Three-fer

Last night marked the real return of So You Think You Can Dance! Hooray! But then the stupid local news decided that the weather was newsworthy enough to preempt the first hour of the show. Boooo! I managed to catch most of the second half live, but then I had to dig around a bit today to find last night's episode online, so forgive the delay.

Anyways, it was your pretty standard first show with the top 20. Most of the dances were good, but not great, and the judges were pretty positive across the board (although they were pretty hard on Tony and Paris, neither of whom I thought deserved to make it to the top 20 anyways, so meh). I almost think it's like even though they clearly have their favorites, they don't want to tip the scales too much...yet. I sometimes wonder if Mary Murphy sits up at night and comes up with new and annoying ways to come up with "fake-out" praise. Like, "hmmm, how can I pretend to hate something and then turn around and reveal that I totally love it?" Ugh. And I also cannot STAND Adam Shankman. Besides the fact that he's a smarmy little sycophant, the amount of self-promotion he does for projects that he maybe shouldn't be so proud of...it's just disgusting.

And while I'm at it, can I also bitch a little bit about how disappointed I am that they seem to have watered down the genres so much the last couple seasons? I really like Tabitha and Napoleon, but most of what they choreograph really just does not scream "hip-hop" to me, especially that lite-rock shit. And even the ballroom/latin stuff has so many silly storylines and so much mugging that it's often unrecognizable. One of the things I always loved in the first few seasons was that they held people to these strict standards of fox trot, cha-cha, etc.

Anyways. Tony & Paris got sent home. Whatevs. I was certain from the start that Tony wouldn't make it past the first episode. And Paris always rubbed me the wrong way. Something about the beauty queen thing, I guess. I think so far, I'm rooting for Asuka, Jason and of course, Phillip.

Part 2 - Top Chef Masters! I've been crazy excited about this ever since I started seeing commercials a couple months ago. I absolutely LOVE the idea of getting top notch chefs in a competition together, although I'm a little bummed that it's more of a bracket-style setup rather than 20 crazy egos in one room. Last night's episode did not dissapoint, although I think it was almost a given that Hubert Keller would win. He was so clearly head and shoulders above the other guys.

I should also mention that I've looked at the bio page for the contestants on Bravo's website and it's a pretty interesting mix of people. There are a bunch of chefs who are pretty famous and/or have been guest judges on TC in the past, and then there are a bunch who seem a little bit like filler. I have to wonder how they cast the show and how they determined who was going to compete against whom in the first round. I mean, was there ever a chance we would have seen Keller, Bayless, and Dufresne on the same show? I doubt it. I also think it's interesting how there's a certain amount of cannibalization between Top Chef and Iron Chef America. It make sense from a certain standpoint since there are only so many top quality chefs who are also camera-ready. I wonder how execs at Bravo & Food Network feel about it though.

I'm impressed that they managed to get Gael Greene as a judge, although I'm not particularly a fan of the other two guys. The Saveur editor has a nice pedigree on paper, but on screen he's just annoying. And the other guy seems to want to be the next Toby, but isn't quite there either.

I do miss Tom Collichio though and I'm hoping he makes an appearance at some point. And the jury is still out on Kelly Choi. She's definitely more animated than Padma, who always seems like she's on a nice mellow Valium trip, but she occasionally makes this weird face that sorta bugs me - almost like she's smelled something foul. And couldn't they find someone who's NOT a stick-thin formal model?! I know, nitpicking. But I'm definitely looking forward to next week's episode, with Wylie Dufresne. Should be interesting.

Last, but not least, to complete this reality TV 3-fer, we have The Fashion Show. Yes, I'm still watching this train wreck. Like I've said before, it's all I've got until Project Runway comes back in August. I will say though, they do a great job with their challenges. I think they've all been very interesting and well, challenging, but without going into crazytown, like with the PR where they had to make clothes out of garbage.

In any case, I was sad that Angel got the boot tonight. She was one of the few people I actually sorta liked on the show, even though her clothes were kind of a disaster. But everyone else on that show is just such a catty, egotistical bitch that it's almost unbearable. I used to sort of like Reco, but his ego is way way out of control. As is Daniela's, who I despise with the burning fire of a thousand suns. There's something about know-it-all 23-year-olds that just totally chaps my ass.

I'm also beyond annoyed that Johnny is still there since not only is he phoning it in (and doing it poorly), but his whole "I can't sew" deal is getting way way WAY old. I was happy that Merlin won tonight though. He seemed like he was losing a little bit of his strut (as evidenced by the lack of jaunty hats of late) and I think it was a good confidence boost. I'm sure it'll totally go to his head and be totally annoying next week.

Oh and one last gripe: can I just say how freaking FURIOUS I was last week when everyone was bitching and moaning over having to work with "real" women? It's shit like that that makes me want to burn down department stores and join a nudist colony so I can hang out with old fat hippies. Ok, just had to get that out of my system.

Conan's back!

I was very excited to watch Conan's new show for the first time last night. I think overall, he did great. Loved the opening segment with him running across the country! The Universal Studios tour bit was also pretty funny, but I'm biased because I've always loved it when Conan has done stuff like that. I also enjoyed his little tribute to his 1992 Taurus, which also happened to feature my college roommate, Kate Lee (she's the girl with the hose)!

He did seem a little jittery during the monologue, but I suppose most people would be. I was also happy to see Andy back, but a little disappointed that he was exiled to a little podium off of the main stage for the entire show. Will Ferrell was entertaining as always and I thought Pearl Jam was kinda just meh.

For those that missed it, here's the opening:


And I really wanted to post the bit with my friend, Kate, but unfortunately it's not up on Hulu (yet). I'll get it up when I can find it.

One week till Conesy

I'm really really REALLY hoping that Conan stays true to his old wacky form when the new Tonight Show starts next week. But regardless, I'm happy that Andy will be back.

It ain't PR...

Yes, this is a week late. I'm sure there have been a thousand other blog posts about it already, but I couldn't help but weigh in with my quick 2 cents on Bravo's blatant Project Runway knock-off, The Fashion Show. For those that have been living under a rock, after the obligatory litigation and settlement, Project Runway has flown the coop for Lifetime and the last season (filmed last winter) won't be airing until late summer. Booo....hisss...

In it's place, Bravo has come up with The Fashion Show, which pits 15 designers against one another for a cash prize, furnished as usual by one of their generous and shamelessly plugged sponsors.

So after one episode, the good: I love Isaac Mizrahi, always have. I think he's an excellent choice for host/judge. I also like the format, which involves a "quickfire" type challenge, as well as a live fashion show filled with industry types.

The meh: I'm not really sure who these "industry types" they have in the audience are. I'm guessing that people who have the time and inclination to participate in a show every week are going to be of dubious quality.

The bad: Kelly Rowland as co-host. I'm not really buying it. I don't care how many shows she's been front-row for, she just doesn't strike me as a fashion icon. I'm already wondering who they'll replace her with next season.

The ugly: No Tim Gunn. Yes, I know that's sorta obvious, but Tim Gunn as the mentor figure really has made the difference for Project Runway and without someone to play a similar role, I think TFS is going to struggle to provide valuable input for the contestants.

Of course, there is the requisite crazy cast of characters, and the clear winner of wackiest contestant goes to Merlin. Even his name is nutsoid. I mean, just look at him! And, as T pointed out while we watched, he takes jaunty hats to a whole new level. I think I'm going to start keeping a hat count. I think this first episode featured at LEAST 4 different hats, if not more.

So is it as good as Project Runway? Of course not. There's very little that is. But will I watch it and make do until the new season starts? Well what else is there to do?

Random vid

I love this movie. If I even think about it, this song usually stays stuck in my head for weeks.

I miss Conesy

Just for giggles, I decided to try to watch Jimmy Fallon last night. I've never been a huge fan of his (he's always been a little bit too smug with his own cuteness), but I figured, what the heck, why not? I made it through the opening monologue, and a couple bits, but fell asleep before the first guest, Robert DeNiro.

Here's a review from Yahoo that I think sums it up pretty nicely. I'm really hoping he finds his stride fast because as a night owl, I'm really going to miss having Conan around. Yeah yeah, he's still going to be on, but I'm just not sure it'll be the same.

Oh, I will say, I think it's pretty sweet and badass that Fallon got the Roots as his houseband. Although I have to wonder what the heck they're getting out of it?

As if to drive the point home though, Conan did this little bit for the opening of Jimmy's show. I like the crack about crappy guests. Hee.

Didn't quite see that one coming

If anyone had told me at any point during this season that Hosea would win, I never would have believed it. But to his credit, he pulled it off when it mattered most, helped along a bit by the catastrophic collapse of Carla's judgment, and Stefan's ridiculous over-confidence.

Like with Richard last season, I honestly thought that the title was Stefan's to lose. And while I've previously found his attitude to be entertaining, in this case it was just off-putting. I was especially annoyed when, towards the end or the episode, he made some comment to the effect of how he deserved it because he's been on top so many times. Um, haven't they constantly hammered it home how it's NOT a cumulative contest, and you're only supposed to be judged on that week's competition? Not that the judges actually stick strictly to that rule themselves (um, Fabio's elimination anyone?) but still, whatever, dude.

I was much more disappointed in how Carla just seemed to let Casey take over her menu. It just seemed like a shocking lapse in judgment to decide to use a cooking technique that you have NEVER used before! Hello?! It's the finale! I mean, haven't you had 2 months to really think through what your menu is going to be? I was really rooting for Carla too and sad not just that she didn't win, but also to see her so disappointed in herself at Judge's Table.

As a sidenote, I'm also glad to see that Rocco managed to worm his way into the finale. Bleh. Was that really the best they could do? Especially after having Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pepin just two episodes before?! I'm sorry, but Rocco sucks. And he has SO definitely had plastic surgery of some sort. Stop denying it man.

Anyways, I guess congratulations are due to Hosea. Good job flying low on the radar, firmly in the middle of the pack, and then staying steady while the other finalists collapsed. Lamest. Win. Ever.