House season 4 finale

WOW! What an absolutely amazing finale!

By far my favourite single episode of House bar none. After seeing Amber in the first few epsiodes who would have thought her death would be so moving. Watching Wilson and House in action was a pleasure and seeing Wilson break down was heartbreaking.

Next season we get to see what happens in the aftermath of Amber's death. Will House and Wilson go their separate ways? What will happen to 13 now that she knows she has Huntingtons?

Dexter Season 3 thoughts

After being disappointed with season 2 I was relieved to discover that Dexter was back on track with a brilliant 3rd series. The main reason for my enjoyment had to be the addition of Miguel Prado to the mix, along with his psychotic brother Ramone, the Prado's certainly kept me entertained.

Dexter didn't off many people this season but his growing friendship with Miguel ended up leaving a few bodies. It was was a little odd seeing Dexter having trouble figuring out how much of a nut job Miguel was because he's usually on to these things pretty quickly. But now Dexter is a married man and with a baby on the way season 4 is going to be interesting.

Deb had a pretty good year too, getting her shield and bagging her man Antoine. Although one loose end that didn't get any closure was the whole IA investigation on Quinn which seemed to vanish. Hopefully the storyline was just getting started and it concludes next season.

I've got high hopes for season 4, hopefully they can build on this seasons stellar work.

House Season 4

I'm absolutely loving Season 4 of House. I think the addition of all the cast members was a little claustrophobic to begin with, I quite like the final 6 (I'm on episode 8) with Kutner and Cutthroat Bitch as my two favourite characters from the new intake. It's also nice to see Chase, Cameron and Foreman back although it would have been better if their returns were delayed a little so they made more of an impact. The only gripe so far is with the fact that there isn't enough Wilson so far!

The Prisoner

I hadn't seen the original but when I read the synopsis for the remake by AMC I was excited. With Sir Ian McKellen in a starring role I thought this mini series couldn't fail. Unfortunately it did. The opening few scenes were promising but soon things just became a blurry confusion and it soon became hard to follow. It was a chance missed I'm afraid.

Dexter Season 3

I absolutely hated Season 2 of Dexter for two very good reasons. Firstly the death of Sergeant James Doakes who was quite easily the baddest ass of all bad asses. It was such a shame the character got killed off as he was a great antagonist for Dexter. But the main reason was the character Lyla, it was a terrible storyline and I just wasn't convinced. And her British accent just sounded so off it kind of got annoying. Those two reasons were why I put off tuning in to season 3 until recently and to be honest I'm not hooked as I was with season 1.

The murder of Oscar is obviously going to take up most of the season and I'm sure it will end up with Miguel Prado suspecting Dexter at some point. The case itself doesn't sound that great but I'll have to wait and see if things improve on that front. The storyline involving Debra seems a bit more intriguing and I'm sure Deb will end up helping out Internal Affairs. Then we have the whole Rita being pregnant situation which I'm really not too sure about, but I should have seen it coming with all the sex Dexter and Rita were having in the first episode!

Hopefully things will pick up and Dexter will hit the heights of season 1.....

The Tournament

I'm not sure why I decided to watch The Tournament, a film that came and went without a murmur. The premise of a battle to the death tournament has been done to death the last being The Condemned starring Stone Cold Steve Austin. But despite knowing the film would probably suck, I still decided to invest ninety minutes of my life to this and I'm glad I did. Mainly because I was supposed to paint the garden fence, but it began to rain so I saved myself from getting wet. The film though was terrible!

If you're looking to sign a bad ass black man for a role you go for Samuel L Jackson, if you can't afford him you may settle for Laurence Fishbourne, if you're on a tighter budget you may have to plump for Ice Cube or Wesley Snipes, but if you're really desperate then you're left with Ving Rhames who plays said bad ass in The Tournament. Ving isn't exactly bad in this, but he's not great either, then again the script and dialogues he had to work with meant he was on a loser from the get go.

Joshua Harlow (Ving Rhames) is the reigning champion of an underground tournament hosted by some dude called Power (Ian Cunnigham). The rules of the tournament are simple, 30 of the worlds top assassins are pitted against each other, the winner gets $10,000000 dollars and the title of the Worlds No. 1. Seven years later having retired from a life of violence, Joshua is lured back in to the tournament after his wife is murdered and one of the other assassins competing in the tournament is alleged to be the culprit. Meanwhile, the assassin with a heart, Lai Lai Zhen (Kelly Hu) finds herself having to protect alcoholic priest Father McAvoy (Robery Carlyle) after a surgically implanted tracking device used to keep tabs on the assassins finds its way in to Father McAvoys coffee. The two go on the run as a host of assassins close in on them.

As mentioned earlier, the story is nothing new, in fact The Tournament lacks innovation and variation from its predecessors making it just another movie with an ensemble cast and lots of gruesome kills. With the cast at his disposal, Scott Mann missed out on an opportunity to make a half decent movie but instead we get a rehashed movie that carries very little entertainment value.

Only watch this if the only other option is Death Race!

Hells Kitchen vs Top Chef

I've been watching loads of Top Chef lately and I couldn't help but make comparisons with Hell's Kitchen. So I thought I'd compare the two shows and decide which is better!

Contestants (or Cheftestants as I read somewhere!)
Top Chef win this hands down, the competitors are all talented and have a decent amount of experience. Hell's Kitchen picks less talented individuals, sometimes even picking people who work in waffle houses or steak houses.

The Prize
Top Chef offers a cash prize of $10,000, a feature in Food and Wine magazine and the opportunity take part in a 'food classic' whatever one of those may be! Hell's Kitchen claims that the winner gets to become head chef at a 5 star hotel's restaurant. Are you kidding me? There is no chance any 5 star establishment is going to allow a reality show contestant to be the executive chef in their kitchen! Besides the proof of the pudding lies with previous contestants, Heather from Season 2 was named senior chef not executive chef at Terra Rosa (she's now a sous chef in Season 6!) and The Rock from season 3 had only a year as head chef at his location before his contract expired and it appears season 4 champ Christina isn't doing anything major either. So it appears that HK sometimes bends the truth when describing some of the prizes!

Challenges
Hell's Kitchen has a few challenges which are always fun to watch including the taste challenge where they are blindfolded and have to guess the ingredient by taste alone. But mostly the challenges are pretty basic like how to prepare shrimps or who can make the most fresh spaghetti. Meanwhile Top Chef's challenges seem to be fairly different each week usually involving creating dishes with various ingredients pre-selected by the guest judge. My favourites include the challenge of creating something using ingredients from a petrol station and a vending machine!

Format
HK starts off with the men vs the women who have their own kitchen and have to cook for a dining room full of customers where as TC chefs in the most part cook for themselves (although team challenges seem to appear more as the seasons go on). HK is probably a more pressurised enviornment and with so many personalities and a foul mouthed, bad tempered head chef makes for some major drama!

Hosts/Judges
TC has Padma Lakshmi as the host of the show, she's not bad, very easy on the eyes and seems to know a fair bit about fine dining. However, someone needs to be fired for having Katie Lee Joel as the host in season 1, she was truly terrible. The main judge is Tom Collichio, personally I've never heard of him but he seems like quite a fair judge and definitely knows his stuff when it comes to cooking. Gail Simmons from Food & Wine Magazine is the other judge, she's kind of annoying but not too bad in small doses. On HK, obviously Gordon Ramsey is the master. Despite the fact that the show concentrates on portraying Gordon as an agressive loud mouth bully, he seems to pull it off without being disliked. In the UK version of HK, a more supportive and friendlier Gordon was on display, something I believe is closer to his real identity. Other bit part players include the sous chefs Scot and Gloria (who has since been replaced by Heather from Season 2) who have very little screen time and Jean Phillipe the Belgian Maitre d' who has become more and more of a comedy actor in recent years.

Verdict
Although HK is enjoyable, I personally believe it has started to become too formulaic. Every season we have a couple of hopeless cases, one guy who has to drop out for medical reasons and lots of shouting and swearing from Gordon. Top Chef, despite being a cooking show at heart has had some pretty major dramas to keep the viewers entertained. The challenges are more creative and tougher and the cheftestants have a lot more expertise when it comes to cooking.

Top Chef wins it!

Top Chef - Season 1 vs Season 2

OMG! What a shocker! I tuned in to see season 3 and was met with a All 4 Star challenge pitting the final four from Season 1 against the final 4 from season 2! This is like going out to dinner with your ex girlfriend and your current girlfriend!

Nice to see all the contestants made it back, although LeAnne was replaced by Stephen as she is now a producer on Top Chef! Dave is a bigger douche than Stephen or Marcel in my opinion, I can't stand him.

The fact that both Stephen and Marcel, the two antagonists in their respective series seems a little bit of coincidence. Also, isn't it a bit of a disappointment that both previous winners failed to win the challenge?

Harold looks way too intense! He actually looked like he was planning on how to dump Padma's body when she was announcing the ingredients for the elimination challenge!

It's so weird seeing Stephen and Ilan on the same show! It's freaking me out! It's like they have no right to be sharing the same space at the same time!

I'm not feeling Elia's new look.

I'm rooting for Season 2, I like them all. From Season 1 I only like Harold.

Woah! Season 3 judging the challenge!

I reckon Season 1 have taken it with ease, the judges didn't seem to dig Season 2's offerings.

Damn, the two previous Top Chef's got slated! They were probably the worst dishes of the whole challenge!

Season 1 laid the smackdown on Season 2 big style.

Top Chef Season 2 final thoughts

Some final thoughts on another excellent season of Top Chef which I can now say is way better than Hell's Kitchen!

Firstly, Padma Lakshmi is far superior to Katie Lee Joel (some viewers on the Bravo boards have nicknamed her Katie Bot!) Although I have some issues with the way she speaks, I believe that is partly down to her speaking with an American accent. She seems to know a fair bit about food and she's often sharing her thoughts with the judges.

Ilan deserved to win the show as he was a consistent performer throughout the entire process and I thought Marcel was lucky to be in the final. I had Sam nailed on for the final but his last dish let him down and he was let loose.

The Marcel bullying was uncomfortable to watch at times but the guy really didn't help himself. He was always looking to annoy and aggravate his fellow contestants. However in a way I began to respect him a little because despite being a loner he carried on and every time he won a challenge it wound the others up big time!

Cliff went over the line when he assaulted Marcel, but Sam needs to share some some of the blame, he should have said he wasn't going to get involved from the get go thus stopping Cliff going in for the kill. Cliff was going to get eliminated anyway so it was no big deal for the judges.

I think the final challenge there was one segment I believe was fake. When the chefs were picking who they wished to cook for both Sam and Michael voted for Marcel which I find incredibly unlikely after all the animosity between Sam and Marcel.

Overall a solid season and very enjoyable!

Community

My favourite new show of the season comes in the form of Community. Five episodes in and I'm already hooked. It's got such a great cast of characters and the location is something a little different.

The Jeff and Britta love story arc is the main focus of the show but they are the least interesting of the cast in my opinion. Abed and Pierce are great characters but for me Senor Chang is the man! I absolutely love his crazy turn as the groups Spanish teacher. So far so good, lets hope it can keep up the momentum....

Torchwood

Torchwood - The Children of Earth aired in the UK a couple of months ago and the adverts looked pretty good so I thought I would check this show out even though I wasn't a huge Doctor Who fan. I decided to watch the pilot episode rather than watching Children of Earth just in case the whole series was awesome!

I must say, I wasn't too taken with the episode. It still comes across as a bit amateurish when you compare it to other shows, especially those from the US. However it might be worth another view, as John Barrowman is very good as the charismatic Captain Jack Harkness and the welsh bird is bearable.

Top Chef - Season 2

No sooner had I finished viewing season 1, I started on season 2!

Looks like the producers took action and got rid of Katie Lee Joel pretty sharpish. A good move in my opinion, although the jury is still out on new host Padma Lakshmi, sure more than matches Katie on looks. I can't believe Salman Rushdie was tapping that!

Suyai was the first to get chopped this season which was a shame as I was hoping she would stick around, just for the fact that she pronounces 'herbs' in the correct manner!

Looks like Marcel is going to be the resident douchebag for the season, just his hair alone is enough reason to hate him already! Micheal looks like he's going to be amusing for a while but will no doubt end up being eliminated fairly early on.

So far there aren't many people that are coming across as favourites but I'm sure that will sort itself out over the next couple of episodes.

Harold should stick to being in the kitchen! Although it was nice to see last seasons winner again, the guy looked so awkward in front of the camera and crowd!

From the previews for next weeks show things look like they are going to be heating up!

Top Chef Finale

Thoughts from the season 1 finale as I viewed it:

It was very noble of Stephen to say he wanted to work for Tiff because he knew (and we knew) that Dave was going to pick Harold as his chef.

Dave is rather annoying and very ungracious. I'm not sure when Tiff actually abused him so much for him to feel so strongly against her. I felt sorry for Tiff because it was obvious her team was not backing her 100%.

Dr Melfi from the Sopranos is one of the judges!

Oh no! Dave did all the desserts and the judges loved that the best about Tiffani's menu!

Why do Americans

Damn! Tiff did some serious lying about the desserts! She said she had some input in the desserts but we all know that Dave did them all! Booooo! As if she ever had a chance of winning anyway!

As the program reaches it conclusion, I am disliking Tiffani more, she is actually quite ungracious!

Harold wins! No surprise there! Funnily enough I picked both Tiffani and Harold as potenital stars and they made it to the final. LeeAnne deserved to be in the final three though.

The catchphrase "Please pack your knives and go" is really lame!

Top Chef Season 1 - Thoughts

I have to say I was pretty impressed with this show from the get go, I have to say it's probably better than Hell's Kitchen! Unlike HK, most of the chefs on TC appear to know a fair bit about food and are not coached at any point. Plus HK is more about Gordon Ramsey and the contestants are just a side show.

Here are some random thoughts from the show:

I can't believe LeAnne (sp?) was eliminated in favour of Dave! LeAnne was solid throughout the entire season whilst Dave spent most of it crying!

I actually liked Tiffani but I'm shocked at how badly thought of she is! I think her determination has backfired a little as she can come across as rude but watching her get ganged up on at the reunion show was a little uncomfortable to watch.

Fair play to Andrea for having such a great attitude, even after being sold out by Miguel she didn't bitch or moan, she accepted it and showed no ill feeling toward him.

Ken is a jack ass! The guy was totally pissed in the reunion show (as were most of the others) and he didn't do himself any favours. That said, Stephen stepping up to him was quite amusing.

The reunion show came across as fake and kind of took some of the reality away from the show if you catch my drift! Up till then, the essence of the show was the cooking and the tasks but the reunion show just reminded us that it's just another reality show and cheap laughs and insults are good for ratings.

Something bothers me about the host Katie, she just seems to lack any charisma and it's difficult to find her likable! Tom on the other hand has some personality and comes across well on the screen. Not a big fan of Gail Simmons especially after the wedding episode where she flicked her hair and struck a pose when she was introduced!

Bones Season 4 Finale

Hmmmmmmmm.......

I just watched the finale of Bones season 4 and I have to say I was less than impressed. The whole dream sequence was confusing and the plot was very limited. I liked how they worked all the characters of the show in to the storyline but it was a pretty lame episode. Zach was brought back but did nothing but stand around in the background!

The episode started with Booth and Brennan shagging and then revealed that the pair were husband and wife and the Jeffersonian was in fact a nightclub. I'm hoping that the producers were testing the waters with the possibility of getting Booth and Brennan together, because on the evidence of this episode alone it just wouldn't work! Why can't they just be friends!

Here's hoping Booth makes a quick recovery!

Top Chef season 1

My interest in TV food shows continues with the discovery of Top Chef, the cookery version of the Apprentice! Twelve chefs compete to win $10,000, a state of the art kitchen and a spread in a top culinary magazine. I'm 5 episodes in to the season and I'm already hooked! There are some really interesting characters in there and there's already plenty of heat outside of the kitchen!

My favourites so far include Harold, quiet but capable. he does his work with minimal fuss, a dark horse contender. Tiffany is a feisty red head who seems to know her stuff too and is always looking to do something a little special. Meanwhile Stephen is the arrogant, cocky prat of the group thinking he's above everyone else, which is fantastic as these shows are great when there's a pantomime villain to boo at!

Lets hope the rest of the season is as good as the first 5 episodes!

What I'm watching now....

How I Met Your Mother - Series 4
Community - Series 1
Top Chef - Series 1
Heroes - Season 3

Hell's Kitchen UK - Finale

I was surprised Linda won the contest as she appeared to be the weaker chef of the two finalists. I was firmly rooting for Ade but it wasn't to be. I watched this series with zero expectations but was surprised at how entertaining it turned out to be. Claudia's inclusion over Angus was a disappointment but other than that it was still a solid series. Hopefully for the next series they can get a few more faces in so we can eliminate celebs quicker!

The Proposal

Sandra Bullock is hot and Ryan Reynolds was hilarious in Van Wilder so I had medicore expectations for this rom-com. How wrong I was! It was shit!

Bullock is one of those hard ass exec types who treats her staff like crap, her assistant/secretary Ryan Reynolds gets the worst of it. But it transpires that Margret (Bullock) is Canadian and her visa has expired which means she has to return to Canada and apply for a new visa or be deported. The snag is that her bosses will replace her if she has to return to Canada (bit stupid of the bosses as I'm guessing it can't be that hard for a high powered publisher to get a visa!). Margret has an idea, she pretends to be engaged to Andrew her assistant in order to solve her visa problems. Andrew wanting to further his career agrees to play along with the charade. Margaret and Andrew fly off back to Andrew's home in Sitwa, Alaska where the couple face up to his parents, grand mother and ex girlfriend.

Reasons why I didn't like the film:

1. Sandra couldn't pull off the 'bitch boss' role at all. Glen Close in The Devil Wears Prada was the perfect 'Bitch Boss' where as Sandra just came across as a bit lame.

2. I just noticed how abnormal Ryan Reynolds' forehead is!

3. The ex girlfriend was on the scene but did nothing! There was no conflict, no cat fighting, not even any bitching!

4. I just didn't buy the whole thing where they fell in love. It all seemed a little forced.

Poor film. Sandra must do better, I fear Ryan Reynolds can't do better.

1/5

Hell's Kitchen UK - Series 4 episode 3

Watching the third episode (yes I'm sticking with it for now!) all I have to say is that Jody Latham is an utter dickhead. He is so cocky, arrogant, smug and annoying. Early favourites are Ade and Bruce.