Why Dr. Smith is a better father to Will Robinson and other Sundries

There's a station called ME TV where you can watch lots of vintage shows. Some are classics, some are

gems, and some are not so good,  but there are a lot of memories there. On Saturday nights, they show Lost in Space, right before Star Trek TOS. I've seen Lost in Space, of course, grew up on it, loved it. My favorite character was Dr. Zachary Smith (maybe that says a lot about me, since he's supposed to be the villain of the story, or maybe it says something for the others that he's the most interesting person there lol). When the film was made, and that role went to Gary Oldman, I was ecstatic. Not so much when the film came out, which is not Gary's fault, and it didn't stop me from seeing it a few times at the theatre.

And actually, what I'm about to say holds true for the movie as well as the series, but it's the series I'm talking about right now, because it's fresher in my mind.

Dr. Smith, for all his faults, was a better father to Will than John Robinson.

He spent more time with Will, there's no denying that. John Robinson spent little time with his family, the quintessential working father so common at that time. And yet, he certainly wasn't working a 9-5 40 hour job. He could make his own hours. He chose to do what he did.



Dr. Smith was a mentor to Will, a role-model, if you will. Will obviously cared for him, and looked out for

him, stood up for him and pleaded leniency when maybe he didn't always deserve it. Obviously, he learned a lot from the Doctor, including compassion. Great job, Zachary! And fie on you, John Robinson, for failing as a parent. And no, Maureen wasn't much better, but she was a little more attentive.

I'm a little behind on what I've been watching, but here goes. Hell's Kitchen ended last night, and quite happily, with Ja'nel winning a spot as Gordon Ramsay's chef, beating out Mary. I knew Mary couldn't win, she didn't have it in her. I had made an early prediction that the last two standing would be Ja'nel and Jon. I came close. Jon was cut at the last moment. Great job, Ja'nel!










Master Chef is down to 7 chefs now. In a surprise move, the top 6 chefs didn't cook in tonight's episode.

Instead, each of the judges brought back a contestant they felt had gone too soon - Bime, Brie and Linn. They competed against one another to see who would come back to Master Chef. The challenge involved cooking as many perfect fried eggs as they could. In that challenge, Linn was eliminated, leaving Bime and Brie to duke it out. They had to cool a huge Alaskan salmon, with potatoes and asparagus, and the six contestants were to judge, along with Joe, in a blind taste test. In the end, the vote went to Brie, and she's back. My favorite is still Luca. He's emerging as a strong contender these days, so don't go counting him out!

For all intents and purposes, Food Network Star is done. The final three made their pilots, and America voted. Now we wait the result, in next Sunday's episode. I was sad when Chad was eliminated. I still think he has what it takes. But I'm rooting for Russell now, and I hope he and his culinary sins make it!







A new season of Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell just started. The show is okay, if somewhat predictable.

There's also a new season of Top Chef Masters. I've got two favorites there, Chef Neal Fraser and Chef Sang. There is a twist to this season. Each chef brought a sous chef, and the sous chefs compete first, and their actions often come back to haunt their chefs. Sometimes immunity, sometimes a penalty. Tonight's episode was very interesting,****Spoilers**** with the masters feeding the cast of Days of our Lives. They were divided into three teams to represent Sex, Murder, and Greed, and their food had to reflect those themes. Three chefs, thanks to their sous chefs, had penalties. One sat in jail for 30 minutes, one was in a coma for 30 minutes, and one was in a crime scene for 30 minutes, at various stages of their cooking. In the end, Chef Odette was sent packing.

Well, that's it for right now, but next time I want to talk about Crossing Lines, The Glades and The Bridge. And Hannibal too, even though the season is done.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Serial Killer? Yes, please! The Following and more...

It's been a while since I talked about what I'm watching, and I've begun to watch some great new shows, so let's get to it!

First, anyone who knows me knows I love serial killers - Hannibal Lecter, Dexter Morgan, Sweeney Todd, Gretchen Lowell... I find them all fascinating. In fact, I've created my own serial killer recently and plan to expand on that short flash that I did, There is a new show on Fox that involves a serial killer, so of course I had to check it out. it didn't hurt that Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy are the main characters.

The Following airs on Fox on Monday nights. James Purefoy is Joe Carroll, the incarcerated serial killer, an English professor with a penchant for Edgar Allan Poe and for killing. He is a very charismatic man, and he has a number of followers whom he has trained to obey his every command, and whom he controls even inside prison. You may remember James Purefoy as Marc Antony in the wonderful series Rome. Kevin Bacon is Ryan Hardy is the FBI agent that brought Joe down - and also had an affair with Mrs. Carroll (played by Natalie Zea, who certainly gets around this year. She's also Raylan Givens' ex Winona in Justified and the crazy lady who tried to kill Hank Moody (David Duchovny) in Californication.

There has been a fantastic storyline going on that involves Joe's young son, Joey, his nanny, and the gay next door neighbors, who kidnap the young boy and all efforts are directed toward finding and rescuing him. This is a really good show, I'm enjoying the heck out of it, and look forward to seeing more of it. Why can't you write Vampire Diaries like this, Kevin Williamson? Maybe it wouldn't suck so much if you did. Just sayin'.

Also on Monday nights is a program I started watching on TNT, believe it or not, an original series called Monday Mornings, involving the morbidity and mortality meetings at Chelsea General, starring Ving Rhames and Alfred Molina. Molina is chief of surgery, Rhames chief of trauma. There's an obnoxious transplant surgeon, an overachieving female doctor, a Korean surgeon with a minimal command of English, a brain surgeon who is cheating on her husband with another member of the staff, and more. I'm really enjoying this show a lot so far. My favorite character is Dr. Sung, who cut to the chase when talking to a patient and his family regarding the proposed surgery: "No do, dead."  I hope my liking this show doesn't doom it to failure.

I would tell you about Do No Harm, which involved a Jekyll/Hyde doctor, and his struggle to keep his evil alter ego in check, but alas, they cancelled it after two episodes, to my great chagrin. I'm pissed at NBC for that, coming on the heels of their cancellation of Awake. You disappoint me greatly, NBC.

Last night saw the finale of Top Chef Seattle, and what a season it was!  ****SPOILERS***** As you may recall, I was bitterly disappointed to see my favorite chef voted off far too early, Kristen, especially when obnoxious chefs were still there, like Josie. (At least Carla was already gone). I was disappointed when Stefan was cut too. But I held on to the hope that Kristen would re-emerge through the auspices of the Last Chance Kitchen, and she did, becoming the third chef, along with Brooke and Sheldon. I was hoping Sheldon would be eliminated and the two women would face off, and that's just how it went. Kristen and Brooke went on to LA for the finale, which was done before a live audience, and they had former team members as sous chefs. I was surprised that Kristen didn't use her "husband" Stefan. Each chef planned five courses. As each course was judged, the judge would pick their favorite between the two, and the first chef to gain three votes in a round was the winner of that round. First chef to win three rounds would win Top Chef. Kristen won the first round, Brooke the second, but then Kristen took the next two and became Top Chef.  Yay! Wonder what they'll do  next, now that this is done?

Sweet Genius ended its seasons, alas, and in its place we have been given Chef Wanted, with Anne Burrell. There was a similar show that didn't last long, Chef Hunter. I have to say that although I like Anne, this show leaves me, not cold, but not exactly excited to watch it either. If I have to record it rather than watch it when it airs, no big deal. It's interesting viewing, but adding Anne to the equation didn't make it better in my book, and it's fairly predictable. Four chefs begin, competing for a spot at a restaurant that is desperate for a new head chef and has turned to Anne for help. Two are eliminated in the first two challenges, and the remaining two each take charge of the restaurant for a night, plan their menus, and do a full dinner service. There is invariably at least one contestant that you look at and wonder why they are even there, they're so obviously mismatched. Then, when it comes to the dinner service, all the auditioning chefs have problems and have to over come them. Then the owner/owners make their selection and all's well (and amazingly they already have the right size chef coat waiting for the new head chef!) Not a bad show, but nothing I'd cry over if it was cancelled.

On a brighter note, I've begun watching Ripper Street on BBC America, and I am enjoying that very much! Saturday nights is when it airs.****SPOILERS AHEAD*** Matthew MacFadyen is Inspector Reid, who's charged with protecting the folks in the Whitechapel area. Yes, that Whitechapel. And no, this isn't about the Ripper, although he does rate mention now and then, mostly as the one that got away. Inspector Reid is married, but tragedy has marred the union through the death of their only child, a daughter, and his wife has pulled away from him, seeking the solace of the church and her work at the mission. This is becoming more and more of an issue, especially as Reid finds himself unexpectedly attracted to a Jewish woman who heads a local orphanage. At Reid's side is Sergeant Drake, who has a thing for a lady of easy virtue in a prominent house of ill repute, but he doesn't want her like that, and she has a living to make, so they have a difficult relationship at best. Then there is Homer Jackson, an American who was once a Pinkerton, and now lives in that same whorehouse, with the madame, and is a very skillful if unorthodox surgeon. I highly recommend this series. I look forward to it every week.

Well, all for now, better get back to writing and stuff. I have another series I want to talk about, but I want to devote more time to it - BBC's Sherlock. Let's just say for now that I am totally in love and intend to buy the first two seasons as soon as I can afford it.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Disappointment in an Unjust Decision and AHS Nears an End

****SPOILERS AHEAD**** Since Top Chef Seattle began, there is one chef that has been my consistent favorite. While I like Stefan, and I didn't mind the now departed John, I felt the best chef there was Kristen. Well, as of last night, she is no longer a contender, and while it's partially her fault (but mostly Josie's), there has been a grave miscarriage of justice here. Last night on Top Chef was the Restaurant Wars that was set up last week, with Kristen and Sheldon as the two executive chefs. It turned out to be boys vs girls, with the boys one chef short after last week's elimination. Sheldon set up a Philippine restaurant, while Kristen went with her own version of classic French. The reason for her elimination is the pedantic chef Josie, who skated by on the backs of her fellow chefs, although she is possessed of mediocre talents and an abrasive, annoying personality. I could not believe they would eliminate Kristen over Josie's stupidity, but then again, Kristen should not have been so passive and put blame where it needed to go. My only hope is that she will return via Last Chance Kitchen. Otherwise, my hopes lie with Stefan now.

One episode left and then American Horror Story will be history. At least this season's, that is. Much as I loved the first season, I loved the second season just as much, if not more. I would gladly own both seasons in a heartbeat.  ***SPOILERS*****  Wow, so much has happened. People come and gone. Dr. Arden dead - threw himself atop Sister Mary Eunice's body as it was being rolled into the crematorium. Dr. Thredson, aka Bloody Face, dead, but survived by his child with Lana Winters. Kit ended up with two children and two women - Alma and Grace. Jude is still an inmate at Briarcliff, waiting for Monsignor Timothy to release her. But wait, he's a Cardinal now, has been for two and a half years, and she's still there. And that's not everything. Next week is the season finale. I suspect it will go out with a bang, not a whimper.

Hawaii 5-0 is excellent, as ever. Although apprehensive when I first learned of the remake, I had to give it a try because of Alex O'Loughlin, and I'm glad I did. It's well written, well acted, and better than the original. This week's episode was no exception, with Danny's nephew visiting from Jersey adding to the fun. The only complaint I have is in the relationship between Steve and Catherine, because I really don't like her, and I can only hope that goes nowhere. Also, the less seen of his mother, the better. Okay, I do have a complaint with the way CBS airs the show. It's often hit or miss and has no rhyme or reason. Good thing it's really good, so I make the effort to watch it.

I'm still watching Chopped and Restaurant Impossible, that goes without saying. We just got caught up with a series we recorded and never watched: Chef Wanted, with Anne Burrell. While it was enjoyable, I felt it was just another version of Chef Hunter, and they could save paying Anne Burrell's probably higher salary and keep the original show, which was just as good. We have a few more cooking series to catch up on - Around the World in  80 Plates, $24 in 24, and Baron Ambrosio. Will update when I can.

We're behind an episode on Person of Interest, due to a DVR mishap, but I'm still loving it, and especially look forward to watching Mr. Reese's fight scenes. So sexy! No new episode tonight, though.

Californication began its new season. ***SPOILERS**** As you may recall, Hank was drugged by his crazy ex, Carrie, just when happily ever after seemed to be within his grasp. This season begins with him awakening in the hospital, very much alive, with Carrie in a coma. He becomes wracked with guilt that he drove her to it and goes on a killer binge. Finally, the people in his life who love him tell him enough is enough and get thee to rehab. One of the funniest scenes involves Hank going to see a Johnny Depp lookalike movie star (played by Tim Minchin). I love these series, can't wait to see where this season is headed.

New shows coming up that I plan to watch:

The Following with Kevin Bacon starts on January 21, looks interesting. Riddle Street, on BBC America, also set to record. In March, I believe, is a series that is a prequel to Psycho, Bates Motel. And in June, Showtime has a series starring Liev Schrieber that I plan to try, Ray Donovan. Will keep you updated as I begin to watch them.

All for now, back to work!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie