http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/ 15 en-us Copyright 2008 Thu, 15 May 2008 08:40:21 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The show starts out on a high note when Season-2 hottie Sam is back as the guest judge. Talk about injecting some lusciousness into the program before we even get presented the food. As Antonia puts it: "Sign me up!" Alas, the challenges result in food that is less-droolworthy than Sam. The Quickfire is to make a salad that qualifies as both "sexy" and as this millennium's Caesar, Cobb or Waldorf (not sure those two criteria go together, but that's what Padma said). Everybody gets 45 minutes, which is a lot of time to assemble some lettuce. Lisa is back in full-bore annoying-witchy-Lisa mode, whining about how there are still some cheftestants "who obviously don't deserve to be here" (hey, couldn't she just be happy that they finally sent pasta-only Nikki home last episode?) and kicking off the night with yet another curse word. Sure, Top Chef is on at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_its_a_lunchbox_for_go.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_its_a_lunchbox_for_go.html Dancing With the Stars Thu, 15 May 2008 08:40:21 -0400 Call it a night of inappropriateness. The professional dance (a tribute to Michael Jackson's "Thriller") involves crotch-grabbing. Then Len comes up with a major case of foot-in-mouth disease. All of which fills the major minutes before the final three are revealed. This hour-killer, though, is better than most. Again, love the kids! But this is a joke: There are two pairs of kids who look like tiny sprites and one pair of kids who look as if they don't need to be carded to get into an R-rated movie. Seriously, backstage with Samantha, it looked like four little ones with their duo of babysitters. The far, far more developed and older ones (that would be Brandon and Brittany -- Brandon being the one who said he's into the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders) are so skilled at their paso doble that Tom makes reference to how all three judges' jaws are on http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_from_th.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_from_th.html Dancing With the Stars Wed, 14 May 2008 13:57:35 -0400 Not really any shockers Monday night. There are any 30's at this point. No fake butts, no shocking ambulance rides, no comments from Crotchety Pants about dropping trou in the grocery store. No carping from angry dancers about the judges. No costume malfunctions! Sigh. This week, we just get dancing and a double-dose of Bruno's bluster, as he continues to talk over Len to the point where Carrie Ann has to snap-snap those boys back into some kind of submission. The final four -- Kristi, Jason, Cristian and Marissa (hard to believe, huh?) -- have to draw to find out what two dances they have. The highlights of that include Cristian getting crushed with the samba, the same dance that turned him into a one-armed man two weeks ago, and Kristi getsg a repeat of the jive, which is arguably the best performance all season. Up first, with their ballroom http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_sem.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_sem.html Dancing With the Stars Tue, 13 May 2008 14:37:37 -0400 Eight chefs are still standing -- half of them women -- and it's that time when a Quickfire win no longer earns immunity. Which apparently does nothing to minimize Dale's competitive streak, because he wins the award tonight for cursing so fast that it's hard to bleep him out (and he dents a locker in a hissy fit). It's relay-race day, and the chefs draw knives to make teams that will last for both challenges. Richard, Stephanie, Antonia (who between them have won several weeks' worth of competitions) and Andrew form one team; annoyed Dale is on the other with those inferior teammates Nikki (okay, I can understand him on that one), Lisa and Spike. Lisa kicks Antonia's butt on the first leg of the race (sectioning five oranges), but Spike blows her lead when it comes to the artichokes. So Dale and Richard are dead even as they clean http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_and_the_cat_runs_out.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_and_the_cat_runs_out.html Top Chef Thu, 08 May 2008 11:10:08 -0400 Double-dip tonight, with the judges' top-10 performances of the first five seasons, followed by an elimination episode that had so many return stars and guest stars that the entire actual elimination, start to finish, is handled in the last 10 minutes. Which is all it really takes, actually. The top-10 dances, in reverse order, as revealed on the show: 10. Kelly Monaco & Alex, Season 1 (winner), Freestyle. (It says a lot about Season 1 that the only entry they could come up with out of 10 was at the bottom of the pile. This was a reflection of the "need" to at least have one entry from each season.) 9. Sabrina Bryan & Mark, Season 5, Paso Doble. (So the judges could yell at the viewers one more time for eliminating one of the best dancers on the show way too early last fall.) 8. Emmitt Smith & Cheryl, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_100.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_100.html Dancing With the Stars Wed, 07 May 2008 10:13:15 -0400 Who knew a one-armed man could move so well? Talk about upsetting expectations. Cristian has been on the edge of departure for weeks at this point; last week, he got carried by the sympathy vote -- straight out of even the bottom two -- but it seemed unlikely he could last much longer at this point. Then he comes in and trounces the leader board. As he puts it, "We should have started dancing with one arm before!" In the ballroom, he manages the lift with one arm, and all three judges rave about seeing no indication in the choreography that anything is wrong. In the Latin round, with Cristian wearing practically no shirt and a sparkle arm brace (and please, Tom Bergeron, for the benefit the parents of arm-injured adolescent girls everywhere, give viewers the toll-free number for ordering that puppy next time out), his left armless-ness seems more http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_fug.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_the_fug.html Dancing With the Stars Tue, 06 May 2008 13:51:34 -0400 Addison's back! And in the first few minutes of her return to Seattle Grace -- alas, only for a visit; she's still tied to "Grey's" spinoff "Private Practice -- she walks into yet another awkward Derek-Meredith moment and gets propositioned by McSteamy. Oh, Addison, you have been missed. It's quite the contrary when it comes to Izzie. Only recently has this show come back and the instinct is to ship Izzie off to that holistic health place in California in lieu of Addison (sorry, Tim Daly and Taye Diggs). In this episode, she pouts about George getting all buddy-buddy with the other interns, pouts her way into an invitation to go with the interns (who all rightfully cringe in horror at the thought), and is ham-handed with a pregnant patient who is HIV-positive. Then she thinks she has a "Gandhi moment" when she tells said pregnant, HIV-positive patient that she http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/greys_anatomy_welcome_back_add.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/greys_anatomy_welcome_back_add.html Grey's Anatomy Fri, 02 May 2008 13:43:21 -0400 You know the chefs aren't going to love a challenge when it starts out with guest Art Smith --personal chef to Oprah and the king of simple & healthy -- and a lot of containers of microwaveable Uncle Ben's rice. Kick in the fact that the Quickfire has to be completed in 15 minutes and faces are miserable. That's right: complete meal, using the rice, in mini-time. Guess who comes out in the top three? Um, let's see. Richard (d'oh!), Dale (d'oh!) and Antonia, who embarks on what I'm calling the Reputation Rehabilitation Edition, which is practically an entire show cut to show that she's not really as witchy as she has come across in previous weeks. Of course, before we get to the rehabilitation part, we do have to start out the episode with Ms. Attitude-Ness announcing back at the house that she thinks she should just (expletive) everybody. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_the_reputation_rehabi.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/top_chef_the_reputation_rehabi.html Top Chef Thu, 01 May 2008 10:55:11 -0400 As the field of "Dancing With the Stars" finalists grows smaller, we caught up with ever-personable show judge Carrie Ann Inaba to talk "DWTS" injuries (from cramped limbs to bruised egos), censors, possible perceptions -- and the idiosyncrasies of her fellow judges. CHANNEL THIS: Will Cristian be able to dance next week, with his arm injury? CARRIE ANN: I don't know ... I have mixed feelings about Cristian. You have to take care of your body. It's for life. The competition is only 10 weeks. ... I just truly hope he doesn't hurt himself [more severely]. CT: And what about performing the lifts this next week? CA: I'm sure Edyta will be flying across the floor" (referring to Jason and his big man-arms). CT: What about what Bruno said after Mario did the hottie-hot dance with Karina that resulted in the network censors bleeping him out last week? (He said http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_talking.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/05/dancing_with_the_stars_talking.html Dancing With the Stars Thu, 01 May 2008 08:44:58 -0400 It takes "DWTS" eight full minutes to recap the previous night's show, which is just another example of how badly they need to stretch and stretch to fill the results hour. Eye roll. And this week there's even news to report! But noo, we can't get told what's up with Cristian's arm until the final five minutes either. The entertainment is Def Leppard, which brings back all kinds of horrific teenage memories, so let's not go there. But the spoof of the week -- with Jerry Rice and Kenny Mayne coming back to do a "DanceCenter" news bit patterned on ESPN's SportsCenter -- is truly awesome! First time this season that the show's attempt to do a funny skit is actually really, really funny. And love Kenny's eye shadow. But that only fills a few minutes and then it's back to waiting and waiting. And Waiting. Finally, it's time to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_the_sym.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_the_sym.html Dancing With the Stars Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:49:53 -0400 Thwack. Kristi not only gets hit upside the head for imperfection this time around, but she gets dumped down the leaderboard to No. 4 -- out of six celebs -- in the first round of the competition's first double-dance night. Now, mind you, the major criticism is that the spectacularly difficult spin and drop she does is not perfect (never mind that no other contestant could possibly attempt them). But. Still. A moment for parity here, please. Ah, yes, Kristi rebounds in the Latin half of the night -- when she decides to compete with Marissa for Biggest Hair of the Competition -- to finish second. Still, she gets her first 8 score ever. This is a rough night. Speaking of that 8, help me out here. What's even more uncomfortable than crotchety pants, because clearly Len is wearing them this time out? He's such a crank monster that when http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_a_bad_a.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_a_bad_a.html Dancing With the Stars Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:59:19 -0400 This is one of the more creative and fun elimination challenges I've seen. But first, the Quickfire. It's the dreaded pastry cook-off. And, really, I have to wonder about these guys, who watch the previous seasons and then show up without at least two to three decent desserts memorized. Some obviously do, but others just wing it. Spike, who does have a planned dessert (the classic chocolate molten cake), inexplicably chooses to try his hand at a souffle instead. As he explains it, he wants to look as if he's taking a risk. Risk fails: he's in the bottom three. Also joining him there are Antonia, who seems not to care one bit about this challenge, and Mark, who isn't doing very well of late. The top three are Richard (no surprise), Dale (again, no surprise) and Lisa. Richard's take on banana "scallops" wins the challenge, earning him immunity yet http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/top_chef_depressed_perplexed_a.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/top_chef_depressed_perplexed_a.html Top Chef Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:47:21 -0400 Mario in the bottom two with a second-best score of 28? Hmm. Either we have a boatload of prudes watching this show -- Mario and Karina were pretty raunchy in their highly rated dance Monday night -- or there is a Sabrina Bryant-style home-judging uprising on the launch. This time, there's no passing off the desire to upend Mario as simply a viewer decision that he has an unfair advantage because he does choreographed dancing for his concerts and videos. Um, yeah, the "unfair advantage" thesis -- the one used to explain away Sabrina's way-too-early departure, and the departure of Mel B, last season -- holds no water this time around. Not with Kristi in the house. So why are viewers so anti-Mario? Really, this week looked pretty simple. Marlee finally had to go -- and, yes, she did -- despite all the judge/viewer sympathy and support for her incredible http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_lets_st.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_lets_st.html Dancing With the Stars Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:33:39 -0400 Quote of the season thus far: Len, to Cristian, after the contestant smooth-steps his way through a dashing foxtrot: "If you're in the bottom two tomorrow, I'll show my bum in the supermarket." Bruno and Carrie Ann -- like this viewer, and I presume most others -- do their best to eradicate that image from their minds in the immediate aftermath ("Picture go!" Bruno demands), but the point is made. Last week, we knew Cristian had landed in a place where he must dance his way through each week. His fan base is not there, and not big enough. This week, he does. Maybe? Dance of the season thus far: Kristi. Just when you think that someone else might try to give her a run for the title (and Mario is seen crowing about how he wants to challenge her), she shows up and just blows-everyone-away. She does a jive http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_lets_ge.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/dancing_with_the_stars_lets_ge.html Dancing With the Stars Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:17:32 -0400 Let's start with the relationship update: Jen might as well be wearing a veil, she's so busy mourning the departure of partner Zoi from last week. The whole "I'm doing this for Zoi" and "it's a little tribute to Zoi," gets stale really fast. The other contestants left their lovers at home weeks ago and aren't whining about it, so get over it already. Dale and Lisa: Hatefest No. 1, illustrated by their spat at the end of last week's challenge, continues unabated. Yeah, Dale starts out by giving Lisa a non-apology apology (oh, I'm sorry, really, really, I am, but you just bring so much negativity to this...), and Lisa responds by shooting fail-fail-fail! daggers at him the rest of the episode. Spike and Jen: Hatefest No. 2. She blames him for Zoi's being sent home. He seems to have a lesbian issue (see below). Not pretty. Onward to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/top_chef_does_nikki_have_nine.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channelthis/2008/04/top_chef_does_nikki_have_nine.html Top Chef Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:58:47 -0400