A man I love is in danger!

All right, maybe that's an exaggeration. And no, I'm not speaking of someone in my life who's dying or anything horrible like that. The man I'm speaking of is John Constantine, and I've grown very fond of him, but I understand there may be no second season. So from that standpoint, he is in danger of being cancelled.

How awful to have a show one loves in imminent peril of having the plug pulled. I have two such shows that I know of - Constantine and Forever. And I love them both.

For those who don't know, Constantine is based on the long-running DC comic Hellblazer, concerning the exploits of a slick exorcist by the name of John Constantine, who is a very complex character. There was a movie made starring Keanu Reeves and I liked the movie pretty well - until I started reading the comics and realized just how far offbase the filmmakers were. First, in casting Keanu Reeves in the first place. he's very un-John Constantine, and totally mis-cast.

The NBC version features Matt Ryan, who makes a most excellent Constantine. And I have no complaint with the writing, or with the storylines they've come up with. They're far more canon than the movie, especially with regard to Chas.

I hope someone decides to keep this wonderful show, but NBC has a history of pulling the plug on shows I like - such as Awake, Dracula, and Do No Harm. I hear a decision will come in April, so cross your fingers!

Also, I recommend the comic books. And if you like the premise, I'd like to recommend a series of books I've been reading about another exorcist, Felix Castor. They're written by Mike Carey, the genius behind Lucifer, the graphic novels. I've read the first three and hope to be able to read the last two. Felix has vague similarities to John, but don't be fooled by that. Carey has created some rather memorable characters in this series, and his wit and intelligence are off the charts.

Now, my second show, Forever.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this show before, about an immortal medical examiner. This week's episode was awesome, having to do with a mummified body found at a rock concert in a building about to be torn down. Along the way, we learned more about Henry's past. I can't say enough good things about this show. Whenever it comes out on DVD, I'll get it. And I'll be devastated if it is cancelled.

What else am I watching? Well, Once Upon a Time is back, and this season features three villaineses - Ursula, Maleficent, and Cruella, who have aligned themselves with Mr. Gold ****POSSIBLE SPOILERS*** who was cast out of Storybrook by a fed-up Belle. This season focuses on them, and on Regina's search for the mysterious author of Henry's book, so she can achieve her own happy ending.

My favorite character in the show is still Mr. Gold. I won't even lie - the man has issues. He's not exactly trustworthy, and he can kill without thinking twice about it. And yet there is something very irresistible about him. Maybe it's that bad boy vibe he gives off so well? Just ask Belle, I'm sure she understands.








This season is off to a good start and I'm enjoying it.

Cutthroat Kitchen is crazy and full of fun. You gotta love a no-holds-barred Alton Brown. The premise of the show is that four chefs compete against one another, in three rounds, and the name of the game is sabotage, which Alton is happy to oblige with his wicked auctions.  Fun, fun, and more fun.

Unlike Hell's Kitchen. We didn't watch the last season, as it came so quickly on the heels of the lackluster season before, but thought we'd give this one a whirl. After two episodes, Sarah and I asked each other - do we want to continue? And the answer was a resounding NO. Nothing new under this sun. Different chefs, same old problems, situations, screaming and dialogue. Heard it, over it. Still love Gordon Ramsey, but maybe he needs a new shtick? How about more Motel Hell? That was better.

Mr. Selfridge began its third season with a wonderful two hour premiere. *****SPOILERS

AHEAD***** Between the two seasons, Mrs. Selfridge passed on, but that was no surprise as we saw her receive her diagnosis last season. This season begins with Harry's daughter Rosalie's marriage to a Russian aviator named Sergei. I see a lot of fireworks coming out of this union. Sergei is tied to his mother, the Princess - read leach. That woman is all about getting what she can out of Harry, including taking a suite at an expensive hotel and charging it to him. Sergei is hot on developing his own airplane and building an aerodrome, and assumes Harry will foot the bill. Harry, though, decides to push for non-profit housing for returning soldiers, a plan which Rose at one time drew houses for. Sergei gets bent out of shape, but luckily for him, he is approached by another potential investor - none other than Lord Locksley! Boo, hiss!

Then there is Agnes, who split with Victor last season, and married Henri Leclair this season. Also this season, Harry's daughter Violette is coming into her own, and showing she is her father's daughter. There's a lot going on, and I'm looking forward to seeing it all!

Well, I have to stop there. I hope to write more tomorrow night about other shows, such as Dig and Vikings.

Have a great Friday!

Cutthroat Kitchen, Food Network Star, Master Chef and more

Cutthroat Kitchen is now in its second season, and it's going like gangbusters. For those who might not know

what this is, this is Food Network's own Alton Brown as an evil host who starts out with four chefs who are trying to best one another, through various nefarious means, and emerge victorious. Each contestant is given $25k at the beginning of the show, and this is what they use for the auctions in each round. First Alton announces what dish he expects them to cook, then he gives them 60 seconds to shop for ingredients from his pantry. If, at the end of that time, someone is caught in the pantry, there is a penalty to be exacted. I've only seen that happen once.

Then the fun begins, as the cheftestants bid on the sabotages that Alton introduces, in order to burden their fellow chefs with them. One of the most infamous sabotages is the tiny kitchen. Another is to have two chefs chained together. Or use strange items as tools. Or strange heat sources. When it comes time for judging, a guest judge arrives, having no knowledge of the sabotages used and not caring, and tastes the food. One chef is eliminated in each round. The regular judges are Simon Majundar (whom I refer to as Simon Majumjum lol), Jet Tila, and Antonia Lofaso. Once, Geoffrey Zakarian was a guest judge, and you can imagine how thrilled I was that night!

This is a really enjoyable show (and no, Alton isn't that mean, it's an act. Seriously?) One of my favorite memories involves a chef that was on Food Network Star and lost (and I didn't like her on that). She was a contestant on CK, and had a slight altercation with a blender. You can see it in the opening credits lol

Food Network Star is entering its last couple of weeks, and we are down to the last four - Lenny, Luca,

Nicole and Sarah. At the beginning of the season, I had two favorites - Luca and Lenny. But Luca was eliminated in the second week, for not looking at the camera, so I set my sights on Lenny. After winning in the last chance kitchen, Luca came back, but I'm still going with Lenny. Sarah was rooting for Loreal, the Butcher Babe, but she was eliminated, so now she's rooting for Luca. Should be interesting, although I think Lenny has pretty well outshown everyone else most of the time. When he's good, he's very good. He has charisma in spades, and I think he'll do well with his own show. I'd certainly watch it.

Master Chef is almost down to ten contestants now, and I honestly can't say I have a favorite. This is not really their best season yet. There is one person I'd love to see eliminated, and I'm sure she will be, after they take advantage of the bitch-factor she projects. Her name is Courtney, and she is just obnoxious. I like Leslie, the guy who's about my age from Malibu, but I'm not sure he has what it takes to win. I like Jamie, who is quiet and shy, but she needs to step forward and shine more. She has time, though. At this point last season, Luca hadn't begun to really shine,  but the last half of the season saw him do just that. I like Big Willie too. It's just not a very exciting season. Side note; Graham looks like he's lost a bit of weight, good for him!

Hell's Kitchen ended its season recently, but we didn't even bother to watch the finale, so disgusted with their choices of who was to compete - Scott and Jason. What a crock. Rochelle was better than either of them and should never have been eliminated. A disappointing season.

On the other hand, Hotel Hell is back, and Gordon Ramsey is visiting some very disgusting hotels that he has to work miracles with. Similar to what Robert Irvine does with restaurants. The difference is Gordon isn't hampered by a $10k budget, obviously. He has some very generous sponsors, which makes sprucing up his hotels much easier. $10k wouldn't go very far, but Robert does amazing things on a small budget. I look forward to an interesting season of Hotel Hell. Apparently, there will be no more Kitchen Nightmares. Can't blame the man, he has a lot going on.





Hell on Wheels starts again tonight, can't wait! We started watching Face Off this season. I'd been told by a

few people that I should watch it, I'd like it, and they were right! Make-up artists compete for a major cash prize, creating make-up and effects to specifications. We've seen two episodes and are impressed. One of the contestants is from St. Louis, so go Drew! Next episode has to do with aliens, should be fun!



Well, all for now, gotta get in some writing before it's Svengoolie and ice cream time! Tonight he's showing Son of Dracula! I'm sure it's a real stinker lol

Next time I hope to talk about Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, Halt and Catch Fire, The Kitchen and more!

Later!

Endings and Beginnings

Before I start, I would like to tell you I'm visiting with Jon Keys today, so go check that out.

Things have changed from when I was a kid. Back then, there were two basic seasons for television programs - the regular seasons and the summer reruns. Of course, back then, we basically had what? Five channels? Six after UHF came out? (Yes, I'm old enough to remember a time before UHF, and also a time when color TV's were brand new and not the norm, like they are now).

With the coming of cable, that all changed. There is no one season fits all. Which is actually good. You can balance your programming and not try to watch everything at once, which is impossible due to the demands of time (and yes, DVR is a real godsend too). As one show you enjoy ends its season, another is sure to begin. And so it is with me.

Once Upon a Time, Masters of Sex both finished. Grimm just had a finale, at least until February 28th, at which time both it and Hannibal will return. And yay for Hannibal! I saw a promo for it last night, during Grimm, using a song very familiar to me, Can't Get it Out of My Head:   It's an old ELO song, and how well it works with this.







I think this season we will see Hannibal really coming out as the serial killer we all know and love, even more

than in the first season, as he frames Will Graham for the murders he has committed. If they continue in this vein, and I hope that they do, I think season three should be the season of Red Dragon. And eventually we will come to Silence of the Lambs and Clarice. There can be no spoilers, if you've read the books and watched the movies. But the fun is in the anticipation, in watching it played out using these very talented actors. I wasn't sure I could accept anyone other than Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal, but Mads Mikkelsen is superb, and Hugh Dancy shines as Will Graham. When NBC is good, they are very very good, especially with their dramas. They put all the others to shame, as far as the networks go. But sometimes they also screw me over, cancelling shows I love. I don't think this will be the case with Hannibal, though, or Grimm.

Dracula had its season finale, but the fate of the show is up in the air. NBC hasn't decided. That's what I mean. Sometimes you have to trust your instincts and go with it. Dracula is a strong contender, and they should renew it for another year, see where it goes. I hope they do, because the creators have taken a familiar story and given it some interesting twists, and I'm not ready for it to be over.




Justified has just returned for its fifth season, and it's going strong. Guess who's back? Remember Dewey

Crowe of the four kidneys? Dumber than a bag of hair Dewey? Well, he's not any smarter. And now he's got kinfolk from down South to reckon with, a cousin who's pretty sure he can control Dewey and get over on him and everyone else. Raylan's a new daddy, with a little girl down in Florida. Still not sure why Winona left him - she must be crazy. Raylan's staying in some fancy digs that the feds appropriated from a criminal and he's sortof seeing Loretta's caseworker, who has a crazy boyfriend. Ava's still in jail for murder, and Boyd's doing what he can, but he's got problems of his own. I wonder if their relationship will survive this?

Top Chef New Orleans has two more episodes, as they wind out the finale into two, which means probably a lot of filler, which is annoying. It's down to Nina, Shirley and Nicholas. Carlos was eliminated last week, thank goodness. I couldn't stand him, and felt that his personality aside, he was too one-note to win. I'm looking for Nicholas to be eliminated before the final showdown. He should have been gone already, and only having immunity saved his ass and cost a worthier chef the chance to win. See, in the end, it isn't necessarily the best chef that wins. This is just a longer form of cutthroat kitchens, with its own form of sabotages. Take immunity off the table from the beginning, and you get a whole other ballgame. I'm rooting for Shirley. Not that I don't like Nina, I do. But I think Shirley is the more skillful of the two and deserves to win.

Speaking of Cutthroat Kitchen, I have to say it's a lot better show than I thought it was going to be. In fact, I

downright enjoy it. Alton Brown delivers just the right amount of coldness for the part of the emcee, and the contestants are obviously encouraged to play as unfairly as possible, including a lot of trash talk. But it's all in fun, and don't worry - Alton's as sweet as ever, it's just a persona, folks! But it makes for some fun times as people are given handicaps to their cooking, whether it's how they cook, or what they cook. For example, sometimes only one chef is allowed to taste their dish. And one time a chef was forced to do all his cooking with utensils made of aluminum foil. Losing time, having fresh ingredients swapped for process ones - it's all part of the game of Cutthroat Kitchen!

American Horror Story Coven ends this week, and I must say it's been a wild and crazy ride - and I've loved every minute of it. How's it going to end? I have no clue! ****SPOILER ALERT**** In the last episode, they killed the Axeman. Nan is dead. Delphine trapped in a Hell of her own making. Fiona is dead, without having named a successor. Misty was rescued from her premature burial. But I would not underestimate Fiona. And it's not over until it's over, as the coven prepares to perform the seven wonders which will determine who is the next Supreme. All bets are off, and I would not hazard a guess as to who it might be. With a triumvirate such as Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, and Kathy Bates, can you possibly go wrong? I think not.

Speaking of shows that have come back, my darling Sherlock as returned! Reports of his death were greatly

exaggerated! Of course, if you know Sherlock Holmes at all, you knew that already, as the infamous Reichenbach Falls was the scene of the fictional detective's demise those many years ago. And like his literary counterpart, this Sherlock isn't dead either. Of course not, that would mean an end to the series. I'm sad that each season consists of only three episodes, but what wonderful episodes! I loved the first one. I laughed and I cried. ****SPOILERS**** Next one should be great, as Dr. Watson gets married. We met his fiance in the first one, and surprisingly I liked her. Can't wait for the next.

And The Following is back! Didn't we all know Joe couldn't be dead? Seriously? Well, the first episode aired after one of the football game playoffs last weekend. And that was a huge mistake, I could have told them it would be. Basically because of the unpredictable timing element of football games. They don't tie up neatly in an allotted time, they're unreliable. And how do you set your DVR when you can't be sure what time the show will start? You can't, not with any real assurance that you'll catch the whole thing. And that's just what happened. Apparently, the idiots at Fox began airing it 12 minutes early! Well, duh, that means for everyone who recorded it that twelve minutes were lost. At least they realized their stupidity and are re-airing the episode prior to the next one. But that means blocking out more time to watch both. Jeez, people, get your act together!

Back to cooking for a moment. Food Network is now airing Chopped Canada, the Great North version of our beloved series. It's very similar, of course, and follows the same format. Different host, different judges, and of course different contestants. It's interesting. If you like Chopped, I think you'll like it. The host is no Ted Allen, but he does fine. The best part for me is getting to see Roger Mooking as a judge. Last seen, he did a show with Aaron Sanchez called Heat Seekers.

And on Saturday mornings, something different - The Kitchen. This is a weekly talk show featuring five Food

Network personalities. I'll admit the biggest reason I tuned in was because of my crush on Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, and also because Jeff Mauro, the Sandwich King is there too. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it's a fun, informative and interesting hour of television, and I look forward to it every week now. Well worth your while if you enjoy learning about food, listening to light, fun banter, and seeing talented chefs cook. Geoffrey has his own portion of the show - It's 5 o'clock somewhere - and he mixes a different cocktail in every episode.

Lest you think I've forgotten, let me mention that The Blacklist is back and better than ever, and James Spader is hot, hot, hot and I cannot wait to find out what is going to happen. Will we learn the truth about Red's relationship with Lizzie? Will we discove the truth about Tom? We already know who the mole is. What a fabulous first season this has been. This goes on my gotta have list for sure, along with Hannibal and Grimm (I got the first season, thanks to my Sarah!)

I think that's about it for now. More about the Following, once I actually watch it. Same with Hannibal. I'm working on my first BDSM novel, and hope to finish it by the end of February, although that might be ambitious. I'm excited that When Will I See You Again comes out tomorrow. I hope, of course, that it does well, but mostly I hope that people enjoy it. I poured my heart into it.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie