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

Playing catch up

I apologize for my laxness in keeping up with my blog. I got a temp job in June, full time, and it severely constricted my time to do other things, including editing, writing, and blogging. But I promise to do better in the future, as much as possible. I'm doing data entry, and while the work can be strenuous at times - we have to wrestle with heavy files and push often heavy (and stubborn) wooden carts around, I like my co-workers, and I'm grateful to have this job.

A little update on my writing. I am currently writing the fifth book in my gay YA series, Southern Comfort - well, co-authoring. The first three books have been released, but the fourth is still in edits, what I like to refer to as the edits from Hell. I requested the first editor be removed after his insensitive remarks about "guys that date trannies" and knowing people "of that species", not to mention he tried to tell us we were wrong for only putting one space after periods instead of two. The book should have been released August 4th, it's in the hands of some other editor, and I won't even go there because the situation is past ridiculous. Thank God the fifth book does not have to be subbed there.

Other than that, I wrote my first horror story, and Muse it Up accepted it, for which I am delighted to no end. I don't have a contract or release date yet, but I'll keep you posted. It's called Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, and it's something different for me in that it is not a m/m story. I think it's good to be diverse. I don't want people to think I'm a one trick pony.

WIPs - I'm working on a story for a winter/holiday anthology for a group I belong to, It's Raining Men. That will be done by September 1st. I also have two books that I'm working on. When Will I See You Again is a m/m paranormal that I am almost 48 into. The main characters are Raoul Marchand and Alexx Jameson, and it takes place in the seaside town of Crescent Bay. Raoul is a werewolf, part of the strongest families around. He's a cynical, pleasure-seeking man, who has been shaped by tragedy in his life. Alexx  works in the mailroom of the Crescent Bay Chronicle, and yearns to be a crime reporter. When he's given his chance to write a story, although it isn't quite what he wanted, he finds himself at Raoul's nightclub, Charisma, and that is where they meet.

I'm also writing my first PI novel, which will be the first in a series about the main character, Holden Heidegger. The first book is called Personal Business, and it's what happens when your past catches up with you unexpectedly.

I watched the season premiere of Grimm this morning. As you'll recall from the end of season one, Juliette is in a coma, thanks to Adalind, who was a bit pissed after Nick drained her of her powers and became vengeful. No one knows where she is now, including her mother, the hexen beast. Also, Nick came face to face with the woman who was stalking him and lo and behold discovered it was his thought-to-be-dead mother. Nimura, who tried to kill Nick for the coins, was taken into police custody. Monroe and Rosalee work to concoct a serum to combat what was given to Juliette, racing against time. Funny thing is, someone else is shopping for those same ingredients. James Frain appears as a guest star, and things are really getting interesting. I look forward to seeing more of this.

 

The Glades just ended its third season, and it was an excellent one, what with Jim and Callie's relationship being tested with her being in Atlanta to work and study for her boards, and him having his methods called into question by a state investigator, Jennifer, who showed too much interest in Jim for my liking. There were a lot of interesting cases, and this season was strong in all the right places, including plot, acting, character development.  *****SPOILER ALERT****  I have to say that I was on edge for the last episode, as the previews made it seem that Jim was going to leave Callie, unable to take the current situation, but I was thrilled to be wrong, and I admit I cried over what did happen. I can't wait to see season 4.

Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef are both drawing to a close. Frankly, this season of Hell's Kitchen isn't up to snuff in my opinion. I really don't care much for any of the chefs and can't imagine making any of them head chef in one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants. That being said, I think the two I do like the most are Christina and Barbie, and thank God Robyn finally got cut. In Master Chef, last new episode, David Martinez got cut. I was sad, even though I didn't expect him to make it to the end. But the sadness was ameliorated when Graham told David that when he went back to Chicago there would be a job waiting for him there in one of his restaurants. I think that was the best possible outcome for him, and one that he very much wanted. Of the remaining chefs, I am rooting for Monti and Christine, and I hope Frank gets eliminated soon. I think he's a major ass.

On Top Chef Masters, the two gay partners were reunited when the second one was eliminated. This season isn't my favorite, I have to say, but there are some interesting chefs on it. I like Takashi and Patricia the best, and hope they do well.

Hell on Wheels began its new season, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll get back to you on that. The new season of Flipping Out starts September 3rd and Once Upon a Time September 30th.  I think October for The Walking Dead. It remains to be seen how well I'll keep up with these shows, but I'm going to try. We're taping a BBC show tonight, Copper. I'll let you know about that too.

That's about it for now. Thanks for bearing with me! Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

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