Serving of the Week
Name: The lady who tried to cut the audition line at Wheel of Fortune
SERVED: Yesterday I tried to make a dream come true: I went to audition for Wheel of Fortune. I can explain more later, but let's get to the SERVING, shall we? I went with my good friend Lisa and we arrived at 8:30AM to wait in line, stocked up with snacks and some chairs to sit in, and were probably about 10th in line. Around maybe noon, some spacey lady steps under the rope and plops down in her lawn chair right in front of us. Lisa and I look at each other bewildered; we exchange looks with our new Wheel of Fortune pals (Hi Cheryl and Lena!), shocked. Well, Lisa wasn't taking this. Lisa looks at the woman and asks her if she was waiting with people in front of user earlier. "Oh, no" she says, "I thought this was where people with chairs sat." WHAT?! Lady, you are insane! Everyone had chairs all over- front beginning to end! You just wanted to be first to get in! So Lisa lets her have it and completely SERVED her! To sum it up, Lisa tells her we have all been in line since 8:30AM and no way in hell was she cutting us and would have to go to the end of the line. SERVED! So the lady packs up and heads to... TWO ROWS BEHIND US TRYING TO PULL THE SAME THING! Luckily, those people weren't gonna take it either and gave her the boot. SERVED again! When we were waiting around for the next audition show, she was again lingering by us in the front again, sitting by a Claire's window (see blurry cell phone image above), but this time she knew not to mess with this crew of avid Wheel Watchers.
taking the appetizer, teaming on the meatloaf main dish, and Teddy is in charge of dessert. Except Teddy decides to focus on the meatloaf and the dessert is horrible. The Greek God and Flamboyant guy make a meal that looks so amazing it wins best of the week, even if Michael's personality was a bit off. The judges call out Manscaped Eddie for his kitchen behavior, with Bobby Flay telling him that "chivalry in the kitchen goes a long way." But here's the best part: the judges say his onion and watermelon salad wasn't good and takes a lot of finesse. He says he knows it's a good recipe because HE TOOK IT FROM PAULA DEEN'S COOKBOOK! I'd eliminate him on the spot for that. Teddy's dessert is deemed a complete and utter disaster, but he tries to save himself and claims the meatloaf was his dish, not the dessert. But the judges call him out, pointing out earlier he took claim for the dessert. Margaret Cho is livid that Teddy has pulled this shizz again. I get a good laugh that the bottom 2 are Teddy and Eddie- get it?! Manscaped Eddie goes home and I say, thank god, cause I never wanted a cooking show called "Dining with Doucebags." 
stops and poor Robbie is kicked to the curb (and breakdancing Michael cries more than Jillian). His family's "always the bridesmaid, never the bride curse" continues. The group date is snowshoeing (yawn), which excites Tanner P who sees it as his chance to get near Jillian's feet. Also, Tanner comes clean about snitching a few weeks ago and the guys are OK, except Wes who gets all defensive. And then, Wes flat out says he's there for publicity and has gotten 6 weeks of exposure already. And then NO GUYS TELL THIS TO JILLIAN! Listen, I get Bro Code, but if you really like Jillian and have her best interest at heart, wouldn't you want to avoid her being made a fool of on national television? The 2nd solo date is with Reid, who is the blonde Chandler Bing to me, and he's a bit neurotic. He has a lot of qualms about the health hazards of fondue, but I'm liking this guy. While he is a total opposite of Jillian, I think it works. At the Rose Ceremony, Jillian is having second thoughts so pulls break-dancing Michael aside to discuss their age gap (he's only 25, but I love him- I hope he stays around). This talk is enough to save Michael, sending Tanner P and perfect Jake home. Next week: hometown dates where Jillian meets Wes'... band? AHHHH. Jillian, I truly hope this show is as scripted as 
as ever!! But enough about choregraphers, let's get to the dancing. After the first 2 numbers, I was really nervous about this week, thinking we'd get a lot of clunkers, but luckily Melissa and Ade's were 3rd and had one hot rumba. Other goodies: Brandon/Janette's hip-hop, newly paired Kayla/Kupono's Viennese waltz, and Randi/Evan's contemporary (by the one and only Mia Michaels). Now the stinkers. Every week the judges seem to like Caitlin/Jason, but I thought their paso doble was awful; with such intense music, the dancing should be equally intense. Karla/Jonathan did hip-hop and Jonathan stunk so badly, oh man it was painful to watch, which is a shame for Karla since she's part of hip-hop crew Boogie Bots. Bottom 3 prediction: Karla/Jonathan, Caitlin/Jason, and Asuka/Vitolio. 
e. But guessing the bottom 3 means nothing, as it's all about the solos. For the girls, it's unanimous; they eliminate Asuka who they don't see growing week to week. Her elimination does not sadden me. For the guys, Nigel says it was a 2-1 vote, which boggles my mind as I thought it was so obvious who to send home. Thankfully, Jonathan aka Archuletta is gone. Sorry, but even in his own style he wasn't very good and I still have no clue how he made Top 20. Other highlight: some dance crew of boys from like 6 to teens perform and toss the tiny kid across the stage. I watch this part in slo-mo 3 times. 
Quickfire winner is Wilo Benet from Puerto Rico, who made an orange dish with salmon and some carrot stuff. For the elimination challenge the chefs will be making street food to serve at Universal Studios. Wow, cakewalk right? WRONG! Each contestant has a disgusting protein to base the meal on including tripe (stomach), heart, pig's ears, and tongue. French Ludo decides to make quesadillas with his pig's ears, except Mexican is not his specialty, so dumb move on his behalf. Not to mention, he's up against the top Mexican food chef in America, Rick Bayless, so even dumber. Bayless makes tacos with tongue, and it's a smash hit with the crowd and the judges With such outstanding scores on his tacos (2 judges gave him 5 stars), Bayless wins this episode and heads to the finals. 
and then goes strategic/beotchy on Merlin, James Paul, and Reco, giving them designers they don't know. Johnny got Versace and it looked so Versace, but part of me thinks it's too Versace and not enough Johnny, but he wins anyways. Reco doesn't know Halston, and goes with his style of a flowy corset which is all wrong and looks Renaissance Fair; he is in the bottom and crying desperately. It's so sad! Haven is also in the bottom 2. She was given Yves St. Laurent, who is an everyday inspiration to her, and she went with his looks of sleek suits on women, except her sleek suit sucked. It was poorly constructed and used horrible colors. The judges have a tough decision and ultimately send home Haven because hey, she actually knew her designer and tanked. Reco lives to sew another day- phew! 
flakes, and of course meat). Eddie with the really manscaped eyebrows aces the challenge with a steak and a brussel sprout hash. The next challenge is at Good Housekeeping magazine. FN star Giada Delaurentis explains the challenge: create a dish inspired by a holiday, which Manscape Eddie gets to divvy out for winning earlier. He takes Valentine's Day and is pretty easy with giving out the rest. The Mom gets Mother's Day and makes a delicious dish, but has trouble with her time management and plating. Caribbean Queen (Jameka) makes a New Year's Tradition of collard greens and cornbread (cornbread is the moment I got up and snacked on some PB crackers to help my craving). The Healthy Girl stinks as usual, a Dave Coulier lookale makes a disconnected dish, and Manscaped Eddie has a really condescending and disingenous presentation. At judging panel, Healthy Katie seems a sho-in to go, but Dave Coulier tries to throw The Mom under the bus for the plating issue. My instincts are right: Coulier dug himself an early grave and is out. Good, didn't like him anyways! 
favorite of the week was Brandon/Janette's disco, and if you know my opinions on disco as a genre on this show, you'll know this was huge. It was so fast, entertaining, and full of chemistry. Vitolio/Asuka has a beautiful waltz, Melissa/Ade had a great jazz piece, and Kayla/Max had a pop/jazz that earned a 2nd week in a row on the Hot Tamale Train. Onto the bad... basically everyone else; not impressed and picking my bottom 3 was hard cause there were a bunch of duds. Shane Sparks returned to choreograph 2 routines, and neither lived up to the hype. A jive routine fell flat and the judges again loved Karla/Jonathan "Archueletta" but I was not feeling it. My bottom 3 prediction: both hip hop routines (Caitlin/Jason, Kupono/Ashley) and Karla/Jonathan's contemporary. I think Philip Chbeeb and his partner (I forget her name- not good) could take Karla/Jonathan's spot, but I'm thinking his early popularity could save him this week. 
No dad has been quite as awesome as George Constanza's father Frank. He invented a bra for men (The Bro or Manzierre- it's your call), invented an anti-Christmas to yell at people (a 
Danny was probably the best single dad on TV, even though he got help from his brother-in-law and loser best friend. He was the most of the #1 rated San Francisco talkshow 
4 way tie- there is no way I could choose between the poor parenting of George Sr., Michael (ok, not a bad parent), Gob, and Oscar. George would teach his children life lessons through hiring a one-armed man to scare them, while Michael let his 15 year old practive driveing in his lap and later left his son's girlfriend in Mexico. Oscar made Baby Buster (
Since the first time we flashbacked to Jack Shepherd's life and we met his dad, I always joked he was my favorite character. His wonderful use of Red Sox metaphors, being fired for performing surgery drunk- he's a class act! But I don't call him Christian; he's always been "Jack's Drunk Dead Dad To Me." A character that has been dead since the inception of the show has in later seasons become crucial to the overall story. Jack's D.D.D. fathered another castaway, met others via flashbacks, and oh yeah, his possible ghost is walking the island. Yeah he's definitely a father who caused daddy issues, but he's one of my favorites for good TV! 
have been cast, vying to be the next Guy Fieri, and fit into the same personality and cooking molds they usually do (Caribbean, trained, cook at home). The judges for NFNS include Senior VP of Programming & Product Bob Tuschman (love that name), VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy Susie Fogelson, and Food Network star/acclaimed chef Bobby Flay. The first challenge splits the 10 into 2 teams and they will cater the Food Network's 16th anniversary party, with Food Network celebrity guests (and my nemesis, Nancy O'Dell of Access Hollywood). I love their voting panels because they are so honest about personality, food, etc. Contestants whose personalities/food stood out: stay-at-home mom, Margaret Cho looklike, Caribbean-American queen, flamboyant guy, and a "Greek God" as someone named him. Barbie Girl (who calls herself the new generation housewife) goes home for a really simple green bean dish that even a 4 year old could make. Who will be the star? I don't know, but they better cook some good grub (like my 
who I really like but has a stupid name. The group date guys go full on Canuck and go curling (winning team gets a date 
ticket on the hot tamale train. Director/choreographer Adam Shankman was maybe a little too enthusiastic, but hey, he loves the dance. Highlights of the night for me: Tyce Diorio's jazz (Randi/Broadway Evan), a contemporary piece (Ade/old Melissa) by Mandy Moore (not 
but then they perform for their lives in their own style, and the judges select who should go home. I think it keeps it fair from simply eliminating the less popular dancers and helps to keep true talent around. And it turns out- I guessed the bottom 3 couples right! Each dancer then dances for their life and I'm not impressed with any of them. At least "Archuletta" pulled out the tricks. Paris is the eliminated female, and I'm not surprised and thought she'd be in the bottom often because I don't think the audience clicks with her and would be a rehash of universally hated Jessica from last season. For the guys, they eliminate Tony (Paris' partner), which must be breaking the hearts of tween girls watching. Oh, and Sean Kingston performed but didn't have his amazing 
o watch the tasting (scored on a scale of 5 stars), and one little ginger girl is an evil food critic in the making. Hubert Kelly, who runs Fleur de Lys at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, wins with some cookies and and fruit. The elimination challenge brings them back to the college days, where they will prepare a meal using only a microwave, toaster oven, and hot plate- oh and they'll have to prepare the meal in a dorm room! Hubert even takes advantage of the delightful dorm shower to rinse his macaroni- eww, hope you wore flip flops. Texas chef Tim Love is a dingus and accidentally put all his food (including veggies) in a freezer the night before, so I'm sure he's grateful for the microwave defroster. Best dishes: mac and cheese with prawns, pozole, and an almost-done risotto. After the critics (not judges) add up the scoring stars just like Star Search, Hubert Kelly easily wins his spot in the next round.
and just doesn't care, and Angel has no idea what a B-girl is. Insane Merlin gets best design of the week for his Mean Girl ensemble, which I actually hated. It looked like a cheap sweater from the Rave or the Macy's Juniors Department. The bottom 2 are Angel and Johnny. Angel tries to defend herself saying she has never seen a B-girl and knows nothing about hip-hop culture. Culturally ignorant much? Plus, she lives in NYC so it's hard to believe she's never seen hip-hop style; her outfit is a complete stereotypical joke and it offends Kelly Rowland (view the looks 
some huge LA skyscraper and make out a lot, and yes he gets a rose. Date #2 is with 11 dudes, and I think Jillian kissed like 7 of them, but alas, they were "screen kisses" since they film a Western with such awkward dialogue that it bordered on porn (plus it included a 
several styles and are cut if they just making the grade. Gabby, who put on an amazing solo in the auditions, tanks at choreography in both hip-hop and contemporary (her own style); the judges let her "dance for her life" (a solo that proves you have what it takes) and she lives another day, but is luckily cut in the end. Sorry, but if you can't pick up choreography, especially in your own style, then you have to get cut. Natalie, a ginger that was a sho-in for the Top 20, is cut after a bad jazz number and it makes everyone uneasy. Brandon, who has tried out I think 4 times (and Casey's favorite- hi again!) isn't wowing the judges, but he is able to last and vie for a spot in the final round. Night 1 ends up the remaining 40 performing their last solo and now the judges will decide who they think can dance. 
is losing his sizzle. The guys say it's a close race, well, not Sandhurst; he thinks he has it in the bag. The final catwalk has the guys wearing these goofy outfits, god knows what they are, and then sleek suits by Ben Sherman. Jonathan has a flawless catwalk, Branden brought it, and Sandhurst was good in the 1st walk. Sullivan family "Who will win poll?": Dad- Sandhurst, Me/Mom- Branden (underdog takes it all). Plus, girl's model mentor Nikki says she'd give Branden her number for a date if he won, so c'mon, hook a kid up. Jonathan is first cut, and it's a Sandhurst/Branden battle and I wonder who will be victorious in the Sullivan poll. Tyson holds the last contestant's portfolio and says... "Branden, we 
for elimination this week. The challenge is to design for, gasp!, normal sized women. The designers all panic at the thought of dressing the commonfolk, except for hilarious Reco and boring Keith. Keith makes what ends up being a 14 year old girl's first prom dress, Reco makes a stylish ensemble, Daniella has a hard client but makes her look so good, and Merlin is of course a hot mess. Daniella wins again, getting best design of the week (I was pulling for Reco's look), and she puts Angel in the bottom 2 for a sloppy, unflattering dress. I am sooo hoping Merlin goes because the design was hideous and didn't help flatter his model's figure (and he's extremely annoying), but it's Keith and his poorly fitted, unflattering dress that are put on a hanger and sent out the door.
