Gordon Ramsey's Back Where He Belongs - in the Kitchen and on my Television!

Last night I watched the return of two shows I really enjoy, and they both happen to feature Chef Gordon Ramsey - Hell's Kitchen, in its tenth season, and Master Chef. They'll be on again tonight, and that's where I'll be too.





*****SPOILERS AHEAD****8

They say this season of Hell's Kitchen is going to be very intense, and from I saw last night, I can see why. They're revving up the chefs and encouraging violent actions and reactions. I think we'll see a lot of yelling this year, and a lot of stupid mistakes.



As usual, the chefs were divided into two teams - male and female, red team and blue team. They began by making their signature dishes, at Chef's bequest, and then comparing them two by two. The women scored the first victory, and were sent off for barbecue cooked by two previous season winners, while the angry men were left to scrub the kitchen.

At dinner service that night, no one did themselves proud, and stupid mistakes were made. The women could not get the Beef Wellington right, but at least they got through the appetizers, the men never did, before a disgusted Chef Ramsey closed their kitchen, and then closed the Red Kitchen. Several chefs were told to get out over the course of the evening, including one very short woman whose name I forget, who could not cook the scallops right. On the men's side, though, their scallops were horribly butchered in preparation by a 22 year old executive chef named Tavon. When it came time to put up two men for elimination, some wanted to put up both prep chefs, Tavon and Royce, but some argued that Royce was worth keeping so they wanted to put up Don, whose only crime was looking clueless as he never got a chance to cook, dinner service being called off before the entrees. Chef Ramsey saw through their subterfuge and turned down Don in favor of Royce. But in the end it was Tavon that was eliminated.

 

On Master Chef, it was the first night of eliminations, of seeing who made the cut to be on the show among the many contestants, who all were to cook one dish, and then finish it before the judges in 5 minutes. There were some very strange and off the wall contestants, including some woman who kept dancing, and another who made cakes with the three judges heads (she made it in, the dancer did not).

There was an 18 year old high school student who made carrot cake. She was bright and bubbly, but Gordon told her to come back next year. There were a few contestants that I liked.and some I wasn't sure of. Right now, names and faces don't stand out, but I'm sure that will change over the course of the season. Gordon's co-judges were back with him - Graham and Joe. I think Graham lost weight, probably a result of being on the Fat Chef series. The most unusual contestant was a blind woman, the first for Master Chef. I question whether she'll be able to carry out the various challenges that will be required of her, but that remains to be seen. Tonight will come more eliminations, more giving out of the white Master Chef apron. The previews look promising - one guy rides in on a horse. I have to wonder if some of that isn't as staged as the opening of Hell's Kitchen where the sous chef demanded that the chefs shave their heads, as he did eight years before, to show their commitment to Chef Ramsey. That turned out to be a hoax. The woman sous chef wore a skull cap, and the two "chefs" who had their hair shaved were actually not chefs, but friends of the sous chef. Good television, even if an illusion.

**SPOILERS***

Season 3 of the Glades started Sunday on A&E, and I was thrilled to death! I love this show so much! And if the first episode of the new season is any indication, we're in for another good one. Jim and Callie are dating openly - hooray! - but on the downside, Callie is unemployed and jobs are hard to find, but she doesn't want Jim to say or do anything about it. A young couple doing some canoodling in their car in a deserted spot see strange lights, followed by loss of power in their vehicle as well as their cell phones, and while chasing the lights they  make a gruesome discovery - a dead body. Investigating the death leads Jim and Carlos to a group of victims of alien abduction. The victim was a supporter of the group. He left behind a very young, nubile widow, who stands to inherit his sixty million dollars. This episode was a lot of fun, and Daniel got a chance to show as the resident expert on strange and esoteric things, such as alien abductions.

 

I can't say enough good things about this show, I'm glad I took a chance and began to watch it. It's funny, upbeat, quirky, and the mysteries and police cases are well done and interesting. The characters are real, and fun to watch. I hope it stays with us for a long time to come.






***MORE SPOILERS***

 

Only two episodes of the Borgias left. I love this rich historical drama even more than I did the Tudors, and that's saying a lot. In Sunday's episode, Cesare runs across Caterina Sforza's son, believed to be dead, and learns the true story of the siege of Forli, which is certainly not the pack of lies that his brother Juan fed their father, the Pope. Of course, Juan has other problems - wounded at the siege, the physician says he may lose his leg, and his disposition is not helped by the fact that he's also got syphilis, and is bound to go mad over time, at least. Lucrezia is being pressured into marriage, but the trouble is no one has caught her eye, and she really doesn't care for the condition of being married. But then she sees someone who pleases her - unfortuantely, he is not the groom to be, but his brother. But her mother gives her some sage advice - "You're a Borgia. You can have what you want." So she agrees to marry the one, while cuckolding him before the marriage has even been performed, with his brother.

Meanwhile, Savanarola is still causing all sorts of trouble, and general consensus is he must be silenced. And naturally, Della Rovere is bent on no good. He's been training a young boy, with the aid of poison, to kill the Pope. Now that the boy has a tolerance for it, he is ready to become the Pope's food taster. The trouble is that position is already filled. No problem - a gentle push, and whoops, there's a vacancy in the Pope's household.

When the Pope asks Cesare if he'd been allowed to set aside his eclesiastical robe and assume command of the Papal army, would the outcome have been different at the Siege of Forli? To which Cesare replies that he would have remained until the end, an obvious dig at his brother, although at this point they didn't realize Juan had run from the battle, like a coward. Or that he tortured Sforza's son. In his turn, Juan accuses Cesare of having knowledge of the surprise attack that trapped him and his men, which Cesare denies. I see these two coming to a head at some point. My money is on Cesare, cause he's dead sexy, and a hell of a lot smarter than Juan.





Still watching Chopped and Restaurant Impossible and Sweet Genius. I'm going to start watching a show on Cooking Channel, Baron Ambrosia, but not until Sarah gets back from Indiana, so I'm recording it for now. I've started watching Ouran High School Host Club, which I'm enjoying, and plan to watch both seasons of Black Butler. And I found out Beelzebub is on Crunchyroll, so I'll watch that too when I can.

That's it for now, got lots to do - editing and writing, and rping. Job hunting.

Until next time, take care!

Julie

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Hell's Kitchen is Trying to drive me insane!

So I just watched last night's two hour Hell's Kitchen, and damned if I didn't think my wish was gonna come true, to see Elise sent packing, never to hear her big mouth flap again!

Ah, sweet dreams, gone too soon!


********spoilers ahead***********


At the end of the first hour, Carrie was given the boot. It didn't pain me to see her go as much as it pained me not to see Elise go. I could have thought of others that should have gone before Carrie. But I kept the hope alive that Elise would follow her at the end of the next episode.

No such luck. We lost Natalie. Now the teams are even again. I think, though, that before Natalie went, Tommy should go. He brings dumb to a whole new level. Ah well, I don't believe that Elise will run the course. My prediction for the final two, at least as I see it, is Jennifer and Will. I think they're the two most serious contenders.

Great news for Jim Longworth and The Glades - Callie has finally filed for divorce! I hope this means my two favorite people on the show will be getting back together again! Although judging from previews of next week's season finale, Jim's gonna have competition. Should be interesting. I really love that show and I hope they pick it up for a third season. Right now that's all I watch on A&E. It's fallen a lot in my estimation over the past few years. It used to stand for quality programming. Not so much now.

Sarah and I watched the first episode of Sandwich King, with Jeff Mauro. As you'll recall, he was winner of Network Food Star. And judging by his first show, their judgment was not wrong. He made a home-made Italian sandiwch, and a hybrid foccacia/panini, and something else, I forget what it was. But everything looked delicious. He went on location to a sandwich shop in Elmwood Park, Illnois, and we saw how this guy made his sandwiches. Jeff's version looked quite delicious, and easy for the home cook to make. The recipes are all on Food Network's site. Nicely done, Jeff! I look forward to seeing more from you.

All for now, got a couple deadlines to make. Tomorrow is Silver Flash Wednesday, and I have something new to show off. Hope you like it.

Got any questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Hell's Kitchen, Network Food Star and More

****Spoilers ahead*****
Things are heating up in Hell's Kitchen, and I'm not talking about the food! It's only a matter of time now 'til one  of the problems in the red kitchen - or both - has to go. Chef Ramsey teased us last night, giving us hope that he was ridding us of the two continually fighting foes, but no such luck. Instead of either Elise or Carrie (or both), Jamie was sent out the door, so we'll have to wait another week to see that particular dream come true. Last night's service, which was the first date night at Hell's Kitchen, saw a hair in the food, burnt fish, returned entrees... Tommy should be grateful his team won, because I think he's next to go on that side. He's worse than scatterbrained, I'm beginning to think he's just plain stupid. I don't see him surviving much longer. Or Elizabeth, if she doesn't step up to the plate and put herself out there, instead of hanging out in the background.

Sunday night saw the end of Network Food Star, after the reunion show, which had me in stitches. They  brought back everyone for that, some we haven't seen since the series started. To begin the finale, they had three finalists. By tradition, each was to make a demo of their show, but they changed it up with an elimination challenge, which Vic lost, sad to say. I was hoping it would be Vic vs Jeff. If it had been, I'd have been conflicted to pick a winner, because I like them both. I didn't think Suzy had what it takes, but Vic does. So it was a face off between Suzy and Jeff and I'm happy that Jeff won! His new show starts Saturday morning, we are so gonna tape it!

Master Chef has its two part finale this week, but I haven't seen last night's yet, so the only comment I'll make is that I want Christian to go down, in a big way.

Sarah and I are watching Heat Seekers, which comes on Friday nights, with Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking running to different places around the country to taste their hottest foods. Most of the time, neither guy is up to the challenge. It's an interesting show, but I'm glad it's only half an hour. I don't think it could hold my interest longer than that. I can't imagine it having more than one season, but who knows.

The Glades just keeps on getting better. This week's episode had to do with a survivalist, and a man being found in a boar's belly. Jim and Callie are finally beginning to talk about things, so I'm hopeful they'll be on the same page again soon. I'm glad Jim's ex is long gone and I hope she stays that way cause I couldn't stand her, and have no idea what he saw in her. I love the way everyone works together, and I love the dynamics between them. Again, I think making Callie a forensics nurse was a great move, gets her involved with cases. I hope we never see her jailbird husband again, except for the divorce.

I miss the Borgias, and Californication. Can't wait for new seasons to begin. Also to be able to watch the new True Blood, but I don't have HBO so I'll have to wait. I have two books I'm waiting to hear about acceptance on, so cross your fingers for me!

Flipping Out is better without Sarah. I haven't watched last week's episode yet, I'm behind, but I have to believe more work will get done. I know the deadline for Chaz is coming up. I trust Jeff will make it.

What are  your favorite shows, what do you like to watch? Any comments, or suggestions? I'd love to hear them!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

The Glades Keeps on Delivering, Food Stuff, and more

This morning I watched last night's episode of The Glades, and I have to say this is one show that never stops  delivering. Every week, each episode crackles and vibrates with plot, drama, characterization, wit - and a really good-looking Matt Passmore as Jim Longworth, the main character of the series. It's very realistic, in that bad things happen to good people, and life is complicated and that there are definite areas of gray in between those black and white. Take Callie's husband Ray. Most of us probably find him a bad guy, but not his son, naturally enough. And like a lot of kids his age, he doesn't understand why they can't all live together, or why it would be difficult to just yank up their roots and follow Ray into witness protection. Callie has her reasons, and yes, one of those is Jim Longworth, but it's more. Since Ray's imprisonment, she's made a life for herself, pursued her dream, worked long and hard hours to get ahead and make a better life for her and Jeff. But it isn't always easy for kids to see the big picture when all they know is they want their daddy. I'm hoping Jim and Callie work their way back to one another, because they make a really smokin' couple, and I really like how Callie has become a forensics nurse, working with the department when she'd needed. That gives her more opportunity to broaden her character outside of her relationship with Jim, and gives them time on the crimes together. The Glades is on A&E every Sunday night. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

Sarah and I watch Network Food Star. I don't know yet about last night's we were at a meeting and recorded it, but I know the numbers are narrowing. Someone I thought was a strong contender, Orchid, didn't make a good show of it last week, I hope it was just a temporary thing because she has a personality that is made for the camera. Vic Vegas is only getting better - he is one of the top contenders, in my opinion. On the other hand, Whitney, although sweet, doesn't project well enough. And Suzy is downright annoying. While Penny is a complete bitch and I want her out as soon as possible. Jyll has personality, but I don't think it's strong enough. Same with the sandwich guy, whose name I've forgotten, but he may surprise us. This week they did a food truck challenge, should be interesting.

Master Chef - I started a few episodes in because I didn't know about it, but my daughter Katie clued me in and I really didn't miss that much. I've been watching for a few weeks now. This one has Gordon Ramsey and two other chefs. A few people I like have been eliminated, but some remain. Suzy, though, is not one of those, and I'd love to see her off the show quickly. Christine too. And Esther, who totally threw her team under the bus in the biker beach bbq episode. I liked Max, but he's gone. I like Ben, and Giuseppe. And Adrian. Christian too, although sometimes he gets cocky. Derek is full of himself. I think we're down to twelve now. They show episodes on Monday and Tuesday nights, but I don't know if tonight's will be new or not, last Monday was a re-run.

Hell's Kitchen starts next week, looking forward to that. I hope they do more Top Chef, especially shows that bring back past chefs. Like Fabio. Yeah, he's damn cute, I admit it.


We started season 4 of Six Feet Under, but are only a few episodes in.

**********possible spoilers********* One of the biggest issues is the aftermath of Lisa's death. They haven't come out and said it, but it's obviously a matter of suicide. I'm sorry, but the woman was unstable. She convinced herself that she was losing Nate and that he was only with her because of Maya, and she drowned herself. Nate isn't dealing well with this, mostly because of his guilt issues. I think deep in his gut he knows she did it and why - it was right after they discussed separating. But hells bells, that's no reason to off yourself! She had a kid, one that needed her. Suicide, in my opinion, is a coward's way out, of not having to cope with things. Sorry, life is not meant to be easy, but it's the bad times that make you appreciate the good times all the more. You can get through anything, if you are determined to do so. Ruth's sudden marriage to George, a virtual stranger who attended a funeral at Fisher & Diaz, has its ups and downs. She unfairly accused Arthur of sending excrement to them through the mail out of unrequited love. The poor guy decided enough was enough and he left. Right after Nate left the business. Poor David. Turns out it wasn't Arthur but a son of George's whom he forgot to mention to Ruth. David and Keith are cute as ever. Keith is working security for celebrities, but it's stressful cause he isn't out at work, and David isn't happy about that. Clare had an abortion, and she and Russell are done, mostly because he had a thing with the professor. Poor Clare always seems to get the shaft. One of my least favorite characters, Brenda, is actually doing well, and I actually like her relationship with her neighbor, Joe. I think maybe he can stand up to her bitch of a mother too (who, btw, is not schtupping Clare's professor - these two deserve each other, they both suck).  My favorite character is still David. It's just amazing to me to see him in SFU and then turn around and watch Dexter - both awesome performances.

Sarah and I recently began to watch the first season of Burn Notice. We borrowed it from Katie and since we're going back to Indiana in early August, thought we should watch it. It stars Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, an agent who received a burn notice from the people he works for while in the field on a sensitive case. Now he has to figure out why and what he can do about it. In the meantime, life is, to say the least, difficult, since they've frozen all his assets and virtually made it impossible for him to operate above the radar. Good thing he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.  I remember Jeffrey from another series he did about 7 years ago, Touching Evil, which I really liked. It never had a chance -  it was good. Also in Burn Notice is veteran B actor, Bruce Campbell, whom my Katie adores. Probably a big reason why she started watching the series. I know I'm way behind, but wth, it's fun to play catch up. The next thing about that is if you get dvd's, you don't have to wait a week between episodes. Also in the series is Sharon Gless, whom you may remember as Michael Novotny's mother in Queer as Folk. How funny that she plays the mother of another Michael in Burn Notice.

I'm going to stop there, cause I just realized this got lengthier than I figured on, but next time I'll talk about True Blood, season 3, and the differences between the series and the books, as well as the new season of Flipping Out.

Feel free to drop a comment, ask a question, or just say hi! I'd love to hear from you!

Til next time, take care!

♥ Julie

The Glades is Back - Fighting the Re-Run Blues

When I wasn't watching television for the space of a few years I didn't notice it so much, but now that I am watching a few shows, I do - summertime is basically devoid of new entertainment, most of the series have packed up and gone of (hopefully) to film new ones. In a short space of time, I lost The Borgias, Justified, Vampire Diaries, and Hawaii 5-0 and am about to lose Top Chef Masters after the season finale tomorrow night. There is, of course, Netflix, to help fill the breach, as well as series we either own or get from the library. I'm currently watching Top Chef Season 5, QAF Season 3 and on instant watch I have Beauty and the Beast, Xena, Spartacus and Thirtysomething, depending on what I'm in the mood for. Sarah and I are watching Six Feet Under (just finished season 3), Dexter (season 2), DaVinci's Inquest (season 1) - and hopefully will start season 2 of True Blood and season 1 of Burn Notice soon.

But in the good news department, The Glades is back on A&E, and that is something that makes me very happy. I loved it from the moment I first started watching it, when it premiered last year, and I was overjoyed that it was renewed for its second season.

The Glades is the story of police detective Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore) who emigrates from Chicago to Miami for reasons that are a bit personal. During the first season we met his co-workers, Carlos and Daniel, and the lovely lady who became his love interest Callie Cargill (Kiele Sanchez). Callie is a single mother whose husband is in prison. This season begins with Ray Cargill getting out and , as if that isn't bad enough, Jim's boss puts the smackdown on their relationship because of Ray being a witness, therefore his wife is somehow offlimits. It doesn't help that Ray is living not far away, and his son wants to see him all the time - and he is being on his best behavior. We'll see how long that lasts. I'll grant him one thing, he has more charm and personality than Rita's husband Paul, in Dexter. The second season is off to a great start, after only two episodes, and another monkey wrench has been thrown into the works in the form of Jim's ex-partner from Chicago (and I do mean partner in more than one sense). I predict that tensions are going to rise as the season progresses. I just hope that Jim and Callie come through it all intact, as I really like them together.    

I cannot say enough about the Glades - the writing is edgy and good, the acting is great, the plots are great, and the locales? They make me want to visit that part of Florida, even though I've been farther north and not been impressed. The Glades looks like a much more interesting part of the state, one I'd be willing to visit. I have to say that it's been a while since A&E did something to make me take notice, and I used to watch it a lot. But they've got my attention back now with The Glades - I hope they keep up the good work, and add more stuff to their schedule that I'd like to see.

*********possible Dexter spoilers ahead, warning*****************

Okay, Dexter. Watching Season 2. Yeah, I know, we're way behind. And it's different than the books, which I've read all of. Not that I don't like the series, I just wonder at some of the differences. But I won't go into that right now. So Lila. Who else thinks she's ten kinds of crazy, raise your hand? I sure do. I was uncertain about her from the time Dexter first met her at his twelve step meeting, and I was really unhappy that they became involved. First of all, I don't see it. Dexter has never been about the sex, not even with Rita; that's why she was so perfect for him, cause she didn't want it either, damaged from her marriage (and face it, her mother, played very well by Jobeth Williams, is also a nutso). So why Lila? She isn't even attractive. And the more we see of her, the more the rest comes out - she is not firing on all eight cylinders, for sure. But when she did what she did in the last episode we watched - she gave Dexter's mother's killer his address, and broke into Rita's house because she thought Dexter was there - well, she deserves no mercy, and I hope none is shown. I loved it when Dexter told her that if she wasn't careful she'd see the monster. I hope she does. I think we're almost done with season 2. Well, four episodes left, close.   I've already let myself be spoiled for further on in the season. All I'll say is it's quite the departure from the books, we'll see how it plays out. Also see what the departure of Julie Benz (aka Mrs. Michael C Hall) from his life will do to both her character, Deb, Dex's sister, and their onscreen relationship.

Today I re-watched Scary Movie. Haven't seen that in a long time. Going to watch them all, and Scream too. Funny movie with parodies of lots of other films. I wouldn't have recognized Anna Faris if I hadn't looked it up on IMDB - I'm used to her as a blonde now, I think. I saw her in House Bunny, I thought it was really cute and funny.

Sarah and I just watched Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog for the first time - it was fabulous!  Neal Patrick Harris - whom I'm discovering more and more how much I like - is wanna be villain Dr. Horrible. Nathan Fillion is his nemesis The Hammer. Felicia Day is Penny, the girl at the laundromat that he adores but dare not speak to.

It's only 43 minutes long, but it's 43 minutes filled with fun and song and intensity. If you don't love Dr. Horrible after those 43 minutes, I have to question your judgment.

I recommend this film highly. You'll love it.

For those who don't know it, a new version of Conan the Barbarian is coming out in August, starring Jason Momoa. The only reason I know who he is is because I have two friends who adore him - Sui and Ann. Which is cool, cause he's a hot guy. And I've become interested in watching the movie now, if I can. Depends on financial considerations at the time.

I have also begun playing, thanks to Ann's wonderful influence, Age of Conan. It's a mmo game. Currently certain things are available only to paid players, but it is my understanding, from Ann, that soon the whole thing will be free. So far (and I'm not that far, because frankly I'm not necessarily the best at this) I'm enjoying it.

I chose to play a barbarian, he's Cimmerian, like Conan. It's similar in ways to WoW, but not others. It's the differences I have to get used to. I died the first time from not realizing how to fight. lol I could read the manual first, but what fun is that? I like it, and I look forward to a lot of hours of fun, when I can fit them in.

Well, I have writing to get back to - I'm working on my entry for Hot July Days for the m/m group at Good Reads; I have a second Forbidden to write, and the next Captivations, and I am working on something with co-author SL Danielson, Leaving His Mark, which is going well, and something with Sui Lynn that I'll talk more about later.

Have any thoughts on the things I'm watching? Or do you have shows of your own you'd like to discuss? I'd love to hear it!

♥ Julie