The French/Model Connection

It is Reality Roundup time again!

Top Chef- it was a french themed week- originally I thought my little Mattin (the French Guy with the the neckcorcheif) was going to rock it, being French and all, but mostly the only complement he got was on his ability to speak French- plus it turns out he got wasted on his birthday! YAY!

Now to the acutal competition- The quickfire was a high stakes, but no money was involved instead the loser was going home! Everyone had to work with the one French delicacy that isn't hitting it big in the US- Snails. Jen points out they are easy to mess up. All ladies in the bottom three again (leading to the fact only ladies have been eliminated so far). There is a cook-off and Jesse goes home. The top three are Jen, Kevin and Mike I.(the mad one from last week) Kevin wins- turns out he doesn't have to cook in the elimination challenge instead he gets to enjoy the with the rest of the judges. (Side note- I love Hubert Keller- please make him the judge on every single challenge from now on!) The rest of the chefs team up the protein and sauce options. The top two teams- Jen and Mike V. (the Brother) and Bryan and Mike I. (the mad one)- Bryan wins for his trout. (that makes two elimination wins for Bryan) After a few weeks the top teams have been consistent- the mike's, Bryan, Jen and Kevin. Magically this time a man goes home- mostly for his poor meat cutting skills- Gale Simmons got a bad cut and made sure everyone knew. Bye Bye Hector- now we are down to only 2 chefs I can't understand when they talk!

Jennifer Rade- Most awesome guest judge

Project Runway- Finally a show that I got into.


This week the clients were the models and they needed an outfit to standout at an industry party. This has been done in seasons past but this time I wonder if it was done just to make Model's of the Runway more exciting. The promos for this week were completely dramatic- the show didn't quite live up to it all- but what I did love love love were the guest judges this week. Heidi was the only regular judge- instead we had Marc Brower, Zoe Glassner, and Jennifer Rade. Can I say that I would love for Zoe and Jen to come back every week? They both said what really needed to be said- especially Jen- I love her comment about why the model wasn't a designer "thank god". And she is possibly the only reason Logan didn't go home- mentioning how cute his pants and shoes, and well he was. Athela won with a cute 3 piece suit that only a model can pull off- the bottom three- Logan, Johnny, and Qristol- got mostly comments about their prom/bridesmaid/old looks. Qristol ends up going home.



What do you think? Did the runway live up to the promo hype? Were the judges awesome? Did the right people pack their knives?

Reality Roundup...

Let us start with Top Chef. Again I am still enjoying Top Chef Las Vegas way more than Project Runway. Maybe it is because I haven't picked a favorite for runway yet, or because I may hate the commericals on lifetime. But anyway, I digress, Top Chef.

Judges! The wise words you say!

Drama, Drammma, Drammmma. And I loved it! During the quickfire Preeti used Ashley's (remember whiny Ashley from last week?) water- and OMG- got greens in it. After a hurried beat down, Preeti threw that water out, but OMG what?!? Now Ashley only has 13 minutes to boil water -people- this could be a crisis! It was really awesome to have everyone yell at each other- Jennifer (my fav lady) took the time to tell us that Ashley took it easy on Preeti, man do I want to see what kind of tongue lashing Jennifer would have whipped out. Jennifer wins the quickfire, and she is happy because not being in the top three during the last elimination annoyed her (she was automatically disqualified because the women didn't win). For the elimination challenge the team gets to cook for 300 members and the family's of the air force. The catch? They must use the food in the mess hall- which they do not know what it is until they arrive. For the must part they all react well to the challenge. They put Jennifer in charge, and the rest work in teams of 2. Oh yes people we get to see Jennifer kick some butt. She definitely stops the off subject talk- (something about a brewery.) Again the men in general kick the women's butt. Michael (one of the brothers wins the elimination challenge)- and told us- in case we had forgotten that that makes he and Bryan tied for elimination wins. In a twist- Michael's team member Mike (who apparently didn't really do anything other than help serve the winning dish) ends up in the bottom 3 because of his crappy "greek salad". And boy is he pissed- naturally his excuses are super lame, like it was an extra dish and he was even iffy about serving it- to which the Judges pointedly say- Well then you shouldn't have served it. He gets by- Mike is probably the man I don't like the most, in my opinion you don't piss of the judges, and he voice annoys me. (yes this are little things, but its my blog I can say what I want) The women are dropping like the flies and I don't mind at all, get em out. Preeti goes- mostly because two weeks in a row she doesn't seem to understand why she is in the bottom three.

Project Runway-

"I wanted to work with someone who could carry me on this challenge"

Lamer words may never have been said on the runway. This episode was a bit of a letdown- the designers worked in pairs- which is usually pretty awesome : a.k.a. DRAMA. But alas only 1 couple really, really didn't get along, and they mostly just said, "I'm done, I'm done" over and over again. Mitchell- the lame-o and Ra'mon didn't exactly get along but I think it was mostly edited out to show Mitchell's self defeat- he starts with the carry me comment, just wants to be safe, jokes about being auf'ed. Hey jerk- some people are trying to win- so JUST QUIT- you aren't even trying. In a surprise the judges ask for a 2nd avant-garde outfit. Everyone freak outs. I can honestly say I didn't like any teams looks this week. I would like one, but not the other, I totally had no clue who would end up on top or on bottom. Mitchell and Ra'mon are on top with Johnny and his partner. Ra'mon wins, and in an apparent Top Chef twist- Mitchell ends up in the bottom three. Thank the lord when they finally get rid of him. I hope Nicolas keeps up his promise to help pack Mitchell.

What are your thoughts this week? Did the right peeps pack their knives or get auf'd?

Reality Roundup...

Is anyone watching TV like me these days? (Wow, what a horrible question, none of you could possibly be watching TV like me!) Like I mentioned last week, two of my favorite reality competition shows are back in the saddle! Lets start with Top Chef- I watched this week's episode about 1 and a half times- and it was plainly obvious the editors of this week's episode were trying to get two things across: (1) Bryan & Michael are brothers, brothers who are desperately trying to one up each other; by the way Michael (he has the tattoos) wins the quickfire and $15,000, Bryan wins the elimination challenge. And (2) Ashley (who is openly gay) is super upset she has to cook food for a bachelorette/bachelor party. I try not to get political on this blog- lets be honest it is mostly all about frivolous pop culture (and I like it that way)- but Ashley's repeated complaints were just so annoying and I am not the only one who noticed : Check out Ken Tucker's take. First of all I thought this was a cooking competition, so all of the focus off the food annoyed me, secondly do you really have to be able to get to do what every challenge represents or even be behind every challenge to cook food for it? I think not. But to each his own. Clearly what I loved most was Jen's comments about being upset that it was boys vs girls, this smart cookie proved she knew those girls aren't going to do anything but hold her back and she wants to play with the big boys, literally. The Boys kicked butt and won, the girls were bland, and Eve- who was amazed she was the only one from Michigan- goes home. My favorite competitor is Jen- lets get some more of her fiestiness. Bryan and Michael could be my next favorites if they ever stop talking about how they are brothers.
Project Runway- this week on the runway contestants were designing maternity wear for Rebbecca Romijn (I cannot resist saying in my head Stamos). Again another reminder of how long ago this season was filmed- Rebbecca had those twins in December, and she frankly didn't look all to huge last night (don't judge my huge comment, she was carrying twins). I was surprised that not everyone complained and bitched as much as they usually do whenever they have to make clothing for non-models (to be fair RR is a model, and also apparently a real celebrity- I will give her that). Usually the "Real Women" challenge is awesome; filled with complaining- like no one could ever imagine making clothing for any non size 0 woman ever. And if we are really lucky someone will make someone else mother cry. No such luck last night. We only got models with bellies. I liked all of the top three. And agreed with the bottom three. I was just a tad surprised that they kicked off two quirky kooky people two weeks in a row. Usually the kept one crazy around just to dramatic value. So far I would have to level and say Top Chef is kicking Project Runways butt. What are your thoughts?

Thank the lords of Reality TV (competition series)

Did any one else notice that Project Runway and Top Chef are back? Heck yes they are. They have also managed to make Wednesday/Thursday an awesome one-two punch for the rest of the summer! My love of Project Runway is long and deep. I may one of the few people in America who watched the first season (the first time) Oh Jay McCarroll (I heart you). Season number 1 is still my favorite- the drama is just so much better. The de-facing of home photos, too much drinking, constant smoking and backstabbing makeovers. Plus the contestants had more time on their hands to bitch- which we all knows makes awesome TV. I love it, season 2 was almost equally awesome- who can get past Santino's impressions???? Where's Andre? I have had some trepidation about the current season, with the networks fighting over the rights it has been a long wait, and I was worried Lifetime would completely ruin my love- but as it turns out they haven't- yes their commercials are awful, but the season was filmed before Lifetime owned it and therefore is safe! My big and only beef is the Thursday 9 p.m. time slot (people we need to stop scheduling quality programing on Thursday nights.) There is only so much DVR-ing one can handle.
Fall Thursday night line up:
7:00 - Bones, hr (Fox)
8:00- The Office, 1/2 hr (NBC)
8:00- Grey's Anatomy, hr (ABC)
8:00- Fringe, hr (FOX) - currently in last spot for the DVR line
9:00- It's always Sunny, 1/2 hr (FX)
9:00- Project Runway, hr (Lifetime)
This is crazy right? CRAZY..... Scheduling Gods- change something pronto!
I have a few more weeks before I need to seriously start worrying about my DVR's ability but this will be stressful.
Anywho- Top Chef- I heart you. I loved, loved, LOVED Top Chef Masters- and Awesomely Zooey Deschannel was a guest once! Top Chef Las Vegas already looks to be super awesome, I think I am going to be enjoying it!
What are your favorites? Are you a Project Runway fan or a Top Chef fan??