went after him. If she isn't being genuine, she is good. I don't believe her for a second. The tears do not seem real to me. I am so glad that the tribe saw through them and kept Erik. He has so much more to learn from Ozzie.

Here's how the votes go down.

Amanda - Ami
Ami - Erik
Cirie - Ami
Erik - Ami
Ozzie - Ami

Next week is the merge. So I was wrong about the clues given this week. And next week, it looks like Jason shows Eliza his (fake) Idol, and she tells him she thinks it's fake. Looks to be a good one.

Thoughts on Top Chef: Chicago, 4/2/08

Not a full blown play by play, but I have to comment.

The Quickfire tonight was a great one - pure and simple, who can demonstrate techniques? The chefs had to make a vegetable platter with at least three different techniques. Nice. I think Dale deserved to win it, his vegan sashimi platter was really cool.

The Challenge was to make a dinner inspired by movies! Neat! Sorry, I didn't catch who was on each team.

The first course is inspired by Willy Wonka.

The second course is inspired by Good Morning, Vietnam.

The third course was inspired by Il Postino.

The fourth course is inspired by A Christmas Story.

The fifth course is inspired by Talk to Her.

The sixth course is inspired by Top Secret. They are making beef. I don't know how smart it is to make beef for a final course.

The Willy Wonka Course was infused with smoke again by Richard. That's going to lose it's novelty real quickly. Richard's little smoker broke, so they burned wood under the fish. Weird. Salmon with faux caviar, white chocolate and wasabi, and a fizzy drink. Very interesting.

The Good Morning Vietnam Course is a Summer Roll with black vermicelli, sea bass, and a couple other things. The little hunk o' swiss chard is off to the side. This was not a winner.

The Il Postino Course was fresh tortellini, along with some nice wine to go with. This got a mixed review, mostly positive.

The Christmas Story Course was very well received. Everyone seemed to love the carrot puree.

The Talk to Her Course was beautifully plated, but the flavor was not as good as it should have been.

The Top Secret Course was the beef one, and they did not serve too much of it, so it wasn't as heavy as I thought it was in danger of being. It was very well received, though the judges were not sure it said "Val Kilmer in a Cow Suit." That made me smile.

Coming out on top were Team Willy Wonka, and Team Top Secret, great book ends of the meal. I instantly want to try both dishes, and anything that is described as harmonious sounds so incredible. The Willy Wonka Team won, and Richard won the Challenge individually, and I think he deserved it.

Going back on the bottom were Team Talk to Her and Team Good Morning Vietnam. The judges had some pretty awful things to say about both dishes. When it came down to it, Team Talk to Her was safe, because their dish was pretty yummy, even though it didn't connect with the movie. Team Good Morning, Vietnam was the loser, because it was clear that they had the dish before deciding on the movie. In the end, Manuel went home over Spike, because he didn't show any initiative when Spike was obviously holding the reigns, and bringing the team in the wrong direction. Oh, Manuel, we hardly knew you.

American Idol: Down to 8 - Results Show 4/2/08

My DVR messed up on the beginning of the show again, annoying. I dove straight into the group sing of 9 to 5. Michael Johns' Dolly t-shirt was a bit disturbing. Jason Castro mumbled a bit, but happily, followed by Syesha mumbling and then trilling off into a run. The judges got some love from everyone, but no one more than Simon, who practically got a lap dance by Carly, and he looked a bit surprised.

There was then a recap of last night, and I stand by all of my comments from last night. That is all.

Who's going to be resting on the Sanctuary Sofas tonight? Who is on the Stools of Susceptibility?

Michael Johns is up first, and he is safe. So is David A. Oh well, justice will not be served this week (in my mind). Carly is teased by Seacrest, but she ends up safe, too. Woot.

Let's just pretend the call in section didn't happen, ok? It was embarrassing, unnecessary, and awkward. That is all.

Next is a performance by The Clark Brothers, from the underwatched The Next Great American Band. I admit to watching some episodes of the show, but it was on at an awkward time, so didn't watch it religiously (and I was already dvring two other things that conflicted with it). The few times I watched it, I enjoyed The Clark Brothers. I am happy that they won. I wish that the lead singer would get his bangs out of his eyes, I kept blinking looking at him, feeling the offending hair in my own eyes. There was some mighty impressive instrumental work there!

Straight into the Ford Commercial, which was a strange choice for song, although I hesitate to call that rap a song for the contestants to sing. They all got to pretend to play basketball, though, which looked like fun. Not my favorite Ford Ad.

Next up is David Cook, and Ryan addressed the rumors that he had gone to the hospital, and he says he is fine, he just has high blood pressure. That's good to hear. He will sing another week, he's safe.

Ramiele goes next, and is the first to end up on the Stools. Kristy is next, in another shimmery shirt, complete with a note that reads "Kristy's Seat" for what she sees as her inevitable place in the bottom 3, and she is correct, over she goes.

Before we find out the fate of the final three, there's a segment showing the previous American Idol contestants who have ended up in Nashville. Can I just say that Phil Stacey looks a whole lot less like Nosferatu with facial hair? It's good for him.

And it's Bo! I love Bo. I miss Bo. I had no idea that Bo had another album. I think I need it.

Syesha will stay to bore us for another week, and the final spot on the Stools is between Brooke and Jason. I think unfairly, it's Brooke in the Bottom 3, and she starts to the stools, only to be stopped by Ryan (has she not seen the show up to this point? The third person never goes to the Stools, at least night right off). It's kind of an amusing Ramiele sandwich between the two tall blondes.

After a break, the bottom 3 are seated temporarily on the couch, so that Dolly can sing, but first we have a plug for Idol Gives Back. It really is heartwarming to see what good has been done. I hope that the producers didn't stage the reunion of the sisters. It was really sweet. I think Brooke was crying when they cut back from it.

I did not much enjoy Dolly's song, it was a little too Jesus Take the Wheel for me. Still, she's impressive, given her age. She looks fantastic.

The Bottom 3 huddle together looking terrified. Brooke just really talks too much sometimes. I'm sure Ryan didn't want to hear Brooke's dissertation on sadness when he asked her if she was emotional. She is safe, as is Kristy, and Ramiele is heading home, but not before being smothered in Kristy's bosom. I think it was definitely her time to go home, she is just out of her depth. I wish her well.

Ramiele is Celebrated Home. Have I mentioned how much I hate that song? You know the worst thing? It's a cover! So, not only did it suck once, but then Ruben heard it, and decided to make it suck again. Really? Who made that decision, really?

Until next week. I think Idol Gives Back is next week, so that'll be different.

Yay for a New Season - Hell's Kitchen

I love Gordon Ramsey and his delightfully acidic personality. My husband also likes this show, which is nice because he doesn't like a lot of my shows. I enjoyed Kitchen Nightmares over the summer, but I love Hell's Kitchen. It isn't as high brow as Top Chef, but it's enjoyable, and heck, I'll mention it again, I like Gordon Ramsey. He makes good tv.

This year, the chefs are vying for a position at Ramsey's new restaurant. Nice.

The SAGA of Hell's Kitchen. It's serious this year, if you listen to Voice Over Man. Hilariously, Ramsey is in disguise to listen to the contestants as they get to know each other.

Immediately, Giant Hat Boy (Craig) annoys the crap out of me, as I think he is meant to. Jean-Phillipe's impression of Ramsey was spot on. Having some of the contestants do impressions before he revealed himself was amusing. And we cut to the credits so that Chef Ramsey can get the remnants of face putty off his face.

You would think that after three seasons, the hopefuls would know that they would be cooking straight off. Stupid clothing choices in some cases.

Quick succession of tastings of their signature dishes, let's see what I can catch.

Craig is first, and Ramsey hates his dish, hates his hat, tells him that he will shove it where the sun doesn't shine if he sees it again. He also accuses him of having a small penis and making up for it with a huge hat. That was funny.

Jen (a line cook, fruit carver) is up next, and her rice is ridiculously undercooked.

Corey (a private chef) is boring, looked like a piece of lettuce on a plate.

Jason (sous chef) - not good. Looked like cat food with some garnish.

Shayna (caterer) - burned her dish.

Matt (sous chef) - Caviar and white chocolate? That made Ramsey throw up. Not a good start. He claims to be a culinarian, but I don't get it.

Dominic (Stay at home Dad) - Not exciting, but not puke worthy. That's something, right.

Rosann (receptionist) - The first one to get a good review.

Petrozza (catering director) a cornish hen inside a pumpkin? That's bizarre. The potatoes were hideously greasy. The pumpkin presentation does NOT work in a plated dish like that. Maybe at home. And to top it off, it didn't taste good.

Sharon (room service) - not impressive.

Ben (electirican) - so so, but better than bad.

Christina (culinary student) - badly executed.

Louross (Hotel Cook) - mediocre.

Vanessa (Line Cook) - Nice halibut dish made Ramsey happy.

Bobby (Black Gordon Ramsey?) - Not impressive with deep fried fish. Walk the Walk.

************
They have to pick captains, and the women quickly choose Vanessa, while the guys take their time until Bobby elects himself. They all have to memorize a whole menu, and that's challenging.

I officially hate Jason who said that he wouldn't lose anything but an ironing competition to a woman. Booo.

At first glance, the men seem to have it more together in the kitchen, at least for prep, but flounder on the menu. That's stupid. How can you cook if you don't know the recipes, and haven't they been prepping all day? Um, really?

And then Jason is outside smoking and picking at his feet when he should be on appetizers??? Seriously???? I sure hope he washed his hands before going back into the kitchen.

Sharon was all over the place, and so was Jason. Sharon was kicked off the appetizer station and in blue eye-shadowed glory, claims that she "just likes to look nice." Try a little harder, sweetie. 1985 called, they want their make-up back. Ramsey wants Jason to eat the risotto he ruined, and he looks miserable doing so.

Ramsey kicked Vanessa out of the Captain's Chair and Rosann took over. Jen (who told someone to flip the fried eggs) was wondering why he didn't choose her.

Over in the men's kitchen, Bobby shows himself to be a completely inept captain, saying that he "doesn't want to get into that chaos."

Jen manages to get some risotto out, but the men are standing around like idiots. Dominic has been holding a bunch of scallops in his hand like a moron. Louross is made Captain in Bobby's idiocy. He ended up getting things moving, just in time for all the customers to leave. Yipes.

The men lose the first week. Louross is picked as the best of the worst, to choose candidates for eviction. He chooses Dominic and Bobby, and not Jason. Boo. Dominic seems like a real geek, not that there's anything wrong with that, but he might have potential. Bobby sure has a high opinion of himself. It's ridiculous. He so needs to go.

But not this week. Dominic is going back home to his family, wonder if it was because he threw out so many (24) scallops! What a waste.

Overall, a good season start, with some good villians. No one is standing out to me yet as outstanding, but both Louross and Rosann have the potential. We'll see!

American Idol: Top 9 - Dolly Parton Night!

I'm sure the Idol contestants have been working more than 9-5 on their efforts this week. At least I hope so. Of course Ryan had to go there - "Dolly took 5 with our top 9." I wish I had thought of that one! It looks like they might be doing all Dolly songs! I'm happy about that, because I don't know many Dolly songs, but the ones I do know, I like, and if it was a full out country night, I would be sure to hate most of the songs right off the bat.

Now onto the meat of the night!

Brooke White (Jolene) - She sounded great in rehearsal. The minimal accompaniment works really well for her, and I think this is one of my favorite in weeks from her. Possibly ever. See, this is great, because it's a little peppier, but she isn't flailing around, she's just giving it her all. Now I remember why I liked Brooke. That was amazing. I didn't notice any pitch problems, but I am not really familiar with the song. Unfortunately, we are having a lot of wind tonight, and my satellite fuzzed out what Paula and Simon said... I stand by my own thoughts.

David Cook (Little Sparrow) - His hair is looking better somewhat, I like the shorter bangs, it minimizes the Captain Combover look. I like that he is doing his own arrangement. That shows a lot of musicianship. I am also not familiar with this song, but I really like it. David Cook really knows how to use his voice, he knows his range well, and it shows on this arrangement, I think. I really enjoyed that. Immensely. I'm glad that the judges liked it, too. Go David Cook!! And no, he was not singing about the pictured Sparrow, but I liked the picture.


Ramiele Malubay (Do I Ever Cross Your Mind) - Finally something peppy! Unfortunately, someone decided that putting a little girl in slightly shimmery short overall dress was a good idea. It's not. Not at all. I think Ramiele did a good job, but I was bored, she is just out of her league at this point. I'm glad that Simon agreed with me, that it was a bit forgettable.


Jason Castro (Traveling Through) - Another peppier song from a normally sleepy performer! I'm liking tonight so far, that's for sure. I think he showed some more initiative with this song, and he did a good job. I mean, it's still his standard standing with a guitar performance, but I was interested this week. He does have such a nice voice. Yay! How funny that Simon said "I'm losing my Season Pass to Dollywood" before giving critique.


Carly Smithson (Here You Come Again) - I like Carly's red pants. She looks gorgeous tonight. I kind of like her singing more of a ballad. She does it well, without shouting or sounding forced. She put a lot of feeling into it, and I kind of think this is one of my favorites from her. Solid, heartfelt, and lovely. Finally something that I will remember Carly for. Simon picked on her clothes, I didn't think that was fair. The shirt could have used some help (another sleeveless shirt), but don't go knocking the red pants, Simon. I'm not a huge boot fan, but I'm also not a huge tattoo fan, so each to their own.


David Archuleta (Smokey Mountain Memories) - Another slow song for David, yawn. We get it, David A, you are good at singing ballads like you mean them. If I am being honest, I find him kind of nasal at times, mostly in the higher rang. I think maybe he likes the people waving their arms in the audience for him. I don't think he is going home this week, because vocally it was solid, but he has to kick it up somewhat, show some versatility, or he is not going to be in this for the run. I mean, it was good, he sounded good, he licked his lips less, but I am so over him. Sorry. The judges were nearly obsequious to him. I am done unless he shows me he can do more than one thing. A one-trick pony is still a one-trick pony, even if the trick is really good.


Kristy Lee Cook (Coat of Many Colors) - This should be her week, given that she is self-professed Country girl. She looks lovely, but I wish she had stood up a little earlier. The song seems a bit odd to wear a beautiful evening gown singing. I would have maybe worn jeans. Or red pants. Can't go wrong with red pants. I have to say, I thought she did a good job. I'm not voting for her, because I think she has been out performed many times so far.


Syesha Mercado (I Will Always Love You) - A totally predictable choice from her, I am saddened to say. In a Grecian looking yellow dress (with a red belt), she Michelle Pfiefers it up on the piano. Her holds at the end of the song were impressive, I actually liked that a whole lot more than I expected to. I loved the understated arrangement of it, without all the insane over the top runs that Whitney Houston did with the song. Better than I thought it would be by far.


Michael Johns (It's So Wrong, But It's So Right) - Ascotted again, Michael is minimally accompanied by only a piano and an electric guitar. I think that someone got the memo and turned down the background singer's microphones. Michael showed off his quite impressive range. It was beautiful. I hope that he does make it as a star, because Dolly wants to write songs for him. Wow.


My goodness, I don't know who I want to vote for tonight, they were all so good.

Definitely David Cook, Brooke, Michael Johns, and Carly. I'll throw a couple to Jason.

Hopefully, David Archuleta , Ramiele, and maybe Kristy Lee Cook will be the bottom three. I'm sure they won't be, but it would be right, in my opinion. (Edited - because I had made a terrible typo and said that David Cook should be in the bottom 3. No no no!!!)